“I got it.”
“I hope so. Alistair will have my hide if something happens to you.”
Exiting the car, I stuck the gun into my waistband, and we started walking.
“The power plant is on the other side of these trees. Going through the front gate is sure to get us seen. Instead, we’re going to do some recon and find out what this place is about. No matter what, we don’t move in. We’re here only to observe.”
I nodded my head in agreement and followed Killian’s lead.
Once we entered the forest, a wave of magic hit me, and I tugged on the back of Killian’s shirt. “They have wards up. We have to find another way.”
“Shit, Rose would have been able to disarm them. Come, step into your same steps as we retreat. There is another way that has not been warded, for sure, but I need you to concentrate.”
“I can’t produce magic or conjure.”
“You can wield what is already here. Focus on the trees and ask them to show us a path so that we don’t alert those here.”
I recalled the Dryad’s words: “When you need the dryads, call on us.”
I closed my eyes and focused on the memory of her face, her voice, then reached into my pocket for the wooden coin. “Blessed Dryad, Draya, show us the way,” I whispered, and a light chuckle rang out in my ears.
“I wondered if you would summon us, Key.” She appeared, stepping out of the silhouette of a nearby ash tree, but she wasn’t alone. With her, were her sisters, swinging down from branches—the trees were brought to life.
“I only wish to watch and see what they do first, as we’re alone and potentially outnumbered.”
Draya nodded, and she took my hand, and I took Killian’s, lifting us into the tree’s crown. High enough, and with keen sight, I saw movement. “There to the right.”
I saw a food delivery truck and observed a group of five vampires dressed in black leather. Studying the group of vampires, I noticed they were rogue vampires bringing in a delivery. The truck looked awfully familiar, especially the black, yellow, and orange wendigo logo. It wasn’t hard to miss the wendigo on the logo practically screaming, “I’m a mythological creature.”
Chuck.
“They were in the city looking for new ones, and tonight, have a new delivery. We have been watching them, too.”
“What are they going to do to him?” I asked her.
Her face grew solemn, her innocent eyes sad. Blinking, she turned away. “Dearest, I wish that I could give you good news, but all who have entered with magic in their veins have not exited that building. They bring them in sometimes only one or two, other times many different cars arrive. Those who smell human carry weapons, and those who have a tinge of magic inside them, reek of fear, a feat that gives way to death.
I gasped.
“And this death cannot be undone.”
“But you said a toxin spills into the ground.”
“And it does. It is the magic of the deceased. The earth cries out with their blood.”
There were many things I wished to ask, like why the cat and mouse message and not just tell us straightforward. Before I could catch myself, the words erupted. “Why didn’t you say this earlier in the forest?”
“His lordship is not usually so approachable.”
I threw Killian a look.
“We must usually rise up the chain of command, reporting to the one in charge of our area. I broke protocol to talk to you. Because I knew you could help.”
How many had died because I didn’t understand the urgency? But I couldn’t let that bother me now.
“For future reference, if something comes up, you tell me. You reach out and say, ‘Hey, Leslie, you might want to check out the nuclear power plant because those in your care are being butchered.’”
“I apologize, my Key.”
“Leslie.” Killian interrupted. “We have to get further if we plan on finding out how many are inside; how many need to be rescued, and of course, what we can do to save them all.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Sisters,” Draya ordered, “touch branches and allow them to walk across so as to not trip the wards. Grant them safe passage.” She turned back to me. “Shall you need us in there, then please, just howl.”
Chapter 20
Leslie
One by one, I watched the branches from the trees slowly move and intertwine, creating a branched path for Killian and me to transverse, high above the ground, where the simple wards of those in the rogues’ alliance would not have alerted them to our arrival.
Silently we walked. I focused on my breath, each step taking me closer to helping those in need.
What would make someone decide that killing a supernatural creature was a good thing?
I didn’t have long to find out.
The final dryad lowered us to the ground on the other side of the fence, where the opening to a tunnel was. From our positions, I knew they couldn’t be too far.
Killian shook his head, and I understood. It would do us no good to enter an area where we didn’t know the layout, especially with potential rogue vampires walking the perimeter to keep a lookout for those of the Order.
We rounded an abandoned, burnt-out car, and steel barrels that nature had reclaimed, and then, I saw a side entrance. I removed the gun from my waistband and inched forward.
I was beyond scared. This wasn’t magic. This felt like reality and not playtime when someone would utter a spell and, boom—deus ex machina—all the evil was gone. It was instead gritty, nerve-racking, and the foreboding sense that death hung in the air was all too real. Sweat dripped down my brow, raced down my back. My hands grew clammy, and the weight of the pistol was heavy between my palms.
We eased in the door, hiding behind two barrels and ducking down when two armed men approached.
“I tell you, he’s full of shit,” one of the two men cursed. “Why do we always have to chase nonsense about us ushering in some sort of apocalypse? I mean, I want to sell out on all of my underground bunker products, too; be able to tell people about the good of understanding how to trap wild animals and use all of their little parts, but dammit, man, I’m so sick of hearing this nonsense about magical creatures. The book uses tons of allegory. That doesn’t mean dragons will be arriving here anytime soon.”
“Curtis, I understand,” the other chimed in. “The last time something like this happened, was with that whole change of the decade to 2000. Do you remember? It was bullshit, fearmongering about scams, frauds, all because of a zero. Hell, the way they were talking I expected planes to fall from the sky.” The man then chuckled, hocked a thick loogie and spat it out close to the other man’s feet.
“No, see here. I don’t mind you talking smack and agreeing with me, but did you have to do that?”
“Sorry, I was trying to cough, spit and walk and it all just came out as one lung booger.”
Luckily the men continued on, leaving us to guess where their lung booger conversation could go.
We moved in the direction the men came from and found ourselves standing on the grated gangway overlooking what looked like a cheap Hollywood production. Torches were lit. Chuck, seated on a stone, wrestled with chains, and a congregation of strange people goaded on this imbecilic speech.
Standing at the podium was a man with his face masked. Like those present, all eyes on him, he played the role of leader, speaking with vigor and command of the space.
“It is up to us to destroy that which would destroy us. Just like the world was originally destroyed by sin, these creatures will bring destruction to us all.”
The male, dressed in a midnight blue ritual robe with an attached hood, stood behind the wooden lectern, bowed his head over a large book, and flipped it open.
“I have searched for the key to bring their complete annihilation,” he ardently declared, “and the most recent sacrifice was able to inform us of the key to their strength, an amalgamation of strength that could outshine even the
ir brightest star. It is she who can cure us of their plague.”
The sign behind the speaker read “Dragon Killers” in a Serif font. But all of those below weren’t human. I inhaled, and tasting the air, I could practically identify the unhappiness. Below were vampires, unhappy Fae, and wolf-shifters as well, and something else I couldn’t identify. These rogues had helped to add willing subjects to their ranks.
It must have proven easy enough to find allies once word spread about the insurrection against the Order’s rule. Those willing to collude and betray the Order for personal gain.
And once creating that fear, demonizing those of otherness, backed with religious mumbo-jumbo, it was easy enough to manipulate them for his cause: to bring the Order crashing down, with its False Queen.
A rousing “Preach, prophet,” rang out in the chamber from a disgruntled Fae, who I wanted to recognize. Her face looked so familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Tonight, she was dressed in a crimson cape, shouting and waving her colorful fan. But her aura was anything but bright.
I tentatively reached out my energy, following my gut’s intuition and prompting. The woman’s negative energy was sticky, hanging on to anyone who allowed it room. For a millisecond, I could read her mind: That energy had also changed her from once appearing as a temptress and utterly breathtaking to be gray in appearance. Her eyes dull, her fingers nightmarishly long, her features elongated. The more she acted in opposition to her nature, the more the Fae-like beauty left her. It was the consequence of discord, a part of their gene makeup.
I bit back my yelp at that revelation. Since when could I read minds and why was she important? I tucked this information to recall later. Where had I seen her before?
Gobsmacked, I clenched my jaw. There were some Fae who were rogue, too, not just vampires.
“Thank you Sister Opal.” The speaker applauded and continued. “The book has taught us about the dragon and the harlot, and they now carouse, meting out illegal justice in the name of an unlawful queen. And tonight’s sacrifice shall not be in vain.
I counted the number of those present: fifteen, with at least five of them being human, down in the pit with them.
“We need that distraction,” I whispered to Killian. There should have been enough magic in the room to propel a 747 into the air, but the longer I tried to get magic to flicker on my fingertips, the longer nothing happened.
“I’m going in.” He left me and I continued to stare, until a loud howl echoed outside.
“They’ve arrived, good,” the man at the podium said, when suddenly the rusted burnt-out car came flying through the glass front. Shards of glass erupted, and those gathered for the night’s sacrifice jumped up like cats dancing on a hot tin roof.
“We’re under attack,” yelled Curtis, and from my position, I watched him drop down to the ground and start crawling in the prone position.
“Get up,” his buddy said. “The freaking trees are alive! They’re throwing stuff at us.”
I turned my attention back to where Chuck’s ending should be and saw him still chained up, the leader gone.
Finding my vampire zoom, I zipped down to Chuck’s side. “Chuck, I got to get you out of here.”
“Leslie? Are you one of them, too? Please help me leave. I don’t want to end up butchered like what they’ve been doing.”
The chains were steel, and I placed my hands on them, simply breaking the lock and setting him free. “We have to leave now, and I surely can’t carry you.”
“I can walk; run too.”
“Good, because I don’t know how long that distraction is going to work.”
With the dryads tossing things, the humans running, and the vampires laughing, my unease grew. Something felt off about this whole thing.
“Chuck, how did you end up getting captured?”
“I received your text. I thought it was strange that you wished for a delivery here, but you’ve always been a great customer.” He was right on the brink of a meltdown. And that couldn’t happen until we were out of harm’s way.
“We’ll deal with it.” I put my fingers together and whistled, hoping Killian would hear it.
“Come, we have to get out of here before trouble finds us.”
As we made our way back through the woods, with Killian finally catching up, I was pretty sure that not only had trouble found us, it was also going to follow us home.
Chapter 21
Alistair
Asgard
“What brings you to see me, brother?” Jaz, the Dragon Queen and his sister, stood before a large picturesque window, overlooking a breathtaking spring. Her castle, situated in the mountains of Asgard, was stylishly decorated, with the golden doors as Father had once had them. Breidablik, the magnificent castle now was her home, which once housed their parents.
“Are you faring well, here?” Alistair fumbled, trying to find the correct words. “Did Grandmother tell you of the Norn’s decision?”
“Those women of fate continue to carve out our destinies, even when we don’t understand or want it. Is that why you’re here, because of what has been promised to you?”
“Aye, my fated mate has appeared.”
“Congratulations.”
“But I’m in somewhat of a conundrum. What do I do with the treaty with the Fae? If I completely turn my back on Rose, that treaty will dissolve, and we will have terrible consequences to pay.”
Jaz frowned. As the head of the Dragons and their kingdom, subjugated only by the beloved goddess Freyja herself, Jaz’s ruling would be the final nail to be hit. “I see. Do you care for this woman, this fated mate?”
“One is logic, the other is emotion. I care and I feel something for her, a binding between us.”
“And for Rose?”
He didn’t pause to even think of his answer. “Duty.”
“Brother, you know that I have been loved, and I have been bound by duty.” There were words she didn’t say, but he understood. Duty produced his beloved nephew, Killian. “Don’t misunderstand me, brother. I love my children. And that will never change. But, my duty doesn’t warm me when I’m cold; it doesn’t ask me of my day or need my attention. It doesn’t whisper sweet nothings into my ear. Duty doesn’t build desire. It destroys the soul more than it could ever build it up.”
He saw the pain on her face, emotions she rarely showed.
“We are from a line of rebels,” she continued. “Just as our mother and father were not supposed to love one another, they did. If you seek my permission for you to follow your heart, then it is granted.”
“But what of the alliance?”
“The Fae have always been fickle. I will deal with them, as I am the queen, and the alliance is with me and my kingdom. Does that clarify it all for you?”
“Yes, my Queen,” Alistair bowed.
“Good, as you must return. A mess is brewing at the compound.”
Having dismissed, Jaz raised her hand, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself back at the compound, where a loud knock happened.
“Alistair, are you in there?” He heard Leslie’s anxious voice and threw open the door to find her standing there alone. He’d never been so excited to see her until he took in her appearance. Her face was dirty like she’d been crawling in soot, and her clothes appeared torn and snagged. Who the hell did he have to beat up for this? The broad smile quickly went back to brooding.
When Leslie started talking, it opened up the floodgates. She told him everything from the warded property, the dryads helping them escape, as well as the guest they had downstairs making himself a tofu scramble in the kitchen.
Interrogations were not what he had in mind, but it must be done. He begrudgingly followed her downstairs where the wendigo was busy humming some 1970s tune and lecturing Killian on the beauty of canned chickpea water.
“Never throw that away, man, it is pure gold, and can make great banana bread. We have to be conscientious of the earth and that means less meat and byproducts.”
How he planned on convincing a wolf to become a vegetarian was beyond Alistair's understanding.
“Mr. Chuck, my Leslie here tells me that you’ve had much of a night. What can you tell us about your captors?
Chuck picked up the skillet and shoved the steaming tofu scramble onto his large plate and took a seat at the kitchen table, where a large glass of orange juice waited. “You all need to stock up on some fresh herbs. This would be wonderful with some tarragon.”
“Tarragon is one thing you will never find in this house,” Alistair said. “Allergies and all.”
“Oh, no, do you have to take like an epinephrine for it? Allergies can be deadly. Like I was telling Leslie here earlier, I received a text message from her stating that she wanted dinner delivered, and that she’d tip me three times my going rate because of the drive.” He turned to look at Leslie and nodded his head as if that explained why he would drive out, park his car, and walk up to the supposedly abandoned power plant.
“And nothing said, ‘this makes no sense,’ even after getting out of your car to knock on the door?”
“Oh, I can see where you’re confused. Once I made it onto the road, these two military-style vehicles shot out of the woods, sandwiching me in. They pulled out weapons, aimed them at me and told me to stop and get out of the car.”
“Did you recognize any of them?”
“No. I tried to explain that I was just there for a delivery, but then it all got weird. This man in a medieval cloak, like from a fantasy video game, stepped forward. He kept his face hidden the entire time, but boy, did he know how to sway these people. Suddenly, they tied me up with chains and put me in the back of my truck. I guess that’s where you saw me.”
Alistair watched the eye exchange between Killian and Leslie. “Say something,” he said.
“It’s convenient timing, like they knew we’d be there,” Killian said.
“Yeah, strange indeed.” Chuck stuffed a forkful of the tofu scramble into his mouth and slowly chewed.
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