by Tesha Geddes
“Do you have a way to contact her?” Oliver asked. “It seems we don’t have a phone number on file for her.”
“Um, yeah,” Erica said, a feeling of dread beginning to grow in the pit of her stomach. “I guess she didn’t update her forms when she got her phone.” She dialed Kaida’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. She shook her head at Oliver and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Probably nothing,” Oliver said with a strained smile.
“No, no,” Erica said sternly. “You can’t come in here demanding to know where Kaida is and then not tell us anything.”
“Who’s not telling us anything?” Sophie asked, popping her head out the bathroom door.
“Oliver wants to know where Kaida is, but he won’t say why,” Erica said, fixing their RA with a glare.
“She’s in class… isn’t she?” Sophie said with a worried glance at Erica.
“What’s going on?” Tanya asked as she stepped out of her room.
“N–nothing,” Oliver said nervously. “Please… just go about your day like normal.”
“Oliver,” Erica growled, tusks sprouting from her mouth. “What’s going on?”
“It’s probably nothing,” Oliver relented as he slowly backed toward the door. “Things like this happen all the time. There’s no need to worry yet.”
“Worry about what?” Erica demanded as the three roommates converged on their nervous RA.
“W–well, Kaida’s bag was found abandoned on campus,” Oliver said. “She probably was just drunk, or tired, and dropped it, and forgot where she left it. It happens all the time. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
“Sophie, check Kaida’s room,” Erica said immediately.
Sophie nodded and unlocked Kaida’s room with a simple spell. A quick look inside confirmed Kaida’s absence. Erica swore colorfully and Oliver looked at her in surprise.
“I didn’t know you knew Dwarvish,” he said.
Erica fixed him with an intense glare and snapped, “Focus! Kaida’s been kidnapped! Now is not the time to compliment people on their abilities to swear in multiple languages.”
“Kidnapped?!” Oliver exclaimed. “I think it’s a bit early to claim kidnapping.”
“Listen!” Erica snapped, picking the young man up and shoving him against the wall like he weighed nothing. “Kaida was on the run, hiding from people who wanted her dead… her own family! Our apartment gets trashed, then her father comes to town, and now she’s missing –– that’s not a coincidence! Tanya!” She turned to the tree nymph. “Call Sen, let him know what’s happened.” Then she dropped Oliver and pulled out her phone.
“Uh, what are you doing?” Oliver asked.
“Calling the police!” Erica shouted at him.
“I really think that’s a little premature,” Oliver said, holding out his hands placatingly. “Let’s just check around campus. I’m sure she just lost her backpack and went to class without it.”
Erica fixed him with a withering glare.
❀
Erica sat on the couch, a bundle of raw nerves and anxious energy. The campus police said they were looking into it, but it didn’t look like they were taking Kaida’s disappearance very seriously.
“Sophie, do you know any tracking spells?” Tanya asked from where she stood by the window, intently peering out, as if Kaida would suddenly materialize outside their door.
“No,” Sophie said quietly, more subdued than Erica had ever seen her.
Tanya cursed quietly. If the campus police had told them where Kaida’s backpack had been discovered, Tanya would have gone to ask the plants if they’d seen anything. This anxious feeling of helplessness was getting to be too familiar. The other two times Kaida had disappeared turned out fine, but something about this one felt different. Kaida would never just leave her backpack lying around.
Erica couldn’t take the inaction anymore. She stood up and strode out the door, calling over her shoulder, “I’m going to go look. Call me if she comes back or you hear anything.”
❀
“Hey, Officer Furywings,” Detective Winston called as he walked over to Leander’s desk, where he was filling out some paperwork before heading home. “You’re a dragon, right?”
Leander stifled a groan –– here it was. Any time someone found out he was a dragon, they asked all sorts of stereotypical questions. Do dragons hunt their food? Do they eat their meat raw? How come they don’t burn their throats when they breathe fire? Do they eat people who cross them? And on and on.
“Yes, Detective, I am,” Leander said with a strained smile. “What can I do for you?” What he really wanted to do was go home and hug his wife and baby.
“I was wondering if you could help me with a case I’ve just been assigned,” the detective said.
Oh, he wanted dragon fire power, or in this case, dragon storm power. Typical. What was it this time? Magical mob? Black market bust?
“There’s this college girl that’s gone missing,” Detective Winston continued. Leander raised his eyebrows. A missing persons case? He wasn’t sure why his dragon expertise would be needed on a case like this, and he said as much to the detective.
“The missing girl is a dragon,” the detective said. “I was hoping I could get your insight on where a dragon might go if they wanted to disappear for a bit.”
“So, you’re working under the assumption that this was a voluntary disappearance?” Leander questioned as he filed away his paperwork. It was generally a good assumption… except when it wasn’t.
“Yeah,” Detective Winston said. “Dragons are powerful –– there’s not much that can make them disappear without a trace like that. The roommates seem certain that another dragon was behind her disappearance, but I don’t buy it. If another dragon was involved, things would have gotten messy. Campus police didn’t find anything, so they passed it on to us.”
Leander looked up sharply. “Why do the roommates think another dragon was involved?”
“Not sure,” Winston said, looking down at the case file with a frown. “Wait, this can’t be right. They must mean twelve feet, not twelve inches. There’s no way there’s a dragon that small –– even twelve feet is small for a dragon.”
“Give me that,” Leander said, snatching the file from Winston’s fingers. If the number was correct, it would explain a lot, but it would also mean the likelihood of finding her alive was dwindling by the second. His heart stopped when he saw the picture of the missing girl. No. It couldn’t be. She’d died years ago. His hands shook as he scanned the rest of the details in the file. Kaida Gracewing… she’d changed her name. And joined a wolf pack by the looks of it. She’d made a life for herself, and then she went missing… right when a dragon from her past showed up. This wasn’t a missing persons case –– this was a kidnapping.
“We need to go,” Leander said, shoving his gun back into his holster. He grabbed a round of magic cancelling bullets as well. He looked across the room to where his partner was filling his water bottle and gave him a signal he’d only ever had to use once before. Garrett nodded grimly.
“You know something,” Winston said, eyeing Leander suspiciously.
“I know that the longer we dally, the less chance we have of finding her alive,” Leander snapped.
“Explain on the way,” Winston said, signaling to his partner, Detective Longfang.
❀
They pulled up to the nondescript house quietly –– due to a lack of solid evidence, Detective Winston wouldn’t let them go in with sirens blaring. On the way, Leander had filled them in on what he knew, and what he suspected. Detective Winston knocked on the door, though Leander wished the detective would have let him break it down. The elephant shifter from the previous day opened the door. The smells wafting out of the house told him they’d interrupted dinner.
“We’re looking for Mordecai Furywings,” Detective Winston said, foregoing introductions.
“It’s okay, Tusk,” a deep voice said fro
m behind the elephant shifter. “I’ll take it from here.”
A tall, broad, middle-aged man stepped forward. From his dark hair with just a hint of blue to his stormy blue eyes, he could have easily been an older version of Leander. Leander had always hated being the spitting image of his father. If Mordecai was surprised to see his son standing there, he hid it well.
“I take it this is about the storm last night,” Mordecai said, stepping outside and closing the door.
“Not exactly, no,” Detective Winston said. “What do you know about a Kaida Gracewing, formerly known as Kaida Furywings?”
“K–Kaida?” Mordecai said, looking as though the slightest breeze would knock him over. “Please tell me you found her body. I know it wasn’t a suicide. I know Mother must have had something to do with it.”
Leander clenched his fist, fuming –– tiny bolts of electricity danced up and down his arms. Mordecai had something to do with Kaida’s disappearance, he knew it. And yet, here he was, acting innocent and concerned. And what did Gran have to do with anything?
“Body?” Detective Longfang questioned, eyebrows raised and one hand on his magic-dampening cuffs.
Leander wanted to rip Mordecai apart, and only his partner’s steadying hand on his shoulder kept him grounded.
“When I spoke with Mr. Furywings yesterday, he informed me that his daughter recently took her life,” Garrett said.
“Kaida’s not dead,” Leander growled, glaring at his father. “At least, she wasn’t twenty-four hours ago. Now she’s missing, and you’re going to tell us everything you know.”
Mordecai stared at his son, his eyes widening as comprehension dawned on him. “She’s alive?” he whispered. Then his expression closed off and he said, “I won’t say another word about my daughter, not when another dragon is present.”
“Why, you,” Leander snarled, surging forward, only to be stopped by the two detectives.
“Officer,” Detective Winston snapped, “if you cannot control yourself, you cannot be part of the investigation.”
“Leander won’t hurt Kaida,” Garrett piped up from the back. “The practice of culling the weak is what drove him from Drake City.”
Mordecai let out a long, heavy breath as his shoulders slumped. “Praise the eternal fires,” he said. “Those who knew of her existence think she is dead, and it’s best to keep it that way.”
“This still does not answer the question of how she came to be missing less than twenty-four hours after you came to town and created a storm,” Detective Winston said. “I’m not a big believer in coincidences, and this one is hard to swallow.”
Chapter 26
Kaida came to slowly. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and sounds were muffled and distorted, as if she was hearing them from underwater. She opened her eyes but couldn’t see. The scratchy fabric around her head told her she was blindfolded, not blind. She took several deep, calming breaths and felt her mind start to clear. She wiggled, confirming her hands and feet were bound. She took a few more calming breaths, fighting off the rising panic –– there would be no fleeing to Sen for safety this time. She tried to shift, but a stinging sensation on her wrist told her she was wearing a magic-dampening cuff. That meant no dragon form… and no way to contact Storm. She was truly on her own this time.
She took stock of her situation as best she could. Her captors weren’t dragons, or if they were, they didn’t know she was. If they were dragons hunting her because of what she was, she’d already be dead. She didn’t know how many there were, or if it was only one. At least one had nature magic. Judging by the feel of the ground under her and the way sounds bounced around, she was probably in some sort of cave.
She wouldn’t be able to get the blindfold off without hands –– it was tied too tightly to be able to rub it off. She tested the bonds around her hands again. Given enough time, she should be able to undo them. She’d had plenty of practice on that front.
“So, the Golden Goose stirs,” a haughty male voice drawled. “Bring her.”
Rough hands lifted her up and slung her over a thick shoulder. Kaida wheezed as the air was knocked out of her by the rough treatment. Golden Goose, she mused to herself. At least that meant they wanted her for something and wouldn’t kill her… she hoped.
“There,” the haughty man said expansively, and Kaida pictured him gesturing to some unseen vista. “I’m sure you can see why you’re here, and what’s expected of you.”
Was… was he an idiot, or… no, there really wasn’t another option –– he was an idiot.
“No,” Kaida said dryly. “I don’t.”
The man scoffed before realizing the problem. “Get that off her,” he ordered his henchman. “She needs to see why she’s here.”
“But, boss,” the henchman protested, shifting uneasily.
“It won’t matter,” the boss interrupted. “No one lets the Golden Goose go.”
No surprise there. Who goes to the trouble of kidnapping someone only to let them go later? The henchman fumbled with Kaida’s blindfold, yanking her head around in the process. When the fabric fell away, Kaida finally understood why she’d been taken.
They were standing in a large, brightly lit cavern. Two dozen trees were placed strategically throughout the room to take the greatest advantage of the light. In the center of the room was a very familiar quad-canopied tree. The sight of it confirmed her suspicions about the break in. She knew what they wanted from her, and she had a feeling it wasn’t for altruistic reasons.
“You want me to make the Sunstars bloom,” Kaida said.
“Yes,” the man said, grabbing Kaida’s chin and tilting her head up to look him in the eyes. “You are going to make me a wealthy man.”
From Kaida’s point of view, he was already wealthy. His clothing was well-tailored, probably designer, and his shoes looked expensive, and completely impractical for spelunking in a cave. His blond hair was immaculately styled, and his cologne smelled expensive. He’d had the money to spend setting this up… aside from stealing several of the Sunstar trees (Joan’s pots were very distinctive). If the money he had wasn’t enough, no amount ever would be.
“My father,” the man continued, “was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. He was dying, and desperate. When a doctor approached him about trying an experimental treatment, we all thought, ‘why not’, it’s not like he had anything to lose. We didn’t have much hope, so imagine our surprise when, after just one dose, his cancer was cured.”
Kaida just stared at him –– he was monologuing! Maybe he’d watched too many crime shows. Were all criminals just narcissists that loved to hear themselves talk? Or was this just the natural result of having a captive audience? Her captor went on, blissfully unaware of Kaida’s inner scathing commentary.
“He was on his deathbed, and my inheritance was within my grasp,” he said, “and then it wasn’t. All thanks to you.” This had to be the worst show of gratitude ever. “And now, thanks to you, I’m going to have more wealth than even my old man can give me. Those flowers are my panacea. Imagine how much people will pay for this miracle cure.”
Kaida glared at him. Those flowers might be a panacea, but they wouldn’t be his. If they truly could cure cancer, they belonged to the people that needed them, not some pompous profiteering prick. It was one thing to sell the flowers, but another thing entirely to hold them in reserve for the highest bidder.
“But enough about me,” the man said. “Let’s get started.”
He stood to the side and motioned for Kaida to move ahead of him. She hopped forward, her feet still bound, drinking in the details of the cavern, looking for a way out. There were three entrances to the cavern, and two were almost completely blockaded with large boulders –– she doubted even her dragon form would be able to get through there. Heavy stalactites hung from the ceiling, offering plenty of hiding spaces and possibly an escape route, if she could get up there, but that would require transforming. Aside from her captor, there were o
nly two other people that she could see. One was the burly henchman that carried her in here, the other was a tall, slender man in overalls with dirt-covered hands. Kaida would bet everything she owned that he had nature magic and was the one that had captured her.
“Let’s start with this one,” the man said, motioning to Kaida’s tree. He pushed her forward and looked at her expectantly, his eager gaze turning into a glare when she did nothing. “Get to it,” he snapped.
“I can’t do anything while my magic is dampened,” she said, trying to hide her thoughts of his stupidity.
The rich jerk nodded to his burly henchman and Kaida felt something hard press into her back. “What you’re feeling is a magic taser,” he said. “Any funny business, and my associate will pull the trigger, and then it’s lights out.”