Embracing The Inferno (Dragon Within #5)

by Kyra Dune

  Finally, Marie took it out and gave it a look. "Okay, it's still a little high, but nothing serious. I think you're going to be fine." She returned to the stove. "So tell me, how did you break your arm anyway? And please don't try to feed me some story about falling off your bike. A break like that took some force."

  I bit the corner of my lip. Marie was super nice and she was helping me out in a huge way, so I kind of hated to lie to her. But it's not like I could tell her I broke my arm training my dragon powers, now is it?

  "Someone hurt me. That's why Zack and I are on the run." There, see, and I didn't even have to lie at all.

  Marie looked over her shoulder at me. "Your parents?"

  I stared at the table. "I don't want to talk about it."

  "Because it's too painful, or because you're afraid it might contradict what your brother," the way she said the word told me she wasn't buying that particular lie, "already told me?"

  "Zack didn't tell you anything," I said, my head snapping up. "And you know, he's not going to be very happy you slipped him a sedative."

  "Should I be worried about that?" Marie's tone was light, but her shoulders had tensed.

  It didn't exactly make me happy that the guy I was in love with was so good at scaring people. "Probably. He has a temper." As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could pull them back. Marie gave me this look, and that's when I realized she thought Zack was the one who broke my arm.

  Something crashed from the direction of the bedroom. Marie and I both jumped. Max let out two sharp barks. I got to my feet and hurried across the kitchen, hoping to cut Zack off in the hall. I didn't make it.

  If you could have seen the expression on his face... I didn't know what he might do to Marie, so I put myself between them, even though that did not feel like the greatest place to be at the moment.

  "Calm down." I held my hand out in a stopping motion, but didn't go so far as to touch him.

  Zack glared at Marie. "What did you do to me?"

  "You were making her nervous," I said. "So she gave you something to make you sleep. It's not a big deal." He shifted his glare to me and I couldn't help but gulp. "Stop looking at me like that. Marie fixed my arm. She got my temperature down. And now she's making us dinner. So dial it down a couple of notches, okay? We're perfectly safe here."

  For a minute I had no idea what he was going to do. Then his expression shifted just enough to ease some of the tension out of my shoulders. "If your temperature is down, then why are you all flushed?"

  "Because she still has a bit of a fever," Marie said, her voice trembling only a little. "She doesn't need to be getting all worked up."

  Zack scowled, but at least this was his usual annoyed look and not the one where you had to wonder if he was about to kill somebody. He gently took hold of my uninjured arm and led me over to the table like I was a china doll he was afraid of breaking. Annoying, yes, but in the interest of keeping things calm I didn't comment on it.

  I wasn't surprised when he took the chair giving him a full view of the entire room. He had good reason to be paranoid, what with how many people were out to kill us, but his hyper alertness was wearing on me fast. All I wanted was a chance to relax for like five minutes, but I couldn't exactly do that when he was sitting over there like a ticking bomb about to explode.

  Pretty soon though I stopped thinking about Zack and all that, because the kitchen was filling up with the most amazing smell. The kind of smell that almost hurts when you're as hungry as I was. My stomached felt like it was trying to tie itself up in little knots and I couldn't stop my mouth from watering.

  And if the food smelled good, it tasted ten times better. I can't remember ever enjoying a hamburger more. Zack ate his like he thought it might be poisoned or something, but I didn't care. I was so not letting his sour mood ruin the moment for me.

  I smiled at Marie after swallowing the last bite. "Thank you so much. That was great."

  "You're welcome." She returned my smile as she got up from the table. "Now I have some medicine I want you take, okay?"

  "Okay." I watched her leave the kitchen, with Max trotting along behind her, then I turned back to Zack. "I wish you would relax a little."

  "One of us has to stay on guard," he said. "You think we're safe here, but you're wrong. We're not safe anywhere."

  As if I didn't know as much. "I get it. I really do. I know we're running one step ahead of death. But that doesn't mean we have to be all strung out all the time. That's no way to live. I mean, what if you give yourself a heart attack or a nervous breakdown or something? It could happen. Can't you at least try to relax?"

  Zack stared moodily out the window. "What did you tell Marie about us?"

  Wow, real smooth with changing the subject there, wasn't he? "Our names. First names only," I quickly added when his scowl deepened. I swear, his face was going to freeze that way. "And since it's pretty obvious we're running for something, I told her somebody hurt me. I didn't say who, but I get the feeling she thinks it was you. Why did you tell her you're my brother?"

  "I figured she'd be less likely to call the cops if she thought we were siblings instead of a couple of... of..." Color started to rise in his cheeks as he struggled for the words.

  So cute. "Teenaged sweethearts?" I laughed at the face he made. "Well, I'm pretty sure you weren't too convincing with that whole brother thing, but she's not going to call the police."

  He gave me the oddest look. "We can't stay here."

  "I didn't say I wanted to." But I found I couldn't look him right in the eyes. The thought of going back out on the road was not in the least bit appealing to me. I was so tired of all this endless running. I just wanted to feel safe, and no matter what Zack said, I did feel safe at Marie's house. Maybe it was a false sense of security, but I treasured it anyway.

  "We should at least stay the night, though," I said, then held up a hand to stop the protest I could see coming. "Hear me out. Like Marie said, I still have a fever. It wouldn't do me much good to go sleeping on the cold ground again right now. Besides, I think we could both use a good long rest and a chance to get some real food in our bodies before we go any further." It was good logic. Brandy logic. The kind he couldn't argue against.

  Marie came back before Zack could say anything else, and I took the medicine she handed me without pause or question. Sure, I'd been burned in the past by trusting people too easily, but I wasn't about to let that turn me into the kind of person that mistrusts everybody. No way.

  "We don't want to impose on you, or anything," I said, "but we were kind of hoping we could spend the night."

  Marie nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. I don't like to think of you leaving here until your temperature is back to normal. I only have the one spare bed, but the sofa is pretty comfy." She gave Zack a pointed look.

  He glared at her. "The chair in the spare bedroom is fine."

  "Okay." She shook her head a little as she turned away. "I'll find you a blanket."

  Feeling the need to move, I got up and went to look out the window. The yard was not so different from the one behind the house I grew up in. Except we had this old tree where a swing used to hang and a little plot of land where my collie was buried. I pressed my hand to the cool glass as a sudden wave of homesickness washed over me.

  "Am I ever going to be able to go home?" The last whispered word caught in my throat and, surprise surprise, I felt like crying again. "Will they even want me there? I'm... not the same person they knew." Not to mention I had no idea how I could face them after getting Curtis killed.

  Zack came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. I rested my head back against his chest. "What do you think?" I asked. "Is there any chance we'll ever see our families again?"

  "I don't know." Zack's voice had this low, somber tone to it that was so far from his usual undercurrent of annoyance it sent a shiver through me. "My dad... I betrayed my clan for a hybrid. For the sister of the man who killed my mother. I don't thin
k he'd want to see me again."

  I stared at our reflection in the window and for the first time I fully realized I wasn't the only one whose world had been totally upended. Zack had given up his life for mine. He had gone against everything he'd been taught, everything he was raised to believe, to be with me. The enormity of it was overwhelming.

  Warm tears rolled down my cheeks. I had ruined everyone's life. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything. I wish none of this had ever happened. Everyone would be better off if I was de--"

  "Don't say that." Zack's arms tightened around me. "Don't you ever say that to me."

  I wasn't used to hearing that kind of raw emotion from him. It made me feel better. I know how terrible that sounds, believe me, but it's the truth. When you're in a bad situation, it's nice to know you're not alone. That someone who loves you is there, going through the same things you are. It was terribly selfish of me, I know that too. You're not supposed to want the people you love to hurt. But you know how that old saying goes... misery loves company.

  Max's jingling collar warned us Marie was coming back up the hall. I pulled away from Zack, quickly wiping my hands across my eyes. "Okay, the blanket is..." Her words trailed off as she took in my teary face and Zack's stone cold expression. "Something wrong in here?" A note of suspicion crept into her voice.

  "I'm just tired." I stepped around Zack. "Even though it feels like I slept for practically ever already."

  "You can never get enough rest when you're sick." Marie's gaze flicked between me and Zack a couple of times before settling on mine. "If you need anything, anything all, my room is right at the end of the hall. I'm a very light sleeper."

  I knew exactly what it was she was trying to say and it made me feel bad for Zack, even if he was throwing off some serious not exactly nice guy vibes. "Thanks again. For everything. Hopefully we'll be gone tomorrow and you can have your life back."

  "No problem, sweetie," Marie said. "And don't be in too big a hurry to go. It's kind of nice to have someone around the house who can carry on a conversation. Max isn't exactly a chatterbox." The retriever barked at the sound of his name. We both laughed.

  After Marie and Max went off to the room at the end of the hall, me and Zack returned to the spare room. I laid down on the bed. He sat in the chair. And that just wasn't going to work for me. "Zack, would you... I mean..." Heat rushed to my face as I stared up at the ceiling. "I don't want to be alone."

  He didn't say a word, just climbed into the bed next to me and wrapped me up in his strong arms. It was a feeling I could never get tired of. I snuggled in close, smelling dirt and sweat on his skin. I was sure I didn't smell much better myself. We were both in serious need of a shower. But what did that matter? He was there and he loved me. He could have smelled like a pile of manure and I wouldn't have cared.

  I felt safe with him near. Like nothing bad could ever touch me again. Lying there in his arms, I could pretend everything really would be okay. At least for little while.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Marie was a good cook. Not as good as my mom, but then no one ever is, right? She made us sausage and pancakes for breakfast, and it was awesome. But not as awesome as the long, hot bath I took afterwards. You just feel like a brand new person when you're fresh and clean. Plus, I got to get into some clean clothes too, thanks to Marie washing mine.

  By the time I got back to the kitchen I was feeling better than I had in months. And even the extremely tense atmosphere between Marie and Zack couldn't change that. They were both sitting at the table, just staring at each other. Even Max was all hunched up, sitting at Marie's feet, his neck fur bristled.

  I put on my most cheerful smile as I joined them. "I really needed that. I swear I feel like a whole new person."

  Marie smiled back at me. It was a genuine smile, if a little tight at the corners. "I'm glad." She sipped her coffee. "Your brother called a friend to come pick you up." She said the words easy enough, but she was giving me this weird look. Like she expected me to be upset, or something.

  And I kind of was, because as much as I didn't want to be back out on the road, this news did not exactly thrill me. "You called Sam."

  Zack nodded. "I figured we were close enough. She'll be here in a little while."

  "Great." I tried to sound like I meant it, I really did. The last thing I needed was for Marie to decide I was in trouble and call the cops.

  "Well," I rested my hand on the back of Zack's chair. "Now I've had my bath, it's your turn."

  "I'm fine."

  "No offense," I said, "but you stink. I don't want to be stuck in a car with you the way you smell right now. And I bet Sam won't either. Go take a shower. I'll still be here when you get done."

  He was making his patented irritated face again, but he did get up and head off to the bathroom. I took his seat and Max came over to me, resting his head on my lap and using those big black eyes to ask for an ear scratch. If I got out of this mess alive, I was so going to get me another dog.

  "Doesn't like to let you out of his sight, does he?" Marie asked.

  I shrugged. "He's a little overprotective, I guess. But he has good reason to be."

  "Mmmhmm."

  I didn't like it that this woman was thinking bad things about Zack. "I know he comes on kind of strong, but he's never hurt me. He never would hurt me. I know you think he broke my arm, but you're wrong. He takes care of me."

  Marie sat her cup on the table. "That boy is not your brother, is he?"

  I looked down at Max. "You have the sweetest dog."

  "Abby." Uh oh, she was using the 'mom' voice. You know the one I mean. Kind of weird, since she didn't seem to have any kids.

  Max's ears twitched and he cut a sideways look at her. So maybe he was the one she usually used that tone on. Dogs are a lot like kids, you know. I sighed. "Does it matter? I was in a dangerous situation and he got me out. He's a good guy." Who sometimes did bad things, but I didn't see any point in mentioning that.

  "So if I let you walk out my door, you'll be safe?"

  "Yes." Okay, so that was an outright lie, I know. And I felt bad about it. I swear. "I promise you Zack is no kind of threat to me." That much was true, even if he did scare me sometimes.

  "All right," Marie said, though she didn't sound all that convinced. "I just hope I don't turn on the six o'clock news one morning and see your face plastered all over the screen."

  Actually, that was exactly what I was aiming for, just not for the reason she meant. "Do you mind if I watch TV?"

  "No, go ahead." Marie waved her hand toward the living room. "Make yourself at home."

  Make myself at home. Easier said than done. But it was pretty cool just to veg out on the couch in front of the TV like a normal teenager. It's funny how you take those ordinary, boring kind of things for granted until they get taken away from you.

  Zack plopped down next to me, smelling of soap and shampoo. I didn't say anything. He didn't say anything. And that was cool. You don't always have to talk, you know? Sometimes it's okay just to be. For a minute we were doing exactly that. Just being. Taking one good breath of clear air before the world could cave in on our heads again.

  So when reality finally came knocking, it felt like a huge weight dropping down on my shoulders. Zack glanced at me, then got up to answer it. I hesitated a minute before following him. On the other side of the front door was a tall brunette in a leather jacket. I guessed her to be about Zack's age, maybe a little older.

  "Hey there," she grinned at Zack. "Good to see you again."

  "Yeah. Uh," Zack cleared his throat, "you too."

  Sam's gaze shifted to me. "And you must be Abigail, right? I've never seen a hybrid before." She looked me up and down. "I thought you'd be more... I don't know. Just more."

  I'm pretty sure that was the first time in my life I wanted to smack somebody I just met. This girl was older than me. She was taller and better looking. I could tell just by the way she held herself she was tougher too. And she had his
tory with my boyfriend. I hated her already.

  "Man, that was a long drive." Sam stepped into the house. "I seriously need to pee. Where's the bathroom?"

  "Through there." Zack pointed at the kitchen. "Down the hall, first door on the left."

  "Thanks." Sam lightly brushed her fingers across his arm as she walked between us.

  Oh yeah, I really, really hated her. I glared at Zack, who was carefully looking anywhere else. "So that's Sam. She seems... nice." No she didn't. She seemed like a real... Well, you know. But it's not like I actually needed to say what I was really thinking. My tone carried the information well enough.

  Zack shoved his hands into his pockets. "She's a good tracker. And she already agreed to train you."

  "Great."

  "This was your idea," he said. "You're the one who insisted on being battle trained and Sam is the only tracker I know who wouldn't kill you on sight."

  I hated it when he was right. "I know. But does she have to be so--" I snapped my mouth shut as Sam stepped back into the room.

  She looked from me to Zack and her grinned widened. "You two weren't talking about little ole me, now were you?"

  I crossed my arms. "Why would be doing that?"

  "Oh, no reason."

  I wanted to knock that smile right down the back of her throat. "Where are you taking us, exactly?"

  "My place. It's not much, but it's pretty cozy. Right, Zack?"

  Zack made a strangled sort of noise. "I'm going to see if Marie has some of that medicine we can take with us." He hurried out of the room. Is it just me, or was he acting super weird?

  "People are trying to kill me." I stared hard at Sam. "Are you sure 'your place' is safe?"

  "Don't worry, kid," she patted my shoulder, "I know what I'm doing."

  Kid? Kid? It was a good thing I was pretty well in control of my air power, because what I really wanted to do right then was throw her up against the wall. Not kill her, but bang her up a little, you know? Oh come on, like you've never wanted to do bodily harm to another girl over a guy before. Stop looking at me like that.