Darkest deception, p.1
Darkest Deception, page 1
part #4 of Rise Of The Dragons Series
Rise of Dragons – Book 4
Darkest Deception
© Gemma Clatworthy 2022
Find more at www.gemmaclatworthy.com
The moral right of Gemma Clatworthy to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
Cover art by Sanjay Charlon (Beehive Illustrations)
Contents
Foreword
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Bonus Chapter 1
Bonus Chapter 2
Foreword
This story takes place in the Rise of Dragons universe; a world where magical and mundane beings coexist and dragons have recently been awoken.
The first three books in the Rise of Dragons series are told from the point of view of Amethyst Haernson, a half-dwarf jeweller who just wants a quiet life.
This book shows Special Agent Ruth Jones’ point of view and is set just after the end of Book 2 and in parallel to Book 3. If you want to avoid spoilers of those two stories, take a break now to catch up! Otherwise, read on…and I’ve included Agent Jones’ view of the end of Book 2 as Bonus Chapters at the end.
A special thank you to my amazing typo hunters, grammar gurus, and plot pickers who got this story to where it is today. You are awesome!
If you want to support Gemma, you can find her on patreon for exclusive first reads of new stories. You can also join her newsletter for a free prequel to this series and follow Gemma on www.instagram.com/gemmaclatworthy, www.facebook.com/gemmaclatworthy or join the reader’s group Gemma’s book wyrms.
Prologue
I didn’t like this mission. There was too much going on and too many civilians involved. It had started off well. I had been assigned the role of lead agent on a dragon taskforce. A massive responsibility and, if it went well, I could be looking at a big promotion. Not that I didn’t enjoy running the Welsh branch of the Magical Liaison Office, but I wanted that next rung on the ladder. I hadn’t sacrificed my personal and social life to not go the distance in my career.
After the first dragon had awoken earlier in the year and destroyed part of Cardiff Castle, the Magical Liaison Office had been trying to learn as much about them as possible. I had managed to recruit a leading dragon expert into the Office: Aloora Neebly or Dragonquest, her online handle and preferred moniker. The stubborn gnome had convinced me to bring along her friend and dragon survivor, Amethyst Haernson. A half-dwarf and talented metalsmith, I’d had her make some bespoke weapons for the team. I’d planned to keep her away from any action, but she had a knack for finding trouble. The elves had been on my case since they found out about the taskforce too. I’d had to accept one of them onto the team. I’d done my background checks and was happy with their proposal of a minor member of their royal family. Lorandir was a decent fighter and magic user specialising in healing magic; always a useful addition to a team.
Of course, I had my previous work partner and long-time friend from the London branch, Maxi, as our tech expert. I’d insisted he come along as soon as I’d been assigned the job. Dot, my trusted deputy, was our final member. She was a vampire but there was no one I’d rather have by my side if things went sideways.
Now we were at Stonehenge. In the middle of the Summer Solstice celebrations. And things had gone upside down, never mind sideways. Dragons had burst from the ground and attacked us before disappearing West and a member of my team had sold us out.
Chapter 1
I strode back to Madam Mim’s picturesque cottage in the small town. She was there to answer the door before I’d lifted my hand to ring the antique bell pull. I forced myself to give her a polite nod. I didn’t need to make an enemy of the powerful fae sorcerer. She offered me a small green bottle. I smiled as I recognised her own Cure All. I had forgotten about my injured arm in the excitement of dragons attacking us. I opened it. The combination of mint, aniseed and whisky stung my nose, but it worked. I rubbed a couple of drops onto my arm and the searing pain dulled to an ache. I took a swig for good measure. It was the closest I came to letting magic speed up my natural healing abilities and I was grateful for the release. I wasn’t looking forward to what came next. I returned the bottle and set my face into hard lines. I couldn’t let anyone know this was killing me inside.
I marched into the cosy living area. The team were sprawled out on various squashy chintz armchairs. I scanned the room until I saw who I wanted. Maxi was staring at a point on the wall. He was hugging himself, trying to look smaller. I felt for him. I quickly squashed that emotion down. He could be a damn traitor. I couldn’t allow myself to think of him as anything other than that until I knew differently.
“You. Upstairs. I want answers,” I stormed upstairs without waiting for him. I heard him trudging up the stairs. I waited and ushered him into the bedroom I was sharing with Dot. I closed the door behind him with a click.
He looked at me wide-eyed, his round cheeks making him look more youthful than usual. I gestured for him to sit down on one of the beds. He perched on the edge of a floral duvet cover, decorated with insects and fairies fluttering between large flowers.
I took a deep breath. I couldn’t believe he’d betrayed us. I squashed down any sympathy I had for my friend and clenched my fists. I decided to play bad cop.
“What the hell was that at Stonehenge?”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen…”
I lost my cool. I felt my fingers lengthening into claws. I had to let out some of my anger. I exploded, “It did happen! Start talking!”
Maxi swallowed several times and eyed me nervously, “It, well, the speakers, what,…then the sounds, yah…they didn’t say it would…I trusted them!”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. I stalked off to the bathroom to get a glass of water. When I came back into the bedroom, I was in control again. I handed him the water and forced myself to speak more calmly, “Fill in those gaps for me Maxi.”
He took a long drink. His eyes became less wild looking. He raked one hand through his hair. It stood on end like a mad professor’s, contrasting oddly with his young face. He stared at his feet and began talking.
“They said I was the expert…you know I’ve been working with the equipment team, yah…they said they had a sound that would ensure the dragons would stay asleep…it would tap into their brainwaves. They’ve been testing it on wyrms, you know they have similarities to dragons…”
I curled my lip as he started into an enthusiastic lecture on species genealogy. He was too smart for his own good. Fortunately, he caught my look and got back to the point.
“...anyway, it was sanctioned so I thought it was fine. I was just following orders.”
“Orders from who?”
“Whom…sorry,” he took a nervous sip of water and carried on, “…I mean, the Director. He sanctioned the use of the sounds, told me you didn’t need to be bothered with the details, that we were protecting the world…and I believed him.”
He looked so sorry for himself that I had to stop myself from reaching out and patting his shoulder. Instead I walked to the window overlooking Mim’s well-kept garden, considering. If what Maxi said was true then the desire to waken historic monsters wasn’t just a cult fetish…it went to the top of the Magical Liaison Office. The organisation dedicated to protecting the world and keeping the peace between magical and mundane. The organisation I worked for. The organisation I had dedicated myself to ever since I had been recruited, right after I’d left home. I had to know if he was telling the truth.
“I’ve got a problem here Maximillian Baskerville. If you’re lying, it will go very badly for you when I call this in…but if you’re telling the truth then it will still go badly for you because the Director isn’t going to stick his neck out for you.”
His mouth opened and closed, “I’ve been a complete fool.”
“Yes. You have. Why wouldn’t you tell me about this?”
“They said you didn’t need to know details, that it was better to do it. I only got the new sound clips today on the drive over. There wasn’t time, and, I trusted them.”
“You said ‘they’, who else?”
He gave me the names of two people on the equipment team who had given him the sound files. They had buttered him up it sounded like, gained his trust and suckered him in. If he was telling the truth. I wanted to believe him more than anything, but I had to be smart. Either he was lying to me or the whole Office was one big lie.
“You stay here and write what you just told me down. Add in anything else that might help you.” I needed a w
I marched into the garden, ignoring the herbs and other healing plants Mim kept in glazed pots. My ears picked up talking behind a screen of trailing roses. Their sweet scent filled my nose. Too sweet. I continued through the opening and into the other worldly forest set behind Madam Mim’s cottage. The background magic pricked my skin. The entire taskforce was there. They stopped talking as they saw me. I felt my jaw clench.
“We’re leaving after lunch,” I turned on my heels and stalked back the way I’d come. Madam Mim held me back as the others passed.
“Don’t be too hard on him.”
I raised one eyebrow at her.
“I read his tea leaves, you know that. You didn’t hear his fortune though…”
“Aren’t you bound not to reveal the fortunes of others?” It was cruel but I hated mysteries and riddles.
“True,” she regarded me carefully, “but I ask you to think who is really the betrayer and the betrayed here.” She glided off towards the cottage to prepare lunch. I narrowed my eyes at her back and considered. I rubbed the back of my neck, swore and walked back behind the rose bushes. I wanted some privacy for the call I had to make.
I scrolled through my phone several times, deciding who to call. If Maxi was right, the Director was out. I could go above him to the powers that be…but if Maxi was lying I wouldn’t win any friends doing that. Who of my colleagues did I trust? As I scrolled through my contacts, I lit upon a name. Damn it. My boss. Head of the London office. Technically I still reported into him, but I ran my own ship here in Wales. We’d had a few disagreements and I didn’t like him…but…I’d worked with him for years.... I inhaled deeply and dialled the number.
“Jones.”
“Hello Vass.”
“What’s going on in Wiltshire? I’ve got two separate clean-up teams called out and complaints coming in left, right and centre!” I could hear the shuffle of papers combined with noisy keyboard typing.
“Dragons.”
He swore. “Looks like we were right about there being more.”
I made an affirmative noise.
“Well, spit it out. You don’t usually call me without wanting something.”
“Are you alone?”
“I’m in my office. What is going on?”
I sighed, “I’ve got information. It’s big…potentially.”
In my mind’s eye I could see him leaning back on his leather swivel chair, thinking. Then I heard the click of the glass door as he shut it. “Alright, I’m listening.”
I filled him in. How he handled this would tell me if I could trust him.
He let out a low whistle while he thought, “This is big Jones…this is the closest I’ve come to getting anything concrete on the Director…”
“You knew?!”
“I had my suspicions. Nothing certain, just coincidences. We need to play this carefully, for all our sakes. He’s a powerful man.”
“You think I don’t know that?!”
“Got a plan have you?”
I was silent. I didn’t have a plan…yet.
“OK, why don’t you meet me here in London or I can come to your Cardiff branch, it’s due an inspection...”
“He put my entire team in danger! Plus two civilians I’ve got on this taskforce! I am not coming back into the office if what Maxi told me was true.” My voice was rising. I fought to control my temper, “I can’t work for a crooked organisation, it’s too dangerous for everyone.”
“I know you like the direct approach,” he sounded derisive, “but we can’t arrest him on the say so of one of your team. We have to do the work, build the case. Get a little thing called evidence.”
I let his superior sarcasm pass. “What if I make the wrong call again? What if I trust the wrong person? It’s too big a risk. I can’t go back into the Office until I’m certain.”
He let out a sigh of forced frustration, “Always making things difficult, hey Jones? You still want to work the case though?”
“Of course!”
I heard his fingers drum on the table as he thought it through. He was always better at planning ahead than me, “Alright, here’s what you do: put in for a leave of absence. You haven’t taken any holiday in the last year and a half. I’ll put it about that your latest mission has pushed you to the edge. No one’s encountered dragons before, it won’t be that much of a stretch for people to believe it.” I frowned at the phone; patience was not my strong suit. He carried on, “You’ve got a competent deputy I assume?”
“Dot,” I answered without hesitation. Before today I might have been torn between her and Maxi.
“OK, we’ll put her in charge of the branch temporarily. Send Maxi back to London for a bit, reporting into me. I’ll keep an eye on him in case he’s involved and we’ll dig around here.”
“What am I meant to do?”
“First off, relax! Enjoy some time on your farm! I’m giving you paid leave here Jones! Second, while you’re out, you’re free. Freer than Maxi and me.”
I took the hint. I could work the case without being confined by the Office’s strict rules and protocols.
“I might need information from the internal databases…”
“I’ll make sure you have access…I’ll assign you some grunt work while you’re on leave, to ease you back in. But be careful. Don’t get caught by a data trail. If the Director finds out about any of this…”
“He won’t.”
“Good luck Jones.”
He hung up. I didn’t know whether I was happy that he was going to help or pissed that I’d agreed to do this covert operation. I definitely didn’t like the idea of kicking my heels at my family’s farm. I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a tension headache coming on.
Chapter 2
The news sounded loudly in the van as we drove back to Cardiff. I could almost be proud at the efficiency of the Magical Liaison Office for getting the releases out. A bomb scare for Stonehenge and gas leak for the Avebury stone circle, roadblocks in place. Neat and tidy.
I pressed one of the pre-programmed stations as we drove through one of said roadblocks and turned onto the main road. Nineties pop. I felt my shoulders relax as the upbeat music thrummed through the speakers. It reminded me of happier times, me and my Mum dancing in the kitchen. That was before. My shoulders instantly tensed up again. I winced as I changed gears, my injured arm jolting itself on the still gear stick.
I flipped my concentration back to the road and away from those painful memories. We joined the motorway at the Swindon junction and I was caught by another memory. Maxi and I on another Summer Solstice mission to investigate a magical seal. Good times. Now, he was subdued in the back. Dot was foregoing her daytime sleep to keep an eye on him. The others were all eyeing him warily too. Except Amethyst. She had fallen asleep and was drooling softly in one seat. I wished I could be that relaxed in cars, but I liked to be in control and got nauseous if I wasn’t driving. A child facing backwards in the back of an estate car in front of me waved. I ignored them and pulled out to overtake the car loaded with suitcases and blow up beach toys.
Back in Cardiff, I dropped Aloora off outside the three-storey Victorian house on Miskin street where she lived. To my mind, it didn’t fit her self-assigned moniker of ‘Dragonquest’ but hey, we all had to live somewhere. She was too new to the team to involve in the plan. Next stop was the main road outside Cardiff Castle. It still had a ‘closed for renovation’ sign hung on its formidable studded wooden gate. A leftover from the first dragon bursting into our world earlier this year. I could still smell the tang of sulphur…or maybe I was just imagining it. I pulled up sharply on a kerb in a no waiting zone. Amethyst and Lorandir got out and grabbed their bags from the back of the van. I didn’t wait to see them off, instead I pulled out into traffic and headed for the Magical Liaison Office Cardiff Headquarters.
I turned into the side road just outside the city centre and pressed the garage door opening key inside the van. The pavement swung open, creating a ramp into the underground garage. I drove in, unconcerned about anyone paying us undue interest. The wards around the street made it completely uninteresting to mundane beings and the magical ones generally didn’t want anything to do with our Office if they could help it. I drove us down the ramp into the sleek, modern garage and parked up next to my standard-issue grey Volvo. I slammed the van door as I got out.
