Embracing The Inferno (Dragon Within #5)

by Kyra Dune

  "Excuse you," Sam said. "You can't speak for me. You don't know what I would or wouldn't do. Especially now that I've met Abigail. How could I let the clan kill my kid when I know it could grow up to be a decent person? Everything they told us about hybrids is a lie."

  "So you agree with her?" Tony stared at Sam like maybe he was wondering who she was and what she'd done with his real sister. "You think exposing us is a good idea?"

  "No. Yes. Maybe." She shrugged. "I don't know. But somehow the whole world finding out the truth about dragons doesn't scare me so much. Might be kind of nice, not to have to hide anymore."

  "You have lost all of your good sense."

  Sam smiled. "I kind of think I've found it. I wish you would too." She got up from the table and joined her brother. "The only way to stop what's going to happen, is to kill Abigail. And I don't think you can do that with your own two hands, no matter what you think about hybrids. Am I wrong?"

  Tony clenched his teeth. "This is going to end badly."

  "Maybe," Sam said. "Or maybe this will be the best thing that ever happened to us. This is the twenty first century, brother, not the middle ages. Maybe it's time we came out of the cave." She linked her arm through his. "Come on, we need to talk and Abigail has a surly water dragon to deal with." She led him into the hall.

  Did I think she could change his mind? Not really. People can only change if they're willing to, and I didn't believe he was. I also didn't believe he was any kind of a threat to me. Being a dragon doesn't automatically make you a killer, anymore than being a hybrid makes you a monster.

  I went outside, because that was where Zack seemed to like to go when he was in a mood. I wasn't sure he would still be there, and I didn't know what I would do if he wasn't. I'm glad to say, I didn't have to find out.

  Zack was out in the front yard, pacing up and down the gravel drive. He stopped when he saw me, his expression dark and stormy. I spoke up before he had a chance to say whatever he was thinking. "I didn't come out here to fight. We have nothing to fight about. I made up my mind and I guess, since you're still here, so have you."

  "I don't understand you," he said. "How can you trust him so much after everything that's happened? After Hannah..." His jaw tightened. "If she had killed you, it would have been my fault. I made a mistake. I wasn't diligent enough."

  It hadn't occurred to me that Zack might be carrying around any kind of guilt over that. "Don't you understand? It's because of what happened with Hannah that I have to take a chance on Jonah. Why I have to believe I can trust him. I know that makes no kind of sense to you, but this is who I am. And if you really love me, then you have to love all of me. Even the parts you don't like."

  He blew out a breath. "You make it hard sometimes."

  "And you think you don't?"

  Zack stared off into the distance, giving me the impression he wasn't loving my response. "Sometimes I think we're both crazy."

  I couldn't stop the smile creeping across my lips. "You might be right about that. Speaking of crazy, if Derek does come with Jonah, you aren't going to try and kill him, are you?" I asked the question in a half joking tone. Trying to lighten the moment up some, you know? But Zack was flat serious when he replied.

  "Only if he tries to kill me first."

  A shiver went down my spine, because that was exactly what my brother had sworn to do if he ever saw Zack again. To be fair, he thought Zack had tried to kill me at the time, so you can hardly blame him. I only hoped I could convince him of the truth before the two of them had a chance to go at each other.

  "Oh. I almost forgot." Zack reached into his pocket and clumsily pulled out a small, blue box tied up with a white ribbon. "This is for you." He held it out to me.

  A present? From Zack? No way. "What's this for?"

  "Your birthday."

  "What? It's not my..." But maybe it was. It sure felt like a lifetime had passed between me and that girl in the park. The girl whose biggest worry in life was whether or not she was going to pass her driver's test. Was that ever really me?

  "You remembered my birthday? And you got me a present?" Okay, yeah, I realize this is the sort of thing you might normally expect from a boyfriend, but we were hardly normal.

  A silly smile spread across my lips. "Can you open it for me? Kind of hard to do with only one hand."

  "Yeah." He fumbled with the ribbon, the gauze on his hands making it a little harder for him than it should have been. Or maybe it was nerves. Maybe he was afraid I wouldn't like whatever he'd bought me. I prefer the latter explanation. True or not.

  Inside the box, sitting on a little mound of white cotton, was a silver, heart shaped locket. "It's beautiful." I raised my head and met his gaze. Part of me wanted to ask him where he got the necklace, seeing as how he didn't have any money. But I decided I was better off not knowing. "Thank you. Will you put it on me?"

  He nodded, so I turned around and held my hair up out of the way. Zack put the locket around my neck and closed the clasp. The weight of the little heart fell comfortably against my chest. Like it belonged there. Zack's arms slid around my waist and he whispered against the side of my head. "You have completely messed up my life. And I don’t even care. I wouldn't put things back the way they were even if I could."

  I rested my head back against his chest. Tears fell from my eyes, but for a nice change of pace, this time they were tears of happiness.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  It's funny how time kind of gets away from you, isn't it? Life at Sam's was almost normal. Almost nice. Except for Tony. He made no secret about how unhappy he was with the whole thing. I guess his and Sam's little talk didn't change his mind any. But he didn't go to any great length to make us feel uncomfortable. Mostly he just avoided us. But on the few occasion we were all in the same room the tension was tight.

  Sam took me and Zack into the city, insisting on buying us at least a few changes of clothes. It took some wheedling, but I finally got Zack to agree. It was nice to have something else to wear. Even though I was keeping my old stuff washed, it still felt icky wearing it day after day.

  My arm healed up good. By the time I ran out of pain pills I'd already gotten to the point where a couple of aspirin worked just as well. I was seriously hoping I could get out of that sling before I had to go fighting anybody.

  We kind of fell into a routine, and I have to say, it was nice. It was peaceful. Heck, I didn't even miss not having a TV. Of course, nothing lasts forever, and reality was bound to catch up to us eventually, in one way or another.

  Zack and I were on the couch when I heard the car pull into the drive. We both tensed, because we knew Sam and Tony were home and nobody else ever came to the farmhouse. Zack eased up off the couch and went to the window, pulling the curtain back just far enough so he could see into the front yard. Whatever he saw, his scowl told me he didn't like it.

  "What?" I grasped the couch cushion. "What is it?"

  He glanced at me. "Jonah."

  I gasped, jumping up off the couch an running for the front door. Probably not the best thing to do the minute I heard the name of the guy Zack was super jealous of, but I didn't think about that at the time. All I was thinking about was getting to see with my own two eyes the friends I had left were still alive.

  Tony and Sam were coming downstairs. I blew right past them and out the front door. I hit the porch at the same time my brother was getting out of the passenger seat of the blue minivan parked in the drive. My heart jumped. I don't have words to tell you how happy I was he decided to come with Jonah.

  I rushed toward him across the lawn. Not even caring if he was still mad at me. I threw my arm around his neck and he pulled me into a crushing hug that had me extra happy my arm was about healed up.

  "I'm so glad to see you," he said, his voice all choked up. "Jonah swore you were still alive, but I had to see for myself."

  "I know exactly what you mean."

  "You look like you're doing all right." Jonah leaned against the v
an's front bumper.

  I stepped back from Derek and reached for Jonah's hand. "Better than all right. I definitely have some stuff to tell you."

  Stephanie and Luka climbed out of the back, completing the moment. I was happier than I could remember being in a long time. That tight knot of tension that had been sitting like stone in my gut since we ran from the hotel was finally gone.

  Derek's eyes fixed on the house, his smile fading. I followed his gaze to see Zack standing on the porch. Tony and Sam were behind him. "Derek. Don't." I laid my hand on my brother's arm, forcing him to meet my gaze. "Whatever you think about him, I trust him. I love him. Don't make that face, it's the truth. And he loves me. So don't start anything. Please. I don't want to see the two most important people in my life trying to kill each other."

  "She's right," Stephanie said quietly. "We have enough to deal with already."

  Derek pulled his arm free from my grasp and walked up to the porch. He stopped at the bottom of the steps, staring up at Zack staring down at him. The air felt charged with tension. I took hold of the air, more than prepared to separate them by force if I had to.

  And then Derek did the most unexpected, shocking thing, he held his hand out to Zack. "I guess I should thank you for taking care of my sister."

  Zack looked at the offered hand without moving for so long, I was afraid he wasn't going to accept it. But Derek never wavered, and finally Zack stepped down two steps and they shook hands. Not like they were friends. Not like they were burying the hatchet between them. But like they were two guys willing to at least try. It was a step in the right direction.

  Of course, there was still Jonah, who was hanging back behind me like he thought maybe he needed a shield. I worried he might be right. But Zack never even looked at him, and I think Jonah was probably okay with that.

  Soon, we were all on the porch and I was making the introductions. Then we moved into the house. All of us except Tony and Zack. They both managed to make themselves scarce, probably so they didn't have to be part of trying to figure out where to put everybody.

  "Abigail and Zack are in the guest room," Sam said, "so I think we'll put Luka on the couch, make Jonah up a bed on the living room floor, and Derek and Stephanie can have my room. I'll bunk in with Tony."

  Judging by the expression on Derek's face, he'd gotten as far as 'Abigail and Zack are in the guest room' and fixated his mind on that. I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, lowering my voice to a bare whisper.

  "Before you even ask, there's only one bed in there, Zack and I both sleep in it, and sleeping is all we've been doing. And even if it wasn't, it's not your business. I'm seventeen years old and Zack is my boyfriend. So," I poked him in the chest, "deal with it."

  Derek made a face. "You can't expect me to be okay with my baby sister sharing her bed with a man. Especially one as unstable as Zack. You could have picked a better boyfriend. Like Jo--"

  "Do not even say that." I glanced over at the others, hoping Jonah hadn't heard. "He's my friend, and that's all. Jeeze, you and Zack think exactly alike sometimes."

  "Okay, I guess that gets everybody squared away." Sam clapped her hands together. "Who wants a pizza for dinner?"

  "I could go for pizza," Luka said. "I'm starving."

  "Haul your butt out to my car kid," Sam said. "We'll call it in on the way."

  "Cool." Luka headed out to the Camaro.

  Even though I really liked Sam and appreciated her for taking my part over her brother, I wasn't a hundred percent okay with Luka going off alone with her. She was still a tracker, after all, and he was renegade. But I didn't say anything. I was either going to trust her or I wasn't, no waffling.

  "Be back soonish," Sam said as she grabbed her keys from the hook on the wall.

  While they were gone, I showed the others around the house, then we just kind of hung out and talked, not about anything serious. It was nice. I could almost forget the rest of it. Pretend it was all a bad dream I'd finally woken up from. If not for the hole in my heart Brandy and Curtis had left. It would never let me completely forget.

  When Sam and Luka got back with the pizzas, we gathered together in the kitchen. Even managing to get Tony and Zack to join us. It was a tight fit, but things were pretty cool. Everybody mostly acting like this was a normal gathering of friends.

  But as I looked around at their smiles and listened to the easy chatter, a hollow feeling opened up in the center of my chest. Their faces blurred and shifted, replaced by memories of other days like this one, hanging out at the burger joint with my old friends. Three of whom were dead and the other two... Well, I didn't have a clue about what had happened to Steve and Trudy after they left us.

  "Penny for your thoughts?" Stephanie whispered, making me jump a little. I hadn't even noticed her standing there.

  I had kind of stepped back away from the others. Surprised me she was the first one to notice. "They're not very happy ones."

  She smiled. "Then you should stop thinking them."

  Easy for her to say. But I knew she meant well, so I did my best to smile back. "You're right. No gloomy thoughts tonight." I slipped in closer to the table and scooped up a piece of pizza. From that moment forward, every smile, every laugh, was a lie. But that's okay. Sometimes you lie to your friends to make them feel better. I didn't want to be the rainy cloud bringing everybody else down. We probably didn't have many nights like this one left.

  Finally, everybody went off to bed. But I couldn't sleep. I just lay there in the dark, thinking. Mostly about the video. Time was running out fast on us now. It wouldn't take long for the clans to track Luka down. Especially if they had stayed in Oregon. And I thought Alastair had probably seen to that. He was smart, my grandfather, and ruthless. Not so different from Megara really, though I imagine he wouldn't have appreciated the comparison.

  "Are you awake?" I whispered, half hoping Zack wouldn't answer.

  "Yeah. Why?"

  "I'm going to take Luka into the city tomorrow, to send out the video." I waited, listening to him breathe, wondering if he was going to try one last time to convince me not to do it.

  "I'll go with you."

  I kind of figured if he didn't argue with me, then that was exactly what he would say. "Derek will probably want to come too."

  He made this sort of grumbling noise and I couldn't help but laugh. A real laugh this time. I had come to terms with them never being friends, so long as I could have them both in my life.

  "How's your arm?"

  Okay, that was an abrupt turn of the conversation. "Pretty good, I think. Doesn't even hurt anymore."

  "Let me take a look at it."

  I felt him roll out of the bed, and before I could prepare myself, the lights came on. "Ow." I squeezed my eyes shut. "A little warning would have been nice."

  "What did you think I was going to do, look at your arm in the dark?"

  I opened my eyes just enough to glare at him. "You don't have to be a jerk about it." I scooted to the edge of the bed, and Zack sat down beside me. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

  "Would you rather call Sam up?"

  I thought about that one for a minute. "No. But be careful."

  He gave me this 'no kidding' kind of look before untying the knot behind my neck and slowly lowering my arm.

  I winced in anticipation of pain that didn't come. Okay, so far so good. "Go ahead and take the wrappings off too. I'll be glad to get some air in there." Oh, man, when my arm was free and clear it felt awesome. I mean, my arm was a little sweaty and kind of tingling, but it felt way better having it out of the sling.

  I wiggled my fingers, bent my elbow, lifted my arm over my head. It only took it a couple seconds to start trembling, but still no pain. I lowered it to my lap. "I don't think I'll be winning any weight lifting competitions in the near future, but everything feels pretty good."

  Zack brushed my hair back behind my ear. His expression was so serious. "Things are about to get bad. You know that, rig
ht?"

  "Yeah." I clasped my hands together. "Why do you think I'm going to have Luka put the video out there tomorrow? I know they're coming for us. I'm ready to fight."

  "That's going to mean killing people."

  The idea sent a little shiver through me, but I sat up straight and looked him right in the eyes. "It's not like I haven't killed people before."

  "I know. I..." He rubbed a hand across his face. "I wish I could make it so you don't have to do that again."

  I reached out to run my fingers across his cheek. He really could be sweet when he tried. "But you can't. This all started because of me, and I'm going to be the one to end it."

  "What if it ends you instead?"

  My hand fell back to my lap. As if I hadn't thought about that a thousand times. "Then I die."

  "You say it so easily."

  "No, I don't," I said. "I don't want to die. I want to live, something I haven't been doing since this whole thing started. I can't run and hide forever. I don't want to end up like Megara, all twisted up inside with anger and hate. That's no kind of life. My grandfather wanted another hybrid to face off with her, and that's what he's going to get. But on my terms. This is my life and I choose to fight for it."

  Zack nodded. "Then we fight. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

  "I don't like it either. Believe me." I leaned against him and he put his arms around me. Everything always felt much better when he did that. "I'm glad you came back. I couldn't do this without you."

  "Yes, you could." He put his hands on my shoulders and held me out away from him. "I wasn't sure, at first, if you could handle battle training. I thought it would be too much. That you'd crumble under it. But I was wrong. You're the strongest person I know. You can do anything you need to do just fine on your own. But as long as I'm alive, you won't have to."

  I was struck speechless. I'd never heard Zack talk like this before. It scared me. Why? Because he was afraid. Maybe he'd been afraid lots of times, but I had never seen it. Never heard it. Not like this. I knew why he was saying these words, why he was looking at me the way he was. He didn't think we were both going to make it through this. My gut told me he was probably right.