Page 71 of Flesh and Fury
“How about you guys?”
“We’re flying,” Invictus said.
“Flying?” Ari asked. “I thought we decided against anyone flying.”
The dragons both grinned, and Severin pointed up. “Flying.” A second later, they’d transformed into giant, winged creatures. Before Eoghan could catch his breath, they’d flapped their iridescent wings and lifted off the ground. They all looked up as the frightening creatures vanished above the rooftops only to come into view a few seconds later, silhouetted against the nearly full moon briefly, before disappearing into the darkness altogether.
“Wow, that’s really something,” their boss said, watching them go.
“I guess that means we’re next,” Ari said. He looked over and met Eoghan’s gaze. “Better go.”
“Yes, I guess it does,” Priest said. “Come on.”
“You’re not going with us” Eoghan asked.
“No, I figured I’d follow you to wherever you’re going to park your car and we can catch up to the vampires after that,” she said.
“Okay, we’re gonna park in the underground parking at the Sherman Oaks galleria so that you can pull in there and collect us,” Eoghan said.
“That’s a fine idea, Sapphire,” the chief said. “See you there shortly.”
He nodded to her, and then they got into the Prius, heading out of Sun Valley, glad that they were about to bring this long-assed case home.
Chapter Twenty-Two
ARI
The ride to Flagstaff had been uneventful and Ari was glad. Used to being on the road for long stretches beside Eoghan at the wheel, he was able to get some sleep while his lover traded driving duties with the chief. They traveled in a black SUV she’d procured, stopping just outside Lake Havasu City just as the chief promised before dawn. As she checked her phone and then the navigation on the dashboard, she followed the asphalt highway as far as she could before exiting onto a smaller road. When Ari read the sign Grand Canyon Caves, Lake Havasu, Arizona, he was immediately intrigued.
“I take it the caves have something to do with the giant semitruck full of vampires we’re following?” he asked, watching the dust as it kicked up from the eighteen-wheeler about a quarter mile ahead.
She nodded. “Yep. The vampires will be spending the night or day, as the case may be, here. The only reason I’m following is because I want to make sure they arrive safe and sound. Besides, we’re not far from the city and a nice hotel bed. I could really use one since we’ll be back on the road after sunset. Not only that, after meeting Elora, I’m convinced keeping her and her vamps away from a bustling tourist center isn’t an altogether bad idea.”
“But it’s nearly daylight,” Eoghan remarked from the backseat where Ari thought he’d been dozing. His scratchy voice sounded like he’d just woken up.
“I’m not worried that they’ll be out roaming during the day, but we don’t get back underway until nearly nine tonight which gives them a good hour to hunt. Let’s just say I prefer they find their food outside of town rather than worry about them snacking on tourists,” she replied.
“You’re talking about animal blood?” Ari asked. “I know King John said they could live on it in a pinch, but they’ll need human blood eventually. How long can they go between feedings?”
“They like to eat daily, but the king told me that the older a vampire is, the longer they can go without food. I’ve heard the same thing from a lot of vamps over the years. Still, I suggested they bring along a supply of human blood in a cooler and they probably did. Elora doesn’t strike me as being stupid enough to ignore something as basic as wanting her vamps up to full strength and capacity when she leads them into a fight, possibly for their lives.”
“Got it. So, what’s out here to eat?” Eoghan asked. “Rodents?”
“Rodents, rabbits, even a Billy goat,” she said. “I really don’t care as long as they don’t kill a farmer’s herd, or an unwilling human, and she’s been warned.”
“Good,” Ari said, watching as they pulled into the parking lot of the Grand Canyon Caves. While they were waiting for the semi to park at the entrance of the caves, he read the signs and tapped the chief’s shoulder before pointing to the sign.
“What’s up with this?” he asked. “It says it’s an attraction that opens at nine a.m. You don’t think it’s going to be a problem if tourists get an eyeful of a bunch of sleeping vamps on their tour?” He held up both hands and pretended to take a series of pictures with his invisible camera.“Click. Click. Clickety click.‘Hey, Grandpa, wait till you see what we saw on our vacation!’”
Priest chuckled. “Very funny.” She pointed at the entrance which one of the vampires had already conveniently opened. Everyone was already jumping down from the semi’s box trailer and entering the cave at a rather rapid pace. As Elora and King John hit the ground hand in hand, both of them turned and waved at their idling SUV, flashing bright red eyes for a split second, before following their vampires into the cave.
“These caves are twenty-one stories deep—proven by the elevator inside—and they weave over sixty miles underground all the way to the Grand Canyon itself, Brown. There’s plenty of darkness not on the tour where the vampires can sleep. Tourists can’t venture into those parts of the caves.”
“Good,” Ari said. “I didn’t think about our route to Flagstaff or where we’d be stopping but that’s why you and the king decided that Lake Havasu was the place to spend the daylight hours. It all makes sense now.”
As soon as the last vampire disappeared into the cave, Priest turned the SUV and drove back to the main highway. “Should we stop and grab breakfast somewhere before checking into our hotel?” she asked once they were headed toward town.
“Sure,” Eoghan said.