Chapter Six
Kai and Carys had kept to the trees and watched the area until nightfall. When the sun finally set and nothing had happened, they made their way toward the farmhouse and other buildings. Eira and Wren were posted at two different spots to keep watch and alert them to anyone coming their way.
Thanks to his dragon-shifter eyesight, Kai could see every rock or even cigarette butt on the ground despite the near-darkness. The key was to make as little sound as possible and to avoid any potential booby traps. Kai didn’t think they’d have sophisticated security systems, but he kept an eye out for them as well.
Light shone through one of the windows in the farmhouse on the ground level. However, as they approached, he didn’t hear any talking, footsteps, or other signs of human habitation. He signaled for Carys to investigate the perimeter of the house while he went to the barn.
As his dragon always did on important missions, he remained silent inside Kai’s head but lent his observation skills and would let him know if he spotted or heard anything.
Closing the distance to the stone building of the barn, Kai sniffed the air. Instead of animal dung, hay, or dirt, he smelled something chemical he couldn’t name.
Since he’d dealt with his fair share of explosives in his army days and could identify them by scent, he ruled them out, too. However, ever since his clan had been targeted with drugs that made dragon halves take over and go wild, Kai had learned to be cautious of any chemical he couldn’t name. When he had the chance, he needed to talk with Dr. Sid and the other doctors on Stonefire so that he could obtain a sample of the drug and have his Protectors memorize the smell.
Scanning the side of the barn, he counted a few long, narrow slits on the sides in addition to the set of wide, wooden doors. One of the ventilation slits was on ground level, so Kai crouched down and crept to just below it. The silence made him suspicious.
Careful not to disturb the earth and make noise, Kai rose slowly until he could peek through the opening. A large, white truck sat at the far side of the room. Sweeping the room with his eyes, he noticed a thin line of light shining from behind a closed door.
His dragon spoke up. We need to look inside.
I know. Give me a bloody moment.
Dropping down, Kai quietly moved to the wide door. The hinges weren’t well-oiled, which meant they’d make too much sound. He continued moving until he turned the corner and examined the other side of the barn. One of the windows didn’t have any glass in it. While high up, it was his best option for getting inside.
When he reached just below it, he jumped up and just managed to grab the ledge. He slowly pulled himself up. As he attempted to lean inside the window to check the surroundings one more time, something scratched his arm. He dismissed it as remnants of the former window. However, when he finished his sweep of the interior, his grip slipped. He tried to catch himself, but his fingers barely responded. Kai fell and managed to tumble into a somersault to avoid making too much noise.
Inside his mind, his dragon curled into a ball. So much noise. Make it stop.
Kai heard nothing.
Carys appeared at his side. One look at him and she crouched down, slung his arm around her shoulders, and helped him up.
As his dragon started to roar, Kai barely paid attention to what was happening. Only when he heard Carys’s voice was he able to note they were back inside the cover of the trees.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Scratch on my arm…” His dragon roared louder. “Something is wrong. Get me back.”
His beast flicked his wings and pushed to the front of Kai’s mind. He managed to whisper, “Drug me,” before he was tossed inside a mental prison and forced to watch his dragon thrash about uncontrollably.
Carys placed a hand over his mouth and quickly extracted a pre-filled syringe from one of her pockets. Kai’s dragon bit her palm, but she merely grunted and stuck the needle into his skin.
In the next instant, Carys flew several feet into a tree. To her credit, she didn’t cry out but rolled right back at him.
Kai wanted to stop his beast, but could do nothing but pound against the invisible prison.
Carys reached him with another needle in her hand. Kai had no idea if the first one hadn’t worked or wasn’t doing anything.
Kai’s dragon lunged at her, but Carys sidestepped and swept his leg. He faltered and she jumped on his back with an arm around his neck. His dragon growled, but Kai could feel the prick of another syringe. His dragon continued to buck their human form until Carys was thrown against another tree trunk.
His dragon turned their body toward her, but as he took a step, he faltered and fell to his knees. After another second, the world went black as Kai silently hoped his dragon hadn’t just alerted the inhabitants to their presence.
~~~
Jane stood with Lily and Gareth Owens on the outskirts of the landing area. Snowridge’s leader had told them Kai had been injured, but nothing more.
While her mate had been hurt in the line of duty countless times before, Rhydian not telling her or Lily the details didn’t bode well.
Lily put an arm around Jane’s shoulders. “I’m sure it’s nothing, Jane. If he were dying, Rhydian would’ve said.”
What Jane didn’t mention was that there were worse fates than death for dragon-shifters. Between going rogue or inner dragons going silent, there were many things that could be wrong with Kai.
Not usually one to wring hands, she couldn’t help but twist her fingers around each other. On Stonefire, she would already know what was going on. Being the outsider on Snowridge seemed to cause one complication after another.
A red dragon came into view. Behind it was a black dragon. Since Kai was a golden one, he had to be in his human form with one of the two beasts.
As they drew closer, Jane focused on the red dragon, which was slightly smaller and meant it was a female. From the way her hind legs were close to her body instead of down and behind, it meant the dragon was carrying something.
Soon enough she could make out a human form clutched in talons.
It was Kai.
Never taking her eyes off her mate, Jane watched as the red dragon made it to the landing area, hovered, and gently laid him on the ground. The instant the dragon moved away, Jane raced to her mate’s side.
Kneeling down, she checked him for injuries. But beyond a scratch on his arm, she didn’t notice anything else.
The red dragon had shifted back into Carys’s human form. Jane looked at the dragonwoman. “What happened?”
The dragonwoman shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure. All I know is that his dragon took over and immediately treated me as an enemy. Kai mentioned the scratch, but nothing else.”
Jane looked back to her mate and placed a hand on his chest to ground her. She’d never be able to help her dragonman if she broke down and lost focus.
Taking a deep breath, she leaned down and studied the scratch. The blood had already clotted and there was no apparent redness or puffiness. “Were there drones or special guns fired at you?”
“No. I saw Kai try to crawl through a barn window, and next thing I know, he fell to the ground. While I didn’t have time to investigate the barn, there was a strange chemical smell wafting from it. Maybe long exposure to it knocked him out.”
“Possibly.” Jane moved her hand up his chest, his neck, and finally cupped his strong jaw. “I’d highly suggest a blood test and reaching out to Dr. Cassidy Jackson on Stonefire. I can’t be sure, but this might be something we’ve dealt with before.”
Before Carys could answer, Rhydian Griffith’s voice filled the area. “I think we need to talk, Ms. Hartley.”
Jane glanced up. “If you think I’m going to leave Kai’s side, then I’m sorry, I’m going to have to say no, even if it means defying your orders.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else of Kai’s mate. But whilst the doctors examine him, you’re going to tell me everything you think you know about this situation. Hovering at his side will only get in their way and delay their treatment. A clever female like yourself knows better.”
The steel in Rhydian’s voice made Jane want to bob her head, but as she stroked the late-day stubble on Kai’s cheek, she found the strength to say, “I’ll share as much as I can without asking my clan leader’s permission.”
Rhydian smiled. “Good girl. You might be human, but you seem to mostly understand our ways.”
She nearly growled out she wasn’t a girl, but instead, bit the inside of her cheek to keep silent. Certain battles weren’t worth it.
A male wearing a white lab coat, denoting him as a clan doctor, rushed to the scene. Two other males carrying a stretcher trailed behind him. The doctor said, “I understand your concern for your mate, but we need to get him to my surgery as quickly as possible. Please stand aside.”
Jane reluctantly backed away and watched as the three men maneuvered Kai onto a stretcher. Even though all dragon-shifters were naturally stronger than humans, the two males with the stretcher between them had to grunt with effort to carry her muscled mate away.
Rhydian motioned for her to precede him. She should say something diplomatic, but all she cared about was Kai’s well-being, and she half ran to keep up with the dragon medical staff.
They carried him to a different entrance off the landing area that Jane hadn’t noticed before. Inside was a large cavern stocked with medical equipment. One large dragon slept at the far side.
She’d barely noted the rare white hide of the sleeping beast before she followed the staff into a room.
The doctor motioned for Jane to keep her distance. “Let me do my job.”
Jane crossed her arms and watched as the doctor started his examination. Rhydian’s voice filled her ear. “From everything I know about Kai, he’ll be fine. He may not be of my clan, but Lily is an important part of Snowridge and I’ll do anything to help her. She’s given my cousin happiness I never thought he’d have.”
She glanced at Snowridge’s leader. Sincerity shone in his eyes. “Are you talking about Lily’s mate, Gareth? He’s your cousin?”
“Yes. Now, tell me as much as you’re able about all of this and your guesses as to what caused his condition.”
Jane looked at Kai and watched the medical staff work as she answered, “All of the British and Irish dragon clans know of the drone attacks on Stonefire, which means you should, too.”
“Yes, the ones that shot drugs into dragons, making them go wild.”
“For the most part,” Jane replied. “The dragon halves took over and reverted to their animalistic instincts. Trahern reached out to a doctor here for a possible cure. Some sort of moss that’s found in Wales.”
Dr. Trahern Lewis was a Snowridge doctor who had moved to Stonefire earlier in the year.
When Rhydian grunted for her to continue, she did. “Carys mentioned a strong chemical smell coming from the barn they were investigating. Kai has a scratch on his arm, and while it’s just a guess at this point, it could be that the same or a similar chemical got into his bloodstream via the scratch.” She darted a look at Rhydian. “I’m not sure if you can answer my question, but have your Protectors found anything related to the drone attacks or dragons going wild around here?”
“We’ve never been attacked this way before, that much I can tell you,” Rhydian stated.
“I’m not going to try to order you to do anything, sir, as I respect your role as clan leader, but I think more Protectors should be sent to investigate the area.”
Rhydian smiled. “You’re unlike any human female I’ve met before. Aren’t you afraid of overstepping your bounds and causing strife between our clans?”
“If you’re smiling, then no, I think I’m okay.”
The dragonman snorted. “You’re definitely an odd human.” She growled and he put up a hand. “More Protectors are already on the way. If something can take down your mate this easily, my guess is that there is more to the farm than the smell of chemicals. Someone means to harm my clan, and I won’t allow it.”
“And what about reaching out to Dr. Sid on Stonefire?”
Sighing, Rhydian replied, “Let’s hear what our doctor has to say first. After all, he knows about the moss and ensuing compound that was used on Stonefire. Trahern may be with Stonefire now, but he still shares medical knowledge with our clan. Something to do with your Dr. Sid’s ambitious, worldwide plan.” He moved his gaze to the doctor’s back. “Maelon, what did you find?”
The male doctor turned around. “Beyond the scratch on his arm and a slightly erratic heart beat, everything else is normal. I’ll test his blood and check it against Trahern’s data. In the meantime, I’m going to allow the sedative to wear off so I can see his reaction. If Kai wakes up violent, I’ll sedate him again. If you could post two Protectors in his room, in case he breaks his restraints, I would appreciate it.”
Jane spoke up before Rhydian. “You’re going to restrain him?”
Maelon shifted his gaze to her. “From what I’ve heard, Stonefire did the same to those hit with the darts from the drones.”
“Sorry, you’re right.” Jane stared at Kai’s still body. “But I want to stay with him.”
Rhydian jumped in. “There’s nothing you can do here, Ms. Hartley. Go back to Lily’s place and rest. We may need your help further regarding Delia’s search.”
“I can help just as easily from here.”
Maelon chuckled. “Rhydian, trust me, mates rarely take the suggestion to rest when they should in these types of situations.”
Jane managed to tear her gaze from Kai. “Even I know that, Doctor…?”
Maelon put out a hand. “I’m Dr. Maelon Perry, Snowridge’s head doctor.”
Shaking his hand, Jane blurted out, “You seem young to be head doctor.”
The black-haired, brown-eyed doctor smiled. “If you listen to my orders, then maybe I’ll tell you the why behind it.”
Even though Jane had just met Maelon, his presence brought calmness. Most doctors seemed to have that characteristic. She finally released her grip. “Consider it a deal, Doctor Perry.”
“Good. Then allow the nurses to finish restraining Kai and then you can sit at his side. However, I will also put a temporary bed in here for you. Promise me now that you’ll use it if you get tired.”
At the steel in the doctor’s voice, she said, “I will.”
“Right, then let’s get everything finalized. Once I have the blood results, I’ll let you both know what I find.”
Jane turned toward Rhydian. “I also want to know what you find at that farm.” Rhydian raised an eyebrow and Jane added, “Please.”
“You may amuse me, Ms. Hartley, but that will only go so far before I start reprimanding you. After all, you are a guest on my clan. Understood?”
Since she couldn’t risk angering the clan leader, she murmured, “Yes.”
“Then stay here and I’ll let you know what I can via your mobile phone. Now excuse me, I have matters to attend. Your clan leader is waiting on details from me.”
Once Snowridge’s leader exited the room, Dr. Perry gave a few last minute instructions to his nurses before doing the same. It took everything Jane had to stay back and watch the nurses draw blood and restrain Kai.
The second they finished, she was at his bedside and gently brushing his forehead. “Whatever happens, I’ll be here, Kai. Maybe when you’re well again, you’ll finally realize that there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to stay by your side. I love you.”
Leaning down, she kissed his lips and settled into the chair next to the bed to do what she hated most—wait and see what happened.