Chapter 39
“Wake up!”
Reif knew that voice. Groaning with pain, he rolled over on his side with great difficulty and opened his eyes. “You! What the fuck are you doing? I’m free!”
The man looked down at the sea dragon. “Correction. The rest of the sea dragons are free, but not you…at least not yet.”
“What are you talking about?” Reif tried to sit up again but the short chain yanked him back.
“It seems my employers feel the green diamond wasn’t valuable enough to buy freedom for all the sea dragons so they are demanding additional compensation,” the man replied.
“Me? I don’t get it. I don’t have a lot of money.”
“They know that, but it seems you have something they want. Now, give me your arm.”
“Wait. Where am I? How long have I been here?”
“Don’t worry, you’re still in Scotland. As for how long…let’s just say ‘a while’. Give me your arm, it’s time for your shot,” said the man.
Shit, Nessie will be freaking out. “You better let me go because my mate will be looking for me and he won’t be happy about this.”
“The problem with your threat is you’re assuming the sea serpent will be searching for you. I can assure you the note you left will squelch that desire immediately,” the man said.
“What note? I didn’t write any note!”
“True, but your mate won’t know since it was signed by you…or at least someone who pretended to be you.” The man yanked Reif’s arm over to him and plunged the needle in.
Instantly, Reif felt fire racing up his arm, spreading to the rest of his body, forcing him to curl up in an attempt to fight the pain. “What the fuck did you give me?” he gasped.
“A special growth hormone that will mature your sea dragon eggs faster. My employers have decided your five eggs are the additional compensation they want for your release.” Then the man vanished.
Letting his head fall back on the bed, Reif closed his eyes, fighting the hopelessness that threatened to consume him.
Nessie! Our babies! His mind focused on the note the man told him about, wondering what it said and whether Nessie would believe he’d leave him for any reason.
Given his evasive actions in the past, he wasn’t that sure he and Nessie had spent enough time together to build the trust necessary to carry them through this and emerge stronger on the other side. Fuck that! We will make it!
As the fire was replaced with ice, Reif began to shiver so violently it rattled the chain against his metal collar.
Wrapping his arms around himself, he tried to give his body some warmth but the effort was futile.
When the reaction to the drug running through his body faded, exhaustion set in, causing him to fall into a deep sleep again.
~/~/~/~/~
Kieran sat down next to Brian, placing a hand on his thigh as they waited to hear what Zane had discovered. Speaking softly, but confidently, he said, “Captain, keep the faith. We will find Reif.”
Giving a short nod, Brian hung on to a slender thread of hope. He’d finally accepted the note was probably phony, but while that had sustained him on the boat, the thread now was being stretched very thin as he waited to see if Zane had found anything to tell them about what happened to his mate.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Zane said, hurrying in with David behind him.
Slapping some papers down, he continued.
“Colton was right. The same person who did the documents for the group, did a rush job. Here’s the order, the email and a copy of the note left for Brian.
Reif wouldn’t have gone willingly, so he was probably drugged before they took him. ”
Passing everything to Brian, Zane then continued. “Kieran’s spirit insists the baby Nessies are in danger but couldn’t give him more information than that.”
“Our babies are in danger?” Brian asked, color fading from his face.
“I don’t know. I searched to see if I could find any mention of sea dragon eggs, baby sea dragons, baby Nessies or baby sea serpents but there wasn’t anything. If Reif was taken because he was pregnant, then I’d guess they want the eggs for themselves.”
“Naw!” Brian yelled. “Those fuckin’ bastards!”
“Brian,” Logan said, “I think Zane is on to something. Think about it. The group made a bogus deal with Reif’s father, thinking there was no green diamond, so they never expected one to show up and, on top of it, to also be bound by a signed agreement.”
“Yeah, but they got a very valuable green diamond,” Fionn said.
“True,” agreed Logan, “but their loss was enormous since they had to release the sea dragons, ending a very profitable deal they had for a thousand years. So…”
“…they decided,” Slate broke in, “to take Reif’s eggs from his sea dragon and, when the babies are old enough, use them to continue to steal for them.”
“Exactly,” said Logan.
“But what about the note?” Dakota asked Logan. “Aren’t they worried about Brian not believing it was from Reif?”
“No. Why should they? They don’t know we know about the green diamond forgeries they planted for Reif.”
Brian then spoke up. “I agree with what yer sayin’ but how do we go aboot findin’ my mate?”
~/~/~/~/~
Shaking Reif’s shoulder, the man tried to wake the sea dragon again; it was time for his next shot.
It was getting harder to wake him up when it was time for the shot but that was what his employers wanted.
Finally, grabbing both shoulders and shaking Reif violently, he was successful—the sea dragon’s eyes fluttered open. “Give me your arm.”
“No, you’re killing me,” Reif mumbled, holding his arms tight to his body.
“Probably, but at least you’ll live on through your offspring.” Twisting one of Reif’s arms, he administered the next shot, then, dropping the empty syringe, disappeared, leaving Reif to contend with the horrific after-effects again.
The fire, ice and pain roared through his body, but this time he fought to stay awake—to try to figure out how to save their babies—but the effects of the drug were too strong to let him think cogently.
Checking with his beast, he discovered the eggs were growing faster than they normally would, which meant they’d soon be ready to be laid.
A cry of despair left his throat, picturing his babies forced to live a painful life of crime.
His mate was his only hope of salvation, but Reif was at a loss as to how Nessie would find him, much less overpower the man and his group.
~/~/~/~/~
Appearing in the study of the house, downstairs from Reif’s room, the man stood quietly, in front of the three vampires, waiting to give his report.
Watching them move from human to human made his mouth water from the scent of fresh blood filling the room.
It had been way too long since he had last eaten and the urge to seize one of the willing donors and sink his fangs into a pulsing neck vein almost brought him to his knees.
He’d pay the ultimate price for that action, though.
Valerian shoved his donor away, licking the blood from his lips then, casting his eye around, saw the creature Xavier and Strix created. “You,” he pointed to the man, “Report.”
After listening to the man, Valerian smirked, knowing he and his fellow vampires would soon be the owners of five sea dragons.
Since the head—actually former head—of the coven had told them the arrangement with the sea dragons was finished and the vampires were on their own, Valerian had assumed leadership, making the acquisition of Reif’s eggs his prime objective.
Now he was just hours away from achieving success.
~/~/~/~/~
Moaning continuously after the last injection, Reif had no energy left to fight the fire and ice that consumed his body.
He lay there motionless, all hope gone. But during a rare moment of lucidity, as tears veiled his eyes, he implored Nessie to please forgive him.
Then, closing his eyes, he resolved to give up his life in a last, desperate attempt to prevent his babies from suffering his people’s fate.
~/~/~/~/~
“I think I have a lead,” Zane said, in answer to Brian’s question about finding Reif. “There wasn’t a name associated with the first job, but this time, there was…Valerian Lestat. His name is linked to several properties.”
“Where are they located?” asked Logan.
“One in Spain and, get this, one here, in Scotland. It’s an old hunting lodge, although that description is misleading.” Shuffling through his papers for a photo, he handed it to Logan.
“That’s a hunting lodge?” asked Logan, looking at a grand Victorian stone castle, amazed at the sheer size of it.
“They’re actually called sporting lodges,” Ian clarified. “Wealthy humans use them to hunt red stag.”
David’s eyes widened as he turned to Zane. “Are those the deer we saw on our picnic?”
“Yeah, babe, but I think they were safe from hunters because they live in a very isolated part of the Highlands.”
“Thank goodness. They were absolutely beautiful.”
“Ay, yer mate’s right. The ones around my cottage are safe because Angus protects them,” Brian assured David.
“Let’s get back to the lodge,” Logan said, passing the photo to Brian. “I take it you believe Reif is there and not in Spain?”
“Ay, I know this place.”
“I think he’s there,” said Zane. “I’m sure Reif wouldn’t go willingly, so they had to knock him out and take him someplace close. Getting him to a place in Scotland is a lot easier than taking him to another country, especially if they needed to fly there.”
“But it’s a guess, right?” asked Colton.
“Yes,” Zane agreed, “but I would bet on it.”
“Maybe I can help. If I can find his thoughts, it might tell us where he is,” Dakota suggested.
“Babe, that’s a great idea,” said Slate.
“Yeah, it is,” Logan said. “Dakota, go ahead and see if you can find Reif. Everyone else, be quiet,” he ordered.
Taking Slate’s hand, Dakota activated his shadow voice, searching through myriad thoughts, looking for Reif’s.
Knowing they’d be fainter than others, since he wasn’t close by, he quickly discarded the loud ones until what was left were those farther away.
Wanting to be certain, Dakota followed each thought thread to its owner before discarding it and tracking another.
Seizing a very faint one, he pulled on it slowly since it was very weak, finally arriving at the end.
Squeezing his mate’s hand to let him know he’d found Reif, Dakota found what he was looking for.
“He is in Scotland!” Then, glancing at Brian, he continued, “Reif isn’t in good shape.
We need to move quickly if we want to save him. ”
Looking out the window, Logan snapped, “Everyone on the roof in ten minutes. Make sure you all dress in black.”
“Are we going?” asked Theo.
“Yes. Everyone goes. I don’t know who’ll be there but whoever they are, we may need to fight them if they won’t hand Reif over.
” Then, after sending a text, Logan nodded at Dakota before leaving the room—giving him a signal to pass on the information about the sea dragon’s condition to Ian and Colton.
After seeing the look in his brother’s eyes, he knew it was now a race against time.
~/~/~/~/~
From high above, Reif looked down at himself lying on the bed, not moving, wondering when the last life thread tying him to his body would break, freeing his babies from a lifetime of sorrow.
It should have happened by now, but when he heard someone in his mind say Nessie was on the way, it produced a flicker of hope in his soul, enough at least, to keep him tied to his body on earth.
~/~/~/~/~
Even though it was lighter than Logan preferred, night had fallen early and low-hanging clouds obscured the full moon; his black dragon could fly without the risk of being spotted.
Standing on the roof, he zipped up Kieran’s jacket, tucking his mate’s scarf inside the collar.
“Babe, are you sure you’ll be warm enough? ”
“Absolument, macushla. I’m wearing my pink, silk, long underwear under my black jeans which, you might want to know, are lined with pink fleece.”
Logan smiled. Then, moving to the center of the roof after everyone had arrived, he shifted into his black dragon, lowering himself so they could climb aboard. Receiving the okay from his mate, his dragon lifted off, making a bee-line for the lodge.
Brian was seated behind the Shaman, whose hand was on his thigh, sending him a constant stream of love and hope. But even so, Dakota’s words about Reif’s condition, made him fearful that they’d arrive too late to save his mate.
Logan had been flying for an hour and was beginning to tire. Digging down for more power, he was determined not to be the reason they might get there too late. Suddenly, he heard his mate in his mind.
Macushla, there it is! Kieran pointed to a white, stone castle sitting in the middle of a large manicured lawn.
Circling it several times, Logan landed in front of the building, allowing everyone to get off.
Then he took off again, flying low around the lodge, opening his mouth and roaring while shooting scorching flames to get the attention of those inside.
Finally, when the massive front door opened, he landed, shifted, standing behind everyone, and waited for the vampires to make the first move.
“What do we have here?” smirked Valerian, striding out of the house, flanked by Zeidan and Xavier. Sniffing, he snorted in disgust. “Wolf and bear shifters and a sea serpent. Oh, I’m so frightened.”
“Their blood is pretty gamey, but it’s a nice switch from the human kind,” Zeidan said.
“Do you see what I see?” whispered Xavier.
“Yes, I do. Something to add to our collection,” grinned Valerian.
“Maybe we can use him to lure our old coven leader back,” whispered Zeidan.
Anger boiled up inside Valerian at that suggestion.
He was now the leader and would never yield to anyone.
If either of his friends had any doubts about his capability, all they had to do was look at the sea dragon upstairs whose eggs would soon give them their very own thieves.
Glaring at Zeidan, he growled, “If you’re unhappy with my decisions, you can leave.
” After his friend lowered his head in deference to his authority, Valerian turned to stare at the one he would keep as a trophy.