AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wet leaves squished beneath my feet as I made my way down a steep incline thick with trees and fallen branches. I wasn’t visible yet, the trees still hiding us from view. When I stepped into the clearing, no one even gave me a second glance.
The problem was we were exactly on the border between Canada and Maine, and there was a jurisdiction argument going on between the Maine State Police and the Canadian Border Patrol. The air was filled with the scent of burnt meat and blood. It was a nasty scene, and the cops had at least taken the time to cordon off the area with yellow crime scene tape before arguing. What was left of the body was being ignored.
I was almost on top of the crowd before two cops noticed me and veered away from the excitement to cut me off. The one on my left opened his mouth to speak, but I didn’t let him get any words out. A cold numbness grew inside me as I easily breached the walls of his mind, and I watched in satisfaction as he grabbed his throat and his eyes widened with fear. His partner reached for his weapon, but he wasn’t able to get it from his holster in time.
“Follow me,” I said to them. And they did. Powerless as marionettes on a string. I turned to Cal. “Go herd the stragglers and wipe their memories. I’ll take care of the big boys.”
The big boys were currently acting like children. A circle of cops had gathered around the two men who headed each unit, and the argument over jurisdiction quickly escalated with raised voices. I understood the need to fight for territory. It was a natural instinct for any creature. But enough was enough.
“Stop,” I breathed out softly, the single word floating across the air like mist. The circle of men froze in place, but the two in the center of the ring were stronger—truly alpha—and tried to fight my orders. “Look at me,” I commanded. They had no choice but to obey.
“You are finished here,” I told them. “There is no body. No crime scene. All paperwork on this incident will be destroyed. You were never here. I was never here. Go home.”
The men turned and started back up the hill, disappearing one by one into the trees. All except one—one of the alphas. He was tall and muscled. Anger vibrated off his body in waves. The hair at his temples was matted and his street clothes were damp with perspiration. He was strong, much stronger than any of the others, and he probably had the blood of a Drakán somewhere in his family tree.
“What are you doing to me?” he asked, his jaw clenched with pain.
He wasn’t aware of his power or he wouldn’t have asked. I decided to look a little deeper and find something that would send him on his way without a fight. I focused on the pulse pounding in the side of his neck and felt the rush of liquid just under the surface, masked by the sickly smell of fear. And I saw.
“Go home, Lieutenant,” I said softly. “Take something for your headache. Make love to your wife. If you stay here you’ll be hurt. Don’t try to fight me. Be afraid of me. And when you wake up in the morning you’ll barely recall the nightmare. Be afraid. Run.”
I picked him up by the front of his shirt and threw him in the direction the others had gone. He hit the ground hard and stumbled to his knees. Even from that distance I could hear his whimpers. He looked back at me once, got to his feet and ran. Smart man.
I heard Cal approaching and gave him my attention, the lieutenant already forgotten. “Any problems?” I asked.
“No,” Cal said, unable to keep the grin from his face. “They didn’t have any will at all.”
“Well our victim sure as hell didn’t,” I said, turning to the remains on the ground behind the yellow police tape. “Let’s take a look.”
I sucked air in through my mouth and held it—tasting the particles of death and rolling them across my tongue as if they were a fine wine before squatting next to the body. I knew from my vision the kill was recent, but the taste of death lingered and I was able to narrow the time down to the minute.
Don’t let your guard down, I whispered in Cal’s mind.They could be close. Watching.
He paled visibly, but nodded his head.
Dragons don’t have fingerprints, so I didn’t bother to put on gloves before touching her. We’re also a very clean race, which is what made this particular case so difficult. There were no pieces of skin to gather and analyze. No hangnails, no strands of hair. And no visible footprints. There had been no clues at any of the scenes. I had nothing, and it was beyond frustrating.
I was an expert tracker, my senses keen, and my mental capabilities greater than almost all others of my kind. The job of Enforcer was a hereditary trait passed only through those of my grandfather’s blood. A dragon’s mental powers were strong. We could all read minds with ease, except those of the most ancient Drakán. But an Enforcer was the only one gifted with the ability to control minds. With the centuries of human blood diluting our race, I was the only one who’d gained the power in several thousand years. Someday Cal would get there, but not yet.
Whoever I was hunting knew me, knew my abilities, so each kill was always made by someone different—someone whose scent I wasn’t already looking for. This was a sport to them—an initiation of some kind. My fists clenched against my thighs, and the bite of my nails against skin brought my rage under control. They were playing with me, but they’d made a mistake this time.
Someone had torched the body after killing her. Despite the fairy tales, not all dragons could breathe fire, so my list of suspects decreased from a few thousand to less than a few hundred. I was among the many who’d never been blessed with the skill. Human blood diluted our Drakán powers, and many of us were missing the genes to carry on the magics of our ancestors to the next generation.
“None of the other victims were burned like this,” Cal said. He held a handkerchief over his nose and mouth, and he was ghostly white under his freckles.
“No,” I agreed. “And it was stupid of them to start now. There has to be a reason they torched this one. At least it’ll make them easier to find.”
“How do you know they didn’t just douse her in gasoline and light a match?”
“The smell, first of all. Torch fuel makes my throat raw. Besides, look at her body closely. She’s still burning.” The embers of the inside of her body glowed red as she burned from the inside out. “If we had shown up two hours from now there would be nothing left of her. Only dragon fire can burn that hot. Once the fire starts it can’t be extinguished.”
“What do we do?” Cal whispered.
“I can slow the deterioration enough so we can get her home to Erik. He’ll want to take a look at her.” I dug through the black bag at my side until I came up with a can of cooling spray—a special formula my brother had come up with. But despite Erik’s best efforts, he’d never been able to invent anything that could stop dragon fire completely.
“Why do you say ‘she’? Cal asked.
“Really, Cal? I’d figured you’d be able to tell the difference between a man and a woman at this point in your life.”
