She and Tristan lay down on the large exam table in Tyr’s healing room. Apparently, Tyr’s artifacts would allow them to completely leave their bodies, and they needed to be lying down so they wouldn’t collapse.
Tristan closed his hand around hers, warm and safe. You good? he asked in her mind.
When you’re with me, always. She felt his smile.
She closed her eyes, and listened for the wolves.
At first she didn’t hear anything. She breathed deeply, and felt Tristan matching his breaths to hers.
She began to hear faint cries for help, and then she was in the misty white hallway, the cells blurry, filled with memories and projections. Beside her was a white wolf. Tristan.
We protect you, he said. We kill for you, die for you.
She rested her hand on his neck. She could feel him, like they had physical bodies—warm and solid, his fur soft, and his muscles rippling underneath. He looked up, his eyes bright gold, and grinned a wolfy grin at her, his huge teeth gleaming.
Nobody’s dying today, she told him.
But now came the harder part. She had find her way to the here and now, like Kira had showed her.
Mayah closed her eyes again, and listened. There they were. She reached out with her mind, to where they were, and just… went.
She opened her eyes to see the white-tiled corridor again, sharp and clear. The cells filled with real people.
They were in.
The lights had been dimmed, taking the edge off the harsh glare of bare bulbs on white tile. The prisoners lay on thin mattresses on the floor. They were almost all asleep, although here and there she saw the gleam of eyes.
No one seemed to see her.
She touched the amulet around her neck, and immediately she could see the wards protecting the place.
Tristan spoke in her mind. The first thing we need to do is confirm the prisoner count. Then we need to…
Shh, wait, Mayah said. She’d walked a bit further up the hallway, where a young woman about her own age was alone in a cell. She sat on the mattress, her knees pulled up, forehead resting on them.
Her dirty blond, shoulder-length hair looked like it had been chopped off with a blunt knife, and she was singing a song, very softly, over and over.
Something about the song called to Mayah. She went right up to the glass, listening.
The words sent a chill down her spine.
White fur, black wings
Dragonwolf will fly
Fire from the lost ones
Coming from the sky
Dragonwolf, dragonwolf
Ghosts through the walls
Fly away, fly away, fly away all
“Hello?” she called softly, not knowing if the woman could hear her.
But she looked up at once, startled. Her eyes were churning gold, big and wide. They got wider when she saw Mayah.
She had bruises on her face, and a smear of blood beneath her nose, as if she’d had a nosebleed and wiped it away.
How many other bruises and cuts did she have on her?
The woman’s eyes lit on Tristan, and she gasped sharply. “Who is that?” Her gaze returned to Mayah, awe creeping into her face. “It’s you,” she breathed. “The dragon. And the wolf. Dragonwolf.”
Mayah put a finger to her lips. “Can anyone hear you talking?”
The girl gave a short nod, almost imperceptible. Then she flicked her glance to the corner of her cell, up near the ceiling.
A security camera.
Mayah bit her lips. The camera couldn’t see her and Tristan, but it was definitely recording everything the prisoner was doing and saying. If they saw her talking to someone who wasn’t there, it might tip them off.
But this woman was a white wolf. She had to have some kind of mental abilities. Mayah reached out with her mind. Can you hear me?
The woman’s eyes widened again. Yes. Who are you? She paused, looking from one of them to the other. Are you really the Dragon-wolf?
Like in the song you were singing?
The song of our salvation. We teach it to the children. We pretend it’s a game.
The children. Mayah suddenly realized that if everyone had been here as long as the couple Tristan knew, then most of the children had been born here.
With nothing but a nursery rhyme to give them hope. Because somehow, the wolves knew she and Tristan would come for them.
They’d always known.
I’m Mayah, Draken Princess of the House of Al-Maddeiri. And this is Tristan. We’re going to get you out of here. How many of you are here?
There are… She paused, obviously counting in her mind. Thirty-one.
So their original count had been pretty much right on the money.
And all of you are here? On this hallway? There are no other prisoners?
She shook her head slightly. Not as far as we know. They let us out in the yard, for exercise. I’ve never seen anyone but us, and the guards never talk about any other prisoners, either.
How big is this place?
Four buildings surrounding the yard.
What’s in the rest of them?
Offices and labs. The parts they can let people see.
Right. Because there’s no way they could let anyone on Earth know they were keeping people in here, and experimenting on them.
Mayah returned to her intelligence-gathering.
What’s behind that door? She indicated the reinforced metal door at the end of the hall. Tristan, unable to hear their conversation, had moved off across the hall, looking in the other cells.
Looking for more people he knew. Mayah felt her stomach clench, but forced her attention back to what the young woman was saying.
Guard room. Holding cell. Exit to the yard. Security monitoring room, I think. And access to the other buildings.
Okay. Hang tight. We’re going to get you out of here soon, but we have to find out as much as we can before we mount a rescue.
The woman rested her forehead back on her knees. Thank you. There was a short silence, and then Mayah heard, faintly, Please don’t be a dream.
Mayah went to Tristan and put her hand briefly on the top of his head. I’m going through the door at the end of the hall. She says the security station is through there. Are you coming?
Of course. He tore himself away from the cell he was staring into and followed her. But she saw him gazing into every one they passed.
She stepped through the door. To her right was the security monitoring station, with a bank of monitors showing different views of the complex.
But Tristan didn’t come through. Had his amulet not worked?
She was about to go back when she saw something else—the holding cell, glowing with magical runes. With good reason.
Inside was a dragon. He was in human form, wearing a jeweled collar that undoubtedly kept him from Changing or using any of his magic. But his eyes were glowing purple, with slit pupils. And he was staring right at her.
His voice boomed in her mind. Can you see me? Can you hear me?
Yes. Who are you?
Larkin. Of the Terrak-abi Clan. Can you free me?
I don’t know. We didn’t know there were any other dragons in here.
You must try. Please. If you can just get this collar off me…
I’m not really here, she said. I can’t touch you.
But your magic has negated the wards. Perhaps it could negate the magic holding the collar on?
Mayah hesitated. They weren’t ready to start setting people free. But getting another dragon on their side… she could at least see if there was a chance they could free him with the others.
I’ll see. With a glance over at the guards to make sure they weren’t paying attention, she focused on the wards protecting the dragon’s cell, using the artifact Tyr had given her.
Just as she touched the wall, Tristan bounded through the closed metal doorway. Mayah! I thought I saw—
Her spirit fingers touched the place where the
cell wall was, in the real world.
Mayah felt like she was being sucked into a whirlpool. Magical glyphs lit up all over the cell, and she was drawn inside by a powerful force.
Tristan! she yelled. Stay back!
His wolf skidded to a stop.
Mayah felt like her body was being torn apart, molecule by molecule. And then she was lying on the floor of the cell, in the flesh, staring up at the dragon.
And he was laughing.
Chapter 25
Tristan jerked awake, his consciousness returning to the room like he’d been slammed into a wall. He opened his eyes to see Tyr bending over him.
“He’s back,” the dragon called over his shoulder. He turned back to Tristan. “What—”
Tristan struggled to sit up. His body felt like lead. “What the fuck did you bring me back for?” he rasped, his throat dry. “Something happened to Mayah. She—”
He broke off when he saw the empty table next to him. “Where the hell is she?”
In seconds, Emon was looming over him. “You tell us,” he growled. “What the hell happened in there? One minute you were both lying here, and the next minute her body started shimmering, and then she just fucking… disappeared.”
The lead in Tristan’s body turned to ice. His hand went out to the empty space beside him, as if somehow Mayah would still be there.
“I don’t know,” he said. “She was talking to one of the wolves, and then we decided to leave the cell area to check out the security station. She got through the wards on the door just fine. I was a little behind her. I thought I saw—”
He’d thought he saw someone who looked like his mother, sleeping on one of the mattresses in the cells. But that couldn’t be true. She was dead.
He took a deep breath. “I went through the door, and Mayah was in front of this other cell we didn’t even know was there, talking to a prisoner who had dragon eyes. She touched the wall, and…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what happened. It just… sucked her in.”
He turned to look at Emon. “I tried to reach her. She was yelling at me to stay back, but I was going in after her. And then I fucking woke up here.”
He was going to kill someone. Why had they pulled him back? Mayah needed him.
Emon turned on Tyr. “How the hell does that even happen?” he demanded. “Only her spirit was there. How could they drag her entire body out of here, through all your protections?”
“It was a trap,” Thorne said. “Had to be.” He turned to Tyr. “So how did they do it? And how did they know she was coming?”
“One of the wolves must have ratted them out,” Emon said, growling savagely.
“Or maybe they didn’t know,” Flynn said. “Maybe it was a trap for anyone who can do what Mayah can do—travel between worlds, physically or psychically. That’s a valuable skill. Do you know how many people that rogue Shifter Intelligence officer killed to try and get these?”
He lifted his wrists, showing the gold bracelets encircling them.
“Mainly because they let him travel through the spirit world. Think about it. The ability to go anywhere you want. Spy on people while staying invisible. Bypass any security system and rip a hole between dimensions. Do you have any fucking idea how much some people would pay to be able to do that?”
They all glanced uneasily at each other.
Tyr said, “So you think they set up a trap for anyone who came near their facility in the spirit world?”
“I don’t care why they did it or who it was for,” Tristan said savagely. “They have Mayah.” He growled at Tyr. “Send me back. Now.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Flynn said. “They’ll just drag you in too.”
Tristan turned on him. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You of all people know what they’ll do to her in there.”
Flynn rubbed his hand uncomfortably over his hair. “I know,” he said quietly. “But you ending up in there with her isn’t going to help.”
“She’ll be all right for a little while,” Thorne said. “While we make a plan to—”
Tristan lunged off the table at him, and it took both Flynn and Emon to hold him back.
“What the fuck do you know?” he snarled. “I’ve been in one of their facilities. The first thing they’ll do is drug her up, try to subdue her dragon so she can’t Change. And then they’ll start doing the same shit Ragnor did to her. Maybe even worse.”
Emon’s eyes went dragon, the pupils turning to slits with lightning flickering in their depths. His growl vibrated through the room.
Tristan said, “Either send me back, or move up the damned mission. Because one way or another, we have to get her out of there.”
Thorne sighed. “Okay. It’s going to be risky, with no intel, but I don’t see that we have a choice. If we can get everyone together quickly enough, we might be able to do it before morning. In the meantime, you should take one of Tyr’s nasty potions and have something to eat, while we figure out where we are.”
“You expect me to eat while Mayah’s trapped somewhere—”
Flynn said, “It’s not going to help her if you pass out, or your brain explodes. Drink what the dragon gives you, and fucking eat. Don’t make me alpha-slap you.”
Still snarling, Tristan downed the potion Tyr handed him, which did make him feel a bit better, and tried to swallow some food, which tasted like sand and stuck in his throat.
Thorne had gotten a big drawing pad and pencils, and said, “Okay. Give me everything you got—what you saw, what you learned. Any intel is better than none…”
His voice faded away. A spike of pain almost split Tristan’s skull, and there was a roaring in his ears. The pain intensified, and he heard Mayah calling him, very far off. He felt the warm drip of blood as his nose started bleeding again.
Voices in the room distracted him, and he felt hands shaking him.
“Shut up!” He pressed the heels of his hands against his temples. “She’s talking to me, but I can barely hear her.”
Immediately the room around him went silent. He felt hands touching his shoulders. Emon on one side, the person with the closest connection to Mayah. Flynn on the other side—his friend and brother.
We can help you reach her, came the voices in his head. We are Al-Maddeiri.
Al-Maddeiri-ish, added Flynn, a touch of his wry humor coming through. When Kira had released all the bound-up Al-Maddeiri power during their battle with Ragnor, some of it had spilled over to Flynn.
I’ll take it, Tristan said. Whatever you’ve got. Just fucking be quiet.
He went still and opened his mind, then called for Mayah.
Her voice came into his mind, faint at first, but it grew stronger as the others lent their power and their connections with them both.
Are you okay? he demanded.
I’m fine. They haven’t hurt me. They were disturbingly happy to see me, though. Apparently they didn’t know for sure their little trap would work. Some evil fucker is getting a promotion out of this.
Not if I kill him first, Tristan said. Where are you?
In that cell. She showed him a mental picture, though it was distorted. But that other dragon’s not in it with me. I think he works for them.
Tristan’s wolf growled, and tried to claw his way out. Cages made him crazy, and seeing Mayah in one made him crazier.
Tristan fought him back. He couldn’t lose it now. Mayah needed him.
Did they drug you? he asked Mayah.
Yeah.
Fuck. He was definitely killing somebody. Soon.
It’s okay though, she tried to reassure him. It’s one of the ones that Ragnor gave me, so I’m kind of used to it. It makes everything weird in my head, but I can still function.
Is that why your cell looks like a fun house? he asked.
Yeah. Sorry.
Hell. He’d let her get captured, and she was apologizing to him?
Did they collar you? he asked. Or insert an inhibitor to keep you from Changing?
Smart girl.
Don’t worry, he said. We’re coming to get you. They’re mustering the team right now.
No. Not yet.
Are you crazy? I’m not leaving you there. I promised you. He felt the weight of that promise—that if anything ever happened to her, he would save her. He would keep that promise, or die trying.
I know. The warmth in her voice told him she remembered too. I’m counting on you. But I think I can still communicate with some of the wolves. I can get more intel from their minds—the layout of the whole place, where the power station is, where the main server banks are, what kind of defenses they have.
Mayah, you can’t.
He could feel her determination through their bond.
This is the best way, she insisted. It’s not just about me. We have to save them all—and I’m not losing anybody I care about doing it. If we wait—if I can get the information you need—we all have a better chance of getting out alive. Just give me a day or two.
The thought of her alone in there for another two days—or another two minutes—was killing him.
She’s right, Flynn said quietly in his mind. He could hear Emon growling faintly, but he didn’t object.
I need to do this, Mayah said softly.
He wanted to race in there right fucking now and pull her out. How the hell could he leave her? But then, how could he take her choice away from her? He knew how much it meant to her to be able to do something meaningful—to help people in trouble.
To help his people.
And she needed him—not to rush off half-cocked, but to trust her and back her play.
It went against all his wolf’s protective instincts, and all of his too.
Okay, he said. I’ve got your back. We’ll check in every few hours, and you can give me what you’ve got. Be careful.
He felt her laugh through their connection. You’re kidding, right? Who do you think you’re talking to?
Well, if you can’t be careful, then at least don’t die.
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