Chapter 37
About two hours later, the man appeared, startling Reif who’d dozed off. Opening his eyes, Reif looked at him, waiting to see what he was going to do, hoping he wasn’t angry over Reif’s disappearance.
“Where have you been?” asked the man.
Narrowing his eyes, Reif considered his answer. If the man knew where he’d been, the man’s retribution would be swift and might be directed at his father. On the other hand, if he told the truth, Nessie would become a weapon the man could use against him. “I found the green diamond.”
Anger surged through the man at his failure to find it first and use it to buy his freedom. Another opportunity lost! Several minutes passed as he fought against taking his frustration out on the sea dragon. Finally, gritting his teeth, he ground out, “Where is it?”
“I don’t have it with me. I can have it in two hours.”
“I’ll meet you here in two hours, then, and if you don’t show up, your father will pay the price,” the man said.
“Wait. Not here. Somewhere else.”
“Where?” asked the man.
“At this address.” Reif pulled out a card with the hotel’s address on it and a scribbled room number. “Here. In two hours.”
The man took the card and, after scrutinizing it, said, “Flying high these days, hmmm?”
“Not me, just some friends. Two hours.”
“Two hours,” the man agreed, before vanishing.
Slowly letting out his breath, which Reif wasn’t even aware he’d been holding, he could hardly believe that freedom was a mere two hours away.
Texting Logan and Brian to let them know the time of the meeting, he headed to the bedroom where he gathered some of his things and stuffed them into his duffle bag.
His mission nearly over, he planned to leave the house and move in with Nessie on his boat.
Donning his hat, Reif left the cottage and, walked towards his freedom, making a mental note to call his father when it was all over.
~/~/~/~/~
The man waited in the shadows, watching the sea dragon leave with his bag, heading towards town.
Waiting until the coast was clear, he disappeared only to reappear inside Reif’s cottage.
Something was definitely different about the sea dragon’s demeanor—other than the fact he’d been claimed by his mate—and he was perturbed at not being able to put his finger on what it was.
Searching Reif’s cottage, he hoped to find a clue as to why the sea dragon had sounded so confident, but found nothing.
Collapsing onto the bed, the man lay there, staring out the window regretting for the millionth time, taking the vampire up on his offer of a blow job in the back alley.
Now that the sea dragon had found the green diamond, his own hope of finding it first was shattered; now he’d never escape the hell his life had become. The sea dragons would be free and he’d soon be dead since he’d be of no further use to his employers. Sighing, he arose and disappeared.
~/~/~/~/~
The orgy was in full swing. Valerian, licked the blood from his fingers and while deciding who he wanted next, noticed his fellow vampire, Zeidan, fucking the brains out of a human who was sucking the cock of Xavier, the third vampire in their trio.
Grinning at the sight, he shouted, “I fuckin’ love my life! ”
It wasn’t always so. His life had been a mess until the sea dragons had come into the picture.
After that, he was able to live the way he always wanted to—no work and lots of blood and sex and riches—that allowed him to buy anything or anyone he desired.
And once again, he congratulated himself for having stolen from the right victim to end his years of destitution.
Kicked out of his coven with nothing but the clothes on his back when he was caught red-handed with jewelry belonging to his leader, Valerian struggled to survive—no easy task, since word about his thieving ways had been widely circulated.
Finding a home in the underbelly of the paranormal world, he was able to eke out a living—if it could be called that—providing his bare necessities.
It was there, in his new home, that he made the acquaintance of Zeidan and Xavier, and together they formed their own coven, pooling the results of each day’s thievery. His lot improved marginally, but it was still a struggle until the fateful day when he almost lost his life.
Caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, Valerian stared at his victim who turned out not to be an easy mark. It took him only a second to recognize who he’d dared steal from; trembling, he knew he had only moments to live. Closing his eyes, Valerian hoped death came swiftly.
When nothing happened after several minutes, he peered out of one eye and saw his captor smiling at him; his life was about to undergo a profound transformation.
Following the orders of the new leader of his coven, Valerian found two witches, Treznor and Strix, who knew and practiced black magic.
Together—three vampires and two witches—descended on Angelopoulos, enslaving the sea dragons, giving Valerian his new lifestyle filled with humans ready to feed him until he was sated and limitless sex orgies whenever the mood hit.
The thing he valued most, though, was the castle in Spain he’d bought with his share of the loot.
Making his way to the human who was on his knees waiting for the next dick to fill his open mouth, Valerian smirked, knowing his cock was about to find pleasure again.
His cock waved back and forth as he approached the human.
Grabbing the man by his hair with one hand, Valerian rammed his shaft down the man’s throat, cutting off his air supply, causing his fingers to claw at his legs in a desperate effort to breathe.
Valerian waited until the man began to pass out before pulling his cock out, laughing at the gasps of the human as he sucked in air to recover.
Before he could fill the human’s mouth again, a blinding flash of light filled the room.
When he could see again, only he, Xavier, Zeidan and the leader of their coven remained. Oh, shit!
~/~/~/~/~
Throwing his duffle bag onto the deck of Nessie’s boat, Reif looked around the marina and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, climbed aboard. Finding the key exactly where Nessie told him it would be, he unlocked the door, stepped inside and then stowed his gear in the forward cabin of the boat.
Checking his phone, he grinned at the message of love from Nessie.
Then checking the time, Reif activated his camouflage ability before going topside.
Once there, he slipped into the loch, diving deep and shifting at the same time, swimming straight for the cave.
He pushed his sea dragon as much as he dared, trying to balance his time restraints against his concern for the eggs his beast carried.
Arriving at his destination, Reif stuck his head into the cave, praying Nessie hadn’t placed the metal box inside it; he hated dark, tight spaces.
Searching the murky waters, he almost missed it until he saw the rope Brian had looped around the box swaying in the current. Grabbing it with his mouth, he dragged it from the entrance to the cave and then, slipping his head thru the loop, turned and swam back to the boat.
Once there, Reif shifted in the water, climbed aboard and removed the green diamond from the metal box.
Dressing quickly, he hightailed down the dock, arriving just as a car pulled up.
Opening the door, Reif found Groose and three other enforcers inside.
Grinning inwardly, he climbed in, thankful Logan had sent them along to help guard the key to his people’s freedom.
~/~/~/~/~
The man, hidden in a doorway across from the hotel, waited for the sea dragon to arrive.
He had already sensed the presence of a witch but couldn’t pinpoint exactly where, so he kept to the shadows.
Checking the time, the man saw just three minutes remained before the deadline.
Contemplating what he’d do if Reif failed to show, he felt his phone vibrate.
Looking at the message, he groaned; his employers were summoning him.
Glancing at the hotel, he caught a glimpse of the sea dragon, surrounded by bodyguards, getting out of a car.
Making a quick decision, he sent a text back to his employers, then left the doorway, following Reif inside.
He was taking a big gamble by defying the orders to return, but hopefully, if he brought them the green diamond, his employers wouldn’t care.
Striding over to the guards at the private elevator, he announced himself, handing them the card Reif had given him.
After a quick ride up, the elevator doors opened and he found himself blocked from leaving it by five men. “Excuse me, Mr. Reif is expecting me and it’s important that I not be late.”
Groose stepped forward. “Follow me, please.”
Nodding, the man squeezed through the guards and, while walking behind Groose, began to feel the power of the gods enveloping him.
Who are these shifters? He’d never experienced anything like it before—he should tell his employers but knew he wouldn’t.
Why he decided not to was unclear, but a little part of who he’d been before had survived and that pleased him.
Jolted from his musings, the man realized Groose had opened a door, waiting for him to go through. Entering, he found Reif and another man, definitely a stranger. Addressing the sea dragon, the man asked, “Do you have the green diamond?”
“He does, but before my client hands it over, I need you to sign an acknowledgment that turning it over to you, as an agent of the people you represent, will release all sea dragons from servitude imposed on them,” Penn said.
“And you are…who?” asked the man.
“Penn Anderson. I represent the sea dragons.”
Taking the two-page agreement from the lawyer, the man read it carefully, making sure it only stated the terms of the agreement Reif’s father had reached with his employers. Satisfied with the wording, the man said, “I need to see the green diamond before I sign it.”
“Reif, please give me the green diamond.” Penn said, holding out his hand.
Digging into his pocket, Reif’s fingers wrapped around the jewel, caressing its smoothness, before finally removing it and handing it to Penn, all the while keeping his eyes on the man.
Taking it, Penn held it up to the light so the man could see the purity of the cut stone. “Here it is. If you would please sign both copies first,” he instructed, handing the duplicates to him.
Stepping over to the desk, the man sat down, executed the agreements and then held them out with one hand, while extending his other. “The green diamond, please.”
Penn simultaneously plucked the agreement from the man’s fingers while dropping the jewel in his open palm.
“Reif, please sign on behalf of all sea dragons,” he said handing him the documents.
After Reif did so, Penn handed one to the man.
“Please inform the people you represent that this copy will be filed with the Universal Paranormal High Council, just in case they decide to renege on their word.”
“I will convey your warning,” the man said, before leaving.
When the door closed, Reif collapsed on the sofa, closing his eyes, shocked that a thousand years of slavery had ended in such a civilized manner. When he felt the sofa dip, he opened his eyes to find Nessie seated beside him.
“Tis over,” Brian smiled.
When he heard those words, Reif grinned. Nessie’s right, it’s finally over and my people are free. Our babies are free. “Finally! I still can’t believe it,” Reif exclaimed.
“Reif,” said Penn, placing the agreement in his briefcase, “I won’t be filing this unless there’s a problem because Logan stressed the importance of keeping the sea dragons’ existence a secret. When I get back to the office, I’ll have a certified copy made and send it to you.”
Rising, Reif held out his hand. “I can’t thank you enough, Penn, for doing this.”
Shaking the sea dragon’s hand, Penn replied, “Glad to help. If you have any more problems with those people, just let me know.”
“I will. Thanks again.”
~/~/~/~/~
As soon as the man left the hotel, he ducked into a dark alley and vanished.
His employers would not be happy with his delay after they had summoned him.
Now, after presenting the green diamond and the agreement to them, the man realized his services were no longer needed and was sure death was imminent.
Closing his eyes and praying it would be quick, he stood, trembling slightly, not hearing the murmurings going on around him.
Instead, images of his life before that fateful night flipped through his head—his parents, younger siblings, college, friends, all gone—stripped from him without permission.
Now, his life—wretched as it was—would be taken from him.
Other opportunities to buy his freedom had always slipped away through no fault of his own and now his last chance—to find the green diamond before Reif did—had, once again, ended in failure. Lost in his thoughts, the man never heard the question.
“Hey, what the fuck is the problem?” asked Valerian.
When his employer’s anger finally penetrated his thoughts, he snapped his eyes open, wondering what he missed. “I’m sorry…”
Snorting in disgust, Valerian barked, “I asked you if the sea dragon was claimed by his mate?”
“Yes, sir, he was.” Wondering why that was important anymore, he strained to hear what his employers were saying, but only caught bits and pieces that made no sense.
He could tell they were agitated about something that had to do with the other members of the coven.
Finally, when it looked like his employers had reached an agreement, he braced himself again, certain he was just moments away from dying.
“Where is the sea dragon now?” asked Valerian.
“You mean Reif?”
“Yes, yes, of course I mean him. What other fuckin’ sea dragon do you know?”
“Still in Scotland with his mate, well, at least that’s where I left him.”
“Good. Now this is what we want you to do,” Valerian said, with an evil grin.