Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Cam had been wandering through the tunnels of his mind for what felt like weeks. No matter where he went, he couldn’t find his dragon, or even a way out.
He’d never been inside these tunnels, the ones used by his dragon to hide before finally talking to him as a child, since his beast had never wanted to return, let alone show Cam around. However, he’d heard stories of dragon-shifters getting lost forever and never waking up again.
Which he refused to think about. He needed to find Emily, make sure she was all right, and then hunt down whoever had attacked him.
It was fuzzy, but he vaguely remembered checking on one of the human researchers who’d made the distress signal with his hand.
As soon as he’d reached him, the human had dashed to his head and stabbed Cam behind the ear.
He’d barely glimpsed Emily before he’d blacked out and woken up here, trapped inside his mind.
And he had no idea if it’s been hours, days, or weeks. Maybe even years.
Normally his inner dragon would give advice, or a pep talk, or even just tell Cam to get his head out of his arse and make a plan.
The silence, though, was deafening.
Stop it, Cam. Focus on getting out and waking up, and then you can figure out the rest later.
So far he’d learned that the tunnels often led to wide, open areas, complete with a fake sky, as well as plant life that shimmered between green and blue.
However, no matter where he went, there weren’t any clues about how to escape. He’d hope to find something left behind by his beast, but there weren’t any claw marks or even shed scales.
Was this tunnel system really that vast?
Then there was the matter of the fake sky, which was always bright, as if the sun never set. Maybe the tunnels existed to allow inner dragons to sleep.
If—no, when—he got out of here, he would learn a little more about it all. Maybe it could help him understand his dragon better. And after being without him this long, Cam was going to give his inner beast a lot of attention for a while.
Eventually, Cam kicked something that banged against the wall before bouncing back at him. He crouched down and found a wee rock with a clumsily painted dragon on it. He frowned, studying it, and then it hit him—it was eerily similar to the one he’d painted as a child.
Had his dragon imagined his own version?
Picking it up, Cam held it tight and continued walking. His mum had always said their painted rocks were good luck charms, and he’d take whatever he could get.
He walked, slept, and ate the fruit and nuts that seemed to magically appear on the trees. After an undefined amount of time, the wee rock grew warmer.
Wanting to test it, Cam strode in the opposite direction, and the stone grew cooler. When he turned around and walked back, it grew hotter again, almost as if telling him this was the right way.
While it seemed ridiculous, his gut told him to use the rock like a compass, and at this point, he’d try anything. And so Cam continued maneuvering, going forward when it was warm and turning back when it became cold.
It gave him something to focus on, along with the image of Emily.
The thought of her crying over him, or even worse, grieving if Cam never woke up, only strengthened his resolve to get the hell out of these tunnels. He’d just about won her over, and he wasn’t going to stop now.
So he pushed on, using his love for Emily and his family, as well as the rock’s warmth, to hopefully get him home.
Emily handed her latest serum formula over to Dr. Scarlett Turner and said, “This batch should do it. I can’t guarantee anything, but all of my tests so far with this formula have been promising.”
Scarlett—a dragonwoman with brown hair, pale skin, and a scar running down one cheek who spoke with an accent from the South of England—nodded. “Good, because he’s reaching a point where he might not come back if he doesn’t wake up soon.”
Fear gripped her heart. “How can you tell?”
While Emily had learned a lot over the years when it came to the effects of poisons and drugs on dragon-shifter biology, she was still learning about the mental side of dragon-shifters, and how the inner dragon and mental map played just as vital a role.
Scarlett replied, “I can’t get his pupils to flash with drugs used to stimulate his inner beast. Even when they’re silent, you can usually get a minor response.
Combined with the breakdown you gave me, my best guess is that the dragon hunters are trying to kill the inner dragon but leave the human form alive. ”
“What? How is that even possible?”
“I’m not 100 percent sure, as the hunters haven’t exactly shared their secrets with us.
But given my sources, I think that’s the next step in their war with the dragon-shifters.
Whilst they’ve hurt or silenced inner dragons before, it’s always been by accident.
Now, I think they’re trying to be deliberate about it. ”
Emily rubbed her face. She’d barely slept in two days, and every time she received even more bad news, it became harder and harder to keep her emotions in check.
Because all she wanted to do was hide in a room and cry.
Stop it, Emily. Cam needs you. If he somehow wakes up without his inner dragon, he’ll need you all the more.
Scarlett squeezed her shoulder, and Emily met the dragonwoman’s gaze. “I know this is a lot to take in, Emily, and you should go rest for a bit. I can monitor Cam whilst you do.”
She shook her head. “No, if Cam reacts badly to that serum, I need to be there.”
The dragonwoman searched her gaze a second before nodding. “Right, then gather what you need and let’s go.”
It took more effort than normal to lift and carry her doctor’s bag full of supplies, and they trudged down the long corridor toward Cam’s room.
Antony and Iris had brought them here the first day, to one of the secret facilities Antony’s spy-like group used. She’d met the majority of his special-ops-like team over the last two days, although Emily barely remembered their names, given how she’d spent most of her time inside a lab.
At least Antony had provided everything she needed, or had ever dreamed of, to work with.
However, the place was classified, meaning none of Cam’s family had been allowed to visit him. Emily gave them updates, but it broke her heart to see Mary’s tears via a video call. The best she could do was promise to keep working until Cam woke up.
They entered Cam’s room, and Scarlett nodded at the nurse on shift. There were a few she’d seen, and Emily felt bad that she couldn’t remember his name. However, he left them, and Scarlett went to one side of Cam’s bed while Emily went to the other.
She cupped his cheek, now scraggly from his two-day beard, and caressed him with her thumb.
He was pale and still, apart from the rise and fall of his chest.
Leaning down, she kissed his forehead and whispered, “Let’s hope we can bring you back this time, Cam.” Her other hand went to his and checked to see if Mary’s good-luck rock was still in his palm. It was, and she squeezed his fingers before nodding. “Right, let’s see if the serum works.”
Emily stood upright but kept a grip on Cam’s hand as Scarlett put the needle into the IV and injected the medicine.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then his heart monitor beeped frantically, his heart rate skyrocketing as his blood pressure shot up.
However, Emily had warned this might happen for about thirty to sixty seconds before it should settle, provided the formula worked.
So Emily kept a grip on his hand and counted the seconds, mentally crossing her fingers that Cam would wake up and that she hadn’t just killed him.
The rock in Cam’s hand was nearly scalding. Using it as a guide, it’d steered him toward the largest cave inside the tunnel system to date, and a light breeze said he was nearing an opening.
Considering how hot the rock was, maybe he was approaching the exit, allowing him to return to the normal part of his mind?
He trekked on and swore he saw daylight. Pushing aside how tired he was, he ran.
On and on he went, until the faint light grew bigger. Then he noticed the opening of the cave and pushed harder, until he finally emerged into a giant clearing with a lake.
The lake’s surface was off, though, and looked almost like glass. It was still and reflected the light, and when he approached the shore, he could see his reflection. He tapped a toe, and it hit something solid.
The glass-like lake called to him, but Cam remained on the shore, doing his best not to drop the hot rock in his hand.
He stared at the reflective surface, unsure of how much time passed before it vibrated.
The urge to walk on it grew until he could no longer resist. Almost as if the noise put him into a trance, he put one foot and then the other on the solid lake and walked slowly, until he stood in the middle.
The ground vibrated under his feet, and then jolted.
He dropped the painted rock, and as it hit the surface, the lake shattered.
Cam fell and descended into darkness.
There was no wind, no water or wetness, nothing but the complete lack of light and a weightlessness which made it impossible to tell if he were falling or staying in place.
Then his heart burned, and his head clanged, and he gripped his temples.
It felt as if fire rushed through his veins. He tried to scream, but no sound came out.
Just when he thought his heart might explode, his head broke the surface of a lake. After a few deep breaths, he looked around and knew where he was—the usual part of his mind.
Despite feeling a hundred years old, Cam paddled to the edge and rolled out of the lake. As he lay on the ground, gasping for air, he heard muffled voices and beeping.
Lots of beeping.
Even though he’d lost the rock on his fall, his palm warmed, as if it were still there.
“Cam, wake up. You have to wake up now.”
“Emily?” He glanced around, but no, he was still inside his mind.
Her faint pleas continued filling the air. She sounded as if she were crying, and he couldn’t stand it—he needed to reach his female somehow.
As he gathered the strength to stand, a familiar form ran toward him.
His dragon.
He stumbled over and hugged his beast. “What’s going on?”
“You need to wake up. I heard bits and pieces, and something’s wrong.”
Cam wanted to ask where his beast had been all this time, and why hadn’t he known Cam was in the tunnel system.
But as Emily cried out his name again, he attempted to open his eyes. It might not work, especially if he were about to die, but he had to try.
Because he didn’t want to die and leave Emily alone.
Leave his family alone.
No, he wanted to live and grab the future he wanted.
So he willed his eyes to open, concentrating on the single act.
For nearly a minute, nothing happened.
Just as he was about to crumble from exhaustion, his eyelids flew open, and he gasped.
Emily hovered just above him.
His dragon spoke up. Comfort her.
Cam knew that, but all he could manage was, “Emily,” before blackness came over him.