"How many eggs have you had?" I asked.
Mei Hua closed her eyes. "About ten. She takes them from me just before they’re hatched and gives them to the father for his secrecy."
"Were any of them girls?"
"I hope not. If so, she’ll suffer the same fate as me when she’s older."
"Not if I can help it," I promised.
"How can you help? You’re stuck here with me."
"Joachim never stopped searching for you."
"He never found me."
"Well, now he’s got the dragon embassy on his side. We’ll get out of here."
She smiled at me, and I got the impression she was humoring me. "I’m going to get some rest. You should, too."
"Right," I said. "We have to be ready for our rescue."
Someone had to have seen us flying. I fretted a bit more, but in the end, the effects of flying bareback on a dragon was hell and I fell into a deep sleep.
Mei Hua shifting into dragon form woke me. It was a little creepy in the dark, but with my new eyes I could see her clearly. She was vicious with sharp teeth and a wild black mane, and scales black and red so dark it resembled dried blood. Her large eyes were feral and scared as she paced by her nest.
Sounds of battle were going on above us.
"We’re getting out of here," I said. "I told you they would come for us."
"You go. I can’t leave my eggs unguarded."
"Take them with you." I had already dressed in the clothes and shoes Jack had brought, and tossed her the duffel bag. She reached her claw into the nest and pulled out a beautiful dark blue egg. After wrapping it in one of the silk robes, she placed it in the duffel bag and handed it to me.
"That’s the girl. I feel it. Take her out of here."
"Mei Hua, she should stay with you."
"No." Mei Hua shook her head. "I want her to have a chance I can’t have. Protect her and bring her to Joachim. He’ll know what to do."
"Okay," I said and cradled the duffel bag close to my body. "I’m leaving the phone with you. Hide it and we’ll find you. I promise."
"Do not make promises you cannot keep."
"I don’t," I said and tried the door. It was locked. "Well that was anticlimactic," I said just as the door was ripped off its hinges.
Reed stood there.
"I knew you’d come." I threw my arms around his neck. "Is Jack with you?"
"Are you Mei Hua?" Reed ignored me. "I’ve come to take you back to Joachim."
I let go of Reed. It shouldn’t matter he didn’t come for me. It was the end result that counted, right? An explosion shook the corridor.
"Let’s go. Now," he said.
"Here, Mei Hua, let’s put all your eggs in the duffel bag," I said.
Mei Hua shifted back to human and we layered the eggs with silk robes inside the bag carefully. She gave them to me to carry.
"I’m too valuable for them to let go easily. You’re the lesser threat."
"Move it, ladies," Reed said and led us down another flight of stairs.
"Uh, Reed, not that I’m feeling ungrateful, but aren’t we going the wrong way?"
"There’s too much resistance that way." He pointed up the stairs. "And too much chance of being in an aerial battle. Unless you want to fight your way out instead of sneaking out?"
"No," I said. "Sneaking works for me."
"Then we go out underground."
"You know this is extremely creepy, right?"
"What part? Me rescuing you?"
"No, the cobwebs. Gross. Those spiders are the size of my head."
"They make good eatin’," he said.
"Are you sure you’re feeling all right?"
"Fine, my Queen."
"How did you find us?"
"We followed up on a suspicion."
"And used me for bait?"
"It wasn’t my first choice, but you did say you wanted to be more involved in the investigation. We didn’t fill you in because we wanted it to appear authentic."
"Then Jack is still one of the good guys."
"Yes," Reed said.
Arianna uncoiled around me and a fierce, radiant joy filled me. "I could kiss you."
"You will," Reed said.
Mei Hua gripped my hand tightly.
"It’s all right," I told her. "Reed is one of the good guys, too."
We hit the last corridor, and he hustled us down it, impervious to my screams when rats peeked out the walls and spiders launched themselves as we broke their webs. I screeched and batted at my hair, whimpering slightly when I crushed one and got spider guts all over my hand. Mei Hua breezed through them, letting the spiders crawl over her.
When we came to a barred wooden door, Reed just put his shoulder to it and it splintered. The jungle night beyond was black like a void and colder than I thought it would be. I could feel the legs of a thousand creepy crawlies, but I breathed in freedom. Mei Hua started to weep quietly beside me.
"Mei Hua change. I’ll carry Carolyn, and we can fly out of here."
"She can’t," I blurted out. "Her wings are cut."
Reed swore so viciously in dragon Mei Hua flinched back from him.
"He’s not mad at you," I said.
"I can carry you both."
"No," Mei Hua said. "I’d rather walk for a bit. I want to feel the earth under my feet."
I stared up in the sky. "And I want to avoid the dragon soup up there. We’ll be less visible this close to the ground." I could see many wings blotting out the stars and moon.
"Are there fierce animals out here?" Mei Hua asked
"If there is, it’s going to be one surprised jaguar," I said.
We trudged through the thick jungle, Reed slashing with his knife before he gave up and shifted and just cleared the path with his bulk. I worried about leaving a Reed-sized trail to follow, but for right now, the sky battle was taking precedence.
"Do you think there are any snakes?" I asked. The spiders were bad. The rats had been worse, but I drew the line at snakes.
"They won’t harm you," Reed said.
"Oh, you’ve spoken to their representative then?"
"You are a serpent, too," he said.
"There’s no need to be nasty."
"You can get on my back if that would make you feel better. You both can."
I was about to protest, but Mei Hua scrambled up and reached down for her eggs. I handed her up her eggs and decided that being on top of a massive black dragon was probably safer.
"Don’t you dare fly," I told him.
"As my Queen commands," he said drily and lumbered along like a dinosaur until we found the road.
"Reed, what if the cultists are out tonight?"
"They will have noticed the sudden activity."
I want my tiara back, Arianna said and Mei Hua turned around to peer at me.
"Is there someone else here?" she asked.
"It’s a long story."
Headlights appeared in the distance.
"Is that friend or foe?" I asked.
"Most likely," Reed said.
Smart ass. "Who did you bring here?"
"The Connecticut embassy."
"The whole embassy?"
"Against my mother’s army. Yes. Now quiet. My scales won’t reflect, so let’s see what’s coming to visit."
It was another Mexican army jeep and Reed overturned it with a mighty blow. He followed it up with a great roar that had the two soldiers in it running for cover. Flipping it back over, he lowered his neck to the ground.
"Ladies, your chariot awaits."
Mei Hua and the eggs rested in the back and I rode shotgun with Reed as he hauled ass toward Cancun, which was as far away from Esmeralda’s keep as you could get and still be in Mexico.
Reed slammed on the brakes.
"What?" I nearly shrieked at him.
He pointed up. At first, I couldn’t see it. Then a falling mass came closer to earth. A Quetzalcoatl. "Why isn’t he flying?"
W
hen a Western dragon came into view, fire erupted from his throat. It lit up the night sky and engulfed the Quetzalcoatl in flames.
"Is he going to hit us?"
"No," he said
"Then why did we stop?"
Still burning, the Quetzalcoatl hit the ground near the path we’d made out of the fortress. The jungle started to catch fire, but the liquid in the plants soon put it out.
"That was Bernardo. He will not bother you again," Reed said.
I hitched in a breath and couldn’t say anything while he drove away. I kept craning my neck up to see if there were any other falling dragons.
"How did you find us?" Mei Hua said into the awkward silence.
"Joachim and Zhang compared notes. We weren’t entirely sure you were here, but when Bernardo," Reed gestured back to the flaming dragon. "Approached Jack about kidnapping Carolyn in return for breeding rights, we knew he had to have a Queen backing his play. He would have never risked it if he hadn’t."
"How could she trap Mei Hua when her own daughter was kidnapped?" I asked.
"I believe Mei Hua’s fate is what she would have had planned for Arianna if Niall wasn’t aware of her birth."
"That’s disgusting."
"My mother has very select morals."
"I suppose it’s too soon to tell if she’s been stealing other dragons’ hoards?"
"She was the prime suspect. Her hoard is eclectic, full of fine arts and jewels. But when we sent our agents in they found nothing out of the ordinary except for activity going to and from Mei Hua’s cell on a daily basis."
"Every day?" I gasped at Mei Hua.
"For food and necessities. There hasn’t been a dragon in rut recently because my eggs need my attendance."
"Who’s the father?" I asked.
"It could be one of several, but we’ll know once they hatch."
"And then he’ll be punished, right, Reed?"
"It’s Mei Hua’s decision," he said.
"He will be executed most painfully," Mei Hua said. "Along with his predecessors."
"How many?"
"Over one hundred."
"Can you remember all of them to bring them to justice?"
"I remember most, but Esmeralda knows them all. She accepted their tribute."
"Why would she help us?"
"To save herself from punishment," Reed said.
"She’s not going to get punished?" I was outraged.
"She’s still a Queen. And in childbearing range. Her breeding hiatus will be stopped and things will go back to normal."
"What’s to stop her from doing this again?"
"Zhang made a deal with the Order of Dragon Slayers. They will have a base in her pyramid in exchange for not killing her."
"That ought to cramp the Queen Bitch’s style," I said.
"Indeed."
"Sorry, I forgot she was your mother."
"That’s quite all right. She often forgets it herself."
"Would she really have voted to have you executed?"
"She saw I was getting close to discovering what she was doing, and that’s why she gave me to you. So when I showed no sign of stopping investigations, it probably would be easier to have me taken out of the picture."
"Seems easier to send assassins after you."
"She tried that." He held my gaze. "It failed."
"Reed, I think we’re being chased down." I glanced back at the large headlights.
"One way to find out," he said and killed the lights. He drove the jeep off the road and into the brush; it was a bumpy ride and I feared for Mei Hua’s eggs. He jumped out and shifted as the truck rumbled by and then stopped up ahead.
"Are they Esmeralda’s men or cultists?" I asked.
"I’m not going back there," Mei Hua warned and shifted also.
"I’m not going to be sacrificed." I thought really hard, but nothing happened. I figured I had one spew of goo in me from the chalupas and the stress of the evening.
"You are both safe with me," Reed said and then flew off toward the truck.
"Uh, hello," I said to Mei Hua. "We’re not with him." I tracked his progress in the night sky, glad my new vision let me see him as clear as day. If I could see him, then he could see us. I just had to trust that he could get back to us if we ran into trouble. I bit my thumbnail.
"He is very brave," she said and hunkered her bulk behind the jeep.
Reed landed on the roof of the truck and picked it up in all four claws. It was a colossal effort and I saw him strain until it lifted with him. There were shouts and some men fired pistols at him. When the machine guns started to come out, he let the truck drop. All four tires exploded on impact and soldiers tumbled out in various states of broken bones and contusions. Reed sprayed poison on the lot and took the impetus out of their enthusiasm. Then he flew back to us with a lazy drape of his wings.
"I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist you climb on me again and I can fly you to safety."
Mei Hua wasted no time returning to human form and grabbing her eggs.
"Have I mentioned that it’s cold and exhausting flying cross country?"
"We’re not going back to Connecticut."
"Oh good."
"Tonight, anyway. Get on, Carolyn. It’s just a few miles more to safety."
A few more miles to a dragon isn’t just down the road. We ended up on his ranch in Texas.
Chapter Sixteen
Eggs belong in the rookery.
It must have been the plan all along to arrive in Texas because Joachim was waiting up for us.
"Mei Hua, forgive me," he begged and went to hug her, but she flinched back and cried.
A large Mexican woman pushed by him and grabbed her hands. "You come with me," she said in broken English. "I will take you upstairs. There will be talking later."
Mei Hua, clutching her eggs to her chest, allowed herself to be led away. Joachim blinked back emotion, but I saw the moisture gather in his eyes. He turned to me. "I am glad you are well also. Jane was inconsolable."
"I should call her," I said. "Is there a phone?"
Reed escorted me inside, shouldering Joachim out of the way, so he bounced off the wall, and led me up to the master suite. At least, I was assuming it was the master suite. The bed was king-sized and pillows were piled all above it.
"If you think you’re getting lucky after the shit you pulled," I started to say, but was cut off by the look in Reed’s eyes.
Reed’s jaw clenched. "After your experiences tonight, I assumed that would be the last thing you would want."
"I saw an ugly side of dragon life. For all your promises that Queens are revered, they can’t choose who to love."
"Love has nothing to do with this. It’s survival."
"Nothing will deter them from doing this to another Queen. Does every Queen have a Mei Hua in their basement?"
Reed shook his head. "No."
"But you don’t know that, do you?"
"I know Mei Hua is a gift. She’s one of a kind."
That stung. I blinked back tears. "You should go to her, then," I managed to get out. I was proud my voice was even. "She’s been through a lot."
"Yes, she has. But I don’t want to be with her right now. I want to be with you."
I ran into his arms and started to sob. "I was so scared."
Reed cursed. "Nidhogg, damn Zhang for this idea. I hate that he used you as bait."
"I don’t mind that part."
"I mind." He hugged me.
"You could have told me about it beforehand." I buried my face in his shirt. He smelled like home.
Mine.
"I didn’t find out until Jack was in the air. I came as fast as I could."
He came for me.
"I don’t think I’m cut out for the commando life." I blinked back tears.
"Oh, I don’t know." He kissed my forehead. "You attacked one of my best agents and earlier this week, the director of the dragon embassy."
"I didn’t say I did
n’t have the balls for it, Reed. I don’t have the strength." I sighed. "So where does that leave me? Whoring for daddy-wannabe dragons? I can see why Joachim’s cure is tempting."
Reed’s gripped tightened further. "It’s too late for you now, you know. Your eyes, your breath."
"That sounds like a bad love poem." I gave a half laugh. "Yeah, I got that. I still feel I’m in over my head. You all have centuries on me and, as you’ve said, I’m too naive to fish through all the bullshit. I’ve only gotten this far because I have Arianna in me somehow."
She roused a bit in the back of my mind, but fell still shortly after. I wasn’t sure if her power was weakening, or if she was worn out by our ordeal.
"It will all work out. I know it’s overwhelming for you." He released me. "I’m going to secure the perimeter. Sleep. You are safe here. Once you are well rested, we can decide on what to do next."
I missed his arms around me. "I’m sick of being kidnapped."
"You have my word it will not happen again."
"Please don’t make promises you can’t keep."
"I never do." He gave me a smoldering look and then strode out.
A kiss would have been nice. Was that too much to ask for?
I fell into the big bed. When I woke up, it felt like I hadn’t slept for days, even though it was a full eighteen hours. I searched for Reed in the room, but it was empty.
This ranch could be mine, I thought assessing the ornate ceiling fan. Reed owes me a house. Nah, too remote and too darn close to those cultists.
My gaze caught on a pile of clothes on the chair. It was a pair of Levi’s and a sturdy plaid work shirt.
Finally, some gear that could stand up to the elements. I wasn’t riding on any more dragons, not unless it was Reed in human form and all hot and sweaty. In the shower, I used up all the hot water before reluctantly stepping out and getting dressed. After braiding my hair, I pinned it up so I didn’t have to waste the time to blow it dry.
I went downstairs and stopped at the railing when I saw Mei Hua kissing Reed. It was only my few futile accounts of assaulting dragons that kept me from attacking. His back was to me with his hands firmly on her hips, while her long fingernails snaked through his hair and rested on his shoulders. He wasn’t holding her close, yet he wasn’t pushing her away.
The Queen's Wings: Book 1 of The Emerging Queens Series Page 17
