Chapter Forty Five
“Just stay focused. Anathaem’s always a tricky place to land,” Dustin said, “Stay focused, and we’ll be fine.”
“Focused,” Austin nodded, “Right.”
She pictured Anathaem, just as she had left it. The sun would be shining, the people would be loud and happy, and it would smell like wood smoke. She held her breath and jumped through the trap door, through where floor had been. The journey felt different this time, not like the icy cold water she had been expecting.
She floated, gravity seeming to be pulling at her from all sides. She swallowed and clenched her eyes shut and she felt arms circle around her.
“Was it bad for you? Portals always feel different,” Dustin said softly, “But we’re here.”
“Anathaem?” she asked breathlessly. Gravity was pulling from the right direction now, and the air felt right. She sucked in another breath, her eyes still shut.
“Yeah,” Dustin laughed, “And look around. I think you’ll like the view.”
Slowly, she opened her eyes. What she saw made her gasp, so surprised that she didn’t even mind how tightly Dustin’s arms were around her. She was surrounded by bookshelves, all of them filled with old books with human titles and Affelil Original titles. She broke free of Dustin’s hold and ran her fingers over the spines of books that she had put away, noticing the dust that had gathered on both the shelves and the floor.
She stopped, “Something’s not right.”
She spun around slowly, taking in everything. She could tell that Kai’s shop was empty, save for them, but the shop was too dead for that to be the cause. Kai’s laptop was gone, as was his laptop bag, and his lamp was turned off. All this was to be expected if he was writing somewhere else, like the coffee shop.
She took in another breath, tasting the thick dust, and that was when she realized it. She didn’t smell tea, “I’ll be right back.”
She rushed down the stairs and opened the door to the kitchen, where she put a pot of water to boil. She looked at Dustin in apology, “I’m sorry, but I need to do this.”
“We have time,” Dustin assured her, sitting on the table. She nodded, smiling.
“Thank you,” she said softly, watching the water bubble. She shook tealeaves into Kai’s favorite pot and poured the hot water into it. A honey sweet smell filled the cold room, warming it, and she smiled.
“You’re welcome,” he was surprised, and she didn’t blame him. She wasn’t used to being grateful to him. He messed with her hair and she felt her cheeks grow hot—in irritation, of course.
Somehow, they made it through Anathaem streets unseen. It was only once they’d reached the prison where Amelia was being held that Dustin paled, concentrating on keeping guards from noticing them. Austin was grateful for the warm around her, even if he only put it there to make it easier for him. Physical contact always strengthened abilities.
Dustin pushed open the doors and they walked past a busy receptionist. As soon as they turned into an empty hallway, Dustin lurched away from her, gasping, “Sorry, but do you know how hard it is to ask people to not notice you when your necklace’s sole purpose is to make it so that I can’t shield you?”
“Should I take it off?” she made a move to unclasp the chain, but Dustin stopped her.
“No, we just have to be sneaky,” he shrugged, “Like ninjas. Like dragon ninjas on a life or death mission.”
“Let’s go,” she pushed open the doors, revealing rows dark gray, almost transparent walls. She could see figures on the other side sitting or pacing, but they didn’t notice her. She went to touch the surface of the walls and found it to be smooth; it definitely wasn’t made of metal, “What is this?”
“No dragon can break past plastic. It’s too human for our abilities to understand it,” Dustin said, taking his knife from her, “Now let’s split up. We’ll find the girl faster.”
Austin opened her mouth to point out that, in shows, splitting up never brought good results, but Dustin was gone before she could say a word.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” an older woman said, rounding a corner. She had on a white shirt, brown pants, and a dark brown sash. Austin guessed that was the guardian uniform.
She made up a lie on the spot, something she was getting better at, “Actually, I am. I’m a storyteller, and I have permission to tell the chaos halfblood’s story.”
People had a strong prejudice for storytellers, she knew, but she had learned that was almost always accompanied by a reluctant respect. She wondered how far the title would carry her.
“Will I get a good mention if I show you where the cell is?” the guard asked, her eyes lightened up.
“Of course,” Austin said, grinning, “Not many people are nice when they realize I’m a storyteller, so I always reward the ones who are.”
“Then it’s right this way,” the guard led her past just a few cells and patted the one at the end of the row, the cell nearest to a small window. She opened the door and nearly pushed Austin inside of it, “I have to lock you in, since we can’t take any chances with chaos. Are you okay with that? I mean, I could restrain the chaos girl-“
“It’s fine,” Austin said and pulled the door closed. She heard the guard lock it, and she turned around. Her eyes caught on the small girl sitting on the dirty, low bed. She knew this girl. She had met this girl before, just once, but she had.
Fledgling Page 46
