by Kailin Gow
The creature started forward and Maisy reacted on instinct. Along with Steve, she dove into the trees, running as fast as she dared. As fast as her legs would carry her. Behind her, she heard the vampires let out a roar that was somewhere between a human battle cry and an animal sound. It only made her run faster.
It wasn’t easy running through the woodland. There was no easy trail to follow, though Maisy suspected that was the only thing that kept her and Steve alive in those first few seconds. On flat ground, the vampires would have overtaken them easily, and then…
Oentgenium, armstadtium… Maisy kept up the internal chanting of chemical elements like it could somehow protect her from having her throat ripped out by a ravenous vampire. No, it couldn’t do that, but it could keep her from concentrating on her fear, keep them from feeding on that. Maisy wasn’t about to make things that easy for them.
It was so obviously what they wanted. They were vampires, and old ones. Fallon was so much faster than Maisy and Steve were that they could barely see him, yet these somehow hadn’t caught them? The only way that made sense was if it was deliberate. They were chasing the pair of them for sport, running them the way a pack of animals might chase down a deer, letting the fear build until they had all had a chance to feed on it.
As if to confirm that, a vampire jumped out in front of Maisy, forcing her to dart off further into the undergrowth. It laughed as she shrieked with shock, then loped after her steadily. Maisy leapt a fallen log, slipping but managing to recover her balance enough to keep running.
It wasn’t meant to be like this. It was meant to be so simple. They would go to Marcus, or even Pietre, and then persuade the vampire that they knew where the scepter was, luring them to the diner. That was the plan, not running through the forest, trying desperately to think of a way to get clear of a whole group of vampires. What they had forgotten was the way Marcus’ group worked. The vampires there were so old and so savage like cavemen that without their leader there, they weren’t much better than animals. They certainly wouldn’t be talked into coming to the diner.
Maisy looked around and realized that she couldn’t see Steve. He’d been right beside her, hadn’t he? So where was he now?
“Steve? Steve!” Maisy barely had enough breath left to get the words out.
“Maisy!”
Maisy took a guess at which direction the sound was coming from and set off running, only to find a vampire blocking the way, forcing her to dart off on a new path.
“Steve!”
“Maisy, I’m coming!”
Another attempt to follow Steve’s voice, followed by another vampire in the way. It was only when it happened for a third time that Maisy understood that the creatures were playing another game with them. What would make Maisy more frightened than being chased by vampires? Only the thought of Steve being attacked by them somewhere she couldn’t get to in time to help him. It was just another way for the creatures to force every scrap of fear from them before they finally killed them.
As Maisy thought that, she found the fear vanishing from her. She wasn’t going to be scared when that was clearly the whole point of what the vampires were doing. She wasn’t going to give into it like that. She’d spent so much of her life at school with the popular kids ignoring her or making fun of her, doing things that were simply hurtful, and she’d learned there that the worst thing you could do was let them see that they’d had an effect on you. Of course, none of them ever wanted to rip out Maisy’s throat, but she knew that it still applied.
So Maisy forced herself to calm down. She forced herself to stop running, looking back with her arms spread wide.
“Come on then! I’m not scared of you!”
“Maisy!”
Steve was nearby. So near that it was all Maisy could do not to run to him. Yet she knew that would just start the vampires’ game of terror up all over again. She wasn’t going to give them that satisfaction. She wasn’t sure whether she could do anything to stop them from simply killing them both, but Maisy could stop herself from being scared.
A vampire advanced through the trees towards her. “Run!”
Maisy shook her head. “No, I won’t.”
“Then you die.”
The creature leapt at her, its fangs fully extended. It yelped and stopped as it went to bite Maisy though, and it was then that Maisy remembered the necklace Jill had given her.
“You don’t like that, do you?” she demanded, walking back slowly to where she thought she’d heard Steve. The vampire followed. It turned out to be a clearing. Not one of the magical ones that might house a portal. Just a broad gap in the trees. Steve was there too, on the other side of the clearing, backing away from his own group of vampires.
“You think you are not scared?” One of them demanded. “You will be by the time we are done.”
“No,” Steve said. “I’m not going to be scared of you, no matter what you do.”
Maisy didn’t think she’d been prouder of him than in that moment. She glared at the vampire in front of her. “You know you can’t touch us. Not with the necklaces. So why don’t you just leave us alone?”
“We can’t bite you,” the creature following her said. It drew a sword. “There are still plenty of things we can do, though.”
Maisy shook her head in exasperation. Was anything going to go right today? Apparently not, because her foot caught on something as she took a step back, sending her stumbling to the grass and staring upwards at the advancing vampire.
Past him too, though, which meant that Maisy was perfectly placed to see the golden form that swooped over the trees, its mouth open to let loose a jet of flame that incinerated the vampire attacking her. Marcus’ other vampires took one look at the sky and then scurried back into the trees as Maisy stood. She watched the dragon overhead bank and come back, while at the same time a second huge, scaled shape joined it. All Maisy could do was stand there in awe as it swooped down, lifting her from her feet in its claws the way a bird of prey might snatch up a mouse. She tried to scream, but the wind carried the sound away. All she could do was look around to see that Steve had been snatched up by the other dragon in just the same way.
Chapter 16
Maisy clung onto the dragon’s leg as best she could while the creature flew along with her in its grasp. A little further over she could see Steve held firmly in the claws of the green and purple one flying beside them. The golden dragon that held her was slightly in the lead, obviously choosing a course for the pair of them as the creatures flew low over the woods around Wicked.
Maisy was pretty sure they didn’t intend them any harm. After all, hadn’t Fallon mentioned dragons when he was telling them about Palisor? And they’d spent time searching for a dragon shifter back when Briony had been looking for a way into the place. More importantly, the dragons above her and Steve had just saved them from certain death at the hands of Marcus’ vampires. That counted for a lot when it came to getting Maisy’s trust.
What would count for even more right then though would be putting her down rather than carrying her around like some kind of dragon hand luggage. Especially when the ground was so very far below. Though it was, Maisy realized with a certain amount of worry, getting closer quickly.
In fact, the dragon holding her swooped down onto an open patch of ground, spreading its wings to slow its descent and releasing Maisy when it was close to the grass, letting her roll clear of it. The other dragon did the same with Steve. Maisy scrambled to her feet and rushed over to Steve, kissing him.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure,” Steve said. “There’s nothing like being chased by vampires to make you feel alive.”
“It was the part where they almost made us feel dead that worried me,” Maisy pointed out. She looked round at the dragon that had saved her. It was gone, replaced by a young man about their age with golden hair, tanned golden skin and youthful good looks, who wore flowing clothes of white fabric. Maisy glanced back to the other dragon and
that was gone too, replaced by another young man, this one with vivid purple and green hair punk style.
“You know, even though I know dragons are shape-shifters, that’s still really freaky,” she said. “Um… sorry. I guess I should say thanks for saving us.”
“It was our pleasure,” the golden haired young man assured her. “I’m Archer, and that’s Fletcher. You’re friends of Princess Briony’s aren’t you?”
Maisy wasn’t sure if she would ever get used to her friend being a princess, but she still managed to nod. “And you’re both from Palisor.”
“Of course,” Fletcher said, moving to stand beside Archer. “I was the dragon to the old king, and Archer is the dragon of his daughter. Why were the vampires chasing you?”
It was such a direct question that for a moment or two, Maisy simply didn’t know what to say. Then she winced as she realized just how badly her and Steve’s plan to get the vampires to the diner had gone.
“We were trying to trick the vampires,” she said. “We thought that if we could lure them to a spot where there were human hunters, we might be able to stop them hurting people in the town.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Archer said.
Fletcher looked less convinced. “It does? To me it sounds more like a plan for a bunch of humans to get eaten.”
“I meant the luring the vampires away part. That way they aren’t looking for the scepter.”
At the final word, Maisy found her interest spiking. Marcus had wanted the scepter too. When she said as much, Fletcher and Archer looked at her blankly. Maisy got the feeling then that they didn’t think quite like the young men they appeared to be.
“Yes,” Fletcher said, “we know.”
“We came here to stop him getting it,” Archer explained. “Which is why your plan is such a clever one.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Steve said. He looked over to Maisy proudly. “We volunteered.”
Maisy wondered briefly why her boyfriend sounded like he was trying hard to impress the dragons before it occurred to her that of course he would be. They were dragons. What geek wouldn’t want to impress a dragon? Maisy knew for a fact that Steve had whole shelves full of carefully painted model figures of them back at home.
“It didn’t work though,” Fletcher pointed out. “Archer, we should be hunting down the princess. We know she has the scepter now.”
“Briony has the scepter Marcus wants?” Maisy asked. It felt like everything was moving too fast for her to keep up with. “How did she manage that?”
Archer shrugged. “She is the princess. She will be able to feel it. Now she needs time with it, Fletcher. Time we can give her.”
“But their plan didn’t work,” Fletcher repeated.
Maisy decided that it was probably time to stand up for their plan a little. “It only didn’t work because Marcus wasn’t with his vampires anymore. If he’d been there, they would have followed us, because he believes we can lead him to Briony.”
“But he isn’t there now,” Fletcher said, looking thoughtful. “So we still don’t have a plan that will work.”
“But we can get one,” Archer insisted. “What about if we find out where Marcus is, then…”
Maisy heard Steve cough pointedly. The dragons, apparently not knowing the custom, kept talking.
“If we find out where Marcus is,” Fletcher said, “then we wait until he’s in the open and we flame roast him.”
“But what if…”
“Excuse me,” Maisy said, stepping between the two dragons. They blinked, obviously having briefly forgotten that she was there. “I think Steve wanted to say something. What was it, Steve?”
Steve looked faintly embarrassed as the two dragons turned to look at him. “It’s just that… well… I think I might have a plan. At least if Maisy is willing to try it.”
“Really?” Fletcher asked. “What’s your plan?”
Maisy’s eyebrows crept together slightly. “And what does it have to do with me?”
Half an hour later, she had an answer to that as she flew along on Archer’s back, trying to keep the long blonde wig she now wore from blowing off while holding tightly to a duffle bag.
“When I get back on the ground, I am going to be so angry with Steve!”
Archer, being in his dragon form, didn’t answer, but Maisy was pretty sure that there was something more than a little amused about the great, reptilian head bobbing along before her with every wing stroke.
When she’d first heard Steve’s plan, Maisy had laughed. Stand in for Briony? How could she stand in for Briony? She should have known better than to even ask that. It had taken twenty minutes, most of which were taken up with finding one of Briony’s old coats at the Edge Inn. Now, as Maisy clung to Archer’s back, it flapped around her like the wings of some enormous bird.
How did Briony do this? Not for the first time, Maisy suspected that she wasn’t cut out for having adventures the way her friend was. Yet here she was, about to save the whole town of Wicked from vampires. That was, by anyone’s standards, a heroic thing to do. Of course, Maisy suspected that real heroes wouldn’t have been quite as worried about falling off Archer’s back as she currently was. Nor would they spend their time wishing that they could find a way for someone else to be the decoy in their plan.
The trouble was that the plan definitely made sense. They needed to lure the vampires to a specific location if they were going to stop them from going on a rampage around Wicked. That meant finding a way to persuade them to follow, and then leading them along to the spot where they could be dealt with best. In essence, it was exactly the same plan that they’d come up with back at the diner.
The details had changed, though. Now, they weren’t going to lead the vampires back to the waiting Preservation Society. Archer and Fletcher had vetoed that, saying that neither Steve nor Maisy truly understood how dangerous Marcus’ vampires were. More than that, they’d said that they had a better option. A simpler option. If they could lead the vampires back to the gate, then the dragons could ensure that the vampires went back through to Palisor. There, they wouldn’t be able to help Marcus search for the scepter. It was just a question of finding something that they would follow.
The answer to that, apparently, was Briony. Which was why Maisy was currently doing her best impersonation of her friend on the back of Archer. The presence of the dragon was what really sold the illusion, Maisy knew. After all, Archer was meant to be Briony’s dragon, and who else would ever ride on the back of something like him?
Yes, Maisy thought, trying not to think about the wind rushing past her, who else would ever do it?
Now she just had to concentrate. She had to concentrate on the idea of the bag she held containing a scepter that held all the power of Palisor. She had to think about it as clearly as she could, so that even Marcus’ followers couldn’t help but pick up on the idea. She had to practically shout it out mentally, in a way that would never have worked had Marcus himself been around. Maisy just had to hope that his followers weren’t bright enough to know a bluff when they saw one. Thankfully, from what she’d seen of them, most of them were too ruled by instinct for that.
There they were. Maisy had been trying not to look down too much, but she spotted the figures waiting in the trees easily in the second before they darted back into cover, obviously afraid of the dragon. Maisy could see them though, staring up at Archer. Staring up at her.
I have the scepter, Maisy thought as clearly as she could. Everything is going to be fine now that I have the scepter. To emphasize the point, she held up the duffle bag as if in triumph, and Archer seemed to sense the mood of the moment, roaring with all the power he had. Maisy looked down at the tiny figures below them and laughed aloud. It wasn’t something Briony would ever have done, but the point wasn’t what her friend would really have done, it was what the vampires thought she would do. Maisy knew as well as anyone that what a vampire would have done in possession of something like the scepter
was to gloat, so she did, while Archer turned a couple of lazy circles over them, shooting down flames.
Only when they had stayed as long as they possibly could did Archer turn, flying slowly, almost lazily, out over the trees in the direction of the gate. Maisy took a moment or two to steal a glance back, trying to keep from being too obvious about it. She looked down at the trail beneath the trees, where already, tiny figures were hurrying along after Archer. For the first time since she had gotten onto the dragon, Maisy smiled to herself. Maybe, just maybe, Wicked was going to be safe after all.
Chapter 17
When Kevin finally stopped running, they were miles from the spot where the vampires had attacked them. Briony slid down from his back, knowing the small building ahead of them well. She had, after all, stayed there for a while when things had first gotten dangerous for her around Wicked. Kevin’s rented cabin looked the same now as it had then; a roughhewn reflection of its owner, perched at the top of a small slope and almost hidden by the trees.
“I thought you might want time to think,” Kevin said, transforming into his human self again. Briony couldn’t help stealing a glance at his bare torso. Every time he did that, she just wanted to forget what was happening around her and… “This place should still be empty, and it will be safe. Marcus’ vampires won’t know to look for you here.”
That was a good thought. Briony had spent so long being chased back and forth over both Palisor and Wicked that a place where she wasn’t about to be attacked was only too welcome. Yet part of her couldn’t help feeling that there was no time for this; that they should be hurrying into town to deal with the threat the vampires posed, or trying to get back to Palisor and Aunt Sophie.
“You need to relax,” Kevin said, obviously picking up on her worry. “Just for once, you need to take a break, Briony. Just let me check that it’s safe.”
