Fire Bound Dragon

by Elizabeth Rain

  Fern rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Once we have the prisoners and are out of there? I don’t care what you and the vampires do to each other. Not my problem.”

  Without warning, she winged the small shells through the air, one to each wolf. Giat caught it neatly. But Dae fumbled the meat and it tumbled into the dirt even as his clawed fingers snagged the small device out of the air.

  Fern smiled. “Sorry about that,” she lied. “One more thing, if you should have some crazy thought of double-crossing us once we cross into that dimension? Those shells work because of me. What Fern Mason giveth, she can taketh away,” she promised with a grin, watching the smaller demon wolf as he tried to knock most of the dirt off his dinner. The look he passed her way was filled with wicked promise.

  She turned to go, catching the eye of Sirris and Elise, who was staying as far away from the wolves as she could manage.

  “Wait here for our return. We’ll be back in a couple of hours max. We have an errand to run first that can’t wait.” She threw the final warning over her shoulder as she entered the trail heading down the mountain towards the Tuttles. Sirris and Elise were hot on her heels.

  Sirris had taken over the lead after the first water break as they caught their breath and give Elise a chance to rest. She was growing weaker. The paltry amount of blood Sadie allowed her was wearing off. Jerry was still staying at the Tuttle farm in the secret room, and Sirris never paused as she took the partially hidden path to the right and angled up the mountain. It was a warm spring day, and everyone was sweating in the unexpected heat.

  Sirris broke into the yard and slammed to a halt so fast that Elise ran into her and pushed her forwards several feet before she replanted her feet.

  “Watch it,” she growled. But her eyes were on the group gathered in the middle of the yard. It was difficult to decide who was more shocked.

  Marcus Tannon stood assembled with the Guard, gathered around her father, who blinked at her in wonder.

  Sirris wasn’t sure whether she should turn and run or try to bluff her way out of the uncomfortable position she found herself in.

  The group parted further, and Lucas Seul stepped forward. Sirris turned to go, following Elise who was double timing it back towards the woods. Fern looked indecisive.

  “Wait!” Lucas thundered.

  At the edge of the woods, both stopped and turned back to look.

  “Don’t go. We have no intention of locking anybody up. Please hear us out.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “It’s a trap!” hissed Elise. Being on death row about to lose your head could make a body suspicious.

  Sirris stared at her father, who didn’t look worried at all. She hesitated.

  “No.” Fern whispered from the corner of her mouth. “We’re okay here. I sense no animosity, well other than from the cousin of the cousin you snacked on that happens to be a member of the guard.” She added. She stepped forward as Sirris joined her. Elise hung back, looking green and holding onto her stomach in confusion. Her pale complexion had bleached bone white.

  Lucas took a step in her direction. “We’re not here to arrest you. Maybe we should be. And maybe later you should run, but right now we have a different agenda. If you don’t mind, we’re going to just pretend we don’t see you running around the mountain free and out of jail with someone else that’s not supposed to be there.”

  Elise was still edging towards the woods, self-preservation unwilling to believe the word of anyone in authority that could send her back to where she would lose her head.

  Sensing the disintegration of the situation, Sirris stepped towards Mayor Seul. Her eyes moved over the Guard and paused on Marcus Tannon. She realized the numbers were off. Only four Guard members stood with him. Some were missing.

  “I need your word.” She stated flatly, eyes swinging back to clash with Lucas’.

  “You have my word, and everyone else’s here that we are not interested in taking anyone to jail or harming any of you until this mess is over. For what it’s worth, we are here because we believe the allegations that Will Bennett is amassing an army. We needed Jerry’s help to close that portal permanently before he can bring it through.”

  Elise gasped and stopped back-pedaling. “You can’t do that!” she screeched; her fear forgotten. “You can’t close it. Not yet.”

  Marcus Tannon spoke, voice cold. “We can and will. No portal, no way for Will Bennett to bring the army of Demon wolves into Drae Hallow.”

  “What about the Tuttles?” Sirris asked, voice rising.

  “What about them? It’s been two months. The chances of them being alive after all this time has got to be slim.”

  “I believe they are alive. But it’s not just the missing Tuttles that we have to worry about.” Fern added.

  Mayor Seul’s mouth turned down. “What are you talking about?”

  “Where’s Sadie and Thomas?” Jerry asked, interrupting.

  The Mayor’s voice grew wintry. “Yes, where are they?” his voice had grown suspicious with dread.

  Elise’s desperation had overcome her fear as she stepped closer, eying the Guard and Marcus Tannon with misgivings. “They’re in the other dimension, trying to rescue the Tuttles.”

  A chorus of voices erupted in a single word. “What?!”

  “Of all the idiotic, irresponsible things to do. They have no idea what they are doing. All they are going to do is get themselves killed. And the other vamps, where are they?”

  “Jorta and Ab’et went with them to help.” Elise murmured.

  With an apologetic look in Elise’s direction, he spoke to Fern and Sirris. “And you think they won’t turn on them as soon as they get there, on their turf, where they have all the power and Sadie and Thomas have none?”

  “That’s why I’m here.” Elise admitted. “I’m the collateral to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  Mayor Seul ignored her, sending Sirris and Fern an apologetic glance. “We have to seal that portal. More than the lives of a few missing Tuttles and a couple of students are at stake. If that army comes through it would be utter chaos and the entire valley and beyond could be in danger.”

  Sirris eyes slid away from the Mayor as she nodded. “It has to be sealed. That’s why we’re here too.” She glanced at her father.

  “We came for another bomb. If it worked on the one portal, it can work on this one, right? We were hoping you could take it and wait near the Bane lake portal until we return.”

  The mayor’s expression darkened to thunderous proportions. “Return from where?”

  “From Wyndoor, in the other dimension with the Tuttles and the others.” Fern finished.

  “I can’t let you do that. You know that, right?” Mayor Seul shook his head.

  Sirris and Fern stood quietly. Sirris was chewing furiously on her lower lip, nervous. They still hadn’t told him the best part.

  “We have to go. They need us.” Fern murmured.

  “How many have to die before you cut ties and realize we have to keep them out as soon as possible?”

  “Well then, that’s the plan, right? To make sure they don’t die. We aren’t without skills, and they will need us.” Fern finished.

  “And what do you bring to bear? Besides the probability of betrayal that will probably get them all killed?” Marcus spoke up, looking at Elise who stood playing with the rough material stretched over her belly.

  She shrugged. “I negotiate.” She gave a slight smile filled with teeth. Everyone shivered. “I have the best chance of talking Ab’et out of doing anything stupid. Trust me, that’s a full-time job. Jorta will defer to me. I owe Sadie my life, and hers as well.” She finished, smoothing her hand over the ripple of a small foot over the taut surface of her belly.

  “Still, what do the four of you and three vampires think you can accomplish against an army of Demon wolves and a Sorcerer of Will Bennett’s caliber?”

  Fern added. “Ten. Don’t forget the wolves. I’m making them help t
oo. They want to go home and pay Will Bennett a special visit. He was controlling them, you know—before when he tried to use the Macu to bring down the shield? He used the Demon wolves to help control them and do his bidding.”

  Jerry looked confused, his quick mind doing the math. “Wait, you said ten. That’s not right. We have Thomas, Sadie, you two.” He ticked the numbers off on his fingers, “the three vampires and the two Demon Wolves, that’s seven, eight, nine?”

  Only Sirris and Fern weren’t looking at Jerry. They were staring at Lucas Seul as his face lost all color and he tottered for a second. “Where is Nick? Where is my son?” he asked, voice raspy with dread.

  Sirris spoke up. “You know where he is, sir. He’s doing what needs to be done in the alternate dimension with Sadie and Thomas and we’re standing here wasting time.

  “Look, we can debate about this all day long, but you know we’re right. Will Bennett is gaining power and followers day by day over there. He has to be stopped, or he’s just going to find another way. Maybe not today or even tomorrow, but someday when we least expect it and maybe aren’t as prepared as we are today.

  “Let us go. Take the bomb and go to Bane Forest like you planned; but wait for us to come through before you launch it. Give us a chance to do what we have to on our end. And trust Nicholas. He’s your son, and he isn’t without skills of his own. I’ve seen him in action, you’d be proud.” Sirris finished.

  Lucas Seul closed his eyes, face pale with worry. “He’s all Wendy and I have in this world. I should come with you then.” He started, bleak eyes meeting hers.

  “No, sir, and you can’t.” Marcus Tannon spoke. “I need to be here to lead the Guard. You have to lead the town.”

  “I need to be there for my son! I haven’t always been the best of fathers. Too busy with Drae Hallow business and running Rule 9...”

  “Don’t be dumb, Lucas. You’ve done the best you could. Raising a child, any child, whether human or Magical is daunting. We just do the best we can and we love them and let them know it. The truth is in the details.” Jerry murmured.

  “You need to be here, sir; in case we don’t make it back. Someone has to push forward, seal the portal and lead the citizens of Drae Valley and Rule 9. That has to be you. No one else is qualified to do it.” Fern finished, voice quiet.

  “I can’t lose him. I can’t,” he persisted.

  “Then let us go to bring him, all of them, home.” Elise finished. “We all have too much to lose here, not just you. My family is there too, and whatever you think of my race and whatever we’ve done you might not approve of, we all have people we love and can’t live without.” Her voice faded to a whisper.

  “She’s right, sir. We need to get going, we’ve already wasted too much time here.”

  “I’m well aware of the time Mr. Tannon, I don’t need to have it pointed out to me!” Lucas growled, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger before running his hands through his hair in bitter frustration. He glanced at Jerry Waverly. “You ready to go? We have quite a hike up the mountain, are you up for it?”

  Jerry ignored him as he moved forward to stand in front of his daughter. He reached out shaking hands and cupped her face, thumb moving in nervous circles over the smooth pink of her cheeks. “You need to come back to me, sweetheart. I haven’t always been the most attentive, too busy sometimes when I shouldn’t be. But I love you with all my heart and I’d be lost without you. You better damned well come back to me, do you hear?” he threatened, an edge of desperation to his voice.

  Sirris hands covered his and she smiled. “I hear you daddy. I love you too. Nobody could ever have a father as wonderful as you. You’ve given me the world, now let me go save it.” He clutched her close and she squeezed back, a shudder of emotion rippling through her shoulders before they moved apart. She took her position behind Elise who had followed Fern up the trail a piece where they waited for her to catch up. With a last glance backwards, all three took off at a trot up the trail.

  Behind them, Lucas, Jerry, Marcus Tannon and the remaining Guard watched them go.

  “Sir? Are we going to Bane forest then?”

  Lucas glared at the young guard in irritation. “You heard them. We need to get Jerry and that bomb to the other portal ASAP.”

  Jerry jerked and shot Lucas Seul a sharp glance rife with suspicion.

  BY THE TIME THEY REACHED the Demon wolves camp, it was late afternoon. They were running out of daylight.

  “We need to move quicker; we don’t want to be falling into Wyndoor in the dark.”

  Sirris wondered if she’d read her mind, still she slanted her an evil glare. Nine months pregnant and she showed no ill effects from her sprint straight up the mountain.

  At least Fern was huffing a bit too.

  The Demon wolves were right where they’d been when they left them. With a single cold-eyed stare, they said nothing and joined in behind, pulling up the rear as they made the last jaunt to the briar patch.

  Fern led, rounding the North side of the patch without pausing. On her shoulder, appearing for the first time that day, Kit peeked her nose out. She took one look at the briar patch and dove back beneath Fern’s shirt. Apparently, she wasn’t eager to go home.

  The smallest of them all, Fern bent down and wiggled beneath the clinging thorny vines with relative ease. The Demon wolves swore long and profusely as the sharp protrusions dug deep into their unprotected hides and backside. At the mouth of the black yawning hole Fern hesitated and looked back. She could feel a slight breeze as it brushed her cheek from the other side. The faint scent of decay wafted up with it and made her nose crinkle at the unpleasant odor.

  “Go!” the largest wolf muttered, impatiently.

  Fern went. Everyone else followed.

  I HOPED MY KNEES WEREN’T knocking. I could feel the mounting excitement rolling off Jorta and Ab’et as we grew closer to the rest of the vampire clan. All I knew was fear. We were throwing ourselves on the mercy of a race of creatures that snacked on people like us the same as other people ate donuts. I was not a crispy creme.

  Beside me walked Thomas and Nicholas; grim-faced and watchful. For what, I wasn’t sure. We were outnumbered and at their mercy. If they didn’t want to help, if they didn’t listen to Jorta and Ab’et, they’d kill us. We had no illusions as to just how precarious our position was.

  Ab’et and Jorta led us into camp. They had set up house in an area not so different from where Jorta, Ab’et and Elise had in Drae Hallow. A long protruding overhang beneath an abutment concealed a wide, shallow cave, the ceiling just high enough to clear the tallest vampire. Most sat in small groups, spread out along the cavern's wall and staying far enough away from the single enormous fire in the center of the cavern. There might have been upwards of fifty of them, though I didn’t bother to count. Every single one gained their feet on our entrance. I watched as all eyes turned in our direction and I knew the exact moment when their noses lifted and they caught our scent. It was like looking at countless tiny lanterns as their eyes lit up with hunger. I wanted to run. I needed to pee.

  We stopped dead center. Thomas’ eyes glowed in the dim lighting, meeting mine with a flash of yellow. Great, even my werewolf friend’s, ‘Oh Shit’ meter was going off.

  While the rest of us stopped with Jorta, Ab’et kept on and stopped in front of one particular vampire. The man in question was not overly tall, nor broad. He was not spectacular. Except—he was. His presence commanded attention when his stature did not. Silver eyes gleamed with intelligence and speared the hesitant Ab’et with avarice.

  “Am I to assume you’ve brought us food as a peace offering for disappearing for the last several weeks with no word, weanling?”

  Ab’et stood straighter, but his eyes remained downcast. “No father Morei, not exactly. We’ve brought you warriors to help retake our homes.” There was a pause, and then an eruption of laughter as the occupants of the room looked at the three teenage humans huddled in the
middle of their dining room. At least that’s how we appeared. They couldn’t know we were more than human, not at a glance.

  “Silence!” the elder vampire yelled. He returned his attention to Ab’et, who trembled.

  My head was spinning with fear and I tried not to shake. I moved closer to Thomas and Nick, but they didn’t look to be in any better shape than I was.

  “Do you think to make jokes? We have no homes. We are living in caves like our ancestors three centuries before. Like animals. And we’re hungry. The pickings are scarce when you are hiding in the woods and the food is scarce. We haven’t had to chase our food down in over a century.

  “You are right, sir. We want to change that. We want to take back Radmoor; and kill the one who is responsible.”

  “The wolves...”

  “Will Bennett. The Magical is responsible...”

  “You interrupt me!” Morei thundered. Ab’et cringed and took a step back with a shiver.

  “With your permission sir, only if you permit it?” he looked down and waited.

  The elder vampire stared at our huddled group and his eyes snagged mine and held. I watched an imperceptible widening of his silvered irises. I had no idea what it was he saw in me, but it alarmed him. His nostrils flared as he breathed us in.

  “They are not human. The female has dragon blood. I can smell her from here. Enormously powerful... and delicious. Talk fast, we are hungry and a drop of her blood could sustain us for weeks.”

  “That’s right. They have abilities that make them more than human. The dark one is a werewolf...” Hisses of anger filled the cavern. I wondered that werewolf might be a dirty word to them. Thomas’ lifespan might have just shortened. “The other one is a Sorcerer, as is the female. They give us an edge if we gather and try to retake the castle.”

  “... and what’s in it for them. In my experience, humans, no matter how special, do nothing that doesn’t benefit them.” The elder vamp stated, tone grim.

  Ab’et nodded. “That is true, father. There are others of their kind below in the keep. Prisoners with the rest of our family. They want to free them and return to their own dimension, to Drae Hallow.”