Aidan raced across the ground, desperate to save his father before it was too late. Bailey was finishing off her opponent as he ran past her. He could not stop to explain. Aidan kept going, watching with horror as one of the dragons rammed into Throm’s side, knocking him over. The other Shadowan went for his neck.
Only a few more paces and Aidan would be there.
The green dragon chomped hard on Throm’s throat while the other tore deep into his belly. Aidan roared his anger, but the Shadowan paid no attention to him. They knew who they were killing and wanted the glory of taking the pendragon’s life. As Aidan reached them, the first released Throm’s neck and stepped away. He caught a glimpse of his father’s eyes and watched the light go out of them. The pendragon—the male who had inspired and guided him for more than two centuries—had just breathed his last breath.
Noooo! This could not be happening.
Aidan had meant to protect his father and see him alive through the end of the battle. Anguish unlike anything he had felt before ran through him. Now he would never be able to speak to his sire again or gain his forgiveness. Aidan let out a mournful wail for all his toriq to hear, letting them know what had happened. They echoed it with their own sounds of sorrow.
You will die for this! Aidan said to the one who crushed Throm’s throat.
He leaped on top of the dragon, ripping and tearing into him with his teeth. Aidan’s pain and anger fueled him. In moments, there was little left of the Shadowan to identify. He would be claiming no glory for himself today. Aidan twisted to find the other dragon who had attacked Throm, but he found Bailey had already finished him off. As she hovered over the beast’s with her bloody sword in hand, she gave him a respectful nod.
While he had been distracted with killing his father’s murderer, she had protected his back and fended off his would-be attacker. Some shifter males might be ashamed to have a female—especially a slayer—aid them in battle. He took pride in the fact that she was capable of doing it, and for him.
Stop fighting if you want your princess to live! Phoebe called out. Aidan turned to find his sister standing on the rooftop of a hangar, gripping Matrika’s throat with her teeth.
Within seconds, the battlefield went still. Shadowan and Taugud alike stopped and turned to look at Phoebe and their princess. Though she was smaller than Matrika, she looked the part of a vengeful warrior. Aidan noted that Bailey quietly slipped away while everyone had their attention elsewhere. Her fists were clenched and her expression tight as she fought to maintain control, but she managed to walk past a dozen dragons before clearing the battlefield.
Once she was out of sight, Aidan sat next to his dead father and guarded his body while listening to his sister propose the terms for Matrika’s release. She made it clear the Shadowan must withdraw to the north, citing a human interstate they called I-240, though she described it in terms the pure dragons could understand. That was much farther north than they had discussed, but it could not hurt to ask for more than they expected.
She also told the Shadowan about the eggs, pulling one from shiggara for everyone to see and stating there was one more like it, both almost ready to hatch. They came from the Thamaran, but the parents were killed by a slayer so the eggs would not be missed. It would allow Matrika a chance to be the mother she wished to be so desperately. All the Shadowan had to do was give up a bit of territory—or they could continue to fight and lose the princess and the eggs. It was their choice.
Volker, the pendragon and Matrika’s father, came forward. You ask for too much.
I think not. Phoebe said, maintaining her tight hold on the female dragon’s throat. It was just as well she did not need her mouth to talk. You are the one who clearly planned to invade our territory, and it is your warrior who just killed our pendragon. I could take my revenge on your daughter, or I could make her very happy. The decision is yours.
Volker called two dragons to him. They spoke through private communications for several minutes before he addressed Phoebe again. Perhaps we can redefine the territorial boundaries you have proposed.
Absolutely not, she growled and bit harder into Matrika, who made a pain-filled sound. You have five seconds to consider before I finish her.
The Shadowan pendragon took a step forward, but then remembered the imminent threat to his daughter and stopped. Very well, we accept your offer.
Aidan was shocked. That had taken very little convincing, even with Matrika’s life at stake. The Shadowan must value her even more than anyone guessed.
Ruari appeared at the base of the building. We must prepare for the ritual of agreement.
Why was Aidan not surprised his brother showed up so quickly now? With the pendragon dead and the successor not present, it fell on one of Throm’s children to perform the blood ritual that would seal the accord. Ruari wouldn’t want to miss a chance in the spotlight, though Aidan noted his brother didn’t appear all that worse for wear from the battle. He had likely hidden for most of the fighting, only revealing himself long enough for the toriq to see him participating. Aidan might have argued against letting his brother perform the ritual, but it was rather painful. Let Ruari be the one to experience a stab through the gut—he certainly deserved it.
Very well, produce the blades and let us get on with this, Volker said. The pure dragons had a different tradition they used amongst each other, but this was the method they used when shifters were involved.
Aidan ordered one of his clansmen to watch over Throm’s body, then made his way forward to assist his brother and sister. No matter his inner turmoil, his family needed to present a united force to the Shadowan and show them that despite the loss of their pendragon, they remained strong. Though inside, Aidan felt himself falling apart. He would deal with his pain later when he could be alone. For now, he held his head high and showed none of his despair.
Chapter 36
Bailey
I weaved my way around the dragons crowding the airfield. Though I averted my gaze from the beasts as best I could, the wild scent of them assailed my nose. My body thrummed with the need to fight and kill more of them. I concentrated on the pain of my wounds, letting that be my focus. One dragon had taken a bite of my ankle just before I ran my sword through its heart. I didn’t think any bones were broken, but the punctures from its sharp teeth throbbed, and the skin swelled inside my boot.
A round of growls sounded as I neared the edge of the field, I glanced up at the hangar roof where Phoebe had a stranglehold on Matrika. She must have told the Shadowan the terms of the deal we’d discussed beforehand. I wished I could have heard her speech, but it appeared telepathy only worked on me with Aidan.
The last time I looked his way there had been deep pain and sorrow in his eyes. I didn’t recognize the dragon he had tried to save and reached too late, but the beast’s worn scales and softer body gave the impression it was older. Could it have been his father? I couldn’t recall Aidan ever mentioning any other older male that he might mourn so heavily. All I knew was that his grief had been palpable. Under other circumstances, I might have tried comforting him, but all I was able to do was protect his back by killing the beast eyeing him. Aidan had no idea how close he came to the green dragon taking him down while he fought the other one.
I made it past the row of airport hangars and onto the main road. Some of the tension eased inside me. The scent of the hundreds of dragons behind me was slowly fading. I began to jog down the street, ignoring the pain in my ankle and other wounds, just wanting to put as much distance as I could from the battlefield. After a few minutes, Conrad pulled up alongside me. Had he been lurking somewhere nearby?
He rolled down the truck window. “Looking for a ride?”
“I thought I told you to go back with the children,” I said, giving him a disapproving look.
“I did. They’re back at Earl’s eatin’ their way through the candy stash.” He grinned. “But I wouldn’t be much of a sidekick if I let you walk home wounded now would I?
”
“I suppose not.” I worked my way around to the passenger side of the truck and got in. Normally, I insisted on driving if we were together, but I was in too much pain to bother at the moment. “But sidekicks should obey orders.”
“Uh huh, show me one example of a sidekick who always obeyed orders.”
I mulled that over and saw that he had a point.
“There’s a first time for everything,” I replied instead.
Conrad turned the truck around and started driving toward Earl’s neighborhood. With the conditions of the roads these days, it would take about fifteen to twenty minutes. I pulled a miniature first aid kit from the glove compartment and started cleaning up the slash wounds on my arms, chest, and face. The blood was dried, but I was rather certain I could make zombies look good.
I pulled down the visor mirror, noting half my braid had been torn out and my hair hung in all directions. There were three slash marks across my left cheek—one of them a mere half inch from my eye. It didn’t hurt as much as it should. Was I just getting used to being wounded and the minor injuries didn’t bother me anymore? Sometimes, I wondered how much becoming a slayer had changed me. If I ever saw my mother again, would she even be able to recognize her own daughter? That was a scary thought.
I’d just finished tending my visible injuries when Conrad pulled up to the neighborhood “gate” where Justin and Miles opened it right away for us. The sun had set, leaving a fading pink haze on the horizon. We usually didn’t come in around this time, but we didn’t see any dragons on the way back. If Phoebe got the Shadowan to agree to the terms we discussed, the green beasts wouldn’t be a problem anymore in this part of Norman. We would only have the Thamaran on the west side of town to worry about.
Justin and Miles gave me a salute as we passed by them. Though I was no soldier, I returned the gesture since it seemed like the thing to do. Then I turned my gaze ahead where I caught sight of a white cargo van parked along the street with antennas and a small satellite dish jutting from the top. That had to be Hank, the radio guy. Earl had promised to get him here if we rescued the children. Like any good reporter, this was the kind of opportunity he wouldn’t want to miss.
We parked in Earl’s driveway. I caught sight of the mother and daughter scene on the porch, and tears misted my eyes. Christine was holding Lacy, rocking her back and forth. Age notwithstanding, they looked so much alike with their fair skin and wavy blond hair. Even if reuniting them was all I could have accomplished today, it would have made it worth every single injury I got.
Conrad and I walked up to them, and he took a seat beside Christine. “So how much of my candy did she eat?”
Lacy held up her hand, splaying her fingers. “Five.”
“You little goblin.” Conrad reached over and tickled her belly, making her giggle.
Christine smiled at the banter, then looked up at me. “Thank you for this.”
“No problem,” I said, shrugging. It was always kind of awkward on the rare occasion someone took the time to thank me. I never knew how to respond. “I’m just glad she’s safe and okay.”
Christine shook her head. “I can’t believe there isn’t a scratch on her. She told me the dragon never hurt any of the children and that they could even touch its scales without getting burned. I didn’t think that was possible.”
I frowned. “It’s not supposed to be.”
“She could heal our booboos, too!” Lacy added.
“She did?” I asked, surprised.
The little girl jerked her head up and down. “Yep. I had a scratch, and she made it go away.”
Aidan hadn’t mentioned Matrika was a healer. That put things in a whole new perspective because as I understood it, a dragon with such a gift was extremely rare—like one in a thousand. I was willing to bet Phoebe would get whatever she asked for in return for not killing the princess.
“Bailey!” a man called from behind me.
I turned and spotted a guy who appeared to be in his early forties with tan skin, shaggy brown hair, and a thick mustache. He wore a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a blue t-shirt with a yellow smiley face on it. The man had come from the direction of the white van.
“Yeah,” I said, bracing myself for whatever questions he might ask.
“I’m Hank.” He held out a hand, and I shook it. “I’ve been told you are the one we have to thank for returning the town’s missing children.”
Speaking of which, I gazed around not seeing the other six. “Where are the rest of them?”
Hank gestured toward Trish’s house. “They’re in there with your friends Trish and Danae, getting snacks.”
“Oh. Well, maybe I should go check on them,” I said, starting to turn away.
“Wait. I’d like you to answer a few questions for my listeners before you go.”
I knew he was going to say that. Despite being tired and injured, I supposed I had to do it. There was a message I’d promised to deliver to the citizens of Norman if things went well.
“Alright,” I agreed.
He led me over to the van, opening the side door where I caught sight of an array of equipment inside. Electronics weren’t my specialty, but I assumed this was how he managed to keep his radio station up and running. He must have installed extra batteries or something to keep it all powered. There were a lot of gadgets and wires in there.
Hank had me sit on a short stool and lean into a microphone set on a narrow table. He took control of another one. Nervously, I watched as he switched off the music he had been playing and informed listeners that he had another update for them.
“Right here next to me, I’ve got Bailey Monzac. She is the dragon slayer many of you have reported sighting around Norman, battling those dangerous beasts who I certainly wouldn’t want to go near. She has just returned from her latest battle after rescuing the missing children. And I’ve gotta tell you, she didn’t walk away from that fight unscathed.”
Hank paused to glance over at me. “Would you like to tell us how you found the children and got them away from the dragons, Bailey?”
“Um, sure,” I said, not feeling like the confident slayer I should be at all. “I had a lot of help.”
“From who?” he asked, drawing his brows together.
“Well, I had to track down the children’s location first before I could do anything.” I paused for a moment and decided not to mention Javier. His help didn’t come for free, so I wasn’t about to give him any credit. “Then I had to scout out the den where the kids were being kept, which turned out to have about a hundred dragons living there.”
Hank’s eyes rounded. “Surely even you can’t fight that many!”
“No, I can’t.” I shook my head. “But I knew how to contact a source with the red dragons to get their help. For those of you who don’t know, they are shape-shifters and unlike the green dragons, they can take on human form.”
He let out a nervous laugh. “You’re joking, right?”
This was my best chance to put all the information out there. I had no idea how much Aidan would approve of me revealing, but I had to say enough to help convince the people listening. If his clan was going to find a peaceful way to work with humans, there had to be a first step, and this was it.
“I know what I’m saying sounds crazy, but it’s true. After everything else we’ve seen in recent months, you’ve gotta realize there is even more out there that we don’t know about yet. The red dragons are shape-shifters, and they have a fortress near Lake Thunderbird. There are humans living with them who accidentally crossed over to the other dimension before it collided with ours. I’ve met one of those people, and I can testify that they are happy and safe there. Now, the red dragons want to extend their territory farther out and protect the people in this town, too.”
Hank was so stunned that it took him a moment to respond. “So I take it they helped you rescue the kids.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “While their warriors battled the green dragons, a shi
fter and I fought our way to the kids and got them out.”
“Wow, so you don’t kill just any dragon.”
I gave him a rueful smile, thinking of my father and what he would think of this. “No, but it’s not easy. Something in my genetics more or less drives me to attack all dragons. I can’t really take credit for choosing to fight them because I don’t actually get a choice.”
Hank’s gaze ran up and down me. “How many did you kill today?”
“Um.” I had to stop and think about it. “Five or six, I think.” There were so many of them around me during the battle that I’d literally gotten lost in the melee. It could have been more, but my blood lust had been so high that my memories of that time were a little hazy.
“The fact that you don’t know for sure is amazing.” Hank’s voice was filled with admiration. “I think I’d remember each one just so I could brag about it.”
I forced myself to laugh. “Anytime you want to take over for me, just let me know.”
“I believe I’ll let you keep that job and stick with working the radio,” he replied, amused.
Through the open van door, I caught the flash of lights near the gate. Though it had grown dark in the last few minutes since the sun set, I could make out enough of the car to know I didn’t recognize it. Miles jogged alongside the vehicle, guiding it in the direction of Trish’s house. It was risky letting strangers inside, but Justin was supposed to verify everyone by asking for a name and description of their child before allowing them to enter. They’d also be allowed to stay the night so they wouldn’t have to travel the dangerous streets again to get back home. Even if Phoebe got the Shadowan to go along with the deal, it might take a few days or so for the green dragons to clear out of Norman.
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