Naura (17 page)

Chapter Thirty-Six

Naura jumped as a knock sounded on her door. She laid down the remote after spending the last several minutes trying to figure out how to turn on the television and padded barefoot across the room. “Who is there?”

“It’s Miguel. May I come in?”

Disengaging the lock, she pulled the door open and stepped back to allow him entrance.

He trailed inside, holding a tray of some delicious-smelling food in one hand and a large white bag in the other. “As promised, I brought you some clothes. I figured you might be hungry also.”

Naura’s stomach growled on queue. “Thank you. I am starved.”

Miquel set the tray of food on the coffee table and handed her the bag. “I hope they fit. I guessed you to be a size six.”

“I do not understand sizes, but I am certain they will do nicely.”

“Go ahead and change into something dry and comfortable while I get your food ready.”

Naura thanked him once again before running off to the bedroom to search through her new clothes.

She settled on a bright yellow sundress and soft white sandals.

Running a brush through her nearly dry hair, she fluffed her long tresses and returned to the front room to find Miguel seated on the couch.

“The food smells amazing,” Naura voiced, taking a seat next to him. “You are too kind.”

“Nonsense. It’s nothing more than any good host would do. Would you like to watch some television?”

Naura nodded, picking up the plate he’d prepared for her. “I attempted to operate the remote like Tony had shown me, but I could not get it to work.”

The feel of Tony’s name on her lips brought back the ache in her chest.

Miguel pressed a button on the remote, bringing the television to life.

“Wait,” Naura rushed out as he moved to press another button. “That is Abbie’s sire.”

Miguel turned up the volume in time for Naura to hear the words “
passed away
.”

A beautiful blonde woman talked into a black object she held in her hand and stared straight into Naura’s eyes. Or so it seemed to Naura.

“Cause of death is unknown at this time,” the blonde stated, pointing to the hospital behind her. “All we have been able to gather is that he was apparently in some kind of a fishing accident. We’ll hopefully have more details once any remaining family has been notified. As far as we know, Abbigail Sutherland was his only child.”

She continued to speak, but Naura no longer listened. She needed to get word to Abbie about her father’s death.

“Are you all right?” Miguel asked, touching her on the shoulder.

Naura set her plate back on the coffee table. “That man on the television. The one who died? That is Abbie’s sire.”

“Yes, I know. I saw a clip about it on another channel about twenty minutes ago. Normally something such as that wouldn’t show on our local news stations, but the Incola virus has become a household name since the discovery of the first Incola-related death. And Doctor Sutherland happened to be one of the first people to take samples from Hauke. Naturally, he’s a man of interest to the entire world.”

Naura quickly stood. “I must go. It will take me many hours to return to Aukrabah.”

“There’s no need to leave just yet.” Miguel took hold of her hand and tugged her back down to the couch. “I have already notified Hauke of his mate’s father, Naura. Abbie knows.”

Naura fought the tears that threatened. “I do not wish for her to be alone in her grief.”

“She has Hauke and their son to comfort her. At least wait until the morning. If you still want to leave, then I will take you as far as I safely can. Please, finish your dinner.”

Indecision warred within Naura. She knew what Miguel said was true. Abbie did have Hauke and Arcanum. She also had her Uncle Tony. As if he would be much help, Naura thought with an inner sigh. Tony wasn’t capable of emotional support.

“You are correct, Miguel. There is nothing I can do tonight for Abbie. I will stay for a while longer.”

Miguel patted her hand. “A wise choice. The Navy has ships and submarines scattered throughout the gulf in search of Aukrabah. You shouldn’t risk being seen.”

Naura picked up her plate and set it on her lap. “Thank you again for dinner, Miguel. It smells delightful.”

* * * *

Abbie lay in Hauke’s arms as tears spilled down her face to drip onto his bare chest.

He’d been holding her for the past hour, murmuring words of comfort.

Henry was dead.

Memories of their last days together haunted Abbie. The conflict, strife, and betrayal all melded together to fan the flames of her sorrow.

“Please, do not cry, my mate. It hurts my heart to watch you suffer this way.” He brushed her hair back and placed his lips against her temple. “What can I do to take away your pain?”

“You already relieve the pain, my love. Just by being here.”

The sound of footsteps stopping outside the entrance to Hauke and Abbie’s room brought her head up.

Laurel’s voice called out. “May we come in?”

“Of course,” Abbie returned, wiping at her eyes and moving to sit up in bed.

Klause entered the bedroom with Laurel by his side. The king spoke in a deep, soothing tone. “I came to offer my condolences, mate of my son. I am deeply sorry for the loss of your sire.”

Abbie gazed into the king’s jade-green eyes—eyes that reminded her so much of Arcanum’s. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The king appeared taken aback. “Your Majesty? What happened to Klause?”

The corner of Abbie’s mouth lifted, which seemed to be the desired effect.

“You are the only one besides my children and wife that can get by with referring to me as Klause.”

“I appreciate you not having me beheaded for it.” Abbie found herself teasing.

Klause’s lips twitched. “Since I am now your father in every since of the word, I suppose I will allow you to keep your head.”

“Much appreciated, Dad.”

The king slapped a hand to his forehead in feigned offense.

Laurel sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped Abbie in a hug. “The king and I are here for you. If you need anything at all, do not hesitate to call on us.”

Abbie adored Hauke’s parents. They had accepted her into Aukrabah, loved her, and treated her as if she were one of their own children. They showered her and Arcanum with gifts brought back from the surface and always made sure she had plenty of human food to eat.

“I love you both,” Abbie whispered against Laurel’s cheek. “Thank you for being such wonderful parents.”

Laurel pulled back, a suspicious moisture evident in her light emerald eyes. “We love you too, dear one.”

The queen stood and leaned over Arcanum’s crib, brushing her lips tenderly across his chubby cheek before facing Abbie once again. “Would you like for us to take him to our quarters for the night? You appear as if you could use some sleep.”

Abbie sent the queen a grateful smile. “If you don’t mind. But he will be hungry again in a few hours.”

“I will return him to eat when it is time. Try to get some rest.” Laurel gently lifted Arcanum from his crib and wrapped his little body in a blanket.

“Thank you, Mom,” Abbie whispered with a small smile.

“You are welcome, daughter.”

Turning toward the door, Laurel spoke over her shoulder. “Do not stay too long, Klause. Abbie needs to rest.”

Klause waited until his mate disappeared through the door before dragging a chair close to the bed and sitting with his elbows resting on his knees. “I did not want to bring this up tonight, but I fear I am left with little choice.”

Abbie felt Hauke tense. “What is it, Father?”

“We need to begin training for an evacuation.”

Hauke’s eyebrows shot up. “We cannot evacuate. The human military patrols near the entrance of Aukrabah. It would be impossible to evacuate over three hundred Bracadytes through the falls without being seen.”

Klause locked gazes with his son. “The Pool of Life is not the only way into our home.”

“What?” A muscle ticked along Hauke’s jaw. “Why have I never heard of this?”

“The elders blocked it off many moons ago, my son.”

“Why would they do that?” Abbie piped in, not caring about proper king etiquette at the moment.

“Because, the north entrance of Aukrabah is centered beneath the human-populated city of Destin…”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Tony entered the training area and scanned the room in search of Vaulcron. He spotted him sitting on a bench along the wall, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel.

“Hey, Vaulcron,” Tony called, weaving through the many grappling Bracadytes to reach Naura’s brother.

Vaulcron paused with the towel pressed to his chin before slowly lowering it to his lap. “You heard the news.”

Tony nodded and took a seat on the other end of the stone bench. “I did.”

“How is Abbie taking it?”

“She’s upset, but I think she’ll be all right. Hauke has been with her since she found out.”

Vaulcron nodded. “It pains me to see my brother’s mate in tears. I could not bear to stay in their room but a short time.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Tony paused. “Was it Naura that told you about Henry?”

“No. Miguel is responsible for passing on the information.”

Tony glanced down at his hands before meeting Vaulcron’s gaze once more. “How is it that you’re able to communicate with Miguel?”

“I do not know for certain. My father tells me that Miguel is tied to us. I am thinking that he carries our blood.”

“So, he’s half Bracadyte?”

Vaulcron studied Tony’s eyes for several seconds. “I do not think so, but I do believe that he is a descendent.”

“In other words, he isn’t half human like Arcanum.”

“No. And I have no knowledge of where his bloodline originates. I only know that he has some Bracadyte abilities, and the king trusts him.”

Tony stretched his legs out in front of him. “Then the king knows more than he’s telling.”

“Perhaps,” Vaulcron acknowledged. “I am sure that he has his reasons.” He took a deep breath. “There is another matter I would discuss with you.”

“I’m all ears,” Tony quipped.

At Vaulcron’s confused expression, Tony explained. “It means that I’m listening.”

“I see. Miguel tells me that the human military have many boats searching for our home. They also have underwater boats prowling the gulf in hopes of discovering evidence that we are nearby.”

Tony tilted his head. “They’re called submarines.”

“They have orders to blow us out of Aukrabah with something known as bombs.”

“What?” Tony’s entire body tensed. “They can’t do that. If it doesn’t kill us all, we’ll be buried alive.”

“I am only relaying to you what Miguel passed along to me.”

Tony instantly jumped to his feet. “I can’t let this happen.”

“Where are you going?” Vaulcron stood also, dropping the towel onto the bench.

“To stop them before it’s too late.”

Vaulcron fell into step beside him. “I have already set a plan into motion, my friend.”

Tony stopped and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m listening.”

“Tonight, I leave for Playa Pilar. Miguel has arranged for an interview with Mallory Cahill. We are to meet shortly after the sun rises.”

“You what?” Tony couldn’t believe his ears. “Did you say Cahill? As in the Great White Shark, Cahill?”

At Vaulcron’s nod, Tony’s mouth hardened in anger. “You can’t meet with her. She’ll chew you up and spit you out. She didn’t get that nickname by cruising for fish.”

“I am very much aware of her deadly strike, Anthony Vaughn. And trust me when I say that I can take care of myself.” With that, he drifted off toward the Pool of Life, and the entrance to Aukrabah.

* * * *

Doug Jefferies sat on a sofa in President Howell’s private gym and watched as Rueben broke a sweat on the treadmill. “Do you think Abbigail Sutherland will show up at her father’s funeral, sir?”

“I’m counting on it, Doug.”

“The chances of her finding out about his death are slim to none in my opinion.”

Rueben switched off the treadmill, grabbed his bottle of water, and stepped down. “Oh, she knows. I wouldn’t doubt that Anthony Vaughn knew the minute the old man coded.” He met Doug’s gaze. “I want his head brought to me on a plate.”

Jefferies stood and handed Rueben a towel to wipe his face. “Vaughn is a ghost, sir. We can’t find him anywhere.”

“He’s getting help from someone,” Rueben pointed out. “And I want to know who that man is. Find the one assisting him, and you’ll find Vaughn.”

“Needle in a haystack, sir. But I’ve threaded difficult needles before. He’ll pop up eventually. And when he does, his head will definitely be yours.”

“Eventually isn’t going to cut it. Yesterday wasn’t soon enough.”

Doug’s anger spiked. The president expected him to perform miracles. Rueben had no idea the kind of skills Vaughn possessed. Hell, they’d have better luck finding Houdini. “Any news from Kerik?”

Rueben nodded. “He’s ordered more ships and divers to search a hundred-mile radius from the area where they found Vaughn’s boat. How the hell could he have just vanished like that?”

Jefferies cocked an eyebrow. “As I said before. Needle in a haystack. There had to have been dive equipment on board the boat, and not your average gear either. Sutherland’s suit was made to withstand the pressure of a fifteen-hundred-foot dive. Now where he acquired it is anyone’s guess.”

“How long does a tank of oxygen last when diving?”

Doug scratched his head. “I believe it’s about an hour, sir, depending on the depth. The deeper you go, the more oxygen is used.”

The president turned to stare out the window. “And Vaughn’s accomplice would have thought of that in advance. I’m sure there were backup tanks available.”

“No doubt, sir.”

“Then let’s say for the sake of argument, he had two tanks with him when he disappeared in that gulf. That gives him less than a couple of hours of dive time. He would have had to pop up at some point or drown.”

“He’s with those things that came up from the gulf to begin with, sir.”

“But how?” Rueben barked, facing him once again. “How is he with them? He can’t stay beneath the water all this time without breathing. Even the caves are underwater, Doug. Same concept.”

“I don’t know, sir, but he is. There were no other vessels in that area when the coast guard arrived only minutes behind him the night he escaped. And Doctor Sutherland was found less than a half a mile from that boat.”

“Unless Sutherland was a diversion, and Vaughn escaped by air.”

Doug chewed on the inside of his jaw in consternation. “But according to Eglin Air Force Base, there were no choppers sighted in that area, either before or after Vaughn’s disappearance.”

“He could have used a stealth chopper.”

“Son of a bitch,” Doug growled, fishing out his cell phone from his pants pocket.

“Who are you calling?”

Jefferies dialed Kerik’s number and pressed the phone to his ear. He peered at the president while waiting for the call to go through. “I’m calling the secretary of defense. If this was an inside job, he needs to be made aware.”