Page 69 of I Am Salvation

Chapter Nineteen

Dragon

It’s my private investigator, Alayna.

“Dragon Locke,” I say into the phone.

“Dragon, it’s Alayna. I’ve got a lead on this Order of the Serpent.”

“Is it some kind of cult?” I ask.

She pauses. “Yes and no.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I found a group with that name. It’s a mysterious group with immense power and dangerous reach. They aren’t exactly a cult. More like a secret society. They’ve got their fingers in everything, from politics to crime. I’ve heard rumors about them, but this is the first hard lead I’ve had.”

“Sounds shady,” I say, my voice heavy with skepticism. “What’s the connection to Griffin?”

“If they have her…”

“Just say it, Alayna.”

She sighs through the phone. “Here’s the thing, Dragon. They buy women. Men and kids too, for that matter.”

“But why? What for?” I ask, though my own experience tells me I already know the answer to the question. It’s something I don’t let myself think about.

“You’re not going to like this, Dragon.”

She pauses, and I can almost hear her grimace through the phone.

“It seems they’re using them for rituals. Dark ones.”

My stomach churns. Rituals? Like some twisted version of human sacrifice? God, I can’t go there.

I gulp. “So what do we do now?”

“Whoever had Griffin before probably either sold her off, or someone saw her and arranged for her abduction.”

“But why would—” I stop myself.

Why would whoever had her sell her off? Or have her someplace where these lunatics could see her and abduct her?

Easy.

Whoever has had her all these years is a kidnapper himself, and God only knows what he’s done to her.

The thought makes me sick.

Because I know.

I know what horrors can be done to a small body.

“Dragon?” Alayna’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I force the lie out. “How do we find these Order bastards?”

“Leave that to me for now. I’m going to grab some colleagues and check out a compound in Albuquerque.”

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