Ending the call, Aaron tried Brenna next, and she did pick up on the second ring. Before he could say a word, Brenna said, “Tell me no one has been attacked where you are.”
“Grant was targeted and is unconscious. Faye found a small dart in his neck. I suspect it’s related to the attacks that happened not too long ago on Stonefire and Glenlough. I need you to send Dr. O’Brien and a few Protectors here to help Grant, just to be safe.”
Dr. Ronan O’Brien was Glenlough’s head doctor. Aaron had first met him on Stonefire during a previous crisis.
Brenna cursed. “Then that makes up half the viewing platforms reporting an incident in the last few minutes.”
Aaron asked, “Were they also drugged with a dart?”
“That’s what we think,” Brenna replied, “although details are sketchy at best. The Protectors are on the move to guard each viewing platform’s occupants as we speak.”
Aaron grunted. “Has Hugh been spotted at e
ach of the locations, letting out a series of roars like he did here?”
“No,” Brenna said. “But Padraig and Orin each arrived near an observation platform and roared instead of doing what their clue required.”
Aaron growled. “Bloody bastards are probably working together. I hadn’t expected that. Has anyone spotted Teagan?”
“No. She’s near Glenveagh Castle, last I heard,” Brenna answered. “We didn’t put any observers there since the humans have security cameras all over the grounds and we didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to make a move there.”
“Right, then I’m going to get Faye and Grant to the closest shelter and then look for Teagan myself. Since every participant knows about the security cameras at the castle, they’ll wait for her to leave. She’s bound to be a target. If I can get to her before she leaves the grounds, I can probably prevent her from being attacked. Given what she represents, the others might do more than drug her.”
His dragon snarled. No, we won’t let that happen.
Aaron ignored his beast to focus on Brenna’s reply. “I would try to stop you, but Killian is missing, and I’m not sure who to trust anymore. Just make sure to keep checking in, Aaron. As much as you think it sometimes, you’re not invincible.”
Aaron grunted. “I will keep in touch. And the Snowridge Protectors should be trustworthy and kept in the loop. Kai vetted them whilst I was in Scotland.”
Once Brenna gave her assent, Aaron hung up and looked to Faye. After he summed up his conversation with Brenna, he waved toward the hills in the distance. “There are some cave-like spaces just big enough for you and Grant to squeeze into nearby. If I mostly cover the entrance with rocks, you should be safe and still able to use your phone until help arrives.”
Faye nodded. “And I’ll make sure to reach out to Lochguard while we wait and update Finn. Do you want me to ring Stonefire, too, and do the same?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I need to find Teagan and can’t spare the time to answer Bram’s questions. If all three of the challengers are in a plot together, she and I need to focus on solving that problem before it spins out of control, especially if Killian’s been targeted, too.” He glanced to Grant and back to her eyes. “He should be all right. Stonefire shared their antidote formulas with Lochguard and Glenlough as soon as they found them. Even if the serum has been mutated slightly, Glenlough’s doctor should be able to figure it out. Ronan O’Brien was part of the original research team at the time.”
Faye grunted. “Right, then first help me get Grant to safety. I can pick him up if I shift into a dragon, but I need you to watch my back in case anyone else comes.”
Without another word, Aaron descended the ladder. The sooner he saw Faye and Grant to safety, the sooner he could find Teagan and figure out what the bloody hell was going on. He hadn’t expected Orin, Padraig, and Hugh to work together to thwart Teagan. Their hatred of change must be bone-deep.
He also wondered if Hugh had been the one to leak the information to the other two and then reached out to them.
His dragon growled. They will soon learn their lesson. The Irish DDA will intervene.
I hope so, dragon, but I’m not thinking about that right now. Getting to Teagan is our top priority.
Then stop talking and shift.
As Aaron imagined his body changing shape, he only hoped he made it to Teagan in time. She could usually take care of herself, but mini-flying machines that shot darts and looked like birds would take anyone by surprise if they weren’t looking for it.
Chapter Eighteen
Teagan stood at the edge of a pond, the wind gently blowing her dress about her body, and looked for anything that could be deemed an island. Since she was within the gardens of Glenveagh Castle, she knew finding her next clue wouldn’t involve destroying property. That would anger the humans.
Her dragon huffed. We probably have to wade into the pond.
Since shifting inside the castle grounds was illegal, it meant Teagan would have to do it in her human form.
She surveyed the water again to figure out where to start. That was when a dragon’s reflection passed over the smooth surface.