Shattered

by Mari Mancusi

  “Change of plans,” Luke said briskly. “The Feds are probably watching us. The media definitely is. I mean, you posted that shot of the van and they were on the scene in like ten minutes. I think it’s time to feed them another bread crumb.”

  Nate grinned at that, obviously getting the idea. Trin watched as he pulled up a video of a dark shadow crossing the sky. “This is so obviously CGI’ed,” he said with a snort. “Not that any of the lamestream media will be able to tell.”

  “Wait,” Trinity interrupted. “I’m confused. What are you doing?”

  Luke turned to her. “Come on now, don’t you remember?” he said with a sly wink. “You ditched your van yesterday in some random Wal-Mart parking lot in good old Fauna, New Mexico. You were feeling the heat closing in—and decided you needed a new ride. Then you took off with your dragon, never looking back. Last we know, our little touchdown of terror was miles and miles away from here, taking in the sights of the great and glorious GC.”

  “That’s what the Google says anyway,” Nate proclaimed, pressing a few buttons and publishing the video to their site. “And we all know the Google never lies.”

  Huh. Trinity watched as the video looped on their site. That actually was a pretty smart idea. Maybe she should have been posting a little faux travelogue of her own from the start of this whole thing.

  “Can I see your website?” she asked, overwhelmed by curiosity at this point. She couldn’t believe there even was a website about Emmy—no, hundreds of websites, they’d said. All devoted to her dragon.

  You’re a superstar, she teased Emmy, this time remembering to speak through their bond.

  Nate offered up his chair, and a moment later she was staring at the FreeEmmy.com blog page, which began with a fantastically stylized illustration of her and her dragon—done up as if they were manga superheroes or something. Below that was a list of blog entries full of alleged sightings, background information on her, and some pretty good fan art of Emmy. The sidebar listed a whole bunch of links to similar sites.

  “You guys did all this?” she asked, more than a little amazed. She noted the number of comments on each posting—in the hundreds—and gave a low whistle.

  Luke nodded, plopping down on a chair beside her, his cheeks flushed with pride. “Pretty cool, huh?” he asked. “We used to do an alien conspiracy website until it got shut down by the NSA when they decided we’d gotten too close to the truth.”

  “Wait, I thought you said we forgot to pay our web hosting bill?” Natasha objected. Luke’s face reddened.

  “Yeah, well, whatever. Aliens are lame, anyway.”

  “And dragons are so hot right now!” Nate quipped. “Especially after that video.”

  “What video?” Trinity cocked her head in question. “You mean the football stadium thing?”

  “No, no!” Luke shook his head. “This was before that. Look.” He loaded up the archives and selected one of the entries. A shaky cam, nighttime video, obviously taken by a cell phone, of Emmy walking through the woods then taking flight. It was only about thirty seconds long, but it was definitely her. Probably on one of the nights Caleb had taken her out. Trin’s eyes narrowed as she caught the uploader’s screen name.

  Scarlet. Of course. She must have taken it the night Emmy found her and healed her. The night that had started it all.

  Trin frowned, stealing an involuntary glance over at Emmy, wondering yet again what the deal was between her dragon and this girl. Did Emmy just feel bad for her? Was Scarlet just especially needy? Or did they really have a true connection between them? She felt an involuntary stirring of jealousy. Scarlet had traveled all the way from Vista to San Angels to find Emmy. How soon before she showed up in Fauna? And what would happen once she did?

  “This video got like ten million hits in its first twelve hours,” Nate explained. “It pretty much broke the interwebs.”

  “Though of course we already knew all about Emmy,” Luke bragged. “Months before any of this happened I’d found this forum where a museum owner—your grandpa—was bragging about a dragon egg he’d had shipped from Antarctica. I’d tried to contact him to find out more but by then the museum had burned down and he was on the run from the law.” He grinned widely. “That’s when I knew this had to be something big.”

  “And how did you know I call her Emmy?” Trinity asked, looking up for a moment.

  “You shouted her name at the football stadium,” Luke explained. “One of the videos we watched caught it.”

  Trinity continued to scroll through the blog, amazed at how they’d managed to put so many of the pieces together. Not everything was completely right and obviously they didn’t know the big time-travel piece of the puzzle, but it was impressive Internet research all the same. They even had a link to her museum’s old Facebook page. She clicked over to find a big goofy advertisement for Foxx’s Fantastical Fossils and her heart panged.

  “That’s your grandfather, right?” Natasha asked gently.

  Trinity stared at the photo. Her grandfather was dressed in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume and was holding a sign that read “Fossils rock!” He looked ridiculous and heartbreakingly beautiful all at the same time. “Yeah,” she said quietly. “That’s him. He…died in the fire.”

  “And so…now you’re all alone? We heard these rumors that you were with two guys. Two twin guys?” Luke shook his head. “I don’t know. We don’t always get everything right.”

  “No guys,” Trinity said, clicking the back button and returning to their website. “It’s me and Emmy against the world.”

  She caught Emmy’s curious look out of the corner of her eye but brushed her off. They don’t need to know about them, she told the dragon. It’d be too hard to explain anyway.

  “So,” Luke said after she closed the web page. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Um, sure.”

  “What were you doing there, out in the open like that? In the middle of a freaking Wal-Mart parking lot of all places? I mean, I know you had no idea just how famous you’ve become. But you had to know there was some chance you might get recognized, right? Why take the risk?”

  Trinity hedged for a moment, wondering how much she should tell them. Then she decided to go for it. “I was looking for my father,” she admitted at last. “I believe he’s the one person who can help me and Emmy.” She found herself reaching into her pocket, fingering the Ouroboros, turning it over in her hand. Why had it led her to the Wal-Mart? That was still question number one. “I was told I might find him there. But…I don’t know. Maybe I got bad information.”

  “What’s his name?” Luke asked. “Maybe we’ve heard of him.”

  “And if not, we can always look him up,” Nate added. “I’m an expert at tracking people down online.”

  “Well, I guess his name is Cam,” Trinity said, remembering what her mother had called him in her vision. “Cameron, maybe?” She shrugged. “I have my mother’s maiden name. So I have no idea what his last name would be.” She sighed. “Not very helpful, huh?”

  “Wait a second,” Nate interrupted, his eyes wide. He turned to his friends. “Do you think she’s talking about Mr. Law?”

  “Who’s Mr. Law?” Trinity asked, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. “Does he live in Fauna? He would be a scientist. Maybe working in a lab or a hospital…”

  She trailed off, not liking the way they were exchanging glances with one another. “What?” she demanded.

  “Well, it’s probably not the same guy,” Luke hedged.

  “But there is a guy named Cameron Law,” added Natasha. “He works at the Wal-Mart where we found you.”

  “No,” Trinity said shaking her head. “That couldn’t be him. My dad’s a big-time scientist. He wouldn’t be working in a…” She trailed off as Nate handed her an iPad Mini, with the Wal-Mart website pulled up. Specifically the Employee of the Month page
.

  “Is that him?” he asked, pointing to the December winner.

  Trinity stared down at the photo, scarcely able to breathe. The man had lost some of his hair and his face was thinner and more lined. But the resemblance to the man in her vision was unmistakable.

  It was her father. The Wal-Mart employee of the month was her dear old dad.

  Numbly, she handed the iPad back to Nate, closing her eyes and trying to control the sudden tidal wave of emotions flowing over her. The man she’d pinned all her hopes on, the one her mother believed could save her and the dragon. He wasn’t some genius scientist after all. He worked at the local Wal-Mart.

  “Hey!” Luke cried, putting a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  It was too much. She let the tears flow out of her, splashing onto the keyboard. Until that very moment, she hadn’t realized how much she was depending on this all working out. For there to be some sort of daddy-fueled rescue magic just around the corner, ready to provide a pretty little happily ever after for her and Emmy.

  “I’m sorry,” she babbled, feeling old and exhausted and scared. “I just…I thought…” She couldn’t continue. “He was supposed to be my only hope!” she blurted out at last.

  “And why can’t he be?” Natasha demanded, looking a little offended. “My mother was a Wal-Mart checker for years while going to nursing school. And she’s smarter than anyone I’ve ever met.”

  “And who knows, maybe it’s just a cover,” added Luke. “Maybe he has a secret lab underground or something and he’s using his Wal-Mart discount to get cheap supplies to help fight crime.”

  “Yeah, you know, even Superman worked for a newspaper,” added Nate, pulling off his black-rimmed glasses. “All superheroes need day jobs to serve as their cover.”

  Trinity couldn’t help but smile at this. “I suppose you could be right,” she relented, though she still wasn’t entirely sure.

  “We’re totally right,” Luke declared. “We’ll track him down tomorrow and you’ll see for yourself.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Are you going to stand there admiring yourself all night, or do you think you’ll get some sleep at some point?”

  Trinity watched with amusement as Emmy tossed her head at the cracked mirror in the corner and bared her teeth. She’d been preening at her reflection ever since Trinity had presented her with her necklace earlier that evening.

  “Guess it’s safe to say I did good?” she teased, fluffing up her pillow before lying down on the couch in the geek cave garage. Luke had gone home about an hour ago, and Nate and Natasha had retreated to their bedrooms after heating up some microwave lasagna for her and plying her with blankets. Their mom worked the overnight shift as a nurse, they’d told her, so there would be no one to walk in on her and her dragon during the night. And they promised to be back first thing in the morning, armed with breakfast and a plan to track down dear old Dad.

  Emmy turned to her, her face practically glowing. Red is a good color on me, don’t you think? She craned her neck to give Trinity a better look. She had to admit, it did add a nice little flair, a glittery ruby nestled amongst a sea of emerald scales.

  “Yes, yes, you look gorgeous,” she assured her with a smile. “Utterly gorgeous. Now come to bed. It’ll still be there in the morning, I promise.”

  Emmy snorted, twin puffs of smoke bursting from her nostrils. Of course it will still be there, she declared indignantly, though her eyes were dancing. No one would dare steal treasure from a dragon.

  Trinity smiled, a feeling of warmth wrapping around her. She liked seeing Emmy so happy. If only she’d known all it would take was a piece of junk jewelry, she would have rummaged one up months ago.

  Emmy took one last look at herself in the mirror—vain dragon!—then headed over to the second couch, hopping up and turning around three times before settling into the cushions.

  “Comfy?” Trin asked with amusement.

  The dragon nodded. Are you?

  “Yeah, not bad,” she said, shifting to lie on her back. She stared up at the dark ceiling, feeling a strange mixture of happiness and longing. This was good, she told herself. This was right. But…

  You miss them.

  She looked over to find Emmy peering at her from the other couch with sad eyes. She gave her a rueful smile. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I know it’s stupid but—”

  It’s not stupid, Emmy admonished. You like them. And they like you. The Hunter likes you so much he lets you kiss him. And he cuddled with you all night long.

  Trinity groaned as her mind betrayed her with a sudden flood of memories. Connor’s warm lips whispering across her face. The weight of his body melting into her own.

  And the other one. He’s very nice as well. I know you don’t like that he took me out flying. But he really was very careful. And he always did it for you. Everything he does is for you.

  Trin closed her eyes, seeing Caleb’s haunted, hollow face. His shaky hands. His pale skin. His anguished voice crashing across her consciousness. Telling her it was so hard already.

  Her heart panged. Had Connor found him? Was he okay?

  Was she a terrible person for leaving them both behind?

  “Okay, I miss them,” she admitted. “But I don’t want you to think I regret leaving them behind. It had to be done. Your well-being is way more important than my love life.”

  Emmy gave her a sad look. What makes my happiness any more important than yours?

  “Are you kidding me? I’m just, like, one inconsequential girl,” she reminded her. “You’re, like, the savior of the world.”

  Well, I couldn’t save anything without you.

  Trinity sighed, reality creeping in uncomfortably around the edges of the conversation. She didn’t want to go there, not now. But at the same time, she could no longer ignore the elephant in the room.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure you and Scarlet could manage to get along somehow if I were gone,” she said, trying to sound casual. But even she could hear the hurt in her voice. She’d been forcing it down ever since she’d discovered Scarlet had followed them to San Angels—and that Emmy had once again seen fit to risk everything to save her.

  Emmy looked at her sharply. What do you mean by that?

  “Come on, Emmy,” Trinity drew in a breath. “Do you think I don’t get it? Scarlet’s my backup, right? That’s why you started bonding with her in the first place. You felt I wasn’t living up to my end of the Fire Kissed bargain and you wanted to make sure you weren’t left stranded. And now you’ve been stringing her along, leading her from town to town, just in case.”

  Emmy looked at her, horrified. Scarlet was hurt. She needed me. That was the only reason I…Do you really think I would try to replace you?

  Trinity hung her head. This was coming out all wrong and she was sounding like a paranoid fool. But still! She swallowed hard.

  “I just want you to know that I would understand if you were,” she said at last. “I mean, let’s face it, I haven’t been a very good Fire Kissed to you. And if you ever decided that you made a mistake by choosing me…” She broke off, unable to continue. Not wanting it to be true.

  Emmy stood, hopping off the couch and padding across the room. When she reached Trinity, she lowered her head until their faces were only inches away. Even in the darkness of the room, Trin could see her blue eyes glowing strong.

  Dragons do not make mistakes.

  She was so vehement—her tone so sure, so fierce—it sent chills to Trinity’s toes. She wrapped her hands around Emmy’s neck and squeezed her tight, feeling as if her heart would burst. For a moment, neither of them moved and neither of them spoke.

  “I’m sorry,” Trin said at last, finally finding her voice again. “I didn’t mean to doubt you. Or myself. I just…I want to do what’s best for you, you know? That’s all I want. An
d I’m so afraid that if I do the wrong thing—or I make the wrong move—I’ll lose you forever.”

  Emmy pulled away, meeting her eyes with her own. Silly Fire Kissed, she said with a smile. You can’t get rid of me that easily.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Any sign of the cops?”

  Trinity peered out the truck’s passenger side window, scanning the nearly empty Wal-Mart parking lot the next morning. It was dawn—too early for all but the most dedicated of shoppers. Only a few RVs intruded on the emptiness, parked at the perimeters, but they were quiet and dark, their inhabitants likely still asleep.

  Her van was gone. Not a big surprise, but it still made her heart sink a little. In addition to the memories of her grandfather, the van had come to symbolize a certain amount of freedom—she could go anywhere she needed to go with that van. Do anything she needed to do. Now she was back to being dependent on the kindness of strangers.

  Her eyes fell on the store itself. Could her father really work here? And if so, why? Had he just needed a steady job to pay the bills, while waiting for her and Emmy to arrive? Sixteen years was a long time, she told herself; he’d probably need to have some kind of income, a low-profile job where they didn’t do a big background check, seeing as he was supposed to be dead and all.

  That said, it was more than a little disconcerting to watch all the dreams she’d had of a sterile laboratory, filled with futuristic technology that could help save her and Emmy, fade into a bright yellow bouncy ball of a big box store.

  Her new friends, on the other hand, seemed more optimistic. Lucas had come to pick her and Nate and Natasha up bright and early, happily skipping out on school to help her with what they had jokingly been calling their Operation: Find Daddy quest. As if the whole adventure was some kind of video game come to life. Once upon a time, the gamer girl in her might have laughed at that. But things had been too real for too long at this point.

  “No cops,” she said, reluctantly pulling her head back into the truck. “Looks okay.”