The Hunt for Freedom

Chapter Fifty Nine

As they unpacked the helicopter, Dakari noticed a backpack wedged in the corner of the little cargo area. It was old, and filthy, and had the stench of the dragon lair on it. He called to Paolo and his team.

"Did anyone grab this bag from the caves before we left?" He questioned.

Each man shook his head, looking just as baffled as Dakari. "I had this area pretty packed when we left home, with all the blankets and medical necessities. It had to be put in there while we were down with the kids." Paolo advised.

Dakari knew he had to open it, but the thought of finding those disappearing embryos caused him to hesitate. What would they do then?

He reached to undo the zipper and caused dust to cascade to the floor. The bag had obvious signs of weather damage, water stains, mud clots but the zipper held firm. Using two hands he was able to force the zipper and open the bag enough to see inside. What he saw baffled him. "Another bag?" He thought.

Old mildewed smelling cloths were wrapped tightly around a plastic bag. The bag was filled with air, and had not been damaged. The book that was sealed within was made of what appeared to be leather and looked to be ancient. Dakari started to open the plastic up when Paolo stopped him.

"It may be better to open that at the University on the mainland," he cautioned. "It looks really old, we don't want the salty wet air to decay the leather or pages."

"You're right, thank you for stopping me." Dakari gushed. "A climate-controlled room will be best for whatever secrets have been shared with us."

"I wonder if one of the kids snuck it in?" Paolo pondered.

"I was thinking about that too, those kids roamed those caves at will, a brave one might have thought this was an important find." Dakari said, thinking about the brave little Scottish boy.

"I will take this to the university today, but I will make sure no one touches it except someone native to the island. We have a few people on staff there," Paolo added.

"I will go over in a few days and personally supervise the whole thing. Please ask them to wait for me. I have never seen a procedure such as this; I have been toying with the idea of hunting for some missing prophecies. This might be my first clue."

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Dalya had been in too much pain to understand the situation. Katalea had found herself in shock and utterly useless. Thanks to her Grandmother, they had finally got her settled back in her own room with a sleeping spell to make the night. Worn out, exhausted beyond measure, and confused, Katalea had no thoughts, no feelings, and had gratefully just followed dutifully behind Grandmother downstairs.

They had discussed the matter with Grandfather, and he too was at a loss. Everyone was too tired to think clearly and promised to meet back for a late breakfast. Before heading out to the terrace Katalea checked on Dalya, she was still sleeping peacefully, but she noticed that the doctor had come and attached an IV to her arm.

As Katalea looked over the horizon, she realized that nagging pull she felt was for Dakari. How strange fate was that he would be her mate. She considered him, and felt herself flush. She had never thought of him that way before, but now her thought ran amok.

On the physical level, he rivaled any she had ever seen. And wasn't it funny that she had never registered that before. On the intellectual level, he was leaps and bounds ahead of everyone she knew. He spoke so many languages she had lost count. He was always researching something new, or working out a new way to conjure objects. On top of all his attributes, he was kind. It surprised her how much that mattered.