by Katie French
Dizzy, I staggered to my feet, hands clasped to my ears, and tried to get my bearings. Everything was a whirlwind, spinning in a haze.
Another screech sounded from behind me.
I spun around, coming face to face with one of the untamed.
The creature bared its teeth, mouth foaming. It was smaller than most dragons, but that didn’t make it less intimidating. On the contrary, its slender sinew promised speed, and its wild, unintelligent eyes told me it would gladly make me its dinner—no bones about it, literally. Its face was narrow, the sharp teeth visible as if it were grinning. Its dappled skin and small shape made me think of a raptor.
I’d crashed into it, and it was pissed.
Distracted by the ruckus, its two untamed friends whipped their heads in my direction. Good. If they focused on me, they wouldn’t go after Dad.
The beast in front of me roared, spittle flinging off ten-inch fangs. Its ugly face twisted to one side, then the beast opened its maw and attacked.
I pulled out my sword, slashing up in one motion. The dragon pulled back as the blade sliced through the air, its jaws snapping, the foul stink of his carcass breath hitting me like a wall. He blinked at the sword, seeming to judge it. For a moment as he examined the weapon and even my ring, his gaze didn’t seem as savage. He knew what I was—or what I used to be—and he was being cautious.
Would he be able to tell my sword held none of its warden powers anymore?
Before he had time to figure anything out, I let out a raw scream and charged, my sword held high.
The dragon’s eyes widened, filling with panic. Hind legs kicking back, small wings flapping, the creature scrambled away, retreating the way Pickles did when I sprinkled water on his face.
In its blind retreat, the animal crashed into one of its horde and drove it back. Seeing an opening, I ran between three untamed dragons and headed straight for Dad at the other end of the pit.
I took in his appearance in flashes. His usually smooth face was covered by a scraggly gray-peppered beard. Under his eyes, big purplish shadows made him appear as if he hadn’t slept once since I last saw him. His hair was messy and matted with dirt, and a few scratches marked his forehead and neck. His soiled clothes were unrecognizable.
He was struggling to his feet as I rushed to him, doing my best not to stagger like a drunk.
“Lila,” he managed in a weak, hoarse voice.
I crashed into him, wrapping one arm around his neck. He hugged me tight, and we swayed together, locked in an embrace. Relief washed over me despite our situation. Now that I was with him, I knew I had to do everything in my power to save him.
Pulling away, I let my eyes take him in.
“Oh, Dad. I’m sorry.”
This was all my fault.
He shook his head and pulled on my arm, his body tensing, his stance changing to a low crouch.
A guttural sound came from behind me. I whirled, raising my sword and stepping in front of Dad.
“Lila, get back,” he said.
But there was nowhere to get back to. We were against the twelve-foot dirt wall, and I was the only one with a sword.
Forming a semicircle around us, the three untamed dragons caged us in, approaching cautiously but steadily, like lions creeping up to a wounded gazelle.
“I’ll slice your heads off,” I shouted, brandishing my sword from side to side.
They were shifters—untamed, yes—but still shifters. There had to be some intelligence inside their ugly skulls. Ki said they were dumb, but even unintelligent people knew what a sword blade could do.
The one in the middle shook his head, then glanced sideways at the others. Where they… communicating?
After they seemed to get their message across, the dragon on my left made as if to charge, but as soon as I shifted my attention in its direction, the one on the right pounced. He came fast, barely giving me time to adjust my position. I swung the sword up, just managing to catch the dragon across the chest. The blade hit its target, but it was like hitting a tractor with a toothpick. The force of the impact made my teeth chatter.
For an instant, the dragon stood there as if holding its breath. Its yellow eyes stared at my useless weapon, then at its chest, shaking itself. Realizing my sword had barely tickled him, he roared with pleasure. Taking that as their cue, the other two beasts advanced toward us, drool dripping from their sharp fangs.
Oh, shit.
“Dad, get behind me!” I stepped closer, my eyes darting to his. There was a resigned expression in its depths, as if he’d known this would be the outcome. Our deaths. Oh, God.
“I love you, my little girl,” he said.
“I love you, too. I’m sorry.” I’d failed him. Tears spilled down my cheeks.
“I’m glad I got to see you again.” Behind his glasses, his eyes filled, the drops glinting as they fell.
We hugged. I closed my eyes just as the three untamed pounced in our direction.
Dad and I held each other for an endless moment as we waited to die. My heart thudded against his.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. A great blow landed on my side and sent me flying against the wall, separating me from Dad and my sword. Pain like I’d never felt before erupted below my ribs. Pressing my hands to the spot, I felt a sticky wetness. Despite myself, my eyes flew open. My hands were coated in blood.
I was on the ground. One of the dragons was stalking toward me, its teeth dripping with slimy saliva, the claws in its right talon coated in blood. My blood.
Behind the approaching beast, my father screamed. The other two were on him. Uselessly, I searched for my sword, finding nothing but dirt.
Distant sounds reached me, something happening above us, outside of the pit, but my ears were ringing too loud for me to hear.
The dragon before me licked its lips and angled its maw, aiming for my neck. I covered my head and neck, hoping to ward off the worst of his attack. The beast lurched toward me with a roar, but stopped midway as a blur fell from the sky.
Like a ball shot from a cannon, the dragon’s head flew from its body and tumbled end over end across the pit, landing in a nest of roots. The animal’s headless body hovered in place for a moment, then collapsed with a thud at my feet.
What in the hell?
Aunt Scarlett stood up from a crouch by my side, her sword glowing, the very definition of badass!
My first thought was… Thank God she’s here. My second thought was… Dad.
I tried to scramble to my feet, but as I moved, the pain under my ribs exploded and brought me back down. I fell on my side, my face on the cool earth. Through half-closed eyelids, I saw two luminous swords flash. The dragons that were on Dad dropped dead.
Two female figures loomed over the dragons, their swords and rings glowing.
Wardens! My aunt’s friends. She hadn’t abandoned us after all.
“Is he all right?” My aunt ran toward Dad, sheathing her sword. Her friends stepped aside to make way.
Pressing my forearm to my side, I held my breath and sat up. My heart froze as Aunt Scarlett knelt next to Dad to check on him.
He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t.
After a breathless moment, he sat up, blinking dazedly. Tears of relief poured down my cheeks as he got up with my aunt’s help. He stared at her, straightening his crooked glasses.
“Scarlett?” he said, incredulity weighing his voice.
“C’mon, Roger.” She hauled him to his feet. “Can you walk?”
Dad limped a few steps, his gait worse than I’d ever seen it, even with his muscular dystrophy. Noticing the blood staining his dirty jeans, I realized one of the dragons had bitten his good leg. But he was alive.
I pushed my back against the dirt wall, using it to stabilize myself as I stood on shaky legs. My aunt brought him to me, and we collapsed into each other. Without a word, the other wardens scrambled up the walls of the pit, their faces set in a determined frown that would have scared the pants of
f me if they weren’t on our side.
“You two stay here,” Aunt Scarlett said, her keen eyes going over our injuries.
I wanted to fight, wanted my warden powers back, but without them and in my current state, I was useless. Staying out of the way of whatever was going on was the sensible option. I was fairly sure Dad and I wouldn’t be able to climb out of the pit even with help.
My aunt stepped away from us, her chin lifting as she glanced above.
“Be careful,” I said, touching her arm.
She spared me a glance and a nod, then began to climb, holding on to exposed roots and displaying greater agility than most people her age. Dad and I exchanged a concerned look as we watched her go.
God, was everyone okay up there?
Please, let the boys be fine.
Dad’s legs gave, so I eased him to the ground. Throwing his head back against the dirt wall, he closed his eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Just dizzy.”
His pant leg was soaked in blood. I quickly removed my belt, then fashioned a tourniquet high on his thigh. “You’ll be all right. They’ll get us out of here.” It sounded like a terrible lie, but I fought to believe it.
Lifting my shirt, I checked my ribs. Four gashes seeped with blood, the middle ones deeper than the others. I prodded with one finger, wincing. They weren’t as deep as they looked, but the amount of blood could have fooled anyone.
We sat and held each other. There was nothing we could do but wait and pray.
Then a dark shape blotted the sky. My breath caught as I glanced upward.
Nothing.
After a moment, the evening sky darkened again, then something fell from above, landing right in the middle of the pit. At first, the dark shape was large and liquid, but it quickly coalesced into the smaller shape of a woman.
Tara.
She was naked and blue, her dragon features twisting her face into a grotesque mask. Her long legs shimmered with scales as she stalked in my direction.
My eyes flicked to my discarded sword, but if I could reach it, what good would it do against Tara and her enhanced powers? Where was Aunt Scarlett? Frantically searching, I spotted her where she’d just finished climbing out of the pit. As she turned to check on us one last time, she discovered the new threat.
Her shoulders fell with a heavy sigh. Tara was surely the last she wanted to face.
Leaving Dad dazed with blood loss, I limped around, searching for my sword. My aunt landed in a crouch next to me, already pulling out her own sword in one swift motion.
Tara chuckled as if she found us amusing. “The Scarlet Warden and her destitute niece. What a sight.” Her evil Disney laugh was back, ringing with an echo in the pit.
She stopped a few steps away. “If you let me take Lila, I will spare you, Scarlett. It’s the same deal I offered your sister. Of course, she turned me down and see how that ended.”
“I always suspected you were the one who killed Rose,” my aunt replied with narrow eyes.
It was like an atom bomb of rage went off in my head. “You! You killed my mom!”
Memories of the day Mom died flashed before my eyes. Two dragons fighting underwater. My mother in the middle of a large corona of light.
She had died to protect me from Tara?
“There’s always been an aura of power around this girl.” Tara’s eyes traveled the length of my body. “A powerful serum runs through her veins. She’s injured. And yet, there she stands, ready to fight. She holds the answers I need, and this time, I’ll take her—no matter who stands in the way.”
My aunt stepped forward. “You’re not taking her. Rose always gave you the benefit of the doubt, but all I’ve got for you is the edge of my sword.”
The Scarlet Warden charged forward under the glow of her weapon. Tara’s body erupted into a tangle of electricity. The dragon and warden met in a shower of sparks.
Chapter Twenty-One
Aunt Scarlett’s sword swung down on Tara’s lifted forearm, the glowing red blade meeting the electric blue appendage in a shower of sparks. Energy hissed around them and a pulse of purple light shot out as the two energies collided, illuminating the pit and highlighting the battle-hardened snarls on their faces.
“Oh, God,” Dad whispered beside me, his mouth agape.
I glanced from him to the battle. There was no doubt this was a fight to the death. And how could Scarlett win against the juiced-up Tara? I couldn’t just sit here bleeding into the dirt while Aunt Scarlett risked her life for us.
But when I tried to move, my ribs throbbed, and even worse, my legs buckled. I was woozy, and lightheaded from blood loss and the virus. My body felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds, each movement, each breath, a labor. How could I fight when I could barely stand? I didn’t even have my sword.
Unable to move, I watched them clash with my heart in my throat.
Please let her win. Please.
Aunt Scarlett was swift and agile, dodging around and spinning like a world-class ninja while her sword sliced through the night air. But the blade never touched Tara’s body, missing each time as if she could see the strikes in advance. Parry and thrust, dodge and weave, they danced around each other. When Tara shot sparks in Scarlett’s direction like a deranged Emperor Palpatine, Aunt Scarlett ducked and flipped away. The bolt of energy sizzled into the dirt, throwing up an acrid scent.
Dad groaned, holding himself.
“Getting slow in your old age,” Aunt Scarlett mocked as she stalked in a slow circle. “Don’t you think it’s time for retirement, Tara? Put out to pasture.” She swiped down with her sword, missing by inches as Tara stepped away. The blade sliced into the dirt, but Aunt Scarlett recovered fast, whirling around and settling back into a ready position, the weapon gripped in both fists and glowing like a red lightsaber.
My aunt was a badass. I’d never been prouder to be her niece.
Tara smiled, her lips curling up devilishly. “I feel better than I’ve ever felt thanks to your niece. The warden’s powers are exactly what I needed to complete my plans. You can thank Lila for that.” At this, she lifted a hand and shot another blue bolt at my aunt, charring her coat as she rolled out of the way.
Tara’s comment stung more than the pain in my ribs. All of this was my fault. I had to do something. Scanning the dark pit, I looked for any sign of my sword. I could catch Tara in the back while she was dealing with Aunt Scarlett. Or turn her attention to me to allow Scarlett time to mount a surprise attack. It might not be much, but it would be something.
Aunt Scarlett threw on a smile, but her breathing was getting heavy as she tired from dodging Tara’s attacks. “You think humans are so easy to control? We’re not. We’ve kept you in the shadows for thousands of years. What’s going to change now?”
Tara’s eyes narrowed to vicious slits as her smile reappeared. “Oh Scarlett, but don’t you see? I’m what’s changed.”
At this, Tara lowered her glowing hands and closed her eyes. Her body began to tremble all over, contorting and expanding. Her face morphed from human to lizard. Her back arched and rose as spikes popped out of her skin. She was shifting. She would soon be unstoppable.
I scrambled up, despite the pain in my ribs and the cry from my father. Running back to where I’d fallen, I sifted through the dirt as I sought my sword. Where was it? I only had a few seconds.
Aunt Scarlett’s eyes flicked from Tara to me, concern darkening her face. “Lila, get out of here! What are you doing?”
“Trying to help!” My hands skimmed over rocks and clods of earth. I knew the sword was around here somewhere. But where?
Scarlett grabbed my arm, starting to yank me away, but it was too late. Tara’s dragon form towered over us. Fully transformed, she was gigantic, blue and pulsing with energy. Not only her eyes glowed, her every scale also shimmered as current passed up and down her torso. Coils of blue smoke rolled out of her mouth like stage fog at a concert. When she turned in our direction, t
he ground shook. Dad let out a cry behind us.
Aunt Scarlett slid me behind her back protectively as Tara rounded on us, peering down with those beach-ball-sized eyes. Hot jets of smoke puffed out of her nostrils, trickling over my skin like an unwanted touch. The air flooded with the stink of sulfur and ash, like what I assumed hell smelled like.
“Isn’t my power glorious?” Tara’s monstrous voice boomed. Her body gave a ripple as she shivered with strength. Her gaze fell on us like a snare. “Know this, Scarlett, as the last thing you’ll hear in this life, the demise of all the wardens is on your hands.”
I started a protest, but Scarlett whirled around, yanking me away with frantic movements. When I glanced up, I saw why. Tara’s maw was opening. In her giant tunnel of a throat, a huge blue fireball was building.
“Run!” Aunt Scarlett screamed, pushing me.
But my legs were like gelatin. I could not get them to move. They unhinged and let go. I fell into the dirt, bringing Aunt Scarlett down with me as the fireball roll from Tara’s mouth with a whoosh.
Heat grew like a furnace. Blue light blotted out everything but Aunt Scarlett on the ground beside me. Her eyes were wide, the fireball reflected in her pupils. The expression on her face was stricken, filled with horror. We were going to die.
I did the only thing I could think to do as the blast rolled out of Tara’s throat.
I threw myself on top of my aunt’s body.
The heat hit my back like a cannonball of fire. It was everywhere. Fire on my skin. Fire in my hair. Flames coursed over me, coating me like a liquid, burning me from the outside in. My clothes sizzled away, falling off in black flakes. I could smell charred fabric. Burning hair.
But the pain, the horrible pain, stole all my thoughts and bundled them up into a scream. I tried to cry out, but my throat was fused shut. My body crumpled, curling into itself as the fire ate me alive.
I awoke screaming.
I was on fire! I was burning. I was…
Alive?
Air inhaled into my lungs. My chest expanded. I wasn’t burning anymore, but my body felt… strange.
