Chapter Thirteen
Nic roared. Pain encompassed him. It was as though every cell in his body was fighting him. Something was suppressing his natural abilities. His preternatural vision and hearing were both stifled. His natural strength was useless to him. Even his drakon fire was ineffective, and that was most frightening of all. Drakon fire could destroy anything, except another drakon.
The statues were creating some kind of invisible shield around him, preventing him from getting away. It was by far the most powerful weapon he’d ever come across. Bullets bounced off his plate-like armored scales. Hell, he’d heard a rumor that one of his kind had shaken off a nuclear blast and laughed.
No, it wasn’t modern weaponry that was a threat to them. It was the drugs and potions the Knights used to keep a drakon weak and in their dragon form, along with words spoken from ancient texts, spells reputed to be able to trap them.
Now this. These statues somehow worked together, rendering him powerless. Nic hadn’t felt this way since he was a child, wondering why his dragon sire had left him and his human mother didn’t want him.
But he was no longer a child. Hadn’t been one for thousands of years. He was cunning and smart and could well afford to outwait the Knights of the Dragon. His brothers would come for him. They had all those years ago and would now. The Knights wouldn’t be expecting them. Before, a drakon taken captive had been alone. Not this time.
“I’ve got you.” Dent was practically dancing around outside the circle. Even though he knew it would be ineffective, Nic roared and sent a plume of fire in Dent’s direction. The man dove to the side, sliding across the concrete even though the fire stopped at the invisible border of the barrier and spread around it. It was like a dome covering him, keeping everything drakon inside, including his fire.
“Sir.” One of the men went to Dent and helped him up. “The women are gone.”
Nic closed his eyes and huffed out a breath. At least Constance and her sister were safe. She’d used him and left him. Or rather, he’d allowed himself to be used by her. His dragon mourned her loss, but he’d never really had her.
They’d made love only one time, but it was enough. He’d never want another woman, assuming he ever escaped from the Knights. She was it for him.
Fury boiled through him. Why couldn’t his woman have wanted him enough to be honest with him? If she’d come to him and told him Dent’s plan, maybe they could have worked something out.
Even as he thought it, he knew nothing could have changed. Constance barely knew him. She cared for him. He sensed that. She wouldn’t have given herself to him so openly and eagerly, no matter what Dent asked of her.
And what lengths would he go to in order to save his brothers? She was only doing the same for her sister. She was loyal and brave. He just wanted all that loyalty for himself.
She was free. That was enough.
He ignored the ache in his chest and the hole in the pit of his stomach. If he escaped the Knights, he would seek out the Deep Sleep. He couldn’t remain in the world with Constance in it, knowing the one woman meant to be his didn’t love him.
“We can get the women later. There isn’t anywhere they can go where we can’t find them. It’s not like they can call the authorities. What are they going to tell them? Anyway, we have friends on the local force if it comes to that.”
Nic lowered his head, panting for breath. He hadn’t eaten properly in the past couple of days, and it was catching up with him. He needed a lot more calories than a normal human in order to be able to function properly.
Being inside this force field wasn’t helping, either. It was taking a toll on his body. He was getting more tired by the minute. Within the hour, he’d most likely be weak enough for the Knights to approach him. Then would come the drugs.
Would they hold him here or transport him?
His big body shuddered. No matter, wherever they took him, Tarrant would find him. He hoped Darius and Sarah had already left his home in Arizona and gone to the Appalachians for safety. Ezra and his mate were safe enough on his private island.
He could survive anything as long as he knew the people he loved were safe. When a picture of Constance popped into his mind, he didn’t fight it. He didn’t know what was ahead of him. He settled onto the floor, wrapped his tail around him, and closed his eyes. Like a movie playing in his head, he relived their lovemaking, remembering her taste, her sweet scent, and her soft touch.
She’d betrayed him, but it didn’t seem to matter.
…
The farther she got from Nic, the sicker she felt. She’d left him there with men she knew wanted to harm him. “You need to go to Mrs. Karsh. You can’t go home, but they’d never suspect we’d be stupid enough to stash you next door.”
She took a corner too fast and forced herself to slow down. She couldn’t afford to get stopped by the cops for reckless driving. “You can’t go to a hospital.” She glanced at her sister, who was now wearing a seat belt. She looked pale when the streetlights hit. And she was quiet, too quiet.
“Honey, are you okay? Your fingers are broken, but Mrs. Karsh can set them.” Mabel Karsh had been a nurse before she’d retired.
“Bumps and bruises. I’m hungry and tired.” She swiveled in her seat. “What was that? What is going on?”
There wasn’t time to explain it all but she knew her sister deserved answers. “The statues—”
“Are dangerous,” her sister finished. “I get that. Who are those men? I heard someone mention knights of some kind.”
“The Knights of the Dragon. According to Nic, they’re a society that believes in dragons. They capture them and drink their blood.” She wished she’d paid more attention, but at the time she’d been in totally disbelief anyone would give credence to such things. “Ah, it gives them long life, maybe more. I’m not sure on that.”
“And dragons are real.” It wasn’t a question as they’d both seen Nic shift into a huge dragon.
That was the crazy part. “Yeah. Apparently, they are.” She was still coming to terms with that herself. “Mario contacted two buyers about the statues. One of them was Dent, the man who had you kidnapped. The other was Nic.”
“Nic?”
Constance rubbed her forehead and then turned the van. They were almost there. “Yeah, Nicodemus Wilde.” It was weird to think her sister and Nic had never met considering how much they both meant to her. “I thought he’d taken you at first. He wanted to help me.”
Her sister reached out and touched her arm. “He’s important to you, isn’t he?”
Abigail knew her too well. “Yes.”
“You didn’t know what he was?”
“That he was a dragon? No.”
Abigail shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Will they come for me?”
She hated the fear in her sister’s voice. She’d been so brave, but right now she sounded like a child seeking reassurance. “No, baby, I’ll protect you.”
Seeing a cab parked at a convenience store, she pulled in beside it. She grabbed her purse and climbed out. She didn’t expect to be long, but she wasn’t leaving her wallet or keys in the van just in case.
Constance went around to the other side and opened the door. Abigail was just sitting there. Obviously, shock was setting in. Constance unlatched the seat belt and helped her sister out of the vehicle. “Come on, sweetie. You have to go.”
“What are you doing?”
“Putting you in a cab.” The driver was inside the store, but Constance waved at him. Relief filled her when he nodded back. As much as she wanted to go with Abigail, Nic was still in danger. There was a gnawing need to get back to him. “You can’t tell Mrs. Karsh anything.”
Abigail stopped in her tracks. “Why not?”
She tugged on Abigail’s arm and got her moving again. “For one thing, she’d never believe you. For another, she’d think you’re crazy if you start talking about dragons.” She knew she had to tell Abigail the truth. “And they’ve already killed Mario. The less Mrs. Karsh knows the better.”
Abigail gasped and released a low cry. “No. Not Mario. Why?”
She wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulders and squeezed. “These people are ruthless.”
“I can’t go to Mrs. Karsh. That will put her in danger.”
“I think the danger is minimal. If they were going to question her about us, they’d already have done it. They don’t want any unwanted attention. They made Mario’s death look like a robbery gone wrong. He was a part of this because he knew about the statues. You tell Mrs. Karsh we had a slight accident with the van. You were hurt, and I’m getting the van towed.”
“You’re going back, aren’t you? To the warehouse?”
“I have to.” She knew Abigail couldn’t possibly understand how important Nic was to her. They hadn’t known each other long, hours really, but that didn’t matter. She knew in her heart she loved him. He’d killed in order to protect her. He’d given himself up to the Knights to protect her and her sister when he could have simply fled and saved himself.
Abigail wrapped her arms around Constance. “Be safe. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”
She couldn’t promise her sister anything, so she didn’t answer. That in itself was telling. Tears were tracking down Abigail’s face when they separated. “You can do anything,” she told her sister. “You’re brave and talented. You need to reach for your dreams, whatever they may be.”
Constance got out her wallet and gave her sister all the cash she had. It was more than enough to cover the ride home. “Get the cab to drop you off a street over and go behind the houses. Whatever you do, stay out of sight as much as possible.”
The driver came out of the store and slid into the front seat of the cab. “You coming?” he asked.
“I love you.” Abigail gave her one final squeeze before abruptly turning and climbing into the waiting vehicle.
She watched the cab pull out and disappear down the road before she walked back to the van. The front was slightly smashed and one of her headlights had been damaged. All she cared was that it worked long enough to get her where she was going. She climbed back into the driver’s seat and locked all the doors.
The phone in her pocket was her only link to Nic. She pulled it out and scrolled the contacts. There was one number with no name attached. She connected to the unknown contact and waited. It barely rang once before it was answered.
“I know who you are Constance Owens. I know where you live. I know everything about you.” She had no reason to doubt the harsh male voice. He meant business, but so did she.
“If you know Nic, you know what he is. The Knights have him.”
“I’m going to kill you for that. You betrayed him.”
“Get in line. I’m going back for Nic. Dent and his men will probably save you the trouble of coming after me.”
“You’re going back?” She set the call on speaker and started the van. It stuttered twice and then the engine rumbled to life. She checked traffic before pulling out. Taking a right at the corner, she headed back toward the warehouse.
“Of course I’m going back. I only left long enough to get my sister to safety. Now that I know she’s secured, I’m going back for Nic. I’ll get him out or die trying.” She knew the man on the other end of the line owed her nothing. “Look, if I don’t make it out, can you try to help Abigail? She’s so young and has her entire life ahead of her.”
“And you don’t?” The voice was flat and unemotional. That was even scarier than the emotion of moments before.
She left the heavy traffic behind and picked up speed, taking care not to push it too much. Her breath hitched, and she swallowed hard, determined not to cry. “Not if Nic doesn’t make it.” She knew she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if he didn’t make it out alive.
“Okay, maybe I won’t kill you.”
She laughed, but even she could hear the hysterical edge to it. “Thanks. I think. Is there anything you can tell me that might help? Are you close enough to help?”
“No. I’m too far away. You’ll have to be stealthy. What exactly happened?”
“It’s the statues. For some reason, they’ve trapped him in his other form.” She wasn’t about to say dragon just in case this guy on the phone with her didn’t quite know everything.
“How?”
“I’m not sure. I think it’s the formation. Dent made me put them in a particular formation. One on each major compass point.”
“Can the statues be destroyed?”
“Not easily. The crystal one is the weakest. After that, the onyx one. The teak and bronze statues are pretty solid.”
“How exactly is he trapped?”
The warehouse came into view. She stopped the van outside the gate and turned it around so it was facing the street and ready to go if they managed to get out alive. She shut off the vehicle and climbed out, taking the phone with her. She took it off speaker and put it to her ear.
“I’m not sure. It’s like some invisible dome, but it didn’t affect me. I was able to walk through it and get my sister out. But Nic couldn’t get past it. And he couldn’t change forms again.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, and”—she felt crazy saying this but plunged onward—“fire didn’t work, either.” She didn’t say Nic was the one sending the plume of fire from his mouth, which would really freak her out if she weren’t already freaked out about the fact he was a dragon.
“That’s bad. That’s very bad,” the man on the other end of the line muttered.
“Tell me about it.” She hurried toward the door, staying in the shadows. From inside, she heard voices. She recognized Dent. He sounded excited. “I’ve got to go.”
“Destroy the statues. Or at least kick them out of alignment. That might be enough to allow Nic to break free.”
“Got it.”
“Do you still have the phone Dent left for you?”
It was still in her purse. “Yes.”
“Dump it. They’ll be able to use it to track you otherwise. And if you want to keep your phone, turn it off and remove the battery and SIM card.”
She should have thought of that. “I will.” She started to hang up but stopped when he started speaking again.
“I’ll do what I can to help your sister.”
“Thank you.” She ended the call and tucked the phone in her bag, which she’d taken out of habit. She had no idea if the man she’d been speaking with would honor his promise, but she somehow thought he would. That gave her comfort.
There was no time to deal with her phone now. She’d disable it if she made it out of here. If she didn’t, then it really wouldn’t matter.
Constance peeked around the edge of the door. Surprisingly, it was still open a crack from where she and her sister had run out. No one had bothered to check it. She eased it open enough for her to slip inside. Keeping to the shadows, she made her way around the room.
“He’s getting weaker.” The speaker was one of the men dressed in dark clothes and boots, carrying a wicked automatic weapon. Those guys had to be mercenaries. This wasn’t any military operation.
“Good,” Dent replied. “As soon as we’re sure he’s incapacitated, we’ll inject him and get him ready for transport.”
She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out in fear. They couldn’t be allowed to move him. If they took him from this location, she’d never find him.
“How long, sir?”
Dent studied Nic. The dragon was lying on the ground with his tail curled around him. He didn’t look well. Wasn’t fighting.
“Not much longer,” Dent replied. “Maybe ten or fifteen minutes, just to be on the safe side.”
Constance set her bag carefully on the ground and took off her sweater. She dug out the phone that Dent had used to contact her and placed it on the floor. She wanted to smash it, but that would make too much noise.
She had to do something. She needed a weapon of some kind. She looked around. Now that her eyes were accustom to the dim light she could see better.
There were no guns lying around. No such luck. But there were two pieces of sturdy metal pipe. She picked one up and hefted it with her right hand. It would do. It would do nicely.
Now all she needed was a diversion.
She picked up the second piece of pipe with her left hand and smiled. She knew what to do. She’d only get one chance, so she had to make it work the first time. Otherwise, she was dead, and Nic was still captive.
Constance said a prayer under her breath, drew back her left arm, and heaved the pipe as far as she could.
With the crystal statue in her sights, she waited until the metal clattered to the ground about fifteen feet away from her. Then she sprang from the darkness, swinging the remaining pipe as hard as she could.