Fire Rising

CHAPTER SIX

The shrill ringing of the phone interrupted his thoughts. He set down his pen and reached for the mobile atop his desk. He brought the phone to his ear and leaned back, propping his feet on the large desk and readied his English accent. “Yes?”

“We’ve found her. She was at Dreagan just as you said she would be.”

“Good, good. Do you have her?”

“Not yet, sir. We’ve got her cornered. We should have her within the hour.”

He dropped his feet back to the ground and squeezed the phone. “Don’t muck this up, Stevens. I’ve waited a long time for Samantha Miller. Take her quietly. Those at Dreagan will know soon enough that we have her.”

“There’s one more thing, sir,” Stevens said hesitantly.

He ground his teeth together in frustration. “Spit it out.”

“There’s a Dark One here.”

He sat up straighter. A Dark Fae? So near Dreagan? He certainly hadn’t contacted them to join in the hunt for Sammi. He planned on bringing them in once he had Sammi, but not before. The girl was meant for something other than the pleasure of a Dark. “Where is he?”

“Gone now.”

Through all the centuries he’d had total control over everyone and everything. The only factor that proved volatile was his alliance with the Dark Fae. As was being proven now.

“If he or any of the other Dark return, call me immediately. They took Denae last time and look how that turned out. I’ll no’…” He paused and cleared his throat, hating the Scots brogue that came out when he was upset. “I’ll not have them interfere again. Now, is there anything else, or are you going to earn the money I’m paying you?”

“That’s all, sir.”

He hung up and set the mobile alongside four others. Thanks to one screwup after Kellan and Denae had been kidnapped, he’d had to get new numbers.

It wouldn’t take the Dragon Kings long to focus their efforts on their enemy. And he was more than prepared for it. They had no idea what was going to come at them.

Or from how many sides they would be attacked.

It was almost too fun to watch.

He rose from the chair and walked around the desk to the double glass doors open to the garden. It was just another ordinary day for the humans. But it wouldn’t remain that way for long.

Dragons would once more rule the realm as they had been born to do. No more would they hide and cower. The dragons would put the humans back in their place.

It would mean a war between him and the Dragon Kings, but he wasn’t worried. He had an ace up his sleeve, one the Kings would never see coming. He could hardly contain his excitement as each day passed and it brought him closer to his goal he’d been planning for thousands upon thousands of years.

“The first one to be taken out is Con,” he said as he leaned a shoulder against a column and gazed at the area of color in the garden. “Kellan will be second.”

After that it didn’t really matter the order. The Kings would either side with him or die. There would be no taking away of their power, no preventing them from shifting. They would simply die.

That wasn’t to say he would make it an easy, painless death. After all, he had suffered. They would as well.

He thought of the Dark Fae. Their reason for being so near Dreagan must have something to do with Taraeth losing his arm to a mortal and losing their captured Dragon King.

His intention to bring them in later might not have been such a good idea. He reevaluated the scenario and how pesky it had been to capture Samantha Miller.

He smiled as he turned on his heel and began to form a new plan.

Sammi ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She stumbled and floundered her way to a copse of trees to give herself a few seconds to gain her breath before she took a quick turn to the right and headed to the mountains.

She wanted to look behind her to see if anyone followed, but she couldn’t chance it. The terrain was uneven and dangerous to someone who didn’t know what they were doing—which meant her.

Her purse banged against her outer thigh roughly enough to leave a bruise. It was nothing compared to the ache in her shoulder. Her boots worked well as she hit the base of the mountains and started her climb. The landscape sloped gently for a ways, and the trees would easily cover her.

Sammi began to smile. This was how she was going to get them off her trail for good. Or so she thought until fifteen minutes later when the climb went nearly vertical and her thighs burned so badly she could barely go another step.

Tristan let Banan have the man who remained behind in the Lexus as he took the two who raced after Sammi. He didn’t bother following them, because he knew they would take the same path Sammi had taken. Instead, he waited in the trees.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Sammi make her way higher onto the mountain even if her ascent had slowed to a snail’s pace.

But it was the men who had driven her to it. Anger coursed hotly, vibrantly … dangerously through him as he turned back to the approaching men. They wore jeans and plain dark-colored shirts, but there was no denying the glimpse of guns he saw tucked into the waist of their pants.

Tristan flattened his back against a pine and waited until the two reached the trees and passed him. He took two steps after them.

He lifted his arms and place a palm on each of their chests as he came up between them. They halted in surprise, giving him enough time to elbow one in the nose before he turned and punched the other in the face.

Both men fell soundlessly to the ground.

“You didna leave me one to play with,” Banan said as he rushed up, though there was no smile on his face.

“They didna give me much sport either.”

As one they turned to the mountain.

“We could follow her,” Banan suggested.

Tristan shook his head. “She’ll keep fighting us and try to sneak out again. She believes she’ll lead them to us.”

“Aye,” Banan said with a loud sigh. “We can no’ tell her who we really are.”

“She’s no’ stupid. She’ll figure it out when Jane doesna age.”

Banan kicked a fallen log. “I know. Jane was trying to use that argument last night with me. The fact remains she can no’ be alone.”

“I’ll follow her.”

Banan eyed him with his gray gaze. “If she knows she’s being followed she’s likely to do something foolish.”

“I’ll be in the sky. She’ll never know I’m there.”

Banan nodded. “See to her then. I’ll take these two along with the one in the SUV and see if we can get anything out of them.”

“Whoever is masterminding this can no’ know we’ve stopped them.”

A sly smile pulled at Banan’s lips. “Oh, he willna. How easily you forget that Guy can wipe memories, my friend.”

Tristan chuckled. He almost wanted to be there and be a part of hearing Ulrik’s name declared their leader. Then he thought of Sammi.

“Keep her safe,” Banan said.

He clapped Banan on the shoulder and rushed to the base of the mountain so he could get a better view of Sammi. He would wait until the cover of darkness before he took to the skies. Until then, he would have to follow her at a distance, but close enough to help if the Dark Fae decided to show themselves again.

It didn’t take long for Banan and the others to get the men to a secluded location. They had the three in chairs but didn’t bother with tying their hands or feet.

“Wakey, wakey,” Laith said as he slapped the first man viciously.

The man shook his head and blinked several times before he rubbed his jaw and looked around him. “Where am I?”

Banan remained leaning against the wall. “Give me your name.”

“Fuck you,” the man snarled.

Rhys landed a hard punch in his kidney, leaving the man gasping for breath. “Let’s try that again.”

“Name,” Banan repeated louder.

“Stevens.”

Banan didn’t press him for his whole name immediately. That would come later. There were more important issues at hand. “Who do you work for?”

Stevens’s eyes grew large. “I can’t tell you.”

Ryder rubbed his hands together as he walked around the three men. “I’ll tell you what we know. You’re English, you and your comrades apparently can no’ dress without talking to the others first, and you’re working for a man who has sent you after Samantha Miller.”

“You left out that they couldna fight,” Laith said.

Ryder nodded. “That’s right. Now, Stevens, your other two friends are still deep in dreamland. If you tell us what we want to know, they never have to know you were the one who told us.”

Banan watched as Stevens considered Ryder’s words. Even before the man shook his head, Banan knew Stevens wouldn’t take the deal. Stevens and his team were highly trained military men. It was going to take a lot to break him.

Now Banan wished he had kept Tristan with him so Tristan could use his mind tricks on the men and get the information they needed.

“I can get the info from him,” Laith said.

Banan flattened his lips. He could well imagine what Con would say if he knew what they were doing. At least it wasn’t on Dreagan land. “It may come to that.”

Rhys stood in front of Stevens. “You know who and what the Dark Fae are, do you no’?”

Reluctantly, Stevens nodded.

“Do you know who we are?”

“Aye. You’re from Dreagan.”

Rhys exchanged a look with Banan before he asked, “Do you know what we are?”

“What you are?” Stevens repeated as his gaze grew worried.

Rhys seized the opportunity that presented itself. “So your master hasna told you about us.”

“He has. We know everyone at Dreagan is dangerous.”

“He got the dangerous part right,” Laith stated in a cold voice.

Banan came to stand beside Rhys and looked at the men on either side of Stevens. “What else did your master tell you about us?”

“It was need-to-know, and I didn’t need to know.”

Just like a military man, used to taking orders. Banan grabbed the man by the throat and squeezed. “You’ve got one opportunity to tell me what your plan was for Sammi or I rip your throat out. I doona expect all three of you to walk out of here. The question is, will you be the smart one?”

Stevens grabbed Banan’s hand and pushed back in his chair as he tried to get away. “We were to grab her,” he croaked out.

He immediately released Stevens. “And take her where?”

“We don’t get those orders until I call in and confirm we have her,” Stevens wheezed.

Rhys crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell us who gives the orders.”

“He’ll kill me,” Stevens said.

“I’d be more afraid of us,” Con said as he casually strolled into the house.

Banan eyed Con, whose gaze was directed at Stevens. As usual, Con was impeccably dressed. This time he wore a navy dress shirt and dove gray slacks.

As if sensing he was fast losing ground, Stevens shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what you do to me. He’ll do worse.”

“Then he obviously hasna told you who we really are,” Con said tightly. He then turned his head to Laith. “Show him.”

“Gladly,” Laith said as he stripped off his shirt and walked outside.

Con grabbed Stevens by the back of the neck and dragged him to the window. “Watch,” he ordered through clenched teeth.

This was a side to Con Banan hadn’t seen in … ages. And Banan wasn’t so sure it was for the better. It was a mystery how Con knew where they had been.

Banan knew the moment Laith shifted into a dragon, because Stevens’s face went white as death.

Stevens stumbled backward and mumbled, “Jesus.”

“Be more afraid of us,” Con told him, still holding the man in a firm grip. “Now tell us who your master is.”

Stevens opened his mouth, but before he could get any words out, Dark Fae appeared around them.