Badass Dragons - Complete Set (6 page)

PART TWO

CHAPTER ONE

Cheryl woke up the next morning to
find the front door standing wide open, with a trail of blood leading through
it from the kitchen all away out to the footpath outside. Both Jet and her
sister Sophie were gone.

It was eleven
thirty am. Cheryl had slept in. Thankfully she wasn’t rostered to work today,
but that was the least of her worries. Even as she turned over in bed to find
that Jet was no longer with her, she had found it unsettling. Of course, while there
was no reason to believe that he would have stayed in bed with her forever –
she had slept in after all – she still felt uncomfortable that she hadn’t woken
as he’d left.

She had stood
in the room feeling the silence of the house around her, and the faint humming
of the day rolling on outside. Then she had been in the hallway, her eyes
focused on a stream of bright sunlight coming through the front door. The
kitchen tiles were white and gold with it. So bright she almost had to look
away. But then… The blood…

It was dark
red. Smeared. As though something had been dragged with it. Cheryl shuddered.
What had happened? Who had done this?

Where was
Sophie?

Her eyes
darted to the sofa they’d left her sister to rest on, and discovered one of her
pussy cats, Sniffy, sitting comfortably in the middle of it. He looked at her
curiously. Cheryl turned back to the open door and for a second was relieved
Sniffy hadn’t run outside (as it was dangerous with a main road close by) but
then realized she had not seen her other cat, Hoot, since she’d been awake.
Cheryl stepped outside and walked across the porch, surveying the garden. No
sign of him. Her eyes followed the road adjacent to the house, and didn’t see
him there either. She carefully closed the door back behind her and proceeded
to search every room in the house.

Hoot wasn’t
there.

“Shit,”
Cheryl cursed.

This was her
worst nightmare. Cheryl loved and adored her cats as much as her own family,
and the fear of losing them gripped at her stomach. She took Sniffy from the sofa
and put him in her bedroom, where he’d be safe and secure. She then reopened
the front door and walked outside began calling for Hoot.

After twenty
minutes, she decided to give up. The front door had to stay open now, always,
because he may have been hiding under the house somewhere or just in a
neighbors garden, soon to return. Cheryl was aware many people in the area
allowed their cats to roam freely outside, but for her it seemed far too
dangerous, and in truth, anything could happen to them outside in this jungle
of a world.

She knew what
she had to do next.

Perhaps she
should have done it right away, but she wasn’t in the best frame of mind at
present.

It was time
to call the police. Someone may have been murdered.

CHAPTER TWO

Cheryl’s phone was inside the house.
Just as she was about to head back there, she caught a figure in her
peripherals approaching her garden from the driveway. She turned immediately,
and was surprised to see it was Synrith.

His suit had
been changed from the night before, but it was still the same mix of colors –
black and green. With his hair slickly gelled and the light of the sun
radiating behind him, he looked just as daring and seductive as he had the
previous night. While his character was certainly questionable and his behavior
undoubtedly sinister, seeing him in the garden now was as much a relief as it
was a surprise.

Cheryl didn’t
want to face this alone.

“Good
morning, afternoon,” Synrith murmured as he came closer. He stopped between her
and the trail of blood on the ground. He looked down at it and squatted a
moment. “I feared as much.”

“What are you
doing here?” Cheryl demanded.

Behind him
she noticed a group of security guards in dark suits moving into the area. He
motioned to the first three to inspect the house, and told the remaining guards
to cover the rest of the area.

Cheryl stared
at Synrith, still waiting for him to answer her.

He stepped
over the blood trail and stood directly in front of her. “Where is your phone?”

Cheryl
blinked. “In the bedroom. On the floor.”

“The phone is
in the bedroom, on the floor,” Synrith sang out to the guards.

“Why? What’s
going on with my phone?”

“You are
going to receive a call at twelve pm. Which is …” He paused to check his wrist
watch. “… In six minutes.”

“How do you
know that?” Cheryl demanded. “Who’s going to call me?”

“The people
who have taken Jet. Did you witness the break in?”

“No,” Cheryl
exclaimed. “I was fast asleep. I woke up and he and Sophie were gone. As well
as my cat Hoot.”

“I don’t know
anything about your cat,” Synrith said thinly. “But this blood down here is
Jet’s. I’m simply amazed they were able to hurt him this badly.”

“How do you …
know it’s not Sophie’s? Have they taken her too?”

“Sophie was
the one who gave up Jet’s location. She is friends with the vampires – though
it’s not the vampires who have taken Jet. He surely would have overpowered
them.”

Cheryl
thought about how Jet had destroyed the vampire Cadogan last night at the
antique store. How easy it had been. She wondered who it might have been if not
vampires.

“Is that the
phone?” Synrith asked.

One of the guards
had just exited the house, holding Cheryl’s phone.

“Give it
here,” Synrith instructed and took it from him. He then had a long, hard stare
at it.

Cheryl
watched on nervously.

“I was
contacted myself just an hour ago,” Synrith explained. “I was told to come here
if I wanted to see Jet again. I was also told they would ring this phone at
twelve pm for further instructions. But I already know that whatever it is
they’re going to ask me, it involves you.”

“Well, what
would they want from me?” Cheryl asked. “Have you any idea?”

“Just one
idea.”

“Well, what
is it?”

Synrith was
hesitant to answer. He took a deep breath.

Cheryl’s skin
began to tingle.

“They want
you to convince Jet to turn to their side.”

CHAPTER
THREE

Cheryl wasn’t sure she heard him right.
She studied his face, awaiting further explanation.

Synrith
leaned in and put a hand on her shoulder. “I was going to try the same thing
with you.”

“You’re …
crazy …” Cheryl mumbled. “I hardly know him.”

“But you’ve
been intimate with him, have you not?”

Cheryl shook
her head. “None of your business.”

“I’m trying
to help you,” Synrith sighed. “If you don’t want my help…”

“What?”

“Well, who
knows what will become of Sophie.”

Cheryl felt
faint. She couldn’t see far enough ahead. She couldn’t figure it out, she had
no power or control. She stooped down and sat on the porch with Synrith
hovering over her, the phone in his hand. And little by little, she realized
she was feeling some resentment.

Sophie. It’s
all your fault.

She closed
her eyes. She didn’t want to go back there. Not to the childhood they’d once
had – growing up through the hardships and misfortunes and betrayals –

At one point,
she had been so mean to her sister. She couldn’t allow herself to hate her for
this. She just had to try … figure it out … find a way…

And now the
phone was ringing.

Synrith
answered it and put it to his ear.

“Yes,” he
said. “She’s sitting right in front of me.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Cheryl took the phone from his
outstretched hand. “Hello?”

“Hi Cheryl.
It’s me, Sophie.”

“Where are
you?” Cheryl demanded. “What’s going on?”

“I’m fine.
You have to listen to me, okay? Just don’t interrupt.”

“Alright.
Just … What the hell?”

Sophie paused
a moment.

Synrith’s
dark eyes watched her carefully.

“Me and my
friends,” Sophie began, “we have Jet. But don’t worry. He’s safe. We didn’t
hurt him.”

“What the
hell was all that blood in my house then?”

Sophie
cleared her throat. “No interruptions, please.”

“So you admit
it. You did hurt him.”

“Look, he’s
fine, alright,” Sophie snapped harshly. “And we’re going to give him back to
Synrith.”

“What does
this have to do with me? Why have you organized for him to be here for this
call?”

“My … friend
wants the two of you to come to a meeting tonight. My friend won’t talk to
Synrith until they’re face to face. And he doesn’t want me talking to him,
because he has powers over me…”

Sophie
trailed off.

Cheryl
waited. “Are you there?”

“I need you
to be with me on this, sis. I kind of told them you were cool.”

“What are you
talking about?”

“Just,”
Sophie mumbled. “Just have an open mind about everything. You need to –”

Sophie was
suddenly cut off. Someone had taken the phone away from her.

“Sophie?”
Cheryl exclaimed.

“Bring the
dragon’s dagger or your sister dies,” droned a heavy, male voice.

“What?”

He hung up.

Cheryl looked
down at the phone confused.

Synrith took
the phone from her and put it in his pocket.

“Don’t be
worried,” he assured her. “Don’t be scared.”

“How can I
not be? They have Sophie.”

“To begin
with, they’ll never hurt her. Not unless she betrays them.”

“He said…”

Synrith
watched her eyes carefully.

Cheryl wasn’t
sure if she should tell him.

“Yes?”

Cheryl let
out an exasperated sigh.  “He said he wants the ‘dragon’s dagger’. He said to
give it to him or Sophie dies. I mean, I don’t get it. Cado gave it to me to
attack you to save Sophie last night. Now they’re saying they’ll kill Sophie if
I don’t give them back the dagger? It makes no sense.”

“She’s no
longer with the vampires,” Synrith explained. “She’s with a pack of wolves.
They want the dagger so they can study its material and enchantment, so they
can use it to make a hundred daggers just like it. And then drive us dragons
out of the city and claim it as there’s.”

“You don’t seem
worried,” Cheryl murmured. “Aren’t you…?”

Synrith sat
down beside her. “As dangerous as wolves are, they are far more stupid than
vampires. If they expect me and the dagger to show up to a meeting with them,
they’re sorely mistaken.”

“But what
about Sophie? What about Jet?”

Synrith
smiled. The phone in his pocket beeped and he took it out.

He showed
Cheryl the message.

“Longford
Bridge. One am,” she read out loud. “The dagger for Jet and Sophie.”

“Don’t
panic,” Synrith said calmly.

“You keep
saying that. What are we going to do about this, huh? Are you going to give them
the dagger or not?”

“No,” Synrith
replied. “The dagger is now locked up in a vault filled with guards, cameras
and alarms. No one is ever going to get their hands on it again.”

“That’s not
fair,” Cheryl said, punching him. “You have to do something.”

“No, I
don’t.”

“Bullshit.
You fucking bastard.” She snatched the phone off him. “I’m calling the cops.”

She got up
with it in her hand, punching in the numbers.

Synrith
followed her down to the driveway.

“It’s not me
who has to do something,” Synrith called to her.

Cheryl turned
slightly, her finger on the dial. “What are you saying?”

“You’re the
one who is going to get them both out of there. Alive.”

“Me? Are you
crazy? How am I supposed to do that?”

Synrith
walked forward. He took the phone away from her again.

He leaned
into her, so close they were almost touching.

“Let me show
you.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Synrith beckoned his guards out of
the house and explained to them it was time to go. He allowed Cheryl to gather
up her handbag but said she wouldn’t need anything else. She double-checked to
make sure Sniffy was okay before locking up the house, scanning one last time
to see if Hoot would come out from wherever he might have been hiding. Sadly,
he did not. She felt bad about not leaving the door open for him, but if she
didn’t close it then anyone could come inside and snatch Sniffy away. She hoped
Sophie would be able to tell her about what had happened to Hoot, when they
next saw or spoke to each other.

A long white
limousine was parked a short distance away from Cheryl’s house. The guards
opened the passenger doors for Synrith and Cheryl to enter, and then entered
the car themselves. They stayed up in the area near the driver, whilst Cheryl
remained alone with Synrith in the back.

She was so
frustrated. So hurt and helpless. At least that was how she felt. He had yet to
confide in her what his plan was yet.

Her glare at
him, was to say it all. But he didn’t seem even slightly moved by her
hostility. Everything was running its course as far as he was concerned.

“Do I have to
ask again?” Cheryl said under her breath.

Synrith
blinked. “Just be patient. We’re taking it one step at a time.”

“Why can’t
you just tell me? Can’t you see I’m upset?”

“I wish you
would just trust me,” Synrith replied.

“Why should I
do that?”

“Because if
we work together, we’ll both get what we want.”

“Sounds like
I’m the one who’s going to be doing all the work.”

“Patience,
little one,” Synrith whispered. “Patience.”

Cheryl leaned
back in the limousine. Patience, she thought. What a joke. Her body was so
stressed, her muscles tight and uncomfortable. She didn’t trust Synrith. She
was worried for Sophie and she was worried for Hoot. It was true enough,
Synrith was all she had. Her only hope. But she knew he was an unpredictable
and manipulative person, who only cared about himself. She wondered if he
realized that his lack of communication with her could in the end be the very
thing that wore her down…

A few minutes
passed.

Breaking the
silence, she tried a different line of questioning, “Where are we going?”

“A little
sanctuary of mine,” Synrith replied. “We’ll rest there for a while. Clean up.”

“Rest? I
don’t want to rest. I want to find my sister.”

“She’s not in
any danger. At all. They won’t hurt her even if we don’t show tonight.”

“And what
about my cat? What if they have him too?”

“I doubt
they’re torturing him for information, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Don’t joke
about it. Seriously. He’s just a defenseless animal. If these sick, weirdo –”

“Hmm.”
Synrith leaned forward. “So that’s it.”

Cheryl’s eyes
bulged. “What’s it?”

“Your sister
will have you cat. I’m almost sure of it.”

“Why? What do
you know about it?”

“Never mind.
There’s no point in speculating.”

“Speculate.”

“Well … it
could be that Sophie has the desire to learn about certain dark rituals.
Witchcraft. Perhaps she took your cat as her helper.”

“She’s not
going to put him in a cauldron and cook him with newt eyes or anything, right?”

Synrith
laughed. “No. I don’t think so.”

“But you’re
sure they’re both safe?”

Synrith put
his hand on Cheryl’s leg. She shivered.

“Do not be
afraid of the wolves,” he said sternly. “We are much smarter than them. We know
what their moves are. We know what they’re thinking. Before the night is out,
your sister will be returned to you, and Jet will be returned to me. Every last
wolf or vampire within a hundred miles will be dead. Do you understand, Cheryl?
Do you believe me?”

She watched
his unflinching eyes.

The air was
so cold between them.

“Yes,” she
whispered.