My heart constricts as I think about them finding her. Just a girl. Not the “dragon” they expect. What will they think? If Jabel killed Miram because of the risk she posed to the pride, she evidently failed to consider hunters finding the corpse of a human girl with a tracking device inside her that had been implanted in a draki.
I take in Xander’s appearance. He’s outfitted in full camo, a tranq gun slung over his shoulder. He’s not holding the locating device, but I know someone else is … one of the other hunters in his group.
“Jacinda?” he demands, his voice incredulous, bewildered. “What are you doing here? Where’s Will?” The question of the hour. He squeezes my wrists harder, and I wince. “Where’s my cousin?”
“I—I don’t know. I lost him.” That much is true, at least. “He’s around here somewhere.” I hope.
Xander stares at me so intently, his dark eyes probing and suspicious. “Come with me.”
With one hand circling my wrist, I don’t have much choice. Not if I want to look like some hapless human girl who simply got lost in these woods. And that’s all I can be. All I can let him see.
He rotates a small black mouthpiece near his lips. “Hey, we’ve got a situation here. I’m coming in.”
They haven’t fanned out too far from one another. In seconds, we meet up with a dozen other hunters, all outfitted in similar gear. I recognize Angus and a few others. They stare at me with equal shock.
“What’s she doing here?” Angus demands.
“Isn’t that the girl Will was hooking up with?” another asks, pointing at me with his tranq gun.
Xander slaps the weapon away with an annoyed grunt. “Watch where you point that, idiot. Apparently she’s still his girlfriend.” Xander regards me scornfully. “I’m betting she’s the reason Will ran off.” He shakes his head as if this idea is beyond ridiculous to him.
To them, I’m nothing. Merely a stupid girl too nosy for her own good. I’m safe as long as they think that. I have to get them off this mountain before they learn the truth.
“What do we do with her?” Angus leans toward Xander, saying in what he imagines to be discreet tones, “We’re here to—”
“I know what we’re here to do.” Xander’s black-eyed gaze settles on me. “And I’m figuring she knows why we’re here, too.”
I suck a breath deep inside my constricting lungs. He knows I know? He can’t possibly remember what I am. That I’m the thing that he hunts. My muscles tighten and brace. If it comes down to it, I’ll have to try outrunning them. I can’t expose myself as a draki in front of them. There’s no Tamra here to shade them.
Xander cocks his head, pinning me with his gaze. And I feel like that—a bug pinned to the spot in some experiment. “Will told you about us, didn’t he?”
I blink, pull back ever so slightly. Realizing admitting this doesn’t out me, I nod. “Uh, yeah.”
Xander grunts, like he knew as much. He looks to the others. “Just like I thought. He told her! She’s got him whipped.”
Angus steps closer to me, his face ruddier than I remember. Sweat carries like steam off his stocky frame. I turn my face away from the intense odor. “So what are you doing here now?” he demands, no notion of the term personal space.
I think fast. “I wanted to see for myself. I told Will I wanted to see … them.” I almost slipped. Almost called us draki—a term these hunters don’t use. To them, we are simply dragons.
They all look mad now. Angry and dangerous. Like, if they could get their hands on Will … my mind shies from the thought. He’s far safer with them than with my pride.
And yet you brought him here, to this dangerous place, practically in the lap of the pride.
“Wait till his dad hears about this,” Angus says with relish. “Ain’t no forgiving Will then.”
Xander’s top lip curls against his teeth. “He won’t care. He wants Will back too much. With his particular skills, his father will let even this slide.”
He means Will’s uncanny ability to track my kind. Only they have no idea just how deep that skill runs. I shiver, thinking about his powers. If they found out he’d never be free of them.
“Well, we can’t keep her around and complete our mission,” one of the older hunters says to the group. He looks to be in his mid-twenties. He hardly spares a glance for me, too preoccupied with the device he holds in his hands—a locator box exactly like the one the other hunters had.
Just like I thought, they were here for Miram. He shakes the black box and moves it in a wide arc around him. “It’s moving fast. That way.” He gestures to the right. “We gotta go. Now.”
He’s pointing in the direction of the river and Miram’s body drifting with the current. Away but not fast enough. With the locator, they’ll always have a read on her. They’ll find her. And the truth.
“I know my way back to the car.” I wince inside at how eager and squeaky my voice sounds. “That’s probably where Will went,” I add with a forced shrug and move to leave. “I’ll tell him you’re all looking for him—”
Xander grabs my hand. “I don’t think so, Red. You can come with us. He’ll turn up.” He looks me up and down with a sort of smirk on his face. “With you he always does. And when he shows up, we’ll put him to work doing what he does best—hunting dragons.” He nods at the device the older hunter holds. “And then you’ll get your wish, sweetheart.”
The last thing I can say is that they’re chasing a ghost, so I say nothing as he pulls me along.
21
I’m swept forward by the group. The beeping locator takes us closer to the river, so there’s no chance the thing isn’t working. I strain to glimpse the red blinking lights, trying to see how close we are to Miram. The beeping grows louder as we approach the rushing water, matching the rhythm of my racing pulse.
We stop at the bank, water rushing past us.
“I don’t see anything,” Angus announces unnecessarily.
Xander takes the locator from the other hunter and hits it a few times as if that will somehow help the reading. “This thing says we’re right on top of it.”
It. My throat burns ash and char. That’s all I am. All we’ll ever be to them. As hunters, how could they see anything else?
Will does. Did.
I look around me, desperately searching as if I’ll suddenly spot him. I hope it’s as Xander predicted and he’ll find us. Find me.
Scanning my surroundings, I don’t see Will. But something else catches my eye. Downstream to the left, a dam of logs and leaves stretches out halfway across the river. She’s hard to detect amid the varying shades of brown, but Miram’s body is caught there, tangled in the twist of branches and rotting wood. I hold my breath, hoping the water will manage to pull her free and sweep her downriver before they see her.
“Over there! What’s that?”
My heart sinks. I blink once, slow and miserable at the exclamation. The hunters around me erupt into conversation, speculation over what could be caught up in the dam. They move to the edge of the riverbank. One of the hunters walks tentatively across the unstable dam, hands stretched out at his sides for balance.
Let it break. Let it break.
He crouches down and prods at Miram with his weapon. “It’s a girl! She’s not moving. Dead.”
Xander waves an arm. “Bring her in.”
As the hunter drags Miram’s body from the dam, I edge back step by slow step while all their attention is centered on Miram. This might be my best chance to escape. To find Tamra so she can shade them into forgetting everything.
Miram’s body is dropped limply onto the shore. Her face looks waxy, the shock still etched there in her unseeing eyes. The hunters crowd around her.
“What happened to her?”
“Damned dragons. Bet they did this to her.”
The locator is louder now, the beeps coming faster with Miram this close. Xander frowns intently, a look of concentration settling in the stark lines of his face. I watch as
he glances from the locator to Miram, panic rising sharply inside me. It won’t be long before he figures it out.
I slide one more step away from them, and then another, prepared to bolt, when I sense someone behind me.
I look over my shoulder, stop a second before bumping into the hulking chest.
“Going somewhere?” Angus leers down at me. I didn’t realize he wasn’t with the others.
“No,” I deny. “I just don’t want to see a dead body. It’s not exactly on my to-do list.”
He snorts. “Too bad. You’re here … just like you wanted, right?”
Right. That’s what I alluded to … that I wanted a taste of Will’s secret life.
Angus takes my arm and yanks me toward the group. My feet drag against the rocky riverbank. The group of hunters continues to speculate.
“Poor thing,” one mutters. “She’s so young.”
Xander stands above Miram, looking unmoved as he waves the locator over her, sending it into a frenzy of beeping.
“The locator must be broken,” someone says.
“No, it’s not,” Xander proclaims, studying Miram in a way that increases my unease. “It’s working. The homing device has to be inside her.”
“Why is it inside a girl? It can’t be.”
Angus’s grip loosens around my arm as he steps forward to inspect Miram. I slip my arm free and linger a few feet behind him, cautioning myself to wait. If I take off running, they’ll notice.
“There’s one way to find out.” Xander pulls a blade from his vest and crouches over her.
The hunter most affected by the sight of Miram objects. “We can’t just cut her up! She’s a human—”
“Not anymore. Now she’s a corpse.” Xander moves toward her, his lips a straight, humorless line.
Bile surges inside my throat. And I can’t stay. I can’t witness them carve up Miram.
“Look at her blood,” a voice suddenly says. “It’s dragon blood.”
Choking back a cry, I turn to flee just as Will emerges from the trees onto the riverbank.
“Will!” I run for him. He catches me up in his arms, squeezing me so tightly he crushes the breath from me. He pulls back to look down at me, framing my face in his hands. “I’m sorry I left—”
“No, I’m sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “You were right.”
Our voices are low and feverish, our lips close. His sharp gaze flicks once over my shoulder, taking in everything, everyone, in a glance before settling back on me.
I swallow and mouth the words more than I speak them, “They found Miram. Her blood …”
He nods tightly. “They’ll figure it all out soon.”
I nod in agreement. “Yes, once they get past the denial and disbelief, they’ll know.”
He slides his hand from my face and seizes one of my hands, lacing his fingers tightly with mine.
Just this touch, his strong grip, makes me feel better, emboldened. Not alone. It’s the jolt of strength I need.
“Don’t worry. We’re not going to be here when that happens.” He doesn’t even make a full turn before his name is called.
“Will!”
A shudder ripples through me.
Will’s grip tightens on me as he faces his cousin, his … family. His expression reveals nothing, the perfect implacable mask as he nods in acknowledgment at each member of the group.
In a few short strides Xander’s before him. “Your dad’s been worried. He thought you went to your grandmother but she said she hasn’t seen you, not that we trusted that old hag. Where’ve you been?”
Will shrugs, the only answer he’s going to give apparently.
Xander stares unblinking.
The silence stretches uncomfortably. I look between the two of them, glad at least that attention is off Miram. Off me. But the moment doesn’t last.
The oldest hunter of the group looks anxious, annoyed at this distraction. “C’mon,” he says, waving a knife over Miram. “Are we going to do this or what?”
Xander suddenly grins. “Why don’t we have Will here do it?”
He wants Will to cut into Miram? My stomach heaves. My fingers press into Will’s hand, willing him not to do it … to come up with another way out of this.
“We were just leaving,” Will says.
Xander looks from me to Will, his dark gaze sweeping over our clasped hands. “What’s the rush?” He steps between us, clapping Will on the shoulder and dragging him along. “C’mon. We could really use your help. This is your thing, after all.”
From his arch look, I know he doesn’t want or need Will’s help. He’s simply pushing Will into this because Will doesn’t want to do it. He wants to get under his skin. He thrives on it. Same as always.
Several heavy moments pass. The hunters all stare at Will, sizing him up. Will shoots me a meaningful glance and moves forward. Xander’s hawk gaze notes the look. His black eyes narrow on me and I feel the old familiar tightness in my chest—the sense that he sees more in me than he should. And maybe now he does. He was the first to imagine that the tracking device was in Miram, maybe he’s already coming to his own conclusions about me.
Every nerve ending in my body burns, sizzles, the draki desperate to come out, to protect myself, protect Will—survive. Because everything about being here, right now in this moment with these hunters, screams danger. More than any other time before.
The air thickens into something I can touch. Dense and suffocating. A gust rolls over me, lifting the hair off my shoulder. My skin tightens, stings with awareness. I scan the river, the caps on the water’s surface. Lush trees rustle with a sudden wind. I look up. Nothing mars the skyline. Yet.
I have to get Will out of here. Now.
I swallow back the acrid burn in my throat and inch forward to where they stand over Miram. I grasp Will’s sleeve and give it a sharp tug.
He doesn’t show that he even feels me. I glance longingly over my shoulder to the cover of the trees, looking back as Xander slaps a knife into Will’s hand.
“The enkros plant a homing device in the head of every dragon captured,” Xander explains, his dark eyes dead cold.
“How is it we didn’t know that?” Will asks.
“I guess we never knew because we never needed to. No dragon ever escaped before.”
“Well, there you go,” Will says with a shrug, motioning to Miram. “That’s a girl. Not a dragon. She can’t have one in her.”
The older hunter holds up the black box. “This locator says she does.”
“It must be wrong. Broken,” Will returns.
“But her blood.” Angus points to the knife wound. “What’s that about?”
“Well.” Will motions to his chest and then to the group at large. “That can be for other reasons, you know.” I watch in awe, impressed at his calm levelheadedness in this situation. He smiles, trying to disarm them. It doesn’t work.
“Yeah, I don’t think she’s the wonder freak that you are,” Xander says sharply, bitterly, as he takes the knife from Will. He tosses it lightly, easily catching it by the grip. “Something’s off here, and I think you know more than you’re saying.” His gaze slides to me. “I’m going to figure it out.” With a firm nod, he squats and holds up the blade, prepared to cut into Miram.
I suck in a breath and tear my gaze away, unable to watch but unable to leave Will either. No more leaving each other. Ever.
The wind intensifies then. My hair whips around my face, lashing my cheeks. I scrape the strands free just in time to see a dark blur flash before my eyes, the gust of air knocking me to the ground.
I swipe the wild tangle of hair from my face, watching as Cassian lands on Xander with his clawed hands and feet outstretched and rips him off the ground.
Everyone gawks, frozen.
Xander writhes and dangles like a worm on a hook. Cassian’s great leathery wings work, sleek black sails churning the air.
He thinks Xander killed his sister. I know this instantly, fee
l the full force of his wrath like a knife slicing a path through me, and I know there will be no controlling his fury. His emotion engulfs me, so strong it knocks me off my feet.
As the hunters come alive, shouting and fumbling for their weapons, Cassian flings Xander high. He somersaults several times in the air before he collides with a tree. Branches and bones crack as Xander drops violently down through a labyrinth of branches. Just as quickly as he appeared, Cassian’s gone.
Again, everyone falls still.
Will and I stare, a frozen tableau alongside the hunters. No one breathes as Xander remains motionless on the ground in a broken, lifeless heap. I suck in a breath, surprised at the wrench in my chest. I don’t feel nothing for Xander. He’s my enemy, yes, but pity rises up in me nonetheless.
My hands dig and curl into soil as I scan the sky. Leaves whisper like a child’s song in the trees, but there’s no sight of Cassian anywhere. It’s like he’s vanished. But I know he’s here, a dark specter lurking, watching us, readying for his next move—the inevitable attack. Even if I didn’t know this about him, I can feel him. Feel his deadly purpose coursing through me, spreading like venom. Unstoppable.
For a moment, my gaze catches on the glassy eyes of Miram. In that second it seems like she’s staring right at me—through me. But there’s no life there anymore. She doesn’t see me. With her dead, I know that Cassian won’t let a single one of these hunters survive. Not while he believes them to be responsible. He’ll die himself before letting even one of them escape. He’ll see they pay for his sister’s death. Xander is just the first.
Then, I blink. Snap back to myself. “Will.” My voice sounds loud, discordant and jarring in the stunned silence.
Several hunters start at the sound, glancing at me and swinging their weapons in my direction, thoughtlessly. Or deliberately. Their eyes are wild, every movement a panicked jerk. I swallow down the burning char in my mouth, feel the smoke fill my nose and hope they don’t notice this.
As though my voice triggers him, Angus shouts curses up into the air, rotating his stocky frame in a frenzied circle. “Come out! Come out, scum!”
Hidden: A Firelight Novel Page 16
