Forsaken (Dragon Shifter Book 6)

by Naomi Sparks

  4

  Gabrielle

  The moment light begins to fill Ezra's small tent, I'm awake. My entire body aches, especially my legs, but no matter how badly I want to close my eyes and go back to sleep, I force myself to sit up. Laying around sleeping isn't going to bring my baby girl back to me.

  Ezra sits up only a moment later, covering his mouth as he lets out a loud yawn.

  "We should get going," I say, standing up and trying to stretch the kinks out of my body. Every part of me aches. My body yells at me to go back to sleep, to get some more rest, but I ignore it. There will be plenty of time to rest once I have Olivia back in my arms again.

  Until then, I just needed to keep going.

  Ezra frowns at me. I wait for him to tell me to take it easy, that we should sit and rest for a bit longer, to remind me that my body is still healing. But instead, he just nods and stands up. His blanket falls away, revealing a hard, muscular body, tattoos all over his chest and arms. Any other time, I'd have probably been drooling like a schoolgirl. He is a very attractive man, but I refuse to acknowledge that.

  It is just another thing that can wait until my mission is over.

  Our breakfast consists of a few protein bars and some jerky. Definitely not the best breakfast in the world, but it's fast, and we can eat while we pack everything up. In no time, I'm back behind Ezra on his bike, and we're flying down the highway. I lean against him, his muscular back somewhat comforted.

  I'm not sure what I'd do without him. The doctor told me Ezra's venom probably saved my life. And without him, I have no idea how I'd get to South Dakota.

  I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to do when I get there, but at least I'll have Ezra there with me.

  "Have you been to South Dakota before?" Ezra asks. It's hard to hear him over the rumble of the bike, and I have to strain.

  I shake my head. "I don't think so. If I have, it was when I was really young. We moved around a lot when I was young."

  I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Why does Hannah want me to go to South Dakota? I can't for the life of me figure out what's waiting out there. Even though we moved around a lot, I didn't remember ever going to South Dakota. I didn't even know what was in South Dakota.

  "Where were you born?" Ezra asks next.

  "California, I think." I'd never asked, and up until now, it had never really seemed to matter. "What about you?"

  "Britain," he says. "A long time ago."

  I wonder how old he is. It's hard to tell with dragons. He looks like he's only in his late twenties or early thirties. But he could be anywhere from a couple hundred years old to thousands of years old. And somehow, it seems rude to ask.

  "Do you have any family?" he asks next.

  I shrug. "I don't know," I respond, hoping he'll drop it. My family isn't something I like to think about. I never knew my mother, and my grandmother had abandoned me when I was a child. I'd spent years bouncing from foster home to foster home. "What about you?"

  Ezra is quiet for a moment. Then, slowly, he nods. "I have a mother back in Britain. I haven't seen her in a very long time."

  Even over the sound of the bike's engine, I can hear the sadness in his voice. I can easily understand him missing his mother. I wish I'd gotten a chance to get to know mine. None of my foster mothers ever seemed to care much for me. Sure, a few of them were nice, but I'd never been theirs.

  "What about your father?" I find myself asking. Then, I mentally kick myself for it. I didn't want to talk about my personal life, so I shouldn't be probing into his.

  I can feel Ezra sighing. "I'm not sure he knows I exist. Which, I guess, is probably a good thing."

  Despite his words, I can hear the sadness and bitterness in his voice. His body is tense now, and I figure it's probably a good idea to change the subject. Neither of us is all that keen on talking about our families.

  "What do you like to do when you're not hunting down evil dragons?" I ask, hoping the little joke will help lighten the mood a bit.

  It had the intended effect, and Ezra chuckled. "It probably a little strange these days, but poetry."

  "Really?" That is an unexpected answer. I don't know anyone who's into poetry, though I guess for someone who's lived at least a couple centuries, poetry was probably a big thing when he'd grown up. I'd not read much poetry, at least not since I'd dropped out of school at sixteen.

  Ezra nods. "It's always been my passion. There's not many poets in this time. Well, none who call themselves poets. Most of them are songwriters now."

  "Do you have a favorite poem?"

  Ezra nods. "The Devil's Walk," he says immediately. And before I can even ask him what the poem is about, he starts to recite it. "Once, early in the morning, Beelzebub arose, with care his sweet person adorning, he put on his Sunday clothes."

  He recites the entire poem to me, his British accent becoming more pronounced as he continues. His voice is soothing, and I lean against his back, I close my eyes and let it wash over me. Poetry had never interested me much, but hearing Ezra recite it is like magic.

  Some of the aches in my body seem to fade away. By the time he finishes the poem, all I can do is let out a sigh. Something tells me this poem is something special to him, but I resist the urge to ask him. I get the feeling it's personal and not something he'd want to share with someone he's just met.

  "Will you tell me another one?" I ask. I keep my eyes closed, not wanting to come back to reality yet.

  Ezra immediately begins another poem. Then another. And another.

  I lose all track of time as Ezra recites poem after poem, all from memory. I have no doubt he could've gone on nonstop, but eventually, we stop for gas and food. We talk about random stuff as we eat, and I find myself liking Ezra more and more. While poetry may be his primary interest, he's had so much life experience that I could spend days listening to him talk about his past.

  And I do let him talk the entire day as we ride. It helps take my mind off the uncertainty of everything. It's certainly better than being stuck with my thoughts the whole time. Especially since all of my thoughts run around and around in circles, not getting me anywhere.

  By the time we stop for the night, my entire body is sore, and I'm able to pass out almost the moment I close my eyes. The next two days are much the same. Ezra talks as we ride, keeping my mind occupied. By the time we reached the Badlands, I am extra grateful for his constant stream of stories and poems. They keep me from thinking about how much my legs and backside ache from riding on the back of his motorcycle for hours.

  Finally, we decide to camp for the night. Nothing around here looks familiar, and neither of us have any clue where to start. Neither of us are keen on just driving around in the dark, hoping the answer falls out of the sky, so we make camp.

  Ezra gets a fire going, and we sit side-by-side in front of it. We're only a couple inches apart, and I fight back the urge to lean against him. It's so tempting to let him put his arm around me, to hold me and recite more poetry. But I don't let myself. I can't. I know if I go too far down that road, I won't want to turn back.

  And I can't afford any distractions or delays right now. I need to find whatever it is I'm supposed to here. Then, I need to track down the other dragons and get my baby girl back. After that, maybe I'll see where things might lead for us.

  "We should get some sleep," Ezra says, and I find myself nodding. He helps me stand, then starts taking care of the fire while I head for our little tent.

  This time, I'm still very much awake when he joins me in the tent. I watch through slitted eyes as he strips off his shirt and pants. My heart skips a beat as I watch him slide under a blanket. He's so close, and yet, he's so far away. One day, I promise myself. One day I'll be able to have the life I've always dreamed of.

  Though never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine a man like Ezra, a man hundreds of years old, with the power of a dragon lurking inside him. For all I know, he's just kind and trying to help me get Olivia back. It's
probably best not to get my hopes up, I figure as I close my eyes and let sleep overtake me.

  When I wake up the next morning, I'm more energized than I remember being in a very long time. My entire body still aches, especially my legs and backside. I'm ready to get back on the road, ready to find whatever it is I'm supposed to find out here.

  "You're in a good mood today," Ezra says with a smile as he slips on his pants and shirt.

  "Well, I figure the sooner we finish up here, the sooner we can go back to eating real food!" I tease. I try to keep things light, still not wanting to get my hopes up. I have no idea how long we'll be out here, and I don't really want to think about it. "I'll get breakfast while you pack everything up."

  Even though it's only been a couple days, it didn't take long for us to build into a routine. While Ezra breaks down the tent and stows it into the saddlebags, I get out some more of the protein bars and jerky. One thing is for sure, even if we don't finish up whatever we're supposed to be doing here, we need to get some real food. Soon.

  I'm already getting tired of the protein bars and jerky. I'm not sure how Ezra hasn't by now. I doubt dragons are meant to subsist on meager rations like this. Part of me wants to swing through Vegas on our way back to meet up with the others, stuff ourselves at a buffet there.

  But first, we need to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do out here.

  "So, what's the plan?" I ask as we both nibble on our protein bars. I'm glad he's here with me since I'm not sure I'd have any idea where to start.

  Ezra shrugs, turning to stare out at the horizon. "I guess we should just drive around for a while, see if anything jogs a memory or just feels right, you know? Hannah didn't give me much to go on, so I figure that's our best bet right now. You're sure you don't know anyone out here? No friends? Family? Hell, a favorite burger chain that might happen to be based out of South Dakota?"

  I giggle, then shake my head. "I wish I did. Then maybe we'd be able to get this done and over with, be back on the road tonight. But I guess driving around and hoping is going to be our best bet."

  And so that's what we do. After we finish our meager breakfast, I slide on to the bike behind Ezra, wrapping my arms around his waist and holding on tight.

  As he drives us around, I keep looking around, taking everything in. But even after a couple hours, nothing jumps out at me. Nothing around here looks even the least bit familiar. I can't remember ever seeing a picture of this place. We're flying down the road, well over the speed limit, but I'm starting to think it's all hopeless, that we'll never find what it is I'm supposed to find out here, not before I need to go back.

  "Shit!" Ezra yells out. I look up in time to see us barreling toward an old lady. Ezra hits the brakes, the tires lock up and squeal on the pavement. But it doesn't seem to be doing much at all. There's no way we're going to stop in time. We're going to slam right into that poor old lady.

  I want to squeeze my eyes shut, want to look away, but I can't. All I can do is stare ahead in horror as the bike continues to speed toward the woman. The bike is slowing, but only marginally, and it won't stop in time.

  Just before the bike should've run her down, she seems to vanish in a puff of air, smoke whirling around us as the bike screeches to a halt a few feet away. There's no way that just happened, I tell myself. We had to be seeing things. People don't just vanish into smoke like that.

  But when I turn around and look, the old woman is still standing in the middle of the road.

  "What the hell?" Ezra asks. He turns the bike around to face the woman who is standing with her back toward us. "You do see her, right?" he asks, his voice low.

  All I can do is nod. There's definitely a woman standing there. At least, I'm pretty sure there is. But if she really is standing there, then why didn't we run her over? How did we just drive right through her? Was it some sort of magic? If it is, judging by the reaction from Ezra, it's no form of magic he's ever seen before.

  Time slows to a crawl as the woman slowly moves, turning around to face us. My heart is pounding rapidly, and I wait for her to change into some monster out of a storybook. But when the woman turns around, she turns into something worse than a monster. Someone I recognize.

  "Let's go," I tell Ezra, my voice flat and cold.

  Valetta doesn't look like she's aged a day in eighteen years. I want to believe it's some kind of illusion or hallucination, but even if it is, I have no urge to stick around here. Not for her. Never for her.

  "What?" Ezra asks, looking over his shoulder with a puzzled expression on his face. "We nearly ran the woman over. Shouldn't we talk to her? Find out who she is?"

  I shake my head. My mouth is drawn in a firm line as I stare at the old woman. "We don't have to. I know who she is."

  Ezra looks even more confused now. He opens his mouth to speak, then closes it. His gaze repeatedly shifts between Valetta and me. I can see the gears turning in his mind. "Then she might be the reason we're here. She must be why Hannah's vision sent you to South Dakota."

  Again, I shake my head. Resentment and anger bubble up inside me. More than anything, I want to get off this bike and walk over and slap her. But I refuse to give in to those thoughts. Even acknowledging her is more than she deserves. Walking away and ignoring her is the best thing I can do. It's all she deserves after abandoning me all those years ago.

  Valetta steps forward, frowning at me. She extends a trembling hand toward me, and I flinch. I never thought I'd see her again, and now here she is, standing in the way of me getting Olivia back.

  Ezra is frowning at me too. His gaze keeps flickering over toward Valetta, and it's obvious he doesn't want to just ride off and leave her here. And I can't blame him. We'd driven all the way out here and have been searching around in the dark, trying to find the reason for being here. Right now, Valetta is our only clue, but I refuse to believe she's the reason I just wasted all that time driving out here. She can't be.

  "That's my grandmother," I tell him, trying to keep my tone neutral. I don't want either of them to see just how upset I am at seeing her. "She's the one who abandoned me in the middle of a shopping mall when I was a child. She's the reason I spent so many years bouncing between foster homes."

  Ezra's jaw clenches as he looks at the old woman. There's no pity in his eyes now, just anger, the same anger I feel welling up inside me as I look at her. Even if the universe wants to bring us together, I don't want anything to do with her.

  "Gabrielle...." Valetta says, making me flinch again. "Please...."

  She looks so helpless, so pitiful, that, for a moment, I want to run to her. But I push back those emotions, determined not to let this woman manipulate me. I went through hell because of her. And if I never see her again, it'll be too soon.

  "Let's go," I tell Ezra, my voice quavering. The longer we sit here, the harder it is for me to keep my emotions in check. If we don't leave now, I'm not sure I'll be able to keep myself controlled for much longer.

  Ezra revs the bike's engine, slowly turning it away from Valetta. My heart hammers in my chest, and I close my eyes, just wanting to be as far away from her as possible right now. There has to be some other reason we're here. There has to be.

  "Gabrielle!" she yells, her voice barely audible over the bike's engine now. I try to ignore her, but she keeps shouting. "Please! I can help you get your daughter back!"

  Ezra kills the bike as I freeze. My heart hammers even harder now, sounding louder than the bike had moments ago. She'd said the one thing that prevents me from just turning away and leaving her in the middle of nowhere. I know she's probably saying it just to get me to stick around, but I can't bet on that. If she has a way to help me get Olivia back, I have to hear her out.

  Silently, I curse as I slide off the back of Ezra's bike, over to where Valetta is still standing. "You better not be lying to me," I tell her, glaring at her. If she is lying, I'm not sure what I'll do.

  "I'm not, I promise." Valetta extends her hand again. Reluctantly, I
take it, letting her lead me off the highway.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Ezra, silently pleading with him to follow me. He nods and slides off the bike as well, carefully wheeling it along as he follows behind us. He looks just about as enthusiastic about this as I feel. But I don't see any other options right now. As much as I hate to admit it, Valetta is our only lead.

  I can't figure out where she's leading me. There's nothing out here for miles and miles. Rocks, plants, and some small animals are about all see. But Valetta looks confident as she leads me through some brambles, making a beeline for... something.

  Then, we take another couple steps, and it's like I step through a waterfall. A bright light flashes in front of my eyes as I feel something washing over me. Suddenly, I feel awake and alert as something seems to surge through me. Now, I'm sure I made the right choice. I may not like it, but this is where I'm supposed to be right now.

  5

  Ezra

  I can't help but frown as we walk through the barrier, revealing a large shelter that had previously been hidden. Just like with the Fae colony, I hadn't been able to sense even the slightest bit of magic. With the Fae, however, we'd known they were out there and had gone looking for them. With this woman, I had no idea what her intentions were. Should she try to attack us or hold us here, I'm sure I can handle myself, but I worry about Gabrielle.

  With the barrier around the area, it'll be difficult for anyone to find us. But it's not like I have any choice in the matter. If this is where Gabrielle is meant to be, then I'm not about to just leave her alone. She doesn't seem to trust this woman very much either, but she follows the woman into the shelter with me right behind.

  The room is dark when we walk in, but with a wave of the old woman's hand, a dozen candles around the room ignite at once. They light the room fully, with more light than actual candles give off.

  "You're a witch?" I ask, though I already know the answer. She's not Fae, that much I'm sure of, which leaves one alternative.