Rainier walks back into the office and Lee smiles at me gently. I begin to realize there is something complicated in that smile, but I don’t care.
Some possibilities are too good to walk away from.
2
The office is a small room with a circular wooden table at the center and a few chairs, plus a filing cabinet and a desk and computer on the other side.
When I walk in, I take a seat at the table because my legs are practically shaking from what I just saw. Rainier stares at me unnervingly as Lee places a piece of paper on the table, sliding it my way.
“You have an actual contract?” Rainier asks, quirking an eyebrow at Lee.
Lee pulls a pen out of his pocket and pushes it over, along with the contract. “I don’t want anyone claiming I tricked her into doing this.”
“Into doing what?” I ask.
Lee’s face is calm but serious. “I want to be clear about this. This could end up being the best thing of your life or the worst, depending on what you make of it and how things work out. But either way, I promise to heal your sister.”
“Do it now, then,” I say nervously. “Otherwise, how do I know that you’ll do it once I agree to whatever it is you’re asking?”
“I can’t,” he says. “Not until you complete our contract. But in the meantime, she will be taken care of. As soon as you sign, I’ll set up a trust with more than enough money for the rest of her life. Just in case you don’t come back.”
My eyes widen. “What? Don’t come back?”
He sighs, sitting in a chair across from me. “You’ll be going missing for a little while. If you sign the contract.”
I frown as I pull the paper in front of me and glance down on it. “There’s nothing on this.”
Except for a line where my signature should go.
“I know,” Lee says. “Because I can’t make any promises about what this will or won’t involve.”
I push the paper back. “No. That’s insane. I won’t sign a blank contract. That doesn’t even say you agree to heal my sister.”
Lee frowns and takes the paper back, waving his hand over it. “Fine, that better?”
There’s a small paragraph, and I read it over. It basically states that I agree to do whatever he requests in return for the healing of my sister and a trust.
I push the contract back. “I still don’t know what you’re asking of me. I can’t sign until I know that.”
He sighs and shoves a hand through his slightly overgrown black hair and then waves his hand over the paper again. “There, happy?”
“Yes.” I smirk as I pull the paper back, glad to see him finally lose a little bit of his composure.
But as I begin to read the terms, I’m the one who is thrown off. “Hold up. What is the Blur?”
“It’s where you go when you can’t… follow the rules.”
I squint at the words, trying to follow the idea. “Why haven’t I heard of it?”
“Probably because you’re a good person,” Lee says. “Or maybe because people don’t go there.”
“Can we just stop this?” Rainier asks, leaning against the wall irritably. “She’s not going to agree, and even if she did, she’s doomed. There’s no way someone like her would survive the Blur.”
“She might,” Lee says. “She’s sharp because she didn’t just immediately sign my contract. She’s compassionate because she’s doing this for her sister. And she’s adventurous because she’s still here at the table even after reading the list of risks.”
I sigh, drumming my fingers on the table as I finish reading the contract.
He’s right. There are a lot of risks. Dismemberment. Death. Assault. Kidnapping. Apparently, the inhabitants of the Blur are pretty dangerous.
“I would be out of my mind to sign this,” I say, pushing it away with a sigh. I run my hands through my hair, pulling at a few strands to distract myself from the turmoil I’m feeling. “Can I think about it?”
“No,” Lee says. “We’re out of time, so we’d be sending you there right now.”
“But I could die there,” I say softly.
“You could die here too,” he retorts. “The difference is that this way, you have a chance to change things. Plus, you might do everything fine and not get hurt and still come back to a world where your sister is healed and everything is different.”
I blink. “Different.”
“It would be an adventure,” he says softly. “And maybe everything would go fine.”
I don’t know if I should trust him. Maybe it’s too good to be true.
“I’ll even create the trust right this second,” he says, pulling out a cell phone. “Once you sign, I’ll make the call.”
I look back at the contract, reading the small sentence about what he actually wants. “So you just want me to help your friends there?”
He nods. “Easy peasy.”
I hear a snort of disbelief from Rainier’s direction, but when I look over, he’s careful not to meet my eyes.
“If it’s so easy, why don’t you go?” I ask Lee.
“I can’t help them. Not like you can.” He glances at Rainier, who is now peering at him thoughtfully. “Or someone like you.”
“Someone like me could do it? Then why ask me?”
Lee’s eyes are so intensely blue they’re like deep whirlpools, and it feels like he’s pulling me in.
Slowly, he gets out of his chair and walks around the table, and I go totally still as I feel him move behind my chair.
He plants his hands on either side of the table, caging me in. Then he leans forward so our faces are close. I can smell his minty shampoo and the masculine, clean fragrance of his body. It’s heady being so close to him.
He reaches out and tilts my chin, turning my face to his so our mouths are almost touching. “Perhaps it’s because you’re special and I can just sense it.”
Then his lips close over mine, and I hear a gasp from Rainier.
I can’t fight back, can’t think of anything, as the most wonderful sensation floods through me. It’s pure pleasure, calm, cooling reassurance, and something a bit darker as his lips press mine apart and his deft tongue darts inside.
I moan slightly and don’t know what to do with my hands, so I keep them in against me as he keeps me helpless, exploring my mouth with his tongue.
His hand slides down to my neck, stroking lightly at the base of it, and although I’m in a basement with strangers, I’ve never felt more right about what I’m doing.
Like I was always meant to be kissing him.
Like every moment I’ve spent in the library, in any library, was to bring me to be with him here.
When he pulls back, I’m breathless and it feels like the world is spinning.
He brushes my hair back, studying the dark-blond strands in his hand. “Fascinating.”
I can’t even remember how my lungs work as Rainier walks forward, eyes narrowed in on me.
Lee steps back, putting his hands up as Rainier walks in front of me, casting a shadow over the table.
Before I realize what he’s doing, he grabs my chin roughly and comes down to crash his lips over mine.
Despite his cool demeanor, his kiss is fevered, hot. His tongue aggressive as it swipes against mine, heating me to a boiling point.
When I’m gasping in his grasp, he pulls back, glaring at Lee.
“You don’t get a head start,” he says coldly.
I look between them, confused, and Lee puts a hand behind his head bashfully. He’s blushing lightly, and it shows on his tanned skin.
“That’s something I should have mentioned,” Lee says. “My friends? They are all going to want you. Every last one.”
“Want me?” I’m so confused now. “Wait, what?”
“They’ll be drawn to you like we are,” Lee says. “So you should just watch out for that.”
I stare down at the table, heart doing back flips in my chest, body aching from the way they both affected me.
&nbs
p; “Watch out for it how?”
“There might be fighting. Things like that,” Rainier says frankly.
I guess I’m a weird person, because that intrigues me. The thought of men fighting over me, wanting me, kissing me…
Especially men who look like Lee and Rainier.
Lee pushes the pen toward me. “We’re running out of time. If you want to help your sister…”
I do want to help her. I want that and a life of my own. Somewhere away from the endless minimum wage jobs and the misery.
Somewhere with men like him.
I pick up the pen, steeling myself for what I’m about to do.
I don’t know what my future will hold if I sign, but I know what it holds if I don’t.
I look up at Lee. “Call about the trust. Then I’ll sign it.”
So he does, and as I listen to him discuss the specifics with the hospital, even making sure that it’s irrevocable, I realize this is happening for real.
He hands me the phone, and the financial manager confirms everything is settled.
I hand the phone back, and he hangs up. Then I stare at the contract.
My hand is shaking, making a wobbly line with the tip of the pen where I’m supposed to sign.
My whole future…
“I kept my word. Now keep yours,” Lee says. His tone is cold.
I hold my breath and sign my name, gasping as the paper rolls up and disappears.
“You actually did it,” Rainier says coolly. He’s peering at me intently, and it makes me hot down to my toes.
I can still feel his kiss.
“She did,” Lee says. “We finally found someone.” He walks across the room and flips some kind of switch. Nothing happens. “Rainier, come fix your portal.”
“Portal?” I ask blankly.
“It’s how we get you to the Blur. Rainier figured it out.”
“If your friends went through the portal, couldn’t you just find them that way?”
Lee lets out a dark laugh. “They didn’t get there through this portal.”
“How then?”
“No more questions,” Lee says. “It’s best if you figure out everything for yourself.”
Rainier is now messing with switches on a small machine near his computer. “She’ll be landing closest to Griffin.”
“Excellent. Find Griffin first,” Lee tells me pleasantly.
“Griffin?”
“He might be able to help you survive,” Lee says. “I suggest making friends quickly.”
“But how will I find him?”
“He’ll probably find you,” Lee says. “Hopefully. If you are what we think you are.”
My confusion at his words is interrupted by a blinding flash that lights up the whole room. When I can see again, there’s a swirling portal in the room. It looks like it’s made of purple smoke, though it’s black at the center. I can feel it sucking everything toward it.
As I squint, I see dark tendrils peeking out.
I gasp as they suddenly shoot toward me, wrapping around my wrists.
Panic envelops me as I turn toward Lee and Rainier, eyes wide and desperate. “Wait, I want to take it back.”
“You can’t,” Lee says, his expression soft but resolute. “Find the dragons now. It’s all you can do.”
“Dragons?” I ask as the tendrils pull me in and a hot-and-cold sucking sensation surrounds me.
“Oh, did I leave that part out?” Lee says calmly, tapping the side of his jaw. “Ah yes, that’s right. My friends are all dragons.”
“Dragons?” I yell.
“Like us,” Rainier says, and I see his eyes flash with reptilian, black-slitted pupils before returning to normal. “Trust me, human. In the Blur, the dragons are your only hope. So find them.”
“Remember, look for Griffin!” Lee calls out pleasantly. “And good luck!”
And then the smoke envelops me and the whole world is dark.
3
I feel a little like Alice as I fall back into the swirling void, except it feels like falling into a tornado rather than a rabbit hole and I can hear distant screams all around.
It seems like I’m falling forever, and I wonder if this was all a trick and I’m just going to die. But then I land hard on something soft, and everything goes black for a second as the wind is knocked out of me.
The swirling smoke still surrounds me, but as it dissipates, I realize the place I’m in is familiar and alien at the same time.
I’m on top of a hill. The sky above me is hazy, swirling with storm clouds. The sun is hidden, but it seems dimmer than usual and there’s a gray haze over everything around me.
The grass is a darker, less vibrant green. Even the flowers seem shaded.
I slowly push up to my knees and stare around me at the foreign landscape. It’s like I’ve stepped into a watercolor painting.
Atmospheric and beautiful, but not real.
As I stand, fog is all I can see in every direction, at least from this hill.
I reach for my pocket to pull out my phone and realize I left it by the desk at the call center. Not that it would probably work here anyway.
I decide to take a few steps down the slope and gasp as a misty lake comes into my view. As I stumble toward it, I feel the ground get wet and squishy beneath my feet.
When I reach the lake, I push through dark reeds and sink down, putting my hands into the cool water.
At least that feels familiar.
I stare down at my expression, seeing how gaunt I look.
My pale skin shows dark circles under my eyes, though my hazel irises are still bright. My face is rounded, and in my opinion, it has always made me look a little too innocent. My eyes tilt up at the corners, with long lashes, and I like to pull my dirty-blond hair back into a ponytail to accentuate them.
I have an average nose that’s on the small side, a few freckles across my cheeks, and lips that are small but full.
I look like a lot of girls you might come across, and I blend in pretty much anywhere.
Seeing my very normal reflection, I wonder at the fact that I was just kissed by two incredible guys.
For just a moment, when they touched me, I felt like someone else entirely. Someone really beautiful.
Now I see I’m just my usual self. But in a world that reminds me of a dark mirror of the one I usually inhabit.
At least this one might not have any call centers.
I remove my hands from the water and stand up because I’m not sure if this lake would be safe to drink from.
I walk back up to the hill I came from because I currently have no idea where to go.
Find Griffin.
Lee’s words echo, but I shake my head because I have no idea how to do such a thing.
I really shouldn’t have signed that contract until more was explained.
My Converse sneakers squelch as I walk down the other side of the hill and onto flat ground. As I keep walking, the fog reveals a huge forest in front of me and mountains rising up beyond that. When I turn, I can’t even see the hill I came from anymore.
Hopefully, I’m heading in the right direction.
I hear a distant screech like the cry of a falcon and turn to the source of the sound but see nothing but a cloudy sky.
The trees are rustling, and as I get closer, I see they are pines with most of their needles gone, coating the dark ground.
I push branches out of my way as I enter the forest, wincing at the sound of dry needles breaking underfoot.
After a few more minutes, the ground starts to grade upward like I’m on a hill, and I decide to keep going because at least it might give me some high ground to look down from.
The entire time I’m walking, I’m aware of an unbearable sense of emptiness. Loneliness, like I’m the only person in the world.
As I reach the top of the hill and walk out of the trees, the fog clears around me and I can see a few other hilltops rising above the grayness like croutons floating on soup. Fa
rther away, mountaintops rise in the distance, everything but the tips of them obscured by fog as well.
I wonder if it’s always like this or if today is a particularly stormy day.
It gets lighter for a second, and I look up to see the clouds moving, showing a glimpse of that slightly dim sun.
And then something else catches my eye, moving swiftly way up high.
When it’s directly above me, a large shadow covers me and the hill I’m on.
I look down to see the shape of wings, a tail, something huge.
When I look up again, the creature is gone, disappearing into the clouds.
That’s right. I’m in a world with freaking dragons.
My heart starts pounding wildly, and I turn in a wild circle as I watch for another one to appear in the sky.
I realize my mistake when my heel hits a bit of damp grass, and I flail and lose my balance. In my eagerness to see a dragon, I didn’t see that I’d made my way to the edge of the hill where there’s a drop-off.
I try to dig my other foot in, but the ground there is moist, sending me into a full-on slide down the mud.
I scream as an attempt to stand leads to me diving forward into a roll on the steep grade. I decide to go limp, just letting my body bump and tumble the rest of the way down.
I sigh in relief when I land on soft grass. My body is aching, but I’m alive.
I push myself up and take a stumbling step forward and am surprised when I hear the crunch of gravel.
I look down to see sharp, dark rocks laid out flat in the shape of a road. It winds forward and disappears into the fog, but at least it’s something.
I brush off my jeans, which are wet from the grass and stained by dirt, and start walking down the road, stopping only when I hear the sound of something moving up ahead.
It sounds like wheels, and I break into a jog on my sore legs, trying to catch up.
“Hello?” I call out, surprised when there is no echo. It’s so empty here I almost expected one. “Is anyone out there?”
The rolling sound stops. Did I scare them?
My heart pounds as I stare into the fog, wondering if they are considering leaving me, but then the rolling starts again, crunching over the gravel as they come toward me.
Bad Dragons: Special Edition Complete Series Page 2
