Chapter Eighteen
Teagan stood at the edge of a pond, the wind gently blowing her dress about her body, and looked for anything that could be deemed an island. Since she was within the gardens of Glenveagh Castle, she knew finding her next clue wouldn’t involve destroying property. That would anger the humans.
Her dragon huffed. We probably have to wade into the pond.
Since shifting inside the castle grounds was illegal, it meant Teagan would have to do it in her human form.
She surveyed the water again to figure out where to start. That was when a dragon’s reflection passed over the smooth surface.
Looking up, she spotted a green dragon form she knew well—Aaron’s.
“What the bloody hell is he doing here?”
Two weeks ago, she would’ve wondered if he doubted her abilities. But now that she knew him better, Aaron would only desert his post if it were important.
Fuck, has something happened?
Her dragon growled. Let’s find out.
Teagan turned away from the pond and listened for any unusual noises.
The birds chirped, the wind rustled the leaves, and she heard a dragon roar in the distance. The roar wasn’t one of pain, but rather a ferocious one used for battle or to express anger.
She’d heard a few roars over the last twenty minutes or so, but had assumed it was one of the others cursing about getting something wrong.
If only she had her phone so she could check in. But none of them had been allowed to carry one.
Her beast chimed in. That’s why we need to check in with Aaron to see if anything’s wrong.
Doing so would disqualify us.
Then the question is—how much do you trust Aaron? If he’s here, I think it’s because we need to talk to him about something important.
After a beat Teagan answered, You’re right.
Aaron would never jeopardize her role unnecessarily.
Since no dragon could land near where she was because of the abundance of trees, Teagan ran down the path toward the beginning of the View Point trail. That was the nearest open space for Aaron’s dragon to land.
She pushed herself harder, and the stone wall surrounding the grounds came into view. Less than a minute later, she exited the gate and saw Aaron’s naked human form studying the skies. “Aaron,” she shouted.
He turned toward her and replied, “Stay inside the grounds, Teagan. There are more places to hide near the castle.”
While her curiosity burned, she stayed put as Aaron jogged to her position. He was less than a foot away when he cursed.
Before she could do more than open her mouth, he jumped and covered her body with his. He murmured, “Stay still for a few minutes,” before his body went slack.
Her heart hammered inside her chest. Something’s wrong.
Follow his instructions or it may compromise us both.
Only because she heard Aaron’s heart beating, albeit slowly, did she remain still. After the longest few minutes of her life, she moved enough to peer out from Aaron’s body. She listened and surveyed the area for any sign of trouble, but she didn’t hear anything unusual. Not even a roaring dragon in the distance.
Satisfied the threat was gone, at least for the moment, she shimmied out from under Aaron’s weight and quickly checked his body. Two tiny darts, one in his neck and the other in his side, caught her attention.
If she were a betting dragon, she’d say it was the same type of drug-filled dart that had been used on one of the children of her clan not too long ago. Aaron had jumped to take the second one meant for her.
Someone was messing with her leadership challenge.
She spotted the small pouch Aaron had tossed aside after landing. His mobile phone would no doubt be inside, but she couldn’t chance going out into the open to retrieve it. After all, she was supposed to be unconscious and couldn’t risk being spotted. Who knew what was going on back inside the clan’s lands.
Her dragon growled. Find another way.
She ignored her dragon as an idea struck. While it may get her into trouble with the DDA, she needed to get inside the castle and call her clan from there.
Plucking the darts from Aaron’s body, she carefully buried them in a safe spot and marked it with a series of rocks before gripping under his armpits. Mustering her strength, she dragged him further inside the gardens. While she couldn’t drag him the entire way to the castle quickly, she needed to stash him somewhere relatively safe so that she could dash and make the call.
Another dragon roared in the distance and Teagan pushed her muscles to the limits. Once Aaron was inside a protected area of trees and underbrush, she turned and ran to the castle’s main entrance. Pulling the dress over her head, she covered her fist and smashed through the glass on the door. She reached in and unlocked it.
A reception desk used for visitors sat to one side. Teagan made her way over and dialed the Protectors’ central command. She only hoped they bloody well answered the phone despite her calling from a strange number.
The familiar voice of Lyall O’Dwyer answered the phone. “Who is this?”
“Lyall, it’s Teagan. Aaron is unconscious. What the hell is going on?”
“Just a second,” Lyall replied.
Teagan wanted to scream, but Brenna Rossi’s voice came over the line. “Thank fuck you’re all right.”
“Aaron’s not. He’s been drugged. What’s going on? Where’s Killian?”
“No one can get a hold of him. As for what’s going on, judges and Protectors are being attacked by what we think are stealth drones. At first, it was just those at the observation platforms, but now a few Protectors patrolling the area have also been hit. I suspect it’s only a matter of time before they strike inside the clan’s gates.”
“What’s been done?” Teagan asked.
Brenna didn’t hesitate to answer, “Finn and Bram both know what’s going on and are sending help. The Irish DDA hasn’t bothered to return my calls.”
“Fucking DDA. Right, well, we’ll do without them until everything is sorted and we can toss the traitors into their hands. Keep everyone inside and reach out to one of our males named Kerrin Dunne. He might have a few things that can short-circuit any sort of electrical object within a certain radius. If no one heard the attacks coming, then I have a feeling we’re dealing with a different type of drone.”
“I agree, and I have already contacted Kerrin. Orla suggested him and he’s setting things up. Orla also reached out to a few people she knows in Clan Seagate.”
Clan Seagate was inside Connemara National Park and to the southwest of Glenlough. While not officially allies, their leader had voiced his displeasure of Orin’s plan to attack Glenlough simply because they had a female leader.
It seemed it was a good thing her gran had never truly retired. “I’m going to bring Aaron inside Glenveagh Castle and then look for Hugh, Orin, and Padraig. Unless you have them in custody?”
“No.”
“Right, then since the darts look to be too delicate to pierce a dragon’s hide, as long as I remain in that form, I should be safe.”
“Unless they have a different type of gun waiting to use on us in dragon form,” Brenna stated.
Teagan didn’t miss a beat. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take. In the meantime, you still have Roarke Bell in custody, aye?”
“Yes,” Brenna stated.
“Then question him again. Now that we can threaten a treason charge, he might open up.”
“I’ll see what we can do. But one last thing—Protectors are patrolling all over the area, so if you do capture one of the three, then signal to someone flying over you. Don’t risk shifting to your human form and calling.”
Teagan murmured her assent and hung up the phone. Time to get Aaron to safety and handle the arseholes who thought they could mess with her clan, and her male.
~~~
Fifteen minutes later, Teagan soared through the air. She’d chanced shifting inside the castle’s grounds, doubting the DDA would punish her for stopping a possible dragon civil war.
Because if Teagan didn’t stop Orin, Padraig, and Hugh, then no doubt others would join their cause to oust Teagan. Or, possibly join her side to fight back.
And all because she lacked a penis.
Some males took insecurity to an extreme.
Her beast growled. We will take care of them.
The difficult part will be in not killing them.
Maybe we can just rough them up a little? her beast asked eagerly.
How about we find them first and then go from there?
Since the sound of other dragons roaring had ceased, Teagan had to find the traitorous dragonmen the hard way, by searching every inch of her land and beyond.
As she flew over one of the observation platforms, she spotted Dr. Ronan O’Brien examining one of the French dragon-shifter judges lying unconscious. Two Protectors in dragon form mostly shielded the doctor and his charge with their wings, no doubt acting as a barrier from any more darts.
Since Orin’s clan had invited the French judges, it seemed not even allies had been spared. She wondered what Orin’s long-term game plan might be. At any rate, if she captured the bastard and proved his guilt, she might be able to use his betrayal to form her own alliances.
Her dragon grunted. Even without proof, it’ll be useful.
The DDA will require a confession. While I think it’s too much of a coincidence that my three competitors all acted the same way and disappeared at the same time, we need more.
Then let’s find them and show the males what we’re really made of.
Beating her wings, Teagan flew higher until she had a better vantage point of Glenveagh National Park. Dragons were at each of the viewing platforms. Her three competitors had probably left the park by now if her assumptions were correct.
She just needed to decide which way to go. Since venturing into Northern Ireland could provoke both Clan Northcastle and the British DDA into action, the three males would have no choice but to go along the coast to skirt around the tip of Northern Ireland before they could head further inland to any of their clans. And since flying would be more noticeable, they would probably drive a car to hide their escape.
If spotting them wasn’t hard enough, she needed to find the trio before they reached Donegal or she might lose them. The town wasn’t huge, but there was enough traffic to blend in.
Teagan turned her body toward the south and beat her wings quickly. The area was largely unpopulated, and she soon spotted two cars driving in the same direction but at quite a distance apart. One was an SUV and the other was a small car used by most families in the area.
Her beast spoke up. Dragons hate tiny cars. Not only are we too tall for that, but it's also easy for a dragon to attack it.
They might have taken the small car to try to throw us off.
The SUV turned off the road a few minutes later toward the west. Since they hadn’t reached the town of Donegal, the SUV probably wasn’t heading south.
Her gut told her to follow the small car. Let’s see if I was right.
Teagan slowly circled around to ensure there weren’t any other cars nearby. She didn’t need for an innocent to become a hostage for her enemies.
Not spotting anyone but the odd farmhouse here and there, she swooped down until she was nearly to the ground. At the last possible moment, she extended her rear talons and picked up the small car. Straining her muscles, she ascended about ten feet and used the wind currents to carry her further.
Her beast huffed. I wish I knew it was them. Then we could drop the car from a great height.
No. They need to be given a fair shot.
Stupid human ways.
Once Teagan reached a series of rolling hills and nothing but unoccupied land for a few miles in every direction, she gently placed the car on the ground and landed. Just as she touched down beside it, something fired from the window and a burning sensation exploded in her rear leg.
The pain threw her off balance, but she used her wings to right herself. A quick check told her that the cheating males had used some type of dragon gun and the ammunition had grazed her leg.
With a roar, she hit the car with her tail and it rolled. Once the car stopped, a red dragon burst from the car, sending metal shrapnel flying every which way. Once fully shifted, the beast hissed.
It was Hugh.
He jumped and charged at her. Teagan waited until the last second and swung her tail around to hit him out of the air. Hugh tumbled to the ground and Teagan jumped on top of him. He tried to bite her neck, but she leaned away and swiped her talons across his cheek.
With a growl, Hugh used his weight and larger size to roll them over. But before he could pin her, Teagan slashed his chest. Hugh cried out in pain and she punched his wound with her forelimb.
He gave a high-pitched roar. Teagan pinned him by the throat and quickly scanned for a boulder to use. In the split second she looked away, he freed an arm and swiped at her throat. Pain exploded as she felt something warm trickle down her hide.
Focusing on merely getting out of the situation alive, she stuck to her plan and found a boulder. Clutching it in her paw, she smacked Hugh on the head hard enough to render him unconscious but not kill him.
Panting, Teagan turned toward the car. She quickly limped to the wreck and ignored the jarring pain each movement sent up her leg and across her throat.
Once she reached the car, she sighed. A piece of twisted metal protruded from Orin’s chest, and he stared glassy-eyed into oblivion; probably a result of Hugh’s sudden shift. As for Padraig, he had a gaping hole in his chest; it looked as if he had shot himself by accident when the car had been rolling. Both were dead.
Her beast growled. Good. They deserved it.
Maybe so, but the aftermath is going to be one huge headache.
I don’t care about that. We need to contact the clan and check on Aaron and the others.
In the ruckus, she’d temporarily forgotten about Aaron. He’s strong and will do fine. He’s too stubborn to die.
Still, I want to see him and make sure. Hopefully Killian has returned, too.
She spotted a phone on the floor of the car. I just need to call the others to check and update them on what’s happened. I’m going to have to shift and risk it.
Is that wise? We heal faster in dragon form.
Teagan wrenched off the side mirror from the car and lifted it. While the gash on her neck would need stitches, Hugh had missed the artery by a few inches. As long as I’m quick and apply pressure, I should be okay.
I don’t like it, but it’s the only option. Even I’ll admit we’re too weak to fly. And if we’re hit again, then who knows what will happen to the clan.
As if I don’t know that, dragon, Teagan replied dryly.
Teagan imagined her wings melding into her back, her limbs morphing back into arms and legs, and her snout shrinking into a nose and face. The shift caused a sudden surge of pain and made her leg throb more than her throat, but she gritted her teeth, applied pressure to the gash on her neck, and ignored the pain as best she could.
She did glance down at her leg to take a closer look and ensure she wasn’t going to die. The deep gouge with burned edges was going to need medical attention for sure, but the wound wasn’t fatal; the most important thing was that the bleeding had stopped.
Hurry and make the call, her beast said.
Focusing her attention on the car, she lifted and tugged the handle, but nothing happened. Eyeing the mostly broken window, she tore off a piece of fabric from Orin’s shirt, careful to leave the cleanest bits to use as a bandage around her neck. She wrapped her hand and broke the remaining glass until she could safely lean into the car and pick up the phone.
With the prize in her possession, she tucked it between her knees so that she could also tear off a length from Orin’s sleeve. She tied it tightly around her throat, just enough to stop the bleeding but not enough to choke her. She’d never been so grateful for Killian’s field medic training sessions in her life.
Keeping her back to the wreckage and crouching down, it ensured nothing should be able to shoot her from behind. She wrenched off a hubcap to cover the top of her head. She then dialed central command’s number, and Brenna answered. “Yes?”
“This is Teagan. I don’t have a lot of time, but Orin and Padraig are dead, and Hugh is unconscious. I need backup as soon as possible.” She eyed Hugh’s dragon form. “As well as a car, a shot to force him into his human form, and restraints for Hugh.”
“What about the DDA? Do they know?”
Teagan was grateful for Brenna not wasting her time. “I’ll handle it right after I hang up with you. Is there anything I need to know about before I go? Is Aaron okay?”
“They found him inside the castle and he’s still unconscious. Dr. O’Brien is still working on an antidote for the mutated serum but is confident he can find it soon. The two doctors from Stonefire who found the original cure, Trahern Lewis and Emily Davies, are on their way here as well.”
“And Killian?”
Brenna sighed. “He hasn’t reached out. We’re still looking.”
She pushed away the twinge in her heart for her brother. “Killian will show up, I’m sure of it. I’ll give you my location and then wait here.” Teagan gave the directions and landmarks of her position before continuing, “If there are any medical personnel to spare, maybe have one come, too. One of the bastards shot me and another slashed me with his talons. It hurts like hell.”
“I’d ask if you’re okay, but you’d probably just brush it off as a scratch, even if your entrails were hanging out.”
Teagan snorted. “I’m still conscious. I’ll call you again if I need you.”
Hanging up, she took a deep breath and dialed the DDA liaison officer’s number. She had to report the event while adrenaline was keeping her going.
When the woman picked up, Teagan kept her voice calm as she stated, “This is Teagan O’Shea from Clan Glenlough. I’d like to report an incident.”