Hidden Dragons (18 page)

“Make up your mind while I drive,” she said, opening the door to the tricked-out dark blue caddie.

He gave her a look.

“The Cadillac is nicer,” she said, “and Gran always kept it charged. Plus, I can disable the GPS chip. You know, in case the goblins try to use it to track us.”

She dropped the now-mellow Poly in the back seat.

Rick shoved the cell phone into his front jeans pocket, an interesting process what with the gauntlet’s spikes. “Fine,” he said, “but I’m driving.”

“Can you?” She looked pointedly at his hand.

“The day I can’t is the day I turn in my
Y
chromosome.”

She laughed and let him take the wheel, aware that her giddy humor was probably the result of too much fear-driven adrenaline.

She took a moment to be proud of herself. The magic she’d used wouldn’t win a prize, but she hadn’t choked in the thick of things. She’d helped her and Rick get free. She couldn’t deny she’d enjoyed teaming up with him.

She directed him to the private exit from the garage. As they emerged on Sixth Avenue, police sirens began to wail on Fifth. Someone must have heard the fight and reported it.

Rick touched the pocket that held his phone again.

“You don’t know if you should call your pack,” she realized.

His face twisted, his expression more strained than it had been for the goblin attack. “My wolf wants me to. It’s what we do when there’s danger: pull together and face it as a group.”

“But?”

His hands—one gloved, one bare—slid restlessly on the wheel. The gauntlet’s spikes were clean and shiny and strangely cheerful, as if they’d drunk the goblin blood and liked it. “But maybe we
do
have the dragon eggs. I know. You think those rocks can’t be them, but if it’s another trick you or your dad pulled . . .”

“They’re not magic. I double-checked.”

Rick stopped for a red light. A hot dog vendor rolled his cart across the intersection in front of them, followed by a huge Spink demon walking a bouncy pug puppy. Cass took advantage of the car being stationary to remove the GPS chip from its hiding spot behind the radio.

“Squish it?” she asked Rick.

Still troubled, he nodded.

“You should turn off your phone if you’re going to,” she said. “As long as you use Elfnet, shutting it off will prohibit it pinging off cell towers.”

He’d know this of course. Any cop would. Grimacing, he dug out his unit and handed it to her.

“We’re dealing with two faeries now,” he said as she switched off his cell and hers. “That goblin said they were hired by a she. And the portrait they were hanging? I think whoever she is sent the fake cleaners not just to search the penthouse, but also to replace the picture you threw in the trash chute. I think it must have been the faerie version of a nanny cam—spelled to keep an eye on the place and you. The question is are the male and female faeries working together or rivals to find the eggs? If I call in my pack, will they be caught in a faerie crossfire? And then there’s you.”

“Me?”

He glanced at her, then put the car in motion for the green light. Despite his distraction, he drove more smoothly than anyone she’d ridden with. “What if you’d be safer with all of us protecting you? What if I’m not enough by myself?”

“I’m not helpless,” she pointed out.

“I know.” He smacked the wheel in frustration. “I wish my brain worked faster.”

“Your brain works fine the way it is!”

He smiled at her defense of it. “We would hide more easily if it was just the two of us.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” She was struck by the surrealness of the situation. How had her return to Resurrection turned into her and her old crush going on the lam from dragon-obsessed faeries?

“Can you be tracked by photos like you said your dad could?”

She blinked. So much for his “slow” brain. She hadn’t thought of that. “Maybe. Being tracked that way is a faerie-specific thing, because purebloods radiate extra energy. I’m not certain it works on halves.”

“Could you burn out your images like he did?”

“I don’t know. Doing it long distance might be tricky.”

“I think you should try,” he said.

“O-kay,” she agreed slowly.

He spun the wheel for an unexpected turn, one that doubled back on their route thus far. “I’m making sure we aren’t followed,” he said. “Once I do, I’ll decide where we’ll hide out. Concentrate on your erasing. I’ll take care of us for now.”

He talked as if her accomplishing the feat was a foregone conclusion. Apparently, he had as much faith in her as he did in those stupid rocks.

AS a cop and a wolf, Rick knew back ways into Wolf Woods. Though the land reserved to his kind for hunting stretched many miles, run-ins between packs could get rowdy. Rick’s squad had been called in to assist the rangers a time or two.

Because the full moon had passed a week ago, he was likelier to face a standoff with a bear than one of his own species. The bear he could handle. It wouldn’t blab that it had seen them.

He squeezed the borrowed Cadillac into a work shed behind an empty cabin. Cass and the cat were asleep. Cass had conked out after spending an hour looking like she was meditating—presumably burning out her image from people’s pictures. Rick hoped asking her to do that was overkill. He also hoped her friends didn’t find out he was responsible. His sister Maria taught him women got pissed over ruined photographs.

Happy to let Cass nap, he rummaged through the cabin for supplies he could liberate. The magic gauntlet—which he wished he could figure out how to turn back into a cuff—made his search awkward. That didn’t matter. This wasn’t their final stop. Though Rick knew faeries drew strength from nature, he wasn’t sure how Cass felt about roughing it. Thoughts of the luxuries she was used to led him to shove more into the bags than he would have for his own sake. His conscience pricked at the thefts. Hopefully, he’d get a chance to pay back the owner. Hopefully, this crazy situation wasn’t going to end with the Pocket imploding.

His illegal foraging complete, Rick returned to the car.

Cass woke when he opened the door she was leaning on. Her eyes were sleepy, her cheeks and lips as rosy as a child’s. She was too effing beautiful for comfort. Rick’s restless cock started stretching inside his jeans. His control wasn’t helped by his whole body itching for a post-fight release. He’d have loved to let go and take her now.

“Are we there?” she asked, her voice husky from waking up.

“Almost.” He held up the woman’s moccasins he’d found by the cabin door. “I know you can walk in heels, but we’ve got a ways to go. These might be easier.”

She slipped them on. Either he’d guessed her size, or she made them fit with a spell. She looked out the door of the weathered shed, toward the trees that surrounded them. The Pocket might be just a few centuries old, but this forest looked as if it had been around longer. Pines as tall as ship masts grew here; oaks with trunks three grown men couldn’t circle with their arms. He’d heard rumors actual wood sprites had been seen dancing in some clearings.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Wolf Woods.”

“I thought it felt familiar.”

“You’ve been here before?” Non-wolves were allowed in the park if they had permits. He tried to imagine Cass camping and couldn’t.

“I’ve driven past the gates. The original Maycee farmstead is out Route One. When I was a kid, Gran took me on a couple pilgrimages to see it. I think she was glad for the company. My mom absolutely refused to go. There’s a lot of woo-woo energy on the property.”

“The farm buildings are intact?”

“More or less. Gran paid a caretaker to keep them from falling down.”

“I didn’t know that. I’m surprised the place isn’t a museum.”

“I think Gran wanted it to stay a family thing.”

Since Cass was ready, Rick offered her a hand out of the car. Her warm palm slid over his like silk.

“I’ll get the cat,” she said, opening the back and leaning in to do it.

Sweat prickled on his skin, his jeans tightening even more. Her trousers might be prissy, but her rounded ass was killer. Poly let out grumpy
mew
before falling back to sleep draped on her shoulder.

Rick wasn’t ready for Cass to turn around.

“What?” she asked, seeing the tension in his facial muscles.

“Nothing,” he said, grateful he had no problem lying. “I left some supplies outside.”

She followed him into the tall weeds of the cabin’s yard. Rick heaved the larger duffel over his head and shoulder.

“I can carry both,” he offered. “I forgot about the cat.”

Cass lifted the smaller backpack by one strap. “Oh my God,” she moaned, pretending to be bent double by the weight.

“It’s not
that
heavy,” he said without thinking.

She laughed and straightened with it on her shoulder. Her blue eyes twinkled with amusement. “I guess my faerie princess cred has expired.”

“I said I’d carry both.”

“No, no,” she demurred. “You’re tired of treating me like a fragile flower. I’ll just have to bear up.”

Since she seemed to prefer this, he shut his mouth.

“You could offer to take Poly,” she teased.

“Thanks but no thanks. She likes you way more than me.”

He enjoyed that Cass was smiling as they set off into the trees. Because he’d decided to avoid trails, they had to rely on their similar aptitudes for navigating wild places. The air was nippy, the autumn sun well on its downward path. Rick looked back to check Cass for shivers, but she seemed all right.

“Are we going somewhere in particular?” she asked after a few minutes.

“Yes,” he answered, reluctant to explain he wasn’t certain he could find it.

She waited a beat and then broke into a laugh. “That’s all I get? A
yes?
”

Rick sighed in surrender. “I haven’t been to the spot myself. A member of my pack described it after he stumbled onto it.”

“I thought you’d decided not to involve your pack. Won’t it occur to him that’s where we’d go?”

“Nate won’t
want
to think it. Something bad happened to him there.”

The something bad was a power-mad part faerie forcing him into his wolf form without the civilizing effect of his human consciousness. As a result, he’d hunted and nearly killed his future wife. Under the circumstances, Rick thought he could be excused from bringing up all that.

“The way Nate described it, it wasn’t a normal place. I can’t be sure, but I have a feeling we’ll be safe there.”

Cass resettled the backpack on her deceptively slender shoulders. “Okay,” she said. “I believe in feelings.”

~

What Cass felt most at the moment was freezing. The woods grew darker, the mercury plummeting along with the sun. She and Rick had good night vision. They continued quietly and at a good pace. Whether they were actually making progress was a separate issue.

Poly was awake again and seemed to find the nighttime journey interesting. She peered this way and that from her safe post on Cass’s shoulder, ears flicking at forest creatures and snapping twigs. Cass was grateful for her furry warmth to bury her hands in.

Don’t ask
, she ordered as the urge arose yet again to inquire if Rick was sure he could find this place. She already knew he wasn’t. His packmate had described it, not traced the route on a map. Rick had stopped half a dozen times already to get his bearings and take a different tack.

She clenched her teeth against chattering. Maybe it would be okay to suggest they make camp now and try again in the morning. Rick wasn’t as uptight about being right as some men.

She opened her mouth to ask and bumped into his broad back. He’d stopped without warning. God, she could have put her head on his shoulder and slept standing up.

He reached behind him to rub her hip. “I think it’s up ahead.”

Her heart rate perked up. There did seem to be a clearing. By leaning around him she spotted an increase in moonlight. Rick walked faster and she followed.

“Wow,” he said, coming to a halt. He stepped aside so Cass could see.

The lake before her was as magical a spot as she’d ever encountered. Not huge but considerably bigger than a pond, the tall dark forest surrounded it. Nearly as still as glass, its slowly wavering surface turned everything it reflected ethereal. The trees looked ready to start walking, the stars to float down to earth. Though it was night and almost winter, the scent of flowers perfumed the air. A milky boulder rose from the water’s center—a great chunk of quartz, she thought. Power emanated from it in gentle waves, not fae power but similar to it. Despite Rick’s story of his packmate stumbling here, it seemed a place no civilized person had disturbed.

“Wow,” she agreed, her breath gusting white in front of her.

“This has to be it,” Rick said. “Nate described that rock perfectly.”

They were whispering, too awed by their surroundings to speak loudly. Poly meowed and wriggled to be let down. With some trepidation, Cass set her on her feet. The cat ran to the lake edge and lapped a drink.

“She won’t run away,” Rick assured her. “She’s a house cat. She’ll want you to feed her.”

Cass hoped this was true. She’d grown attached to her grandmother’s orphaned pet. Rick rubbed her sleeve. The comfort she received from the gesture reminded her—or warned her—she’d grown attached to him as well.

“Look over there,” he said, pointing across the water toward where the bank was taller and overhung with vines. “I think there might be a cave.”

Goose bumps skipped across her shoulders. Didn’t dragons traditionally like them?

“Let’s go see,” she said.

Rick had been caught up in goggling at the lake. At her words, he turned and smiled at her. Her heart jumped into her throat and stuck. She’d thought of him as a knight before, but he truly looked it then. Bathed by the soft moonlight, his brow was noble, his grin game for anything. His green eyes flashed with his wolf’s excitement as he took her hand in his.

He squeezed her fingers for the entire walk to the cave. The shimmery moonlight went in a little ways.