by Susan Illene
“Would you let your lover’s uncle die to protect the orb?” Verena asked.
I glared at her. “Threatening me will not work. It will only prove you are the absolute last person who should ever get a hold of it.”
Anger flashed in the sorceress’ hazel eyes. “You think I would use it to control you, but you are wrong. I am only trying to keep it from getting into the hands of another who would use the orb for ill purposes.”
“That’s what you say now, but you can’t be sure the power of it won’t lure you to use it,” I said. For the moment, I had to keep her talking and keep her attention on me. I’d say whatever it took to make sure she didn’t hurt Kade or anyone else.
Verena used her free hand to dig through a large purse hanging over her shoulder. She pulled out a wooden box. “You can put it in this. The wood is specially treated so that none can sense it inside, and I will not feel its call.”
“What makes you think we have the orb?” I asked.
She clucked her tongue. “I may not be able to sense it, but I know it’s here somewhere. Do not try to deny it.”
I studied the box. It looked suspiciously like the one that the sorcerer Finias used to store the orb next to his bed—before the slayer took it out. After three thousand years, how could Verena have it? Sure, she’d been alive a thousand years ago, but that was still a long time gap. Was she somehow related to the man who originally designed it? She already had the magic to control a couple of us at a time, so it wasn’t a big leap that if power like that was put into an object and magnified, it would become just like the orb. So many things began to make sense now.
I crossed my arms. “Finias is your ancestor, isn’t he?”
Though if that was true, it meant the old slayer was not able to track down all six of the sorcerer’s sons to kill them.
“Yes,” Verena nodded, surprise flickering in her eyes that I had figured out that much. “He had a daughter no one ever knew about. One of the serving maids got pregnant by him and fled before he could find out. She kept the child a secret but returned the night after he was killed to take the box. It was her intention to track down the orb and protect it from ever being used again.”
“But she failed,” I surmised.
“And the duty to find it has been passed down every generation since.”
I frowned. “Is that why you were so quick to meet me after D-day? Did you already know I’d be part of the group sent to find the orb?”
“Not right away,” she said. “I just knew you would be important for something. It was only in the last few weeks that the details became clearer.”
I was letting Verena think I was considering her request to take the orb—anything to buy just a bit more time before help arrived. And it was useful to get a little more history out of the sorceress while she was here, even if I couldn’t trust anything she said. It helped to understand her motivations, so I could predict what she might do in the future.
“Why are you certain the shifters and I can’t protect the orb?” I asked.
Verena’s expression softened and pity lit in her eyes. “Because I know. If you let the shifters control it, you will come to regret that decision.”
“How?” I took a step forward, unable to help myself. “You have to be a little more specific if you want me to buy your story.”
“I don’t know yet!” Verena cried in frustration. “I only know you will regret it if you do not give it to me. The consequences will be greater than you can imagine.”
She was giving me empty threats just to get the orb. I wasn’t buying a word of anything she was saying. “You’re not getting it. Not now—not ever.”
Verena lifted her free hand and pointed it at me. She whispered ancient words and power sparked the air, surging into my body. Pain unlike anything I’d ever felt before lit up every nerve until I was left screaming and falling to my knees.
“I had not wanted to resort to this,” Verena said.
I barely heard her over the blood rushing in my ears. The next thing I knew, I was curled on the ground, rolling from side to side. There was no escaping what she was doing to me. From the top of my head down to my toes, everything was on fire with invisible flames.
“Leave her alone,” Phoebe screamed.
“Move a step closer,” Verena warned, “and your uncle will start cutting through his own neck. The only way this ends is by you giving me the orb.”
“I can’t do that,” Phoebe said helplessly. She knew Kade and I would both sacrifice ourselves rather than let anyone else have the artifact. I was glad Conrad had stayed in his room, so we could work this out without worrying about protecting him.
“Now!” Verena demanded, then ramped up the pain in my body until I screamed even louder.
Through pain-glazed eyes, I watched as the dark figure I’d seen skulking around earlier snuck up behind Verena. That person had been biding their time and waiting for the right opportunity. It was why I’d kept the sorceress talking for so long.
Miles lifted the shotgun in his hands and fired it directly at the sorceress’ back. Verena cried out, falling to her knees. All of the sudden, the agony I’d been experiencing went away. I gulped in several deep breaths and climbed to my knees. Kade was lowering the knife at his throat, relief in his eyes. A second later, Aidan pulled me up and into his arms. He’d been sleeping so soundly that I didn’t think he got up until I started screaming.
I turned my head and saw Miles going to stand over Verena, still aiming the shotgun at her. She ignored him, her gaze on me instead. “You will come to regret this, slayer. Mark my words.”
Energy crackled the air, and before Miles could pull the trigger, Verena disappeared. The only sign of her presence was the traces of blood she left on the parking lot pavement.
Danae came running outside in only a tank top and underwear with her blond hair a tangled mess. She looked like she’d just woken up. “Miles, what are you doing out here? And was that you I heard shooting?”
I turned my attention back to the man in question, noting for the first time that he didn’t have a shirt on, and there were suspicious scratch marks on his chest and shoulders—the kind that came from a woman’s nails.
“The better question would be,” Conrad said, stepping out of his motel room, “where was Miles before he came out here?”
Phoebe’s jaw dropped. “Dear Zorya. Did you two finally make up?”
Miles’ cheeks turned red. “Maybe we can concentrate on where the sorceress went instead of what I do in my spare time?”
He had a point. I searched the parking lot, not seeing any sign of Verena.
“Do you smell her anywhere nearby?” I asked Aidan.
“No.” He shook his head. “I suspect she is long gone—for now.”
Kade nodded. “She will need to tend her wounds. That will buy us enough time to get the orb safely put away where she cannot reach it.”
I certainly hoped he was right because her final threat left me with a sick feeling in my stomach. What kind of consequences would I be facing? Was that threat real or false?
Chapter 32
Bailey
It was just before noon when we reached Oklahoma City. Aidan still slept on my lap, where his head had fallen as soon as we’d climbed into the truck that morning. It was a good thing my ankle had mostly healed during the night, or I wouldn’t have been able to half carry him out of the motel room. At least the remaining tenderness didn’t bother me much. It was Aidan who I worried about since his wounds were still mending at an abnormally slow pace. He promised he’d see his clan healer once he returned to the fortress, but I couldn’t be there for that.
The shifters missed our going away breakfast, but the rest of us enjoyed it. The town had given us a nice farewell meal, and we gave them some tips on how to hide from dragons in the future—such as digging underground tunnels. Since they’d only recently begun to have serious dragon problems, they hadn’t known dirt was the trick to hiding from the f
lames.
I looked up as we neared downtown and gasped. Hearing about the destruction of the buildings was one thing, but seeing them was another. The top part of Devon Tower, which was once the tallest structure, had been obliterated by dragon flames so that the highest remaining floors opened up at a jagged angle. Many of the other high-rise buildings were just as bad off or completely obliterated.
“Damn,” Conrad said, letting out a whistle. “They messed downtown up!”
“Yeah, they did.”
I was really glad we still had a little time left before the dragons would be up and about. It allowed us to see the area without risking getting caught. There were guards sitting on rooftops, but they would stay near the buildings to protect the sleeping inhabitants. Aidan had told me there were hundreds of dragons nesting in the large openings the beasts had made on the sides of the structures. Keeping them safe was the guards’ priority, and we wouldn’t be getting close enough for them to find us a threat. Not as long as they didn’t realize we had shifters with us, anyway. I’d insisted we roll up our windows just in case the wind picked up and blew in that direction.
Conrad followed Miles as he took the Interstate 35 ramp and headed south. In a few more minutes, we would cross out of pure dragon territory and enter the edge of shifter land. Driving down the interstate was a bit tricky, though, because it was technically neutral and either clan could travel over it. The Thamaran had mostly stopped using it after I made it one of my favorite hunting grounds. Hopefully, they hadn’t figured out I’d left town for a while.
Kade began to stir in his seat. I grabbed a canteen of water and passed it to him as soon as he opened his eyes. He gratefully took it, gulping down the entire container. I handed him an apple next—the last one we had. He munched on it, his eyes becoming more alert with each moment that passed.
“That is our territory up there.” He gestured toward the I-240 bridge that marked the boundary the shifters had set in their peace treaties with the pure dragon clans. Everything to the southeast of that intersection with I-35 belonged to the Taugud.
“Yes. We’re almost home.” And I’d never been more grateful to be nearing Norman.
It took driving another twenty minutes, passing through Moore first, before we turned off on our exit. I kept a watchful gaze to the west the whole time, daring any Thamaran to come out and play. Aidan continued to sleep until we hit our first buckle in the road on Main Street. That jolted the truck enough to stir him.
He picked up my canteen and began drinking from it. I examined the town, making certain nothing was out of the ordinary. The shifters might consider this land part of their territory, but I considered the whole of Norman mine. For as long as I lived there, it would be my responsibility to keep its citizens safe. Thankfully, it didn’t appear anything had changed except someone had finally moved a fallen tree off the road. It had always been annoying to drive around the damn thing, but since it only blocked one lane, I’d just left it there.
We made our way down a side street and reached Earl’s place a few minutes later. Justin was standing at the gate when we pulled up. He spoke to Miles for a moment before opening the way for us. By the time we parked the trucks in front of Earl’s, half the neighborhood was outside and heading our way. I supposed our journey made for interesting news, but if Hank the radio guy showed up, I planned to disappear fast.
Earl walked up the sidewalk as we got out, his eyes on me. “Got my cigarettes?”
I’d been prepared for this. I tossed the two packs I’d gotten for him through the air. “Enjoy those. You have no idea what I risked to get them.”
“I will,” he said, opening one of the packs right away. It wasn’t until he lit a cigarette up that his gaze met mine again. “Glad you made it back safely, Bailey.”
Trish came running up and bowled me over with a hug. “I’ve been worried about you!”
“I’m back right on time,” I said, pulling away.
She pouted her lips. “It still seemed like forever.”
Justin joined us, checking out the trucks. “Doesn’t look like you ran into too much trouble. Don’t see any damage.”
“That’s because Miles insisted on protecting these things like they were precious jewels.” I patted my service truck, thankful it had done such a great job. “They never even got near the action.”
“Looks like you guys did, though.” Justin nodded at Aidan, who’d finally climbed out of the truck. The poor guy was still trying to wake up, and his injuries were slowing him down.
“We had a few battles, but we all came back whole,” I said, putting my arm around Aidan. No one needed to know I was half propping him up.
Several more people came to greet us and ask questions before Earl finished smoking. Then he gestured at me to come with him to the house. I frowned. There was a look in his eyes that told me I wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say. My stomach churned.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I told Aidan.
He nodded. “I’m going to send Phoebe and Kade ahead to the fortress to let the pendragon know we’ll be there shortly.”
Aidan left out the part about how we needed to hurry and get the orb there, but I could see the message in his eyes. I glanced over and caught people already beginning to offload the trucks. Miles had said he would return them to their owners as soon as we got back. We’d have to take my personal vehicle to ride to the fortress.
I gestured at Conrad. “Could you transfer mine and Aidan’s stuff to my truck?”
“Yeah, sure.” He frowned. “What’s going on?”
“Earl wants to talk to me.” I shrugged.
“Alright, I got ya, girl.” He patted me on the back and hurried away.
I walked into Earl’s house and found him sitting at his rickety kitchen table. There were two coffee mugs sitting in front of him. He slid one, steam flowing from the top, toward me. When I took a seat next to him, he didn’t meet my eyes. Instead, he waited until I’d drunk a few sips and reveled in the taste of it. Earl didn’t need to know I’d acquired my own supply while I was away.
He cleared his throat. “I got a call from your mother while you were gone.”
The tone of his voice told me my suspicions might be correct. I took a deep breath. “Was it about Grady?”
He tensed, his gaze shooting to me. “How did you know?”
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” I asked, just needing the truth.
“I’m sorry, Bailey. He passed away shortly after you left.” Earl drank deeply from his coffee mug. “Don’t know how you knew that, though.”
I couldn’t exactly tell him the truth, but I could come close. “He came to me in a dream a few days ago. Told me he’d died, but not to worry because my brothers are taking care of mom.”
“That about sums it up.” Earl nodded.
He and Grady had been good friends as well, so this couldn’t have been much easier on him. The weight of the death seemed to sit heavily on Earl’s shoulders. He wasn’t one to show emotion very often, and even when he was bothered by something, he usually covered it up with his gruffness.
“I know you lost him, too,” I said, reaching over and giving him a hug. “But he seemed to be happy in my dream—like he’s going to be alright.”
That was my one consolation. I had a strong suspicion that the Grady I met in the cave had been the real one, and though he’d had to say a few things for the sake of the test, he’d also gotten a chance to say goodbye. Not many people were given an opportunity like that. I still needed time to sort out my feelings and mourn him, but I’d do that once I finished my mission. That came first, as I’d sworn in my vows back at Alabaster Caverns. There was some comfort in knowing I now had a higher calling that didn’t just impact the town I lived in, but possibly the world.
“You should call your mom,” Earl said, finishing the last of his coffee.
“I will—tomorrow. There’s something else I have to do first.” I stood. “Just do me a favor and d
on’t tell anyone about Grady right now.”
Earl scrunched his brows. “Why?”
“I have my reasons.”
Heading outside, I caught Conrad talking to Christine across the street. She had tears running down her cheeks, and his shoulders were stiff as if it was killing him to see her so upset. I went to my truck in Earl’s driveway to check it over. It was exactly as I’d left it a week ago, except better. Someone had fixed my broken windows and patched up the bullet holes. The black paint they used didn’t quite match up, but I didn’t care. My baby was looking better than she had since last summer.
Aidan made his way over to me, moving at a slow pace. I remembered what it was like to have my shoulder crushed. You might not walk on it, but every step jarred the bone and shot pain through your body. He settled in the front passenger seat of the truck, and a few minutes later Conrad hurried toward us.
“How did it go?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not good. It’s, um…over.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, wishing there was something I could do.
He opened the back passenger door and climbed inside. “How about you tell me what Earl wanted. I don’t want to talk about my problems right now.”
I sighed and got into the driver’s seat. This was going to be a tense ride. I didn’t dare tell Conrad the news about my stepfather because that would mean there was a very real possibility his grandma was dead, too. After what he’d just been through with his girlfriend, I couldn’t add to his pain.
Chapter 33
Aidan
The silence in the truck was deafening. Aidan was as curious as Conrad about what Earl had discussed with Bailey in the house. She was tight-lipped, though, and didn’t offer anything as she drove down the city streets. Bailey kept her eyes on the road, holding the wheel a little more tightly than Aidan thought necessary.