Firestorm Forever: A Dragonfire Novel (51 page)

How dare these
Pyr
make so much trouble for the people she cared about? This was just more proof that all this nonsense about the
Pyr
defending humans as treasures of the earth was a lot of deceptive publicity. It was inexcusable that they’d seized Veronica Maitland in this state, and worse that they were responsible for her illness in the first place. The outbreak was going to get worse.

Sam flung herself back into the building. She wasn’t looking forward to telling Isaac what had happened, but there wasn’t much choice. If he learned from the news, there’d be hell to pay.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, debating her own choices. She’d still go to Atlanta, she decided, and continue searching for a cure. This had been going on so long that they had to catch a break soon.

Sam refused to think of all the other diseases and viruses that had never been cured and tried to focus on the positive.

She wouldn’t think about Sloane and about the tranquility she’d found in California. No, this was her place in the world and hunting this cure was the best use of her talents. What else did she have in her life except work anyway?

That sounded pathetic and didn’t help her forget the easy smile of one particular dark-haired man. She’d never see Sloane again, and she might as well get used to it.

The thought did just about nothing to improve her mood.

Talking to Isaac wasn’t going to help either. Sam took a deep breath and punched in the number.

* * *

Timmy waited by the phone after he saw the video of his mom being rescued by dragons. He’d recognized the dark grey dragon in the group and he knew it was Drake.

Drake would call and tell him what was happening.

Timmy could hardly stand the wait. He tried to concentrate on his homework after school, his toes tapping all the while. He bolted his dinner, his gaze fixed on the clock. He groaned aloud when Mrs. Patterson got a phone call and settled in to chat with one of her friends about the crisis. He was consumed with impatience to hear Drake’s plans.

Finally, Mrs. Patterson was done.

The phone rang again almost the second she placed it back in the cradle. Timmy held his breath while she answered, then exhaled in relief at her first words.

“Drake! I’m so glad to hear from you. We’ve had terrible news…” Mrs. Patterson fell silent. “You already know. I see. And Ronnie is safe. But how…?” She glanced up, her gaze landing on Timmy where he hovered on the stairs. “Yes, I think you’re right. It would be best for you to talk to Timmy first.”

She held out the phone to him.

Timmy leapt down the stairs and seized the phone, unable to contain his excitement. “Drake! I knew you’d call.”

“I did not wish for you to worry, but I will not be around for a while.”

“Another mission, Drake?”

“Something like that.”

Mrs. Patterson went back to the kitchen, and Timmy waited until she was out of earshot. “I saw the video,” he whispered. “And it was completely awesome. It was you, wasn’t it? And Theo? Was that Arach and Kristofer, too?”

“I believe you know as much.”

Timmy nodded with satisfaction. “You’ve taken her to a secret location to cure her.”

“Something like that, yes. And she already improves with the antidote created by our Apothecary.”

“How’d he do it? The Apothecary?”

“He realized that I had not contracted the virus when I was with your mother. He sought the answer to the riddle in my blood, and after much searching, he believed he had found it. He tested his antidote upon samples of the virus, improving its potency and effectiveness each time.” Drake sighed. “He might have done more, but when your mother became ill, we had to act.”

Timmy nodded vigorously. “And now?”

“And now she is resting. Her fever is breaking. She wishes to see you, but not until it is certain that she can’t infect you.”

“Will you come get me?”

“I will. You mother will call Mrs. Patterson when it is time.”

Timmy bit his lip, knowing what he wanted more than anything but a bit afraid to ask. He decided to go for it. “I’ve been on an airplane, Drake, but never flown with a dragon.”

Drake chuckled and the sound was deep, exactly how Timmy thought a dragon should chuckle. “Then we will have to remedy that.”

Timmy sighed. “I wish I was a dragon shifter.”

Drake’s reply was firm and it surprised Timmy. “No, Timothy. You must never wish to be other than you are.”

“But…”

Drake was resolute and the tone of his voice made Timmy sit straighter. “Each of us has strengths and weaknesses yet each of us face the same challenge: to be better versions of ourselves tomorrow than we were yesterday.”

“I can’t believe you have weaknesses.” Timmy dropped his voice to a whisper. “Not when you’re a dragon.”

“Every one of us has weaknesses and makes mistakes, Timothy, and I am no different. The best men learn from their mistakes to keep from repeating them.”

“And to be better versions of themselves tomorrow than yesterday.”

“Indeed.” Timmy could hear the smile in Drake’s voice. “Your mother wishes to speak with you. She is better but still weak, so the call will be short today.”

“Thanks, Drake,” Timmy said quickly. “I’m glad you’re taking care of my mom.”

“She is my mate, my destiny and will be the mother of my son,” Drake said softly. “I would give my life for her.”

Timmy nodded to himself, liking the honor in Drake’s words. Before he could ask about having a brother, his mom was on the phone, her voice softer than usual. She asked him about school and Dashiell, just like everything was normal, and Timmy hoped it soon would be. They spoke for a few minutes, and she explained he was going to have a brother. Then she told him that she loved him, and asked to speak to Mrs. Patterson. Timmy returned to his homework, both reassured and excited.

A brother. That was interesting and would be a change. He supposed they would be a family, and he liked the idea of Drake being his new dad.

But a dragon flight and soon! That was seriously going to rock. He hoped his mom got better fast, both so that she was better and so that he got his ride sooner.

One thing was for sure: if Drake needed any help, Timmy was going to give it to him.

* * *

Jac told herself that she was ready to face dragons.

She couldn’t quite convince herself, which wasn’t a good sign.

Although at first she’d been surprised that Jorge wasn’t going to accompany her on her first journey to stalk dragons, in a way she was glad to have made the trip alone. He did give her the creeps. There were times when she found him watching her as if she’d make a nice light snack.

Jac shuddered and continued her unpacking. It was pretty awesome that he’d made all the travel arrangements and just showed up to hand her the tickets. She hadn’t even known where she’d be going until then, although she’d known she was going somewhere for the lunar eclipse.

That made her feel a bit like a spy or a secret agent in a movie. She’d trained, she’d followed Jorge’s instructions and tried to meet all of his physical challenges. She’d learned to throw a knife with pretty good accuracy and had taken to playing darts in the evenings at the corner bar. She wasn’t happy that her apartment had been robbed and that Sigmund’s book was the only thing missing, but she figured Marco had collected it. He’d given it to her in the first place and had known she was gone.

Jac had learned all she could from it, anyway.

The funny thing wasn’t that she hadn’t seen Marco at all, but that recently she’d a persistent sense he was around. She found herself turning around suddenly, expecting to find him just behind her. She’d been certain she’d caught the scent of his skin a hundred times and had spun around more often than that, convinced he’d be right there. She imagined often that she felt his breath under her ear in the night, but woke up every time to find herself alone. She’d seen a blue-green crackle of light in the periphery of her vision a number of times, then turned to find that it was a figment of her imagination.

Or that she hadn’t turned fast enough.

There hadn’t been any reply at his apartment after she came home from California, and that hadn’t changed. She’d gone looking for him when she’d discovered that Sigmund’s book was gone, and had tried again repeatedly with no results. Still, she had that stubborn feeling.

Just a few nights ago when she’d won a dart game, she’d been sure Marco was leaning against the far wall, smiling a little as he watched her. She’d hurried to the spot, even stepped outside to look up and down the street, but there had been no sign of him. Was he following her? Or was she obsessed with a man who had long ago moved on to other conquests? He’d intrigued her, seduced her, then told her off and abandoned her. She should forget him.

But Jac couldn’t.

This trip should straighten that out, because one thing was for sure: there was absolutely no chance of her running into Marco on the opposite side of the world. There was a depressing thought. She’d turned off her phone for the trip, and considered turning in on again, just in case he’d suddenly phoned her. That was crazy optimism, and a hope doomed to be disappointed. It wouldn’t be worth the roaming charge to find out, so she left the phone off.

It was kind of good to be off the grid. It kept her focused.

Jac hung up the last of her shirts, stretched, and wondered if she’d ever manage to switch her body rhythm to local time. The only time she’d ever managed that in a hurry had been on Easter Island, and she knew that had been because of Marco.

Making love with him had been the perfect antidote to jet lag.

She couldn’t deny her sense that it would be the perfect antidote to a lot of things.

Why couldn’t he have just stayed the way he’d been at first?

Jorge had spared no expense in Jac’s travel arrangements. She’d flown first class, because he’d insisted that she needed to be rested and ready to fight when she arrived. He’d arranged for a rental SUV with every possible feature, and her accommodation was a luxurious private cottage. It looked a bit like a tent, but was elevated with a flight of stairs from the ground and a glass window made up one full wall. Jac didn’t even want to think about the room rate, but the view of Uluru was spectacular. The rock was turning red as the sun set and she could see it from the room. In fact, that window made it look as if the sky and Uluru were part of her room.

The place was romantic and made her aware she was alone.

Not that she would have wanted to share the room with Jorge, even though he was paying for it. She’d been relieved when he’d made his lack of physical interest in her clear. Given the way he’d been watching Maeve O’Neill in that restaurant on Easter Island, Jac had to guess that she wasn’t his type.

She had to wonder where he got his money, though.

Jac watched the great rock turn redder as the sun set. She couldn’t believe how hot it was. All day long she’d felt like she was standing in the middle of an inferno. Or maybe in the middle of the sun. She was melting, a steady trickle of perspiration running down her back and her mouth dry. It seemed that each day was hotter, even though the temperature wasn’t that high.

Maybe she’d been living in the Pacific Northwest too long.

No one else in Australia seemed to be affected in the same way, even the tourists.

The thermometer outside the cottage said it was seventy degrees Fahrenheit. Not chilly but not exactly blazing hot either. The room thermostat said that it was sixty-eight, which should have been comfortable.

All the same, Jac wiped the perspiration from her brow. She wondered if she were sick, which would be just her luck, right before her first “mission.” Except from being really warm, though, she didn’t feel ill. Just tired from the travel. A little jet-lagged maybe.

And aroused. That wasn’t consistent with being sick, at least not in her experience. She couldn’t help thinking of the way Marco had touched her, the way his eyes glowed when he studied her, the slow and sensual way he kissed, as if they had all the time in the world to explore each other.

He’d said that once, that he had all the time in the world.

He’d said it in that dark-chocolate voice of his, the one that melted her knees and made her want to rub herself against his hard strength and caress him from head to toe.

Once with Marco had definitely not been enough.

At least not for Jac.

Jac knew she wouldn’t sleep that night. The strange heat simmered beneath her skin and awakened a tingle of desire where it counted. She could see the full moon rising behind Uluru and thought the sight was both primal and magical.

The strange thing was that insistent desire, which wasn’t her usual reaction to the sight of a full moon or a large rock in the desert. Her fingers slid down her belly in an echo of the way Marco had touched her. As much as she liked the sensation of her own fingers trailing over her skin, she’d liked the warmth of Marco’s hand on her much better. It was funny that months of his absence hadn’t allowed his memory to fade.

Much less the recollection of what they’d done, and how awesome it had been. She just had time to think that she might as well try to solve it herself, since it wasn’t likely any other volunteers would show up, when someone knocked on the door.