Scorched s-1

by Mari Mancusi

  “It’s hard to believe she’s really here!” added Aiko. “I feel like we’ve been waiting forever.”

  “Some of us never believed it was going to happen at all,” added Rashida, giving Trevor a knowing nudge. He rolled his eyes and blushed.

  “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. Then he turned to Trinity. “She’s brilliant, Trin. Truly brilliant. Good work.”

  Trinity grinned with pride, reaching over to stroke Emmy on the nose. The little dragon danced and purred happily, causing the Potentials to crack up. Malia reached over, daring to touch her tiny nose and Emmy rewarded her with a big slurp of her tongue. Malia screeched in surprise, yanking her hand away, then laughed sheepishly and reached out to pet her again.

  “I can’t wait to get one of my own!” she cried. “It’s going to be so amazing.”

  Trinity nodded happily, a strange sense of contentment washing over her. It was strange. In some ways, nothing had changed—she was still technically trapped here, still unable to walk out the front doors. And yet now, with Emmy here, she wasn’t all that sure she’d want to even if she could.

  It wasn’t easy taking care of a newborn dragon, and it didn’t take long for her to realize she had no idea what she was doing. Thankfully, the Dracken had been endlessly patient, showing her how to feed Emmy, to bathe her, to keep her warm. Not to mention babysit her at times when Trin just needed a few precious hours of sleep. And most importantly, they showed her how to use her gift to communicate with the dragon, to ensure Emmy not only felt safe but loved. That was the fun part, actually—to spend hours just cuddling her dragon while whispering in her mind all the things they would do together. Trinity found she never felt happier than when Emmy was in her arms.

  She tried to imagine what it would have been like if she and Emmy had been out in the world when the dragon was born. The creature probably wouldn’t have made it through her first night—or have been able to hatch at all. The Dracken had made it all happen, continued to make it all happen, and Trin found herself left with a grudging sense of gratitude and respect for the ragtag team of time travelers and orphans. And she felt bad for being so suspicious at first.

  It still wasn’t home, but at times it felt pretty darn close. And it would feel even more so, she knew, when her grandpa joined her at last.

  Wait until you meet him, Em, she sent. You’re going to love him as much as I do. The little dragon bobbed her head excitedly, and Trin tried to imagine her grandpa’s face when she presented Emmy to him for the first time. The moment he would realize, without a doubt, that he’d been right all along—that all his lifelong dreams had finally come true.

  She looked up just in time to catch sight of a dark figure skulking across the back of the room. Her heart snagged. Caleb. She hadn’t seen him since their little trip to the Nether. He hadn’t even shown up with the others after Emmy’s birth. After all the work he’d done to bring the little dragon here, he should have been first in line to greet her. But instead he stayed away, lurking in the shadows. And she was pretty sure she knew why.

  She sighed. Time for an apology.

  “I’ll be back,” she told her new friends. The girls gave her knowing looks and smiles as they followed her gaze.

  “Take your time,” Aiko teased.

  “Yeah, no rush at all,” added Rashida with a wink.

  She shot them a weak smile—at times, they really did seem like sisters—then pushed across the dance floor. It took a while to cross—everyone wanted to talk to her and meet Emmy—but finally she managed to reach the edge of the food court. Spotting Caleb trudging down the darkened hall some distance ahead, she picked up the pace.

  “Wait!” she cried.

  He stopped, stiffened, then turned around slowly, his face unreadable. “What?” he asked.

  She faltered, words failing her as her eyes caught his, flashing and cruel. “About what happened,” she started.

  Caleb waved her off. “Please. Don’t embarrass yourself on my account. It’s really no big deal.”

  “But—”

  “I was in the mood. You were ready and willing. It happened. Now it’s over and done. Let’s move on with our lives, shall we?”

  His words stung. Badly. Even though she was the one who had pulled away. But that wasn’t because it hadn’t meant anything. It was just—

  “What, do you think you’re the first girl I took into the Nether?” he scoffed, catching her anguished expression. “Please. I’ve had half the Potentials in there. Nothing like a good dragon race to get a girl all hot and bothered.” He snorted. “You should have seen when I took Aiko in there three months ago. She was practically ripping off her shirt before I could even manifest a single marshmallow.”

  Trinity’s throat seemed to close up. “Oh,” she stammered. “Wow.” She no longer had anything to say—at least nothing she could force past the huge lump that had formed in her throat. Her mind flashed back to the cliff side, to Caleb’s tormented face. The story that had broken her heart. Had it all been an act? A signature move honed and perfected over the years to lure Potentials in? Make them feel sorry for him so they’d agree to hook up?

  “Now why don’t you go back to your little birthday party and your little friends?” he added with a sneer. “I’ve got things to do.”

  “Yeah. I’m sure being a full-time douche keeps you pretty busy,” she retorted, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. She turned and walked away before he could see them fall. Thank God she’d had the sense to break things off first. How far would he have taken it if she’d lost herself in his arms?

  She stalked down the corridors, no longer in the mood to party. The happy, carefree faces of the Potentials would only serve to torment her. Had Caleb really taken Aiko into the Nether? Had he broken her heart too?

  Not that her heart was broken, she reminded herself. Like Caleb said, it was no big deal. Just a kiss. Nothing more. And not even a good idea. She had enough going on with her newfound mission to save the world to be wasting time on some doomed romance. She was the Fire Kissed, after all. She didn’t have time to be some guy’s girlfriend too.

  A tear slipped down her cheek.

  Don’t cry, Trin.

  She gave the dragon a rueful look. Emmy gazed back at her with concern deep in her blue and golden eyes. She reached out a hesitant paw and brushed Trinity’s cheek, swiping away a tear. Trinity gave the dragon a sad smile. At least she had someone who cared.

  “You know, that was the first thing you ever said to me,” she reminded Emmy. “Back at the museum. When I thought you were fake.” She twisted the ring on her finger. “It seems a million years ago at this point.”

  She sighed. She was so tired. So, so tired. But she squared her shoulders and shook it off best she could. Emmy needed her to be strong after all, to keep the promise she’d made. And so when the dragon gave her a doubtful look, she reached out to pat her wing reassuringly.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said. “I just need a good night’s sleep.”

  “You do indeed,” boomed a deep voice. Trinity whirled around, startled. The Dracken Master himself, Darius, stood not two feet away, dressed in a smart black tuxedo, his hair slicked back with a bit too much grease. She hadn’t heard him approach. “Your training begins tomorrow. And I must warn you, it will be nothing if not intense.”

  She forced herself to smile back at him. “Intense is my middle name,” she declared, mustering up her bravado. “I can hardly wait.” She turned on her heel, ready to head back to her bedroom.

  “Stop,” he commanded suddenly in a voice that caused her heart to leap to her throat. Turning back slowly, she leveled her eyes upon his face. His smile had disappeared.

  “Yeah?” she asked, biting her lower lip.

  For a moment the Dracken leader said nothing, just regarded her with solemn eyes. Then he sighed deeply. “Before you go, I have some news. About your grandfather.”

  Her heart fluttered. “News?” she repeated warily.

  “Maybe
you should sit down. We could go to my office and—”

  “No.” She shook her head vehemently, scarcely able to breathe. “Just tell me.”

  Looking regretful, he reached into his jacket’s interior pocket and pulled out a folded newspaper, holding it out to her. “What is this?” she asked, heart pounding madly now as she took the paper and unfolded it with shaky fingers. Her eyes widened as she realized she was holding a copy of the Old Oak Grove Gazette. Today’s Old Oak Grove Gazette. She looked up at Darius, confused. “I don’t understand.”

  Without a word, he took the paper from her and flipped it over. She looked back down. “The obituaries?” she asked. “What…?” She trailed off, her eyes falling on the single entry for that day. She nearly dropped the paper.

  “No,” she stammered, her world falling out from under her. “There must be some mistake.”

  Darius shook his head slowly, then opened his arms. She fell into them, sobbing hard against his chest. He wrapped his hands around her, rubbing her back with long, even strokes. She didn’t have the strength to pull away.

  “I’m so sorry, Trinity. I wanted to wait to tell you, so you could have your celebration. After all you’ve been through, I didn’t want you to have to deal with this too. At least not before you regained your strength.”

  “What happened?” she asked, pulling away, searching his face. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Emmy, dancing nervously around her, clearly upset at her mistress’s distress. But she needed answers first—before she could reassure her dragon.

  He gave her a sorry look. “From what my men could gather, your grandfather was found a few days ago, down by exit 13 off the old, abandoned interstate. He had been beaten within an inch of his life.” He cringed. “They tried to operate but his heart couldn’t take it. He was in a coma for a few days before he finally let go.”

  He kept talking but Trinity could no longer focus on his words. Exit 13. That was where she’d told him to meet her. But then she’d sent Connor instead. The Dragon Hunter who she hadn’t realized at the time was trying to kill her.

  She broke out into a fresh set of tears. Had Caleb been right about his brother all along?

  “I’m so, so sorry,” the Dracken leader murmured, taking her face in his hands and peering down at her with intense brown eyes. “I know how much he meant to you.”

  “He was my family,” she sobbed. “My only family.”

  “No!” Darius’s eyes flashed fire. His hands tightened against her face until she almost cried out in pain. “We’re your family now. And we’ll always be there for you no matter what. We’ll never let anything happen to you. I promise.”

  His words were fierce and passionate, and probably meant to comfort, but instead chilled her to the bone, realization hitting her hard and fast. As nice as they were and as helpful as they’d been…

  They were never going to let her go.

  Forcing the fear back, she looked down at the paper again, as if she could somehow change what it said by sheer force of will. But, of course, the words were written in indelible ink.

  She looked up. “The funeral is on Friday,” she managed to say past the lump in her throat. “I’d like to go.”

  Darius regarded her for a moment, then shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s not possible.”

  “Please,” she begged, her voice trembling. “I’ll leave Emmy here. You can send guards with me. We’ll leave immediately after the service.” She gave him a pleading look. “I just want to have the chance to say good-bye.”

  Darius gave her a pitying look. “I know. But I can’t allow it. It’s too dangerous.” He shook his head. “We’ll hold our own memorial here,” he told her. “We’ll all come together as a family to honor his memory. He was important to us too, Trinity. Without him, Emberlyn might still be trapped in a glacier. It was his dedication to his work that set her free.” He smiled sadly. “Why, we owe him our very existence.”

  Trin frowned, unease itching at the corners of her mind. His words were exactly right and yet something still felt wrong—something hazy just around the edges. On impulse, she attempted to push into his brain, as Caleb had done to read her thoughts, but found herself blocked by a solid, black wall. And suddenly doubt seeded in her mind.

  Maybe it was just desperation—of not wanting to believe a truth too horrible to swallow. Or maybe she was just going crazy—with all that had happened, it didn’t seem too farfetched. But what if there was something else going on here? What if he was lying? Doctored the paper to say what he wanted it to? What if her grandpa wasn’t dead after all? What if this was just another way of trying to keep her here?

  “Look,” she tried. “I just want to—”

  “I’m sorry, Trinity,” he interrupted, his tone final. “But it’s too dangerous. You will not be allowed to leave these walls.”

  “For how long?” she demanded, the anger and frustration inside of her threatening to boil over. “How long are you going to keep me locked up in this damned place?”

  The Dracken didn’t reply, simply bowed his head respectfully, then turned to walk away. Trinity watched him go, furious beyond belief, then found herself reaching out again, trying desperately to break through his wall.

  And then, just before the Dracken leader slipped into the shadows, she heard it. Escaping his mind like a tendril of smoke, twining its way back to her and her dragon.

  What do you care? it taunted. It’s not like you have anywhere left to go.

  PART 4:

  SMOLDER

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Have you seen this girl?”

  Connor watched wearily as Trinity’s grandfather approached two teenage girls walking out of the convenience store, flashing the five-by-seven school photo in their faces. “Her name is Trinity. She might have been traveling with a brown-haired boy who looked something like him.” He pointed over at Connor. The girls studied him with interest, giggled, then shook their heads before walking away. Connor sighed. This was beyond useless.

  Trinity’s grandfather dropped the photo to his side and rejoined Connor by the car. “I think we’ve hit a dead end,” he admitted mournfully. “I can feel traces of her spark, as if she were here at one point, but no one remembers seeing her.”

  Connor clamped a comforting hand on the old man’s arm. He looked beyond exhausted and for good reason. Maybe it had been a mistake to teach him how to glean energy signals from the atmosphere. It was a useful Hunter trick when tracking down dragons and it could work on others with the gift as well. But while Connor had discovered Trinity’s grandpa to be a natural-born Hunter, he was also very old and very weak. Energy gleaning took a lot out of even the hardiest of Hunters and was a technique to be used sparingly. But once Grandpa had learned what he could do, he refused to stop doing it. Every second she was gone, she was in danger, he’d reminded Connor. They’d come this far; they couldn’t give up now.

  “It’s as if she’s vanished off the face of the earth,” Grandpa muttered, raking a hand through his thinning gray hair. His whole body was trembling, Connor noticed, and he looked as if he could barely stand.

  “Look, why don’t we find a hotel and get some rest,” he suggested kindly. “Once you’ve regained some spark we can try again.” He was pretty drained himself and could use a small break before pressing on.

  “No.” Grandpa frowned. “There’s no time for rest.”

  Connor gave him a stern look. He was beginning to realize where Trin had gotten her stubbornness from. “You’re dead on your feet. You’ll be no good to her if you collapse and I have to bring you to the hospital.”

  Trinity’s grandfather groaned in response but thankfully didn’t try to argue. “Okay, fine,” he said. “But just for a short time. Then we’ll try again.”

  “Right. Now wait here and I’ll grab us some supplies.” Connor gestured to the convenience store. “You want anything special?”

  Trinity’s grandfather shook his head and
Connor headed inside the store to make his purchases. In addition to water, he grabbed a few oranges and energy bars. It was important for a Hunter to properly fuel his body in order to achieve maximum spark. And at this point, they could both use as much spark as they could get.

  Once he had paid for his purchases, he headed back outside. “Are you ready to…?” He started to say, but then realized Trin’s grandfather was no longer leaning against his car. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen at all. Connor’s gaze darted from one end of the street to the other, anxiety prickling at his skin. He tried to tell himself that the old man had probably gone to find a bathroom or something—his bladder was beyond useless at his age. But as the minutes ticked away, that idea started to seem more and more unlikely.

  Charlie? He reached out, grimacing at the effort. His spark was so low at this point it wasn’t even funny. Where’d you go? Are you okay?

  I’m fine! Grandpa’s excited voice shot through Connor’s head a moment later. I met some guys—they know where she is! They’re going to take me to her!

  Connor tensed, warning bells clanging in his head. No! he cried. Wait for me. Don’t go anywhere until I get there.

  It’s fine, Connor. They’re real nice fellas. They’re going to—

  His send stopped abruptly, as if the connection were severed by a knife. Fear throttled Connor as he tried to find the old man with his mind. But it was as if a brick wall had slammed down between them.

  Flecking hell. What had he been thinking—leaving him alone like that? Trinity had told him her grandpa was gullible, but he didn’t think even he would be so stupid as to go off with a bunch of strangers alone. Evidently he underestimated the man’s determination to find his granddaughter at any cost.

  Suddenly Connor heard a cry—an old man’s cry of pain—echo through his head. He sprang into action, racing down the street in the direction of the sound. Stomach churning, he pushed past curious bystanders, not bothering to apologize, as his pulse drummed out his fear.