Instead, she crept along to the front of the house, keeping to the valleys of the roof and watching for the cameras. She could hear a crash and commotion, and suspected that they were mobilizing–
did they guess that she would try to escape? She expected them to be ready for her near Tony's cage; she had hoped that they would be distracted from the gates for that time.
To her surprise, the gates were open, and the beat-up van from Shifting Sands was wedged between them. Four guards with weapons–Amber had no idea if they were real ones or only tranquilizers, but wasn't willing to risk finding out the hard way–were surrounding it. They clearly looked flustered.
Jimmy was loudly protesting from the driver's seat that they were scheduled, that Mr Beehag had arranged a tour. “Just radio Mr. Beehag! I swear, he's expecting us!”
Amber's ears flattened against her head in confusion. The van was completely full of resort guests. As she watched, Magnolia made her ponderous way out of the side door, calling over one of the guards to take her imperious hand as the van tipped under her weight.
“Here, darling, stop waving that around and come help a lady down!” she commanded, and the guard actually did so, putting his hand out reluctantly to steady her.
The other resort guests weren't guests at all. Amber recognized a flash of Scarlet's distinctive hair in the passenger seat, and the person out after Magnolia was the surly gardener, who didn't so much as pretend to be friendly before punching the guard who had his hand captured in Magnolia's.
“So uncivilized,” Magnolia said with a sniff as they began to brawl in earnest, but she didn't let go of the guard, demonstrating unexpected strength as he twisted and tried to break free. The gardener made short work of him, given his handicap, and Magnolia gently lowered the unconscious man to the ground after only a short flurry of blows.
Chef, out next, immediately asked if she was alright, not even giving the remaining three guards a glance.
“He didn't hurt you, did he?”
“I'm fine, sugar,” Magnolia insisted, straightening her hat. “You're a dear to ask!”
Scarlet dismounted from the passenger seat like a queen, with her staff fanning out behind her as they scrambled out of the van like some kind of shifter clown car.
The remaining three guards fidgeted in place, swinging their guns from one target to another nervously. The youngest of them finally picked up their radio. “Um, sir? We've got trouble at the gate. Guests. Er... the resort lady. And... some staff, I guess. A guard is down.”
“Tell Mr. Beehag that Scarlet Stanson is here to discuss some of the terms of our contract,” Scarlet suggested sweetly, folding her arms and giving the guard a steely stare.
Several other guards ran up then, taking positions with partial cover and training their weapons on the motley crew. The first three took more confident stances and the boy with the radio looked back at Scarlet defiantly.
Then the last person disembarked from the van wearing a brilliant yellow lifeguard shirt, and shifted immediately into a dragon four times the size of the van. To a man, the guards all stepped back and re-positioned their hands on their guns.
The youngest guard picked up his radio again and said with a wavering voice. “Miss Scarlet is here... uh... to talk about a contract. They brought a dragon, sir...”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alistair Beehag stood in from of Tony's cage, looking almost bored. “You know,” he said, condescendingly, “It isn't really worth all this fuss. I give my guests everything they could possibly need. I assure you that Miss Allen would be quite safe here. She would even stop trying to escape, eventually; they all do.”
Tony shifted back into human form, because he could again, and because as a tiger it was getting difficult to keep himself from throwing himself at the cage walls in sheer fury.
“You're a chicken-shit jackass son of a bitch,” he snarled.
It wasn't as satisfying as he had hoped. Beehag only laughed.
He went on conversationally, “Some of these shifters have been here fifty years,” he explained. “My father collected them when he was a young man, and passed his collection to me. Did you know that shifters live as long as humans even in their animal forms exclusively? It would be a wonder to the scientific community if they got their hands on some of my guests. Amber is quite young–I imagine she will live out a very long life here.”
Tony might have flung himself at the cage even in human form if the bastard had kept going on, but fortunately one of the guards' radios crackled to life.
“Um, sir? We've got trouble at the gate. Guests. Er... the resort lady. And... some staff, I guess. A guard is down.”
Beehag sighed, as if it was just a little inconvenience, but there was a glint to Tony's eyes that he didn't like.
With an imperious gesture, Beehag sent half of the guards scurrying to the front of the estate like ants.
The remaining guards barked orders into phones, and didn't seem the slightest bit fazed when a panicked message came over the radio: “Miss Scarlet is here... uh... to talk about a contract. She brought a dragon, sir...”
Far from being alarmed, Beehag actually clapped his hands. “Oh, this is a good day,” he said gleefully. “I have been unsuccessful in tempting that one away from the resort since it first arrived, but I've had a cage prepared for it all this time. Well away from the others, of course. And I've made all the precautions for capturing it.” A gesture to the remaining guards sent them scurrying.
“I hope you will forgive me for bringing our conversation to such an abrupt end,” Beehag said dismissively. “I am not yet sure if I will have further need of you, but I will keep you alive until I have the mountain cat safely in hand. Until then!”