Page 8 of The King

“St. John’s wort, Valerian root, Skullcap, Hops, and - silver nitrate,”the words hissed through his mind, the image they conjured causing him both pain and utter and complete rage.

It was too familiar to be anything but a potent tranquilizer he hadn't smelled since the demise of an organization that had threatened the entire Paranormal World. It was the first and last time that especially heinous concoction had been used on Supernatural Beings of all shapes, sizes, and origins. Many of his kind, as well as Dragons and Wolves, had been tortured and lost their lives at the hands of an organization – a deranged set of twins, their psychotic father, and all their maniacal minions - hellbent on taking everything that made Supernatural Beings special, warping it to their own unbalanced desires, then using it to exterminate every race.

They were lost to their delusions of grandeur to the bitter end. Thankfully, it was they who were exterminated – or were they?

Nothing and no one would stop him from getting answers and finding his Mate. Nothing and no one…

Bridgette’s eyes were glassy. Her respirations were shallow. Each word was slow and slurred, and her complexion was pale and sallow. He had to make the leap from Maggie’s memories to the echo of his Mate’s consciousness before she succumbed to the effects of the tranquilizer.

Using the tether shared by the fantastical friendship of the two women, Max was catapulted into Bridgette's mind by a blast of Casimiro's Enchantment. Fighting through her groggy thoughts and with the dim light of her dwindling consciousness as his guide, he looked through her eyes.

Cataloging everything he saw in the few seconds his Mate had left, Max noted a weathered and rotting wooden sign welcoming anyone who dared to enter to Puerto de Anapra, Mexico. Opening his senses wide, he escaped the devastating net of the sedatives inundating Brigette's body only to find something even more disturbing.

Swamped with feelings of desperation, sadness, loneliness, poverty, and mental illness, one prevailing odor attacked from every direction – malicious corruption and overwhelming hate. The nearly thirty thousand human souls in this desolate community were being exploited, and their suffering was being perpetuated to cover for something far more malevolent.

How had this happened on his watch? With many Dragon Guardsmen and their Mates close by, how had anyone done this to so many they were all sworn to protect? Who could have replicated one of the most devastating attempts to exterminate the Paranormal in history?

“Casimiro, do you…?”

But that was as far as the King got before his Mate lost consciousness, and he was forced from her mind. Gently following the path he'd used to enter Maggie's memories, Max left everything as he had found it and took a step back.

No sooner had Maggie opened her eyes than she fired off questions and comments - one right after the other. "Did you find anything new? Do you know where Ettie is? Is she okay? We can still go out to the Res. I know Maria will help. We can also call my Pack and the MacAllens. We can round up everybody with an ounce of Magic from here to Next Tuesday, the little town about thirty miles down the road."

Not wanting to alarm either Maggie or Heath, Max downplayed what he’d learned. “I believe I did find what I needed, but it will require a little more investigation.”

“Okay, great,” Heath chimed in. “We already have the diner ready to lock up. Just give us a minute, and we’ll…”

"I appreciate your help, but first, I must speak to an old friend."

"Alright, come on in the diner," Maggie volunteered. "While you make your calls, I'll start a fresh pot of coffee, and we can…"

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." Turning towards the Chihuahuan Desert, he looked back to his friends. "I hope you understand. This is something I need to do on my own." With a wave of his hand, a swirling portal opened, and he stepped over the threshold.

Still looking at his friends, the King smiled and, with all the genuine appreciation and affection he felt for both of them, added, "I can't thank you enough for all your help. You are the truest of friends. I promise to be in touch just as soon as I have all the answers we need."

As the entrance closed and the first leg of his journey began, Max laughed out loud despite what he faced when Maggie sighed, “That man is just too mysterious for his own good. No wonder Ettie can’t decide if she should kiss him silly or kick him in the shin.”

3

BACK TO THE PRESENT

“Who the hell was that?”

“How should I know?”Eden snapped. “It’s your mind. I’m just stuck livin’ in it.”

“Oh, come on,”Ettie shot right back.“If I recognized the voice, so did you.”

“Then tell me who it was.”

“I didn’t say I knew WHO it was. I said, I…Oh, whatever!”Ettie shouted.“I’m not playin’ this game with you. You know damned good and well that I was asking for a name. You are also well aware that I didn’t KNOW the name because, as you remind me on almost an hourly basis, we share a brain."

“Yes, but…”

“But nothing! Do you or do you not know who that voice belongs to?”

“I do not.”

“Okay, then. See how easy that was?”

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