Chapter 4

A sinister danger lurked within the dark.

Lucas Connors was just finishing his night shift as the guard of one of the main oil drilling companies in Bay Fair. He’d always hated the night shifts, but Ray Lewis, his best friend, had begged him to take the night shift so he could take his longtime girlfriend out for a special anniversary dinner. Ray was going to propose tonight, and well, that wasn’t the kind of request you refused from your best friend. Lucas didn’t understand why night shifts couldn’t be temporarily suspended in the face of all these driyn attacks. The big wigs slept soundly in their feathery beds while the poor and struggling like him had to deal with potential death just to earn peanuts. The hierarchies of this world seemed straightforward, but in reality, they confounded him.

Thankfully, it was almost morning. The night was in that period when it was darkest before dawn. Lucas loved full moon nights, but these days all they did was fuel his panic. It wasn’t unusual, after all, for driyns to operate during the full moon. That was the ideal time for the paranormal to be active. He cursed himself for the umpteenth time for accepting to cover for Ray, but Ray had promised him a nice extra sum of money at the end of the month, so he and Suzy could use the money for their newborn baby girl now added to the family.

His phone buzzed. It was 4 a.m., and Suzy was calling.

“Hey, baby,” Lucas said into the phone.

“When will you be home, honey?”

“In about an hour. You know the shift doesn’t end until five.”

“Can you come faster?”

“Is there a problem?”

Suzy touched the empty side of the bed. “I just miss you.”

“I’ll be in your arms soon enough, love.”

“Make it quick. I’m wearing your favorite lingerie.”

Lucas felt his groin tighten. “Damn, Suzy…”

His wife laughed, and Lucas stayed silent, savoring the sound.

The sinister danger again. A strange breeze blew, and fear wrapped itself across his spine.

“I’ll see you soon, baby,” Lucas said, trying to shield the fear in his voice but not quite managing it.

“Is something wrong?” His wife asked urgently.

“Nothing for you to worry yourself about. Give Renee a kiss for me.”

“Come give her yourself.”

“See you soon.”

“See you soon, love.”

The nameless threat in the blackness continued to stalk around.

Lucas felt the fear now clogging his throat, slowly twisting his insides and driving him insane.

“Who’s there?” He called out. No answer.

He gripped a stick, consciously determined not to go down without a fight.

“I said, who’s there?! You deaf or something?”

Still no answer.

Lucas moved around the darkness clutching his stick, hoping all those years of playing touchdowns and home runs in American football would pay off tonight. He turned around and shockingly came face to face with a half-human, half-dragon.

“Driyn!!!” he screamed at the top of his lungs and ran around blindly. The creature watched Lucas expressionlessly for a few moments before baring its lethal fangs in hatred and spitting out fire. Prey was never supposed to go scot-free. In seconds, the major oil drilling company in Bay Fair was in flames.

Lucas Connors ran in terror even as death chased him determinedly amidst the fire. He took the emergency stairwell, leaping through the stairs in fright. Finally, outside the company perimeter, he heaved a sigh of relief. All he had to do was run home.

Then he heard a hungry growl and the hairs on his body stood on an end. The creature leaped out of the darkness and, in minutes, feasted on his blood. His last thought as the gluttonous venomous feeding of his life took place was the picture on the mantelpiece in his home.

The picture of his wife and daughter on her delivery bed.

A figure appeared and looked in satisfaction at the grotesque sight. The driyn transformed into a human man again.

“You’ve done well,” the figure said, nodding.

“Fearful coward, that one,” the driyn responded.

***

Residents of Bay Fair awoke to the breaking news of yet another driyn attack, another report that Kylian Bassett, who owned the biggest conglomerate in Bay Fair, had been arrested, and the biggest oil drilling company had gone up in flames during the night.

“Isn’t this too much bad news for one morning?” Anthony Edwards grumbled at breakfast.

“The reporters are just doing their job, Daddy,” Mitchell said.

“Like you are? Going to that accursed law firm to start your prosecution on Kylian Bassett?” her father asked bitterly. He had not been himself since he’d caught her last night poring over files and folders of previous unsuccessful prosecutions.

Her siblings all stopped eating at once, shocked into silence.

“Taking on a case like that is the best way to prove myself,” Mitchell said quickly.

“So that’s the drill these days,” Stephanie remarked dryly after absorbing the news. “Start out at a prestigious law firm, and the first thing they do is to throw you at vicious dogs just to see how well you’d be able to fight and survive. Tell me something, Mitchie, was one year of your life serving them not enough to prove yourself to them?”

“If I prosecute this case well, I have a spot amongst the best lawyers in the country. Not just in Bay Fair.”

“Yeah? But have you also thought that you’d also have a top spot on the mafia hit list once you prosecute this guy? If you die, no one is going to give two bits about your famous spot, sis,” Steve said.

“Are you eating that?” Michael asked, pointing to the warm toast on Steve’s plate. Steve stared at him in disbelief.

“Seriously, Michael?”

“What? Is that a yes or no?” Michael asked again, almost oblivious to the tension at the table. He snatched the toast as Steve shook his head.

“So what was I supposed to do?” Mitchell asked, throwing up her hands in frustration. “Give up an opportunity that could propel my career to greater heights? George thinks…”

Anthony laughed in derision. “George. Of course, the charmer who already has his hooks deep into you. That’s why you’re asking what you were supposed to do. What you were supposed to do was think about the consequences of your actions!” Anthony snapped. “It’s already enough you’re working in Sara Woodstock’s law firm. Now you leaped at an opportunity to prosecute the biggest mafia boss in the country. Do you have a death wish? As a driyn family, do you think we need this kind of heat?”

“There is no heat! I’m getting tired of the constant negativity and paranoia. Am I not going to have a career simply because I’m a driyn?”

Silence reigned for a bit.

Anthony Edwards stood up. “I just hope you know what you’re doing because it’s like I’ve told you. The stakes are life and death.”

Without another word, their father left the table, leaving his breakfast untouched.

Stephanie and Steven stared at her silently with grave expressions on their faces.

Only Michael appeared seemingly unconcerned, eating away. Mitchell ruffled his blond hair slightly and kissed it before leaving.

Stephanie and Steve directed their gazes at him.

“What?” As he leaned and took another slice of toast from Stephanie’s plate, he said amusingly. “Loosen up, Ironface.”

***

The office was abuzz with news of the gruesome murder. The pervading emotion was fear diluted with curiosity. Everyone wondered what Sara Woodstock’s response was going to be. Lead another campaign? Call for stricter security measures? Mitchell heard someone theorize that Sara Woodstock would invent and unveil a lethal force that could melt driyn’s blood. The comment drew generous laughter. It was harmless and humorous, yet it sent Mitchell’s heart hammering against its rib cage.

“Mrs. Woodstock and her son are on their way!” The receptionist announced.

In seconds, everyone dispersed to their glass cubicles and were at their desks pretending to work. Mitchell hid a smile. Sara Woodstock had a curious talent for inducing fear wherever she appeared. In seconds, both Sara and George appeared. With their blond hair, blue eyes, and pale white skin, they both resembled two peas in a pod glistening with quiet polish. Sara Woodstock was short and stocky, manly in appearance despite her feminine clothing and the stilettos on her feet. Mitchell watched in surprise as the formidable woman made her way into her office. She stood up, shielding her trepidation with a smile.

“So you are the new lawyer my son won’t stop raving about,” Sara said, seizing up Mitchell unmercifully from head to toe.

“I…yes, ma’am…My name is Mitchell Edwards.”

“Edwards. You’re Anthony’s daughter?”

“You know my father?” Mitchell gasped.

Sara laughed. “He’s a Nobel Prize winner in physics. Of course, we all know him. The older generation, that is.”

“Oh yeah.”

“And you chose to tow the law path? That’s interesting.”

“Law has always been my passion, ma’am.”

“Hmm, of course, we should all follow our passions. Just like ridding Bay Fair of the disgusting menace known as driyns is my passion.”

Mitchell’s heart skipped a beat even as she maintained a deceptive smile and spoke deceptive words. “I appreciate the work you’re doing, Mrs. Woodstock. It’s great.”

“Thank you.” She looked Mitchell directly in the eye. “Rest assured, each and every one of them will die. I’ll shed my last drop of blood to ensure it happens.”

Mitchell’s heart skipped two beats. “I do wish you all the best,” she managed to stutter.

“You’re a pretty girl, Mitchell Edwards,” Sara Woodstock said out of nowhere.

“Thank you.”

“I hope you have a good head on your shoulders, too, because if you are unable to flawlessly prosecute that bastard Kylian Bassett, your career will go up in flames, and Blue County will not help you salvage the ashes.”

The words chilled Mitchell mainly because the meaning was unmistakable.

In seconds, Sara Woodstock sauntered out of the office.