The Olodians were not too distant cousins of the Dragos and Gryphon. Related through their common cousins and fellow Guardian protectors in other dimensions, the Herodians, the Olodians were revered and respected. Their strong character, the favor of the Goddess, and altruistic help with so many races were legendary. Unlike the Dragos, Gryphon, and Herodians who retained their base natures, over time, the Olodians had stopped shifting. Like the Herodians, they had been able to shift into fierce and beautiful animals of speed and power. On Earth, their shifted forms would be equal to larger cats like lions, panthers, tigers, and the like. Now they were more like humans in that they didn’t shift. And rumor had it that they might be able to come back to Earth now that some of the royal family had mated with human females and certain sanctions were lifted.
Miss Connie had been a Goddess blessing to him and the Clan ever since they’d been stationed here, even helping to raise Ajax. Her human side made her extremely motherly although she had no children of her own. As was a long-standing custom for Guardian surface compounds, Miss Connie was part of the Guardian Warriors surrounding support.
Lucien had set Miss Connie up in the Diner across the street. This was done to provide support for the Dragofin Clan—especially cooking and healing—and to have a place where she could do the other thing she loved—cooking for others. Officially their Healer, she also acted as a quasi Mother for the guys, cooking for them, healing injuries, helping them understand human customs, and watching over the Lair from across the street.
When Lucien looked down at the little woman hovering over his friend, she continued to mutter about the condition of the room with young ladies around. He knew this was her way of coping with the situation. Miss Connie’s motherly instincts had been triggered and she was concerned about Greg. His attitude softened.
“Yes ma’am, we’ll get right on this. You’re right. We shouldn’t have Quinn, Hildy, and Wren around with it in this condition,” he said, noticing how his acknowledging her concerns seemed to help her release the tension in her shoulders.
“Good, then step back and let me work. And, stop breathing down my back y’all. He’s going to be all right,” she said, taking Greg’s temperature.
The guys stood back allowing her to work in silence. As the minutes stretched into what must have been an hour, Lucien looked at his cell phone. The twins and Blaise had figured out long ago how to rig electronics and technology from this realm to work in the Lair and even in some of the other dimensions. One place where the electronics didn’t work was in the portal entrance. It was too volatile. His phone had worked as soon as he got back to this realm, updating notifications. What he looked for was missing. There weren’t any messages from Quinn or Jax.
Annoyance gnawed at him over the empty notifications. Yeah, he’d said the team would be gone for a few days, but was hoping that Quinn had sent him a message in case he came back earlier. With Greg out, he didn’t have anyone to bounce things off of and he missed his mate. Lucien sent out a mental link to Greg, hoping that his brother would answer and wake up. Nothing came back.
Stepping away as not to disturb Miss Connie or be overheard, he attempted to call Quinn only to realize he didn’t have her phone number. How stupid was that? He’d been so busy trying to complete his joining with Quinn that he’d overlooked the fact that he had no way of reaching her when she wasn’t here with him. Shaking his head for the oversight, Lucien dialed Ajax’s phone.
No answer.
Quinn, where are you. I need you here with me. The thought wasn’t meant to do anything but relieve some of the pressure he felt. As the leader of the Clan, he had to keep it together. This was rare that he felt so overwhelmed by the situation. Both his mate and his second in command were unreachable. How messed up was that? Old habits of resilient resolve had him bouncing back as fast as he’d thought of the loss of connection to his friend, Greg and his mate. Then a faint whisper of comfort echoed in the back of his consciousness.
He felt as if Quinn was attempting to hurry back to him, but something was hindering her. Lucien’s senses spiked to be on alert. Something was definitely not right about her absence. Heaven help Ajax if he had Quinn out and doing something dangerous. Thinking through Ajax’s projects, he couldn’t pin point any that his youngest brother had going on. Again, they should have been home and not gallivanting out in the middle of the night. When they did get back, he’d make sure new protocols were established. Not knowing where they were was a no-no.
He made it back over to the group in time for Miss Connie to finish up. With her assessment complete, Miss Connie raised a hand for Lucien to help her stand again. She looked at him with those watery light green eyes and said, “We need to discuss some things in private.”
He nodded. To the others, Lucien said, “We’re going up to my office. Matt, try to contact Ajax through the mental link or phone. I don’t care which. And, find out where everyone is. It’s almost midnight and I want to know where he could be on a weeknight with my mate. I don’t sense her anywhere near here.”
“Got it. I’ll let you know what he says when you’re done with Miss Connie.”
“No, let me know as soon as you find out. I want to make sure Quinn—and the rest of them—is safe.”
“Understood,” Matt said, pulling out his phone to call his Dragon partner, Ajax.
Lucien wanted to make sure Matt had something to occupy himself with since Greg was down and Wren wasn’t here to be with him. Once he had Miss Connie situated in the office on the mezzanine level of the building, he looked back down to see the guys sat on the mat next to Greg as if keeping a vigil. Miss Connie’s voice cut through his attention to what was going on below.
“Greg’s in a bad way and I don’t think it’s an Egolar attack alone that did this to him.” Lucien turned to face her as the leather of her chair made an unflattering sound beneath her. “His injuries reach across different realms that aren’t native to him. Here it is. Going to give it to you straight. I’m pretty sure of it and think your little witch problem has something to do with this.”
White hot anger exploded within, exerting pressure behind Lucien’s eyes at hearing that. “What are you saying? Do you believe Julia had something to do with what happened to Greg?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. The injuries reek of magic—powerful, bad magic done with intense malice and disdain. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the little miscreant has graduated to using talismans to capture a part of her victims, because what I sense is stronger than a spell. No, this takes capturing the essence of the person and holding it in a container that has been hexed.”
Lucien wanted Julia sent before the elders, but had to have proof before he could expel her from this planet’s realm. “That little girl has been the bane of my existence. Once she set her sights on Ajax, there’s been no getting rid of her.”
“I know, I’m the one who keeps tabs on her for you. She must have had contact with Greg recently for that hexing to be so strong. It appears she hexed him in a way that he’d have no defenses or power to fight off anything—illness or attack. It’s like an aggressive magical Auto-Immune Disease has attacked him and he has no way to fight back, poor dear. Couple that with an electrical attack from an Egolar and well, there you have it. He’s in a spiritual and physical coma.” She peered at him and asked, “How do you want to handle this with Matt and then Drew and Sasha when they get back?”
“I want to get him back before it comes to that. I need to get back to the portal entrance soon to finish the repairs before anymore Egolars come through the breach. I want to hold off on telling Matt until I can figure out how to locate whatever this talisman is. To tell him now would only drive him to guilt.”
“Why is that? Did he have anything to do with the Egolar attack on Greg?”
“No, and the attack on him was worse, but he pulled through—thanks to a boost from Wren.” When Mis Connie looked confused, Lucien added, “Matt and I have been preoccupie
d with our mates. Spending time around Wren, Matt has received energy and was able to combat the Egolars who tried to over power him. He’s the one who usually deals with the Julia visits, but I know Greg confronted her here in the Lair yesterday since we were preoccupied. I didn’t get a chance to get the details from him, but he said Julia had been taken care of and understood never to return here. That’s the only time I can think of that she could have done something to him.”
“Was he acting any different before getting injured?”
“Come to think of it; he was moving slower than I’d ever seen before at the entrance. I shirked it off as him needing to go to the temple or find his mate, but in hindsight, it was more pronounced than that.”
Miss Connie sighed. It was a tired one that revealed how ancient the woman was. She might look like she was in her fifties, but the woman was way older than Lucien. Too old for it to be proper to inquire.
She said, “I’ll take a look at my security tapes and see if she turns up on them again. Will let you know if I find anything. In the meantime, you have to find that talisman and get Julia to reverse her spell on him. She’ll have to restore Greg to consciousness in this realm; else our dear, precious, loyal Gryphon will die.”
Lucien had refused to sit during this meeting. With that statement, Miss Connie had knocked the ability to stand strong out from under him. He took a seat next to her, remembering not to disrespect her by sitting at the desk between them.
“How do I go about finding this talisman?”
“It will be with either Julia or someone she gave it to that could incapacitate Greg.”
“So it could be an Egolar leader that was at the portal entrance then?”
“Yes, that would have been able to do the job. If so, you’ll need to retrieve and destroy it.”
Lucien thought about that for a moment. “I thought I got rid of all the Egolars who were there. If that was the case, then the talisman should have been destroyed with them.”
Miss Connie reached over and gave his way larger hand a slight, motherly squeeze. “Oh no hun, that’s not how you destroy a witch’s talisman. You have to either make her do it or find someone stronger to break the hex. Either way, you have to locate Julia to reverse the hex.”
“She’d been too slippery to find.”
“Don’t I know it. That girl makes me tired looking at her. Never content, always wanting more and more power,” Miss Connie said.
“You said it yourself. We don’t have much time, and Julia is hard to find. How do I go about finding a more powerful and demented witch in this realm than Julia?”
“You might not have to if you can combat evil with good old fashioned love.” Miss Connie noticed what must look like skepticism on Lucien’s face. “Settle down there, Dragon. What I mean is that if enough of you here in the Lair are willing to join forces and concentrate on counteracting the force of the talisman, that might be enough to destroy it.”
“Do we have to have the talisman to do this?”
“I’m not sure. This is theory, but I’d say it could tilt the odds in your favor. Be careful if you do manage to get the talisman. I still don’t know all the things that could go wrong with handling the talisman or bringing it close to Greg in proximity. I’m a healer, not a witch, so some of this is out of my league.”
“Still you know more than most, dear ancient one.” Lucien smiled when she did. Miss Connie loved that personal endearment he alone called her.
With another quick squeeze of his hand, she rose as if she was a young woman and gave him a tender, motherly kiss on the cheek. “I need my beauty sleep but will check in on Greg in the morning before I open the Diner. Try to get some sleep. You’re still working off a mix from the high of your mating and adrenaline. When you crash, it’s going to be a big one, if you don’t at least get a few hours sleep.”
“I can’t right now. Have to find my mate and the others. They weren’t here like they were supposed to be when we got back. I sense that all is not all right. Going to locate Quinn. I’ll sleep when she’s by my side again.”
“Yes, I noticed the feminine energy was missing. Have no fears. They’ll return soon. You’re a good man, hun, and highly favored of the Goddess. I’ll be saying a prayer to her for you to locate them quickly.”
Once Miss Connie was gone, Lucien and Matt took Greg to his suite of rooms. It hurt seeing him like this, but they had to get him cleaned up and in bed. He might not be alert, but he’d be able to rest in his room.
Once, Lucian and Matt, had Greg cleaned and in his bed, they turned to leave. As Matt lead the way out the door Greg shot up in bed yelling, “She has to be stopped. We have to stop her!”
Rushing back over, Lucien knelt by his friend’s bed as Matt hung back to make room.
“Greg, how are you?” Lucien asked, considering every minute movement Greg made.
“I’m better, tired, but we have to stop her before it’s too late.”
“Who?” Lucien prayed it wasn’t Julia Greg referred to.
To his horror and fear, Greg looked at him and Matt before saying, “Julia. It’s Julia. She did this to me. And, even though she released me, she’s not done. Don’t believe her. She’s only getting started.”
Matt rushed to the bed to help Lucien restrain Greg as he fought to get up and get dress.
“Settle down Greg,” Matt said, using his gift of calm to get his brother back in the bed. “We’ve heard and understood what you said. It’s the middle of the night right now. Let’s all get some rest and then we can go after her in the morning. For now, we all need to rest, you especially.”
Lucien released a pent up breath after Greg stopped struggling and was back in bed.
Agreeing to rest and start out again in the morning, Greg spoke again, as they reached the door, “You should know it was her who sent the Egolars. I saw it all when she had me under her spell. The Egolars agreed to help her when she allowed a leader to feed on her surplus of erratic emotions. She promised them more direct access to human emotions and suffering.”
He sat up, looking more like his old self and continued, this time with more confidence. “Luc, there was never a physical breach in the portal entrance. It was her. Julia found a way to open her own transport tunnel to send the Egolars there. Whatever she’s doing, it’s huge. She’s got access to different dimensions like us. Not sure how many or how she’s doing it, but we have to stop her. Do what you can to rest up because we’re going to need it to find and stop her.”
31
Quinn…
The location listed on that magical sign led them to an old abandoned plaza and office park. It had way too many points to be ambushed for any of their tastes. This place was a logistical nightmare if they needed to get out of here fast. In a declining area of the city that was known for increased crime, Quinn sat in Ajax’s car quiet and contemplative. They had to get Wren back, and she was clueless on what to do if it came down to fighting—or dodging a bullet.
“I’m familiar with this area,” Ajax said. “Blaise and I have done some work clearing out a human trafficking ring less than a half mile down that way. Drugs aren’t the biggest worry over here. It’s theft and selling of humans that’s the issue. Wish we could finally get the big boss behind the human trafficking. No matter how many houses we take down, that many more spring up. This city is one of the largest exporters of humans being sold into slavery around. Being so close to the busiest airport in the world, global transport companies and three major national interstates that transverse the country make it easy to smuggle them out in too many ways to count.”
“I knew about your projects through my mating with Lucien but didn’t know exactly what you guys did. And did I hear right? Did you say slavery?”
“Yeah, you name it—for sex, drug transportation as mules, all the way down to housemaids and nannies. People, mostly young girls looking for a better life, are sold into slavery. Strong transportation options make it easy. They move domestic and aroun
d the world every day. Local and national authorities do what they can, but the problem is too large. That’s why when we’re not working at the portal, the guys will take turns patrolling and busting up rings. I ran into Hildy at one when we first met and fell more in love with her on the spot, seeing how she fought to help those girls.” He stopped as if lost in thought, then added, “Yes, Dragofin are Guardian Warriors of the portals, but we also care about what happens on the surface of Earth too. Working on eradicating practices that are vile like this helps us contribute to Earth’s citizens in direct ways. The innocent must be protected at all costs. And it feels good to help too.”
Ajax’s words shook Quinn to her core. There was no telling what these folks might have in mind for Wren. Sober to the point of scared stiff, Quinn said, “That makes it all the more dangerous for Wren.” Quinn didn’t want to talk anymore. She wanted to find her best friend and get out of here. “Have you heard from Hildy yet?”
“She’s been scouring the area, but nothing stands out so far.”
Hildy had come up with a plan to go before them by flight to scope out the situation. As an added precaution, they’d turned their cell phones off. They didn’t want to make any sound with beeps and rings at the most inopportune moment. Ajax and Hildy said they had a mental link that they could communicate on.
When Quinn looked surprised to hear about the mate mental link, Hildy gave her more insight into mated life. “Oh, don’t worry or feel left out, by this time next month, Lucien is going to be in your head all the time. The mental link bond grows stronger each day. You’ll see and have to set some boundaries of usage, if Lucien is anything like his brother, Ajax.”
Lucien: Dragofin Mated: Book 2 (Dragonfin Clan Mated) Page 25
