Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3 (5 page)

Biting the inside of her lip, Sarah refused
to laugh, but her eyes sparkled as the shapeshifter received a firm
smack down. What did the girl expect? Most Sídhí had believed
shapeshifters, not including dragon shifters, were extinct. The
sudden appearance of Haven Valley - a valley full of shapeshifters
- would take time for people to accept, not to mention believing
shapeshifters were not minions of the Dhark Empire. During the
Great War on the Sídhí home world, shapeshifters were in tight with
the umbra, the original nightmare race that began the Dhark
Empire.

“Look moron, shifters are not related to
werewolves. Anyway, if you’ll just look at the map you’ll see those
warning signs are wrong,” Beth argued, waving her hand toward the
map Nick studied. “Obviously, halflings are denser than concrete,
because your head is so thick you’ve forgotten the meaning of
common sense.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Katie
walk toward the trail. Before Sarah had time to consider her
actions, she grabbed hold of her young friend’s arm stopping her.
“No, stay away from there,” she said firmly.

Not surprisingly, Jared growled at her for
manhandling his mate. No one, not even a family member, grabbed a
vampire’s mate.

She sighed, refusing to let his show of
distrust hurt. She slowly released Katie. “Something doesn’t feel
right.”

“That’s what you said yesterday and the day
before. FYI, nothing has happened yet,” Nick said sarcastically as
he looked down at the map, turning it one way then the other. His
frown turned into a glare as he studied the wrinkled paper.
Refusing to look Sarah in the eyes, he continued mocking her
opinion. “This isn’t the Dhark Valley with werewolves and sasquatch
attacking us around every tree.”

Sarah clenched her jaw and sucked in a
calming breath. It didn’t help. “Hello, déjà vu. You do remember
what happened the last time you said something like that, don't
you?” she asked her frustrating mate in a deadly soft voice, gently
poking at him, intentionally trying to irritate him. Honestly, she
didn’t know what got into her. “Does a big explosion ring any bells
in your thick skull?”

His growl was the only answer she
received.

For ten solid minutes, the group argued.

Beth’s accent - a weird Southern inflection
crossed with a Scottish burr - thickened her voice. “I don’t
believe I'm saying this, but I agree with the exile.” Her amber
eyes flashed toward Sarah, while keeping Mitch in her line of
vision. “That valley is not safe. My hair is standing on end.”

Mitch laughed at her, causing the girl’s face
to flame with anger. “You'd need to hang by your toes to have that
bird's nest you call hair stand on end.”

Sarah clenched her jaw to keep from laughing.
He was correct. The girl’s brown and gold streaked hair dropped to
her waist.

“My instinct,” Beth emphasized her sixth
sense, “is screaming danger. Obviously, as a halfling you've lost
that Sídhí trait.”

Mitch growled, long and low. His sharp fangs,
glistening with venom, lengthened as his six-foot plus frame loomed
over the short shapeshifter.

Nick broke the deadlock. He looked at Sarah;
his eyes reflected a flash of pain-filled distrust. “I won't go
anywhere two residents of the Dhark Valley tell me to go.”

He turned and stalked toward the shadowy
trail that gave her the creeps.

Sarah sucked in a sharp breath and waited all
of two heartbeats before following her obstinate mate down the cool
trail, refusing to let him out of her sight. The minute she stepped
onto the trail, she smelled Clarisse’s faint scent. Well, at least
she found the missing vampire.

^____________

Prince Mackenzie, better known as Mac, flew
through Dragon Valley. Sunlight warmed coal black wings edged with
a dusting of gold and burgundy. As always, eerie music hummed
through the back of his mind.

Flying between the dimensional layers, no one
noticed him as he skimmed above the dense forest. Going In Between,
the ability to disappear inside the invisible strata layered
between each valley and earth, made Mac’s job much easier,
especially when he was also hiding from Sarah. She’d have his wings
if she realized he disobeyed her order to stay out of Dragon
Valley.

He understood her concern. Certain dragon
clans had the ability to see anyone hiding within the In Between.
The dragon gift had been a great benefit as Clan vampires and
dragons joined forces to hunt down and destroy the last few umbra
years before. Just thinking of the hideous, dark furred creatures
set his teeth on edge.

Far below, a flash of movement caught his
attention. He dived into the canopy of leaves, grinning as if he
played a game. To him, flying was the greatest joy in his life. The
freedom of the wind brushing through his sensitive feathers helped
him ignore the constant music drumming through his brain as it
tried to drive him mad.

Swerving around a thick branch, he maneuvered
through the tight maze surrounding the large trees. Since he was In
Between, following the twisted path wasn’t necessary, but it was a
lot more fun to go around the branches instead of through them. The
aerobatic exercise was also good training, something akin to
child’s play for the reflexes of a six-thousand year old phoenix,
not that he was that old, but his body was.

As he neared the ground, he watched a young
woman move silently through the trees. Dressed in jeans, well-worn
work boots, and a dark gray t-shirt she stood out like a sore thumb
to his enhanced senses. As she eased through the thick foliage, her
head never ceased moving, searching for something, but what, he
couldn’t guess.

A breeze swept by him, carrying a faint scent
of vampires, elves, halflings, and mundane humans - probably
shifters. Younger phoenix couldn’t smell beyond the In Between
barrier. It was a rare ability that had developed with age.

Thankfully, Sarah would never catch his scent
in return, not as long as he stayed In Between. She might be
powerful, but that wasn’t a talent she had been graced with.

The dragon’s mundane scent blended with the
teenagers. That’s when he realized the girl was tracking his liege
and her cabin mates, a soft growl rumbled from his chest. He
stalked forward, stopping at the girl’s side

The girl froze. Her head snapped around and
glared right at Mac.

Mac cursed. Bad luck hung around him like a
wet blanket. He swore he must’ve made a fairy mad and they jinxed
him, because only he could have such rotten luck as to stumble
across one of the few dragons that could see In Between.

Before the dragon shifter had time to change
shapes, before she could utter a single word, a dart struck her in
the throat. Eyes wide, the girl grabbed for her sword, but it was
too late. Whatever concoction filled the dart acted swiftly. Her
eyelids slid shut.

Lee DeLeigh, a dragon guardian, stalked
through the trees. The man had been on Trellick Valley’s terrorist
watch list for several years.

The golden haired man ignored Mac, not
surprising since the male dragon was from the DeLeigh Clan and
couldn’t see In Between. He knelt beside the girl, feeling her
neck, probably checking the strength of her pulse. With a grunt of
satisfaction, the shifter pulled a package of plastic zip ties from
his belt.

After restraining the girl with a set of
ties, Guardian Lee pulled a cell phone out of his shirt pocket.
“Target four down. Transmitter set.”

Without a backward glance, the man trotted
into the forest.

Mac had never heard of doing such a thing,
not when any Sídhí could snap the thick plastic with a bit of
pressure. Curious, he approached the girl and fingered the plastic
tie. Understanding was immediate. Some ingenuous person, most
likely a fairy, blended synth crystal with plastic, creating a
lightweight restraint that would never break.

Mac narrowed his eyes, trying to decide
whether to follow Lee or stick near the girl. Lee might take
additional victims, but if Mac stayed with the girl, whoever picked
her up might lead him right to a nest of Khr’Vurr.

The last possibility played a dual role. Most
important, it kept him on Sarah’s good side since monitoring the
terrorist organization was part of his duty as head of her personal
security team.

^____________

Hours later, Sarah and her cabin mates
enjoyed the cool water of a large pool. Actually, it was several
interconnecting pools fed by a dozen small waterfalls as they
crashed down the side of a mountainous wall of rock.

The moment the group of teens arrived in the
small valley - and the glowing hot spring of Big Bertha was nowhere
in sight - Sarah had argued against staying. She'd been out-voted.
Everyone except the two shifters voted to spend the night.

She hadn't been surprised when Beth and
Brianna left the group in a huff, returning up the same trail that
brought them into the valley. Anything Beth said, Brianna
automatically agreed with.

Sinking deeper into the refreshing water,
pleasure surrounded her.

Her instinct, a constant pressure at the back
of her head, kept insisting there was danger, but nothing had
jumped them. The peace of the little valley was an appreciated
break from Nick’s stony attitude, not that a good workout wouldn’t
be just as helpful, but she was hot and hurt all over.

She leaned against the smooth surface of a
boulder, a large one that shaded her from the fierce glare of the
sun. The cool rock felt wonderful against her burnt skin. Too much
time spent under the hot sun had turned her skin red, tiny blisters
had already appeared on the top of her shoulders. It was healing
quickly, but her skin still felt like it was on fire.

She watched Katie and Jared leave the pool
hand-in-hand to set-up the tents.

Nick surged up out of the water and water
flew everywhere as he tried dunking Emily, his younger cousin. They
horsed around for several minutes, playing in the sunlit water.

He laughed at something Emily said and
glanced toward Sarah. Their eyes met and he frowned. As if
frustrated, he ran a hand through wet hair and turned away from
her. Water glistened across the rippling muscles of his back. A
single drip slid down his spine, curving along places she dreamed
of touching.

Air shifted. Her instinct screamed danger.
Her eyes snapped up, but it was too late. A large creature, a black
mite with arched legs, jumped from the high cliffs, aiming a sharp
stinger at Nick's head.

All of her training went out the window.
Instead of attacking the dangerous creature, she threw her body
between the deadly mite and her mate.

The sharp stinger slammed into her back. Pain
exploded in her body as the six-inch stinger released toxic venom
into her bloodstream.

The last thing she heard was Nick’s roar of
fury.

Black engulfed her as the poison from the
stinger raced through her body, knocking her unconscious.

^____________

Sarah stirred, instantly aware of the cold
silence surrounding her. She didn’t know how much time had passed.
It could have been hours or days.

Idiot, she was an idiot. She had reacted like
a baby cadet, not the veteran warrior she was.

She growled and tried to open her eyes. They
wouldn't budge. She couldn't move, could barely breathe. Something
bound her arms and legs tight against her body. The bloody mites
had wrapped her up in a cocoon, keeping her fresh to eat later.

She extended her claws, slashing and wiggling
her hand until she could move her arm freely. She worked it back
and forth, cutting the shroud that covered her.

A growl of fear rumbled through her and grew
harsh. She couldn't smell Nick, didn't know if he lived or not.
Fear grew in her belly, sending chills of dread racing through
her.

She struggled out of the remaining threads
that wrapped around her, yanking them off her face. The darkness
remained pitch black. Stale air greeted her.

She was in a crypt. She growled. Her fury
grew with each second.

She rolled onto her stomach and slammed her
fist into the wall at her head. She knew the feeding habit of
mites. They stung their prey then wrapped the paralyzed victims in
a fiber that kept them immobile. If that wasn't enough, the
spider-like creatures sealed them into feeding tubes.

Knowing the mites sealed each tube with
fiber-laced mud, she hit the end of the tube again. She heard a
crack. Rearing back, she slammed against the mud blocking her
exit.

The hard mud shattered.

Reaching for the edge, she pulled her body
out of the tube.

She took in her surroundings with a sweeping
glance. Another wretched cave met her eyes, large and flat. The
huge cavern had weird holes in the wall behind her. It looked like
a giant honeycomb, a honeycomb that held the living bodies of the
mite's victims. Her growl increased. She was growing to hate Dragon
Valley and its surplus of wretched caves.

To the side, standing still as statues,
appeared to be a rescue party of four startled teenagers. Jared,
Katie, Beth, and Brianna held odd, blue branches and looked at her
as if she had finally flipped out. They weren’t far from wrong. The
fear surging through her overwhelmed all other thought. She had to
find Nick before she completely lost it.

Her eyes dropped to the surrounding ground,
taking in the scurrying bodies of a dozen harmless gray mites, a
different species from the type that attacked her. The larger mites
were nowhere in sight. Farther away, her eyes fell on a single
shrouded figure. From the size of the cocoon, she knew it was Nick.
Hope surged through her.

Snarling, she extended her claws, killing
every little gray mite that got between her and her mate.

Within a minute, she knelt at Nick's black
shrouded body. She slashed the fibers, tearing the black silk from
his body. Pulling him close, she ripped the stingers out of his
back.