by Susan Illene
“What was Norma doing up?” I asked. She was usually in bed by eight, which was well before Justin settled for the night.
Trish shrugged. “She gets insomnia sometimes, so she sits on her porch until she gets tired.”
“Isn’t it getting a little cold for that?”
“She wraps herself up in blankets.” Trish glanced at Justin. “Unlike some people.”
He ground his jaw. “Bomber doesn’t bark for no reason. I didn’t want to waste time getting dressed.”
I made a mental note that Trish should look into getting him a robe for Christmas. “So what was he barking at?”
“A rabbit,” he said, turning his attention back to his rifle.
I snickered. “It’s good that people in the neighborhood have you to protect them from such scary things.”
“Like how you stopped the dragons from attacking last night?” he growled.
I tensed at the reminder. “I can’t be everywhere at once.”
“No.” He put a hand on his knee and glared at me. “You were too busy with your new dragon boyfriend to bother protecting this city like you should.”
“Justin, that’s not fair.” Trish glared at him. “Bailey deserves to have a life, too.”
I sighed. “No, he’s right. I should have been out there to stop them.”
“But…” Trish began.
“Are the shifters going to do anything about it, or is it up to us?” Justin interrupted.
“They’re doing something.” I went on to explain what I knew of the attack and that Aidan and the pendragon were meeting with the Thamaran dragons to try resolving the situation. “Hopefully, it was a one-time thing and won’t happen again.”
Though I still wanted the attackers dead.
“So we can still go Christmas shopping?” Trish asked.
Justin shot her a dark look. “You’re not going out today—not after what happened.”
I put a hand on my hip. “Nanoq will have extra patrols on the border by now. There’s no way the dragons would attack again this soon and during the day. Even if they do, I can protect Trish just fine.”
He shook his head. “You can’t guarantee her safety. I want her here where I can keep an eye on her.”
Trish crossed her arms. “I’m standing right here, and I’m telling you I’m going.”
“No.”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “It’s a free country.”
He rolled his eyes. “There’s no country left!”
I considered taking the butt stock of Justin’s rifle from him and hitting him in the head with it. “You’re not keeping her a prisoner here.”
He stood. “I’m not letting you put the mother of my child in danger!”
A knock sounded at the door. Trish glanced between her fiancé and me as we stared hard at each other and sighed, throwing her hands up. “I’ll get it.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of Justin until she returned with Conrad. He wore his favorite pressed khaki pants, a green button-up shirt, and polished boots. The dark-skinned twenty-year-old looked ready to go somewhere much nicer than a looting/shopping trip, but that was how he always dressed. I’d never seen anyone more obsessed with keeping a clean appearance.
His gaze ran around the room, and he knitted his brows. “By the tension I’m feelin’ in here, I’m guessin’ Justin doesn’t want Trish to go out with us.”
“You would be guessing correctly,” Justin said, sitting to finish sliding the pieces of his rifle back together.
“Come on, man.” Conrad took a step closer to him. “You know me and Bailey will watch out for her. It ain’t right to keep your girl from doin’ some Christmas shopping.”
“Just because you gave up your woman doesn’t mean I have to risk losing mine,” Justin said, locking the last piece of the weapon in place with a final click.
Conrad flinched. It had been two and a half weeks since he’d been forced to choose between keeping his girlfriend or fighting dragons with me. He’d come to the conclusion that if she couldn’t respect his choice to help me protect the city, then she must not really love him for the man he was. It was a tough decision. Though he did his best to hide it, I could tell it hurt to let her go despite the fact he did what was best for him.
“Stop being an asshole!” Trish yelled at her fiancé, throwing her hands up.
Justin’s expression hardened. “Then tell them you’re not going to go.”
Trish paced the room, moving back and forth in front of their newly added fireplace. We were lucky to have a stone mason living on the next block over who could build them. It had been tricky finding the right bricks for the fireplace, though. Who knew they had to be specially treated and that using regular bricks put your home at greater risk of going up in flames? We already had dragons around for that without having to help their cause.
“We’ve talked about this.” She pointed a finger at Justin. “If you want me to marry you in January, you have to prove you’ll stop being so controlling. This is your chance or…”
He stood. “…or what?”
“Or I’ll leave you and move someplace else.”
Justin’s eyes sparked. “You wouldn’t.”
She lifted her chin. “Try me.”
Conrad spoke up, “Man, you gotta stop this shit and accept you can’t dictate everything around you.”
Justin’s gaze ran between us. We were lined up against him, and it was clear if he didn’t relent, we would help Trish leave. He sighed and ran a hand through his short, brown hair. “Alright…alright. She can go.”
Trish gave him a broad smile. “I promise I’ll be careful.”
“I know, baby,” he said, moving toward her and wrapping his arms around her waist. His features were full of anguish. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I worry. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do. You and I…we’ve already been through so much.”
She gave him a wobbly smile, her eyes misting. “Bailey and Conrad will keep me safe.”
I met his gaze. “She’ll be fine.”
“Try to be back before dark.” He pulled Trish closer and kissed her softly on the lips. In that moment, I could see how much she meant to him—even if that didn’t make me like him more. “I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too,” Trish said, fluttering her eyelashes.
We gave them another minute to say goodbye and then headed out of the house. I didn’t want to waste any time in case Justin decided to change his mind. Trish was settled in the backseat of my truck with her safety belt on before I even started the engine.
“Hurry,” she urged.
“And peel your tires on the way out,” Conrad suggested. “That’ll annoy him.”
I put the truck into drive and gunned the engine, smoking my way down the street.
Chapter 3
Bailey
I took Boyd Street going west so we could check out the damage the dragons had caused the night before. As it turned out, the attack happened near 24th Avenue, and we had to head north almost to Main Street before we reached the area. I slowed the truck, not worried about affecting traffic since there wasn’t much these days with the fuel shortages. There were several homes totally obliterated by the dragon flames with only a thick layer of black dust covering the ground to mark where they’d been, and one half-burned place with the side gaping open so you could see into a bedroom. For only one family to have been affected, I had to guess the other damaged houses weren’t occupied. That wasn’t surprising since most people had moved away from the interstate, finding places farther east to live where it was safer.
I did take note of several red dragons—a color that denoted shifters from Aidan’s clan—flying in the sky. Nanoq had increased the patrols as I’d hoped he would, which would likely guarantee us a safe shopping trip from any fire-breathing beasts. Fellow humans would be an entirely different matter, though.
Conrad, Trish, and I were silent as we stared at the ruined hou
ses. I was glad the Norman Regional Hospital remained open since at least it gave people somewhere to go. A few doctors still worked there, along with nurses and other medical personnel who had chosen to stick around and keep the facility running despite a lack of resources.
Danae went there whenever she could to help with the most severe cases, using her powerful healing magic. People all over town also brought fuel for the hospital generators by pumping it out of local gas stations. Even those tanks were running low though, and eventually there would be nothing left. I didn’t like to think about what would happen after that.
Taking a deep breath, I hit the gas pedal, and we continued north. I’d decided the best place to go was a shopping center on the north side of town by the airport. Some of the stores had been damaged, but it was the least looted area. That was primarily because for the first few months after the dragons arrived some of them had inhabited the airport hangers and surrounding buildings. No one in their right mind would go near that many dragon nests set closely together, and with the town’s population vastly reduced by the time we kicked the Shadowan out, the stores were mostly still full of goods. I’d done a scouting trip two days before since I wanted to make sure it was worth bringing Trish there.
“Where do you want to stop first?” I asked, glancing at my friend in the passenger seat.
The street was lined on both sides with big box stores, as well as smaller specialty shops. There were restaurants around the area as well, but those wouldn’t have anything useful. I was fairly certain all the non-perishable foods had already been taken out, and we didn’t need any cookware or tables.
“Let’s try Target,” she said and pointed up ahead. “I want to pick up a few things for the baby while we’re out, and they should have most of what I need.”
“Sounds good to me.” I drove toward the store.
We pulled into the parking lot and took a good look around. There were several cars near the front covered in dirt and dust. It was hard to tell if they’d been abandoned or if they might have been new arrivals who posed a threat since all vehicles were filthy these days. I hadn’t been able to memorize everything I saw during my previous scouting trip, considering there were too many parking lots in the area, but I did remember most of the stores had at least a couple of cars or trucks in front of them.
Conrad and I grabbed our pistols, checking to make sure they were loaded. A lot of people around town knew me by now as the dragon slayer and wouldn’t cause us trouble, but I hadn’t met everyone, and there were always those who didn’t care if I fought to keep them safe. The weather was turning cooler, supplies were running out, and some people wanted to get holiday gifts for their families. That translated to increased danger when going out. I’d promised Justin I’d keep Trish safe, but I’d also promised her that she would be able to get the things she needed. Somehow, I had to make both of those things happen.
I led the way since I wore camrium clothing—which was both fireproof and bulletproof—and I could heal a lot faster even if I did get wounded. Trish followed close behind with Conrad taking up the rear.
Though the sun still shined brightly outside, not much light made it into the interior of the store. I stopped a few feet inside, gesturing at the others to duck down by some shopping carts, and waited a moment for my eyes to adjust. Scanning slowly, I searched for any movement. My senses were heightened since becoming a dragon slayer, so I also listened for any suspicious noises. It was a large building with a high ceiling. If someone were walking softly on the far end, I wouldn’t be able to catch the sound of it, but if they were within a hundred feet of me, I probably could. Nothing stirred.
Inhaling deeply, I took in a myriad of scents, including dust, sweat, and urine. Humans had visited the building recently, but I couldn’t tell if they’d been there in the last couple of hours. My senses weren’t that good. It was a shame the pendragon had pulled Aidan away, or he could have said for certain.
After taking one last look around, I waved at the others. Conrad grabbed a shopping cart and tested its wheels. It didn’t make any loud squeaks or rattles, moving smoothly. We were all aware that we needed to stay as silent as possible if we wanted to ensure we didn’t attract any attention. In a place as big as a Target superstore, one loud sound could carry throughout the building.
Trish pointed down a main aisle that led to the back of the store where they kept tools and home repair products. I didn’t hold out much hope there’d still be anything useful, but I led the way there to humor her. You never knew if you might find some random item that had gotten shoved into the dark recesses of the shelves and missed by others.
As soon as we moved past the soft rays of sunlight coming from the windows, Conrad flipped on a flashlight and fixed it to the cart he pushed. I was still doing fine with my enhanced vision, but he and Trish didn’t have that advantage. We turned down a narrow aisle, tiptoeing our way through. My friends worked together with their flashlights to scan the shelves for anything useful. They found some glue, a small toolkit, and a couple of other random items. I made a quick dash around the corner to check for a tire repair kit; thankful one was still there. Most people went to the auto parts stores to get them, so they probably didn’t think of it at Target. I was always grabbing them just in case and had a full box of them back at the house.
After we’d filled the bottom of the shopping cart, we moved on. Trish grabbed a new pillow and blanket. Conrad found a few clothes in his size and a pair of shoes. So far, so good—we were all alone. Most people did their looting/shopping in the mornings, which worked to our advantage. It also helped that there’d just been a dragon attack to scare everyone from going out.
We made it over to the section with the baby stuff, and Trish went wild. I had to grab her arm to remind her to be quiet. We started small by getting infant clothes, pacifiers, and other things important for a new child. Not too many people bothered to loot the stuff since few needed it, and kids grew out of most things pretty fast. Before long, the cart was overflowing. Trish made Conrad carry a large box with a car seat inside. I drew the line when she attempted to get me to hold a baby swing. One of us had to be able to draw our weapon on short notice.
“Formula,” she whispered as we moved closer to the food section. “My mom had a tough time breastfeeding, and I’m afraid I will, too.”
I stopped and turned. “We don’t have any space left.”
“But the baby will need…” she began, trailing off as her gaze ran past me and her eyes widened.
I spun around, catching sight of several men coming toward the store. They didn’t try to be quiet at all as they slammed the first set of doors open and shouted to each other. We were caught in an open area directly across from the entrance about fifty feet away. I gestured at Conrad and Trish to move toward one of the side aisles, staying put until they were safe. Maybe the guys’ eyes wouldn’t adjust before we got out of sight, but just in case, I wanted to be the one they noticed first.
The second set of doors slammed shut behind them, and they scanned the store. Their voices finally dropped to a hush. Trish and Conrad wheeled their way behind a tall shelf, and out of sight. I inched toward them. Then a skinny man with scraggly hair looked my way, stiffening as his gaze met mine.
“Hey, you!” He pointed.
I froze.
Not daring to glance at Trish and Conrad, I moved toward the men instead. No way did I want to give away my friends’ location. If I could take on a dragon, I could take on—I counted—three, four…five men. Damn, this was going to suck.
Every one of them aimed a gun at me. Two had rifles, and the other three had pistols. Though I could take a lot of damage compared to a regular human, I could still die from a well-placed bullet in the head. This was going to be tricky. My sword and knife were sheathed, easy for the men to see if I reached for them. I had a Glock as well, but that was holstered behind my back and drawing it would instigate an immediate firefight. The only way to take these guys down
was to lull them into a false sense of security first. I also needed them to point their weapons away from Trish’s direction or else a stray bullet might punch through the shelves to hit her.
“That’s it, little lady. Come closer and let us get a better look at you,” a man to the left said. With the light behind him, I couldn’t make out his features very well. From what I could tell, he had a scraggly beard, shoulder-length gray hair, and a sturdy build. Nothing about him appeared familiar that I could latch onto and maybe talk my way out of this. He was a stranger.
I kept walking until I was about ten feet in front of them and stopped. “What do you want?”
Another man with a bushy mustache grinned. “What do you think? Now keep your hands where we can see them and stop playing coy.”
Several of them lowered their rifles, so they weren’t pointed directly at me anymore. Despite my camrium clothing resembling kickass leather and the weapons strapped to my side, I was too petite to quite pull off the warrior look. Ruari hadn’t been entirely wrong when he pointed out that I didn’t look like much of a fighter, but that worked to my advantage now. All these men saw was a small woman in tight, black clothing with her dark hair pulled up in a high ponytail.
I inched closer, encouraged by them lowering their guard. They had a wide field of view behind me before the rows of shelves started and probably thought I was alone. I walked until I was within arm’s reach of the guy on the left and his rifle. In my head, I was already planning my battle strategy and how I might—hopefully—be able to take the group down without having to kill them all. It was my personal goal not to use my slayer abilities to take human lives unless I absolutely had no choice. You had to draw the line somewhere, or you’d become as bad as the things you hunted.
“I’m not looking for trouble,” I said, knowing it was useless to say that, but hoping my soft tone would make them relax even more. Yep, that was me—small and helpless. Nothing to fear or worry about.
