Chapter 14

Lalani stopped and listened. There were some wood creaks that sounded like footsteps downstairs and then again, a few minutes later, on the stairs. She shook off her silliness. All the houses in the historic area around the square were old. There were always squeaks in old construction as the wood contracted and expanded.

She was on the last box. It was filled with legal and financial documents. Insurance policies, banking information, her mother’s will. Most were worthless if all the technology never returned. She’d hold on to it for now.

A quick look outside told her it was late afternoon. Her stomach growled to tell her she missed lunch. Lalani decided to grab a quick bite of peanut butter and crackers before lugging everything downstairs and organizing it into something Khadar could grab to fly home.

She picked up one box she wanted to take, figuring she might as well carry something to the entryway. As she descended the stairs, the sunlight angled through the nearby windows and glinted on the entryway table. She could see her finger mark drawn in the dust. There was a clean circle in the middle, as if something had been taken away recently. She replayed her arrival, trying to remember what had sat in that spot.

The image of a silver candle holder popped into her mind. It had just been there. Was someone in the house?

“Hello? Is someone here?” she called bravely into what she hoped was empty space. Had someone broken in to steal things that could be valuable?

No one answered.

Khadar. Something’s wrong. I think someone is in the house with me.

Get out. Go to a neighbor’s house.

She nodded and then felt silly. He couldn’t see her. Trying to be quiet on the last few steps, Lalani went slowly. The very bottom step groaned noisily under her foot, and she froze.

“You must be Loulou.”

“Lalani,” she corrected the young man who’d come out of the kitchen. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

“I’m just gathering a few things that the neighbor owed us. Hopefully, we can pawn it in the next town,” he told her openly.

“You’re a neighbor?” she asked. That bit of information caught her attention. “You can’t just take other people’s stuff,” Lalani said indignantly.

“You can if they’re dead. She doesn’t need it.”

“But these things don’t belong to you. You can’t just help yourself.”

Lalani! Are you out of the house?

Not yet. There’s a man stealing things here.

Get out!

Khadar’s tone made her take a step toward the door before her exasperation at the unmitigated gall of this man forced her to whirl back to face the jerk stealing things. She set the box in her hands on the narrow table with an angry thump. “You need to leave. There’s a gigantic dragon on his way and he’s not going to be happy. You look crunchy—like a perfect dragon snack.”

“Barbie Ann said you were a wimp in her note. She didn’t say anything about a dragon,” the man said nervously before he straightened. “Dragons sound like they’re rich. I think I’ll take you instead of the stuff. He’ll pay a lot of money to get you back.”

“Look, if all you want is money, take this.” Lalani thrust her hand into her pocket and pulled out the three gold coins Khadar had insisted she take.

“Yep. He has a lot of money. Come on. That’s real justice. Your ransom will pay the smoke man to kill him.”

The man rushed forward to grab Lalani’s arm hard. She dropped to the floor, losing the coins as she tried to make it tougher for him to take her anywhere. Her mind whirled inside her brain.

He dragged her toward the basement stairs. “Walk if you don’t want me to bounce you down the stairs.”

When she didn’t move, he walked down the stairs, pulling her after him. Her hip hit the first hard wooden stair, making Lalani gasp. “Wait. I’ll walk.”

“Too late.” He stepped to the side of the flight of steps and flung his hand gripping her upper arm tightly toward the steps and let go. Lalani couldn’t stop her momentum. She wrapped her arms around her head, trying to protect herself.

Those hard wooden steps were brick hard as she bounced down the stairs. Each whack into one felt like she’d break something. But it happened so fast, she didn’t have time to dwell on any one injury. When she hit the concrete floor, Lalani rolled, knowing the pain would end. Ready to take stock of her ability to get away, she let go of her head and felt her skull ram into the edge of a big metal appliance.

The edges of her vision went fuzzy. Khadar!

She didn’t hear the roar that shook the houses in the city core.

Forced to land slowly by the people gathered in the street to figure out what was happening, Khadar thudded to the cobbled street and changed as quickly as his bones would allow. He raced to the house and burst through the door.

“Lalani!”

Finding the gold coins scattered on the floor, he scanned the house, looking for clues. There in the doorway to the family room was a sack with a silver candlestick spilling out of it. That wasn’t how his mate would have packed things. That box on the table. Yes. That was hers. He searched the house and found nothing other than a folded piece of clothing, another box, and tissues.

When he got back downstairs, the neighbor from across the street stood in the entryway. He raised his hands to show he was harmless. “Can I help?”

“Keep everyone out,” Khadar growled.

“That door there leads to the basement. It’s the only house I know of that has a lower level,” the neighbor mentioned.

Khadar ripped that door open, tearing it away from the door frame at the top in his haste. Her scent hit him. He ran down the stairs and peered through the darkness. His green eyes glowed with anger and worry.

When he spotted the small smear of blood on the dryer, his anger almost forced him to lose control to the dragon fuming inside him. Khadar forced his brain to think instead of rage. There were boxes shoved to the side creating a path. Was he dragging her somewhere? He couldn’t reach her mind.

Tracing the path, Khadar felt a faint waft of stale air. Zeroing in on it, he discovered an almost invisible door that was just barely ajar. Wedged into the bottom was the bow he’d tied in Lalani’s hair that morning.

He pulled the door open. It resisted his efforts but couldn’t compete with the raging strength of a dragon, even in human form. As soon as the opening was big enough for him to squeeze through, Khadar dashed out. The path went both ways, with no markings anywhere that he could see.

Hesitating long enough to heat one hand, Khadar pressed it to the door to burn a print into the paint as he listened to hear which way he should go. A muffled curse sounded in the distance to his right. Khadar ran that way.

When he thought he’d run past that sound, he stopped to listen. There was nothing. He’d tear down every damn door if that was what it took. Fixing his eyes on the next door in the passageway, he dashed to it and rammed his shoulder into the barrier. It crumbled to shreds. He bashed those out of the way and invaded. A bullet zinged over his shoulder. That was the last aggravation he needed. The dragon took over.

“A fucking dragon!” the man yelled as he scrambled backward. Khadar’s bulk pinned him to the wall and crushed boxes scattered along the walls. The stairs in the center of the room were ripped from the upper doorway and smashed into smithereens.

Where is she? Give me Lalani.

The strength of his thoughts echoed in the man’s mind. Khadar did not feel a morsel of remorse when the man gripped his head like it was ready to explode.

“I’m here alone. I don’t know Lalani,” he gasped.

What is this tunnel?

“It was built long ago. It connects some of the original families.”

How was he going to find her?

“I heard some guy pulling something through the hall and cussing. He was not having a good day.”

Do you know what door he entered?

“Sorry, sir. I don’t know. I’m sorry I shot you. All I knew was someone was breaking through the door. No one but one person in the family was supposed to know it existed.”

Knowing he was wasting time, Khadar forced his heart rate to slow. There was no danger here. He needed to negotiate through the hallway. His dragon form would not work. Slowly, he resumed his smaller size.

“Send a message to my estate. I will have your door fixed,” Khadar told the man as he hurried to the door.

“Do you want backup? I’ll come with you. You could check all the doors faster.”

“I’ll call for the others. They will come.”

The man rattled off his address and Khadar sent it on to the dragons with a message asking for assistance in finding Lalani. “I’ll go open the door and send them down. Are you going to the right? That’s where I heard the sound.”

Having lost enough time, Khadar dashed off, confirming right as he ran. Each door he discovered soon lay in splinters in front of him. He searched two homes, much to the surprise of the residents living there, before he heard voices coming down the hall. Familiar gruff voices.

“Lalani was stolen from her mother’s home this morning. She is hurt and not responding.”

“We’ll help,” Drake jumped in. “We saw your mark on the door. Everyone, use a heat signal to show which houses we’ve cleared.”

The next door popped open before they could get there. Instantly on edge, Khadar strode toward the older woman in the doorway. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know, Khadar, the green dragon. The man who shot you today by mistake has sent runners to all the founding families with instructions to help find your mate. You should find the rest of the doors open to you. Please come in and search so you can eliminate another house.”

With a nod, Drake stepped forward to go through the house. When he disappeared, the woman said, “I never expected to see the gold dragon in my home.”

“Do you have any suggestions for where I could find her?” Khadar forced himself to pause and ask.

“All the families would never presume to interfere between a mate and dragon. I knew it would be trouble when it was reported that repairman, Aaron Peterson, was spotted during a repair.”

“Peterson,” Khadar growled.

“I agree. That whole family caused problems. It was a sad day in Wyvern when they purchased a house here. Aaron didn’t live with his family. Even he couldn’t stand them. He has an apartment in the newer section of town to the east.”

“You don’t have his address, do you?” Khadar asked.

“I’m sorry. I know it is in the Dragon’s Arms complex. He told that to the woman who allowed him to discover the tunnels. The last house that way is just on the edge of the old town. That’s the house where Aaron found the entrance. The apartment complex is close.”

“Thank you. What is your name?”

“I am Elenore of the Battlefield family.”

“Thank you, Elenore.”

“Go, Khadar. We will search the rest of the homes here. You go on ahead to the Dragon’s Arms. We will join you soon,” Drake told him.

Khadar sped off down the passage, confident that he was finally on the right course. The corridor ended when he reached the third door remaining in front of him. As Elenore promised, the doors were open. A sobbing woman stood next to the door.

“He has her. It’s that Peterson man. They went out the front door. I’m so sorry I’ve caused all this,” she called, waving to him.

Khadar sent a message to the dragons. He’s up on the street now.

“He is evil. Not you,” Khadar growled as he passed, thundering through the house and heading outside. He caught a glimpse of a cart turning the corner up ahead. There!

His dragon burst forth. Taking to the sky, he covered the distance with one flap of his wings and landed in front of the cart. The spooked horse occupied all the driver’s attention as he tried to regain control. A scrawny man vaulted from the back of the cart and dragged Lalani out. She tumbled to the ground, moaning as she struck the hard, cobbled brick street.

“Stay back. I can kill you with this.” Aaron Peterson dug a burlap wrapped ball and a lighter from his pocket and held it menacingly like he would lob it toward Khadar.

“Don’t do it, Khadar. It’s the smoke bombs. He’s been bragging about it. The only thing that can kill a dragon,” Lalani called.

Khadar hated the sound of pain in her voice. This brute had wounded his mate. He would die.

Unable to use his sound for fear of killing his mate and the others around him, Khadar needed to keep him talking as he came up with a plan.

“Another Peterson,” Khadar announced in a bored voice. “I thought I got rid of all your family.”

“You tried.”

“I wonder if they’re still alive. If they were smart, they’ve abandoned you here,” Khadar commented easily as he sent a calming thought to the horse to keep it from panicking and dragging the cart over his mate, who had not yet gotten to her feet.

“They wouldn’t have left me. As soon as this bitch is gone, I’ll take stuff we can sell and live on in another town.”

“You think Barbie Ann is waiting for you? I only met her for a few minutes and figured out she was totally focused on herself,” Khadar said and watched Aaron take a couple of steps forward, away from his mate.

“You don’t know her. Family is everything to the Petersons,” Aaron answered indignantly, relighting the flame.

“Right.”

Khadar spotted a blue dragon in the sky and shortly after felt the ground tremble under his feet. Mate? Can you move? Get as far away as you can without him seeing you.

“I bet they’ve set themselves up in a new town as the warlords of something. They’re not even thinking about you. Aaron? Aaron who?”

His heart broke as he saw Lalani attempt to follow his instructions. She reached for bricks and wrapped her fingertips around the edges as she dragged herself away. He could feel her pain ricocheting through his mind.

Oldrik stepped around the corner and quickly assessed the situation. He moved forward toward Khadar’s injured mate.

Aaron’s eyes shifted to something behind him. Not falling for a trick, Khadar didn’t shift his gaze as he used his senses to figure out what was behind him. Keres. If he’d ever wanted the black dragon close, this was the moment.

“You don’t want to mess with him,” Khadar told Aaron.

“I’ll just take all of you out. Then Wyvern will be open again.”

“How do you think the citizens of Wyvern will respond if you take out the only creatures protecting them?” Khadar asked, watching Oldrik get closer to Lalani.

Just a bit more, Princess.

“They’ll do anything we tell them to do. It took the Petersons to figure out how to kill dragons,” Aaron boasted, holding his lighter ready.

“Dragons have always had predators. How much of that stuff do you have?” Khadar asked.

“What’s the stuff?” Keres asked curiously.

“Dragon smoke,” Aaron said proudly. He added with a snicker, “Or Dragons Smoked if you prefer.”

Khadar watched Oldrik reach Lalani. As he picked her up, she cried out. Either in pain from her injuries or from the touch of another dragon other than her mate.

“Fuck! Put her down,” Aaron said as he tried to keep all the dragons in view.

“Not happening,” Oldrik stated firmly as he backed away quickly with Lalani cradled in his arms.

Khadar battled his dragon, outraged by the sight of his mate in another dragon’s arms. He redirected the anger back to Aaron and released his dragon. Sending a flame toward the man as soon as possible, Khadar watched the packet in the man’s hand catch fire. Could the fire destroy it before the bomb released its lethal smoke?

A huge resounding ring sounded. Everyone’s gaze flew up to see the gold dragon on the roof above them. The muscles bulged in the beast’s powerful forearms as it dropped a huge iron kettle.

Khadar’s attention flew back to Aaron. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The frenzied horse bolted, dragging the cart away. Khadar’s flame raced toward Aaron. The first tendril of blue smoke rose from the packet as the metal kettle plummeted down. More smoke. The dragons backed up automatically, scenting the lethal concoction. Oldrik turned to run with Lalani. Aaron’s clothing caught fire, and his mouth opened to scream.

CLANG! The kettle engulfed Aaron, knocking him to the ground and embedding itself into the cobblestones.

The scream continued as Keres ran forward, shifting on the move. He directed his wings to blow the lingering scent of the smoke away from all the horde members. The kettle trapped the rest of the lethal substance inside with the burning man. Aaron’s screams cut off abruptly as the metal around him heated to a glowing state from the flames inside.

“I think that can just stay there,” Ardon suggested as he rounded the corner with worried Wyvern citizens spilling into the streets. He’d obviously held the crowd back from the danger.

Khadar’s dragon roared, pacing forward toward Oldrik. Everyone scattered out of the way as the blue dragon set Lalani gently on the ground and backed away. Khadar looked at her crumpled form. His dragon was beyond distraught and wouldn’t release control to his human form.

Princess. Tell me you’re okay.

When she didn’t answer, he roared at the crowd, keeping them back. A light touch on the dragon’s paw made him look down. Lalani.

Stop scaring everyone, Daddy. Can you take me home now?

His dragon had never been more careful as he scooped her up in his claw. With a massive leap into the air, Khadar took to the sky. His mate would heal best on his mountain.

I owe you.

Drake’s answer made him roar in agreement. You would do the same for our mates. Nothing is owed here.