Page 6 of The Dragon Recruit
He ignored Cooper’s deepening frown. “I always have been, my dear. One needs something to do when hunkered down in a forest, waiting for prey.”
Cooper cleared his throat, and Antony finally forced his gaze to the dragonman and smiled. “Hello, old chap. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
He blinked. “Er, yes. But Iris is right—we have a lot to do today. So if you could sit and get started, that would be helpful.”
Antony glanced from one to the other. “Is there anything I can assist with?”
Iris shook her head. “No. We have it in hand.”
No doubt she did. But he still replied, “I’m always here, if you should need me.”
She muttered, “I bloody well won’t.”
Antony chuckled as he sat down, careful not to wince at the pain in his ribs. “That may change, sooner than you think.” He held out a file folder and tossed it onto the table. “The clanless dragon-shifters living in Cairngorms National Park have disappeared.”
Over the years, as more clans accepted humans, some dragon-shifters had tried to keep dragon clans for dragons only. Eventually, those who resisted the changes had been banished or ran away. The majority of them had gathered together in Cairngorms.
It was something all the UK dragon clans had been watching closely. But not as closely as Antony and his superiors.
Cooper frowned. “So they’ve moved? To where?”
“No, they haven’t moved—they’ve vanished. And before you ask, we’ve been watching that site for a long time now. If they so much as took a piss, we knew.” He leaned forward. “And yet one day, the site was simply abandoned, with us none the wiser. It’s as if a portal opened up and swallowed them.”
Or, he had a traitor in his midst that had helped them. But one thing at a time.
Iris rolled her eyes. “This isn’t some science-fiction show, Holbrook. They had to go somewhere.”
“Indeed. Certain individuals are eager to find out where.” He tapped the file folder. “This will all leak by tomorrow, at the latest. We want to judge the public’s reaction and see if it helps answer the question of where they bloody went.”
Cooper jumped in. “But won’t that just send people to the dragon clans, saying we murdered our own kind, and cause chaos?”
“Perhaps. But we need to see how your enemies react to the news.”
As well as other dragon-shifters, but he couldn’t share that bit. Not yet.
Iris said, “That includes how the dragon hunters react, aye?”
“Yes, my dear. Especially them. But there are also people on the internet who stir the pot all the time. Some of it is to be cruel, and others genuinely want a human and dragon war. So we’ll be monitoring them, too.” He gestured toward the file folder. “Inside is information the media won’t get, so study it and let me know if you have any questions.”
He stood slowly and Iris asked, “You’re just going to drop that bombshell and leave?”
Raising an eyebrow, he replied, “That file will answer your questions, and then some. It’s better for you two to study it and then ask me questions later.”
“How can we when you always disappear into the ether?” Iris asked.
Antony took out a small phone and held it out. “This is your direct line of contact to me. It can’t be traced, nor will it dial any number but the one in there.”
She took it, careful not to brush her fingers against his. But Antony couldn’t resist, and reached out his forefinger to touch her thumb as she pulled away.
Like always, electricity raced through him at her touch. Her pupils flashed between round and slitted, too.
Ah, so she wasn’t as unaffected as she pretended to be.
Don’t think of it. Not even once. It’s too risky.Antony dropped his hand and nodded. “If anything happens, anything at all, let me know. You may also want to watch the familymembers here who have a relative or loved one who left back when Finn gave his ultimatum.”
At one point, some of the Lochguard dragon-shifters had wanted to hurt Arabella, Finn Stewart’s mate, and get rid of any humans. In the end, the Lochguard clan leader had banished anyone who wouldn’t follow his leadership or accept humans.
Cooper shared a glance with Iris and finally replied, “Aye, we’ve been doing that already, but we’ll increase our surveillance.”
