Cunning Dragon (Dragon Echoes Book 2)

by Rinelle Grey

  Karla’s dad always supported her in everything she did. Hell, he was even out there, driving around in the line of fire for her. Of course she wasn’t going to understand.

  She wasn’t likely to give them suggestions on how to get out of this situation.

  However, she did have access to a car. Which was more than Lisa had. It was worth a try.

  Lisa checked the time, but it wasn’t too late yet. She pulled out her phone and dialled Karla’s number.

  “The person you are trying to reach is not available at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?”

  Lisa’s mind went blank. What could she possibly say? To explain everything in a recorded message seemed like a bad idea. A very bad idea.

  She hung up. “She’s not there. Must be out of range.”

  Karla had said they would be unreachable when she’d called earlier in the day. At that point, Lisa hadn’t expected the situation to change so quickly. She never would have guessed that Rita would publish an article with so little evidence.

  “We should just stay low and remain here,” Verrian said. “If we stay in your room, we don’t have to deal with your parents, and your brother is dealing with the visitors.”

  That was what Karla would say too. It was the sensible option. The safe option.

  Unfortunately, it left them in a very uncomfortable situation. For her, anyway.

  And it wasn’t like their position here was secure. It had almost been very bad today. Lisa winced when she remembered how close they’d been to being thrown out, and with all those people hanging around out the front to witness it.

  “What if Dad kicks us out?” Lisa challenged.

  Yes, Paul had managed to defuse the situation, why Lisa wasn’t exactly sure, but there were no guarantees he’d try again, or even if he did, that he’d succeed.

  The more she thought about it, the more she decided that staying didn’t make as much sense as everyone seemed to think it did.

  “What do we do then?” she said. “Far better to choose the time of our leaving by ourselves.”

  Verrian frowned. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, there was a knock at the door, her bedroom door this time.

  Lisa and Verrian exchanged a glance.

  Lisa rose to open it, steeling herself for another barrage of questions from either her brother or her parents.

  “Are the two of you okay?” Paul asked. He handed them a plate of ham sandwiches. “I wasn’t sure if you’d had anything to eat after the breakfast fiasco.”

  Lisa’s stomach growled, but she stared at the offered plate, and Paul, suspiciously. He sounded almost concerned.

  Lisa wasn’t sure what he was up to. First his inexplicable help earlier, and now asking if she was okay. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think she’d stumbled into one of those families she watched on television.

  But she didn’t believe it, and she wasn’t going to let her guard down.

  Still, they did need food. So she took the plate and shrugged. “As well as can be expected.” She bit her lip, but grudgingly admitted that she owed her brother. “Thanks for dealing with everyone today. And for these.” She waved to indicate the sandwiches.

  Paul shrugged. “What’d you expect me to do?”

  Nothing to help. But she didn’t say that. Right now, they needed any assistance they could get. Even if her brother probably did have an ulterior motive.

  Paul hesitated, then said, a touch too casually, “So are you going to tell me what’s going on, or not?”

  So that’s what this was about. Even knowing that, Lisa hesitated. He had helped them. There was no denying that.

  But one helping hand was not enough to cancel out all the times he hadn’t helped. And anyway, it wasn’t her secret to tell. “Rita has it in for me, isn’t it obvious? I think Vera might be right. She’s jealous. She was looking at Verrian way more than I liked.”

  Paul raised an eyebrow. He was going to call her on her spectacularly poor lie.

  To her surprise, he didn’t. “What are you going to do?” he asked instead.

  Lisa bit back a sigh. If only she had an answer to that question. “We need to get out of here,” she said quietly. “But I don’t have my car back.”

  Verrian put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “We can’t afford to trust him,” he said quietly into her mind.

  The touch and his voice, sultry and smooth in her mind, sent a jolt through her.

  The fact that he was talking to her using his dragon speak, something he rarely did, said he was pretty serious.

  But they were out of other options. Surely he had to see that?

  Paul hesitated too, then he heaved an exaggerated sigh. He shoved his hand in his pocket, then held it out to her.

  Lisa stared. From his fingers dangled the keys to his fancy new four-wheel drive.

  “You so owe me,” he said, but gave her a smile.

  Lisa couldn’t quite believe his abrupt change of heart. “You’re lending me your car?”

  There had to be some catch. Paul wasn’t like that. He hadn’t even let her take his car for a drive, much less let her drive off in it.

  “So where are you planning to go?” he asked curiously.

  That was it. He wanted to know what was going on. Of course.

  Before she could say anything, he shook his head. “No, don’t tell me. It’s probably better that I don’t know. Dad’s going to chuck a fit. He’ll be annoyed that he didn’t get to throw you out. You just disappearing and leaving him to answer everyone who asks where you’ve gone will be the icing on the cake.” He grinned, as though he wasn’t sorry about that at all.

  Which Lisa could well imagine. He’d always delighted in seeing how far he could push their parents’ opinion that he was the golden child. So far, he hadn’t found a limit.

  Was that why he was doing this? Lisa searched his face, but couldn’t find an answer.

  And right now, she couldn’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  She did owe Paul something though. “Thanks.” It seemed inadequate, so she handed the plate to Verrian and stepped forwards to give her brother an awkward hug.

  Paul froze for a moment, and then hugged her back, patting her back just as awkwardly. He stepped back as quickly as he could.

  As did Lisa.

  Verrian watched them both, saying nothing, his face blank.

  Was he disapproving?

  It wasn’t like he had any better ideas. This might not be ideal, but they were out of other options. If they stayed here, it was going to end badly. Everyone knew where they were. Rita, and who knew how many townspeople were hanging around, watching their every move.

  Sure, Karla said that was what would protect them from Ultrima, but Lisa hadn’t seen any sign of the enemy dragon in the last couple of days. It had all been quiet.

  Until the visitors had started showing up anyway.

  The reality was, if Ultrima didn’t know where they were now, the fuss hanging around her parents’ house would soon show him. The sooner they left, the better.

  If they managed to get away from Rita and there was no sign of Ultrima, then surely they could return to the lair. Then this would all be done with, and Lisa could go home to the city.

  Before she lost her job.

  She ignored the niggle of disappointment at that thought. Yes, it was going to be hard leaving Verrian and the last few weeks of excitement behind, but this wasn’t her life. She’d just borrowed that excitement for a few weeks. She’d accepted that when she’d signed up for this, and once she was home again, then she’d settle back in to her normal life.

  Away from her family.

  Lisa took a deep breath. She’d left this town behind years ago, and created a life for herself away from here. But she hadn’t ever been brave enough to cut ties with her family completely.

  This time though, when she was done, she was leaving and never coming back.

  She might call Paul
once in a while though. She still didn’t trust him, but at least he’d tried to help.

  “Catch you round,” Paul said, giving her a salute. He closed the door quietly, as though he wanted to get away from this strange new relationship he’d started as much as she did.

  Verrian didn’t say anything, but she could feel his disapproval even without words.

  Lisa picked up a sandwich and handed it to him, eating one herself. This conversation would go far better on a full stomach.

  Verrian didn’t argue. He was as hungry as she was.

  Lisa felt a whole lot more confident once she’d eaten. This really was the only option. She just had to convince Verrian.

  “Do you have a better plan?” she challenged.

  “We should wait to talk to the others,” Verrian said firmly. “Karla will be back in a day, two at most.”

  “What do we do if Dad kicks us out in the morning?” Lisa shot back.

  “If that happens, we can go then,” Verrian pointed out. “Why leave a relatively safe place before we have to?

  Lisa wasn’t sure safe was the best description of her parents’ house right now, even with the qualifier.

  “Because being kicked out in the middle of the day in a very public argument is only going to create more news.” She heaved a sigh. “On top of that, Rita is going to be watching in the middle of the day and will follow us. Right now, she’s probably home asleep. When she wakes up, we’ll be gone, and she won’t have any idea where we are.”

  Verrian considered that for a moment. Lisa suspected the idea was starting to find favour with him. “But where are we going to go?”

  There weren’t that many options. Lisa didn’t have any other real friends in Mungaloo, and even if she did, that would be the first place everyone would look. Staying at the pub or the seedy motel wasn’t much better.

  There was only one place she could think of, but she wasn’t going to say it out loud. Who knew who could be listening. She didn’t trust any of her family enough to give them any clues.

  “I’ll tell you on the way.”

  Chapter 4

  Verrian watched Lisa as she pulled out of her parents’ driveway, all the car’s lights off. She bit her lip as she looked left and right, her eyes straining to see in the darkness.

  All was quiet and still, but the furrow of concentration didn’t leave her brow.

  She might call herself a coward and think that she couldn’t fight, but she just had a different way of doing it.

  One he’d do well to emulate.

  Her kind of fighting didn’t involve teeth or claws, her strength came in continually striving to get the things she wanted, and in never giving up, no matter how impossible the situation seemed.

  She inched down the road, staring all around her. Glancing in the mirror above, her frown deepened. She muttered a curse under her breath.

  “What is it?” Verrian asked sharply, his heart rate speeding up.

  “Rita. She was hiding in the shadow of that tree.” Lisa’s words were quiet and calm, but they reverberated ominously in his head. She turned on the vehicle’s forward facing lights, and sped up slightly.

  Verrian twisted around in his seat, staring out the large back window of the vehicle. He couldn’t see the reporter’s little, yellow car anywhere. “Where?” he asked.

  “She’s hiding,” Lisa said, glancing in the mirror again. “Probably hoping we haven’t seen her and will lead her to the other dragons. Just watch.”

  She pulled quickly to the left, turning into a side street Verrian hadn’t even realised was there.

  That was when he saw it. A shadow under a tree moved and a shape that matched the reporter’s car pulled out. The moonlight stripped it of almost all colour, but it was hard to mistake. He only saw it for a second, before they rounded the corner, leaving it behind.

  “She’s trying not to let us know she’s following us,” Lisa explained. “But she has to stay close enough to see where we’re going.”

  Verrian bit back a sigh. This was the one flaw in Lisa’s plan. The reporter following them wasn’t a fatal issue, but it would keep them from returning home to his clan.

  “What are we going to do?”

  Lisa shrugged. “Drive around until we lose her? She has to give up some time, right?”

  She didn’t sound convinced.

  Verrian wasn’t either. The reporter hadn’t missed an opportunity yet. She wasn’t going to give up any time soon.

  No, if they wanted to lose her, they needed to take matters into their own hands. Verrian stared at the road ahead, trying to get a feel for where they were. He let his eyes transform, using their superior night vision. Up ahead, he could see a darker patch, and one of the pale signs on a pole that reflected the light.

  And another one on the other side. A crossroads.

  Apt.

  “Turn down there.” He pointed.

  Lisa didn’t argue, or even ask him why, she just nodded. She left it to the last minute, then swung to the left.

  “Pull over and kill the engine and lights.”

  Lisa didn’t argue. She pulled into the shadow of a tree and cut the lights and engine.

  Silence filled the car.

  Or almost silence. Once the loud sound of their own engine died, Verrian could hear the yellow car’s engine as it puttered slowly down the street.

  In its attempt to stay far enough back to not be discovered, it hadn’t seen them take the turn. As he suspected, in the quiet, sleepy town Rita had been relying, at least in part, on following the sound of their engine. Without it, she was driving blind.

  Of course, that wasn’t going to be enough. She would know they couldn’t have gone far and it wouldn’t take her long to find them.

  Verrian stared at the road opposite the one they’d pulled into. He focused all his magical energy on the space, calling up a memory of the sound of the car starting back at Lisa’s parents.

  The sound echoed across the space between them. Lisa swung around to stare behind them.

  Verrian was glad she didn’t comment on the fact that the sound was coming from an empty road. Any sound right now could not only distract him, it could mess up his projection.

  The projection that the reporter was falling for. Verrian saw her shadow swing around in the direction of the sound, following it.

  Of course, she found nothing. Verrian let the sound fade off into the distance.

  That didn’t stop the reporter from searching. And searching away from where they were, never even thinking that she could have been fooled.

  Lisa and Verrian waited in silence until the engine faded into the distance.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Verrian said quietly.

  Lisa nodded and fumbled with the keys. Both she and Verrian kept looking back as they drove up, half expecting the car to return at any minute.

  But the street behind them remained quiet.

  Lisa drove in silence for a few streets, before asking, “How did you do that?”

  Verrian shrugged. “I just projected the sound of a car. It’s what sound dragons do.”

  “Well, it was very cool. And saved us too.”

  He was used to other’s being impressed by what he could do. His sound magic was unique, even among dragon powers. Everyone loved his tricks and shows.

  But he’d ceased to be impressed by them himself the moment he’d realised how useless they were against Ultrima. They might be amusing tricks, but that’s all they were. They were useless in a war.

  Which is what they were in.

  There was no getting around that. “It’s just a party trick,” Verrian said flatly. “It’s lucky it worked. If that had been Ultrima, it wouldn’t have. Human’s ears are less sharp, and the human nose lacks the dragon’s sense of smell. Ultrima wouldn’t have been fooled.”

  If Ultrima turned up, party tricks weren’t going to save them. Verrian couldn’t help feeling that they could be making a big mistake. He’d been sceptical about this
move from the start. He should never have let his guilt over being responsible for Lisa being stuck with her family convince him that her idea was reasonable.

  While there were obviously issues with staying with Lisa’s family, they seemed minor in comparison to Ultrima finding them when there was no one around to help. He’d stayed away for the last few days, no doubt because of the presence of the reporter.

  Now that they had lost her, they’d also lost their protection from Ultrima.

  Verrian tried to keep the fear out of his voice as he said, “If Ultrima turns up, we’re going to be in trouble.”

  Lisa nodded. “I know,” she said quietly. “I saw Taurian try to fight him on his own. He nearly died.” She glanced over and then put her hand on his knee for a moment.

  Her warmth seeped into his body, but it couldn’t do much to combat the cold fear that her words called up.

  Especially not when she snatched her hand back as though burned.

  Which it may have felt like. Verrian could certainly feel the similarities.

  He knew he shouldn’t let himself succumb to that feeling, but he justified it with the fact that he could use it to distract himself from his fear. Fear was even more dangerous than lust right now.

  And it was far too easy to be distracted. How could her presence affect him so strongly now that the Mesmer ritual was complete? It had been several days, surely any residual attraction should have faded.

  Right now, with far more serious matters on his mind, he shouldn’t be noticing it at all.

  But he was. He could still feel the imprint of her hand on his knee. And it warmed his heart more than it should have.

  Lisa cleared her throat. “Anyway, you’re not alone. I’m here too. We’re in this together.”

  Her comment certainly shouldn’t make him feel any better. She didn’t even have a weapon, other than the bow and arrows, which he wasn’t even sure she had brought with them. Having her help would make little difference in a fight against Ultrima.

  Yet, he felt like it did.

  “I appreciate that,” Verrian said softly. “I know you’re putting a lot on the line for me right now.”