“Oh, hi, Mr. Novak,” she said breathlessly.
Then the dragon himself appeared behind her, naked from the waist up.
To my surprise, he didn’t even look in my direction. His eyes were fixed on Sylvia. Approaching her from behind, he slid a palm over the front of her neck and gently bent her head back until it touched his chest. He dipped down and kissed her full on the mouth. His tan form was so imposing, his hands so broad as he settled them either side of her hips, it looked like he could crush her midriff into a pulp with a slight squeeze.
Well, it certainly doesn’t look like I’ve woken anyone up…
After lifting his mouth from hers several moments later, finally, he looked up to see who had knocked on his door. His blue eyes were hooded and misty as he met my gaze.
I cleared my throat.
“King Derek,” he said, his voice smoky.
“Jeriad,” I said, unamused by the wait. “Would you be willing, along with two of your comrades, to make a journey to Egypt?”
He paused. “Egypt?”
I’d forgotten that I was talking to a creature who’d only recently arrived in this human realm. He wasn’t familiar with Earth’s countries. The only place he’d visited was The Shade.
“Egypt is a country… But more specifically, our destination is a place called The Oasis. I’m not sure if you’re aware of the problems my son has been having.”
“My love mentioned his troubles briefly.” He ran a hand over Sylvia’s stomach. “It’s because he was born to be a fire wielder, is it not?”
I heaved a sigh. “That may or may not be the case… We tried to turn him back into a human, when he might’ve developed fire powers just like my daughter. But now there’s no choice to turn back. The turning failed and he’s stuck as a vampire. We’re trying to figure out how and why this is. And we believe The Oasis holds answers.”
“What exactly do you need us for?” the shifter asked. “You want to scorch the place?”
“No,” I said firmly. “We do not want to scorch the place. At least, that is not my plan. The problem is, we don’t know exactly what we will find there. We know that The Oasis is home to witches and vampires, but I’m hoping that we won’t need you for anything. It’s just in case something goes wrong and we are in need of extra force that I would like three of you to accompany us.”
He moved his head down toward Sylvia again and caressed her cheek with his mouth, turning it three shades pinker, if that was even possible. Then he raised his eyes back to me.
“I’m willing to help,” he said, “and I’m sure two of my fellow dragons will be agreeable also. But when would we leave?”
“Now. I need you at the Port.”
A flicker of disappointment played across Sylvia’s face, as her hands tightened around Jeriad’s wrists.
The dragon too looked irritated at the thought of leaving her, but he nodded. “Very well.”
I stepped away and turned around, the sound of the door shutting behind me.
Hopefully, it would be no more than fifteen minutes before the dragons showed up. And by now, if all had gone according to plan, the rest of our army would be waiting for me. Except the witches… I was counting on Ibrahim to gather them together.
I made my way swiftly to the Port. I was glad to see Ibrahim already there along with all the witches, werewolves, and vampires. Approaching the warlock, I asked, “Has Corrine still not been found?”
He shook his head, his forehead wrinkled with worry.
There wasn’t a lot more to be said on that subject. We weren’t going to wait for her, so we could only hope that she would show up in the meantime and be here when we returned.
Three dragons appeared in the sky only seven minutes later. Their heavy wings beat forcefully, causing the trees to sway to and fro. They touched down in the clearing before the Port, their weight sending tremors through the ground.
Taking in the army, now complete, I couldn’t help but feel that it was excessive. Because despite Corrine’s reaction, based on what Ben and River had seen of The Oasis during their stay, I was still hoping that compared to other expeditions we had been on in the past, this one would be fairly simple…
Chapter 7: Ben
I did what I could to comfort River after she told me what had happened. I gathered her in my arms and held her close, trying to think of something I could say to reassure her.
I was surprised that she didn’t cry. Although she looked close to it, she held back the tears. Her family was everything to her. For her to remain composed at a time like this showed a deeper strength to River than I had previously imagined.
I brushed my lips against her forehead as I held her in my arms. “We’ll find your family,” I said. “Just like we saved your sister before, we’ll figure out a way to save all of them this time.”
“Hopefully it will be easier this time than last,” she said, swallowing hard, “since we will have so much help from The Shade’s residents.”
I nodded, hoping that it would indeed be easy. I felt like I was at the end of my tether. Not being able to turn back into a human was the final straw for me. I just wanted to be normal, and I would do anything to make myself that again. To regain my life. My sanity.
“It’s time,” Caleb called down from the top of the hatch. He had been watching the beach for my father’s signal.
Griffin, Rose, my grandfather, my mother, River and I left the control room, and climbed up through the hatch onto the roof of the submarine.