Page 45 of Lahaina Noon (Modern Legends of Dragons & Shadows #1)
Chapter 45
B ridget stretched in her seat; she was glad she wasn’t on a commercial flight like most of those going to Hawaii. There were just too many of them to all fit on the private plane. She’d met so many people lately, she didn’t want to be cramped in with any more of them than necessary.
Shortly into the flight, Bridget caught Vaughn studying her face. She guessed he was wondering yet again if they were doing the right thing. She smiled to reassure him there wouldn’t be any changing her mind.
She closed the book she’d been reading and took his hand. “You know, Jack and Jorrie are fighting over which of them gets to be my maid of honor.”
He laughed, “If you chose Jack, would he wear a dress?”
She snorted, “No, Jack wouldn’t wear a dress, he can’t walk in heels and wouldn’t be caught dead in flats. But, have you thought about who your best man will be? Liam or Killian?”
He shook his head, “No, I already have someone in mind. When we get back, and I show him his mother is fine, I’ll ask him. ”
She sucked in a breath, and her eyes were damp. “Gabe?” she whispered.
He nodded, “I want him to know without a doubt that he’s part of the benefits of being your husband.”
She smiled, “Maybe Jack can be the flower girl.”
He laughed, “Good choice and Liam can be the ring bearer. I’d want Killian up there with me.”
“Tell me more about him. He’s so quiet, but he seems to be a good friend of yours.”
He told her more about the silver Wielder, how they’d met, about his family and then they talked about wedding plans, dates, locations, and other details.
She fell silent and saw he was watching Liam and Siobhan as they sat quietly together, holding hands and grieving their parents. She knew they were doing what they could to contain their grief so they could focus on the battle. Vaughn had offered for them to stay behind, but they’d wanted the battle to help them get justice for their family. She just hoped they didn’t let their pain make them reckless.
Hours later, they were at their rendezvous spot, making final preparations. There were a few things they needed that they couldn’t bring on the planes, so they were sourcing them locally. For the moment, they were just waiting on those they’d sent out to reconnoiter to return.
Marco came running into the large conference room at the hotel. “Drake, Drake!” he shouted, looking frantic.
Vaughn stood and waved him over .
Marco dashed to him, shoving a paper in his hands. “Sir, reports have been coming in from all over. Shadows are increasing attacks on wielder and dragon families alike, multiple times in each place, but only in these places. We can’t account for it. It doesn’t make any sense as a pattern. They started in Italy and moved to Ireland, then Russia, Spain, Japan, and finally to the US. They’ve attacked multiple cities. What do you think it means?”
A low growling filled the room, and conversation died down. The growling grew louder, and everyone turned to stare at Vaughn. A snarl left his lips, and suddenly, the paper was ashes on the floor. A small curl of smoke rose from the remaining fragments.
Bridget placed a hand on his arm, and he whipped his head towards her, flames flickering in his eyes. “Darling, what’s wrong?” she said gently, smoothing a lock of hair away from his face.
“The list!” he spat out, staring down at the ashes again.
She nodded for him to continue.
“The list is about me. It started where I was born, where my mother was killed. Then, to the island where the Council imprisoned me. When I finally gained my freedom, do you remember I said I traveled for a while before settling in the US and finally Dallas?”
She nodded again, “I remember.”
“These are all the places I stayed during my travels. At each of these places I made contact with wielders or other dragons. He’s attacking the places and people that are important to me. It’s a message that he’s willing to destroy everything I love. To get you.” He stared at her, anger and pain warring on his face .
She heard the intake of gasps around the room as the others gained the significance of what he was saying. She took his face in her hands, “Then let’s go kill the bastard.”
The flight to the island didn’t take long enough, in Bridget’s opinion, but the sun was already rising. The island was waking up, and they needed to set up their shields so no humans would see the battle or get caught up in it.
The green dragons and wielders set out for their stations, positioned evenly in a radius around the Shadow King’s base. Their role was to erect and maintain a barrier around the base to deter bystanders and keep the Shadows inside. Liam flew off to manage his team on the north side of the complex.
The browns were burrowing underground, cutting off all utilities, and collapsing the tunnels under the compound. They were systematically destroying all methods of escape to keep the battle as contained as possible. The blues and silvers would play their part in providing distractions and traps, and the reds would siege the windowless base, taking out key areas and strafing anyone who tried to restore any services. Bridget knew it was more complicated than that, but she was focusing on her part instead.
She was going to channel Drake and use her EMP-type wave to knock out all power and energy sources, including backups, to the facility so they would have no light. They’d tested it, and even the batteries didn’t work when she zapped them. Not even a basic flashlight would give them a shadow to use if she did it right. Being reliant on shadows, they would have to come outside to escape where they could be picked off quickly .
Bridget looked at Drake as he waited for the signal from the brown team. She could tell he had received it when he looked sharply at the blue and silver team leaders and nodded. They were off. It was beginning.
She made her way over to Jack, who was strapping a few more knives to his vest and getting ready to leave with Davis, Shepard, and Dio. They had a special mission, a diversion they hoped would leave the Shadow King off balance. She threw herself at him, and he held her tightly.
“You know he’s going to be pissed when he finds out. He already doesn’t understand why I’m going,” he whispered to her.
She only nodded.
“Bridget, you should really think—”
“Shh,” she cautioned. “I know what I’m doing. It has to be this way. He would never agree otherwise.”
Jack looked at her and kissed her forehead. “I love you, baby sister. You live through this, you hear me? Or I swear to God I will find some crazy hooker voodoo Queen to raise your pain in the ass self from the dead just so I can yell at you. Understand me?”
“I love you too, Jack.” They hugged then she turned to the blue dragons stretching their wings. “Hey, Davis!” she called. He turned to look at her. She pointed and said, “You bring him back to me, or I’m sending Jorrie after your balls.”
The dragon’s eyes widened, and he nodded emphatically. His brother was chuffing in a way that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Dio winced and looked busy .
She made her way back to Vaughn but was stopped in her tracks when Tar’n suddenly stepped in front of her.
You’ve done well so far, my daughter, he whispered in her mind.
She studied his hood, trying to discern any facial features at all. She could just make out a small smile on full lips.
Your hardest challenge is still to come. Are you willing to do what is needed?
She stared nervously at him, unsure what he meant.
When the time comes, you will need to reach deep inside. Will you be able to do that?
Bridget shook her head slowly, I don’t know.
The cold wind suddenly wrapped around her ankles; she heard rustling leaves and one word. Fight.
She blinked, and Tar’n was gone.
Vaughn took her elbow. “Bridget? My love?”
She shook her head and focused on him. She’d been staring at the spot where the mysterious Tar’n had been standing before. She smiled at Vaughn and moved with him to the place where they were going to launch the next part of the attack. She heard the rumbles as the brown teams collapsed tunnels. She saw the blues and silvers preparing for their launch.
“Were you talking to Tar’n?” Vaughn asked her.
She wondered how much she could tell him. She was tired of keeping so many secrets, tired of the deception. She wanted to confide in him but knew it wasn’t time yet. “He just wished us luck,” she said, tasting the bitter, acrid tang of lies on her tongue .
Vaughn studied her; he knew something wasn’t right. “Please, what’s going on?”
She smiled at him, “Just nervous, it’s almost time. I keep thinking, what if this goes wrong? What if we miss the window? What if Jack gets hurt, or Liam, or Marco, or anyone else we love? I’m trying to keep my mind off of it, but I’m doing a terrible job.” That was better, as it was true.
He squeezed her shoulder, knowing he couldn’t promise her otherwise.