by Cheree Alsop
“I found him,” Aleric said, jogging back toward the hospital. “He said she wasn’t there yet and sent me to find the nymphs.”
“I thought…with Sherian….” The vampire’s words faded away.
“I blamed them, but it wasn’t their fault,” Aleric replied. “We have an understanding. They do what they can to save Lilian, and I bring the Almedragon back to Blays.”
Dartan stared at him. “Why in Blays would you want to do that?”
“Because they have a problem with giant fae-eating winged snakes, and apparently the dragon can fight them off,” Aleric replied. The trepidation he felt at the enormity of the task he had before him was hard to shake.
“That sounds ridiculous,” Dartan pointed out.
“Tell me about it,” Aleric replied.
The vampire followed him in silence for a few blocks, then said, “So where are we going?”
“To get Diablo and then go after the Almedragon,” Aleric answered. “Apparently the minky’s our key to controlling the beast.”
“Did you hit your head on the way to Drake City?” Dartan asked, his words sarcastic.
“Perhaps,” Aleric replied. “But you saw the way she handled the lacuda. According to the wood nymphs, she can do the same with the dragon.”
“The wood nymphs who have Lilian,” Dartan replied. He paused, then said, “The wood nymphs who healed your burns.”
Aleric held up his right hand and flexed it. “I didn’t ask them to,” he replied quietly. “They wouldn’t let me argue.”
That brought the hint of a smile to the vampire’s face. “Wood nymphs who put our illustrious Dr. Wolf in his place. I like them already.”
Aleric shook his head. “Don’t get too fond of them. After they heal Lilian, I’m never going back there.”
He saw Dartan glance at him out of the corner of his eye.
“Painful memories?” the vampire asked quietly.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Aleric replied. “So how do we find—”
His words cut off when a helicopter flew by. The sounds of sirens and commotion became audible in the distance. The pair took off running.
“Officer Ling’s waiting for us at the hospital,” Dartan told the werewolf. “He said he’d get us up to one of the helicopters.”
His tone caught Aleric’s attention. “Are you afraid of the dragon?”
The vampire was quiet for a moment. The sound of their footsteps was loud in the night. When he spoke, his voice was tight. “It’s not the dragon I’m worried about.”
His statement took Aleric by surprise. “What then?”
The vampire grimaced. “It’s going up in the helicopter.”
Aleric missed a step and nearly fell on his face. He righted himself and stared after the vampire before running to catch up. “You’re afraid of heights?”
Dartan didn’t say anything.
“Tell me the all-powerful, centuries-old, blood-sucking revenant who strikes fear into everyone he meets isn’t afraid of a little helicopter ride,” the werewolf pressed.
Dartan refused to meet Aleric’s gaze.
A laugh broke from the werewolf. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Do you get woozy or do I have to worry about you passing out and splattering on the ground twenty stories below us?”
“Aleric,” Dartan said in a warning tone.
They rounded the corner and the hospital came into view. Aleric’s heart sank at the sight of protesters still walking and waving their signs outside the hospital doors. He had hoped that given the late hour, the humans would have gone home. They apparently were on some sort of protesting rotation to ensure that those in front of the hospital remained fresh in their hatred. Shouts went up when the protesters spotted the pair.
“There he is!”
“Murderer!”
“We don’t want fae in Edge City!”
“Go back to wherever you came from!”
“Demon wolf! Stop murdering our loved ones!”
Officer Ling hurried forward from where he had been leaning against his police car. “It’s about time you got here,” he said, ushering them toward the hospital. He ignored the protesters completely despite the way their yells increased when the werewolf and vampire drew near. The control tape the officers had put up to clear a path for the ambulances fluttered in the slight evening breeze.
“Seriously,” Officer Ling said. “I was afraid you’d stayed in Blays after all. How’s Lilian?”
“I’m not sure,” Aleric replied. He kept his gaze from the angry humans who waved signs at them. “But we’ve got a dragon to stop. Dartan mentioned you have a helicopter he’s looking forward to riding in.” He gestured to the hospital. “Let me grab something and we can head out.”
Dartan followed him through the hospital, his expression a mixture of annoyance and trepidation.
“That’s a lot of hatred out there,” the vampire noted.
“I’m trying to block it out with thoughts of you freaking out and falling from the helicopter,” Aleric replied. “I don’t know if splatter is the right word,” he mused. “I mean, if you don’t have a fully functioning cardiovascular system, is there anything to splatter?”
“Aleric!” Dartan nearly shouted.
Aleric threw a smile over his shoulder as he pushed open the door to the D wing.
“Just trying to understand what we have to deal with,” the werewolf said innocently. “I’m a doctor, remember? I’ve got to be prepared for all scenarios.”
Dartan waited just outside the door to the D Wing with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Diablo meowed as soon as Aleric entered the Light Fae side and launched herself off the windowsill.
Braum looked relieved to see him. “I saw the news,” he said. “Are you going after it?”
“Someone has to,” Aleric replied.
The minky landed from her glide a few feet away and skittered across the tile floor to Aleric.
“That’s a death sentence,” the faun said with a worried expression.
“It is if my sidekick vomits at being a little distance from the ground,” Aleric told him. Diablo let out an anxious meow.
The faun gave him a questioning look.
Aleric gestured over his shoulder. “The vampire’s afraid of heights.”
Braum blanched. “Seriously? I thought vampires weren’t afraid of anything.”
“I may have to leave him here,” Aleric said. He scooped up the minky and ran his fingers through her soft fur. “Are you up to taking his place?”
“Definitely,” Braum said.
“Definitely not,” Dartan replied.
He shoved through the doors with a grimace when he passed beneath the UV lights. The faun took an unconscious step backwards at the appearance of the vampire.
“You’re not going without me,” the vampire stated.
“You’re a liability,” Aleric pointed out.
“You’re always a liability,” Dartan shot back, “You’re ready to go running off after a dragon. You’re not going alone—” His glare cut Braum off in the middle of the faun’s protest. “Or with a faun who doesn’t know what he’s up against. As a doctor, it should be against your constitution to let a patient risk his life at your side.”
Aleric opened his mouth to protest, then glanced at Braum and shut it again. He finally gave a sigh. “You’re right.” A slight smile tugged at his lips. “Let’s go, Fangs.”
Aleric spun on his heels and pushed through the door with the vampire behind him. He heard the hiss of pain Dartan gave when passing under the lights, and glanced at him over his shoulder.
“Remind me why you put those up again?”
“To keep the Light fae safe,” Dartan replied. He glowered at Aleric. “That was a trick.”
“What trick?” the werewolf asked innocently.
“You know what trick,” the vampire shot back in an annoyed tone. “You knew if you invited the faun to come along in my stead, I’d have to go with you.”<
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“Oh, did you hear that conversation?” Aleric asked. He smiled down at the minky in his arms. The winged kitten gave a contented purr. “I thought the door was too thick.”
“Cut it out,” Dartan replied. He grabbed Aleric’s shoulder before the werewolf could pass through the Emergency Room to where Officer Ling waited just outside. “We have a serious problem.”
“Besides your height issues?” Aleric asked. He was anxious to get up in the air and find the Almedragon. Who knew what kind of trouble it was causing? After everything the Rift had let into Edge City, a dragon was the last thing the citizens needed, and a human-eating one at that.
“The Almedragon can breathe fire.”
Aleric stared at him. “You left that detail out.”
Dartan nodded. “I figured you had a lot to deal with.”
“That’s an important detail,” the werewolf said.
The vampire lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “What’s a little fire?”
A shudder ran through Aleric at the thought of confronting fire. His hands ached as though they still burned. That made him pause.
“I have an idea.” He took off back toward the D Wing.
“Where are you going?” Dartan called after him.
“To get help,” Aleric replied.
Chapter Thirteen
“This isn’t what I had in mind,” Dartan grumbled.
Starija, the little ifrit girl, gave him a big grin. “I’ve never flown like this before!” She bounced up and down on the reflective blanket Aleric had spread across the seat so that her heat wouldn’t melt the material around her. Her casted leg was propped on a camera box near Officer Teri’s knee. Both Officer Ling and Officer Teri watched her as though they had never seen anything like her before. The werewolf figured that the girl’s red-scaled skin and wings were definitely a little out of place in the human world.
Aleric had promised Starija’s mother that nothing would happen to the little girl, and he knew holding up his end of the promise might just kill him. The werewolf gave Starija a smile that he hoped hid the trepidation at what they were about to do. Diablo meowed and rubbed her head against Aleric’s chin. The minky was surprisingly calm given their height and the noise of the chopper. He smoothed the black feathers of her wings with his fingers in an automatic response as he turned his attention to the window.
Outside, several buildings already showed damaged from the Almedragon. Fires roared, huge chunks were missing, and the sounds of firetrucks, police cars, and ambulances far below filled the air with chaos. A few blocks away, the blue Channel Two News helicopter appeared.
“They’re keeping their distance,” Officer Ling said over the beat of the helicopter’s blades. “The dragon already took out the Channel Seven chopper. The others have been told to pull back.”
“Good idea,” Dartan replied.
Aleric noticed that the vampire was very careful not to look out the window. He stared straight ahead at the back of the pilot’s seat, his red eyes unwavering. Aleric felt empathy for the vampire. Despite trying to talk his friend out of riding the helicopter again before they took off, Dartan had stubbornly insisted on joining him. Aleric was sure he had heard the vampire mutter something about how he had lived so long that if he died from falling, it would only be ironic and his father would surely hold that against him.
Aleric nudged the vampire’s ribs with his elbow.
“Hey, you alright?” he asked quietly.
Dartan met his gaze. The fear he tried to conceal made his red eyes bright. “Never better,” he said dryly.
“If it helps,” Aleric said, “Once we find the dragon, we’ll be out of here.”
“If I understand your meaning, that doesn’t help one bit,” the vampire replied.
“There it is!” the pilot called.
Everyone turned to look. Aleric made out the shadowed form of the dragon flying between two sky rise buildings. It was far bigger than it had been in the warehouse. He knew dragons grew quickly; apparently an Almedragon did so even faster. As they watched, the dragon landed on the side of a building near the top, clawing through windows and walls easily to gain purchase.
“Can you get us up there?” he called out to the pilot.
“Yes, Dr. Wolf,” the pilot replied.
Dartan clenched his fists and his knuckles turned even whiter than usual.
“Breathe,” Aleric reminded him. He paused, then said, “Unless you don’t have to. I’m not sure if vampires—”
“Of course we need to breathe,” Dartan replied in exasperation. “We’re not dead!”
Everyone looked at the vampire.
“We’re almost there,” the pilot said. “It’s spotted us.” Fear laced his voice.
“Open the door,” Aleric replied. “Quickly.”
He stepped past the officers and Dartan as the co-pilot pulled the sliding door open. The Almedragon looked huge, far bigger than it had been in the warehouse. Aleric wondered how he was supposed to get it back to Blays. The dragon’s gaze locked on him and its yellow eyes narrowed. It leaped from the building and headed straight for them, its leathery black wings cutting through the air with a hint of wobble the creature would lose with practice.
It was almost to them when the creature swept its wings backwards to halt its progress. It took a deep breath.
“Starija?” Aleric asked.
Dartan held the little girl next to Aleric. The vampire kept his gaze from the ground, his expression tight and grip on the doorframe so strong the metal dented.
“Got it,” the ifrit answered.
A ball of flames burst from the dragon’s mouth. It raced toward the helicopter. Aleric wondered if he had made a serious mistake that would cost the lives of everyone inside. He braced for impact with one hand on the heat blanket that covered the little girl’s shoulder and the other on the door.
Starija held out her hands.
Aleric leaned back from the heat of the fireball. As the billowing heat threatened to catch fire to his eyebrows and hair, Aleric glanced at the ifrit.
The little girl had an expression of concentration, her hands held out and a twinkle of what looked like glee in her eyes. The fireball slowed, then halted feet from the helicopter. Everyone stared at it.
“What would you like me to do with it, Dr. Wolf?” Starija asked.
Aleric and Dartan exchanged a wide-eyed glance. “Can you make it disappear?” the werewolf replied.
“Yep!” Starija said. She brought her hands together and the fireball vanished with a puff of smoke like a fire put out by water. She grinned at Aleric. “How was that?”
“That was perfect, Starija,” he replied with relief.
The dragon appeared disconcerted by the lack of results from its fire. It latched onto another building, using the skyscraper as leverage to send more flames their way.
“Here comes another one,” Officer Ling said.
With Starija helping to manage the fireballs, the pilot drew them closer to the dragon. The creature glared at Aleric, hate roiling in its bright yellow gaze.
“You really made it mad,” Dartan pointed out.
Aleric held tightly to the open door of the helicopter. “I was trying to keep people safe.”
“I don’t think it worked,” the vampire said.
The dragon tore another huge chunk from the building it clung to. Its claws sliced easily through metal and glass, sending debris showering to the streets below. Aleric felt grateful for the fact that it was past midnight so the business building was empty, or at least he hoped.
“What do we do?” Officer Ling asked. “We can’t sit here and let it use us for target practice.”
Aleric nodded. He remembered Vey the wood nymph’s words. “We need to fly above it.”
“Right away, Dr. Wolf,” the pilot replied.
“Above it?” Officer Teri said in surprise. “Won’t it attack us?”
“It’s the only way,” Aleric said.
“We should
lose it first so it doesn’t see what we’re doing,” Dartan suggested.
The pilot backed off so that there were several buildings between them and the creature. He eased the helicopter higher and circled around so that the building on which the dragon perched stayed between them.
“Nice and easy,” Officer Ling whispered under his breath.
Aleric leaned out the window. They rose above the building and the dragon. He could see it below, a stark black shape amid the streetlight-washed road below. Television crews in vans lined the closest alleys to record the destruction. Aleric wondered how many citizens had been awakened to terror brought to them by the dragon the Fervor clan had released in their city. He took a step forward with the intention of crouching on the helicopter’s landing strut.
Dartan grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?” the vampire demanded. Fear of how high they were showed in his gaze. He kept Starija behind him to shield her from the danger despite the excitement on the little girl’s face at helping to face a dragon. Aleric doubted that with her wings, the height bothered her at all. Ifrits were known for flying through volcanos for fun. The flames of a dragon probably seemed like child’s play, and the smile on her face seconded the thought. He wished he could feel the same way.
“Stopping it,” Aleric replied, keeping his gaze on the dragon. “I need to reach its back…I think.”
“You think?” Dartan repeated, his tone incredulous. “You mean you don’t know?”
Aleric met the vampire’s exasperated gaze. “Have you ever known anyone in all of Blays who has ever ridden an Almedragon, or any dragon for that matter?”
The vampire hesitated, then shook his head.
Aleric gestured to the creature below. “Look at the damage it’s causing. If we don’t stop it, it’s going to tear down this entire city. I’m not about to let that happen.”
He clutched Diablo to his chest, anxious to keep the kitten safe. She watched the dragon with her large golden eyes, but didn’t appear the least bit afraid even considering how high they were. Aleric wondered if her wings helped. He told himself that if he missed, at least she would have the chance of flying to safety. Perhaps wings would help ease the vampire’s problems as well. The disconnected part of his mind noted that he was grateful vampires didn’t have wings to swoop down on their victims like giant, blood-sucking, less-fuzzy fanged minkies.
