by Amelia Jade
“Well, let’s do it then!” Ivore said, motioning to several nearby contractors to come and lift the sign. It would have to go up in two sections. A single piece would be too long and too heavy.
Four men came over, two to a section, and followed them outside. Violet stood on the sidewalk, arms crossed as they lifted the sign up and fastened it into place in front of the neon lights that would let it glow at night. Before she knew it, it was over, the men climbing down and moving out of the way. After all the buildup to the moment, actually seeing the sign seemed somewhat…anticlimactic.
“Is everything okay?” Ivore seemed to pick up on her mood change.
“Yeah, it is.”
Violet knew she didn’t hate the name, but something about it just didn’t seem like it fit. Like it wasn’t right. She tried to shake that off. This was the name that she’d agreed on long ago, and it belonged there.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling.
“Shall we go crack open a bottle to celebrate? This is a big day!”
“Sure.” She followed him back inside.
The workers waited behind them, discussing something. Inside Ivore was already rummaging through a cooler.
“Aha!” he crowed, pulling out a slender green bottle with gold decoration on it.
“I can’t believe you bought champagne for the sign day,” she muttered, somewhat touched.
“If it didn’t already feel real, it should now,” he pronounced, pouring them each a healthy dose into plastic cups that had also materialized from nearby. “To O’Hara’s!”
Violet smiled tightly and raised her glass, taking a long sip.
The door opened, and the half-dozen contractors came back inside single-file. She frowned, watching them walk by. Hadn’t there only been four of them before? Across from her Ivore’s eyes narrowed as he saw the expression on her face.
He turned around just in time to receive a hammer to the side of the head.
Violet screamed as he went down, blood shooting everywhere from the wound. The last contractor in line pulled several objects from his pockets and tossed them around her shop while the hammer-wielding attacker advanced on Violet. She was helpless, completely unarmed and unprepared to fight him off.
Halfway to her he stopped, looking down at his ankle where five fingers had locked around it. Ivore, lying flat on the ground, had managed to catch up.
“Stay away from her,” he snapped, and hauled back on his arm.
The construction worker fell to the ground, dropping the hammer to catch himself before his head hit the concrete.
“We gotta go!”
She looked up as the other worker came over. He grabbed his fallen companion, viciously kicking Ivore’s hand out of the way, and ran for the door, leaving Ivore in a barely moving heap on the ground.
A split second later the objects he’d thrown exploded, flames licking up the walls and spreading rapidly. Violet looked around in horror as vital seconds elapsed. If she couldn’t get him to his feet, they were going to burn alive.
Chapter Eighteen
Ivore
Violet ran to his side. “Ivore, you need to get up. Please. This whole place is going to burn down around us!”
She shouted for help, but the other contractors had already fled, escaping the flames. He’d seen them go. Hadn’t he? Or was that his imagination. Ivore wasn’t thinking straight. He was also bleeding from his nose, which had been broken in the initial attack, a sort of secondary blow from the hammer as it had torn across his face.
With the walls exposed and so much debris all over the place the fire was spreading rapidly. Soon it would engulf the entire store. Ivore knew they were in danger. He had to get them out. His wits were slowly returning.
“Door,” he mumbled through mashed lips. “Violet, we need to go. ‘S on fire.” He was slurring his words. Shit, maybe he was hurt worse than he thought?
Shaking his head, he tried to sit up.
The entire world went black, and the next thing he saw was the ceiling above him, orange-red flames licking at the exposed joists. How had it spread so quickly?
Violet’s face appeared above his head as she leaned over him. Fear tightened the corners of her eyes, and sweat was pouring down her forehead as the fire pulsed waves of heat at them. “Ivore, you’re awake!”
“’f course I’m awake. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’ve been unconscious for several minutes now. I tried dragging you to the door, but you’re too big. You need to get up. We have to go. The door is almost blocked!” She pointed.
He turned his head, relishing the cool of the concrete underneath him, wishing the rest of the air could be like that. Cool. Cold. Icy, just the way Ivore preferred.
Focusing on the present by squinting his eyes, he saw that she was right. The door out front was still clear, but the fire was raging everywhere and it would reach all the painters’ rags and insulation stacked near the doorway any moment now. If they were going to escape, then he had to get up.
Ivore put his hands on the ground, wondering why the concrete was still so cold when everything else was just radiating heat, making it difficult to breathe.
Something snapped and a burning beam fell from the ceiling. Sparks exploded, spewing out in every direction, several of them landing in the painters’ bin. The rags soaked in layer after layer of paint-thinner erupted into flames, and in seconds the doorway was obscured by the worst part of the raging fire.
They were trapped.
“Ivore, we’re trapped! What the hell do we do? Please, I need you!”
The words seemed to cut through the fog in his brain as power flowed through him, easing the pain and confusion. It was cool power, a chill breeze that washed over his skin, standing hairs on end.
It was the power of an ice dragon.
Turning to face Violet, he reached up and caressed her face. “I’ll get us out of here, but you have to give me a chance to explain after, before you freak out.”
She frowned, the brown highly visible from the fear. “What?”
“Promise me you’ll give me a chance to explain!” he roared as a piece of drywall fell, too weakened by the fire to stay intact, breaking into pieces as it hit the ground.
“Okay, I promise!
Instantly the area around them grew cooler. Frost covered the ground underneath, and he could almost see her breath in the sudden chill. The change in temperature wouldn’t be good for her, and it might cause her to go into shock, but that was better than burning to death.
“What the hell?” Violet looked all around her in confusion.
“To the lobby,” he said, getting to his feet.
Even despite the power, the pain in his head nearly knocked him out again as he stood up. How hard had he been hit? And who the hell had hit him?
“We can’t go that way,” she protested. “The fire is worse there. There’s no way out.”
He extended a hand in that direction. “There is now,” he stated.
Ice poured from his hand, extinguishing the fire and clearing them a path.
Violet stared, unmoving, as frozen as the ground underneath them. His strength was waning, and he didn’t have any time to wait. Scooping her up into his arms, Ivore walked them out of the fire. Behind him the ice dissipated, fire rushing back into the unoccupied area. He would leave no traces for anyone else to find about their escape method. Answering Violet’s questions was going to be enough.
This conversation was one he’d expected to have. Like everything else with them however, it was all coming at them both far faster than either expected. Ivore had hoped to have at least a few more weeks of earning her trust before he spilled his secret and turned her world upside down even more than he already had.
Outside fire engines finally pulled up, their sirens jolting Violet back to reality.
“How did you do that?” she asked, looking across the lobby at the fire-ravaged remains that had been her shop. “You just…ice just came from your hand
s. Out of nowhere. You shot it.”
She looked around to see if anyone else was nearby. Then she spoke in a low, hushed tone. “Are you a mutant?”
He laughed despite the seriousness of her voice. “No, not really.”
“So what the hell are you? An alien?”
“No.” He managed not to laugh at that one.
“Well, you’ve been hiding one hell of a secret then.”
“I know. I want to tell you, it’s just…difficult. But, well, the building isn’t called the Dragon Tower for no reason.”
Violet’s blank stare told him she wasn’t connecting the dots between the name on the outside of the building and what he was trying to tell her.
“I’m a dragon.”
She shook her head. “No. Dragons don’t exist. That’s not possible.”
He snorted. “Right, and guys who can shoot ice and snow from their hands do?”
“Well…”
“Exactly. I’m a dragon, Violet, whether you want to believe it or not. But you just saw what I can do.”
“Yeah…” she glanced behind them uneasily. The lobby was devoid of people, giving them complete privacy, but with the firemen now battling the blaze it didn’t seem like that was going to last much longer.
“Are you all right? Are you going to freak out?”
Chapter Nineteen
Violet
She started chewing on her lower lip while she came up with a response. Eventually she looked at him, not bothering to hide her surprise. “I should be, shouldn’t I?”
“I just told you I can transform into a creature with scales and wings that you’ve only heard about in movies or books. You saw me put out the fire with my hand. Yeah, to be honest, I think that it would be acceptable if you freaked out a bit.”
“Yeah. Also, my shop has burnt down. We’ve got nothing left. That’s something to freak out about too,” she pointed out, head tilted sideways while she was lost in thought.
Ivore winced. “I wasn’t going to mention that to be honest…”
“Right. Someone attacked us. You’re a dragon, and so is everyone else who lives here? Have I got that about right?”
“Yeah. Basically.” Then he winced, realizing what he’d just said.
Giving away everyone else’s secret in the building probably hadn’t been his intention. Violet wasn’t entirely sure why that actually mattered, but apparently it did. Maybe it wasn’t his place to do so, but just then, who really cared? It was all so much to process, and the firemen in the background putting out the fire was just another factor to add in.
Violet flopped to the floor, purple hair flying everywhere until she settled it back behind her ears. “Your brother is a dragon? Cowl?”
Ivore nodded. “Yes.”
She rubbed her chin thoughtfully, noting that it was probably smearing black soot everywhere. Oh well, she was going to be showering and tossing the clothes in the garbage anyway. A little bit more wasn’t going to ruin her day.
“I can’t believe that all this time Andria’s been dating a dragon and she never told me. Like, ever. Not even dropped a hint.”
A vague memory of Andria mentioning that she shouldn’t be worried about hurting Ivore floated up. “Wait, can you guys heal fast as well?”
Ivore nodded. “Yes.”
“Ah, so that explains a lot. And also why when I found your brother in the parking lot after he was attacked, he seemed to recover so quickly.”
Ivore smiled, but he nodded. “Right again.”
“What’s with the smile? Do you like thinking about your brother being hurt?” She hadn’t meant it to come out quite so forceful, but it had. Maybe she was going into shock.
“What? No!” Ivore ran dirty fingers through his hair, black streaks ruining the brilliant white lines. “No, I was thinking that that was the first time I ever saw you. The first time we met. Before all of this happened.” He looked away, but the smile didn’t fade. “I remember thinking how beautiful you were.” Blue eyes traveled back up to lock onto hers. “Just like how you’re beautiful now.”
“Okay. I’m sure I look great covered in soot and sweat, makeup running down my face…” She was uncomfortable with the attention, and turned to her only outlet, humor.
“I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful in my entire life.”
“You’re a dragon. What other kind of powers do you have? How does nobody know about you?” She had so many questions!
“The usual things you might expect. I’m strong, fast, heal quickly. That sort of thing.” He spoke like it should be common knowledge.
“If you’re so strong, how is that you took one hit from a hammer and went down like a sack of potatoes? Huh, mister tough guy?
Ivore just started shaking his head. “You are accepting this way too easily.”
She shrugged. “I’m just used to trauma I guess. You go through it once, your brain doesn’t freeze the next time around. So, you’re some sort of super guy.”
“No, nothing like that. I’m just your regular old ice dragon.”
Violet was suddenly in a car, driving down a road. A storm was raging outside. It was bad.
“Violet?”
Ivore and the lobby reappeared in front of her.
“An ice dragon? Like…a winter dragon?”
His head moved slowly. “Yes, exactly. Winter is my element.”
She was back in the car’s seat again. Only this time she wasn’t driving. Chris was driving.
“Hey hon, it’s getting bad out. I’m thinking we should maybe stop and go back to that hotel we just passed and wait it out. We could stay there the night.” He didn’t remove his eyes from the road, what little of it they could see through the blizzard.
Violet shook her head. “I don’t know, babe. You know how I am with hotels. Can we just keep pushing on? I can take a turn driving if you’d like.”
Like he always did, Chris shook his head. He liked to drive, giving her the freedom to relax and not have to stress. That went doubly so during intense driving conditions, like the ones they were in right now.
“I know, babe. It’s really coming down out there. I hadn’t realized it would be like this when we left your aunt’s. Maybe we should have stayed.”
Violet shuddered in her seat. They had spent the entire afternoon there. The last thing she wanted to do was stay the night. If anything they should have left earlier. Her mother wouldn’t have been very happy however, so they’d stayed. Violet was thankful her parents had decided to stay the night, while she and Chris pushed on in an effort to head for home.
She had a thing about sleeping in beds that weren’t her own. Namely, she didn’t do it. Only in the worst of the worst situations. Hotels were barely acceptable.
“Okay, darling.” He took his hand off the wheel and laid it on her leg. “I’ll get you home.”
She rested her hand on his, enjoying the contact, but soon enough he took it back, preferring both hands on the wheel. Violet’s eyes grew drowsy, and she felt herself drifting off to sleep.
“VIOLET!”
The car swerved viciously as they lost traction around a gentle curve, spinning out of control. They crossed over the yellow line into oncoming traffic before bouncing off of the metal rail. The car continued to spin several more times as they shed speed, eventually coming to a stop in the center of the road at a cross angle to the flow of traffic.
Chris turned to look at her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but something behind him caught her eye. “Drive!” she screamed as two headlights appeared out of the snow, a horn sounding frantically as the oncoming truck tried to stop. Her fiancé threw the car into gear and stomped on the pedal, but the wheels turned uselessly on the ice.
The pickup truck clipped their front end and they were jerked violently into their seats as they spun across the road. A much deeper horn blasted, and this time they were hit from the rear. The car started to disintegrate as the semi truck shot them across the road, through th
e metal railing, and over the side of the embankment. The fall was only ten feet, and it should have been survivable.
She screamed, and when they hit the whole world went black.
When she awoke, everything was changed.
“Violet!” Someone grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her. It was Ivore, and he had a frantic look in his eyes. “Violet, are you okay?”
Nodding numbly, she realized it was all a sign. The car accident had been her fault, and now the attack on Ivore. His being an ice dragon was just the final sign. She needed to stay away from him. To keep her distance.
She should have done that from the start. Now he’d gone and invested money in her store. Oh God. The store! It was ruined. How was she going to repay him now? She didn’t have the money to rebuild.
Ivore was speaking, his face bruised and bloody, though it was already repairing itself, fresh pink skin showing in spots. She didn’t hear anything he was saying, the words drowned out by a roaring noise inside her head.
Emotions and memories she’d thought long forgotten surged to the surface, reminding her of just how painful the time following the accident had been. Of the self-hatred she’d suffered with day after day, the guilt and shame of knowing it was her fault a family was torn apart. She couldn’t do that to Ivore and his brothers. Not again.
Firemen and paramedics came streaming through the front door, rushing up to the pair of them. Violet let herself be lifted to her feet. “Take care of him, he’s hurt,” she heard someone say, only to realize that it was her voice speaking. “Someone hit him.”
Ivore tried to push them aside, stating that he was fine, attempting to reach her side. Violet shook her head, letting herself be guided away by the paramedics.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I can’t do this. I know I promised you that I’d stop, but that…that was before. I have to put a stop to this, Ivore, before it’s too late.” Then she let the medics hustle her off to the waiting ambulance to check her out.
