The Falcon's Heart

by Diana Green

  Alarm bells went off in my head, even before I noticed two men hauling Bethany toward the car. She struggled, but didn’t make a sound, head whipping frantically from side to side, as the men held her helpless between them.

  There wasn’t time to consider options. Once they got Bethany into the sedan, her odds for escape plummeted. I had to act immediately.

  “Let her go!” I shouted, sprinting straight at them. The kidnappers barely reacted, except to hurry their captive along even faster. They had just reached the sedan as I ran up, grabbing the nearest man by his arm, trying to pull him off Bethany.

  He backhanded me, causing a burst of pain along the side of my face, but I didn’t let go. I slammed my fist into the bridge of his nose, remembering my self-defense class from the previous year. They told us to go for the eyes, nose, throat, and groin—to fight as hard as we could and not stop.

  He cursed and shoved me hard as I tried to gouge his eyes. A third man jumped from the car, pointing a pistol at my chest. I didn’t know much about firearms, but I recognized a silencer when I saw one. These men were well prepared, and at such a close range I didn’t stand a chance.

  “I won’t hesitate to shoot you,” he said. “We only need the girl alive.”

  They were already pushing Bethany into the backseat, her eyes wild with fright. A strange glowing collar had been slipped around her neck, while something similar bound her wrists.

  “What about this one?” the man beside me growled. I’d gone completely still at the sight of the handgun.

  “We’ll have to bring her along,” the armed man snapped. “The boss isn’t going to like it.” He stepped closer, pressing the pistol against my temple. “Into the car, now!”

  As I dropped onto the backseat next to Bethany, something swooped from above, attacking the man with the gun. He screamed as talons raked his scalp. For a split second the pistol swung away, but before I could act the man slammed down beside me, yanking the door closed. The gun pressed once more against my temple.

  A silver blur of feathers raced past the window, as a large owl struck at the third kidnapper. He just managed to close the final car door before the bird did serious damage. My shock couldn’t have been greater if the sky opened up and rained spiders. Was that the same owl I’d seen all week? Had it truly tried to protect Bethany and me?

  “Go!” the armed man ordered the driver.

  The sedan reversed out of the parking space, throwing up gravel on both sides. As we sped away I prayed somebody had seen and called the police.

  Chapter Two

  Sometime during that terrifying drive, the man in the front passenger seat turned around and tied my wrists with a plastic cord. He pulled a black cloth bag over my head, so I couldn’t see where we were going.

  Perhaps I should have resisted, but there didn’t seem much point. These were clearly well organized criminals. I didn’t think my protests would change a thing except possibly get me shot. Better to save my energy for a more promising chance at escape.

  It was hard to gauge the passage of time, but the drive seemed interminable. I had plenty of opportunity to imagine a grisly fate for myself and Bethany. Why did these thugs want her anyway? Did it have something to do with her mother’s past?

  Eventually the car slowed, driving down a steep smooth incline then turning sharply left. Something in the echoing quality of sound gave the impression we’d gone underground, perhaps into a parking garage.

  When I was pulled from the sedan, I felt concrete, flat and hard, beneath my feet. In the distance a dog barked repetitively—three frantic yips and then a howl, over and over. It sounded thoroughly unhinged.

  The armed man pushed me forward, the pistol pressed to the small of my back. We passed through a door, which I heard shut with a heavy thud behind us. Much to my relief, the black bag was removed from my head, so I could see again.

  We walked down a wide hallway, with polished mahogany doors spaced at regular intervals. At the far end stood impressive double doors, carved with the image of a dragon, wings spread in flight. A faint sulfuric odor hung in the air, growing stronger as we entered the room beyond.

  I say room, but it was more like a great chamber in some gothic fortress. The walls and vaulted ceiling displayed a mural of dragons fighting, hunting, and spewing flames. There were no windows, with only a single cast-iron chandelier for light, leaving the corners in shadow.

  The furnishings looked antique but meticulously maintained, with much embellishment on the wood surfaces and sumptuous fabrics. Burgundy velvet, gold brocade, and jewel-toned silks glimmered in the dim light. A patterned marble floor lay almost hidden beneath thick rugs, and a massive fireplace graced the opposite wall.

  The place resembled a horror movie set more than headquarters for a criminal organization. A few strikingly attractive individuals lounged around the room, looking up with mild interest as Bethany and I came in. In addition to these beauties, guards flanked the entrance we’d just passed through and a door at the far end of the chamber.

  Shock rolled over me at the sight of them. One guard had sawed-off horns circling his head and eyes as red as stoplights. Another was scaled like a green lizard—I kid you not. A third sported leathery wings and a tail, while the fourth watched me with six eyes rather than two. How could any of this be real? My mind flailed, trying to find a plausible explanation.

  In the center of the chamber, on a plush throne-like chair, sat a creature I assumed must be in charge. He looked like a cross between a hairless mole rat and Dracula. Folds of pale veined skin drooped over his emaciated form, only partially covered by a sleeveless crimson robe. His eyes in their entirety—iris, pupil, and sclera—were opaque oily black.

  I shuddered as his mouth pulled into a smile, revealing yellowed fangs where teeth should have been. His nostrils twitched and flared, like a predator scenting prey. I wondered how he could smell anything over the rotten egg stench permeating the chamber.

  Beside me Bethany folded forward, sinking to her knees. I tried to reach for her but was held too firmly by the armed thug.

  “Lift the girl’s head so I can see her better.” The wrinkled creature rose and walked closer. His voice sounded like knives scraping on metal.

  One of the men grabbed Bethany’s hair and jerked her head up. She gasped but remained silent. The strange glowing band around her throat pulsed, and I wondered what its purpose was.

  The ‘boss’ reached down, tilting Bethany’s chin, studying her face. His fingernails resembled gray claws which pressed dangerous points into the girl’s skin. She trembled, face drained of color.

  “Leave her alone!” The words spilled out before I could think better of them.

  The creature turned his hideous gaze on me. “Be quiet, or we’ll remove your tongue.”

  I swallowed, pressing my lips together, unnerved by the dark void of his eyes. At such proximity his decay-like smell proved almost unbearable. It increased the impression of his being impossibly aged and in decline.

  He looked me over, head to toe. “This one’s not bad but nothing special. I wouldn’t keep her as a thrall…so why have you brought her?” He glanced at the armed man behind me.

  “Couldn’t be helped, Sire. She interfered when we took the girl.”

  Sire! Seriously? Who did this creep think he was, the king of Halloween?

  “Ah, I see,” the boss responded. “A brave woman, but stupid.” His gaze flicked across me dismissively. “We’ll deal with her later. Now take the silencing collar off the girl.”

  One of the men removed the glowing band from around Bethany’s throat. She released a slow breath along with a faint whimper. It was the first sound I’d heard from her this whole time.

  “Do you know who I am?” the boss asked.

  “No.” Bethany refused to look at him.

  “Over the centuries I’ve been called many things…Ulrek the Cruel, the Midnight Wolf, the Scourge of Navarre, the Blood Dragon, and more.” He spoke with supreme arrog
ance. “You may address me as Sire.”

  Bethany said nothing, keeping her gaze fixed on the floor.

  “I didn’t expect such a meek little thing,” he remarked. “According to my men, you used elemental powers when they tried to take you from the school, earlier today. I can see a magic inhibitor around your wrists, so they must have thought you dangerous enough to require subduing.” He tapped Bethany’s brow with a thick ridged claw. “Where has all your fight gone, daughter of Yarra?”

  At this her head snapped up, and she glared at him. “How do you know my mom’s name?”

  “Ah, finally I see a spark. With anger in your eyes, you look more like her.” He smiled, displaying his fangs to full effect. “It’s almost enough to make me miss her stimulating visits.”

  “My mom wouldn’t mix with demons.”

  At this Ulrek chuckled, shaking his head. “Yarra’s Ice Clan pride couldn’t survive the shame of a half-blood child. You brought her low, and she sank even lower in the search for oblivion. By the end she’d have kissed my feet for one more high.”

  Bethany’s fists clenched, knuckles white. “Don’t talk about her like that! You didn’t know her.”

  “Oh, but I did…after a fashion.” He shrugged, as if losing interest in the subject. “What matters now is the possibility you might be of use to me. A fact I need to verify, before we go any further.” He beckoned to the green-scaled guard. “Go fetch the seer.”

  My head spun with all this talk of elemental powers, magic inhibitors, and seers. What kind of alternate dimension had I stumbled into? Such things only existed in stories!

  “Beyond small tricks with ice, have you manifested any other abilities?” Ulrek continued his interrogation. “Nothing is too trivial to mention. Any skill might prove important to my plans.”

  “Why would I tell you?” Bethany muttered.

  “Because I hold your life in my hands.” He flexed his fingers for emphasis. “If you cooperate your time here can be pleasant enough. If not, things will get ugly. Understand?” He leaned closer. “I don’t enjoy harming children…” A smirk twisted his thin lips. “Well…that’s not entirely true, but I don’t like wasting valuable resources. So do as I ask, and we’ll both be happier.”

  The green-scaled guard returned, accompanied by a woman with tattoos covering her face and neck. They swirled and spiraled like an arcane language written onto her skin. Her eyes were milky as moonstone, yet her gaze—when she saw us—seemed sharper than a blade.

  “Is this the girl from your vision?” Ulrek asked, gesturing toward Bethany.

  The seer approached us. I squirmed under her piercing gaze, feeling as though my surface was being peeled back to reveal the inner workings of my heart and mind—an uncomfortable experience to say the least.

  At last the seer turned her attention back to Ulrek.

  “They are both from my vision,” she stated. “I saw them sitting at a table in a school room, reading from a large blue textbook and discussing it. The girl ate an apple, while the woman sipped a mug of tea.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, and I repressed a shiver. She had just described my last tutoring session with Bethany.

  “So this girl is the one I need to complete my plans?” Ulrek’s voice held a note of urgency. “I need to be certain.”

  The seer remained placid. “All I know is this, Sire. You asked that I find the key, the person to awaken the power you desire. I sought the answer in a vision and saw the woman and girl sitting together, as I described. What that means or how you are to use them, I cannot guess. But I did locate your key.”

  “There’s no doubt then.” Ulrek sounded pleased. “The girl is half ice elemental, from a fine old lineage. It must be her.”

  “As you say,” the seer murmured. “May I go now?”

  “Yes.” He waved her away, his gaze fixed on Bethany. “Now, to find the right keyhole and figure out how you turn the lock.” He seemed to be speaking mostly to himself, lost in thought. “If only the riddle weren’t so complex…but I suppose nothing worth having comes easily.” His eyes narrowed. “I shall have to test the possibilities. Is it your blood or your powers, or possibly—”

  The sentence remained unfinished. At that moment some commotion behind me caught Ulrek’s attention and he hissed, leaping backwards. I would not have thought such a decrepit looking creature could cover so much ground.

  The armed man holding me suddenly released his grip. I ducked, diving for Bethany and pulling her behind a sofa, as sounds of gunfire and shouting filled the chamber. In the confusion I perceived two important facts.

  First, someone had entered the way we came in, and the big double doors now hung slightly open. Second, the newcomer clearly meant trouble for Ulrek.

  She was petite but breathtakingly fast, wielding a gleaming sword and wreaking havoc on the guards. Her short hair shone pale in the dim light, as she spun, parried, and slashed—each movement efficient and deadly yet graceful at the same time. I found her mesmerizing.

  “Get this thing off. Quick!” Bethany whispered, shoving her bound wrists in front of me.

  I fumbled for a few seconds but managed to remove the glowing band—and not a moment too soon. One of the thugs from the sedan approached us, wielding a metal truncheon, but Bethany raised her hands and shot a spray of ice at him.

  I wouldn’t have believed it possible, except I saw the whole thing play out right in front of me. Her eyes flared bright as neon, long hair lifting in a dark corona, as glittering frozen shards materialized around her fingers. She hurled them through the air like daggers.

  The man cried out, flinging his arms up to protect his face. She released another blast, this one driving him to his knees. I hurried forward, grabbing his weapon in both hands and whacking him over the head. The action felt awkward, with my wrists bound together, but apparently I used enough force to do the job. He collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

  The solid weight of the truncheon was reassuring. At least now I had some kind of defense. And better yet, Bethany could shoot ice from her hands! Maybe we stood a chance.

  The lights suddenly went out, leaving the chamber pitch black. Thumps and curses told me Ulrek’s hired men were effectively blinded. Hopefully this leveled the playing field a little.

  A faint line of light marked where the double doors stood ajar, and I urged Bethany in that direction. We stumbled forward, our escape route seeming ridiculously far away.

  “I can see in the dark.” A woman’s voice spoke softly in my right ear, as someone touched my arm. “Grab onto the girl, and I’ll guide you both out…but we must hurry.”

  For some reason I trusted her voice and warm presence beside me. Good to her word, she quickly led us through the obstacle course of furniture and adversaries. We slipped through the double doors and the woman pushed them closed.

  I recognized her as the sword wielding blonde. This close she was truly striking, with fine-boned features and eyes of an unusual silvery blue. They reminded me of something I couldn’t quite place.

  “Can you freeze the lock?” she asked Bethany. “It’ll buy us time.”

  The girl nodded, laying a hand on each door. Frost patterns spread over the brass handles and solid ice formed around the locking mechanisms.

  “This way,” our rescuer prompted, running down the hallway.

  We soon came to a bunker-like area with several parked cars. The blonde made a beeline for the oldest looking vehicle, a white hatchback.

  “I can probably hotwire this one,” she said. “Check to see if there’s a key in any of the others.”

  Bethany and I made the rounds, finding nothing helpful. By that time, our savior had the hatchback started and we piled in, hearing shouts echoing behind us. Apparently our pursuers were through the large double doors.

  The blonde wasted no time in concern for the other cars, leaving more than a few dents and scratches as she maneuvered swiftly out of the bunker, speeding up a steep ramp and into th
e open air.

  Being the shortest day of the year, the sun was already setting, turning the sky a brilliant magenta streaked with orange clouds. It felt like an eternity since I’d jogged around the neighborhood park. My whole world had turned on its head in the span of a couple of hours.

  “I need to take you both somewhere safe.” Our rescuer spoke urgently as she floored the gas, racing down a long driveway. “Will you trust me?”

  I looked behind to see if we were being followed. No vehicles had emerged from the bunker, but it was only a matter of time.

  “It would help to know who you are,” Bethany said from the back seat.

  “I’m Aves.” She pronounced her name Ah-vehs, with an emphasis on the first syllable. It sounded Latin, and I thought it might mean bird. “The Rathburn Institute sent me.”

  We came out on a rural road, and Aves gunned the engine, pushing the little car to its limit. “It’ll take more than an hour to get there, but hopefully we can lose Ulrek’s bunch in the process. They won’t bother us once we reach the institute.”

  “I don’t see any better options,” I admitted. “Though, I have a lot of questions.”

  “I’m sure you do. Just let me catch my breath first. It’s been a wild afternoon, and we’re not out of the woods yet. I promise I’ll explain things later.”

  “Fair enough.” As I spoke, a car appeared in the rearview mirror. I couldn’t be sure in the fading light, but it looked like the gray sedan.

  To learn when Solstice Moon is available…

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  DIANA GREEN’S BOOK LIST

  LGBTQA FICTION

  Stand Alones

  The Falcon’s Heart