THRAX

by Bonnie Burrows

  Cradled in the crook of Claire's arm, Lucy made a feeble cry, kicking her little legs, but Claire didn't even glance at her. She kept her gaze locked on me, wincing. A long moment went by. My heartbeat sounded like a drum thudding in my ears. Behind Claire, a log in the fire crackled and popped.

  And then, she finally spoke, wincing again. "They've been beating him and...torturing him. They have him strapped to a chair, and they've been...burning him with hot irons and stabbing him with knives."

  I heard some sort of an animal-like cry that I knew was actually a cry of anguish made by a human. I only vaguely recognized that the sound had come from my own mouth. Beside me, Damien leaned out of his chair, and I felt myself being wrapped in his arms.

  Cringing, Claire continued, addressing the group. "They keep telling him that all he has to do to get the torture to stop is send a letter to you all written in his handwriting, saying that he's making a deal with the wolves and Daisy is to be sent to Howler's Creek immediately. But he won't do it, and he says no amount of torture can ever make him. Because he knows that if Daisy were sent to Howler's Creek, Ezra would mate with her against her will right away. He would rape her."

  With a shudder seeming to ripple through her thin body, Claire took a deep breath before continuing. "Ezra thought Nick would give in to the torture within hours, and he's been surprised and angered that he hasn't. One of his lieutenants suggested that Nick will eventually crack with slow systematic torture, and so he and Ezra came up with a new plan.

  “Unlike last night, they're going to let Nick sleep at night and think about things, and then they're going to torture him again during the day. They think that after several days of this, he'll finally break. I was able to learn all this by doing a little sneaking around and spying last night; I actually was able to see and hear through the open window of the shack where they're keeping Nick.

  “And that's when I realized that with Ezra and his men so distracted, it would be the perfect time for me to escape with Lucy, and it turned out that it was. I've been planning to escape since the day she was born."

  Shaking like a leaf even with Damien's strong arms still around me, I turned my face from Claire to him. "What do we do? How do we rescue Nick? What do we do?"

  Before he could respond, Claire spoke again.

  "Whatever you all decide to do, I beg of you...please, please don't launch a massive attack on the town. Many women and children would be hurt or killed, so I beg you not to do this. Instead, I'd ask you to send in a small team to rescue Nick, and I think this could be done without much difficulty. But it has to be soon, and it has to be quick. I won't be missed until dawn tomorrow, when it's my turn to serve Ezra and his men breakfast.

  “But once they do notice me missing, they'll probably guess where I've gone, and what information I've given, and then, of course, you'll no longer have the element of surprise for a rescue."

  She paused and took a long, thirsty swig of her coffee before continuing.

  "Based on what I overheard Ezra say, they'll have stopped torturing Nick by now, and they'll have left him in the shack with only a single guard outside. Ezra and his men will be near, but not too near, because the shack is toward the outskirts. They put him there knowing that if he were kept further into town, some of the women might try to help him.

  “I think all it would take to free him would be some sort of small-scale attack in the center of town to serve as a distraction. Then, while the wolves' attention is focused that way, one of you could take out the shack guard and free Nick. Then, whichever of you has him could meet the rest of you at the clearing nearby and fly back here.

  “But whoever of you that takes out the shack guard is going to have to be stealthy and quick, because he has a whistle around his neck he can use to alert all the other wolves at once. And if that happens...well, of course, you don't want that to happen. And, oh, by the way...whichever of you shifters go, you won't have to worry about Alexandria using her magic on you to shift you out of dragon form.

  “The gemstones she ate to be able to do this were apparently only enough to increase her power to the point that she could do this only once. She came right out and told Ezra this."

  Startling me, Damien very suddenly spoke, frowning at Claire. "How do we know we can trust you? How do we know you're not leading us into some sort of a trap? How do we know that you're not Alexandria in shifted-form disguise?"

  Moving her thin shoulders in a slight shrug, Claire sighed, shaking her head. "You don't. And I don't know how else to say it, and I don't mean any disrespect at all, but as the person in charge here, you're just going to have to make a decision whether you trust me or not simply based on your gut instinct, because I don't have any proof of my identity or my story; I wish I did. I just have myself, my daughter, and my words."

  Still holding me close to his chest, Damien looked at her for a long moment before responding. "All right. I trust you. And I agree not to launch a full-scale attack on your town. We'll do a raid to rescue my brother instead, maybe just three of us shifters. Two to make a distraction in the center of town while I'm freeing Nick.

  “Then, the three of us will meet in the clearing behind the shack, toss Nick onto one of our backs, and back here to town we'll go. Seems like it should be a fairly easy mission, actually."

  Claire nodded. "As long as you can take out the shack guard before he can blow his whistle. I don't know exactly what kind of powers you dragon shifters have beyond shifting, if any, but I don't suppose you can make yourself invisible, can you?"

  With my focus on Claire, I pushed myself away from Damien's chest, gasping. "I can. I can become invisible. All I have to do is touch the star birthmark on my hand."

  "Absolutely not." Scowling, Damien tightened his arms around me. "Way, way, way, too dangerous. Why don't we just hand you up to Ezra on a silver platter instead?"

  I shook my head. "I don't care about the danger. I'm doing this, because I have the ability to help Nick, and I'm going to use it. And you can't change my mind. This is happening."

  "No. I'm saying no, and Nick would also say-"

  "I don't care. Understand me, Damien; I'm going to do this. I'm not weak; I can be brave. You saw this the first day you and Nick met me. And now, I'm going to be brave to help save the man I love. The man who's being tortured for me."

  Damien winced, his deep gray eyes filled with pain. But then, he said the words I was praying to hear. "All right. Fine. Sam and I will make the distraction. You'll be the rescuer. We leave in ten minutes."

  *

  From the moment Damien agreed to let me help rescue Nick, everything happened in a speedy blur. Claire gave last-minute directions, tips, and instructions; I was given a small gear bag that included a hammer, with which I was going to knock the shack guard unconscious while invisible. Katie forced me to eat something, saying that she knew I hadn't had dinner yet and I'd barely had any lunch, and she didn't want me to be weakened from hunger while on the mission.

  Shortly after that, I was sitting atop Damien's scaly gray back while he and Sam soared through the air in dragon form. Evening shadows had just given way to the full darkness of night, and big puffy clouds floated across a full moon. When Damien, Sam, and I had set out, we'd been thrilled to see these clouds, because we could fly hidden above them, avoiding detection by any wolf guards and spies on the ground.

  The flight to Howler's Creek didn't take long at all. When we arrived, Damien and Sam quickly and silently descended to a small forest that bordered the clearing where the three of us would meet again in mere minutes. The shack where Nick was being held captive was only maybe a hundred yards to the east of this small forest.

  Having already made myself invisible during the flight, I climbed down from Damien's back, hiked my small gear bag up on one shoulder, and then wrapped my arms around his thick neck. "Thank you for helping me save Nick. And for letting me help, too."

  He turned his enormous dark gray head and gave my cheek the lightest
and gentlest of nuzzles with his own before lifting off and ascending into to the clouds with Sam, their massive wings beating the air.

  They'd be landing in the center of town, where they'd roar and breathe fire, attracting the attention of all the wolves. Once they had it, they were going to engage a few of them in a small fight, just to buy me a little time, before returning to the clearing to meet me and Nick. I knew I had to be lightning fast for the plan to go smoothly. I knew I couldn't waste a single second.

  And so, after pulling the hammer out of my gear bag, I jogged out from the trees and made a beeline straight for the shack. When I neared it, I slowed to a silent walk, not wanting the guard patrolling it to hear even the faintest hint of noise from my shoes treading on the grass.

  But then the guard appeared around one corner of the tiny, decrepit shack, and I froze. Although I supposed that on some level, I'd realized it could be a possibility, I hadn't expected him to be guarding the shack while in wolf form. He was huge, with his body at least six or seven feet long from nose to rear. His paws were nearly the size of dinner plates. His silvery-gray fur glinted in light from a campfire just adjacent to the shack, as did his inky black eyes.

  I knew I could creep up and hit him on the head with the hammer, stunning him, just as easily as I could a guard in human form. But even still, my hands began trembling. I'd have to be even faster in my task than I'd anticipated I'd have to be, lest the wolf pick up on my scent and somehow attack me even while I was still invisible. I also spied a large silver whistle on a chain dangling from a bench by the fire, and I knew this could be problematic as well. If the wolf picked up on my scent, sensed danger or something off, and then shifted into human form and blew the whistle, it would be all over.

  Mustering every last ounce of my courage, I took a deep, steadying, silent breath. And then, while the wolf ambled over to the fire and stared into it, I began tiptoeing over to him. I knew I was only going to get one chance to knock him out. I knew the first blow I made with the hammer was going to have to hit its mark and be strong enough to do the job. I couldn't miss. I couldn't fail. To do so would be condemning Nick to more torture, which I could hardly even bear to think about.

  When I was less than four or five feet away from the wolf, behind him, hardly even daring to breathe, he suddenly looked up from the fire, cocking his head to the side. Knowing he'd likely picked up on my scent, I decided to make my move. With my heart sounding like a drum in my ears, I dashed toward him, raising the hammer, and then slammed it down on the top of his head. It met its mark perfectly. Without so much as a whimper, the wolf collapsed to the ground instantly.

  Feeling a sudden need for oxygen, I filled my lungs completely. "Thank God."

  I sucked in another lungful of air, but I knew this was all the pause I could afford. Nick needed me. And the guard would only remain stunned for a minute or two, maybe three at the very most. Also, I could already hear faint howls and roars, sounds of a shifter fight, in the distance.

  Jamming the hammer in my gear bag, I bolted over to the shack, flung open the door, and raced inside. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright light of several kerosene lamps on a small table in a corner of the shack. But once they did, and once I could see clearly, I immediately fell to my knees, my legs literally giving out beneath me.

  Nick sat in a chair in the middle of the tiny, dirt-floored room, his arms and legs restrained by leather straps. Every single stitch of his clothing was soaked with blood, both dried and fresh. The front of his t-shirt had been slashed open, revealing deep, oozing stab wounds all over his chest and stomach. Stab wounds also covered his arms, as did big black marks that looked like severe burns.

  His face, swollen to at least two times its usual size, was barely recognizable. Deep, bloody gashes crisscrossed his cheeks; burn marks stretched from one side of his forehead to the other, and the few unbloodied, unburned patches of his skin visible were purple. A strange positioning of his strong, square jaw indicated that it was probably broken. With his head resting on one shoulder and his black-and-blue eyes closed, he appeared to be unconscious.

  Weeping, I crawled over to him. "Oh, Nick. Nick. What have they done to you?" I rose to my knees in front of him, my body shuddering with sobs. "What have they done?"

  To my surprise, he groaned and lifted his head, one of his eyes opening just a crack. "Daisy?"

  Touching my star birthmark while willing myself to become visible again so he could see me, I hiccupped a few times before speaking. "I'm here, Nick. I'm here."

  With sounds of distant roaring coming in through the open window suddenly reminding me that time was of the essence, I began unbuckling the leather straps restraining him. "You're gonna be okay. I promise you, you're gonna be okay."

  While I willed my trembling fingers to work quickly, he began speaking again, his words slow and slurred.

  "Daisy. My Daisy. Knew you'd be in my heaven." He paused, his bloodied head lolling to the side for a moment before he lifted it upright again. "But how did they kill me? How did they kill me? Shifters can only be killed in shifted form, and I couldn't shift. She did a spell that...." With his one open eye closing, he didn't finish the thought and didn't speak again for a few moments. "Knew my Daisy would be in my heaven."

  I finished unbuckling the leather straps and immediately began trying to lift him out of the chair with an arm hooked behind his back. "Can you walk? Can you walk, Nick? We've gotta be fast."

  To my astonishment, he slowly rose to his feet, even with his eyes still closed. "Can do anything for my Daisy. Can get through anything. They burned me, cut me before I died...but I told them, 'I won't let you hurt my Daisy. I'll never write a letter telling her to come.'"

  With tears streaming down my face, I began guiding him over to the door. "We've gotta hurry, Nick. We've gotta walk. Gotta be fast."

  Somehow, with him staggering and weaving and slurring his words so badly I couldn't even understand him anymore, we made our way out of the shack. And to my extreme relief, the wolf I'd stunned was still sprawled by the fire, unconscious.

  "Okay, Nick, we're going to the clearing now. Gotta keep walking. Gotta be fast."

  A minute or so later, we'd just about made it to the center of the clearing when Damien and Sam descended from the dark, cloudy sky, their wings making whooshing noises as they beat the air.

  Still helping Nick to stand with an arm around his back, I waved my other arm with my face lifted to the sky. "Right here!"

  They landed right beside us, and Sam helped me lift Nick onto Damien's back by pushing him with his nose. So intent was I on situating Nick securely that a soft but still audible thudding noise coming from somewhere nearby barely even registered at first. But then, I turned my head, gasping. Not even twenty feet away, illuminated by moonlight, Alexandria was charging toward us, riding a massive dark gray wolf like a horse.

  Using his nose, Sam sent me flying onto Damien's back with a hard push before lifting into the air. Not a split-second later, Damien launched himself into the air as well. But we weren't quite fast enough. The wolf Alexandria had been riding had done some sort of leap, launching her at least ten feet in the air. And she'd managed to grab onto the root of one of Damien's dark wings.

  While Damien continued to ascend, Alexandria actually let go with one hand and began trying to grab at me with something that could only be described as absolute crazed madness in her icy blue eyes.

  "You will not take him from me! He deserves to suffer more! He deserves to pay!"

  Shielding Nick with my back to him, I began kicking at Alexandria. "Stop!"

  But she only intensified her fight as Damien rose higher and higher in the sky. And when she reached her free hand into her pocket and produced a short but very sharp-looking knife and began swiping at me with it, even getting so close as to cut a slash in my jeans, I knew I had no choice in doing what I was about to do. Mustering every last ounce of my quickly-ebbing strength, I leaned back and delivered a powerfu
l kick directly to her face.

  And she finally let go of Damien's wing and fell, screaming, her long, pale blonde hair fluttering above her.

  She may have been a sorceress, but she was also entirely human, and I knew the impact of the fall would kill her. But I didn't look down. I didn't glance back. Instead, I turned my focus to Nick, who was groaning in pain.

  Sniffling, I leaned over and brushed a kiss against one of the few spots of unbloodied skin on his face. "It's okay now. We're safe. She's gone, and her spell over you is broken."

  A short while later, after we'd landed in Crystal Falls, Nick was on a stretcher, being taken into the town medical center. I walked beside him, holding his hand, and I didn't let go, even when Sam and the doctor lifted him into bed. He seemed to have fallen unconscious again, and I stood stroking his blood-matted hair with my free hand while more tears overflowed my eyes.

  "You're gonna be okay now. You're gonna make it. The doctor's going to help fix you up, I promise. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

  Katie, who stood beside me with her arm around my shoulders, gave me a little squeeze. "He will be. Just keep reminding yourself that as a shifter, he can't die or be permanently harmed from his injuries. I'm sure he won't have the strength to shift for a while, but he's going to be completely okay. He's just going to be in a lot of pain for a while, and he's just going to be...well, he's just going to be kind of messed up for a while until he heals."