Page 72 of Blood and Bone
The dragons listened with rapt attention as Eoghan finished his story. “We believe this new king—Tillis Bradshaw—has not only become a dictator there on the Flagstaff reservation but we also believe he’s taken over the synthetic blood bottling plant in Phoenix and has plans to take over more. He’s an established dealer in methamphetamine whichis what he was in prison for when he was human as a member of a vicious outlaw motorcycle gang.”
“And that matters to the I.S.R. because he’s still in the drug business?” Invictus asked.
“We believe he initially took over the blood business so that he could enslave Townsend’s Flagstaff clan by limiting and in some cases cutting off their access to blood. But we also think he might be using the established blood distribution network to transport drugs. As you can imagine, if he is successful in taking over the entire blood business nationwide, this will become a problem for theentirehuman population, not only the supernatural and alien populations,” Ari said.
“And if you’re already not alarmed enough about the near certain demise of the Flagstaff vampire clan which is taking place as we speak,” Eoghan said, “you should be alarmed by the possibility that without the protections of the Agency, all supernaturals are at risk. That means the dragons as well. I know how desperately you’ve tried to protect your privacy up here on the mountain. In fact, I can’t imagine how you haven’t been seen until now since you fly around.”
“We only go out at night,” Invictus said. “And our vision is better than any shifter. Don’t ask me why but if a human were in the vicinity, we’d see them and if unseen we’d smell them.”
“You didn’t see us,” Ari said.
Both dragons snorted.
“We smelled you from two hundred feet above and spotted your vehicle two miles away from the restaurant,” Invictus added. “Like I said, our vision is excellent.”
“Whoa,” Ari said, exchanging a glance with Eoghan whose eyes were wide with surprise. Though, he knew that dogs and other animals had incredible hearing as well as a sense of smell, these dragons didindeedseem to be different from other shifters. It seemed almost impossible that there couldbe shifters like these which lived in legend long before written history even existed. They were truly an ancient race of beings.
“In any case, we see now why you wish to have our help,” Severin said. He looked over at Invictus and stared into his eyes. To his amazement, Ari saw Severin’s eyes flare with that incredible orange circle of glowing light. He was now almost certain the dragons could communicate with each other telepathically. The glow in their eyes which Ari now knew had something to do with an emotional response was a near dead giveaway.
The dragons turned back to face them, and it was Severin who spoke. He looked at the table and then up at them. “I understand and you’re right. This situation is grave indeed.” He glanced down, then nodded slowly as he looked up. “Invictus and I will help you. Now…you said something about vampires and their willingness to help us.”
“If we ask, I believe they will help. Truthfully, they’re stronger than humans and much faster,” Eoghan said. “If you tell them how to kill your enemies, I believe that they’ll help you.”
“Having the vampires kill our enemies will keep the I.S.R.’s hands clean also,” Severin said.
“There is that,” Eoghan admitted. “For now, though, we need to meet with John Townsend. He might want to meet with you.”
“All right,” Severin said, rising from the table and holding out his hand. He smiled warmly as Ari and Eoghan shook it as well as the one Invictus offered. “Until then, you are welcome to spend the day here.”
Ari glanced over at Eoghan as they both rose. “We should go,” Eoghan said. “You said you don’t travel during the day but we need to meet with our chief and explain everything that’s happening.”
Invictus held up his cell, and Eoghan shook his head. “We believe our calls to the chief are being monitored. We have burners in the car but it’s back at the barbeque restaurant.” He smiled. “Barbeque…nice touch by the way.”
The dragons both chuckled, clearly amused with their little joke.
“Okay. We will take you back then,” Severin said, looking at Invictus. “We’ll just have to watch closely for humans. Fortunately, the ski lifts are closed because it’s nearly summer and the snow making machines aren’t operating.”
“Let’s go,” Eoghan said, exchanging a tiny shrug and a smile with Ari before looking back at the dragons. “Um…are you going to—”
“Carry you? I’m sorry, but it’s the only way off this mountain,” Severin said.
“Okay.” Ari joined Eogan at the entrance of the cave. The wind outside whipped around him and he checked to make sure his jacket was tightly zipped closed. As they stepped outside, he noticed how the sky had clouded over with thick, dark clouds. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the cloud cover might just provide them some anonymity as they hung from the dragons’ giant claws.
He waited beside Eoghan, turning to smile at him. A second later, two giant beasts stood before them and a moment beyond that, the backs of their jackets had been seized and they were being lifted into the air.
Chapter Twenty
Eoghan marveled at how high they were almost the second the dragons took off. He hung from Severin’s claws and Invictus flew right beside him, carrying Ari, the man he’d fallen so hard for. His feelings for his partner grew with every day they spent together. At this point, the word love was at the tip of his tongue whenever they curled up together in bed late at night. Eoghan had never felt this way about any man. Right now, though, seeing him dangling from the claws of the impressive shifter that carried him, made him more nervous than he wanted to admit.
The trees on the mountain far below, were a sight to see, very much a sight to see. Wind whipped at him, making the cold sink deep into his bones. He decided then and there that no matter how beautiful the jade cavern had been, he had no plans on returning to view it any time soon. When Severin suddenly yanked him higher, banking to the left, Eoghan wondered what the hell he was doing. Seconds later, Severin plunged toward Earth before shooting right back up. Eoghan was too cold to ask him what he was doing. He craned his neck to see where Invictus had gone with Ari only to feel his heart jump up into his throat as he spotted the huge dragon doing an aerial act with him as well. That’s when he saw it. A strange dragon was in an all-out dive bomb, heading right toward Invictus and Ari.
“Severin!” Eoghan screamed, helpless to do anything. He wasn’t sure the dragon even heard him or what he could do about Ari’s situation. Severin flew closer and he watched as Ari caught sight of him. The terror on his face made a huge lumpform in Eoghan’s throat. He swallowed just to make sure he could and stared at his lover. Invictus rose, yanking Ari up into the air as the other dragon came at him, claws extended and blowing fire. Eoghan was shocked to see Invictus do the same. When Invictus’ enemy banked left to dodge the flame, Ari hung there as if suspended for a split second before Invictus shot into the air as the strange dragon flew toward him again. To Eoghan’s horror, when the enemy dragon blew fire right at Ari, he screamed as Invictus let him go.
“Severin!” Eoghan cried out, flailing madly in the air as tears filled his eyes, helpless to do anything as Ari plunged toward earth. He opened his mouth to scream Severin’s name again when the dragon let out a mighty roar and went into a nosedive, taking Eoghan along with him. Eoghan couldn’t breathe as the wind roared past his ears. He prayed that Severin was going to save Ari, oblivious to his fate or Invictus who fought his enemy in the skies above. Ari’s limp body suddenly appeared in the corner of Eoghan’s eye and just as he was about to shout to Severin, the dragon released one side of his jacket.
Eoghan lifted both hands, grasping at the dragon’s leg, frantically praying he wasn’t about to drop him. The skin under his hands felt freakishly rough, cold, and scaly. He twisted his head as Severin continued in his dive, desperately looking for Ari. When he spotted him only twenty feet below them, his heart began to race. Before he could form a coherent thought, Severin had Ari in his free claw, and they were headed toward the icy landscape below. He landed surprisingly gently, setting down his unconscious partner and releasing them both at the same time.
Ari collapsed to the icy road where Severin had landed. It took him a second to see the sign which noted that the road was closed for the season before he dropped to his kneesbeside Ari. He pulled his head into his lap, noting the scorched part of his jacket, the angry blisters on his arm, shoulder, and neck, and the redness that peeked out from skin which had been burned on his face. Tears sprang to his eyes as he held him as gently as possible.