Wings of Exile

by JD Monroe

  Tension gripped the room as they all waited in silence. She flinched slightly as she said, “Hello? It’s Herilah. I did what you said and led them to the junkyard.” Thosrin scowled. “I’m not sure. I think maybe I need to lay low for a few days.” She nodded a little, eyes scooting to Thosrin. “I can meet in a few hours. Sure. Thank you.”

  She clutched the phone in her hands and looked up at Thosrin. “He said he wants to meet and give me some cash to get out of town for a week or two.”

  “Do you think he’s setting you up?” Ruana asked.

  “Probably,” Herilah said. “He said he’ll text the address soon.”

  Thosrin nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

  Aktil stepped forward. “Your Eminence, you must not endanger yourself.”

  “We’ll go,” Ruana said. “He’s right. You belong here, and if I may be so direct, I really don’t want to be responsible if the Crow Queen is killed on my watch.”

  Thosrin pinched the bridge of her nose. Finally, she nodded her agreement. Aktil relaxed. “Keep me posted.”

  “Of course,” Ruana said. “Let’s go.”

  The text from Tahin came half an hour later, directing Herilah to a campground a little out of town. His message indicated that he would be flying in via the woods to avoid detection and suggested that she should do the same. They were to meet in ninety minutes, giving them enough time to drive out to the location and scout for a few minutes before the meeting.

  They were just merging onto the highway when Ruana took out her phone. “Yes. Please connect me to Rosak. Ruana Stormstrider.”

  “Ru, what the hell?” Erevan said, leaning between the seats.

  Her face was resolute as she met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “We told him it was his case. And I’m not letting you jeopardize your career or this case because of your pride. I let it go earlier because he would have made a mess with Thosrin, but this is his territory.” She tucked the phone into the crook of her shoulder. “Yes, sir. We have a lead on the Leska case.” In a brisk, matter-of-fact tone, she described the meeting and gave Rosak the address.

  As she spoke, Natalie stole a look at Erevan. His jaw was set as he stared out the window. She didn’t know what was really irking him, but she was glad Ruana was willing to piss him off if it meant doing the right thing for Thea.

  When Ruana hung up, she said, “Stop pouting, serani. You know I’m right.” Her playful tone didn’t elicit a smile from him.

  He ignored her and turned to Herilah. “Is anyone else in the Flock involved?”

  “Do you mean your precious Lilya?” Herilah said. She shook her head. “No. They wanted the operation as small as possible. Every moving part is an extra layer of risk.” She hesitated, staring out the window. “You know he’s going to try to kill me.”

  “I would be surprised if he didn’t,” Erevan said.

  She simply nodded. If she wanted to defend herself or plead for Erevan’s help, she was too proud to do it. Her jaw was set as she stared out the window. She had changed blouses before leaving Loft 19, concealing the blooming red wounds from the silver darts that had trapped her in Thosrin’s office.

  Despite everything, Natalie felt sorry for the other woman. She knew it didn’t make sense; Herilah had made a bargain with evil, literally selling innocent people. Maybe she hadn’t handed Thea over, but she had betrayed plenty of people like Thea, to be strung up and drained of their life like those poor souls in Beale’s facility. She didn’t deserve pity, but Natalie still felt sorry for her. Maybe Herilah believed she was doing the right thing by making an awful choice to protect her own people. If someone had told her she could have saved her mother from the devastating illness that destroyed her from the inside, if she was willing to sacrifice another life…would she? If someone had made the offer on one of those dark nights at the end, she might have done the same thing.

  “Rosak will meet us there,” Ruana said.

  Erevan’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Can’t wait.”

  “We should be there in about ten minutes. I hope that’s enough time to remove your head from your ass.” Ruana’s voice dripped with mock sweetness. “I believe in you.”

  Natalie had to cover her mouth to suppress a smile. Erevan muttered something that made Ruana glance back at him, then shake her head.

  The campground’s entrance was marked by brown wooden signs off the main road. The parking lot was empty. A squat brown building with restroom signs sat on the edge of the lot, with a paved trail curving down into the woods. “He said he’d meet me at the upper lot,” Herilah said.

  “We’ll wait for Rosak,” Ruana said. “He’ll be here soon.”

  “You’ll stay in the car,” Erevan said to Natalie.

  “No, I won’t,” she replied.

  “Hey,” he said sharply. The hardness in his voice sent a chill down her spine. She turned to see him leaning forward, an expression of consternation on his face. He touched her shoulder. It was a feather-light touch, but the dragon’s fire seared from his fingertips. “This man already tried to hurt you once. I’m not letting him finish it.”

  She couldn’t tell if his demand was from genuine concern or a desperate need to control the situation, especially after Ruana defied him. Folding her arms, she regarded him coolly. “I’ll stay out of the way. But I’m coming out with you. Take it up with Sohan.”

  “Unbelievable,” he said.

  The next ten minutes passed in uncomfortable silence as they awaited Rosak’s arrival. A black SUV like theirs pulled into the lot and parked next to them. The driver’s door opened, and the biggest man Natalie had ever seen climbed out. He had tousled dark hair and a well-groomed beard hugging a square jaw. The quiet sigh from Erevan was all the identification she needed.

  They got out of the car to greet him. Herilah yelped in surprise as Erevan grabbed her wrist. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said.

  “We need time to scout the location,” Rosak said. She’d thought Erevan was big, but Rosak dwarfed him. He looked like a statue come to life, with every line of muscle and tiny strand of hair precisely carved.

  Ruana shook her head. “We don’t have it. The contact is meeting us in the next ten minutes.”

  “This is not ideal.”

  “That’s the best we could do,” Erevan snapped. “Waiting means they could skip town.”

  “That’s what he’s planning on,” Herilah said with a shrug. “I’m guessing he plans to kill me.”

  Rosak glanced at Natalie. His icy stare sent a chill down her spine. “You must be Sohan’s hybrid.”

  “I’m not his anything,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and standing as tall as she could. What had Sohan told him? “I’m Natalie.”

  “You aren’t authorized to be here.”

  “Well, I’m here,” she replied. “Deal with it.” His eyes narrowed, and it was clear he wasn’t used to being defied. For a moment, she wondered if he might make good on Erevan’s threats to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off. But he shrugged and turned away, scanning the woods as if he was looking for something.

  “Give me your phone,” Erevan said to Herilah. She frowned and dug into her purse, handing him the pink case. He swiped through it and opened the voice recording app. Without releasing her wrist, he tucked it back into her purse. “If he flies off, or something else happens, we’ll have a record of the conversation.”

  “Something happens,” Herilah said, a haunted expression on her face. “You mean if he kills me.”

  Erevan shrugged. “If you’re expecting us to feel sorry for you, you’re wasting your time.”

  Her laugh was harsh and bitter. “I don’t,” she said. “Besides, if he doesn’t kill me, Thosrin will. And if by some miracle she doesn’t, your queen will. I’m fucked no matter what.”

  “Pretty much,” Erevan said. “What I can guarantee is that if you help us, I’ll do everything I can to make a case to Queen Valella to make it quick.”

  “That’s
not your promise to make,” Rosak said.

  Erevan rolled his eyes. She was going to have to ask later what their deal was. She could see why Erevan didn’t like his overbearing attitude, but he was usually so calm and unflappable.

  Rosak gestured to Ruana. He launched into a long speech in Kadirai. Natalie couldn’t understand a word, but his gestures reminded her of someone moving chess pieces across the board. He was explaining a strategy. When he was done, Ruana and Erevan nodded in agreement. The bigger man retreated to the SUV and rooted in the trunk. A moment later, he returned stripped to the waist, wearing only a black cloth tied around his waist.

  Natalie’s jaw dropped. If Perry could have seen the massive chest and sculpted abs on Rosak, he would have cried with jealousy. As he turned, she averted her eyes so he didn’t catch her gaping. He walked past her, heading for the curving path. Intricate, spiraling designs were tattooed on his upper back, reminiscent of folded wings.

  Ruana offered her hand to Herilah. “The mother’s blessings on you.” Considering her cold treatment of Herilah thus far, it was a strange offering. Her expression was gentle, though she didn’t quite smile.

  Herilah reluctantly took her hand, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Thank you.”

  Ruana’s eyes narrowed as she brought her other hand from behind her back and stabbed a syringe into Herilah’s forearm. Glittering silver liquid filled the barrel, disappearing into the Edra woman’s arm.

  “Bitch,” Herilah whispered. She cringed and sucked a sharp breath through her teeth. The veins on her forearm bulged.

  Erevan stared in shock at Ruana. “Liquid silver. A gift from Thosrin,” Ruana said. “If I were you, I’d shift and fly away as soon as I got the chance. She thought so, too.”

  Herilah’s eyes narrowed, but her lips twisted into a bitter smile. “You just killed me.”

  “Considering you’d have sold me to your friends for ten grand, I don’t have an ounce of regret,” Ruana replied. She tossed the empty syringe into a nearby trash can and brushed off her hands. “Let’s do this.”

  Still glaring at Ruana, Herilah started up the curving path and into the woods. Rosak let her pass and joined Ruana close behind her.

  “What was that?” Natalie said. She and Erevan formed the rear of the entourage, climbing the path quietly.

  “Colloidal silver,” he replied. “The Edra have a bad reaction to it. Makes it impossible for them to transform for a few hours.”

  “Like werewolves?”

  “That’s where the myth came from. Now she can’t fly off.” He gestured for her to walk, ending the conversation. His frustration was palpable, hanging in the air like smoke.

  As they climbed the gently sloping path, the woods enveloped them. The dense trees sealed them off from the outside world in a dark green canopy pierced by sunbeams. It was quiet, with the occasional rustle of wildlife in the brush and bird song.

  At the top of the trail was a clearing. Herilah raised her head and sat calmly at the picnic table at the corner of the clearing. The remains of a campfire enclosed by flat stones lay nearby.

  Natalie and the three dragons hung back, a few yards down the trail. Ruana leaned in and whispered to Erevan. They had a brief exchange, nodding in agreement, then turned their attention to Herilah.

  Natalie’s heart thumped. They were so close to finding out what had happened to Thea. What Beale had said echoed in her mind. Most of them lasted at least a week. It had been four days since she last saw Thea. Maybe she was still alive, not damaged beyond repair. Maybe Natalie could make a difference this time.

  Loud rustling broke through the quiet of the woods. This wasn’t a squirrel scrambling up a tree; this was something massive hurtling through the brush. Erevan tensed, putting one hand on the large tree to steady himself. Herilah’s head snapped up at the sound. Then it quieted, and it was silent for a long while.

  Quiet, rhythmic crunching sounds heralded the arrival of a man on the opposite end of the campsite. He wore baggy pants and a loose gray t-shirt, like he’d jumped out of bed and thrown on clothes. Or, as if he’d been a dragon just a minute earlier and needed to cover up quickly. She recognized the handsome face and the blonde hair spilling in a messy tumble over his forehead. It was the same man who’d come to her home the day she reported Thea missing. Her mouth went dry. It was him, had always been him. Thomas and Tahin were the same person. It was all she could do to stay out of sight and not go throttle him until he told her what she wanted to know.

  The dragons would handle it, she reminded herself. That was why they were here.

  Tahin approached Herilah. The woman watched him as he sat down next to her on the bench. He was breathing hard, like he’d just sprinted through the woods. A leather bag was slung over one shoulder.

  Herilah spoke quietly to him. Erevan leaned in. Natalie couldn’t make out what they were saying, but maybe he and Ruana could. The conversation went on for a few minutes, and finally, Tahin gently touched Herilah’s cheeks, holding her face lightly between his hands. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Herilah’s hands went to his wrists, her mild expression twisting into one of fear.

  Oh God, Natalie thought, instinctively leaning forward.

  Veins stood out on Tahin’s arms, and Herilah let out a clipped cry of distress. Before she could break away, Tahin jerked her head to the side. An audible crack broke through the quiet, and Herilah went limp, her hands dropping to her sides. Natalie clapped her hands over her mouth to keep from shouting.

  Rosak jumped to his feet. In a single graceful movement, he pulled the cloth from his waist and began to transform in a burst of light. She never even glimpsed his bare body. The transformation took only seconds. A black dragon appeared where he once stood, then launched into the sky. A blast of frigid air surrounded them, making her shake with cold.

  “Fuck,” Erevan muttered. He lunged out of hiding, and a blistering wave of heat rolled off him. He was mid-stride as the transformation began. His clothes split across his back as it expanded. Unlike the lurching, painful transformation she’d seen outside of Beale’s lab, this was almost beautiful. Spines erupted down his back in perfect sequence, as a swath of red-orange scales swept down the growing form. With each subsequent step, his feet expanded into taloned limbs, leaving deep grooves in the dirt.

  Tahin had already begun to change, his eyes up as Rosak circled overhead. He rolled under the picnic table to protect himself from an aerial attack. The black dragon screamed overhead, and a huge spear of ice impaled the table.

  With a trail of ripped jeans and the remains of his leather jacket on the trail, Erevan had finished his transformation in seconds. Where the man had once stood was a red dragon, gleaming wings spread wide and spiked tail lashing. He unleashed a gout of flame.

  “Wait!” she called, darting out to the trail after him.

  The picnic table splintered and exploded outward as Tahin finished his transformation. The green dragon burst into the sky. Erevan took a few lumbering steps, following after him.

  “Erevan!” she shouted after him as he abandoned her. The red dragon disappeared into the woods, trailing after the green. “Son of a bitch!”

  Ruana’s dark blue dragon form gave chase. Abandoned by the dragons, Natalie approached Herilah’s body. The shifter woman was crumpled on the ground next to the rubble of the picnic table, her eyes wide and staring out into the woods. Though she knew what she would find, Natalie still pressed her fingers to the woman’s wrist, then licked the side of her hand and put it under her nose. There was nothing. Herilah had been dead before she hit the ground. With grim determination, Natalie gingerly reached into the woman’s back pocket for her phone. It was still recording. She stopped the recording and saved it before a mishap lost it to the digital ether.

  She could still hear distant crashing, punctuated by snarls and roars. Did she chase them down to try to help? Getting in the crosshairs of four angry dragons didn’t seem the wisest choice. But if they were in trouble…
>
  She jammed Herilah’s phone into her own pocket and took off running in the direction they’d flown. Pushing herself to run faster, she dodged trees and stumps nimbly, closing in on the sound of the battle. In the distance, she saw a burst of flame in the trees.

  A blur of red and green swirled through the air, then slammed to the ground. The red dragon roared, shooting a focused stream of flame toward Tahin. Dark blue streaked from above, slamming down on the green dragon. Tahin bucked, throwing Ruana free and releasing a cloud of lightning around it. The sight of the electricity called to Natalie, and the spark of power in her chest thrummed, almost aching at the familiar element. She hurried toward the battle.

  Lightning arced toward Erevan, wreathing him in a net of sparks. He roared, wings folding in tight to his body as his tail went rigid and straight. He shook his head violently but didn’t move. Tahin roared in agony as a gleaming ice spear pierced his wing. Reeling, he tried to regain his balance, but he tumbled out of the sky. The black dragon hurtled toward him like a missile and carried him to the ground, slamming him into a tree. The tree trembled and cracked, letting out an ominous noise that echoed through the woods.

  Rosak tore at Tahin, slashing his belly with vicious claws. Dark blood sprayed both dragons. Green light shimmered around the green dragon, and the form began to shrink. In a few moments, the green dragon had disappeared, leaving Tahin’s badly mangled form in the dirt. Rosak stepped away, leaving Ruana to pounce on Tahin and plant her front foot on his slashed chest. The man’s face was streaked with blood, one eye completely closed. Erevan landed near them, his amber eyes glowing against blood-red scales as he paced in a wide circle.

  The black dragon shimmered, and in a few seconds, a fully human and naked Rosak stood in its place. Unbothered by the fact that they were both exposed, he crouched next to Tahin, throwing a shadow over his face.

  “You’re going to tell us where Dornan is.”

  Tahin laughed, revealing a bloodied maw of teeth. “No.” Ruana’s heavy foot pressed harder on his chest, eliciting a groan of pain. “You kill me, or he does. You’ll make it faster, at least.”