Chapter 19
Frederick glanced at the time and realised Hades and Han would be arriving soon for dinner. He couldn’t wait to see his mate.
He looked at Saxon and his mates. “How did you get on hunting shadows?
“Badly, but we’ve only tried one way. I’m not giving up until I’ve found a way,” Saxon replied.
“Thanks, but don’t wear yourself out trying. If you can’t, don’t worry.”
“We won’t, but we’re going to keep trying,” Tatum said. “We can try different ways and then include Peyton when he’s recovered.”
“Fair enough,” Frederick said. “I’m off to check on the others.”
Frederick was nearly at the hospital when he ran into Maletayah.
“It seems I missed all the excitement.”
“You did indeed. I’m off to see how the dragons are,” Frederick told the angel
“I’ll come with you,” Maletayah said, falling into step beside him.
“How come you didn’t come and join us?”
“We were all meditating. In future, I’ll make sure one of us is always available.”
“We had Wynter; he helped.”
“I’ve not caught up with him yet. I will later. He’ll probably want to join our meditations.”
“Do you meditate daily?” Frederick asked.
“We do. We join with the collective and meditate. It’s what keeps us strong. We can go longer without meditating, so if we are tied up, it’s not a problem, in case you’re worried.”
Frederick looked at him. “I wasn’t. Everyone’s different. I just don’t want you and your warriors having any issues.”
“We won’t,” Maletayah said reassuringly.
“You should join our meetings. It’s usually the two generals, Shiloh and me.”
“I can do that. I’ll give you my contact details later.”
Frederick nodded and opened the door to the hospital, letting Maletayah walk in first. Frederick led the way to the dragon ward, where they found the dragons still sleeping, and those with mate sitting next to them. General Delinga’s son was sitting with him.
Ajax and Gary were currently checking Peyton and Greyson.
Blake was standing by Puff’s side, a hand on his leg.
“What can I do, Alpha?” Frederick asked gently.
Blake sighed. “Can you make sure the pack is alright? I know Baylan and I should check on them...”
Frederick cut him off. “They understand, but yes, I’ll check on them. Do you want me to talk to Hades and Zeus about the spear and The Rising?”
Maletayah gave Frederick a quick look but said nothing.
“Please. I’m sure they’ll understand why I’m not at dinner.”
“We do,” Hades said suddenly, Han and Zeus with him, all three looking concerned.
Frederick smiled and pulled Hades close.
“This is very disturbing,” Zeus said.
“It is. I don’t know how to fight dark magic,” Blake admitted.
“You have people in this pack that can help you. Oz, his father, Maletayah and his warriors, including Wynter,” Zeus told him.
“I wonder if this dark magic user is the same one who bound Bob,” Ash said. He was sitting next to Paris, holding his hand.
“No, Jack Phase isn’t that strong,” Hades said.
Blake looked at Hades in astonishment. “You know who bound Bob?”
Hades nodded. “His name is Jack Phase. Ian McDuncan contacted him to bind Bob until Puff was eighteen.”
“Why not bind him forever?” Baylan asked.
“Weston, my chief of police, asked him that. He apparently told Ian he could bind the dragon king forever, but Ian would need to sacrifice one of his children. Jack Phase might be many things, but he’s not a killer, and surprisingly Ian didn’t want to sacrifice anyone.”
“Another thing we should think about,” Ash said. “Who asked Tatum to release Barnabus?”
“I never thought to even ask that,” Blake admitted.
“None of us did,” Baylan said, slipping his arm around Blake.
“Lord Hades, sir,” Forrest said from the doorway, panting a little as if he’d run there.
Hades turned and sent him a gentle smile. “Just Hades will do. You are family after all.”
Forrest smiled at him. “Thanks, but can I ask a favour?” he asked, the smile falling off his face.
Hades nodded. “Always.”
“Can Maggon suffer eternal torment for what he did today, to my brother and the others?”
“Oh, he will, young Forrest, never fear.”
“Thank you.”
Brook opened his eyes and looked around. He was surprised to find himself in a field with dragons and his dragon family. The area was peaceful, and the grass he lay on was as soft as a cloud. The sky was blue and a gentle breeze washed over him.
Looking around, all the dragons were fast asleep, but their humans were awake, sitting in a circle, chatting.
Brook sat up.
“Look who’s finally woken up,” Peyton said, smiling his way.
“Hey,” Brook said, standing and walking slowly over to them. “Does anyone else ache?”
“No, we’re just tired,” Atticus said. “You’ll be in pain because of the forced shifting.”
Brook sat down. “Thank you for saving Silver,” he said, looking at each of them.
“We will always protect Silver and you,” Puff said.
“Will our dragons be alright?”
“They will,” Mateo replied. “They all used a lot of magic to counteract the dark magic and stop Silver being stripped from you. They’ll wake up, probably be grouchy and hungry, but they’ll be fine.”
“How do we feed our dragons?” Brook asked.
“Just eat normally,” Puff said. “Bob likes bacon, so I’ll eat extra for him.” He leant into Mateo’s side.
“Where are we and how can we be outside of our dragons?” Brook asked, confused.
“We’re in some kind of dream plane,” Atticus told him. “I’ve never heard of this happening before, though.”
“Maybe because of all the magic we used, it brought us here so we could all rest together,” General Delinga suggested.
“Yeah, let’s go with that,” Grayson said.
Brook yawned. “If no one minds, I’m going back to sleep.”
“Nope, we don’t mind. We were about to sleep again when you woke up,” the General said.
Everyone stood, with the general helping Brook up and over to Silver, then went to his own dragon and lay down next to him.
Mateo, Puff and Atticus walked over to their dragons, who were sleeping close together, touching, with enough space in the middle for the three men to join them. They lay down, with Puff between Atticus and Mateo and fell asleep.
The others settled down, and they all fell asleep quickly.
All except for Brook, who was thinking over everything that had happened.
The pain, the fear, everything. He stroked Silver’s nose.
“You really are stunning. I’m glad you’re safe,” he said quietly.
He felt Silver wrap his tail around him, and finally he fell back to sleep.