Page 32 of Magic Betrayed

It was indeed a rabbit, but an enormous one—probably weighing around fifteen pounds, with soft brown fur, long floppy ears, and a sense of urgency on par with the average basset hound. As we watched, he flopped onto the worn floral carpet, stretched out his back legs, and appeared resigned to—if not thrilled about—our presence in his domain.

“I’ve had him since he was just a teeny ball of fluff,” Grandma Pearl explained, her focus still on the screens in front of her. “He watches my shows with me. Has a taste for electrical cords, the silly darling, but he’s getting better.”

I gave up, resigned to the fact that I was in some sort of alternate world and may as well resolve not to be surprised byanythinguntil after we left again.

We might have been there for hours. Perhaps only minutes. But at some point, I could feel my eyes begin to droop, and my mind turn hazy. I shook my head rapidly, trying to hold my eyes open wider. Of all places to fall asleep, this really wasn’t one I would choose. But just as Callum had warned, the incredibly swift healing process seemed to have robbed me of energy, and even my limbs were beginning to feel heavy…

“Raine.”

I jerked awake. Turned my head to look at Callum, and saw amusement creasing the corners of his eyes. Despite our surroundings, he appeared relaxed and confident. One of the perks of being a dragon, I guess.

“You can sleep,” he said quietly. “I know you need it, and this may take a while. I promise you’ll be safe with me.”

Was it weird that even in the midst of this bizarre underground funhouse of china and chintz, I didn’t doubt that for a moment?

But I really didn’t want him to know just how warm and squishy his words made me feel, so I shot him a scowl filled with deep and terrible suspicion. “How do I know you won’t let your guard down in front of Mr. Bunbridge there? He looks like he eats fingers.”

“Only shoestrings, dear,” Grandma Pearl called from across the room. “He hasn’t bitten anyone in weeks.”

Callum’s smile was still more soft than teasing. “I promise not to let Reginald eat you, or your shoestrings.”

How could I say no after a promise like that?

“Okay.” I yawned. “Wake me when there’s anything to report.”

I sort of remembered laying my head back against the couch. But after that, there was nothing but oblivion until I heard the deep rumble of Callum’s voice calling my name.

My eyes cracked open. My cheek was resting on something soft, and my arm was wrapped around it like I was hugging my pillow… I lifted my head, and found myself nose to nose with a dragon.

A stupidly gorgeous dragon with wavy auburn hair, a shadow of beard on his jaw, and beautiful lips that curved in amusement as he watched me blink slowly to wakefulness…

I sat up so fast it made me dizzy. The room swooped, my cheeks heated, and I heard a cackle of laughter from Grandma Pearl.

“Naptime is over, dearie,” she said. “Come and see what I have for you.”

I couldn’t even look at Callum. Not after I’d used him as a pillow. Had I drooled on his shoulder? Please let me not have drooled on his shoulder. But I was too embarrassed to check, so I hopped up and headed purposefully across the room to where my answers—hopefully—awaited.

“Your results.” A series of windows peppered the entire bank of monitors, all with images of the van. Some were videos, some stills. “We have two people in the front, but they’re wearing dark clothing and I can’t get a good look at faces. One male, one female is my best guess. The name on the side of the van is Restoration Electric, and the logo appears to have been taken directly from a stock image site. If they are a real company, they have no web presence or phone number, and the state of Oklahoma doesn’t know they exist. The van is registered in Oklahoma, but the name on the registration is fake, and the address takes you to a vacant lot.”

My jaw almost dropped at the amount of information she’d been able to uncover, even if none of it was good.

“So, is there anything helpful at all?” I must have sounded frustrated because those eyes twinkled at me over her glasses again.

“Not so fast. As far as passengers, I have no proof one way or another whether there’s anyone in the back of the van, and you were correct that all cameras in the vicinity of the apartment building show nothing of interest around the time of the incident. However…” Her smile grew positively terrifying. “I can tell you where the van is now.”

I could have hugged her. But I didn’t, because her bunny was probably there for personal protection and would eviscerate me in seconds. Anything was possible here, and my hunch magic wasn’t letting me forget it.

“Where?” I kept my tone calm and somehow managed not to either reach out and shake her or wring my hands in desperation.

“Stinchcomb Wildlife Refuge, East Hiking Trail.” She pivoted yet another monitor to show us a shot taken from above—probably by a drone using a spotlight. And sure enough, there was our van—sitting off to the side on a dirt road, near what appeared to be a small, semi-circular parking lot. No people in sight. “This is live, of course. But I can only keep my drone on it for a few minutes longer before it will need to recharge.”

I somehow suppressed the urge to reach out and touch the screen—to forge some tenuous connection with this one bit of evidence we had.

“Is anyone in it? Has your drone picked up any people nearby?”

An arched eyebrow warned me that my tone might have been too demanding, but apparently she was in a good enough mood to answer me anyway.

“No hikers in January, dear. And the van appears to be empty. If you’re hoping for witnesses, you’re unlikely to find anyone who cared enough to notice, and the closest security camera is at the football field a quarter of a mile away.” She turned her chair towards me, a warning on her wrinkled face. “It shows them arriving around four in the morning, but that’s all I can tell you.”

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