By the time we made it home, we were both exhausted but happy. Bo had hunted for a deer on our way back to the cave, so she was full and in good spirits. As soon as we walked into the kitchen, Malachite smiled at me. “I saved you a plate in the fridge.”
“Thanks, Kite.” When I was little, I couldn’t say Malachite, so I called him Kite, and I guess the nickname stuck. I pulled out the plate and popped it in the microwave, then leaned against the counter.
Malachite wrinkled his nose at me. “I hope you’re planning on taking a shower. You smell like fish and sweat.”
“Shut up.” I laughed a little and pushed his unmovable shoulder.
He grinned. “How was school today? I didn’t get to ask earlier.”
“Fine.” I shrugged and pulled my food out, then grabbed a fork and shoveled a bite into my mouth. “Mm. Good.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
Rolling my eyes, I sat on a stool and swallowed my bite. “Did Doc make this? It’s good.”
He nodded. “Yep, of course he did.” Doc was a really good cook; it was one of the many things I appreciated about having him in our family. I’d been apprehensive of Davis when I first met him because of what he’d done to my brother, but I knew he was making Zale happy, so that was all that mattered. Now that I had my brother back and could see how happy his mate made him, I was willing to try to forgive him. As long as he never did anything like that again.
I stared at Kite, and while he had a smile on his face, something told me he wasn’t feeling it at all. It was a little weird around here now that both Azaran and Zale were mated; they tended to spend a lot of time with their mates and less time with us. “Maybe you can come flying with Bo and me tomorrow after I get groceries?”
His smile turned a little more genuine. “Yeah?”
I grinned. “I’m sure Bo would love to race you guys.”
His eyebrows went up. “You really think she can beat Kesia?”
“I have no doubt.”
“You’re on, little pipsqueak. We’re going to leave you in the dust.”
I snorted, then dug back into my food.
Eeli, Azaran has a mission, Bo suddenly relayed to me. I exchanged a glance with Kite and knew he’d received the same message from Kesia. Scooping as much food into my mouth as I could, I followed my brother out of the kitchen, depositing the plate on the counter on the way out. Kite and I grabbed our armor, slipping it on—it was snug and lightweight and fit each of us perfectly—loaded up our weapons, being sure my favorite knife was strapped to my leg, then followed our dragons out to the LZ. Azaran, Zale, and Davis were already there with their dragons in warrior form and waiting to take off.
“Where’s Doc?” I asked as Bo grew to her large size beside me.
Azaran said, “I asked him to sit this one out because he has an early shift tomorrow.”
“If you’re about to ask me to sit out, too, Bo will eat you for me.”
I don’t want human, but I’ll eat anyone you want.
I snorted at that. Thanks.
Az sighed. “Fine. You’re bonded now, so I can’t force you to stay home, even on a school night.”
Of course. You’re mine. I protect you; you protect me; we keep each other happy.
I smiled at that and ran my hand over her scales. You’re my favorite, and just so you know, you’re the prettiest dragon in the entire world. She preened under my affections and compliments as I climbed on her back. The truth was that I meant every word; her purple scales were glorious as they shone and glittered from her movements. Nothing rivaled her in beauty.
I tuned in to Azaran as he spoke, “There’s a wildfire spreading rapidly in Sunville—”
“—It’s that close?” Malachite asked. Close to him, maybe, because he was used to riding a dragon, but it was on the other side of the state, so not so close in my opinion.
Az nodded. “Yes, and several residents are stuck in their homes, as well as a few hikers that were separated from the road when the fire spread. The local firemen cannot reach them.” He grimaced. “The thing is, Uncle Kazimir is positive this fire was started by wraiths and not by accident.”
Zale asked, “You received the call directly from Uncle K?”
Az nodded as he climbed onto Sindri’s red back. “Yes, since the wraiths weren’t careful about being seen and it’s still light out, the police and firemen were getting a lot of frantic calls about ‘monsters breathing fire in the sky.’ Uncle K wanted to make sure we were all going because once Saso puts the fire out with her ice flames, and we make sure the humans are safe, we’re going to have a lot of damage control.” Meaning, we were going to have a lot of human memories to erase of the event. Great. I hate doing that.
You do it well.
Thanks, but it freaks me out. What if I mess up?
You worry too much, ma'cordhe. You do it well. No worrying needed.
Thank you, my beautiful bonded.
She preened again and made a humming sound of approval as I laid my shield on her side so I had easy access to it, and I made sure my weapons were ready to go, then put my helmet on. We each had one with an earpiece so we could communicate with one another.
The five of us took off, but Az said into his earpiece, “We need to be on the lookout for the wraiths. I’m sure this is a setup to get us to come out, so you need to watch your backs. And each others.”
Malachite replied, “We always do!”
We fell silent after that, flying in formation with Azaran in the lead, Malachite and Zale flanking him, and Davis and me bringing up the rear. Since my eighteenth birthday, Bo and I had been able to come on missions as a team with my brothers. Before that, they would either leave me home or I’d ride on Kite’s dragon—usually sneaking Bo in my shirt since she’d been so small back then. Now she could change sizes and hardly ever made herself that tiny. Her natural wyrmling and warrior sizes were smaller than the other dragons in our family, just like me. Our size made enemies overlook us and label us as non-threatening. The thing was, I was just as lethal as any of my brothers. And Bo was just as fierce when she wanted to be. Sure, she was a giant goofball that liked to play, but when someone was threatening our family, she became an entity to be reckoned with.
Since Bo and I were always underestimated, we were my family’s secret weapon. Or at least, that’s what we told ourselves.
The fire could be seen from miles away, and sadness filled the air as my brothers and I thought of all the plant and animal life lost and the damage caused by it. Knowing it was done purposefully made the loss heavier.
Once we were close enough, Zale took off on Itsaso, and Davis followed behind his mate on Harri, the only male dragon in our family. Itsaso—or Saso for short—breathed ice instead of fire. Her breath was blue and when it hit something it was so cold, it instantly froze anything it touched. Harri’s fire on the other hand was silver electricity and completely badass. Malachite, Azaran, and I spread out to look for anyone that might need help and to keep an eye out for wraiths. We’d have Zale and Davis’s backs while they dealt with the fire itself.
Wraiths had once been dragons but had since been turned by the evil doings of dishonorable and vile riders. Dragons themselves weren’t good or evil, but could be swayed in either direction, so when they were forced to become wraiths, darkness overtook them. Many of the wraiths had been beloved dragons taken from their homes and forced to do their new foul rider’s bidding. Their once beautiful scales had been turned into dark, shadowy skin that looked as if smoke and shadow emanated from it. Before meeting Davis, I’d thought the wraiths were unable to come back to the light, but now I knew we could set them free from the terrible prisons they couldn’t escape from. Which made it all that much harder to harm them when they attacked. But I’d protect my family and any innocent bystanders from them if I had to.
I smell wraiths, Bo said to me. So do the others. They’re close.
Alright, I’m ready.
We will hunt th
em. Bo locked onto a scent and followed it, so I held on tight as she soared through the air. I was vaguely aware that Zale and Saso were putting the fire out with her insta-freeze breath. Because it was so cold hitting the hot fire, there was steam filling the air and making it more difficult to see. The sun had fallen, so it was dark which made it easier for the wraiths to blend in.
Because of Bo’s sensitive nose, it didn’t take long to find four wraiths in the air, and the fact that Azaran and Malachite were flying with me made me confident that we could take them down.
She said, We get the one on the right, Sindri will take the left, and Kite has the middle. Whoever finishes first gets number four. Since our dragons could communicate with each other, they chose who was taking down who a little quicker than my brothers and I—but we trusted our dragons to know what to do, so we went ahead with their plan.
Bo sped up toward our target and once we were in range, she opened her mouth and burning hot purple flames erupted from her mouth, flying toward the wraith—her purple breath turned to scorching lava on contact. Bo’s aim was good, hitting the wraith’s wing as it screamed out, but it didn’t take the wraith down. All dragons were resistant to other dragons’ breath and couldn’t be harmed by the breath of the same element they possessed. So if this wraith breathed lava, Bo couldn’t harm it and vice versa.
The wraith opened its mouth and its fire flew in our direction. Bo flipped up to protect me so her belly took most of the flame—its breath was fire—but I also held my fire shield in front of me to protect my face and body.
No one hurts my Eeli, she yelled in my head before diving toward the wraith and opening her mouth again. As she poured her lava over it, another wraith swooped down, almost knocking me off her back.
Shit.
Hold on.
I heeded her warning and held on tight as she dove and spun through the air, then opened her wings right before we hit the ground. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that the wraith she’d burned with lava was on the ground, dead. But the one that had attacked me was chasing us. My brothers were calling out commands to each other over our headsets, still in their own battles with other wraiths because more came out of the shadows.
Bo suddenly flipped around and breathed lava toward the wraith, and it yelled out, but the rider began shooting an automatic rifle toward us. The huge weapon was mounted on the wraith’s neck with a big chain around its neck that I hadn’t noticed before, and the rider was raining bullets at us. He hit Bo’s wing with several bullets, making her yelp and cut off her lava breath before speeding up as best she could to get out of range.
You okay?
Hurts, but I’m fine.
The wraith rider kept shooting at us, over and over, making it difficult for Bo to turn and take them out. Bo, fly over him. I’ll jump down and take out the rider.
You won’t get hurt?
No, I’ll be fine. He won’t expect me to leave your back. I need to get that gun disarmed before you’re seriously injured.
If you get hurt, I will eat you.
Despite the situation, I laughed at that.
She flew high in the air and the wraith followed us. Once she was flying straight up and they were under us, she closed her wings and let herself fall so I could jump from her back onto the wraith. I was free-falling for a moment, but I grabbed onto the dark rider’s shoulders, knocking into him. I could tell he wasn’t expecting it because he scrambled to get a weapon out. Too bad, I was ready for him. I hit him in the temple with my elbow, punched his ribs, then his kidney, then grabbed around his arm and twisted so far he lost his grip on his wraith. I came in hard and fast, so he was only able to slice my arm before I knocked the knife from his hand. I chopped his throat with the side of my hand, grabbed his shoulder, and yanked with all my body weight until we were both falling through the air again.
I heard Malachite yelling over the headset, but I was too busy struggling to keep this guy from injuring me further. The guy was trying to grab for me, but I held his arm behind his back, hard enough it popped. Bo shot her lava at the wraith for a few seconds so it couldn’t help its rider, and I said to her, Anytime, Bodhi.
She closed her mouth, then dove toward me, catching up to me quickly and wrapping a big talon around my waist. She snatched me up and I let go of the wraith rider, then looked away as he fell to the ground—I didn’t want to see it.
Bo straightened out her flying before I climbed up her until I was safely on her back again, but I still didn’t look down.
Soft heart.
I didn’t deny it; dragons tended to see more in black and white than we did, so sometimes Bo didn’t understand my complicated feelings. I’d wanted the rider dead because he was evil, but… I didn’t like taking a life.
You have a good soul, ma'cordhe; it’s part of what makes us a good match.
You have a good soul, too. A screech from a wraith sounded through the air, so I refocused on our task. Where’s the wraith?
I took care of it.
Good. Are there more?
No more for us. The others have them.
“You guys good?” I said over the headset.
I received affirmations from each of them, so I sighed and settled onto Bo’s back, more relaxed.
Eeli hurt?
No, I’m okay, but you’re not. I wasn’t about to point out that I had a cut that might need stitches. One of my brothers would fix me up when we landed. I’ll patch up those bullet holes in your wings when we land.
I’ll be okay. Don’t be sad.
I don’t want you to be in pain. I hugged her neck and pet her for a moment, kissed her scales, then said, “Let’s land. After I patch you up, we’ll help the humans. It’s going to be a long night of erasing their memories of dragons and wraiths.”
She automatically turned in the direction of Malachite since he was the closest to us. We landed and I hopped down from Bo. Kite saw me and marched to us, leaving the humans he’d been talking to staring after him. Kite looked pissed—if I didn’t know him, I’d probably be terrified of the six-foot-seven bear of a man barreling down on me, but I knew how much of a teddy bear he actually was.
He ground out, “What were you thinking?”
“What are you talking about?”
“How could you jump onto the back of a wraith? Do you know how dangerous that is?”
Bo huffed beside me, still worked up from the fight, so I set my hand on her neck to keep her calm and said, “We’ve done that move a million times. What’re you getting so mad about?”
“No, I’ve done that a million times while you stayed on Kesia’s back.” He meant when I rode with him on missions.
“So it’s okay for you to do it, but not me?”
“Yes!”
“That makes no sense!”
“I’m eight years older than you and I’ve been bonded with my dragon a lot longer. I have the experience; you don’t.”
“How can I get any if I don’t do anything?”
“You should’ve stayed on Bo.”
“If I would’ve done that, she’d have even more bullet holes in her wings. I’m not risking her when I can take out the threat easily.”
Kite glanced at Bo and asked, “She’s hurt?”
“Yes! Now I’m going to fix her, so I’d appreciate it if you stitched my arm up so we can get to erasing memories and go home. I have school in the morning.”
Bo sniffed my arm. You told me you weren’t hurt.
I’m fine, I promise.
She blew a hot breath in my face before moving her head out of the way so Kite could look at my arm. I pulled the small bag I carried off my back and grabbed the supplies—some for humans, some for dragons. “I’m fixing Bo first.”
“No,” Malachite and Bo said at the same time before Kite added, “You’re still bleeding a lot, she isn’t. You go first.”
Agreed.
I sighed, then let my brother help me before I put a bandage soaked in calma oil over Bo’s wounds. Af
ter I finished, Kite pulled me into a hug and whispered, “Sorry I yelled, pipsqueak. You scared the crap out of me. I know you know what you’re doing… but I don’t like watching you in danger.”
“I know, it’s okay.” I squeezed my giant brother back and relaxed now knowing he wasn’t angry with me.
While I was helping a young woman find her missing family members, I heard Azaran asking Kite why he’d been yelling at me, and luckily for me, Kite was vague on the details. I was glad because I didn’t want to get reprimanded by my oldest brother, too.
We were there cleaning up the wraiths’ mess through the long hours of the night. When I finally fell into bed with Bo curled up with me, it felt like my alarm went off only seconds later—even though it’d been an hour. It sucked I didn’t get any sleep, but it was worth it because we saved many innocent human lives that night.
I’d deal with the consequences of getting no sleep every night if it meant I could help people. Bo felt the same.
But I can sleep while you’re in school.
Lucky.
The dragon equivalent of a laugh filled my ears, and I shook my head with a small smile, then got up to get ready for school.
4
Eeli
When the language arts classroom door opened ten minutes into class, I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Why is he always late? And why doesn’t he ever get into trouble for it?” If I could be on time with everything that happened last night, surely that slacker could be as well. I was exhausted, bruised, and despite the two showers I’d had, I still smelled like smoke.
Eeli: The Brotherhood of Ormarr Book Three Page 3