Smoked

by Mari Mancusi

  How on earth had Emmy, the world’s last dragon, been able to have babies? Did those scientists back at the lab have something to do with it? Scarlet had read about scientists cloning a sheep and a dog. Could they have figured out how to clone a dragon as well? Though if they had, wouldn’t the baby dragon clones look exactly like their mother? She frowned, wishing she’d paid more attention in science class.

  However it had happened, it had obviously happened. And recently too, judging from the remnants of cracked shells she now observed littering the cave. No wonder Emmy hadn’t returned to them for two months after being freed. She’d obviously had other things on her plate. And no wonder she’d been so agitated when they’d dragged her back to the airfield; she must have been frantic to get back to her babies.

  Drawing in a breath, Scarlet held out both hands this time, petting the creatures’ tiny, scaled feet with gentle fingers. The baby dragons looked at one another, blinked their big eyes, then turned back to her. Taking turns, they each crawled up her arms and settled on her shoulders. Scarlet could feel their sharp little claws tickling her skin and couldn’t help but laugh. Zoe flapped her wings and squawked with alarm at the sudden noise.

  “Sorry!” Scarlet soothed her, reaching up to stroke her gently. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  Zoe flapped her wings reproachfully a couple more times, as if to make her point, then grudgingly settled back on Scarlet’s shoulder, small throaty noises that sounded like purring escaping her mouth. Scarlet smiled, forcing herself not giggle this time. “That’s a good girl,” she cooed to the dragon. “That’s a very good girl.”

  She heard a shuffling at the mouth of the cave and remembered Emmy was still waiting for her outside—probably dying to be reunited with her precious offspring. Scarlet felt her heart melting a little as she imagined the impending reunion between mother and babies, proud that Emmy had trusted her with the task. Moving slowly, so as not to startle them again, she crawled out of the cave and back to the mother dragon.

  As she emerged, her eyes fell on Emmy, who was pacing the cliff side with obvious agitation, puffs of smoke billowing from her nostrils. She’s worried about them, Scarlet thought. How sweet is that?

  “Look, guys!” she said aloud to the baby dragons. “It’s your mommy!” She stepped toward Emmy to allow the babies to get closer. Seriously, this had to be the cutest thing ever. Two baby dragons. A worried mom. And she was the one who would reunite them. The one who would—

  Emmy let out a low growl from deep in her throat and backed away. Scarlet stopped, confused.

  “What’s wrong, Emmy?” she asked, squinting her eyes at the dragon.

  But Emmy wouldn’t look at her. And she wouldn’t look at the babies on her shoulders either. Scarlet’s heart started pounding uncomfortably in her chest.

  “These are your babies, aren’t they?” she tried.

  Emmy was still for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.

  “Well then, don’t you want to see them?”

  To her surprise, Emmy snorted again, shaking her head violently from side to side. Scarlet took a hesitant step backward, confused as anything. This didn’t make any sense.

  “I don’t understand. Didn’t you want me to rescue your babies? Why else would you have brought me here?”

  Emmy turned to look at her. You wanted blood for Caleb, she said. I can’t give it to you. But they can.

  Scarlet stared at the dragon in shock. In her excitement at finding Emmy’s children, she’d almost forgotten their original purpose for coming here.

  “Right, I mean, that’s great,” she stammered. “That’s a good idea, in fact. But, Emmy, these are your children, right? Don’t you want to—?”

  After you take their blood, I need you to kill them, Emmy said suddenly. Then we will leave this place and not return.

  “What?” Scarlet cried, now completely shocked. She switched to mind speak, worried the baby dragons would sense something was wrong. The poor little things. The poor, helpless little babies! Emmy, what are you talking about?

  You agreed to help me, the dragon reminded her, giving her a worried look. You said, whatever it was…

  Yeah, but I didn’t mean… Emmy, why on earth would you want me to kill your children?

  Because they will not die on their own.

  She said it so casually, so matter-of-fact. Scarlet suddenly felt as if she might throw up. I wasn’t asking why you needed me to do it, she corrected, hardly able to believe she had to clarify this point, but why would you want your own children dead?

  For a moment, the dragon didn’t answer, choosing instead to stare silently out over the horizon. Finally, Emmy turned and leveled her gaze on Scarlet. Her usually warm blue eyes were now icy cold.

  Because if they live, they will burn down the world.

  Scarlet swallowed hard, frightened at the conviction she saw written on Emmy’s face. The revulsion as she gazed on her own two children. She had warned Trinity and Connor that Emmy wasn’t the same dragon she once was. But this…this was too much. Was she crazy? Delusional? Paranoid? Or did she know something that Scarlet didn’t? She wondered, again, if Trinity would know. But then, she’d promised Emmy she wouldn’t tell Trinity.

  Her gut wrenched. Emmy…

  Zoe hopped off her shoulder, flapping her way to the ground and cautiously approaching her mother, a heartbreakingly hopeful look on her tiny face. She stared up at the giant dragon, batting her eyes and giving her what looked a lot like a cautious smile.

  Instead of smiling back, Emmy jerked away, looking horrified and disgusted. Then she turned her head, refusing to look down at her daughter. Scarlet watched, her heart breaking as Zoe’s face crumbled and she retreated back to the safety of her shoulder. She could hear the dragon making little whimpers in her ear, and it made her want to cry. She reached up, stroking her gently.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Trust me, I know what it feels like. It’s not you, okay? It’s her.”

  Her mind flashed to countless nights growing up, when her brother, Mac, would whisper the same kinds of things in her own ears. She knew all too well the pain of being rejected by one’s mother. And it killed her to see Zoe going through it now.

  She turned back to Emmy, fury building up inside of her like an active volcano. What the hell is wrong with you? she demanded, all her earlier pity for the dragon evaporating in an instant. These are your children, Emmy. Not some evil monsters. I mean, just look at them! They’re sweet and helpless, and they deserve a chance to live. Just like Trinity gave you when you were their size. Should she have just killed you when she had the chance as well?

  Yes, Emmy replied in a flat voice. If she had, these monsters would have never been born.

  Scarlet shook her head, giving up. There was obviously no use trying to argue with the dragon; she had made up her mind. Just more proof that she had changed in her time in captivity, whether the others wanted to believe it or not. The old Emmy would have embraced her children. She would have done anything to save them. The new Emmy—the one who had been abused and broken in the government cage—well, with her, all bets were off.

  And in a way, Scarlet did grudgingly understand. Emmy had been impregnated against her will—maybe even without her knowledge. And these babies were the result of that crime. It was understandable that she would have a hard time accepting them as her own, seeing as they represented everything she was trying to forget.

  But these babies weren’t to blame for the government’s actions. And they shouldn’t be forced to give up their lives to pay for someone else’s crimes.

  She drew in a breath. Emmy, why don’t you go home? she told the dragon. You don’t need to be here to see this.

  The dragon looked at her hesitantly. And you’ll take care of them? she asked. And then come back home? Will you be able to find your way?

  Yes. I have
my phone and it has GPS. I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.

  At first, Emmy looked as if she might argue. But then, to Scarlet’s relief, she nodded her head. Okay, she said. I’ll let you get started. But remember your promise. You can use the blood to heal Caleb, but you are not to speak of this to anyone. No one can know these creatures ever existed in the first place.

  “Sure, no problem,” Scarlet agreed quickly, wanting to get the dragon out of there before Emmy started second-guessing herself and wanted to stay. “I won’t say a word. Now go on. Before Trinity realizes you’re gone and gets worried.”

  Emmy flinched at the mention of her former Fire Kissed, which Scarlet had been hoping for. She wondered again why it was so important to the dragon for Trinity not to know about her offspring. What would Trinity do if she found out they existed? Would she want to save them like she’d saved Emmy? Or would she believe, as the dragon did, that they had some crazy apocalyptic destiny?

  Emmy bowed her head. Thank you, she said. You are a good friend, Scarlet. I will not forget this.

  Nor will I, Emmy, Scarlet replied, though her meaning was a little different. Now go. I’ll see you back at the hangar.

  And with that, Emmy raised her head and pushed off on her back feet, launching herself into the sky. Scarlet watched her go, a sick feeling worming through her stomach.

  “Someday you’ll thank me for this,” she muttered under her breath. “And if not, well, it’ll be your loss.”

  She turned to the two baby dragons who’d hopped off her shoulders and flown to the edge of the cliff, watching their mother’s silhouette fade into the distance. Zoe sank to the ground first, letting out a small, mournful cry. Zavier landed next to her, putting a wing around her little body in comfort, making grunting noises in her ear.

  Scarlet watched the two of them, trying to swallow the huge lump that had formed in her throat. It was like she and her brother all over again. Two lost souls against the bitter world.

  Except this time she was here too.

  She cleared her throat. “Are you guys hungry?” she asked with forced brightness. “You must be, right? Do you want to come with me so we can find some food?”

  The two dragons turned to look up at her inquisitively. Scarlet patted her shoulders, inviting them back up. They flew up to her, then settled down, croaking softly under their breath. She reached up with both hands to stroke them.

  “Don’t worry about her,” she said. “She’ll come around. In the meantime, I’ll be your mother. I’ll keep you safe. No matter what I have to do.”

  Chapter Eight

  It was done.

  Emmy’s heart ached as she dropped from the clouds and the airfield came into view. Her mind spun with visions of the little baby dragons, chirping sadly, and it was hard not to think of when she’d been one of those dragons herself, left on the side of the cliff to die, by her own mother. At the time, Emmy hadn’t understood how her mother could just fly away like that, without even a last look back. Now she understood. That last look would have broken her.

  As it had almost broken Emmy.

  But her mother had done what had to be done. As Emmy now had herself. Thank goodness Scarlet had been willing to do the job—Emmy had tried three times to smother the baby dragons and each time had stopped at the last minute after seeing the looks in their eyes.

  Because you’re weak, she scolded herself. A coward.

  But now the job would be done. The monsters would be destroyed, and the world would be safe. And her beloved Fire Kissed would never need to know.

  She thought back to Trinity, how she’d risked her life to save Emmy’s pathetic hide. At the time, Emmy couldn’t even bear to look her in the eye, so ashamed she was of what she’d let them do to her. She imagined the disappointment she’d see in the eyes of her Fire Kissed when she learned that Emmy had—after all her promises—let her down after all.

  And Emmy would be so ashamed.

  But now things would be all right. The threat was gone. Trinity would never need to know. The world would be safe, and Emmy could start working to rebuild her bond with her Fire Kissed. To make sure Trinity had that happily ever after she deserved.

  Emmy dropped down, making her final decent to the airfield. Yes. This was how it had to be. It was the only way to make things right—the one way to keep the world safe.

  So why did it make her so incredibly sad?

  Chapter Nine

  “Okay, everyone. The meeting will come to order.”

  Trinity rapped the gavel against the small podium she’d found in one of the office’s storage closets. The sound echoed through the terminal, causing everyone to turn in her direction, their chatter fading into silence as they looked up at her expectantly.

  Her gaze roved over the group; sometimes it was still hard to believe there were so many of them now. The so-called Potentials—orphan teens from around the world who had once been under the thumb of Darius and Mara—now working on their side. Luke, Nate, and Natasha, the gamer geeks from New Mexico who ran the FreeEmmy.com website and took care of all their high-tech needs. Her father, who she’d once thought dead, and Connor, who she’d once thought an enemy. And now Scarlet, though Trinity didn’t see her in the crowd at the moment. Probably hovering over Caleb’s bedside, as per usual.

  What had once been a couple of kids and a dragon on the run had now turned into a real, full-on operation. Which is a good thing, she reminded herself. We need all the help we can get.

  Feeling the stares on her, Trin cleared her throat. “So obviously I wanted to start off by thanking each and every one of you for your help in rescuing Emmy and getting her adjusted in her new home,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it without you. It wasn’t easy, and you should all feel very proud of yourselves.”

  The group erupted into excited chatter and a spattering of applause and high fives. Trinity let it go for a moment, then banged the gavel again.

  “But as you know, our problems are far from over,” she reminded them sternly. “In fact, in some ways, we’re back to where we started. The government is presumably still looking for Emmy. Much of the world wants her dead. We’ve got a good setup here now, to be sure. But we can’t expect to stay here undiscovered forever.”

  “And then there’s the issue of feeding her,” Trin’s father piped in. “The more she grows, the more she’s going to need to eat. We have a stockpile for her that we built up over the last two months. But once that’s gone, it’s going to be difficult to replenish our supply to keep up with her appetite.”

  “What we need is, like, a ranch!” cried one of the younger Potentials. “We could grow cows and other livestock for her to eat. Then we wouldn’t have to be hunting all the time and gathering roadkill.”

  A few of the others voiced approval at this idea, but Trinity’s father only shook his head. “We don’t have the funds to purchase a ranch,” he reminded them. “And it’s not like anyone here would be approved for a bank loan.”

  “What about…like, an abandoned tropical island?” asked another of the Potentials. “There wouldn’t be any people there, so Emmy could fly around to her heart’s content, hunting wild boar and whatever else might be native.”

  Trinity sighed. “Even assuming such an island exists outside of Jurassic Park movies and Lost reruns, we’d have no way to get there. Unless someone here has a dragon-sized yacht they haven’t bothered to mention?”

  She watched as their eager faces fell. Sometimes it was hard to remember how young they all were. How young she still was herself. In a normal world, they’d be dealing with homework and homecoming, parents, teachers, and friends. They shouldn’t have to have the world’s weight on their shoulders like this.

  “Look,” she said. “We can stay here as long as possible, try to get Emmy’s strength up at least, and, of course, her spirits. In the meantime, I want some of you to be scouting out
possible future home bases. Preferably places with lots of game. When we need to make another move, whether it’s because we’ve run out of food or we’ve been spotted by the government, I want to be ready.”

  She pulled out her list of assignments, preparing to dole them out. But a voice broke out from the crowd before she could speak again.

  “So, what, you just want us to keep running forever then? Is that your big master plan?”

  Trinity frowned as she caught sight of Rashida, now standing in the back of the room, arms crossed over her chest. “Excuse me?” she asked, irritation washing over her. Seriously, she did not need this, today of all days.

  She knew Connor liked Rashida. He thought she was smart and resourceful. And he was constantly reminding Trin that if it weren’t for Rashida and her team of Potentials, they never would have gotten Emmy back. Still, sometimes it was hard to get over the fact that the girl had once tried to kill her, not to mention turned Caleb and Scarlet over to the enemy. If it wasn’t for Rashida, Emmy never would have been caught by the Dracken. And Caleb would be with them now in mind instead of just body. Sure, the girl had switched sides, and Trin was pretty sure she was Team Dragon all the way. But the constant asserting of her opinion in every situation was wearing on her nerves.

  “We want to know your long-term plan here,” Rashida called out. “I mean, you’ve tried hiding out before. Didn’t exactly go all that well if I remember right.”

  Trinity felt a blush rise to her cheeks. “No. It didn’t. But there were some extenuating circumstances if you remember.” After all, who could have predicted Emmy sneaking away to heal Scarlet and Scarlet putting it on the Internet?

  Rashida gave her a smug look. “Face it, Trinity Foxx. There’s always the threat of an extenuating circumstance. Especially now. After all, Emmy’s not exactly the world’s best-kept secret at this point. We’ve all seen the FreeEmmy.com website. Like it or not, she’s now an Internet sensation. Everyone’s talking about her.”