Page 35 of Riding My Dragons

”Calm down, Cade…”

”Damnit, don’t you tell me to calm down!What did they do to her?Is she all right?Where is she?You’d better tell me, or…”

”Or what?Don’t be making any threats and demands, Cade; you’re not in a position to back them up.The clients haven’t hurt the human girl.It wouldn’t serve their plans to hurt her.She’s only leverage, a way to make sure the deal is sealed and what they need is delivered.There’s no reason for them to do anything to her as long as they get what they need from you.”

I took the growl out of my voice, but not the fear.The fear had me by the throat.I gulped and said, “Listen, Ross.Please, just listen.Her name’s Jenna.She’s a good kid.She’s just a student; she’s never done anything to anybody.”

”From what the scouts said, she did a few things to you and your friends, though.And you guys did some things to her…”

Hearing him talk that way about her, I couldn’t help myself.My rage came back.“Damnit, Ross, if they did anything to her…!”

“Relax, relax,” he said.“They didn’t hurt the girl.One of the scouts just used a tranquilizer claw with a perfectly safe sedative.No one wants Jenna hurt, Cade.They just wanted to take her to a place where they could keep a close eye on her and have her there to ensure the deal was followed through immediately.She’s not hurt.She’s just in safekeeping.When they have what they paid for, they’ll pay us, Jenna will be released, and you’ll get your cut.No harm done to anybody at all.”

Shaking, I wiped the scales over my eyes as if they had a human sweat on them.“Just tell them not to hurt her.They’ll get the damn box; just don’t let them do anything to her.”

“Nothing will happen to Jenna, Cade.Just follow instructions and she’ll be just fine,” said Ross.

“All right, all right.What do I have to do to get her back?Do you still want me to bring the data box to you at the pub?I’ll go there now, Ross; I’ll be out the door right now.”

Ross said, “No.There’s another change in plans.Don’t bring it to the pub.There’s another place where you’re to take it; a place where the clients will be waiting for it.You’re to take the thing there.And stay in your human shape and take side streets and back roads as much as you can.I’m going to tell you where you have to go.”

I listened to Ross’s directions.I looked again at the old data box, which was now not just the thing that I stole for some mysterious party; but had become the bargaining chip for Jenna’s life.When Ross was finished, I ended the call and took my shirt from where I’d put it over a chair.Then I grabbed the thing and was ready to move.

But first I hit my mirror again and called my friends.

CHAPTER 17

Elliot

“We told her she was safe with us,” I said bitterly, scared down to my bones.“Damn it all, we promised Jenna she was safe with us!”

”Elliot, we’ve got to stay calm,” Byron said.

The two of us had gone back to human, there on the lawn of the University commons, with shirts still tucked in our trousers.

“Byron, this doesn’t make me feel calm,” I said.“She trusted us—totally trusted us.Jenna gave herself up to me.She went from being a virgin right to letting all of us be with her, and we told her—we told her, Byron, she was safe.And she believed us.”

”Jenna had every reason to believe us,” Byron argued.“All we were ever going to do was make her happy, the way she made us.”

”You think she’s happy now, wherever she is?”

Byron had no answer for that.We didn’t know a damn thing about where Jenna was and how she was feeling, except that where she might be, she was probably scared.And she was probably wondering where we were, and if she’d ever see us or anyone that she cared about again.

”We should have kept her with us,” I said, feeling sick to my stomach.“We told her she’d be better off coming back here by herself, Byron.By herself, without us.How could we be so stupid?”

Putting a hand on my shoulder, Byron said, “We were sure we were doing the right thing for her.We were surewe were keeping her safe.Elliot, we couldn’t have predicted this.We had no way to expect this.Sending her back here was meant to keep her out of trouble; that’s what we wanted, remember?”

My emotions churning inside me, I said, “Well, we got the exact opposite of what we wanted, didn’t we?”I looked at Jenna’s mirror in my hand, this piece of glass that was all that we had of her now.I looked up and around at the empty University campus, so quiet, so tranquil, which was the opposite of the way I felt at this moment.Inside me, my dragon self was screeching.

“Look,” said Byron, “I’m scared for her too.But right now, we’re going to need all our wits…”

That was when Byron’s mirror sounded.He took the call and said to me, “It’s Cade.”

Byron listened to Cade while I stood by, wondering what new fire was being lit under us.Byron looked over at me, alarmed at what he was hearing.“We’re on the spot where that must have been right now.That must have happened right at the place we’re standing.Okay, yes, send me the scan.”

”What?” I whispered urgently at Byron.He held up his hand to tell me to hold on, and watched his mirror.A second later, he jerked back his head at what he saw.Feeling as alarmed as Byron looked, I said more strongly, “What?”

“Stay there, Cade,” Byron said, and held up the mirror to show me what Cade sent him.It made me stagger back in my tracks.

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