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“WHAT ARE WE GOING TO do about the dragon in the basement?” Wyatt wanted to know. All three men sat around the table in the kitchen with lit cigarettes, puffing away in a high state of agitation.
A Dragon. It was hard to wrap their minds around such a thing.
Terrence glared at his oldest son, sitting on a bag of frozen peas with a pinched expression on his face. “Well, what we will not do is put our hands where they have no business being. She nearly got the upper hand on us. If she’d gotten a hold of us with those teeth and claws... well I don’t really need to go into detail, now do I?” he ground out, taking a deep draw on his cigarette. It wasn’t enough. He needed a drink.
Jonah wandered in from the hall, a disgruntled expression on his face. His next favorite toy was all alone in the basement, and he missed her.
Terrence eyed him with distrust. Despite what Lucy might have thought, Terrence was smart enough to know what Jonah Whiting really was. He had his uses, but he was an unlit fuse and bore watching.
“When will we be able to resume the experimentation? A dragon. Wow, there is so much we can learn from her...”
Terrence held up a hand. “And we will, Jonah, I promise. But for now, we need to wait until we know a little more about them. I don’t want to risk her going through another change when we aren’t prepared. She almost got to us last night.”
“So when do you think? I don’t enjoy waiting. No, don’t like it at all...” he whined.
Terrence’s mouth thinned and his eyes darkened. “But you will, won’t you? Because you know Uncle Terrence knows best, right?” he ground out, watching the younger man’s eyes jump and quiver. He reminded him of a rat, with his cold black eyes, always searching, forever on the hunt for his next satisfaction.
He looked at his sons. “More to the point, I think we need to take a trip up the mountain and see if there are more like her. We may have discovered an entire other cell of shifters. If so, if there are more dragons on that mountain, then we need more than just the four of us. There’s a group we interacted with down south a piece, they always claimed to have knowledge of Dragon shifters. I never believed them. Well, now I do. Maybe it’s time to invite the Hunter’s Guild to our party.
Wyatt spoke up. “I don’t like bringing anyone else in. I enjoy handling our own business with no interference from someone else mucking things up.”
Terrence nodded. He understood what Wyatt was saying and usually felt the same way. “True, but maybe we need to swallow our pride so we live through the mess to fight another day, hmm?”
Wyatt looked away, but he didn’t argue. Jazz might have added something more, if he hadn’t still been busy trying to get his eyes to uncross. Terrence figured he was lucky he still had a set at all. She’d nailed him good. Served the idiot right.
“So agreed, we look tonight. Mosey on up that mountain and take a peek around, see what’s up there that doesn’t always walk on two legs...”
He turned speculative eyes on Jonah. He didn’t like the next part, but he didn’t see as he had much choice. Their creepy scientist wasn’t exactly made for stealth and the exertion required to climb a mountain in the dark. “Jonah, you need to stay here. Leave the girl alone, do you hear me? There will be plenty of time to run all the fun experiments you want later, after we know more of what we’re dealing with. But I don’t want anyone in there with her without me around, am I clear?”
“Sure boss.” Jonah nodded, eager. Terrence didn’t like the crafty gleam in those light eyes, not one bit. Tonight couldn’t end quick enough in his opinion.
#
I SAT NEXT TO NICK at lunch, picking at my burger and salad and trying to figure out how I could strike up a civil conversation with him that wouldn’t result in him snapping at me. He was studiously ignoring me as it was and I was sure it was on purpose.
I sighed. “Nick, can you pass the salt?”
Salt in my hand—no words.
“Nick, and the pepper.”
Pepper slammed down on the table—at my elbow.
“... and Nick...” I started.
“What else do you need Sadie, hmm? Can’t you see I’m trying to eat?” he ground out. I stared at his untouched burger and fries.
Well, that was plain. He didn’t want to talk at all.
With another sigh, I shoved a bite of salad in my mouth and chewed. I ate my lunch in silence, hunger making me finish, though I didn’t feel much like eating just then.
Sirris nudged me on my right, leaning in to whisper. “Where are we meeting tonight again, Todd wants to know?”
I leaned close to her ear. “Top of the main road leading into town at the start of the woods. I wish we had a decent distraction. I really don’t want anyone to realize we’re gone. Especially Franz, he’d know right off what we’re about I’m afraid.”
Overhearing the last thing I said, Thomas leaned across Sirris and hissed. “That’s because everyone knows that when we get together, it’s mayhem and chaos. We’re naturals at it,” he teased with rare good humor.
My good mood returning, I grinned. “You, don’t you mean. I’m the easy going, rule following one of the bunch.” I added, deadpan.
I jumped back when Sirris snorted, bits of milk spraying from her nose as she choked. Ew!
“Hey watch it, lady!” I laughed.
A sudden lull in the room had us looking towards the front. Franz Hobert was standing and waiting for the conversation in the room to abate. For what seemed like the first time in days, he was actually smiling, though there was still evidence of the strain he was under in the fine lines bracketing the corners of his eyes.
“I have an announcement. Tonight we will do a one night lifting of the flight restrictions again.” He looked around the room, his mouth twitching.
“There are a lot of students in this room that are getting pretty stir crazy, what with the sitting around and not stretching their... wings. We might as well make a party of it. We’ll have a bonfire and supply dogs and s’mores for you kids to partake of in between your ‘flights of fancy,’ so you keep your energy up. How does that sound to everyone?”
A loud round of cheers went up in the air. Our table shouted just as loud. It disappointed me we’d be missing the festivities. It sounded like fun. But at least now I had my distraction. Nobody in camp would miss Flight Night, except us.
#
TERRENCE HATED BUGS. It was why he lived in the city and did his hunting there. He liked to leave the tromping through the woods activities to his sons. Only, this time he didn’t dare and so he moved with them up the darkened road just past nightfall. The road was narrow and wasn’t suitable for anything less than four-wheel drive. The second hand Malibu they kept parked out of sight on a side street would never have made it. Besides, stealth was more important than comfort. They moved with care, not wanting any surprises along the way. None had forgotten their run in with the group of Magicals a couple weeks back and the wicked aim of the girl with the bow.
Tonight wasn’t about hunting though; it was about finding information. That was best served if they stayed hidden. Terrence still wasn’t feeling confident about leaving Jonah behind to guard the girl. It was a little like leaving the wolf to guard the sheep. Unless she turned into a fire-breathing dragon and ate the wolf. The analogy made his lips twitch.
They were within a stone’s throw of the opening into the main valley when noise up ahead made them slow down and move off the trail to watch.
Moments later, several groups of chatting teenagers moved onto the main road. Most were on foot, but the steady growl of an engine reached their ears and several decent sized Kubotas emerged and passed those walking. The ATVs looked to be loaded with boxes and supplies. He noticed that several of the what looked like students were also sporting heavy back packs. They waited until they were sure there was nobody else coming and then edged back onto the road and followed them at a distance. They listened for any noises behind them, making sure they hadn’t missed any late stragglers.
They were easy enough to follow, most of them seeming to be in high spirits and too busy chatting with each other and being kids to notice what followed them.
They passed the opening to the valley where the teens had come from and chanced a peek, noting the wide open meadow and the ring of cabins some distance away. They continued on.
Twenty minutes later they were hopping off the road once more to make room for another set of ATVs roaring up behind them. When they returned to the road after it passed they were momentarily surprised to see everyone had disappeared.
As they approached where they’d last seen them, the distant sound of voices and low hum of motors made them hop on the well-traveled trail angling off the road and deeper into the woods.
As they got closer, they moved off the trail again and angled into the denser forest, picking their way with care and moving slow. There were many people up beyond where they hid, excited voices whispering back to them in a blur of shouting and laughter. It sounded like they were having a party. A large open expanse spread out ahead of them, beyond the trees, showing a steady wink of the night sky and a smattering of stars peeking out from behind the wispy clouds dotting a mostly clear heaven. They realized they’d wandered into a second valley, smaller but deeper than the first, forming what amounted to a gigantic bowl shaped scoop out of the mountain.
Using his hands to indicate they should move off the trail farther, they skirted the noisy crowd of youngsters and moved out and along the valley ridge further down, careful to remain concealed and out of sight. Close to a hundred yards beyond they came out on a sliver of plateau, partially concealed by several massive boulders. It offered a perfect view of the valley below that dipped and spread out before them for close to a mile. From their concealment they looked along the ridge and realized the kids had started an enormous bonfire near its edge, the flickering light casting eerie shadows over the group of grown-ups moving about and setting up tables. They really were getting ready to get lively.
“Well, great. What a waste of time. Looks like their getting ready to roast s’mores. Now what?” Wyatt hissed, the rank smell of onion breath hitting Terrence in the nose with a foul blast. Terrence ground his teeth. “Get the hell back, your breath stinks!” he hissed. But he didn’t disagree. They’d made the walk in the dark for nothing. He swatted at his umpteenth mosquito, in a foul mood as they waited for something interesting to happen. Whose job was it to bring the bug spray?
“Maybe, but we should stay put for a while just the same. Sides, that many kids and vehicles, we don’t want to be on the road if they forgot something and have to go back. Let em get settled and the party rolling and we’ll head back out.”
A crackle of paper and a flickering match, and he looked over to see Jazz lighting up a joint. With a growl of disgust, he knocked it from his hand and ground it out beneath his boot. “Are you stupid? You can’t do that crap here. It stinks to high heaven. And especially if they are shifters. Do you want them to come investigate who’s smoking the dope? Were you planning on offering to share?”
Jazz ground his teeth, but he didn’t argue. He wasn’t about to admit his father was right, though. Instead, he leaned back against the boulder with a huff and settled in to wait beside his brother, who sat with his back against the base of the boulder and was staring out over the star-studded valley with tired eyes.
Close to thirty minutes passed as they waited, slapping at bugs. Wyatt removed a chunk of jerky and broke off a section to share with his father and Jazz.
When the first large shadow moved rapidly overhead, shutting out the moonlight for a split second, they all sat up in confusion. Terrence had dozed off, his lids drooping in the silence. Now they snapped up, instantly alert and searching. A loud whooshing sound reached their ears and they looked out, eyes bugging to see what looked like a bird the size of a compact car winging their way. They cringed, folding themselves back and away into the crevasse of the two rocks they sat between. As it passed by, eyes glittering and reflecting the moonlight, that massive head angled and seemed to stare right through them.
All three men struggled to breathe as they watched more dark shapes join the first until the sky seemed to be alight with the great winged beasts. Every shape, size and color of dragon took to the sky, some swooping low and deep to skim their clawed feet over the treetops and others winging high to thread their way through the feathery clouds.
Terrence stared in horrified wonder beside his brothers. Jazz trembled, remembering the terrifying power in the young Dragoness in their basement. Here was an entire sky filled with them, and almost all of them were a lot bigger than she’d been. They stood riveted to the spot for several long moments until many of the shifters had landed and the sky grew empty again. The hooting and hollering from the crowd of youth reached their ears. The flames of the flickering fire grew higher and they knew they’d built it to a roar. It was time for Terrence and his boys to go. None of them needed to be a genius to know their fate if they were discovered on that ridge spying and watching them transform.
They pulled back into the concealment of the woods and carefully made their way down the mountain, picking up the main road with caution when they were several hundred yards away from the teenagers and that valley.
As soon as they hit the smoother surface of the hard-packed dirt, they picked up their pace and jogged, panting heavily after the first mile. None of them were in particularly good shape.
“We need to make that call. It’s a good thing we checked things out. No way we can handle all of them. I’m calling Solomon Reddit first thing in the morning. Their group is a lot larger and more experienced than we are... hopefully they’ll know what to do. A group of Dragon shifters that large? They could destroy the entire population of Purdy in a night. It would be a massacre. Good thing we discovered them when we did.”
#
“SO REMIND ME AGAIN, why am I missing Dragon night?’ Niel whined as we walked together with the rest of the group, following the path to the road leading down the mountain.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” Nick muttered, bringing up the rear. His voice sounded hopeful that would be the case.
Niel looked back over his shoulder at him with a saucy grin. “Nah, and let you have all the fun Seul? No way.”
I sighed. “We’re going to see if we can find out where they are holing up. Maybe we’ll get lucky and Janice Whitmore is still alive.”
Not that any of us held out much hope of that being the case, though. It had been well over a week and in our experience, whoever this was that was attacking the Magicals in town didn’t waste that much time. Whoever they were, they apparently really enjoyed their work.
Sirris and Thomas, along with his brother Todd, walked ahead of us. I hung back with Fern, who as usual seemed content with her silence, taking in the dark weave of the blackened branches overhead, silhouetted against the light of the moon through the dense leaves.
“What are we going to do if we do find them? We know nothing about them, how many there are, what kind of weapons they have. We don’t know that the three we saw attacking Todd are all there are, either.” Nick persisted.
At least he was talking again. His brooding attitude of late had really grated my nerves raw. “We’re going so we can find all those things out, it’s what we do. Maybe you’ve forgotten that.” I ground out.
“I have forgotten nothing, Sadie.” He finished flatly. I had the sneaking suspicion we were holding two vastly different conversations.
“Look, I don’t know what we’re going to find, but I don’t think we can wait any longer either. Maybe we find Janice and she’s dead. It could be too late. But what if it isn’t and we don’t do this...” I didn’t have to finish the thought; we all knew the answer.
Fern suddenly piped up out of the blue. “Can we stop by the pharmacy on the way first? I have to pick something up.” Several sets of eyes turned in her direction.
“What do you need from there at 9:00 at night?” Thomas asked. Fern didn’t answer, but the look on her face should have been his clue.
Sirris elbowed him lightly in the side. “Don’t you worry about what she needs Thomas, just keep walking.”
“Wha...?” he started and then gave up. Nick looked equally confused. The look on Niel’s face reminded me he had sisters.
The Pharmacy was on Walton street. It was more of an eclectic store holding a variety of goods. But it was also a drugstore. We wandered in and while Sirris and Fern took off for the far side of the store; I wandered down an aisle filled with allergy meds and diabetic supplies, among other things. Todd and Thomas stood examining something that made them giggle a bit, their backs turned to me. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what held their amusement. I glanced at the different gauzes and antiseptics, passing time. I wanted to go. Another man wandered into the aisle and paused in front of the diabetic supplies.
He caught my attention at first because his appearance was so startling. Aside from the fact that he desperately needed a bath, his furtive movements caught my eye. He was probably one of the palest humans I’d ever seen, almost devoid of color. One brief glimpse of those pale blue eyes made something inside of me freeze in fear. Off, there’s just something weird about him. I looked away when his eyes swung up to meet mine, suddenly picking up a bottle of antiseptic and examining the writing on the back, not reading a word. I felt his eyes hold on my person for several drawn out seconds before he went back to what he was doing, examining needles and scalpels with interest.
My first thought as I watched him, trying to remain unobserved, was that he was a druggy, looking for supplies for his next fix. But my fear factor had ratcheted up to at least an eleven. Something was wrong with him and I knew without question he was up to no good. When he turned to leave, I waited until he’d rounded the corner before I snagged the attention of Thomas and Todd as unobtrusively as I could. Together, as he checked out at the front, we gathered the rest of the group and followed him out.
Whoever he was, he was naturally nervous. Probably because most people up to no good are edgy by nature, afraid of getting caught. So we had to hang back and nobody talked as we snuck along, following him building to building, skirting his movements along buried alleyways and behind abandoned storefronts.
Before long we realized he’d led us down to the wharf district where all the abandoned warehouses sat empty from years before. I led, and even as I peeked around to catch his last movement, I jerked back, praying he hadn’t seen me. He’d been looking in our general direction, outside a door and looking around before he entered. The building itself was located nearly dead center of the abandoned business district and was larger than the others.
Several pregnant seconds passed after he went in. “So, can someone please explain to me what we are doing following some stranger around the streets of Purdy. I’m sure that’s not what we’re here for.” Nick complained in a whisper.
I glanced back at him, catching his skepticism even in the dim light cast from one of the few remaining street lights that was still functional along the abandoned street. “Maybe nothing, I don’t know. He’s creepy, don’t any of the rest of you get that feeling too?”
“We’ve met many people, Magical and no, that fit that description.” Sirris observed drily, Thomas nodded, grim at her side.
“I think you’ve led us on a wild goose chase, Sadie.” Niel admitted, for once agreeing with the rest.
I glared at them. “Maybe goose is delicious. Won’t know til you try it, will you?” I added, looking around the corner to stare at the door, frowning.
Fern, who’d remained silent, stepped up beside me. I looked down, startled by her sudden interest. Kit emerged from her shirt, fully visible. The small Weis reached forward and gripped the side of the wall and peeked around it, staring at the other building with gigantic eyes. She gave a squealing hiss and pulled back with a snarl. Fern reached up, her eyes black in the dim lighting, and smoothed her hand over Kit’s fuzzy head. “I agree Kit, something’s off.”
She looked up at me, but she spoke to the group. “Sadie’s right. The vibes I was getting off him were enough to make me want to skip meals for a month. I don’t know what Mr. Pale, thin and creepy is into, but it’s not legal.”
“Yeah, we all saw him pick up needles and stuff. He’s into self-harm, is what. Doesn’t take a Brainiac to realize he’s a user.” Todd added.
Fern shivered. “Harm yes. But not himself. That man hurts things... an extremely dangerous man. Something about his mind is twisted.”
“Still...” Nick started, only to be interrupted by a long thin scream that reached their ears. It seemed to be muffled and far away. Normal human ears might have missed it. But not a group of shifters.
The guys immediately pushed forward, their protective instincts rearing their heads. I held up a hand. “Wait up. We just go charging in there, we don’t know what’s waiting. We don’t know who’s in there with him or what’s happening.” I pulled my knife, deciding it might be more effective in close quarters. The others did the same as we emerged from the shadows and worked our way towards the door, keeping an eye out for further unwelcome company. If this guy had anything to do with our attackers, then there were at least three more men unaccounted for.
I reached the door and tested it. Unlocked. With a nod to the rest, I eased it open, ready for anything. But all that met my eyes was the darkness of an empty building. Only we knew it wasn’t. We eased in together and as our eyes adjusted; we realized we were in a huge open warehouse. Other than a few abandoned machines that had been obsolete or too difficult to disband and remove when it closed, the building appeared empty. Light at the other end caught our eye and as silent as we were able we moved in its direction.
We were halfway along the outer wall when another scream, as fierce and desperate as the first, drifted up to us from the floor below. “There has to be a basement.” Thomas whispered in my ear. I nodded but said nothing. When we reached the other side, we realized the light spilled from a room halfway down the long hallway there. It looked like it might have been a kitchen or break room. But the stairs we stood at the top of held our attention. A low moan that was abruptly cut off drifted up them. I stared at my friends as our eyes met, grim with foreboding.
I took the first step and winced when it gave a scuffling scrape against my shoe. We continued down together, placing our feet with more care. My nose wrinkled at the heavy smell of antiseptic and something else that was old and rancid that I didn’t care to name.
At the bottom of the stairs, we were met with silence. No moaning nor additional screams to tell us the correct way to go. There was a left and a right along the hard concrete corridor that spanned both directions. There were thin lights in both directions. Down the far right, one of them flickered and jumped, creating eerie patterns that danced along the walls.
As one, our noses following the smell of old blood, we turned left, our ears focused on any sounds that didn’t belong.
We passed several rooms; the doors pulled shut and locked on our way to the room at the far end that stood open, a thin spill of light lancing into the corridor. As we drew abreast of it, we could make out the sounds of soft crying and panicked breathing. Something was alive and hurting in that room. But still there was no sign of our creepy friend. Thomas and Todd moved to the other side of the doorway as the rest of us inched our way in, looking around. I tried to hold back the sound of dismay that fell from my lips but could not. My nightmares couldn’t have conjured anything worse. Welcome to Frankenstein’s morgue, where the victims are still alive and kicking, but not for long. Our mouths drifted open as our eyes took in the long line of stainless steel sinks and tables lined with all manner of instruments and most of them lethally sharp. I didn’t have time to take in much else when my eyes riveted on the young woman chained spread eagled on a steel gurney. She shivered uncontrollably, making the whole table shudder and rattle, the chained links clanking at her wrists and ankles. Her hair might have been blond, but filth and dried sweat had darkened it to matted tangles that clung to her cheeks and dangled off the steel frame. She twisted and writhed, eyes tracking the room, searching every corner for something bad.
The room appeared deserted and we had taken our first step in when all the lights went out.
I whirled in a panic in the inky blackness, my knife held aloft, adjusting my hearing to make up for my sight when I heard the first scream. It wasn’t from the gurney. I recognized the high-pitched moan of pain from Sirris at my side. I’d barely registered the sound when a ribbon of pain erupted along my arm, followed by a whir of movement past my cheek. Acting on instinct, I brought my knife out in a wide arc and felt the slide of steel on flesh. A giggling scream I didn’t recognize whirled away from my blade.
And then there was light. Not the overheads, but eerie and luminescent, infusing the entire room in a steady green glow. My eyes flashed to Fern, insignificant in our midst, her fingers weaving through the air and creating the spell that let us see our attacker as he came at us again, his eyes jumping with madness. Nick stepped forward and swung his staff, halting the lunatic’s forward progress and swinging blade—heading straight for Niel who was just turning in his direction. It was enough. The blast from the staff hit the attacker mid stride and propelled him backwards through the air. He crashed into a set of tables, sliding across the top and taking every beaker and test tube with him to the floor on the other side.
With a squeal of rage, he was on his feet again. He’d dropped the knife. Instead, he held what looked like a butane lighter high over his head. His crazed laughter slid along my nerve endings and made every one stand at attention.
“Burn, burn, burn the monsters, yes I will!” he screamed, flicking the switch, a tiny flame cutting the gloom. He glanced at the liquid pooling at his feet from where he’d fallen. He frowned at us, his eyes shining oddly in the wobbly darkness.
I wasn’t sure how much longer Fern could hold the darkness at bay. I raised my hands, calling my fire, the flames I controlled. But then I hesitated. A lab full of who knew what chemicals was no place for my fire. Instead, I flipped my knife around and prepared to take aim. I was more than just a young Dragon. I was a skilled warrior as well.
From the table came a loud roaring scream of panicked awareness as the young woman on the table realized she wasn’t alone. “Help me! Please help me, get me out of here.” She moaned. Her terror momentarily pulled our attention. It was enough.
Before we could stop him, he ran at us, tossing the lighter, still lit, behind him. It hit the ground with a whoosh of air and heat as the contents from the beakers ignited. Whatever had been in them had combined into something highly combustible. The flames spread with dizzying speed. Frozen in shock, we barely registered as the man scooted past us, greasy and quick, his laughter echoing off the stairwells as he climbed and left us behind in the burning lab.
Snapping out of our momentary paralysis, we rushed to the gurney to where the woman bucked and writhed, wild eyes on the approaching flames. The lights suddenly flashed on and my eyes met Todd’s. He’d found the switch on the other side of the room and flipped it. With frantic haste we searched the table beside the gurney, looking for a set of keys or a pry bar, or anything that could spring the chains and set her free before she burned to death and us with her.
“There are no keys! Wyatt carries them!” she screamed, sobbing. There was nothing else. Our eyes met above the shackled girl with knowledge. We were going to have to leave her to burn or die with her. I swallowed, not liking either option.
And then Niel was there, his eyes hard and determined. He shoved us aside roughly, hands outstretched, a fierce concentration moving across his face as the scales spread and the claws erupted. I wondered if he was going to transform completely, but only his arms and shoulders fully formed, leaving him an odd collection of half man, part dragon.
“I don’t know if this will work. Not sure I’m powerful enough, but it’s all I can think of. This will probably hurt like hell.” He promised.
“I don’t give a damn, get... them... off!”
He reached out, the sharp nailed claws gripping the sides of the metal shackles. With a snarl, he pulled them outward, sharp teeth bared in a grimace of determination. With a rending of metal they broke apart, the links bouncing over the concrete floor. He wasted no more time. He made quick work of the rest of the chains, lifting her from the gurney and running for the door with the rest of us as the hungry flames licked at our heels. We took the stairs two at a time. By the time we’d reached the primary part of the empty warehouse, we could hear the approaching sirens of the fire department in the distance. They were almost upon us. I looked at Niel as he gripped the sobbing young girl in his arms. Both of them were showing way too much evidence of what they were to be healthy for human eyes.
“Run!” I screamed as we sprinted for the exit leading out the way we’d come in. We reached the door and Thomas wrenched it back to let in the faint glow of the streetlights. Behind me, I thought I heard a high keening cry. But I had no time to think on it. We made it out and around the side of the building as the Fire engines screeched into sight.
#
FRANZ HOBERT ALLOWED himself a moment of joy as he stood on the Valley rim and watched his Dragons soar. They came in all shapes and sizes, some of them darker and others the palest of silver to reflect their heritage from centuries past. Most of them were part of the original twenty-three that had survived the massacre in Salem over 300 years ago. Watching them now, the curve of their wings and the dip of their regal heads in flight, he wanted to believe the sacrifices had all been worth it. And they had, but they hadn’t been without a cost.
His smile dipped as he thought of the recent attacks and the missing Dragoness. He hadn’t known her well, but she’d been a sweet kid, close on her first change. He wondered now if she was lost to them, if maybe she would never know that joy, or if it had killed her.
Rhiannon moved up alongside him. “You’ve done a marvelous thing here Franz. They look up to you and you’ve made all of this possible.”
He nodded. “The Guild would destroy it all if they could. All because they think they are pursuing justice. Really, they are just chasing their own agenda. Assuming they are in the right and because we aren’t the same. When does it end Rhiannon?”
She chuckled, but the tone was bitter. “It doesn’t Franz. But we can’t give up either. We have to pray for a day when we can come together and live beside them, instead of lurking in the shadows and hiding in the dark. It won’t come in my lifetime.” She admitted.
Franz scoffed. “Don’t be maudlin’ you have plenty of years left.”
She shook her head. “Not enough. Not near enough...”
They both lapsed into silence, two old dragons watching the young frolic and play and enjoy limber bones and supple muscles unplagued by age or knowledge of what was coming.
Franz glanced sideways in both directions for the other group they’d invited to attend camp this year. Of course, only one of them had counted. The others had been the leverage to get her here. Aidan’s great granddaughter. A slight smile curved his lips as he thought of her ferocity and courage. She’d already surpassed his hopes. He’d been friends with Lucas Seul for years, and the stories he’d told him about the groups heroics in the last two semesters was an entertaining evening or two for sure.
His eyes narrowed when he didn’t find what he was looking for. Instead, he searched the skies for that young pup, Niel, one of his many great great nephews. When he didn’t find him either his stomach took a dive. All of them missing at the same time couldn’t be good. That meant they were together somewhere they shouldn’t be, and he could only think of one thing that might make Niel miss flight night. They were out, against his orders, looking for that girl. He had to go.
He turned to his oldest friend. “I’ve got something I have to do; you won’t mind keeping an eye on things here, will you?’
She stared into his worried eyes and sighed. She was nobody’s fool. “Do nothing stupid Franz, you aren’t that young.”
He couldn’t prevent the silly lopsided grin that always lightened her heart. “Been doing crazy my entire life, now why would I want to stop now?”
She watched him leave until he was out of sight before turning back to the valley to watch.
#
FRANZ DIDN’T HAVE TO search awfully hard to find them. As fast as was possible, he borrowed one of the ATVs and rumbled down the mountain towards the town of Purdy, where he suspected the kids had gone. It seemed to be where the attacks were centered and he, like the kids, suspected the gang had a hideout somewhere in its city limits.
As it was, he almost ran them over coming around the last bend in the road where the forest opened up on the winking lights of the small town and harbor. He slammed on the brakes when he saw them. They recognized him and never paused. That’s when he realized that his nephew, Niel, was carrying something. As he got closer, he recognized the young woman, unconscious and in rough shape. They’d found Janice.
#
I WAS NEVER SO GLAD to see anyone in my life as Franz Hobert when he came busting around the corner. Janice wasn’t doing well. The mad man that had been working on her had been having way too much fun, and she needed medical attention fast. We didn’t know any doctors in town, or where Franz Hobert’s doctor friend lived. The medical community didn’t do well with what couldn’t be explained. A real live dragon qualified. And we didn’t know where the maniac that had left us to burn had gone, either. Was he following us even now as we ran? And what about the other three? He hadn’t been working alone.
Franz Hobert screeched to a halt. I knew from the look in his eyes that we were in so much trouble, but nobody cared. We were just glad to see him.
“She needs help. We were coming to get you, but now you are here, do you think your friend might be able to help?” I asked.
“Climb in the back with her Niel, and Sadie, you climb in up front. The rest of you? Keep going to camp and don’t stop for nothing. Who knows what’s chasing you crazy kids. I think you guys are obsessed with finding trouble.
I couldn’t argue with the truth, so I said nothing. Niel sat Janice gingerly in the small attached bed of the Kubota and climbed in beside her, resting her head on his lap and holding on. She moaned but never woke.
I climbed in beside Franz and he hit the gas, continuing on into town, keeping an eye out for anything that didn’t belong. Whoever had done a number on Janice wasn’t going to be real keen on having their toy taken or their nefarious deeds exposed to the human population of Purdy, regardless of what they thought they were accomplishing. They were criminals, period. The human population wouldn’t condone what they’d done any more than the dragon populace did.
We wound our way through town and I was glad it was well into the wee hours of the morning, before first light. Most everyone that had any sense was still sound asleep, which meant the streets were deserted as we passed, the hum of our motor the only sound we heard. He stopped in front of a small two-story brownstone house on a residential street tucked back in a corner of Purdy. Niel grabbed Janice and together we made it up the steps of the porch as Franz started knocking. He didn’t stop until we heard a muffled voice, sleepy and pissed, telling him to hold up. He was coming.
I’m not sure what it was I was expecting, but the small bespectacled human that answered wasn’t it. I imagined he was somewhere in his forties, going bald, and no taller than I was. He seemed... average.
And then he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, and I saw his eyes for the first time; reassessing my opinion. The sharpest black eyes speared us, anger making them darker as he stared at us. He ignored Niel, holding Janice, and me as well. His eyes remained hard on Franz. He glanced beyond us and stepped back out of the way.
“Get her in here before you wake the entire neighborhood. He slammed the door behind us and said nothing more, turning smartly on his heels and striding down the hall. We followed.
“Stupid. Are you trying to get us killed, or what. You have to stop bringing me presents in the middle of the night. If word were to get out...” his voice faded.
A second light went on, arresting our progress, and our eyes fell on what must have been his wife; tying the ends of her robe together and padding softly down the stairs. Her chocolate brown hair fell in dark mussed waves over slender shoulders. Her purple eyes looked at young Janice, just starting to moan and struggle in Niel’s arms.
“Oh my, you’ve found another one. Franz, when is it going to ever stop?”
Franz gave her a pained glance but said nothing.
I continued to stare at her as she approached, unable to look away. She was easily one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. But what really grabbed my attention was the fact that she was unmistakably Dragon; while her husband was fully human.
“Ella, you didn’t need to get up. I’d have handled this.” He protested. His eyes on his wife were soft and as close to worshipful as I’d ever seen. Ella was not a small woman, topping her husband by an easy several inches, but she returned his look with gentle wisdom.
“Of course I did, John. Now how can I help?”
#
NIEL HAD INSISTED ON hanging with the Doctor and his wife for at least the rest of the morning and afternoon. They’d stabilized her the best they could. She was young and would recover. Dragon’s healed faster than their human counterparts. Still, Janice had been through a lot and he was right to assume that seeing a familiar face when she woke would be safer for them all. They didn’t need her transforming in a panic and destroying the good doctor’s house.
I rode beside Franz back to camp. We rode in silence through town, eyes wary as we kept them sharp for anything that was out of the ordinary. It was daylight, maybe a shade past nine by the time we hit the main road up through the forest. Heavy clouds hung low to the ground and dark. I hoped we made it back before the sky opened up on us.
I finally could take the silence no more. “We couldn’t sit still and do nothing any longer. We found Jake Winters, and his killers are still out there. We had to do something. You get that, right?” I asked him.
He said nothing for the space of a minute, and I wondered if maybe he hadn’t heard me.
“It was still foolish. You are all so young, Sadie. There are things you don’t know...” he started.
“We’re also Magicals and Other. There’s way too much we do know. We aren’t too young to die at the hands of some madman. We know that for one.” I argued.
He sighed. “This isn’t over. I’m worried it’s escalating.”
I looked at him sharply. “There was some crazy maniac in that basement with her. From the look of things, he’d been having a lot of fun with his victims and a collection of sharp instruments. He was... how do I say? Off. Crazier than a bedbug, and he enjoyed hurting things. But he wasn’t with the three men that attacked Todd that night.”
Franz considered what I’d said, taking it in and filing it away somewhere in that massive brain of his.
“The building was burning. There were fire engines coming when we ran. We don’t know for sure if anyone followed us, but we were glad to see you, that’s for sure.”
“I’m glad you found Janice. Her family will be forever grateful. So will I, no matter how foolish I think your actions. You’re still just kids.”
I didn’t argue out loud with him, but I thought back to our battle with the Demon wolves and the Macu in the first semester of school. The second semester had seen us running for our lives and rescuing the Tuttles in an alternate dimension; while doing battle once more with Will Bennett. No, I’d argue we’d left our childhood behind a while ago.
“Do you think it’s over? I mean, we destroyed their headquarters, their crazed scientist is on the run, they have nowhere to go. Do you think they’ll give up and move on?”
He glanced down at me, his hands tightening on the wheel. “No, I don’t. That wasn’t their home base. It was just a place to hole up and stay hidden while they planned their next move. If they’ve discovered what Janice is? Then they’ll be calling in reinforcements to bring the war to us. There are others out there, much bigger and better prepared groups hunting what we are. No, I don’t think it’s done at all.” His expression was bleak.
I knew there was something else, something he hadn’t told me. “And? What else, Franz?”
He turned cold eyes on me and my blood froze. “And if they come for us we have to kill them. There can be no survivors to tell the world what we are.”