by Susan Illene
Aidan lost sight of his group with all the fire surrounding them. He reached out and caught an arm—a scaled shape-shifter arm. The flames let up enough for him to see it was Falcon standing before him. His eyes had a grim look about them.
“We are outnumbered and many of us will die this day,” the older warrior said. “Let us take as many of the pure dragons down with us as we can.”
Aidan dipped his muzzle. “I would gladly die in battle with you at my side.”
They entered the fray together, each grabbing an opponent. The green dragon he fought swiped at him, slashing into Aidan’s chest. The wound was deep and it took a moment to catch his breath. He punched his opponent in the nose. It sent the dragon back a step, but then he swung around to lash out with his tail. Aidan leaped up to avoid it, spreading his wings just enough to slow his descent back down.
His feet touched the earth and he tackled the dragon. His legs straddled his opponent on either side and he used his arms to keep flailing legs from striking him. Aidan bit down on the dragon’s throat, but didn’t get a good hold and was shaken off. He blew the purple and blue flames over his opponent’s face. Nothing happened. It must not work on anything except the soft tissue inside the body. Unless he got the dragon’s mouth open, that tactic wouldn’t be usable.
A set of claws tore at his left wing, sending shrieks of pain through him. It felt similar to cutting one’s finger on parchment paper, except his wings were larger and the slices much longer. Another swipe tore into his other wing. It was all he could do to hold the dragon beneath him down, but a backward glance let him see his second opponent.
Giving the beast inside him full rein, he let go of the human side of himself. He roared and bit down as hard as he could into the neck of the dragon beneath him. His sharp teeth crushed the throat. As he waited for his opponent’s struggles to stop, he lashed out with his tail at the one behind him. The spikes at the end caught on the soft scales of the dragon’s stomach. Aidan jerked them out.
The struggles below him stopped. He leaped off his dead opponent, spun around, and went after the one who’d been tearing into him from behind. They tumbled to the ground, rolling across it as they fought for the higher position. Their struggles were halted when they crashed into the body of a red dragon. It wasn’t the same one he’d seen before. Though he couldn’t glimpse the face from where he lay on the ground, the scent was of an older warrior.
Aidan pulled his leg up to his chest and kicked his opponent off of him. The dragon sailed back a few feet, giving him room to stand. He was jostled about as other fighters ran into him. There was hardly any room to move. Aidan leaped forward and went after his opponent again.
The dragon lashed at his belly, tearing into it. He wanted to roar at the pain wrenching at him, but his inner beast helped him fight his way through it. Rage unlike anything he’d felt before ran through him. He would not die this day and certainly not for his brother’s benefit.
As he ripped and tore into the dragon before him, he caught glimpses of the battle around him. At least five from among his clan were dead and most others faced two opponents. The odds were against them. They’d have to fight like they never had before to make it out of there alive.
Chapter 33
Bailey
“Damn, this is crazy,” Conrad said, gazing out the passenger side window.
I drove the truck down Alameda Street, moving at about ten miles per hour. Dead dragon bodies littered the area. They were on the road, in the parking lots, and one on a roof. Stray animals and birds fed on the guts spilling out of them as if they were at a feast. Between the corpses, carrion, and scorched pavement, I could hardly get through. The dragon slayer in me cheered at the sight, but the human in me found it appalling. So much loss of life.
We’d come to the east side of town to search for supplies and found this instead. My gut churned as I counted at least a dozen red dragons in the mix. This hadn’t been caused by a military strike, but a battle between clans.
“I hope Aidan wasn’t a part of this,” I said. Surely he would have said something if he planned to participate. At least given me some kind of warning in case he didn’t come back.
“Would you recognize his body?” Conrad asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied, rubbing at my face. “They’re all so torn up that even if he is out there I might not know it.” The thought terrified me because I still needed him—and I’d begun to care about him. He couldn’t be out in this mess, he just couldn’t.
Conrad frowned. “Then let’s worry about finding food. You’ll be meeting Aidan for training tomorrow and can see for yourself he’s okay.”
He was right, though I hated to admit it. Getting upset when we didn’t have all the facts would be pointless. I’d learned enough from Aidan in the past couple of months to know there were at least a few hundred shifters in his clan, probably more. What I saw on the road was only a tiny portion of that number. He was most likely alive and doing fine while I worried about him for nothing.
“There’s a grocery store up there. Let’s check it out,” I said, pointing toward it. “Maybe all these dead dragons have kept other looters away.”
“Let’s hope so.”
I pulled into the parking lot and drove around another body. It was a green dragon, taking up four parking spaces with its wings crumpled open. A pink tongue lolled out of its mouth and a dog pulled at its intestines, growling when a crow came nearby. I almost gagged at the sight.
Guiding the truck up to the front of the building, I pulled to a stop. There was no movement through the windows, but the morning light didn’t let me see very far back. With all the death around me I was feeling jittery—like I shouldn’t be there.
“Come on,” Conrad said, beckoning with his hand. “It’ll be alright.”
We climbed out of the truck. I was heading around the vehicle to meet him at the door when gunfire erupted. The zing of bullets flew past my head.
“Get down,” I screamed at Conrad, dropping down behind the back tire.
I ran my gaze around the area, searching for the source. A moment later Conrad cried out and fell to the pavement. From underneath the vehicle I could see him lying on his back, his face turned toward me. Oh God, my heart skipped a beat, he’d been hit on the right side of his stomach. Blood coated his fingers where he held the wound.
“They’re in the store,” he wheezed out.
The shooting continued with no signs of stopping. I crawled toward my back bumper and peeked around it. One guy stood at the entrance, only the upper part of his body visible. He was shouting at someone else inside. I aimed my Glock toward the part of him I could see, took a deep breath, and fired.
He let out a yell and grabbed his chest before crumpling to the floor. Another round of gunfire erupted from inside, breaking the store front windows. One bullet whizzed by too close. I hunkered behind my back wheel, waiting until they stopped to reload before rising.
There were two men inside jamming fresh magazines into their pistols. I fired at the one on the right and hit him in the neck. He went down, disappearing from my sight. The other one finished reloading his weapon and got a shot off at me before I could take cover again. A sharp pain hit my chest. I stumbled back, falling to the pavement.
For a moment, I struggled to breathe. With shaky fingers, I felt for the wound, but all I found was a hole in my t-shirt. The camrium top had stopped the bullet from going any farther. It was only the impact causing me pain. Footsteps came from the other side of the vehicle. More gunfire erupted and my heart nearly stopped. Conrad!
Ignoring the ache in my chest, I crawled to my feet, ready to shoot the attacker. No one was there. I took cautious footsteps around the truck and found the third guy lying on the ground with a bullet hole to his head.
“Got him,” Conrad said, his pistol falling from his hand.
Relief filled me that my friend was still alive, but then I saw the huge red spot on his gray t-shirt. The kind that usual
ly landed a person in the operating room at a hospital.
“How do you feel?” I fell onto my knees beside him.
Conrad winced. “Not good, not good at all.”
I thought over my options quickly. Danae was a great medic, but I didn’t think she could do much for Conrad. We were nearly out of antibiotics and what we had might not be strong enough to help. Not to mention there had to be some organ damage. Conrad’s normally dark skin was paling by the second.
“I’m going to have to take you to Verena’s,” I said.
He gasped. “The witch?”
Even in pain, Conrad couldn’t help himself. His snarky attitude was part of what endeared him to me. I’d do anything to keep him alive and that included making a deal with the devil.
“The sorceress,” I amended. “She healed my arm once so I think she can do more for you than anyone else can.”
“Don’t want to owe the bitch,” he mumbled in a whisper.
Then his eyes shut and he went limp. I checked his pulse and found it weak and thready. Taking off my shirt, I pressed it against his wound, tucking part of the cloth under his belt to help keep it in place. He wasn’t going to die on my watch if I could help it. I opened the door and then bent down to pick up Conrad. My muscles strained, but they managed to take on his full weight. It had to have been pure adrenaline that allowed me to get him settled in his seat.
Once I got his seatbelt over him, I got into the driver’s seat and tore out of there. It took some maneuvering to get back around all the potholes and dragon bodies, but I made it out a lot quicker than when I’d come in.
I raced through town muttering prayers under my breath as I veered around wreckage, debris, and other damage in the road—some by the earthquakes and some by dragon fire. Conrad sat slumped in his seat. His breathing was getting so shallow I could hardly see the rise and fall of his chest.
I pulled into Verena’s driveway and shouted her name while coming around the truck to get the passenger door open. She rushed out of the house about the time I had Conrad laid out on the grass.
“What happened?” she asked, eyes wide in surprise.
“We were attacked. He’s been shot.”
She peered closer. “I can see that. What do you want me to do about it?”
“Heal him!” I urged.
Verena clucked her tongue. “After the way he acted the last time he was here?”
I ground my teeth and held back a string of curses that popped into my head. “That’s just the way he is with everyone, including me. He doesn’t mean any harm by it. Please help him.”
“You’re going to owe me for this,” she said, pointing a finger.
Of course, I would. I’d known that as soon as I decided to come to the sorceress, but it was my friend’s life at stake. The regret I’d feel at letting him die would be worse than whatever she could ask of me. At least, I hoped that was the case.
“Fine, but he will owe you nothing,” I stipulated. I had to at least keep him free and clear of any obligations to her.
“This young man has nothing to offer me, anyway.” She knelt down next to me and peeked around the shirt I’d stuffed over Conrad’s wound. “Oh, this is bad.”
“Can you fix it or not?” I demanded.
She pursed her lips. “I can make certain he lives, but it will take time for him to recover.”
That was good enough for me. “Then do it.”
“Let’s get him into the house,” she replied.
I held his upper body while she handled his legs. We carried him through the front door toward a spare bedroom she had down the hall. The bed inside was antique with a brass frame. A little more modern compared to when Verena was born, but old by my standards. We set Conrad on top of a patchwork quilt covering the mattress and worked to pull his clothes off, leaving only his boxers. He moaned once but didn’t resist.
“Take a seat,” the sorceress ordered. “I’m going to need you out of the way for this next part.”
I found a wood chair in the corner and settled into it. At this point, I’d do whatever she asked as long as it helped Conrad. Seeing him lying there wounded and helpless killed me. I kept running the scene of him getting shot in my mind over and over, thinking of ways I could have done something differently to prevent this.
That didn’t stop the guilt, though. I was going around in bullet-proof clothes while he was completely vulnerable. A glance down at my top revealed an indent similar to the ones Aidan had when I’d shot him. Since I’d started wearing the outfit, I’d never considered how it might protect me in that way. It seemed like ages ago when I had fired at the shape-shifter.
Verena put her hands over Conrad’s wound. Her face scrunched up tightly and her hands shook. Under her breath, she muttered words I couldn’t understand. Nothing else unusual happened such as weird glowing or flying sparks. For what must have been an hour, I waited with growing trepidation to see some kind of change in Conrad. Nothing. All he did was lie there deathly still.
Verena eventually pulled back and grabbed the nightstand for support. She looked almost as ashen as her patient. I got up and helped her to take a seat next to Conrad on the bed. He was still in a deep sleep, but his chest rose and fell more deeply.
“How did it go?” I asked.
“My healing powers are limited compared to my mother’s,” she said, shakily. “But I managed to repair the worst of the damage to his organs and stop the bleeding. I’ll need to rest for a day before I can do more.”
“Will he survive?” That’s what I needed to know more than anything.
“Yes.” She nodded.
“Okay.”
Verena rose to her feet. “I’ll get you some bandages and alcohol to clean his wound. You’ll need to watch over him for the night. I must sleep without interruption if I’m to regain enough powers to do a little more in the morning.”
“I’ll take care of him,” I promised.
She shook her head and sighed. “He’s lucky to have you as a friend.”
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Chapter 34
Bailey
“Where am I?” Conrad asked, squinting against the morning sunlight.
Verena had performed a shorter round of healing on him compared to last time. After that, she’d gotten something to eat and went back to bed. That was three hours ago. I almost felt guilty for using her after seeing how much healing took out of her. Almost. Conrad was more important than her.
“At the sorceress’ house,” I answered, moving to sit on the bed beside him.
His gaze jerked around and he started to sit up. “What?”
“Settle down.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “She’s already drained herself with two healings for you. Don’t undo all her hard work.”
His wound was still raw and swollen, but it was starting to knit back together. She’d said that was all she could afford to do and I’d just have to be satisfied with it. Conrad would have to recover from the remaining damage on his own. That included getting his strength back up from blood loss.
“Tell me you didn’t sell your soul to her,” he said, giving me a reproving look.
I smiled. After a long night where I only dared sleep for two hours, it was good to see him awake. He’d moaned and shifted around a lot in the early hours, worrying me that he was getting worse. His skin had felt a little too warm for my liking as well. A part of me had feared Verena’s healing wouldn’t be enough, but then she’d come in a little after sunrise and worked on him again. That time I could see a difference in him.
“Nah, not my soul.” I shook my head. “Just a couple toes and one of my ears.”
“Ain’t nobody wants your ears, Bailey.” He rolled his eyes.
“Okay, fine, you got me. It’s my nose she wants.”
He studied my face. “Yeah, I can see that. It’s a cute little thing.”
“So how are you feeling?” I asked.
He glanced down at his stomach and the fresh banda
ge over it. “Like a bullet hit me, but probably better than I should.”
“You have Verena to thank for that. There’s no way you would have made it without her.” It was important to impress that on him in some faint hope he’d be nicer to her. Until he got better, it wasn’t a good idea to move him anywhere. Plus, Verena had put some nice, even stitches in him after the last healing—better than I could ever do. He really didn’t want to mess that up by trying to relocate just yet.
“How long have I been here?”
I glanced out the window, gauging the sunlight. “Almost a full day.”
“Folks at the library are going to worry about us,” he said.
“Yeah.” I rubbed my face. “I was waiting until you were strong enough before going back to check in with them.”
His eyes were starting to drift shut. “I’ll be alright. If the witch wanted me dead, she could have just refused to help. You go back and let Trish know we’re okay. I gotta get some more sleep.”
He was being brave for me. I knew damn well he didn’t want to stay wounded and vulnerable here, but I really did believe he’d be safe. Whatever favor Verena wanted, she wouldn’t risk losing it by letting anything happen to him.
“Alright, I’ll go now and come back later.” I rubbed his arm.
“Don’t return until morning,” he said, his voice fading as sleep pulled at him. “I don’t want you driving to see me in the afternoon when the dragons are out.”
“Conrad, you are the most considerate jerk I know.”
His lips twitched. “Don’t you forget it.”
***
The library was gone—completely gone. I slammed the truck to a stop on Elm Street, my heart thumping rapidly. Maybe my lack of sleep was causing delusions. It couldn’t be true. I grabbed my keys as an afterthought and ran up the sidewalk, stumbling a couple of times along the way. My gaze kept searching for the building where it should have been, but it didn’t appear. When I reached the edge of its foundation, I fell to my knees.
