From the Ashes (Black Harbour Dragons)

by Jadyn Chase

  From the Ashes

  Black Harbour Dragons

  Jadyn Chase

  Copyright © 2018 by Jadyn Chase

  All rights reserved.

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  Contents

  1. Maverick

  2. Addison

  3. Maverick

  4. Addison

  5. Maverick

  6. Addison

  7. Maverick

  8. Addison

  9. Maverick

  10. Addison

  11. Maverick

  12. Addison

  13. Maverick

  14. Addison

  15. Maverick

  16. Addison

  17. Maverick

  18. Addison

  19. Maverick

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  More from Jadyn

  1

  Maverick

  Every time they got together it meant more work for me. Standing guard behind Bartholomew Victor was a position I’d worked hard to get, but that's not to say I enjoyed these little Pow Wows between the Heads of Clans.

  "I say we stick to the way things have been running," Preston Cane spoke up. He always wore his greyish black hair slicked back. Those bright blue eyes did nothing but remind me of the sapphire belly of his dragon. When he got upset, they burned brightly. He liked to do things differently, but of course, he did; the Black Sapphires were at the top of the food chain. They called the shots and seeing as their official leader, Grady, was never around; those shots came from Preston Cane.

  Finch, that conniving little weasel of a Scaler, sat quietly toying with his pet. The girl looked young and scared. There were several scars, claw marks across her face as if he’d been using her as a scratching post. I couldn’t stand him or his attitude toward Anthros. I never cared either way about them, but what I did care about were murmurings of an uprising. Scalers spent enough time hiding from the bags of flesh, and I refused to let that time come again.

  “Maverick!” Bart yelled to me, snatching me out of my thoughts.

  “Yeah?”

  All their eyes shifted to me, as I wished I’d been paying attention to Bart instead of counting the scars on the pet’s face.

  “Would you care to update us on your most recent findings? Preston doesn’t seem to believe that we need to increase the number of tours around Black Harbor. I say otherwise. Tell him why” Bart commanded.

  I cleared my throat as I pulled out a hand-drawn map of the city and spread it out across the table. Pointing toward the docks, I told them, “There’s been a lot of commotion around the water these past few months. I can’t say exactly what’s going down, but the

  rumors are the Anthros are…”

  I paused, with my eyes darting down to Finch’s pet, I didn’t trust her. He smiled, letting his long black fingernail trace the side of her face before moving it under her chin. He tilted her head up and kissed her deeply. It made me sick watching him. However, when he backed away, he held her jaw between his thumb and index finger. That talon of a fingernail nestled against her bottom lip letting her mouth open just enough for me to see she had half a tongue.

  “No worries,” Finch hissed, “She won’t be spreading any of your secrets.”

  It sent a chill down my spine, and I’m sure my face didn’t hide it one bit.

  Bart grimaced as well, “Finch, walk her out.”

  “Fine,” he rolled his eyes. With a snap of his fingers and whirl of his finger in the air, the girl got up to her feet, grabbed her leash and left the room. She didn’t go far, but it was far enough for me to close the door behind her.

  Picking up from where I left off, I pointed back to the map, "The Anthros are forming some alliance, and they're getting stronger by the day. We have to be vigilant. Our intel tells us there's a station near the docks that they're using to amass an arsenal. We want to strike and take that out before it gets out of hand. We can't let them get too strong."

  “He’s right,” Bart concurred with a steady nod of his head, “We need to obliterate this threat!”

  “Now wait just a minute!” Preston shouted, “To decimate a station? That isn't something we should do. They’ll start something if we do that. All you have right now are rumors and some increased activity. I think you should fall back until we get definitive proof-”

  I cut him off, “You fools and your damn pets! That’s all you’re worried about. Who’s going to suck and fuck you off if we take them out! They will engage in battle, and you know whenever they get their hands on decent firepower, the results are catastrophic! We-”

  “Get control over your boy,” Preston snarled to Bart.

  Bart held his hand out to me as if to push me back. I moved his hand away, slamming my fists on the table and smoke billowing from my nostrils, “They will KILL US!”

  “Check those flames, Son,” Bart whispered to me. I respected him enough to listen. After taking a few deep breaths, I backed down. Bart motioned toward the seat behind him. As a good soldier, I did as he silently instructed and sat down.

  “I’m sad to see you are growing soft in your old age, Preston,” Bart sneered.

  “I’m not soft,” he replied, “I’m simply concerned with the amount of bloodshed that will take place if we get into another battle with them. The city was in ruins and took us years to restore it to even this mediocrity we live in now. I don’t want to disrupt life as usual.”

  “Neither do we,” Bart countered, “But I’m sure there are a few Anthros who do. Don’t do this, Preston. Between your son busting out of here, and the Black Sapphire’s affections for their pets, I’m beginning to think you’re forgetting what it means to be absolute when it comes to wielding the powers we possess. Letting them believe we care is dangerous! We need to follow my soldier’s suggestion and wipe out this threat before it becomes real!”

  “I said no,” Preston said calmly. “No one moves on this until we know for sure what’s going on. We need to find out what they’re planning before we simply attack.”

  “Fine,” Bart replied.

  Finch just sat there with his fingers laced together watching the two heads go back and forth. When they shifted their gazes to him, he shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t care either way, so long as the Onyx Skulls get their pick of the spoils.”

  “Of course you don’t care,” Bart huffed. “Okay gentleman, we’ll convene in a week?”

  He looked at me to confirm. I nodded.

  “Yeah, a week should be enough time to get the proof you’re looking for Preston,” Bart insisted.

  “Fine,” Preston agreed. Without another word, he got up from his seat, headed toward the open courtyard outside of Bart’s dining area and took off into the sky. Finch wasn’t too far behind, as he tugged his pet toward the same open space. They took off a few minutes after Preston leaving Bart and me alone.

  "They're going to get us all killed fawning all over them as if they mean anything more to us than pure sustenance," I snarled. I never acknowledged the pet aspect of the Anthro. I only saw them as options on the menu, living by Bart’s rule. He was adamant that they were good for the buffet and nothing more. Me personally? I enjoyed the flavor of deer
and hunted outside of the city whenever possible. I had more freedom than most as his top commander.

  “Relax, Maverick,” he told me, “I want you to take a team of six. You know who. Take that station out and make it seem like they did it to themselves. I’m in no mood to fight any Sapphires over this. You’re right. Whatever they’re planning needs to be squashed, and it needs to be done now.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  I picked six of my best, and we moved in late that night. The docks were clear. The moon was high, but we didn’t go flying in, flames blazing. We needed this to be discreet. We needed this not to have any scent of Scarlet Wings on it.

  It didn’t take long to sniff out the artillery under one of the abandoned warehouses down by the docks. At least, they were thought to be abandoned. Holding my fist in the air, I signaled for three to cover the perimeter while the rest of us headed inside.

  “Okay, you two hit the southeast section. Plant a few duds along with live rounds. We want this to look like an accident; like they don’t know how to set their triggers. Okay?”

  “Got it,” one of my men nodded. He and his counterpart moved off into the dark corner of the building. I sent the other two to take care of the north quadrants while I moved to

  the southwest.

  There was no way I could have known what was waiting for us … for me. As much as I hated to admit when I’m wrong, this night, I was wrong. We should have listened to Preston and got more intel. If we did, we would have uncovered that this warehouse was a setup.

  When the lights lit up as bright as the sun, I heard the others open fire. Flames erupted around me, and just before I scaled, something pricked me in the back of the neck. All I could do was flex my muscles, but nothing happened. No scales. No fire. No wings.

  Darkness fell over me and the bright lights faded. I closed my eyes, and they refused to open again.

  2

  Addison

  The green eyes staring back at me were a subtle reminder of how much sleep I wasn’t getting. The hot shower I’d just taken didn’t help keep them open either. Steam clouded the bathroom. So much so I had to let the window down. It was small, round, about the size of a large plate. The bathroom itself, on the other hand, was grandiose in comparison to how other Anthros were living inside of the city. Black Harbor was miles away, and I had no intention of ever setting foot inside that abysmal place so many called home. Once Trevor died, I was done with it, with them, with their whole system. But my talents weren’t to go to waste. So here I stayed ... on The Rock.

  The Rock was a station seemingly out of touch from the Scalers that patrolled and controlled the city. I’d been the head scientist for the last two years working day and night on a formula, a serum to help their condition. Trevor was the one who insisted I try to perfect it. He hated his scales and wanted nothing more than to be pure Anthro, to be with me. But those dreams were dashed long ago.

  A soft knocking at the door drew me from my thoughts and into my room. My room was one with a small kitchenette and a luxurious bathroom. The powers that be kept me comfortable so I’d stay, but the longer I stayed, the more I’d begun to feel they wouldn’t let me leave even if I wanted to.

  I pushed my wet, raven black hair back into a ponytail before throwing on my robe and cracking the door just enough to see who was standing there. His short stature and skinny frame weren’t attractive in the slightest, but he smiled and made smart remarks that often alluded to something happening between us. I rolled my eyes, refusing to open the door any more than it was, “What do you want Eric?”

  He ran his fingers through his hair, “Only to discuss the latest results with you. May I come in?”

  “No,” I told him bluntly, “It’s not even seven, and you’re knocking on my door? I’ll be down there when I’m good and ready. Is that okay with you?”

  “Of course,” he blushed taking a step back, “I, just, uh, I just got excited. I’ve been up all night in the lab. I couldn’t sleep.”

  “Try harder next time,” I replied. “I don’t want you running tests on my subjects without my approval. You may limit the longevity of their utilization.”

  “I got it,” he said raising his hands in surrender, “And have you given any thought to my other test inquiry?”

  “Letting you serve me dinner and then treat me like a pet isn’t a test inquiry,” I snarled. “Just stay focused on the work. We’re the only ones who can do this, and I’m tired as it is. Please don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be.”

  “Well, that’s just it! We are the only two smart enough to do what we do. So we might as well keep the brains between us,” he snickered. “Just have dinner with me.”

  “Why don’t you go jump off the cliff?”

  “You’re playing hard to get, and I love a good chase. So I’ll save this conversation for another time. Meet me in the lab at seven then, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, “I’ll be down by seven.”

  I should have slammed the door in his face, but we still had to work together. A part of me wondered if he enjoyed me being ruthless with his feelings. He always took my verbal assaults with a smile. It wouldn’t surprise me. He’d been a pet too once, but he killed the Scaler who held him captive. There were more stories like that then they would have you believe. Being a pet myself, I’d seen quite a few of my own. But my Scaler didn’t deserve to die, at least not the way he did.

  Putting memories of my past behind me, I decided to get dressed and head to the lab before Eric decided to come back again. Once I left my quarters, I knew that I’d have some new work to catch up on; thanks to him. While I was grateful to be useful, exhaustion didn’t even begin to feel what was coursing through me.

  The four floors of The Rock Station were split up between the lab and the living quarters. There weren’t many of us here. Outside of the band of soldiers who shuttled back and forth between The Rock and Black Harbor, I’d say about eight Anthros were occupying this station, myself included.

  I came here with one goal in mind. It was to help Scalers eliminate the scaling process. Unfortunately, I’ve only been able to slow it down. Trevor had been one of a few I'd come across to want to shed their birthright. I worked tirelessly on it until the day he died. Tears threatened to fall thinking about our last time together. He wasn't a dominant Scaler, and another had threatened to take me. He refused to let that happen, and he lost his life because of it.

  It wasn't the time or the place for reflection. I needed to get myself together to start my day. Taking a deep breath, I swiped my badge in front of the sealed door. I could hear the bolts sliding out of their locked position. A low ringing beep sounded before something clicked and the door pushed open.

  The lab wasn't anything fancy. Our workspace was always clean for the most part, and we ran most of our tests on the floor above us. This particular floor simply held computers, printers, small workstations, and the subject quarters. We fashioned bedrooms into holding cells to make our subjects as comfortable as possible while we ran our tests. I only had one in the lab at the moment. Scalers were hard to capture alive, and those who were once interested in my work didn't think too highly of me once Trevor died. They blamed me, and they were right to do so.

  It wasn't until I stepped inside that I saw what Eric had been working on all night. The one subject I'd been working with looked like she was midscale. Her royal blue underbelly dwarfed her darker grey scales. However, something was off. She hadn't completed her transformation. The rooms were big enough to hold our winged lab experiments, but there weren't any wings. There wasn't a snout blowing flames, nor smoke billowing. Her mouth was sealed shut, scaled closed. Exhaustion and fear beamed from her eyes as I approached her. She reached through the bars to grab for me with tears.

  “What the hell have you done?!”

  Eric’s sinister laugh from behind me sent a chill down my spine, “I figured out a way to isolate the scale sequence. I can stop it wherever they are in the pr
ocess by eliminating one of the chemical compounds of the serum, just … in … the … nick of time.”

  The amount of pride in his voice was far more distressing than I was willing to admit.

  “How do we reverse this?” I asked him stroking the side of her face delicately.

  Avery, her name was Avery, and she trusted me to keep her safe while we tried to find a way to strip her of her scales and wings. This wasn't a part of the deal, and she was my last volunteer. The last few we tested ended up scarred indefinitely. Scale patches sprouted all over their body.

  "It should wear off in the next hour or two. The last dose I gave her was around five. The fix only lasts about four hours. But think about everything we can do to regain our position amongst these winged freaks! Anthros can be great again. We will be on top! So when's the next time you're bringing a batch of the base ingredient? We need more if we're going to keep running these tests. And I told Shaw that we'd have some advancements to show him," Eric maneuvered around the lab like what he did was normal, or humane.

  "I don't know. I was using Avery to gain access to it, and now that you've done this, I can't say," I told him. I knew where to get it, but I wanted him to feel bad for what he did to her.

  "You're telling me that you haven't extracted every ingredient in that serum! That's Chemistry 101! What do you think we're working on down here?!"

  Before I could answer, the door swished open, followed by the sound of Shaw and his band of camo-clad foot soldiers stomping into the lab. I hated when they came in here. It always took hours to decontaminate the room after they left.