Chapter 9 #3
Orin looks up at them. ‘The power systems and the telephone lines only work sporadically now. Aziel heard that some of the humans were planning a revolt. He ordered us to blow two of the dams on the west side of our lands.’
‘Jesus!’ My eyes widen. ‘There were settlements in those valleys! Thousands lived there.’
Orin has the sense to look ashamed. ‘Not anymore, sir.’
Drey shakes his head. ‘Where is he, Orin?’
‘Not here. He's rarely been here over the past two months, except to ask for our progress with,’ he looks away, ‘finding the females. They…they all left, sir.’
‘And have you found any of them?’
He cringes as if he’s sure he’s going to be in trouble. ‘No, sir.’
‘Why did they leave?’
Orin looks back up at us. ‘I don't know, sir. They just all left not long after you went to the Borderlands.’
‘Does anyone know where Aziel is?’
Orin shakes his head again and then looks beyond us as if he’s searching for someone.
‘Is Tor with you?’
I don't answer him. ‘What’s wrong with everyone?’ I ask instead.
He surveys the room. ‘They’ve been like that since last night. Almost everyone. I’ve tried everything to rouse them, but no one will come out of it.’
‘Anyone else here?’
‘Glenen has been staying in your apartments, sir. He only leaves when Aziel comes, though. No one goes in. I tried to contact him, but…’
‘Come on,’ Drey says, leaving Orin staring after us and the rest of the faction spacing out in the dining area.
‘What the fuck is wrong with everyone?’
We get to the office door and Drey swipes his card. It unlocks.
‘Still works,’ I mutter. ‘You must still be on the system.’
‘Dumb fucks,’ he mutters as he pushes it open.
The office is in disarray. The filing cabinets are open, and papers litter the floor.
I spot Glenen squatting by the fireplace, casually burning papers as if he hasn’t even heard the door.
He looks up and does a double take, his eyes widening and then cutting to the exit that leads to Drey’s rooms before landing on the gun on the desk.
‘Oh, fuck!’ He lurches across the room for it, but I get to him first, wrenching him back and pushing the gun across the desk with my other hand.
‘You go,’ I say to Drey. ‘Find Aziel. I'll deal with Glenen.’
I push him backward. The room is too small for us to change into our dragon forms. I'd love to rip him limb from limb, but I'll have to content myself with fighting him the human way. At least I can make him bleed.
‘Where’s our female?’ I grind out.
He seems to have the same idea, because he pulls a long, thin knife from his belt.
‘I'm not telling you shit, Brax. Your dumb little human is gone and I’m gonna fucking gut you,’ he snarls. ‘I always hated you. Always thinking you're so much better than us.’
I snort. ‘I am better than you, Glenen.’
He runs at me with an angry yell, his blade held downward to hack at me.
My own knife slides against his, clanging like a tiny sword.
I whirl around him, and I hit him hard on the back with the hilt, mostly just to fuck with him.
He snarls angrily and runs at me again. I laugh and dodge, nicking him on his thigh through his pants.
His pained yowl makes me laugh and his face turns red as a beet. His scream is unhinged and rage fueled.
This time when he runs at me, I step back intending to end this, but my foot snags on the rug that I told Drey countless times was a hazard, and I fall hard on my side.
My knife skitters across the room. He's on me in an instant, trying to drive his blade into my throat. I hold him back just, but he’s putting all his weight behind it. The tip of the steel pierces my neck.
I can’t die like this.
What about Mari? My baby?
No way I’m going out like this! If I'm going to die today, it's not going to be done by the likes of Glenen!
With the last of my strength, I push him back enough to shuffle out from under him just enough.
The knife slides into my shoulder, and I let out a grunt, but I don't give him any more than that as I draw back my fist as much as I can and hit him hard in the side of his ugly face.
He falls back with a groan, holding his cheek and shaking his head a little to clear the birdies.
And then he sees the gun on the floor next to him and reaches for it.
I rip the knife out of my shoulder, and I lurch toward him, burying it in his chest to the hilt. He looks surprised as he slumps to the floor, and I stagger to my feet. Not wasting anymore time, I sprint into Drey’s apartment just as he’s coming into the living room.
‘She’s not here. It doesn’t smell like her or Aziel.’
‘Fuck!’ I snarl. ‘Glenen is dead, so he won’t be giving us any answers.’
Drey snarls low, looking around for any clues.
‘Could the scents Glenen hid still be invisible to us somehow?’
Drey shakes his head. ‘I doubt it. But it doesn’t look like anyone’s been here except him like Orin said. She isn’t here. She never was. He took her somewhere else.’
He pounds the table in front of him with his fist and it collapses with a crash.
‘Let’s see if anyone else knows anything,’ I say, my own fists clenching.
We go back out to the Main Hall.
‘Where is Aziel?’ I ask the dragons there who are milling around as if they don't know what's going on.
None of them say anything.
‘It’s like they’re zombies,’ Drey mutters, pulling one around to look at him.
We hear running and Del bursts through the other door alone.
‘Where's Tor?’ I ask.
‘He's fighting Julius.’
I start towards the door to help, but Tor staggers through, a wide feral smile on his face. I see his dragon looking back at me and I grab a glass of water from the nearest table, toasting him silently for becoming one with his dragon properly once again.’
Del stares around the room and she frowns.
‘What the hell is everyone doing?’
Drey shakes one of them. ‘They all kind of seem like they're in a daze.’
‘Fuck,’ she mutters.
She puts her med bag on the table next to us and opens it up, taking a swab out. Grabbing the face of the nearest spaced-out dragon, she swabs in the inside of his mouth and puts it in a vial she has in her other hand. She shakes it vigorously and it turns green almost immediately.
‘Dragonsbane,’ she mutters, looking around the room in despair. ‘Most of the faction’s males must be here. He’s poisoned them all.’
‘But why would he do that?’ I ask. ‘He wanted to rule. Why destroy the Stormriders completely?’
‘Is there enough antidote in the stores to save them?’ Drey asks Del, ignoring my question.
‘There’s going to have to be.’
I turn back toward the office.
‘Where are you going?’ asks Tor.
‘To find out why Aziel did this, what he’s been doing. Glenen was burning papers when we found him. There must be a reason.’
I’m vaguely aware of Tor following me as I go back into the office.
I step over Glenen’s body and hear Tor spit on him as I look through the papers that are scattered around.
There’s nothing important, but then I spy a couple beside the fire that must have slipped out of a folder before they could burn.
‘It's a message to Aziel,’ I mutter. ‘From Void.’
‘Onyx’s right hand in the Sky Demons?’
I nod as I read. ‘It’s dated to before Drey even challenged Morcai. They made an agreement. Aziel destroys the Stormriders, and in return, he gets a place in their faction. That sonofabitch!’
‘That’s why he was counting on Mari. Having a Tribute would elevate his status in a new faction,’ he mutters, ‘and it’s why he sabotaged everything then tried to kill Drey without challenging him. He never wanted to be Commander. His plan was to slaughter us all!’
‘Sir?’ Orin is at the door, looking around the office with wide eyes as if he's never been in it before. He probably hasn't.
‘What is it, Orin?’ Tor asks.
‘I heard Glenen, sir. He was talking to Julius. Before. He was bragging about how he stole the human out from under your noses. The Tribute. He didn't bring her back here.’
‘Did they say anything else, Orin?’ Tor asks. ‘Think. Just like I taught you. Take it slow. Consider everything.’
He nods. ‘They didn't say anything else, but Glenen… He did have a scent on him. I remember thinking it was weird. It smelled like oil or gasolene.’
Tor and I glance at each other.
‘The old factory,’ I say.
Tor nods. ‘Close, but still out of the way. Derelict. The smell would hide them even without Glenen’s little gift.’
We go back to the main room and find Del administering shots. Thirty men are already sitting on the floor with their heads in their hands groaning.
We tell Drey what we know. His jaw tightens but he says nothing, no doubt blaming himself.
Tor puts a hand on his shoulder. ‘It’s not your fault.’
‘Of course it is,’ he whispers.
‘No, my friend. Aziel was poisoning you. For months. He was probably doing the same to Morcai. None of us realized how much of a threat he was. But he hasn’t succeeded.’
Drey looks incredulous and gestures to the room. ‘Look what he’s done, Tor! Half our faction could still die from this.’
Del looks up from where she’s injecting another listless patient.
‘They’ll all survive, Drey. Even though I’m only administering half doses.
Orin said he thinks it was in the mead last night.
Lucky for us he didn’t drink any. We caught it in time.
Everything Aziel has done can be undone.
But you need to go and find your very pregnant mate. Now.’