Page 41 of The Dragon Recruit
“You’re with Antony Holbrook, aye? Put me on speakerphone.” She did as asked and Finn continued, “One of our Protectors, Zoe Watson, went to meet with the DDA liaison in Inverness yesterday and hasn’t been heard from since. Worse than that, no one can locate the liaison himself.”
Antony stated, “And the liaison was Jude Nickerson.”
Finn said, “Aye, and judging by the tone of your voice, there’s something you’re not telling me.”
Iris shared a glance with Antony and raised her eyebrows. How much could they share?
Antony took the lead. “Let’s just say we were on our way to meet him. We’ll be in Inverness later today and will investigate Zoe’s disappearance. For now, just tell us everything you know about your Protector’s last whereabouts and any other pertinent information.”
Once Finn had rattled off the details and said goodbye, Iris asked, “If Jude kidnapped Zoe, then why? They could’ve taken any of the rogue dragon-shifters they murdered instead, for whatever reason.”
“One thing I didn’t share about the mass dragon grave is that it only contained males and females past childbearing age.”
For a second, she tried to think of why that would be, beyond female dragons only being slightly weaker and smaller than their male counterparts. It couldn’t be for breeding reasons since the gene to shift into a dragon was dominant and always passed to the offspring, no matter which parent gave it to them.
And then she remembered something about Dr. Sid’s research. “Female dragon-shifters paired with human males tend to have more female offspring. And Dr. Sid Jackson on Stonefire recently discovered that female dragon’s blood is slightly more potent than a male’s.”
Antony nodded. “Yes, I saw the reports. Both have healing properties but female dragon’s blood makes a human heal faster. Some even think it might make the original human stronger going forward, with minute genetic shifts.”
“But wouldn’t that have been something the DDA or even the clans would’ve figured out sooner?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe, maybe not. Because of how strict the laws were until recently, mainly forbidding female dragons from mating human males, the dragon-shifter population skewed heavily male. As such, the blood given in exchange for a sacrifice has primarily been from males.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I never thought being a Protector meant having to think about biology and genetics.”
“I wish I could say everything just comes to me, but alas, no. Dr. Turner gives me bi-weekly briefings on the latest dragon-shifter research. It’s not exactly a hobby of mine, but rather something I have to know, given how much the dragon hunters are interested in dragon’s blood.” He tapped his phone’s screen and brought up a list of coded contacts. “I need to make some calls. So, sadly, my comedy routines will have to wait.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d rather hear your jokes any day than have one of my coworkers in danger.”
“I know. And I’m going to do all that I can to find and save her, I promise.”
She glanced over at him. “Aye, I know.”
He gently patted her leg. “Now, let’s see what I can find out. I’ll have all the calls on speaker, and if you have a question, go ahead and ask it.”
“But I don’t have my special clearance yet.”
“Temporarily, for this issue, you have it. My boss can take it up with me later.”
Before she could thank Antony, he started calling people. And Iris settled down, eager to find out what she could about Zoe, Jude, and if her disappearance was connected to the murdered rogue dragons or the dragon hunters.
Chapter Thirteen
“Zoe, Zoe, wake up.”
Zoe Watson tried to ignore the voice, hoping she could just go back to sleep. But then someone shook her, and her eyes shot open.
While she vaguely noticed the bars and stone walls that denoted an old jail cell, it was the person sitting next to her that garnered her full attention—her cousin, Rebecca Watson.
The cousin who’d gone off with her parents to join the rogue, clanless dragon-shifters.
But how was she here? Why?
Even though her brain was a little foggy, Zoe glanced around and noticed another female dragon-shifter in the same cell, and then more across the way.
And even if she didn’t remember everyone’s names, she never forgot a face. They were all in the file of UK clan traitors, the ones everyone thought had gone to live with the clanless dragon-shifters in Cairngorms National Park.
Even if she didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten there, she had to tread carefully. Rebecca might be her cousin, but she’d disowned Zoe and her family the day she’d left Lochguard.
