Scales and Flames

by Catherine Banks

  Moving quietly, she hurried across the parking lot and into the store. Cheery electronic music from a video poker machine tinkled in the background. Ikran’s scent lingered, still fresh and warm as it danced among the smells of nacho cheese and hot dogs on the rotating grill. She followed the trail, slipping easily around a woman pondering the selection of candy bars as she read the nutrition labels.

  His trail led toward the restrooms at the back of the store. They were massive restrooms, and she could hear voices echoing off tiled walls within. Directly across the hallway from the restrooms was a closed door with a sign that read Family Restroom. The sign showed a male and female figure. A muffled male voice spoke inside.

  Dyadra leaned against the wall next to the door and listened. Ikran’s voice was low, but she heard him clearly even through the walls.

  “She’s outside,” Ikran said.

  A female voice responded. “Be careful. The daughter transforming changes the plan. We didn’t realize she was a hybrid. Madina will be very interested in testing her. In the meantime, we need the wife to motivate the Tempest. He’s been…extremely stubborn. He keeps saying he doesn’t know about the map.”

  Dread washed over her. That lying piece of shit. And they thought Will was the Tempest? Oh no. She’d thought the legend of the map died decades ago. During the war, the Raspolin were convinced the dragons had a secret map of all the Gates. Most of the locations were tightly guarded, as they provided access into protected lands. No such map had been created. The Arik’tazhan knew where all the documented Gates were but were forbidden to record it on paper for precisely this reason. Will’s captors were wasting their time, but they didn’t know that. How far would they go to get information Will couldn’t possibly have?

  “What should I do?”

  “Don’t let on. The phone tracking was clever. Tell her you got a location and it hasn’t moved for a while. When you get here, text me, and we’ll come out to greet you. Just be ready to pin her down.”

  “Got it,” he said. She heard a shift and the telltale click of a lock. She’d been calm until now, but rage had awakened in her. Maybe she ought to let him open the door and see her face just before she ripped his spine out.

  No. He knew exactly where they had her family. She’d let him get her there, then handle the issue of his treachery. She concealed herself once more and bolted back through the store and across the parking lot. The car door closed behind her just as he exited the store.

  In the rearview mirror, she watched him walk across the asphalt and paste a fake smile on his face. Even with the rage simmering in her belly, she realized that this had to be more than a random kidnapping. If they thought Will was the Tempest, someone had spilled their secret. No one but Tarek knew she was one of the Arik’tazhan, at least as far as she knew. Was he in on it too? And what did they want to do to Allana?

  Her heart leaped into her throat as Ikran opened the car door and slid back in. “Sorry about that. Too much coffee this morning,” he said. The lies spilled from his tongue easily. It made her sick. “My police contact said they got another ping on Allana’s phone. It hasn’t moved in about ten minutes, so that’s probably where they’re holed up. We’ll get visual on the place, and then I’ll call it into the other Gatekeepers for backup.”

  “Good,” she said. The word felt like coughing up sand. “Thank you.”

  She would watch him. And when he led her to her daughter, she would rip him to shreds for what he had done.

  Six

  One chance, and she failed. That failure echoed loud in her mind as the massive gray dragon carried her back to the warehouse. Its huge talons closed around her entirely, like she was just a doll. Her tiny dragon form posed no threat to this enormous, scaled creature.

  Now, without the fabric covering her face, she could see where she’d been taken. The warehouse was smaller than it looked from the inside. In addition to the white truck that had brought them in, there were two black SUVs parked alongside the building. A narrow drive connected the main road to the warehouse. The city was a distant gleam on the horizon. Empty road stretched as far as she could see in either direction.

  The ground rushed up toward her as the dragon began its descent. Her heart raced, and she tensed against the tight grasp. The dragon let out a low rumble, closing its grip tighter around her. Red desert zoomed toward her, but before she was crushed against the ground, the dragon flipped its wings, swinging its heavy body almost vertical so it landed on its back feet. Its powerful wings stirred up a whirlwind of dust around them.

  “Hold,” Alec said as he slid off the dragon’s back. He landed gracefully and jogged inside the building. While he was gone, the dragon maintained its grip on her. A moment later, Alec returned with a pair of manacles attached to a silver chain like the ones they’d wrapped around her father. Dread prickled down her spine. “You need to change back.”

  Then she would be even more helpless.

  “Don’t do it!” her father bellowed from within the warehouse. His voice was strained. “Allana!” A hard blow silenced him.

  Maybe she could make a bargain. Or maybe she could trick them. There was something about the manacles. They limited Dad’s power, and they would probably do the same to her.

  She let out a chirping sound.

  “If she lets you go, you have to behave,” Alec said.

  Allana chirped again.

  The gray dragon released her, dropping her the last few feet to the ground. Pain lanced through her from the crushed wing, and her sharp vision was washed through with white. She started to get to her feet, but as soon as she took a step, an invisible hand pressed down on her back, flattening her to the desert floor.

  “Not again, little one,” Alec said. “Change back. No more games.”

  A low growl escaped her.

  “Wait,” he said. In a strange development, he took off his jacket, leaving him in a short-sleeved t-shirt over his jeans. “Okay.”

  Her skeleton shifted and cracked, her form tightening on itself like a cocoon of bone. As the hard, blue scales gave way to soft human flesh once more, a layer of rough fabric landed on her back. The touch of it was almost too much, like sandpaper on sunburned skin. She slowly rose to her knees, pulling the jacket over her bare shoulders and chest. Alec was big enough that his jacket fell nearly to her knees, giving her a degree of modesty. Her right shoulder wasn’t quite right, like it had been knocked out of place. She folded it against her belly protectively.

  “Put out your hands,” he said. Through a curtain of sweat-damp hair, she glared at him. He actually had his head turned.

  The impulse was on her before she could think it through. She turned on her heel and took off running. Behind her came two massive thumps, and the ground itself shook. A shimmering wall appeared in front of her, and she ran headlong into what felt like a mattress made of air. The gray dragon let out a long, slow growl that sent fear vibrating into Allana’s belly.

  “Come on,” Alec said. “That’s enough.”

  Resigned, Allana turned to see the gray dragon blocking the path. Its eyes gleamed silver, as if someone was shining a beam through gray glass. It growled as she made eye contact. Her mouth went dry and she froze, trapped by its gaze.

  She’d been around dragons before, but never one that meant her harm. The predatory intensity changed the situation, and she realized with horror that this creature could bite her head off with one sharp snap of its jaws.

  “Hands,” Alec said. She winced as she maneuvered her hands through the sleeves of his jacket, forcing her right shoulder to cooperate. The pain of bone grinding against the socket made her queasy, and she let out a quiet whimper. “I’m sorry about your arm.”

  She frowned. “You’re sorry?”

  “It’s not our intent to harm you,” he said. He was curiously gentle as he closed the heavy manacles around one wrist, then the other. The metal was ice cold. As the second shackle closed, a dizzy sensation swept through her, and her forearms
went numb. “You won’t be able to change. Don’t waste your energy trying.”

  “You expect me to believe you?”

  “What?”

  “That you don’t want to harm me. Your boss said she was going to cut me up to make my father talk,” she said.

  “The situation has changed,” he said. He took the chain connecting her wrists and pulled her forward.

  “What does that mean?”

  He was silent as he led her forward, back into the stagnant warmth of the warehouse. The smell of blood instantly greeted her, and she started to run toward her father. His light blue shirt was in tatters, soaked through in red that was turning to dark brown in places. “Dad!”

  “No, no,” Alec said, pulling the chain taut as she tried to run.

  The woman was still standing over him, but she didn’t seem interested in him anymore. Her eyes followed Allana as they walked in. She gestured to Alec. “Give her to me.”

  “No!” her father shouted, straining against the chains holding him.

  The woman ignored him and approached. A dark purple welt marred her cheek, probably where Dad had managed to hit her to distract her. She looked human, but the way she pulled power from the very air said she was part dragon. The cuffs of her neatly-pressed white shirt were speckled with blood, but her face was gentle as she examined Allana. “You are quite a surprise. Let’s talk.”

  A change of scenery only made things more confusing. Alec and the woman led her into a side hallway and into a small room. A dozen TV monitors were mounted on the walls, but they were all dark and coated in a layer of dust. The desk below held two laptops, both with colorful screensavers active. A small refrigerator was pushed under the desk, emitting a quiet hum.

  A small table with two chairs sat in the middle of the room. The woman gestured for Allana to sit. It wasn’t worth the fight, so Allana took a seat. It wasn’t until she got off her feet that she realized how tired her body was from transforming and trying to make an escape. Once she was seated, the woman rummaged through the fridge and brought out two cans of Sprite and a package of crackers. She slowly placed the crackers and one of the cans in front of Allana, then took the other seat.

  Condensation beaded on the green can, forming a ring on the table. She didn’t want anything from the bitch who’d hurt her father, but the thought of something cold after her frantic escape attempt was enticing.

  “I’m not going to poison you,” the woman said. She nudged the can further toward Allana. “My name is Vienna. And you’re Allana?”

  She was silent.

  “It’s just going to take longer if you don’t talk to me,” Vienna said. With her neat button-down shirt and perfectly smooth ponytail, she looked like a flight attendant with a side job as a torturer. “I have your father to keep me occupied if you won’t talk to me.”

  “Your boy Alec said you didn’t want to hurt me.”

  “I don’t. Especially now,” she said.

  “Then let my dad go.”

  “Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”

  Her jaw dropped. She hadn’t expected that. “Really?”

  “Stay with us, we let him go,” she said.

  “I thought you wanted him. And some map?”

  Vienna shrugged. Her lips pulled into a half-smile. “People told me the map was just a legend. Maybe they were right. But you…”

  “What’s special about me?”

  “You are a particular sort of hybrid, aren’t you? Not full-blooded Kadirai?”

  “Congratulations, you can see.”

  She raised one thin eyebrow. “There’s no need to be rude.”

  “Watching you torture my dad must have made me forget my manners.”

  “Such melodrama,” Vienna said. She calmly opened the other can and took a drink. Her pale fingers were speckled with blood, a grotesque contrast to her manicured pink nails. “God, it’s hot here. Anyway. The things your father has done would make this look like a day at the spa. You’ve heard the legends of the Arik’tazhan, yes? The Unresting warriors of the dragon queens of old?” Allana nodded. “Did you know your father was once among them?”

  Wait…there was no way. Dad was part human.

  “Your face tells me this is new information.” With the matter-of-fact delivery of a museum tour guide, she continued. “They called him the Silent Tempest. The stories of him spoke of his tactical brilliance and unmatched stealth. By the time his enemies realized they were under attack, he was already unleashing the storm. He must have killed thousands during the War, and hundreds more after. People who only wanted a different life. Snuffed out by his power.” She tilted her head. “Did you know this?”

  Her mouth was dry. They had it so backwards. Unless her parents had been lying for her whole life, Dad couldn’t be what they said.

  “I didn’t know,” she said. That was true enough. “What does that have to do with me?”

  “He probably told you that the war was between good and evil, with the dragons on the side of good, no doubt. And indeed, war is ugly. But the Arik’tazhan have a particularly dark and bloody past. When the war was over, the Chosen had retreated. They surrendered their weapons, even their rightfully owned land and resources, they were relentlessly pursued. They only wanted to live at peace, wanting nothing more to do with dragons, and the Arik’tazhan followed them into another world. Hunted them, murdered them in their sleep. They destroyed whole cities based on a rumor that just one of the Chosen might live in their walls. They committed atrocities I can only imagine, as they also destroyed the written history of these people. It wasn’t enough to strike down their revolution. They obliterated all trace of their existence.”

  “Well that’s crap. If they destroyed the history, how do you know any of this is true?”

  Vienna smiled. The flash of white reminded her of the gray dragon’s bared teeth. “Smart girl. They thought they destroyed everything, but there were survivors.”

  “You still haven’t told me why you want me to be with you,” she said.

  “Because your particular combination of human and dragon makes you powerful. My people, the Chosen, have been gifted with a power from the gods themselves. Did you see my friend, Selina? The gray dragon?” Allana nodded. “Imagine being ten times her size, with powers to put your father’s to shame. Your wings would blot out the sun.”

  “I can’t. My human blood means I’m stuck being small.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “My parents,” she murmured. Was there some speck of truth to what the woman said? It was an awfully convoluted tale to be all made up on the spot.

  “Hm,” Vienna said. She calmly opened the pack of crackers and took one out. As she took a dainty bite, she pushed the Sprite toward Allana once more. “Well, don’t believe everything you hear. Sometimes people lie to us. Perhaps they thought they were protecting you.”

  “And why do you want me?”

  “It is always good to have allies with power,” Vienna said. “Your potential is wasted with the nonsense of the human world. Would you rather be a high school student or a dragon with divine power?”

  “I like high school, and I’m not going with you.”

  “What if I let your father go? I’ll untie him right now and let him walk out the door.”

  “And if I say no?”

  Vienna shrugged. “Then I’ll keep asking questions. Perhaps he’ll give me what I want. And perhaps he’ll just entertain me a while longer before his heart explodes.” She shrugged. “Think it over. I’ll see if he has an opinion on things.” Her chair scraped on the concrete floor as she stood up and gave Allana a cruel smile. She raised her soda can like she was giving a toast. “Don’t let it get warm. It’s no good that way. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Seven

  Dyadra had done her share of subterfuge, so she couldn’t fault Ikran for being so good, but it didn’t feel good to be on the receiving end of the lies. He was part of the attack on her family, and that alone made her w
ant to yank his spine out through his lying mouth.

  She’d been amused when she first came to the human world and heard the fairy tales of dragons. Lurking in dark caves and stone towers, they were possessive creatures that slept for centuries upon massive hoards of gold. Though the pictures were somewhat accurate, the rest was wrong.

  And yet, for the first time, she identified with one of those villainous, greedy beasts. Someone had stolen her most valuable possessions right out from under her. The rage in her was barely contained at the thought of it. She would rain down destruction on an entire kingdom if that was what it took to get her most precious treasures back.

  Rolling down the highway into the sprawling desert, Ikran made easy conversation, telling her about his parents who lived in Texas and had a food truck that specialized in the cuisine of their people. While he told her about their tacos made with a traditional Ascavar recipe for ashka vehl, she contemplated putting his head through the windshield.

  The stretch of desert beyond town was familiar. She’d brought Allana here dozens of times to practice her transformation in the cover of night. Her heart swelled with pride at the memory of her daughter flying, first in awkward hitching passes, then in graceful loops. The pride turned quickly into a caustic mix of fear and anger. Her daughter could be hurt, terrified, and alone. Dyadra had always vowed to protect her, and she had failed.

  Ikran drove several miles into the desert, leaving town a distant shadow on the horizon behind them. “I think this is it,” he said as they passed a narrow drive. A hundred yards from the main road, there was a posted sign reading Private Property: No Trespassing. He drove a little further past the private road and pulled off to the opposite side. “We don’t want to alert them yet.”