The Dragon Twins (Dark World: The Dragon Twins Book 1)

by Michelle Madow

  That thing was no bird.

  “Kelly!” her mom—Sasha—screamed, and then she looked to me and Mira. “DO SOMETHING!”

  Do what?

  Flames from the bonfire flickered in the corner of my eye.

  Fire.

  One of my elements.

  I raised my hands toward the monster, heat coursed through me, and a line of fire shot out of my palms.

  But I redirected my aim and shot the blaze of fire into the empty sky. Because if I burned the bird, then I burned Kelly.

  The fire hit nothing and fizzled out.

  And what was I supposed to do with earth? Throw rocks at the bird? Even if I could do that, there was a chance I’d hit Kelly, too.

  “Mira,” I said, and I turned to my sister. She cowered in fear as she stared up at Kelly dangling from the creature’s talons. They were getting higher by the second. “Use the wind to force it back down.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know. Just focus on the wind and use it.”

  She didn’t move, and for a moment I worried she wasn’t going to try. But then she raised her hands, palms out, and narrowed her eyes as she focused.

  A breeze stirred—Mira’s magic.

  “Good,” I said. “Now, push the monster down from above.”

  I had no idea what we were going to do once the creature was back in the cove. But we needed to get Kelly closer. We’d figure out the rest from there.

  Mira pressed her lips together, bent her knees to steady herself, and cried out as she tried to use her magic. Wind rustled the tree leaves, but the bird-like creature continued flying upward.

  Then the creature released Kelly from its talons.

  She shrieked as she plummeted down toward us.

  “Use your wind to cushion her fall!” I screamed at Mira.

  Mira pushed again. A gust of wind shot out of her palms, and it flung Kelly into the side of the cliff.

  She smacked into the rocks with a sickening thud and tumbled down in a free fall, hitting the cliff twice more and landing on the sand like a rag doll. Her limbs twisted in angles that shouldn’t have been physically possible.

  No.

  I grabbed Mira’s arm and stared at Kelly’s body.

  No one could have survived that.

  Sasha screamed Kelly’s name and rushed to her side. She fell down onto her knees, wrapped her arms around her daughter’s body, and collapsed into a heaving, sobbing mess.

  Another squawk sounded from above.

  The monster was dive-bombing again.

  I raised my hands and shot out a stream of fire. But the bird was moving so quickly that I missed it by meters. I shot out more fire, and missed again.

  The creature flew diagonally, toward the ocean.

  Rebecca was shoulder deep and swimming off to the side. Maybe she thought birds hated water? But she couldn’t swim fast enough, because the monster grabbed her shoulders with its talons and plucked her out of the ocean.

  It flew up and over us, and water dripped off of Rebecca. A few drops landed on me.

  “Try again.” I grasped Mira’s arm so she wouldn’t try to run.

  “I’m going to,” she snapped, and she yanked her arm out of my grip and raised her palms so they faced the bird.

  The wind pushed the bird slightly off-course.

  “Force it down!” I said.

  “I’m trying!”

  She pushed out another gust of wind, which smacked into the bird and pushed it out toward the ocean.

  The bird raised its wings and rode the wind, like it was hang-gliding.

  “Use your water!” I told Mira.

  “I don’t know how!”

  The bird released Rebecca over the ocean, and my heart plummeted into my stomach.

  It was nearly impossible to survive a fall into water at that height. I’d learned that during a family trip with Mom and Mira to Sydney, when we did a tour to climb to the top of the Sydney Bridge. During construction of the bridge, some of the workers lost their balance, fell into the water, and died. At that height, the impact with the water was as strong as an impact with concrete.

  And Rebecca had been much higher up than the height of the bridge.

  I stared helplessly out at where she’d fallen.

  Then someone came up from behind and grabbed my hand.

  I turned around.

  “Ethan?” I said at the same time as Mira threw her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder.

  “I brought your mom to the cave at the other side of the cove,” he said, and he reached for me, pulling me toward the cliffs. “We need to hide.”

  “No.” I jerked to a stop and looked over my shoulder at Sasha collapsed over Kelly’s body. “We can’t leave her there. It’ll get her next.”

  “We don’t have time,” Mira said. “It’s already coming back.”

  “I’ll get her,” Ethan said. “The two of you get to safety.”

  “You don’t have magic,” I told him sharply. “I’m getting her.”

  He released my arm and shot a blaze of fire out toward the ocean. “You were saying?” he asked with a self-satisfied smirk.

  I stared at him, shocked. “What are you?”

  “I’ll explain later,” he said. “Go with Mira.”

  I glanced over my shoulder again. Sasha’s back was toward the ocean, and she was oblivious to the chaos around us. If she stayed with Kelly, that monster would surely kill her next.

  But why should I trust Ethan? His loyalty was to Mira—not to some distant cousin of mine.

  “Get Mira to the cave,” I told him. “I’m getting Sasha.”

  I spun around and sprinted toward her before he could argue.

  I stopped once I was behind her and swallowed down disgust at the sight of Kelly’s twisted, mangled body. Jagged bones stuck out of her skin, and her blood soaked the sand. Her neck twisted at an unnatural angle, and her eyes stared blankly up at the sky.

  I reached for Sasha’s arm and pulled. “Come on,” I said. “We have to go.”

  “No.” Sasha yanked her arm out of my grasp. “I’m not leaving her here.”

  “You have to. That thing’s already on its way back. If we don’t hide, it’ll come after us next.”

  “Fine,” she said. “Let it.”

  “You can’t mean that.” I reached for her again.

  “Don’t touch me!” She pulled back and narrowed her eyes. “You’re just as much of an abomination as that thing is.”

  I stepped back, shocked.

  She couldn’t mean that.

  “We have to go,” I repeated. “Please. Come on.”

  “No.”

  I bit my lip and turned around to see the monster’s progress. It was a stadium’s length away. Its eyes glowed red, getting brighter by the second.

  Even if I tried to run to the cave, I wouldn’t have time to get there before the monster reached the cove.

  Panic rushed through me. If I didn’t fight, I’d be dead. Sasha, too.

  So I raised my hands, screamed with everything in me, and shot twin beams of fire at the monster.

  The flames were so bright that I couldn’t see if I’d hit it or not.

  Suddenly, two matching beams of fire shot out from next to me. They joined mine, and the four beams fused together to form a burning blaze of magic.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Ethan. His gaze was intense as he stared straight ahead, and the light from the flames danced across his perfect features.

  He was focused, determined, and deadly.

  He glanced over to meet my eyes, and I could have sworn he looked proud of me. “Keep going,” he said. “We’ve almost got it.”

  I swallowed and refocused on putting as much magic as I could behind the fire.

  Feathery wings extended out over the flames, and the creature squawked, the sound chilling my bones like nails on a chalkboard. The scent of burnt flesh filled the air.

  “On three, gather your magic and shoot out
as much as possible—a giant ball of it,” he said, and I nodded. “One, two, THREE!”

  Heat seared through my veins, and I pushed out my magic in a single blow. The flames blasted out in a ball of bright light, like an exploding sun.

  Another squawk, and the bird monster thudded to the ground at the same time as my magic fizzled out.

  I sucked in a long, painful breath and sank down onto the sand. Exhaustion hit me like a train. It was like my magic was a well, and there was nothing left inside.

  Ethan knelt down and took my hands. Sparks flew over my skin where he was touching me. “We did it,” he said. “You’re amazing.”

  Electricity buzzed through the air so intensely that I couldn’t focus enough to speak.

  He moved closer and rubbed circles on my palms. Embers glowed in his hazel eyes, like they were reflecting fire.

  Footsteps pounded on the sand, and he yanked his hands out of mine as Mira and Mom ran toward us. He stood up, and Mira wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

  Sharp, hollow pain exploded in my chest.

  Mom cleared her throat, and Mira pulled away, her cheeks flushed red.

  I glanced over at Sasha. She’d turned her back to Kelly and was sitting in the sand, focused on something in front of her.

  The charred remains of the bird-like monster lay a few meters away, right where the bonfire had been. It was huge—the size of an SUV—and its features were barely recognizable under its cracked, blackened skin.

  “What was that thing?” I turned to Ethan, since he obviously knew more than he’d previously let on.

  “A griffin,” he said.

  “A what?” Mira’s eyes were as large as saucers.

  “I’ll tell you everything once we’re back at my house,” he said. “My car’s parked at the top of the cliffs. Let’s go.”

  My mom nodded, took Mira by the shoulders, and guided her toward the steps that meandered their way to the top of the cliff.

  I knelt down next to Sasha, praying she’d listen. “Kelly’s gone,” I said softly, my eyes filling with tears. “We have to go with Ethan.”

  She just sat there, catatonic.

  Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tranquilizer dart filled with dark blue liquid. “We don’t have time for this,” he said, and then he bent toward Sasha and pricked her arm with the tip of the dart.

  She blinked a few times, and her expression relaxed.

  “Sasha,” Ethan said calmly. “Go up the steps as quickly as you can, get into my car, and let me drive you to my house.”

  She nodded, stood up, and hurried to the steps, taking them two at a time to make her way to the top of the cliff.

  “What’d you do to her?” I asked.

  “Complacent potion,” he said simply. “I’ll explain later.”

  Before I could reply, he took my hand, and we scrambled up the steps to follow Sasha to the parking lot.

  6

  Gemma

  “What the hell was that thing?” I said after jumping into the back seat of Ethan’s car.

  Mom was also in the back, and a drugged-up Sasha sat between us. Mira had taken shotgun.

  “A griffin,” Ethan said calmly. “One that was somehow possessed.”

  “A what?”

  “A sort of bird-lion hybrid,” he said. “But it shouldn’t have had red eyes. There was something wrong with it.”

  “There was a lot wrong with it.” Mira’s voice rose in panic. “Like the fact that it shouldn’t exist.”

  “Well, as you just saw, it does exist,” he said. “Welcome to the world of magic.”

  Energy coursed through me. I was buzzing with it. Because while what had happened tonight was scary as hell, it also meant that what I’d always believed to be true was correct.

  Magic existed.

  I studied the center of my palm, where fire had burst out of it when I’d defended myself against that monster.

  “Don’t use your magic,” Ethan snapped. “We can’t risk them tracking you down and attacking again.”

  “Who’s ‘them?’”

  “I’ll explain once we’re back at my house. But right now, I need to focus on getting us there as quickly as possible.”

  He put the pedal to the metal as he sped down John Astor Road—the scenic drive that wound around Australia’s southern shoreline. I gripped the armrest to keep myself from sliding into Sasha.

  None of us spoke during the drive. All I could do was replay the events in the cove in my mind. It had happened so quickly that it didn’t feel real.

  The image of Kelly’s mangled body bleeding out in the sand would forever haunt me. And that red-eyed creature…

  Ethan had saved our lives. And he had magic like mine.

  How?

  I’d hoped my life would be changed forever tonight, but never in my wildest dreams had I imagined it would happen like that.

  We made it to Ethan’s house in just over twenty minutes. Although calling it a “house” would be a disservice. Because as he pulled into the long driveway, it was clear that it was most definitely a mansion. A modern, airy mansion with floor to ceiling windows, situated high enough on a hill that it had a killer view of the ocean.

  We followed him inside, and the moment he opened the door, my mouth watered at the delicious smell of cooked meat.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” he said. “Because Grandma Rose prepared dinner, and she always makes far too much for us to finish on our own.”

  Mom walked by my side behind Ethan and Mira. She was calm given everything that had happened tonight, but Mom was always cool and collected, especially in times of crisis.

  Sasha followed, not saying a word.

  We entered the dining room, which had a banquet table in the center and huge windows that looked out to the ocean. A dark-haired woman stood with her back to us. She was putting the finishing touches on setting the table. A platter with slices of lamb, and another with a massive chicken, sat in the center of it. She carefully touched the rim of the plate and the handles of the utensils, as if feeling to make sure they were in place.

  She spun around to face us, and I startled and stepped back. Because her cloudy, white eyes stared straight ahead.

  She was blind.

  Then she smiled, which brought her from creepy to friendly in less than a second. “Welcome,” she said, and she motioned to the table. Her voice was low and warm. “I’m Rosella. Please sit down and help yourselves. I’ve made more than enough for all of you.”

  She’d set the table for six.

  As if she’d known we were coming.

  Had Ethan texted her when we left the cove?

  “Don’t be shy,” she added. “I’m sure you have many questions. Ethan and I will explain everything while we dine.”

  “Thank you.” I walked to the table and sat down. I was so hungry that my bones felt hollow, and I stared hungrily at the chicken as the others made themselves comfortable.

  If I wasn’t concerned about table manners, I would have ripped the leg off that chicken and devoured it without bothering to use utensils.

  My stomach rumbled—loudly—and I wrapped my arms around it.

  Ethan smiled at me and reached for the serving tools beside the chicken. “Which part do you prefer?”

  “The leg,” I said quickly.

  I inhaled the chicken leg in what must have been a minute. I went in for seconds, but with the bottomless pit of hunger taken care of, I could finally focus on the reason why Ethan had brought us here.

  He sat directly across from me, and I zeroed in on him, surprised when his eyes were already on mine.

  He was looking at me like he had after we’d killed that monster. Like he was amazed.

  “You have magic,” I said simply.

  “An astute observation.”

  I made a face in annoyance.

  Mira turned to him, since she was sitting next to him. “How long have you had magic?” she asked.

  “My entire
life.”

  Her face crumpled, and she looked at him like she didn’t know him. “After everything I told you, how could you keep this from me?”

  My mom’s sharp gaze went to Mira. “What did you tell him?”

  My twin pressed her lips together, refusing to meet Mom’s eyes. “Not much,” she finally said. “Just about the ceremony, and how you thought Gemma and I would get magic tonight.”

  “That was a family secret,” my mom scolded her. “Not something you tell a guy you’ve only known for a few months.”

  “That’s what I told her,” I said.

  “You knew about this?”

  I flinched back slightly, since she was right—I’d lied to her by keeping Mira’s secret. But that was how it had always been between me and Mira.

  Twins before anyone else. Even before Mom.

  “I only told her a few hours ago,” Mira came to my rescue. “And I’m sorry I told him, but I never actually thought anything would happen tonight.”

  “How did he even know where we’d be?” she asked.

  Mira quickly told her everything I already knew from when we’d talked in my room before the ceremony.

  “Don’t blame Mira,” Ethan cut in, and from the way he moved, I could tell he’d reached for her hand beneath the table. The twinge of jealousy that I felt whenever I saw them together passed through me, but I did what I always did and pushed it down. “I knew about the ceremony, even before she told me. And I steered our conversations in ways that ensured I’d know where you’d be tonight, in case you needed my help.”

  “Against the griffin,” I said, still processing the fact that the monster had been real.

  “Precisely. You used your magic well, but your abilities are still raw. If I hadn’t been there to help you, things wouldn’t have happened the way they did.”

  We’d be dead.

  The implication hung in the air, although none of us wanted to say it out loud.

  Mom raised her chin proudly. “So you’re a witch, too,” she said to Ethan, continuing before he could confirm it. “But how? Male witches barely have any magic.”