by Mari Mancusi
Pushing through a door, they discovered a small spiral staircase leading down into the darkness. As they stared at it, the noise came again. Whatever it was, it was clearly coming from this pit. Taking a deep breath, Connor took the steps, winding down deeper and deeper into the abyss. Where did it lead? And was that a faint light he caught far, far below?
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the stairs ended, and he found himself on solid rock. He frowned, clicking on his flashlight again. The room burst to life, and he gasped at what he saw.
It was an apartment, carved into stone. A simple apartment: a few chairs, a crude table, a couple of hammocks serving as beds. But it wasn’t the furnishings themselves that took his breath away—rather their familiarity.
“The model home,” he whispered.
It was a photo straight from his history texts. A humble, underground dwelling that had been advertised as mankind’s salvation—a refuge from the Scorch. The powers that be had sold thousands of these apartments back in the day—before the more extensive cities were constructed years later. Those who purchased these studios were promised shelter and safety while the rest of the world lived in terror above.
But what was it doing here, now? He shot a worried look over at Caleb and Mara. Their eyes told him they were thinking the same thing he was.
“Oh my God,” Mara breathed. “He did it. He really did it.”
“Who?” Connor found himself asking. But deep inside, he realized he already knew, of course. There could be only one—the Dracken leader, Darius himself.
“He must have found a way out of prison,” Mara whispered. “He must have been here this whole time, constructing this place to wait out the storm.” She rose to her feet. “Come on,” she added. “We have to know how far he’s taken it.”
Connor didn’t know exactly what she meant by this, but he followed her anyway, out the apartment front door into a smooth hallway lined with identical doors every few yards. More apartments, he realized with growing dread. Darius and his followers must have been quite busy indeed.
Ahead of him, Mara stopped short, her breath now hissing from her throat. They’d reached a large metal door cut into the rock. Unlike the other doors, which were crude and made of wood, this door was constructed out of some kind of shiny, solid metal that looked to be titanium.
Mara glanced back at them, her eyes wide with fear. “This can’t be,” she whispered. “It just can’t.”
“What?” Connor demanded, his heart thumping hard in his chest. “What is it?”
“We need to get out of here. Now. Get back to Emberlyn and make sure she’s okay.”
“No,” Caleb interjected. “We can’t. Not until we have the Nether dust.”
“Fleck the Nether dust,” Mara cried. “Don’t you see? It doesn’t matter now! None of it matters!”
Connor opened his mouth to demand to know what she was talking about. But then, the noise came again. Louder. Closer. Whatever it was, he realized in terror, it was coming from behind this massive door.
Pushing past Mara, he grabbed the door’s handle. He yanked it open.
And he saw for himself.
• • •
Trinity dove back into the former automotive garage, her heart slamming against her ribs. Scarlet and Emmy watched her, looking confused and scared.
“Get on Emmy’s back!” Trinity instructed. “Someone’s coming. We need to get out of here. Now!”
To her credit, Scarlet didn’t argue, scrambling up Emmy’s wing and swinging her leg over her back. Trinity followed suit, joining her a moment later.
“Go, Ems!” she cried. “Fly like the wind!”
“What about the boys?” Scarlet broke in. “We can’t just leave them here.”
“We’ll have to come back for them. Or they can take the car. I’ll try to send a message.” Trin closed her eyes, concentrating.
We’ve got trouble, Connor. We’re going to have to—
But her send was cut short as something sickly sweet enveloped her senses. She frowned, opening her eyes and turning to Scarlet, wanting to ask if she smelled it too. But the words stuck in her throat, and she found she could only look at Scarlet, who was also now struggling to breathe. Trinity reached out, trying to grab on to her. But her vision swam.
And blackness consumed her.
• • •
Connor slammed the door shut, his breath coming in short gasps. “Dragons,” he whispered. “Holy hell, where did those dragons come from?”
Mara shook her head, her expression grave. “Darius must have discovered what I’d done at the lab and decided to hedge his bets. And I’m guessing these aren’t purebloods either.”
Connor paced the corridor, raking a hand through his hair, his steps eating up the distance between the walls as his mind flashed back to what he’d seen in the next room. Dragons. Twenty or more. All at least the size of Emmy—possibly larger. He’d heard hybrids could grow to twice the size of pureblood dragons, which meant they might not have even been full grown.
“They were mutated,” he remarked. “At least the ones I could see. Extra legs, eyes where there shouldn’t be eyes…” He looked up. “Just like the dragons you brought back from the future that were destroyed in the fire.”
“Maybe he managed to rescue a few of them,” Mara concluded. “Or at least some of their DNA? But how would he breed them? Sure, he could clone them, but he’d still need a host. Like I needed Emmy. We’d tried to use ceramic eggs under an incubator and even implant embryos into other egg-laying species like ostriches. But it never worked.”
“What if he didn’t make them at all?” Connor interjected. “I mean, what if he brought back more dragons from the future than we ever knew about? What if they’ve been down here this whole time, deep under the mall, growing and waiting for the moment when Darius planned to unleash them on the world?”
“Flecking hell,” Caleb swore under his breath. “If they get free now—if they’re able to breed with Emmy’s true children…” He trailed off; he didn’t need to finish anyway. Connor knew all too well what could happen—what would happen if they didn’t figure out a way to stop this and fast.
“Come on,” he said. “We need to get Emmy. We’ll have her set fire to this place. Raze it to the ground and the hybrids with it. That’s the only way we can—”
He broke off as a voice slammed into his consciousness. Trinity’s voice.
We’ve got trouble, Connor. We’re going to have to—
It stopped midsentence, as if cut by a knife.
Trinity! he tried to send back. But there was no answer. He turned to his brother and Mara, who were looking at him questioningly. “Something’s wrong,” he told them. “We have to get back to the surface. Now!”
He bolted down the hall, not waiting for an answer, assuming they’d follow. Sure enough, he could hear them step in behind him as they ran through the apartment, up the stairs, down the corridor. But then, just as they were closing in on the entrance, Connor’s ears caught footsteps echoing on the smooth floors, headed their way.
“Someone’s coming,” he whispered.
And then he heard the voice. He glanced over at his brother.
“Darius,” Caleb whispered. “It’s him.”
• • •
Trinity? Scarlet?
Emmy twisted her long neck to look up onto her back, where the girls had suddenly gone silent. Worry churned in her stomach.
Should I go? she asked. Should I fly?
No answer. She snuffed her nose at them only to have them slip off her back and onto the garage floor with a sickening thud. She stifled a whine of alarm. What was wrong with them? Why were they so still? And what was that smell? She paused, sniffing.
She turned to the building’s exit, not sure what to do. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. Trinity had been s
cared. She’d wanted them to leave. Fly like the wind, she’d said. The dragon glanced down at the unconscious girls; she could grab them and place them back on her back, but they’d likely just fall off again. Maybe she could take them in her arms instead, cradling them against her chest as she flew. She tried this for a moment, but they were so soft, it was hard to get a good grip on them, and she didn’t want them to slip out while in the air.
She moaned again, not sure what to do. The smell was getting more intense, and it was getting harder to breathe. Her wings were feeling heavy—so very heavy—and she was no longer sure she could even get airborne if she tried, with or without the girls. What was going on here? It was all she could do not to curl up into a ball and go to sleep.
But you can’t, she scolded herself. They need you.
She looked around, desperation rising within her. If she couldn’t fly them away, she had to hide them somehow—before whoever was doing this came. But where?
Finally, her eyes locked onto a large rusted bin at the far end of the room. The kind they used back at the airfield to store trash in. Making her decision, Emmy grabbed Trinity in her mouth as gently as she could, then dropped her into the bin. Then she returned and did the same with Scarlet—a little slower this time, her legs feeling like lead, but somehow she managed to get her inside. Then she snuffed the other trash with her nose, burying the girls and closing the lid. They would be safe there. As safe as possible, anyway.
She turned, trying to breathe, trying desperately to clear her head. Now what? Could she try to hide herself? But there was nothing big enough to conceal her entirely. She could try to leave, but she didn’t want to stray from the girls, in case they needed her help.
But oh, that smell. That noxious smell—sweet yet at the same time rotten to the core.
You need to run, she told herself. You need to fly.
Instead, she could only sink to the ground, her legs collapsing out from under her as her head dropped and her vision spun. A moment later, men stormed in wearing strange gray masks over their faces, shouting and throwing a net over her. She wanted to laugh at that; it was so unnecessary. She couldn’t have moved if she’d tried. She could vaguely feel them dragging her onto some kind of flat truck bed, hauling her away. It was all she could do not to glance back, to make sure Trinity and Scarlet were still hidden. But she forced herself to stare straight ahead, not wanting to give their location away.
And a moment later, she too succumbed to the blackness.
• • •
Darius. The voice was definitely Darius’s. And from the sound of it, he was coming this way.
Caleb felt his pulse kick up as nausea rolled through his stomach. The man who had once been his hero, his master, his savior—now nothing more than a devil Caleb wanted to exorcise forever. He imagined, for a moment, rushing him, tackling him to the ground, beating him senseless in retribution for all Darius had let loose on the world. But he knew in his heart that would be a suicide mission. And while he didn’t care so much about saving his own hide, he had Scarlet to think of now.
“What are we going to do?” he hissed. “He’s blocking the way to the exit.”
His brother glanced behind him. Caleb knew what he was thinking. There might be another way out, but would they be able to reach it without running into anyone else? Even if they could, the time it would take to get there would mean leaving the girls and Emmy in more danger.
His brother reached for his gun. But Caleb stopped him. “No,” he hissed. “He’s probably not alone. If the others hear a gunshot, they’ll come running. We need to take care of this quietly.”
“Untie me.”
The two boys whirled around. Mara held out her hands, her expression grave.
“I’ll take care of him. Just untie me and wait for your chance.”
Caleb glanced at his brother. Connor shrugged, then moved to undo the Dracken’s bonds. Caleb bit his lower lip; he didn’t like this—didn’t trust Mara to do the right thing. She could easily sell them out to save her own hide and get back on the winning team. What did she owe them, anyway?
But they had no other real alternative, and they both knew it. So they watched and waited, holding their breath, as Mara walked out to face the Dracken Master. Connor clutched his gun with white-knuckled fingers. His eyes focused, his ears cocked and listening.
“Darius!” they heard Mara exclaim a few minutes later. “I can’t believe you’re actually here!”
There was a pause, then, “Mara,” Darius replied, spitting out the name as if expelling poison. “How…lovely to see you.”
“What are you doing here? I thought you were in jail.”
“I was,” Darius replied, evidently choosing not to elaborate further. Caleb wondered if he knew that his former partner had been the one to send him there.
To her credit, Mara pressed on. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to find you here. My lab was attacked, and my dragons escaped. I came here to find some Nether dust to help gather them up and bring them home. I never expected to find all of this.” She waved a hand in the air.
“Yes, well, we’ve been busy. It sounds as if you have been as well.”
She nodded. “It’s been difficult, going at it on my own. And you should see the primitive technology I’ve been forced to work with. But I knew I had to press on, to keep our mission alive no matter what.” She beamed at him. “But now, I’m home. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be home.”
Darius gave her a long, slow smile. “And we, of course, are happy to have you back. Especially given the fact you brought such a lovely gift.”
“Excuse me?” This time Mara’s voice did falter a little. “Gift?”
Caleb shot Connor a worried glance. Connor shook his head.
“I confess,” Darius replied slyly. “I’ve been a very naughty boy. Peeking at my Christmas present early. So sweet of you to bring me exactly what I wanted.”
“I’m sorry, Darius. I don’t know what you mean. I didn’t—”
“Come, Mara, don’t play coy,” he said, his voice tightening. “We found your little ride, stashed in the automotive shop, nice and tidy. All that was missing was a bright red bow.”
Oh God. Caleb exchanged a horrified look with his twin. Darius had Emmy? Did that mean he had Trinity and Scarlet too?
“Look, Darius…” Mara was trying.
“You thought you were so clever, didn’t you?” Darius sneered. “Thinking I was locked up, thinking I couldn’t escape some pathetic twenty-first-century prison. Please. I walked out the front door the first month, after using my psychic powers on those ridiculous, weak-minded guards.” He shook his head. “Imagine my surprise, though, when I went to find you, only to learn that you had been the one to betray me. The one to have me locked up in the first place.” Caleb thought he heard a hint of hurt in the Dracken’s voice.
Mara burst out a protest, but he raised a hand to wave her off. “Don’t even think of denying it,” he told her. “I know what you’ve been up to. And I know you bred purebloods instead of the hybrids I asked for. You’ve done everything in your power to tear down what we were supposed to be building. And yet”—he smiled widely—“it wasn’t enough, was it? The apocalypse is still starting, despite your best efforts. Your dragons are on the rampage, and the earth will burn just as we planned.”
“Please, Darius,” Mara tried, her voice now more than slightly hysterical. “You don’t understand. I only did what I had to, to survive. I never wanted any of it! I only wanted you! And…and…I’ll prove it too! I’ll show you where the rest of them are! Trinity and her friends. They’re here, you know. They’re here and I can—”
A shot rang out before she could finish, followed by a sickening thud. Then laughter—Darius’s laughter.
“Stupid bitch,” Caleb heard the Dracken leader mutter. “What would I want with them? I have their
dragon. That’s all I need.” He paused for a moment and then, “Come up here and clean up this mess,” he barked, presumably into a phone.
Caleb waited, heart in his throat. If the cleanup crew came up the back way, he and Connor would be trapped. He glanced at his brother. But there was nothing they could do.
Then, to their relief, they heard footsteps fading in the distance—Darius heading in the opposite direction. Caleb let out a breath of relief.
“Come on,” Connor urged. “We need to get to the garage. Now!”
Caleb didn’t need a second invitation. They turned the corner, passing Mara’s lifeless body swimming in a pool of her own blood. Caleb shook his head. He almost felt bad for her, even if she had tried to sell them out to save her skin. She had been a victim, just as he had. But in the end, she’d made good: sacrificing her life for the cause, whether she meant to or not.
Now all they could do was make sure that sacrifice had not been in vain.
Chapter Forty-Two
Connor followed his brother up the rope and out of the mall, blinking to adjust his eyes to the sudden, bright sunshine. He looked around, trying to pinpoint any movement. Any guards that might be hanging out nearby. Darius had said he didn’t care to go after them, but that didn’t mean a random guard wouldn’t take potshots if he had the chance.
They skirted the mall, keeping their backs against the outer wall to hide in the shadows. When they neared the garage, Caleb grabbed his brother and yanked him down behind a pile of rusted shopping carts.
“Look,” he hissed, pointing across the parking lot.
Connor’s heart sunk as he followed his brother’s finger to the group of men securing an unconscious Emmy onto a flatbed truck. “Damn it,” he swore.
“What are we going to do?” Caleb asked.
“There’s nothing we can do now,” Connor replied. “There’s got to be at least twenty of them, and they’re all armed. We’d never be able to take them on.” He frowned, his thoughts racing. “We just need to see where they’re taking her. She’s too big to fit through the front door of the mall, which means there’s got to be a bulkhead or something nearby to get her underground with the other dragons.”