Chapter 7.

 

“Shit!” Jamie howled as he slammed the van door. Not a moment too soon, either. One second of shock was all he got, and then the damned Hare Shifted into a squirming bundle of fluff that promptly wiggled out of his hands.

Bob, his driver, stomped on the gas and the Dragon bounced off the rear door as the van shot out into traffic. The Hare hit the floor running and rocketed under the driver’s seat.

“Boss! Come get this critter! She gets under the brake and I’m gonna pancake her!”

Cursing, he stumbled forward. A furry little bullet shot past him and ricocheted off the locked door.

“Judith! Judith Little! Calm down, please! I’m not going to hurt you.” He sat on the floor and held his hands up. Maybe she’d stop fleeing if he didn’t chase.

Or maybe not. Without even slowing, the Hare spun and zoomed along the van’s other wall. One leap brought her to the dashboard. The second slammed her into the passenger window. Which was closed, thankfully.

“Boss!”

So much for the peaceful approach. Jamie edged forward more cautiously and this time, when she zipped past him, he pounced. His hand closed on fur, he took a firm grip…

…and a terrible scream, the cry of a dying child, tore out of the Hare’s throat.

Startled, he dropped her.

“Boss! What you doing to her?”

“I’m trying to pick her up, Bob. Keep driving.”

Judith had retreated under Bob’s seat again, her nose twitching spastically.

Gritting his teeth, Jamie got down on hands and knees. “Ms. Little. Please. I’m here to help. I’m not with the Fangs.”

Flick flick flick went that nose.

“Lucian Fowler ordered you killed. I’m trying to save you. I’m with the First Flight.”

Snuffling loudly, the Hare inched forward. Jamie crawled back too, giving her more room. At last, eyes still rolling, she Shifted back into her human form.

“Thank you.”

“Who are you, really?” She pressed herself against the back of the driver’s seat, as if she hoped she could push herself out of the van.

“Jamie Wolfe. Everything you think you know is true. Except, I’m not joining the Fangs of Apophis. I’m doing undercover work for the First Flight. Our driver is Bob.”

“He’s a Rat,” she hissed.

“Yes, but he’s a good Rat. Cute as a lab rat.”

Bob raised a hand and flipped him the bird.

“You said Lucian wants me dead.”

“Yup. Not sure why, but he ordered me to kill you. Which I’m not going to do, mind you,” he added as the air around her began to shimmer once more.

Though she never stopped shivering, she didn’t Shift. “What about my family?”

Ah, hell. That’s what he was afraid of. “Are they being held by the Fangs?”

“Yes. My husband and three children. I can’t leave. He’ll kill them.” Hysteria crept into her voice. “If I escape, he’ll kill them.”

Despite her terror, her first thought was of them. Jamie felt a grudging admiration for the woman. Approval radiated from his Dragon – a feeling it almost never felt for him. “I have bad news, Ms. Little. Once you’re dead, Fowler has no reason to keep them alive.”

“Oh, God,” she sobbed, burying her face against her knees.

“I will help you if I can.” Now the glow of his Dragon’s approval spread, casting its radiance over him too. His nerves settled, steadied by its rock-solid determination. “Do you have any idea where they’re being held?”

“On an island, with about 200 other Shifter Kin.”

“Good sized island!”

“It’s called…” Her voice trailed away into silence.

“Yes? A name would help me locate it.”

“If you’re really fighting the Fangs.” The shivering started back up and Jamie tensed, ready for another round of Hare-chasing. “You weren’t lying when I interviewed you.”

“No, but I was being deceitful.” He had no idea why he passed her test so well – but he wasn’t going to admit that. “Look, what’s the harm in telling me? The Fangs are already trying to kill you and they know damned well where they’re hiding their hostages. So even if I did work for them, you couldn’t hurt anyone.”

Arms wrapped around her knees, she rocked back and forth. “Criehaven,” she said at last. “Not the well-known one. Someplace else. It’s a long helicopter ride between it and Long Island.”

“Okay. Anything else you can tell me about it?”

“No.”

Her downcast eyes gave her away. She was lying. “Look, Judith, we don’t have a lot of time to save them. Tell me everything, please.”

“I have.”

What the hell? Why would she withhold information? He’d already explained that it couldn’t hurt anyone…

…unless the Hare wasn’t alone. There was another ‘traitor’ in the Fangs. Someone Judith wouldn’t endanger.

Our Mate.

The words popped into his head, spoken with utter certainty.

Of course, his Dragon would think that. Jamie didn’t argue. He was on thin ice with the serpent to begin with.

“You’re lying, but I can work with that. If I get you to my Flight, will you share that information with them?” With a gulp, she nodded.

Who, though? After one second, he settled on Finn Donnelly. Big bruiser of a Dragon and about as subtle as a freight train. Just the sort of Shifter to put a nervous Hare’s mind at ease. One look at him and you knew he wasn’t up to anything. He just wasn’t smart enough to be devious.

“Okay, let’s get you ‘dead’ first and then see about moving you someplace safe.”

Bob navigated them through the city and across the Hudson River into New Jersey. There, they left the highway and sought the smaller roads that wound through the garbage-strewn marshes of the Meadowlands. Things had improved a lot since the 50s, when this was the Mob’s favorite place to dump bodies. But Lucian Fowler was right: there were still a lot of private places.

They found one such clearing a short distance down a muddy dirt track. Bob pulled the van up beside the remains of a campfire. Marsh grass loomed eight feet high, shielding them from prying eyes. Broken bottles and used needles lay scattered about. Apparently, body disposal wasn’t the only crime the swamps protected.

“Got your cell phone?” Jamie asked the Rat as he retrieved a small bag from the van.

“Yep. Good to go.”

“Okay, here’s the plan. Ms. Little? I’m going to drag you out of the van. When you see where we are, you Shift and run into the grass. Not far. You don’t want to fall into the Hudson. No telling what disease you’d pick up from that sewer. Then Shift back, quickly, and stay hidden.”

“What’s the cell phone for?”

“Proof. Lucian didn’t ask for it, but he’ll appreciate my ‘honesty.’” If Bob came through. The hard part of this plan fell squarely on the Rat.

“So, I Shift, run into the grass, and play dead?”

“Nope. I’ve got the ‘dead’ part covered already.” From his bag, he pulled the soft, limp body of a hare and placed it on the ground over by the wall of grass. “Meet Peter. He’s your body double. A live hare would have been better, but we’re working on short notice.”

Even getting one with fur had been a challenge. He’d had to call a half dozen specialty groceries before he found Peter. Most NYC chefs didn’t want to skin their own meat.

He and Judith took their places in the van. “Ready?”

“Didn’t I say so?” Bob grumbled.

Beside him, Judith looked ready to faint.

Perfect. “Go with the fear,” he whispered to her. “It’s your friend. Don’t fight it.”

His hand closed around her arm – and then he called to his Dragon, letting the edge of its power fill him. Skin toughed, grew rough with scales. Claws burst from his fingertips… and tore into the soft flesh of the Hare’s arm.

Judith screamed, a true, unfeigned cry of pain and fear.

Exactly what they needed. He’d apologize later.

“Nothing personal, Ms. Little.” He jerked her out of the van. “This is just business.”

Like they’d rehearsed the move a dozen times, Judith squealed in terror and Shifted. Her Hare’s tiny body slipped through his claws and she hit the ground running, hind legs kicking up sprays of mud.

With a roar, he let the full might of his Dragon wash over him, Shifting fully. As he spread his wings, one clipped the van and sent it rocking.

Giving Bob the opportunity he needed to curse and drop the phone. Unlike Judith, the Rat had practiced.

One leap into the air. Keen Dragon eyes immediately spotted where Judith crouched, human again. One buffet of wind as his powerful wings beat. Then he pounced – landing beside the dead hare. As Bob brushed mud off his camera, Jamie Shifted back and picked up the little body.

“Rat,” he snarled at Bob, “if you just screwed up my film, I will gut you.”

“No, no, Master! It’s fine!” That awful, nasal Rat whine set Jamie’s teeth on edge. Bob hated it too, but the Fangs expected subservience from the ‘lesser’ Shifters. “Everything’s good! I got the Hare dying!”

“You better have.” As he spoke, he stepped into the grass. Out of camera view, he tossed the hare away. Dead Shifters reverted to their human form quickly. Peter had done his job. Putting a finger to his lips, Jamie shushed Judith and scooped her into his arms.

“Are you coming?” he yelled.

“What’s that?” Bob yowled back.

Jamie emerged from the grass, letting his cameraman catch one quick shot of the woman he carried. “Get the shovel, idiot. You don’t expect me to dig a grave, do you?”

“Oh, no, no sir, no.”

Disappearing back into the marsh, Jamie let his triumphant grin slip free. This ‘murder’ would cement Fowler’s trust. Everything was going perfectly!

Yet, even as he savored his victory, a cold current of doubt stirred, casting a pall across his elation.

Something is wrong.

A crazy thought. Everything had gone great!

“Film’s off. C’mon out,” Bob called.

Danger. Terrible danger… somewhere. Where?

For courtesy’s sake, he carried Judith back out. No sense in both of them getting muddy. Yet, he couldn’t shake that feeling of imminent doom.  “How’s the video look?”

“Great! Nothing to worry about, O ‘Master’!” The Rat beamed him a smile full of yellow, crooked teeth.

Even Judith gave a breathy little laugh. “That was terrifying!”

New York. Back. He had to go back now, or all was lost.

“Guys…” The words came out in a strangled croak. “I have to go. Now.”

“Huh? You crazy?” Bob sputtered.

But once he said the words, that conviction grew. Swelling, rising, becoming an avalanche that threatened to sweep him away. Under its power, rational thought dissolved.

“I’m taking the van!” he snapped. “Keys!”

“Boss…”

“KEYS, NOW!” The full might of his Dragon poured into those words, and the Rat tossed him the keys at once and scrambled back.

“Mr. Wolfe!” Judith called as he sprinted for the van. “Wait! There’s something affecting you. Not a spell… or maybe… Wait!”

He ignored her. Jumping into the driver’s seat, he threw the van into gear and tore off.

The last thing he heard was Bob’s plaintive cry: “Hey! What about us?”

Jamie ignored that too. He had to get to New York, now.

Maya’s life was in danger.

When something threatened its Mate, a Dragon always knew. The greatest of guardians, it could find its soul mate no matter where she was. Nothing in this world could stop a Dragon from reaching her and protecting her.

As his baffled partner disappeared behind him, Jamie sighed.

Guess I didn’t sabotage the Rite of Claiming as well as I thought I did!

Caught in the urgent need to protect, his Dragon didn’t even bother to nip him over that thought.