Addie and Brett smiled.
"Yeah, but we got to go," Bryan said. He turned to Brett, "Get well and wait for us, okay? We'll pick you up from the hospital as soon as you can be released."
The boys left the room and shut the door and Addie said out loud, "Brett, you can't take them with us. Ena would kill you."
The police officer stared in the vicinity of the voice, saw nothing, and said, "What the hell?"
And that's when Cook made her appearance. Addie beamed and hugged her. Then she frowned. "Is everything all right?"
Cook was looking at the police officer who was staring at the space Addie and Cook now occupied.
"Is he a fae seer?" Lila asked.
Brett closed his eyes. He couldn't believe this. He opened his eyes and shook his head.
"Can you leave yet?" Lila asked Brett. "Ena's worried. We all are."
"He can't go anywhere yet," the police officer said, to the women he couldn't see.
"Dragon fae," Brett explained to the police officer. "They're invisible."
The police officer shook his head and began to search the room for a device, walkie-talkie, something that the women had to be using.
"I think I'm going to need some backup," the officer said into his phone.
Great.
"I think some kids are planning on breaking Brett out of the hospital," he added.
"We're not kids," Lila said, making herself visible. She walked over to the bed and took Brett's hand. "Are you really all right?"
"Yeah. I've felt better, but I want to rejoin you."
The police officer's mouth was hanging agape.
Addie turned visible and said to the officer. "We're the fae. Dragon fae." Then she smiled.
"I want everyone to put your hands up," the officer said. "Except for you, Brett."
The ladies vanished. Or at least the police officer would believe they had.
"What the hell?"
Then Bryan and Mark barged into the room, this time wearing combat boots, not quite fae like, and camo pants and shirts—definitely not fae garments, and stopped suddenly to see two fae in the room now. "More of them?" Bryan said.
"You see them?" the police officer asked.
"Uh, yeah. We're fae seers," Bryan said.
"They want to go with us," Addie said.
"Ena will never allow it," Lila said.
"We can help her reach the hawk fae kingdom," Mark hurried to say.
They heard more footfalls headed toward the hospital room. Police? They had to act now.
"Can you take them, Lila?" Brett asked, hoping that they meant what they said, and that if that was so, they had already armed themselves.
"Ena will be furious." Lila grabbed each of them by an arm and they cried out, then all three of them vanished. Right before the police officer's eyes.
The others were nearly to the door when Addie said, "Grab your stuff."
Brett took hold of his bundle of fae clothes and Addie seized his arm and transported him to the police evidence vault. He didn't have time to dress when she snatched his weapons and wrapped her arms around him. "Hold tight," she whispered. And then they transported, the world a black void, the wind swirling around them, her light, warm breath on his neck.
"If Ena didn't want you for her own, I wouldn't mind having you for a mate," Addie said, and before Brett could get over the shock of her confession, they were in camp and all hell was breaking loose.
Worse, Brett was in no shape to fight while he was wearing only a hospital gown.
Chapter 10
As a dragon, Ena roared at Brett and he knew at once she wasn't happy that he had asked Lila to transport Bryan and Mark to the campsite in the phantom fae land. They were all surrounded by tattooed phantom fae who were armed with swords, daggers, bows and arrows, and long pipes. He wasn't sure what they intended to use those for, but he suspected they were weapons of some sort.
Everyone in Ena's party was readied to fight—except Brett who was hurrying to get dressed. And Mark and Bryan who looked like they were in shock to see the tattooed phantom fae all bearing weapons. He noticed then, both his friends at least had daggers.
As a dragon still, even Ena watched Brett while he tried to pull his pants on underneath the hospital gown. Could he help it that they had been in such a rush to get here that he hadn't had time to properly dress?
"The fae are here because…?" Brett asked. Hadn't they already paid the toll when Ena gave the man the ring?
"They didn't like that we overstayed our welcome. We were supposed to move through the area quickly," Ryker said, sounding irritated.
"You should have gone without us," Brett said, though it was a little too late to make the remark. "We would have found you." Or at least Addie would have found the party for them. "So what do we do now?"
Ena turned back into her fae form. "Going into No Man's Land would have left the two of you in a much more dangerous situation," Ena said.
"Are they unseelie?" Mark asked.
"No," Ryker said. "Why are these humans here?"
"They offered to help. I thought we might need their services. They know how to fight well."
"Are we going to do something?" Bryan asked, sounding petulant. Not the way to make friends with the dragon shifter fae.
"The two of you, silence!" Ena said.
Brett swore Bryan looked like wanted to kill her. Mark also. Ena appeared to feel the same way about them. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.
Ena said something to the man who she'd given the ring to earlier in a strange language.
He shook his head. Not good.
She said something else.
He turned his attention from her to Brett. And Brett really didn't like the look in the man's eyes—dark, fathomless, his face expressionless. He pointed a tanned finger at him. Then he said a few words in that same strange language.
The phantom fae couldn't want him. He couldn't.
Ena spoke again to the man. He nodded and spoke again.
Ena glanced back at Brett. "He wants you. He said you'll live. If we turn you over to him, the rest of us and the wagons full of treasure can go. Quickly. No more delays."
"Why does he want me?"
Ena shook her head. "He won't say. If we stay and fight, we may all die, or we leave you with them. I will give you the choice."
"No," Addie said. "We can't leave him here."
"Their numbers are too great," Ena said softly. "I made a bad decision when I chose to stay here and wait for the two of you. But I didn't believe we could traverse No Man's Land without the two of you either. And we had to rest before we crossed the border."
"We can't leave him here," Bryan said.
Mark agreed.
"You can stay and fight. The rest of us will go," Ena said.
As much as he hated to be left behind, imagining all kinds of hideous scenarios, dungeon stay, torture, sacrifice, Brett had promised to help Ena reach the hawk fae lands safely. If this was the only way in which they could do it, he would stay with the phantom fae.
"I will stay. Go," Brett said, afraid the phantom fae might still attack if they didn't react quickly enough, or that he'd chicken out and change his mind.
"You've got to be crazy," Mark said. "You don't have a clue as to what they want to do with you."
Bryan just stared at him as if he were nuts.
Ena said in a hushed voice, "He wanted you to stay before when you were dying."
Which meant? What? "I'm staying. He said I'll live. Go." Maybe Ena could bargain for his safe return later. Their other choice wasn't a choice at all. He didn't want anyone to die because of him.
Brett began moving toward the man who seemed in charge. Ena's eyes were filled with tears. He started to return the daggers and sword to her, knowing the phantom fae would take the weapons from him anyway.
She shook her head and said, "You have earned them. They are yours to keep."
"They will take them from me and keep them.
I won't be able to hold onto them anyway."
"But there are only a dozen or so of them," Mark said. "We can handle them."
"They are phantom fae, human," Ena said. "There are hundreds waiting to prove you wrong, hidden like shadows, phantoms in the forest."
When Ena refused to take Brett's weapons, he sheathed them again and stalked toward the fae. "I will go with you if you will allow the rest to pass unharmed," Brett said, as if he had any real say in the matter.
The fae bowed his head a little, then seized Brett's arm and vanished. And the rest of the phantom fae disappeared along with them.
"We go now," Ena said. "Can either of you drive a wagon?"
Mark and Bryan were staring at where Brett had disappeared, looking stunned.
"Bryan?" Ena said, recalling his name, but she didn't know the other's. "And your name?"
"Mark."
"Can either of you drive a wagon?"
"We can't leave him here," Mark said, sounding furious now.
"Then stay and fight the fae. Ryker, tie the reins of Brett's horses to the back of the wagon Addie is handling."
"No, I'll do it," Bryan said, heading for the wrong wagon.
"That one," Ryker said, pointing to Brett's.
Mark joined Bryan. Everyone climbed onto their wagons, looking upset about losing Brett, and then Ena took to the sky.
They guided the horses across the border into No Man's Land and the deadliest part of their journey. She wanted to rescue Brett in the worst way, but she couldn't. Not right now. She had to lead her people to safety, secure her treasure, and then return for him and try to bargain for his freedom. If that didn't work, she would wage war on the phantom fae. Brett was her family now, hers to protect.
She cast Bryan and Mark an irritated look. Why hadn't the fae wanted either one of those humans? She'd offered both of them up to the phantom fae, but the man had only wanted Brett and that made her wonder why.
Brett might have thought he was doing good by bringing his friends along, but she suspected they were going to be real trouble before long.
***
Alton and his friends soared high above the treetops and mountains of the dragon fae territory and finally reached the phantom fae lands. Since they flew high above most of their forests, they didn't have to pay any tolls. But if they stopped to rest even in the treetops, they would have to pay. So they'd rested before they reached the phantom fae territory. The problem was that they would be tired by the time they made it to No Man's land. And that wasn't a good place to rest either. But they would have no choice.
A dozen or so flaming phantom fae arrows suddenly were winging through the air toward him and his companions, but Alton and the others all dove and turned quickly enough to avoid the impact of any of the missiles. The phantom fae couldn't force the dragon shifters to pay a toll for using the air space above the land, but they could show how angry that made them.
When Alton and his friends reached No Man's Land, they saw the desert mountains of sand, the granite cliffs and the narrow passage though the salt canyons, called such because they were as white as salt—the only way that Ena could be travelling if she was carrying wagons of gold. A blue crystal lake nearby was filled with aughisky, shapeshifting fae, sometimes in the form of ponies, that attacked all living things that were foolish enough to attempt to swim in their water and ripped them to shreds before eating them.
Alton and the others had seen enough of Ena and her people's fae dust trails left along the road to know they were on the right track. But here, the winds blew so hard they would scatter the fae's sparkly dust. Even the wagon train's tracks had vanished under the relentless and brutal wind. The sandstorm was like a blizzard, except the sand was abrasive and they practically had to shut their eyes. The visibility was nearly nil.
Kiernan swooped down lower to the sandy earth, grabbed something, then flew back up to Alton with a gold coin between his front teeth. Only a dragon could see gold half buried in the sand during a sandstorm. One of Ena's gold coins that she had handled at one time.
He hoped that Ena had made it to the pass all right and hadn't lost her way in the storm.
It seemed the sand had a life of its own, trying to push them back toward the phantom fae territory, the wind so strong, he and his companions were barely making any headway.
They had to reach the cliffs and the shelter of one of the caves. If anything lived there, they would have to evict it.
As soon as Alton tried to enter one of the caves, he knew it was a mistake when he smelled a dragon's gold and saw the blue stream of fire headed in his direction.
He swerved to miss it, and hit the wall of the cave with his body, though his scales were impervious to fire. Still, dodging a stream of fire was a natural reaction. Kiernan, too close behind him and not seeing the flame before it hit him, got the full brunt of it.
He swooped downward away from the cave and into the sandstorm.
"By the goddess, Aideen," Alton said as he shifted. "We were trying to get out of the sandstorm. Are you nuts?"
Stepping out of the dark abyss of the cave, Aideen, which meant little fire in Irish, loved to show everyone she had long ago overcome her little fire name. Her long black locks were partly tied back, the rest of her hair hanging straight over her shoulders. She wore all black like Ena, but she had more of a wickedly sultry look, whereas Ena was more pixie like. Not that Ena didn't look wicked from time to time either.
"You know not to enter a dragon's lair without permission."
"You know by the dragon shifters' honor code we're not here to steal your blasted gold."
"Is it just you and Kiernan?"
"Olaf and Amerand also."
Suddenly, a flurry of dragon wings sounded above the roar of the blinding sandstorm and the other dragons flew into the cave, one by one, then shifted.
Kiernan raised his brows at her. "If you intend to hit Alton with a fire stream, do so. But don't shoot it at me."
She smiled. "I didn't realize you were playing follow the leader until Alton slipped past my flame. But if you had been first, I would have been aiming for you. What are all of you doing here?"
"Ena's run off," Alton said.
Before he could tell her why, Aideen smiled evilly. "So which one of you pissed her off?"
"King Tibero has declared that Ena wed the despicable Prince Grotto," Olaf said, brushing the sand off his clothes that instead of brown were now sandy colored. "If you haven't heard the news yet."
"You can't be serious. The king would never have a member of the royal dragon fae house marry a dragon shifter," she said. Then she frowned. "Did she leave her gold behind?"
"No," Alton said, though he couldn't be for sure, but unless a dragon was desperate, he or she wouldn't leave it behind. She'd worked years to accumulate that much treasure, so he assumed she'd take all of it with her.
"She didn't just take a token amount? And she's headed in this direction? She had to have brought her staff or paid someone to move it in a wagon train. What are you going to do when you find her?"
"Ensure she gets safely to wherever she's going. We suspect that means the hawk fae kingdom," Alton said, sitting down on a smooth topped rock that looked like it had been used as a seat for centuries.
"This is not good," Aideen said, sounding furious. "As soon as the prince realizes she is gone, he will assume one of the dragon shifters knows where she is. And then he'll have us all brought in for questioning. Maybe even attempt to torture it out of us!"
"We are well aware of the consequences," Alton said. "And we salute her. No way do any of us want her wed to that barbarian. He would use her and kill her when she was no longer useful to him. What if he decided she was too hard to deal with and looked for another of our dragon shifter females to use for his own dark purposes? Like… you."
Aideen clamped her gaping mouth shut.
"So we help our own kind out. If we all have to move elsewhere, we move also," Olaf said.
Aide
en narrowed her eyes at them. "You have decided this for all of us?"
"No," Amerand said. "You can do what you wish."
"Where is Ena's brother? What has he to say about all this?"
"He doesn't know anything about it," Alton said. "He's off on a mission and we're not able to get in touch with him. I left word with his people, cryptically, so that if the prince questions them, he'll get nothing out of them. He'll know Halloran's gone for the time being on the king's errand and probably doesn't have a clue what's going on though."
"It's over the human prisoner Ena took, isn't it?"
"Yes," Alton said, annoyed. He wanted to kill the human for it.
"I thought she'd lost her mind when she didn't ask for gold and wanted the human in payment for saving Princess Alicia's life. Now it looks like she truly did."
"Yes, well, it really doesn't matter why right now, as long as we keep her safe," Alton said.
"The sandstorm might last until morning. There's no telling how long they can go on. Ena will have to have taken cover also," Aideen said.
"I agree. I would never have suspected one of our own kind to have a gold-filled cave in the middle of No Man's Land," Amerand said, taking a seat on another stone, not quite as smooth as the one Alton was sitting on.
"Clever of me, isn't it? Only one man has ever attempted to make it up these nearly impossible cliffs and steal some of my jewels. But he soon learned what a fatal mistake that could be."
The guys all smiled.
"You don't mind us staying here until this blows over, do you?" Olaf asked.
"Be my guests," she said. "I just dropped by to make a deposit and got stuck here when the storm hit. We can sit around the campfire and tell dragon tales. Or better yet, plan how we're going to leave the kingdom safely before the king wages war on all of us."
***
"So what are the dangers in No Man's Land?" Esmeralda asked as they reached the cliffs, and she pondered how in the world she was going to climb them in her bare feet—the tunic and breeches had torn in places from when she'd caught it on some of the rocks in the turbulent, stormy breakers before they'd ever reached the beach.
"Sandstorms, sand serpents, aughisky that turn into horses or ponies in the lakes that could rip a fae alive, and I've seen a dragon flying to one of the caves," the captain said. "It's the only way. Or we have to go through the forest to the land of sand and lakes, take our chances, and attempt to make it to the pass through the mountains, which are part of the same chain that reaches out to the sea here."