Hidden Dragon (Dragon Rising Urban Fantasy Series Book 1)

by Trudi Jaye

  HIDDEN DRAGON

  Dragon Rising Series, Book 1

  by Trudi Jaye

  www.trudijayewrites.com

  I’ve been hunted my whole life...

  My name’s Mei Walker, and everyone wants me dead. Well, maybe not everyone, but some days it feels like that. Worst thing is, no one will tell me why. I'm not even sure my protectors actually know why.

  The Earthbound—the secretive organisation hunting me—has spies everywhere. I’ve been in hiding ever since I can remember, and I’ve never felt completely safe. We move regularly from place to place, and I can never be sure if the next person I meet will be the one who betrays me.

  To discover the secret behind their relentless pursuit, I have to make it to my twentieth birthday—that’s when supernaturals come into their full power. It’s not long now, but the Earthbound are stepping up their game. It’s going to be fifty-fifty whether I make it.

  Truth is, I know I’m not special. The Earthbound have made a mistake. If I can stay safe until my birthday, I can prove them wrong.

  How hard could it be?

  If you love this story, you’ll love Trudi Jaye’s other books. Click the link below to join Trudi Jaye’s Readers Group and receive free short stories, go in the draw for competitions and get insider information—plus be the first to know when the next book in the series is out!

  Sign up to Trudi Jaye’s Readers Group by clicking here.

  Other books by Trudi Jaye

  Ringmaster

  The Gift

  Tilly’s Secret

  High Flyer

  Hidden Magic

  Hidden Dragon (Dragon Rising Series, book 1) is published by Star Media Ltd

  Published 19 August 2016 by Star Media Ltd

  Copyright © Star Media Ltd, 2016

  Cover design: www.ravven.com

  Urban Fantasy

  All rights reserved. Hidden Dragon is a work of fiction. Names, places and incidents, except those clearly in the public domain, are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, names, places or incidents is purely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without written permission from the author.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Readers Group

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  About Trudi Jaye

  With thanks to the SPA Girls. You make writing fun.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Si’s muscles flex as he swings his long fighting stick at me. He looks like an avenging angel; his short black hair is slicked back off his face, and his dark, almond-shaped eyes give nothing away. Mostly those same eyes are wreathed in smiles, lines crinkling around the edges, but in a fight, he’s hard and unforgiving. To him there is nothing more than to win or lose, to live or die. Perhaps he’s right. I know he’s only trying to save me from my enemies.

  I block his next attack with my own fighting stick then leap back out of range, taking a quick swipe to his side as I go. Si’s expression doesn’t change. I’m sure it hurt like hell—there wasn’t enough time to pull up his supernatural defenses—but he’s a pro at hiding his emotions.

  Sweat’s dripping off me, and my legs and arms feel like jelly. We’ve been at this for a couple hours now. Fight and retreat. Smash and return. I’m tempted to call time, but I know I have to fight on. If I give up, Si will make it ten times worse. He’s big on lessons that will make me stronger.

  Life doesn’t just stop because you want it to. If this was a real fight, do you think your enemies would let you take a break?

  Si shifts his fighting stick to the other side, his loose cotton trousers swishing as he moves gracefully into a different fighting stance and attacks again—this time slamming his stick toward my midsection. I block, then attack, kicking one leg high toward his face. He evades and steps back. “You’re not concentrating, Mei. You’re going to get yourself killed,” he says, frowning. His voice is rough—some long-ago fight messed with his vocal chords. Probably defending me, for all I know.

  But with his smooth olive skin and thick dark hair he could pass for any age between twenty-five and forty. It’s his chameleon genes, I guess. He could be two hundred, for all I know.

  A shiver runs along the spell web clinging to my skin, alerting me to another presence nearby; Jeff has stepped into the training ring alongside Si. The older man might have slowed down with age, but he’s a dangerous opponent, and uses whatever tricks he can.

  Like surprise, for example.

  Luckily I have a secret weapon—my link to the spell web makes it impossible for anyone to sneak up on me at close quarters. I turn, pushing out a back kick, attempting to put Jeff off and give myself a few seconds to prepare for fighting the two of them at once.

  Jeff avoids my kick and I feel the movement behind me as Si attacks again. Sidestepping, I manage to avoid a stick to the head. I strike out at Si with my stick, landing it against his side, even as I avoid another attack from him. I twist in midair, landing with a thump, and roll into a low fighting position.

  Jeff can’t quite keep up with my movements, and I turn fast behind Si to land a kick on Jeff’s stomach. He grunts and moves backward. I take no satisfaction from scoring a point over Jeff. It’s like hurting an old faithful dog—a Rottweiler with big teeth, and a nasty streak—but an old dog nonetheless.

  Even worse, today he’s wearing a lurid Hawaiian shirt instead of his usual dark shirt and tie. He’s even got a bit of salt-and-pepper stubble on his face. He looks like a damn tourist instead of a wily SIG agent.

  “You’re scared of the new agent,” says Jeff, his breath puffing as he tries to recover from my kick. “Maybe he’ll be a stickler for the rules. Won’t let you go off on your own like I do.” He smirks at me, his bright blue eyes perceptive. That’s how Jeff wins his fights these days—through mind-fucking his opponent. He’s not fast or particularly fit anymore, he’s just tough and smart. And it works.

  Despite the fact I know it’s an attempt to make my emotions take over and put me off, I feel anger and resentment rising up. Who the hell does he think he is? He doesn’t know what I’m feeling. I take a deep breath and let it out, trying to release my animosity. I narrowly sidestep a punch from Jeff, only to have Si land a solid hit to my leg.

  My resistance crumbles a
long with my leg. I stagger to one side, barely escaping another slam from Si’s stick.

  Who am I kidding? I don’t want Jeff to go. He’s the one who figured out how to keep me safe. He’s been around a long time; he watched me grow up, which is more than my own father did. And maybe he’s a little on target. What if the new guy is a total jerk? I try to imagine the replacement SIG agent. All I can picture is some starched-up dude in a suit.

  And just like that, Jeff lands a punch to my side and I spin backward. I only just manage to stay on my feet.

  “I heard he goes by the rules,” Jeff taunts. “Talked to an old friend at the cadet academy. He’s fresh out of training and won’t want to ruin his chances of promotion.”

  The words make my hands clench tighter around my fighting stick. Another ripple goes through the spell web and I finally use it in my defense. I reach out along the glowing grid and push a pulse of energy toward Si. He blinks and shakes his head, stepping back out of my range. I can’t do the same to Jeff, because he’s human, but I hit out at him with my stick—I’m too distracted to even get close.

  Desperately, I try to find my focus. I know I won’t get any points for taking on the two of them at once. Si barely counts Jeff as an opponent these days. The spell web ripples in warning, and Si’s weapon slams into my side, knocking the breath out of my lungs with his precise positioning. Where Jeff is all brute strength and trickery, Si is precision and accuracy. I stumble backward.

  Jeff takes the opportunity offered and kicks my legs out from under me. I land on my back; stars fill my vision, and for a millisecond, I wonder what I’m supposed to do. They’ve got me on the ground, two against one. Si and Jeff loom over me, both waiting for my next move. They’re not stupid enough to think I’ll stay down.

  There’s really no question what I’ll do next.

  Magic.

  I seldom use it. Si says it’s a crutch and has banned it in the ring. But desperate times...

  And Jeff started it.

  Water from the nearby fishpond slams into the two men towering over me before either of them knows what’s happening. It knocks them both down, pushing them away so I can scramble to my feet. Seconds later, I use my stick to strike three precise hits to both Si and Jeff.

  This time Si knows it’s coming and has already pulled his protective chameleon scales over his skin, and probably doesn’t feel it. Jeff rolls away with a grin, and I can see he’s enjoying my response.

  I strike again with my stick, directly at his smug expression.

  But Jeff’s been doing this too long to be caught by a cheeky sideswipe to the head and he ducks back out of range.

  “I’m thinking I might not come back, like I planned. I might take a long cruise. Maybe meet someone,” he says.

  Even though I know it’s a lie designed to knock me off balance, I still let his words affect me. I stumble and glance toward Jeff. He knows I’m strung out by his impending retirement, and he’s using it against me.

  Jeff just raises his eyebrows at me. “You better keep an eye on both opponents, Mei. You never know when the other will strike.”

  Again, a ripple along the spell web alerts me seconds before Si slams his stick into my left thigh. I crumble to the ground, but manage to turn it into a roll at the last minute, and come back to my feet, a little bit away from Si. I turn toward him, ready to take him down once and for all.

  Behind me, Jeff speaks again. “I came out to let you know your father’s coming tomorrow. He’s going to do the debrief himself.”

  I drop my guard in surprise. My father? I haven’t seen him since I was four years old. An emotion I can’t name grabs hold of my heart. I turn to Jeff again. “What?”

  An arm snakes around my neck from behind and pulls me into a lock position, slamming me into the ground and holding my face to the floor. I struggle, but can’t break the hold. My concentration is shot; I can’t access my magic. Even the spell web feels like it’s smothering me. It tingles along my skin, making my magic short circuit.

  I’m done.

  “Enough,” I mutter. “You win.” They’re cheating, not letting me fight Si properly. They’ve been doing more and more dirty fighting in the last year. I don’t know why I’m surprised every time it happens.

  “You can’t give up like that,” Si says. His voice is inches from my ear. He speaks softly, with only the barest trace of an accent. “You’ll die.”

  “It’s not a fair fight. Jeff knows all the buttons to press. I won’t be fighting someone who knows that much about me.”

  “You don’t know that. You have to train for all eventualities. It’s the only way to survive,” Si replies, before letting me go.

  “Is he really coming?” I uncurl from my prone position on the ground, but remain seated, my legs crossed.

  Jeff hesitates, then nods. “He is. Said he wants to meet this new agent personally.”

  “He didn’t do that when you started.” I don’t remember much about it, but I’m certain my father didn’t come out twelve years ago when Jeff first came on the job.

  “Maybe he didn’t think you’d make it to twenty at that point,” Si says. “There’s less than two months to go now. There’s more at stake.”

  I try not to let the words hurt. Si isn’t trying to sting me, not like Jeff would have in the ring. He’s just stating a fact. What I am means more to my father than who I am. He’s not coming to visit with his daughter; he’s coming to protect an asset. This new agent probably means more to him than I do.

  I’m not even entirely sure why my father feels so strongly about protecting me. I know I have enemies, people who believe I’m dangerous. They’ve been trying to kill me since I was born. My father thinks I’m important too—not because I’m his daughter, but because of something inside me, something they think I can do.

  The irony is, they’re all wrong. I don’t have anything different or special inside me. At least, no more than every other supernatural out there.

  Si extends his hand out to me, and I take it, letting him pull me to my feet. I sigh. “I’m going for a swim.”

  “Don’t be too long. He’ll be here soon,” Jeff says. There’s nothing but concern in his voice now.

  I nod, but don’t look back as I head along the path between the trees that goes to the river. It might have been part of my training, but Jeff’s words are like a thorn under my skin. I need time to lick my wounds and regain my equilibrium.

  My steps get faster the closer I am to the water. Soon I’m all but sprinting toward the roar of the waterfall. I emerge out of the forest next to the pool where the river has widened beneath the surging waterfall; the spray hits my body and I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. As I gaze up at thirty feet of water gushing over the rocks, I can literally feel the power leaking into the air around me. This place has been my savior more times than I can count. It’s not just because I have water magic; it’s that it soothes me, it envelops me. It shaves off the hard edges of my life and gives me peace again.

  I strip down to my bra and panties and start the climb to the top. My body falls into a familiar rhythm, and I let the energy soak into my body, consciously allowing my fears and worries to slip away.

  By the time I reach the top, I’ve almost recovered; I’m clear headed and ready to face anything. I hold my arms out to the side, take a deep breath, close my eyes, and dive over the edge into the water.

  CHAPTER TWO

  A long time later, I wander back to the house. I’m reinvigorated and ready to face whatever they can throw at me. I had to put my clothes back on over my dripping body, so I’m a drowned rat version of myself. My shoes squelch as I stride back along the path, and I wish everything wasn’t about to change yet again. I push my magic out along the spell web—the lightly glowing, crisscrossing lines are almost invisible in the sunlight—trying to see if the agent has arrived. Not everyone can use it the way I do—it’s like having another set of eyes that can see into the distance and around corners.


  Through the spell web, I sense someone else at the house. Not a full supernatural, or even a half, but with strange residual energy that I’ve never seen before. As I emerge from the woods, I spot a red Ford truck parked in the driveway.

  He’s here. The new SIG agent, sent to protect me from the people who want me dead.

  I pause, every instinct pressuring me to run, but I let out a huff of breath instead. What am I running from? I’m upset because my life is being messed up by circumstances outside of my control; running away will only make it worse. I force myself to stride purposefully toward the back door, but my footsteps slow when I hear raised voices inside.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” The stranger’s voice is angry, but still manages to have a velvety smooth charm to it. I frown.

  “You’re the perfect person to be looking after her. I’ve seen your files.” Jeff’s voice is calm.

  “It’s perfect for you, you mean! An older agent looking for a cushy job to finish out his career. This is my first damn assignment! I don’t want to be babysitting some helpless girl in the middle of nowhere!”

  I shift slightly. Who’s he calling helpless?

  “This job is important.” Jeff’s voice doesn’t change in tone, but I can tell he’s pissed.