Darkbeam Part II

by Adrienne Woods

  Their human teammates tried to speak to the dragons, but none of them responded.

  Everyone was tittering and whispering under the breath.

  “Boy, maybe you should get your butt down there.” Worry laced Uys’s every word.

  I realized the dragons were all facing in the same direction. The exact spot where I knew my family and Elena were seated.

  Oh fuck.

  Before I could move, the dragons charged as one.

  I didn’t stay to see the outcome.

  I pushed through the crowd in the VIP lounge, wrenching open the door as I reached it. The click of locks echoed through the hallway.

  They were locking the damn doors!

  I sprinted toward the closest window and jumped out of it without a second thought.

  I landed among the crowd, while they rushed to the exits. I didn’t morph, in case whatever was happening to the dragons affected me.

  My gaze quickly found my father amid the dragons attacking the shield, which was starting to give way.

  What could control a dragon? My mind immediately went to Goran, but it was impossible for him to be here. If he was, he would have taken me, and most of the people here would have perished already.

  No, he wasn’t here. But someone else was doing his bidding.

  But why?

  Elena.

  That was the only fathomable reason.

  Goran knew she was my only hope, my ticket to becoming good. Clearly, he didn’t like that.

  He wanted me all for himself.

  The shield disappeared and I surged forward toward my family. They were fighting to keep everyone around them protected.

  I wasn’t paying attention to them. My eyes swept over everyone, looking for the only person that mattered at this moment.

  Elena.

  Finally, I saw her, frozen on the spot, staring ahead of her like a damn idiot.

  And she was supposed to be my rider? Un-fucking-believable.

  I slammed into her, one of my wings morphing partially.

  “Get the shield up!” I roared.

  I could hear Elena’s heart beating rapidly, and relief coursed through my veins like a drug. She was okay.

  The fire scorched my wing, the burn worse than any pain I had ever experienced.

  I looked down at Elena. She was petrified.

  “Just stay down,” I hissed.

  “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know, but for some reason they’re aiming at the four of you.”

  I felt it then, the need to not protect her. To lift up my wing and let her be incinerated. I willed all my power to do so, but my wing didn’t want to open. It made me want to rip her head off. Why couldn’t I control my own body? This was fucked up. The beast inside me went nuts. He blamed the human part of me for being so weak.

  The shield still wasn’t back up.

  “Are you okay?” Elena asked softly.

  “I’m fine, just don’t move.”

  “How did you…” She stopped.

  “Did I what?” She couldn’t even speak in full sentences. It irritated the shit out of me.

  “Goran is alive, he’s here!” She started squirming, trying to get away.

  Was she nuts as well?

  “Elena, calm down. He’s not here.”

  “No, Blake, he’s here! Before, I couldn’t move, just like that night.”

  “Relax.” My eyes met hers and her body started to relax. She was so easy to persuade. “He is not here. If he was, we would’ve been dead.” I looked around for my father, but my wing blocked my view. “Dad, get the shield up!”

  “We’re trying, Blake. Just hold on.”

  “Fucking ass balls.”

  I knew my father wouldn’t be able to get the wall up with the dickhead breathing fire. I had no choice, I had to leave her to gain control over whatever this was. “Elena, don’t move. I’m going to try to divert the Sun-Blast’s fire. Just lie still.”

  “Fire?”

  Seriously? She was so fucking annoying. A grunt that sounded more like a growl left my mouth.

  I raised my wing slightly to make room for my other wing to expand when it morphed. There was a tiny pull, and then my other wing was free.

  I continued to shield Elena with one of my wings, and flapped the other one to move myself into the path of the fire.

  I hoped it would work.

  Still in my human form, I managed to divert most of the flames with my wing.

  I looked back down at Elena, her face scrunched up in pain. The heat was starting to singe her skin.

  Fuck.

  I couldn’t go back, I had to carry out this plan.

  “Mom?” I yelled. She was Elena’s only hope now.

  “I’m ready, just get that flame away.”

  My one wing was working overtime, and the other one would never be the same again. All because I had this fucking hero complex when it came to the spawn.

  Why the fuck did I always end up saving her?

  I started pushing back at the dragon and his fire, moving away from Elena as I did.

  Amid the commotion, Blaze and a few members of both teams came to assist.

  With their help, the shield finally popped back into place.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw my mother healing Elena.

  I snapped my head back to the dragon, shifting into my dragon form completely. I pushed him back, desperate to protect my family.

  The dragon finally snapped out of it. One by one, every dragon that had been attacking the crowd seemed to regain control of themselves. Then their eyes rolled to the back of their heads and they fell to the ground.

  A resonating incantation floated to my ears as a group of Dragonians cast a spell to make the unconscious dragons hover in the air.

  Elena was still babbling like crazy about Goran, which was only making everyone panic more.

  She was such an idiot.

  Goran wasn’t here!

  My mother finally managed to get through to her and she calmed down.

  I felt her eyes on me, but I didn’t stop searching the crowd for whoever was powerful enough to control those dragons’ mind.

  They were still here, I could feel it.

  Blaze came storming toward us—I hadn’t even noticed that she’d left.

  “Hey bad wolf, you okay?”

  I nodded, still scanning the crowd.

  “One of the dragons woke up. She said she was under a spell. From what she explained, and the side effects she experienced, it sounds like the Hickerus spell. They were forced to attack.”

  The Hickerus spell? That spell didn’t work on dragons. My father echoed my thoughts.

  “Well, someone really strong made it work.” She shrugged and jumped back on her raider, flying away after giving my mother instructions to make sure everyone was okay.

  Elena was frantic again, telling everyone that she was certain Goran was here, because before I slammed her down, she couldn’t move, just like she hadn’t been able to move on the mountain.

  My father tried to calm her down.

  A two year old can do that spell, I thought snidely to myself.

  “Goran is behind this, I can feel it,” she continued to babble.

  He wasn’t here, but—and I was admitting this grudgingly—Elena had a point.

  Goran was up to his old tricks again. He’d tried to kill Elena.

  Something caught my eye, and I locked onto a woman wearing a hoody.

  She’d have been in the clear if she hadn’t looked suspiciously over her shoulder at me.

  She growled and pushed the guy in front of her away.

  It was my turn to chase.

  The chase was brutal. Whatever this woman was, she was fast.

  She ran into the nearby woods and I had no choice but to morph back into my human form and run after her on foot.

  Her scent was sickeningly sweet, unlike anything I’ve smelled before, but I could sense the danger in it.

  I l
oved everything about her scent.

  I followed her, pumping my arms hard at my sides to pick up speed. She came into view right as we cleared the trees near the edge of the cliff.

  My father and George were in the sky overhead, but they weren’t close enough to swoop in.

  I reached out to grab her, but she dove off the cliff before my hand could close around her arm.

  I stopped short at the edge of the cliff, my eyes widening when she morphed in midair and let out a high-pitched eagle cry.

  Shock made me freeze for a split second before I shifted and followed her off the cliff.

  I had to be seeing things. These creatures were long dead. Extinct.

  But this bitch had just made a mistake.

  Nothing and no one was faster than I was in the air. I’d catch up to her, even with my wing fucked up. She was going down, and she was gonna sing like a little bird once I was done with her.

  I closed the distance between us in a flash, ready to take her down, but I needed to avoid her tail.

  Their tails were venomous, and had a stinger lodged in the tip.

  Not even my mother would be able to heal me if she managed to get that stinger into me.

  I crashed into her, one of my claws holding her tail away from my body.

  She screeched and scratched at me with her talons.

  I grabbed her wings, wrenching at them, wanting to rip them off her.

  We twisted in the air and I finally managed to trap her in my claws. But suddenly, she let out another screech and vanished from my grip, leaving me clutching a bunch of feathers.

  How the fuck had she just disappeared

  I let out a loud roar of frustration as George, Becky, and my father caught up.

  “You lost her!” my father bellowed in outrage.

  “I didn’t lose her. I fucking had her!”

  “Then where is she, Blake?” Becky asked.

  “I don’t know,” I snapped. I was pissed off and confused.

  “Blake, you are not making any sense.”

  “She disappeared, Becky. We have another problem,” I said, looking at my father. I held out my claw and showed him the feathers.

  “Blake, it can’t be. Are you sure?”

  “I saw her. She’s a Hippogriff.”

  We flew to Lucille’s house, and humiliation roiled within me when I remembered the last time I’d been here—the night I had been drunk and high off my ass and desperate to talk to Elena.

  I pushed that feeling away and focused on the matter at hand—fucking Hippogriffs.

  How the hell were Hippogriffs still alive? As far as I knew they’d been extinct ages ago.

  When we neared Lucille’s home and started to descend, the voices of those in the house became clearer, and my confusion only grew when I heard my sister talking about teaming up with Elena.

  I’d barely touched down on the ground when I shifted back to my human form. I caught the robe Becky threw me after she handed George one, and quickly pulled it on, following her into her home.

  Lucille grabbed Becky and littered her face with kisses. My eyes immediately sought Elena, searching for any sign that she had Ascended.

  It had hit me on the way in. She’d gotten hit by that dragon’s fire. Her face had boiled. That could have caused her to Ascend since my fire was the strongest there was. It would only be a matter of time before she showed them her real fire. My fire. The Pink Kiss.

  Then they would all know the truth.

  “I’m fine, Mom. Seriously,” Becky whined.

  “You could have died tonight. Don’t ever jump on George’s back like that again.”

  “Relax, he caught me.”

  “I’ll always catch her,” George boasted.

  I’ve never been this terrified.

  If I hadn’t saved Elena, she could have easily Ascended.

  “Elena is a Fire-Wielder,” my sister yelled.

  I froze. Fuck. No. Please not this.

  “Are you shitting me?” Becky shrieked. “You’ve Ascended?”

  “Becky!” Lucille scolded in her motherly tone.

  I stared at Elena again and she met my gaze.

  I could see her becoming uncomfortable, but I didn’t care. I was fuming.

  “No, but she can handle Fire-powder,” Sammy answered.

  The tightness on my chest eased a bit, but I was still pissed off.

  “What?”

  “She took a small sip by mistake and it should’ve burned a hole straight down her throat. It didn’t,” Sammy answered.

  “Master Longwei thinks she’s close to her Ascension,” my mother said.

  I hadn’t realized he was here, but I didn’t have time to care right now.

  “You took a sip of Fire-powder?” I bit out through my clenched jaw. “I just saved your life, and you try to kill yourself with Fire-powder?”

  “I didn’t try to kill myself. What’s your problem?” She glared at me. “I might have Ascended if you hadn’t bowled me over.”

  I chuckled. “You would’ve been killed, Elena.”

  “Master Longwei doesn’t think so,” Sammy said snidely.

  “Enough!” The entire room fell silent at my father’s shout.

  I tried to calm myself, but it wasn’t working. She hadn’t Ascended, and even though I was glad about it, I was still fucking furious. “I don’t have time for this. Stay away from Fire-powder. You’re not a dragon.” I turned back to the door and stormed out of the house.

  I needed to get to Irene. She would be able to see where that Hippogriff bitch went, and then I could hunt her down.

  She wouldn’t escape me twice.

  Luckily, it wasn’t hard to find Irene’s loft.

  I just followed my heart.

  “Blake.” Irene smiled seductively as she opened the door. She wrapped her arms around me and practically dragged me inside.

  “As much as I want to do this right now, we can’t. This is a matter of high importance, Irene.”

  She let go of me and looked at me with concern. “What’s wrong?”

  I told her what had happened at the Warbel games and how the possessed dragons tried to finish the job Goran couldn’t. Then I told her that she needed to find the Hippogriff so I could go after it.

  Worry flashed over her face before we shifted and headed to Lucille’s house.

  “Only for a year, honey,” I heard my mother say as we touched down on the lawn. “It was before you and Blake were hatched.”

  “You really think not telling us about this thing that could make people vanish into thin air was the best for Paegeia?” my father hissed.

  “At the time, yes. But I don’t know any more, Robert,” Master Longwei replied.

  “Chong, what are you not telling me?”

  We entered the house and Master Longwei stood up to greet Irene.

  “I’m so glad that you came.”

  “I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

  My mom and Lucille welcomed her, and Irene greeted everyone graciously—even the spawn, who just glared at her before she lowered her head.

  Elena was so fucking weak. She would never be ready, would never be worthy to be my rider.

  Irene’s gaze fell on the feather my father clutched in his hand.

  “May I?”

  My father’s jaw muscles pumped as he contemplated her request.

  I hated the way he treated Irene. It wasn’t her fault that she hadn’t been able to see who was going to betray his rider. From where I was standing, it didn’t look as if their relationship had been special anyway. If it had been, my father would have known that King Albert and Queen Catherine had had a child.

  “She’s the only one who can tell us what happened, Dad.”

  He looked at me for a split second, then handed her the feather with caution.

  I saw the fierce hatred in his eyes.

  Irene took the feather and Lucille led her to the couch.

  Irene closed her eyes and the room became extreme
ly quiet, as if we were all holding our breath.

  This was one of the things I loved most about Irene, watching her have a true vision.

  When her eyes flashed open, they were pure white.

  She opened her mouth to speak, and I stepped forward. I was beyond ready to grab that Hippogriff bitch.

  Irene’s eyes changed back to her normal blue just as suddenly as they had changed to white.

  The moment she came out of her trance, her chest heaved and she let out a wracking cough.

  Lucille ran to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water.

  Irene gulped it down as she regained control but her eyes stayed wide with horror.

  “What is it, Irene?” my father said, breaking the tense silence.

  She stared into nothing, ignoring his question.

  “Irene!” he barked.

  Irene slowly turned to look at my father.

  “What did you see?” His tone was still demanding, although his voice has softened a bit.

  “Nothing.” She frowned, a deep crease forming between her eyebrows. “I lost it.”

  There was a collective gasp in the room.

  How was that possible? Irene had never lost one of her visions before.

  “Is Goran in Paegeia?” My father sounded more hostile than ever before. “Irene!”

  She shook her head.

  “Is he still in Etan?”

  “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know!” Her voice rose with her panic and tears welled up in her eyes.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  “Robert,” my mother berated, laying her hand on his arm.

  “Issy, she is the only one who can tell us what’s going on.”

  “I’ve never lost my sight before. I could feel it coming to me, and then...nothing. It was blocked by a force so strong. I’ve only felt a block like that once before,” Irene said.

  “You’re saying someone is deliberately doing this?” Master Longwei asked.

  Irene looked at my father again, and some kind of understanding passed between them.

  “No, Irene,” my father said, his voice low and defeated. He looked like the sad, pathetic asshole he had been up until a few months ago.

  “What are they talking about?” Elena asked.

  I had so much anger bubbling up inside me. I wanted to yell at her and tell her that this was all her fault. Irene couldn’t see the Hippogriff because of its intentions. Just like she couldn’t see Goran was going to betray King Albert.