by Terry Spear
Alton could strangle her. No one knew, at least yet, that his scales had turned purple. So far, they’d been blue, silver, orange, and Ena’s olive green color when he’d been in the other dragon fae’s presence. Only Kayla and that irascible falcon fae had seen him wearing purple scales. Then again, maybe Ryker hadn’t believed her. Alton was certain that wouldn’t be the case or the butler wouldn’t have released her.
“So what do you suggest we do?” As if the golden fae would have a clue about tracking down someone and rescuing him or her from fae seers. He was used to it as a dragon shifter. He often had dangerous missions to go on. That made him wonder what Kayla’s job was back home. Was she even prepared to fight the fae seers?
“We follow the fae trail. The one I found upstairs,” she said, waiting, as if to see what he thought of that.
Kayla knew Alton didn’t like that she was here, and what was worse, she didn’t think she could really help, or that he would give her locket back if she did.
He nodded when he saw the fae dust scattered on the floor. “Brett was up here. He came here looking for Mark.”
The problem was Kayla really didn’t know whose fae dust was whose. Ena, Brett, and Muriel all lived in the same castle, and she’d seen all their fae dust there.
They heard someone coming up the stairs and both turned invisible to humans.
“Ena,” Kayla said first when she saw her. Not that Ena would know who she was. Kayla remembered the dragon shifter from when she spoke with Alton at the river though. She was wearing a rain jacket that looked so out of character for the Goth-looking fae.
“Who is she? Girlfriend?” Ena asked, looking surprised, and actually happy about it from the way she was smiling, in a dark sort of way.
Alton snorted. “A golden fae interested in stealing your gold.”
Ena scowled at him. “Be serious. We found the place where they’re keeping Muriel, but I wanted to come back to see if you were here and could help.” She smiled at Kayla. “We’re glad he brought a friend to aid us.”
Kayla cast Alton a superior look. Alton just gave her an evil look back, promising she’d be sorry. She so wanted to needle Alton, mention something about his beautiful purple scales, and learn if Ena had seen them already.
But this was a dangerous business and she kept her thoughts to herself.
“So where is Muriel?” Alton asked.
“A mausoleum.”
“Now that’s morbid,” Alton said, and Kayla had to agree.
When they arrived at the cemetery, Kayla glanced at the oak-tree shaded grounds filled with headstones, a tall angel with her hands outspread as if the person buried here had been extra special, others that were old, some that had flowers in holders at their bases, some that had a flat granite marker on the ground. She and the other fae with her remained invisible to humans, though if fae seers were about, it wouldn’t have mattered. At least in Alton’s case. Thankfully, due to Sigrid’s power, Kayla’s was hidden. And Ena seemed to be able to hide her aura too from the fae seers.
They walked toward an older stone mausoleum, and Kayla saw Brett sitting atop it, waiting for them. Only he wasn’t in his fae form but his golden dragon form, and he wasn’t visible to the humans either. She assumed he was wearing his dragon scales in case any fae seers were about. Even though she was invisible to them, she still felt unsafe. Ena shifted into her dragon form, flew off, and perched next to Brett.
Alton let out his breath and considered the lock on the vault. “Anyone want to use their fire on this?”
“Go ahead and try,” Kayla said, as if she was truly in on this with them. It was exciting to be working alongside dragons. She never imagined losing her locket would result in breaking into a mausoleum in the human world and working with the enemy to do so.
“Look what we have here,” a boy called out.
Alton shifted, prepared to protect himself as bolts flew in his direction.
Kayla hit the ground because though they couldn’t see her, the bolts bounced off the mausoleum door behind her.
Brett and Ena flew toward the shooters to the east, and Alton went after another to the north.
Three tall boys wearing jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers ran off, crossbows in hand, yelling. Heart beating furiously and her hands clammy with worry, Kayla bolted from the ground and reached the mausoleum door, then studied the combination lock. Leaning down, she lifted the lock and twisted it one way and then the other, listening carefully, stopping, twisting back again, hearing the clicks with her ultra-sensitive fae hearing. She’d never thought her hearing was that sensitive. Was it also a gift from Sigrid to help her bring the lockets home?
The lock clicked open and Kayla pocketed it so no one could secure the door again. Then she opened the door. The hinges creaked all the way until it was wide enough she could enter. She found a light switch and flipped it on. Spider webs hung from the top of the structure and the stairs leading down into the burial vault. Dust covering the stairs revealed several footprints. The place smelled musty from the dampness. She shivered from the chill in the building and the cold in her bones. This was the creepiest thing she’d ever done.
She climbed down the stairs calling out, “Muriel! Are you down there?”
No one answered. This could be a setup to capture whoever discovered Muriel was supposed to be down here. How had Brett and Ena known? Had the fae seers left them bread crumbs to find their way here?
Kayla tried to fae transport out of the building, just to make sure she could in case she had to. She couldn’t. She could transport within the mausoleum from the point she had been standing to the door, just not outside it. Her skin prickled with unease. The notion of being trapped down here made her heart pound even harder. “Muriel,” she called out.
“It’s a trap!” A woman screamed from somewhere in the bowels of the crypt.
Was it truly Muriel? Or someone pretending to be her? But then she wouldn’t have warned Kayla that it was a trap, she figured.
Kayla had to help the woman however she could. She made her way cautiously toward where she had called out, trying not to make any sound as she stepped on the stone floor in case a fae seer was down here also and was listening for her movement. She had assumed the fae seers were on the outside of the mausoleum in a fight with the dragons up above. And that’s who Muriel was talking about. But if one or two were down here, Kayla would deal with them however she could. If she had been locked down here, she would hope someone would have come to rescue her.
She saw her then, a girl a couple of years older than her dressed in a blue gown and boots, wearing iron manacles around her wrists and standing at the back of the mausoleum. Muriel saw Kayla then, but she quickly looked to her right where a boy was standing with a mesh net in his hands, intently watching the stairs.
Kayla transported to the other side of the crypt in case the guy had heard her footsteps. He rushed forward, unable to see her, but he must have heard her coming. He probably wasn’t used to being around a fae he couldn’t see.
At least she could observe him. He continued toward the stairs and Kayla hurried to see to Muriel. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes red from tears.
“Everyone’s here to rescue you,” Kayla whispered to her as she looked at the manacles. She couldn’t get them off, but thankfully Muriel wasn’t chained to anything in the crypt. “I’ll transport you to the door. We have to walk outside, and I can transport you away from here.”
Muriel quickly nodded. She was a dragon fae, a servant, so she couldn’t be a shifter. She wasn’t Kayla’s enemy because she didn’t hoard gold like the shifters did.
Kayla worried then when none of the dragons were rushing in to help save Muriel. What in the world had happened up above? It didn’t bode well.
Kayla wrapped her arms around Muriel, who was shivering uncontrollably. Then she transported her to the doorway. Feeling nervous about going out into the night in the event fae seers were just waiting to throw a net on Muriel, Kayla saw the
guy in the crypt was still searching for her.
“Ready?” Kayla whispered.
“Yes.”
Kayla wanted to alert the dragons that she had rescued Muriel, but she was afraid if she hung around for any time at all, Muriel would end up in another dungeon of sorts and they might not find her the next time. Still, Kayla had to let them know because she didn’t want any of them having to stay here any longer than they had to, believing Muriel was still a prisoner. She rushed outside with her, saw two boys running toward the open door to the mausoleum, one with a net and the other a crossbow. She quickly transported Muriel to the top of the crypt.
“Howard, are you all right down there?” the kid with the net called out.
“Yeah!”
The other kid readied his crossbow to shoot Muriel, and yelled out, “She’s up there!”
Kayla transported her beyond the gate to the cemetery and called out, “Ena! Brett! I’ve got her!” She paused, waiting for a response. “We can’t wait. We need to get you—” she said to Muriel.
A pained groan nearby caught her attention, and Kayla turned to see Alton in his fae form, lying on his back, his hand covering the place where a bolt had entered his side, blood trickling out. Kayla felt sick to her stomach. Where were Ena and Brett? Had they all been wounded, dying, or dead? Dread pooling in the pit of her stomach, she couldn’t think of that now.
“I’ll come back for him,” Kayla whispered to Muriel.
“We can’t leave him,” Muriel pleaded.
“I’ll leave you someplace safe a short way from here. I’ll come back for him.” Kayla didn’t have time to argue with her. The fae seers were sure to find Alton before long. She wrapped her arms around Muriel and carried her to the hospital rooftop. “Just stay down so that no one can see you up here. I’ll be right back.”
Kayla thought her heart was going to thump right out of her chest as she transported back to see to Alton, and prayed the fae seers hadn’t found him yet. Teens were shouting near the crypt, everyone furious Muriel had gotten away. She grabbed Alton into her arms and when he cried out in pain, she winced.
“Over there!”
She quickly transported Alton to the rooftop where Muriel was.
“What about Ena? Brett?” Muriel asked, her voice laden with tears.
“I don’t know. I know they would have helped if they could have. I need to get you both out of here.”
“We can’t leave them behind,” Muriel insisted.
“I can get an army of dragon fae down here, right? To rescue them?” Kayla said.
“Take Alton first.”
“I will. It will still take time,” she said, tearing off a strip of her skirt and wrapping it around his wound. “If I take him to see Ryker, will he get help for him right away?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Kayla hated leaving Muriel here. Alton was a fighter, but so badly wounded she feared he would die. Muriel served as a lady’s maid and didn’t appear to be a fighter at all. And she was still manacled. “Stay low. I’ll be back.”
“Hurry.”
“I will.” Kayla wrapped her arms around Alton. He briefly opened his eyes and narrowed them, then closed them again. “You totally owe me my locket and everything else you took from me,” she said as she carried him into the black void that was the way they transported from one place to another. Though holding onto someone this way made them lighter than they normally were, she still couldn’t have managed both him and Muriel.
“Muriel,” he said under his breath, and groaned.
“I’m going back for her as soon as I leave you off at Ena and Brett’s castle.”
“Get her.”
“No. You’ll die on me and whoever inherits my treasure won’t feel obligated to give it back. And Sigrid’s too. Since I’ve left poor Muriel behind, which puts her at risk again since she’s wearing iron manacles and I couldn’t remove them, you better not die on me. It’s not just about my treasure and Sigrid’s locket. It’s about putting Muriel in danger when I could have taken her instead.” She didn’t know why she was talking so much. Maybe because she felt so rattled, so worried about leaving Muriel behind and so concerned that Alton wouldn’t make it. Even though she wasn’t exaggerating when she said she wanted her locket and Sigrid’s back, she didn’t want the arrogant dragon to die on her either.
“I thought you would be capable of dodging an archer with a crossbow. How did you ever manage to get hit anyway?” She didn’t expect him to answer her.
He grunted.
“What happened to Brett and Ena?” She didn’t want to hear they were dead. Or wounded even. But why else would they not have come back for them?
“They…flew off…” Alton coughed and she was scared he’d die right then and there because he’d tried to talk.
“Rest,” she scolded. “It was a rhetorical question. You shouldn’t be talking. You die on me and well, you don’t want to know what I’ll do to you then.”
She swore he managed a half chuckle.
When she finally arrived at the castle, she had to lay Alton down on the doorstep and then banged and yelled at the ornate double doors.
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” Ryker called out. But as soon as he opened the door, his face blanched.
“Take care of him. I’m going back for Muriel before anyone finds her. Brett and Ena were dodging bolts. I don’t know what happened to them.” She felt tears prick the back of her eyes. She now saw why the dragon shifters were paid so much money. She decided if she got her locket back, she would never complain about weeding her lavender fields ever again.
“I’ll send reinforcements,” Ryker said, then yelled for someone in the house to help him.
“To the Greenwood Memorial Cemetery. But be careful. Fae seers are armed with crossbows and iron bolts. I’ll return with Muriel as soon as I can.” She quickly squeezed Alton’s hand, and said to Ryker, “He promised me my gold back, the locket most of all, and my friend’s falcon locket also. Just in case he dies, I want you to be the witness.”
She swore Alton lifted one corner of his mouth, but she didn’t think it was a promise to give back her jewelry look. More like a darkly amused look.
Fae travel could be exhausting and by the time Kayla arrived back on the hospital rooftop, she was worn out. As soon as she saw Muriel lying down on top of the roof, her heart went out to her. She hoped she wasn’t ill, and that instead, she was hugging the rooftop to limit her exposure to anyone around there.
“Are you ready?” Kayla asked.
“Shouldn’t you go for Ena and Brett?”
“No. Ryker’s sending reinforcements. Ready?”
Muriel nodded and Kayla gathered her in her arms. And like before, she chatted away as if Muriel wanted to hear her talk incessantly. “Are you okay?” she finally asked.
“Yes. Tired. Scared half to death. Mark wanted so badly to see his foster mother and he did. She died, not knowing him, but he felt better to know he saw her at the last. Then we were taken hostage by those three holy terrors, fae seers, every one of them. And then that girl…” Muriel shook her head.
“We have her in custody. If we have to, we can trade her for Brett and Ena.”
“Then you’d need more than that.”
“Hopefully, the reinforcements sent will reach them and bring them home safely,” Kayla said.
“Who are you? I don’t remember seeing you before. You’re not a dragon shifter, are you?”
“No. Alton has my locket and I came to ask for it back. If you have any influence over him whatsoever, please do use it on him.”
“Me?” Muriel snorted. “Not me. Ena is the only one who has. At least in the past. Now that she’s married to Brett, maybe not.”
Which meant Kayla had to rescue Ena. Or Brett. Since he was the love of her life. Well, and Ena too. If the reinforcements didn’t pan out. “I’m Kayla, by the way.”
“Muriel, Ena’s lady’s maid.”
> “Pleased to meet you, though I wish the circumstances had been better. I would love to lock the fae seers up in that crypt for a week and see how they like it.”
“I would get rid of the key,” Muriel said. “Why does Alton have your locket?”
“Complete misunderstanding. He thought I had left it for him to find while I was bathing in the river.”
Muriel didn’t say anything.
“I mean, swimming. I didn’t want to lose my necklace and so I set it underneath a fern, figuring it would be safe. But you know dragon shifters. They have a nose for gold and he smelled it and took off with it.”
“I’m surprised he would even think of it if he saw you swimming.”
“Well, he did. And I guess he just figured it was lying around, and he found it so it was his. But it isn’t. His.”
“And now you want it back.”
“I have to have it back. It’s my heritage. Not only do I want it, I have to have it. I don’t have a choice.” Kayla wasn’t sure why she had opened up to Muriel, not all the way, but telling her how important it was when she hadn’t planned to tell anyone but the rogue who had it, if nothing else would work on him.
Maybe it was because she felt she and Muriel had escaped death at the hands of the fae seers, and they had something in common now.
“What are you going to do when we get back?” Muriel asked.
“Going back.” As much as Kayla hated to, she felt it her duty to help Ena and Brett, unless the dragon fae made her stay there. She still felt if she helped Ena and her mate, she would be able to convince someone to influence Alton to give up the lockets.
As soon as she arrived at the castle with Muriel, Ryker took her in and one of the other maids hurried to remove her manacles.
“Where is Alton? Is he all right?” Kayla asked.
“The queen’s physician is seeing to him,” Ryker said.
“Did you send dragon shifters to look for Ena and Brett?”
“They have already left. Ena’s brother wished a word with you though.”
Kayla didn’t like Ryker’s serious expression. As if he knew who she was and she was in big trouble. Even if she had saved Alton and Muriel from the fae seers. Dragon fae weren’t to be trusted.
