Dragon Blood 3: Surety

by Avril Sabine

  “She’s homeschooled and there isn’t much in this area for homeschooled kids.” Wayne reached for Donna’s hand. “It was lovely to run into you again.” With another smile in Amber’s direction, he wheeled his empty trolley down the aisle.

  “Where do you know him from?” Amber asked.

  “I’ve run into him a few times. He’s a lovely man. Lost his wife a few years ago.”

  “What about Gary.”

  “Oh, it’s nothing like that. Wayne wouldn’t be interested in me. He’s about six years younger than me.” Donna started walking along the aisle.

  “Good. I don’t like the way he smells.” Amber pushed the trolley, looking ahead to Wayne who was turning at the end of the aisle.

  “Amber! Hush.” Donna glanced behind them. “Don’t talk about people like that.”

  “Let’s just get this over with.” They turned into the next aisle and Amber was relieved Wayne wasn’t in sight. It was bad enough shopping with her mother without having to talk to some old guy whose daughter needed friends. The last thing she wanted in her life was more people to worry about.

  By the time they returned to Kade’s place, Amber was barely holding onto her temper. The car drive home had been spent arguing with her mother. When they pulled up, Amber flung the door open, half out of the car before she turned back to her mother. “Don’t you understand? My life will never be normal. Ever.” She slammed the door behind her, striding towards the house.

  Brann came out before she reached it, passing her with a nod, headed for her mother’s car. She stopped a moment to see what he was doing, turning away when he started gathering grocery bags.

  Kade stood in the doorway, watching her, a hand on the doorframe. “Do you want to go hunting?”

  The panther stirred, but she shook her head.

  Kade pushed away from the doorframe, slowly crossing the distance between them. He stopped in front of her. “You can’t avoid it. Hunting helps calm the wild animal.”

  “All I’m interested in is what you’re doing about your next test.”

  “Flinn and I were talking about doing it next weekend. Think your mum will tell Crystal’s mum she’s staying with you?”

  Amber groaned. “She’s more likely to tell Crystal’s mum what’s going on.”

  “Flinn’s trying to convince Crystal to move in with him.”

  The last thing she wanted was Crystal completely dependent on Flinn. She bet her mother would feel the same way, although not for the same reasons. “I’ll see what I can do.” She looked towards her mother disappearing into the house with some groceries, Brann following with the rest. Another argument was the last thing she wanted. She felt the panther stir. “Maybe we should go hunting.”

  Kade grinned. “Want a lift or you flying yourself?”

  She didn’t bother answering him. Since she was dressed in dragon-leather, she forced the panther away, changing into a goshawk and taking to the air. “Try and keep up.” She felt Kade’s amusement as he took to the air behind her.

  Diving into the scrub behind the house, she flushed some smaller birds from the long grass. Instinct had her swooping after them, but she veered off. She was more than an animal. Far overhead, she could sense Kade, staying well above view in case anyone was about. She mentally searched, finding only animals in this direction.

  “It’s safe. No one for miles.”

  Kade flew down in front of her. Diving towards the ground and then pulling up again as a wallaby jumped from the trees to bound across open ground.

  Again Amber reined in the instinct to give chase. Sometimes the panther wanted to go after creatures far too big for the goshawk. Ahead and to her left was a pigeon and she changed direction slightly. The distance between them narrowed, her concentration focused on her prey.

  Above her a dragon flashed in and out of the Void, breaking her focus. Amber angled upwards, trying to recall everything she’d sensed about the dragon. There was nothing she recognised. “Kade? Did you see it? Another Gold.”

  “No. Where was it?”

  “Above us, but it’s gone now.”

  “Maybe we should return home.”

  “I want to call Ronan. See if he’s got someone watching me.” Amber flew towards the ground, mentally searching the area before she landed and changed into human form.

  Kade landed beside her, changing, a hand reaching for her waist to tug her closer. “If you notice them again, tell me and I’ll get us straight out of here.”

  “What if they were friendly? That’s possible, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.”

  She eyed him, not sure if she heard a touch of scepticism in his tone. “So I could be paranoid about nothing.”

  “It’s the paranoid dragons that live the longest.”

  His words made her think about Ronan and his belief that friends were enemies that hadn’t gotten around to stabbing you in the back yet. “I’ll call Ronan.” Taking her phone from her pocket, she once again tried not to think about where it went when she became an animal. Were some of her animal parts made of electronics when she changed? Nope, she wasn’t going to think about it. Instead she dialled Ronan’s number.

  “They’re still alive.”

  “I wasn’t ringing about my grandparents. Do you have any Golds watching me?” Again she searched the area.

  “No. You sent him back, remember?”

  For once she wished he’d ignored her. “Okay. See you.” She mentally searched the area again.

  “Don’t you dare hang up. What’s this about?”

  “I noticed a Gold flash in and out of the Void way behind Kade’s place while we were out hunting.” Again she checked the area. They were still alone.

  “A young one?”

  “What?”

  “Young Golds can’t stay in the Void for long periods of time. They flash in and out. When they first start some of them can only manage ten minutes. Was it a young dragon?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Does Kade?”

  “He didn’t notice them.”

  “Male or female?”

  She felt like growling at all the questions he fired at her. “It was so quick I barely realised they were there. Only that they didn’t seem familiar.”

  “I’ll send Chait to watch you.”

  She shouldn’t have rung him. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

  “With all the time I’ve invested in you I’m not about to let some stray dragon kill you. Now go home and wait for Chait. If you’re not there shortly your grandparents won’t get fed today.” Ronan disconnected.

  “Damn dragon.” Amber glared at the phone.

  “You want me to take you home?”

  She bit back her first instinct, which was to refuse, then decided it wouldn’t help her grandparents trust dragons if she let them starve. “Yeah. I suppose.”

  “We can hunt once we collect Chait.”

  Amber opened her mouth to tell him it was rude to listen in on other people’s conversations, then closed it. Why bother when he’d keep doing it anyway. “Fine.”

  Kade grinned. “You’ll feel better once you’ve hunted.”

  “So you keep telling me,” she muttered. She had a feeling it was going to take a lot more than hunting to make her feel better. Especially at the rate her problems were piling up in her life.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Amber paced the lounge room floor, ignoring the looks her mother kept sending her. It had taken hours to convince her last week that keeping Crystal’s secret was better than having her leave home at sixteen. She mentally searched the skies again. Couldn’t Flinn and his warriors fly any faster? If he’d been less stubborn about not relying on others, Ronan would have sent Golds to take him through the Void. She’d waited all week to see Crystal and if they’d only have tonight before the rest of the weekend was given over to the next test, she didn’t want them to waste a single moment. Enough time had been wasted at school today. Maybe Crystal was right and school was a w
aste of time for Dragon Mages. No, she couldn’t think like that. She wasn’t about to give up all her plans for her life. This year finish year twelve, next year uni.

  Out the front, four dragons popped out of the Void, two disappearing back into it. Amber ran for the front door, flinging it open with a smile. “Maira. What are you doing here?”

  Maira hurried forward, throwing her arms around Amber, chunky silver and black bracelets glinting in the afternoon light. “I’m back for good, Rian temporarily.” She drew away from Amber, looking past her.

  Amber let her go when she sensed Brann behind her. She turned to Rian. “How temporarily?”

  “I leave Monday. I need to keep an eye on the new dragons for a while to make sure they know what they are doing,” Rian said.

  Before Amber could say anything else, Flinn and his warriors landed in dragon form and she watched as Crystal clambered out of the dragon saddle and ran towards her. “I thought you’d never get here.”

  Crystal hugged Amber tightly. “We had to go in a million different directions. I couldn’t see a single Gold hiding in the Void, but would he listen?” She sent a glare in Flinn’s direction. “Of course not. He said it pays not to be complacent. I think he just wanted to drive me crazy.”

  “That wouldn’t surprise me.” Amber drew back, grabbing Crystal’s hand. “Come on. It’s your turn to get a lecture from my mum.”

  Crystal rolled her eyes. “I seriously can’t believe you told her about me.”

  “She wasn’t going to let you stay here otherwise. Reckoned it was too dangerous.”

  Crystal laughed as Amber opened the front door. “Better not tell her about any of our battles then.”

  “I’m not crazy.” She paused as she saw her mother’s expression. “Well, not yet.”

  “Crystal. Have you got a moment?” Donna asked.

  “Sure.” Crystal exchanged a look with Amber. “It’s not like I really have a choice, now is it?”

  “Not at all.” Amber let go of Crystal’s hand.

  “In the kitchen, please.” Donna led the way.

  “Can you come and rescue me if it goes on for too long?” Crystal asked.

  “I’ll send Rian. He’s probably the most diplomatic out of all of us,” Amber said.

  Crystal giggled. “Yeah, with you and Flinn being the least.” She strode towards the doorway, throwing over her shoulder. “Fifteen minutes, right?”

  “Sure.” Amber watched Crystal leave the room, annoyed that even more of their time was about to be wasted. But she guessed she couldn’t complain too much. Her mother had gotten Crystal here and that was good. Or she hoped it was.

  In the end, Amber didn’t need to send Rian to rescue Crystal. She returned to the lounge room thirteen minutes later and the two of them threw on a movie and ignored it as they spent the rest of the night catching up on news.

  When they both headed to bed, Crystal to Flinn’s room and Amber to Kade’s, Donna corned Amber in the hallway. “What do I tell Crystal’s mum if something happens to her while she’s here?”

  “You won’t have to tell her anything. That will be someone else’s job.”

  “Someone who’ll cover up what really happens?”

  Amber nodded.

  “And what if something happens to you? Will I hear the truth about that?”

  “Yeah. They won’t have to hide the truth from you since you already know.”

  “Don’t go, Amber.”

  “I have to. And anyway, it’s not that big a deal. We’ll be back by Sunday afternoon at the latest.”

  “I’m not an idiot. I’ve heard bits and pieces all week. You’re planning to fight. And not in some stupid schoolyard scrape. A full on life or death battle.”

  “Mum, I’ll be okay.”

  “Like my father was? Like my brother? Neither of them came home and they weren’t even facing battle.”

  Guilt hit her at the worry in her mother’s eyes. “It’s not my first battle.”

  “Is that meant to make me feel any better?”

  “Uhm, maybe?”

  “It doesn’t. You’re a child. Barely seventeen. This wasn’t what I wanted for you. For either of you. How could you let your brother be caught up in this?”

  Guilt was instantly replaced by anger. “In case you haven’t noticed, Jay is older than me. He makes his own choices and lives his own life. It wasn’t like I held a knife at his throat and forced him to become a mage.”

  “I could lose both of you tomorrow.”

  Amber didn’t know what to say. Her anger faded a little.

  “And I haven’t even had a chance to say goodbye to Jasper.”

  “He’ll be here in the morning.”

  “For a handful of minutes.”

  “What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry? I’ll be the one out there fighting for my life, not you. I-” she broke off, not wanting to get into an argument. “I need to get some sleep.” She started towards Kade’s door.

  “Amber?”

  She stopped, staring straight ahead. The door handle was shiny, far newer than the timber door. “What?”

  “Take care tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  “Wake me before you go?”

  Amber looked over her shoulder. The silence stretched between them until she answered. “Okay.” She continued to Kade’s room, letting herself inside to lean against the door.

  Kade came forward to take her hand, drawing her to the bed. “Are you okay?”

  She thought about his question. “I wouldn’t have a clue.” Dropping onto the bed, she sighed heavily. “What was I meant to have said to her?”

  “I don’t know. Humans are far different from dragons. Kiani would have told me to remember all I’ve been taught and not to shame the clan by failing.”

  She wasn’t sure which mother she preferred. Maybe one somewhere in between. “And if you died?”

  Kade shifted Amber to her side of the bed so he could lie down. “She would be thankful that she’d chosen to have more than one child.”

  “Would she be sad?”

  “Disappointment would be the greater emotion. She’d be disappointed that I’d failed the clan and hadn’t proven to be the fittest.”

  Amber fell silent, not knowing what she could say to that. And yet Kade didn’t sound at all bothered by his mother’s attitude. Sometimes she couldn’t understand dragons. She fell asleep thinking of all the things about dragons that didn’t make sense, waking to the beep of the alarm on her phone. Turning it off, she lay there for a moment mentally checking where everyone was in the house.

  Flinn and Crystal were still in his room, along with his warriors who were near his door since Donna and Gary had taken over their room. Gary was in his room, alone. She searched more of the house until she found her mother in the kitchen, Jasper with her.

  Amber climbed out of bed, grabbing her jacket from the floor. “Jay’s here.” She stopped at the door. “And he’s talking to Mum in the kitchen.”

  Kade, who’d been in the process of rising from the bed, sat back on the edge. “I’ll let you have some time with your family before we leave.”

  “Coward.”

  Kade grinned. “I don’t see you rushing out there.”

  Amber sighed. “I’m going.” Her tone sounded as enthusiastic as she felt. It took her a few more seconds before she could bring herself to open the door and step into the hallway.

  When she reached the kitchen, Jasper stood with an arm around Donna who was seated at the table, her head in her hands, crying. Amber nearly turned and headed back to the bedroom, but Jasper looked in her direction.

  “Don’t even think of bailing,” he thought directly to her. “Mum, Amber’s here. Why don’t I make something for all of us to eat?”

  Rian came into the kitchen. “I will make breakfast. The lounge room is empty.”

  “Come on, Mum.” Jasper sent Amber a daggered look. “Maybe you better teach you warrior when not to interfere.”

/>   Amber grinned. “He was looking out for me, not you.” She followed Jasper and Donna to the lounge room. “Mum, we’ll be back Sunday.”

  “You can’t guarantee that,” Donna said.

  Jasper started to speak, but Amber interrupted. “There are no guarantees.” She met her mother’s gaze. “Ever.”

  “I don’t expect guarantees. I just don’t want the two of you to go running headlong into danger,” Donna said. “Being part of this dragon world doesn’t mean you have to chase danger.”

  Ronan stepped out of the Void. “They will return. Keeping my mages alive is my current priority.”

  “You don’t own us,” Amber said.

  “Are you saying you’re not mine?”

  Amber started to agree, then stopped. What was Ronan up to now? “No one owns us, but you are responsible for keeping us alive.” She could have sworn that for a split second a look of approval crossed his face.

  Ronan nodded. “You may learn yet.” His gaze travelled around the lounge room. “In the kitchen. We’ll do the last of our planning over breakfast.”

  Amber started to follow Ronan and Jasper, but her mother put a hand on her shoulder. “What?” She was unsuccessful at keeping the impatience from her voice.

  “Will he keep you safe? My mother told me all sorts of stories about dragons. They all boiled down to not being able to trust them.”

  “Dragons always keep their word. He wasn’t lying when he said keeping us alive is his current priority. He needs what we can do.”

  “And what happens when he no longer needs you?”

  “We won’t be his priority.” Annoyance hit Amber at the expression that filled her mother’s face. “You told me to stop lying to you.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “No, you just looked like you were about to faint or something.” Amber glanced towards the doorway leading to the hallway. “I need to join the planning discussion. Otherwise I won’t know what’s going on.” Without waiting for an answer, she strode to the kitchen, leaving her mother behind.