“I didn’t say I’d have answers right now,” Edwin protested.
He stood. His gaze lingered in the direction of Baba’s forbidden room. “But I have a good idea where I might be able to find some.”
“But not right now!” Jade said, hooking one arm around his neck and pulling him into a playfully uncomfortable headlock. “You two just had a major fight, and you know what that tells me?”
“That we have some unspoken issues we need to resolve?” Edwin said.
“Maybe you do, but I’ve said my piece,” Kaylee said.
“Is that so?” Edwin said, eyes narrowing.
“You’re both wrong. We need to get rid of all that pent-up frustration,” Jade said.
She glanced at Maddox. They both grinned.
“You aren’t thinking what I’m thinking?” Maddox said.
“Oh I definitely am,” Jade said.
“Alastair would totally tell us we’re not allowed.”
“Which is why we should do it. It’s not a big deal. It’s within the Convocation’s jurisdiction. The Slayers wouldn’t dare attack us.”
“You mean like they already have?” Edwin said.
“Um, where are we talking about?” Kaylee said, with a rising sense of alarm.
Jade scooped Kaylee towards her, still grinning. “It’s decided then: we’re going to the Slag Heap.”
Chapter Fourteen
“I can’t even begin to list the number of reasons why this is a terrible idea,” Edwin said. A burst of bitter cold screamed past them and he pulled his jacket collar farther up.
“Then don’t,” Jade said. “We’ll be fine. Technically your dad never said we couldn’t do this.”
“But he never said we could.”
“And that little gray area there? That’s where I’m choosing to operate.”
They were standing in the parking lot at the back of the Scarsdale supermarket. Night had fallen. The lot was empty. Leaf corpses skittered across the concrete, pushed by another gust of wind, and Kaylee wished she had better control of her storm powers so she could calm down the chilly air.
“Are you sure my parents think I’m studying with you?” Kaylee asked Jade for what had to be the tenth time since they’d walked out here.
Jade rolled her eyes. “Yes, and my parents think I’m with Edwin and Maddox at Alastair’s house.”
“And my parents are out,” Edwin said. “Remind me how you talked me into this again?”
“Oh come on, Edwin,” Jade said. “You had fun at the Slag Heap last time.”
“Yeah, after I healed up.”
“The cut wasn’t that deep.”
“You aren’t being very responsible for a dragon-kin Tamer,” Edwin grumbled. “I mean, going to the Slag Heap? How is that supposed to help protect Kaylee?”
Jade stood up straighter, striking a dignified pose. “As a Tamer, my dragon-kin’s physical, emotional, and mental well-being are a top priority. That means when my girl needs to de-stress by kicking back and chilling out I find ways to make that happen for her.”
“Unless what happened to me happens to her.”
“I’m telling you that cut wasn’t that deep.”
“What, exactly, do they do at the Slag Heap?” Kaylee said.
Jade merely grinned. “Surprises are no fun unless you’re surprised.”
Kaylee sighed. “I’m gonna regret this.”
An engine growled from the road. A black minivan tore around the corner of the supermarket. It performed a donut twice around the dumpster, drifted around a light post, then skidded to a rumbling halt in front of them. The window rolled down and Maddox gave them all a smoldering look.
“Hey ladies. And dude. Anyone want a ride?”
Kaylee ignored the warm flush creeping up her cheeks at his playful smirk. “You have a …minivan?”
“Major coolness points deducted,” Jade said as she pulled the door open.
“At least I have something to drive,” Maddox protested. “I just got my license. It isn’t like my parents are going to reward me with a Maserati. Unless…” He gave Edwin puppy dog eyes as he took the passenger seat. “Edwin…”
“I’m pretty sure my dad could use our immense wealth for something other than buying irresponsible new drivers dream cars.”
Maddox acted as though an arrow had pierced his heart. “Irresponsible? Truly, you wound me.”
He shifted into drive. The van grinded uncomfortably. It sounded like something had broken off and clanked beneath their feet. Maddox said, “Mmmm…listen to that V4,” then peeled out towards the Slag Heap.
The drive only took about five minutes. The commercial district soon gave way to hobby farms and prairie land, which turned to gently rolling hills, cast in darkness except for those small parts washed in pale moonlight. Kaylee stared up at the sky, thinking about the Dragon Moon. She believed Edwin. She believed the Slayers were up to something. But the fact they apparently needed Kaylee for that something disturbed her more than she could let the others know. She wasn’t bothered that the Slayers were a bunch of crazy whack jobs with nothing better to do than hunt down kids with ancient powers; it was more that the Slayers assumed she had something special within her.
Fantastic. As if being a special dragon-kin wasn’t enough, she had to be a special one among the special ones.
Warm hands clenched her. Kaylee looked away from the window to find Jade giving her a reassuring smile.
“Just relax. This is supposed to be fun.”
“And what exactly is this?”
As an answer, gravel suddenly crunched under their tires as Maddox pulled off the main road and drove them down a small strip of grass towards a thick grove of trees. He parked next to a bunch of other vehicles Kaylee hadn’t seen from the road and shut off the minivan.
“Got to walk in from here.”
The second Kaylee stepped out she heard the low thump of bass coming from nearby. Small groups of people around their age were huddled in packs, laughing and talking to one another before taking off farther down the road towards a collection of spotlights.
“This is dragon-kin society people only,” Maddox said. “Only those who are part of the Convocation or have been officially cleared are allowed. No normal people here.”
“Clearly,” Edwin said, wrinkling his nose at a passing man-bunned dude covered with tats and piercings. The guy winked at Kaylee and flicked his tongue at her, like a lizard.
Dragon-kin.
“There are other dragon-kin here?” Kaylee whispered, suddenly self-conscious.
“Not many,” Jade assured her.
Up until now, Kaylee hadn’t really thought about other dragon-kins. Well, except for Alastair, but he didn’t really count. What would others her age be like? Would they think she was some sort of imposter, pretending to be something she wasn’t?
“You don’t have to talk to any of them if you don’t want to,” Jade said. “There aren’t many of them period, and not many come by the Slag Heap.”
Kaylee let out a silent sigh of relief as the four of them reached the source of the strobe lights. Here the trees came to an abrupt halt at a metal chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Clusters of people were funneling in through the gate, towards a structure made of metal pipes.
A soft caw! came from a group of trees on her left. Kaylee let her eyes adjust as she peered into the darkness. Shapes manifested themselves before her. Ravens. Big ones, nearly as large as her head with thick black bodies and beady eyes.
Kaylee shivered as she realized it wasn’t just one bird, but a whole flock. A murder? Was that what it was called?
The lead raven cawed! again and flapped its wings. Kaylee swore it made a whirring sound, like miniature gears grinding together.
“Kaylee!” Maddox was beckoning her through the gate, a grin on his face. “What’s the hold up?”
Kaylee shot one last glance into the trees, but she had to have been imagining it. Birds were birds. There was nothing
savage about them. These last few weeks, between discussing the imminent threat of Slayers trying to capture her and them actually trying to capture her, she’d gotten paranoid. Next she’d start thinking every rose bush had a murderous vendetta.
Yep, she definitely needed a break.
Kaylee caught up with the others and they stepped through the crowd that had gathered just inside the fence. Her mouth dropped open.
“Pretty sweet, right?” Maddox said.
Dozens of people laughed and chatted together, all beneath the rusting skeleton of what had to be some kind of old gas plant. Gnarls of rusted pipes and giant tanks with faded and flecked off lettering occupied a couple acre space, enclosed by the barbed wire fence. Thumping music oozed out of a warehouse in the back, flashing colored lights shooting off into the sky. People covered the rest of the space, in open grassy areas or lounging on knots of rounded staircases leading to the tops of massive boilers. There was even an old bulldozer that had long ago been taken by the surrounding vegetation. The front scooper had been converted into a bar where a couple guys were handing out drinks.
“I told you it was awesome!” Jade said, latching onto her arm. “The company that owned it shut it down years ago. Left this place totally untouched until Damian found it and turned it into this.”
“Damian?” Kaylee said.
“He’s kind of the head honcho around here. We might meet him later.”
“Let’s not and say we did,” Edwin grumbled. Kaylee noticed that, for as excited as Jade was, Edwin was just the opposite. He sulked, hands in his pockets, glaring at the surrounding groups like he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to jump in with them or glower the night away.
“Edwin and I are going to get some drinks,” Maddox said, roping one arm around Edwin’s neck and dragging him towards the bulldozer. “Catch you in a bit.”
“But I don’t want a drink!” Edwin protested as he was dragged off. “Does nobody remember what happened last time?”
“That’s why we’re doing this again!” Maddox said cheerfully.
Kaylee wandered for a bit, mulling over the sheer excitement of her surroundings. Where before she’d only seen snippets of magic in her life with her friends, here it was on full display. Merlins took turns conjuring elaborate, snaking light shows from thin air and sending them hurling into the sky. A few were levitating hand-holding couples in a hollowed-out boiler. Beyond that there was even a miniature open-air market, blankets spread across the grass. People passed around charms and rolled up parchment, haggling for money and trade.
“I feel like somebody would have shut this down by now!” Kaylee yelled over the beat of the music from the warehouse. Jade motioned for her to follow. They slipped down a narrow network of pipes and emerged at a small space towered over by metal. It was quieter here. Gentle chatter from other groups buzzed through the air. A few couples were shamelessly making out in one corner.
Jade cocked an eyebrow at the couples, then turned back to Kaylee. “Nobody will shut this place down. A lot of Merlins who frequent here combined their power to conjure light and sound dampening spells around the entire place.”
“And the Convocation’s okay with it?”
“Nobody’s died yet!” Jade said cheerily. “And I don’t know, maybe they don’t care that much about what a bunch of teenagers do in their free time. Guess it’s better they know we’re here than who knows where.”
Kaylee spotted a group lounging in a circle near the outer fence, smoking something that didn’t look like cigarettes. One of the girls took a deep puff then blew the smoke into the air. It drifted lazily for a moment, transitioning color from blue, to green, to red, before dissipating in a brief crackle of sparks. The smell of sulfur and brimstone wafted their direction.
“What is that?” Kaylee said.
Jade turned to where she was looking. Her face darkened.
“Definitely not something you should mess with. I’m not sure what’s in it, but sellers call it Dragon’s Bane. The Convocation made it illegal but that doesn’t stop anybody.”
Another set of smoke rings joined where the first went. “It looks…kind of interesting,” Kaylee admitted.
“Kaylee,” Jade turned her so that Kaylee was forced to meet her eyes. “Don’t ever, ever, touch that stuff. To Merlins, Protectors, and Tamers, it’s harmless. But to a dragon-kin Dragon’s Bane can be lethal. That’s kind of why it’s called what it is.”
“There you are!”
Maddox ducked his way beneath the pipes, balancing cups and something wrapped in tin foil. Edwin followed behind, carrying drinks of his own and still looking about as happy as a soaked cat. Kaylee wanted to tell him to lighten up. She didn’t like parties all that much either, but this place was fun, and it wasn’t going to be any fun if she had to keep dealing with his bad attitude.
“Ladies,” Maddox said, handing a cup and tinfoil to Jade, then to Kaylee.
“Oh, I don’t really…drink,” Kaylee said, peering at the dark liquid. “Not that I’m against it,” she added quickly.
“Please, Kaylee,” Jade said, “what kind of Tamer would I be if I allowed my dragon-kin to partake in illegal alcohol consumption? That’d be just irresponsible.”
“Um, you brought me here, didn’t you?”
Maddox gave her a roguish wink. “It’s cool, Kaylee, I get you, but this isn’t beer.”
“What is it?”
Jade pushed the bottom of Kaylee’s cup towards her mouth. “That’s why you have to try it.”
Kaylee reluctantly took a sip and was surprised to find the drink was sweet, almost like honey, laced with hints of deep oak. For some reason images of great halls and long, dark winters sprang to her mind. The liquid burned pleasantly down her throat and settled in her stomach where it sizzled, spreading a tingling sensation throughout her entire body.
“Holy crap! That’s amazing!”
“It’s non-alcoholic mead,” Jade said. “With just a tiny, itsy bitsy hint of magic infused with it.”
“Too much magic, if you ask me,” Edwin said.
“Just because someone can’t handle his magic…” Maddox teased, nudging him.
“I can handle it!” Edwin protested.
“Oh? Would you like me to show Kaylee and Jade the video of what happened last time you drank too much of this stuff? I believe it involved shirtlessness and very bad dancing?”
Edwin paled. “Dude. You wouldn’t.”
Maddox pounded him on the back so hard Edwin’s drink nearly launched from his hand. “Then have some fun!”
While the others talked, Kaylee unwrapped the tinfoil to find some kind of meat. It resembled a turkey leg she’d eaten at a baseball game once, but didn’t taste like anything she’d had before.
A bright flash of light caught her attention. On the side of the warehouse, another group of people had gathered in a semi-circle. One guy was tossing bottles up in the air and then shooting them down with magic. The crowd cheered each time he nailed one.
“Now that,” Kaylee said, tugging on Jade’s arm, “looks like fun.”
They walked over just as the guy’s friend was scooping up another round of empty cups to throw. The magic user in the center rolled up his sleeves and gave the crowd a cocky grin.
“Who wants to see three at once?” He called.
The crowd cheered. The guy grinned wider and held out his right arm. It shifted into scales of a light tannish color. Like clouds in a sandstorm, like wind tearing through the sky.
“Wind dragon-kin,” Jade said. “I thought I heard Scarsdale Heritage High had one.”
Kaylee couldn’t keep her eyes off him. Not that she was checking him out. Sure, the guy was handsome, but she could practically feel the arrogance oozing off him.
No, she was enthralled by how confident he seemed in his abilities. The way he moved as he stepped into position, the way he raised his arms, ready to strike, claws bared. What would it be like, she wondered, to have such confidence in her powers?
“Throw ‘em!” The dragon-kin yelled.
Three cups soared into the air. The guy swiped three times and blasts of air shot out from the ends of his claws and cleaved each in half.
The crowd roared, and Kaylee made her way forward to get a closer look.
“You could do better,” Jade whispered beside her.
“Doubt it,” Kaylee said. Yet a part of her yearned to try. She’d been practicing, after all. A lot. That had to count for something. Shifting parts of her body to the dragon-kin form was almost second nature now, and summoning balls of lightning was…getting there.
Maddox and Edwin came up behind them, just as Kaylee sucked in a breath and said, “I’m doing it.”
“What’s this?” the dragon-kin cocked an eyebrow when she emerged from the crowd. “You gonna give it a go, sweetheart? Didn’t think Merlins used offensive magic so recklessly like that.”
Kaylee pulled back her sleeves and held up a scale-covered arm. “Storm dragon-kin. And don’t call me sweetheart.”
The crowd went silent. The guy whistled. “That’s one way to get the people’s attention, eh sweetheart?”
He walked in a slow circle around her. “Storm dragon, huh? My Tamer mentioned one had come along, but I could have guessed without being told. All these random thunderstorms popping up all over the place kind of gave it away.” He stopped, hands on his hips. “No offense, but I didn’t think you’d be…so…small.”
“You mean a girl.”
The guy held up his hands defensively. “I didn’t say that.” He stuck out a hand. “Name’s Josh. Good to see there’s someone who understands our peculiar, ah, talents.”
“Kaylee.” Kaylee gripped his hand with her claws, digging them into his palms. He didn’t flinch, keeping that infuriating smile on his face.
“You with the Scarsdale Convocation?” Josh said.
“Aren’t you?”
Josh shrugged. “Technically. Any dragon-kin that goes to Scarsdale Heritage becomes a part of the Northern Scarsdale Convocation. It’s kind of like a sub-sector of the main Scarsdale one—”
Dragon's Awakening (Heir of Dragons: Book 1) Page 12
