by Kyra Dune
Frost rimmed the manacle, thickening until the steel was completely covered. Zack balled his hand into a fist and slammed it down. The manacle shattered, little bits and pieces of frozen steel bouncing off my air pocket. The air around us had cooled and I was shivering, but sweat slid down the side of Zack’s face.
I mentally popped the bubble. Zack frowned down at the red mark on my ankle. He gently touched the tips of his fingers to my skin and an entirely different kind of shiver rolled through me.
“Does it hurt?” he asked.
“No,” I lied, pulling my leg away. “It’s fine. Your bubble idea was a good.”
He nodded absently. “Good.”
The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs was actually a welcome break in the tension between us. Zack looked at the door, then at me. “Go. Out the window.”
I didn’t have to be told twice. I jumped up from the bed and scrambled out the window. Once on the roof, I turned to look back, afraid to leave Zack to face Alastair alone. But it wasn’t Alastair who opened the door, it was Mi Mi.
She froze in the doorway, staring at Zack with wide eyes. He quickly formed three small icicles in his hand and threw them. My heart lurched, thinking I was about to see him kill my grandmother. But the icicles embedded themselves in the wall rather than her flesh. She yelped, retreating back into the hallway.
Zack whirled around and I backed up so he would have room to get out the window. I ran to the edge of the roof and swung myself up into the tree. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“The auditorium,” Zack said, following me. “That’s where they’re going to hold the execution.”
I could see the cold irony in the idea. When we dropped from the tree we hit the ground running. Or at least Zack did. My ankle twanged painfully when I landed, causing me to stumble. Oh, okay, maybe my lack of athleticism might have had a little to do with it. Racing to catch up to Zack, I vowed to myself to start working out once this was all over.
The area around the auditorium was empty. No guards outside, a small favor. We slipped up next to the building and Zack rested his back against the wall. He was hardly even breathing hard while I was doubled over wheezing like an old teakettle.
He eyed me. “You okay?”
I nodded, hands braced on my knees. “Not so used to... all the running.” Plus, my ankle was throbbing, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. When I could breathe a little easier, I stood upright. “So what’s the plan? How do we get to Derek?”
“With a little help.”
“Help? Who?”
“Hannah.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “She managed to escape the guards and made it look like she went over the wall. But really she doubled back to my place.”
A hot flare of jealousy erupted in my chest. I know what you’re thinking. Neither the time nor the place. It wasn’t as if I had anything to be jealous over anyway, Zack was not mine in any way, shape, or form. But I couldn’t help the way I felt, as I couldn’t help wondering why Hannah would choose to go to Zack of all people for help. She told me they weren’t friends.
“Great,” I said, trying my best to sound as if I meant it. “Did she call Brandy?”
“Yeah.” He didn’t say it with much enthusiasm, but then the one time he’d interacted with Brandy she was really obnoxious. In her defense, she was only acting that way because she was worried about me. She didn’t much like the idea of me going off with some strange guy who had barged into her house.
Hannah arrived a short time later, jogging up to us with a grin on her lips. “Hey there, Abby, good to see you still alive.”
“You too,” I said. “Thanks for getting Zack to help.”
“No problem. I figured since you're into him, I’d take a chance and see if he’d want to help you out. Turned out good.”
My face turned red clear to the roots of my hair. I could not believe Hannah said that.
So,” she rubbed her hands together, obviously oblivious to my mortification, “who’s ready for a little action?”
Zack frowned. “Don’t be so eager. This is not a game. And I don’t want you killing anybody if you can help it.”
Hannah threw her hands up. “Why does everybody thing I want to kill somebody? Besides, you’re one to talk.”
“I’m good at my job. That doesn’t mean I enjoy death.”
Something cold flashed through her eyes. “Some of those people might deserve it.”
“Maybe. But that’s not for us to decide. We’re here to rescue Abigail’s brother. Not play vigilante.”
“Right.” She gave her head a little shake. “Okay, I’ll be careful.”
“What about you?” Zack turned to me, his dark eyes intense. “This could be a fight and if it is I’ll need your help. I can’t do it alone. Are you ready to be a weapon?”
I swallowed. I really wanted to say yes. Wanted to be the girl who could stand by his side. The girl he could be proud of. But I wasn’t sure I had in it me and I didn’t want to lie. Not to him. “I can try.”
He turned away, but not before I saw a hint of disappointment in his eyes. It stung. The last thing I wanted to do was let him down.
“Okay, Hannah,” he said. “Do your thing.”
“With pleasure.” She cracked her knuckles and faced the wall.
“Abigail, let’s go.” Without waiting to see if I was following him, Zack slipped around the side of the building.
I didn’t hesitate to follow. At least, not physically. My heart was in my throat and my brain was screaming in protest. I was about to find out what I was really made of. And the idea terrified me.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Inside the auditorium, my gaze went straight to Derek. He was on his knees on the stage, his hands tied behind his back. Under the harsh light he looked even worse than he had in the corn cellar. To his right stood Alastair, and to his left was Alexander Truant with a pistol in his hand.
I glanced over at Zack, wondering if he had known his father was meant to carry out the execution. His face showed no expression. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should find that reassuring. But one thing was for sure, he’d been right about the possibility of a fight. A dozen dragons stood between us and the stage. We’d have to get through them to reach Derek.
A few people turned in our direction and a low murmur started which quickly grabbed the attention of the men on stage. Alastair scowled, while Alexander only looked uncertain and confused. Derek’s gaze locked on mine and he mouthed the word ‘run’. But I couldn’t run. I couldn’t leave him.
Anger bubbled up inside of me and I grabbed hold of it, using it to chase away the fear and uncertainty. I took a step forward, prepared to do whatever needed doing. The floor shook beneath my feet, putting me off balance. And I wasn’t the only one.
Cries rang out as cracks appeared in the wall. I had to hand it to Hannah, she was good for a distraction. While everyone else was focused on trying to stay upright, I found Alastair’s glare fixed on me. He was floating several inches above the unstable ground. So, my grandfather was an air dragon. Funny, I had never thought to ask and he had never offered the information. Well, if he could float, then so could I.
I didn’t think about it. I wanted to float more than I had ever wanted anything in my life. The air gathered around me and pushed me three feet into the air. I had every intention of pushing myself higher, high enough to walk over the crowd to the stage, when I caught a blur from the corner of my eye. I started to turn and a blast of wind sent me flying through the door.
The impact knocked the air from my lungs even before I slammed into the ground. I tumbled head over heels, the coppery taste of blood flooding my mouth. When I finally came to a stop, I lay there stunned, tasting blood and wondering if I had damaged one of my lungs. It took a couple of frantic seconds for me to realize I had bitten my tongue.
“I told Alastair he should let me kill you while you were unconscious,” Alice said, floating serenely toward
me. With her magenta hair flowing over the shoulders of her blue jumpsuit, she looked like a demonic child straight out of a horror movie. Only this was reality and Alice was no child.
“But he said no.” She came to stop and hovered there, smiling down at me. “He still thinks you’re a match for Megara.” She giggled. “And look at you, you can’t even protect yourself from me.”
A solid wall of air formed over me, crushing against my body and stealing the breath from my struggling lungs. Black spots danced in front of my eyes and I knew I was going to die. It was like no feeling I had ever felt before. Sure, I’d been scared plenty of times, but this was the first time I had ever really believed I was about to die.
Alice laughed again, lessening the pressure enough to keep me from blacking out. “You’re so pathetic. Alastair had everyone convinced you were the only person who could possibly defeat Megara. He’s convinced you have great power. I’m going to enjoy proving him wrong. Then he’ll have no choice but to name me his successor. And once he’s dead, a few things are going to change around here.”
She increased the pressure until my ribs felt close to snapping. “The fate of your kind is sealed in stone. No bleeding heart protestors are going to change things. I’ll make sure of it.”
At the time I had no idea what she was talking about. I couldn’t think of anything except for my impending doom. And that’s where Alice made her mistake. She should have killed me instead of playing around, gloating like some lame movie villain. Because once all my thoughts were gone, instinct kicked in.
I pushed and the wall of air lifted up. Alice had only a split second to register first shock and then fear, before the wall slammed into her and swatted her down like a fly.
Air rushed into my lungs and I gulped it in until I made myself cough. The sound of screams and falling bricks was a background noise I barely heard as I rolled over and pushed myself shakily to my knees.
I stared at Alice with a fascinated kind of horror. She wasn’t moving. Even though she’d tried to kill me, I didn’t want her dead. Not really. And I certainly didn’t want to have been the one who killed her.
I rose to my feet and slowly approached her body. Blood ran from one of her nostrils, but other than that she could have been sleeping, except for the unnatural angle of her neck. I turned away, my stomach churning.
Zack and Hannah were coming toward me, practically dragging a stumbling Derek between them. Behind them, the twisted auditorium doors were blocking pursuit, but they couldn’t hold for long.
“Here, help us out.” Hannah shrugged out from under Derek’s left arm and I stepped in to take her place. She moved a pace away and pulled out her cell phone.
“You shouldn’t have come for me.” Derek’s voice was little more than a whisper, but close as I was I couldn’t help but hear his words.
“What did you expect me to do?” I asked. “Run away? Abandon you to die? No way. We’re family.”
He lifted his head slightly and I could read the surprise in his eyes. “Family?”
“Yeah. Family.” I smiled, surprised by how right it felt to say those words to him. “And family doesn’t run out on each other. You came to find me when you found out I was still alive and I couldn’t do less for you.”
The corners of his lips twitched. “I guess reckless behavior is in our blood.”
Hannah snapped her phone shut. “Brandy will be here any second. She had the helicopter waiting nearby.” She finally spotted Alice and her eyes widened. “Dang, you took Alice out all by yourself? You go girl.”
I grimaced. “Not exactly something I want to celebrate.”
“Oh, right.” She made an apologetic face. “Sorry.”
The heavy thump of helicopter blades saved me from having to further the conversation. When the helicopter landed and the door slid open, I felt like crying. Brandy stared out at me, her expression a mixture of emotions struggling for dominance.
Zack and I helped Derek forward. Brandy’s gaze locked on mine for a second before she scooted back to get out of the way. As we loaded Derek up, I realized Brandy wasn’t alone. Kyle, Steve, and Trudy sat on one side of the large compartment and Curtis sat on the other. My cousin stared at his lap, refusing to look at me. But he had come and, though I wasn’t exactly sure why he had, I was glad of it.
Zack and I climbed in after Derek, with Hannah close behind us. We barely made it inside before the auditorium door flew off its hinges and slammed into the side of the helicopter. Dragons poured out of the building.
“Take off,” Brandy cried at the helicopter pilot, who my rattled brain barely registered as being Steve’s brother, Greg.
“Hang on,” he called back.
The helicopter started to rise, only to be jerked back down with a squeal of metal twisting. I bounced into Zack, who caught me by the arms to steady me. We were inches apart, so close we could have kissed. I stared into his dark eyes and saw a reflection of my feelings in their depths.
“What was that?” Trudy’s shrill voice broke the moment.
Zack released me and moved to look out the door. I remained frozen where I was, engulfed in heat, my skin still tingling where his fingers had pressed into my flesh. It was a sensation unlike any I had ever felt before.
“I can’t get any lift.” Greg frantically worked the controls, though it wasn’t doing him any good. “It’s like something is holding us down.”
“Earth dragon,” Hannah commented, looking out the far window.
Fire flashed across the open doorway and Zack jerked back. “Fire dragon.”
“We could be in some serious trouble here,” Hannah said.
A blast of air hit the side of the helicopter. We rocked slightly, but couldn’t go far since we were being held fast to the ground. The metal side of the helicopter dented in under the pressure. Trudy screamed, turning to duck her head against Steve’s chest. He wrapped his arms protectively around her.
Something pinged off the roof and I didn’t even need to ask to know it was hail. The floor cracked as the earth pushed up against us. Wind continued to drive the side of the helicopter inward. Fire flashed, raising the temperature in the cab to an uncomfortable level. We were beset on all sides and the assault showed no sign of slowing.
I looked around at the frightened faces of my friends. Were they going to die here, now, because of me? No way.
“Zack.” I grabbed hold of his hand. “Attack me.”
“What?” he looked at me as if maybe I was crazy. But I wasn’t. I was pretty sure I knew exactly what I was doing. I couldn’t do anything with all these distractions around me. I needed his help.
“Attack me,” I repeated, holding his gaze. “Like you did by the pool.”
Comprehension showed in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Do it.”
He squeezed my hand. I braced myself, but even though I was expecting the sudden cold rush through my veins I still gasped in shock. But Zack didn’t stop there. I guess he knew we’d need a bigger reaction than me knocking him on his butt.
A sharp pain knifed through my heart. My power responded with a burst of wind, swirling my hair around my head. I gritted my teeth and mentally grabbed hold of it, flinging it out and away from the helicopter. Silence followed.
I shivered so hard my teeth rattled. Zack ran his hands up and down my arms, his brow creased in concern. “Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”
“No,” I lied. I seemed to be getting better at it. “I’m fine.” I turned my head so he couldn’t read my eyes. “Did it work?”
Zack pulled me closer to the door. All around the helicopter, bodies lay scattered across the ground. My breath caught in my throat. “Oh my god, are they...”
“No,” he said. “Look.” He pointed to the man nearest us. We were barely close enough to see the steady rise and fall of his chest. “Only unconscious.” He twisted toward Greg. “We can fly now.”
I leaned back against the side of the helicopter and found my
friends staring at me as if I’d sprouted a second head. I couldn’t blame them, none of them had seen this side of my power before. It was scary, even to me.
The helicopter lifted off. I turned my head to the side to look out through the door rather than at my friends. I couldn’t bear the way they were staring at me. It was like some huge gulf had opened up between us and I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to find a way to bridge it.
Trudy sighed, still clutching at Steve’s shirt. “Thank god it’s over.”
I glanced at Zack, wishing he would give me a reassuring smile and agree. But in his eyes I saw the same thoughts that were running through my own head. Things were far from over. They had only just begun.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kyra Dune was born in Oklahoma, but spent most of her life travelling with her family. She is the author of twenty fantasy novels, including: Shadow of the Dragon, Elfblood, and Firebrand. As a child, her favorite stories were those that told of ordinary children being whisked away to magical lands. She has yet to find her own secret wardrobe or rabbit hole, but she hasn’t given up the search. You never know what might be waiting over the next rainbow.
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