by Jadyn Chase
The woods closed in around me. The safety I thought I knew no longer existed. None of us would be safe—not here, not anywhere else—not as long as the Lynches were around.
Hannah’s voice stroked my mind with her tender caress. “Just listen to me, Kylen. If you ever listened to me, let it be now. Everett and his men hid some plastic explosives somewhere here, at this very campground. We could find them. We could trick them somehow into returning to the compound, and we could blow them all to kingdom come when they least expect it. We can’t go back to the Ridge—not now. We can’t leave them alive. We have to destroy them now before they carry out their plan.”
I glanced up. Liam stared at her with the same startled comprehension written all over his face. Neither of us could deny the truth of her words. We couldn’t leave. We couldn’t leave one of those bastards alive to threaten our Clan.
I turned to Hannah. Her clear, open face radiated understanding and…. I hesitated to believe what I was seeing. Love shone out of her features to warm my heart. She loved me. She would never sacrifice her own safety for my Clan if she didn’t.
My heart split open with love for her. She underwent the same transformation the night we spent together. She must have. Now she was part of our Clan—part of me. Nothing would ever divide us again. I swallowed hard and gulped down the lump in my throat. “All right. Let’s get busy and find those explosives.”
“Leave it to me,” Liam interjected.
He hurtled back and shifted. The red dragon broke his skin, and the ground shook under his massive feet. He turned in a complete circle with his nose close to the ground. Sulfur and smoke billowed from his nostrils when he exhaled.
He sniffed over the ground all around the campground. He poked his nose under every tree and bush until he came to the stream. A mossy boardwalk crossed leading to the trail into the wilderness.
He snuffled down there for a while before he shifted back into a man. “Over here,” he called.
He crouched under the boardwalk. I got down next to him and peeked under the slippery planks. A large metal canister sat wedged under the bridge. No one could see it under a thick mat of lichens and vines. Only a dragon’s nose could detect the smell of the explosives inside.
Liam and I hauled on the crate, but it wouldn’t budge until Hannah joined us to lend a hand. With all three of us straining our backs to the breaking point, we finally dislodged it. It slipped and skidded in the mud. We dug in our heels and wrestled it onto the grass.
Liam collapsed panting onto his back. “Holy shit! What do they have stashed in there?”
I confronted Hannah. “All right, McQueen. Let’s hear your brilliant idea to annihilate the Lynches.”
She glanced up and down the stream. “I don’t have any brilliant idea. I only know we can’t leave them alive. We have to rig these around the compound, and then we have to draw them down to it so we can blow them up. That’s as far as it goes.”
Liam snorted. “I like it.”
I whipped around to glare at him. “For Christ’s sake, don’t encourage her. We’re not going anywhere near the compound without a plan. Got that?” I waited until he nodded in meek agreement before I returned to Hannah. “The compound, as you may have noticed, is a pile of cinders. The Lynches have no reason to go back there.”
“Then it doesn’t matter where we rig the explosives,” she countered. “All that matters is that we bait them into coming near enough to get killed. Nothing else matters.”
“Well, one other thing matters,” Liam added. “We have to make sure they come and our own boys don’t follow them. If our people got the Lynches on the run, our boys will track them to wherever they run away to. We could wind up blowing up our own guys along with the Lynches.”
Hannah hung her head. “You’re right. I didn’t think of that.”
“It seems like there are a lot of things you didn’t think of,” I told her. “Now the first order of business is to choose our location.”
“The first order of business,” Liam argued, “is to choose our bait. Where we lead them will depend on that.”
“Any ideas?” I asked.
He shook his head. “None at all.”
“That’s easy,” Hanna chipped in. “I’ll be the bait.”
12
Hannah
Kylen’s eyes popped. “You! You’re not going back in there.”
“Think about it,” I told him. “They already kidnapped me once. Everett is obsessed with me. If he sees me, he’ll try to recapture me. All I have to do is show myself to him, and I can lead him around by the nose.”
“Yeah, and get yourself killed in the process,” Liam fired back.
She only smiled at him. “There’s one other thing we could use. They stashed these explosives where they could get back to them. I’d be willing to bet they buried some other stuff in case things turned against them.”
“Well, we can’t go hunting through the woods looking for stuff,” Kylen replied.
“We don’t have to. They must have buried some supplies near the compound. As soon as they’re done fighting our people, they’ll regroup there to collect whatever they have. They’re miles out of their home territory. No one goes on a military campaign like that without a supply line. I’m guessing they have these crates buried with money and ammo and weapons and probably food.”
Kylen blinked at me. “Are you freakin’ serious?”
“Why not? It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
He turned away shaking his head.
“What’s wrong? Can you see any problem with that plan?”
“No, I can’t.” He shot me a fierce look. “I can’t see any problem with it. That’s what scares me. It’s too perfect. Here I thought you were a homeless bartender. Turns out you’re a military genius into the bargain, not to mention a deadly fighter to boot. Do me a favor, will you?”
“What?” I didn’t want to hear this.
He pivoted forward and planted a kiss on my mouth. “When we’re married with a litter of rug dragons running around, don’t ever tell me what you did to that guy in the privy. Understand? I don’t want to know. Take the secret to your grave. I don’t think I could live with it if I knew.”
My cheeks flushed and I lowered my eyes to the ground. Married? Rug dragons running around? I couldn’t think like that staring at the prospect of arming the Lynches’ compound to blow. “All right. I’ll never tell you.”
“Good. Now come on, both of you. We have to get this crate down to the compound somehow.”
“That’s easy,” Liam rejoined. “We unpack the explosives and carry them down in backpacks.” Kylen frowned at him. “What’s wrong with that? We can’t very well drive it down there in the back of a truck, and you can forget about me carrying it.”
Kylen nodded down at his hands. “Yeah. All right. Let’s get to it.”
Liam retrieved a couple of backpacks from one of the trucks while Kylen popped the crate open. The three of us stared down at huge slabs of plastic explosives. A box of blasting caps and remote electronic detonators rested in one corner.
Kylen rested his hands on the crate’s edge and heaved a sigh. “All right. Here goes nothing.”
I picked up the detonator and the transmitting trigger device. “This is perfect. All we have to do is….”
Kylen snatched it out of my hand. “Will you be careful with that? You could blow us all into next Tuesday.”
“I wouldn’t,” I told him. “My uncle was an industrial blaster. He taught me and my sister Katie all about this stuff.” I took the detonator back from him. “We should only need one of these. We can divide the C-4 between the three of us so it’s not so heavy. I think we should be able to rig about fifteen charges, so we have plenty of blasting caps.”
His eyes widened. “Fifteen? Are you sure?”
“Why not? It will take us a while to lay that many charges, so we better get moving.”
I didn’t wait around for him to agree. I lifted one of
the bricks of C-4 out of the crate and laid it on the ground. Liam arranged the backpacks nearby. I guess that put me in charge of this operation.
I unwrapped the block and held out my hand to Kylen. “Give me a knife.”
He snapped open a jackknife and placed it in my palm. I started cutting into the beige putty. Kylen shuddered. “Be careful, will you? You’ll kill us all.”
“Don’t be silly,” I shot back. “This stuff is harmless until you detonate it with a triggered blasting cap. I could throw a ball of this stuff against that tree over there and it wouldn’t go off.”
He pursed his lips and turned his head away. “Don’t even joke about that.”
I wrapped up the cut blocks and handed them to Liam. He distributed them between the three backpacks—five each. I counted out the blasting caps, but I made sure to put the detonator in my own pack.
I slung it over my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s move out. We’ve got a long hike back.”
Kylen cast a glance at the trucks. “We should leave a note for Pop.”
Liam fished a notebook out from under one of the seats. “We can use my log book. Here.” He handed it to Kylen.
“You’re forgetting something,” I told him. “They might follow the Lynches back to the compound. Our guys might never come back here, and we wouldn’t know until it was too late. We have to get word to them somehow.”
“How do you propose we do that?” Liam asked.
“I’ll go.” Kylen took off his backpack.
My heart leaped into my mouth. “You can’t! I…..” I didn’t want to say the words out loud. “I need you.”
He placed his backpack over my arm and kissed me on the forehead. “You’re the most important person right now. You’re the only one of the three of us that can rig these explosives to blow, and you’re the only one who can lure the Lynches back to the right spot. You have to go. Liam will help you. I’ll warn Pop and get back to you as soon as I can. Now please don’t argue. We don’t have a lot of time. Go. Please.”
He kissed me again, on the lips this time. In a fraction of a second, he rocketed off the ground and transformed into the shimmering, iridescent green dragon I saw outside the Watering Hole. He took flight and shrank to a speck in the sky.
My eyes stung watching him fly away, but I couldn’t let him down now. I came up with this crazy plan. Now I had to carry it through. He would count on me to hold up my end of the bargain. The whole Clan depended on this working.
I turned around to find Liam studying me. He cocked his head to one side. “Hey, girl.”
“What do you want?” I growled.
He nudged me with his elbow. “I think he might be in love with you.”
I spun around and punched him hard in the shoulder. “Shut up.”
I stormed off into the thicket. Liam trailed after me chuckling to himself. I proved him right losing my cool like that, but I no longer cared. I didn’t care if the whole world knew I was in love with Kylen. I would shout it from the rooftops. Now it was up to me to back it up with action.
I pushed through the forest on the return trip, back the way Kylen and I trekked to get away from the compound in the first place. I caught fleeting glimpses of the rocky outcropping that Kylen used as a landmark. From there, I found my way back to the compound with no trouble.
I crouched in the bushes and observed the smoldering wreckage. Liam dropped to his knees at my side. “Are you sure they’ll come back here?” he whispered. “What if you’re wrong?”
“They’ll come back,” I murmured. “Besides, Kylen will come back here. With any luck, the Lynches will follow him here. Now come on. Let’s lay the charges.”
“How? I don’t know anything about this stuff.” He glanced down at the backpack I laid on the ground and snorted. “I can’t believe I’m talking to a girl about this.”
I shot him a withering glare. “That’s ‘cuz you’re an idiot who thinks girls are too stupid to know more than you. Now stop wagging your jaw and go lay these charges over there and over there. Put one over there by that post sticking up and the other one under that fallen log.”
He frowned. “That’s awfully close to the fire. Won’t it set off the charges.”
I smacked my lips in annoyance. “Will you use your brain for once? I chose those spots because they’re protected from the fire but still close enough to do some damage. If the Lynches laid caches around their compound, they would have stowed them close enough to get to without a lot of hunting around.”
“What about the explosives?” he asked. “They stowed them all the way over at Jacks River.”
“That’s exactly my point, champ.” I slapped him on the shoulder harder than I intended. “They hid their explosives far enough away that they could get to them in case they lost their compound to some enemy. Food, ammunition, weapons, and money they would want to keep close where they could lay their hands on it in some other emergency. Besides, if the Lynches suspect we’re here trying to take over, they’ll come back to defend their patch. Now, will you please go?”
I turned away and slithered off into the forest. I didn’t want to explain my thinking in too much detail. I didn’t want him to realize just how flimsy my plan was. I hustled around the compound. A few buildings and most of the fence remained intact.
I chose my spots with care. I made sure to lay my charges well away from any glowing embers. I planted one inside the privy near the body of my victim. I put another in the longhouse and pressed a blasting cap into the moldable surface.
I met up with Liam on the other side. He led me to his charges, and I planted blasting caps in them, too. We retreated to the forest to hide.
13
Kylen
I whizzed into the clouds of toxic gas and ash wafting over the mountains. Dragons pelted out of nowhere in hot pursuit of their enemies. I didn’t have time to recognize them all. I stalled in mid-air and looked around.
Ezra zinged past my ear. The wind howled off his wings, and a vicious golden monster nearly smashed into me chasing him down. The next second, two black dragons hurtled out of nowhere. They zipped by me on either side running down Ezra’s pursuer.
I swiveled and plummeted after them to catch up. More dragons than I could count beat the air all around me, but I locked my eyes on those identical black creatures and lowered my head to tear after them.
I caught up with Pop and hovered off his wing. I screeched at him to attract his attention. Even then, he didn’t break his concentration from Ezra’s predicament. I dodged in and tapped his wing with mine.
His head whipped around and his eyes flashed fire. He took a second to recognize me, but when he did, I screamed again in a familiar lilting song. He scowled once until I repeated the call.
The next instant, he veered away shrieking to wake the dead. Luka banked the opposite way. I waited only long enough to hear all the rest of my kin take up the call. They sounded the retreat far and wide, and it reverberated through the valley.
Clouds of dragons broke off their attack and headed for the hills. Pop hovered above them. He observed to make sure everyone formed ranks to retreat back to Jacks River. I kept my position until I spotted Ezra circling around to join them. The same hideous demon nipped at his heels. They swerved, and the dragon hounded Ezra back toward the phalanx.
My instincts told me to make for the compound, to protect Hannah and help her complete her mission, but I couldn’t abandon Ezra in his hour of need. I flexed my wings and built up speed. I dove straight down toward the black forest and pivoted at the last minute.
I zoomed upward at terminal velocity. My speed carried me straight up, and I pumped my wings to gain even more altitude. The dragon never saw me coming. He kept his eyes fixed on Ezra right up until I smashed into him with a catastrophic blow.
He pitched sideways screaming in agony. I rolled over and over again. When I finally righted myself, I spotted Ezra flying with the rest of the Clan back towards home. I looked the other way, and my blo
od ran cold.
All the Lynches fluttered in the air with their eyes locked on me. The biggest one bared his teeth, and a spine-chilling growl issued from his throat. My victim screeched once, but I dared not turn around. I never faced down so many dragons in my life, and I hope I never do it again.
The next instant, big red Everett shot at me with his burnished wings pinned against his sides. He extended his neck to stretch himself out, and he dove. My guts turned to water. I turned tail and ran, but one thought stopped me from running back to the Ridge with the others: Hannah.
I strained my wings to the utmost, but at the last second, I veered north. I could run all day with my tail between my legs. Nothing mattered but leading the Lynches back to the compound.
I sent up a silent prayer to anybody who might be listening. Dear God, please let them follow me. Please let Everett give them an order to return to the compound. Don’t let all this trouble go to waste.
I spotted the shattered remains of the fence with the longhouse and the privy still standing. Did Hannah and Liam lay their charges? I could only cross my fingers. If I failed now, I wouldn’t live to regret it.
The Lynches burned down the wind snapping at my heels. Closer and closer they crept. A streak of scorching fire blazed across my wing and knocked me off kilter, but gravity saved me from making a complete fool of myself.
I plunged out of the sky going faster than I ever dared. I pointed my nose at the ground and folded my wings. I dropped like a stone heading straight for the longhouse. I didn’t have a clue how I would land at this speed. I didn’t care. I only wanted to get away from the Lynches with my life.
Out of nowhere, a cataclysmic weight crashed into me. It sent me catapulting sideways, and I lost sight of the ground. Powerful coils lashed around me and cut off the air to my lungs.
I struggled, but my mind lurched in a dozen directions at once. I forgot about the solid Earth rushing at me with all its devastating implications. I turned all my attention on the dragon smothering me in a death grip.
