by Anna Lewis
Cam shook his head with a bemused smile.
“Don’t apologize. It’s just good to know that you can protect yourself if we’re not here to save you.”
“I thought you were going to protect me and not let me out of your sight,” she said.
The twins shared another look and Solace’s blood ran cold.
“You were planning on leaving me here, weren’t you?”
Cam started to shake his head but Ethan gave him a curt look.
“We can’t lie to her, Cam. We have to tell her the truth.”
“I’m still sitting here, you know,” she said, her tone angry.
“We were going to leave you here for your safety,” Ethan said. “No one knows about this cabin but our friend and he’s gone. It’s not even in his name and the rangers aren’t aware that it’s here. We have one more friend left in this world that we can trust and we were going to send him here to get you once Garrett was on our trail again. It’s the only way to make sure that he doesn’t go after you and hold you hostage to flush us out.”
“So, why not just leave, then. If that’s what you were going to do all along? Just rip the band-aid off and go for it. I’m safe here, right?”
“Not anymore,” Cam said.
“I don’t understand,” Solace said, still angry.
“That wasn’t just a dream,” Ethan said. “When dreams are that real when you’re with shifters it’s more than just a dream. It’s prophetic.”
“I don’t believe in that crap,” she said. “We make our own fate and there’s no way I dreamt something that’s going to happen in the future. I’m not a dragon.”
“You’re not a dragon, but you’re receptive to us,” Cam said. “Even when we walked into the hotel you responded to our presence before you saw us. You may not be a dragon, but I would bet that your family has a Dragon Tribute somewhere in the line.”
“What’s a Tribute?”
“It’s someone who trained with the dragons in the past generations and worked alongside our kind for the greater good.”
“Wouldn’t I know about something like that?”
“Not generally,” Ethan said. “They didn’t just train with dragons, like Cam said. They believed in the dragon legacy and when other humans were afraid of dragons and thought we were the enemy, Tributes championed our cause; sometimes at the cost of their own lives.”
“I did have a great uncle who died but no one seems to know how or even the specific day he died. They just say he died, and I couldn’t find a record of his burial at any cemetery. He was really young; maybe thirty-five.”
“I would say that was it, because you’re obviously picking up on our energy and it takes a special person to do that.”
Solace smiled. Little did they know…
“That’s all great, but what about my dream? You can’t leave me here.”
“No, we can’t,” Ethan agreed. “The dream proves that he’s going to find you. It’s possible that this isn’t the place, but the circumstances will be the same. If we leave you alone, you will wake up to Garrett wherever you are. We can’t take that chance, especially knowing about your family history. You might as well be one of us, and we take care of our own.”
Solace nodded.
“So, we have to leave this place?”
“We do,” Ethan said. “We can’t stay anywhere long. I don’t know how he does it, but Garrett Thompson is the best dragon hunter alive and he always manages to find his prey.”
“Ethan is right. The man is like a bloodhound.”
Cam rubbed his chest, wincing a little when his hand went over the rib she’d jabbed so hard in her haste to get away from him earlier.
“Are you going to be alright?”
“I’m fine. We don’t need to go far, but we still need to wait for dark before we go.”
“I’ll take this shift if you want to sleep,” Cam said to Ethan.
“There’s no way I can sleep again,” Solace said.
“You don’t have to sleep if you don’t want to,” Ethan said with a smile. “I cuddle in my sleep anyway, and I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
She smiled. If he only knew.
***
Garrett pulled off the highway, the noonday sun beating off the windshield as he pulled into the parking lot of the ranger’s station in Silver City, New Mexico. He read the note that he’d jotted down from the anonymous tip he’d gotten on the forum, his smile broad. He was going to catch these two and collect the money. And an anonymous tip meant no money given to the tipster so every last penny would be Garrett’s.
Could this day get any better?
He took a deep breath, letting his body feel the vibrations on the breeze. The dragons had been here, of that he was certain. He couldn’t say when, but their presence was almost palpable, and if he could find their trail, he would be able to track them from here. The anonymous tip was panning out, and Garrett almost wished the tipster had left his name. Garrett could use someone that accurate on his team, though he preferred to work alone.
He amended the thought. He wouldn’t be working after this. He was ready to retire and even at just forty-five years old, the money the dragons would bring in would be enough for him to retire on. If the tipster wanted his equipment and his references, Garrett would be all too happy to hand them over. Dragon hunting took a lot out of a person, and it was only going to take one giant payday before Garrett walked away for good.
Being good at what he did, didn’t mean he was willing to die for his career.
He walked through the parking lot and into the ranger’s station, delighting in the conditioned air that hit his face even though this city wasn’t nearly as hot as the one he’d left in Texas. But Garrett Thompson was a man who liked his creature comforts, and the twenty million he was looking to collect on these twins would buy him a lifetime of comfort.
Twenty million, he thought, almost chortling with glee. The price had gone up since he first started tracking the pair a week before. Someone wanted them found and bad, but that wasn’t Garrett’s concern. He was in the business of catching dragons and collecting cash. What happened to them afterward wasn’t his concern.
Garrett waited for the family with two small children to leave the rustic cabin that served as the main office for the state park, then he walked up to the ranger’s desk and smiled at the man sitting behind it.
“Can I help you?” the man asked with a smile.
He pulled out a picture of the two men and pulled up the profile picture from Solace’s social media account on his phone.
“Have you seen these men and this woman?”
“No, I can’t say I have,” the ranger said.
“Maybe look a little longer,” Garrett said, annoyed at how quickly the ranger had declared that he didn’t know the trio in the pictures.
“I would remember two white men coming in here with a black woman. Most of the people that hike here are families with small kids and the occasional couple. I don’t see a lot of identical twins, so I am certain I would remember these people if I saw them this week.”
“I’m talking about just today.”
The ranger shrugged.
“You can badger me all day, but that’s not going to change a thing. I haven’t seen them. If they’re hiking on my mountain then they didn’t check in.”
Garrett saw red, but he held it inside. He didn’t have time for this wannabe cop who had amounted to nothing more than a glorified babysitter of the hundreds of tourists that passed through every month. The man was already the lowest of the low in Garrett’s estimation, so there was no use insulting the man, or even killing him. Besides, it was the middle of the day and there were more cars pulling in. He didn’t have time to kill the ranger and walk away clean. And if there was something that Garrett prided himself on as much as his dragon hunting skills, it was his ability to do what needed to be done without implicating himself.
***
“Is this really necessa
ry?” Solace asked, her breath short as they scaled the rocky peak.
“It is,” Ethan said. “We can’t afford to stay in the cabin since your dream was clearly in the daytime, and it’s going to be hours before darkness, when we can take flight.”
“Why wait? Is it that horrible to fly from here straight into the clouds?”
Ethan stopped walking and looked at Solace.
“You can’t be serious? Yes, it’s always better to hide our existence from the masses. Did you know that dragons existed before you met us?”
“No,” she admitted. “I guess I thought if you could reach the clouds fast enough that we wouldn’t have to worry about being seen.”
“It’s not that simple. Our bodies are made to blend into the night. But Ethan and I are easily spotted during the day. Most people are going to notice a dragon the size of a small plane flying into the air.”
Solace laughed.
“You’re right,” she admitted. “This just seems like a lot of trouble when we don’t even know how he’s tracking you.”
“It’s the best way to do it. We’re going to split up. Hopefully, he’ll follow one of ours trails and leave you alone. We’ll meet back up at the bottom of the mountain, which end at a large waterfall and a swimming hole. By the time we get there, it will almost be dark and we can fly out from there.”
“Do you think he’s like me?”
“It’s possible,” Ethan said. “I hate to think he is, because the Dragon Tributes and their descendants have always had a need to protect us. But there are bad people in every group, and Tributes are no different.”
“Is that why I reacted the way I did?” she wondered out loud. “I didn’t even think twice about the fact that you both might actually be criminals. We’ve had bounty hunters show up for people who have failed to appear in court and I’ve never felt the need to protect them.”
“It’s deeply ingrained in you,” Cam said. “It’s almost like you can’t help it. The same way you can’t help reacting to our energy. If Garrett is like you, then he’s taken his gift and he’s using it to hunt us instead. Maybe he’s using another method, but somehow, I doubt it.”
“That’s so frustrating,” Solace groaned, then took a deep breath and looked out onto the wilderness that stretched out before them. “So, I just follow that path?”
“Straight down the middle,” Ethan said. “We’ll be close enough to hear you cry out if you’re in trouble, but far enough away that he won’t stumble upon you if he’s looking for us.”
“And if he’s looking for me?” Solace asked, shuddering a bit at the thought.
“He won’t waste his time with you if we’re this close,” Cam said. “If he knows that we’re both here in this forest, he’s not coming after you. If he finds one of us, he’ll be certain that the other will come to his twin’s defense.”
“Will you?”
Ethan and Cam looked at each other, then answered at the same time.
“No,” they said in unison.
Solace was taken aback by their response. She was sure that the pair of them would stick together, no matter what.
“Why not?” she asked, not caring if it wasn’t any of her business.
“Because we’re protecting something much more important than we are,” Ethan said.
“And what’s that?” she wondered.
“We’re protecting our children.”
“You have kids?”
“No,” Cam laughed. “We’re protecting the location of the next generation. We don’t have children, but our people do. We’ve been hunted nearly to extinction, and the children are all we have left. If they’re found, that’s the end of WereDragons. That may not seem like much when you don’t know we exist, but we are the glue that holds humankind together and keeps you guys from destroying one another. Without us, the human race will be gone in two generations or less.”
Solace nodded.
“I understand,” she said, her entire attitude toward the situation changing. “I’m not sure if I’m up for this, but I’m going to give it everything I have.”
“You don’t have to fight our fight,” Ethan said. “We just want to get you out of here and somewhere safe.”
She shook her head.
“No. You two found me for a reason. I’m sticking with it, even if it kills me.”
“That might happen,” Cam said gently.
“We all have to die someday,” she declared.
They stared at her for a moment, and Solace could feel them weighing her resolve. She crossed her arms and she didn’t budge.
“I’ve never had to stand for something this huge in my life,” she said. “But I want to. I’m already in danger, and if I die, I want it to mean something.”
They looked at each other again, but this time, Cam and Ethan couldn’t hide their smiles. They nodded, then picked up their bags, handing her a container of water.
“We’ll see you at the watering hole,” Ethan said.
“And if you’re not there by nightfall?” she asked.
“Then run,” Cam said. “And don’t ever look back.”
***
Garrett waited for another group of people to leave while he perused the historical displays in the ranger’s station, but the ranger wasn’t fooled.
The minute the last group left, the ranger came over to where Garrett stood, clearing his throat and standing stiffly beside and slightly behind Garrett.
He nodded at the ranger, then forced a smile.
“I’m sorry to have bothered you,” he said softly. “I know you have a lot going on, and if it wasn’t so important—” Garrett stopped, letting his eyes mist up and pursing his lips together as if he was struggling to hold himself together. When he finally continued, his voice was softer. “It’s just that the woman is my late wife’s daughter from a previous marriage and she’s been kidnapped by these men here. I was hoping that you could help me avoid two tragedies in my life, but I understand that you’re a busy man and—”
Garret turned away as he spoke, but when the ranger interrupted him, he knew that he had the man.
“Kidnapped?” the ranger asked.
“Yes. They took her right from her job without warning. I came to eat dinner with her on her break and she was gone, the hotel destroyed.”
“Wait. Was that the hotel in Foxwood that was rammed by a truck?”
“One and the same,” Garrett said.
“Oh man, I’m sorry about that.” The ranger looked around the room, then lowered his voice. “I’m not supposed to do this, but if you think your daughter is here with those men, I can take you up in the chopper to look for them. It’s for search and rescue, and this seems to fall right into that category.”
Hook. Line. Sinker, Garrett thought, hiding his grin from the man.
“That would be such a blessing,” Garrett said, laying it on thick.
The ranger smiled.
“I’m sorry I blew you off. If it was my daughter I’d do anything to find her, too. How amazing that she’s just your stepdaughter and you’re still not giving up hope. Your wife was a lucky woman.”
“She was,” Garrett said, still feeling like he’d won the lottery with this man.
What an imbecile.
“I’ll need to let the other ranger know that I’m leaving. You just hang tight and we’ll be in the air in an hour.”
“I can’t thank you enough,” Garrett said, but the ranger was already gone, running out the side door, eager to help a stranger find his little girl.
This was going to be easier than he thought.
***
Her lips were still dry when she drank the last of the water, then looked around her and groaned. There was wilderness as far as the eye could see, and everything looked the same to Solace. She was no longer able to see the peak that the twins had referenced, and she had the overwhelming feeling that she was all turned around. She was trying not to panic, but she was struggling. The twins seemed at home in the
air or in the woods, but Solace was completely out of her element. Hiking with the twins was one thing, but something that seemed so simple to them was more than Solace could handle.
Fighting back tears, she pushed on, even though she’d always been told to hug a tree when she got lost. She laughed at the imagery, knowing that the phrase just meant to stay in one place, but the picture of herself hugging a scratchy, ant covered tree was always in her mind.
She would love to stand in one place, but with a monster on their trail, she didn’t have that luxury. She had to keep going, even if her throat was so dry it felt like it was sticking to itself and her legs felt like lead. She had to keep going. No matter what. She had promised the twins that much, and she wasn’t going to break that promise.
Solace pushed through the branches that ran along the trail, trying to keep the slender saplings from scratching her arms and hitting her in the face. She was tired, and the constant uphill slope was wearing on her already exhausted body. It had been almost an hour since she and the twins had split up, and the more she tried to convince herself that she wasn’t lost, the more she believed that she really was. The peak hadn’t seemed that far away from where they started. Wouldn’t they have told her if it was going to be this far? She didn’t remember any forks in the trail, but she wondered if there had been one and she’d missed the correct path, taking the wrong path instead. She’d been distracted a few times, thinking about waking up in Ethan’s arms shortly before they left the cabin.
From the beginning, Ethan had been the aloof one, and Solace had really struggled to connect with him as easily as she had with Cam. But, where Cam was easy to fall for, Ethan’s protective layers had led her to so much more when she’d peeled them away little by little. Cam was amusing, funny, and spontaneous, but Ethan intrigued her and she wanted time to learn more about him. She’d written him off so quickly that before that—
She didn’t finish the thought, the reality of her situation yanking her out of her thoughts abruptly. She’d done it again. She turned, looking back down the trail, but she had no idea where she’d been and she had been so engrossed in her thoughts that she’d been walking on auto pilot once again. Everything looked different and she had no idea if she had made a turn or how she’d gotten where she was.