Fang Shway in LA (22 page)

Struggling forward against the rainy gusts, I thought I saw a ledge just above me. Feeling blindly with my hands, I sought to find a handhold. My fingers bled, they were rubbed raw, chapped and numb from the freezing rain. Then my fingers found a crack in the rocky surface that I could grip and I began pulling myself up. Progress was slow. The rocks were wet, slippery and sharp. Finally, I hauled my body up to the edge of the landing. I started to roll onto my back when I saw movement to my right.

A vampire ran from the safety of the cave, hitting me in the chest with its shoulder,
momentarily stunning me. I had the wind knocked out of me. It drove me back toward the cliff’s edge and I struggled to grab hold of something, anything. Wind milling backward, we teetered on the edge. Then we sailed out over the ocean and fell. Entangled with the vampire, I could not change form. Instead I swung the vampire over my head and used it to break my fall. The icy water sucked the air from my lungs, filling them with saltwater and I felt myself begin to drift. I had no energy left, I couldn’t fight anymore. My vision narrowed and I drifted into unconsciousness.

Chapter 32

“Come on Xena, I’ll race you to the pier.” I swear that dog grinned at me and then she was gone. I didn’t know who I was kidding. My wounds had all healed, but I couldn’t turn back the clock. Time marches unkindly on for everyone. Yes, even me.

Huffing and puffing, I conceded the race to Xena. “You beat me girl. Come on let’s go home and have dinner.” We wandered back along the beach enjoying the refreshing ocean breeze. Stopping to watch the dolphins riding on the crest of the waves, surfing the swells, I wondered where they were headed. Home like us I guessed.

The sun started to set. The sky streaked with reds and oranges cast a band of shimmering yellow light on the ocean’s surface, fleeting and vanishing as quickly as it came. I wish you were here my love, to share this with me. It is beautiful. Soon Traygen, we will share every sunset for the rest of our lives. If you were here my love, we would fly out over the water until the sun dipped beneath the waves.

It was nearly dark when we got home. I put Xena’s food down and ordered take out. Shrugging off my running clothes, I put on jeans and a t-shirt. I stopped briefly to wash my face and hands. I toweled off my face and patted my hands dry on the back of my jeans. Then I headed for the kitchen. I poured a glass of wine and went to sit down. Work had been busy this week and I was looking forward to the weekend.

I had tickets to the Pantages and the UCLA book fair began this weekend. I loved to go and browse. Collecting books was one of my few vices. Who was I kidding? Designer clothes are my biggest weakness. Still, immersing myself in a good book was sheer pleasure for me. I let the books transport me to exciting new places and experiences, a rare treat.

Truthfully, I crammed my calendar as full as I possibly could, so that I didn’t have the time to dwell on missing Traygen. I hadn’t heard from him in over a week. Then who was counting.
Me, if I were being honest with myself.

A knock at my front door announced the arrival of my dinner. They were quick tonight, business must be slow. No worries, I called a few times a week. I’d keep them in business. Pulling open the door, I started to ask how much I owed. I gasped, it wasn’t dinner,
 it was Fargon. Startled I didn’t say anything for several minutes.

“Fargon, I thought you were bringing my dinner. Please come in.”

“As long as, I’m not dinner,” he said, as he soared into the room.

“Fargon how is Traygen? Is the fight won? When will he be home?”

Fargon raised his wing and waited for me to be quiet. “Lauren, one question at a time. The enemy has been driven from the kingdom and back into the seas from where they came. The conflict has ended and the enemy routed. We are mopping up. Traygen, asked me to deliver this letter to you.”

Smiling, I accepted the letter and told Fargon to make himself at home. I ran to my bedroom, like a child hoarding candy. Locking my door, I sat on my bed, tearing open the letter. My eyes devoured the
contents and then I swear my heart stopped. Gulping air, I read the letter again. It just can’t be, not Traygen. This must be someone’s idea of a bad joke.

I threw open my bedroom door and ran into the living room. In a barely audible voice I asked Fargon, “Where is Traygen? What happened? Please tell me he is all right.”

“Lauren, sit down and…”

“No, damn it. I will not. Fargon, tell me what happened.”

“As you wish, Traygen went to find a group of vampires. Earlier in the day, he and his men had them cornered when they disappeared. The struggle turned in the kingdom’s favor. We were mopping up. Traygen insisted on taking out the remaining vampires by himself. He was searching the caves along the shore and he hasn’t been seen since.”

“You searched and haven’t found anything? No sign, nothing at all? Any sign of the vampires or of a fight?”

“There have been no reported sightings of vampires or evidence of a fight. Unfortunately, there was a storm that night. The heavy rains would have washed away any evidence of a struggle. The only thing we found was his shirt floating in the surf, but no trace of him. The search is continuing, but he is presumed dead. I’m sorry, Lauren.”

“For what? Fargon, I know he’s alive and we are going to find him. I’ll be ready as quickly as I can. I need you to take me to the place where he was last seen. First, I need to get us some help, if you’ll excuse me.”

My heart pounded and my legs trembled as I strode solemnly from the room, on my way to my office. Placing my hands on the Dragons Eye statue I sent for both Jason and Tokem. While I waited for them to respond, I paced around my office formulating a plan to rescue Traygen. A small popping noise made me jump. It sounded like caps exploding from the end of a toy gun.

“Hey, what’s up? Did you miss me already?” Tokem said.

I opened my mouth to speak and no words came out. Tokem glided over and sat on my outstretched hand.

“What is it, Lauren? Is something wrong? Are you okay? Speak to me, you’re scaring me.”

“It is Traygen.
He’s missing and presumed dead. We have to find him Tokem. I know he’s not dead.” Before I could say anything else, a loud bang announced Jason’s arrival.

“Lauren, did you call me?”

“Jason, Traygen is missing and presumed dead. I need your help and possibly the council’s. His homeland was under attack by Viking invaders, who bolstered their ranks with vampires and demons. Will you help?”

“Lauren, of course I’ll help in any way that I can. I’ll need some more details. When did this happen? Where? Tell me how I can help.”

“I’ll share with you what little I know. Traygen went to finish off a small group of vampires that eluded capture. He suspected they had hidden in some of the caves in the area. It was during his search of the caves he disappeared.”

“No one went with him?”

“No, he thought they were needed elsewhere. He went alone. The enemy was routed and the last obstacle was the vampires. He was last seen heading for the coast, which is where they found his shirt floating in the surf; there were no other signs of him.”

“What about the vampires? Have they been spotted or their bodies found?”

I shook my head. “There was no evidence of them and none were captured or seen. Fargon is waiting for our reply. Time is of the essence, we need to get going. Shall we?” Without uttering another word, I turned and headed back to the kitchen where Fargon was waiting.

“Fargon let me introduce my friends. This is Tokem and this is Jason.” I said pointing to each in turn.

“Traygen speaks highly of you both. I’m sorry we’re meeting under such terrible circumstances.”

“Fargon, Lauren tells me the vampires have not been seen or captured. Do you believe they are still in the area?”

Fargon ruffled his feathers and stretched his neck. “Lauren is correct.
There has been no sign of them alive or dead. No evidence to suggest that they are still in the area. The men are still searching for signs.
However, when I left there was no indication the vampires were still among us. We don’t know if Traygen even found them.”

Jason looked from me to Tokem and nodded his head before he turned to speak to Fargon. “Fargon, if you’ll allow me I’d like to bring some extra support. Traygen was special to us and we would like to help.”

“Any assistance you can offer would be appreciated. The fighting was so intensive we suffered higher than normal casualties. The kingdom has also had to deal with the betrayal of Prince Warren. He conspired with the Vikings to take the crown for himself.

“The king is recovering from the serious injuries he suffered during the first attack. The kingdom is now ruled by Traygen’s younger brother, Trevor. This is an unprecedented period of mourning for our people. Never before have we lost so many good men, women and children.”

“Fargon, you have my word we will find Traygen and help in any way we can. Jason, can you provide medical supplies and food?”

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll bring a contingent of the council guard. We’ll set up medical teams and open a kitchen. Time is of the essence, so I’ll take my leave. It won’t take me long to round up the necessary supplies. Traygen had many friends.
There will be no lack of volunteers. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

“Jason, thank you. Our people will be forever in your debt. Lauren and Tokem, if you are both ready we should go.”

“It is about time. I was afraid I was going to have to do this myself.” Tokem said before he jumped into my pocket.

“Lauren, hold onto my
wing and I’ll transport us.”

Buttoning down my pocket, to make sure Tokem was safe, or at the very least, we were free from his advice. I placed my arm on Fargon’s wing. The room went black and the air got still. It felt like the air was being squeezed from my lungs, I thought I’d pass out. Then coughing and gasping, I landed in a dimly lit corridor.

“Welcome to Carndonagh, you must be Lauren. My brother speaks so lovingly of you.” A younger version of Traygen said.

I stepped forward and offered Prince Trevor my hand. “Yes and you must be Prince Trevor. Has there been any new information about Traygen or the vampires?”

“Sadly, there is nothing new about Traygen. However, there might be news on the vampires. None has been seen.
Still, there have been some reports of missing farm animals. Unfortunately, until we can check it out, we don’t know when the animals died or vanished. They could have been missing since the original attacks.”

“It’s a start. Trevor, how can we help?”

“Lauren, no one knew my brother as well as you did. Perhaps, you can start by retracing his last steps. I’ll have someone take you to the spot where he was last seen. You may find something we’ve overlooked. I hope so. It will be light in about an hour. I’ll have someone show you to your rooms. Lauren, I know if anyone can bring him home you can.”

“I’ll do everything in my power. You have my word. I know he isn’t dead, I can feel it.”

“This is the best news I’ve had in days. Please keep me updated. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got families to console and injured to aid.”

Traygen my love, hang on. I’m coming to get you. I paced around my room until a knock on my door interrupted my thoughts. I opened the door to find one of the King’s guards standing there.

“Lauren, Prince Trevor has asked me to escort you to the main hall.
Everyone is gathering there.”

“Thank you, I’m ready.” I grabbed my things and followed the guard along the corridor, down a flight of stairs and into the main hall. The room was enormous and full of people. Oh, Traygen, these people love you. I’ll find you and return you to them my love.

I spotted Prince Trevor and steered in his direction. Before I could reach him Tokem landed on my shoulder.

“You aren’t going anywhere without me. I am your eyes in the sky,” Tokem declared.

“I wouldn’t think of it, Tokem. It will take all of us to find him.”

“Lauren, Tokem, I have assembled a few of our best trackers to go with us.”

“What are all these other people doing here?” I asked.

“Lauren, they loved Traygen and they want to help. I’ve explained that until we know what we are up against they should remain in the castle. They weren’t happy, but they understood.”

I brushed a tear from my eye before I regained my composure. The grief I felt constricted my lungs and I had to gulp air to steady myself.

“Lauren, are you all right?” A worried sounding Tokem whispered in my ear.

“No, but I will be when we bring him home.” I whispered in reply.

“Lauren, this is General Wingo, he has brought his two best men. This is Aaron and this is Glynn. General Wingo was the last person to see Traygen before he disappeared.”

“General, Aaron, Glynn thank you for your help. General, what can you tell me about your last conversation with Traygen?”

“Lauren, I tried to convince Traygen to wait for back up, but he insisted that he could handle the vampires himself. He didn’t want to risk anyone else’s life.”

“Can you show me the surrounding country where Traygen was headed? I need to see the terrain and see if I can pick up any trace of him. I’m ready if you are.”

“Certainly, Lauren, we can fly you and Tokem to the area where he was headed and where we found his shirt.”

“Good. Do you have the shirt? I want to see if I can use it to track his presence.”

“Yes, I’ll get it right away. Aaron, get the shirt and meet us out
front.”

Aaron nodded and headed down the nearest corridor, turning I followed General Wingo out of the castle.