Quickly laying his father on the ground, Grant tossed the powder at the older man. While he coughed at the dust, Grant took out the large bottle of water, ripped it open, and dumped the contents over his dad. While the powder had already been inhaled and made contact with Michael’s skin thus putting it in effect, the water would dilute it enough so it wouldn’t do the same to Grant.
When his dad finished sputtering, he demanded, “What the bloody hell did you do to me?”
Not answering, Grant picked up the man, tightened his hold on his father, crouched down, and jumped into the air.
As he beat his wings furiously, he was grateful for the rest earlier. He should make it back to Inverness in record time.
His dragon said, Are you honestly going to hand him over to the humans at Inverness Castle? We haven’t checked them out and they could be incompetent. Our prisoner might break free.
It’s our only option. Besides, I’ll let Finn know I found our father and he can stress to the DDA the importance of watching this prisoner.
But will Finn allow us to question him? He may send someone else.
While Grant wanted nothing more than to be the one to interrogate his father, even he recognized that he might not be the best one to do so. We could use the help. Someone unrelated won’t allow their emotions to get in the way.
And what if the DDA claims him as their prisoner? We may never be able to find Roderick and the others.
Roderick was Grant’s uncle and the unofficial leader of the dragon-shifters who left Lochguard.
I have faith in Finn.
His beast huffed and remained quiet. For once, Grant wished his dragon would keep talking. It would help distract him from the dragonman in his talons.
Not wanting to allow happier memories of his childhood to affect his mission, Grant pushed himself to fly harder. The sooner he dropped off Michael McFarland, the sooner he could go to the exhibition and talk about it with Faye. She might have a plan of how to better handle the situation.
So, you’re going to rely on Faye now? That’s different, his dragon said.
I would be a fool not to. She has no love for our father. She can make the necessary decisions without any sort of guilt or duty hanging over her.
His dragon paused a beat before adding, Just think if she were always at our side. We could accomplish heaps.
He wanted that more than anything, but protecting the clan came first.
Grant flapped his wings harder and blanked his mind. He needed to secure Michael McFarland before anyone could attack and cart him away.
Chapter Twelve
Faye watched as the five participants of the DDA’s exhibition made the final adjustments to their displays.
Cat’s paintings and photographs caught her eye the most. The vivid colors and definitive brush strokes captured both the land and the vitality of Lochguard’s people. Although the humans would be most interested in the dragon paintings, Faye preferred the ones featuring the children or the broch near their land. The pile of rocks on Loch Never had once been a defensive tower of sorts, and Faye appreciated Cat’s imagination in bringing it back to its original glory. Not with the people of old, but rather with a modern twist of fairy lights and of a couple stealing a kiss. There was also a faint outline of a dragon in the stars above the pair, as if it were watching over his or her descendants.
Cat noticed her staring and raised her eyebrows in question. Faye gave a thumbs-up. As her friend went back to work, Faye looked at Max’s set of tables. She really didn’t want to attempt a conversation with the human, but her curiosity won out and she walked over.
After waving hello to Iris leaning against the far wall, Faye looked at the tables. Odd bits and pieces were laid out. Some with labels, some without. Her eye was drawn to a photograph of a large floor mosaic that was mostly intact. It had two dragons entwined in flight in the center.
Before Faye could try to construct their story from the ot
her images at the edges of the mosaic, Max rushed over and said, “I had hoped to bring the genuine article with me, but the British Museum wouldn’t allow it. Even though I found it, they took credit for it and claimed it.”
Not wanting to talk about the politics of artifact finding, she asked, “Where was it found?”
“In southern Britain, not far from where Clan Skyhunter once lived. Very few Roman mosaics survived that depict dragons. This one not only features them, it tells the story of dragons assisting the villa owner.” Max pointed to one of the smaller images in the corner. “Here, the dragons are protecting the inhabitants from other dragons.”
Faye leaned down. The mosaic was missing some tiles, but she could just make out a dragon standing in front of humans while another dragon roared at him.
Max spoke again. “If you like this one, I have a few other tables of artifacts from the Roman period in Britain. Some of the finds are truly extraordinary.”
Before Faye could think of how to politely decline, she saw Grant striding toward her. Judging by the firmness of his jaw, something had happened.