Dragon: The Clan Legacy Series

by J. S. Striker

  “Keep that. Get ready.”

  She opened her eyes—and for the first time since she’d showed up again, he saw panic in them rather than calm.

  “I don’t do heights very well,” she said.

  “Trust me on this,” he muttered. “I have never let a rider fall. Yet.”

  Then Henrik jumped—an action that burst the bubble of power right away. He heard a bear growl a block away, then steps running in their direction.

  Henrik grabbed hold of her waist, throwing her higher than him. Fear leapt in her eyes before she disappeared up in the air, and he used the momentum of his first jump to hitch a leg on the wall and surge higher in the air.

  In a second, he had shifted to his dragon form.

  In another, he had swerved to the side so his form could catch Red’s falling one.

  She managed to land on his tail, and he lifted it up to tuck her in place. He only gave her a moment’s time to clutch on his scales before he was spreading his wings wider, taking them higher in the air.

  Then he was flying out of there.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Red wished there was another way to escape the creatures trying to kill her, like disappearing into thin air or teleporting from New York to any other place but here. But she was truthful when she told Henrik that she didn’t know how to do so yet, and any second-guessing might result to her limbs being teleported into different places at the same time.

  She just hadn’t expected Henrik to have this solution.

  It went to show that even without the slightest memory of what you were afraid of, it would pop up without any warning and grab you by the throat. Flying in the air definitely grabbed her by the throat, especially when her vision took in the height of their location in between the clouds to the one below.

  Too far below.

  Unbidden, she grabbed tighter onto his back, her heart hammering a mile a minute as they flew. She wanted to scream at him to stop, to beg him and plead that she would do anything just so he would put her down.

  But technically, despite their escape together, she was still his prisoner. She didn’t think he would just drop to the ground like that and let her stroll her merry way.

  So Red held on, keeping her grip steady and trying not to close her eyes as the wind whipped at her face. She forced herself to confront this certain kind of paranoia by keeping her gaze down, looking as they passed landmark after landmark that looked like dots from this distance until they reached the ocean, lights dotting the shore before everything went dark. The moon was the only light now, and Red looked back to watch New York fall away into a distance of glimmering jeweled lights.

  Now she really had to behave, because she didn’t even know how to swim.

  The ocean breeze and air breeze combined were enough to give her chills, which she knew was just going to escalate if this was going to be a long flight. Red racked her body for some handy magic, finding it still thrumming. She gathered them up, much like she did during the cloaking earlier, imagining herself surrounded by a warm blanket. It worked, blocking the chill right away, and Red continued directing the flow of her magic so that the warmth would stretch to his hide, too—not that he needed it, but just for the sake of being nice.

  So much better.

  Weirdly enough, despite so many blanks in her mind, she still had names of maps in her head. Since they had left New York and were heading in a general direction, it didn’t take her much to deduce he was headed for somewhere in Europe or Africa. She couldn’t tell yet. But they were definitely heading in that direction, crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

  This trip could take hours.

  “Where are we going?” she asked him.

  No response. But she saw him move his head to the side, tilting it in the direction of…Western Sahara?

  Yes, this trip could definitely take hours.

  She supposed she could sleep. That would help give her the energy she needed, especially since most of it was already spent using her magic prematurely. She didn’t realize when she was trying to escape earlier that it would take its toll on her, and her body was now numb and slightly aching from all the effort. Her neck was also still tender. She racked her mind for more magic techniques to keep her attached while she slept, but the use of the warming cloak was already taking up most of her concentration.

  No sleep, then.

  With a sigh, Red kept staring down at the dark ocean, wondering when she would be free from all this.

  *****

  Her limbs were numb by the time they landed, and the moon was still shining brightly. She estimated the travel time to be at least five hours from New York—five hours of mindless boredom, trying to maintain the warming cloak and trying not to fall off into the abyss.

  The moment they landed, she had to drop her magic first, gathering it inside her and discovering that she was shaking all over from the effort. There was no longer any thrumming in her bones, which she decided was because she’d used up whatever energy she could. She jumped to the ground and ended up stumbling all over the rocky beach—but not completely falling down as a hand went to her waist to keep her up.

  “Easy, there,” Henrik said, even while his eyes were scanning the area. She didn’t realize that he’d already turned human, and his naked chest was a sight to behold. Her gaze stubbornly stayed up as her cheeks turned red.

  “Where are we?”

  “Morocco, I think,” he replied. He then took her wrist and pulled her up towards the empty road. “Come on. Food and clothes, then we’re traveling again.”

  The search for clothes was an easy one as they lucked out on a department store just nearby. The stuff sold inside consisted of beach clothes, but he managed to find some jeans and a sleeveless cotton shirt that had a coconut caricature at the front. She watched his muscles flex as he dressed before remembering she had one thing of his that he might need.

  “Here,” she said, handing the phone.

  Henrik nodded his head. “Thank you.”

  She stayed where she was, a few steps away, while he conversed on the phone with Robbie and told him what had happened. She could hear Robbie’s voice cursing out and Henrik cutting him off as he told the other that they would need to stay low for a while, and to let Dylan know. Red frowned.

  “How do you know Dylan’s to be trusted?” she asked the moment he hung up the phone.

  His brows furrowed. “He’s leader. He knows what’s best for everyone.”

  “Perhaps for shifters,” she muttered.

  He frowned back at her but didn’t say anything else regarding the matter. Instead, they went out of the shop in search for something to eat, stopping at a 24-hour convenience store. Red wondered what he was going to buy anything with when he talked to the cashier, bringing his food purchases. She saw him remove his card from his phone and hand the phone over, to which the cashier nodded. Then he found a booth for them to eat at, spreading out what he’d gotten on the table in between them.

  There were two sandwiches and a beef dish in plastic containers, plus some corn, two cups of yogurt, and beverages. Red’s stomach grumbled at the sight. She waited for him to take the first bite before she followed suit fast. They ate in silence, finishing everything quickly.

  “Now we really have to go,” Henrik said right after.

  And that was Red’s queue.

  It had been circling in her head while they were still eating, and now she knew the moment had come. She waited for Henrik to go back to get more stuff for their flight, in which she still had no idea where they were going. Once he was at the cashier, Red casually sidled to the side, pretending to look at stuff out of his view.

  Then she used her magic to cloak herself.

  Five minutes later, a curse filled the air as Henrik realized she was gone. She stood at the corner, watching him search the store—feeling those piercing golden eyes on her for a full, breathtaking second before he shifted his gaze to the other corners.

  It was only when he was finally o
ut of the store that she let herself breathe—in and out, slow breaths that she hadn’t dared take earlier for fear he would hear her. A streak of guilt ran through her at the idea of betraying him after he saved and fed her…but then again, he was still the enemy.

  She needed to look out for herself.

  Red gave it fifteen minutes before she, too, slowly left the store, careful to not make any sound as she opened the door. The streets were empty, and the house styles and paths looked unfamiliar. She wondered if she’d get lost navigating those narrow, winding roads.

  There was only one way to find out.

  There were some residential corner streets that had some lights, and Red trusted the light more than the dark this time, considering what the dark had gotten her in at the park. So she went to one of the lighted areas, walking as quietly as she could, keeping her concealment in place. It had to be dawn, and she wondered when the sun and the morning would come.

  She wondered if she would make it through.

  She passed the streets with more success than she’d initially expected, and she stopped at an empty lot that looked like it might have been an open colosseum once. Now it was just ruins. She spotted a shaded area at the corner, wondering if there was enough of a crevice for her to hide in and get some power nap before she traveled again in the morning.

  Red stepped onto the field, feeling confident.

  A shadow passed ahead. She only had time to gasp before claws were grabbing her shoulders.

  Then she was taken to flight, Henrik’s dragon form looking at her angrily.

  *****

  The weirdest thing was, she managed to sleep with her shoulders in his grasp rather than riding on top of him. It might have a lot to do with trying to do something—anything—to alleviate the panic that built up at the idea of being in the sky again, with everything below still as tiny as dots.

  She napped. She napped so well, with her sleep filled with dreams of flying through cities made of ice cream and chocolates and jewelry. By the time she finally jolted awake, the scenery had changed so much that she wondered how long she actually slept. It still didn’t feel like enough, because for some reason she was still so tired.

  He started flying low when they reached a jungle-type area, and at first, she wondered what on earth they would be doing here. Then a bridge surrounded by fog caught her eye, followed by a shimmering space that transformed into a gated compound in front of her eyes.

  He dropped her off on the front lawn, where she was treated to a view of lush greenery, a house made of glass and wood, and a gorgeous infinity pool. That was all she was able to take in before she felt a click behind her, followed by immobility.

  She tugged—and found her hands could no longer move, cuffed as they were.

  Her eyes flew towards Henrik, who had landed in human form in front of her in all his naked glory. It was embarrassing how her eyes went to his lower half, but thankfully he was wearing pants already, though still unzipped. She looked back at his face and found his golden eyes molten now.

  He looked very, very angry.

  The fact that he was angry, as if he didn’t expect her to escape, made her angry. Did he actually think she was just going to follow like some meek lamb?

  “Where are we?”

  “Africa,” he snapped. “You’re my prisoner.”

  Red stepped forward, holding her chin up. “Release me.”

  “Like hell.”

  “I have every right.”

  The words were like a trigger, as whatever control Henrik had snapped. In a flash, Red felt herself lifted up and taken inside the house, with the door slammed, and her back slammed against the wall. It wasn’t painful, but the impact still made her wince. Then he was in front of her, breathing in her face as he kept his hand on her neck.

  “You lost your right the moment you killed my friend,” he growled, traces of hate and anger and something else there that she couldn’t quite pinpoint.

  “How do you even know that? I don’t even have my memory,” she yelled at him, struggling to get out. “You yourself said you need to find out the truth—”

  “I know it.”

  “How do you know?” she demanded.

  “I was there when he died. You and your sister had blood on your hands.”

  She looked at him, speechless.

  “You were supposed to marry him, Red. You ended up killing him, the one man who sacrificed everything for you. I’ll never forgive you for that.”

  And then he had released her and gone out the door, slamming it so hard that the glass window beside it cracked. She let herself absorb the truth in his voice as she slid down the floor, her hands still cuffed behind her—and her limbs now tied with rope, something she hadn’t noticed him do when he’d been almost choking her.

  Her mind reeled. Her heart beat fast, as wonder started to fill her. She hadn’t been told any of that in the dungeon—had not been informed of the important things.

  She had a sister. Henrik had been someone she knew.

  Then shame filled her, even when she couldn’t remember. But she finally realized what it was in his eyes other than anger, and she understood it. Henrik held grief very close to him.

  And she killed a man who loved her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Henrik expected Red to keep fighting back, to try to escape and have him running after her all over again. Instead, she did something unexpected, something that still bothered him days later.

  She told him she was done running and wanted his help to get her memories back.

  Part of him was suspicious that this was some sort of ploy to earn his trust. But he saw the shame in her eyes before she could hide it, and it made the anger inside him settle down.

  Sophia came exactly two days later after their escape, with Robbie in tow. Henrik’s house was only visible to the ones he allowed to see it, an enchantment placed by Sophia back when he’d decided to live here. It was a peaceful place, and this was the first time he’d had to take a prisoner here.

  They discussed what happened briefly, with Robbie taking up most of the talking. Henrik listened as he was relayed information about the questioning being done to Hans, with the participation of Dylan himself.

  “So did he actually confess?”

  Robbie snorted. “You know our old Hans. The man’s set in his ways. He’s not budging.”

  Right. Which meant that Red still wouldn’t be safe there even if they returned. Dylan could control him if needed, but there were other ways to kill someone and not take the blame.

  Bothered by this news but trying to put it aside in the meantime, Henrik ushered them inside the house, where Red was sitting on his sofa primly. She greeted them when they arrived, standing up and telling Sophia exactly what she told him—about her wanting to get her memories back, however much Sophia could manage. Robbie raised a brow, obviously not expecting this as well.

  To get the ball rolling, they had breakfast first in the kitchen, a huge serving of waffles that Robbie complained about because he wanted steak. They then filed back in the living room, with Robbie announcing that he’ll be strolling around the compound in case Red was more comfortable with just a few people watching her. Henrik chose to stay behind.

  The spell was pretty much the same that Sophia did before, with some slight alterations. She asked for a basin of water, something that puzzled Henrik as he consented and placed it on the coffee table. Minutes later, he watched in amazement as Red fell promptly into a hypnotic sleep, and Sophia started chanting some words he couldn’t understand that made the water flow out of the basin and into Red’s ears.

  Nothing happened in the first hour as Sophia tried to talk to Red in her sleep. There were mumblings of strange words on Red’s end, but they were very random and couldn’t be made sense of. In the second hour, Robbie finally came in and looked around in Henrik’s kitchen, and soon Henrik smelled bacon being cooked, along with what seemed like some creamy concoction.

  Halfway into that
second hour, Red’s mumblings became more frequent and coherent, and Henrik took note of some words that he might need to ask her about later. There was something about a gathering, then something about darkness and light, and more about preparation and friends and enemies. Henrik was about to call a halt as soon as the second hour was finished so that Sophia could rest, and they could get started again later.

  But Red’s last word stopped him from saying anything as his blood ran cold.

  “Malik. Malik. Malik, no.”

  Sophia and Henrik glanced at each other in surprise before focusing their attention on Red again. Tears started flowing out of her eyes, streaming down her face as she kept repeating his name. She started shouting it out loud, as if Malik was in danger, before settling down on a low note.

  Then she started thrashing.

  Sophia was almost thrown to the side, but she managed to evade the kick just in time. Henrik moved into action, straddling her and holding her wildly flailing limbs as he growled.

  “Wake her up, Soph.”

  Sophia chanted words, as loudly as she could. Robbie was standing by the kitchen counter, eyes watching the scenario as he stirred a pot in his hand.

  Red kept struggling, unknowingly using some of her powers while doing so. Henrik ordered Sophia to do it faster, to which the witch replied calmly that she was.

  A second later, Red’s eyes snapped open, a certain hint of panic in them. She kept thrashing out of Henrik’s hands, kept bucking out of his grip.

  “Red,” he said, trying to catch her gaze. He firmed his hold, slid up so that his face was directly in front of hers. “Red, look at me. Look at me.”

  She did. Gray eyes darkened as she recognized him—really recognized him, and not just from their recent encounter. Then tears started streaming again.

  “I didn’t kill Malik. I didn’t kill him,” she cried out.