by Keri Arthur
“That’s my mom’s land over there,” I said, pointing left, across the bay to the sharp, tree-covered hill that had been the ancestral lands of my family right down through the generations. Few lights shone through the thickness of the trees, certainly none coming from the old, stony building that was neither house nor castle, but somewhere in between. But even a heavily fortified building that had withstood time and weather hadn’t been able to withstand the invasion by the scientists.
He frowned. “There’s not much evidence to be seen that there’s a whole underground scientific study going on over there.”
“That’s why he’s been able to get away with it for so many years.”
He scanned the tree line for a moment, then said, “So there really is another castle over there?”
“Well, it’s not what you’d call a traditional castle—there’s no massive towers and stuff.” Although it did have turrets. “It’s more like a great big fortified house. Dad used to draw me pictures of it.”
I couldn’t actually remember a whole lot about the place. What I knew about the history behind it was thanks to the pictures and the stories he’d told me. He’d loved the old house, and had for years studied the ancient texts that were hopefully still locked securely within the secret vaults. He probably knew more about all the different generations of sea dragons who had lived and died within its walls than my mother did. Thanks to him, I knew my past, even if I had no real acquaintance with this land.
“Meaning it’s a protected building?”
“Yeah.”
“Then the scientists shouldn’t have been able to do much alteration without someone knowing about it.”
“I’m guessing they didn’t bother to apply for permits.” There’d been basements there already, of course, but they’d added to them. Added the pools and the cells that had become our home within home for far too long.
My gaze ran across the hill again. “It is odd that we can’t see any lights. The last time I was here, the outside walls were lit all night.”
Hell, they turned off the lights in our cells for a bare six hours, and only then because they’d finally realized Egan wouldn’t come near me unless it was dark.
“Does the no-lights factor mean they have already left?”
“God, I hope not.” But my heart began to race at the thought. It would have been ironic indeed to have come all this way for naught. Ironic, cruel, and yet somewhat fitting, given the way my life had been turning out of late.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the sick fear that was churning my stomach and not entirely succeeding.
“I could do a flyover and check,” Trae suggested.
I was shaking my head before he’d finished. “Too risky. Besides, there’s a better way.”
I let go of his arm and stepped a little deeper into the water. The waves tugged against my legs, as if urging me to go deeper still. I smiled and squatted, slipping one hand into the water and caressing it with my fingers.
Ripples of power ran away from my touch, a steady vibration of energy only one other would notice or feel.
If she was close to a source of loch water, that was, and wasn’t out of her mind with the drugs.
And she should be near water. The scientists had learned very early the importance of water to us sea dragons. While they’d originally used tap water in our ponds, they’d quickly discovered that if they wanted happy sea dragons, then they’d at least better use the loch water.
I continued caressing the water, and the power grew, until the night seemed filled with a sense of raw expectancy.
And then something stirred across the far side of the loch. An energy that was almost lethargic, and yet whose very presence made the dark water shiver in anticipation.
Mom, responding to my call.
What, she said, her mind speech slurred, but nevertheless strong and filled with so much anger, the fuck are you doing here?
Chapter Thirteen
I blinked. To say I was surprised by her response would be something of an understatement. I’d spent so many years trying to contact her and not being able to, that to do it so easily now was shocking. Almost as shocking as her words, in fact.
It could only mean that she was no longer being drugged. But why would they do that, when they knew how dangerous she could be?
And if she wasn’t drugged, why had she not called the loch and escaped? Or did she, like me, fear that the little ones might not survive the experience?
I told you I’d come back.
And I told you to go to your father.
I did. He—I hesitated, gulping down pain. He awaits you on the forever plains.
She was silent for a long moment, then said, So you reached him before he died?
Yes.
Thank the Gods of sea and loch.
The relief, the loneliness, and the sheer and utter tiredness behind that statement had my eyes stinging. She’d been locked away from everything and everyone she’d loved for well over twenty years, and yet somehow, she’d clung to life. That must have taken more strength than I could ever imagine owning.
I’m here to get you and the kids out, Mom. Just like I promised.
Don’t. You’ll be caught again. She hesitated again, and the thick sense of energy that was her presence seemed to fade from the water. It’s too late for me anyway.
The words were soft, filled with a weariness that spoke of an acceptance of fate. Fear rushed through me and, for a second, I couldn’t even breathe. Because something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.
Damn it, what had they done to her now?
I couldn’t lose her now. I wouldn’t lose her now. Not so soon after losing my dad.
You may not care about living or dying in that place, but the kids don’t deserve it. There was more anger in my voice than I realized, and I could feel her shock ripple down the psychic lines.
No, you’re right. They need to get out, before it’s too late for them, too.
Fear slivered through me. What do you mean?
She didn’t answer, and the power of her presence faded. I hit the water with my free hand in frustration, sending up a huge splash. Damn it, what the hell was going on over there? I continued to caress the water as my gaze ran across the dark hills, but there was absolutely nothing to see and no further response from my mother.
“No luck?” Trae said softly.
“Yes and no.” I rose and stepped out of the water, much to the disappointment of the waves. “I managed to contact her, but she keeps saying I can’t help her.”
He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. The beat of his heart was strong and sure against my chest, his arms filled with a strength I knew I could depend on no matter what.
“What now?” he murmured, his breath gently stirring the hairs on the top of my head.
“Now, we go to bed. I’ll summon the dawn magic to do a more thorough investigation, and we can decide how to proceed from there.”
“That,” he said with a smile in his voice, “is the best suggestion I’ve heard yet.”
We made our way back to the cottage and then to bed, but sleep didn’t figure a whole lot into the equation. The night was a long one, filled with passion and tenderness, richened by the emotion that lay in every caress, every kiss, every sigh. We never said the words, but we didn’t need to. Not yet.
We finally fell asleep entwined in each other’s arms, sated and exhausted. If I dreamed, I didn’t remember it.
It was still dark when we woke the following morning. After showering and getting dressed, we headed out into the predawn darkness. Slithers of pink had barely begun to caress the sky with their warmth, and the air tingled with the power yet to come. It played across my skin, an energy that seemed more dangerous, and a lot wilder, than the energy that came from most lakes.
We crossed the A82 and walked down to the rocky shoreline, following it around the bay. As the streaks of pink intensified and changed, becoming bands of red and yel
low that tainted the dark skies, the morning mist folded down across the hills, hanging so low it danced in wispy streams across the water, making loch and the surrounding land look somewhat dark and mysterious.
Once again, part of me longed to dive into those waters, to cavort and play and simply enjoy, as my ancestors had done for centuries. But I couldn’t—not until the scientists were gone and it was once again safe for my kind.
But there were things I could do—powers I could still call on—that might help my quest to free my mother. And the scientists, for all their equipment and sensors, wouldn’t have a clue as to what I was doing.
“Is it true they have a fiberglass statue of the monster over there?” Trae asked, his soft tones riding the stillness without jarring against it. “One that the kids climb all over?”
I pulled my gaze away from the loch and looked toward Drumnadrochit, a smile touching my lips. “I think so. Dad used to tell me stories about it when I was a kid, and about how he and Mom used to go get photographed beside it on special occasions, just for the fun of it.”
“How right did they get the shape?”
I smiled. “From what Dad said, she looks more like a castoff from the dinosaur period. Even pregnant sea dragons don’t look that bad.”
He grinned. “So I gather the color is wrong, too?”
“Yeah. They seem to think gray is a good color for sea dragons, but I think that’s the only color we don’t have.”
“Maybe they’re just too used to dolphins and whales, and think loch monsters would fancy the same shades.”
“Or it’s just a lack of imagination on the artists’ part. I mean, all they have to do is look at the other sea life. It’s not all gray. Far from it.”
Dawn’s energy began to beat through the air, flaying my skin with its raw power. I breathed it deep, feeling it fill me, warm me. Welcome me.
“It’s time,” I said softly to Trae, and untwined my fingers from his. “Wait here.”
I stepped into the water, letting the dark energy of the loch lap around my ankles and mingle with the force of the rising day.
On the horizon, the slivers of red and gold became a flood, streaking across the sky and obliterating the night. The energy in the air grew frantic, crawling across my skin like fireflies and making my hair stand on end.
There was so much raw, untamed power in this place. It filled me, enriched me, made me believe I could do almost anything.
But that had been my downfall last time, and I would not make that mistake again. This time, we’d take time. And I would ask for the help of the power that beat all around me.
As the throb of energy reached a peak, and the air came alive with the hum and power of a new day, I raised my arms, holding my palms skyward, letting the raw energy and the trailing mist caress my fingers.
“My brothers of the deep, dark water, and sisters of mist and sky, I beseech thy help.”
In the distance thunder rumbled, a deep earthy sound that made the dark waters tremble. Waves splashed up my legs, soaking past my thighs. The energy in the air seemed to concentrate on my hands, until they glowed with the same red and gold that brightened the skies.
“Show me what happens on our ancient lands,” I continued, my voice soft and yet somehow vibrating across the silence. “Show me the secret ways so that I may stop those who have invaded the serenity of this place and chased away the dragons.”
Again the thunder rumbled, stronger, deeper than before, and for a moment it seemed that the very land under my feet trembled. The mist stirred, and so did the loch, her waters shifting, moving, as if several fingers of current had suddenly formed. The energy encasing my hands leapt away with them, one following the lead of the water, the other following the streams of mist.
I closed my eyes and waited. Even through my closed lids, I could feel the day brightening. Her fingers of light were spreading ever farther, sucking away at the energy of the dawn.
Then the sky rumbled, long and slow, and again the loch stirred. Water hit my legs, swirling upward, soaking my thighs and my stomach, even as it whispered of old ways and secret passages. Then the mist returned, and with it the bright remainders of dawn’s power, regaining its perch on my hands before crawling up my arms and spinning around my hair. Images filled me. Buildings, stairs, and secret ways, along with people, trucks, and boxes.
The scientists were indeed getting ready to move.
“Thank you, brothers of the darkness, and sisters of mist and skies.”
Water slapped at my legs, then leapt away. The energy in the air went with it, leaving me feeling suddenly cold, and more weary than I’d thought possible.
I turned around and walked back into Trae’s arms. “How did it go?” he asked softly.
“I found a way in.” But it wasn’t one he could use, and he wasn’t going to be happy about it. I hesitated, then added, “There’s an ancient passage that runs from the bottom of the loch up to the original basements of our house. The passages that run beyond it lead to the cells where the kids and my mom are being held.”
He released me and stepped back a little. Gold glinted in his still damp hair, warmed by the growing light of day. “If that’s the case, the scientists would be aware of it. It’ll be alarmed.”
“The passage is disguised as a well and is covered for safety. It appears locked from above, but can easily be opened from the inside. It was apparently designed that way.”
Of course, it was highly possible that the passages outside the well room were monitored—in which case, how far I got would depend greatly on how close the scientists were to leaving, and how closely they were watching the security monitors.
He raised an eyebrow. “So it was an escape route for your ancestors?”
I shrugged. “More a refuge from those who would hunt the so-called Loch Ness Monster.”
“I thought it was scientifically impossible for caves and tunnels to form in the rock around the loch. Isn’t it the wrong sort of stone or something?”
“That I can’t say, not being up on all the geology of the area, but this passage wasn’t made by nature. It was made by my ancestors.”
“Ah.” He studied me for a moment, then asked, “How far down is this passage? And how long is the tunnel?”
“There’s no way you can use the tunnel, Trae. You can’t hold your breath long enough to get anywhere near the passage, let alone through it.”
He looked at me, then, and the bright blue of his eyes had given way to the steel of determination. “You are not going in there alone.”
“We have no choice in this. The passage was designed for sea dragons in human form.”
“Destiny—”
“No,” I said, so forcefully he raised his eyebrows. “I won’t let you risk it, Trae. It’s not worth your life.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, just bent to pick up a stone and throw it in the loch. It landed in the water hard, throwing up a huge splash. The droplets seemed to hang in the air for a moment, glittering and sparkling in the growing brightness of the day.
“I cannot simply sit here and let you walk into a dangerous situation,” he said, his voice edged with an anger I could feel as much as I could see. “I promised to protect and help you, and I fully intend to keep that promise.”
“But not at the cost of your own life.”
“Nor yours.” He glared at me, determination fierce in his eyes. “There’s no way that, with all the security that’s going to be in and around that place, you’re going to get in and out unseen. No way.”
“If I can get in unseen, then I can get out the same way. We have no other choice.”
“There’s always more than one choice. Besides, I’m a very good thief, and I know more than a little about getting through high security.”
I hugged my arms around my chest. “Trae—”
“No. Either I help you, or I’ll stop you.” There was a finality in his voice that brooked no argument. “Besides, there’s one thing
you seem to have forgotten.”
I frowned. “What?”
“The kids. If I can’t swim in or out that tunnel, then they’re sure as hell not going to be able to.”
God, he was right. I was an idiot. I sat down on a nearby rock and rested my head in my hands. “Then how are we going to get them out?”
“Easy. I create a diversion while you go in and free the kids and your mom.”
“That still leaves the problem of getting them out of the compound.”
His gaze ran across the water and studied the trees on the opposite shore. “How old are the kids again?”
“The oldest is fifteen, the youngest is seven.”
“So most of them should be able to shift shape and fly?”
I nodded. “All the boys can. Carli can shift, but she can’t hold shape very long. They took her too young and she just hasn’t had the practice.”
“But the others should at least be able to fly across the lake?”
I nodded, and studied him for a moment, watching the glint of sunshine run through the stubble lining his cheeks. Watching his blue eyes glitter and burn. “You have an idea?”
He nodded. “The best way to ensure they don’t notice you sneaking in is to give them something else to worry about.”
“But that could be dangerous. They know how to capture dragons, remember.”
“Not this dragon. Besides, I thrive on danger.” His words were gently mocking, but there was nothing mocking about the caring or determination in his eyes.
“But your skills are sunshine-linked. Our best chance of getting the kids and Mom out unseen is at night.”
“I agree, and yes, my flames are sunshine-linked. But there are other ways to light fires. Hell, matches have been around for ages.”
Matches meant getting a whole lot closer, though, and that was dangerous. But the resolve so evident in his eyes said there was no swaying him. “What about the kids, then?”
“Is there a way up onto the roof?”
I nodded. “There’s an old set of stairs near the cells, actually. I think the scientists have them locked off, but we could break the locks easily enough.”
