by Dyan Chick
"That's the plan?" I said. "You're going to feed us to a dragon?"
Dying as dragon food sounded like a terrible way to go.
Desperate to figure out a way out of this, I looked around again. Dima, Tavas, and McKenzie stood by watching all of this happen. I wondered if they'd been drugged too. Part of me wanted to point out that they shouldn't be there. That they might anger the dragon queen if she was looking for those with dragon blood as her tributes, but I had enough sense to realize that that could lead to their immediate execution.
"Please, you got your blood. Just let us go." It was worth a try. I might not have the ability to walk away, but I could argue.
Jasmine lifted her chin toward me and before I could process why, a pair of hands pressed against each of my arms. Looking behind me, I realized I was now being held by Jaret.
"Why are you even here?" I asked Tavas's evil twin. "What's the point of you in all of this? You're not even a dragon blood."
He smiled. "We do crazy things for those we love, don't we?" He was staring at Jasmine.
"Seriously? Her?" The words were out of my mouth before I thought them through.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't just insult the love of my life," he said, squeezing my arms tighter.
Jasmine lifted her hands into the air, not letting my words break her focus. I had to give it to her, she was good at ignoring me.
"Goddess, mother, father, moon," Jasmine began an incantation. "Today we seek the return of your child, wrongfully imprisoned by the weak minded. The mother to us all, the mother of greatest creature the goddess created. The mother of all the dragons."
My mind was racing as I tried to think of what I could say or do to stop this. What spell did I know that could block someone else's magic? I tried to think of what I had learned but no magic came to me. It was like I was hitting an invisible wall in my own mind, preventing me from accessing the part of me that kept magic. My chest tightened in frustration. How was I supposed to stop this? If the dragon was raised, we were all dead.
"Mother, please accept our sacrifice to you," Jasmine said, holding up the knife.
A roar vibrated under me, shaking the mountain we stood on. Then, from the black pit of the hole, the place where my blood and the blood of the other six women had been spilled, fire came rushing out.
I stiffened and my eyes widened. This was the end. It was too late. I was about to be dragon food.
A rush of wind whipped my hair around my face as something emerged from the hole. Somehow, through that small opening, a full grown dragon rose, wings spread. It opened its mouth to let out another roar and released fire on Jasmine.
Her clothes caught in flames and she patted them down, without flinching. Like me, Jasmine seemed immune to dragon fire.
My heart thundered in my ears and fear crawled across my skin as I stared at the beast. It turned to look at me, amber eyes locked on mine. "James?"
Nobody could hear me over the thrashing and noise that James was making in his dragon from. He was suspended above the opening, an unwilling participant in all of this, just like me.
Jasmine walked over to him, her knife raised. "And with this last sacrifice, mother, we call you forward."
"No!" I screamed just as Jasmine jammed the blade into the side of the dragon. The beast let out a roar of protest and I tried to run to James. The edges of my vision blurred as hatred pulsed in my temples. I wanted to get that knife and shove it in Jasmine's heart. I wanted to watch her let out her last breath.
Instead, I cried out again as shooting pain in my ears spread to my forehead and behind my eyes.
30
Squeezing my eyes shut, I fought the pain. It was as if something was digging through my head and moving around in there.
Stop fighting me. The words seemed far away and I couldn't tell if they were inside my head or if they were being spoken by someone standing around the tunnel.
Dammit, little dragon. Let me in.
My breath caught. I knew that voice and I'd been fighting to get him out of my head. Now, Tavas was speaking to me through the connection we'd forged.
Head throbbing, I focused on relaxing as much as I could. Maybe Tavas had a way to stop this. Something he could do to help us or save James.
I'm trying to break down the hold the herb has. Then you can save me.
I frowned. Of course he'd want me to save him. Wait, why was an all-powerful Fae standing there captured in the first place? And where was Alec? And what the hell was going on here? The more I wondered about the situation, the less I focused on what was happening from Tavas inside my head. I almost forgot he was there and the pain was easing.
Try to move.
Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. My head wasn't hurting anymore. Did that mean Tavas had broken through? Starting with my foot, I edged my toe forward, just to see if it responded.
My foot slid forward, the way it should, without any effort. My breathing picked up and my heart pounded. This was it, I was free. Knowing that I'd likely be stopped by Jasmine or the other Dragon-Bloods, I knew I'd only have one shot. I could try to break McKenzie, Dima, or Tavas free. Or I could go for James.
Like I have to even ask what you're going to do.
Tavas was right, my first instinct was to go to the wounded dragon flapping his wings and howling in front of me, but what would I be able to accomplish by that? I might be able to save him, but it was more likely a last ditch heroic act that would end up costing both of us.
I knew what I needed to do. Chester had sent me after Tavas for a reason. Probably because he could break the control of the herbs on my willpower, but it had to be bigger than that.
If Tavas had any good in him, this was his chance to prove it.
Hoping I'd made the right decision, I twisted away from Jaret, who was so focused on the scene ahead of him, he hadn't noticed the changes in my behavior.
Breaking away at a sprint, I ran toward Jaret's mirror image while he lunged after me. In a rush, I whispered the words to the binding spell, aiming the bright green strands of magic at the feet of the hooded Dragon-Blood I was charging.
I rushed the Dragon-Blood holding Tavas and as the startled man let go of Tavas to defend himself against me, he tripped on the bindings around his feet and landed on the ground.
"Help me," I called to Tavas as I used the same binding spell on the Dragon-Blood holding McKenzie. He went down surprisingly quickly and both of the incapacitated Dragon-Bloods rolled around on the ground, but didn't attack me with magic. I wondered if they could.
"McKenzie, take out the Dragon-Bloods," I shouted.
The freed mage didn't waste any time and joined me in creating destruction as best we could to incapacitate the other Dragon-Bloods.
"Stop them!" Jasmine cried. "Don't let the ritual break."
Shoving over a bound guard, I looked over at Jasmine. There was a purple light extending from her that surrounded James. Had that been there the whole time or was it something new?
I stared at the glowing light. "What the - ugh." A hooded Dragon-Blood knocked me to the ground and I landed with a thud.
Angry at being thrown down, heat twisted through me, simmering somewhere deep within. This time, I didn't stop it. A rush of fire came flooding from my hands, engulfing the Dragon-Blood in flames.
I heard him screaming as I rolled away from him, then the screaming stopped. A burning pile of robes and the smell of singed hair filled the air. The Dragon-Blood wasn't resistant to fire and like the others, he hadn't used magic to fight me. He wasn't part dragon. And he wasn't a mage. Had Jasmine convinced a bunch of humans to help her?
Scrambling to my feet, I found Tavas, who was guiding a few of the kidnapped girls away from the fight. For a moment, I let myself smile. He was helping us. Then, I looked around for McKenzie and Dima.
Dima was standing at the distance, hands out in front of her like claws in a defensive position, daring someone to come after her. McKenzie was nearby, engaging in ha
nd to hand combat with another Dragon-Blood who had thrown the cloak to the ground.
The fighter was a young woman who seemed well trained in combat, but wasn't using any magic to retaliate. After a quick glance to make sure I wasn't going to get jumped again, I searched for magical signatures. The whole mountain top was vibrating with magic, but none came from the woman McKenzie was fighting.
Quickly, I called out another binding spell and sent the magical tendrils to capture McKenzie's opponent.
The woman fell to the ground, struggling against her invisible bonds.
McKenzie looked up at me. "I had that." Her face was flushed and she was breathing heavy.
"You did, but you're not using your magic, you're wasting time. They're humans. They don't have any magic," I shouted.
"Jaret, do something," Jasmine called.
Expecting to see the Fae man charging at me, I squeezed my hands into fists instinctively. Instead, I noticed a flicker out of the corner of my eye as Jaret ran past me from wherever he had been waiting.
The Fae raced by McKenzie, past Dima, and finally slowed to a stop in front of Tavas.
"Get these girls out of here," Tavas said. "I'll take care of my brother."
"Dima," I shouted, happy to see she'd already headed in that direction before I called to her.
"McKenzie, help get them out," I said.
"What about you?" she asked.
"I've got to try to stop this thing." We'd managed to disable the Dragon-Bloods, who aside from Jasmine and the missing Dr. Byers, were nothing but humans she must have convinced to join her.
"Good luck," McKenzie called out as she took off.
Now it was my turn. Jaw tense, I started toward Jasmine.
"It's too late," the crazed mage called out to me. Her hair whipped around her face as the power from the ritual seemed to charge through her. It was as if Jasmine was the conduit for the whole thing and a glowing light connected her to the distraught dragon still hovering above the hole.
How was it that he hadn't flown away yet? What had she done to him? When I pulled that knife from him, would it end this whole thing?
I didn't know what I was supposed to do, but I knew I didn't want her to win and I didn't want James to die.
The ground under me shook, forcing me to halt my progress toward the crazy mage. A crack shot through the mountaintop, sending a split in the surface from the hole, past Jasmine and into the distance.
Jasmine cackled, raising her hands into the air. She looked like a cartoon mad scientist. A blinding light radiated from her and I had to turn away to shield my eyes.
When I looked back, the dragon was gone and Jasmine was lying flat on the ground, unmoving.
A few feet away from where Jasmine lay, I saw a second figure. My heart pounded against my ribs. "James!"
I could still see the knife in his side, but just like Jasmine, he was on the ground, in human form, not moving.
The ground continued to shake and I stretched my arms out for balance, running forward. Leaping over the prone form of Jasmine, I dropped to my knees at James's side. I pressed my fingers to his neck feeling for a pulse. His heartbeat throbbed against my fingers and I blew out a breath of relief.
The ground rumbled harder and more cracks expanded outward like ripples from the hole. I grabbed James under his arms and dragged him away, worried that the ground was going to give way. Just as we reached a patch of large shrubs, an explosion of rock and dust shot forth from the center of the mountain.
Through the cloud of debris, I saw Jasmine's body slide into the gaping hole just as a massive black dragon shot into the sky.
The beast flapped iridescent wings that sparkled like stardust as it opened its mouth to let out a deafening roar.
For a moment, the creature hovered in the air above the mountain, beating its massive wings to stay afloat. It looked at me, and it felt like a dart of ice went right through my heart. I gasped, unable to take my eyes of the dragon queen. Intense pain radiated from my chest, into my neck and arms, all the way to my fingertips. Then, it stopped. My breathing returned to normal and I continued to stare into the brilliant blue eyes of the graceful winged beast in front of me.
She regarded me with a calmness I hadn't expected. Wasn't she supposed to eat me? I wanted to shrink away from her, run, or hide, but I couldn't make myself act on those instincts. It was as if something internal was overriding my sense of fight or flight and I just waited, staring at her in all her beauty.
A grunting sound broke the silence that had settled between the two of us and we both turned toward the noise. Tavas and his brother, Jaret were still engaged in combat. The two of them throwing punches and dodging blows. I had a feeling that they could be using magic to fight, but there was something primal and personal about the combat between the two Fae.
If not for the clothing Tavas had on, I wouldn't have known which man was which. Their faces were identical, save for the streaks of blood and bruises taking up different positions on each of the brothers.
The Dragon Queen let out a screech that stilled the men. They stopped fighting and Tavas dropped his guard, staring up at the dragon in awe. He dropped to his knees, as if it prayer.
Jaret let out what was probably supposed to be a celebratory cry.
In a flash of midnight wings, the Dragon Queen descended on the two Fae.
Jaret's cries of joy turned to a choked yelp of fear while Tavas remained in place, head lowered in submission.
I should have felt fear as the dragon swooped in on Tavas, or some twisted sense of satisfaction at him getting payback. But I found myself devoid of emotion, no fear, no joy, nothing. Just a blank slate studying the way her muscles moved, the way she flapped the giant wings, the way she gracefully threw back her head to call out a warning before she clamped down on Jaret with her massive jaws.
The man's cries were instantly cut short as the Dragon Queen carried her meal away and I watched, feeling a sense of peace wash over me as she did. Unmoving, I continued to stare into the sky until the wings were small black specks flying through the air.
Gone from view, sadness overtook me and I wondered when I would be able to see the magnificent creature again.
31
Morgan,” Tavas called to me, breaking my trance.
I looked down from the sky over at the bloody and bruised fae.
“We gotta go,” Tavas said. “Come on, before she comes back for dessert.”
Nodding, I leaned down to where James still lay unconscious. The knife embedded in his side. I might not be a healer, but I knew enough about first aid to know that you don’t pull something out of someone until you’re in a position to stop the blood flow that will pour from a wound like that.
A grunting noise drew my attention away from James for a moment, and I looked over at one of the bound Dragon-Bloods. My nose scrunched up in disgust. They weren’t even mages. They probably didn’t even have dragon blood. How had Jasmine gotten them all involved?
Tavas was standing next to me now, and he knelt down to check on James. “He’s hurt badly, but if we can get him to a healer, I think we can save him.”
Gently, Tavas hoisted James over his shoulders, somehow balancing the six-foot man over his own tall frame. “Come on.”
I took a few steps, then stopped, looking back one more time at the two remaining humans who hadn’t burned to death and avoided falling into the gaping chasm that remained at the top of the mountain after the rising of the dragon queen. “What about them?”
Tavas glanced over his shoulder as best he could with James on top of him. “The humans? What about them?”
“Do we just leave them here to starve and die?” I asked, a surprising twinge of guilt flashing through me.
“What do you want us to do? Let them go so they can run to the dragon queen?” Tavas asked.
Quickly, I whispered the unbinding spell on the person nearest me.
With a gasp, the freed Dragon-Blood, or whatever he was, rubbed his
mouth in relief. “Thank you.”
“Why did you help Jasmine?” I asked.
“Now’s not really the time,” Tavas said, a touch of strain in his voice.
I ignored him, silently giving the person in front of me twenty seconds to give a good enough excuse before I released my fire.
“She said she’d help us gain powers,” the human said. With the hood lowered and the fanfare of the ritual gone, he looked broken and pathetic.
“You don’t deserve powers,” I said. “You know that, right?”
He lowered his head, unable to make eye contact with me.
“If I ever see you again, I will kill you,” I said.
“She won’t have a chance to kill you because I’ll get to you first if you set one toe out of line,” Tavas said.
Surprised that he joined the conversation, I almost smiled, but managed to keep a stern look on my face.
As I turned away from the defeated man, I released the other person from their binding. “Take care of your friend, and pass our message along.”
“I will, thank you for your mercy.”
Tavas and I walked down the mountain in silence. I knew fae were strong, but he’d been through a lot, and his breathing was uneven as he carried James down.
“Can I do anything to help?” I asked, knowing I couldn’t carry James but not wanting to feel so useless.
“Not right now,” Tavas said.
“Thank you, by the way,” I said.
He smirked. “You’re welcome.”
It was strange how comfortable the silence between us felt as we continued our careful descent. It was as if most of my hatred toward Tavas had been removed, possibly even replaced by mild affection. How had that happened?
“Thanks,” Tavas said. “Right back at ya, little dragon.”
Instead of feeling annoyed that he was still in my head, I chuckled. “I might not hate you anymore, but I have to say that I’m looking forward to getting you out of my head.”
