“However, what we didn’t know until now…. is that hybrid blood contains several key factors in their genetic coding that normal Shifters don’t. I’ll get straight to the point,” Dylan said.
“Please do,” she insisted.
“The Rogues have been gaining in strength recently. I didn’t know why – the Order wants to assume that they’re simply animals, brutes that can’t be reasoned with. But I… and Gavin now… we know better. Someone’s controlling them, trying to mount an attack on the human world. Or on the Order, we don’t know which. But they need strength, and they need to be able to hide their presence from us.
“Normally, a Shifter can’t do that. If we come across another dragon, even in human form, we can feel it – all of us. This is the one weakness the Rogues have, and that they’ve been trying to overcome. But according to the council… hybrids can’t be sensed. It was one of the reasons neither of us sensed you when we first met.
“Now, if a Rogue could get their hands on a hybrid, like yourself… and figure out how to adapt that blood-marker code…”
Sarah could see where this was going. “They’d be able to hide from you. You’d be… excuse the pun, but… flying blind, so to speak.”
“Exactly,” Dylan said, and slapped his knees.
That changed things. If the Rogues were after her because they thought they could use her as a weapon, then there was every possibility they wouldn’t stop – not until she was theirs. She felt like crying and tried to take in a gulp of air, but the atmosphere in the penthouse seemed thin and she gasped and reached out to tug at the couch.
“Hey, c’mon,” Gavin said racing forward. “Look, Sarah… whatever happens, we’ll get to the bottom of it. We’re not going to let them take you.”
“But you said it yourself!” she blurted, louder than she intended. “I’m a hybrid. They’re not going to stop, not until they’ve got me. What am I supposed to do? Stay in this apartment for the rest of my life – become a prisoner here?!”
“You were never a prisoner,” Dylan reminded her.
“Then what am I supposed to do?!” she exclaimed, and leaned forward onto her knees, covering her face with her hands.
Gavin put a hand on Dylan’s shoulder and gave him a preoccupied nod – reluctantly the older dragon scratched the scar on his face and crossed his arms, his expression perturbed and anxious. “The Order wants us to continue to protect you,” he said formally. “At all costs. They’re going to send some of their other teams to investigate other options – as of now, you’re officially under the protection of the Order.”
“So I am a prisoner,” she remarked coldly, but it was more out of helplessness than anger that she spoke. Her long blond hair had fallen across her chest, and the green-blue highlights danced in the remaining golden light of the sunset like tropical fish.
“I said officially,” Dylan said. “The truth is, the Order has devolved into a bureaucratic nightmare. They want to play things by the book, protocol and all that. Which is fine, if we weren’t dealing with a time-line here… the fact is, we don’t have time to just wait around while they attempt to solve this.”
“If Dylan’s right,” Gavin said stepping forward, his dark features suddenly reminding her of a bird of prey, something sinister circling its prey, “and he usually is… then the Rogues are going to make their move soon, regardless of whether or not they have you. We don’t intend to let them.”
“What are you saying?” Sarah said, looking up through tear-stained eyes.
“I’m saying that we’re going to take the fight to them,” he replied. His stark eyes were laced with a determination that riled up Dylan at his side. “We know where one of their nests is. We’re going there tonight… to end it once and for all.”
Both men turned toward the balcony, as if the decision were final and the only thing left to do was carry it out – but Sarah wouldn’t have it, and jumped off the couch, grabbing each by their wrist. They both looked at her with a sense of obligation and duty, but there was another emotion bobbing under the surface, something neither cared to name aloud.
They’re doing this for me, she realized. They were both plunging headlong into danger, in the sparse, unverified hope that somehow they would be able to free her from her pursuers. She couldn’t help the tears that began to flow freely down her cheeks. No. She couldn’t just let them walk into that sort of peril – especially not because of her.
“You can’t,” her voice squeaked.
Dylan gave her a warm smile and cupped her cheek. “It’s alright, Sarah. It’ll be alright, I promise.”
“No, I won’t let you,” she began, and let go of both their sleeves. “I won’t let you do this for me, not with so much at stake. Maybe I was given a bad hand of cards… maybe I’ve always been unlucky. But for the first time, I feel like I have people who care about me… and I won’t lose you.”
“Sarah...” Gavin started to say.
“No, if you’re going… then I’m coming, too.”
Dylan cleared his throat. “I won’t allow that. It’s too dangerous. If we come up against Rogues, then there’s no way I can guarantee your safety.”
She touched his cheek. “You can’t guarantee my protection here,” she said, “but at least out there, I can help you put an end to this.”
Gavin poked Dylan in the ribs but said nothing. Dylan pondered her ultimatum. He knew there was no way he could refuse her, not after everything they’d gone through. She was strong, independent, and if she had been a Shifter, a true Shifter born into a dragon, she would have been one of the Order; he was certain of that. Despite the fact she was a nurse in her human life, she was in every way a soldier. Only a soldier would be stupid enough, like us, to risk what we’re about to do, the thought crossed his mind.
“Okay,” he said at last, “if we do this, we do it together. Gavin, get her a nerve-suit.”
Wordlessly, Dylan headed off into the other room. “Wait,” Sarah said, “I thought they were only for Shifters… to let you shift back and forth? I can’t control my form like you.”
“The nerve-suit has other properties. It’s wind and heat resistant; if we get into a fight, it might just save your life. It also has impact qualities, to prevent from concussive forces. Here,” he said as Gavin returned, and helped her into it.
On the balcony, the two of them raised their palms together again. Sarah watched the crackling fire dance between them, and blinked as the Seal took hold, arcing over the city below. The sounds of people and traffic ceased, and only the wind remained. Gavin gave them a wink and dove off the side. A moment later a black shape loomed upwards in front of them like a dark manta-ray, its wings spread wide.
“Are you sure about this?” Dylan asked her in a gruff voice as she looked over the side of the building.
“Of course not,” Sarah said, fighting her vertigo, “but when did that ever stop me?”
She came around and wrapped her arms over his shoulders as the two of them tiptoed toward the edge. “Just remember to hold on, alright?” Dylan said. Sarah opened her mouth to agree, but they were already plummeting over the edge of the building, toward the illuminated grid of city streets below.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The first two Rogues they met were viridian and slightly smaller than Gavin. Sarah caught a glimpse of them circling over the Manhattan skyscrapers as the black Shifter took point, flapping ahead. Her arms were fastened tightly around Dylan’s scaly torso, and her legs hooked in under his waist. Her heart was still racing – it was hard to believe she was flying above the city she had come to know and love, but from this height, distance was insoluble. It didn’t feel real.
Two fiery red whips sliced the air up ahead and she saw Gavin engage the Rogues, dodging left and right in graceful curving sweeps. The viridian dragons didn’t have a chance. Gavin spewed fire at one, nearly burning its wing off, and barrel-rolled into the other. She thought, even at this distance from the fray, she could hear the sound of vertebr
ae snapping under skin. A green shape began to fall like a weighted balloon out of the air.
Dylan ducked low, following Gavin away from downtown, and she saw now where they were headed. The Brooklyn Bridge. Both of her protectors had aptly nicknamed it the Rogue’s Gallery – the Order had a list of well-known locations of Rogue hideouts, but for some reason, they had overlooked this one. But being on patrol for as many years as they had, Gavin and Dylan knew it well.
Traffic was stalled, frozen in time on the bridge in a long stream of headlights. Gavin waited for Dylan to get closer and moved under him – the two dragons were flying in tandem, less than a meter apart. With the careful flick of a talon, she saw them communicate without words, but she didn’t understand their curious strategy until they headed towards one of the giant columns that support the suspension wires. With his totally black wings and body, Gavin was acting as a shield for Dylan and Sarah, camouflaging them from underneath. She held her breath when she saw several other reptilian shapes far below, skirting over the waters of the bay.
Dylan perched on the top of the eastern tower and enclosed his wings. On his back, Sarah watched as Gavin took off again and then pivoted backwards, finally dropping down towards the water like a black missile. There was only the hiss of wind passing over his scales to signal his approach. Clearing the way, she realized, as his fangs and talons tore into one of the drifting Rogues and both of them splashed into the water. There was stillness for a moment, and then he burst forward, water dripping off his wings in a curtain, the other Rogue had been alerted to his presence and went after him.
At the same time, Dylan unlatched his wings and dove over the opposite side. Sarah felt the wind rip at her face and had to close her eyes as they took advantage of the distraction. She wanted to see what was happening with Gavin, but like Dylan, she could only have faith in the black dragon’s combat skills. She and her shifter companion sailed silently toward the undercarriage of the bridge.
It was a lattice work of steel grids and riveted beams, and it took another moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The sharp tang of rust was everywhere, along with the rot of decaying meat, garbage. And that same distinct cinnamon smell she had come to associate with other Shifter dragons.
Dylan’s eyes glowed in the darkness and she slid off his back. She could make out shapes now in the darkness. The undercarriage was aligned in rows of parallel steel planks, but over the years it looked as if the Shifters, whether in human or dragon form, had added to it, creating a complex system of walkways. And now, as the light of Dylan’s luminescent eyes opened up the dark, she saw that they weren’t alone. There were almost a dozen other Rogues, fully in Form, nestled in the darkness. Some were large, some small, and though the darkness didn’t permit her to discern their colors, she guessed there was every shade from purple to orange among them. All of them cowered back, as if afraid to take on the fully formed member of the Shifter Order. Nevertheless, Dylan growled at her to get behind him as they advanced. These were just runts, Shifters who had lost their way, forgotten their human minds altogether – Dylan was looking for their leader.
Sarah followed behind him, and his wing hovered over her protectively. The ruddy glow of dragon’s throats preparing flame illumined the undercarriage. One of the Rogues was overeager and leapt forward with a gnashing of teeth – he had alerted himself too easily, and Dylan rushed forward and away from Sarah, grappling with the young dragon whose beak snapped at him like a turtle’s. With due diligence, Dylan smacked the youngster with the back of his wing, winding him, and brought his own claws down, raking magnificent tears in its snout. The Rogue screamed in pain and writhed away, tripping over the undercarriage and falling through one of the holes.
Sarah watched as his shape tumbled toward the water and managed to unfold its wings and regain its position only seconds from impact. One down, she thought to herself. But that old fear had returned, the fear of death – she was a lowly human amongst a terrifying race of beasts. But they need me, she realized. Her epiphany was quick and sudden. They hadn’t attacked when they’d approached because of her! Somehow, they could sense that she was a hybrid.
She whistled shrilly, and Dylan’s giant lizard head turned. She had no way to communicate her realization, but he seemed to understand anyway and backed up, using his wing to protect her again. The two of them made their way uneasily along the walkways, the water black as ink below them, and eyes watching them. Dylan’s demonstration of might had subdued them… for now.
Up ahead, the undercarriage opened into a rectangular chamber, and the floor was concrete. She saw claw marks carved into the cement, crude and unwieldly. Dylan saw them too and grunted. It was almost illegible, but it looked eerily similar to the sort of ancient runic language that the partners used to bring down the Seal.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a weary voice commented. It was hardly a voice at all, more like ancient paper rustling against a bed of grass.
Both Dylan and Sarah turned toward the darkness at the far end of the room, looking for the source. From the darkness a woman emerged. The first thing Sarah noticed was how white her hair was, almost as if snow had fallen in a perfect pattern against her scalp and down her long slender arms. Her chest was wrapped with a short piece of cloth that bared her mid-riff, and a skirt of the same ragged material balanced precariously on her waist.
“Welcome,” she murmured.
“Not very welcoming,” Sarah said, finding her voice, “who are you?”
The woman took a step forward, her head cocked. From the same shadows she had emerged from, another shape came into view, a smaller Rogue, half-formed and about the size of a dog. It circled her ankles and the stranger reached down and stroked its smooth red head. A sliver of tongue brushed across the back of her hand.
“Would it be strange for me to say sister?” the woman asked, her finely gaunt face pierced with curiosity and malice. “Well, perhaps not true sisters. But you and I are not so dissimilar… hybrid-girl. You may call me Mara, if you please.”
Dylan growled deep in his throat, and Sarah smelled sulfur.
“Impossible,” Sarah said.
“Rare, but not impossible. How do you think I found you the first time?”
“…that was you…”
“No, your bastard Order-brothers killed one of my elite,” Mara snapped, “but I was the one who found you, who tracked you. It would have been so much easier if they’d simply brought you here. There’s no need for this violence, you know.”
“Oh, I know,” Sarah said, and her jaw went rigid, “how you plan to take over the human world. How you plan to use my blood in order to hide from the Order.”
Mara’s eyes went wide, whether with disbelief that Sarah could have access to such information, or because she was alarmed at its lack of verity, Sarah couldn’t tell. She dipped her head back and laughed, and her wide hair danced with the effort. “What, did you think I was going to kill you, bleed you dry in some strange incantation or something? Hahah, you’ve read too many fantasy books, my sister,” Mara chided playfully and skipped across the cement, her long limbs thrusting outward in gangly movements. “Let me tell you what your blood is worth.”
Sarah backed up. She knew she was on uneven ground. Behind them, she could hear the sound of talons on metal. There was an entire army, balanced on a single command. I need to be careful.
“Why do you think they fear us?” Mara asked rhetorically. “Hybrids are a once in a generation phenomenon, and they rarely survive. But if they do. Oh, sister, you don’t know anything, we are the true masters, of both human and Shifter realms. Our blood, our mixed blood, gives us the ability to command them!”
The news was a jolt. From a certain logic, it made sense. Hybrids were not fully human, but they lacked the shifting ability – in order to make up for that, the unique markers in their genetics could conceivably be evidence of a control mechanism, in the same way a queen bee ruled a hive. She caught Dylan’s sideways look and gave a
nod. If he was convinced that the Rogues were acting according to some higher power, that someone was guiding them, then Mara was no doubt the likely candidate.
“I wanted to give you the opportunity to join me, sister,” Mara said, offering her hand. Her eyes were wide, crazy, demented, and Sarah felt repulsed. “Together we can start a new world!”
“I don’t want your world,” Sarah spat. “I want my own world. The world you took away from me the day you hunted me down. I want my old life back!”
Mara lowered her hand, her childish face unimpressed with the answer. “There is no room in my future for humans, or for the Order, choose carefully, I beg you,” she whispered in a threat.
Sarah touched Dylan’s outspread wing. “I’ve already made my choice,” she said defiantly, “if we are sisters, then end this Mara. There’s no need for further bloodshed. There’s no need for any of you to live in this squalor.”
“What do you know! Humans and dragons can never live in the same world!!” Mara spat, shaking with rage. “And if you haven’t learned that yet, you will tonight!”
Everything came to a standstill. Mara clicked her fingers and ran forward, shrieking, her long arms raised and waving like the banner of a lost and forgotten army. At her cue, there was a stirring behind Sarah and Dylan, and the two of them heard the distant and familiar roar of other dragons bearing down.
Dylan turned, his wings fully spread, and Sarah heard them cut the air over her head, a gust of wind nearly knocking her off her feet. Dragon-fire came at them from behind, spewed by one of the larger Rogues, but the movement of Dylan’s wings, and the force of the air pressure, caused the flame to bend upward, singeing the metal.
Sarah had her own troubles. The wiry frame of Mara crashed into her hard and Sarah spun away, trying to avoid the long nails. She felt a cut open on the top of her wrist as Mara struck home, and kicked outward as she fell. Air squeezed out of her lungs and Sarah gasped, pulling herself on her hands and knees further back against the wall of the room. Her boot had hit Mara square in the chest, and the thin girl shrieked and coughed, clutching at her breast.
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