Dragon's Revenge
5.

Jonah hands her clothes to her. She changes quickly, sensing his urgency.

"Dragon hunters? They're going to get their ass kicked. Seriously though, who attacks a compound full of dragons? It's suicide."

"I agree, but alas, here we are. But don't underestimate them, they can be a worthy opponent."

"What do you mean?"

"The hunters attack like clockwork, once every six months. To catch us when our guard is down. Think about it, when better to attack than during the night of the annual Royal Court dinner? When the hunters not only have a chance of capturing Jebel clan members, but also members from foreign dragon clans."

Something isn't sitting right with Elodie. She grabs Jonah, stopping him. "Wait. Does something seem off to you? Didn't you say the party changes locations every year? Then how would the hunters know it's today?"

"You're right. That should be impossible, unless.... someone close to us gave away our location. Which would mean we have a rat." Her mind goes to her uncle and her gut clenches. Jonah guides her out of his suite. There's no time to dwell on her thoughts. "Let's go. Everyone will be gathering in the armory to prepare for a counter attack."

At the armory, they join Morgan, Mino and Jeremiah.

Morgan is livid.

"The hunters have kidnapped Maria and Nori is missing as well." Jeremiah tells them.

"We need to go save Maria, immediately."

"You do realize that Maria is probably being used as bait, right?" Morgan brings up.

"It doesn't matter. Maria is ours and we have an oath. No man left behind."

Everyone nods in agreement, except for Morgan. "And what about Nori? Are we supposed to leave her to rot?"

Everyone turns to Jonah, looking at him for guidance. "Nori can take care of herself, which is why I'm sure she'll turn up soon. We should focus our attention on saving Maria. Who we know is taken."

Everyone considers their option. Elodie instinctually steps in. "Jonah's right, Maria won't last long out there. She's just a human. And it's all of your duties to protect her. What if anyone found out you left her to die?"

"If word gets out that we're willing to sacrifice our humans, it could have dire consequences for us."

"Great. Then it's settled." Mino nods.

The group moves to grab their weapons, but Morgan throws up his hands, stopping them. "When was the last time everyone saw Nori? Because now that I'm thinking," he turns to face her. His tone is accusatory and pointed. ".... the last time i saw was when she was looking for Elodie at the ball." All eyes are on her now. Morgan takes a menacing step closer. "Elodie, do you know where Nora is?"

Jonah takes a protective step forward, putting himself between them. "She doesn't. Elodie was with me all night, since the ball. She was never out of my sight."

"I'm not asking you, brother. I'm asking your little human. And you better not be covering for her, or else there will be hell to pay." Morgan pushes Jonah out of the way, coming face-to-face with Elodie. "Answer the question. Where were you?" She looks at Jonah, but stays silent. That's all Morgan needs as he smacks Jonah over the head with a satisfied smirk. "You don't see it, brother. But Elodie is poisoning your mind. You need to watch yourself before she turns you against all of us."

"Enough. We're running out of time and need to replace Maria."

"We should leave now, before the hunters execute their plan." Mino says.

"Let's armor up and storm the city. Elodie, that means you too. We all go, together."

"Hell, yeah. Let's go kick some ass." She throws up a fist.

"I have to say, I wasn't expecting that response from you, Elodie." Morgan chimes in.

"That's because you barely know her." Jonah's fingers lightly graze hers as he leads her to the weapons cabinet. Around her, the group rummages through the cabinets, choosing their weapons. Jonah sees her eyeing the armory, assuming she's struggling to make a choice. "Ah, I remember my first hunt. You'll be fine with whatever weapon you pick." She looks back at the closet, weighing her options. She grips the base of a black whip, quickly cracking it with a loud snap. Jonah jumps back, surprised. "Just as I suspected, it looks like you can handle yourself just fine. Now that you've picked out a weapon, you'll be needing armor next." She watches as everyone on the team adds armor to their clothes. "It's impenetrable to anything but dragon fangs. It'll keep you safe, especially from humans. If it helps, it'll make me feel better..... knowing that you have an extra layer of protection."

"I think I'm better off without the armor, more freedom of motion."

"Have it your way, then. Time to go. We tracked the last known location of Maria's cell. Let's start there."

The group ventures away from the compound and into town. As they weave through the buildings, she realizes the location looks familiar.

Morgan, the one leading the charge, finally stops. Elodie, along with everyone else, does the same. "We're here."

Jonah steps forward and addresses the group. "We need to cover more ground. Mino and Elodie, you're with me. Everyone else with Morgan." The group splits up. Morgan and his group rush off, focused on their mission.

They move into the hills as the sun rises, with the men using their dragon senses to track Maria's scent. "I think I smell Maria. I'll go ahead and take a better look. I'll be right back."

As he rushes off, she trips over an exposed tree root and falls flat on the ground. "Elodie! Are you alright? Here, let me help you up." Heat rises to her cheeks as Mino helps her back to her feet.

"Mino, I'm such a klutz."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. This terrain can be tough to manage. I too have tripped once or twice before. Although, if you tell anyone, I'll deny it."

"Your secret's safe with me."

Her and Mino continue, following Jonah's path. He tucks his hands in his pockets, nervous. "I have to talk to you about something. Without Jonah around. So, uh, here goes. I don't think my brother is a good fit for you. Not like I am."

"Mino, why are you saying this? You barely know me."

"But what I do know, I adore. You're kind, smart and singular. I can see how special you are. And I'd be a madman if I didn't try to pursue you. And if I'm being honest, I don't really care what my brother things. He's a bonehead, anyway." Mino stops and turns to her. He takes her hands in his. "When things die down and we're back at the compound, I'd like to take you out, on a proper date. Maybe we can go hunting or something." Before she can respond, Jonah returns. By the look on his face, he's heard everything. "I'm sorry if you overheard that, brother, but I stand by what I said. You have no claim over Elodie. She doesn't belong to you, any more than Maria belongs to Morgan."

"I did hear what you said. And you're right. Elodie doesn't have to be here. And she definitely doesn't have to be here with me." Jonah turns to her, his expression flitting between confident and anxious. "It should be your choice, Elodie. Regardless of who chose you, you should still be able to choose who you prefer." Both Mino and Jonah stare at her, but her eyes fix on Jonah. The soulfulness, the strength, the fire. "What do you say, Elodie, who will it be? Me or my brother?"

"Mino, you're right."

"I am? Wait, does this mean you want to go hunting with me?"

"Not exactly. What I'm trying to say is, I don't want to be seen as someone's property. My choice should always be my own. And I don't want any outside influence as I choose."

Before things can progress any further, Jonah's nose perks up. "I can smell Maria's scent again. It's even stronger now. She's close!"

"I smell her too. Quick, before we lose her." Elodie and Mino follow Jonah towards a group of warehouses near the docks. All of a sudden, the males stop. They're both frustrated. "My tracking senses seem to have stopped working."

"Same. It must be the hunters. I think they're using something to mask Maria's scent."

"Oh, no. That means she's close, right? I mean, how does someone's scent just up and vanish?"

"I believe she's close, yes. And that's why we have to keep going. We'll break down every door and leave no stone unturned." They fan out, looking inside the windows of all the warehouses in the area. They're abandoned. Every single one of them and there's no trace of Maria. As soon as Mino's distracted, Jonah pulls her to the side. He speaks low, so only she can hear him. "We didn't get a chance to talk about what happened earlier. Your transformation. I wanted to check in on you and this is the first opportunity I've had since the alarm went off. Are you okay? You're a shifter, which means these dragon hunters will be after you too."

"Jonah, let them come after me. It'll be the last thing they do."

"I love your confidence, but be careful. Dragon hunters are nasty bastards. They'll do anything for the kill. And you're new to being a dragon, you still have a lot to learn."

An out-of-breath Mino returns, interrupting their conversation. "This isn't working! It'll take us days to search every single building."

"We need to come up with a quicker way, then. Maria's life depends on it." Jonah and Mino take a moment to think, brainstorming ideas. But then, an idea pops into Elodie's head. She bolts up with a surge of adrenaline. Jonah notices. "You figured it out, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Well, tell us! How do we save Maria?"

"Actually, nevermind. I don't think it'll work."

Jonah hangs his head, disappointed. They all return to searching the warehouse, one by one. After what seems like forever, an exhausted Jonah calls her and Mino over. "I found her. She's over here."

From the outside, they look into the window and see Maria. "Fuck! I'm so drained, we may need to wait for backup before going in." Her and Jonah tread around carefully, taking in the scene. "Maria's tied up by the boilers. She's unconscious, her head slumped forward, eyes closed. I think Morgan's right. This could be a trap."

"Jonah, it definitely is a trap." She nods. "The only reason they'd leave her like that and not kill her, is so that we can try to rescue her. The moment we step foot in there, they're going to pounce on us. I know it."

"If it was a trap, then they wouldn't have tried to cover up Maria's scent." Mino thinks.

"I hope you're right, Mino. Either way, we have to get into that warehouse. We can sneak in through the back, climb through the emergency exit, or walk straight through the front door." Jonah faces her, then motions to the warehouse Maria is being held in. "Elodie, you decide. How do you think we should go in?"

"I think we should climb through the emergency exit." She looks around. "There's too much ground for the guards to cover, so maybe the emergency exit is left unattended."

"I agree. They're most likely expecting us to fly in from the roof or walk in off the street." Elodie, Jonah and Mino climb the emergency exit, then crawl through a window. Inside, they navigate the maze of rooms until they replace the one with Maria. "Let's be quick, before anyone sees us." The three of them hurry over to Maria. Jonah cuts her loose and helps her up. They're about to escape, when sudden flames erupt behind them. "Quick! Behind the boilers."

She follows Jonah's lead and quickly leaps behind the boilers. Mino holds Maria up. "What the hell was that?" She peeks around the boilers, just as a black dragon emerges from the flames.

"Impossible! There's no Jebel dragon that would betray its clan. Who is that?"

"I don't know, brother. But we have to get out of here, now!"

The dragon pushes his way through the boilers, breathing fire. He's getting close. He turns the corner and sees the group of them, huddled in the back. "There you are." He releases a stream of flames, just as Jonah throws himself in front of her.

She watches in awe as Jonah stands tall and unscathed, shifting into his dragon. "Elodie, help Mino get Maria out of here. I'll hold this beast off as long as I can." Jonah unleashes on the dragon, snapping his vicious teeth.

She watches him fight the dragon and turns to Mino, struggling to carry Maria. "I could use a little help here."

"Me too, Elodie." She looks back and forth, but she's frozen in fear, unable to make a decision. She watches as Mino finally pulls Maria out of the window, just as Jonah goes in for the kill shot, but the dragon gets the best of him and flies away, bursting through the roof. "Damn it, Elodie. Could you have helped instead of just standing there?" Jonah shifts back into human form and brings her outside with him.

They both look to the sky, but the mysterious black dragon is long gone, as are Mino and Maria. "I don't understand, was that dragon a Jebel?"

"I'm sorry to say it, but yes, it was."

"How can you tell?"

"The color of its scales, its eyes. I just didn't get a good enough look to identify them. But there was something about that dragon that felt.... familiar. Like I knew them." All of a sudden, they hear sirens in the distance. "Someone must've called the cops. We should go. We can rendezvous with Mino and Maria back at the compound."

They both start heading back up the hills, toward the Jebel compound. Just then, their phones start pinging with alerts from different news outlets.

"Breaking news! We've just received video proving that flying winged beasts were involved in tonight's incident near the docks! Something I've been saying for a long time. But now, we have definitive proof that dragons might exist among us. The shocking video is taking the city by storm."

Jonah looks up at her, fear and rage brewing behind his eyes. "Someone saw the black dragon and took a video, then leaked it to the media."

"What does this mean?"

"That dragon hunters are the least of our worries.... because now, the world knows about dragons. About us."