The Crystal Dragon Series Collection

by Katie Cherry

  Hunter sighs and turns to the Dragon Hunter standing beside him. “Come on, then. Let’s go.”

  <<>>

  Patrick’s long strides propel him down the hall, and there’s a slight bounce in his step. Finally, his plans are proceeding at a decent pace. He pauses by the girl’s room and turns to the guard who’s standing beside the door. “Open it,” he orders.

  The guard bows. “Yes sir,” he quips as he slides the key into the lock, then swings the door open. Patrick steps inside, his cloak billowing magnificently behind him. The door closes behind him. “Crystal?” he addresses the girl sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands folded peacefully in her lap and her head bowed.

  She looks up. “Patrick,” she states, although there’s no hint of recognition on her face.

  “Yes… do you remember me?” he cautiously probes.

  She shrugs. “I feel like I should, but I don’t… I don’t even know how I knew your name.” She sighs and resumes staring at her hands. After a few seconds, she looks up at him. He’s surprised to see her eyes swimming with unshed tears. “Can you help me get my memories back?” she pleads, her voice breaking with sorrow. “I don’t even know who I am. I feel so… lost… disconnected. Like I’m… floating in space… all alone. Hunter told me some things, but I’m still just so confused,” she sobs, a tear finally falling from each eye, splashing on her arm.

  Patrick is surprised to feel a flash of pity course through his body at the sight of the broken girl. He hadn’t even tried to break her, and here she was, begging him for help. He thought that was what he had wanted, but looking at her now… Hunter was right. She was like a child.

  “Um…” He’s not sure what to do. Should he comfort her? Hunter had suggested showing her the life she could have had if she had joined them in the beginning… although it might take even more than that. It might take making her feel welcomed here… as though she had another home with them. “Yes, of course I’ll help you get your memories back…” the words had hardly come out of his mouth before an overjoyed child-like Crystal bounded up to him and ensnared him in a bear hug.

  “Thank you!” she cries, her voice muffled by his cloak. Patrick remains frozen, uncertain of what he should do. After a few seconds, he gingerly puts his hands on her back. She pulls back and smiles at him. “Can I see Hunter now?” she asks. “I miss him.”

  “Certainly,” he says, backing away and clearing his throat tentatively. “I’ll go get him for you right now.” He stares at her happy smile before he turns and exits the room. Well, that was odd. I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to the strong-willed Crystal Dragon being so submissive and open to me. He shrugs. It doesn’t matter, he decides. All that matters is that she’s helping them, not hurting them.

  He had hardly resumed walking down the hallway before the back of his right hand begins to burn. Gasping, he yanks off the glove covering his Eye Insignia. The silvery-blue shape rises from his hand and shifts into a burning orange. It then rearranges to represent the head of the man Patrick most dreaded to see.

  “Dexter,” he breathes.

  The head nods to him politely. “Greetings, Patrick. I have contacted you to inform you that I will be at your castle in approximately two days to observe the progress you have made in the war on Zilferia. I trust you will be ready.” With that, the image reformed into the eye, which then settled back onto Patrick’s skin and cooled into the silvery blue it had started out as.

  He stoops and retrieves the discarded glove, slowly slipping it back onto his hand. Great. Just what I needed. An investigation from Dexter. …Hunter better have Crystal prepped by then.

  <<>>

  The King takes to the air, barely bothering to shut the door behind him. He pushes all the energy he dares into flying, hoping that he can quickly catch up to Hunter. …His Hunter. A tear is ripped from his eye, and it has nothing to do with the wind speeding past. His heart aches as he contemplates just how far off the path his son had wandered. …No. Not his son. Not anymore. Although he had held to the hope that he would return to them someday for those seventeen years, that hope had vanished when Thaddeus informed him that he had kidnapped his daughter and delivered her into the hands of his enemy.

  His son was gone. All that remained was a dangerous boy who was a bane to him and everything he cared about. He was a problem.

  One that needed to be removed.

  <<>>

  Hunter stops outside of his sister’s door, hesitating. The Dragon Hunter with the key chuckles as he slips it into the lock. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled that you’re back. She sure is getting a lot of visits. What do you mean to do with the two from the Village Council?”

  “Nothing, I suppose,” he wearily replies.

  “…Nothing, sir?” the guard repeats, confused.

  “That’s right. Nothing. The Princess is our number one priority.”

  “But… sir…”

  “And Patrick’s decisions are not to be questioned,” he growls, glaring at the man.

  He gulps. “Yes, sir. My apologies, sir. I never meant…”

  Hunter sighs and pushes the man aside, opening the door himself and slipping inside. Crystal looks up at him and beams. “Hunter!” She greets him with a hug.

  “Um, hello there,” he says, patting her on the back. “I wasn’t even gone that long… it’s only been a few minutes.”

  “I know,” she smiles as she pulls away. “But I like it when you come and talk to me. Whenever you’re gone… I feel… like I’m floating. In an ocean… completely lost, completely alone, just… drifting.” Hunter frowns. The image didn’t inspire feelings of delight. “But then you come,” she continues, beaming. “And suddenly I have an island, where I’m safe, and I may not know where I am, but I know that I’m not in the water anymore and that’s enough.”

  “…Right,” Hunter says, pulling out of the hug that follows her statement. “Well let’s see what we can do about that pesky ocean.”

  Crystal’s answering grin seems to light up the room. “You’re the best, Hunter!”

  “…Right… well, where to begin…”

  “Who am I?” she asks as she sits on the bed.

  Hunter breathes a heavy sigh as he sits beside her. “Well… you are a princess.”

  Her eyes light up. “Really?”

  “Really,” he laughs. “And I’m your brother. Our mother and father… don’t live here. But that’s okay because all we need is Patrick.”

  “All we need is Patrick,” she repeats, her eyes wide as she greedily drinks in every word he says.

  “Our parents… are leading the other side of this war we are in.”

  “War?”

  “Yes… they want to protect dragons- they are beasts that terrorize and kill people,” he solemnly informs her.

  “No,” she gasps, not blinking as she stares at him, anxiously waiting for more.

  “Yes. Patrick wants to save everyone from the dragons, but the King and Queen want to stop him. So, they started this war.”

  Crystal hesitates. “But… people die in wars, don’t they?”

  “Yes,” he nods. “That’s why it’s so important we quickly show them that war is bad, and that they are wrong. We need to show them that dragons are evil and hurt people, just like war does.”

  “How?”

  “Uh…” Hunter hesitates. How are they doing that? “We… well…”

  He’s saved from having to reply thanks to Patrick opening the door. “Ah, Hunter. I’m sorry Crystal, but I need your brother’s help for a bit. May I?”

  “Of course,” she says. “Anything for you, Patrick.”

  Hunter’s eyebrows nearly shoot into his hairline. That is one thing he NEVER thought he would hear her say- perhaps sarcastically, but never with such sincerity.

  “I’ll be back later,” he promises as he leaves.

  “I’ll be here,” she happily replies, waving as he steps out the door.

  Pa
trick turns to Hunter. “Are you sure you didn’t… do anything other than repress her memories?”

  “Well, I can’t be sure,” he admits. “It’s the first time I’ve done anything like that… but she sure is acting oddly.”

  “That she is… it’s like the fire in her completely went out,” Patrick contemplates as they walk away. He pauses, then shakes his head. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “What is it?” Hunter asks curiously.

  Patrick sighs. “The King is coming toward us. He’s alone, for now, but I want you to go subdue him.”

  “Me? But… there are plenty of men who could take him. Scourge, for example…”

  “I don’t want your friend to go out there,” he sighs. “I want to show Alexander, once and for all, that you are NOT his puppet. You know where you belong, and you are willing to fight to stay there.”

  Hunter nods. “I’ll call Vincent.”

  <<>>

  As the King flies closer to his enemy’s hideout, he invokes his other Gift and turns invisible. Soon after he does, dragons begin appearing out of the forest as they fly through the barrier surrounding the Dragon Hunter’s hideout. They fly towards a section of the King’s Village that had not yet been raided by the group.

  By the time they reach the Village, the dragons are flying high in the sky, so many that they block out the sun. One of them, a black one, is leading them. A person is riding it. The dragon flies unevenly, suddenly swinging to the right or the left once in a while before continuing on as it had before. The group swoops down above a village, fire flying from their mouths, setting buildings on fire.

  One of the dragons suddenly gets hit by lightning. Everything is confusing after that, people flying around amid fire, water, and lightning. Dragons begin falling from the sky. People running, screaming… dragons roaring, diving, and tearing with their claws. Blood; blood everywhere. Huge groups of people trying to flee; others arriving to help. A voice booms amid the chaos, but it barely cuts through the noise. The dragons turn to escape and only one remains behind- the one that led them- the one with a person on its back. It spins in a circle, eyes searching the skies.

  The King flies at it, still invisible, and uses his Gift of Strength to punch the dragon towards the ground. It falls a ways down, but pulls up at the last second, growling. The person on its back shouts and the King is revealed. He looks up, panic written on his face as the dragon’s head comes closer.

  “My King!” The shout comes from one of his soldiers just before he dives in front of him, shielding him with his body. He screams as one of the dragon’s teeth pierce his body. “Go, my King… we are here to save you,” he whispers before he dies.

  The dragon, dismayed that he didn’t get his intended target, drops the body of the other man. It falls silently to the ground. The Dragon and its rider turn to the King. “Father,” the boy spits in disdain.

  The King’s eyes glow with anger. “You are no son of mine,” he growls.

  “Oh?” Hunter sneers. “Are you disappointed in me? Not to worry. I’m just as disappointed in you.”

  Alexander pauses. “…What? What do you mean?”

  Hunter’s grin grows. “You mean you don’t know? I’m disappointed that my ‘father’ has no backbone. No determination to fight for what he believes in. No honor, no valor, no wisdom. Who are you, really? Take away your crown, your Kingdom, your Queen, and what are you?” He pauses. “You. Are. Nothing.” With that, he raises his arm, summoning a bolt of lightning. He smiles at Alexander. “And soon, you will be no more.”

  Alexander dodges the lightning strike, then redirects it into the dragon’s wing. As the beast roars in pain, the King again disappears- although not before the dragon whacks his left arm with its thick tail. Alexander then turns and flies away from the fight, tears in his eyes as he hears Hunter’s victorious laughter. Once he’s away from the burning section of his Village, he spots a group of refugees below him. He lands and is instantly surrounded by the guards Thaddeus had sent after him.

  “My King?” One of them addresses him as he bows a little.

  “Soldier. Lead this group of Villagers to my castle. Afterward, send your men around to the others in the outskirts of the main Village. Tell them… tell them to evacuate.”

  “But… sir, where will they go?”

  “We will find room in the main Village- in my own castle if necessary. …It’s time to fortify ourselves for this war… and begin to fight back,” he declares, his eyes burning with rage.

  “…Yes, my King,” the soldier acknowledges, bowing once more before heading to the front of the group of people rescued from the outer Village.

  “War has come to the people,” the King whispers sadly.

  <<>>

  Hunter grins as he watches the King take off after landing for a little while. He was victorious- but of course he was. How could he fail? He was the Prince of the Dragon Hunters. He was a god to the dragons. Soon the other races on Zilferia would willingly follow them- especially once Crystal was secured into their ranks. No one would stand against them then.

  He guides Vincent to join the other dragons back at their hideout so he can return and continue talking to Crystal. It really shouldn’t take long to get her on their side for good, at the rate she’s absorbing his words.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  I Will Save Her

  Angela stops the car at the base of the hill where Zarafa’s place is and turns to Nathan. “Are you sure I can’t come with? I could hide… I could go around back where they can’t see me or anything…” she stops and sighs at his look. “I know, I know, it’s not worth getting caught. I just don’t want you to go in there alone…”

  He smiles at her in a way that makes her heart flutter. “I know. Don’t worry, I’ll be quick and careful.”

  “You better,” she sighs, putting the car in park and turning her body towards him. “I’ll be ready for a quick get-away,” she promises earnestly. “I’ll help in any way I can.”

  “I know,” Nathan laughs, reaching forward and cupping her soft face in his hand. He leans forward until their noses touch.

  “I love you,” Angela whispers, her heart aching.

  Nathan’s grin stretches so wide it hurts. “I love you too,” he says before sliding his nose down the side of hers and gently kissing her. Heat seems to seep from his lips into her heart, lighting a fire she knows will never die. He was so achingly perfect, and Angela still was in shock that she was here, kissing the boy of her dreams.

  Far too soon, she feels him slowly pull back. Her eyes flutter back open and he takes a deep breath. “Here goes nothing,” he mutters before opening the car door and stepping out into the wind.

  Angela watches him as he hikes up the hill away from her as her smile slowly fades. Her boyfriend, her new, gorgeous, perfect boyfriend, was heading into danger.

  And she could do nothing to help him.

  <<>>

  Bryce opens the cupboard door and peers out. “Is he here yet?” he whispers.

  “No,” Zarafa sighs. “Not yet. Now get in there and hold still! I’m going to go around the house. Be prepared for when the boy comes in.” Bryce strains his ears and hears her shut the door behind her. The house is eerily silent and Bryce sighs in resignation, settling back into the cupboard. Hopefully that boy won’t take too…

  “Ahh!” he cries as the door is suddenly ripped open.

  “Shh,” Nathan hisses. “Zarafa is outside. We can hurry and make our escape now.”

  “…Nathan?” he gasps, his hand still on his heart. “Dragonfire, you’re quiet!”

  He raises an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, I thought you said you were in trouble. My bad for being quiet!” He sighs. “Now come on. At this point, Zarafa should be in the back. We should head out the front- and quickly!”

  He then leads the way out of the kitchen. Bryce watches him, wide-eyed. Never. Never before had he been caught unaware- by anyone. Who
was this boy, exactly?

  He follows Nathan out the front door, silently shutting it behind them. Nathan waves for him to follow, and he does, although his mind is still spinning, trying to figure him out. Finally, he shrugs. He must have just been off his game for a moment. And really, who could blame him? He was trapped in a vampire’s kitchen! Really, it was impressive he could deal with the vampire at all, let alone make himself vulnerable to it.

  Once they were away from the house, he spots a car parked below them. “Is that your getaway car?” he asks Nathan.

  He nods and turns. “But you aren’t coming.”

  “…What?” Bryce is completely astounded. He ‘saved’ him, but won’t allow him to use his getaway car?

  Nathan puts his hands on his hips. “I still don’t trust you. I helped you get out, and I’m sure you can do the rest yourself. I’ll call you later if I decide to give you a chance,” he adds as he turns and walks away, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head.

  Bryce just stands there in the wind and watches him, more mystified than he had ever been before. What am I going to do with this boy?

  <<>>

  Nathan opens the door when he reaches the car, sliding in with a sigh. Angela quickly inspects him. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? What happened?”

  “Nothing,” he murmurs. “That was so weird… I just walked in, opened the door Bryce was hiding behind, led him out, then left him. He barely said anything and I hardly even saw Zarafa.”

  Angela breathes out a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good! I was worried you got hurt or something!”

  “No, I’m fine,” he assures her with a small smile. “Just… thinking is all.” He takes a deep breath. “But we can always do that somewhere else. Let’s get out of here.”

  “Amen to that,” Angela chuckles, pulling away from the hill.

  <<>>

  Bryce watches the car drive away, still standing stock-still partway down the hill. Once the car moves out of sight, he turns and trudges back into the house. He collapses heavily on one of Zarafa’s couches and stares at the wall on the other side of the room.