The only explanation was that he’d imagined it. Maybe he was imagining everything. Maybe this was all nothing but a nightmare.
The blue dragon standing in front of him shuddered like it was going to explode. Then, just like the change from Human form to dragon, it rolled again. The scales went bronze, the limbs became longer, wider, the muscles thicker until there wasn’t any more space inside the room.
Fear, real fear, sent Dobson stumbling back. “Dear God!”
One blood red eye rose to look at him through the glass.
Medan laughed, “And that is just one of many names you will call me before I am done with you.”
Chapter 45
Haley struggled against the tide of RHage she had invited into herself.
Fire erupted from jaws that were no longer hers, and claws decimated concrete. All around her people screamed. She crushed them with her strength, fed on their flesh and wallowed in their misery until she stank of it.
I am lost.
She didn’t want to watch, but she had no choice. Medan controlled her, commanded her, and she was trapped, forced to bear witness to the rain of death the Queen unleashed.
Oh, Farley, what have I done...
Desperate for escape, even if it was only in her mind, Haley thought of home, and warmth formed in the darkness. She ran to it. Memories, good, bad, they flooded her with Human emotions, Human values, her Human Impressions.
Haley clung to the feelings, buried herself in them and drank of the scents and tactile sensations of her life. The brightest of those memories were of one Male. Haley immersed herself with thoughts of Farley.
And that’s when she felt it. Something very Human. Something that shouldn’t be possible.
Kin don’t love.
But then, she didn’t follow a lot of the rules, did she?
So she let herself feel it, believe it, and found it not so difficult. Farley’s dark eyes, soft mouth, how he laughed, how he moved like liquid. The memory was so real that she could feel him, smell him, taste him.
Inside this cocoon of warmth, the RHage couldn’t touch her. And when the Queen descended to claim the last bit of what was left of her mind, the power of that emotion erupted. Like the sun to the night, Medan was cast out. Screaming, RHaging, and still powerless to stop it.
Chapter 46
Farley was almost back to Ken’s when the Versa flipped off the road and was tossed right through a store window.
Holy Fuck, the goddamned planet just exploded!
He was wrong. It was just the gas line under the street.
The Nissan rolled twice and landed on its roof, spinning like a turtle on its back. When it stopped, Farley climbed out.
His shoulder popped back into place and the cut on his chest sealed. Whatever was in Justice’s blood was like rocket fuel, and he was still running on the high.
Outside the busted window, cars had come to a standstill and a MARTA bus dangled front wheels over the mother of all potholes. There was another sound, and fire erupted from the wall of the Center for Draconian Research. Only this time it was dragon fire.
Farley felt it then, the sense of Belonging.
Haley. Haley was in there.
While everyone else was running away from the crumbling structure, Farley fought his way to it.
Another gas main exploded and launched a VW Bug skyward. Farley ducked his head as shrapnel and glass showered the street. With a deep groan, the CDR building shifted on its foundation and the brick began to fold.
The deep roar of a dragon thundered and a wing tip wavered in the billowing dust clouds. Above, the sky opened up and sprung one hell of a serious leak.
Fire rolled upward and the rest of the walls to the CDR slid down. Rock, brick, and steel beams parted as the beast climbed skyward. A massive bronze body flashed and gleamed within the smoke. The spiral horns and sheer size were unmistakable.
Medan.
The Queen turned her blazing red eyes on him. She keened and windows on nearby buildings blew out, showering the streets with glass. Then she sank back into the rising black smoke and rolling yellow dust.
Medan, it was Medan.
And yet all Farley could feel was Haley.
“Haley?”
He screamed her name over and over as he made his way to the pile of rubble and people fled in terror all around him. Closer, he saw that most of the building had sunk below the street. Farley climbed upward, picking his way across the rubble. He slid, fell, slid again, only to jerk himself up and start scrambling over broken desks, walls, and the remnants of bodies.
“Haley!” Still no answer.
As he climbed higher, the rain fell harder, turning gaps and cracks in the debris into rivers. Only in Georgia could it rain like this in the middle of a five year drought. Farley slipped again and a bolt of white hot pain shot across his ankle. He squeezed out a juicy curse and was forced to wait for the bones to knit. It only took seconds, but it felt like years.
Suck it up and move! Which is exactly what he did.
A downdraft parted the clouds, just enough for him to catch a flash of alabaster skin among all the blackened gray.
Tossed over a crumpled beam, Haley lay abandoned. Farley struggled to weave through the mess of tangled steel beams and rebar. When he got to her, the rain was coming down so hard it was blinding.
“Haley, God of Man, Haley...”
He rolled her over and pulled her against his chest. Her head rolled to the side. Old blood caked her chest, and bruises covered her neck and arms.
“Haley?” Farley touched her neck, felt for a pulse. It was there, but barely. “Haley, wake up, it’s me.” He rolled her head forward against his neck and pressed his cheek to hers. “C’mon, wake up. Please, wake up.”
Behind him fire trucks pulled up, red lights flashing, sirens full blast. Farley looked around. There had to be EMS somewhere, anywhere.
“I need help!” he screamed. “Please, someone ... anyone...” Haley was so pale. If only she’d wake up, he could feed her, but she wasn’t moving and her skin was becoming like ice. Farley clutched Haley to his chest, feeling her heart beats shudder. The bruises on her body grew darker by the second. “Goddamn it, somebody help me ... somebody help me, please!”
Figures dressed in yellow clamored up the rocky slope.
Farley carried Haley in their direction. It was hard to move because the ground kept wanting to shift. “Please, I need help!”
The first of the firefighters and EMS yelled at him, then his gaze fell to Farley’s arms and he froze. Farley realized the man was staring at his nevus.
“Please, you have to...” He took a few more steps and hoped they wouldn’t run.
The EMS man tossed his chin. “Put her down. We’ll take care of it.”
Farley laid Haley on the ground and stepped back. They worked fast, loading her onto the backboard. A third one arrived with a medical bag.
“Wait,” Farley said. “She’s Kin. No IVs, her temperature is down.” They looked at each other, then back at him like they didn’t believe him. Farley pointed to the back of his neck. “On her neck, look.” One of the men confirmed the nevus. Now they all stood there, staring, like they didn’t know what to do. “Help her!” Farley screamed. He clenched his fists and willed his temper down. The last thing they needed to see was teeth and scales. “Please...”
The black man was first to move. He called for a Hypothermia Kit and pulled a line out of a bag. The other two men seemed to catch on and followed suit. One tapped a vein while the other connected the tubing. “Can you give her blood?” The black man looked at Farley with weary eyes.
“She can’t feed.”
The EMS guy held up a needle. “Blood’s blood, my man. We just need to get it in her.”
“Yes, hell yes!” Farley scrambled over the blocks. He fell to his knees next to Haley and held out his arm. When the man hesitated he said, “I won’t hurt you, just do it. Do it, please.”
The EMS guy knew what
he was doing and hit the vein on the first try, then he connected the line to the port the other two had set up.
“I’m going to push on her chest, pump her hearts faster. It will draw the blood,” said one of the others. Farley gave a nod. Two white hands, surprisingly dark against her skin, folded across her sternum and began to apply pressure. There was no counting. This was just about pulling the blood supply into her veins.
“Marty, heads up.” The black man caught the toss and a woman joined the group. She ripped open packets and pulled out small brown squares. “Here.” She held one out to Farley. “Put it under your tongue. It’s high calorie protein. This will take a lot out of you. It’s not like feeding, it’s a direct line.” Her tone was so clinical that Farley wasn’t sure what to say. She dipped her head into the radio on her shoulder. “I need a double board up here.”
Farley sucked on the bland salty block. It tasted like shit, but he’d eaten worse. When he tried to ease in closer to Haley, he drifted to the side.
“Don’t move, my man. It’s only going to get worse. The double board is on the way.”
Yeah, a double board sounded great, whatever the hell that was. Farley put his hand over Haley’s and laid his forehead down on her shoulder.
Close to his ear the lady EMS said, “I’m going to move you in a second. Just relax. You’ll be able to lay right next to her. Don’t worry. You’re both safe. She’ll be okay, you’ll both be okay.”
And Farley believed every word she said.
Chapter 47
Haley had the strangest feeling she was being stared at. She laid there a moment trying to remember what happened. When the feeling got stronger, she opened her eyes.
Lines of sunlight cut through the blinds on the nearby window and painted the room. She moved a hand, felt the softness of a bed underneath and Farley at her back.
The feeling of being stared at did not go away. She turned her head and saw a man dressed in a gray suit standing against the wall. Short brown hair framed a pleasant face. Nothing about him was remarkable-- average height, average build.
A small smile pulled at his lips and his blue eyes softened. And while Haley had never seen him before in her life, every fiber in her body told her she should know him. He blinked once, slow, and tilted his head.
“Gregory? I mean ... Justice?” He came forward, moving like a Human, but with a strange elegance.
“It is.” When he smiled, faint laugh lines outlined his Human eyes.
Haley looked around the room. It had all the hallmark details of a hospital room--a TV in the corner, a bed-table on wheels, and an uncomfortable chair sitting in the corner. She looked at Farley. They had matching gowns and ports in their arm. Her first instinct was to rip the damn things out.
“They were running his blood into you. Medan almost burned you up.”
Yeah, that sounds like something that bitch would do.
Farley moved, pressing himself closer. Haley sat up on her elbow and tried listening to her body. To see if anything was out of place. She felt normal. She felt like herself. “What happened?”
Gregory’s shoulders rose and fell with Draconian grace. He put a hand on the bedrail. “You are okay, Haley Night.”
“I am?” After everything that happened, she had a hard time believing that.
“You are Medan’s Enforcer, but you are still you.”
“I almost wasn’t. She had me, Justice. She had me and she was eating up everything that made me ... me.”
“And yet you stopped her.”
Haley wasn’t so sure. Before she could put her concern into words, someone opened the door.
It was Garrett and he had ... flowers? Haley couldn’t help but crack a smile. The sight of the man, football big and linebacker wide, carrying a little vase of daisies and baby’s breath was just too much. “I didn’t know what you liked.” He set the vase down on the rolling table.
“Aww--Garrett, you shouldn’t have.” Haley laughed when he blushed.
“Yeah, well, it’s not every day you have a building fall on you.” His face was poker serious, which made Haley laugh again. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Farley yawned wide enough to crack his jaw. His fangs extended and retracted. His eyes came open, swimming gold before bleeding back to brown. He glanced around like he was doing a head count. “What?”
Haley rolled and put a hand on his head. “Hey, you okay?”
“Me? You’re the one who almost died.” He nuzzled into her side.
Garrett made a face. Haley reminded herself he was only Human.
“What happened, Garrett?”
Her boss shoved his hands in his coat.“Everything and then some. Someone sent a gift wrapped package to the head of the Bureau. It contained a detailed report on the mechanics of the virus.”
Oh shit, she forgotten about that. “He dosed me with it--” Garrett stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“You’re fine. I had them test you, you’re clean.”
“But he injected it...” God, the pain. Just thinking about it made her bones ache. Farley thrummed at her back. The sound sucked the panic right out of her lungs.
“Haley, trust me. You’re fine. The administrator is reviewing everything that happened. Dobson’s labs have all been located. They’re doing a full scale I.N.I. investigation on several board members, and the military sector has been completely shut down until further notice.”
Haley stared at Garrett, afraid to believe any of it.
Against her back Farley said, “Worry about it later. Sleep.” He kicked the sheet off his legs and flashed a butt cheek.
Garrett cleared his throat. “Doctor said you should be out of here in a day or so. They just want to monitor your temperature a while longer. You’ll be at work on time Tuesday, right?”
What day was it? Never mind. She’d take Farley’s advice and worry about it later.
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
“Good, and if you happen to know of a good Kin informant, I’m looking to hire one. I need someone I can trust. The hours are erratic and the pay sucks, but it’s a job.” His gray eyes were laughing even though his face wasn’t. “Oh, one more thing before I go.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys.
“My Mustang! Oh man, I’ve missed my car.”
“No excuses. Don’t be late.” Garrett left.
Haley petted Farley down his side. He smiled, his purr rising and falling in a deep rumble. She lifted her gaze to Justice. “Thanks.”
“I did very little. I was more ... moral support.”
Farley was alive. That meant the Kin had done a lot.
She said, “So what now?”
“I go home. As will you. And we live life.”
“That’s it?”
He gave a slow nod. “It is. It is all any of us can do, Haley Night.” Justice gathered up the coat lying at the foot of her bed and slipped it on.
“But something’s changed, hasn’t it? I don’t feel different, but I just can’t believe it ends like this. Just like that.”
Justice fell still, almost vanishing right in front of her eyes. The expression in his eyes held a deep kind of sadness that seemed impossible for any one person to contain. “Nothing stays the same, Haley. Change is inevitable.” Life poured back into him. “Be well, Haley Night.” The door shut with a click.
Haley stared at the vacant space for a long time, feeling empty. It was like some great space in her chest had been filled up and then emptied again. Maybe it was Niles? But that would be silly, wouldn’t it?
Farley moved and pushed himself against her, making it real clear just how happy he was to be there. “I thought they were never going to leave.” Haley laughed and let him pull her over so they could face each other. Gold flecked the brown in his eyes, but it was the look in them that made her hearts soar.
Haley ran a hand through his red curls. “I love you, Farley.” His smile went a little flat.
“You always say Kin can�
��t love.”
She kissed his brow. “And I’m not most Kin.”
About the Author
Georgia bred and born, Adrienne Wilder spent most of her childhood exploring fantastical worlds hidden in her own back yard among tall grass, and shadowed kudzu tunnels. When she was not dragon hunting, she spent most of her time, reading, writing, drawing, and digging holes.
Currently Adrienne lives in Dahlonega, GA where she shares her home with a variety of dogs and one cat. She still spends most of her time, reading, writing, drawing, and digging holes. Although now she calls the reading “research,” the drawing “artwork”, the writing “books,” and the holes “ponds” and “gardens”.
You can visit Adrienne on the web at
www.theatlantadens.com or email her at [email protected].
Other Books by Adrienne Wilder
Lesser-Bred Stained
To Adam With Love
Worth
Darwin’s Theory
(a novella series)
Book 1: Pain
Book 2: Secrets
Book 3: Promises
Book 4: Lost
Book 5: Found
Coming soon:
Darwin’s Theory 2.0
City of Dragons: Of Flesh And Blood
Blood Bonds Page 36
