Smoked

by Mari Mancusi

  Scarlet was beautiful. She was sweet and kind and thoughtful. Not to mention smart and resourceful. He hadn’t forgotten the determined look she’d gotten in her eyes when she’d agreed to his crazy plan to go on the suicide mission. To take out armed guards and escape in the truck. To go warn Trinity and Connor the Dracken were on their way. Trinity, whether she wanted to admit it or not, owed this girl everything. And yet, how had she repaid this bravery and selflessness? By coercing Scarlet to hand herself over to the bad guys and spend the next six months being tortured and starved.

  All because of me. If I hadn’t been so weak. So pathetic. So addicted…

  He felt a familiar rumble in his stomach, a prickling on the surface of his skin. He’d love to have blamed it on being hungry for lunch, but he knew that wasn’t the case. This rumble, this prickle, this itch that could never be scratched—it was the pull of the Nether, creeping up on him again. A pull that would always be there, just beneath the surface, probably for the rest of his life.

  He still had no idea how he’d escaped the Nether. He’d been there so damn long—there was no way he should have been able to come back to the real world unscathed like he had. Sure, maybe if Emmy had donated blood from her soft scale—maybe that would have done the trick—but Trinity had told him that the scale had been destroyed by the government, and the blood was all gone. Still, something must have been done to bring him back. So what was it? No one seemed to have any idea.

  What about Scarlet? Could she possibly know something?

  Caleb’s gaze shifted back to the girl who was now walking her tray out of the restaurant, her eyes downcast and her shoulders slumped, as if she were trying hard not to be noticed. It seemed unlikely that she would have any clue as to why he’d recovered—she didn’t even know that he was a time traveler, for goodness’ sake. But still, it was she who had been there when he’d first opened his eyes. Maybe if she were able to give him a kind of play-by-play of what had happened just beforehand, maybe there would be some kind of clue.

  And as a bonus, he could apologize to her—or at least make things less weird between them.

  Making up his mind, he left the dinner line, ignoring his stomach’s protest as he set his tray down on an empty table. Then, slipping back into the terminal’s waiting room, he looked left and right, trying to figure out the direction she’d gone. Finally he located her at the end of the hall, silhouetted by the light streaming in through the doorway, dumping her dinner into a large sack. He watched, an uneasy feeling gnawing at his stomach—and this time it wasn’t from hunger or any kind of addiction. What was she doing? Was she bringing the food to Emmy in the hangar? Once upon a time, that might have made sense, but these days, thanks to the donation box the Dracken kids had installed on the FreeEmmy.com website, the dragon had more than her share to eat. And besides, from what Caleb could tell, Scarlet and Emmy weren’t really speaking anymore—as if something had gone down between them.

  But if not for Emmy, then who? Some stray dog? A secret cat with kittens?

  He watched as she slipped through the side door, closing it behind her. Then he followed, making sure to keep a safe distance. She crossed the runway and went past Emmy’s hangar, seemingly headed to the very back of the property. Caleb trailed along behind her, ducking behind a broken-down plane when, at one point, she turned around. He held his breath as her eyes darted around the field, as if sensing she was being followed. He wondered if he should just show himself now; this was as good a place as any to have their talk, away from prying eyes. But something told him to wait, to see where she was going…and why.

  Seemingly satisfied, she took off again, continuing down the field until she reached a dilapidated old shack at the far end of the runway, the kind that had probably been used to store lawnmowers and other tools when this place was still operational. Caleb watched as Scarlet gave one last tentative look around, then slipped inside, pulling the door shut behind her.

  What did she have in there? Now he was dying to find out. Heart in his throat, he tiptoed over to the shack and placed an ear to the door. He could hear Scarlet’s soft murmuring coming from inside. And some kind of…cooing noises?

  He pulled away, his eyes roving over the shack until he spotted a small crack in the left side. He ran over to it, cupping his hands over his eyes and peering inside.

  And then he saw it. Or make that…them. He gasped.

  “Oh my God,” he whispered. “Those aren’t… They couldn’t be.”

  But of course they were.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Caleb stumbled backward as if he’d been shot, the shock of what he’d just seen more powerful than any lightning strike. Tripping over a rock, he lost his balance and hit the ground with a loud oomph.

  So much for stealth maneuvering.

  “Who’s there?” demanded Scarlet from inside the shack, her voice filled with fear. Her head popped through the doorway, her wide eyes scanning the grounds. Caleb scrambled back to his feet, approaching her sheepishly.

  “Hey, Buttercup,” he said. “Sorry, guess I should have knocked first.”

  She stared at him, her face pure white. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so bizarre. Dragons. Scarlet had baby dragons stashed in the maintenance shed. Dragons she’d evidently been feeding for weeks.

  Where had they come from? Did the others have any clue they were here? No, of course they didn’t. They couldn’t.

  He heard the dragons squawk with annoyance inside the shack. Probably anxious to get on with their dinners. Scarlet gave Caleb another stressed look then poked her head back into the shack. “What did I tell you about being quiet?” she scolded them.

  The dragons fell silent instantly. Scarlet turned back to him. “I don’t suppose asking you to walk away and forget you ever saw anything is an option, is it?” she asked.

  He shook his head slowly. “I think we’re probably beyond that point now.”

  She sighed then opened the door wider to allow him entrance. “Then welcome to the Dragon’s Lair, I guess,” she said reluctantly, gesturing for him to come in.

  Caleb obliged, his whole body shaking as he stepped into the darkened shack. Once his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he examined each dragon closely. One was black as night with gold-flecked scales. The other was a rare pink color with purple-veined wings. Both were still very small—about the size of a couple of puppies.

  He reached a tentative hand out to the pink dragon. She chirped nervously then skittered back behind her brother. The black dragon huffed at Caleb, putting a protective wing around his sister as he puffed out the tiniest cloud of smoke from his little nose, as if to say “Just try it, duffer.”

  Caleb let out a small laugh despite himself. It’d been a long time since he’d been around any baby dragons besides Emmy. He’d almost forgotten how cute they could be when they tried to act all fierce.

  He turned back to Scarlet, who was watching him with a strained expression on her face—as if she was this close to grabbing the two dragons and trying to make a run for it.

  “Well…?” he asked.

  “Please don’t tell the others,” she managed to squeak.

  “That’s all you have to say?” He stared at her for a moment, then back at the dragons, who were now tussling over a small overcooked rib. “Come on, Scarlet. How about a little backstory here? Where on earth did you find them? How long have you had them? Why are you hiding them here, and why don’t you want anyone else to know?”

  She bit her lower lip then sank to her knees, continuing to dole out the food. For a moment, he thought she might not answer him at all. Then she spoke. “They’re Emmy’s children,” she said quietly. “The pink one is Zoe and the black is Zavier. They were living in a cave about ten miles from here. From what I can figure, Emmy must have gone there to lay her eggs after we broke her out of the government lab. That’s why she was MIA for two
months.”

  Caleb drew in a breath. Unbelievable. Yet, at the same time, undeniable. “So you just decided to bring them here?” he asked. “And you’ve been hiding them here ever since?”

  She shrugged, dropping her gaze to the floor. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Suddenly Caleb could feel sharp eyes upon him, and he turned back to the dragons. Zavier had stopped eating and was now peering up at him curiously with a wise, old gaze that belied his young years. There was a heartbeat pause, then Caleb heard it—a voice, whispering across his consciousness. The type of voice he’d believed he’d never hear again.

  Are you my Guardian?

  His eyes widened. He stared at the dragon. Then at Scarlet. And just like that, all the puzzle pieces slid into perfect place.

  “You gave me his blood,” he realized aloud. “Emmy couldn’t do it, but her babies could. The blood from his scale was what broke me out of the Nether.”

  Scarlet nodded slowly, still looking a little frightened. “I’m sorry—I didn’t know what else to do,” she confessed. “They told me it’d take a miracle to wake you. And that made me think of my miracle, when Emmy healed me back at the cave. I didn’t know if it would work, if it was even the same kind of thing. But I had to try.”

  Caleb looked down at her, everything inside of him softening. Pretty much the entire Team Dragon—besides Trinity maybe—had given up on the idea of him ever gaining consciousness. Except for Scarlet. And Scarlet had not only not given up, but she’d made sure it actually happened. Why hadn’t she told him what she’d done for him? God, now he really felt like an ungrateful bastard.

  “Well, I’m very glad you did,” he said softly, reaching down to touch her shoulder. Scarlet winced as his hand brushed against her bare skin, and she quickly scooted forward, out of his reach, with the pretense of gathering up Zoe into her arms.

  “It was no big deal,” she muttered. “I’m sure Trinity would have done the same.”

  The hurt in her voice as she spoke Trinity’s name was sharp and bleak. Caleb closed his eyes for a moment, hating himself all over again.

  “Well, she didn’t,” he reminded her hoarsely. “You did. And for that, I owe you a great debt of thanks.”

  “I don’t need your thanks,” she replied. “I just need you to keep my secret. I can’t have anyone knowing the dragons are here.”

  “What about Emmy?” he asked, glancing around the shack as if the mother dragon could be lurking in the shadows. “Are they a secret from her as well?”

  “Especially her!” Scarlet cried, turning to him, her eyes wide with what could only be described as pure terror. “She can never know I brought them here. If she found out…”

  “I don’t understand,” he protested. This didn’t make any sense. “If they’re her children… Scarlet, why would you want to keep her children from her?”

  Scarlet drew in a breath. “Because the last time she saw her children, she asked me to kill them.” She paused, then added, “And…well, it’s possible she might be under the impression that I already did.”

  “What?” Caleb swallowed hard, not sure what to say. “Why would she want you to do that? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “You’re right,” Scarlet said gloomily. “It doesn’t make any sense at all. The only thing I can figure is that Emmy’s not really right in the head these days, not after what they did to her in the government lab. She was abused, probably impregnated against her will—maybe even without her knowledge. And, well, now she has this crazy idea that these sweet little baby dragons are going to grow up and destroy the world.” She frowned, reaching out to chuck Zoe under her chin. “Which is completely ridiculous, of course. Isn’t it, baby girl?”

  Caleb stared at Scarlet, then at the dragon, a cold chill suddenly spinning down his spine.

  Oh God.

  That actually wasn’t ridiculous at all.

  In fact, it made perfect sense.

  He watched as Zoe leapt from Scarlet’s arms to playfully tackle her brother, who had managed to find another half-eaten rib. Sure, they looked innocent now. But would they stay that way? If Emmy had really been impregnated by the government—and he didn’t see how else it could have happened—could these two dragons be the same genetically engineered hybrids that were destined to set the world on fire once they hit puberty?

  Scarlet wouldn’t know about this, of course. No one would have mentioned the pesky little time-travel details of their mission to her—or of the dragon apocalypse that was forever looming. All she had to go on when it came to dragons was Emmy herself. She had absolutely no idea the possible ramifications of keeping these two creatures alive.

  His heart pounded uncomfortably in his chest. “So, what, then?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady. “You’re just planning to raise these guys on your own?”

  “What choice do I have?” she shot back, the fear in her voice retreating, replaced by anger. “I mean, just look at the poor little things. Abandoned by their mother for no good reason. Just like…” She trailed off, looking from dragon to dragon, her eyes misting. “Anyway, I don’t care what Emmy thinks. Zoe and Zavier are not evil. I know they’re not.”

  The fierceness in her voice made Caleb’s heart squeeze. His mind involuntarily flashed to Fred, his own dragon. Sweet, goofy Fred, whose only crime had been devouring too many ham bones at dinner. Connor had assumed Fred evil too. And he’d mercilessly slaughtered her without bothering to find out if this assumption was true.

  But still… Caleb set his lips together. “No offense, Scarlet,” he said. “But how can you be sure? I mean, if their own mother believes them to be bad…”

  She looked up at him, her eyes beseeching. “Because the cave wasn’t the first place I’d seen them,” she admitted. “I met them before—in the Nether—when I was coming to look for you.” Her face heated in a blush, and Caleb swallowed heavily.

  “They picked me up and flew me to your sky house,” she explained. “They told me they were Emmy’s children, waiting to be born. Without their help, I never would have found you. Which means I never would have been able to break out of that truck to go find Trinity and Connor either. Which means,” she continued, her voice rising, “Trinity would have let Connor shoot Emmy, and she would be dead now.” Her voice broke with frustration. “Emmy owes these baby dragons her very life…whether she wants to admit it or not. And now…so do you,” she added, gesturing to Zavier.

  Caleb forced a nod, his mind whirling with indecision. These dragons could be hybrids. By all rights, they should be hybrids—with history replicating itself in the government lab. And if they were hybrids? Well, Emmy wouldn’t be wrong in wanting them dead.

  But then again, what if they weren’t?

  He considered this for a moment. After all, this wasn’t like the last time. Not exactly, anyway. This time, the Dracken were in the picture. Mara was working side by side with the government scientists. She was a dragon expert. She could have saved some DNA or sperm from the dragons they’d brought back from the future. Sure, those dragons had been mutated and deformed because of the time travel. But they were still purebloods. And if Zoe and Zavier really were the progeny of that particular type of pairing? Well, that would make them purebloods too.

  He knew what he should have been doing. He should have been marching out of the shack right then and reporting everything he’d seen to Trinity and Connor and the rest of Team Dragon. Then, once everyone knew the facts, they could discuss it like rational people and figure out what to do about this little…wrinkle in their plans.

  And yet, his feet stayed glued to the floor. Mostly because he knew already, without even taking a step, exactly what his brother would say. What the rest of them would say. No one was going to want to risk rearing these babies to puberty just to find out for sure—it was too dangerous, they’d argue. There was far too much risk. They’
d worked so hard to try to save the world. They weren’t about to let two scaled, ticking time bombs have the opportunity to go off now.

  But what if they were wrong and Scarlet was right? What if these two dragons were the first purebloods to be naturally born into this new world? What if, with the right care and respect, they’d grow into law-abiding dragons like Emmy, instead of monsters ready to burn down the world? All the gifts they could bring mankind. Unlike Emmy, they still had their soft scales. Their blood could be studied, made into medicine—possibly bring about the cure for cancer.

  He thought of his mother, how dragon’s blood had saved her life. How many more potential lives could be saved by allowing these two dragons to live? It was the very reason he’d agreed to come back in time in the first place. He’d wanted to save the world.

  Could these dragons be the key to doing it?

  Caleb felt movement against his leg and opened his eyes. Zavier had approached him and was pushing his little snout against his knee. Against his better judgment, he found himself dropping to the creature’s level, putting out his hand, an ache rising inside of him as he felt the warm dragon breath tickling his palm. Then he reached out, stroking Zavier behind the ear, in the very same spot Fred had always liked best.

  Zavier looked up at him with happy puppy-dog eyes, and pleasurable noises gurgled from his throat. Caleb’s heart panged with a mixture of sorrow and joy, a new thought whispering across his mind. If this actually worked… If the dragons truly were pure…

  He could have his own dragon again.

  He could have a second chance.

  Once upon a time, he’d failed to save Fred. He’d watched helplessly as his brother struck her down. But this time—this time, it could be different. He could be in control. He could keep Scarlet’s secret, and the two of them could observe the dragons until they hit puberty. He knew what to look for; the Dracken had taught him well. And if they did start to show signs of hybridity, he knew how to take them down.