I stuck my head through the hole in the ceiling and watched as Alyson shot the Shadow Walkers down one at a time. When they all turned and attacked Alyson as one, I almost abandoned Mara to help her.
The only thing that stopped me was when I saw how they all stopped and had to enter the corridor one at a time. Alyson could take them down that way relatively easily. It was like fishing in a tank.
Everyone’s attention was on the back of the room and the fight with Alyson. It was the perfect chance to get Mara out of there.
“Mara, you ready?” I whispered down to her.
She looked up to me and winked before holding up a finger, indicating she needed a moment longer.
I wasn’t sure how much more time we had. Alyson would either be overwhelmed in just a few minutes or Quincy would intervene before all of his soldiers were killed.
Mara looked up and said, “Now.”
I jumped down and looked around. No one had noticed my presence. When I looked to Mara for explanation, she held a finger up to her lips. It really didn’t matter, as long as I got her up on the roof before anyone noticed. From there, we could see about getting the rest of the innocents out.
Mara climbed on my back, and I jumped up and grabbed the outer edge of the wall where it met the ceiling. After I pulled us up, Mara climbed off my back.
“Be very careful. After what I did to it, this roof is about to collapse. We have to jump down over the edge in case it caves in before we make it to the back where the stairs are located.” I knew Mara couldn’t land safely on her own, so I motioned for her to get on my back again.
Instead, Mara went down to her knees and looked inside. “Wait, I need to see where Alyson is. We must get the regular werewolves in the other corner out. I’ve seen what happens. They are in danger.” After a moment, she looked back up at me. “She must be around back still. We have only a few minutes. Help me to save them.” Mara stood up and began walking across the dangerous roof to the other side.
“Wait, what do you mean you’ve seen what happens? Did you have a premonition?” I knew she had the ability, but thought she had lost it decades ago.
The great witch didn’t break stride as she moved toward the corner of the roof over the wolves. “Yes, dear. Lately, I’ve seen quite a few things. Fate has decided to shine on me for this particular case. Now help me!”
“Stop, Mara. Come down with me, and I will go around to their side and get them to safety. The roof is going to collapse if you walk across it.” I couldn’t save her only to have her drop right back inside the lion’s den.
She took a step and her foot got stuck in the red tiles. It almost went all the way through. With a sigh, I made my way to her and helped her get her foot out of the roof.
Mara let out a vaguely embarrassed sigh and relented. “Yes, you may be right, but we must hurry. Time is not on our side.”
I nodded. “Here, put your hands on my shoulders and I’ll carry you out.”
I grabbed her around her waist and gently lifted her until her feet were clear of the dangerous red tiles. Once she was safe on my back, I went over the edge, landing heavily but safely in the lot below. The second our feet hit the ground, Mara slid off my back and moved to the front of the building.
I had to stop her before Quincy and his cult saw her through the front windows. “Mara, hold up. Let’s be a bit more careful here. You don’t want the enemy to see you through the front windows.” I ran behind her and almost tripped when I looked inside. They wouldn’t be looking out at us any time soon. “Shi—”
“Language!” Mara interrupted, shaking her head in dismay. “Now, hurry up!”
“What is Alyson doing?” I knew now why Mara had insisted we hurry. The werewolves might not make it.
27
Alyson
It was a good thing I exited the building because it gave me the chance to see what Vlad was up to. I had circled around to the side where Mara was sitting and looked up when I heard a noise. It sounded like someone had slipped on some tiles and to my surprise, I saw Vlad up on the roof with Mara on his back.
With the both of them safe, I trusted Vlad to get the innocent werewolves out as well, letting me do what needed to be done. Since Quincy had already sacrificed ninety-nine paranormal creatures, I had to end this now. Even if he didn’t get ahold of me, he would find someone else with enough magic to make the final sacrifice. Besides, the bastard had told me he was responsible for wiping out dragons. He had to answer for that too.
The only confusing part was this place. It meant nothing to me so why did he choose it to sacrifice me? Mara had said each location had to have significant importance to the being who was sacrificed. Maybe the last spot didn’t matter? Either way, it was time I finished this.
Since there wasn’t a door on this side of the building, I kept running around to the front of the building. It was unlocked, too. Mighty nice of Quincy to make it easy for me to get back inside.
When I opened the door, I realized why. Several Shadow Walkers were lined up next to the opening just waiting for me to arrive. Great.
Two of them grabbed my arms in the blink of an eye. I was hosed. I tried to pull my arms free but they were way stronger than I was in my human form. As I tried to pull away, they just clamped down even harder, causing my muscles to grind into my bones, and I realized that they might just be strong enough to break my arms.
If they succeeded, I wouldn’t be able to fight back. I saw Mara through the front window and knew it was now or never. Once they got me further inside, I’d be done.
Removing my mental clamp on my dragon, I shifted. I’d never tried shifting while someone was holding me before but luckily, it had the desired effect. The two men touching me were thrown violently back against the wall while I grew and grew.
My head smashed up against the ceiling, just like I thought. There wasn’t any room to move around. My tail was hanging outside the door while my wings pushed several of the Shadow Walkers up against the walls.
Quincy was right in front of me. Behind him were the innocent werewolves. If I blew my fire now, they would burn too.
“Don’t let her breathe fire! Get a fire extinguisher or something!” Quincy yelled as he threw a fireball at me.
Stupid man, fire doesn’t hurt dragons. The magical blast splashed harmlessly against my scales. Still, Quincy obviously didn’t understand my moral fiber, thinking I would incinerate him with innocents in the line of fire. Maybe I could use that to my advantage.
If Vlad was the partner I knew him to be, he was working on a way to get those werewolves out of this place before I brought it down. I just needed to give him some time.
“Give it up, Quincy.” My voice was deep and guttural. “You’ve lost.”
“I had hoped you wouldn’t shift, but I was prepared.” Quincy smirked before he threw his hands toward me.
A blue lightning bolt shot out from his hands and hit my chest. It wasn’t painful, it felt more like a scratch. Only, as I tried to laugh at his puny power, I found myself unable to do so. My wings wouldn’t move either. When I tried to swish my tail around, it wouldn’t move. He’d froze me to the spot.
Flames and cauldrons!
If I couldn’t move, he just might be able to drain me of my blood given enough time. Sure, I was outside of the circle, and it was unlikely he could move me, but maybe he didn’t need me inside the circle for his spell.
In the corner, I watched as Vlad and Mara worked to get the werewolves out. The front window closest to the innocent wolves burst open, causing Quincy to turn and look in that direction. Before the halfling could throw another spell, Mara held up her hands in front of her. A shield of iridescent energy sprang up before her while Vlad guided the wolves outside.
Normally, her shields were see-through but the magic used to create this one was visible to me in my dragon form. A light pink glow surrounded the edges of a silver disc. It looked to be at least five feet wide and went from the floor to the ceiling.
Quincy threw his hands toward the shield and his blue lighting bounced off and hit the ground.
The werewolves were moving very slowly, and I wanted to scream at them to hurry but I couldn’t say a word. My frustration was growing and smoke came out of my nostrils.
Quincy looked from one corner of the room to the other. “How’d you do it? I can still see you sitting in the corner? Astral projection?” Quincy continued to barrage Mara’s shield and each bolt he sent bounced right off. One of the stray bolts hit one of his Shadow Wolves and he froze in place.
“A really great glamour. Guess you aren’t so powerful after all, are you?” Mara laughed and walked backwards out of the broken window while keeping her shield up.
Hold up, smoke? Out of my nostrils?
I took in a huge breath of air and prepared to blow fire as hard as I could once Mara had made her way out of the building. If I could get enough air in, I could unleash the fire through my nose. I only needed to seriously injure Quincy to disrupt his concentration and end his spell. At least, that was the general consensus regarding spells.
Quincy was still in the middle of the circle. Would killing him there set off the end of the world or would it stop it?
Since I couldn’t move, I needed to just roll the dice and pray I actually had good luck for once.
The second Mara disappeared from view, I forced air and flames up through my snout. If I had been in a human shape, I would have just scorched the ground but with the long muzzle of a dragon, two intense jets of flame blazed through the air, and the best part? He didn’t even see it coming.
The jets of flame hit him square in the back, burning him to ash in the span of a second.
Just like that, I could move again. As Quincy’s magic spell dissipated, I blew again, letting the full force of my flames hit the ground. Dragon fire covered the pentagram within his circle, burning away the blood and the ritual magic along with it.
The Shadow Walkers looked around dazed and confused, and when they saw me, they tried to flee. With a roar, I infused my rage into my breath and unleashed a blaze in their direction.
What remained of the evil wolf pack caught fire. As the entire building went up in flames, I swung my tail back and forth while I used my right wing to plow through the wall. Unable to take the impact, the entire building fell on me.
I burst my head out of the fiery rubble and took a deep breath. “Ahh, finally some fresh air.” As my flames burned, the stench of evil began to disperse.
Flapping my wings as I pulled myself free, I flew up a few feet, just enough to get away from the burning building.
I could only hope the alarm earlier coupled with the evil magic that had permeated the area drove away anyone who might be close enough to see my dragon form.
Once I was clear of the fire, I shifted back into my human form. Agony I’d only experienced a few times in my life ripped through me, turning my blood to boiling magma, and causing my muscles to shriek and convulse as my inner dragon raged. Still, I had enough mental control to shove her back in her box, even if it felt like she was raking my brain with red hot pokers.
28
Alyson
After I finished spitting up blood from my too quick transformation back into a human, I made my way back and began looking for my partner.
“Alyson, over here!” I looked to my right toward the voice, catching sight of Vlad two blocks down with Mara standing right behind him.
I ran over to them, and as I got close, Vlad pulled me into a bone crushing hug.
“Can’t. Breathe,” I wheezed out.
“Oh, sorry! I’m just so happy to see you made it out alive.” Vlad pulled back but still held my shoulders.
“Thanks, I am too. For a few minutes there I wasn’t sure I would make it. Great job with the whole glamour in the corner thing, Mara.” I looked over to see Mara looking away from us. She was watching the building burn. I noticed her furrowed brow and something wasn’t sitting right in my gut.
“Is everything all right?” I asked. “You look worried.”
“Yes, yes. Great job.” Mara turned around to look at us and asked, “Do you think Quincy was smart enough to pull this whole operation off? His Shadow Walkers definitely were not. They were strictly muscle.”
“Totally strong muscle, but yes, I wondered that as well.” I nodded. “Quincy seemed pretty smart, but your glamour really stumped him. Shouldn’t he have been able to figure that one out?” Even I noticed something wasn’t quite right when I first eyed Mara in the corner.
“He should have. However, if he was more focused on you, Alyson. He may not have even looked at me once I switched over to the illusion.” The great witch looked back to the burning restaurant, clearly still concerned.
I followed her gaze. “Do you think the Walkers will survive this? I’ve never known anything to survive dragon fire, but with all of their dark magic, I wonder if they might.”
I wouldn’t want to see what they looked like if they did make it out. Third degree burns all over their body would not only be extremely painful but completely disfiguring as well. Then again, they were werewolves. Maybe they’d heal up just fine.
“No, they died.” She sucked in a huge breath. “Thing is, while a lot of the evil has disappeared, I still feel some left. Someone got away.”
Mara looked me in the eye and a shiver ran down my spine. “Not Quincy. He was the first one I set on fire. Before I brought the building down, he had burnt to a crisp.”
Something did feel off though. In addition to the normal scents surrounding a fire, I smelled something else, too. I looked around, and while there was no one anywhere near us, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I felt like I was being watched.
After doing a three-sixty spin, I took off walking away from the fire. The further I got, the more I smelled something familiar. It was light but I smelled sulfur and tasted metal. It wasn’t my own personal scent either. Had another dragon been here?
“Mara, do you sense anyone else?” If there was anyone else here, I knew the grand witch would know it.
Mara’s wide eyes confirmed my own suspicions before her words did. “There was something, but it’s not here anymore.” She met my eyes. “I know it’s not possible, but I think there was another dragon here.”
“Do you think they had kidnapped another dragon just in case they couldn’t kill me?” While I was really excited about their being another dragon, I really hoped they didn’t have anyone else in their grasp. The other option, that one of my kind had turned evil, well, that was unthinkable, especially since, as far as I knew, he or she might be the only other dragon alive.
“It’s very conceivable, but unlikely.” Mara shook her head. “How he would have found another dragon is beyond me.”
“We have to find her or him,” I declared firmly. “Whoever they are must be a prisoner. We can’t leave them to the Shadow Walkers.” My family was dead, but if there were more dragons out there, I wanted to meet them more than almost anything. As I took a deep breath to try and calm myself, I knew I had to find out for sure, and what’s more, I needed to save them.
Mara looked like she was going to say something else, but before she could, Vlad put his arm around my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Alyson. We will find whoever it is and save them. But first, we have to head back to base.”
“Actually, the very first thing you should do is to please take me back to my safe house.” Mara smiled. “I need to get back to my coven and see how many survived. We will offer our healing services to any paranormal caught up in this battle for power. I imagine there will be quite a few injured out there.”
“Right, let’s see if our car survived the fire.” Vlad led us back to the Mustang we’d driven up in. It was sitting there with soot on it, but otherwise it looked fine.
“Do you think we should try the phones, just to see if my hunch was accurate?” I asked after we dropped Mara off with her daughters and her coven.
Vl
ad arched an eyebrow as we headed to base. “What hunch?”
“I figured it was magic keeping the phones from working, especially since we had dial tones on landlines and could hear ringing on our cell but had no service bars. It just seemed very odd.” I pulled out my phone but Vlad took it out my hands.
“No phone calls while driving. I’ll call.” Vlad opened my phone and dialed.
“Steve? The phones work again?” Vlad was smiling while he spoke with Steve, our section chief. After a few moments of back-and-forth conversation, Vlad held a hand over the speaker to catch me up.
“They had no problem taking back the base. I figured we could catch him up on what happened with our case when we get there. First, we need to figure out how exactly to explain you burning down Quincy and the Walkers with your dragon fire. While Steve knows, we need a cover story for the official public records.”
“True.” I thought for a moment. “Could we alter the story so it was Mara who fried everyone? She is the great witch and has the power to do it, right?” I hadn’t actually seen her start any magical fires, but who knew with that woman?
“Not quite, but the FBI probably doesn’t know exactly what she’s capable of. I’ll have to tell her our story so she can corroborate if she’s ever asked.” Vlad shrugged. “Besides, even if we make something up, the FBI will put their own non-paranormal spin on it.”
“That’s true, but let’s go with Mara being the one to destroy the evil mage, anyway. It’s a better story. What do you say we get a good night’s sleep after we are done with everything back at base and then tomorrow meet up for a celebratory drink? I’m buying.”
“I’ll buy us dinner, then. I think we deserve a night on the town after this case.” Vlad smiled.
A Ritual of Fire Page 17