by Donna Grant
As if knowing that would be her answer, Tamir pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. “It has all of the information needed.”
“Thank you.” She put it in her pocket and glanced at Tamir. He had worry lines bracketing his mouth and a frown that had yet to disperse. But it was the look of fear in his dark eyes that told her he was deeply troubled. “What is it?”
“Evil,” he whispered. He came to a stop and faced her.
She halted and looked at him. She opened her mouth to ask him what he was talking about, but he spoke before she could.
“It’s everywhere. Don’t you feel it?” he asked urgently, his eyes darting around.
She put her hand on his arm, hoping it would calm him. “We’ve had something traumatic affect us. We’re all feeling out of sorts.”
“No.” He gave a firm shake of his head. “We shouldn’t be here or messing with those bones. The evil wants what you’ve found, and it won’t stop until it has it.”
“I’m not going to let anyone get to my dragon.” She was a little taken aback to hear the anger in her words.
Tamir swallowed and looked away. “It’s wrong. All of this is. We should leave and never return.”
He walked past her into the observatory. She watched the door close behind him, shaken by the ferocity of his words. He believed what he’d spoken to the depths of his soul. She’d known Tamir a long time, and she’d never seen him like this.
Faith looked around the quiet village. The few people she spotted were all staring at her. Did they feel the same as Tamir?
Suddenly, she wished Dmitri was there. It wasn’t just his calming presence, but Muscles had a way of looking at a situation. And right now, she could use some help.
It wasn’t as if she could seek him out since he’d remained behind at the site. Perhaps that’s where she should’ve stayed, as well.
Faith pivoted and walked to the house at the end of the road. With so few residents, there was only a volunteer emergency Coastguard team, volunteer firefighters, and a nurse.
She knocked on the door and smiled at the older woman who acted as nurse for Fair Isle. “Hi. I have the information to send … the body … home.”
The woman’s smile was sad. “Ach, dear. Police from Orkney will be here in the morn. You can speak to them about such matters.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you.”
She turned away as the door was closing. Apparently, the villagers didn’t want her there any more than Tamir did. Faith drew out the piece of paper as she made her way back to the hall. She turned it around and around between her fingers.
How had—she opened the paper and looked at the name to remind herself again—Roger died? There hadn’t been a mark on his body. He was young for a stroke, and since workers took physicals before being allowed on the dig site, there hadn’t been a pre-existing condition. Though that didn’t rule out a heart attack.
It wasn’t unheard of for a younger man to suffer a heart attack, but it was still odd. And for him to be found naked in his room …
Something didn’t add up.
She looked back over her shoulder and saw a figure behind her. It was a man, and he appeared to be watching her. When she stopped and stared, he ducked behind a building.
Tamir felt sure that evil was there. Roger’s unexplained death did tip the scales in that direction, but an autopsy could reveal a number of things. For all she knew, Roger had died of a drug overdose.
With a shrug, she turned and hurried out of the cold and into the hall. It seemed odd to see faces she barely registered at the dig site standing all around her.
As she walked among them, she heard them talking about Roger. Everyone seemed to have some anecdote to share about him. How he liked to quote movies and had an affinity for picking up all kinds of accents.
Apparently, he also loved to drink. But that could apply to many of the individuals in the building that night, so she didn’t pay much attention to that.
She saw Tamir standing in the back corner alone, his gaze on the floor. His posture let everyone know that he didn’t want to be bothered, and they gave him a wide berth.
Faith decided not to bother him either. She continued walking among the others, occasionally pausing to hear some story or another about Roger.
Most everyone liked him, though a few talked about how he would do anything to get out of working. That made her frown since he was a volunteer. It was a half hour later that she learned he had recently changed his major to archeology and was at the dig for extra credit.
Normally, Tamir let her know when someone was at a dig because of his or her major, and not because it was of interest. Did Tamir not know? Or had he just forgotten to mention it to her?
She put it aside and sipped her wine while she thought about her own mortality. With her mother’s death a few months earlier, and now Roger’s, it was nearly impossible not to think about it.
Which led her to think about finding more joy and happiness in her life outside of work.
Which, of course, led her to think about Muscles.
She blew out a breath. She really had to stop thinking about him. So she had a bit of a crush on him. Big deal. It wasn’t the first time.
You sure about that?
Fine. So it had been a few years since she’d had a crush.
You want to tear his clothes off and lick him from head to toe. It’s not a crush.
No, it wasn’t a crush. It was inescapable, unstoppable, make-you-want-to-howl-at-the-moon desire.
And it made her heart skip a beat every time she thought about it.
She fanned herself in an attempt to cool down. It was pointless, but she couldn’t stop herself. Just as she couldn’t halt her thoughts from turning to all sorts of scenarios about her kissing Muscles.
Perhaps she needed to cool off. She made her way to the side door and walked outside. She lifted her face upward and took several deep breaths as the cold air washed over her skin.
She opened her eyes and saw the thick clouds rolling slowly in the sky. Muscles had said another storm was coming. The evidence sat above her, gradually building once more.
Last night had been horrid, and that hadn’t even had precipitation. How much worse would it be when the rain did come?
She turned to head back inside when she saw two people walking away. One was a female she recognized from the dig. The woman had long, dark hair. Faith never saw the man’s face.
Why then did she hear Tamir’s words from earlier?
Evil.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dmitri finished exploring the last cave. He should feel better that no other dragon bones were there, but he couldn’t manage it.
With Con’s news about Usaeil, and the picture of his King and the Fae queen together going viral all over the world, Dmitri knew he should be at Dreagan.
Then again, there was the matter of Dr. Reynolds and the dragon skeleton. Now that he was alone, he didn’t worry about being seen and launched himself to the top of the cliffs with a jump.
It was the closest he could get to flying—for now. Even that little bit was a risk, and not one he could take often.
He walked the area where the tents stood with his mind in turmoil. The Dark were there. Dmitri could easily—and eagerly—take care of them.
Matter of fact, he was itching for just such a fight. The Dark had put the spotlight on Dreagan with the taping of their battle.
The Kings couldn’t turn the tables on the Fae, because the Dark couldn’t care less if the mortals knew about them. It was too bad the Kings didn’t feel the same way.
His head whipped around when he heard the sound of a chopper. His heightened senses picked up the vibration much sooner than a human’s would. And his enhanced eyesight was able to see the helicopter flying toward the airport.
It was most likely someone to claim the body, but with them would come a human who would soon learn that the dig worker died without explanation.
That would lead
to an investigation into everyone at the site. He needed to get rid of the Dark well before then. One death was enough. Any more, and the spotlight would be shining on Fair Isle, as well.
Now that all the mortals were at the village, leaving the bones alone, the Dark would head his way. All Dimitri had to do was sit and wait for them.
He’d never been so relieved to have Faith and the others gone than he was at that moment. He would guard the remains of his dragon kin with his very life.
His head turned in the direction of the village. Faith was safe. She was surrounded by others who would watch out for her.
“She’ll be safe,” he said aloud.
But voicing his wishes wouldn’t make them come true. Not with the Dark Fae walking around.
His oath to protect mankind drifted through his mind. He had the means to defend Faith and all the others on Fair, but to do so meant showing them who he was—the very thing Con had forbidden him to do.
How could the Kings continue to protect the humans and not do it in their true form? The Kings were constantly fighting with one hand tied behind their backs while the Dark—as well as Ulrik—had an entire arsenal at their disposal without caring who saw them or the outcome.
Dimitri turned on his heel and ran to the edge of the cliffs. He dove over the side, tucking his body to roll once before he landed on the ledge before Faith’s cave.
He strode inside and checked on the bones before he moved into the shadows and waited for the Dark.
Because they would come. It was what they did.
* * *
“I’m sorry, but could you repeat that?” Faith asked the Deputy Inspector standing before her.
He looked at her with suspicious, dull gray eyes. “Fair Isle doesna get many murders with it having such a meager population.”
“I understood that part.” She was tired and frustrated, and D.I. Batson was not making things easy.
“When we learned about the lack of proof regarding how Mr. Thomas died, we brought in a doctor to perform an autopsy.”
She nodded while the inspector spoke. “Yes, yes. I understood that part, as well.”
“Then what part did you no’ get, Dr. Reynolds? The section where I said there was no evidence of how Mr. Thomas died?”
“That’s it. Right there. That part.” She stared, waiting for him to elaborate.
He drew in a deep breath and released it. “I have nothing else to say.”
“I’m afraid you’ve got that wrong, D.I. Batson. There is always some explanation of how a person passes away. Perhaps you need to find another physician. One that can actually figure out how Roger died.”
The way his gaze narrowed had nothing to do with him taking offense to what she’d said, and everything to do with him hiding something.
“You know how he died.” She took a step back, appalled. “Why won’t you tell me? I may not have known his name, but he was part of my crew. I’m responsible for him. I have to tell his family.”
“That has already been done, Dr. Reynolds.”
She briefly closed her eyes as the truth settled around her. “He was killed, wasn’t he?”
“He was.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” she demanded, anger now taking hold.
Batson merely raised a brow. “I wanted to see your reaction. Everyone confirmed you weren’t in the village last night, and when I went to ask the man guarding the site, I couldna find him.”
Where was Muscles? But then she knew. In the cave. No way Batson would climb down to the cave. “Dmitri is standing guard over my find.”
“That’s what your assistant, Tamir, said, as well.” Batson crossed his arms over his chest. “You didna kill Mr. Thomas.”
“No, I didn’t. But I would like to know how he died.”
“His heart shriveled to the size of an egg.”
Faith had known the reason would be horrific, but she hadn’t expected it to be so … odd. “How does that happen?”
“It doesna. We’re ruling Mr. Thomas’s death a homicide.”
She had been sitting in the nurse’s front room for hours, waiting for the doctor to finish the autopsy. When she walked outside, the sun was sinking into the horizon behind thick, dark clouds.
There was a murderer out there. Was it one of her people, or a local? Did it even matter? A man was dead, a man that had been part of her team.
The first drop of rain landed on her cheek. The second, on the tip of her nose. She wiped off the two and looked upward. As soon as she did, the sky opened up.
She was soaked within minutes as she ran toward the B&B. The dense rainfall made it difficult for her to see, especially with her head down. She slammed into the side of a motorcycle and grabbed her thigh, howling in pain.
“Damn it to hell,” she growled and sidestepped around the bike.
She only got twenty yards or so before she ran into Tamir. Faith bounced back and looked at him. He stood in the rain, staring straight through her.
“Tamir?” she shouted over the rain.
He blinked and focused on her face. “Faith.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know.”
She shivered as the rain soaked through her jacket and sweater. Dmitri. He had the cave for shelter, but it wasn’t right to leave him out there in this. “I need to go to the site.”
“The storm is going to get worse.”
“Exactly,” she said. “Dmitri needs to be here with us.”
Tamir stood there for a second more before he motioned for her to follow him. “We’ll go together, then.”
She didn’t hesitate to rush to the van and hurriedly climb inside. As soon as the engine roared to life, she turned on the heat and rubbed her hands together.
Her mind drifted back to the night before and Dimitri standing against the wind as if daring it to try and break him. Muscles was the type of man who could never be broken.
He wasn’t just strong in body. He was strong in mind and soul. She saw it in his eyes as he looked at the world around him as if it were his kingdom.
That made her smile. He would probably love that she thought of him as a king. What man wouldn’t?
A king like him needed a queen who would stand just as strong. Someone who could bend but never break. The kind of woman she was not.
She wasn’t ashamed of it. Life had dealt her a blow with her father, but the love of her mother had made up for it. Yet it was her father’s actions that shaped the woman she was now.
Trusting someone enough to give them her heart was not an action she’d ever wanted to experience. She’d been infatuated before. She’d crushed on guys. But there had never been anyone who made her want to forget everything just to be with them.
It happened for some people. Those people who stood strong against the wind. People like Ronnie. And look what Ronnie had found? A love that even a cynic like Faith could see and practically touch it was so strong.
Faith’s mother had often joked that in this life, she was meant to be a mother only. That in another life, she would find someone.
Perhaps it was the same for Faith. She was fine with that. Her work was fulfilling enough to stave off the lonely nights. Not that she allowed herself those kinds of nights. There was always too much work to do.
She blinked through the windshield as the wipers worked frantically to clear it of water. The white flap of one of the remaining tents could be seen through the downpour.
Had they already arrived? She couldn’t believe she’d spent the entire drive lost in her thoughts. Apparently, that didn’t bother Tamir as he seemed lost just as deeply in his own mind.
He parked the van close to the main tent. “It’s much worse here than in the village.”
“It sure seems that way.” She leaned one way and then the other, hoping for a glimpse of Muscles. “Surely he saw our lights.”
“Unless he’s in the cave.”
Of course. “Do you know his cell number?”
&nb
sp; Tamir pulled out his phone and tried to call, but the line wouldn’t connect. “I think it’s the storm.”
“I’m not leaving without him.”
“You can’t seriously be considering propelling down the cliff in this weather?”
She zipped up her jacket. “I wouldn’t leave you out there.”
“Yeah, but he’ll survive it. Have you seen those muscles of his?”
She’d done more than that. She’d felt them. And how glorious they were. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve lost one member of my team. I’ll not lose another.”
“And we can’t lose our leader. I’ll go.”
She grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving the van. “You don’t want to be here at all. I’m not letting you go down.”
He looked out the window, his lips flattening. “All right. Let’s compromise. I’ll go down, but you stay at the top and watch. I’m a better climber than you anyway.”
“Deal,” she said. Tamir was a better climber, and she wasn’t in any hurry to die. “Let’s get moving so we can get back to the village and into warm clothes.”
They got out of the vehicle and walked as fast as they could against the gale-force winds to the cliff. The gusts stung her face, making it impossible to see anything while she faced the storm. The only relief came when she put her back to it, but the power of the rain made it feel like blunt bullets slamming into her.
Finally, Tamir was harnessed and went over the side. She put her hand over her eyes to shield them as she turned and looked down.
Tamir shouted something.
“What?” she yelled.
He pointed to her. She straightened, confused. Then she began to turn around.
Just as a hand slammed between her shoulder blades and sent her over the cliff.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Dmitri’s breath locked in his chest when he saw Faith tumble off the cliff. He didn’t think, didn’t worry about the outcome. He jumped, shifting into a dragon and unfurling his wings.
He caught a current and headed straight to her. Faith’s screams were drowned out by the storm, but he could hear the terrified pitch.
There was no time for him to make a mistake. He dipped a wing, turning as close to the cliffs as he could. His back leg scraped against the jagged rocks. With a flap of wings, he was able to reach out a claw and snatch her out of the air.
