Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames)

by Chris Cannon

  By the time they made it back to the room with the pizza, Rhianna and Jaxon were nowhere to be seen. Their books still lay on the table like they might be coming back to study. Bryn settled on the couch and put the pizza boxes on the coffee table. Clint stretched out on the floor, and Ivy sat in one of the wingback chairs.

  “I hope they don’t expect any pizza.” Clint grabbed a slice of sausage pizza and shoved half of it into his mouth, grinning as he chewed.

  “Impressive.” Bryn took a normal bite.

  Ivy laughed. “Don’t encourage him. At my tenth birthday party, he shoved an entire piece of cake in his mouth.”

  “I was trying to impress you.” Clint snagged another piece of pizza.

  “When we have kids, let me tell the boys how to impress girls,” Ivy said. “Or they’re going to be lonely.”

  “What are you talking about? We’re together, aren’t we?”

  “In spite of the cake,” Ivy said. “Not because of it.”

  Bryn finished off her first piece of pizza and grabbed another. One of the major perks of being a dragon was a fast metabolism. She could eat whatever she wanted and not gain weight.

  The sound of running water came from Rhianna’s room. Then the door to her bedroom opened, and Jaxon came out followed by Rhianna.

  “I told you I smelled pizza.” Rhianna grabbed a piece of pizza, placed it on a paper plate, and then headed over to the table where her books were laid out.

  Jaxon did the same.

  Clint raised his eyebrows, glanced toward the blond couple and then to the bedroom they’d exited.

  “Not a word,” Ivy said.

  “You’re thinking the same thing I am,” Clint said.

  “No way,” Bryn whispered. When she’d been paired with Rhianna, she knew Jaxon would visit, but she hadn’t thought through what he and Rhianna might be doing while they were there.

  “I could ask,” Clint said.

  Ivy smacked him on the shoulder. “Behave.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Clint polished off another piece of pizza, and then smiled at Ivy like he was up to something. “Bryn, are you going to the dining hall for coffee with Garret and the others later?”

  “I wasn’t invited,” Bryn said.

  “You could go with me,” Rhianna spoke up from across the room.

  Wanting to be supportive, she turned and smiled. “Sure, I’ll go with you.”

  “No,” Jaxon stated. “You won’t.”

  He did not just pull that lord and master crap on me again. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

  Jaxon reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We’ve had this conversation before.”

  “Which is why you should know better than to speak to me like that.”

  “Before you start in on another rant, perhaps you’d like to hear why I don’t want you to go with Rhianna.”

  Whatever his reason was, it wouldn’t be good enough. “Fine. Talk.”

  “Strategically speaking, if you go with Rhianna, it makes her look weak, like she can’t stand on her own two feet.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Rhianna said.

  “That must be some weird Blue Clan logic,” Clint said. “In my Clan, friends go places together to support each other.”

  “Yes. And you also do strange things to your hair and mar your skin with tattoos.”

  Lightning crackled in Clint’s palm. “I bet I could make your hair stand on end.”

  Chapter Four

  They so didn’t need this right now, so Bryn tried to calm her friend. “Clint, being offended by Jaxon’s snobbiness is a waste of time. It’s ingrained.”

  Rhianna cleared her throat. “We just had our rooms redone. I’d appreciate it if you two didn’t mess them up.”

  Clint closed his palm and the lightning dissipated. “Fine, but he needs to understand one thing. Your Clan may be different than mine, but it’s not superior.”

  Jaxon opened his mouth to reply.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Rhianna said. “For me. Please let it go.”

  Lips clamped together, Jaxon nodded and went back to his book.

  Maybe having her friends over here wasn’t such a good idea. She needed a way to get them out of the room without making it look like she wanted them to relocate. “After we eat, do you guys want to go flying?”

  “Yes,” Clint said. “Being trapped in a classroom all day makes me claustrophobic.”

  After dinner, Bryn, Clint, and Ivy departed by the terrace window, fixed courtesy of her grandmother’s staff. The brisk night air was invigorating. She dove and performed a barrel roll. Ivy copied the move. All three of them took turns performing aerial acrobatics, then playing follow the leader.

  Below them, Bryn spotted Rhianna walking by herself toward the dining hall. Consciously or not, she edged toward the dining hall with every maneuver.

  “Are we spying on her?” Clint asked.

  “No, just making sure she’s safe,” Bryn said.

  “I guess that’s what the asshat is doing, too,” Clint said.

  Bryn glanced around. Sure enough, Jaxon was flying laps near the dining hall. “See, that’s why I can’t hate him. He truly is trying to take care of her.”

  “That’s all right,” Clint said. “I can hate him enough for both of us.”

  Later that night, Rhianna returned to the room with a smile on her face.

  “Have fun?” Bryn asked.

  Rhianna joined her on the couch. “It’s the strangest thing. I never would’ve associated with half those students before my injury, but I liked them a lot. They all have a positive attitude. And Garret is funny. I didn’t know Greens could be so funny.”

  “Uh-oh. You better not say that in front of Jaxon. He’ll be jealous.”

  Rhianna pulled her knees up to her chest. “Garret is cute, and he blushes whenever he talks to me.”

  “If you run away with Garret and leave me to deal with Jaxon, I will never forgive you.” Bryn was only half joking.

  “Please, I would never leave Jaxon, but it is kind of nice to have someone else pay attention to me.”

  …

  As the week went on, Bryn watched for any sign one of her classmates might be a hybrid but never noticed anything. The other students on campus adjusted to their injured friends’ presence. Everyone except, of course, the Blue Clan. Saturday afternoon, Bryn asked Rhianna to accompany her to Dragon’s Bluff where she planned to meet her grandmother for lunch.

  “No, thank you. I’m tired of dealing with everyone. I want to hide out here for a while.”

  “I know what it’s like to have everyone staring at you and making you crazy, but are you sure you want to be alone? Fonzoli’s reopened. Valmont saved us a table.”

  Rhianna shook her head. “You go ahead. Have fun.”

  She thought about flying to Dragon’s Bluff, but her grandmother had already planned to pick her up. When the car arrived, her grandmother wasn’t in it. “Am I having lunch by myself?” Bryn asked the driver.

  “Your grandmother left for Dragon’s Bluff early this morning to oversee some of the details on the rebuilding. She’ll meet you at the restaurant.”

  “Oh, okay.” If her grandmother was in charge of the recovery efforts in Dragon’s Bluff, the place would be back to normal in no time.

  On the drive through campus toward the back gate, Bryn people-watched, or rather dragon-watched. Ugh. Would she ever stop thinking of herself as a human? Probably not.

  Students congregated at the new picnic shelters that had been installed around campus since so many of the trees had been demolished during the attacks last semester. Granite tables and benches sat underneath the shelters, which had decorative copper roofs. The official story claimed they were meant to provide shade. Of course, they would also provide protection from most aerial attacks. Not that the Directorate mentioned that part. Did they think the students wouldn’t figure it out, or were they supposed to be polite or obedient enough not t
o say anything? Too bad for them she was short on both counts.

  When they reached the back gate leading off campus, there was another change. The guard post where students had to sign in and out had transformed into what looked like a military bunker, complete with a dozen guards, camera surveillance, and an observation deck with something that looked suspiciously like a gun turret on top. Rather than a gun, there was something that resembled a cannon with a javelin sticking out of the barrel.

  “What’s that thing on top there?” Bryn asked as the car stopped at the gate and a guard approached the vehicle.

  The driver ignored her question in favor of rolling down the window.

  “State your business,” the guard said.

  “I’m transporting Bryn McKenna to Dragon’s Bluff to meet her grandmother for lunch.”

  The guard checked an electronic tablet he held in his hand. “I don’t see your authorization permit.”

  “Last minute change of plans,” the driver said.

  “I’ll need to see your ID.”

  The driver pulled a badge from his pocket and flashed it at the guard. “We shouldn’t keep Mrs. Sinclair waiting.”

  Unmoved by this statement, the guard tapped away on the tablet. “Miss McKenna, I’ll need to see your ID as well.”

  That was going to be a problem. “I didn’t bring any ID with me.” Since her grandmother was paying for lunch, she hadn’t even grabbed her wallet.

  The guard frowned. “Please step out of the vehicle. I can scan you and check it against the photo ID online.”

  That was new. Bryn tugged on the door handle, but it didn’t open. “The child safety locks must be on. Can you let me out?”

  “Sure.” The driver leaned away from the window, where the buttons to release the locks would be, and reached toward the passenger seat. An uneasy feeling grew in Bryn’s stomach. Something about this wasn’t right.

  “Miss McKenna, exit the vehicle. Now.” The guard drew a gun and aimed it at the driver.

  Holy hell.

  The driver turned, knife in hand, and lunged at Bryn. She sucked in a breath and blasted him with flames as she scrambled over the seat into the back of the SUV. The driver roared in pain but still managed to dive partway over the seat and grab her ankle. She kicked out, making contact with something that caused the driver to curse. What the hell was going on? The interior of the SUV was smoldering and smoking. She didn’t want to risk any more fire. Focusing on cold, she blasted him with ice. He countered with flames, melting the ice and filling the car with a cloud of steam. Now what? If she shifted in this confined space, she’d probably break a wing, so she kicked again, and missed. The back window of the SUV shattered, a new guard grabbed Bryn’s arms and pulled, but the driver still held her ankle.

  “Let go.” Bryn kicked again. Razor sharp pain sliced through her leg. She twisted and kicked.

  Bam. Bam. Bam.

  Gunshots reverberated through the car. The grip on her ankle fell away, and the guard holding her arms tugged her through the jagged edged window. Glass sliced through her clothes, biting into her skin.

  “Down.” The guard shoved her to the ground as the militia surrounded the vehicle.

  She sucked in a breath. The cuts on her back and arms stung, but they weren’t fatal. Her leg throbbed.

  “Is it over?” she asked. The sound of water trickling under the car caught her attention. Then the fumes hit her. Not water. Gas. And the inside of the car was still smoldering. Not good.

  “Shift!” Bryn shouted. She lunged away from the car, shifted and Boom. The SUV went up in a ball of flames. Fire engulfed her body, playing across her scales, doing little damage.

  Screams came from behind her. The guard by the door was engulfed in flames. She blasted him and the burning remains of the SUV with sleet, dousing the blaze. Everyone around her screamed. Dragon wings beat through the air. She eyed the sky. Friend or foe? How was she supposed to tell?

  Half a dozen Reds descended and stood guard around her. She turned in a circle checking the sky. Everything seemed okay. She sat down, oddly exhausted and unable to catch her breath, like someone had knocked the wind out of her. What was going on? The cut on her leg hadn’t been that bad. She checked the gash on the back of her right calf. If she were human, she’d need a few stitches. Since she was a dragon studying to be a medic, she’d healed minor wounds before, so she focused on the angry red line. Reaching inside, she gathered her life force like a small sun in her chest. Then she tried to direct the Quintessence, which she could normally do without breaking a sweat. While channeling her energy, a strange smell like rotten meat hit her. She gagged. Damn it. The blade must’ve been poisoned.

  More wing beats filled the air. A green dragon landed and shifted.

  “Bryn? What’s wrong?” Medic Williams shifted to human form. “Shift for me.”

  She tried, she really did, but the world was going all swimmy. Whenever she tried to focus her energy, it slid through her fingers like water through a sieve. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

  Someone shouted. Medic Williams laid her hands on Bryn. Heat surged through her body. A weird vibrating sensation started in her wings. It swept through her core. She felt stretched tight like a rubber band and then snapped back to her human form. Limp, she lay on the ground, unable to blink or speak, or move in any manner. The only thing she felt was the rising tide of panic clawing at her chest.

  The medic lifted Bryn’s leg, which was puffed up like a tick full of blood. That wasn’t right.

  “You’ve been poisoned. I’m going to burn it out.” Quintessence shot through her veins, and her body convulsed. It felt like she was watching someone else. The heat from the procedure…she should be able to feel it, but she couldn’t, and that was wrong. She willed the sensation of heat or burning or even pain, but there was nothing. Closing her eyes, she reached inside, trying to focus on the rancid smell, but her own Quintessence now felt like tar, unable to flow or move.

  There were more voices, and then she felt another pair of hands on her legs and another on her shoulders. A faint warmth, like sunshine through a window, enveloped her body. That was nice. The sensation grew warmer, and warmer.

  “This is going to hurt,” someone said next to her ear.

  Of course it is.

  Warmth flowed and turned into heat, the heat turned into a low burn, the low burn turned into a blowtorch searing her from the inside out, and she couldn’t even scream.

  …

  Why couldn’t she open her eyes? Bryn inhaled and smelled disinfectant. They must have moved her to the medical clinic. Come on eyelids. Move.

  A slit of light came into view. Maybe talking would be easier. She forced her lips apart, and a groaning sound came out.

  “Bryn?” She knew that voice.

  “Grandmother?” At least that’s what she tried to say. It came out as a muffled mess.

  Fingers pried her eyelids open. A beam of light aimed at her pupil sliced through her head. She tried to turn away, managing to move a little.

  “She’s coming around. It will take a while.”

  Back at school less than a week, and someone had tried to kill her—again. Damn it. So much for a safer school. Then again, if all those guards hadn’t been there, the driver, whoever he was, could have driven off into the woods, killed her, and dumped her body.

  That was a freaking cheery thought.

  She wanted to blast someone to cinders. At the very least, she wanted answers. Just lying here and not being able to move or talk pissed her off. So, time to concentrate.

  She’d start with her eyelids. They’d moved a little before. Lifting them was like trying to lift a boulder. Focus. The slit was bigger this time. Now she could see light again.

  “Bryn.” Her grandmother stood over her, studying her. “You can hear me, can’t you?”

  “Yes.” It came out like “essss” but at least she was talking.

  “Thank God.” Her grandmother sat down n
ext to her on the bed and grabbed her hand. “I’m beginning to think scaring the life out of me is your new hobby.”

  Bryn laughed. It was a dry, raspy sound.

  Her grandmother’s lips set in a thin line. “I can’t tell you how furious I am that something like this happened again.”

  She didn’t love it herself.

  “Excuse me.” Medic Williams came to stand on the other side of her bed. “You’re awake enough now. I’m going to channel energy into your body to support you, and I want you to burn out whatever remains of the drug in your bloodstream.”

  Why couldn’t Medic Williams do it by herself?

  “And yes, I could do it myself, but since you were unable to shift back to human form after the poisoning, we need to jumpstart your system and make sure everything is working properly again.”

  Would her Quintessence respond this time? The idea of losing the ability to manipulate her Quintessence and giving up her dream of being a medic made her afraid to try. But that was stupid. Of course she’d be able to do this. She hoped.

  Medic Williams placed her hand on Bryn’s shoulder. “Any time you’re ready.”

  Bryn focused on gathering her Quintessence. Rather than tar, it was thick like oatmeal, but she could move it. Slowly, she reached into her blood and detected a milk-gone-bad sour odor and little flakes, like ash, floating in her blood. That must be the problem. She focused and torched the flakes wherever she found them, drawing Quintessence from Medic Williams.

  As the ashy flakes disappeared, energy returned to her body and transformed into that strange pins and needles feeling she got when she’d slept on her arm wrong, except it was her entire body tingling. Not the best sensation she’d ever had, but it was more annoying than anything.

  Twenty minutes later, she couldn’t find any more. “I think it’s all gone.”

  The medic channeled a little more energy into Bryn. “We’ll check again tonight.”

  Bryn opened her eyes and smiled at her grandmother. “I guess we’ll have to wait on lunch.”

  Her grandmother didn’t say anything. She pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. Bryn hugged her back hard.

  When her grandmother released her, she sat in a chair by the bed. “Tell me what happened.”