Chapter Fourteen
Ezra glanced back at the small dinghy he was dragging behind him. Sam waved and settled back in the boat. How had she talked him into this? Oh yeah, by asking him. He was a pushover when it came to her. And to think that he’d teased his brothers about being twisted around their women’s little fingers. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
At her insistence, he’d outfitted her with a rifle. He and his brothers all had guns in their homes in case they had to fight. It was much easier to explain gunshots to the authorities than drakon fire. The modern age was hard on an immortal drakon. Everyone had a cell phone and recorded everything. Information went around the world almost instantaneously. There were few places to hide. They did exist, but most of them were already home to a drakon or paranormal creature of some kind. The world had already had a fair share of such creatures long before the dragons ever arrived from their own world.
He wondered if he should mention that to Sam and decided it was probably better he didn’t. At least for now. She’d drag him around the world searching for them. And some of them were downright hostile. Not that he blamed them. Most just wanted to be left alone.
In spite of the danger facing them, excitement stirred inside Ezra. He loved being out on the water. This was where he felt most at home, cutting through the waves and sometimes diving deep. The wind was up slightly tonight, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He did worry about Sam.
He never had to concern himself about the wind speed or temperature before. It was all the same to him. But now it was a constant concern. Sam was wearing jeans and her sneakers. She’d borrowed a pair of thick socks to add a layer of warmth. She was also wearing a T-shirt and sweater, both of which belonged to him, under her coat. The black wool hat was back on her head and she’d stuffed her hands into her pockets.
At his insistence. He’d loaded several blankets on board the boat. Sam hadn’t looked around sufficiently to realize there was a cave on his island, reachable only from the sea, where he kept several small boats. He had a speedboat, but it sat too high in the water and would be easily seen. The dingy had been the best choice.
He’d been thinking about what she’d said earlier. Maybe she was right about the dingy he’d scuttled. He could always retrieve it and have it conveniently wash up on shore somewhere. It would be found and word would get back to the Knights. It might be enough for them to write Sam off as dead. Then she could stay with him.
He dropped the towline and circled back to the boat. He was in his dragon form and placed his head carefully across the bow of the tiny vessel.
“Are we close?” she whispered. “I have no sense of how far the Integrity is from your home.”
“Another ten minutes.” They’d already been travelling for quite some time. “Are you warm enough?”
She held up the insulated mug she’d filled with coffee before they’d left. “Still have some left.” She tugged at one of the blankets. “I’m warm enough.” She was also low in the boat so the edges gave her some protection from the wind.
“I don’t like this.” His voice was deeper than usual. When he sighed, smoke poured from his nostrils.
“I can tell.” She reached out and stroked the side of his wedge-shaped head. That tiny touch stoked the fires inside him. “Everything will be fine.”
He wasn’t as confident as she was. He’d lived a very long time, and it was his experience that when you expected something to be fine, it was usually a shit storm.
He dove deep into the ocean, letting it soothe some of the restless energy that swirled inside him. As much as he loved having Sam with him, sharing his beloved ocean with her, he wished she was home waiting on the dock for him to return.
He rocketed back to the surface, hating to leave her alone even for a short time. His dragon wanted her in sight at all times. He snagged the towline in his mouth and started out again. He didn’t need a compass or GPS to know where he was. He had a built-in radar and map system. There wasn’t an inch of the world’s oceans he hadn’t explored.
On land, he’d probably get lost without directions. But the ocean was his home, his playground, where he loved to be. He had excellent navigational skills within its depths.
It was taking him longer than it had the night before. Mostly because he wasn’t going at top speed, and he was occasionally checking on Sam to make sure she was doing okay. He had no trouble aborting the mission and heading home if Sam got too cold or frightened.
He snorted, sending a spray of water showering out in front of him. Yeah, like that was going to happen. She most likely wouldn’t even tell him if she was cold. And she was too courageous to turn back, even if she was scared.
No, the quicker they did this and he got her back to his island, the happier he’d be. He dropped the line and let the current gently carry it. His company boat, the Peter Easton, was just ahead and to the right.
When the dingy drifted alongside, he went over his plan with Sam once again. “You stay in the boat.”
“Don’t worry. I have no intentions of going in the ocean.” That reassurance relaxed him some, but it did nothing to dispel the low-level tension thrumming inside him. That wouldn’t dissipate until he had her back on dry land, as far away from the Knights as he could get her.
“I’m going to dive down and check out both wrecks. Can you feel anything?” He believed Sam when she told him she could sense objects of power, artifacts used by people in their arcane rituals. Scientists might scoff at such things, but Ezra had lived long enough to know the truth. Such things did exist, had always existed, and would be here long after mankind was nothing but a memory.
Sam shut her eyes and concentrated. “I think so,” she told him after about a minute. “It’s difficult with you so near.” When he stared at her, she shrugged. “You emit a constant hum in my blood.”
He couldn’t help but smile. He liked the idea of her always being aware of him, of him being—how had she phrased it—in her blood.
She made a shooing gesture with her hands. “Maybe you could swim off for a few minutes. That would clear the area so I could get a better idea.”
“One minute.” He wasn’t going any farther away than he could swim in one minute. He didn’t like the idea of her being alone. It would be different when he explored the wrecks. At least he’d be between her and the salvage boat. She was asking him to leave her alone with it and head in the opposite direction.
“Fine.” She shut her eyes again, and he dove deep, rocketing off in the opposite direction. He counted from one to sixty. As soon as he was done, he made a sharp turn and swam back, using his wings and tail to propel him even faster.
When he popped his head out of the water, Sam gasped and then slapped her hand over her mouth. Sound carried over water. They had to keep as quiet as possible.
“Well?” He was growing more impatient with each passing second.
“There’s something else down there. The Integrity only recovered one artifact that sent my senses humming, so there has to be something else down there on the older wreck.”
That’s what he’d been afraid of. Neither of them knew what it was or what harm it might bring him, but they both knew they couldn’t leave it there for the Knights to discover.
Sam chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m not sure you should do this,” she began. There was fear in her beautiful eyes, but it wasn’t for herself. It was for him.
“Remember what I told you.” He wanted to shift from his dragon form so he could kiss her one more time, but he couldn’t risk bringing any attention to them. “If something happens and I don’t return—”
“Call your friend.” She patted her left pocket and the phone she’d secured there. “Got it.”
Ezra swore and dove deep. When he got down around forty feet, he thought it was safe enough to shift. His scales shimmered with a luminous glow as his big body shrunk and the man returned. Most people would die without diving equipment. Ezra simply shot back to the top, not pausing at intervals to allow his body to adjust. It wasn’t necessary for him.
Sam was whispering his name when he shot out of the water and into the boat. She fell back and knocked her coffee mug over and struck the rifle by her side. Ezra grabbed the rifle and righted the mug. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Her face was pale in spite of the chill and the brisk wind buffeting the dinghy.
“This.” He caught her face in his hands and kissed her. It was really too tame a word for what he was doing. He inhaled her essence, claimed her lips, and branded her with his touch.
Everything inside him settled. He would protect Sam with his last breath. He’d lay waste to kingdoms for her. She was his strength and his Achilles’ heel. If the Knights ever discovered how important she was to a drakon, they would not stop their relentless search so they could exploit her. They might believe her dead, but unless a body turned up, they’d continue to search for years to come.
He forced himself to end the kiss. The quicker they did what they’d come to do, the quicker he could get her back to his home.
She was staring at him, wide-eyed, her chest heaving. “What was that?”
“A promise to return as fast as possible. Stay safe. And shoot only to protect yourself.” He patted his skin. “Once the scales are on, no gun or weapon can harm me.”
“Only potions and magical items,” she reminded him. It was why they were here.
“I’ll be as fast as I can,” he promised. “The current will take you beyond the Easton, but you won’t drift any closer to it. Stay low.”
“Be careful.” She brushed her cold fingers along his jaw.
He gave a brusque nod. “I will.”
Turning his back on her, he dove, shifting as he went. He could see and function better in the depths in his dragon form. The Integrity was on its side with two large holes puncturing its side. He ignored it and went to the older wreck. The Reliant had gone down years before. The sea had consumed the human remains and much of the wood, but there was still enough there to know it had been a sailing ship.
Plants and small sea creatures had made it their home, covering it and obscuring much. That didn’t matter to Ezra. He’d been salvaging sunken vessels and exploring the deep long before humans had found their way to the depths. He knew what to look for and how to find it.
…
Sam studied the black waters until the ripple disappeared and only the ocean waves remained. Ezra was gone, vanished in the depths. Her heart was still racing from the kiss he’d given her. It had tasted too much like good-bye for her peace of mind.
He was worried, and rightfully so. Whatever was down there had the potential to harm him. Why else would the Knights spend so much money to retrieve it? “Maybe it’s not as dangerous as the book,” she whispered just to hear herself speak.
The ocean had never seemed as vast, as lonely, or as dangerous as it did at this moment. Usually when she was part of an ocean excavation, she was a member of a team on a large vessel. Drifting at the mercy of the current in a tiny dingy was unnerving.
Ezra is down there, she reminded herself. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. And it was her job to make certain nothing happened to him.
The salvage ship was a decent size, probably forty feet or so. It looked well cared for, but she wouldn’t expect anything less from Ezra. He’d do everything in his power to protect the people working for him.
There was no movement on the deck, at least none she could see from this distance. Not surprising since it was the middle of the night and they had no reason to set a watch. There was probably someone camped out at the helm, keeping an eye out on the weather and for other vessels on the radar. The dingy was probably small enough not to register. Or maybe the radar couldn’t tell such things. She really had no idea how it worked. Her area of expertise was the artifacts.
The phone seemed heavy in her pocket. She’d urged Ezra to call his hacker friend before they left. She had no idea who the guy was, but if he knew Ezra, maybe he knew what he was. Why else would Ezra insist she call him if he got into trouble?
Maybe he was another drakon.
Sam glanced at the dive watch Ezra had given her to wear. When she’d questioned it, he’d laughingly told her he used scuba gear when he dived with his team from the Easton. She could only imagine how strange it must feel for him to suit up in all that gear before diving when all he had to do was jump in the water. Did it make it more difficult for him to dive?
She had so many questions to ask him.
He’d been gone twenty minutes. Not surprising, since finding whatever they were searching for was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
She reached into her pocket and touched the phone, needing the reassurance. The dinghy was drifting farther away from the Easton, away from Ezra, and moving in the direction of the shore. It was getting more difficult to see the deck of the boat.
From this distance, the rifle Ezra had given her would be useless. She knew how to fire it, but she was no sniper.
She shivered and huddled beneath the blankets. Her coffee wasn’t gone, but what was left was cold. She drank it anyway, needing the caffeine boost. The roll of the waves and the adrenaline crash were making her sleepy.
She leaned her head against the curved edge of the dinghy and stared up at the stars. They were so much brighter away from land. She’d always loved the stars. She wanted to sit out on Ezra’s deck with him on a warm summer’s night and share them with him. Would that happen, or would she be long gone from his life by then?
Another five minutes passed. She had no idea how long he could stay underwater or if he was coming up at intervals for air. This far away, she was running blind.
She reached into the pocket and touched the phone again. Ezra was not going to be happy with her. Swearing under her breath, she yanked it out and hit the only number in his contacts.
It rang once. Twice. She began to worry no one would answer. It was answered on the third ring. “You better have a good reason for calling, Ezra. I was otherwise occupied.”
The voice was deep and gruff. She shouldn’t have called.
“Ezra? Talk to me, man.”
She almost hung up, but the concern in the man’s voice stopped her. Whoever he was, he cared about Ezra. “This is Sam.”
“If you’ve hurt Ezra, I’ll gut you while you’re still alive and watch you bleed.” As threats went, it was an effective one. Sam believed him. Sweat broke out on her already clammy skin, and her heart pounded so hard her chest hurt.
“Sam? Are you there? Is Ezra okay?”
There was no point in hanging up now. She’d called him and the situation hadn’t changed any. She glanced toward the boat and kept her voice low. “Ezra is diving down to the original wreck site, to the Reliant.”
“Why would he do a fool thing like that? No, let me guess, he thinks there might be more artifacts?”
Sam nodded and then sighed. Whoever was on the other end couldn’t see her. The wind and cold were beginning to muddle her senses. “Yes,” she whispered. “He’s been down there a long time. How long can he stay down before something happens to him?”
“How much air does he have in his tank?”
She closed her eyes and said a prayer for strength. This person was protecting Ezra, which meant she could trust him. “He’s not wearing a tank.”
The stranger on the other end began to curse. “You know.”
It wasn’t a question. “I know. That’s why I’m so worried.” She briefly debated how much to tell him, but Ezra had said to call him in case of an emergency. “The book we found is dangerous.”
“He looked at it?” The roar had her holding the phone away from her ear. She looked toward the Easton, surprised they hadn’t heard it.
“Keep your voice down,” she whispered. “I’m in a dingy not far from the Easton. And we took precautions, turning the pages with the tip of a knife.” No need to tell him that Ezra had touched the damn book. He was upset enough as it was.
“What did it say?” he demanded.
“It was a journal belonging to a man named Frederick Bazal. He was a member of the Knights of the Dragon. A scholar. The writing is a combination of many languages. He changes them frequently in the writing. If something happens to us, it’s in Ezra’s safe.”
“I can get to it,” he assured her.
“It’s dangerous. I started to read a few words and could sense the power.” She hurried on, not knowing if he’d believe her or think she was crazy. “You’ll need a scholar, maybe two—people who can decipher the languages. But you have to be careful. It’s dangerous to people like Ezra.” She didn’t want to come right out and say what he was. The phone lines were never secure.
“I can read whatever languages are written in the journal.”
“You can?” Of course he could. If he was like Ezra, he probably spoke many ancient languages. Maybe it was a stretch, but she believed she was talking with another drakon.
“I can. And to answer your earlier question, Ezra can stay underwater as long as he needs to.”
“I should go. It’s not safe for me to be talking out here.” Although the sound of the wind and waves, coupled with the distance she’d drifted made it safer than it would have been only fifteen minutes ago. The current was really starting to carry her.
“Any sign of Ezra?”
She peered out over the inky surface. It was difficult to see anything past the hand in front of her face. Only the stars and the moon gave her any light. She couldn’t risk a flashlight. She did check the luminous face of the watch, careful to make sure it was facing away from the Easton. Not that anyone could see it from this distance, but better to be safe than sorry.
“Nothing.”
“Listen to me. If he’s in the water, he’ll be okay.” Sam wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, her or himself. “Call me back in an hour if he hasn’t returned.”
“I will.” It was a promise she could keep. “If I don’t, it’s because something has happened.” She didn’t want to think about what could happen. The ocean was a vast and dangerous place. She hung up, wanting to conserve power even though the phone had been fully charged when they’d left. She made sure it was on vibrate before she tucked it back into her pocket and zipped it shut. The last thing she needed was for it to ring.
She tugged the blankets over the bottom half of her face to block the wind, stared out over the waves, and waited.
…
Aaron Dexter walked on the deck with a bottle of whiskey in hand. He’d planned on staying in his room, but the space was tiny, barely enough room for a bunk.
The air was frigid, and he knew it was late, but he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, not without something to help him along the way. Which was where the bottle of whiskey came in.
He knew his days were numbered if he didn’t complete his mission. They might be numbered even if he did. The Knights were not known for leniency when it came to mistakes.
And losing a multi-million-dollar research vessel and letting Sam Bellamy escape with a priceless artifact were huge mistakes. It was all Sam’s fault. If she hadn’t taken the damn thing and tried to run with it, they wouldn’t have been focused on her. Maybe the whale, or whatever the hell hit them, would have been spotted on radar and they could’ve avoided it.
Or maybe he was grasping at straws.
All he knew was that he needed whatever else was down there. It was his only hope. He needed something to take to another member of the Knights to try to get some leverage. He needed someone who hated Karina Azarov. That shouldn’t be difficult to find. The Knights were all power hungry, and they all wanted to be leader.
And if there was nothing left in the wreckage? That was why he wasn’t sleeping. He leaned against the railing of the Easton and looked out over the water. He had divers of his own on the way, men loyal to him to join the crew of the Easton. He wasn’t risking any new artifacts slipping through his fingers.
Something splashed in the distance. He narrowed his gaze and peered out over the water. He reached into his pocket and drew out a small pair of binoculars. “Shit.” He scanned the water, but it was too damn dark to see much of anything. Who would be out there?
He panned back and forth and squinted. Was that the edge of a boat? Then it was gone. Probably a figment of his imagination caused by the cresting of the waves. He jammed the binoculars back into his pocket, cracked open the whiskey bottle, and took a swallow. It was mellow and warmed his stomach.
He continued to stare out over the water, not able to shake the sensation someone had been out there watching. Had Karina sent another team to keep an eye on him? Well, fuck them. If he found anything in the wreck below, he was keeping it.
And then there was Sam Bellamy. It was logical to assume she was dead, the dinghy swamped and sunk or drifting out at sea. He’d shot her. Problem was, he didn’t have any idea how badly he’d hurt her.
She could still be out there. In fact, his gut was telling him she was.
Just then, something jumped in front of him and disappeared back into the water. A fish of some kind. Damned if he knew what it was. He hated the water. Much preferred to be on dry land.
If he found his way free and clear from this situation, he was never setting foot back on the ocean again.
He tilted the bottle back and took another swig. Tomorrow, he was starting his search for her. He’d rent a boat and cruise up and down the shoreline. There had to be a sign of her somewhere. She couldn’t have gone far.
He kept drinking and watching the ocean.
He couldn’t wait to get back on dry land.