Valentine (The Dragon Kings Book 3) (10 page)

“I don’t even know what to do.”

“You just need practice accessing the gift of healing. It will tell you what to do. Go ahead, pick a spot, and give it a whirl.”

Aspen placed her hand over one of Val’s injuries. After a minute, she squealed. “I did it. Look.” Val looked down, and sure enough the scratch was gone. Would Hazel be strong enough to withstand the gifting? She was certainly strong-willed, but would that make her a good queen?

Sid gave her a quick kiss. “Good job. Now watch.”

Sid transformed into a dragon and placed his snout on Val’s head. Val felt warmth spread from his forehead to his tail. When Sid removed his snout, the pain was gone.

It’s imperative that you win over Hazel right away. You are being targeted, and you need the extra gifts. I have a feeling this war’s going to start faster than any of us are prepared for.

“A
HUMVEE, HUH?” Hazel stared at the monster vehicle in front of her.

Paul gave her a grin. “I wish I could say it was mine. It’s the Guards’. I couldn’t afford it.”

Hazel climbed in. It smelled of sweat and cigars.

“Why’s the National Guard all involved?” Hazel asked.

“Because this dragon is wicked dangerous.”

Hazel fiddled with the glove box. “That’s crazy. Does the government have a plan if he’s not caught?”

“We’ll get rid of them. People won’t complain. Maybe then, we can actually use the national parks.”

Hazel had been saying that for years. But Aspen and Val would be upset. She supposed they’d get over losing the dragons. “No complaints here. How would they do it?”

Paul shrugged as he pulled onto the road to the park.

“I’m not privy to that information, but I expect they will poison their food source or something. Nuke their nests maybe. It will take several years to get rid of them all.”

Paul flashed an ID at the guard at the gate. Military vehicles were everywhere, and troops holding massive guns paced in front of the gates.

“I’ve never seen anything like this.”

He gave her a crooked grin. “It looks like we are at war. I’ve never been a part of anything like this. The thing is, no one sees anything. The most they’ve had to do is chase out teenagers who try to sneak in to go snowmobiling.”

“So you’re not seeing any dragons?” Hazel tried to look out the windshield, but it was hard to see the sky.

“We see them all the time. But supposedly only one is dangerous, so we are not to engage unless we feel like the dragon is going to eat us. But I still get nervous when I see one. We’ve been told the dragons are searching for the killer as well. Though how they know that is beyond me. They’re animals.”

Hazel looked out her own window and saw several gold and silver specks circling high in the sky. One of those gold specks could be the killer. She shivered.

“Someone knows how to communicate with them then. Any ideas who?”

Paul laughed. “I’d start with your sister.”

“Aspen?”

“Look, I’ve been on the search from nearly day one, and she’s never with us. She goes out with the dragons. I’ve even seen her riding on a massive black one.”

Hazel had a hard time believing that one. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I was supposed to know that. I’m not sure your parents even know. They think she’s out with her rich boyfriend searching in a helicopter.”

“Did you tell anyone you’d seen her?”

“My commanding officer. He told me to keep my trap shut.”

“Why are you telling me?”

Paul grabbed Hazel’s hand. “Come on, you know I tell you everything. I always have. I know we haven’t talked much since you moved to Hawaii, but I still trust you.”

Paul pulled up in front of the visitor center and turned to her. He grabbed both of her hands and looked deep into her eyes.

“Look, I don’t know what you were told. But Hazel, it’s been a week. You know that right now they’re just looking for a body. There is no way he’s alive. Not in this weather. It’s too cold. I don’t think they are going to even find a body. If that dragon ate him, he didn’t leave any evidence.”

Hazel jerked her hands out of his, her stomach twisting. “You’re wrong.”

“You need to accept he’s probably dead. It will make the rest of this so much easier.”

She glared at him and then got out of the car. Rowan wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. Her pulse sped up as she thought of the possibility. Was she the only one who still held out hope?

She stomped into the visitor center. Her parents were standing around a table with the same map from the kitchen.

Her mom turned to her, an ever present frown on her face. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Is it true?” Hazel crossed her arms and tapped her foot, blinking back the tears. How could they think he was dead?

“Is what true?”

She leaned forward and hissed. “Are we just looking for a body?”

“No, of course not. Who told you that?” Mom laid her hand on Hazel’s shoulder and looked her right in the eyes.

Hazel took a deep breath, relief flooding her. “Okay, so you think he’s still alive?”

“I have to. Even if it is unlikely.” Mom’s eyes filled with tears, and Hazel instantly felt guilty for making her worry.

Hazel grabbed her mom’s hands. “He’s alive, and we’re going to find him.”

“Of course we will.”

“Is it possible that he’s not in the park? What do you know about his disappearance?”

“Not much. The last person to see him alive was Aspen. He was with her and her friends. She went out with Sid, and when she came back, he was gone. It was like he just vanished.”

“Why search the park?”

“Because Aspen left her jeep at Sid’s house, and they found it on the side of the road, down the street from our house. It wouldn’t start. We had to take it to the shop. We think he left it there and tried to walk home.”

“Who was on duty at the guard station? The park was already shut down. Someone had to let him in.”

Hazel’s parents looked at each other. “We never thought of that.”

“Really? Who’s the official detective on the case?”

“There isn’t one. The park rangers and National Guard are leading the search.”

“Doesn’t the FBI get involved in missing person cases?”

“The FBI wouldn’t get involved in a simple missing person’s case. Not like this.”

Hazel sighed. “Okay, can you find out who was on duty?”

Dad nodded and went back into an office. Paul put his hand on her back. Hazel pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can’t believe they waited a week to tell me. If he was abducted, he could be anywhere.”

Dad came back with a note. “Jeff Daniels was on duty. He’s off today. I tried his cell, but he’s not answering. This is his address if you want to go visit him.”

“What makes you think he’ll be home if he didn’t answer his phone?”

Dad shuffled. “I don’t know. But we should have confirmation on this, so I think you should follow up with him. Plus, it’s safer for you to chase this lead than be here in the park. We don’t need you freezing to death too.”

“Too? So you think he’s dead?” She was tired of people giving up on Rowan so quickly. He couldn’t be dead.

Dad rubbed his hand across his face. “The thought’s occurred to me. But I’m not giving up yet.” At least he hadn’t lost all hope. Hazel didn’t know what she would do when that happened. No, she told herself, that wouldn’t happen because they were going to find him.

“Well then, I guess I’ll go check out this lead.” She spun on Paul. “Can you take me?”

“Let’s go.”

“Aren’t you on duty?” She narrowed her eyes at him.

He gave her a sheepish grin. “Yeah.”

“Then why can you come with me?”

“Because I’ve been assigned to keep an eye on you.”

Hazel’s insides burned. “Why?”

“Your parents don’t want to lose another child, so they asked us to assign someone to stay with you. I volunteered. I figured you’d be happy to spend time with me.”

Hazel exhaled. She couldn’t believe they were coddling her like that. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

Paul held out his keys. “I’m your ride. Do you want to talk to Mr. Daniels or not?”

Hazel hated he knew her well enough that she wouldn’t waste time arguing with him when there was a lead to follow.

It took about thirty minutes to get to Mr. Daniels’s house. Paul caught her up on all the gossip she missed since she’d left. She barely heard it. She couldn’t believe no one bothered to question him. Or maybe they had and were just letting her go to get her out of the main investigation.

Mr. Daniels answered the door right away. He was a tired looking man with a high forehead and weak chin. Hazel didn’t bother making small talk.

“My name is Hazel. My brother, Rowan, went missing last week. I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions.”

He waved her in. “Your dad just called. Sorry I didn’t answer the phone earlier. I was in the shower. Come on in.”

“Thanks.” She entered the tiny house and took off her hat and gloves. She left her coat on.

They sat on a tattered couch. “You were on gate duty that night. My parents found my sister’s jeep on the street near our home, which means Rowan would’ve gone through your gate. Do you remember seeing him?”

He rubbed his chin. “I remember seeing the jeep, but I don’t think Rowan was driving it. In fact, I’m not sure I saw Rowan at all. But I didn’t look in the car too closely. I recognized it as Aspen’s jeep, and I just let it go through.”

“So you didn’t see who was driving it?” Hazel leaned forward, her knees bouncing.

“It was dark. But I don’t remember thinking anything unusual. I figured Aspen was driving.”

“Did you actually see Aspen driving?”

“I told you that I didn’t look that close. But a blonde girl driving a jeep passed through those gates all the time. What was I supposed to think?”

Hazel knees stopped bouncing. “Are you sure it was a girl?” This was something. Had Aspen been lying about where she was that night? Did she have something to do with Rowan’s disappearance? Or was she just hiding what she knew?

“I dunno. Maybe. I really can’t remember. I don’t remember thinking anything looked unusual. But maybe. It was dark.” The man looked flustered. “I don’t know why you guys keep coming and asking me questions. I told Aspen I didn’t know either.”

“Aspen came to see you?” Hazel wasn’t sure anything else would surprise her now.

“Yeah, the day after he went missing. I feel horrible about it. Especially because I wasn’t really paying attention. If I had been, maybe I’d be more help. But your sister came in late all the time. Really, by then it was early morning. I was just ready for my shift to be over.”

Hazel stood, not really caring much about his guilt. “Thank you, Mr. Daniels. I appreciate what you told us.”

As soon as they got in the car, Hazel turned to Paul. “We need to go back to the spot where they found the car. Then I want to check out the jeep.”

“Sure.” He rested his arm across the back of her seat. He didn’t touch her, but she knew he was moving in that direction. She had to bite her tongue. She wanted to tell him to not use this situation to try to win her back, but she didn’t want to lose her ride. Plus, he was good at listening to her think out loud.

The spot the car was found was easy to find. There was police tape all around the area, though it was already starting to sag.

“Has it snowed since he went missing?” Hazel asked, realizing that would be a problem.

“Yeah, but not heavily. We can probably still see the tracks and footprints.”

They found the tire tracks. Hazel searched the area around them. Footprints were everywhere.

“There’s no way to tell if he walked or not. Too many people have been in and out of here,” Hazel said as she studied the footprints that were slightly snow covered. This wasn’t going to work. Maybe she could see the original pictures from the scene.

“How do you know this stuff?” Paul asked.

“I took a criminal justice class last semester. It was one of my favorite classes. I got an A.” She had wondered if maybe she should pursue a career in forensics. Her counselor told her it was time for her make a decision about her major.

Paul laughed. “Hazel Winters, detective. It has a nice ring.”

“Ha ha. I’m just glad I took the class now. Who knew I’d have to use the things I learned this fast.” She wasn’t an expert by any means, but she could sure try.

Paul leaned down next to her and studied the footprints on the ground. “Your parents told me there were no footprints. But I can see a few where he got out of the car, but nothing after that. He could’ve easily walked on the road. They plowed it that night, so there’s no way to tell.”

Hazel walked over to where the snow had been torn up and mixed with grass and dirt. It was right in front of the jeep tracks.

“What happened here?” Hazel asked.

Paul rubbed the back of his neck. “No one knows for sure, but there is speculation.”

“And that is?”

“Dragon.”

Hazel shook her head. No way. If that was the case, then he was dead. “I have a hard time believing Rowan would get out of the car in the first place. But he definitely wouldn’t if a dragon had landed in front of him. He’d hide in the car.”