"Yeah…this sounds more and more like a badDeath Becomes Herscenario at best and eugenics at worst. So which is it?" Apollo demanded.
"Neither. It is at the forefront of scienceandmagic. We have been hindered for centuries because we have been missing one vital ingredient. The rarest of them all," she said, looking at him with shining eyes. "And now here you are. A dragon who is an alchemist. Sent to help us finally achieve our goals because dragon blood is the purest of all alchemical essences. Lifeandmagic in its purest form."
Apollo clicked his tongue. "Sorry. I told you I can't shift. I'm no use to you."
"You can't shiftyet. But I believe with our guidance, we can achieve it. We want you to be our partner in this, Apollo. After so very long, we will be able to ascend the great masters and achieve what they never could. Don't you want to try? Aren't you a little curious to know what we know? We have achieved such wonders already. Join us, Apollo."
"Yeah, I'm going to have to pass. This wholething…" Apollo waved at the doors of the wall of freezers. "Really isn't my jam, you know? It's all a bit dark and creepy, and you all whiff of absolute crazy."
Doctor Bellerose sighed sadly. "You are choosing the hard way, then?"
"I guess so. And you can save the theatrics too. You're all shit actors. Especially Kovacs here," Apollo said, pointing to the big man. "We both know you were never planning to let me walk out of here. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given me your names."
"I wanted us to be friends," she said sadly.
"No, you didn't. Friends don't kidnap each other." Apollo gave them his best 'Fuck You' smile. "But that's okay. I won't be staying long. My family will find me soon, but worse for you guys, Lachlan Ironwood will find me, and then you're going to regret ever harming a hair on my head."
Kovacs went to grab Apollo, but he twisted at the last second and kicked him hard between the legs. Kovacs grunted and went down to his knees. Apollo punched him in the throat and ran for the door.
Doctor Bellerose pulled out a small device from her pocket. A high-pitched sound burst through Apollo's brain, making his dragon scream. No. It washimscreaming. He collapsed on the ground, clutching his head and shaking.
A pair of high heels appeared before him, and Doctor Bellerose knelt to push the curls back from his face. "Lucien did say you were too clever. Sweet dreams, Monsieur Greatdrakes," she purred.
The pain pierced his skull again, and Apollo curled tighter into himself. Kovacs's ugly face hovered over him as he ran his fingers through Apollo's hair.
"So pretty. Pretty golden dragon," Kovacs said, the crazy shining out of his eyes. "I can't wait to show you my magic."
"Don't…touch…" Apollo wheezed before darkness washed over him.
10
The catacombs of Paris were cold and full of ghosts. It wasn't Lachlan's first time in them, but he had never felt like the stakes were higher.
Lachlan had gotten a few hours of sleep on the plane to Paris, so his head didn't feel so clouded. He had only just checked into his usual hotel in the fourteenth arrondissement when Layla had called.
"I've found Apollo," she said before Lachlan could say hello. "He was taken from a private airfield to a building in the seventh arrondissement. It looks like a cosmetics company of all things."
"Maybe they really were after his shampoo recipe," Lachlan said, but the cold in his gut told him that their luck wasn't that good.
"I've done some digging, and theyareinvolved in cosmetics, but also their parent company is caught up in genomics and other scientific research," Layla continued. "It's crawling with security too. I've tried getting into their camera system, but it's locked down tight."
"Got any good news?" Lachlan prompted.
"Yeah, maybe? The catacombs run underneath them. That might be a way in undetected. I can't give you much more than that," Layla replied, sounding dead tired. "I can call the Greatdrakes and let them..."
"No. I need to do this before we tell them."
"Now's not the time to be a hero, Lachie."
"I'm not trying to be. I want to protect them. The Sanguis want dragons. I'm not handing them another one. If I have to knock out a few guards and steal their gear, it will be better to be by myself. We are used to infiltrating places we aren't meant to be. The Greatdrakes aren't. Especially not a place crawling with other magic users who will feel them the moment they cast a single spell," he argued. "Can you find me an entrance to the catacombs that's not the one on the Avenue du Colonel Henri Roi-Tanguy? I don't want to deal with the public today."
"Already sending it to your phone. Message me as soon as you are free and clear, okay? We can't hide this from Cosimo," Layla said before hanging up.
His cousin knew that Lachlan had faced worse odds in the past—and survived—which was the only reason she hadn't argued with him more. Getting into places where he shouldn't be was always easier when he didn't have a team to worry about.
Lachlan shone his torch around the dark tunnel in front of him and checked the map on his phone. Reception was sketchy, but he had programmed a route into another app that could work offline. According to the map, this should have been an open tunnel. Instead, he found a brick wall.
He had hoped that the Sanguis Vitae hadn't considered the catacombs under their building, but they were alchemists and weren't the average villain. Lachlan had come prepared. He pulled out three patches from a box in his satchel.
