by Kari Thomas
He’d decided Summer’s glance of the big shadow was nothing more than Aleta flying where she shouldn’t have been. But, what if it hadn’t been Aleta? She’d denied the accusation, and even though she was a stubborn little spitfire, she was always honest with him.
That led to one possibility he didn’t like. It couldn’t be true. Just the thought caused his dragon to wake and roar deep inside him.
One of their own might be involved.
If it were true, then God help him or her. They were already dead. He’d show no mercy.
Slade drove into the cul-de-sac and parked the Hummer in front of the royal house. His long strides took him in and down the hall in mere moments. He went straight to Ansel’s suite. Boyce met him at the door. His heart sped up at the look in the man’s eyes.
“Talk to me,” he demanded. Inside him, his dragon rumbled.
Boyce shook his head. “There’s not much to tell. They both have the same illness: nausea, debilitating weakness, fever. I can treat the symptoms but not what’s causing them. I’ve taken blood samples, but I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for. The results showed strange bacteria of some kind. The fact that we can heal from injuries has no bearing on this; we can’t heal ourselves of sickness.”
Slade spat out several curses. What the hell was going on? “Is Ansel awake?”
Boyce nodded his head. “But try not to stay long. I’ve questioned him extensively and he doesn’t have any answers.”
Slade went in and sat down in the chair by the bed. He was shocked at the change in his friend since the last time he’d seen him. Ansel looked like he’d been dragged through hell and back. His blond hair was limp and wet from sweat, his face was drawn tight, his lips were pale, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes. He opened his eyes to see Slade sitting there and tried to smile, but groaned instead.
“One word about how I look and I’m going to get out of this bed and beat you.”
Slade forced himself to grin. “Just one word? How about crap?”
Ansel chuckled, and then coughed. “I’ll have to owe you that beating.”
“Deal.” Slade thought for a moment on whether or not to tell Ansel his suspicions. He’d never kept anything from him before, but maybe this should be a first. The less Ansel knew the less someone else might have a chance of discovering. If it was someone on the inside…
“Boyce says it’s the same symptoms as Ruliard’s,” Slade stated. “Can you think of anything that might tie it together?”
“None. I’d hoped at first it was food poisoning, but Boyce ruled that out. Neither of us had eaten the same thing. Father hasn’t eaten since the outing to the lake, and I haven’t been anywhere out of the house for the past few days. Go figure.”
“Calen and Edan double-checked the perimeters and found no proof anyone has been trespassing. We’ve had a few leave the compound for work related reasons, but they’ve been checked, and no one is sick.” He didn’t like the possible conclusion. His inner dragon agreed, ready to go on the hunt. “I’ve stepped up security, and everyone is on alert. If it has anything to do with the case, I’ll find out. I’ll be in town for a few days, following clues. If you need me, have Calen contact me immediately.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be watching Summer?”
Slade frowned at him. “You let Aleta loose on me, didn’t you? She showed up there, ready to play bodyguard with me. Damn it, Ansel. That little bird is going to be the death of me one day. She can’t take no for an answer.”
“She wants to be on the team, Slade. She idolizes you and wants to follow in your footsteps. I know she’s petite, but she’s incredibly strong. Why not give her a chance and see if she can work with the Firestorm Security?”
“Not a priority right now,” Slade muttered. “So stop lecturing. Don’t make me regret ever rescuing her as a baby. I should have known better to even let her follow me around while she was growing up.”
“She was too damn cute, and you couldn’t resist that,” Ansel teased. “Just like the rest of us couldn’t.” His expression turned serious. “I never did discover where her mother came from. As far as we know, there are no more dragon shifters. The odd fact she was half human and half air dragon was strange enough.”
Slade nodded his head. “I searched for clues for months. Nothing.”
The female dragon had crashed landed in the forest of the compound, ready to give birth. Sixteen-year-old Slade had been hunting and found her. He’d helped deliver the baby dragon, but the mother died moments later. Slade had taken the baby to Ruliard, and he had assigned a wet nurse to take care of her. He visited her daily, feeling an odd sense of responsibility for her welfare. When she was old enough to start walking, she tried following him everywhere. As she got older, she became more stubborn and refused to be rebuffed. She idolized him and let everyone know it. The others tended to spoil her since she was an orphan and not a Shamara dragon. She learned early that she could get away with almost anything and no one would punish her. Slade had to admit that was partially his fault too. No one dared lay a hand on her since he was officially her guardian.
Slade stood up. “Get some rest, friend. Leave everything to me for now. I’ll find out what’s going on and get back to you ASAP.”
Ansel nodded and drifted off to sleep. Slade studied him for a few more moments then quietly left. His dragon rumbled again, urging him to change and hunt, but that wasn’t possible. If he was going to find out who was behind everything happening, then he’d have to do it the human way, the detective way. The last thing he needed was to expose the Clan by making a mistake.
Then he would hunt and then he would destroy. The dragon way.
Chapter Ten
Aleta walked into the living room and sat down as though it was the most natural thing in the world for her to be there. Summer and Leo followed. She’s a confident woman, Summer thought, bemused as she watched her settle comfortably among the large sofa pillows. At Summer’s side Leo growled softly.
She reached down and patted his head, then reminded him in a low whisper, “I don’t think Slade was kidding about having your hide, so behave.”
Aleta stared hard at her and then at Leo. “Is that a mountain lion?” She didn’t sound scared or surprised.
“Yes, but don’t worry,” Summer told her, “He’s very domesticated.”
“I like cats,” Aleta grinned. “They taste…uh…I mean their taste is unique…uh…that…they are very picky about what prey they eat.”
Summer studied her closely. What an odd statement. Was the woman actually nervous, or just making small talk? Before she could decide, Leo glided right up to Aleta and raised his head. He bared his long canines, issued a nasty growl, and then walked away to lie by the patio doors.
Aleta coughed out a shaky laugh. “Okay. Fair warned. Don’t tease the cat.”
Summer held back a grin. She had a feeling she would spend the rest of her life grateful to have Leo by her side. She sat down opposite Aleta, and there was an awkward silence for a while. Finally she asked, “How long have you known Slade?” There, that sounded casual enough.
Aleta shrugged. “All my life. He’s my guardian.”
That was the last answer she expected. She couldn’t help but be relieved. “You’re an orphan?” How strange they would have something like that in common. “I am, too. Reed adopted me when I was five.”
“Slade said I would like you.” Aleta smiled. “But he also warned me not to get you angry. Something about a nasty kicking habit.”
“It was one time,” Summer protested. Was he ever going to let it go?
“Do you have any other defense skills?”
“No.” She’d never needed any.
“Then, I think we should spend our time together teaching you a few basic ones. When do you want to start?”
Summer was stunned. She’d been prepared to dislike Aleta. Now she realized she felt very comfortable with her, as though they’d been friends for a long while
. How strange is that? “Now is okay. We’ll have to do it outside away from Leo. He’s a bit overprotective.”
Much to his grumbling displeasure, Summer shut Leo inside, and they went out to the lawn in front of the patio. Aleta demonstrated a couple of simple defense moves and then showed her how to repeat them. Surprising herself, Summer caught on quickly. They spent the next three hours practicing before she called for mercy.
“I’m exhausted.”
The exhaustion felt good. She felt good, more confident. Oddly enough, it made her feel like a new beginning was just around the corner for her.
Summer showed Aleta the guest room and then went to her own room to shower. They had a light dinner of salad and lasagna, while Leo gulped down a few steaks.
Aleta laughed as she watched him. “He’s like a starving pig. How do you keep him fed? It must get expensive after a while.”
Leo glared at her and showed his canines again, and then deliberately smacked his lips. Summer laughed too. “Reed hunts periodically and brings back loads of meat.”
“Does he like sweets?” Aleta picked up her slice of cake. She leaned toward the big cat. “Bite me and you’ll regret it.” Then she pushed the cake against his large opened mouth. Leo swallowed it instantly, the whole time his amber-green eyes bored into hers.
“I started to say no he hates sweets,” Summer said, surprised at what just happened. “But I guess I was wrong.”
Aleta shrugged and sat back in her chair. “Even animals have a sweet tooth now and then. I do.”
If she didn’t stop with the odd statements, Summer was going to start demanding explanations from her. She wasn’t sure she really wanted the answers. There was something about Aleta that seemed oddly familiar, but she couldn’t pin it down. Lately not much was making sense anymore. Maybe it was because Aleta reminded her of Slade in some ways. Okay, time to think about something else. If she were lucky, she wouldn’t be dealing with him ever again. He made her feel things she wasn’t comfortable with and didn’t need in her life right now. Her mind insisted on one thing, but her body disagreed completely…
A slight bang from outside alerted them something was wrong. Aleta surged to her feet the same time Leo swung around and headed for the patio doors. “Stay here. I’ll check out the noise. Do you want Leo to stay with you?”
“No, take him with you,” Summer insisted. “He can help if…” She was afraid to finish the thought.
Had the shadowed intruder returned? Her heart raced, but she resolutely pushed the fear away. She wasn’t completely helpless. She could help if she had to. Instead of staying in the kitchen, she followed Aleta to the living room.
“Don’t follow me out, no matter what,” Aleta ordered. She opened the patio doors and Leo dashed out in front of her. “Lock these behind me.”
Summer stayed by the doors and looked out into the dark evening. Aleta went to the right and Leo to the left, and they both soon disappeared into the darkness. She tried to listen for any sounds, but everything remained silent. Eerily silent. The hair on her arms rose up as her nerves stretched tight, and she reminded herself to breathe. Long tense minutes passed as she peered hard into the darkness beyond and tried to see any kind of movement.
Suddenly a large shadow dashed into view. Summer bit back a scream. It was huge, shaped like a human but too bulky, and completely black. Before the shadow could move, Leo and Aleta charged it from both sides. The three collided in a mass of darkness Summer could barely see through. She heard Leo’s growls, Aleta’s grunts, and something else that made her heart race…a deep humming sound that reminded her of rumbling thunder.
The three grappled, tearing into exposed limbs. Leo was trying to rip chunks out of the being, and Aleta was throwing punches harder and faster than any man could. The shadow was moving like liquid one minute, then stumbling like a solid mass the next. Appendages resembling human arms were striking out at Aleta and Leo, hitting their mark with painful accuracy. Summer saw Aleta stumble for a split second. Then the agile woman swung up, fighting even harder. Leo roared, lunging in for a better strike.
Suddenly the humming turned into a roaring echo of thunder, and for one brief moment, lightning flashed in the cloudless sky. Summer jumped back and bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep from screaming. The shadow became a frenzied mass of destruction. Aleta and Leo were being beaten back and down. Leo fell first. The shadow clamped the cat in its huge arms and squeezed, and then it threw him several yards across the ground. Aleta screamed in rage and increased her manic defense, throwing punches and kicking. The shadow raised its massive arms, picked her up high in the air and then threw her, not yards, but halfway across the acre of lawn.
Summer screamed and tried frantically to unlock the doors to help them, but her hands were shaking too hard. Just as the lock opened, she looked up to see the shadow suddenly collapse to the ground. She froze.
It stayed there for only a minute. With lumbering limbs it staggered to its feet. She heard the rumbling thunder sound again, this time weaker. It seemed to stare in her direction for a long minute before it turned and ran off into the darkness.
She forced her frozen feet to move. She reached Leo first. The cat was just coming to, and he shook his head as if dazed. Summer saw his flanks heaving and heard his breath catch. He had broken bones somewhere. She dropped to her knees beside him. “Hold still, baby. I’ll heal you.”
Leo growled at her and then pushed at her hands with his head. He turned his head and stared in the direction Aleta had been thrown. He then painfully lumbered to his feet and pushed at her again. Summer got to her feet, confused at his odd behavior. Leo started limping toward Aleta. He wanted her to go to Aleta and take care of her first. She didn’t hesitate any longer. She ran to where Aleta was still lying unconscious. Leo waited where he stood, breath rasping.
She fell to her knees and touched Aleta’s pale face. She was still breathing, thank God. “Aleta, can you hear me?”
No response. She ran her hands over her body, finding bloodied slashes and deep bruises everywhere underneath the torn clothing. The cuts were deep, but she had the feeling Aleta had broken bones too. She’d landed hard from a long distance in the air. Her slender frame couldn’t have taken that kind of shock landing without breaking something. What if she were bleeding internally too?
For just a moment Summer panicked. She knew she had no choice in what she had to do now. There was every chance that if she called the police and the paramedics, Aleta would die before they got here. What would she say to them? That a huge bulky shadow-man threw the woman across almost an acre? Yeah, right.
Heaven help her. She had no choice.
She inhaled deeply, trying desperately to ignore the persistent warning going off in her head. Then she exhaled and reached deeper for the sense of calm she knew laid waiting. She hadn’t used her healing powers since the night she’d found Leo injured and dying. Then, there had been no fear of being exposed. Now was different. How would she explain to Aleta what she’d done?
She had to risk it. There was no other choice. The woman had jeopardized her own life to save hers.
She placed her hands, palms down, on Aleta’s chest. She concentrated on feeling the depth of her injuries. Her preternatural healing powers were as strong as ever. Instantly she could sense every single injury. She’d been right. Aleta was bleeding internally. Her ribs were broken, several of her organs damaged. Oh, God, help me save her in time.
She pushed out radiating warmth from her hands straight into Aleta. The supernatural heat spread out like a covering coat of misty glue and began to mend the broken ribs and bones. She let her energy flow fully into Aleta, lending her strength and comfort. The bleeding slowly stopped. The organs mended. Still, she kept up the steady stream of healing heat until it had touched and repaired every inch of the woman’s body.
With a sigh of total exhaustion, Summer removed her hands and sat back. It had taken a lot out of her, but Aleta’s injuries had been almost fa
tal. Summer would recuperate quickly; it was part of her own healing powers, so she wasn’t worried about the exhaustion. She waited and watched, fear mounting now, as Aleta finally regained consciousness. What was she going to tell her?
Aleta slowly sat up and looked around. “It’s gone? Where’s Leo?”
Summer smiled. She’d thought of the big cat first. “He’s okay. How do you feel? You, um, were thrown and hit your head. I checked but didn’t feel any injury there. Do you have a headache or anything?”
Aleta stared at her for long moments. Summer tried hard to read her eyes but couldn’t. She was as good as Slade when she wanted to keep her expressions neutral. He probably taught her that. “Can you stand up, or are you dizzy?”
“I feel…fine.” Aleta glanced down at her own body. “I’m covered in blood, I don’t see any cuts. Odd.”
“It’s probably the thing’s blood,” Summer offered quickly. “Or even some of Leo’s. He has a few scratches.”
“Yeah.” Aleta shot her a hard glance, but then looked away. “Maybe you’re right.”
Summer started to help her stand, but she surged to her feet, graceful and easily. “Let’s go check on that kitty of yours. He put up a good fight, didn’t he?”
They helped an injured Leo into the house and onto a rug by the sofa. Summer was upset she couldn’t heal him right then with Aleta there. He’d have to suffer until they were alone later. She knelt down beside him and whispered in his ear, “Hang on, baby. I’ll do what I can to keep you comfortable.”
Luckily she got the chance right away. After disconnecting from her phone call, Aleta announced she was going to scout outside for any clues. She told Summer to lock the doors and left quickly. Summer immediately went to work on Leo.
“Why the heck you wanted me to heal her first, is a mystery to me. You know I could have taken care of you both without any problems.” She was relieved when it only took a few minutes to heal his injuries. She sat back and studied the cat. “You like her, don’t you. That’s a first. If you were a typical human male I’d say it was because she’s so pretty.” She chuckled as Leo chuffed indignantly. “Or was it her fighting skills that impressed you?”
