Chapter 3

3

“ W hat do you mean you met my Mate?" Abbie didn't mean to sound so demanding. The only excuse she had was that it felt as if her heart was about to beat out of her chest, and as usual, her mouth took over long before her brain got into the swing of things. No matter how hard she tried, the words just kept coming. "How did you meet him? How do you know it was him? I thought…"

"You thought right," Sydney blessedly interrupted. I did go home for the birth of my sister and to tell Mom and Dad I was back, but I didn't get to see them or even stay for very long because…"

“Oh, yeah.” Tapping the center of her forehead with the tips of her fingers, Abbie huffed, “I am so sorry. You were in the middle of telling me about hearing Garrett's voice, and my mind decided to take a little hike to the distant past, and then my mouth went into overdrive. I am so sorry. Please tell me what he said and what I can do to help. I didn't mean to be so needy."

“You are never ever never needy,” Syd reassured, letting a sense of calm and true affection flow. “I understand. Believe me, I understand. That’s why I need to tell you what I know. So…” She winked. “Like I said…”

Once again, Abbie couldn't stay quiet. She felt as if she was looking over a cliff, trying to decide whether to jump and fly or turn around and run like Hell.

“Like you said, something earth-shattering is about to happen in my life.” Shaking her head, she held up her hands and pushed at the space between them when her friend tried to interrupt. “But you’re right here, right now, and you heard the voice of your Mate. So, whatever is comin’ my way will have to wait. I just gotta ask, and not because I am not as happy as a pig in mud to see ya’, why are you here and not over there with the Blue Thunder Clan waking that boy up with kisses? He. Spoke. To. You. You need to get while the gettin’s good. Come on, Girlie. You know what I mean." Waggling her eyebrows, she added a shoulder shake and a click of her tongue. "You get to be Princess Charming, waking up your Prince from his deep sleep with a sweet kiss that turns into a hot one, and the bow-chica-wowow follows.”

“Goddess be, I do so love you.”

“And I love you, so out with it.”

"Well," Syd sighed, all the fun falling out of her like someone had untied the string, and all the air had rushed out. Then, blowing out an incredibly long-suffering breath, she matter-of-factly stated, "I'm here and not there because he isn't there."

“Wait! What? Garrett woke up and left the Blue Thunder Lair without telling you. He didn’t call to you? Nobody called you?”

"Oh, they called me, alright, but it was a few hours after the fact, and partly because the Rianadair –the Trackers," she explained the Gaelic. "…they sent out to locate him could no t find the first clue. Like nothing–not a damn thing–which is the strangest thing because he was barefooted."

She stopped and inhaled so deeply that her shoulders raised close to the glittering stones in the lobes of her ears. As she exhaled, she continued, "Apparently, all traces of Garrett, even his scent, disappeared about a foot from the small back gate that not everybody knows is there. It was weird. They aren't used to not finding something, to having answers of some kind. They didn't want to worry me unnecessarily. Unfortunately, it was seriously necessary when all was said and done, and I wish they hadn't waited, but I can't second guess decisions made by others in the past. Then, after talking with Della, Niall, Calysta, and Maddox…"

"Oh no! You had to talk to the grumpy, old Mad Dragon? How is he? How is his gorgeous and perfectly Witchy Mate, Calysta? I haven't seen them in at least a month of Sundays. They both helped me understand a little more about my inherited Magic."

“Oh, yeah, I remember you tellin' me about that," Syd nodded. "They're both really good," she snickered. "Maddox is still grumpy but with a lot more soft edges than he ever had. Calysta is wonderful, as usual, and really good for the old coot. They are really good for each other.

“I bet.” Abbie chuckled, then gasped. “Sorry again,” she quickly apologized. “I promise to keep my lips zipped until you’re done tellin’ me what’s goin’ on with that Dragon of yours.” Pretending to zip her lips, lock the imaginary lock on the opposite side, and throw away the key, she motioned for her bestie to continue.

“You are the best. I just love you so much. Shavon was right. We were always meant to me friends. Just being in your orbit makes me feel better, and it’s not just your heritage, your N?nn?’h? blood and Magic making me feel better. It’s you, my friend. Never forget that it’s you. You give people, no, wait, you give me Hope.” Giving Abbie a quick hug, she hurried on. “Okay, no more procrastinating. I’ve already fed your ego enough,” she winked and chuckled. “Okay, where was I? Oh, yeah. Before I got the call, I was doing my normal thing. I was on the way to the Blue Thunder Clan to see Garrett before heading to see Mom and Dad. I wanted to surprise them. I knew, no, check, I thought I knew that I had a couple more weeks before the baby was due, but our Baby Orla just couldn't wait." Smiling, she winked and went on. "Why we expected her to wait is a mystery to me. She's got Mom and Dad's blood in her veins. She will wait for nothing– ever . We definitely have that in common." Pausing, she smiled, and that time, it reached her eyes.

"I was about halfway there when Della called." With a knowing look, she tapped her temple with the tip of her index finger. "Her panic was palpable. It was like a tsunami roaring into my brain like waves in the Other Realm just outside the Citadel gates." Waving the thought away, she focused, "She was talking so fast it was hard to keep up. I got the part about things being crazy over there right off the bat. Some kind of weird virus worked its way through the kids who aren't one hundred percent Dragon or Supernatural. Thank the Great Goddess and God with a capital G. They were able to get it contained and everyone is better. I'm pretty sure she just said all that to work up the nerve for what was coming. I was just about to congratulate her when, without so much as a breath, she just blurted out, 'Garrett's gone.' We didn't even know he was awake. It had only been a few hours. Maybe less since I last checked on him. You know I never leave him alone for long when you’re not here. I never want him–or anyone for that matter–to feel abandoned in our Clinic. Anyway, I went in to be sure he was okay, have a little one-way chat, and check all his labs and He. Was. Gone."

"Of course, I freaked out and started talking almost as fast as she was." Sydney stopped, took a deep breath, and pushed the curls off her shoulders, a nervous tick Abbie had witnessed from her bestie at least a hundred times. “That was when she told me about the Rianadair . I mean, they sent the best of the best. The guys that teach all the others. Force Rianadair is led by the old guy, Daire, and he’s got Fergus, Haim, and Wynn trained to be almost as good as he is. You know them, don’t you?”

Nodding because she wasn’t about to interrupt Sydney’s flow, Abbie smiled. She knew it wasn’t the time to remind her bestie that they had met the Rianadair when they were together on the Isle of Skye almost five years ago.

With a rather vehement swoosh of her hand, Abbie opened her eyes wide and spoke directly into her friend's mind, "Get back to the story, Lady. Don't make me get all 'just the facts, ma'am' on you like Declan."

"Ha! That's a good one," Sydney acknowledged aloud, then got right back to what she was saying. "Sorry, you know how I get when I'm nervous. But I promise to stay focused."

Straightening her spine and rolling back her shoulders, she continued. “So, the only thing we could think was that Garrett really had been able to hear me as I sat there for hours just droning on and on about anything and everything.” She snickered. “I literally ran out of things to say about six months ago and told him about this bracelet I’d watched Emma, Andrew O’Brien’s Mate and one heck of a jewelry artist, making. I don’t think you’ve met her yet, but you will. Anywho, all talk of anything but Mom and Dad having a baby and how excited I am to be a big sister is pretty much all he'd heard for the last couple of months. To me, it made sense that he would think I was with them at the Golden Fire Lair."

Holding up her index finger, Abbie waited until Syd nodded before she blurted out, “How many freakin' people know that you're back? It just dawned on me that every time you talked about being with Garrett, Della and the others had to have seen you. How in the hell have they kept your secret? Even better, how in all that's holy has everybody kept it from your mom and dad? Let's be honest, good news usually spreads like Dragon Fire at the Annual Beltane Festival, and you bein’ home has to be the best news ever.”

"Well, that is all Shavon's doing. When I'm there…" She opened her hands and pointed left and right at the same time. "Ya' know, home or with Carrick's Clan or even up in the Arctic with Lore and Sable–places where people recognize me–we talk and have fun. Everything's pretty normal. However, the minute I leave, they pretty much don't remember me." She stopped, looked up for a split second, then added, "Well, not pretty much. They just don't remember I was there at all."

“But…”

“But you still do? That’s what you were gonna say, right?”

“Umm, yeah.”

Syd nodded. "And so does Kyndel, Rayne, and a few others. That's because I asked Shavon to make a little change to the Magical Charm thingy she and I put together. I just needed to have some interaction with people in this Realm. I mean, I had to go to the Refuge and the Citadel. Plain and simple, it was just what had to happen. But I always knew I would come back home. I would be living here–in the Realm–most of the time. Therefore, I needed the practice. I had gotten way too used to speaking telepathically, moving things with little more than a thought, and doing things like most of the residents of the Citadel do.”

“Well, shit, I didn’t think of that. Ten years living one way and growing up at many times the normal rate definitely trumps the first six years of your ‘human’ life as far as everyday life goes.”

“It all took me a while to get used, to understand, too,” Sydney reassured. “I didn’t think about all the minutiae at the time for a long time. I got used to how things were there, but I never forgot home and where I wanted to be. When Shavon said it was time to start reintegrating myself, I was just so excited to come back and visit. I agreed to everything she said. After the first few times, it was so damned hard. I spent most of my time explaining the same things I'd explained the first time. I just had to have her change it. It was so hard. I kept thinking I might mess up and forget something. Hell, I said it so many times that I wasn't even sure what was coming out of my mouth."

“Oh, my stars and garters, I never even thought of that,” Abbie inhaled. “Guess you had it all figured out when we met.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Okay, enough of that. Please, get back to what happened next with ya’ boy. You got as far as you went to the Golden Fire Clan because it was the only place you could think that Garrett would go. Is that right?”

“Exactly right, but he wasn’t there. As a matter of fact, I only got as far as telling everybody in the room I had come there lookin’ for him when Dad roared into everybody’s brains that the baby was on the way. Rayne, Kyndel, well, hell, everybody in the house, even Jay and the newest set of O'Brien twins, ran out the door faster than I've ever seen them move. "

Getting a faraway look in her eyes, Sydney's gaze went back to McKittrick Creek. Sitting still, trying to be patient, Abbie could feel the doubt and fear returning to brew inside her friend. It quite literally took everything in her not to demand that Syd talk, to put her out of her misery, but she persevered. Then the blond bit the inside of her cheek, and she had to do something.

Touching Syd’s shoulder, she waited until those pretty blue peepers were looking her way before gently nudging, “You were running across the Lair with everyone else, and that was when…”

Slowly nodding as she spoke, Syd picked up where she’d left off. The words came slowly at first. Thank the Heavens, it didn’t take long until she was on a roll. “…when Garrett whispered, ‘Where are you, Mo charaid? I can’t find you.' directly into my mind. It was seriously the weirdest, most wonderful thing I’d ever felt in my whole life. I knew who it was, but I’d never heard his voice before, so it almost scared the living crap right out of me. He was also speaking the oldest of the Ancient Dragon Language, so it took my mind a second to translate.”

“But none of that mattered. I stopped so fast that my feet skidded. I for sure thought my butt was gonna hit the soggy, muddy ground. Luckily, I stayed upright, and my jeans stayed clean. I just waited. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. Hell, I couldn’t do anything but wait for what I knew, what I could feel was coming next.”

"Looking around, head snaping left and right, everybody raced past me like I wasn't there. Then I realized that for them, I wasn't there. Somehow, someway, when I heard Garrett's voice, I triggered Shavon's Magic, and bibbidy-bobbedy-boo, I was invisible.”

“Holy shit! You gotta show me that trick. It would be so cool to be able to just poof away with little more than a thought.”

“I don’t think I could do it again even if some idiot had a gun loaded with silver bullets pointed at my head.” Her chuckle was forced. “It’s all Shavon. I’m not sure how it works. I haven’t gotten that far in my teachings, and I’m thinkin’ it’s way farther down the road.”

Reaching for her friend’s hands before she realized she’d moved, Abbie poured love and understanding into their connection. Seeing some of the beautiful rosy color return to Syd’s cheeks, she coaxed, and only because she knew her friend needed to talk, “Did he say anything else?”

“He did, but it took a minute, and when he finally spoke, it was a freakin’ whispered riddle.”

“A riddle? What the hell?”

"I thought stronger words than that," Syd snorted almost happily. "Why would he wake up, go on a walkabout, then call out to me with a damn riddle? I mean, it dadgum sure sounded like a riddle to me. He said, ‘Mo ghràdh, Mo Anam Aharaid…” She stopped and winked, "I have to admit, just to you, that my heart did a silly little pitter-pat when he called me his love and his Soul Mate."

“As well it should have,” Abbie wholeheartedly agreed. “That boy needs to say all kinds of nice things to you , kiss you silly, sweep you off your feet, and then live happily ever after right by your side for the rest of forever and then some. I know I can't wait to hear those words from the man-made for me by the Universe." She dropped her chin and narrowed her eyes. "And you're the only one I’mma gonna admit that to. So, if you tell anyone else, I’ll swear you’re lyin’.”

Drawing a cross over her heart with her free hand, Syd raised it in a Girl Scout salute and solemnly promised, “I swear, I will never tell.” Then she laughed long and loud.

When they could both breathe again, Abbie chuckled, “Okay, keep goin’. I just gotta know the riddle part. Maybe we can work it out together.”

“You got it,” Syd nodded. “He said, ‘ I do not know where I am, Mo stór. I thought I knew, but everything has changed. With the sand overhead and the ice underfoot, I can find you nowhere."

Letting go of Syd's hand, Abbie giggled, "Okay, yep, that's a riddle." It didn't matter that she sounded like a schoolgirl. It made her friend grin, and that made it so worthwhile.

“That’s what I thought too, and I answered with, ‘I know where you are. I’m on my way.’ But he said, “ No, Mo ghràdh, do not come to me. Go to the N?nn?’h?, the sister of your heart. Lead her to the Dragon made for her by the Universe. You know who he is, and he is nearby your friend. An old enemy threatens our kin and hers. Go, Sydney, Mo chridhe. Go to where the sands meet the sky, where the Timber Wolf, the Dragon, and the Big Cats stand side by side, guarding the ones who need them. We will find one another when the time is right'."

Silence filled the meadow as the women stared at one another. Abbie had no clue what to say, and it was obvious Sydney felt the same way. Had it not been for a couple of trout jumping around in the water, making more noise than usual, they might have stayed that way for hours.

“Wow,” was all Abbie could say. “That is… That is…”

"That is some serious shit," Syd jested. "And this has to be where he wanted me to come. I mean, you're the only N?nn?’h? I know.”

“Good thing, since I’m the only one around right now. Well, the only one alive.”

“See? I do listen.”

“I know you do, Goofball. ”

“Even though I knew where he wanted me to go, I still stood there–invisible and in the middle of the pasture at the back of the Golden Fire Lair with people running past me–for a few minutes. Okay, longer than a few minutes. It took me a good little while to figure out what I should do. I finally gave in and called Shavon. She said I needed to listen to Garrett. She, and the other Oracles, are of the belief that the Black Magic bullshit is gone from Garrett’s system. She said that everything Calysta, Niall, and Della have done–all the Healing Rituals, the Spells, the herbal remedies, even calling Bane and a few other Dragons who are doctors to do whatever they do that no one else can–healed what needed to be healed and got rid of all the negative shit. They, I mean the Oracles and Seers, believe that for the last year or two, he’s been in some kind of contact with the Ancients.”

“The Ancient Dragon Elders?”

“Well, see, that’s where I can’t get a straight answer.”

“Which means?”

“Well, I assumed it was the Dragons. He is a Dragon Guardsman, but Shavon kept telling me not to take anything for granted. When I asked, like I said, I never got a straight answer, ya’ know?”

"On yeah, I know. I've met that tall, gorgeous drink of water. I know just as sure as God with a G made little green apples that she told you not to assume because it makes an ass outta you and me,” Abbie laughed out loud.

Laughing along, Sydney teased, “She didn’t say those exact words, but it was damn sure implied.”

"I do so love that girl, if for no reason because she brought us together."

“Yes, ma’am, me too.” Raising her hand, Syd teased, “You better not leave me hangin’. I know it’s not cool, but I need a high five. ”

Slapping her friend’s hand, Abbie chuckled, “We really are the biggest nerds.”

“Yep, it makes us the best.”

"Damn straight." Sitting in comfortable, companionable silence, they both watched the trout swimming in the cool, crisp water for what seemed like an hour when Abbie jumped to her feet and said, "Come on back to the Res with me. I've got a freezer full of leftovers, some of Barbara MacAllen's special blend of coffee with all those good spices, and a tin of her cookies and cupcakes. We can put on our jammies, eat on the couch, and watch corny rom coms while we figure out what to do next."

Standing up almost as fast as she had, Syd clapped her hands and did a little happy dance. “That’s sounds awesome. Lead the way.”

Walking down the creek bank, the ladies had just reached the footbridge Abbie kept painted with different flowers for every season when Sydney stopped, laid her hand on Abbie's arm, and whispered, "There was something I forgot to tell you."

Instantly worried, she spun on her toes and practically demanded, "What? What did you forget? Are you okay? Do we need to go see a doctor? Bane is out there in that frozen cave in the desert. I can have you there in the blink of an eye. Or we can…"

“You can chill out,” Syd snickered. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what is it?”

“We both got so wrapped up in my story that we forgot all about your Mate? The guy I met? The one…”

“Oh shit!” Abbie laughed out loud. “I did. I forgot all about what you said.” Slapping at the air as if she was swatting away a gnat, she went on, “Pfft, you can tell me when we get to the house. If he’s all the way over there, then….”

“But he’s not all the way over there,” Syd countered. “Not if what Garrett said is right or if I heard his last name right when Kyndel introduced us.”

"No. No way. You can't mean the…" Shaking her head with such fury that her long red curls went back and forth in front of her face, Abbie added, “I know all of Barbara and Owen’s boys. All but one is Mated, and Colton is like a brother. I would’ve known if we were…”

"There's no other MacAllen Dragons galloping around this big blue and green marble?"

"Well…" Abbie stopped, turned, put her hands on the wooden rail of the footbridge, and tried to recall everything she knew of the MacAllen Family. It was easier to say it out loud, so she started at the beginning. "Well, as you know, Barbara and my mom were friends growing up, along with another girl, Esta. The three of them were darn near inseparable if the stories I was told were right. When Barb brought Owen to meet the Chief, he and my dad became instant buddies. Then, not long after, Esta's Mate ended up being one of Owen's brothers who had come for the Mating Ceremony. From what I know, the three couples were really tight, even after Esta and Thomas had a son. Of course, it was only about five or maybe six years later when Barb and Owen had Gage."

Thinking a little harder, it took a few minutes, but she soon added, “I was really little and mostly stayed on the Res, but I remember Jed bringing a boy about his age home all the time. They were best buds, always up to something, but rarely anything bad. I think he might have been a MacAllen.” Turning back to Syd, she rolled her eyes and shook her head, “But I was in the same room or playground or maybe even the same tree with that boy more than once. I would’ve…”

“You were a little girl, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And he was a little boy?”

“Older than me, but yeah, we were both really young.”

“He wasn’t close to his first Shift, and you were nowhere near twenty-one, right?”

“You know we weren’t.”

“Then it is completely possible that you have also already met your Mate, and you were both too young for the Mating Magic to do its thing.”

“That just can’t…”

"Oh, yes, it can be true." Sydney was adamant. "Take it from the girl who's spent a lot of the last ten years of her life not only getting older at a rate that defies pretty much everything we ever knew but also learning the history of the Dragons, the Thorntree Timber Wolves, the Oracles, and even more than a little bit about the N?nn?'hi. Anything, and I say this with all earnest, any-eeee-thing , is possible in the world in which we live.”

“Well, shit and Shinola,” Abbie groaned. “Guess we better go see a Cherokee Chief about a Dragon, huh?