For the Kingdom of Dragons

by Julie Wetzel

  Alan crossed his arms and shrugged. “I’m just saying it’s a convenient coincidence. The king said he was going to discuss this with Daniel before he left. Maybe the commander freaked and saw a chance to rid himself of the king before his transgressions could come to light.”

  Thoughts raced around in Carissa’s head. A plane crash with a missing body would be a great way to cover up a murder. But Daniel? She still couldn’t believe the trusted man could do this, but she was starting to see the possibilities. There were still several little holes in Alan’s theory. “If Daniel did kill my brother…” Michael’s hand tightened on her shoulder again, but she ignored it and went on. “…why hasn’t he come after you?”

  Alan’s hand dropped to his side. Carissa could see the man hadn’t thought about that possibility. His eyes dropped to the desktop as he worked through the answer. “Maybe the king didn’t mention where he’d gotten the information.” He met Carissa’s gaze again. “He could have easily picked up any of these files while following this case.”

  She glanced over the papers again, unsure what to do. If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t hesitate to go after them. Why did it have to be Daniel? She looked back up at Alan. “And what would you have me do? Arrest the head of Eternity?”

  A perplexed look crossed Alan’s face. “It’s not the best option, but the man does have a lot to answer for.”

  Michael grabbed the back of Carissa’s chair and spun her around to face him. “He didn’t do it,” he mouthed the words silently.

  Carissa stared up into his angry face, shocked that he would interrupt her meeting like that. “Then explain this.” She held her hands out, fishing for some reasonable explanation for the lack of information.

  Anger filled Michael’s eyes, but he could not give her an answer.

  “I do not believe Daniel could ever hurt my brother,” Carissa said as she turned back around. “But I don’t know how to explain this.” She picked up the mostly empty folder containing Alex’s report. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. And I can’t just let it go.”

  Michael let out a frustrated breath but didn’t protest further.

  Dropping the file back to the table, Carissa picked up the phone. “Let’s see what Daniel has to say.”

  Alan reached out and grabbed Carissa’s wrist before she could lift the receiver to her ear. “Before you do that.”

  Carissa stopped and stared at the minister’s aide.

  Dropping her wrist, Alan pulled his hand back and cleared his throat. “Umm…Perhaps you should have SWAT bring him in.”

  Carissa cocked her head. “Why?”

  Alan licked his lower lip before proceeding. “Well,” he started timidly before getting to his point. “On the off chance that he did kill your brother, don’t you think it would be wise to have some backup while questioning him?”

  Carissa considered his point for a moment before dropping the phone back in its cradle. Alan had a very good point. Daniel was a very crafty man, and although she was a powerful mage, there was no sense in taking stupid risks. She hated to have Daniel arrested, but it was the best way to make sure they were all safe.

  The muscle in the corner of Michael’s eye twitched as he watched Carissa pick up the phone to call SWAT. Daniel didn’t do anything wrong. Yes, there was some information missing from the files, but that was no reason to arrest the man. There had to be a logical explanation for everything. He just couldn’t think of it at the moment.

  Frustrated, Michael turned and walked over to look out the window. Alan had laid a convincing case against Daniel, but something didn’t sit right. Why would Daniel falsify Eternity’s official documents? Michael thought back over everything he knew of the few cases he’d been involved with. There had been an inquiry into Jareth’s death. He’d been questioned in the investigations. Why wasn’t that in the file?

  He pushed that aside and thought about Alex’s case. The lack of information was painful. He knew some of the stories from his visits to Terra’s hospital room. Why wasn’t there anything on Terra or the fact that she was turned into a dragon? He knew that Alex was having issues with his memory. That may explain why his report was incomplete, but there should have been something about Terra and her condition. Daniel should have documented that at the bare minimum.

  An epiphany struck and Michael looked out over the green yard without seeing it. Something Alex said rang in his head. Someone from Eternity is leaking information. The truth of the matter coursed through Michael raising goosebumps. Eternity was compromised. Daniel was sabotaging the files. He was trying to keep important information from leaking out!

  Michael turned around to tell Carissa but stopped. His dragon was screaming to be wary. He looked at the man standing on the other side of the desk. There was a very satisfied look in Alan’s eyes that rubbed Michael the wrong way.

  Turning back to the window, Michael pulled out his phone. His instincts told him they had a problem. If Eternity was damaged enough for Daniel to alter the reports, they needed to proceed with caution. Someone had taken out Jareth while in Eternity’s custody. Having Daniel arrested would give them an opportunity to do the same to him. And with Kyle gone, that would leave no one to stop the compromised agents. He had to warn Daniel. But how?

  Normally he would call one of his buddies. The Elites of Eternity could easily deal with this, but most of them were out on assignment. Of the few that remained, Michael didn’t know which ones he could trust. He chewed over his decisions and came to the conclusion that he didn’t dare trust any of them.

  He listened to Carissa order a SWAT team to apprehend Daniel and hold him for questioning. An idea hit and Michael punched up the number for one of his drinking buddies in SWAT. He knew McGee could be trusted. He tapped out a quick message. Hopefully, it would reach McGee before SWAT got to Daniel.

  3

  Leaning back in his chair, Daniel rubbed the strain from his eyes. He yawned and stretched out his fatigue. For three days now he’d been trying to figure out what happened to Kyle. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d flown with the search parties over the Northern Sound looking for some sign of his friend. Dead or alive.

  Finding the wreckage had given them some hope, but it was short lived. No bodies were found, and the flight recorder hadn’t been much help either. The thing fried itself as soon as the FAA technician plugged it in. No one said the word sabotage, but it was floating around in everyone’s mind. The crash was starting to look like more than just an unfortunate accident.

  To make matters worse, Daniel’s instincts were screaming at him. Something about this whole situation stunk like yesterday’s garbage. He’d come back to Eternity’s main office to see if he could make heads or tails of it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t come up with a reason someone would want to kill Kyle. Sure, he was the King of Dragons, but he was a fair and just man. He did his best to tend to his subjects’ needs. There were the occasional moments of malcontent, but Kyle usually handled those with long practiced grace. Unfortunately, those moments were happening more often now. Raven Nightingale’s death had sparked a call for Eternity to act, but that anger had been directed at Eternity and its failing, not Kyle.

  The scar down the side of Daniel’s face ached. He rubbed it, trying to soothe the pain. The only time that old wound hurt was when he pushed himself too hard. This week was proving to be one of those times. He needed to get some sleep.

  Going home would put him out of reach if news came in, but there were plenty of open beds down in the holding cells. He could get a quick nap in and still be on hand if the need arose. Daniel grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

  “Commander.”

  Daniel turned to see a man, dressed in full SWAT gear, running down the hall towards him. “McGee?” His hope spiked. Had they found some sign of Kyle?

  Josh McGee grabbed Daniel’s arm and wheeled him around. “Come with me.”

  “Hey,” Daniel cried out as the muscular blon
d yanked him down the hall and around the corner.

  Ignoring Daniel’s protests, Josh found the first door along the new hall and shoved Daniel in.

  Daniel stumbled into the darkened storage closet. He grabbed one of the shelves for support. “What the hell?” Once he was stable on his feet, he turned to find Josh peeking out of the door. “Explain yourself!” This was not the way he’d trained his men to behave.

  Josh glanced up and down the hall once more before closing the door and locking it. “Sorry about that, sir.” Light bloomed from the screen on Josh’s phone, cutting through the darkness. “I’m not exactly sure what’s going on myself.”

  The center of Daniel’s brow furrowed, and he cocked his head. He watched as Josh tapped on his screen before holding his phone out. “What’s this?” Daniel asked taking the phone. A text box was open and the message on it ran chills down Daniel’s spine. Eternity is compromised. Get Commander out. Daniel’s head snapped up to meet Josh’s gaze.

  The man gave Daniel a concerned look. “I got that message a few minutes ago from Michael Duncan.”

  Daniel glanced back at the phone to check the sender. Whitey. Amusement curled his lip, but the smile was short lived.

  “At first I didn’t know what it meant,” Josh continued. “Then Sanders came in and told us to gear up. He said we were going to be bringing you in for questioning.”

  “For what?” Daniel asked. He had some idea what this was about, but he hadn’t expected it so soon. Falsifying Eternity’s records had been a risky move. He’d felt safe doing it while Kyle was there. He’d kept the king informed on all of the omissions, but with Kyle missing... He planned to explain things to Carissa, but he hadn’t had time yet.

  “Treason.”

  Exactly what I expected. “That’s fine,” Daniel said as he handed Josh’s phone back. “I have nothing to hide.” He didn’t have the files here, but he could get to them from any computer. All he needed to do to clear his name was present Carissa with the complete files and explain the situation. Should only take an hour to clear this up. It was high time he told Carissa what was going on anyway.

  Josh held his hand out, preventing Daniel from passing him. “You don’t understand. Sanders told us to treat you as hostile. He said you had a hand in the king’s death.” A hurt look passed over Josh’s face. “Is that true?”

  Daniel’s jaw dropped as he drew in a gasp of air. He expected the charges of treason for corrupting the files, not regicide.

  “Never,” he said in a breathy whisper. His dragon thrashed at the accusation. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the younger man. “I’ve been protecting Kyle since the lad was a child. I would never hurt him?” He’d actually thrashed Kyle many times, but never without a good cause. Daniel reached past Josh for the door handle. Someone was going to get the rough side of his tongue for this one.

  Josh’s hand on his chest stopped Daniel from boiling through the door. “Commander,” he said drawing Daniel’s attention again. “We have shoot-to-kill orders.” He met Daniel’s gaze, fear and concern darkening Josh’s eyes. “Someone doesn’t want you to make it through this alive.”

  Daniel’s blood ran cold, and he stopped fighting. His stomach turned over as he finally realized his situation. He was in trouble. Deep. “What’s the plan?” Josh would not have saved him from his office if he didn’t have some way out.

  The sound of running feet in the hall startled them both into silence.

  Daniel could hear muffled voices through the thick door. He leaned closer and placed his ear against the wood to listen.

  “Sir!”

  “Did you find him?”

  Tension radiated through Daniel’s body as he recognized the second man’s voice. Sanders. He was overcome with the sudden need to go out there and beat the hell out of the man. An angry rumble rose from his chest. Josh’s hand on his shoulder startled him and he cut off the noise before it could give them away.

  “No. He wasn’t in his office. I’ve already sent men to the brig to see if he’s there.”

  “I want him found,” Sanders said. “Double the guards at the gates. Search the building. Top to bottom. I also want teams sent to the palace and his home. And call over to the Coast Guard to see if he’s there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Oh,” Sanders said before the officer could get away. “There’s a pub on the south side of town called The Dragon’s Wing. The owner’s a friend of his. Turn the place inside out.”

  Daniel growled again but didn’t move from his spot. It was well known that The Dragon’s Wing was a safe haven for the Elites of Eternity. The fact that Sanders would order it defiled put him at the top of Daniel’s growing list of suspected spies. He’d already suspected the man for the way he acted when Alex went missing.

  “Yes, sir!”

  Josh and Daniel both froze when the noise in the hall increased as orders were given. They had just started to relax when the door handle jiggled. After a few seconds, it stopped and the searching men moved on.

  Daniel let out the air caught in his lungs. “Now what?” he whispered.

  “I’ve got some friends that are going to help,” Josh said. “Give them a few minutes to get into place.”

  Moving away from the door, Daniel tried to figure out how this could have happened. Carissa has known me all her life. How could she suspect I would hurt Kyle? Things didn’t make sense. He turned it over and over in his head. Obviously Michael had seen through whatever plot was laid, but why hadn’t he convinced her? Was someone manipulating her? Was she in danger? He shook the thoughts away. He’d leave Carissa’s protection in Michael’s hands. He was more than capable of taking care of his mate. Daniel would deal with that later. What he needed to do right now was concentrate on his own survival. He looked up at Josh and waited for the man to act.

  Light filled the room as Josh cracked the door and peeked into the hallway. “All clear,” he whispered.

  Daniel settled his coat around him and got ready to run. With the building crawling with guards, they were going to have to be fast about this.

  Josh pulled the door open. “This way,” he said, starting off down the hall towards Daniel’s office. As they came to the corner, Josh stopped and peered around it.

  Daniel chewed on his lip, waiting for Josh to move. Glancing over his shoulder, he checked the empty hall behind them. He turned back when Josh patted his arm and signaled for them to move.

  With light steps, they sprinted across the opening. Daniel glanced down the hall to see two men standing outside his office with guns at the ready. They really weren’t joking around.

  Josh led him through the familiar corridors and in and out of rooms as they dodged the squads looking for Daniel. At one corner, they turned and ran straight into a pair of guards.

  Daniel’s heart dropped as they skidded to a halt. His dragon tensed for the fight.

  One of the men stared in shock, but the second one nodded. “It’s clear from here on out,” he said.

  “Thanks, Marco” Josh said as he patted his friend on the shoulder.

  Daniel looked them over and memorized their names as he and Josh hurried past.

  “Wait,” the shocked man said. “Aren’t we supposed to stop him?”

  The other man wrapped his arm around his buddy’s shoulder. “There are times when the best thing you can do is turn and walk away,” he said as he pulled his friend around and started down the hall in the opposite direction. “This is one of those times.”

  “But!”

  Marco shushed his friend. “I’ll buy you a beer when this is over. Just remember, you didn’t see anything.”

  The flustered man glanced back at Daniel once more before following his friend’s pull. “All right, but you need to explain this later.”

  Daniel smiled as the pair disappeared around the corner. Some of his men were still loyal. He picked up his pace and raced after Josh.

  When they got to the door leading out, Josh stopped. Th
ere were three guards between them and the checkpoint. “Wait here.”

  Daniel drew in a breath and held it as Josh went to check with the guards. Two of the men nodded but the third gripped his weapon tighter and started grilling Josh. Daniel watched as one of the guards, a large man with rich brown skin, cracked the combative man in the back of the head, dropping him like a stone.

  Josh waved for Daniel to come out.

  Pushing from the building, Daniel hurried over to where Josh and his friends were stuffing the downed man in the little guard shack. “Will he be okay?” Daniel asked. He looked at the two guards, identifying them. The heavy set man was Mac and the thinner one with the red hair was Corry.

  “He’ll be fine,” Mac said as he finished shoving the unconscious man into the box and shut the door. “We’ll take good care of him.”

  Daniel glanced at the man once more before letting the three guards usher him out of the gate. Putting the unconscious guard from his mind, Daniel looked up and down the street, wondering how he was going to get away. The road outside this checkpoint ran between the fence and a very tall building and, for security reasons, Eternity kept cars from parking along the curbs. That was an awful lot of open space to cover before he could make it to some kind of safety.

  “Wait right here,” Josh said as he pressed Daniel back against the outside of the guard shack.

  Not sure what was going to happen, Daniel squatted next to the shack so he was out of sight from the main building.

  After a few long minutes, a car cruised up with the radio blaring. It stopped when it got close to the curb.

  “Go,” Josh said, urging Daniel up from the ground.

  Daniel scrambled to his feet and hurried to the car. He didn’t stop to thank Josh or the other men that had risked everything to get him out. Once this was over, he’d find a way to make his appreciations known.