Burned

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Awakened

  Draconia World Book 2

  Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen.

  Chapter Twenty.

  Chapter Twenty-One.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four.

  Afterword

  Chapter One

  Meet me.

  My teeth were chattering, and I was trembling, but more from shock rather than the freezing cold air. The water was icy, but in a way, I wasn’t overwhelmed when I dove straight into it. Maybe because I was still too high on adrenaline. Everything had happened so fast on that bridge. Within moments the portal had vanished, and I was submerged in water, falling into darkness. Then the egg started to crack and Avianna was in my hands, staring at me with her wide, red shimmering eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was smiling or not. The tiny voice in my head reminded me that she was a dragon after all, and they weren’t supposed to smile. Then I remembered that I could most likely still communicate with her.

  “For Qesborth! Are you all right, Avianna? There should be enough magic to keep you alive for now, but at some point, you might feel you’re losing strength,” I said, staring at her radiating skin in the pitch-black darkness. She was walking up and down my palms, releasing some smoky bits of fire.

  She lifted her head and looked at me.

  “Chill, I’m absolutely fine. I don’t think I’m in any danger and yeah, I sense your magic. What the hell happened up there? This world doesn’t look like Draconia.”

  “Because it isn’t. That bastard, Idris, ratted us out and now the Dark Ones have Nicolas,” I said, trying to calm my breathing.

  I couldn’t lose the plot now—for Avianna’s sake—but we had to get out of here. My magic was still pounding through me. Even now my fingertips were static with electricity; I was still pissed. Furious with Idris and the whole council. This wasn’t supposed to happen at all and yet he betrayed me. I should have known everything was big fat lie.

  Avianna was still watching me with curiosity. I felt a little silly, thinking she could actually talk to me out loud. Dragons didn’t have a real human voice, but we had a connection. We could still communicate and that was most important.

  After all, she was only a tiny baby and I was panicking. This wasn’t her world and magic could easily be stripped from her. I had no idea how long she had before she would start to feel the effects of not having all the magic from the Lower World. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. On top of that, Nicolas had been captured by Magnus. There was no way he could have escaped. I didn’t want to think what these bastards where planning to do to him.

  “I can’t believe Idris sold us out. He’s done so much for you and the attraction… I mean.”

  “Forget about him. We have to head back to Aly’s place,” I said, and glanced down at my wet clothes. “The crack is gone. There’s no way we could even get anywhere near the bridge right now. I’ll figure something out.”

  It was freezing cold and shivering. Only now was I starting to feel the effects of this weather. The strange looking giant vehicle Magnus had most likely sent to look for me was still making its rounds around the sky. Its blinding light was pointing toward the dark water. I was still shocked that I didn’t die. I’d never been a great swimmer, but Avianna must have done something to keep me from drowning.

  I didn’t want to move, but I couldn’t stay here. I remembered seeing Dara or maybe it was just a hallucination. That one memory of her kept me going. In the distance I could see a lot of people moving around on the bridge.

  Maybe Magnus was working alongside humans, but that was impossible. They were supposed to be unaware of our world.

  “I can fly; I’m sure I can… I mean, I haven’t tried it yet, but I do feel fantastic.” Avianna’s voice rang in my head again. I needed to get used to hearing her.

  After a moment she started jumping up and down on the surface of my palm. She was happy, and I needed to remind myself that she was too exposed around here.

  “No, don’t try anything right now. You need to get inside my backpack because we’ll be going through London,” I said as I opened it for her to get in. “People are going to freak out once they notice you. Dragons aren’t supposed to exist, and I’m still worried about what this world can do to you.”

  She released a bit of fire and I had to pull my other hand away.

  “Boring… No, I don’t want be stuck in there again,” she complained.

  “We both know you don’t have any other choice. Come on. We really need to get out of here,” I told her placing her on a rock.

  She was shining, and her scales were slowly starting to change colour into a yellowish gold, like my original draconian eyes. Now I was using a spell to mask the magic, but I felt a little nostalgic while I was staring at her.

  I hated that she had to be stuck inside the backpack and I knew that I was going to have an issue with her fiery temperament later on.

  Eventually she got inside the bag, mumbling something about humans and dragons being best friends. I picked up the pieces of her shell, thinking that maybe they might be useful somehow.

  Water was still dripping from my clothes when I headed away from the shoreline. It was the middle of the night and I had no idea where I was. I wandered around the streets for some time until I found the tube station. Luckily for me there weren’t many people on the streets, and yet I was getting strange looks. It was so damn cold, and my teeth were still chattering. I couldn’t warm myself up.

  This was supposed to be my last night in London, and I didn’t have any human money with me. Avianna was singing some sort of rude song in my head while I walked, passing several tall buildings. My fists were clenched, and anger enveloped my bloodstream. Nicolas was right about Idris. I was somehow blinded by his charisma and the chemistry I’d felt between us. It was all just a giant game to him. He was never planning to help me return home. I wanted to slap myself, and scrub my mouth for kissing him.

  I sensed Dark Ones moving around. They were probably looking for me, so I had to hide in the back alleys for some time, masking the energy that pounded through me. Despite the magic, my whole body was drained, and I felt so tired. Nicolas was going to be all right. They wouldn’t have killed him just yet. I just needed to stay positive.

  I managed to get to some random station and eventually catch the night tube back to Croydon. There was only a man and some teenager in my wagon and luckily, they were too busy starting at their phones.

  “Avianna, are you all right? Do you think you will be able to survive in this world?” I asked her, when we were reaching a location I finally began to recognise. That short silence worried me a little.

  We didn’t know about anything that she needed in order to survive in this world. She had magic; I could sense it, but for how long?

  “I’m fine; it’s cramped in here. Maybe I can try flying now?” she asked, and I was ready to take off the backpack and just keep it on my lap in case she tried to fly around the wagon.

  “No, we’re still on the tube, just wait until we get home,” I said, using my inner voice.

  I wanted to close my eyes for a second and try not to feel the
cold seeping into my bones. Five minutes later we were out of the tube. Aly was most likely asleep, but I had nowhere else to go. She needed to know what happened. At the same time my anxiety skyrocketed. Idris knew about her and he must have realised that I would go back there.

  I stopped on the street, feeling lost and hopeless. Maybe he was already waiting for me there.

  What if he did something to Aly?

  I didn’t know what to do or even expect. I couldn’t just walk away; I had to know if she was safe. I swallowed hard and kept walking.

  Stupid, stupid me. I should have used my magic when I had a chance. Charging myself with energy, I took a deep breath and headed to the street where I’d spent the past week living like a normal human being.

  “Avianna, be ready. That bastard knows about Aly’s place. There might be a surprise waiting for us here,” I said, biting my lip so hard I thought it might bleed.

  “I got you covered, girl, but I don’t sense anyone here. Just go inside,” she told me.

  The street was empty and there were no lights shining through the window. Deep down I truly hoped that Idris didn’t have time to come back here just yet, that his people were too busy cleaning up the mess on the bridge.

  He betrayed me, but he didn’t want me dead. I stood outside for a little while, trying to figure out what to do.

  The faint energy that I recognised was here, but somehow Avianna was right. If the Dark Ones were here, I would have known instantly. Slowly and very steadily I pressed the door handle. The door was locked, and I didn’t want to wake her. She was probably tired. It was the middle of the night, so I pre-heated the lock using my magic, thinking maybe it would be easier if she found me snuggled up on the sofa in the morning.

  Energy flew through me, turning my insides out, but the lock eventually gave way. Avianna was quiet, and I didn’t like the tension I was feeling. I really had no idea how I was going to tell Aly that Nicolas had been captured. Her little heart was going to give out.

  The corridor was dark when I started walking through on my tiptoes. My heart was pounding in my ears as the energy around me began soaring throughout the entire space.

  Seconds later, something cold and heavy touched my cheek, then a whisper followed.

  “Stay right there, otherwise I will blow your head off!”

  I didn’t dare move, knowing it was Aly and she was holding her husband’s gun. For some reason, I was paralysed from head to toe until Avianna’s voice echoed in my mind.

  Tell her it’s only you, Francesca. What the hell are you waiting for?

  “Aly, it’s me, Fran. I didn’t make it through the portal,” I whispered back, finally gaining control of my body. I needed to get myself together.

  “Fran? Is that really you. Oh, my dear lord. I heard a noise and grabbed the gun as soon as I could,” she said, and a second later she was hugging me tightly. Avianna was giggling and Aly was still talking. “What happened? And where is Nicolas? I stayed downstairs, slept a little bit, but I kept tossing and turning, worrying about you guys.”

  Moments later she was dragging me across the hall. She switched on the lights in the living room, and only then did I realise that it was three a.m. and Aly was in her nightgown.

  I flopped on the sofa, feeling a little lightheaded.

  “Idris betrayed us; his father showed up along with other Dark Ones. They captured Nicolas and threatened to kill him if I didn’t turn myself in,” I explained, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

  “Oh, dear lord, that’s terrible, but why are you wet, darling? Your clothes are damp. Stay here. I’ll be right back,” she told me, and I arched my head back, trying to rest for a little bit.

  “Come on, get me out of this bag. I’m not in the bloody egg anymore,” Avianna huffed in my head.

  “Sorry, I kind of forgot about it,” I told her.

  I reached out for the backpack, hearing Aly moving around upstairs and then opened the flap, so she could crawl out. Avianna slowly climbed out onto my hand, stretching her wings and arms. It still amazed me that she was so tiny, radiating like a neon light.

  “Strip, right now. I have fresh and dry clothes ready… ahhhh!”

  Aly shouted, and backed away to the wall when she saw a small dragon on my palm. Avianna hissed and then released a bit of smoke from her maw.

  “Don’t worry—don’t be afraid. This is Avianna; she hatched two hours ago when I walked out of the river Thames,” I said, getting up. I put the baby dragon on my shoulder, giving Aly some time to adjust to the fact that there was a real dragon in her living room. She was holding her heart and yeah, I should have warned her.

  “This is the dragon that came out of the golden egg?” she asked with disbelief.

  “Yeah lady, that’s me. Honestly, humans are so silly sometimes.”

  “Yes, she’s the baby dragon. Anyway, let me just start from the beginning. It’s a really long story,” I said, and she nodded. I started talking and she kept staring at Avianna with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

  Going over everything that happened on that bridge took a while. Aly gasped a few times, staring at me then to Avianna with a wide-eyed expression. It killed me that I’d trusted Idris. I knew I should’ve never followed my heart, but my gut instead.

  “Dear, dear, I can’t believe that handsome young man could have done something like that,” she said. “And Nicolas. I’m so worried about him. He only just got back on his feet; we must go back there and try to reason with them!”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. Aly didn’t realise what she was asking me to do. There was no way I could bargain with the Dark Ones.

  “You can’t reason with the Dark Ones. They’ll keep him alive, that’s for sure, but I promise I’ll do my best to free him,” I said, taking off my wet clothes. The sofa was already drenched, and I felt like my knees were going to give out on me at any moment.

  “I hope so, darling. I really do, because he was just starting over here.”

  Chapter Two

  Warlock’s heart.

  I didn’t even remember falling asleep, but the following morning I found myself covered with a warm blanket. My muscles were extremely sore, and the sunlight beamed into the room. The television was on and Aly was sitting next to me, drinking tea from her “I pooped” cup that her nephew had given her. I rubbed my eyes, trying to remember what had happened.

  “Wheeee… this is so cool. I can fly and I’m so good at it.” Avianna’s voice echoed in my mind.

  I lifted my head to look for her. My baby dragon was flying around the room, and she nearly enough hit the chandelier, releasing some fire at the same time. She hadn’t fully mastered balancing in the air yet and I had to warn her about various hazards in Aly’s place.

  “Child, get down right away. You already burned my favourite curtains. I’m not going to tell you twice,” Aly said, raising her voice a little and then she finally noticed that I was awake. “Oh, good morning, Francesca. Did you sleep well?”

  “Morning, Sleeping Beauty. Tell the old lady that the curtains were ugly, and she should have gotten rid of them earlier.”

  I heard Avianna in my head again and almost laughed.

  I rubbed my face, noticing that she flew down and sat on the edge of the sofa, staring at me with her bright red eyes. She seemed full of energy and strength, so I told myself that I had nothing to worry about. Obviously, her magic hadn’t been stripped away by being in this world. Some wardens believed that humans lack of belief in magical cracks affected our lives, but I still didn’t know if this was really the case. I had been in complete panic mode when Avianna hatched out on the bank of the river.

  “Just be nice and stop messing around. We’re lucky to even be here. Aly is a saint,” I said.

  All the memories from last night slammed back to the forefront of my mind. I remembered talking to Aly downstairs when I showed up at her house in the middle of the night. She was really worried about Nicolas, and now, I was too. He was all alone, and that b
astard, Magnus, was most likely torturing him.

  “I fell asleep in here, right?” I asked her, and she smiled at me, lifting herself up.

  “Yes, dear. We were talking about that poor boy. I barely slept thinking about him, and I’m so tired. What would you like for breakfast?” she asked.

  “I’m hungry, too, and now that I’m out, I want to try all the food in this world. Meat would be good,” Avianna said.

  Aly had dark circles under her eyes and I knew she needed to get some sleep. She was stubborn, and she always put others above herself. I had been with her long enough to notice all of her great character traits.

  I felt down and nostalgic again, remembering Nicolas and I laughing on this sofa and talking about various subjects. We had a connection and we were still good friends. It was all my fault that he had been captured.

  “Avianna tells me that she’s hungry. Maybe we can give her some cold meat first. Maybe I should cook this morning?” I suggested, but Aly was already shaking her head, heading towards the kitchen. Avianna spread her wings and that’s when I noticed she seemed a little bigger than yesterday. This was impossible, she couldn’t have grown within only a few hours. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I had no idea what kind of breed of dragon she belonged to. I quickly shook my head and continued telling myself that everything was all right. Her magic wasn’t permanent—I knew that for sure. Deep down I was petrified that one day she’d become this huge beast and we would lose our bond.