by Jada Fisher
I let out a weak sigh. “True. Oh, uh, you did a great job too, Bron.”
Don’t worry, you were having a moment. Besides, you can thank me when I get you to safety.
Mallory leaned to the side, looking over my shoulder. “Speaking of which, there’s still a dragon chasing us. What do you plan to do about that?”
I hate to repeat myself, but you should hold on.
We had no snippy comeback this time, but simply buckled down as best we could.
I thought we had been going fast before, but then I felt his muscles tense below me and his wings change their angle, and we were cutting through the air like a knife. My head spun, my face stung, my body ached, and it was completely, totally exhilarating.
If I’d had the lung power, I would have let out a mighty yeehaw, but all I could do was hold on with all my might as Mallory did the same.
We gained more and more ground over the beast tailing us, crossing vast expanses of land. Gone was my home city, and I began to wonder if I would ever see it again. I had to…right? Wasn’t that the little sliver of the world that both factions were fighting over? If that was so, then where were we going?
I couldn’t formulate the words to ask the question, as I was too busy making sure my tongue didn’t accidentally fly into the back of my throat, but my answer came as we headed toward what looked like a swirling, shimmering vortex.
Bron let out a rumble, and then a brilliant plume of fire burst from his mouth. It hit whatever the barrier was and it exploded into an array of dazzling lights. The next thing I knew, we were flying past the dizzying colors, and when it all cleared, we were right over the city again, approaching it from the opposite side that we had left from!
13
The Beginning of the Impossible
Bron eased his speed, slowly lowering us to the ground, but my mind couldn’t comprehend whatever had just happened. Before I could contain myself, questions were spilling out like someone had tipped over a vase.
“What was that? How did we get here?! How are you flying over the city without anyone noticing? I feel like dragons flying around are things people might notice!”
Calm down, Bron urged soothingly, not dismissively as some people might talk to someone who was currently losing their head. I used a family portal spell that was set up long ago. It takes quite a bit of energy and is only supposed to be used in case of emergencies.
“Well, I would say that this definitely was an emergency,” Mallory said, a very faint smile evident on her pale face. I felt comforted that even my fearless friend seemed a bit rattled by all this.
I’m glad you agree. To answer your other question, we use glamours. Anyone looking up who isn’t part of the underworld will see us as a small plane, or a particularly fast-moving storm cloud. Nothing too exhilarating or to get worked up for.
My mouth hung open as I suddenly wondered how many planes I had seen in my life that were actually ancient mystical creatures from another world, but that just led me to rethinking my entire world view, and how much I had been missing my entire life, how long I had addled my perception with drugs that were supposed to make me normal, when normal was never something I was meant to be.
Then again, the medicine had helped me find who I truly was, behind the visions, behind the hallucinations that tortured me after my parent’s deaths. So, what was the right answer? Were they good? Were they bad? Had I finally hopped off the deep end and imagined everything that had happened as part of some sort of psychotic break? How could I know?
My head throbbed again at the thought and I sagged against Mallory. Sensing my pain, she gave me a gentle squeeze.
“It’s okay. We’re almost back on the ground.”
I nodded and let my eyes close for the rest of the descent. Once Bron’s feet touched down, my friend helped me off of his back and we watched as he returned to his human form.
It wasn’t nearly as traumatic as his conversion to dragon, but it was still rather unpleasant, and when he did finish, I was surprised to see that he was still wearing clothing. Somehow, I hadn’t expected that to survive his transition.
“Well, that was exhilarating,” he said, shooting us a shaky grin. “How are you two holding up?”
I didn’t really know what to say, so I just looked around. We were back on the rich side of the city, penthouses and skyscrapers ascending around us. As far as I could tell, we had landed in a parking lot, but who had ever heard of an empty lot in the middle of uptown? That was like finding a two-dollar bill, face up, on a four-leaf clover.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“She’s definitely not fine,” Mallory interrupted.
“Anyway, where are we?”
“One of my grandfather’s garages that he keeps around for special events.”
“But it’s just out in the open,” I argued. “That’s not possible.” Where were the five-dollar parking signs? Or the gate at the front? I was willing to believe that mythical creatures were running a secret world of power amongst us, but there were some things that just weren’t realistic.
“Glamours,” he answered, that same crooked smile growing. It made my heart skip, and I quickly shoved that down. I didn’t have time to deal with such silliness after the day I’d had. “This way.” He gestured, and Mallory and I followed, a bit dazed and quiet for once.
I wasn’t sure where I expected him to lead us, but it certainly wasn’t into a single-story parking garage filled with cars that were each worth more than I had made in my entire working life.
“Let me see,” Bron said, crossing to the wall and pulling something from his pocket. I watched curiously and saw it was some sort of card. He slid it through a reader next to a grey lockbox mounted to the wall, and it beeped before swinging open. In it, I saw row after row of keys. “Ah, how about the blue one? That’s always been my favorite color.”
He grabbed a set and jangled them like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“One thing I can promise you is that this ride will be much more comfortable.”
We just stared at him openly as he crossed deeper into the garage until we all ended up beside a cerulean sports car with doors that opened into the sky like it was out of some high-flying movie.
“Are you serious?” Mallory asked.
In response, he merely hit a button on the key fob and flashed us a wink. “Why don’t you two get in the back? I tend to drive only slightly slower than I fly.”
We piled in, and he revved the engine. It was such a strange transition from the situation we had just been in that I couldn’t help but laugh. Mallory caught my giggles as well, and soon the entire backseat was filled with mirth.
“Something amusing back there?”
I tried to catch my breath, but the exhaustion and giddiness was overwhelming. “It’s…it’s nothing,” I gasped. “You wouldn’t get it.”
He shrugged, regarding me with that same too-intense gaze he’d had when we had first met all that time ago in the café. Had that really been only a few days ago? It seemed like an entire lifetime…
I wasn’t sure how long we lost ourselves in our laughter, but we passed through well-lit blocks of uptown, the sun slowly sinking behind the horizon. Eventually, we ended up at another restricted community, one that I had never been in due to the thick gates and high security. The walls surrounding it looked like marble, and the topiaries were all trimmed like they had come straight out of a catalogue.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I harrumphed, glancing out the window as my head started to pound again.
“What?” he asked, looking back at me in the rearview mirror.
“I just… Do you guys own all of the mansions in this city?”
“No. Just most of them.”
Mallory let out a snort. “Dragons and their hording. If it’s not a bunch of gold coins and jewelry, it’s real estate.”
Bron didn’t say anything to that, apparently too busy leaning out of the window and speaking to the secu
rity guard. When his head came back in, the gates were opening and we were pulling forward.
I didn’t think I was ever going to get over the strangeness of seeing a man who had just been a dragon driving a car like he was just an ordinary human. Or rather, an obscenely rich human. Maybe someday I would get used to the juxtaposition, but I didn’t think it was going to be any time soon.
As we drove along the long, long driveway, I felt the last remaining dregs of my energy rush out of me, as if they were being drained by the house itself. My eyes fluttered, and for the third time in one day—which I was sure was absolutely not healthy—I was slipping down into irresistible darkness.
“Hey, you okay?” Mallory asked, her hand alighting on my uninjured shoulder.
I managed to turn my head to her and swallowed harshly. “I…I don’t feel well,” I ground out before I was gone entirely.
Notes came to me, separated and disjointed at first, but eventually solidifying into a melody. I groaned, sensing another vision thrusting itself upon me, but this time, I could tell that it was different from my last few.
“Hey there, lil sis. You’re not looking so hot.”
My eyes fluttered open and I saw none other than Mickey leaning over me. The scarred flesh covering half of her body glistened in the soft light and she never looked more beautiful.
I threw my arms up, crushing her to me like she was my last lifeline to sanity. As far as I knew, she kinda was.
“Thank God,” I prayed into her shoulder, feeling my heart release some of the ache and stress that had been stabbing at my subconscious ever since I got swept up in this mess. “I was so worried.”
She patted my hand gently. “Come on now, Davie-girl. How many times have I told you that I’m the older sister? You don’t get to worry about me. It’s my job is to worry about you.”
“I know, I know,” I whispered, still holding onto her like she might drift away at any moment.
“And might I say, you look like you have not been taking care of yourself at all. What’s going on? Did you get into a fight?”
The question struck me as odd, but I didn’t let it disrupt the mood. As much as I loved and appreciated Mallory, my sister was the only one who knew me from birth. She was the one that had held me when the night terrors grew to be too much and through all those horrible foster homes that had ruined so many other lives. “I’ll explain everything as soon as I’m up. I can’t wait to see you again.”
“Sis, lil’ baby sis,” I recognized the strange change in her tone and my mind suddenly started questioning the situation. Like, how was she in front of me, and where exactly were we? Was it my mind? Her mind? Was this some sort of concussion-borne illusion? “I need you to promise me to be strong, okay?”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, pulling away to look into her face.
It was a damaged one, one that had been halfway gnawed off by fire then given only the most basic of plastic surgeries by doctors who wanted the tax credit of working pro bono but would not put in the same amount of work as they would for a patient with good insurance, but to me, it was absolutely beautiful.
I reached up, the gnarled, twisted skin of my left hand connecting with the mottled side of her face. It was our connection. One that could never be broken no matter what happened. She pressed her face into my palm, and patted my head serenely.
“Promise that you’ll stay safe,” she said. “And you won’t come for me.”
“Come for you, what do you mean? Mickey, you’re scaring me!”
Her hands just cupped my cheeks, then tenderly pulled me forward to kiss my forehead. “I love you, Davie. Never forget that.”
I had so much more I wanted to ask her, so much I needed to understand, but she crumbled from my arms like ash, leaving me utterly alone in the soft light with only the faint scent of her shampoo to remind me that she had ever been there in the first place.
Memories flooded my mind. Her wiping the tears from my cheeks after the school announced a father-daughter’s dance, then saving up to rent a suit and taking me herself. Her rubbing lotion into my arm, warning me I needed to take care of my scars if I didn’t want them to get worse. Laughter. Tears. Fear. Our whole lives, we had been there for each other. She couldn’t be gone…
No.
No!
Something terrible had happened. I knew it. I could feel it in my heart and in my bones, but I couldn’t do anything about it in my sleep. I had to get up.
I had to get up!
I needed to get up!
I crashed into my body so hard, my descendants would probably feel it. I gasped, and the rush of air scoured my insides.
“Davie! You’re awake!”
I looked around, but only saw bleary colors and shapes. I turned my head toward the voice, and after a few seconds, my vision cleared enough to make out Mallory’s concerned face.
“Take it easy, girl. You’ve had me worried sick.”
I glanced behind her to see I was in some sort of hyper-luxurious room, thick comforters on me, velveteen canopy above me, and finery everywhere that I could see.
“Where’s Bron?” I rasped.
“I’m here.”
I craned my neck to the other side without turning my head. Sure enough, Bron was sitting in a lushly cushioned chair, leaning forward so his elbows were resting on the bed. “Where’s my sister?” I asked, cutting right to the chase.
His face fell and it was very clear that he hadn’t exactly been anticipating that line of questioning. “You need to take it easy. The healer said you fractured your skull. You’re pretty lucky to be alive and awake so soon.”
I reached out and grabbed his collar, yanking him to me. I knew he could have resisted me, and I knew that getting physical right away was not something I would normally do, but between my panic from my dream and whatever painkillers they had me on, I couldn’t bring myself to care about being too handsy.
“Where is my sister?” I cried again. “You said you sent people to my address!” I was shrieking, my voice going high enough to hurt even my own ears, but I couldn’t bring my mood back down to level. “Her name is Michelle Kaisley Masters! You said she would be fine!”
Bron just let me yell in his face, looking guiltier by the second. I didn’t need words to figure out that I was absolutely right and something had indeed gone wrong.
“Where is she?” I whispered, letting him go.
He straightened and reached for my face as if he was going to stroke it, before seeming to think better of it.
“I’m sorry, Davie. I really am.”
“What happened?” I asked, fearing the worst. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at Mallory. I didn’t want to see the pity or worry there. I just wanted my sister. This was like my vision from a week ago all over again. The one where dragons had ripped off the roof of the café and burned everyone I loved to a crisp.
“We…we don’t know.”
“You don’t know? How can you not know!?”
“We haven’t been able to get in touch with the team I sent. According to our scrying crystals, they’re still alive, but we can’t locate them, and there haven’t been any demands for ransom. No one has come forward to claim the act. As far as we can tell, they’ve just…disappeared.”
“And is that something that happens often in this underworld? People just popping in and out of existence?!”
“Well, no, of course not.” He looked so stunning there, thick brows knitted together with concern in his eyes. I felt frustration hop on top of everything else I was feeling. This wasn’t the time to get all artist-eyed at the pretty boy. My sister was missing and he was telling me that they had no idea what could have happened to her!
At least she was alive. I just needed to breathe. I was a seer, right? I could use that to find her. I just needed to focus and—
My head throbbed again and dizziness swamped me. I must have swayed slightly, because Mallory caught me and helped lie me down.
“I
know you’re all fired up right now, but believe me when I say you need to rest. You were hurt pretty bad, Davie. You should never have pushed yourself so hard.”
“Says the girl that literally jumped onto another dragon.”
“Yeah, but I’m not the one with a skull fracture and three puncture wounds in your shoulder. Also, you fractured a rib at some point. I don’t even know when that could have happened, but at this point, I’m not even surprised.”
“Well, that explains why my side hurts too.”
“Does it?” Bron asked, far too concerned as he leaned over me. “The healer said they had given you something to help with the pain.”
“Considering that the hurt’s in the background of my mind instead of drowning out all the other thoughts, I would say this healer dude has me on something good.”
He laughed gently and the intense look on his face faded slightly. I was sure that his concern for me stemmed from the fact that I was so valuable to him as a seer, but I couldn’t shake my vision of him in that terrible dungeon. Bleeding. Beaten. I had felt something in that moment. Something that didn’t make sense. I just wanted to put it out of my mind and focus on the new world I was now thoroughly embroiled in.
“So, did we figure out what actually happened?”
“Some yes, some is still up for investigation,” Bron answered dutifully. “Since you’ve been unconscious—”
“How long was that, by the way?”
“A little over twenty-four hours,” Mallory answered quickly.
“Geez. No wonder I feel so stiff.”
“We can go on a very small stroll, if you’d like,” Bron suggested, smiling a bit hopefully at me. “I’m sure the healer wouldn’t mind.”
“Explanation first, please.”
“Oh yes, apologies, I had already forgotten. From what we’ve been able to find, a powerful family did indeed put a contract out to collect you at any cost. It’s honestly the most expensive contract I’ve ever seen.”