Wings of Exile

by JD Monroe

  “Thank you,” Natalie said. She carried a small backpack, which he’d watched her load with extra ammunition, a first aid kit, and a flashlight. “Are we ready?”

  “Let’s go.”

  Even two miles out, Erevan could detect the death-scent he now knew was blood magic. That smell brought back, in crystal-clear focus, the memory of the forced transformation and that terrible echo that enveloped him. It sent a thrill of fear through him, but this time would be different.

  He removed his clothes and handed them to Natalie. “Do you mind?” She raised an eyebrow, and he gave her his most charming grin to hide the trepidation burbling in his belly. “Please?”

  “That word sounds so good when you say it,” she said. With a smile, she folded his clothes into a neat stack and tucked them into her backpack. Her eyes drifted down once, then back up to his face. “Ready?”

  He nodded and dropped to his knees to begin the transformation. As always, it took several moments for him to regain his bearing. His sight was blurry at first, and everything was far too loud. A thousand sharp smells invaded his nose, threatening sensory overload. Digging sharp talons into the earth to ground himself, he waited for his mind to catch up to his senses. When the whirlwind slowed, he picked through the mélange of smells to find the distinct smell of blood magic.

  He crouched low, giving Natalie her cue to climb onto his back. There was a dull ache as her foot pulled at one of his scales, but he ignored it. Her weight settled on his neck, right above his wings. He stomped lightly to give her warning, then took off running through the woods. Her legs squeezed against his neck for balance. The pressure of her legs around his neck was reassuring, like someone holding his hand.

  The smell of magic intensified as they approached the location Lilya had sent. The dense woods thinned gradually until they gave way to a large tract of open, grassy field. A huge white-sided barn with a red roof stood in the middle of the field.

  They paused, still in the cover of the trees. He smelled the lingering scent of the Edra, and a hint of blood. It wasn’t here, but near enough that it couldn’t be far from where Lilya had been when they took her. Thinking of her dragged away made his stomach churn and boil. They would pay for this.

  A narrow access road cut through the field from the opposite side of the barn, ending in a small strip of asphalt outside. Two cars were parked there. After watching for a few minutes, Erevan saw no guards patrolling.

  It was time.

  As Rosak had planned, Erevan went for the loudest distraction he could create to draw out Dornan and his men. Building up an intense burst of flame in his chest, Erevan leaped into the air and flew toward the building. The flames coalesced, swelling until it felt like his entire form would split from the power of it. With a deafening roar, he unleashed a wave of flame at the cars near the building. They burned for a few seconds, then exploded.

  With a leap, he turned and flew to the side of the building. His next volley of fire scorched the front of the barn. As they had guessed, the Elegy sounded a few seconds after the second wall of flame ignited. A massive chime, like a church bell, echoed in his ears and down into his bones. He staggered, dipping low in the air for a moment as his flight muscles trembled.

  Natalie’s body wrapped around him, her fingers digging under the plated scales on his neck. “It’s fine,” she said. Her voice resonated, cutting through the awful din of the Elegy.

  The Elegy tore at him, shaking his grasp on the dragon. Something in him wanted to let it go and shrink back to his smaller body, but Natalie held him together.

  “I’ve got you,” she said. He growled and took them higher with a powerful stroke of his wings. “There are speakers on the outside of the building. Silver boxes, look.” He couldn’t see her pointing, but he felt her lean toward them. Rising up, he followed her directions to see a large metal box on the side of the building.

  He perched on the roof. Sparks flew as he ripped the box from the wall and scorched the remaining electronics for good measure. He circled the building, finding two more speakers on the sides and dispatching them with prejudice.

  With the third speaker destroyed, the sound stopped. Circling back to the front of the barn, he landed hard. He would give it a few moments longer to ensure that there were no more speakers. The barn doors slid open. That was where they were. Thea, Lilya, and the others were inside.

  “Erevan, wait,” Natalie said.

  Fueled by anger, he dashed into the open area inside the barn. The immediate area was mostly empty, with a ring of tables loaded with computers in one corner. A wall divided the large space, concealing the rest of the barn from him. The rest of Dornan’s operation had to be behind the double doors.

  Before he could proceed further, half a dozen human-sized figures scurried through the double doors and rushed him. Planting his feet, Erevan roared and spewed a crescent of flame at the oncoming attackers. While a few recoiled, one of them stood firm and spread her arms wide. A shimmering wall appeared in front of her, deflecting the flame at an angle. She was a hybrid, and a powerful one, channeling an air affinity. Her eyes glowed white through the translucent shimmer of her barrier. Behind the barrier, the remaining attackers spread into a triangular formation and raised guns. The red dots of their laser sights danced slightly.

  Behind the barrier, a man in a dark suit appeared through the doors. He remained behind the shield formation. “Natalie, dear, get down from there.”

  “No.” Her whole body trembled, and Erevan could feel her growing fear through their bond.

  The man tapped his chest. Natalie’s body tensed and Erevan realized the gunmen weren’t aiming at him. “I won’t hurt you. I’m very interested in keeping you alive.”

  They had to get out.

  The man held up his hand, squeezing something Erevan couldn’t make out. The horrible sound of the Elegy filled Erevan’s ears again. There were more speakers inside. He should have guessed. She’d told him to wait.

  Stupid.

  Natalie’s protection surrounded him, but the sound was more intense this time. Erevan’s muscles seized, and he felt his wings trembling as if they were going to crumble to pieces. His joints screamed with pain, threatening to shatter under the tension. Natalie grasped for him, both physically and mentally. He tried to hold onto the wavering connection, barely keeping his dragon form together as the Elegy ripped through him.

  This was about to end badly. He could hear Ruana’s admonition to him, piercing through the Elegy’s reverberations.

  Don’t be a hero.

  Get out.

  Erevan whirled, swinging his tail around in a violent sweeping motion toward the men. As he did, he launched himself toward the door. He heard a metallic ting just before searing pain erupted in his left wing, yanking him backward. His body jackknifed in the air, and suddenly, Natalie’s weight was gone. As soon as she fell off and broke contact, the corrupt magic of the Raspolin erupted in him.

  His front legs buckled. Natalie scrambled toward him, slamming her hands into his sides. The warmth surrounded him, and he managed to hold onto the dragon form. He shielded her with his right wing, trying to buy them a few seconds to get away. Something had pierced his left wing, and he would have to tear through it to get free.

  “No!” Natalie shrieked. He whipped his head around to see a broad-shouldered man in tactical gear pulling her away with one arm locked around her neck. She was clinging to a plate on Erevan’s back with one hand and slapping back at her attacker with the other. Erevan roared his rage. He couldn’t use his fire without hurting her. The man slapped her arm away, breaking her hold on him. Her pleading eyes disappeared into a red haze.

  Magic tore through him, and he lost control.

  Natalie saw red as the thick-armed man dragged her away from Erevan. As soon as her hand left his side, he lost his hold on the dragon. The huge joints in his wings went rigid, then bent the wrong way with an agonizing crack. He roared in agony, turning her stomach with dread.

>   “Son of a bitch,” she shrieked. The thick arm closed around her throat, but for once, they were in familiar territory. She’d trained for this a hundred times with Perry. Instead of panicking, she was deadly calm. Natalie slammed her elbow backward and caught the man in the side of the head. He released her. As she landed, she turned and backed toward Erevan, keeping her eyes on her attacker.

  The angry look on his face and the terrible groan coming from Erevan was all she needed. Spreading both hands wide, she ignited the lightning in her chest. Her head throbbed with the effort, but both hands were soon wreathed in crackling energy. She quit backing away and lunged toward the burly man. His eyes went wide in surprise as she slammed both hands into his chest and unleashed the lightning. The electricity recoiled back into her, and her jaws clenched painfully tight. The worst poured into her target, who let out a woof as he staggered. His eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. Smoke curled up from a melted patch on his tactical vest.

  Natalie whirled. There were at least four more men, two of them holding guns. She backed toward Erevan, till she ran right into his heaving side. In a clumsy maneuver, she leaned against him. As they reconnected, she could feel the turbulence in him. “You’re okay,” she said, trying to soothe him. The fear and pain were a wicked storm, battering against her attempts to calm him. He was getting pulled under, like drowning in an undertow.

  Then something plowed into her, and for a second, she wondered how a truck had hit her without her seeing it coming. One second, she was leaning against Erevan, and the next, she was flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Stars shimmered above her against the broken rafters. Her lungs seemed to have shut down.

  “Give her something,” a faraway voice said.

  A few moments later, something pinched her neck. Then the dark closed in, and there was nothing else to worry about.

  Natalie awoke with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. She sat bolt upright, taking in the sterile white room around her. She’d been partially stripped. Her jacket was gone, as was the concealed holster around her waist. Her feet were bare, but they’d left the rest of her clothes on. Her stomach churned at the thought of someone manhandling her while she was unconscious.

  Erevan.

  When she lurched to her feet, a pounding ache seized her chest. She looked down and gasped at the grapefruit-sized purple welt in the center of her chest. That explained what had knocked her down.

  She was in a small gray room, with only a bed covered in a white sheet and a stainless-steel toilet. The door was solid metal, with no handle and no window to the outside. She pounded on it. “Let me out!”

  No response.

  She pounded again and listened for a response. There was only silence. She pounded until her fists were red and throbbing, then plopped back on the edge of the bed.

  Her head felt like it was filled with cotton. What had happened? She had been trying to get back to Erevan, and something hit her. Knocked her out. Where was he? She shook her head. This was bad.

  This was what they’d been afraid of. She’d promised to protect him, and he’d tried to tell her she would be in danger. Tears sprang to her eyes. How had she been so stupid to think that she could protect him simply because she could put on a light show and they’d had a good roll in the hay? This was a world of might and magic, and she was little more than an ant. When he’d needed her most, she failed.

  She buried her face in her hands. Now they were all screwed. Thea. Lilya. Erevan.

  The door slid open. A woman in dark clothing stood in the doorway, accompanied by a man with a shotgun. The woman tilted her head. “You play nice, or you get another one of these.” Natalie frowned. Then the woman tapped her own chest. “Understand?”

  “I understand,” Natalie said.

  “Put out your hands.”

  Natalie hesitated, then extended her hands. With the man still training the shotgun on her, the woman produced a thick zip tie from her pocket and secured it around Natalie’s wrists, then pulled it tight enough to hurt. “Ouch.” The man rested the gun on his shoulder for a moment and handed her a handful of dark fabric. The woman unfolded it and pulled a dark bag over Natalie’s face, blinding her. Panic set in for a moment as she tried to acclimate herself.

  Think.

  The woman grabbed the plastic tie and pulled her forward. Natalie tried to keep her bearings, but once they stepped into an elevator, she lost track. The woman turned several times once they got out, and she was almost certain that they’d thrown in a few extra to confuse Natalie just in case.

  After a few minutes of walking, the woman pulled the bag off her face, revealing a warmly lit room. Instead of the sterile white room or the concrete floor of the barn, she stood in the doorway of a sparse room with wood-paneled walls. A window on the back wall overlooked the field. First floor, she noted.

  There was a long table that could double as a dining table or a conference table. The man who’d ordered her to get off Erevan’s back sat at one end of the table perusing a tablet. A tailored black suit with a dark gray tie adorned his slender frame. He was handsome, though not in the otherworldly way that Erevan was. And the fact that he’d had people pointing guns at her already made him much less attractive.

  “Natalie,” he said warmly, an easy smile spreading across his smooth-shaven face. “Have a seat.”

  The man with the gun pulled out a chair and shoved her toward it. Natalie glared at him. “Rude.” The man prodded her with the gun, then pushed her shoulder until she sat. “Asshole.”

  “I apologize for the rough treatment earlier. You were rather resistant. My name is—"

  “You’re Dornan, right?”

  His brow furrowed. “Yes, that’s me.”

  “I want you to let them go.”

  “You’re direct.”

  “You know that’s why I’m here,” she replied. “Why bother with small talk?”

  “Natalie, I’m not sure you have the whole picture.”

  “I know you have my friend and you’re draining her blood so you can do some kind of creepy blood magic. I don’t need to know anything else.”

  Dornan winced. “When you say it like that, it sounds so crude.”

  “How else would you say it?”

  “We are building a new world,” Dornan said. “One in which the Kadirai no longer reign.”

  “You’re full of shit.”

  His green eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. “If you keep interrupting me, I’m going to have to help you be quiet. Is that necessary?” The woman walked toward her, crumpling the black bag into her hand like she was preparing to shove it in Natalie’s mouth.

  She clamped her lips together, then shook her head. “Talk. Please.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That’s gracious of you. Natalie, all you know is what these Kadirai have told you. That’s like letting the Nazis explain themselves and accepting their version of reality as gospel truth. The dragons have reigned as tyrants in Ascavar for thousands of years. It’s only a matter of time until they attempt to wrest control over this world into their claws.”

  “And you’re better?”

  Dornan scowled. “My people serve justice.”

  “Right, because murder and justice go together,” she said. “At least they’re not selling people to drain their blood.”

  He laughed. “Do you know what they used to do in Ascavar? They commanded humans to do whatever they wished. To give up their children as slaves, to send their wives to service their lust-filled soldiers, to murder each other for entertainment. Not because they needed to, but simply because they could. That is what you throw your lot in with.”

  “What are you trying to get me to say? I don’t care what these old dragons did,” Natalie said. “I care about getting my friends back.”

  “Your friends,” Dornan said disdainfully. “Hardly worth the trouble.”

  “They matter to me.”

  Dornan smiled. “Yes, I imagine th
ey do.” He clasped his hands. “What would you do for them?”

  Her mouth went dry. “What do you mean?”

  “Would you come with me?”

  “Where?”

  “To a new world,” Dornan said. “We are building something beautiful. You could be a part of it. Being a hybrid makes you special.” He snapped his fingers, and flames danced in his palm. “Like me.”

  “No,” she said.

  “What did they tell you about yourself? Poor half-breed, you’ll never be a dragon quite like them. But certainly, you can be a shield for one of them, and no matter if you get killed in the crossfire so long as no harm comes to their precious scales.”

  She was silent, her stomach twisting at his words. Surely that’s not how they viewed her. But she wasn’t special, either. Even Sohan was willing to throw her into a battle with one day’s training.

  “Someone like you is very valuable indeed.” Dornan leaned across the table. “We could make you into something transcendent. You can’t even imagine how powerful you would be.”

  “If it’s with you, I don’t want it.” Despite her defiance, she couldn’t easily ignore what he’d said. She didn’t want to go with him, but her curiosity was piqued.

  “What if I let them go?”

  She froze. “Let them go?”

  Dornan shrugged. “Pick the ones you want released. I’ll release them if you come with me.”

  “You could just take me anyway.”

  “I don’t want you if you don’t come willingly,” Dornan said. “You’re of no use to me otherwise.”

  “And you’ll kill me if I don’t,” she said. He shrugged. “That’s not much of a choice.”

  “Life is tough,” Dornan said. “Make your pick.”

  “All of them.”

  “No.”

  As she contemplated his suggestion, her mind whirled through the possibilities. She had no intention of going anywhere with this smarmy asshole in a suit. If she played along, she wouldn’t have to set one foot out the door with him. She tilted her head. “Let Thea, Erevan, and Lilya go. And I’ll go with you. Wherever you want.”