Dragon Tender (Fae Unbound Teen Young Adult Fantasy Series Book 3)

by Jill Nojack

  James turned around and walked backward as he addressed Avenall. "Looks like we found those wisps."

  ***

  As they approached the silo, each of them started to hesitate and move more slowly. Eventually, they all stopped walking within paces of each other. Lizbet's heart was racing. She couldn't understand why she felt so frightened. It felt like the freak-outs she got when she was a kid and was afraid to step off her bed because she was sure the monster underneath would grab her ankle if she did. Some nights, she'd lain there awake for hours, afraid to move. She had the same paralysis now.

  She broke the silence. "So, anyone else having a desperate urge to turn around and get out of here?"

  The two guys and the gruagach nodded their heads, eyes wide as they looked around at each other.

  "So, Eamon, you were right about the magic charging the atmosphere here. I say we back up a little to clear our heads."

  Lizbet turned and walked purposefully and slowly away, taking the lead on keeping her head even though she felt completely off of it. The others followed her example.

  When she reached a distance where her racing heart slowed again to normal and her skin no longer felt charged with electricity, she turned to her followers and said, "Anybody know what's up with that?"

  Three heads shook at once.

  "Lassie, if the spell's not dangerous and just manipulates emotions, we might try to take a great run through it to the other side before the effects hit. Freoric's inside there, after all. It would have to affect him if he's at the center of it instead of outside of it. But I don't see Hamish here, so he may have come out and Hamish followed him. Despite that, I'm more inclined to believe Hamish just went back to the gnomes to help. He's soft that way."

  "Are you volunteering to see if you can get through that? Because you're not going to catch me walking back into it on purpose. I think we need to figure out if Freoric's still in there or not before anybody does anything."

  Avenall spoke. "He's in there. I spied him through Fein's eyes as we flew overhead to meet you." Avenall didn't mention that he'd wanted to send him a push to leave the silo without his weapons and wait for the queen to arrest him. It hadn't worked. He'd been unable to feel Freoric's mind when he probed. He wanted to tell them, but to do so would require him to reveal the shameful and taboo things he had done with his magic.

  "Aye, I'm volunteering then, if there's no other way. We can't just let him get away because we're too afraid to try."

  "If you get through and Freoric is there, you cannot encounter him alone. I will accompany you," said Avenall.

  Lizbet turned to James. "Do you have anything in your bag of tricks that could get us past this?"

  "If I had anything, I'd be working on it already. Even Myrddin was smart enough to pass a magically protected area by. He knew better than to mess with anything someone had taken the time and energy to wrap in bad juju. I've got nothing to remove that spell or shield against it."

  Avenall turned to her and bowed his head slightly. "It's decided then, if it please you. Your gruagach and I will approach this fortress to see if we can breach it."

  "My gruagach?" Lizbet laughed out loud, and it felt amazingly good after the gut-squeezing fear of a moment ago. "Avenall, you're a cool guy, but you have no idea how things work in my world!"

  Avenall looked confused but Eamon assured him, "Times have changed, laddie. You have a great deal of catching up to do in the area of who gets to tell who what to do. My thought is you'll like it. All right, ready to go?"

  "I am."

  "Then run like another clan's dragon is in hot pursuit. On the count of three. One, two, three..."

  Avenall and Eamon took off running with Avenall trailing behind the swift gruagach he towered over. James took Lizbet's hand as they watched the two runners tearing toward their goal. Within a hundred paces, Eamon began to stumble, pulling hard for breath, and then he collapsed. Avenall continued toward him, scooped up the fallen gruagach, then turned with him in his arms even as he showed signs of failing. His breath came in ragged gasps, and his face was a portrait of expanding terror. He stumbled but continued running steadily away from the cause of his distress. Lizbet started toward them, forgetting the consequences, but stopped and backed up quickly when she was also seized by the dread.

  When Avenall reached the edge of the clearing, he went to his knees and gently lay the still unconscious gruagach on the ground.

  James picked up his wrist, feeling for a heartbeat, then turned to Lizbet and asked, "Do gruagachs even have a pulse?"

  "I don't know. It's never come up." Her face scrunched up with concern.

  As James worried about the lack of pulse, Eamon spluttered awake, gruffly pulling his wrist from James's grasp and muttering, "Well, that was a fine plan. What I want to know is who's going to stop me the next time I decide to go waltzing off with the eye of the storm as my dance partner?"

  ***

  Freoric sat cross-legged with his back to the smooth wall of the silo. He'd watch the queen's collection of warriors through a slit in the door as they'd followed the gruagach up the path, but he had no fear of them. The thing would be done this night, the Abomination had assured him of it, and then Freoric would have his reward. It gave him joy to be so near the end of his assignment.

  He closed his eyes and yawned. The gnomes had disturbed an otherwise enjoyable slumber. He had nothing to fear from the children outside and their pet gruagach. A nap would do him good.

  CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE

  Feet On The Ground

  Mona woke and slowly pushed herself up from the bed, still groggy despite the many days of rest, but feeling the powerful pull of the earth. She stood and wobbled, then her hip crashed into the night stand next to Lizbet's bed. She caught herself and stood straight and still until the wooziness went away. She rubbed her side for a moment, contemplating the gigantic bruise she'd have the next day.

  It didn't matter. She knew the pull must be Oriane reaching out to her. If she was, it had to be important or Oriane wouldn't risk it while captive. She had to find the strength to get outside and plant her feet in the ground.

  Sheila appeared at the door just as Mona felt wobbly again. She rushed forward to prop her up. "You shouldn't be up and about. You've been trapped and hurt for weeks. You need to rest."

  "I know, but I'm feeling a powerful pull from the earth. I have to connect. I have to. It's Oriane, I know it. I have to find out what she needs to tell me."

  "It never stops with the fae, does it?" Sheila sighed, then turned her head and called, "Bobby, Mona and I need your help to get her down the stairs."

  With Sheila on one side and Bobby doing his best to shore up the other, Mona managed to travel slowly down the stairs one careful step at a time. In the same way, they managed to support her through the sliding glass doors at the back of the house and cross the concrete slab that served as a patio, finally ending in the grass.

  When she was standing on the open ground, she gathered all her strength and stood straight, digging her toes through the short, well-kept grass into the dirt below. She took a small bottle of potion from her pocket and drank some to deaden the pain of the transformation. "You'll need to stand back now," she said.

  Sheila gently pulled Bobby back toward the patio, where they stood watching the dryad as she changed. Bobby'd never seen Mona in her nature form before. His eyes grew wide as she raised her arms and they slowly became branches. He continued to watch in wonder as roots, small at first, and then increasing until they were thick and strong, grew from her feet.

  It took about fifteen minutes. Bobby was silent the entire time, almost not blinking, not wanting to miss any moment of the magic he was witnessing. When the transformation was complete and the leaves of the new tree rustled in the breeze, he said, "That was freaking cool."

  Sheila, who had only ever watched the long, painful transformation Thomas had controlled to save her friend, nodded and squeezed his hand. "Yes, it sure was. Double-freaki
ng cool."

  ***

  Avenall climbed into the saddle across the dragon's back but didn't pat him with his customary affection as he mounted. His thoughts were elsewhere. The dragon snorted at the slight. He patted the dragon's neck half-heartedly in response. "Take us high, my friend. We do not want to risk being caught in the spell."

  The dragon soared into the air. Avenall had to hold tight. The angle of Fein's flight was steep, and he risked falling off if he loosed his grasp with either his hands or his knees. He breathed easier when the dragon leveled out and began to flap slowly toward the sky directly above the silo. Avenall joined his mind with Fein's and guided him to look directly down as they passed over it. Avenall was unsure of what he saw, although he did see the assassin leaning against the wall of the upwards tunnel. Yet in the center, there was something that he did not understand.

  He instructed Fein to circle around and fly over again. This time, the dragon's eyes picked up more detail and he realized he was looking at a round, glass container filled with the shifting shapes of wisps. Why would this human wizard be collecting wisps? Why would anyone, human or fae, have anything to do with the soulless things? Even dragons did not intentionally go near them.

  Having seen what he could see, he directed the dragon back to where the others waited for his report. He didn't know what it meant, but he would tell it as best he could.

  ***

  Avenall hunkered down and used a stick to draw what he had seen in the dirt. His voice sounded lifeless, disinterested. His eyes were dull, all of the light gone out of them that had been there before he'd heard of Oriane's death. "Freoric is there. He may be resting. He may be laying in wait. I do not know. And here, in the very center, is a globe of colorless glass within which can be seen the moving outlines of wisps. The globe is dense with them. It's as if he is concentrating their essence for a purpose."

  "Freoric?" Lizbet asked.

  "No, the Abomination. Your Thomas. Freoric has no magic to do what I've seen."

  Lizbet nodded. "You're right. I guess I still want Thomas to be innocent for the first time in his lives, even if it's only for Tanji's sake."

  Avenall's eyes sparked a little when he heard Tanji's name. "I'm sorry for Tanji. I know what it is not to fully understand what is in the heart of another." For a moment he paused, eyes closed tight and averted as he thought of Oriane, then continued, "But I fear for her as well. And I would not wish for anything to harm her. She's promised to teach me to dance."

  Lizbet smirked. She couldn't help herself. "Oh, I bet she has. And I don't want to see anything happen to her, either. But it's going to get dark soon, and I can't think of anything else we can accomplish here, so we might as well go home. Eamon, can you keep an eye on Freoric tonight to make sure that he doesn't decide to take off?"

  "Aye, glad to, mistress. I'd ask, however, that you locate Hamish and the gnomes and offer them assistance. I'm concerned they haven't turned up yet." Eamon stepped to James and handed him a handkerchief. Or, at least, something that might once have been a handkerchief. "I borrowed that from Hamish back in the old world many years ago. You should be able to use it to locate him, as he's never stopped ownin' it despite having stopped havin' it."

  As James took the dirty rag, Lizbet's phone rang. She listened intently, asked a question or two, and then said, "Really? That's amazing! Avenall will be so happy. And yes, thank Mona for me." After she hung up, she said, "Change of plan. Whatever Thomas is doing, he's doing it tonight. And he's with Tanji. We need to get her away, even if we can't stop whatever he's going to be doing...and Avenall," she said, turning to him, "Oriane is alive. Apparently you don't want to bury a dryad without making absolutely sure she's dead."

  She could see the tear start in the corner of his eye, but he brushed it away with his forearm and smiled broadly, relief washing over his handsome face.

  "So...Eamon, you stay here to make sure Freoric stays put. James, I'd still like you to find the gnomes since you'll be able to help them if they're hurt."

  James's mouth quirked into a half smile. "Sure, let Eamon have all the fun."

  "Yep. And Avenall, you're with me. We'll also be needing that dragon of yours. This is my best friend we're talking about. We need the big guns. Do you think he'll pitch a hissy if he has to carry two?"

  She could see Avenall considering the question and coming up blank.

  "I mean, will he be okay with that?"

  "Yes, he will carry two comfortably."

  "Cool. If not, I'll pop off and fly behind. But I've kind of been looking for an excuse to ask for a ride, and now I've got one."

  "Yes, Tanji enjoyed it. I am sure you will, too. I understand that it is, what did she name it? 'Totally bitchin'."

  CHAPTERTHIRTY

  Girl In A Cage

  Lizbet hoped no one would object to her parking a dragon outside Magic On Main. As she approached, she could see Thomas behind the counter, lit up by the lights inside. He was idle, keeping his eye on a couple of customers who were looking at the shop's selection of rune jewelry.

  He greeted her cheerfully in a self-important tone when she entered the shop. "Queen Lizbet, what brings you to Magic On Main today?"

  At this, the customers at the jewelry counter turned and looked at her. She didn't know them. Probably from out of town. One of them nudged the other toward her. She so completely didn't have time for the celebrity thing today. She looked directly at the nudger, focusing her magic in the irises of her eyes, where it glowed as a fierce, blue, intimidating fire. It made her vision blur when she pulled that trick, but it looked darn impressive. It was apparently more than the tourists had counted on when they met the fae queen for the first time. One of them bobbed her head nervously in greeting, then they turned and left the shop at a faster pace than tourists normally managed.

  "Way to chase off the customers," Tanji said as she entered from the back room. "'Cause like, who needs those, right?"

  "Whatever. I need to talk to you, Tanj. Let's go to the coffee shop or something."

  "Right now? We're closing shop in a few minutes and then Thomas is taking me out for dinner."

  "No, I had this thing happen today. I need to talk to you, really. You'll probably need to spend the night. It's one of those kinds of things."

  Thomas broke in then, pointing to the street. "Why is that elf here? Isn't he the one who betrayed his compound by stealing away with the dragons?"

  "Yeah, that's the guy—he's just dropping me off. And you don't need to worry about why my subjects turn up here. You can leave that to me."

  "As you say, my queen. Forgive me." Thomas said, sounding less than sincere. "It's just that Tanji and I have a special dinner to go to. I need her more than you do tonight."

  "Look, Thomas, it's girl stuff. You wouldn't get it."

  Tanji grabbed his hand where it sat on the counter and squeezed it. "Yeah, sweetie, we can do dinner tomorrow. We can even hang out all day if you want. We could try some ice-skating. You've never been, right? And you said it looked interesting when we watched the kids at the outdoor rink a couple of weeks ago. The rink's open all afternoon on Saturdays."

  "No. It has to be tonight. I've got something for you after supper. It's more important than 'girl stuff'. You can't keep casting aside our relationship every time your mate stubs her toe and wants a natter."

  Tanji had to look away. She fought to keep from laughing when he accused her of being the one who hadn't been putting time into the relationship.

  Lizbet's temper rose. "Look Thomas, I don't want to have to command you to do it some other night, but as your queen, I could do that. So stop pushing."

  "Maybe I no longer want to follow a human queen. When the fae discover you have nothing of queen Morgan inside you, they won't follow you anymore, either."

  Before Lizbet had time to think about his complete 180 change of opinion, Thomas sprang over the counter and grabbed Tanji by the hands, dragging her toward the back room.

  "Let me go
," Tanji shouted, struggling against his grip. She tried to dig in, but her three inch heels gained little traction on the glossy faux-stone floor of the shop.

  Lizbet raised her hands to cast a ward and trap Thomas before he could get her out of the room, but he sent a blast of percussive energy toward her that knocked her painfully on her behind before she could complete the spell. She caught herself on her elbows before her head went back against the hard floor.

  She winced with the pain, and when she opened her eyes, she watched Thomas pull his hand down across Tanji's face. Tanji immediately slumped in sleep. He bent over and slung her over his shoulder, then straightened and ran out through the back as Avenall entered from the front.

  "What did he do to you? I'll hunt him down and bring him to his knees."

  Lizbet rubbed a sore elbow. "Yeah, that's a great idea right about now, but he has Tanj. We need to track them but make sure she doesn't get hurt when we try to rescue her. I really don't know this Thomas I just saw, but I still don't think he'd hurt her no matter what he'd do to me, so let's not take a chance on us being the ones who put her in pain, right?"

  They hurried to the waiting dragon, leaving the shop unattended. She was climbing into the saddle when she realized she'd left the shop unlocked. Tanji would kill her when she found out. She rushed back, locking the rear door from the inside and warding the front from the outside. That should keep her friend from ripping her head off later. Hopefully. Because there was no doubt in her mind that she'd soon have Tanji back.