Valley of the Dragons (Rule 9 Academy, #3)

by Rain, Elizabeth

  He laughed, the sound harsh and grating. “That’s how we came by the name. Hunters. I thought you might appreciate the irony. Or perhaps not?”

  Franz met his stare dead on. “Maybe you should have paid better attention in history. There is nothing noble about killing men, women, and children to settle a centuries’ old score. The vendetta of a bunch of cowards that couldn’t handle the truth, so they made it up to suit their own agenda.”

  Solomon’s eyes narrowed and he stared hard at Franz for a moment. Then they lightened, and his strange humor returned. He turned to his men.

  “Kill them all after I’m gone. You know I’m not fond of the sight of blood. It makes me ill. There’s a clean-up crew coming behind you to help with disposal. By the time the authorities get wind that something out of the ordinary happened up here, we will have wiped everything clean and set it up to look like they just pulled up roots and left.” Without another look in our direction, he did an about face and moved swiftly along the path. The whir of a distant engine reached my ears and we all watched as a helicopter suddenly cleared the trees, pulling up to land in the middle of the meadow amid a swirl of flattening grass and waving Indian paintbrush.

  Too soon it was lifting off and winging back the way it had come. I was sure I was going to be ill as twenty or more pairs of eyes turned back in our direction, guns lifting. I was sure that none of them held tranquilizers this time. My fingers tightened painfully on Nick’s.

  I expected them to open fire on us all. Instead, we heard just one pop. A boy I’d attended multiple classes with this summer stiffened next to me, a hissing sigh leaving his lips as his eyes clouded and he fell at my feet—just gone.

  Another report and a shuffle of movement as another fell in back of me and I realized the truth. They were picking us off one at a time. Enjoying the kill, relishing the rising fear. And suddenly, refusing my dragon seemed a petty thing when none of it mattered anyhow. I still had no idea what I was doing, or what difference it might make, but I didn’t care. With a snarl, I pulled hard within me, past sinew and bone and muscle. I called my dragon up from the deepest recesses of my mind. I set her free.

  The ripple of pain made my eyes cross, the soft gasp leaving my lips before I could prevent it. My head tipped back and the thread of agony moving through me deepened into a moan.

  And then it was on me, the crackle of shifting bones and reforming tissues and scales racing over and through every inch of my body. I opened my mouth and screamed.

  In the distance, I thought I heard Franz shout. “Sadie, no!” but then it was too late. I sensed, rather than heard, the shifting in the hunters as they beaded down on me and prepared to take me down, recognizing the danger I posed.

  My eyes were just beginning to re-shift into focus when Jayne stepped in front of me and several Hunters opened fire. Three of the shots struck her center mass, and my reptilian eyes glittered as her body danced under the onslaught. Two of them missed her entirely. One shot flew wide, grazing my back haunch and making my scaled hide dance sideways in pain as my body armor partially deflected it. The other shot hit someone behind me and I heard a gurgling scream cut short.

  I watched Jayne’s eyes widen in realization as her body slid sideways and crumpled to the ground. The shock of what she’d done caused the Hunter’s to hesitate. All eyes rose to watch me once more when she stopped moving. Slowly, their guns started to rise again. But my eyes had never left Jayne. I stared at her in stupid surprise. She’d jumped in front of a firing squad for me. Her sacrifice held me immobile with shock. And then she started to glow. My dragon hissed, shaking her head and backing away as Jayne’s skin seemed to light up and glow with an impossible light that magnified from inside her. Realization hit me. Around me, those that could were changing as well. The drugs that had rendered them incapable of changing had incapacitated many. But there were several others who managed.

  I watched the glow magnify until our darkening surroundings were lit up. All eyes had left my dragon and were focused on Jayne’s body. There was no way she could have survived the hits. She was dead. So why was she still moving? And just like that, I knew.

  On instinct, I unfurled my newly birthed, dampened wings, the span revealing itself in a delicious crackle of unpracticed muscles that needed to stretch.

  My mind made the connection even as the glow reached critical mass and time paused in that infinitesimal gap between present and future. I opened my jaws wide and roared; the sound echoing through the valley. But in my mind a whisper, some instinct to protect surfaced. I turned away from her, spread my wings and stretched them wide.

  The explosion was white hot in a second, the blanket of blue fire racing over my resistant scales in a bubbly heat that made me arch with pain. The percussion that followed was deafening and despite my new size and weight I felt myself lifted and tossed like a feather through the air. I landed hard enough that the stars I saw were real, every single one. I might have blacked out. Because when I came to, I was not where I remembered.

  The squirming of several bodies and muffled curses made me realize I was pinning Nick and Thomas to the ground. Beneath him yet was Sirris. They all screamed at me to get off them. Untangling wings and feet, I folded my wings in close to my back and looked around. We were no longer standing in the middle of the yard. We were in a football stadium sized crater. The cabins behind us were just—gone. So were the Hunters and their weapons. Scorched earth stretched as far as I could see in every direction; a dull powdery blue-gray.

  All that was left were small piles of what looked like smoldering ash. The incredible heat of the fire had incinerated them all. Looking around me, I watched as several of my fellow dragons changed back into their human forms. I pulled back my own claws and felt the dull lick of pain as my body reformed into its human counterpart. A whisper of fabric sliding over my head made me glance at Nick with gratitude, his long tunic like shirt just gracing the tops of my thighs. I refused to think of the brief show everyone had just witnessed of my naked body. It wasn’t important. My mind tried to process the facts. If the hunters were all dead, “How are we still alive?”

  Sirris rasped, “It was you, Sadie. You and the rest of the dragons. You protected us from the fire.” her voice was rough from the clouds of smoke that still whirled about us, burning our lungs.

  I stared at a small pile of ash, no bigger than a medium-sized collie, still burning where Jayne had stood and taken bullets meant for me. All that was left of her. In disbelief I remembered they had killed her and then she’d somehow become a bomb.

  And when she exploded...

  I was still trying to process the whole mess when a keening cry sounded. Todd staggered away from us and towards the still smoldering remains, his face ravaged with grief. I gulped in a mouthful of fresh air, sucking it deep, and stepped forward to stop him. His brother beat me to it.

  “She’s gone, Todd. I’m sorry.” Thomas lay his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

  Todd shrugged him off angrily, stance rigid and unforgiving.

  There was no stopping his progress. He moved to within a matter of feet and took a knee, face long with sorrow and a spot of confusion to go with.

  “What was she? She wasn’t human for sure, not wholly at least.” He murmured. He reached a hand forward as if to sift through the ashes in some macabre attempt to resurrect what remained. He stopped with his hand halfway there and pulled it back, flexing it and forming a shaking fist.

  “A phoenix,” Fern murmured thoughtfully, stepping forward. Kit sat on her shoulder, fading in and out of view. Each glimpse showed one angry, filthy Weis busily cleaning her hide and fur much like any cat would. The strokes of that long tongue were rough and agitated. Fern continued to stare in concern at the pile of ashes. A light breeze rifled through them and Fern frowned.

  “I didn’t know they existed. I thought that was a myth.” I added. Yards off, I watched Franz Hobert approach.

  “You didn’t believe in vampires once either.�
�� Sirris reminded me ruefully, and I shrugged. She had a point.

  Franz stopped in front of us, looking like he’d been through a windstorm. His neat beard was a powdery grey, covering his swarthy complexion. We resembled war refugees with our soot covered skins and red-rimmed eyes, blinking rapidly against the sting of smoke and falling debris.

  Franz stared at the piles of ashes, eyes moving along the line of them where the hunters had stood and were now just gone. His eyes paused on Jayne’s ashes. Watching a puff of the powdery silt shift and roll down the small mound.

  I blinked to clear my vision, swiping at the greasy film that covered everything and burned when it got in my eyes.

  “You saved us Sadie; your Dragon’s quick thinking protected us all.”

  He was wrong, though. I hadn’t been thinking at all. But my dragon had.

  He went on. “It’s long been a myth that dragons breathed fire. Ludicrous bit of fluff, that is. But they do have a high resistance to it, at least for a brief time. You and the other dragons’ wings were perfect shields.” He continued to stare at the ashy remains of the Hunters. “It would appear they did not fare so well.”

  I stared at him and nodded, running my fingers along my arms and shoulders and wincing. The worst was on my back. I couldn’t reach them, but I could feel blisters popping and oozing as I moved. I had one hell of a sunburn. “Well, I’m not sure how fire resistant any of us were. But we are still here to discuss it, so that’s something for sure.” I paused and added in a shocked whisper. “They’re moving.”

  Franz blinked. “What? What’s moving?”

  My eyes never left the shuddering pile of Jayne’s ashes. They looked like they were now under the influence of a mini-earthquake. Sirris gasped, eyes widening as she took a hasty step back. A shout of alarm and the rest of us followed suit. Only Fern remained where she was. Kit was no longer cleaning herself. She was staring at the mound of shifting ash, eyes round and growing bigger, her teeth pulled back over healthy gums, revealing a perfect row of pearly white incisors. And Todd, he remained where he was too. I opened my mouth to call him back. Was this going to be exploding girlfriend; round two?

  The quivering mass grew and our jaws dropped when it reached the size of a large dog, new pink skin shivering into view, shedding its ashy grey blanket as it formed into the well put together body of a naked young girl that looked an awful lot like Jayne.

  Todd, shaking off his shock, removed his shirt and rushed forward to drape it around her shoulders.

  But she seemed unconcerned as her eyes slowly opened. Blood red at first, they faded rapidly to a brilliant blue as she stared at our small gathering in terror, her mouth opening to emit a keening wail of fear as she scrambled backwards away from us, her backside hitting the edge of the fire pit and stopping.

  “What the hell...” I whispered.

  Fern nodded, “Phoenix, remember? I told you. When they die they burn and then come back brand new from the ashes. Pay attention, Cross,” she added for good measure.

  Jayne continued to look around, noticing the shirt draped over her shoulders for the first time and staring at it in confusion before she grabbed the ends and pulled it closer, sniffing at the edges. She continued to stare at us all like she’d seen none of us at all.

  Todd took a step forward and she growled, her eyes instantly reddening in alarm. He froze.

  “Uh, Todd. Can we not alarm she who explodes please?” Thomas hissed from the corner of his mouth before Todd could go closer.

  Fern sighed, reaching up to run a finger under Kit’s fuzzy jaw. Kit leaned into the caress. “That’s just it. You know, when they die, they are born again and rise from the ashes. They lose all their memories. She doesn’t know any of you—of us.”

  He slashed a frantic glance in Fern’s direction since she seemed to be the resident authority on Phoenix. But it was Franz who spoke up.

  “No, it will take her a while to remember. She’s like a small child. A dangerous one, so no sudden movements.”

  Todd whispered. “But she will remember, right? It will just take time?”

  Franz didn’t answer.

  Fern’s attention was on Jayne and we realized her fingers were moving and a slight whisper was falling over her lips. It sounded like tiny bells and waterfalls; the sound incredibly soothing. She sent fine tendrils of weaving blue fire, looking like the fine blue cotton candy swirls of spun wonder in a spinning machine, in Jayne’s direction, they faded into a powdery smoke. “It’s okay little one. We won’t hurt you. You are safe with us. Let us help you...

  Jayne’s terrified eyes lit on Fern and her slight movements. She opened her mouth as if to speak when we were all interrupted by a sharp voice behind us.

  “Hey, what happened to everyone? Where did all the hunters go? Why do you all look like you’ve been through a war zone? What’s with all the ashes?” Niel’s voice was a shout in the aftermath's silence, causing everyone to jump. Most of us were still reeling and confused.

  It was too much for Jayne. With a howl of fear, not unlike that of a wounded animal, she took off. The long tails of Todd’s shirt flapped over the back of her thighs as she sprinted past us, moving incredibly fast towards the woods and away from what scared her. Which was everything.

  Niel, looking bruised and sporting several nasty looking abrasions, spoke up in confusion. “Who the hell was that?”

  All attention shifted as we glared at him. I would remember later how happy I was to see him alive.

  He blinked and backed up; hands raised. “Hey, what? Did I say something wrong?”

  Todd took a step, and then two, in Jayne’s direction as if to follow.

  Fern stopped him. “You can’t go after her Todd. She needs time to process everything and trust me, she will be fine. Phoenix’ are rare and powerful. But they are deadly dangerous as well. She’s not gone, she’s just licking her wounds and trying to process everything. We need to give her what she needs.

  “And she’s not the only one that requires tending, Todd. Have you looked at yourself?” I added, nodding at his own lengthy list of wounds and damage. He looked like he’d fallen off a motorcycle traveling 70 mph down a highway. He was covered in blood and still dragging his wounded leg behind him as he moved, the heavy carpet of ash bathing his entire body had somehow made it worse if that were possible. Looking at Todd, I wondered if that was how we all looked. I felt a hard hand on my shoulder and I looked up into Nick’s gray face, but his eyes were warm on mine and I shifted closer, pulling the edges of his shirt around me and taking a slight whiff without being too obvious about it.

  “It’s just good to be alive, isn’t it?” Nick whispered, moving his arm along my neck. The movement abraded the tender red skin there, but I held back the moan of pain as he pulled me under the shelter of his arms. I didn’t resist. Later I might, but now I—we all—needed this.

  “Let’s get everyone looked at and start taking stock of what’s left—” Franz stared at the ruined cabins, “—And what’s not. The outer valley’s cabins are intact at least. I’m going to see about setting John and Ella up in one of them for the next couple weeks. I think we could use their help to patch us all back together.”

  He stared at everyone, and a slight smile split his face and grew. “On the bright side,” He looked at the piles of ashes, the light wind that had been absent before now coming in and picking up the powdery hills, sending a fog like haze of blue gray smoke wafting over the ground at our knees. “Clean-up ought to be a breeze.” He chuckled at his own joke. A small sound like a laugh escaped my throat, sounding more like a frog’s croak past scorched vocal chords.

  Several others joined in. We’d seen so much tragedy in such a brief time, we needed the levity to right our world.

  But none of us mentioned the Hunter that got away. Solomon Reddit wasn’t going to be pleased when he found out what had happened to his small army of mercenaries. And when the ash settled, he’d be back.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
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br />   FIVE DAYS LATER JAYNE Martin, though her actual name was Lucy Sawyer, stumbled back into our camp. We’d all been on the western face of the Valley, working like everyone else to help rebuild what had been destroyed. Classes, since every single camp cabin had been incinerated down to the foundations, were obviously put on hold. Word was still out and the council was still arguing over the wisdom of fleeing and moving to another secret location or taking a stand and fighting for their right to remain in their valley home. Because make no mistake, we all knew what was coming to Basilisk Valley. Summer was winding down in under two weeks and we’d be gone and on our way back to Drae Hallow before that happened. It didn’t set well that we’d be leaving the inhabitants of the valley to pick up the pieces and anticipate the upcoming war.

  But I missed home. I had a serious bone to pick with my mother before it was too late and summer was gone and we returned to school.

  I straightened, swiping at the sweat that beaded my brow and brushing it off with the back of my shirt. It was a humid day in the valley, the sun warm on our faces and the sky brilliant and blue. I would miss this too, I realized. I’d made friends here. Excellent ones. I thought of Niel and realized that while I had no romantic interest in him, I’d miss his straightforward manner and friendship, because we were that—friends. Nick on the other hand... I looked to where he was helping Thomas, Todd, and Niel move the boards into place on the south-facing wall of one of the cabins under reconstruction.