by Mandi Oyster
“I cannot tell for sure what they are,” she explained. “I can sense the heat of two … beings. They might be dogs or people or dragons.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated. Cody’s aura flitted against my skin. It was weak, but definitely his. “One of them is Cody.” I leaned my head against the cool stone.
I stepped through the wall, feeling the rock press against me, into absolute darkness. A hand grabbed hold of my arm. I gasped before hearing Aurelia whisper, “Shh.”
I trailed my hand along the wall, slowly making my way to Cody. His aura was a beacon, pulsing stronger the closer I got to him. Knowing he was right in front of me, I stretched my hand out but stopped short of touching him. I didn’t want to scare him. “Cody.” His name was barely louder than a breath, but I figured he would hear it.
My fingers brushed his skin. Lights flared. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, Draconian stood facing me. His laughter filled the dungeon. “So predictable.” He shook his head. “It’s not much of a challenge when you do exactly what I expect.”
He flicked his hand, and my muscles seized. I fell on top of Cody, but he didn’t move. Blood dripped from his shoulder. His face matched the pale granite wall he was propped against.
I prayed Draconian would keep his attention focused on me while Aurelia crept to Samantha’s aid.
Draconian prowled toward me. His gray eyes narrowed. “You come to my home and try to steal my dragons’ playthings.” He kicked Cody’s leg, and Cody groaned, a beautiful sound that let me know he was still alive.
Aurelia grasped Samantha’s arm and disappeared. One down, one to go.
“Did you even consider bringing the vase?” He leaned down. His beard skimmed the floor. He grabbed my arms and pulled me to the center of the room. Then he stood, twisting around.
“Where. Is. She?”
In one quick move, he spun around and knelt beside me. Electricity sparked on his fingertips. He touched his hands to my temples.
My muscles flexed. Tremors ran through me. A thousand fires ignited under my skin.
Draconian pulled his hands away. “Where is she?” He loosened his hold on me, freeing my voice.
My body relaxed slightly. Tears rolled out of the corners of my eyes. “I don’t know.” The words were barely a whisper.
He lifted his hands.
“No, please.” I tried to jerk away from him, but I couldn’t move.
He pushed his fingers into my temples, never taking his gaze off mine. “One more time. Where is she?”
“I … don’t know.”
Electricity flowed like lava through my veins, burning, searing. My screams bounced off the walls until it sounded like ten people were being tortured.
“Stop,” Cody whispered.
Draconian moved to Cody’s side. “Would you rather it was you?”
“No—” Draconian stopped my words with a wave of his hand.
Electricity arched from one of Draconian’s hands to the other. He bent forward, and Cody’s eyes bulged.
All I could think about was saving Cody.
Draconian inched closer. “She can heal. This will most likely kill you.” The sparks jumped, lighting up Cody’s face.
“Just do it,” Cody said.
I clenched my fists. I clenched my fists. Electricity sizzled in my veins, lifting the hair on my arms. Lightning shot from my fingertips, slamming into Draconian. He fell to the floor, staring up at the ceiling.
Springing to my feet, I grabbed Cody under his arms and dragged him through the wall. My muscles screamed in agony, but adrenaline made me stronger than Superman. I screamed when someone clutched my shoulder.
Chapter 17
Healing Hands
“Sorry,” Aurelia said.
I stumbled back ready to attack. Aurelia grasped one of my arms and one of Cody’s. The world spun, and darkness swallowed me.
Before the room stopped spinning, I realized Aurelia had teleported us to Sarah’s office.
Exhaustion and dizziness weighed on me, and I dropped onto the tan couch. Aurelia sat Cody next to me. He reached his hand for mine as his head slumped against the back of the couch.
Aurelia sat across from us with Dan and Samantha.
“Thank God, you’re back.” Sarah rushed toward us. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, and Sarah placed her hand over her heart, letting out a relieved sigh. She looked at her watch. “I’ve got a conference call. Stay here please.” She walked into her office, glancing back at us before shutting the door.
“Dacia, do you have the strength to heal Cody?” Aurelia held Samantha’s hand.
“No,” Cody mumbled. “I’m okay.”
The adrenaline ebbed, and pain flowed over my muscles and bones. It saturated my cells, flooding my body. I entwined our fingers and sent what little strength I had into him. “No, you’re not.”
“He tortured you.”
Aurelia’s gaze fell on me. I closed my eyes and nodded slowly, trying not to cringe with the movement.
We sat in silence. As soon as Samantha’s skin regained a healthy color and her breath evened out, Aurelia moved to the coffee table. She rested her hands on mine. “Let me help you.” A surge of energy poured through me, strengthening me before siphoning into Cody.
He opened his eyes and smiled before closing them again.
“They will need sleep.” Aurelia continued holding my hand, sending strength into me. “Since the healing power is not their own, they will need more rest to heal than you do. We need to give them a little time.”
I looked over at Samantha. Dan sat next to her, holding her hand. Her shirt was covered in blood. I wondered if Draconian had done anything to stop the bleeding or if he was just going to let them suffer.
Dan caught my eye. “Thanks.” He nodded at Aurelia. “Both of you.”
“Don’t thank me, Dan.” I looked down at the floor. “It’s my fault she was taken to begin with.”
“No.” Dan’s voice was soft. “It wasn’t your fault. I was wrong to blame you.” He held Samantha’s hand, rubbing his thumb along hers. “You tried to protect her from that dragon. I did nothing, nothing at all.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Dan.” I looked him in the eyes. They were red-rimmed and greener than normal. “You’ve never seen a dragon before. Until just a few days ago, you didn’t know any of this stuff was real. I’ve fought demons, dragons, and magicians before. You’re new to this.”
“I’ll make you a deal.” He tilted his head and looked at me like I was a moron. “When you stop being hard on yourself, I’ll stop being hard on myself.”
“It’s not the same thing.” I tightened my grip on Cody’s hand, and he moaned in his sleep. “I could have protected them. You could’ve died.”
“Like I said, I’ll stop being hard on myself when you stop being hard on yourself.”
Sarah came out of the office and stood between Dan and I. “There are more important things to discuss.”
“Yeah,” I said, “like how am I going to get these guys to go home for the summer?”
“You’re not.” Sarah stood with her hands on her hips. “Draconian knows they’re important to you. They’ll be in danger no matter where they are. You need to figure out how you’re going to protect them.” She put her hand on Aurelia’s shoulder. “We also need to learn a little more about Miss Aurelia here.”
Dan and I turned our attention to Aurelia. Without a doubt, there was more to her than met the eye. “I was sent here to help Dacia.” She let go of my hand. Without her energy flowing into me, my body ached, and exhaustion returned. “I know you would like more of an explanation, but that is all I can give you right now.”
“She has powers like mine—” I lifted my arm and flexed my muscles “—only on ster
oids.”
Dan looked between Aurelia and me. “How are your powers so much more advanced? You can’t be too much older than her.”
Aurelia laughed, a deep rumbling sound. “If it makes it easier for you, I can tell you I am not young, by any means. I may look like it, but I am more than two thousand years old. That is why my powers are stronger than yours, Dacia. They have had much longer to mature.”
Dan’s mouth floundered for a moment before he finally said, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“This is how I look now.” She waved her hand from her head to her toes. “This is not who I am. Now, I have told you more about myself than I intended. We should be more concerned about the safety of all of you. I am in all the same classes as Dacia so I can protect her, but somehow we have to figure out a way for all of you to be safe. I will do whatever I can to help, but you will all have to learn to trust me.” She looked at Cody and Samantha. “I think they will be waking soon.”
“Will I, uh …” I cleared my throat and tried again. “Will I live to … to be as old as you?” All eyes turned to me. I don’t know if they hadn’t thought about it or if they were surprised by me asking. “It’s one of the things that keeps me up at night. I don’t know if I will come back to life after dying or if I will actually be dead. It’s … it’s a scary thought.”
“I wish I knew the answer, Dacia, but I do not.”
“Oh … well, thanks anyway.” I tried to hide my disappointment. Sarah put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently.
Silence filled the room. I focused on Cody and Samantha, willing them to wake up, praying they would be okay.
“So … uh …” Dan fidgeted.
“What is it?” Aurelia asked.
“How can a dragon go unseen?”
“All of the mythological creatures have disguises and ways of hiding themselves from people,” Aurelia said.
Sarah sat next to Samantha. “I’ve seen other creatures, but I haven’t seen dragons yet.”
“You don’t want to see them.” Dan shuddered. “But what have you seen?”
“Fairies, unicorns, pixies, gnomes.” Sarah had a faraway look in her eyes.
“Cool,” Dan said.
“Fairies helped heal me when I fought Nefarious.” I stared across the room, remembering the silver-haired fairies. “I would’ve died without their help.”
Samantha’s eyes opened slowly. “Wh … what happened?”
Dan’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Sammi, are you okay?” He didn’t pause long enough for her to answer. “Dacia and Aurelia went after you and Cody and brought you back to Sarah’s office.”
“I’m all right but really tired.” She rolled her shoulders forward and backward. “At least my shoulders don’t hurt anymore.” She looked first at me then Aurelia. “Thank you. Draconian was going to torture us, and I don’t think either of us would’ve survived.”
“I’m glad it didn’t come to that.” I rubbed my hand over my face. “He wanted me to go after you, so he might have just used you as bait.”
“I’m still grateful.” She yawned, one of those yawns that you can feel clear to your toes. “I’m sorry if I don’t look like it. I’m just so tired.”
“Aurelia healed you,” I said, “but you still need to rest.” I held my hand flat on Cody’s chest. His heart thumped steadily against my palm. “Why isn’t Cody waking up?” I clutched Cody’s hand in both of mine. Please let Cody pull through this. Please let him be okay, Lord.
Aurelia sat beside him and gripped his arm.
The room was quiet except for the steady ticking of the clock. I chewed on my lower lip and willed Cody to get better. I lifted one hand off his and caressed his face.
“Wake up, Cody.” My words were soft but carried an edge of desperation. I put my hand back on his and looked at the clock. It had been almost an hour since we rescued them from Draconian. My grasp on Cody’s hand tightened. I closed my eyes and tried to slow my breathing, needing to relax.
“You’re … crushing … my … fingers,” Cody said in a froggy voice.
I threw my arms around him.
“How did I get here?”
“Aurelia and Dacia rescued us,” Samantha said.
He nodded at Aurelia. “So, she’s a good guy?”
“Yeah,” I said.
Cody ran a trembling hand through his hair and looked down. “You okay, Dacia?”
“Yes.” I smacked his arm. “Don’t ever do something like that again. He’d’ve killed you.” Tears pooled in my eyes.
Sarah hunched forward. “What happened?”
I tried to answer, but I couldn’t talk over the lump in my throat. Shaking my head, I covered my mouth.
Cody stared out the window. “He was killing her.” He clutched my hand. “So I offered to take her place.”
“If …” I cleared my throat and wiped my eyes. “If I hadn’t gotten free, Cody’d be dead.”
“Cody.” Sarah shook her head.
Aurelia’s face showed no emotion. “She can heal on her own. You cannot.”
He whipped his head around and glared at her. “What if her energy’s gone?”
“Even then, she has a better chance than you.”
A muscle jumped in Cody’s jaw.
Dan looked from Cody to Aurelia. “You missed hearing that Aurelia is over two thousand years old.”
“Huh.” Cody shrugged half-heartedly.
Sarah clapped her hands together. “When Draconian captured you, did he say or do anything we need to know about?”
“The dragon carried me to Draconian.” Cody rubbed his face. “I don’t remember much. I kept blacking out. Draconian came in and asked me questions.”
“Like what?” I brushed Cody’s hair back.
“Basic stuff. Name, age, stuff like that. My head got fuzzier with each question. I don’t remember him leaving.” His eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. “Maybe it was blood loss.”
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head.
Before I could delve into my opinions, Samantha said, “That’s basically what happened to me.”
I leaned my head against the couch. “When Draconian tried to control me, my mind went fuzzy, but I fought off what he was doing. I think he was trying to control you guys or at least get into your heads to figure out where Nefarious is.”
Aurelia’s posture was perfect, her face placid. “It sounds to me like it was a good thing we rescued them when we did.”
“Definitely.” Sarah paced behind the couch. “I can’t help but wonder what Draconian may have found out. He may know I’m the only one who knows where Nefarious is hidden.”
“I hope we didn’t tell him.” Samantha’s voice filled with guilt. “But we could’ve. I don’t know how you resist him, Dacia.”
“He doesn’t either,” I said. “He can control all those dragons, but for some reason, he can’t control me. It’s the only strength I seem to have against him.”
“I would like to help with that,” Aurelia offered. “I think if you would let me, I could teach you a few tricks and strengthen some things you already know.”
I looked at her, trying to figure out what kinds of creatures showed so little emotion. Mine always seemed to be on display for the world to see. “That’d be great. I would like to learn how you healed Samantha and Cody. Maybe we could borrow Sarah’s office so other people couldn’t hear us.”
“Of course,” Sarah agreed. “I’ve given Dacia all the instruction I can. I was afraid she was going to be on her own this time.”
“You’ve no idea how glad I am to know I’m not completely alone.” I rubbed my hand down Cody’s arm. “Now, all I have to worry about is how to keep everybody in this room safe.”
“Hopefully”—Aurelia nodded at me—“I can help you with that, too.”
Cody sat up straighter and pointed at Dan and Samantha. “We have government together, so at least we’re not spread out.”
“Since it’s not at the same time as my photography class, I can walk you to your class.” I tugged my hand through my hair and dropped loose strands on the floor. “Maybe I can learn how to make you guys invisible or something.”
“You can’t risk yourself,” Cody said. “Draconian could’ve killed you today.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, bumping my elbow into Cody. “In case you didn’t know, I’m your only shot at staying safe. And, if you get captured again, I’ll risk my neck to go after you.”
“Mmm-mmm.” Aurelia cleared her throat. “You are not their only hope. But, you are right. One or both of us will have to walk to their class with them.”
“I can’t watch Samantha get carried off by another dragon.” Dan pulled her closer to his side. “We need protection.”
Chapter 18
Fire And Ice
“I don’t like this.” Cody backed me up against the door, his hands on either side of me. “What if Draconian sends dragons after you?”
“What if he does and you’re with me?” I pulled my hand through my hair and shook my head. “What if he sends them after you once we’re safely inside our classroom? What if he sends them after you when you sneak over to your room to get your stuff?”
“I know.” He took a long, slow breath. “But, I keep hearing you scream.”
I put my palms on his chest, pushing him back a step. “Aurelia will be with me. I’ll be fine.”
He bent down and pressed his lips against mine, teasing them apart. I hooked my fingers in his belt loops and pulled him closer to me, deepening the kiss. His body pressed against mine. His hand tangled in my hair. It was frantic and told me more about his fear than his words could have. He drew back and brushed the hair off my face. “Be careful.” His voice had become husky.
