Chapter 12
Rogan stood calmly in his dragon form as his mate advanced hesitantly toward him. He radiated reassurance to Brooks. He’d already stressed to Brooks that the separation from his human side had driven the dragon to react like an animal instead of a sentient being. While Brooks seemed to understand, he still acted jumpy around the dragon. Finally, Brooks stood in front of him.
“Good dragon,” Brooks soothed.
He needs your touch.
Brooks reached out a hand to stroke his nose and jumped back when Rogan pressed his snout into the caress. “Whoops. You liked that,” Brooks said, moving back forward to repeat the gesture. This time, when Rogan nudged him, Brooks laughed and stepped closer.
“You weren’t trying to hurt me, were you?” Brooks asked.
Rogan shook his massive head and gently bumped his chest. When Brooks stepped forward, his mate wrapped his arms around the dragon’s neck. Treasuring the hug, Rogan rested his head against Brooks’s back, squeezing him back.
Are you okay, mate?
Yes. Let’s go flying.
Brooks raced to his forelegs and clambered up to sit in his normal spot. Once his mate settled securely into place, Rogan launched himself into the air. Heading directly to the back pasture, Rogan flew low to scoop up a cow before rising back into the clouds to devour his meal.
Steak, hamburger, roast. Steak, hamburger, roast.
Rogan chuckled at the words running on repeat in his mate’s mind as Brooks struggled to handle the sound of snapping bones as the dragon’s strong teeth devoured the creature. She was gone before her hooves left the ground. The cow didn’t suffer.
Thanks for sharing that tidbit of information… Steak, hamburger, roast. Steak, hamburger, roast.
Restocking his resources, Rogan ate the bare minimum of two more cows before heading to Drake’s, where the dragons gathered. He’d avoid serving beef for dinner for a few nights.
By the time they’d reached the rendezvous point, Brooks had stopped chanting. He leaned forward to peer over Rogan’s head. There are a lot of dragons down there. Do you think Keres is okay today?
If he has a focus, he’s fine. Keres will concentrate on the threat to the dragons.
Okay.
Rogan understood the hesitancy he heard in his mate’s tone. He wished he could erase his mate’s apprehension about the black dragon. It was impossible since even he wasn’t sure how firm a grasp Keres had on reality. So far, Keres had supported the horde when they’d needed him.
I will never let him touch you, Adventurer. He would have to go through me.
I’m not afraid of him.
Stay close to me, Adventurer. Let’s not tempt him.
With that, Rogan landed close to the gathering below. His mate scrambled off, standing on the far side of Rogan. When he’d shifted, Rogan reached out a hand for his mate’s and led him forward to meet everyone.
Immediately, the other mates rushed forward to greet Brooks. Skye was the first to hug him—her usual aversion to physical contact obviously overwhelmed by her joy in seeing him.
“Hi, Skye. Everything’s okay now,” Brooks reassured her.
“We were all scared. When Oldrik got hit by that powder, he said it was awful. He couldn’t tell which way was up or down,” Skye told him as she stepped back to allow Lalani, Aurora, and Ciel to greet him as well.
“My direct hit had a more severe effect. It ripped my dragon and human sides apart,” Rogan shared.
Shocked silence followed that announcement.
Drake shook his head. “How did you survive that?”
“My mate decided to open the third lock and come searching through my mind for me,” Rogan said.
“That’s ballsy,” Keres drawled. “Perhaps I should focus on finding a male mate, too.”
“A perfect mate will show up for you,” Skye assured him. The blue and bronze dragons’ mate had a special relationship with Keres. The black dragon had returned her, Derek, and Brooks to Wyvern. Keres favored the quiet woman to her mates’ consternation. The two had a special bond.
“Thank you, Skye. Let’s hope that happens before the horde decides to force me away,” Keres said pointedly, staring at the assembled dragons.
“Keres. Did you get any information from May?” Rogan interrupted that conversational jab before it could continue.
“Not much. The powder completely knocked her out. Luckily, I pushed the air drifting over the two of you with my wings and blasted that coat and glove you removed from her with minimal burning,” Keres told them.
“We’ll need to talk to her. She helped them because the bad guys were holding her younger brother hostage,” Rogan said.
“Those jerks. Who would do that to a little boy?” Lalani asked.
“Zealots,” Drake suggested. “Did you pick up any clues about what’s inspiring these attacks, Rogan?”
“Not anything we haven’t considered. We do have another link to them. That’s more than we had last week. May might be able to help us. I can lead us to the building they were in. I’m sure they’re cleared out by now, but we might pick up some clues there,” Rogan shared.
“They’ll have booby-trapped that house. It’s too dangerous to go in. We’ll have to destroy it.” Argenis vetoed any exploration.
“You’re right,” Rogan agreed. “So, shall we start with May?”
“As soon as she wakes up,” Khadar suggested. “In the meantime, we need to do something. The bad guys got them from somewhere. Someone may be is looking for two kids.”
“I doubt relatives will come forward. May is too thin. My guess is no one has cared for her for a long time,” Rogan told them.
“We could check at the orphanage or with someone who handles foster care children?” Lalani guessed.
“That’s a possibility. Let’s put out the word for any information about them. Wyverns will be concerned about two children being used as bait and held to blackmail someone,” Ardon stated firmly.
“I’ll take Brooks to his grandmother’s to check on May,” Rogan volunteered.
“We’ll go talk to the Guardians in the square.” Ardon spoke for Oldrik and Skye.
“I’m going to walk the perimeter of that building,” Keres announced. When the others turned to stare at him in concern, he promised, “I’ll be careful.”
“The two of us will touch base with the school administration and religious leaders. One of them may have information about the missing children,” Khadar pointed to himself and Argenis.
“Let your mates ask questions as well. Sometimes, humans will talk to other fragile humans instead of dragons,” Keres suggested.
The horde members nodded. Each shifter with a mate knew their loved ones jumped at an opportunity to help the kids in this situation. The dragon shifters would take all the help they could get. Their unknown attackers were becoming more desperate.
* * *
“Hi, Grandmother,” Brooks greeted Elenore warmly before giving her a hug.
“Brooks. You look well. I’m glad you’re adjusting to your new life so well. And Rogan! I was so worried about you. The other dragons seemed hesitant to say when you’d feel better,” Elenore shared.
“My recovery is thanks to your grandson. I would have lost my way without him. How’s May?” Rogan asked.
“Rogan? Did you find my brother?”
“May! You’re awake. I bet you’re hungry. Everyone’s in the kitchen.” Elenore tried to shoo the group to the table, but May didn’t move. She stared at Rogan, waiting for him to answer.
“That powder got me as well, May. I just woke up and came over here to check if you could give me some details. The other dragons and their mates are checking everywhere to get information about you and your brother. Let’s go sit down and you can answer some questions for me. Any information you can provide might help.”
She seemed reluctant, but May nodded and followed Elenore. The kindly grandmother set apples in front of the humans and then started putting together more to eat. May immediately took a huge bite from the apple. She ate like she was starving as Elenore put things in front of her—not turning her nose up at anything.
Brooks? Does your grandmother keep paper and pen around? I’d like to write things down.
Still munching on his apple, Brooks nodded as he stood. He walked a short distance away and opened a drawer in the desk at the edge of the kitchen to pull out a pad and ballpoint. He waved them at his grandmother to signal her they were borrowing them. Rogan spotted a picture sitting on the desk and was struck again by how much Brooks resembled his father.
Rogan glanced back at Elenore and spotted a bit of his handsome mate in her as well. Maybe it was the determined set of her jaw. That trend of stubbornness seemed to run in the family much to the detriment of Brooks’s butt.
“Thank you, Elenore. It will be easier for us all to disperse information with it written down,” Rogan said. He appreciated Elenore more each time they met.
“Good idea,” Elenore said with a nod.
“May, what’s your brother’s name?” Rogan asked, refocusing on the teenager at the table.
“Edwin Cesar. He’s three. His fourth birthday will be on Sept 16 th ,” May answered.
“Describe him for me,” Rogan requested.
“He’s goofy. Cute with dark hair and dark eyes. Medium skin tone,” she told them.
“How tall? Thin? Chubby?” Rogan searched for details to help them. “Do you have a picture of him?”
“Mom did on her phone, but that doesn’t work anymore. He comes up to my hip. Over three feet. He’s thin. We haven’t had a lot to eat since Mom died.”
“Did something happen to her during the change?” Brooks asked.
“No. She passed away about a month earlier. From cancer. She made me promise to take Edwin to his father. We were on our way through Wyvern when everything happened.”
“You said his father. You two have the same mother, but different fathers?” Brooks clarified, trying to put the pieces together correctly.
“Mom couldn’t tell me who my father was. She knew Edwin’s because he moved her in for a while and she stopped working. He was killed stealing a car when Edwin was two. Mom went back to the streets. We lived in that house for a while, but his father’s family booted us out and sold that place.”
“Where were you from, May?” Rogan asked.
“I’m not really from anywhere. When we were homeless, we searched for a place with a roof where we might find some food and stay there until it’s too dangerous. Then we move on,” May reported.
“May, I’ve been saving this package of cookies for the right time. Let’s open them up,” Elenore suggested, sitting down at the now laden table. She removed the wrapper and pulled out a plastic tray of soft chocolate chip cookies. “Everyone, help yourself.”
Brooks took the first one to break the ice as May hesitated. “Oh, these are good. I’m going to miss treats like this when there are no more around.”
May took one and nibbled at it as if stretching out the pleasure of eating it. Finally, she looked up and said, “It’s going to be hard to find him. They obviously knew I’d be dead if I followed your instructions. They may be out of town by now.”
“Oh, they’re still in town. They want to be close to the dragons and no one is getting in now without a tie to Wyvern. Anyone they’ve got on the inside is going to hang around. We just need to find them,” Rogan said, taking a cookie. He ate one bite and nodded. “These are good,” he remarked before handing the rest to Brooks to finish.
“Could we keep a couple for Edwin? You know, if we find him?” May asked quietly.
“Silly me! We should have kept the whole package for the celebration when the dragons find him,” Elenore said, jumping back to her feet. “I have a few plastic bags with zippers. I’ll seal it in that for us to eat later.”
Hope filled May’s eyes. They had to find her brother.
Rogan sent the description out to the dragons as they met with the community leaders. Perhaps that would help someone. The odds were low that anything would help. Finding and eliminating these recreants became more important every day.