Smoked

by Mari Mancusi

  “Well, here he is, the great and powerful Caleb Jacks, in the flesh,” Trinity said wryly as she walked over to the chair Scarlet had been sitting in, plopping down on it like it was an old friend, grabbing a book from underneath the bed. The Fellowship of the Ring, Scarlet noted from the spine. She watched awkwardly as Trin opened it to a dog-eared page three-quarters of the way in, then paused, looking up at Scarlet. “Did you…want to…stay?” she asked, sounding as if she really hoped Scarlet didn’t.

  “No. No, I’m…I’m good,” Scarlet said, taking a step backward. “I’m actually—well, I need to figure out where I’m going to sleep and all. And maybe get some of that pizza your dad was cooking. Man, it’s been forever since I’ve had any pizza.”

  The relief on Trinity’s face was palpable. “Try the feta cheese and pineapple,” she suggested. “It’s really good.”

  “I will. Thank you,” Scarlet replied. “And…well, thanks for the rescue too. It’s really, really nice to be here. I owe you everything. And I’m sorry about what I said about Emmy outside. I’m sure she’ll come back when she’s ready. She loves you, you know. Back at the government lab, you were all she ever talked about. I mean, when she was still talking…”

  She trailed off, realizing Trinity wasn’t really listening. Just staring down at the book as if waiting for Scarlet to leave. Scarlet sighed. Would things ever be less awkward between them? “Anyway, I’ll…catch you later.”

  With that, she turned, exiting the room as quickly as she could, leaving Caleb to his story time. As she stepped through the doorway, she couldn’t help but turn around to give him one last look. To her surprise, Trinity had abandoned the book and was now leaning on Caleb’s chest, head buried in her arms.

  And she was crying.

  Chapter Four

  Two Months Later…

  “Die, dragon, die!”

  As the mighty dragon reared in front of her, Trinity mashed the hot keys on her laptop computer, determined to take the Fields of Fantasy boss down. As a Fury Warrior, she needed to deliver enough damage per second to fell the mighty beast before it rained its fire down on her party and destroyed them all. Beside her, the tank warrior took the brunt of the damage while the mage and priest were casting spells behind her. It was an extremely precarious operation—and everyone had to do their jobs just right—or it would be game over for sure.

  But just as the dragon was down to its very last hit points, it began to turn orange, signaling the beginning of its annihilation cast. Trin tried to disrupt it, but her sword missed its mark, and the dragon was able to get its spell off. A moment later, the entire party was swept away in a fiery inferno, falling to the ground in one fell swoop. Defeated.

  “Stupid game!” Trinity cried, shoving the laptop across the table in disgust. It was all she could do not to grab it and smash it on the floor. “Why do I even play this stupid, stupid game?”

  She rose to her feet, accidentally knocking over her chair. It crashed to the floor, causing everyone else in the room to look up. She could feel their eyes on her, questioning her, which only made her angrier.

  “Hey, hey!” Connor protested, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her out of the terminal’s waiting room, where they’d all been playing on a LAN line. Hooking his hand at her waist, he led her down the hall and into the old employee break room, shutting the door behind him. He sat her down in a chair, then dropped to his knees in front of her, taking both of her hands in his and bringing them to his lips. He kissed her knuckles, one after another, as tears streamed down her cheeks, unchecked.

  “You know, I’d tell you it’s just a game,” he said, “but that’s not why you’re really upset, is it?”

  She shook her head, at first unable to speak. He squeezed her hands harder and looked up into her eyes, his own filled with sympathy. For a moment, they just crouched there silently. Until she found her voice at last.

  “She’s never coming back, is she?” she whispered. “She’s gone forever.”

  “You don’t know that,” Connor said automatically. But something in his voice betrayed him. And for good reason too.

  It’d been two months since they’d freed Emmy from the government lab. And no one had heard from her since. Every day the Dracken kids scoured the Internet for clues and rumors, and every day the Potentials followed up on those clues, searching the country for signs of the dragon. But in the end, they all returned empty-handed. It was as if Emmy had disappeared off the face of the earth.

  “She could find us if she wanted to,” Trinity said. “I know she could.”

  Connor gave her another sympathetic look. “Maybe she just needs some time alone. You know, like how sometimes animals go into their burrows to heal?”

  “They go into their burrows to die, Connor,” she corrected bitterly. “And for all we know, that’s what’s happened to Emmy. That’s why no one’s seen her. She’s crawled into some deep, smelly cave to die all alone.” She broke out into a fresh set of tears as her mind replayed the nightmares she’d been having for weeks now—of Emmy, weak and helpless and starving. Unable to fly. Unable to eat. Fading away until there was nothing left of her—only accusatory eyes, locked on her former Fire Kissed.

  You promised to keep me safe. You promised not to let me fall.

  Connor closed his eyes, then pulled her into his arms. His body was warm, and against her better judgment, she melted into him, allowing him to absorb her pain.

  “I don’t think she’s dead,” he told her. “I think…” He paused, then pushed forward. “I think Scarlet would know if she was.”

  Trinity clenched her teeth. “Right,” she said bitterly. “Well, maybe if Scarlet would start helping us out a little, we’d have some real leads.”

  Connor pulled away from the embrace. “Scarlet has been helping. She’s been searching every day for a sign of Emmy—you know that. She does have to sleep sometimes, you know.”

  “Hover over Caleb’s bedside, you mean?” Trinity retorted before she could help herself.

  Connor’s expression darkened. “Is that what you’re really angry about?” he asked quietly. “Scarlet spending time with Caleb?”

  She felt her face heat. “No, of course not,” she said quickly. But even as she said the words, she wondered. Until they’d rescued Scarlet and brought her back with them, she’d been the one to sit by Caleb’s comatose side. The one who fed him and washed him and tried to keep him as comfortable as possible as he went in and out of his Nether-induced coma. At first, it had seemed a burden, but eventually she’d fallen into a routine. There was something comforting about having something so simple and practical to do each day. Always knowing he was there, waiting for her every morning when she awoke. It gave her a sense of purpose to take care of him. To sit at his side, tell him stories, read him books.

  Now she could barely get a moment alone with him, what with Scarlet constantly butting in to help. The girl had even pulled in her sleeping mat and laid it out at the edge of his bed so she could be there if he were to wake up in the dead of night. It was as if she thought they were some kind of couple, shared some kind of bond, when in reality, Scarlet barely knew Caleb. Not like Trinity knew him anyway.

  She sighed. She was turning seventeen in a few days, and most times, she felt more like seventy.

  “Come on, Trin, it’s not that bad,” Connor cajoled, interrupting her troubled thoughts. “I mean, think of it this way. Emmy may not be with us, but she’s not with them either. She’s not being abused or mistreated anymore. For the first time in her life, she’s totally free. And it’s all because of you.” He gave her a pointed look. “You should feel proud.”

  “Proud? It’s my fault she was captured in the first place,” Trinity shot back. “If she’s just going to die now, after all she’s suffered. I should have just let you…”

  She trailed off, unable to continue. It didn’t matter anywa
y. Connor knew all too well what she should have let him do. If she’d let him kill Emmy at the Walmart before the government took her away, then the dragon’s pain would have ended instantly. She would have never had to suffer.

  If Trin had let Connor do his thing, it would have all been over forever. One precise shot to the soft scale on her arm, killing her instantly without a moment of pain. No more threat of dragon apocalypse. No more running for their lives. And Emmy could have lived out eternity in the embrace of the Nether, flying free with her fellow dragons. Wouldn’t that have been better for everyone in the end?

  But Trinity had been too weak, too selfish—unable to bear the finality of death. Unable to accept the loss of the dragon she loved. So she’d stopped Connor. And she’d sent Scarlet into the hands of the enemy. At the time, she’d been so overconfident, thinking it would be no problem to get Emmy and Scarlet back. God, had she been a fool.

  And Connor was so loyal. So loving. She knew he would stand by her side till the end of time—and never question her decisions out loud. But deep down, he had to be disappointed in her, right? Furious even. He was a man of action, after all. A soldier, trained to be decisive and strong. But instead, he’d listened to her. He’d followed his heart rather than his head. It was probably all he could do at this moment not to scream, “I told you so!” at the top of his lungs.

  Bitterness wormed its way inside of her. She pulled away from his embrace.

  “Well, hey, if she is dead, at least you’ve accomplished your mission,” she stated flatly. “I mean, no more Emmy means no more threat of apocalypse, right?”

  “Trinity…” He looked at her, a pained expression on his face, but she turned stubbornly away. “That’s not—”

  “You know, it’s just a shame you can’t go home now,” she added sarcastically. “Back to the future, I mean. Hell, I bet you’d return as some kind of conquering hero—the greatest Dragon Hunter to ever live.”

  “I was already a hero,” he said quietly. “Trust me, the gig is vastly overrated.” He rose to his feet. “And, Trinity, if you really think I’d be celebrating Emmy’s death, well, then you don’t know me as well as I thought you did. In fact,” he added, “you don’t know me at all.”

  He gave her a look filled with such disappointment it made her want to cry. Why was she being so hateful to him? Why couldn’t she just accept his comfort? Why did she feel the need to push everyone who cared about her away?

  He turned to the door, headed for the exit. Her heart panged painfully in her chest.

  “Connor?” she cried out, unable to just let him walk away.

  He turned stiffly, meeting her eyes with his own tortured blue ones. “What, Trinity?” he asked in a strained voice.

  “I—”

  But she never got a chance to finish her apology. Because at that moment, Luke burst through the door. He stopped short, as if he could sense the tension in the room. “I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. But—”

  Connor was at his side in a second. “What is it?” he demanded, the soldier back in his voice. “Did they find something?”

  Trin rose to her feet, her heart pounding in her chest, unable to speak as she approached Luke. “Did they…” she managed to say. “Find…Emmy?”

  Please don’t let her be dead. Please don’t let her be dead.

  “Look, we got some weird sighting reports earlier today from the website,” Luke explained, looking a little guilty. “I didn’t want to say anything until we were sure they were legit—you know, we’ve had so many leads fall through over the last two months. But you told us to check out everything, no matter how small. So I sent out a team.”

  “And?” Trin managed to spit out, hope soaring and sinking inside of her at a ridiculous rate. “Did they find anything? Some sign that Emmy was there?”

  Luke’s eyes flashed with excitement. “Not just a sign. Emmy herself. Your girl is alive, Trin. And we’re bringing her home.”

  Chapter Five

  “Look! There they are! There they are!”

  Trinity burst out the back doors of the terminal, Connor and Luke hot on her heels. She could hear the Potentials shouting and screaming down by the runway, all chanting Emmy’s name. Her knees buckled, and she was forced to stop, clutching an electricity pole for support, her heart hammering furiously against her rib cage as she watched the truck approach. She was almost too afraid to look.

  “Emmy?” she whispered. “Is it really you?”

  What if it was only a dream? What if she woke and found all of this to be nothing more than a cruel joke played by her masochistic imagination? Her fingers dug into the pole’s wood, and she could barely stand she was trembling so hard.

  “Please…” It was all she could say.

  She felt movement at her back and realized Connor had come up behind her. Connor who, in her frustration, she’d lashed out at. But he didn’t look reproachful now. Instead, he reached out, cupping her chin in his hand and gently guiding her face, turning her eyes to meet the vehicle. One of the Potentials—an Aussie named Trevor—had hopped out of the passenger side and was walking around to the rear. In one single movement, he lifted the latch, and the back door rolled up with a loud, long groan.

  And then Trin saw for herself. Saw what she thought she’d never see again. A mighty black shadow, crammed into the back of the truck. A shadow she would recognize anywhere.

  “Oh, Emmy,” she whispered, tears leaking out the sides of her eyes. “It’s really you.”

  She tried to will her feet to move, to run to her dragon, to welcome her home at last. Instead, she found herself frozen in place, staring at the truck with desperate, longing eyes.

  She felt Connor at her arm again. “Come on,” he urged, taking her hand and pulling her down to the runway to join the reunion. “Don’t you want to see her?”

  She nodded, scarcely able to breathe. Of course she did. If she never saw anything else in her life again, of course she would want to see Emmy.

  And so she allowed Connor to lead her to the truck; then slowly, she stepped forward, heart in her throat, as if she were afraid Emmy would disappear if she moved too fast.

  “Emmy?” she called in scarcely more than a whisper. “It’s me. Trin.”

  She peered inside. Emmy was hunched in the very back of the truck, curled up around herself, her massive tail wrapped protectively around her body, her neck arched and posture rigid. Trinity frowned as she realized the dragon was shivering, her eyes white and wild. Drool dripped from the corner of her mouth, and her sides heaved heavily up and down.

  “Emmy?” she repeated. “Are you okay? It’s just me. Trin. Your Fire Kissed.”

  Okay, so she wasn’t exactly Emmy’s Fire Kissed anymore. But she wasn’t about to let that little technicality stop her from making a move to enter the van, putting one leg up on the truck bed and—

  Emmy let out a loud cry, shrinking back, pressing her body against the rear of the truck so hard the metal groaned in protest. Trin frowned, stopping in her tracks and retreating, her hands up in the air to show Emmy she meant her no harm. When she tried to meet the dragon’s eyes with her own, Emmy seemed to deliberately twist her neck to face the wall instead.

  Trin let out a small moan of dismay, turning back to Connor.

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “She’s terrified.”

  Trinity whirled around to see Scarlet come up behind her. With slow, careful movements, Scarlet climbed up into the truck bed, putting out an open hand. “It’s okay, Emmy,” she whispered. “It’s me, Scarlet. No one’s going to hurt you, okay?”

  Emmy seemed to relax—just a little bit—allowing Scarlet to approach. When Scarlet reached the dragon, she put out her hand again, stroking her nose and cooing at her with a soft voice. Trinity watched, feeling helpless and horrified. When she tried to make a move of her ow
n, Emmy startled again. Scarlet glanced back at Trin, a warning look in her eyes.

  “I think she needs some time,” she said apologetically. “She’s obviously been through a lot.”

  “Time. Right.” Trinity somehow managed a nod, the tears springing to the corners of her eyes again. She forced herself to step back, giving her dragon space.

  No, not my dragon, she reminded herself, Scarlet’s dragon.

  And then it hit her with all the force of a ten-ton truck. Everything she’d known to be true from the very start but hadn’t really comprehended up until now. After all, it was one thing to know something in theory. Quite another to see it play out before your eyes. And as Trin watched Emmy nudge Scarlet’s arm with her snout—a gesture the dragon had done to Trin a thousand times before—something broke inside her, allowing the cold, hard truth to rush in.

  Emmy was no longer hers. Emmy would never be hers again.

  But she’s safe, she reminded herself angrily, swiping at the tears with her sleeve. She’s alive. She’s here. She’s safe. That’s all that matters in the end.

  Now, if only she could convince her heart that this was true.

  Chapter Six

  “How does that feel, Emmy? Does that feel any better?”

  Scarlet paused from rubbing oil into the creases between Emmy’s neck scales, her eyes roving over the dragon, assessing her handiwork. Emmy was still pale and painfully thin compared to her former self, but Scarlet thought she could see a slight blush of color coming back to her scales, and it gave her a small bit of hope.

  It had been three days since Emmy had been brought back to Team Dragon, and Scarlet and the others had worked around the clock to make sure the dragon felt safe—if not happy—in her new home. The former airline hangar had indeed turned out to be the perfect dragon cave—large enough for Emmy to stretch her wings and fly if she felt the urge, without the risk of being spotted by anyone from the outside world. Sure, it wouldn’t be the best flying ever—more like swimming laps in a pool, back and forth, rinse and repeat. But it was better than anything she’d had back at the government lab and certainly better than the old McCormick barn.