“Can you find Piper and Zander?” Storm said to Seath. “Can your dragon sense where they are?”
“Yes.”
“Go. We’ll be right behind you,” Sky said.
Seath exited the house and launched himself into the air in dragon form.
Behind him, he heard Storm growl. “Hawke is a dead dragon.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Piper heard a step and a shadow loomed over her. Hawke’s eye glittered in the shadows.
Piper cried out when Zander was forcefully wrenched out of her arms.
Hawke dangled the boy just out of her reach and smirked. “I just contacted one of my old clients. He’s willing to pay the right price for this young hippogriff.”
“Let him go,” Piper said, lunging forward. “Get your filthy hands off him!”
Hawke grabbed her by the hair and laughed. “I should have some fun with you. Carve up your face and body and leave pieces of you around for Seath and his brothers to find.”
Piper struggled violently, trying to kick him where it mattered.
Her efforts to fight him only amused Hawke. “But I’m a mercenary after all. I told my client that I can throw in a nubile human woman at a ridiculously low price.” Hawke chuckled. “He couldn’t resist the amazing discount.”
“You’re crazy,” Piper panted. “A psychopath!”
Hawke yanked at her hair. “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a delivery to make.” Grinning at Zander, he said, “You are going to make me a lot of money.”
Zander shook his head and stuffed his fist into his mouth. “No, no...” The boy wept silently, his shoulders shaking.
Piper reached for Zander and managed to pull him into her arms as Hawke shoved them to the mouth of the cave.
Piper hugged Zander close to her, trying to whisper words of comfort to him even as she trembled in fear. She could feel Hawke’s hard, cold hand around her neck, holding her in place.
“No...” Piper gulped as she stood at the cave entrance. The cave was near the top of the mountain, and she swayed precariously as she looked down.
Plunging down from this height would mean certain death.
She tried to take a step back but bumped into Hawke’s chest. “Let’s go,” he said. “We don’t want to be late. I always deliver on time.”
“Mommy,” Zander whimpered in her arms.
“Don’t be afraid,” she whispered. “You can fly.”
Hawke smirked. “He can. But he won’t. Hippogriffs are loyal unto death. That’s why they make great pets, or slaves. And that’s why they command such a high price.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Piper cursed.
Hawke’s fangs descended as he grabbed Piper.
Piper kicked desperately at the cold air as Hawke held her over the ledge. He was enjoying her extreme terror and dread.
Smiling, he released his hold on her.
Piper screamed as she plummeted straight down. Zander buried his face in her neck as he hugged her with all his might.
Shifting into dragon form, Hawke caught them both in his talons and swooped towards the volcano.
As they neared the hissing, smoking crater, Piper jerked and kicked violently in blind panic. She cried out when she accidentally kicked her shoes off.
Turning her head, she watched in horrified fascination as her shoes landed on the side of the volcano and melted into a blackened blob.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Piper stoically kept her eyes open so that she could see where Hawke was taking them. The black dragon had flown over the smoking, hissing crater of the live volcano but he hadn’t released them to their fiery deaths.
Instead, Hawke veered sharply and flew away from the rocky mountains.
Piper hugged Zander close to her chest and murmured words of comfort and encouragement to him. The dragon’s powerful talons were wrapped around her body like a vice. But she knew that they were worth more to him alive than dead. He was going to deliver them to his client for an exorbitant sum.
Piper’s eyes widened when she saw that Hawke was heading out to the open sea.
She craned her neck but she saw no boats or ships on the water. If his client was not waiting for them on a luxury yacht or ship, then where was he?
The black dragon angled his body sharply and folded his wings. Piper gasped. Hawke was preparing to dive straight into the water.
“Zander, take a deep breath now!” she ordered urgently. “And hold it, for as long as you can.”
Zander nodded and did as he was told.
Piper sucked in as much air as she could. Her eyes widened when she saw a whirlpool appear right in the middle of the sea.
Hawke plunged into the middle of the whirlpool and Piper bit down hard on her lower lip to stopper a scream. She forced her eyes to remain open and saw that they were moving through a spinning, churning tunnel.
The whirlpool stopped churning around them and vanished suddenly.
Water surrounded them, and Piper realized that the whirlpool had transported them deep below the surface of the sea.
Hawke seemed to have no trouble navigating his way underwater. Gripping them in his talons, the black dragon shot forward, using his powerful tail to propel himself through the water.
They kept hurtling through the water, and Piper felt her eyes and lungs burning painfully. She wasn’t going to be able to hold her breath for much longer. But she refused to give up. She would hold on for as long as she could.
Hawke pushed into a large underwater cave and sped through a winding dark tunnel.
As Hawke neared the end of the tunnel, a large round rock rolled away to reveal an opening. Light blazed from the circular doorway. Hawke hurtled through the doorway, and Piper gasped.
She saw the large rock roll back into position to seal the doorway behind them.
Her vision was no longer blurry and watery, filled with shadows and bubbles. Instead, she could see clearly...and breathe normally. The air around them was cool and dry.
But nothing about this was normal. Piper knew that they were deep under the sea, yet this place was bright and dry.
“What the…?” she spluttered. “Where the heck are we?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Gasping and coughing, Piper greedily swallowed mouthfuls of air. Zander gasped and took loud, noisy gulps of air before stuttering, “Mommy, where are we?”
“I don’t know, sweetheart,” she whispered. “I don’t know.
“Are we still underwater?”
“I think so. But...there’s no water in this place. All the water is outside,” Piper said, looking around in bewilderment.
Hawke was still holding them in his talons. His wings were spread out and he was gliding silently through what looked like a large coliseum or stadium.
There were seats along the curved sides of the stadium. It did look very much like a huge football stadium to Piper, but when she stared at the pitch, she saw that it was covered with sand, not grass.
Hawke swooped down and dropped them in the middle of the pitch. Piper rolled and used her body to cushion Zander’s fall.
When she looked up, Hawke had shifted back to human form and was striding towards her.
“Where are we?” Piper asked, holding Zander’s hand and pushing him behind her.
“We are in the Dome, and this is the arena,” Hawke answered with a smirk.
Piper backed away, pulling Zander with her.
“Come on. I have to take you to Romus now. Move!” Hawke ordered.
Piper staggered as Hawke shoved her forward. She looked at the rocky walls and realized that this arena was in fact built in a huge cave.
“We are in an underwater cave,” she observed in awe and disbelief.
“Yes. No one can find you here,” Hawke said, enjoying her distress.
“If all this is underwater, why is there no water in here?” she sputtered.
“Water is kept out of the Dome by a powerful spell. Romus is a sorcerer,�
� Hawke said.
“Romus?”
“Romus owns the Dome.”
“The Dome? What the hell is that?” Piper said, putting as much contempt into her voice as possible. She didn’t want Zander to see how scared she was.
“This...is the Dome,” Hawke said. “We are in the Dome.”
“You mean this arena?”
“The arena is only part of the Dome. Romus transformed a huge underwater cave into the Dome,” Hawke replied.
“The Dome is a cave,” Piper repeated, sounding incredulous.
“The Dome is more than a cave,” Hawke scoffed. “There is no other underwater cave like this. The Dome has everything. It has the biggest arena for all kinds of tournaments, matches and blood sports. There is also an auction room and a holding area, which is really a dungeon. That’s where the specimens are kept before the auction. You will probably be kept in the dungeon until the next slave auction.” Hawke laughed when Piper flinched away from his touch.
She tried her best to absorb every bit of information about the place. “B-but...the Dome is underwater...” she stammered. “We came through that whirlpool…”
“Yes. No one can find the Dome unless Romus activates the whirlpool to transport his guests to the Dome.”
Piper gulped audibly. Someone who could make a whirlpool appear in the middle of the ocean must be a very powerful sorcerer indeed.
“W-who is this...Romus?” she managed.
“Romus is a very shrewd, wealthy businessman,” Hawke answered as he tugged her towards a small, flat screen on the wall. A red light blinked twice and Piper saw her image appear on the screen.
“Romus can see me,” she whispered.
“He can see everything that happens in the Dome and above the Dome,” Hawke said. “He is a genius at harnessing technology and magic. He saw me approaching the Dome and opened the doorway for us. No one can get in and out of the Dome without Romus’s permission.”
“Shit,” Piper muttered under her breath.
How was she going to escape from this powerful and mysterious Romus?
Hawke leaned towards the screen and drawled. “Romus, would you like to inspect your goods now?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Piper let out a startled cry when she saw doors sliding open at the side of the arena. A dozen uniformed guards stepped through the doors and surrounded them.
Piper clasped Zander to her side and gulped. All the guards had slitted red eyes and their faces were flat. They had tiny holes in the middle of their faces for nostrils and their lipless, wide mouths were filled with serrated teeth.
“We will take them to Mr Romus,” the tallest guard said in a monotone. He turned to Hawke and said, “My lieutenants will escort you to your room.”
Hawke scowled. “I’ve delivered the goods, so where is my payment?”
“You will be paid after Mr Romus has inspected the goods.”
Hawke narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything more. He turned and followed three guards to the other end of the arena and through a transparent door.
Piper shuddered as the other guards stepped closer to her. Did they think that she would try to escape? Even if she managed to get out of the Dome, she was still stuck at the bottom of the ocean.
The only way she could get to the surface seemed to be through that whirlpool, and Romus was the one who controlled that strange, magical whirlpool.
“Mr Romus will see you in his office,” the guard said.
Piper walked down a long corridor, squeezing Zander’s small, clammy hand in her own. The guards moved without making a single sound, and her own footsteps and breathing sounded too loud in the eerie silence.
When they reached the end of the corridor, the guard stepped aside and a light blinked from a panel embedded in the wall. The wall parted and Piper’s eyes bugged at the sheer size and opulence of the office.
“Please step inside.” It was a command.
Piper had no choice but to obey. Where else could she go?
The wall closed behind her, leaving Piper and Zander standing in the middle of a grand, luxurious, modern office. The air felt warmer in the office.
Piper estimated that this room alone was bigger than her whole house.
“So where is Mr Romus?” Piper said with false bravado. There was no one to answer her.
The guards hadn’t entered the office with her. And Mr Romus was nowhere to be seen.
“Mommy,” Zander said hesitantly. “There’s a swimming pool at the other end of the room.”
Piper turned and saw what Zander was pointing at. There was a long indoor pool at the far end of the swanky, fancy office.
Cautiously, they made their way towards the shimmering, rippling pool. “I guess Mr Romus enjoys swimming a few laps in the middle of his work day,” Piper said with a nervous laugh. She went to the edge of the pool and leaned forward.
The water moved ever so slightly. Piper gasped when she saw what was at the bottom of the pool.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Piper put up a hand and hissed, “Zander! Stay where you are. Stay behind me. Don’t come any closer.”
“Why?” Zander protested.
“Just do as I say.”
Piper’s heart was thundering and her breaths were coming in short, frantic spurts.
She just couldn’t believe what she was staring at.
Her eyes followed the long, thick, black body that covered almost the entire floor of the pool. A gigantic black snake was lying motionless at the bottom of the pool.
Piper swallowed as she stared at the intricate scales on the humongous serpentine body and her gaze zigzagged along the long body until she reached the head.
Two slitted red eyes snapped open suddenly and stared at her.
Piper stumbled back with a scream. The giant serpent reared up and emerged from the water with a loud hiss.
“Run, Zander!” Piper shrieked.
She slipped and fell as the serpent lunged at her. Screaming, she felt the thick body coil around her leg and drag her into the water.
“No! No...”
The giant serpent bared its long fangs and started to retreat back into the water with her.
Piper heard Zander’s angry shout and twisted around. “Zander, no! Get away! Get far away!” she yelled to her son.
But Zander was running towards the pool, his little fists raised and his eyes blazing. “Let my Mommy go!” he screeched. “Let her go! You let my Mommy go now!”
In the blink of an eye, the boy shifted into a hippogriff.
Zander spread his wings and flew towards the serpent, attacking the monster with his beak and claws. The giant serpent flicked its forked tongue at the little hippogriff, and Piper yelled at Zander to fly away. But Zander continued fighting the monster. When he saw that his small claws couldn’t even make a dent in the serpent’s scales, Zander spun around and used his hind legs to try and kick the monster in the face.
“No, Zander...” Piper choked out at the sight of the serpent’s long, deadly fangs.
As Zander continued his attack, the serpent loosened its coils around Piper. It seemed to have lost interest in her. Instead, the giant serpent seemed to be watching the brave little hippogriff with interest and amusement.
Piper swam quickly to the edge of the pool, and dragged herself up. She staggered to the large desk in the middle of the room and grabbed the intricate, ornate table lamp. “Zander!” she screamed. “Move away from the monster!”
As soon as Zander was out of the way, she hurled the lamp at the monster.
She missed and the lamp shattered on the wall behind the pool. Piper turned and grabbed another item off the desk.
“I won’t let you touch my boy!” she shrieked and threw a keyboard and some jars and shiny ornaments at the serpent.
Zander zipped around the serpent’s head, swerving and moving with impressive agility and speed. The giant serpent flicked its tongue out and Zander immediately attempted to rip the snake�
�s tongue with his claws.
Despite the danger, Piper felt pride surge in her heart. Her little boy was so brave and smart. He had the courage and instincts of a warrior, a fighter.
He knew how to spot the enemy’s weakness, and he fought bravely. He defended himself and he did his best to protect her.
He didn’t run.
He fought.
“I’ll fight with you,” Piper snarled. “We’ll fight this monster together!”
She went to the large desk and snatched up an electronic tablet. “Choke on this!” she bellowed, hurling the tablet straight at the serpent’s head.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Piper gasped when the serpent caught the tablet deftly in its mouth and placed it gently on the floor.
Her eyes widened in realization. “You...you’re a shifter...” As she stared at the giant sea serpent, she knew that this was Mr Romus. Mr Romus was a shifter, and his animal was a sea serpent.
A sea serpent! No wonder he built his Dome under the sea.
Piper started to shake, but she realized that being angry was better than being scared.
Looking around quickly, she picked up a long metal rod at the side of the desk and swung it wildly.
“I’ll smash everything in here,” she threatened. “Starting with that screen on the wall!”
The sea serpent hissed and lurched towards her.
Piper screamed and threw the metal rod at the monster. She sprinted away and crouched behind the wide desk.
“Zander! Come here!”
Zander shrieked and squawked as he beat his wings furiously at the giant serpent.
The serpent retreated suddenly and shrank to the size of a man.
“Oh, you are adorable,” a deep voice said.
Piper let out a strangled cry when she saw a man standing in the middle of the room.
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