Lana’s mind was so full of Nick that she almost missed it at first. There was an envelope taped to the door.
Her heart raced a million miles an hour; she knew that this could not be good. She knew that Dizag had been there and that he had an ominous message for her.
Her hands were trembling so much that she struggled to open the envelope. When she pulled out the photograph inside, she screamed and dropped it. The glass of milk she had fell alongside it, the glass shattering into a million pieces, just like Lana’s heart.
Nick came running out the door. “What is it? What is wrong.”
Lana couldn’t speak. She simply pointed to the picture. It was a picture of her parents in a cage. They were bloodied and looked as though they had been badly beaten. They were wearing bracelets that kept them from shifting.
Dizag had scrawled only two words on the bottom of the picture. “Your move.”
Nick picked up the picture and stared at it. “Who are they?” he asked.
“My parents,” Lana managed to get out.
Nick nodded, and Lana could see that his thoughts were spinning.
He pulled her inside the house. He wrapped up some food and poured the coffee into a thermos. Then, he practically shoved Lana into the passenger side of the car, and drove like a NASCAR driver to the police station.
Nick took Lana to the break room and said, “You need to eat this. You’re going to need your strength. I need to talk to the chief.”
Almost like a zombie, Lana nodded. Then, as Nick left the room, she mindlessly got up and followed him. When Nick saw that she was on his tail, he grabbed her hand.
“Okay, we’ll talk to the chief together,” he said.
Nick showed his boss the picture that Lana had found that morning. He told the chief that Dizag was holding her parents hostage in the shifter world.
“We have to go there. That is the only way to find him and defeat him. Otherwise, he’ll just come back here and create more of a problem than he already has. No one will be safe until he’s safe. The answer is there.”
The chief, who was a moose shifter, understood. “Okay. I’ll tell anyone who wants to know that you are on assignment. Be safe,” he said.
He looked at Lana. “Take care of yourself, young lady. I hope that you and your parents come back safely.”
Lana muttered, “Thanks,” and headed for the door. There was no time to waste.
On the way over to the club, Nick called Brady and said that they had to use the portal.
Brady said, “I’ll meet you there.”
Lana mentally shook herself and told herself that she had to get her mind back in the game. This was no time to become numb or even stupid.
“You know, you don’t have to come with me. I don’t want you to get hurt trying to save my parents,” Lana told Nick.
“If I didn’t know that you were still in shock, I would be insulted by your comment. What would make you think that I would not be by your side in this. Dizag is not just a ‘you’ problem. He is a huge problem for the entire shifter community. Plus, we are partners. A team,” Nick growled at her.
Lana nodded. She had expected that response from Nick, but she still had to say it.
They reached the club in record time. Brady was standing on the sidewalk waiting for them.
Nick showed Brady the picture. Brady studied it for a couple of very long seconds, and then looked up at Lana.
“I know you’ll get them and Lucy back safely. I have faith. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll reach out to my father and sister, and give them an update. I know that they’ll be willing to help,” Brady said.
“Thank you,” Lana said softly.
Knowing that she was itching to be on her way, Brady led them down to the portal without another word.
“If I don’t see you again, I want to thank you for all your help. You are a good man,” Lana said, and stepped into the portal.
Nick quickly shook Brady’s hand.
“Good luck,” Brady said, as Nick stepped into the portal as well.
When he got to the other side, he found Lana waiting for him impatiently.
They headed straight for Lana’s home, running most of the way. Lana knew that she should be more cautious, surveying her surroundings carefully, but she had to get home.
She stopped just outside of the courtyard. Her mother’s precious rose garden had been ripped to shreds, with bushes thrown everywhere. Statues and fountains had been broken and tossed aside. There were a couple bodies of lion shifters who had been killed. Their bodies were laid to one side, waiting for someone to perform the funeral ceremonies.
Lana and Nick carefully walked inside the castle. It was in an even worse state. Tapestries that had been passed down for generations hung in shreds on the walls. A couple of shifters there had been torn apart or burned beyond recognition. There was not a room in the house that had not been destroyed.
As Lana walked through her home, she had to practice her breathing so that she didn’t panic and hyperventilate.
Finally, she made her way back downstairs to the large ballroom.
She called out. “Is there anyone around? It is me, Lana.”
She knew that the castle had many secret hiding spots in case there was an attack such as this.
Slowly, one by one, lion shifters came out of hidden holes. Everyone started talking at once.
“Please, I can only hear one person at a time,” Lana said. She asked the head housekeeper, “Mrs. Jackson. What happened?”
“They came in the middle of the night. They ambushed the guards outside and then flew in through the upstairs windows. Two of them took your mother and father, while the rest of them destroyed the castle and the courtyard. Anyone who got in their way was killed.”
Nick spoke up. “Dragon shifters?”
Mrs. Jackson looked at Nick curiously before answering. “Yes.”
Then, she pointed to words that looked as though they had been painted on the wall in blood. “I’ll see you soon.”
“I heard that dragon laughing like a maniac while he was writing on the walls. He used the blood from one of the children that he killed to write his message.”
The rage built up in Lana. He killed her people. He killed one of her children. This was going to end.
Lana talked to a few members of her security team. She showed them the picture. None of them were quite sure where that particular cave was.
“I was afraid of that,” Lana said. “Go to the other prides nearby. Show them this picture and tell them what happened. Tell them that we are going after my parents. Ask them if they would send help.”
The new head of security (the previous one was among the dead) nodded. A couple of the members of the security team said that they were going along, as did many of the able-bodied shifters.
Nick said, “The best way and the quickest way to find her parents and Lucy is to split up. Searching all the caves together would not only garner unwanted attention, but would also leave some of the group standing around when they could be exploring caves on their own.”
“We’ll divide and conquer,” Lana said.
Although some of the shifters did not like this idea, as it made them more vulnerable to attack and easier for Dizag and his crew to pick off. Because they wanted to protect Lana, they agreed to her plan. After all, until her father was back, she was their leader.
“We will find him. Dizag will face justice for his crimes,” Lana said.
13
Nick
Lana was fierce, angry, and determined. She was no longer the mild, meek lady of the manor who spread sunshine and flowers throughout the land. Nick thought that she had never been more beautiful than she was at this moment. She seemed to stand taller, and her face was full of color. Her eyes were so focused that she could have shot poison darts out of them.
After staring at her for a few minutes while she talked to her people, he shook his head. He had to get his mind in the game or he wa
sn’t going to survive, let alone help anyone.
Focus on the task at hand. Admire her beauty later.
There was going to be no room for error on this mission. One tiny little mistake could cause a major catastrophe and cost Lana’s parents their lives. Not to mention his and Lana’s.
“Do you recognize the caves?” Nick asked.
Lana shook her head. “These pictures don’t show enough details for me to be able to figure them out. We don’t have as many caves on the pride lands, so I would bet that he took them out of our kingdom to someplace where he would feel safe.
“Where are we going to start looking?” Nick asked, studying the picture for any kind of clue that might help them find Lana’s parents.
Paul, one of the lead security team members, said, “I am going to take an educated guess. I think that they are in one of the sets of caves that border our pride land and the Northlands. He will likely be on the Northland side, because he doesn’t think that Alix is the rightful ruler and therefore, the caves belong to him.”
“That makes a lot of sense, Paul. At least that gives us a starting point,” Lana said.
“Wouldn’t Alix be aware if the rogue thunder of dragons had moved into her kingdom and was using it as a place to hold hostages and start a war?” Nick asked. “I’ve met her, and she seems very savvy.”
“Not necessarily. The Northlands is a huge area, and it would take a tremendous number of soldiers to guard every bit of it. So much of Northlands is also harsh, especially after being ruled by Vardok and his father. She is likely spending her energy and resources to rebuild the area where the palace is and the largest of the villages. She’ll be expanding out to the more rural areas after that, where the farmlands and the smaller villages are. She wouldn’t have the manpower to get to the fringes of her kingdom for many years to come,” Paul explained.
Nick and Lana nodded. That explanation made perfect sense to them.
Lana spoke to a few more of her guards and the other people who lived and worked in the castle. Nick figured that she was giving them orders to protect the castle and to get it ready for her parents to come home.
Shifting into lions, Nick and Lana set off on their quest. They walked swiftly, but silently, as they were trying to catch Dizag and his cronies by surprise. They might not win the battle, as they were “out gunned” so to speak, as well as outnumbered, but they certainly intended to make a showing.
Lana tried to communicate telepathically with her parents or her sister, but could not make a connection.
She said to Nick telepathically, “I don’t know if they are blocked because of the caves, if we are too far away, or because of the bracelets that Dizag is forcing them to wear. The bracelets keep them from shifting, so they might keep them from communicating.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Nick said.
As they walked, they could see the destruction that Dizag had wrought on the land. Trees had been knocked down. Many trees and plants had been burnt. It seemed that every living thing that was along their path had been destroyed. One of the ponds had been poisoned, and all of the fish and other creatures that had lived in the pond were dead.
“What kind of being does this?” Lana asked. “What in him makes him have to destroy everything that is alive and beautiful?”
“His soul is so ugly that the beauty hurts him. He can’t stand to see anything grow and thrive,” Nick said. “He has to make sure that everything around him matches his essence—dead and ugly.”
“He has to be dead inside in order to carry out these horrific deeds,” Lana answered. “I almost feel sorry for him that he was made this way, either by his parents or by Vardok. Imagine not being about to appreciate the incredible magic of a bee gathering pollen to make honey or finding peace in the whisper of grass and trees.”
Nick agreed, although he couldn’t quite find the ability to feel sorry for Dizag as Lana had suggested. He was perfectly capable of choosing his own path, and Dizag had chosen evil and death.
After walking for a couple of hours, they reached one set of caves. Taking care to look around the area, making sure that they wouldn’t be ambushed by someone hiding in the bushes or lurking in the few trees that remained, they explored each one. Some of the caves looked as though they had been used, although not recently.
Knowing that time was of the essence, they didn’t look into each room of the caves or all of the offshoots. They focused on the larger areas that would have room for the dragon and his hostages, although they did try to peek into every area they encountered just to see if there was anyone being held captive inside.
In one of the caves, they found a cage. Inside were several shifters in human form. They all wore shift-blocking bracelets. It was clear that they had been held for a long time and were in dire need of food and water.
Nick and Lana quickly unlocked the cage, and the prisoners stumbled out. They helped the shifters remove their bracelets, so that they could morph into their animal forms.
The hostages told the pair that they don’t know how long they had been in there, but it had been a very long time.
One said, “We didn’t see Dizag very much, but his pals would come around every couple of days to throw some food and nasty water at us.”
“Did they tell you why you are being held?” Lana asked.
One of the frailer prisoners nodded. She was a young cat shifter. “They told us that we were going to be slaves when Dizag took the kingdom back from Queen Alix. The women would also serve Dizag and his men until they tired of us.”
Her words made Nick’s hackles rise. He could feel his blood start to boil and the rage flow through him like a rushing river. He knew he had to quash his emotions, or he wouldn’t be able to think well enough during the battle. He needed all of his senses gathered about him.
Pointing to the way that they came from, Lana said, “Go that way. Our pride lands are not too far. You should find a creek with water and some food. Hide as you walk the best that you can, because we have no idea if Dizag or any of his army has been following us.”
A few of the shifters wanted to help them, but they were all so weak from being kept locked up without adequate food and water. A few of them could barely stand or walk.
“You are brave, but you wouldn’t stand a chance in your condition. You would be slaughtered. That is just the way that Dizag wanted you to be. Just head back and if you see anyone who might be friendly, tell them your situation,” Nick said.
He could only imagine how frustrating it might be to want to fight back so badly but be physically unable to do so. That would chafe his soul like sandpaper on fine china.
“I wish I could help you more, my friends,” Lana said. “But we have to go find my parents and sister. I know he is holding many other shifters hostage as well.”
All of them wished the pair good luck and started the long trek back to civilization.
As Nick and Lana left the cave, they were extra cautious. They knew that they had to be getting close. They were also very aware of the fact that Dizag was expecting them and would likely have traps or an ambush set up for them. This was not going to be an easy fight, and Dizag wasn’t going to welcome them into his cave like guests and hand over Lana’s parents without a war.
They could see another set of caves coming up ahead. The hair on Nick’s body stood up straight. He felt as though there were a hundred sets of eyes following their every footstep, listening to their every breath, and intercepting every communication between him and Lana.
Suddenly, Lana stopped. She was completely still. She cocked her head as though she were listening to something.
She said, “I can hear my father. They have to be in one of these caves in front of us.”
Looking ahead, Nick saw there were several large caves. They all looked as though they had been used recently. As with every other place the dragons had been, the entire area had been decimated.
He sniffed the air. He could smell the fear of shif
ters, as well as death. He could also smell the putrid smell of unclean dragons. They were definitely getting close to where Dizag and his crew had been hiding out.
“Do you smell that?” Nick asked.
Lana nodded, but didn’t reply. She was trying to listen for more communications from her father or other prisoners.
They moved even slower as they approached. Not only might one of the dragons attack them from out of nowhere, but they could have set traps, such as pits or nets. Dragons didn’t play fair, especially Dizag and his crew.
Every few feet Lana stopped to listen. “His voice is very faint. He sounds weak,” Lana said.
With excruciating slowness, they continued walking toward the caves. One of them looked to be much larger than the rest.
“There,” Lana said. “Father says they are in the second cave under the growth there.”
“Does he know that you can hear him?” Nick asked.
“No,” Lana answered. “I think that he is simply broadcasting messages hoping that someone is out looking for them and that he will be heard.”
“Do you want to tell him you are coming?” Nick asked.
“No. His thoughts and behavior might give something away to Dizag, if they don’t already know we are close,” she said.
The pair moved silently and slowly toward the cave. Suddenly, there was a loud thump behind them. They turned as one, and Nick’s heart sank to his stomach.
14
Lana
A large dragon had landed behind them. He was huge, with iridescent red scales. His presence would have been majestic, if he hadn’t been there to destroy everything, and if he wasn’t completely filthy. His scales seemed to have some kind of mold or slime covering them.
“Welcome, my lady. My name is Xutin,” the dragon said, his breath smelling of rotten flesh. “We’ve been expecting you.” He bent into a deep, mocking bow.
“Xutin. It means Lord of the Red,” Lana said. “If your name claims you are a lord, then why are you following a buffoon? Shouldn’t you be the leader, instead? Are you not strong or smart enough?”
Detective Lion Shifter (A Paranormal Night Club Book 3) Page 8