Dragon's Revenge
16.

She yells and screams, but he's not responsive. Then his body stops moving. She checks his pulse but doesn't replace a beat. "No, no. I can't lose you too!" She pounds on his chest, hard enough to make his heartbeat thunder.

He jolts awake. "Wha...." he looks at her, clearly still in pain. "Ugh..... Summer?"

"Summer?" A painful smile creeps across Jonah's face. He's joking. She hits his arm. "Don't scare me like that! I thought I lost you!"

"Ouch! I'm sorry.... I don't know what happened."

"Jonah, now's not the time to joke!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm just.... out of it."

"What do you think that was?"

Fear drapes across Jonah's face. "I.... don't know. There was just this sudden pressure in my head. It felt like..... like my skull was about to split open." His eyes water as he looks at her, the pain still etched across his face. "I can still feel it. It hurts so much. I can feel it in my toes even. I feel like I can combust at any moment."

"You won't. I won't let you." Without wasting another moment, she grabs his hands and begins a mindlink. Feeling the dark energy of what's plaguing him, she jumps away from him. "I'm sorry, I just...."

"It's okay. I don't want you to feel what I feel." Jonah groans in pain, massaging his temples until the torture subsides several minutes later. "We need to check on my mother and Maria." The two of them throw on robes and head down a few rooms to Queen Desmonda's. They replace Desmonda pacing back and forth in the room while Maria sleeps. "Mother." She ignores him and keeps pacing. "What if he replaces us here? We had a hard time with the hunters as is."

"Ma'am, talk to us."

"What do you want me to say?" She continues pacing and rambling. "I can't sit down. If I sit down, I'll get tired. If I get tired, I'll fall asleep. And what if Morgan comes while I'm asleep?"

"Mother!"

Desmonda finally stops. She notices Elodie holding Jonah up, his body trembling. "My word. Sit, sit. What happened?"

Elodie explains in detail what happened to Jonah with the seizure. When she's finished, Desmonda goes quiet and her face pales.

"Oh no. Do you know what it was?"

"I'm afraid I actually might know."

"Know what?"

"I knew this would happen at some point."

"Knew what would happen? Tell us!"

"This is a power Morgan has.... the ability to remote-link with another shifter's mind."

"Impossible!" He shouts.

"I'm afraid not. It was a forbidden power in the Jebel clan, a war crime. A crime your father would commit to great bloodshed."

"And he....."

"And he taught it to Morgan. Who, in turn, taught it to Nori."

Jonah can no longer sit. Now he paces the room in fear, the same way his mother did.

"Jonah, we're going to get through this. How do we stop him from doing it again?"

"This is a telepathic power. And since none of this have this power, it's difficult to stop."

"So essentially, he has my mind now."

"I'm sorry, Jonah." She takes him into her arms. His body feels colder and trembles in her grasp.

"Althought.... there might be one way to intercept." They both turn to Queen Desmonda. "Our powers are old, borne out of magic. But there is one thing that can stop them..... technology. But I'm afraid it would require someone who's familiar with shifter magic. Finding a shifter or even a human with that kind of technological advancement.... it's a long shot."

Jonah sits up with a big grin, one that is far too big for the current concern. "Maybe not as long as we think. Elodie, weren't you a world-class hacker?"

"Jonah, that was a lifetime ago."

Queen Desmonda stands up. "Elodie, if you can help my son, I need you to try."

Jonah takes her hands. They're still shaking, despite his efforts to hide the pain. "Please, can you try? For me?"

"Let's do it. Desmonda, get some ice for Jonah while I try to put something together." Seconds later, the Queen returns with ice. She massages Jonah's head until he falls asleep. Elodie takes apart the hotel's computer and throws all of its pieces on the table. "Okay, I need something else." She looks around the room and sees Desmonda's phone headset. "You're not going to miss this, right?" The woman obliges. Elodie takes the headset, computer pieces and gets to work. Just as Jonah starts shaking in his sleep, she pulls together a Shifter Earpiece.

"You think it's going to work?" She puts the piece into Jonah's ear, tremors wracking his body. But a moment later, his breathing becomes easier and his body stops tremoring. Desmonda throws her arms around Elodie. "You are an angel!"

DING! DING!

The Queen's phone dings loudly with messages. She flips it open, reading silently. Jonah sits up and takes his headset off. "That noise would've killed my head without this gadget. Thank you, Elodie."

"Anything to help, mon cherie." She turns to the Queen. "Desmonda, who was that?"

"A Jebel spy that hasn't yet turned. I just received the location of one of the missing Aelons. Looks like we're going to Bermuda."

"Uh.... Bermuda?" They all turn to see Maria wake up from the guest bed, her face still showing the strain from her ordeals.

"Oh, you are in no shape to keep traveling."

"I am NOT missing a trip to Bermuda! Especially not with Morgan still after us."

"Maria, we need someone to watch our new home base." Elodie tells her.

"Someone we can call for backup if it comes to that."

"Ugh, fine, I'll stay here. But call me if you need anything. I mean that. Anything."

"We will. We promise."

"In the meantime, there is something I can do right now." Maria smiles.

"What's that?"

"I can get you into a disguise that won't get you murdered the minute someone recognizes you."

"I like the sound of that." Jonah beams.

~W~

The next morning, Maria lays out a couple of disguises for Elodie in the bathroom. "What do you think?"

She chooses something on the plain, natural side. "Morgan's people already know who we are. It doesn't matter what I wear." She takes one final look in the mirror, satisfied with what she's wearing.

At the airport, the large crowds of people keep them looking over their shoulders.

"Elodie!" Jonah breaks her paranoid trance.

"Huh, is everything okay?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. You're safe, Elodie. Once we make it onto this flight, you'll have nothing to worry about."

"I wish we could just turn into dragons and fly away."

"Well, that would be a sure-fire way to get caught right now. Best to lay low. Just relax and let's get through check-in and security."

"Okay, you're right. I'm gonna try to relax." She goes through check-in, but suddenly, she feels a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. She turns around, spotting Nori and Jeremiah in line. Thankfully, they haven't see her yet. She quickly grabs her belongings from security. But before they can leave, Jeremiah's face lights up in recognition. He pushes through people, causing a ruckus. She panics and turns to Jonah, pushing past them, nearly knocking them over.

"What-" he turns to see Jeremiah and Nori, grabbing Desmonda's arm and pulls her forward.

"What's going on?"

"They're here. We need to go!"

"And I think Jeremiah's already recognized me!" She shouts.

Once they're through security, they hurry into the bar, buying time to regroup amidst the crowd. Jonah looks around, thinking about what to do. "Our flight isn't for another twenty minutes."

"Okay, okay. Um... are you both comfortable about splitting up? If we keep moving in a pack, it'll be harder to maneuver."

"As long as we're all safe, let's get it over with. Elodie?"

"We need to stick together, no matter what."

"I don't think this is the right choice, but it's your decision."

The three of them race through the terminal. She keeps looking over her shoulder and accidentally smashes into a food cart, tipping off Jeremiah and Nori. "There!"

"Elodie, come on!" Jonah grabs her hand and they both race to the gate just as their plane is boarding. Jeremiah and Nori barely miss them, as the doors to the plane close just in time. She's barely able to rest on the flight, despite the 9hr travel time. Even when they land, the views of the Bermuda, the ocean, the sun.... nothing calms her nerves. "We got away from them. You don't have to worry."

"But what if they follow us here?"

"Then we'll do what we always do."

"What's that?"

"Fight."

~W~

A few hours later, they arrive at the coordinates that were given to Queen Desmonda. It's a deserted house on the beach.

She knocks on the door and waits, but there's no answer. "Maybe he's not home yet?"

"No, no. My spy had his whole routine scouted. He's definitely home right now."

"Well, we can't just wait out here. I'll check around the side. Jonah, maybe you can look a little further down the beach?"

"I'm on it."

"Desmonda, you wait here in case he shows back up." She nods. When Elodie heads to the side, she feels the same prickling on the back of her neck.

Suddenly, a gun presses against her neck. An unfamiliar voice speaks into her ear. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep looking straight ahead. Otherwise, I might have to blow your head smooth off."