Keeper of the Golden Dragon's Heart (The Cedar River Series)

by Murray, Gemma K.

  Dad found me, “Son?”

  “She’s not in the shelter, Dad.” My father took a deep breath that shook when he took it.

  “We’ll find her.”

  Lance approached me, “Where do you need me to start?” I simply looked at him. “Cam and I will take part of the woods,” he said as he started getting a search party together.

  Callum was handing out guns. Lance took charge of the whole situation. “We’re missing people and we need men who can help. Rosie and Lily Calhoun are missing. Sylvester Williams is missing. Anastasia Plum is missing. Anyone who goes takes a weapon. You go in pairs and each pair takes a walkie talkie. We need you to check in every hour. If you find a red dragon named Meredith, approach with caution. She’s had a hand in this. We want her brought back alive so she can stand trial in the dragon council, if possible. There will be food and water available at the community center. Please sign up so that we know who’s going out. This way, we can be sure that everybody comes back safe and sound.”

  I was amazed as I watched men who had lost their homes, kiss their wives and children as they set off into the woods to search for the missing. This was small town living at its best.

  I went into what the sheriff’s office and opened my personal gun safe. I strapped on enough ammunition to take down a dragon, if need be. Mama came into my office as I readied myself for battle.

  “Bowie Golden, this is not your fault. But I want you to bring my baby home.”

  I looked into my mother’s tear-filled eyes. “I won’t be back until I have her, Mama. I should have stayed and protected her.” I kissed my mother and jumped into the back of one of the pickup trucks that were headed toward the forest.

  Chapter Thirty-Ana

  I woke up in a cage in a dark, musty basement.

  “Aww, morning, kitty,” Meredith said as she sat next to my crate.

  I hissed at her and an electrical shock went through my body. That bitch laughed at me.

  “Where’s your handsome dragon now?” she asked looking around the dimly lit room. “Rumor has it, he was killed last night.”

  I felt my heart break into tiny pieces. “I don’t see your “adopted” family coming for you. They just don’t miss the poor half-breed.”

  That really pissed me off. I knew they loved me and I knew they would look for me. The red bitch slid a slab of partially rotted meat through the grate at me. I refused to eat it. Then, the man from last night came into view.

  “How’s our cat feeling today, Meri?”

  “She’s grumpy,” was the response.

  The man pulled out a bible and began to quote scripture from it at me. He apparently believed that he was going to save my soul. That was when I looked around the room.

  In individual cages, I spotted the Calhoun sisters, a natural puma and what looked to be a family of bobcats. The bible thumper was explaining that it wasn’t my fault that my ancestors laid down with animals. Where the hell did he get that? What a fucking idiot! He must have gotten sick of the sound of his own voice because he and Meri left.

  I sniffed the air, trying to figure out where we were being held.

  Rosie Calhoun looked at me, “Ana, is that you?”

  I nodded as best as I could. “Don’t eat the food if you can help it. It’s laced with sedatives. That’s what the male bobcat told me.”

  I sniffed the piece of meat they’d left in my cage. There was some sort of drug in it. I nudged it out onto the floor with my nose. I didn’t want to shift, especially since I had no clothing. Also, if it came down to it, I knew could defend myself better with my claws and teeth than human fists.

  Judging from the light coming through the windows, it was around five o’clock when Mr. Rush came back downstairs.

  “I hear you are a wildcat in the bedroom. My wife heard you as you let that dragon fuck you. Why don’t you shift back so I can find out for myself?” I growled at him and he shocked me.

  “Did you know I have a drug that will force you to shift back? Don’t make me use it on you. From what I understand, it’s quite painful, but pain won’t bother me. I may find it enjoyable.”

  I pushed to the back of my cage. I was terrified. This guy was a nut case. “I’ll let you think on it for a couple of days. I’ll be back to see if you’ve changed your mind.”

  I was determined to find a way out of this cage.

  It was a moonless night. I tried to sleep, but thoughts of Bowie danced through my mind. I took a deep breath and opened my mind. I pushed thoughts out into the universe, “Bowie! Bowie! Help me!” Hopefully, we had a strong enough connection that he could pick up on it.

  Chapter Thirty-One-Bowie

  I had been walking through the woods with Brady for two days and taking to the skies every night. I was exhausted and hungry, but I wasn’t going to sleep until Ana was found. I had a niggling feeling in my mind. I could have sworn I heard Ana talking in my head. She was begging for help.

  Brady looked at me, “What is it?”

  “Ana’s alive. I keep hearing her voice in my head. She doesn’t know where she is, but she knows she’s in danger.”

  We went back to the central gathering area.

  “Can anyone think of any homes that have been abandoned over the last few years? Something with a traditional Michigan basement.”

  Davis Kennedy said, “There are quite a few places that are used only for hunting up here. Most of them have a dirt floor cellar. I know there are three out beyond our property.”

  “Alright, we split up and check out these properties,” I called out.

  I saw Lance look at his brother, “Bowie, what about Old Dragon Green’s place? That’s been empty for a year or so.”

  “Brady and I will go with you and Cam to check it out. The rest of you head out toward the Kennedy’s.”

  The Green property looked pretty abandoned. Except for the tire tracks that led to the barn. Inside sat five trucks, snowmobiles and four wheelers. Brady got on his walkie talkie and called for everyone to re-route to us. We quietly walked around the house. There was a basement which was a good sign. There were tracks leading in and out of the house. We waited for everyone to arrive. Teams of twos and fours attacked the house, stealthily. Armed with rolls of duct tape, we began to hit every bedroom. There were twenty-five men sleeping in the various bedrooms. We bound and gagged the humans before carrying them outside.

  Lance and I went in as a team. Together, we hit the master bedroom. There lay Meredith and her husband, sleeping soundly. Lance took the job of gagging the husband while I held my knife to Meredith’s throat. Her eyes fluttered open and I put my hand over her mouth. Fear. That was what I smelled as she realized who I was and what I was there for. Mr. Rush had pissed himself when he saw Lance over him.

  “Where is Ana?” I asked.

  “He made me take her.”

  “You fucking bitch,” Mr. Rush called out as Lance slipped the gag into his mouth. Lance punched him, hard, before carrying the man downstairs to the waiting mob.

  I pressed the knife a little harder, turning the dragon that loved Ana loose. Blood began to pool on the blade. “I’m asking nicely for the moment. Where is Ana?”

  “Let me go and I’ll tell you,” she begged.

  I laughed at her.

  Arthur Smythe came up the stairs, “Bowie, you need some help with her?”

  I heard another set of footsteps coming up the stairs. Behind Arthur stood a man with snow white hair, “Sheriff Golden? I’m Robert Garnett. This is my daughter, Meredith.”

  Meredith’s eyes grew wide with fear. “If you will release her to me, I can guarantee she will never bother you again.”

  “Mr. Garnett, I appreciate you flying in, but Meredith will need to stand trial in front of our dragon council. She and her husband have destroyed communities of shifters. That is just wrong any way you look at. She will face dragon justice if she stays here.”

  “Since this is my daughter, I will be the one who metes out the punishme
nt or execution, if you will allow it.”

  The older man leaned over his daughter and said, with a tone that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, “Tell the sheriff where his mate is or I will rip your heart out of your chest right here.”

  Meredith began to cry. “The cellar in the back of the basement. Paul has the keys to the cages.”

  Arthur tossed the keys to me that lay on the nightstand. “Bowie, we’ll handle this. Go find your mate.”

  Lance had broken the lock off the basement door and the men were helping the missing shifters out from the hell they had been in. The missing bobcats from Pine Bluff were dehydrated and starving. One pickup took them back to the community center where the women were waiting with sandwiches, clothes, blankets and water. The Calhoun sisters were weakened, but they appeared to be in good health. The next cage that came up had a natural puma in it. Cam Smythe was helping Colin and Brady carry it up. He snickered, “We thought we should let this one free outside.” I agreed. “There’s one more cage down there, Bowie, but that one is all yours. Her eyes are wild and we thought you would deal with her better.”

  My heart leaped in my chest. I took the stairs slowly to avoid tripping over my own feet. On the back wall was the final cage holding a cougar with a shock collar around her neck. What fucking beast would do this? Her paws were bloody from where she had tried to find a way out. I pulled off my shirt and opened the cage. “Ana, kitten. I’m here.”

  The big cat’s eyes opened and she saw me. She hesitated only slightly before she got up and rubbed against me. I pried the collar off her neck.

  “You need to shift, kitten. I’ve got my shirt and coat for you to wear.” I waited patiently as she began to shift. As soon as she was fully human again, I held her against me.

  “You found me, Bowie. You promised you would.” She passed out in my arms. I wrapped her in my shirt and coat before carrying her out of the house where the men in my family were waiting with the rest of the community. Dad got on the walkie-talkie and radioed back to the community center, “Bowie has her. She’s alive and safe.”

  We all climbed into the waiting vehicles and drove back to town. With Ana cradled in my arms, I allowed the tears to fall freely down my face and into her hair. All was well with my world.

  Chapter Thirty-Two-Bowie

  The next three days were hell. The bobcat family was doing remarkably well. Sylvester Williams had showed up at the community center. He apparently had taken off into the woods to escape. Families who had lost their homes where moving into homes of those who still had houses standing. We had pumas living with wolves, bears with dragons, and foxes with birds of prey. I was so proud of our community.

  My parents were in my house here in town. The twins had moved in with Brady. Ana was alive, but her body was in shock from the drugs they had given her. I left my deputies in charge as I sat at Ana’s bedside all day and night. The doctors reassured me that she would wake up when she was ready. I wanted to shake her and tell her that I was ready for her to wake up, but I refrained.

  Mr. Garnett came to visit Ana. He apologized for his daughter’s hand in this. After assessing the damage to our town, he’d handed Arthur Smythe a sizable check to help with the beginning of the rebuild. He promised that there would be more when it was needed. Come spring, he would be sending his construction crews out to help, too. Now, if only Ana would wake up.

  It was just before sunrise on the fourth day since she’d been admitted to the hospital. I was watching the sunrise from her window when I heard, “Bowie?” in a raspy voice. I turned and tripped over my own feet to get to her bedside.

  “Tell me I’m not dreaming. Tell me you’re really here.” She raised her hand to my face and began crying.

  “I’m here, kitten. I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.” I brushed my lips over hers.

  “I love you,” she said before she fell back to sleep.

  I left her side once I was sure she was asleep. The humans involved had disappeared into the woods; a form of backwoods justice, if you will. The Dragon Council was meeting to hand down Meredith Garnett’s sentence. In the front row sat Mr. Garnett and an older woman I assumed was his wife.

  Dad was not allowed to rule on the judgment due to his relationship with Anastasia. He and Mama sat in the back row with Brady, Colin and Callum. I sat down beside them and listened to Arthur Smythe hand down the sentence.

  “Meredith Garnett Rush, you have violated every form of shifter law. You have shown no remorse for the crimes you have committed. From kidnapping, rape and murder, your charges are many. You will be shown no mercy. It is the decision of the Dragon Council of Cedar River that for your crimes, you will be put to death.” Arthur nodded at Mr. Garnett who walked to his daughter’s side. He kissed her cheek and told her that he loved her. Then in true dragon style, he put his hand into her chest and pulled out her heart. He fell to his knees and sobbed. His daughter’s heart lay on the floor at her feet.

  Mrs. Garnett knelt beside her husband and cried with him. Members of the council offered words of comfort to them. They had only one request of the council and that was that they be allowed to take their daughter’s body back to Boston. The council had granted that one request.

  We walked outside and Mama hugged me tight, “How is she?”

  “She woke up for a bit before I came over. I think she’s going to be alright.”

  I walked the streets of our town and looked at what was left. People were cleaning up, preparing their property for spring when they could re-build their homes. The Simpsons had re-opened the supermarket complete with charge accounts for every family. The store had been relatively unharmed. Apartment buildings on the outskirts of town were offering the unrented apartments to any family in need for free. As proud as I was, I felt guilty for allowing Ana to be taken and abused. She had bruises all over her body where she’d been beaten. It made my heart happy to know that she had fought back, but she shouldn’t have had to fight at all. If only I hadn’t left her.

  Chapter Thirty-Three-Ana

  I hadn’t seen Bowie for two days, but I figured he was busy with the townspeople. Colin told me that the town was destroyed, though a few buildings survived. The sheriff’s station, the supermarket, the drugstore, the bank and community center suffered very little damage. Apartment buildings on the outskirts of town were also untouched.

  Mama and Papa brought me food when they came to see me.

  “Where’s Bowie?” I asked Mama the first day.

  “Oh, baby girl, he’s so busy. He’ll probably be up later today.” He never showed up. Nor did he show the next day. My heart hurt. Dr. Goodman came in to check me over.

  “Ana, as much as I hate to send you home, I need your bed. If you can get to the woods for a shift, your wounds will heal. Just take it easy for the next few days.” He stepped out of the room and turned back, “Happy New Year, Ana!”

  I looked out the window. I had missed New Year’s Day. But this was a brand-new year and, I hoped, a brand-new start. Callum came to pick me up, “Mama and Papa are at Bowie’s preparing a party for you. Act surprised when you get there, okay? We’ve missed you, Annie.”

  He helped me pull on the clothes he’d found for me, a pair of Bowie’s sweatpants and one of his sweatshirts. I breathed his scent in as deep as I could.

  “Is Bowie home?”

  Callum looked at the floor, “Uhm, no. He’s out helping the wolf packs sift through the wreckage.”

  “Oh, okay,” I answered sadly. Why didn’t he want to see me? Oh, gods. He was mad at me for getting taken, wasn’t he? That was the only thing it could be.

  Papa had set up a pine tree in Bowie’s living room. Mama had strung popcorn and cranberries around it. Brady and Colin has brought the presents that they had saved from the house.

  Callum hugged me tight to his side, “Happy Yule, Ana!”

  I began to sob uncontrollably. Papa scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the sofa.

  “
How are you feeling, my angel?”

  I just sat and cried. I must have cried myself to sleep because it was a few hours later when Brady woke me up. “You want to go to the woods?”

  I nodded because I didn’t trust myself to speak.

  My heart felt heavy as Brady pulled into the driveway. Instead of the huge two story house standing there to meet us, a blackened shell and rubble stood in its place. Tears fell.

  Brady crushed my hand in his, “I know how you feel, kitten. It breaks my heart to see this. We’re going to build another come spring. I’ve talked to Dad and I think I’m going to build out here, too. Put us all back on the same compound again.”

  Off to the left of the house stood the workshop and storage shed, unharmed. Brady parked beside the shed and helped me out.

  “Let’s walk for a little bit.” He took my hand and we walked through the familiar woods.

  The earth welcomed me with open arms as the sun hit the pine needles on the snow. My energy level rose with each step I took. Mother Earth was recharging my batteries. The snow crunched beneath my feet. As we walked, I realized where we were going…the cabin.

  “I know you wanted to go here Christmas Eve and you didn’t get to. Bowie asked that I bring you here as soon as I could.”

  My anger and frustration burst through the thin shell I had maintained. I rounded on Brady, “Why the hell didn’t he do it himself? Is he that ashamed of me? I ran like he told me to. I shifted and ran as fast as I could. I didn’t know the black-hearted bitch would be waiting for me. Look at me, Brady. I fought with everything I had to keep from being taken. Where is that bitch? I’ll show you where I took a chunk of her flesh from her.”

  Brady leaned against the oak tree where I was supposed to have gone that night. He didn’t say a word, but he stood there with a smile on his face.

  “Fuck you, Brady!” I said as I walked away.

  “Your fight isn’t with me, kitten. He’s not mad at you. He’s mad at himself.”