The Dragon Stone

by Paul Summerhayes

Epilogue

  Ryver became aware of a distant mechanical clacking sound and she forced her eyes open. Daylight flooded her sight, causing her to blink rapidly, and after a few seconds she closed her eyes again—it was just too bright. Where am I? Gingerly, she tried to sit up, and a groan escaped her lips.

  “Hey, lie down,” it was her mother’s voice, calm and nurturing as always. She looked at her daughter with concern.

  “Where am I?” asked Ryver, blinking again. It didn’t feel like home.

  “We’re somewhere…south. I’m not exactly sure where, but we’re safe for now.”

  Ryver blinked and managed to open her eyes enough to look around. They were in a cheap motel room, and she lay in a bed with her mother sitting beside her. Lines creased Jessica’s forehead, she looked concerned.

  “How did I get here?”

  “Liam brought you to the diner,” said Jessica. “How a skinny kid dragged you all that way, I'll never know. But he did.” Jessica stroked her hair as she did when Ryver was a little girl. “He told me what happened and we ran. We’ve been here ever since.”

  “Ever since…how long have I been asleep?”

  “Almost three days.”

  “Three days?!” Her mind raced. This was a lot of information to take in. “Where’s Liam?”

  “He left just a little while ago to get us some food. He’s been a great help, and I couldn’t have got you this far without him.”

  Liam saved me at the Devils’ bar as well. There were…real demons there…

  Remembering the Dragon Stone, Ryver quickly grabbed at her shirt. She was relieved—it was still there, hanging from her neck.

  The front door swung open and Liam walked in carrying a plain paper bag and filling the room with the smell of spicy food. Ryver’s stomach rumbled. It smelt good. Liam wore the same old tattered clothes he always did, and he smiled when he saw her.

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “Yeah, thanks to you,” said Ryver. “How can I ever repay you?”

  “Forget it.” He placed the bag on a small round table and lifted out plastic containers of food. “That’s what friends do.”

  “Let’s have some cold lemonade with our food,” said Jessica. “Liam, be a dear and get some ice from the machine.”

  “Sure thing, Mrs. H,” said Liam smiling. Tearing his eyes away from Ryver, he picked up the ice bucket and left, pulling the door closed with a click.

  “He’s a good kid.”

  Yeah, I couldn’t have survived without him.

  Liam walked past the other motel rooms to the ice machine outside the office. He hummed a tune to himself as he flipped up the machine’s lid and started scooping ice into his bucket.

  “Hey, kid, you got any money?”

  Liam continued filling the ice bucket and humming contentedly to himself, he hadn’t noticed the scruffy man who had appeared from nowhere. The man regarded the thin youth with cold eyes. He reached forward to grab Liam’s shoulder, but the boy spun faster than anticipated and stepped back out of the man’s reach.

  “Gimme your money, you little shit!” threatened the man. He held a short-bladed knife down beside his leg.

  “Or what?” Liam’s voice was calm, and his face expressionless.

  “Or I’ll gut you.” The thug raised the knife so Liam could see it clearly.

  Liam lifted his chin and laughed. Despite the midday heat, it was a chilling sound, causing the man to step back. The knife faltered in his hand and he lowered it unconsciously, his resolve slowly disappearing.

  While holding the ice bucket with one hand, Liam stepped forward and grabbed the man’s dirty shirt with a small fist, pulling him effortlessly down so they were face to face. For a second Liam’s eyes flashed red and the thug lost his nerve, desperately trying to pull away, but he wasn’t strong enough to break the thin boy’s hold. Unconsciously, the man dropped his knife, but he never heard it clank onto the concrete path.

  “Jake Monroe…don’t we already own you?” said Liam, his voice cold and level.

  “W-what? H-how…” stuttered the man, baffled how this skinny kid knew his name.

  “Yes. You’re one of ours, even if you don’t know it.”

  “I-I’m sorry kid, I-I don’t want any trouble. Let me go…please.”

  “Well certainly, Mister Monroe.”

  Liam released his grip on the man, who stumbled back into the office wall. The man stared wide-eyed at Liam for a few moments before coming to his senses. Turning, he ran into the parking lot and disappeared behind the office.

  “I’ll be seeing you soon, Jake Monroe,” Liam shouted after the fleeing man. A wicked grin touched his lips. “Oh, Jake, my boy,” he muttered to himself. “That was a big mistake.”

  Liam closed the lid on the ice machine and walked back toward the room where Ryver and Jessica were. He smiled, humming his tune again as he turned the handle and pushed open the door.

  “I’m back.”

  Thank you for reading The Dragon Stone. If you enjoyed it, could you please leave a review, I would appreciate it. This is important if you want to see more books in the series.

  To keep up to date with all my new releases, you can sign up for my newsletter and download a free book:

  http://www.paulsummerhayes.com/

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PWSummerhayes