Dragon Down (5 page)

“I found a ship anchored on the other side of the island. There didn
’t seem to be anyone on board. However, there was a dingy pulled up on the beach. I think we should try to anchor on this side and row in. There isn’t any cover on the other side. It is too open and I don’t like it.”

“I agree. Did you see any place that looked safe enough to lay anchor?” Zane as
ked as he tacked back toward the island.

“The shoreline is rocky. But, there are several places on this side that looked shallow enough to drop anchor. We wouldn
’t have to row more than a quarter mile or so. And the tree line is close to the water. It should give us some protection.”

“Good. I
’ll head us in. Lauren, when we get closer I’ll need you to stand on the bow and look for rocks.”

“No problem, but I have to warn you the only rocks I
’m good at spotting are measured in carats.”

Zane arched an eyebrow, but he said nothing. We kept zigzagging
, closer and closer to shore. I kept my eyes on the water. I yelled out when I could see the bottom. When it looked like we were getting too close to the rocks below us, I yelled. Zane let the main sail down, yelling for me to grab it, easier said than done. The damned thing was flapping around like it was possessed. I finally pinned it to the mast. He tied off the wheel and jumped to the back of the boat, hauling out the stern anchor, he tossed it overboard. Together we rolled up the main sail and tied it off. Then Zane moved to the front of the boat and threw out another anchor.

“That should keep us off the rocks. Do you want to take a look around? I think we can get across to the shore without being too vulnerable.”

“I’m ready, and so far I don’t detect any magic. It is early enough in the day for us to check out the island and return before dark. I’ll put a shield around the boat. If anyone tries to come on board we’ll know.”

“Good idea. While you see to that, I
’ll get the dingy into the water.”

Twenty minutes later
, we had the dingy pulled up onto the beach and hidden under some brush. This side of the island didn’t look inhabited. The only tracks I saw were from birds. So we decided to head up to higher ground to get a better view. The vegetation was dense in places, but Zane hacked his way through it. Tokem flew off to scout. I’d gladly change places with the little guy. Hacking through brush, filled with God only knew what, was not my idea of a good time. I had bits of twigs and leaves in my hair. What I wouldn’t give for a long hot shower. Zane seemed to be in his element. He was hacking away like Indiana Jones. We made it to the top about the time Tokem flew in to report.

“There is a large camp on the north side of the island. I don
’t know how many men, but my guess is a dozen or so. They don’t look like traders to me.”

“What makes you say that?” Zane asked.

“Mainly, because they are all heavily armed and I think they are guarding something or someone.”

“Tokem, why don
’t you go and try to get a better look while, we make our way to that side of the island? We’ll follow the ridge line as closely as we can. Report as soon as you know something.”

“Lauren, I
’ll see to it and report as soon as I find anything.”

Tokem sped off
in the direction of the camp. I pulled out my water and drank until I was full. Zane drank some and ate a few bites of something. Then we started down the hill. Zane took more care going down. So we wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention. It was pretty much hacking, crawling, and swatting bugs all the way down. I was primed, pissed and prepared to kill anyone I found, after this slog through the dense brush. I was hot, dirty, and cranky.

We had been at it about an hour when a whirring noise announced Tokem
’s return. He landed lightly on the branch near me.

“You two look hot.”

“You think?” I said as I glared menacingly at him, before he continued.

“It took me a little time, but I
was able to fly in undetected. Those men are pirates or hired killers. They have two rooms at the back of a cave that are heavily guarded. One room I couldn’t get close enough, to see into. However, one of the guards asked the other if they’d had any water. So, I’m assuming they have prisoners. The other room has chests and arms. I couldn’t tell what was in the chests, but my guess is gold or gems.”

“How many men are guarding the cave?”

“Zane, I counted two in front of each door and four around the mouth of the cave.”

I listened although my heart was beating so loudly I could barely hear Tokem. What if Traygen was one of the prisoners? They could be holding
him there for ransom. I didn’t know how long I’d been quiet but, when I looked up Zane and Tokem were staring at me.

“
What?”

“You were talking to yourself, not that anyone who knows you would be surprised.”

“Lauren, if you are all right I think we should wait until the cover of darkness to get inside the caves. It will take us nearly that long to get down there. What do you think?”

I didn
’t like the idea of spending one minute longer than necessary in this bug invested woods. Still there was no need to be reckless. “I agree. Even if I used magic it would be dangerous to take on those numbers. There is no need to risk anyone’s life.”

Zane and I
returned to the backbreaking challenge of cutting our way through the brush. I nearly gave our approach away when something slithered over my boot. If Zane hadn’t reached over and clamped his hand over my mouth all of Ireland would have known we were coming. One quick slice with his other hand and the snake was dispatched. When I got my heart back inside my rib cage, I thanked him and also the Gods I hadn’t wet my pants.

The sun had set
by the time we reached the area a hundred yards or so from the caves entrance. Fires burned in several places and the scent of grilled meat permeated the air. I think I drooled on myself. Thankfully, it was too dark to tell. Whatever that was, I was going to acquire some on our way out. I could only stand just so much dried fruits and nuts.

We hunched down to observe the area. It took us a while to
be sure we hadn’t been spotted by any of the guards or sentries. Zane motioned for me to take the two sentries on the right and he would take out the two on the left. I hefted my staff, removed the safety from my gun and crawled toward the first of the two men. I inched up behind him, hit him hard on the head and caught him from behind. I didn’t let him hit the ground. I clamped my hand over his mouth and pulled him into the brush. Then I gaged and tied him, just in case he regained consciousness. Unlikely, I hit him hard enough I doubted he would regain consciousness any time soon. Then I turned my attention to the second man. I wriggled my way along the ground until I was even with him. I checked to make sure there was no one nearby and blasted him with my bracelet.
I repeated what I did with the first man. Catching him before he hit the ground, I stopped just long enough to make sure he was out. Satisfied, I headed toward the mouth of the cave.

I waited for Zane to appear. He came from the left and gave me
the thumbs up sign. Now all we had to do was take out the two men in front and the four inside. Whispering, I suggested to him we drug the two guarding the entrance. I had my wizard’s recipe for chloroform. He nodded his agreement and I started to soak two small rags with the formula. That’s when I felt a chill go through me, just about the same time that Tokem’s streaking form nearly gave me a heart attack. Tokem was pointing toward our left. I froze and looked to see if Zane felt it too. None of us moved as our senses strained to find the reason for the alert. I cupped the rag in my hand and held it inside my shirt. I motioned for Zane to cover his. Then we waited. We spotted him at the same time. The fluid gait and the silence of his approach meant only one thing. He was a vampire. I sure as hell hoped he didn’t smell the rags.

The vampire walked up to the men guarding the caves
entrance and said something. I couldn’t hear it from where I stood and then he went inside. I slowly let out my breath and sank down to the ground. Zane crawled down beside me and we waited. There was no sense in trying to get inside with the vampire in residence. I’m sure we could subdue him, but not without a fight, which might bring the camp down on us.

Whatever he was after
, he took care of it in a timely manner. He was in and out in a little more than half an hour. I motioned for Tokem to follow him. He nodded and sped after the receding form of the vampire. Zane and I waited for Tokem to return. Since, neither of us wanted to get halfway into the cave only to have the vampire reappear. Tokem was gone for what seemed like an eternity, but was closer to twenty minutes. A minor stirring of the air over my head signaled his return. Tokem whispered that the vampire had entered a large tent in the center of the clearing. He had waited to see if the vampire was coming back out before he risked a peek into the tent. It was a mess hall. The vampire and about twenty men were eating and lounging around.

I motioned to Zane the coast was clear. We edged our way toward the sentries from opposite directions. When Zane got within striking distance
, I threw some pebbles his way. The nearest guard sauntered over to take a look. Zane grabbed him from behind and dragged him back into the brush. A few minutes later Zane reappeared wearing the man’s coat. He walked up to the other sentry and hit him hard before he could utter a sound and pulled the man over with the other sentry. Zane removed the second man’s coat and tossed it to me. While I donned the man’s jacket, he gagged and tied the two. Satisfied they wouldn’t alert any of their comrades we entered the cave. Once inside, we stopped and listened.

Tokem flew ahead and checked the area. He quickly returned and indicated
that there were two men guarding the next door. We inched along trying not to make a sound. When we heard voices we stopped and removed our drug soaked rags. Peeking around the corner, I was relieved to see the men were playing cards. They didn’t have time to make a sound. Zane and I had the rags clamped over their mouths. We lowered them to the floor. They were out cold. I couldn’t be sure for how long because the rags had been stuffed in our jackets for twenty minutes or more. We would need to hurry. Zane frisked the men, taking a large set of keys from one of them.

H
e walked to the nearest door and started trying the keys. I kept an eye on the two guards and Tokem slipped further down into the cave. Zane managed to open the door on the fourth try. He pulled the door open and looked inside. I had just come to stand beside him when Tokem zoomed back into view, frantically motioning that we had company. He barely had time to tell us before a man came round the corner. I raised my bracelet and sent a blast of energy into his chest. He died. Unfortunately, not before he alerted whoever was in the other room. Footsteps echoed down the cave from the direction the man had come. I raised my arm and prepared to fire. However, before I got off my shot, Zane tackled the man. He subdued him before he could utter a sound. I lowered my arm and went to check the other room. There were no other guards in the room. I turned to let Zane know but, he had already dragged our captive into the room.

Zane
snatched the man by the hair and put a knife to his throat. “I’m going to take my hand away. If you make a sound I’ll kill you. Do you understand?”

The man nodded, but said nothing.

“Who are you people?”

“Black Sam
’s men.”

“Black Sam Bellamy, the pirate?”

A pirate, I couldn’t believe my ears. Raising my arm, I pointed my bracelet at the man. He hadn’t seen me dispatch his friend. I needed to make a believer of him. I burned a small hole in his left ear. He started to scream, but Zane jabbed him with his knife. A small trickle of blood oozed from the hole.

“What is your business on this island? And don
’t think of telling me anything but the truth, or I’ll burn a hole south of your belly button.”

The man blanched. His head bobbing in agreement, he started to speak. “We have just finished some raids and have sought safe harbor to make repairs.”

“Who are your prisoners?”

“The vanquished captain and his chief mate. They refused to surrender and we captured
them before their ship was burned.”

“What about the vampire? What is his role? What was he checking on earlier?”

I could see the man calculating which would be a swifter death, me or the vampire? I hated to come in second. The fool left me no choice. I aimed my bracelet at the man’s privates, intentionally firing just a bit high. He screamed in pain and Zane clamped a hand over his mouth.

“The next time I won
’t miss. So, you have five seconds to answer me or I’ll make you a eunuch. Have I made myself clear?”

The man nodded yes and Zane slowly removed his hand.

“The vampire is Black’s Sam’s first mate. His name is Varg and he was questioning the prisoners. Unfortunately, for them they didn’t have the right answers. He killed one and told me to watch the other, telling me he would be back later.”

“What did he want to know? Who was he looking for?”

“I swear I don’t know. The man fainted when he saw the vampire and I couldn’t revive him.”