by Riley Storm
“So it’s going to be a trap then,” Pierce said.
“I don’t see how it can’t be,” Vlad said with a shrug. “I thought he’d learned, thought he’d come to his senses after we came to blows the other night. He seemed so sad, so dejected about it all, that I thought even after he ran away from me, maybe he was just leaving altogether. But now…”
“So what’s your plan?” Blede asked, assuming immediately that Vlad had one.
“I have to go,” Vlad said bluntly. “For Sache. He knows it, I know it, Liroi knows it. There were two people talking in the background when Sache hung up so, assuming that was another member of the Cado, there’s at least one more shifter with them.”
“We can take on those three,” Lara said, slapping her hands together in emphasis. “Easy. They won’t know what hit them.”
“In a straight fight, yes,” Pierce said. “I would take any three here over that trio. But we have to assume that they will have Vlad outnumbered. We must ensure that surprise is on our side.”
“I think I have a way to do that,” Vlad said. “At least, if all goes according to plan, and they intend to keep me alive. If the plan is to bury me in the cave, well…”
“We’ll pull you out,” Lara said, slightly more subdued, but still just as confident.
“Thanks,” Vlad said wryly.
Ellyn watched him as he talked. There wasn’t much she had to contribute to the plan. It was all way beyond her. She didn’t know the capabilities of those around her, nor had she ever truly seen a dragon shifter fight before. If something came to her, she would speak up, but until then, she sat back and watched her man plot.
Her man.
Just the evening before he’d confessed that he loved her. The words had stunned her into silence, and she’d not given him a good response. In fact, it had been a terrible response. It was something she would likely feel embarrassed about for a long time.
And yet…
She eyed him out of the corner of her gaze, watching as he talked, formulating the best possible plan to spoil the trap the Cado were creating for him. He was really coming into his own now, as he slowly accepted that this was where he belonged. Ellyn could see it of course, she’d been able to sense it almost from the instant they first arrived in the compound.
This was his home, and it was where Vlad longed to be. Now he was being forced to reach out for help, and he was discovering that those around him were still more than glad to provide it. It made her heart happy to see him like that, as he came full circle.
This was where he needed to be.
Ellyn hoped that even after the assault, after the Cado were dealt with and Sache was brought back home, that Vlad would continue to see the value in staying. They could do a lot here, the two of them.
Was she considering staying?
Her thoughts turned further inward. If Vlad was going to stay with the rest of Clan Teres, then she would have to as well, if she wanted to be with him. The idea of leaving was suddenly unappealing. A life without Vlad would just be…boring. Dull.
Holy crap. I want to stay with him.
The thought of staying, instead of running and keeping on the move, was so foreign to Ellyn that she wasn’t sure what to make of it. All her life, it had been ingrained in her that if she stayed in the same spot too long, things would catch up with her. The police, other gangs, her past. Thus it was best just to avoid it and move on.
Not with Vlad. With Vlad she wanted to stay. To build something. She wanted to wake up every morning to find him next to her, and to go to sleep in his arms.
The thoughts kept pounding into her, and Ellyn kept waiting for her brain to panic, for her breathing to become shallower and faster as she was overcome with anxiety.
But it never happened.
What does all this mean? she wondered to herself. This was a first for her, she’d never experienced…whatever this was.
She was going to have to think on it some more. A lot more.
“So we’re settled then?” Vlad asked, looking around the table.
“I just wish there was a better way to put them off guard,” Pierce said, tapping his chin.
“Sorry, I zoned out there,” Ellyn said suddenly, chiming in. “Has it changed at all?”
Vlad shook his head. “Not really, why?”
If she was going to stick around, then it was time Ellyn started doing her part. These assholes had come for her as well, and she was more than ready to help bring them down.
“Because,” she said, leaning over the table with a wicked smile. “I know the perfect way to put them at ease.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Vlad
Vlad approached the cave, trying to ignore the trepidation building in his chest. This wasn’t the way he’d wanted the plan to go. There was too much risk, they didn’t know the full extent of the trap that Sache had planned, and more. He just plain didn’t like it, and for good reason.
Unfortunately, Ellyn had argued several very good points in favor of her modifications. Points that everyone but Vlad had agreed made it the ideal choice to help lure out Sache’s accomplices.
Glancing back at his truck one last time, Vlad whispered a prayer and turned his attention forward. If this was to work, he had to do his part as well. It wasn’t going to be easy. Twice now he’d tried to convince Sache to come home. Twice they had come to blows.
Maybe the third time would be the charm?
Vlad had his doubts. Not until the Cado were well and truly sent packing from Five Peaks. Then, and only then, would Sache be free enough to make other decisions. Ones that didn’t put him at odds with his clan any more.
Overhead the stars were bright. This high up, without any cloud cover and no large city nearby to provide ambient light, the sky practically blazed with light. There were more stars than a person could count in a lifetime, from horizon to horizon and everywhere in between.
The view behind him was almost as incredible, spanning miles upon miles of land stretching into the interior of the country. One felt akin to a godlike being this high up, with so much of the world in their grasp. It was a powerful feeling, if he took the time to reflect on it.
He didn’t.
Vlad’s attention was elsewhere, on the cave entrance, and what lay inside. There was no time to admire the scenery, no time to appreciate nature’s beauty. He had a mission to accomplish, and a wayward clanmate to hopefully bring home.
Trusting his other shifters to do their part, and protect what mattered to him, Vlad walked inside the cave. He knew the layout by heart, having been up there many times. Thirty feet in, the passageway widened into a chamber off to the left. At the back of that chamber there was a well concealed slit in the rock that could fit a person if they went sideways, and another fifty or so feet through that, it widened into a cavern fully a hundred feet across.
That was where he would find Sache.
As suspected, the initial chamber was clear. Vlad turned sideways and wedged himself through the opening, knowing full well that once he was through, he would be effectively trapped.
Light burned inside the large cavern, bouncing off the walls and the stalactites that hung down from the ceiling high above. Torches placed at various intervals lit the cavern with a shaky light, banishing the shadows and giving it an eerie vibe. Vlad didn’t like it one bit, but at this point, what choice did he have?
“Sache,” he said as his friend rose from a cross-legged position in the center of the chamber. “I came, like you asked.”
“Vlad.” Sache looked at him solemnly. “Thank you for coming. I appreciate it a lot.”
“I’m here,” Vlad said, spreading his hands wide. Though he kept it hidden, he’d called his powers to the ready. Dragonfire burned just below the surface, as did several other things, ready to be called upon at a moment’s notice once the trap was sprung.
“Vlad, it’s bad,” Sache said, his voice wavering with fear. “I don’t know what to do.”
; “Just tell me what you did, Sache. Tell me, and then come home. We’ll get it sorted out. There’s so much I need to tell you. So much that happened while we were gone.”
“I don’t care,” Sache said morosely. “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters.”
“Actually, it does,” Vlad said, trying to keep his voice even-keeled. “Viko was found to be a traitor. Working with creatures from the Otherworld. He purposefully framed us. We’re innocent of any crime my friend.”
He led with his strongest piece, hoping to shock Sache into a dose of reality. It seemed to work at first. Sache fell silent, looking down, working through all the implications of what Vlad had just said.
“Really?” he asked after a minute in a very different tone.
He’d dropped his guard. Dropped the act he’d been keeping up a few moments before. Vlad’s heart sank as that basically confirmed to him that Sache was planning something, eliminating the tiny chance his friend had been genuine in asking for help.
“Yes,” he said, pressing on. Maybe he could still swing Sache back to his side, get him to see that he didn’t belong with the Cado, that they were using him because he was desperate to have somewhere to fit in, somewhere that accepted him. “Viko’s dead.”
“Oh.” Sache was still uncharacteristically quiet.
“Gunnar Atrox is the new commander now,” Vlad said, naming the dragon shifter from Clan Atrox who had been nominated to fill the position as commander of the Gate Guard.
Gunnar had also been on duty with Vlad and Sache the day they had ‘failed’ in their duty. If there was a bigger sign of vindication, Vlad wasn’t sure what it was.
“Gunnar is Commander now…” Sache shook his head. “That surely is something my friend.”
“I know. Which means we’re forgiven. Not that anyone blamed us, but now we know we don’t deserve any of the blame. Viko set us up Sache. We’re free.”
Vlad was still working to believe that nobody from Clan Teres had truly judged him or Sache for what happened that day, but the more time he was spending around them, the more he had a hard time refuting that fact. Given how quickly Blede, Kayb and Lara had leapt to come help out just added to that.
“Free,” Sache said softly. “We’ve always been free Vlad. That was the best part of where we ended up. The freedom to do as we pleased. Nobody ordering us around, touting their superiority.”
“What are you talking about Sache?” Vlad said, dumbfounded. “That’s all the Cado do. Cratom is the boss. Whatever he says goes, and you know what happens to those who speak out against him. Remember what happened when we first arrived? How we had to do all the crappy stuff because we were new? How is that not people ordering us around?”
“We had to put in our time, Vlad. Like everyone else. That’s the way it is,” Sache countered.
“Maybe, but that’s still not freedom, and it’s literally being ordered around by people who have more superiority simply because they’ve been there longer.”
“You wouldn’t understand,” Sache said.
“No, I would understand,” Vlad growled, tired of pulling punches. “You’re scared. You’re terrified. You don’t like it there, you want to come home even, but you don’t think you’ll be welcome back. So you’re doing everything you can to endear yourself to Cratom and the others, simply because you want a place to feel like you fit in.”
“I am not scared,” Sache snarled defensively. “I’m happy.”
“Bull. Shit,” Vlad snapped back hotly. “You hate it. You want out, but you think you’re in too deep now. That people won’t forgive you. But you’re wrong, Sache. They can, and they will. But it’s up to you to ask for it. And that’s what you’re scared of. You don’t want to ask for forgiveness. That’s what makes you weak.”
“Lies,” Sache hissed, but Vlad could see that his points were hitting home, beating aside the younger shifter’s defenses, calling him out, exposing his vulnerability.
“No, I’m telling the truth. That’s why you’re getting so worked up. If I was lying, you would laugh it off and not care, because you’d know it was lies. Since I’m telling the truth, it’s making you angry, because you don’t like that I’m right.”
Sache clenched a fist and fire crackled there.
“Still proving my point even more,” Vlad pointed out, keeping his ears open. It would be coming soon, he knew it.
“I’m not coming back,” Sache said quietly. “It’s too late for me.”
“It’s never too late to come home to your family,” Vlad said. “We’ll always welcome you back Sache. I will be there for you my friend. You know that.”
Sache was quiet for a long time. His eyes were focused on a spot on the ground ten feet in front of Vlad. Though he couldn’t look his friend directly in the eye, Vlad knew that there must be a hundred different thoughts going through his mind.
“I can’t,” Sache said in a whisper. “Not after what I’ve done.”
“The only thing you’ve done Sache, is pretend that you did something bad to lure me out from the compound.”
There was a scraping sound from high up in the roof and someone dropped to the ground in a crouch.
“And it worked,” Liroi said, rising to his feet, an evil grin on his face as fire blossomed in both hands.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Vlad
He squared off against the newcomer, mildly surprised that there was only one of the Cado hidden in the cave. Vlad had been expecting this from the start, though he’d figured that Liroi would follow him into the cave and through the slit in the wall. This was slightly more complex.
It didn’t change the outcome one bit.
Orange flames flickered and grew as Vlad prepared to counter the attack from Liroi. Scales pushed up from under his skin, flowing out from his neck and shoulders, down his arms and legs. Normally brilliant salamander in daylight, the colors were muted and dimmed in the darkened cavern, with only other firelight to illuminate them.
“This won’t end well for you,” he said, trying to diffuse the situation, but knowing it was in vain.
Liroi sneered at him. “Unless you can’t count, it’s two against one.”
“Right.” Vlad glanced at Sache, noting that the other dragon hadn’t made any moves to attack yet. “So how about you go get a few more friends? Then it’ll be a fair fight.”
If there was one thing Vlad had learned in his time with the Cado, it was how to taunt Liroi and really get him worked up. It wasn’t particularly difficult. There were so many things he could use to get under his skin.
“I’m gonna burn that smug look right from your face,” Liroi spat, taking a step forward, a ball of fire appearing in his right palm.
“Well won’t that be a swine ole’ time,” Vlad drawled.
Liroi seethed as Vlad poked fun at his nickname. The angrier he got, the more recklessly he would fight.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Vlad asked. “It’s getting a little hog in here, let’s finish this.”
He’d expected that to push Liroi over the edge. Instead the other shifter straightened and grinned evilly at Vlad. “Okay.”
Then he flung a fireball right at Vlad’s face.
Vlad noted the trajectory was aiming for his right, and so he stepped a little to his left.
Right into the full force of Sache’s fist.
The impact slammed Vlad backward through the air until he crashed into the stone wall. Many things would yield under the impact of a dragon hitting them. Solid mountain rock was not one of those things.
Vlad rebounded off the wall, taking the brunt of the impact and hit the ground hard, seeing stars. The blow had been so unsuspected he hadn’t prepared himself for it in the slightest.
“I’m sorry Vlad,” Sache said from where he stood, looking like he was about to be ill. “But I had no choice.”
Vlad managed to focus on his friend. “Yes you did,” he said quietly, not giving up. “You still do.”
Liroi was o
n him then, approaching from the other side and catching Vlad with a vicious kick to the midsection. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Teres. A long time.”
Vlad bounced and rolled across the cavern floor, a sharp pain in his side stabbing deep with every breath. At least one rib had given way under that last kick, despite the extra shielding the smaller-size scales gave him.
He brought a hand up just in time to block a blast of fire headed his way, countering it with his own flames. Liroi was showing some smarts that Vlad hadn’t expected him to have, and he continued that trend by simply using the flames as a distraction while he ran right at Vlad.
Just as Vlad got to one knee, arm still outstretched to ward off the dragonfire, he took a fist to the jaw that slammed him back into the ground. Caught off guard, he went down hard.
Liroi picked him up by the arm and flung him into the nearest wall. Vlad crashed to the ground in a heap, somehow ending up in a sitting position.
The Cado dragon shifter got in close, and began delivering punches to Vlad’s face, not letting up, not giving him a chance to recover.
“I’m sorry Sache,” he managed to say through split lips. “I led you astray. It’s my fault. It’s my—”
A brutal punch to his throat stole his voice.
“That’s enough from you,” Liroi said, standing up with a growl. “I’m sick and tired of your pathetic whimpering. I always knew you were no good in a fight.”
“Sh—shou—sh,” Vlad tried to say through his mangled mouth.
“What’s that?” Liroi asked, standing up straight, breathing hard. “Can’t even speak anymore.”
Vlad glared up at the other shifter, noting that one of his eyes was swelling rapidly from the attacks. “You should have brought more friends,” he spat, kicking out hard.
Liroi didn’t quite get out of the way of the blow in time, and he stumbled backward. Vlad thrust his hand out straight and unleashed some of his pent up dragon flame. The brilliant fire hit Liroi right in the face, dropping him onto his ass as he yelped in pain.
All the attack succeeded in doing was buying Vlad a bit of time, and burning Liroi’s eyebrows from his face. Other than that, it just enraged the Cado even more.