“I’m not sure if that’s stable enough, we need to find a stronger container. Maybe a plastic tote or something.” I looked around at the pile of accumulated possibilities, hoping something would catch my eye. “Maybe we could use …”
“I’ve got something better.” Sheridan grinned her big cheesy teeth grin at me. She held up an empty beer pony keg. “I found this in the lunch room. Thought maybe we could attach this to the harness and fill it with the blood she needs.”
“That’s perfect, Sher. A great find.” I hugged her shoulder. Everyone was busy brainstorming on what could work with what. In my mind, I was beginning to think our makeshift demon catcher plan just might work. MacGyver’s writers would be proud of us.
“Ludovic, what kind of mouth does she have? Can she drink from that pony keg?” Khaldon asked.
Ludovic grimaced and rubbed at his neck. “She has a long tongue. It’s pretty creepy. It’s strong, and you don’t want to get near it. Her mouth is still shaped like a human’s, but she has this insanely long tongue. I would say she could lap up the blood from that hole in the keg.”
I swallowed hard trying to envision this monster as my sister. I puffed out my lips on an exhale.
Stay focused, Chey.
“Briggs, once you have Dakota on your back, do you have some kind of tractor beam built into you?” I asked.
“What the hell, Chey Chey? You think I’m the Enterprise or something? The closest thing I can do is emit a gluey substance. If she gets her legs wrapped around me, she’ll stick until I release her.” Briggs roared with a thunderous laugh.
“Sounds kinda kinky to me,” Sheridan said. She looked over at Torchy and asked, “Can you do that?”
Torchy didn’t say a word. He simply smiled at her.
Sheridan’s cheeks blushed a rosy pink.
“Where do you imagine all the dragon and the fair maiden stories come from?” Briggs’ silky seduction voice flowed. “Do you honestly believe they just stood there and took it? I had to glue their asses down.”
“Great fellas, another visual. I will forever be warped with visions of Edric getting his jollies off on the defenseless comatose, and now fair maidens seduced because they were caught in a sticky tangle of spider web goo,” I said.
“No. No. Not spider webs – Dragon Essence.” He held the beat on the “s” in essence while arching his eyebrows up and down in quick succession. It must be the male seduction dance to the female. We think it’s cornball. They think it’s an amorous tease.
Combining the team’s efforts, we had the complete makings for a makeshift dragon Kevlar riding harness, a flying bed pad flag system, and a blood demon snare. It was a ridiculous enough plan, it just might work. Or at least I prayed it would.
Chapter Fifty-Two
The sun was due to set that night at 5:55 p.m., so we didn’t have a lot of time to get Briggs and Torchy outfitted and, to make final adjustments. We moved into the larger loading dock area of the breeding facility where we were able to open up the bay doors similar to an airport hangar. Even though the facility was still under the Wiccan enchantments for privacy, the doors and parking lot faced the lake where the cattails and Bermuda grass stood tall, helping provide additional cover from would be onlookers. It’s not every day people saw two towering dragons walking out of a building. From this viewpoint, I could see why Dakota had given us the clue for GC 89 because it was exactly how she had described. Boat loading dock, cattails, and fishing nets.
Even though Briggs and Torchy had told me they were dragons, I of course had not seen them decked out in all their glory. We laid out the rigging for each dragon. Torchy’s rigging was going to hold the blood soaked mattress pads, and the rigging for Briggs contained a harness to secure the pony keg of blood. It was time for the fellas to morph into their dragon forms.
Nervously, I stood next to Sheridan and realized she was shaking as much as I was. “Cheyenne, I want you to know no matter what happens tonight, I’m sure in our hearts that we’re doing best by Dakota. Thank you so much for saving me and for coordinating this rescue for her.”
I looked at her with tears in my eyes and tried to speak, but the emotions welled up deep in my chest, and all I could do was hug her. I finally choked out, “Nothing can ever break the power of the mighty sister pinkie swear!”
“When are we going to tell Daddy about all this?” Sheridan asked.
“I was hoping we could tell him after we were successful in getting Dakota back tonight. Regardless of what happens, we’ll need to tell him soon because my little niece or nephew isn’t going to wait very long to make their arrival.”
Sheridan looked at me with uncertainty all over her face.
I hugged her. “We’ll get it figured out, I promise. No matter what.”
She gave me a half-way smile and hugged me back.
About that time, the hangar clouded over – it was as if someone had turned on a powerful fog machine. The air was so thick I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. It was then I realized it was coming from two of the largest fog machines ever known. Both Briggs and Torchy had transformed into the most magnificent creatures I’d ever laid eyes upon.
Torchy chose a smaller dragon form than Briggs in order to maneuver in tighter formation around Dakota, but his scales were a brilliant crimson. They shimmered in luminescence as if they were peacock feathers when he breathed. His eyes were frightening to look at. They glowed a fiery orange lava quartz, his pupils vertical slits. He had sharp, angular, interlocking scales on his legs and body. His back was ridged with razor-sharp barbs on protruding spikes which matched his wings. I’d be afraid something could easily impale itself on his defensive armor. At the very end of his tail, he had a vicious blade to easily chop his prey in half.
Briggs was simply … epic. He was just as beautiful in dragon form as he was in human form. His scales were so glossy black they were almost purple. He unfolded his wings to span over thirty feet revealing a phosphorescence glowing under them. His legs were muscular in order to hold up the long, colossal serpentine body. His eyes shined like azure, opalescent moonstones, which could easily seduce me into a dreamlike state if I stared at them long enough. They were alluring. His eyes beckoned me to gaze deeper into his abyss and get lost. His tail wrapped around his body aligning his scales to form a stair step up onto his back. I wondered how many fair maidens had fallen for those eyes and made that perilous climb.
As I stood there in awe of these two magnificent beasts, I thought about their personalities and how much they either emulated who they were in their human forms or were the antithesis of that embodiment. Sheridan stood rooted to the ground, her eyes wide. Torchy blew steam towards her and pulled his head in towards his chest beckoning her to come closer. I watched as she took one tentative step in his direction. He opened up his wing and called her to him. Within moments, she had reached out to touch his chest. He curled his wing around her and scooped her closer to him.
I checked around us to make sure Ludovic was close by. Harris had found some rope and had made a makeshift body lasso around Ludovic so he couldn’t get away. I was going to have to praise him for his ingenuity later. Our captive could have escaped during foggy dragon transitioning.
We found a pile of clothes on the ground under Briggs and put them aside. The same for Torchy. “Ah that makes sense. Now I see why they put up the smoke screen, so they can change in privacy,” I said to Khaldon as we strapped the Kevlar to Briggs’ underbelly and around the front of his chest.
“Yeah, it’s a real hip trick. It also comes in handy whenever you need a diversion,” Khaldon said. “How’s everything going over there for Torch? Are the straps long enough to hold up those mattress pads?”
“It looks as if we might need to get a come-along to tighten a few of these into place,” Harris answered. “But yes, we’re looking good over here. How about you two?”
“We should be good. If Dakota tries to bite him anywhere on the backside, she would most li
kely lose a tooth against the glass scales.” Khaldon answered. “Hopefully her claws won’t be able to get through them. The Kevlar will help protect him underneath just in case she tries to attack him from below.”
“The Kevlar isn’t a hundred percent protection,” I said. “But it’s better than nothing since we honestly have no idea the extent of what we’re up against.”
We soaked the bed pads in the lunar blood and then folded them onto Torchy’s wings. Then we secured the pony keg mixture of one quarter lunar blood and three quarters solar blood onto Briggs. Since the solar blood didn’t have any smell, I thought perhaps if Dakota consumed it, it might weaken her, or at the very least, calm her down. Dakota would either gain more vicious strength from the lunar blood or she might lose some of the strength she gained from drinking the solar blood. We wouldn’t know until we tried.
I grabbed my smartphone and snapped a picture of the dragons while Briggs was fussing with a strap under his wing.
A voice filled my head as if another person were inside with me. Shocked at the telepathy, I needed a second to figure out how the voice was in my head. I looked around to see where it was coming from. Then the voice changed its rhythm and pitch. Briggs’ chocolatey smoothness flowed into my mind.
“Hey, Chey Chey, that shit better not make it onto Facebook.”
I pointed at myself. “Moi?”
Briggs smiled, baring his teeth and winked his opal eye.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said.
“Wouldn’t dream of what, Cheyenne?” Khaldon stood beside me admiring the dragons.
“Briggs – I just found out that he can talk in my head. Look, it’s getting close to time. We need to get final checks in and get them up in the air.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty cool when they talk in your head – and sometimes annoying. Let’s ask them to move outside. You’re right, it’s time for Ludovic to contact Dakota.” Khaldon put his hand in the small of my back as we walked out of the open hangar doors.
Harris followed with Ludovic in tow. The dragons walked outside, and they took the opportunity to fully stretch up on their back legs and extend their wings. I couldn’t believe how majestic they were.
“Pretty amazing, huh?” Sheridan said as she put her arm inside mine. I was simply mesmerized.
“I feel like the actress from Jurassic Park, when they see the living dinosaurs for the first time. Remember? They were speechless trying to take in their massive size and magnificent beauty.”
Sheridan nodded at me as we continued to gawk at the dragons standing in front of us.
Khaldon untied Ludovic from Harris. “All right, Lug nut, have you been able to communicate with Dakota?”
Ludovic stretched. “She isn’t responding to my requests.”
I glared at him.
“She did, however, move her energy when I mentioned you and Sheridan. So she’s still cognizant of you both.”
I scratched my head. The sun was getting lower in the sky. “Khaldon, I should go with Briggs. I know Dakota will respond better if she sees me holding the blood out to her.”
“There’s no way in hell you would survive something like that, Cheyenne. She might know who you are, but until she’s blood satisfied, you are just another meal. And her human side would hate herself the next day for killing her sister.”
I ignored his warnings. “Ludovic, let her know I have the blood she needs. We’re sending her an escort to fly her back.”
Briggs snorted and sarcastically threw out thoughts in my head. “Oh great, now I’m a freaking escort service. What will it be next? The demon welcome wagon? Meals on Wings?”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Ludovic, obviously never having sired a vampire before, wasn’t particularly adept at summoning Dakota. In fact, he downright sucked at it.
I watched as Khaldon took the time to show him how to connect to Dakota as her maker.
“Ludovic, you’re trying too hard. To communicate effectively with her, you have to embrace the connection between the two of you. You have to let it flow out of your heart with the passion of your love for her. Do you need a visual?”
Ludovic nodded.
“Picture in your mind a figure eight with a shining thread of golden energy. Now extend that energy cord down from your heart to your sacral chakra and down through your loins. Send that golden energy cord to Dakota’s heart and then down through to her sacral chakra. Wrap the thread back to your heart and complete the circuit of the figure eight.”
“I know you don’t like this.” I patted Briggs on the back. I whispered close to his head. “It’s the only way we can communicate with her. I don’t like it either.” Briggs sent another blast of steam out of his nose, making a temporary fog bank around us.
Ludovic stood with his eyes closed and his hands out in the air as if he was trying to catch the rain.
“Now feel it in your heart and find where Dakota lives within you.”
It was intriguing to observe Khaldon talk him through this.
“When you find her, capture the communication down into your rocks and let it flow. Send the golden thread to her with no message. Just create the open portal of communication.”
Ludovic opened one eye to look at Khaldon.
“Trust me, okay?” Khaldon said. “Watch me.” Khaldon closed his eyes, and it looked as though a peaceful calm came over him.
Who is he contacting? Has he sired anyone? Is he sharing a sex bond link with some other woman? Why hasn’t my rogue creator ever tried to contact me? Maybe he doesn’t know I exist.
I became aware of heat coursing through my body.
“I’ve got it! I found her!” Ludovic cried out. “She’s accepting the thread. She says she’s hungry.”
“Good. Relax. Take a deep breath and hold onto her,” Khaldon continued to coach. “Acknowledge you understand. Tell her you have the blood she needs. You’ll keep her attention.”
Am I picking up on Ludovic’s signal? Could Ludovic be my attacker?
My pulse hammered through my chest.
Briggs pulled me into his wing. “You all right, Chey Chey?”
I could barely catch my breath. I felt the pull of the golden thread coursing through my body, and it pulled thoughts out of me. As suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.
“I’m all right. Just got a little winded there for a moment.”
I stood bolted to the floor as if someone had played a joke on me and super glued my shoes. I couldn’t move. My head hammered with the energy jolt. What was that? Why did I feel it when Ludovic sent out the signal? Could this dweeb be the guy who attacked and killed all those people on Halloween night and left me for dead? Was he experimenting with the lunar blood too?
Keep your head on, Cheyenne – you need this guy to get Dakota back. Just play it cool. You can address this later.
“Don’t worry, Chey Chey, I’ll help you get rid of the little creep after all this is over.” Briggs spoke in my mind.
“You can hear my thoughts too?” I mind-messaged back to him. “Isn’t that a violation of some kind of preternatural privacy act or something?”
Briggs snorted and puffed out a bit of vapor.
“She’s got it!” Ludovic cried out again. “I told her we’re bringing the blood to her. She thinks it’s a trap.”
“Tell Dakota I’m here, and everything is okay.” I walked over to him.
“Let me try,” he said. “She says to prove it.”
“Tell her I pinkie swear promise. Find out where she is, Ludovic. Tell her I’ll bring her proof.” And with that I climbed aboard Briggs and strapped myself onto his back. Briggs began to beat his wings and created a fog around us.
Khaldon screamed out, “NO! She’ll kill you!”
“Ludovic, tell me. Where is my sister?”
“She’s just landed at the Cove Florida Lighthouse towards Miami.”
Khaldon yelled at me and now at Briggs, . “Don’t do it! Bring her back!”
Harri
s and Sheridan were right next to Khaldon, yelling after us, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“Come on, Briggs, the only way to bring her back is to go after her!” Briggs soared up and within less than a heartbeat, we were flying through the night sky. I had to close my eyes and keep my head down. I looked behind us, and Torchy was right on our wings.
It was much cooler up in the sky than I’d anticipated. But the heat coming up from Brigg’s body, up between my legs, was enough to keep me warm. I checked the blood-filled pads under Torchy’s wings and they were secure. Once we got closer, he was going to unroll them off his wings.
“We need to head south. I don’t know how long it’ll take to arrive, but we’ll need to haul ass if we are going to get her back before sunrise.”
I heard another voice in my head. “I know exactly where that lighthouse is – follow me.”
I watched Torchy take off ahead of Briggs. Obviously, they were communicating because before I knew it, Briggs was heading straight up into the sky after Torchy. I could’ve sworn the stars were close enough to touch as the dragons performed a backwards loop and switched directions. Thank the heavens I was holding on tight. I tried to adjust my hand for a better hold on the ropes and realized my arms and legs were glued to Briggs.
“Thanks for holding me down on the loops. Wasn’t quite expecting that, guys. Is the roller coaster portion of this ride over, fellas?” I could feel Briggs’ belly laugh underneath me. The laughter sent vibrations up between my thighs. It felt a little too good. “Hey now, enough of that. I’m a taken woman.”
Briggs flew us close hovering just over the water off shore. “The way I see it, you’re still up for grabs. If your Khaldon boy ever fails you, you just let ole Briggsy know, and I’ll take care of him for you.”
“C’mon, big fella. Let’s go find Dakota!” I patted him on the back.
Horrible visions of blood demon Dakota filled my head. I didn’t care if I had to open up a vein, she was still my sister and I was going to bring her home.
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