by Trudi Jaye
Then we’re stopped at the guard station, and we both go completely still. I don’t really know if we can trust Amos. This is a huge risk. Why the hell would he go against his father for some stranger? The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. I’m suddenly convinced that it’s all a ploy to make me more vulnerable or willing to cooperate. I start breathing heavily.
Amos is talking to the guard, and they both laugh. This is it. The point where they tell us it’s all been a joke, and we’re not really free. Pressing my face against Seth’s neck, I try not to cry.
Then the van starts up and we’re through.
I let out a breath, and Seth squeezes my hand.
Amos drives for another few miles before he slows down next to a service station and stops. He parks to one side of the station and gets into the back of the van, closing the door behind him. By this time, Seth and I are sitting opposite each other on the cushions and Amos makes himself comfortable next to me.
“Why did you do it?” I ask him. I’m still trembling and I need something to distract me.
Amos shrugs. “I couldn’t let my father hurt you. It’s not right.”
“He’s wrong about me, you know.” Even now, I need to convince him. To make sure he understands that he’s done the right thing.
Amos glances at my face and then away again. He nods. “That’s what I’m counting on.”
“So what now?” I ask.
He shakes his head, his black curls bouncing over his face. “I don’t know. My father will be really angry.”
“That’s an understatement,” says Seth softly.
Amos goes pale, like he’s only just realizing what he’s done, and I glare at Seth. He’s not making this any easier.
Impulsively I put one hand on Amos’s arm. “Thank you. You saved my life today.”
He looks at me; there’s warmth in his eyes that wasn’t there before. He smiles and puts his hand over mine. “As soon as I saw you, I knew you could never hurt anyone.”
I’m a little taken aback by his statement. He barely knows me, but he’s somehow romanticized me into someone I’m not. His skin feels clammy, and he’s holding my hand tightly in place. I wish I hadn’t touched him. “I promise I’m really not who your father thinks I am. Setting me on fire isn’t going to change that.” I pull my hand away gently. Amos’s smile falters and he looks hurt, but I can’t help that.
Seth looks at me, his eyes narrowed. “What the hell happened?”
“Vincent tried to prove I’m a dragon.” I try to look calm, like it was nothing. But the memory of the burning hot room makes me flush with heat.
“How?” he asks suspiciously. He looks at my singed clothing more closely.
I hold my hands in my lap to stop the tremors. “I got out, that’s all that matters. But let’s just say I don’t plan on going back.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
We’re heading east.
I don’t know if Amos has figured out why, but both Seth and I are aiming for New York. It’s the head office of the SIG, and hopefully my father is there. I don’t expect the rank and file at the SIG to know or help me, but my father will get me out of this mess. I hope. I glance at Amos next to me in the driver’s seat. He’s concentrating on the road, and ignores me. He’s a very conscientious driver. I get the impression he hasn’t driven much before. Seth is in the back, trying to sleep.
Now I know what Vincent has been looking for all these years, I feel stupid. Angry, too. But mostly stupid, because I can’t do the things he wants me to. He’s waiting for me to set everything on fire, and I can’t. To swim without needing to breathe. It’s like being asked to recite the alphabet backwards in school and realizing you don’t even know it forwards.
“So this is your van, huh?” I say to Amos. “It’s nice.” Ever since I pulled away from his hand, he’s been distant. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, and we owe him a huge debt.
Amos nods. “I bought it a few years ago. When I still thought I might be allowed to go to college one day.” His voice has a tinge of bitterness.
“Your dad doesn’t approve?”
“He believes in saving the world. That’s about it. Doesn’t leave much time for the normal stuff.”
I nod. “I know what that’s like. We had to move around all the time, to keep off the trail of... your father.” I glance at Amos. “I never had much time to be normal either.”
In the back, Seth snorts. “Normal is overrated. Ask anyone.”
Amos and I lock eyes. Seth doesn’t understand the isolation of being a child caught up in something like this. On this point, Amos and I understand each other completely.
“Do you think your father will forgive you?” I ask tentatively. From what I’ve seen, I don’t think so.
Amos clenches his hands on the steering wheel. “If it turns out you really are a dragon, then no. But if you’re not”—he glances at me—“then I might be okay.”
I hold one hand over my heart. “I promise I’m not a dragon.” I’m certain of it now we’ve left the Earthbound stronghold. I think back to the dragon paintings. “Not even remotely.”
Amos gives me a relieved smile. “I’m going to get you as far away from the Earthbound as I can, give him a chance to cool off. Dad can be overbearing sometimes, but he does it for all the best reasons.”
I nod, but I don’t agree with him. His father is caught up in his version of the way things should be. I don’t want the spell web to come down, but I don’t think it has to be me who keeps it alive. Or that he should be allowed to force me to do it.
“Perhaps I could talk to my father? Make him see reason. You could come back to the Earthbound sanctuary and help us,” Amos suggests. He doesn’t take his eyes off the road, but I can see the tension in his face and I think he’s holding his breath.
I shake my head abruptly, too horrified to be tactful. “Your father has been trying to kill or capture me my entire life. His people have murdered almost all the people in my life who meant anything to me. I can’t just make friends and pretend none of that happened,” I say fiercely.
Amos glances at me, his eyes wide. He immediately turns back to the road. His face is flushed. “I... I’m sorry. I didn’t think of it like that.”
“I’m not trying to upset you, Amos,” I say, and I really mean it. I don’t want to hurt his feelings. We’d never have escaped without him, and he seems like a decent person, but he has to understand his father is the bad guy here.
The worst of it is that Vincent has been focused on the wrong person all these years. I’m not a dragon. Which means there might be someone else out there who is. Was the story Vincent told me about the Chinese dragon’s baby even true? Goose bumps rise over my skin. What if they found me somewhere, a supernatural child with no parents, and put me in as a decoy to distract Vincent?
Am I a decoy-dragon?
Maybe all these years, the reason my father hasn’t been that interested in me is because I’m not really his daughter. Perhaps I was never even expected to survive this long? Was I supposed to die young and convince Vincent he’d won?
I could be like those kids who are born to be stem cell donors to their sick brothers or sisters. My sole purpose in life is to be a decoy to the real dragon child.
For some reason, this hits me hard. I don’t want to be disposable, the decoy for the real child. My stomach feels as if it’s been punched, and tears fill my eyes. I grab a pair of sunglasses from the dashboard, and hide behind the reflective lenses. I clench my hands into shaking fists and try to convince myself I’m wrong.
But it really feels like it might be the truth.
Why else does Vincent think I’m a dragon, when I’m so clearly not? The answer seems obvious now. He’s been conned. They’ve played the old switcheroo on him, and he doesn’t even know it. I wonder where she is, the real dragon girl, and what she’s doing. Does she have protectors like Si and Jeff keeping her alive? Does she have to move around all the time like me? Or is she
living somewhere nice, secure in the knowledge that I’m taking the knocks so she won’t have to?
I dig my nails into my palms and look out the window. It’s just fields and fields of crops, as far as the eye can see. It’s soothing, and I concentrate on identifying the different plants, just to keep my mind off this new insight.
“Was it truly that bad? Growing up?” Amos asks quietly.
I’m no longer in the mood to spare him. “We travelled a lot. Got attacked a lot. People died around me all the time. But after Jeff arrived when I was about eight, he found a way to predict the attacks. He learned the pattern of them, he used to say.” I shake my head. “Whatever it was, it worked. We were still attacked all the time, but no one died. At least not after my protector Lee died when I was twelve.” I glance at Amos, not willing to let him off the hook. “Until two days ago, when they killed two men who were like fathers to me. Just so they could get to me.”
Amos runs one shaking hand through his mess of curly hair. “I’m sorry. He kept me away from the darker side of what he was doing.”
“What was it like growing up with the Earthbound?” I ask, suddenly curious.
“My father is… intense. He’s focused on one thing: protecting the spell web.” Amos glances at me. “He’s very good at it.”
“Jeff said Vincent thought I was going to destroy the spell web when I turn twenty. But that’s not true, is it?”
Amos shakes his head. “No. The spell web is dying and my father is convinced you’re the only one who can save it. He thinks a dragon is the only supernatural strong enough.”
“Why’s the spell web dying?”
“Fewer supernaturals being born, and those being born aren’t as strong.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know,” he says, shaking his head.
I consider what he’s saying for a few moments. “I’m already connected to the spell web. I’m obviously not enough to save it.”
“You’re not a dragon,” Amos reminds me quietly.
I nod. He’s right. “But if this dragon really had a baby all those years ago, wouldn’t the real dragon baby be connected to the web as well?”
“They wouldn’t be a full dragon yet and probably won’t know how to wield their powers properly with no other dragons to teach them. My father has been studying the old confiscated dragon texts and believes he knows how to do it.”
“So Vincent wants to use my supposed powerful dragon magic to keep the spell web going and maintain his own powerful position?”
“No, no, it’s not like that,” says Amos, his voice almost squeaking in protest. The van swerves a little on the road as he turns to me. “He’s protecting the people from the darkness that surrounds them.” The words slip easily out of his mouth and I know it’s a phrase he’s heard before.
“Protecting the humans, you mean? And supernaturals, we’re the darkness?”
“Stop deliberately misunderstanding what I’m saying. You have to admit, not all supers are good for the human race.”
“Not all humans are good for the human race,” I retort.
“The Earthbound want to protect people, human and supernatural. Our world has been a better place since the creation of the spell web. Humans can live without constant fear, and supers can go about their daily lives without being lynched.” His voice takes on a different tone, and for a moment he sounds just like his father. “It’s what’s best for everyone, even if they don’t know it.”
I stare hard at him, my heart beating fast. For a moment it was like Vincent was in the van with me. Have I made a terrible mistake, trusting Amos like this? But Amos’s expression is nothing like his father’s—he’s sincere and earnest as he tries to convince me. I take a deep breath and shake it off. Amos is not like his father. “I don’t want the spell web to come down,” I say. “That’s not what I’m arguing for. I just don’t think your father should be allowed to go around doing whatever he likes. What did I ever do to him?”
“It’s not personal. He thought you could save the world. It’s not his fault he was wrong.”
“It’s not my fault either. Or Jeff’s. Or Si’s.” I look out the window, trying not to see all the blood. “What did any of us ever do, other than get in your father’s way?”
“I’m truly sorry for what’s happened to you, Mei. I really am.” His voice breaks.
I turn to face him and see tears hovering in his soft brown eyes. Amos is truly upset. More importantly he’s not to blame for his father’s actions. I manage a small half-smile in his direction. “I appreciate it, Amos.”
He turns back to the road, wiping at his eyes with the back of one hand. Neither of us can think of anything more to say and an awkward silence stretches across the front seat. I turn back to the window and watch the scenery pass by, thinking about what he’s said. The spell web is dying. If I were the last dragon, I’d be happy to save it—although not in league with Vincent. I’d do it on my own. As I’m not the last dragon, perhaps there’s a way to find the real dragon and convince her to save it instead?
A couple of hours later, Amos pulls into a service station, and I sit up, stretching my hands over my head. I had been half asleep, lying with my head on my sweatshirt.
He glances at me, his expression nervy. “We need gas,” he says, and climbs out of the van.
I sigh. He’s clearly been driving and thinking about his father and what he’s done by helping me escape; not to mention how much trouble he’s going to be in when he gets back.
I can’t help him with that. It was his decision to help me and to come with us. I consider telling him he should stay away from his father for good. Maybe that way he can avoid the crazy-bug that seems to have infected Vincent. I could say to Amos that he should move out from under his father’s shadow and make a life for himself. But I don’t. It’s none of my business, and I don’t think Amos would listen to me anyway. I just can’t help feeling it’s going to end badly for him. Goose bumps rise up over my arms.
I smooth down the fine hairs on one arm. Turning behind me, I see Seth curled up under the blanket, still asleep. I climb out of the van as quietly as I can and head to the small shop. I still have a credit card, sewn into the lining of my trousers, and I don’t think it’s one the Earthbound can trace. If the SIG can find me using it, great. I still want to talk to them.
I grab a few snacks and drinks randomly off the shelves and head to the counter. I can see Amos ahead of me in the line talking to someone on his mobile phone. He seems calm, so I figure it’s not his father.
I’m daydreaming about taking a hot shower, or even finding a river to swim in, when I glance outside toward the van. There’s someone sneaking around the side, holding what looks like a Taser gun. I stare for a moment, not really believing my eyes.
Seth.
I run straight out the door, dropping all the food in my arms onto the floor. Just as the man is about to open the van, I launch myself at him, loading a punch to the head and firing it off. He slams into the van and then slides down the side. A noise behind me warns me about a second attacker, and I spin, launching a backward roundhouse kick at chest height. It hits the second attacker in the stomach, and he steps back, but doesn’t go down like the first man. I look up. He’s tall, practically a sodding giant. He’s brown-skinned with a shaggy mop of hair surrounding deep brown eyes and a craggy face. He’s also covered in the glow of the spell web.
He grins down at me. “Hello, little girl. Do you want a fight?” His voice is gravelly, like how a mountain might talk if it could.
He’s a damn mountain supernatural. Hard as rock and twice as strong. Like most supernaturals, they can hide in plain sight in front of the humans, but they’re on the borderline. He’s tall and rugged and will probably beat me to a pulp.
I’ve never had to fight one, but Si has talked me through most types of supernatural creatures—the main ones he knew about anyway—and how to hurt them in a pinch. But a mountain super? Damn things are impossi
ble to kill, impossible to fight.
I kick him again, just to be sure. I’m pretty sure it hurts me more than him. He grins, grabs my leg, and flips me to the ground. There’s nothing I can do to stop him, he’s so fast and strong. He pins me to the concrete. I struggle, striking at him with my legs and hands, but he doesn’t move.
Mountain supers have the best of everything. They’re strong, fast, smart, and don’t feel pain. The only thing the rest of the world has going for us is that they hate other people—humans and supernaturals alike—and only want to hide away deep in the mountains.
Somehow, Vincent has convinced this mountain super to leave his preferred habitat to hunt me. “I’m not who he thinks I am, you know,” I say desperately. I kick out with my leg, trying to make him lose his balance.
He doesn’t even blink. “What makes you think I work for him?”
“Don’t you?” I’m panting hard, trying to get my breath back. He doesn’t even seem to be breaking a sweat.
He shrugs. “Sure I do.”
“I’m not who he thinks,” I say again.
He grins. “And what’s that, little missy?” He pulls me to my feet and holds me dangling in the air by my shirt. I grab a hold of his enormous hand, struggling to avoid being strangled, however accidentally.
“He thinks I’m a dragon. But I’m not.” I swing and try to kick him in the side. He moves back easily.
The mountain super laughs, a deep rumbling sound that I might have liked if he hadn’t been about to take me back to Vincent. “You’re everything he says you are.”
I roll my eyes. “He tested me. I failed both tests,” I say. I swing again, this time wrapping my legs around his middle. I squeeze for all I’m worth. He doesn’t seem to notice.
He starts walking toward a car with darkened windows, still holding my shirt with one hand. “I can feel the dragon in you, restin’, waitin’,” he says.
“You’re crazy. You’ve taken one too many hits to the head.” What’s strange about this whole situation is that I’m actually starting to like him. He’s got a nice face, a friendly expression with laugh lines that mean he could be called merry and jovial. There’s something warm and approachable about him that I find appealing. It surprises me. I always thought a mountain supernatural would be grumpy and nasty.
