“What are you talking about?”
Scopes stepped next to Drake. “Let’s keep moving. It’s the only way we’re gonna find her.”
Drake kept his focus on Eli. “Tell me what you mean.” He held his hand out, threatening to touch the burn again. “I can arrange for this to happen on your whole body.”
Eli stepped back. “Okay! Geez.” He looked from Drake to Scopes, then back to Drake. “Phoenix says we’re better off as animals. He says humans hurt each other to get what they want.”
“He banishes people – fliers – whatever. Why do you think he does that?”
“Because they aren’t a part of us anymore. We have to stick together, agree to be fliers all the time. We can’t trust anyone who wants to be a human. That’s not why we were made.”
If they couldn’t trust a human, what were they doing with Talon?
Drake faced the rest of the group. “You guys keep going. Down that street.” He pointed. “We’ll catch up.”
Scopes leaned towards him. “Drake –”
“I said go.” He glared at her until she moved.
She sighed and turned to the group. “Come on.”
Once he and Eli were alone, Drake asked, “How does the girl who can’t shift fit into Phoenix’s theory?”
“The girl?” He leaned forward and squeezed his eyes closed again for a few moments. “She lost her gift. Phoenix is keeping her close until she can get it back. You think a bad guy would do that?”
“He’s keeping her close? How close?”
“Close enough. You won’t get near her.”
Drake tasted bile in the back of his throat, and his fists clenched. “Watch me.” He shifted into dragon form, destroying yet another outfit, and towered over Eli. “Take me to him.”
“I can’t do that –”
Drake shot a fireball that landed two feet behind Eli.
“Okay! But you have to let me shift.”
“Fine. Shift already.”
Eli stood in place, staring at him and staying in human form.
Drake tipped his dragon head towards him. “What are you waiting for?”
Eli inhaled a stuttering breath. “I can’t.”
“What?”
“I can’t!” Eli stared up at Drake, his face showing every ounce of anger he must have felt. He pointed at Drake. “You did this to me!”
“Because of that?” He pointed to Eli’s abdomen with his claw.
“What else could it be, Einstein?”
Drake’s eyes stayed on Eli’s shirt. If he was right, then any serious injury that occurred in a fight would result in him or his friends being unable to shift again.
Eli brought his hand to his closed eyes. “I can’t go back like this.”
Drake glanced at his group as they continued walking down the street leading to his old house, then looked back to Eli. “Come on.”
“What?”
“You’d better stick with us.”
Chapter Eighteen
Drake pointed in front of him. “It’s that one. With the garage half open.”
His heart raced as he neared the house. When he was last here with Preston and left Kelsey’s phone on her desk, he didn’t think he’d ever be back.
“She’s not here,” Eli said.
“Why should I believe you?” Drake sped towards the house, pulling in front of the others.
He scanned the area. There were no fliers, no sign anyone had been there.
But something important was inside. Drake couldn’t ignore the incessant nagging in his gut.
Instead of using the open front door, Drake ducked under the garage door, walking past his mother’s dusty Camry. Someone had smashed out all the windows and attempted to remove the stereo: it stuck halfway out of the dash.
Drake shook his head at the stupidity. That stereo likely didn’t matter so much in the would-be thief’s final hours.
He entered the laundry room first. A moldy smell almost overwhelmed him. He covered his face and examined the front-loading washing machine. The door was open an inch, revealing a load of abandoned laundry.
Stifling a cough, he proceeded into the family room with the others following close behind. Daylight shone through the windows and the broken glass sliding door, which had once separated the house from the back yard. A gentle breeze lifted what was left of the curtains.
The carpet squished under his shoes. Winter must have been a rainy one for San Francisco.
As much as Drake wanted to find Talon, he hoped she wasn’t here. These conditions weren’t healthy.
He made his way through the kitchen, pausing at the base of the stairs and listening.
Gray coughed. Drake turned and glared at him.
Drake continued up the stairs, his doubt that anyone was here increasing with each step. If someone waited for them, they already had plenty of time and opportunity to attack.
Inside the doorway to his room, he glanced at the group behind him. “Where’s Eli?”
“He stayed outside with Sonar,” Scopes said.
“What?” Drake walked to the window and looked outside. “Why did Sonar stay out there?”
“He’s waiting with the robot.”
Sonar stood next to the robot on the street, near the sidewalk. Eli sat on the curb with his elbows on his knees. They appeared to be talking.
“That might not have been a good idea,” Drake said, hoping Sonar was talking to Eli about Scopes’ group and not the other way around.
Drake left his room and walked into Kelsey’s, to see how it had fared in the year of neglect. A coating of grime covered the wall above her desk. Decaying papers cluttered the floor, and something on the shelf caught his eye: a nest.
He released the breath he’d been holding and walked to the desk, wanting to see her butterfly-cased phone. He’d missed that connection to his sister.
The phone wasn’t there. In its place rested a long black feather.
Drake’s heart pounded, and he dug his nails into his palms as he tried to contain his fury. Giving up, he grabbed the closest heavy thing he saw – a lamp – and hurled it at the wall as he screamed.
Panting, he stared at the broken lamp, unsatisfied. He grabbed anything else within reach – books, clothes, a framed picture – and threw them at the window. “You bastard!” He shifted to his dragon form, nearly filling the room, and shot a fireball at the desk.
“Drake!” Scopes yelled from the door.
He twisted around; the group stood in the hall, watching him.
He growled and looked back at the desk.
Flames covered the surface, quickly consuming what Kelsey – and Preston – had left on it. Smoke climbed the wall and poured out the window.
“Oh my God.” Drake shifted and walked to the desk. He was naked, but he didn’t care. Kelsey’s things were burning. “Get some water! Quick!”
Scopes appeared behind him, holding a quilt. She put it on Drake’s shoulders. “We can’t save it. We need to go.”
He looked past her; the others had already left. Smoke invaded his nose, and Scopes coughed.
Talon had been here. Preston had taken Kelsey’s phone, and Drake couldn’t stop him. Now, his family’s house would burn down because of him.
A sob escaped as the smoke stung his eyes, and he stared at the desk.
The fibers of the feather curled as the flames consumed it.
****
Drake retrieved the clothes still in his closet and dressed in the front yard. He stormed to the street, where the rest waited for him.
Eli stood as they approached, and Drake shoved his shoulders. “Where is she?”
Eli stumbled back two steps. “I told you she wasn’t here.”
“Shut up.” Drake stood an inch from Eli, glaring at him. “I don’t want to know where she isn’t. I want to know where she is. Start talking.” He brought his hand to Eli’s burn.
Eli flinched away. “They moved on. Yesterday. Told me to stay behind in case you
came here.”
“What for?”
“To screw with you. I knew Zeke left that feather for you.”
Drake punched Eli in the face, releasing a crunching sound.
Eli cupped his bleeding nose. “What the hell, man? I told you the truth.”
“You haven’t told me all of it.” Drake shook out his hand. “Why do they keep moving around?”
“It was Phoenix’s idea.” Eli looked at Sonar, who focused on the ground.
Drake’s eyes moved from Sonar to Eli, then back to Sonar. “What’s going on here?”
Sonar scraped the ground with his shoe. “I didn’t think it would matter.”
“You didn’t think what would matter?” Drake stepped to Sonar, ready to persuade him the way he’d done to Eli.
Sonar sighed. “Back at the ranch, before Phoenix left. We talked about leaving, just the two of us. We talked about how we’d keep you guys from finding us.” He swallowed. “We had a whole plan.”
“You didn’t think that would matter?” Drake’s yell made Sonar flinch.
“I didn’t think he’d follow the exact plan.” He inhaled a shaking breath and muttered to the ground, “It was our plan.”
Drake gritted his teeth to keep from hitting Sonar too. “So, what was it?”
Sonar looked into Drake’s eyes. “He’s going to Denver, then Boston.”
****
Drake led the group as they flew north, heading for Oregon. He held one side of Kelsey’s quilt, which they used to carry Eli; Terry carried the other side. Certain of Preston’s destination, Drake tried to fly more quickly than usual, hoping Terry would get the hint and the group would keep up. The detour to Oregon was irritating.
Gray and Scopes carried Erica in another blanket. Drake’s hope that her more mild injury would still allow her to shift had been a vain one. They’d decided to take the injured back to the ranch. Their inability to shift would put them at a disadvantage if they had to fight Preston’s group, and Drake couldn’t imagine a scenario that didn’t involve a fight.
Carrying the robot, Sonar flew separated from the group, as if he were voluntarily excommunicating himself.
“Sonar!” Drake yelled.
The bat glanced at him, then ahead without responding.
“Come here. I want to ask you something.”
Sonar banked towards Drake. “What?” He sounded like he expected to get chewed out.
“What other cities were in your plan?”
“Start in Vegas, then San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Boston. Maybe stop at a city or two in between. We figured no one would fly that far. We were gonna figure out the next steps after we stayed there for a while.”
“Why not go straight to Boston?”
“He wanted to screw with Scopes, in case you guys decided to look for us. So we’d leave little clues in the other cities, to make you think you were on the right track. Would have slowed you down and not hurt anyone.”
Drake nearly argued about the clues not hurting anyone.
“The guy back in Vegas said we’d figure it out, right? This is what he meant.” Sonar tilted, returning to his solitary space in the air.
“What if we skipped Denver?” Drake yelled.
Sonar didn’t answer, but Terry did. “We might get to Boston first.”
****
They left Erica and Eli at the ranch, and Screech talked Scopes into letting her join them. The girl had been smart enough to train two others on maintaining the solar panels and the well, leaving Scopes with no reason to insist Screech stay behind.
Drake led the group as they flew across the country, spending up to sixteen hours a day in the air. By the time they landed in the evenings, Gray and Screech would fall asleep on the ground while the others set up camp. Drake would have felt guilty for wearing them out, but they didn’t complain, and his separation from Talon wore on him. His whole being ached when he thought of her.
If the trip was hard on those who were healthy and could travel under their own power, what was it like for Talon? She’d have to be carried in that cage across the country, and he doubted Preston and Zeke would stop if she asked them to. He had no way to know if she was getting the food she needed, or if the morning sickness had let up, or if she had any new symptoms.
She must have wondered if Drake would ever find her. By the time they reached Boston, it would have been two weeks since Preston kidnapped her. That would feel like an eternity to someone who was sick, scared, and alone.
Drake beat his wings, increasing his speed and not caring if the group kept up.
Early in the afternoon on their fifth day of flight, Sonar broke the long silence. “There it is. Home sweet home.”
The city was in the distance, but someone familiar with the area, like Sonar, would recognize it.
“Any idea where he’d be?” Drake asked.
“Not exactly. But I know a few places we can try. Besides, they might not be here yet.”
Right. Drake kept forgetting about Denver. “So let’s find a place to keep watch.”
Chapter Nineteen
After circling the city and not seeing any fliers, they settled on a building on the edge of Boston Common. The grass had taken the appearance of a dying wheat field, and plants poked through the concrete paths. A dirty but intact gazebo stood near the baseball field – perfect for executing the plan they’d crafted.
Drake, Terry and Scopes perched on the ledge of the roof, looking down at the park. Sonar waited under the gazebo, in human form. The day was sunny and unseasonably warm, so Sonar wore his trademark jeans and superhero shirt – today he’d chosen a Hulk shirt. Drake laughed, because Sonar would likely have to tear out of it when shifting.
The robot waited on a wide path, close enough for Sonar to control it.
Gray and Screech sat on the roof in human form, munching on jerky and trail mix. If no one appeared soon, the older shifters would get the next turn to eat, but Drake’s mind was far from his appetite. The robot moved up and down the path in a zigzag pattern. Apparently, Sonar was bored.
After several hours, Drake doubted Sonar’s certainty that Preston would arrive. “Do you think he’s coming?”
Scopes stretched her wings. “Sonar seemed to think so.”
“Do you think so?”
She twisted around. “How should I know?”
Drake sighed and kept his attention on the sky, gritting his teeth.
As he stepped off the ledge to have his turn to sleep, a group of little specks appeared in the air, gradually growing larger as they approached. Before long, their wingspans became visible, as did the cage two fliers carried between them.
Adrenaline exploded in Drake’s body, and the fire built in his chest almost instantly. With no way to release it without giving away their position, he tried to ignore the burning. His scales became bright red, and everything within him wanted to soar to the cage and get Talon back. He could do it in a minute, though it would be tough to keep the others from dropping her in the process.
Instead, he hopped off the ledge and onto the roof, hoping to shield himself from their sight while he watched.
For a moment, Preston’s group hovered on the opposite edge of the park, as if trying to decide where to land. They flew closer, stopping above the lake.
The robot moved down the path.
Six of Preston’s fliers spoke with Preston and flew away from the park. They were larger than the others, so Drake guessed they were food scouts. No one in Preston’s group seemed to notice the robot.
It continued down the path, reaching the edge of the range Sonar had determined when they surveyed the area. If Sonar wanted to continue controlling it, he’d have to emerge from the gazebo.
“What’s that?” said one of Preston’s cronies.
Preston flew to the robot and hovered over it while tilting his head. He laughed. “Cute, Sonar.” He landed on top of the machine and crouched, peering into the gazebo. “How long did it take to build this?”
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“I didn’t build it. I found it.” Sonar walked onto the path to Preston, whose Phoenix form towered over his former boyfriend.
Preston hopped off the robot. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you.”
“And you knew I’d come here?” His tone was condescending. “What’s with the robot?”
Sonar put his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground. “I wanted you to remember us. You asked a lot of questions when I talked about the robotics club.” He looked up. “I miss you.”
Preston huffed.
“I remembered our plan. I found the clues you left in Houston and San Francisco.”
“You didn’t go to San Diego?”
Sonar shook his head.
“Bummer.” Preston scanned the building tops and yelled, “Drake would have liked what I left there.”
The fire continued to build in Drake’s chest, becoming agonizing, but he didn’t move from his spot behind the ledge. Giving away his position would jeopardize everything.
The remaining fliers landed behind Preston. The two carrying Talon set the cage on the grass but didn’t let her out.
Drake waited, staring at the cage.
Preston stepped closer to Sonar. “Where are the others?”
“In Oregon. I came alone.”
Drake raised his head above the ledge to get a better look at the situation. His eyes met Zeke’s.
“He’s lying! They’re here!” Zeke took off and flew towards Drake’s rooftop.
Crap.
Drake leapt off the building and met Zeke before he could reach the others.
The two who had carried Talon grabbed the cage and lifted off, hovering about twenty feet off the ground. The blanket inside the cage moved, and she peered out, making eye contact with Drake. She curled her fingers around the thin bars and kept her focus on him.
Drake resisted calling for her.
Instead, he tried to fly under Zeke and towards Sonar, but Zeke cut him off. “I don’t think so, Dragon Boy.”
The fire was on the edge of escaping on its own. “You don’t want to get in my way, Zeke.”
“Oh, I don’t, huh?” He laughed. “And why not?”
With little effort, Drake heaved a fireball at Zeke, who stopped flapping to drop out of the way. The inferno hit a tree, engulfing the trunk and branches in a sea of flames.
Drake and the Fliers Page 14
