by Jaymin Eve
As my thoughts turned to Cardia, flickers of the red vampire haze shrouded my vision. So much made sense now. The unease I’d felt around her. My lack of interest in our relationship, even in the bedroom. The way she’d not responded to the dragon king’s call. So many lies. A complete world of lies. It had almost cost me Mischa. What if I hadn’t come back to Stratford in time? What if Kristoff had gotten his hands on her and I never knew about my child? I would not make that mistake again. The pain of the bond with Cardia was almost gone now. Whatever spell Kristoff used was wearing off. Her death had freed me.
As screwed up as it was, now every part of me was glad she was dead.
A familiar scent drifted toward me and I turned to find Jessa crossing out of her sister’s room. She’d barely left her side while she recovered. Their twin connection was strong and fierce. When she reached me, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. As I pulled her closer, I thought of all the times I’d wished she was my true mate. Now I couldn’t be happier that she wasn’t. I loved Jessa, she was my pack, my family, but Mischa held my heart.
Jessa pulled back a little, leaving one arm draped across me. “Braxton contacted me. He said we need to stop in at Sinchin prison before heading back to Stratford. Which will actually work out timing wise – Louis is off dealing with more of the supe smugglers, cracking a few skulls and shit, so he’ll not be able to get us until tonight.”
“What do we need from the prison?”
She shrugged. “No idea. Apparently he’ll contact you soon, when he has more details.”
Jessa bounced on the spot a little. “I really can’t wait to see Sinchin. I’ve read the books and seen the pictures, but there’s nothing like experiencing the ingenuity in person.”
Her enthusiasm had me smiling, a real smile. That had been missing from my life for some time.
“It’ll be good to meet the leaders there,” I finally said, turning to stare out into the garden again. Chan had it set out in such a peaceful, feng shui design. It encouraged you to stand and stare at it. “We should have done a quick world tour when we were first initiated as council leaders, but everywhere was such a mess that it was postponed for a later date.”
Wars don’t end when the final battle is over. Rebuilding lives is sometimes harder than the fighting itself. And the supernatural prison world still needed some serious rebuilding.
“I can’t quite believe you guys are leaders already. Feels like it got here so fast,” Jessa said, her blue eyes huge as she shook her head.
I laughed. “How do you think we feel? I could have done without the few years skip ahead in time. Our community deserves great leaders, and so far we aren’t there. We don’t know enough, and despite our power we’re lacking. We were barely schooled in leadership, management, or supe control. You know we prefer to use our fists to sort out drama, but now we have to be diplomatic and use our words.”
Jessa laughed this time, her light chuckles floating into the morning air. “Brax is trying so hard to be diplomatic with the bears, when all he really wants to do is go dragon and rip their guts out.”
“They need their guts ripped out,” I growled. “Haven’t we had enough trouble recently? Why step in now and demand a leadership spot? Why create discord in a community already trying to recover? That’s not the sign of a leader.”
Jessa nodded. “They’re using the argument that you four are not trained, and that you’ve all been absent quite a lot in the short time you’ve been leaders. They say you’re too young and not experienced enough.”
It was always the same. Those who don’t like the way things are done try and shout loud enough, hoping someone will hear them and respond. With any luck, it would all be blown over by the time we were back in Stratford.
Jessa had the same thought as she patted me on the arm. “It’ll be fine, no one really wants to take you four on, and I know you’d never hand your power to someone else.” With a wink she turned away. “I’ll go and wake Mischa, tell her we’re getting a once in a lifetime chance to see the famous Sinchin prison.”
I was looking forward to it too. Sinchin had never lost a prisoner, never had a major incident, and maintained peace better than most around the world. Vanguard was in the top ten, but we could learn a lot here. I just needed to phone my brothers first and find out exactly what we were going there for. I didn’t like surprises, not in this sort of instance. Forewarned was forearmed.
The twins were wide-eyed as we took the first steps into the prison community that bordered Shanjoin. It was a mountainous range, like many of our hidden prisons, isolated in the south of China, to the east of the Tibetan Plateau and heading toward the Sichuan Basin.
The locals were expecting us. Many had gathered around the small dome-style huts which comprised their buildings. This community looked quite primitive, no modern buildings or amenities, but magic was thick in the air, which was a pretty huge indication that they were concealing much here.
The air was thinner and I reminded myself to keep a close eye on the girls. With their pregnancies they would have to be careful of the elevation. The fact that supes adjusted to different climates easily was the only reason they were here today.
Hadie, a leader here, had met us at the front of the community. She was taking us to the Sinchin entrance, where we would be greeted by a council member, her vampire mate.
As we followed Hadie, I had to reach out and take Mischa’s hand. There was far too little touching going on here. She flashed me a stunned expression before a true smile lit up her face.
“Are you okay?” I was staring but I didn’t give a damn. It was the first time I’d seen her out of borrowed bedclothes in some time and she looked absolutely beautiful.
Her dark hair was clear off her face, braided in a single line to her shoulders, giving me an unobstructed view of her clear green eyes. At the moment they reminded me of the ocean on a bright, hot summer day. Her body was rounded with pregnancy, but that only made her appeal greater. That was my child she was carrying. My body virtually hummed with the need to get her naked and relearn every part of her. Our one time together was not even close to being enough. I needed days, months, years. I needed forever.
Her smile grew. “I’m great, thank you. This place is amazing, isn’t it?”
She turned away as Jessa started gushing about Sinchin. Both girls were talking a million miles a minute, which gave me some extra time to continue my stalk stare.
The changes in Mischa fascinated me. The female we’d first met last year had been young, skittish, and lacking in confidence. Now she was all woman, exuding poise and security in who she was. Larkspur’s daughters would have a hard time taking advantage of this version of Mischa.
Hadie joined in with the girls’ chatting, and also introduced many of the townfolk who’d come out to meet us. I was forced to remove my eyes from Mischa and focus on Hadie. She had a heavy Chinese accent, but she spoke carefully so we wouldn’t miss a thing. Very courteous and polite, exactly as I expected.
Her soft voice traveled through the crowds: “They have all been waiting for you to arrive. We have heard many stories of the brave supes who destroyed the threat of Larkspur. You are … somewhat of a celebrity.”
We’d done no more than anyone else in our position. It had been our calling, our gift to counter a threat from long ago. Still, the crowds clearly didn’t want to hear those truths as they pressed in closer to us. Gifts were presented, both girls receiving huge bundles of wild flowers which grew in the mountainous ranges, their colors ranging from the palest of pink to the most vivid of orange sunset, flowers which I was sure would be nowhere else in the world. I received a dagger from a tiny, wrinkled sorcerer. He must have been many hundreds of years old, the centuries imprinting fine and deep lines across his face.
The dagger was about fifteen inches in length and a few inches wide. It had been handcrafted from a single piece of steel and stone. The hilt was inlaid with diamonds and rubies. The double edges were visibly s
harp, and something told me they were enchanted to never dull. This was a gift worth more than money. It was a treasure.
I bowed low and he returned the gesture. “Thank you, I am honored by your gift. I shall use it to govern my community.”
His eyes flicked across to Mischa, who was waiting at my side, a genuine smile lighting up her face. He stared at her for a few moments longer than was polite, but there was nothing there to rouse the vampire. His actions were respectful. He spoke without turning away from her.
“Use to protect mate and child. Forged in heart of dragon mountain. Built with tears of fallen souls.”
Then he wrenched his gaze from Mischa and turned away, hurrying off with far more agility than one would expect from such an ancient supe. I stared after him for many long minutes.
“Well, that was cryptic,” Mischa said.
Cryptic was right, but the words weren’t completely foreign to me. I caught Jessa’s eye and the glint of recognition was there also. It was written in our early history that the birthplace of the dragon, a giant scaled serpent, was in the heart of a volcano. It was said that the center of this volcano mountain was unique. One side was molten lava and the other was a spring of the purest water. Along the center, the two merged and a crystal crust formed, which led supes to believe the water side was magical, tears of gods, souls of their fallen. The dragons were made of fire and gods.
Braxton liked to point that out regularly – literally born of the gods. Arrogant bastard.
Hadie handed me a scabbard and a thick, woven cream-colored cloth. “Take care with Sersie’s weapons. They’re known to be magical in nature and sharper than any blade forged. You’ll want to wrap it up before placing it close to your body.”
Trusting her, I followed those instructions, taking care not to scrape against the blade before I deposited the secured sheath in the large pocket on the side of my army-style pants.
“That’s one beautiful knife,” Jessa said. She sounded a bit put out. “Why do they always give them to the dudes? I want a knife from the heart of dragons’ birthplace. I’m going to ask Josephina next time I see her.”
Mischa and I exchanged a smile. That would be Jessa using her contacts to get a weapon better than everyone else’s.
Mischa leaned in close and whispered to her sister: “Don’t you think the fact that your mate is a dragon shifter, your best friend is a dragon queen, and your children are supposedly going to be the most powerful of all supes, that you kinda have the powerful weapon thing locked down.”
Her voice was low in deference to the “secret of Jessa’s twins.” They were the first trueborn dragon shifters – not dragon mated supes – and their presence needed to stay as hidden as we could keep them. We didn’t need a bigger target on our backs. Someone would surely have the genius idea to take them out now when they were vulnerable.
Jessa scoffed. “That’s power of others. I like power for myself. I’m feeling decidedly less badass since gaining twenty pounds and losing my dragon. Now I’m almost as useless as a regular supe.”
I had to chuckle then, and the dark glare she leveled on me did nothing to halt it, even though it was wise to be very careful of Jessa. She could kick ass with the best of them.
“You’ve lost nothing, Jessa babe. You’re going to be mom to two powerful dragon twins. That honor would not have been bestowed on anyone unworthy.”
She looked slightly less put out, but I could tell I hadn’t really placated her. “She’ll get better once she has the babies,” Mischa murmured to me. “It’s a big adjustment for most, and Jessa lost a lot.”
So damn understanding. Always worrying about others. It was time someone started worrying about her. We were distracted then as more of the town pressed in to greet us. It took an hour or more to speak with them all and continue on to the prison.
“Thank you for that,” Hadie said. “It means a lot to them that you took the time to stop. Most leaders don’t. They simply breeze through, have their meeting, and leave.”
“It was our pleasure,” I said.
Hadie said no more but I sensed an approval in her gaze which had been missing earlier. Nice to see the diplomacy was strong with me today. I had no doubt the calm in my soul had everything to do with having Mischa at my side. She soothed my inner demon.
The entrance to Sinchin was dark and cool, a cave which led straight into the base of the mountain. It was against this mountain that the community of Shanjoin was built, and right at the top was the prison.
We had to pass through several layers of security. Magical essence tested us for deception, revealing our true selves – no magical disguise would work here. A scanner for weapons picked up my blade, but Hadie overrode that to allow me to keep it with me. It also picked up four knives and some throwing stars on Jessa. That was my girl.
The next few levels tested a variety of other magical things, and then finally we had to donate a drop of blood to cross the final threshold. Sinchin was a living entity, and once it had your essence it would always be able to find you. None of us were particularly happy with this part, but there would be no entry without it. This prison, of any around the world, was the most entrenched in magic. This was the reason there had never been an escape.
As soon as our blood sank into the stone at the end of the entrance tunnel, an elevator door appeared. Somehow, in the center of a mountain, there was a stainless steel box which was going to take us all the way up the middle of the prison.
My eyes flicked across to Jessa and I wasn’t surprised to see a blade in her hand. Like most shifters, steel boxes made her uncomfortable. Mischa too, but they’d be okay for a few minutes. The view at the top would be worth it.
As we stepped inside, I drew each of them into my side and draped an arm across their shoulders. Hadie said nothing as the three of us remained locked tightly together during the ascent. My vampire almost purred at the contact of having my pack close. Should have guessed I was part shifter. I had so many of their instincts and pack-like tendencies. It all made sense now.
It took only a moment, despite the fact this mountain was practically miles in the air, to reach the top. With an almost silent whirr the doors slid across and the cool air washed in.
“Please give yourselves a few minutes to adjust to the altitude,” Hadie said. “It can be a little disconcerting, especially when pregnant.”
Jessa and Mischa both ignored her warning. Looking very much the twins they were, they marched out together, crossing over the large expanse of grassy hilltop to reach the closest edge. Both of them were wide-eyed and slack-jawed as they stared. I had to hold back my grin; at times there were worlds between their personalities – which was understandable, they had very different upbringings – and at other times they were so similar.
I understood why they didn’t wait though, there was no way to stop yourself from crossing the huge space to stand on top of the world. The Sinchin prison was set atop one of the largest mountains in this region of China. On top here, it was about three miles total in diameter, shaped like an elongated egg. The views on all sides went on forever – mountains, greenery, urban landscape – even the sea could be seen at some points. It was almost as if this was the center of a million worlds and there was so much for the eye to see.
As I stepped to her side, Mischa turned sparkling green eyes on me. “This is so incredible. I can see everything.”
She spoke quietly, almost reverently. Standing here was like standing amongst the gods. Very spiritual and mystical in nature.
As she turned to the view again, a sigh left her. “I wish I had my paints. I’m not sure I’ll be able to truly capture this back home.”
I straightened. “You paint?” There were so many things I didn’t know about her.
Originally I hadn’t wanted to know her too deeply. I’d felt as if the more pieces of herself she gave me, the more I’d want to keep them.
Everything was different now. Now I wanted every single part of her.
> Jessa spoke up before Mischa could. “She’s amazing, Max, you should see her paintings. She’s taken over my room at Dad’s and has turned it into an art studio. Misch definitely sucked up all the artistic talent in this twin genetics, that’s for sure.”
Mischa’s cheeks pinked as she continued staring out into the vast space.
“I would very much like to see your paintings,” I said.
I wanted this piece of the Mischa puzzle. I was adding it to my collection.
A throat cleared behind us and we turned as a unit to find Hadie with a tall, dark-skinned male at her side. He was not quite my height but had the bulk of someone used to combat. I took a step forward and we clasped hands in a brief shake.
“Thank you for visiting,” he said, his voice low and naturally rumbly. “My name is Lock. I’m one of the leaders of this community, and the vampire leader on the Asian supe council.”
Lock. The name was familiar to me. He had fought in the last supernatural war and had been singlehandedly responsible for taking down an entire pack of shifters.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” I said. “I’m Maximus Compass, and these are my pack mates, Jessa and Mischa Lebron.”
He gave a brief nod to the girls before focusing on me again. “We’re grateful that you’ve taken the time to stop by. I’ve been hoping to speak with you about a couple of prison exchanges. We have some local supes here, and you know we don’t like to leave them in the country of their residence.”
I nodded. Braxton had already filled me in on this part. “We have some space in Vanguard for transfers. I’m not sure there are any up on exchange right now, but I can double-check with our prison manager.”
Hadie turned toward the girls then, starting a side conversation. “We do have some art supplies here that the prisoners use. Would you like to see if there is anything suitable?”
She’d heard our conversation.
Mischa’s eyes widened and she turned to me. “Do we have time?”
