Chapter 18
“Could we have the mates over here?” Brooks asked a few weeks later as he and Rogan ate breakfast together. Without any attacks or strange things happening, the dragons hadn’t had a reason to gather. That was good, but Brooks was getting bored staying home.
“Would you like to meet everyone for pizza?”
“I haven’t had pizza in forever,” Brooks sighed. A thought popped into his mind, and he sat up straight. “I wonder if Angelino’s is open.”
“It is. We’ve met there before. Want me to organize a meal there?”
“Yes. Can we go today?”
“Let me see if Angelino can feed us today. He might need supplies,” Rogan cautioned.
“Let’s go talk to him,” Brooks suggested.
“We’ve got a few hours until he’s at the restaurant. Let me check with the others and see what’s possible. Finish your breakfast, Brooks.”
“I’d rather fill up on pizza at lunch.”
“Finish your cereal, Brooks. You don’t want your bottom to be as red as the tomato sauce on that pizza.”
“Yes, Daddy.” Brooks quickly finished his cornflakes and lifted the bowl to drain the milk. “Are we going to go visit the others to talk to them?”
“I’ve already sent a message to the horde. We’ll hear back soon.”
“Okay. Can I go play outside?” Brooks asked.
Rogan hesitated, and Brooks knew what he was thinking about. After attackers had taken Skye from the lawn of Oldrik and Ardon’s mountain, Rogan made sure that either himself or an armed member of his staff supervised his activities. Rogan tried to be subtle about guarding him, but they both knew.
“I want to run down to the barn. There are loads of people milling in that area. I’ve heard there are newborn kittens there.”
“No kittens in the house. One will run by my face in the middle of the night and that will be the end of the fuzzy butt,” Rogan decreed.
“What? You’d snap and eat him?”
“I might.”
“You would not. You don’t forget I’m sleeping with you and eat me,” Brooks corrected him.
“Sure I do. And we both enjoy it,” Rogan teased.
Brooks glanced around to see if anyone listened to their conversation. Thankfully, they were alone. He whispered, “We do enjoy it,” before adding, “Come on, Rogan. I’ll be fine.”
“Send me a message when you get there and when you’re on your way back,” Rogan directed.
With a cheeky salute, Brooks agreed, “Yes, sir!” He jumped up and ran out before Rogan could reconsider.
The fresh air and sunshine felt good on his skin. Brooks jogged to the barn, calling greetings to each person he met along the way. At the door, he remembered to contact Rogan. I’m here. All is well.
Thank you, Adventurer.
He turned in a slow circle, searching for the kittens. The momma cat strolled out from between two hay bales to wrap around his legs. “Hi. May I visit your kittens?” he asked as he leaned down to pet her silky fur.
A few seconds later, a small face peeked out at him. Brooks sat down on the floor and held out his hand, but the kitten disappeared. The momma cat sprawled out next to him and rolled, silently asking for belly rubs. Of course, he lavished them on her as he kept an eye out for the kittens.
Brooks could hear them scurrying behind the hay bales. Scanning the stacks, he saw an orange face peering at him from around a corner. There must be a couple of entrances. With another pat to the cat, he stood and walked around the stack. In a niche missing several bales, the kittens played.
Grinning, he enjoyed their antics for a few minutes to make sure he’d counted all of them. Fluffy and different colors, the small creatures enchanted Brooks. He’d never had a pet as a child. Later when he traveled around, it hadn’t seemed fair to a dog to drag it from one place to another. Now, it appeared that he was staying here for a while. Maybe….
Settling down on the ground once again, Brooks held out a hand, wiggling his fingers to attract the kittens. The orange kitten pounced on him immediately. The others came forward more slowly after they’d decided he was safe. By that time, Marmalade already had a name and had curled up on Brooks’s lap to snooze.
I think I have a cat now, Brooks sent to Rogan. The image of dragon jaws snapping the kitten projected to him in return made Brooks laugh. Rogan wouldn’t munch on Marmalade.
He wondered when the kittens would be old enough to be separated from their mother. Someone had to know more than he did. He’d ask a few people working on the estate. Brooks scooped up the friendly kitten and placed him in the pile of now dozing siblings. He’d come back to visit each day until it was safe to take him into the mansion to make sure Marmalade didn’t forget him.
Glancing up, he saw something black on top of one of the bales stacked near the ceiling. That wasn’t a kitten, was it? Concerned that it had gotten stranded up there, Brooks choose a good path and started climbing. By the time he reached the top, he could see that it was a black piece of cloth. Brooks sat down on a bale as he untangled the black material from the twine. He’d save someone else from making the climb to rescue a kitten.
From his perch at the top of the barn, Brooks could see both entrances. A man walked in and circled around the bales as if searching for something. The man’s posture and body language, even from above, alerted him that something was wrong. He shifted as quietly as possible to lie down out of sight.
“Did you see him come out?” a strident voice asked.
“I didn’t, but he’s not in here. He must have snuck out when you were distracted,” a second voice accused.
“Hey, I had to talk to the foreman when he approached. It’s not like I can say I’m too busy watching the dragon’s mate to hear what you have to say.”
“Whatever. We’re alone. What’s the update to the plan?”
“A supply of powder is coming in tomorrow as part of a shipment of gardening equipment. The guards are getting lax about checking all the crates, so it’s probable that they won’t detect it. And if they do, they’ll die.”
Immediately when he heard the word powder, Brooks messaged Rogan, sending a small burst of information when the man naturally paused, so he could continue listening. Barn. Two guys. Powder.
Brooks ignored Rogan’s burst of anger and concern to pay attention to the conversation.
“Then what? Did they figure out how to get rid of all the dragons at once?”
“Yeah. It’s brilliant.”
“You’re not going to tell me?”
Brooks peeked over the edge. The two men stood almost directly below him, wearing hats. He couldn’t see their faces at all. Damn. Without recognizing their voices, he wouldn’t be able to pick them out of a crowd. Crossing his fingers, he hoped Rogan would get here soon. Movement at the door caught his attention, and Brooks descended stealthily from the bales.
“What’s going on here?” Rogan demanded.
“Sorry, sir. We were coordinating our jobs. We’ll get back to work now.” The spokesman and his collaborator turned to leave through the other door.
Brooks dropped to the ground in front of the other doorway to block it. “I don’t think so.” Without taking his eyes off the men, he called to the dragon shifter, “Rogan, there’s a plan to smuggle in powder in a shipment of shovels and stuff.”
“Your mate must have misunderstood. We were talking about grabbing the rakes to blend in the fertilizer for the next crops,” the same man said casually, like it was no big deal.
“How are you getting messages from outside Wyvern?” Rogan asked, strolling forward to keep the men in sight. “Where’s the powder coming from?”
“Nowadays, there’s no way to communicate with anyone outside Wyvern, sir. And powder? What’s that?”
“We definitely aren’t discussing fertilizer,” Brooks pointed out.
“Sorry, sirs. We’re confused and don’t know what you’re talking about. If you’ll excuse us,” the second man tried to edge around Brooks, obviously deeming him less dangerous.
Brooks braced an arm on the doorframe, blocking him. “I don’t think we’re done with you.”
The man moved so fast. In a split second, he had a knife at Brooks’s throat as he held him pinned against his chest. “I think you’re done with me. I’m going to walk out of here.”
“It’s a long way to the border,” Rogan pointed out. He sounded calm, but his eyes glowed red.
“I’ll take a horse and your mate to make sure you don’t get any ideas.” The other man sidled behind Brooks’s attacker to shield himself.
“You’re right that I won’t do anything to endanger my mate. You’ve forgotten that threatening or putting a dragon’s mate in peril is an act punishable by death,” Rogan pointed out.
“I can slit his throat before you can get to me. Then we both die.”
“Hey, let’s avoid anyone dying,” Brooks suggested. He tried to sound amused, but his voice sounded stressed, even to his own ears.
The knife blade pressed harder to his throat, and a prickle of pain stung his skin. “Shut up, mate,” his attacker spit out. The man made that word sound like a four-letter curse word.
The ground shuddered below their feet in three waves. Brooks recognized that sensation. Dragons had landed. The tremor rattled the two men. The one holding Brooks glanced around wildly.
Drop, Brooks. Now!
Brooks hesitated. A thin line of fire blazed past Brooks’s head. So close, Brooks could hear and smell his hair sizzle. His attacker screamed and shook. When the arm holding him relaxed, Brooks pushed the knife away and dropped to the ground. A second later, he heard a thump and the man’s knee hit his back. Brooks glanced over his shoulder to see a crumpled body lying behind him and the knife stained with his blood had dropped into the scattering of hay on the floor.
Brooks! Come here!
This time, he moved immediately. As he scrambled away, a hand grabbed at his biceps, but Brooks wrenched his arm away, hitting the ground. His fingers brushed the heavy knife. Automatically, his fingers closed around the handle, and he pulled the blade up to defend himself as he pivoted to face the second man.
No way! He wasn’t going to be a hostage ever again.
“Get away from me,” Brooks growled.
Just me, Mate, Rogan told him as his arm wrapped around Brooks to toss him several feet behind him into the hay.
The man shrunk away from the dragon shifter, innately sensing that running from the beast would be the last thing he did. “I can tell you what they’re planning. Kill me and you’ll be clueless until it happens.”
“Rogan, let us take him away and you can see to your mate,” Drake’s voice sounded from behind them. Rogan didn’t look away from his prey.
“He attacked Brooks,” Rogan snarled.
“He will pay for that,” Keres assured him, appearing behind the culprit.
“Wait! No! I’m not going to tell you anything if you hurt me,” the man yelled.
“You’re going to tell us everything,” Oldrik promised. “The amount of pain it takes to get the truth is completely up to you.”
“Keres? Will you take care of tying this guy up so he can’t do anything stupid?” Drake asked, pulling a length of rope from the wall and tossing it to Keres.
“On it.”
“Hey! Watch it. Oof! That’s too tight! You’re going to cut off my blood supply.”
“You don’t need those hands to talk,” Keres pointed out and continued binding the man into a neat, tidy package that a dragon could easily transport.
The pounding of Brooks’s heart slowed and he could feel his blood pressure coming down as the shock and adrenaline wore off. A purring visitor had come to check on him as soon as he’d landed. Instinctively soothing Brooks, Marmalade busily rubbed against his face and licked on his hair. Curling his fingers in the silky fur, Brooks told himself it was over. He needed one more thing.
Daddy?
Rogan whirled at that messaged plea and raced to his mate’s side. Brooks sat on the bale of hay where Rogan had tossed him, but now an orange tabby kitten curled up in his lap. “Are you okay, Adventurer?”
“I think I’m done with adventures for a long time, Daddy,” Brooks whispered. “I’m okay.”
“Let me see where he cut you,” Rogan demanded, gently tilting Brooks’s chin up. His fingers smoothed softly over the stinging injury. “You’re okay, Mate. Let’s get this cleaned up so it doesn’t get infected.”
“Can Marmalade come?” Brooks wasn’t quite ready to let the purring kitten go.
“Marmalade, huh?”
“I’m guessing you have a cat now, Rogan. He’s already got a name,” Drake observed.
Rogan rolled his eyes at that observation. “I knew I had a cat the minute Brooks came down here to visit them,” Rogan answered, acknowledging the creature’s place in his household. “Marmalade can come to the house for a visit while we get you doctored up. Then his mama will want him back.”
“Okay,” Brooks agreed. As long as he didn’t have to give the sweet kitten up yet, it would be okay. “Can I sleep down here with him?”
“No, Brooks. You will each sleep in your own beds for a couple more weeks. Come on. Let’s show Marmalade the house. Maybe he’ll decide he’d rather stay in the barn,” Rogan suggested as he helped Brooks to his feet.
The kitten meowed his denial of that suggestion, as if he understood what they were discussing.
“I’ll haul this guy to my mountain for questioning,” Keres stated.
“I’ll take him,” Drake declared.
“Fine. You have all the fun. I’ve got other things to do. Call if you need help,” Keres offered.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Drake told him as Rogan led Brooks from the barn.