Badass Dragons - Complete Set (9 page)

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

Nightfall came in a passing breath.
Cheryl awoke with one of the guards gently shaking her. She immediately sat up
and curled into defensive position.

“It’s time,”
the guard muttered.

Cheryl
squinted as her vision faded in and the passenger door opened with everyone
peeling out. The last guard waited for her to leave her seat and make her way
out also. As she gained her footing outside the limousine, she noticed that
their location had changed. They were presently at the top of a cliff-face
overlooking a beach area below. One of the guards moved round Cheryl’s side and
pointed out into the distance of the beach.

“Do you see
those caves there?”

She followed
where he was pointing. “All the way out there?”

“It will take
you half an hour to forty minutes on foot.”

“Why don’t
you just drive me there?”

“This is the
closest we can get without being seen. Remember, you’re not supposed to tell
them you’re working with Synrith. The only reason you found them is because
your sister told you where they were and that’s because she trusts you.”

Cheryl
blinked. “Okay. I think I can do it.”

She took off
her high-heels and moved away from the car. She began her steady trek down the
stairs leading out from the cliff.

As she hit
the first sandbank, she heard the sound of the limousine’s tires crunching away
from the edge.

“Hey!” she
exclaimed, looking up. She started back a moment, before realizing it was too
late.

She took a
deep sigh. Pulled her phone out from the handbag.

Dialed Syn.

“Hello?” he
answered.

“Synrith?”

“Yes. Hello
Cheryl. Do you have the wolves’s location?”

“No, not yet
–”

Click.

“Oh come on
you didn’t just –”

Yep. He hung
up on her.

What
arrogance
,
she thought. What … what a bastard. What if she were in trouble? Or just had a
question as she did now?

Did he really
just care nothing about her at all?

No
, she
reasoned with herself.
He needs me.

This was all
just part of his games.

Cheryl
clenched her teeth together and put the phone away again.

The ocean’s
waves crashed not far from the shoreline. She watched the tide roll out across
the sand.

The sky
wasn’t black yet. It was dark blue twilight, and she could see all the stars.
She looked from them to the caves ahead of her. Her eyes caught the faint
flicker of red light emerging from them.

“For you,
Sophie,” Cheryl declared out loud, and began making her way towards the light’s
direction.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

There was no cover for Cheryl to take
between her path to the caves. She was spotted from far away, and as she got
closer, a dark figure emerged to meet up with her.

Upon seeing
this, Cheryl’s pace slowed. She remembered how quick Cado had been to attack
the police officer she’d been travelling with – a completely senseless act
without provocation. Until her identity was revealed, she could be sure she
would just look like prey to them, and easy prey at that.

The dark
figure was soon visible enough. Cheryl could see that he was a young, slender,
attractive man. His face was of unnatural appearance as Cado’s had been, but
more white in color than gray. The skin had a similar reptilian thickness to it
as well. He waved to her, smiling.

“Hello
there,” he called. “Just out for a stroll are we?”

Cheryl shook
her head. “I’m a friend of Sophie’s.”

The man
blinked a couple of times. “Who is Sophie?”

He stopped in
front of her.

“Sophie
Thames. She told me how to find you here.”

“I’m sorry, I
don’t know who that is.”

Cheryl
cleared her throat. “I was with Cado yesterday. I saw what happened to him.”

The man
stared at her expressionless for a moment. Then he put two fingers in his mouth
and blew a high pitched whistle.

At once, a
half dozen figures immediately zoomed out of the cave, and bounded towards them
at lightning speed. They quickly formed a circle around her.

“She knows
Sophie,” the man explained to the other vampires. “She knows Cado too.”

A young woman
with dark hair, and even more make up than Cheryl was wearing, stepped out to
the young man’s left. “Who are you?” she demanded.

“I’m Cheryl
Thames. Sophie’s sister.”

Cheryl saw
the eyes of the vampires focus in on the woman’s reaction.

“What are you
doing here?”

“Sophie is
missing,” Cheryl answered. “She was taken by the wolves. I came here because I
was told you might know where they are.”

“Who told you
that?” the young man asked.

“Cado. He
explained everything to me yesterday.”

The woman
stepped even closer to Cheryl. She tried not to flinch.

“Do you know
where he is? Did the dragons capture him?”

Cheryl shook
her head. “I’m sorry. I thought you might have known.”

“What?” the
woman snapped.

“Cado is
dead. The dragon, Jet, murdered him in front of me.”

Fury
overwhelmed the woman her mouth spread open, revealing her salivating fangs.
She made a frightening
hiss
sound.

“The wolves
also have Jet,” Cheryl murmured. “They are trying to negotiate with Synrith to
free them. Will you tell me where they are?”

“We can do
that,” the young man said. “Can’t we, Cassandra?”

The young woman’s
mouth closed. She took hold of Cheryl’s neck and squeezed gently.

Her strength
was surprising.

“Cassandra?”
the young man repeated.

“No we can’t
do that,” Cassandra whispered. “But we
can
take you to them.”

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Somehow, Cheryl realized
but I
don’t want to go
, wasn’t going to cut it with the vampires. Which wasn’t to
say that she didn’t
want
to go, only Synrith had promised to deal with
this matter himself. So she wouldn’t have to worry. Of course Cheryl had
worried, and now she was worried even more. Should the wolves hand Sophie back
over to the vampires, would Sophie be free to come and go as she pleased?

Would
Cheryl…?

Cassandra let
go of her neck and turned to address the others. “Reiko and I will sort this
mess with Sophie and her sister out. We’ll see what Rafe wants in exchange for
the dragon. The rest of you are to remain here.”

“But Miss
Cassandra –” one of the female vampires protested.

“The wolves
are our allies. If we appear uninvited in great numbers, they will likely see
it as offensive and it could turn ugly between us. However, we should be back
before midnight. If we are not, and you have no word from us, then you are
permitted to investigate and as necessary avenge our likely deaths.”

Cassandra
leaned in close to the young man and instructed him: “Get the bikes.”

His eyes lit
up red with the night, and he and the others moved quickly back in the cave’s
direction, leaving Cheryl and Cassandra alone.

“You don’t
mean me any harm do you?” Cheryl inquired in a soft voice.

Cassandra
cocked her head back. “I don’t know if you really are who you say you are. If
Sophie says you’re her sister and you’re not a spy, then we’ll all be friends.”

“Why are you
so skeptical of me? Why would I lie?”

“Sophie said
she hated her family,” Cassandra said coldly. “In her own words, she said they
were ‘pure shit’.”

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

For some reason, Cheryl was taken
aback by this latest admission. She knew of course that Sophie didn’t get along
with their Mom, and both of them had an estranged relationship with their
father, but Cheryl was Sophie’s family too. Had she been too hard on her in the
past? Taken Mom’s side instead of hearing Sophie out? It was enough to make
Cheryl stand back and reflect. Perhaps she had been feeling guilty about this
all along.

The young
male vampire whom Cheryl had spoken to initially, now confirmed to be named
Reiko, had returned to the girls on a motorcycle. He stepped off it and handed
the helmet to Cassandra. She let it hit the sand and wrapped her arms around
him. Cheryl looked away as they kissed.

“You know how
to get there, don’t you?” Cassandra asked once finished.

“Same place
as last time?”

“Yes.”

Reiko nodded
and headed back to the cave presumably to collect his bike.

Cassandra
clipped her helmet in place and got on the motorcycle.

Before taking
off she said, “You try anything with him and I’ll cut your throat out.”

Then she sped
off splashing wet sand all over Cheryl’s beautiful dress. She stumbled and fell
over.

Reiko’s bike
growled towards her. He stopped and got off to help her.

“I’m fine,”
Cheryl protested.

His hands
were all over her, dusting the sand off.

Very
uncomfortable, given the warning she’d just been issued.

“Don’t worry
about Cassandra,” Reiko said as if reading her thoughts. “Her bark is worse
than her bite.”

“Really?”

Reiko stepped
back. “Well, if she were to bite you, you might actually enjoy it.”

He seemed
pleased with himself.

Cheryl rolled
her eyes and took the helmet he was offering her.

“Come on,” he
said, getting back on the bike.

Cheryl put on
her shoes, and stood near it, pondering some concern.

“Excuse me,”
she said in a quiet voice.

“Yes?” Reiko
replied thinly.

“You wouldn’t
be able to tell me the address of where we’re going would you?”

“Why do you
need that?”

“I want to
text a friend to come get me afterwards.”

“Who?
Synrith?”

Cheryl’s eyes
bulged in alarm. “Just forget about it.”

“Let’s see
your phone. Is it in your bag?”

He grabbed
hold of it before she could resist and pulled it off her shoulder.

He took out
the phone. Held it up.

“I’ll give
you a choice,” he said. “You can take phone and stay right where you are. I’m
sure you’ll find your way back home somehow.”

“Give it to
me,” Cheryl said.

“Or – you can
get on this bike and come with us. The phone stays here. What’s it going to
be?”

Cheryl opened
her mouth. There was a feeling of shock.

In the
distance, Cassandra revved her engine, waiting for them impatiently.

Cheryl looked
back to Reiko. “Thank you for allowing me to choose.”

She took the
phone from the palm of his hand, and then threw it, as hard as she could, into
the ocean.

She got on
the back of his motorcycle, and together, Cheryl and the vampires, set off to
find Sophie.

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Lights were on inside the wolfmen’s
manor. The curtains were pulled tight over the windows, but from the gate
outside the house, Cheryl could see all sorts of colors and shapes moving
within. Through the echo of the wind she could hear music and voices. Behind
the gate there were a series of motorcycles and cars parked within.

Cassandra
pressed the intercom again. “We’re still out here. Cassandra and Reiko of Sect
Icicle to see Mr. Hardwell. It’s urgent, please…”

 She turned
back to Reiko. “They’re nuts if they think we’ll just go away.”

“But if we
force an entry, it could be construed as an attack.”

“I don’t
care,” Cassandra hissed. “If they’re holding the man who killed Cado, then I
consider that an attack.”

She jammed a
flat palm to the intercom. “Hello? Come the fuck on…”

Cheryl saw
him first. “There’s someone coming.”

Reiko looked
back and saw where she was pointing.

The outline
of a man in a leather jacket, with jeans and boots became present. He had
longish hair and a beard.

Cassandra
looked back to Reiko. “It’s him.”

They both got
off their bikes and approached the centre of the gate to meet with the man.

Cheryl
followed behind them.

“Hey Rafe,”
Cassandra called as he approached. “Will you let us in?”

He stopped a
few paces short and reached into his jacket. He pulled out a cigarette and lit
it.

Cassandra and
Reiko stood in silence as Rafe inhale a large puff of smoke, and then let it
breathe through his nostrils.

Finally, he
began to advance towards them again.

His eyes bore
into Cassandra’s. Then he turned and spat at the ground.

“What’s the
matter with you?” Cassandra demanded.

Rafe gave a
short chuckle. He moved closer to the bars separating them.

His eyes
moved up and down.

“This is a
private party, folks,” Rafe said. “You have no business here.”

“That’s not
entirely true –” Cassandra began.

“Do you have
the dagger?” Rafe demanded. “The one you promised me? The one I paid you for?”

“Oh, well,”
Cassandra stuttered. “There were complications –”

Rafe put both
his hands on the bars. “You undead scum. I should set you both on fire.”

Cassandra
quickly turned and grabbed hold of Cheryl. She forced her up against the bars
and Rafe stepped back.

“Who is
that?” he demanded.

“This is
Sophie’s sister, Cheryl,” Cassandra said.

“Why have you
brought her here?”

“She can…”
Cassandra trailed off.

Rafe put his
hand through the bars and nudged Cheryl to the side.

He repeated:
“Why have you brought her here?”

Rafe then
looked at Cheryl directly. “Unless you have my dagger? That was our deal wasn’t
it?”

“The dagger
is in a vault back at the dragon’s castle,” Cheryl said. “No one can get to it
but Synrith.”

“Well, I
guess little Sophie has to die then. What a shame.”

“Hang on a
second,” Reiko said, stepping forward. He turned to Cheryl. “How close are you
with Synrith?”

“How … close
… am I?”

Everyone was
looking at her now.

“You fucked
him, didn’t you?” Cassandra challenged.

“No,” Cheryl
mumbled.

Cassandra and
Reiko looked at each other.

Rafe gave a
short laugh. “Alright. I can see where this is going.”

He waved up
at the camera facing the gate and it began to open.

As the gates
parted, Rafe said to them, “You can come in. But refrain from going into the
party area. Don’t speak to anyone. We’ll meet in my office in ten minutes. And
we’ll negotiate.”

He turned
away.

Reiko nodded
to Cheryl. “Hop back on.”

She got back
on the bike.

Once both
bikes had passed through, the gates closed behind them.