Adam began to feel a little overwhelmed by the situation, and he could see that even Daniel was feeling the weight of it. “I feel like Lucas has us right where he wants us, trapped on this island at his mercy,” he said, his fear for Vivian’s safety beginning to get the better of him.
Daniel got to his feet. “That’s hardly the truth; right now, we’re stronger than Lucas. Together, he can’t beat us,” he said, pacing back and forth across the room. “What he’s trying to do is separate us, dilute our strength.”
It all began to make sense to Adam then; his mind calmed, and he could see Lucas’s plan unfold in his mind. “I can see it now, and we played right into his hands,” Adam said, feeling the dragon inside him begin to awaken. “But that’s not going to happen again.”
“No, it’s not. We’re going to wait for his call and for dad to show up, and then we’ll come up with a plan,” Daniel said. “And I hope that when this is all over, Lucas Davenport is no longer alive to pursue his evil dreams.”
***Vivian***
Vivian knew that she slept, but she wasn’t sure for how long when the cabin door opening woke her. Opening her eyes, she quickly closed them again, when she saw that it was Amanda.
“Wake up, bitch,” she said, slapping Vivian. “Lucas thinks you need some food and something to drink, so he sent me.”
Vivian opened her eyes but didn’t say anything, just looked at the angry witch. Amanda grinned at her evilly. “Don’t have much to say, do you?” Amanda asked, then shrugged her shoulders, “Doesn’t matter to me; you’re going to be dead soon, and Lucas will still be mine.”
“You can have him. I don’t want him,” Vivian said, breaking her silence for the first time.
Amanda roared with laughter. “It doesn’t matter what you want. Lucas wants you: that’s all that matters.”
“Why do you put up with it?” Vivian asked, hoping to connect with her.
Amanda looked at her for a long time. “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you,” she said, a brief look of sadness on her face. It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared and her face got hard again. “I’m going to untie you to let you eat and stuff, but one wrong move and I’ll make sure you don’t move again for a long time.”
Vivian winced when she untied her wrists and ankles, the blood pouring into them making them pound. She ate the food and drank all the water Amanda gave her, then relieved herself in the bathroom, taking in everything around her, thinking about a way to escape.
Amanda tied her back to the bed, ignoring Vivian’s pleas to be left untied, then left the cabin, slamming the door on her way out. Her anger and frustration building, Vivian pulled on the ropes holding her hostage and discovered that her arms weren’t tied as tightly as they had been before.
Her heart leaped with hope, so she pulled a little harder and realized that Amanda hadn’t tied her as tightly, and that she was higher on the bed than she’d been before. Pulling and stretching, she was able to reach a little storage cabinet above her head and slide it open.
Craning her neck at a strange angle, she saw that it was crammed full of stuff and hope took hold. She began the painfully slow process of taking things out one by one, with the one hand that could reach, but then her hand closed over the cold metal of a knife, and she grinned.
***Adam***
The sun was just setting and darkness was taking over the island when he saw the sails of his parents’ ship come around the corner into the cove. He was relieved to see them, but also afraid of what they were going to say when he told them that he’d married Vivian.
It was still a shock to think that he and Vivian had missed out on so many years together because the council had so much power. He hoped that his father would listen to reason, would see that only an old and outdated tradition kept in place by men who had no business ruling stood in their way.
They’d discussed this with their father before, but he’d always been steadfast in his support of the council. But times were changing, and his father needed to see that it was time dragon shifters embraced the human population instead of isolating themselves from them.
He had a speech all prepared, and Daniel was ready to back him up. But when his father came walking down the dock, he had a smile on his face, and Adam completely forgot what he was going to say.
His mother gave him a big hug, then said, “I’m sorry it took us so long to get here. Have we heard anything from Lucas?”
Adam held his mother in his arms just a bit longer, then let her go. “No, we think he’ll call once he knows you’re here. We have a spy on the island somewhere, which is my fault, along with most of what’s happened,” Adam said, meeting his father’s eyes.
“You mother and I have been talking a lot about what’s happened, and I think some of the blame falls on our shoulders,” he said, shocking Adam speechless.
When he didn’t say anything, his father continued, “We never should have kept you and Vivian apart; it was the council’s idea, but I went along with them. I guess I got so trapped in the old ways, I lost sight of what was really important. Your mother has spent the last twelve hours reminding me of that.”
Adam finally managed to find his voice. “Vivian and I got married yesterday,” he said. Then, seeing the look on his mother’s face, quickly said, “I’m sorry, mom; we thought it was the only way we could be together; that you wouldn’t separate us if we were already married.”
His mother glared at his father. “You see what your stubbornness has done,” she said, then turned to Adam. “You are going to marry her again, young man. I’m not going to miss my son’s wedding, so we’d better figure out how to get her back from Lucas.”
She gave his father a dirty look, then started up the beach, leaving both men staring after her. “We’d better go with her,” his father said. “I’m sorry, Adam. I guess I messed up this one.”
Adam grinned at his father. “That’s okay. I guess it worked out in the end, and we really do love each other, dad.”
Marcus grinned back at his son. “I’m glad.”
When they got back to the house, Daniel was pacing nervously back and forth across the room. “He’s going to call soon,” he said after he’d greeting his parents and caught them up on what they’d missed.
His father nodded. “We’ll be ready. I’ve got about a hundred ships with shifters who want to help. They’re scattered around the islands, but when we call, they’ll come and protect the island, make a ring around it; that should stop Lucas from landing anyone on the beach.”
“What about Vivian? How are we going to get her back?” Adam asked, his heart aching with longing.
“We still haven’t found them, so all we can do is wait for his call,” Daniel said. “I know this is hard, but there are coves all over these islands, lots of places to hide a small boat.”
Adam knew he was right, but the waiting was beginning to get to him, so he got to his feet. “I’m going to go for a walk.”
But he hadn’t even stepped out the door when the radio on Daniel’s desk began to crackle and come to life. A second later, Lucas’s voice came over the radio. “I assume you are out there listening,” he said, then the radio went quiet.
Daniel picked up the mike and pushed the button. “I’m here, Lucas, and we want Vivian back unharmed,” he said.
“Well, I guess that’s going to be up to you; turn yourself over to me and I’ll let the girl go,” Lucas said, just as they’d all expected.
“You know that’s never going to happen,” Daniel said, playing with Lucas, trying to get him off balance.
“I’ll kill her if you don’t, but first I’m going to have a little fun with her. Amanda’s been dying to get her hands on her, practice a few of her more painful spells. I might let her do that too,” Lucas said, his voice rising.
Adam jumped to his feet and yelled, “You bastard, you’d better not hurt her.”
“Is that you, Adam?” Lucas asked. “It’s going to be a shame if you become a widower only
a few days after your wedding. You’d better talk some sense into your brother or your bride is dead.”
Adam wanted to kill Lucas, wanted to rip the man to shreds, even though they’d planned this. “He’ll do what you ask, Lucas, but it’s not going to work; when this is over, you’ll be the one who’s dead.”
Lucas laughed evilly. “We’ll see about that,” he said, then rattled off the coordinates where they were supposed to make the trade.
Chapter Twenty
***Vivian***
Vivian winced when the knife grazed her already bleeding wrist, but she’d almost cut through the rope; a little pain wasn’t going to stop her now. When her hand popped free, she wanted to shout with relief, but she didn’t dare, so she held it in.
It didn’t take long to untie herself and walking around the cabin brought all the feeling back to her limbs. Looking around for the iron she had used, she came up with a plan, hoping that her next visitor wasn’t Lucas. Opening the closet, she dug around then saw exactly what she needed, took it back to the bed, and shoved it under the pillow.
Then she reluctantly got back in the bed, retied her ankles, and laid down to wait. The sun had set, the porthole in the cabin gone dark, when the door finally opened. Grabbing the ends cut end of the rope so that the cut couldn’t be seen, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.
“Wake up and eat this,” a different voice said.
She opened her eyes and saw Willow standing in the doorway with a tray in her hands. Relief washed over her, although she was sorry to have to hurt the girl. But then she remembered the spell she’d put on her, and anger blocked it out. It was her or them, and she was going to do everything she could to save herself.
Vivian yawned and asked, “Could you untie my feet first? They’ve gone numb.”
Willow looked at her suspiciously, then went to her feet and began fumbling with the knots, giving Vivian the time she needed. Reaching under the pillow, she grabbed the iron, lifted it in the air, and only hesitated a second before bringing it down on Willow’s head.
The girl crumpled to the floor, and Vivian felt just a second of remorse, then pushed it away and began removing her clothes. She was pleased to find that Willow’s clothes fit her perfectly and looking in the mirror as she tied the scarf Willow had been wearing over her hair, she was sure that from a distance, Lucas wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
All she needed to escape was to make it to the deck; once there, she’d jump in the water and swim away. She was a strong swimmer, and the darkness would hide her; if she were lucky, Lucas wouldn’t even see her.
Slowly opening the cabin door, she poked her head out. The first thing she saw was the steps to the deck. Sighing with relief she started creeping down the hallway. But the sound of voices coming toward the stairs forced her to duck into a bathroom, her heart hammering.
***Adam***
Adam sat at the front of the dingy watching the water as they sped toward the coordinates Lucas had given them. Daniel sat behind him, guiding the boat through the water, a look of fierce concentration on his face. His father, Alex, and Taylor were in identical boats approaching the rendezvous point from different directions.
They were all dressed in identical raincoats, hats, and boots, their heads and faces almost completely covered. When his mother had suggested it, they’d been skeptical, but once dressed as they were, it had been clear that Lucas wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.
Converging on him from three different directions would throw Lucas off and give Adam just enough time to slip on board. Once on board, he’d find Vivian and get her safely off the boat, and back to the island; it was a simple plan but one that might just work.
When Vivian was safely off the boat, he’d give Daniel the signal they’d agreed on, and he along with the rest of the shifters his dad had brought would face Lucas. Hopefully, when the sun rose in the morning, Vivian would be safe in his arms again, and Lucas would no longer be a threat to his family.
As they got closer to the boat, he gathered his strength, knowing that this shift was the most important of his life, that everything he loved was hanging in the balance. He thought about Vivian, concentrated on his love for her, and felt power surging inside him.
He took a deep breath and let his dragon side flow to the surface, let it fill him, power racing through his veins. “Be careful,” he heard Daniel say, then for a second, everything went dark.
The instant he shifted, he gathered his power and became invisible, then waited as the dingy made its final approach to Lucas’s boat. When he saw Lucas standing boldly at the front of the boat, he couldn’t help the rumbling growl that came from deep inside him.
As all three boats bumped against the larger boat, Lucas looked around him and screamed, “I want Daniel, and I want him now; the rest of you get out of here, or the woman dies.” Then he turned to Amanda. “Where is Willow? She should have been here by now; go find her.”
Amanda didn’t move. “She’s probably on her phone listening to music,” she said, giving Lucas an I-told-you-so look.
“Just go,” he screamed at her, looking warily from boat to boat, not sure where an attack might come from.
Adam extended his wings and rose in the air, only the birds aware of his presence. He landed on the deck and stepped in front of Amanda, his huge body blocking the way to the lower deck. Amanda rushed toward him, unaware she was about to walk into something so solid and large that it would throw her onto the deck and knock her out.
***Vivian***
Vivian opened the bathroom door a crack, saw the man standing outside the cabin door, and closed it again silently. Knowing she was trapped, and that it wouldn’t be long before they found her missing, she looked around for a weapon. Promising herself that she wasn’t going along without a fight, she dug in the cabinets, grinning when she found a huge wrench.
It felt heavy in her hands, and she hit her palm with it to get a feel for its weight. Satisfied, she gripped it tightly, then banged on the bathroom door with her fist, and held the wrench up in front of her.
“Who’s in there?” the man demanded, throwing open the door, a look of surprise on his face when he saw her.
She brought the wrench down on his forehead, grimacing when she heard the bone crunch, then headed for the stairs. At the top, she paused and listened, hearing Lucas shouting but unable to make out his words; she crouched there for a long time, trying to decide what to do.
She heard him screaming at Amanda and his order to get Willow and knew that she only had a few seconds before she was found. Taking a deep breath, she stood up, and keeping her face turned to the side, walked out onto the deck.
Amanda was striding toward her, the look on her face full of hatred. “Where have you been, and where’s that little bitch?” she asked, when all of a sudden, she went flying backward, slammed into the deck, and lay perfectly still.
Lucas turned and looked from her to Amanda and demanded, “Why did you do that? We needed her.”
Vivian froze, her eyes meeting Lucas’s across the deck; he narrowed his at her, looking a bit closer. She was frozen in place, the man of her nightmares staring at her, when the wind began to blow and the scarf that covered her hair blew away, revealing her red hair.
He stared at her shocked for a moment before roaring like a wounded animal and charging for her. “What have you done to Willow? Where is she?” he demanded, heading straight for her.
She shrank back, her feet finally able to move, and turned to jump into the water. But just as she started to step onto the railing, something lifted her into the air and gently set her in the water, then it was gone. Treading water, she watched Lucas screaming on the deck of the ship, alone and suddenly not all that scary.
But then she saw Amanda get slowly to her feet and look around, she ran to Lucas and raised her hands in the air, her mouth moving as she said a spell. Suddenly, a dragon appeared on the deck of the ship, its scales a shimmering shade of green.
Lucas laughed. “That’s a neat trick, but I’m afraid it won’t work around Amanda,” he said. “We’ve got one brother; bring on the rest.”
***Adam***
Adam could only stare at Lucas in shock, feeling suddenly exposed and vulnerable as the energy began to drain out of his body. He slumped down onto the deck, too weak to support the weight of his huge body, and fought shifting back to his human form, knowing he would be in even more danger.
He heard Daniel roar from the other side of the boat, and Amanda looked away from him, the spell broken as she stared at Daniel, his huge wings making the boat rock. Lucas looked over at him, then back at Adam, and backed up a few steps behind Amanda.
“Finish that one off first and then take care of him,” Lucas shouted, hiding behind Amanda.
Adam saw Amanda hesitate, but Lucas screamed something at her, and she raised her arms in the air. His strength faded, and he saw Daniel begin to weaken as well; when they were both slumped on the deck, she grinned triumphantly.
“I think this is the best I’ve ever done,” she said, “two dragons at once.”
Adam closed his eyes and thought of Vivian, wishing he’d been able to hold her in his arms one more time, that he’d been able to tell her how much he loved her once more. Hoping she knew, he opened his eyes to face what was coming.
Amanda stretched her hands out in front of her, then turned her palms up; the clouds above them darkened and then two swirling fireballs came shooting out of the sky. They headed straight for Amanda, then slowed and hovered in her palms, spitting sparks into the already electricity-filled air.
She lifted her arms in the air, and Adam started to close his eyes, but then he caught a flash of something behind Amanda. Suddenly, Vivian sprang over the railing and ran straight at Amanda who was so focused on Adam and Daniel that she didn’t hear her.
Dragon’s Forbidden Mate (Dragons Secret Society Book 2) Page 12