Page 36 of Wild Fire

Falkor nodded. “They’re going to sweep the area when they’ve destroyed what they can. We’ve got all of the girls in here and will hold the slavers off until they are defeated.”

“You do mean dead, right? Because I want them dead.”

“You’re a blood-thirsty little human, I’ll give you that,” he said with a grin.

They could hear automatic gunfire here and there, and she could feel Warrick’s presence growing stronger and stronger. When the door to the large room they were in opened, she spotted him and rushed across the room, throwing herself into his arms with reckless abandon.

“I thought you were dead. How did you find me?” she managed between kisses.

Fisting her hair, he tugged her head back, gazing into her eyes as if trying to discern the extent of any injuries. “You should have known not even death would keep me from your side. The link, though not as strong as it would have been if I had fully claimed you, was strong enough to lead me to you.”

She didn’t care about how he’d found her or the state of the bond that already existed between them. All she cared about was his mouth claiming hers in a savage kiss that she returned with the same intensity and passion. As he kissed her with a ferocity that left her breathless, he ran his hands all over her body to ensure she wasn’t too badly hurt.

They made arrangements for the women to be transported to the closest medical center and Dani gave several of them her card so they would know who to contact at the Seattle Police Department.

“Once they’ve finished on the lower level, we will return to Dragonwyk,” stated Warrick in a tone that brooked no room for argument.

“I suppose my telling you I should return to Seattle and file a report would fall on deaf ears.”

“It would indeed. Once we are home and Zahran says you are recovered, you can contact your lieutenant, but you will remain at Dragonwyk.”

Once the other women had been led outside, Zahran joined them, holding a leather-bound book. “The slavers were only the tip of the iceberg. What’s beneath the surface is far, far worse.”

“I find that hard to believe… What is that?” Dani asked, pointing to the book he held.

“A book of knowledge—of secret knowledge kept from a time when dragons ruled the skies. Just glancing through it, I see a number of sections about a great many shifters—mostly the apex predators—and their weaknesses and how to defeat them. There are also ancient spells.”

Warrick shook his head. “Those books or books reported to have great power have been around for thousands of years. If it fell into the hands of humans and wasn’t written off as a hoax, it might be something to concern us…”

“You don’t understand, Warrick,” said Zahran. “Obviously, I haven’t had a chance to make an extensive study of it, but what I had a chance to look at is authentic and, not only that, accurate. There is a great deal of detail, going so far in some species as to list clans and their territories.”

“But how accurate can it be?” asked Dani. “I mean if it’s that old…”

“Some clans still occupy their original territories. Some have had offshoots from their clans, but many have remained basically in one place for centuries or longer,” explained Warrick.

“And that’s not the worst of it,” said Zahran. “There’s a lab down there that would rival those of the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control. Only it’s more like the laboratory of some mad scientist. I think you may be right. I think they were trying to devise a way to clone not just dragons but the other, more ancient species—the cave lions and cave bears. Some of their failed experiments are preserved in glass containers. It’s horrific.”

“We have to destroy it,” whispered Dani.

“We will,” said Zahran. “I have the others taking hard drives and anything else we can carry back to Dragonwyk. There’s no way your cultists are responsible for this, and I find the idea of the Shadow League being behind it hard to believe as well. The Shadow Leagues are muscle, not brain. There is a kind of evil genius that is pursuing this. Something or someone who has figured out that shifters exist and that they can be weaponized.”

“Weaponized?” asked Dani.

“You think it’s a human?” asked Warrick.

“I do. It makes the most sense. Even if we acknowledge that there are shifters who would prefer to bring about the downfall of man, this kind of horrific kind of experimentation would be unthinkable. If for no other reason than shifter species, all of them, have never looked kindly on pairings between different species.”

“But humans are okay?” asked Dani.

“Yes, because they are seen as inferior,” explained Warrick. “There are those who think we would be elevating humankind—which to some is unthinkable—and there are others who see humans as decidedly inferior and worthy only of serving shifters.”

Dani stared between the two men. “You do know as fucked up as we are and as much as we fight among ourselves, humans wouldn’t just roll over and accept being enslaved, right?”

“Wouldn’t they? Especially if they thought they could rule supreme? Your history indicates an acceptance of depravity if it means garnering power for the right people.”

Dani started to deny his claims, but realized human history was littered with power-hungry dictators who would send the world up in flames if it meant they would come out on top. “I hate to admit it, but you might not be wrong.”

“If someone like that found out about shifters—specifically those of us who are truly ancient—and could figure out how to harness that power or better yet, create a new line of warriors bent on the destruction and subjugation of humans and shifters alike, they would be unstoppable,” said Zahran.

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