When they arrived at Krystal’s house, Hugh killed the engine and looked over at Krystal with a sad smile. “Well, it was fun while it lasted. I don’t suppose I can convince you to come on date number three with me?”
Krystal narrowed her eyes playfully at him. “Hmm. It seems that every date I go on with you ends up in a Dark Warriors’ attack. I’m not so sure I want to repeat this.”
Hugh sighed. “Hey, at least I’ve kept you safe both times. That’s got to count for something, right?”
Krystal’s face turned serious. “It does, actually. Thank you. Seriously. You’ve saved my life twice today.”
Hugh started to wave away her praise, but then he thought better of it. “Does that mean I can steal another kiss?” he asked.
Krystal didn’t answer him with words. Instead, she leaned toward him with her lips slightly parted, inviting him in. He took the invitation right away. This time, he didn’t stop at just pecking her lips. Instead, he slipped his tongue into her mouth and kissed her deeply. She was so warm, and tasted slightly fruity, probably thanks to the little bit of Charmed Star Ale she’d consumed. Hugh put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her closer, wanting to take in all of her. After a few moments, he let his hands travel to the back of her head, and then down her back, past her ribcage, and all the way to the small of her back. He pressed against it slightly, and Krystal let out a delicious little moan. Whatever the differences between them, and whatever her resistance to dating, it was obvious that she was turned on by him.
She pulled back, panting, and looked into his eyes. “Do you want to come in? I have plenty of beer. We could have a drink here. It’s not the same as a Charmed Star Ale, but hey. It’s better than nothing.”
Every fiber of Hugh’s being screamed at him to accept her invitation. The idea of being alone with her in her house made him grow stiff between his legs. He wasn’t sure she’d want to take things quite that far. After all, she’d only kissed him so far. It was a big jump to sleeping with her. But he couldn’t help the fact that she turned him on. Her soft lips, parted so enticingly as she looked at him now, drove him absolutely wild.
He couldn’t come in though. Not now. He hadn’t looked at his phone, but he already knew there would be a message from the High Council calling in all the dragons and military heads for an emergency meeting. Two attacks in one day was simply too much. The breach in security that was allowing these Dark Warriors past the City Guards needed to be discovered, and quickly, before more Torch Lake citizens lost their lives.
Hugh sighed, and smiled sadly at Krystal. “I wish I could. Can I take a rain check on it? I have to go to the High Council to report to them what I saw. They need all the dragons on hand to figure out this problem.”
Krystal sighed, too. “You are a pretty important guy, eh?”
Hugh laughed. “All the dragons are important, I guess. But I would take not being important right now, if it meant I could stay with you. I can’t change who I am, though. And who I am is a Torch Lake Dragon. I’ve got to go help my city.”
Krystal nodded. “I understand. Go, then. Tell them my suggestion is to get more armies.” She winked at Hugh, but he only rolled his eyes. She was being naïve, but he didn’t bother to tell her. Instead, he shook his finger at her and gave her a stern look.
“Listen, I want you to stay inside as much as possible. Don’t leave your house if you don’t have to. It’s possible there will be more attacks coming before we get this figured out, and I don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire.”
“I’ll stay put,” Krystal promised. And then, she was gone, hopping out of his car and heading toward her front door. He watched as she made her way into her house and gave a little goodbye wave. When he was finally assured that she was safely inside, he drove away to head toward the High Council building.
Little did he know that Krystal’s house was probably the least safe place for her to be right now.
Chapter Six
After the two attacks today, the darkness frightened Krystal. She walked around her small house, turning on every light possible—even the closet lights. She felt silly, like she was a little child afraid of monsters under the bed. But these monsters were real, and she had already faced them twice today. She did not want to face them a third time.
Krystal went to her kitchen to find something to eat. She hadn’t had dinner yet, and she was starving. She’d intended to order the chicken fingers at the Winking Wizard—everyone said they were really good—but she hadn’t been able to do that before the attack. Now, staring at an assortment of leftovers in her fridge, Krystal felt disappointed by her options. She wished she’d gone to the grocery store over the weekend, but she’d been too busy with her work for the War Council. Wrinkling her nose at her options, she decided to order pizza.
Once the pizza was ordered, she flipped on the television and began mindlessly flipping through the channels. She didn’t necessarily feel like watching anything, but the noise was a nice distraction. Every creak in the house right now was putting Krystal’s nerves on edge, so she turned the volume up until those creaks were drowned out.
Krystal finally settled on one of those home makeover shows, and watched without really watching as the host talked excitedly about all of the possible ways to fix up the kitchen. It took less than a minute for her mind to wander to Hugh. She felt so conflicted about him. For one thing, she couldn’t help but wonder what he saw in her. He’d said she was beautiful, but was that enough reason for him to want so fervently to go out with her? Did he have some ulterior motive? Was he trying to convince her to go back on her stance about bringing in the extra armies?
Krystal frowned. She didn’t really think Hugh had ulterior motives. He seemed convinced that the High Council wasn’t going to bring in extra armies, despite the hundreds of signatures on the War Council’s petition, and the top-notch presentation Krystal had given today. Krystal didn’t often feel like she did anything worth bragging about, but she knew she’d nailed that presentation today. Her friends at the War Council had told her so, too, before she’d been separated from them by the Dark Warriors’ attack.
Krystal wasn’t sure how her friends from the War Council would react to the news that Krystal had gone on a date with Hugh. They all knew, thanks to Krystal’s complaining, that Hugh didn’t want any part in bringing extra armies into Torch Lake. They’d made fun of Hugh and said he must not know much about the ways of war, which Krystal thought was a bit harsh. He did seem pretty experienced when it came to war, but perhaps some of his past experiences had left him jaded. It sounded like he’d dealt with quite a few spies during the last war.
Another creaking sound came from the direction of Krystal’s bedroom. Krystal frowned and turned the television volume up even more. This house wasn’t that old—none of the houses in Torch Lake were, since the whole town had been built up within the last few years. But on windy nights like tonight, the place creaked like it was two hundred years old.
Krystal glanced at her watch, wishing her pizza would hurry up. They’d said forty minutes, and she had a feeling it might actually be that long. On a night like tonight, with the weather turning worse by the minute and the threat of a Dark Warrior attack looming in the air, many people had probably ordered food instead of making a run to a grocery store or restaurant.
The wind howled outside, and the house creaked again. Then a loud crash came from the direction of Krystal’s bedroom. Krystal nearly jumped out of her skin, and her heart was instantly pounding.
“It was nothing,” she said aloud to herself. “Probably a tree branch crashing into the window.”
Determined to prove to herself that her fears were completely unfounded, Krystal stood and started walking toward her bedroom. She was sure she would find a fallen tree branch by her bedroom window and laugh at her own silliness. But as she approached her hallway, she heard more creaking—creaking that sounded frighteningly like footsteps.
Creak. Creak. Creak.
Krystal froze in place, her heart pounding in her chest for what felt like the thousandth time today. She had to be imagining things. There was no way someone was in her house, walking down the hallway.
But then, to her horror, she heard the hiss of a whispered voice. She couldn’t make out what was being said, but she could definitely hear voices. Resisting the urge to scream, Krystal started backing up into her kitchen. First, she crouched behind the tiny kitchen island to keep herself out of sight. But she quickly realized that was a foolish plan. Whoever was in her house would only have to walk around the island and they would spot her right away. A better bet would be for her to make a run for it right now. Krystal eyed her door. It was dead bolted, and there were no shoes close to the door. She’d have to run, unlock the door, and then flee into the night barefoot.
The television was still blaring, so it was difficult for Krystal to say with certainty how far away the intruders were. But she didn’t want to wait another second. As quickly and quietly as she could, she jumped up and made a run for the door. She threw the dead bolt open and then raced outside. It had started raining, and wind and rain whipped at her face as she ran down the path through her front lawn. She’d only made it a few yards, however, before she stopped in horror.
Coming down the front path, straight toward her, were several wizards in dark cloaks. Krystal knew enough to know that these were Dark Warriors. No one from Torch Lake would be dressed like that, stalking her house in the middle of the night. With a scream, Krystal turned and ran back into her house. Maybe she still had time to get out the back door, although she had no idea where she would go from there. Lightning flashed and thunder clapped overhead as Krystal skidded back into her kitchen. She made a beeline for her back door, but before she had even made it to the living room, more Dark Warriors stepped out of the hallway.
“Gotcha!” they shouted, then ran straight for her, grabbing her by the arms.
“Magicae arma!” Krystal tried to scream out. But it was too late to put up a magic shield. They had her, and one had already torn her magic ring off and thrown it across the room. It bounced several times on the kitchen floor, making a series of clinking noises before it finally came to a stop. Krystal continued to struggle against the hands that held her, but to no avail. They kept a firm grip on her as they pulled her down the hallway. She screamed as loudly as she could, but she doubted any of her neighbors would hear her over the sound of wind and thunder.
“Let me go!” she yelled, as though her captors would actually listen to her.
“Fat chance. You’re coming with us, and we’re going to make an example out of you. That’s what you get for trying to thwart our efforts.”
Krystal was so startled by this response that she momentarily stopped struggling. “An example out of me? Whatever for?”
Her captors had dragged her into her bedroom now, where shattered glass was all over the carpet. The crash she heard earlier must have been them breaking in through the window.
“Come on, don’t play dumb. You’ve been parading all over town trying to get people to sign a petition for more armies. And then you gave that big speech this morning to the High Council. Did you think we wouldn’t hear about that? Or that we’d overlook it?”
Krystal could only stare. “You heard that speech? How?”
The Dark Warrior snorted. “We have eyes everywhere. Even in the High Council meetings. And we don’t let anyone get away with stirring up so much trouble. We decided we had to get you out of Torch Lake before you caused any more mischief, no matter how many attacks it took.”
Krystal’s head was spinning. The attacks today had all been because of her? Little old her? She actually laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny?” asked the Dark Warrior gruffly.
“It’s just…you’re wasting your time. You think I’m a big threat? It’s not me. I’m just a low-level volunteer doing what I’m asked to do by the Concerned Citizens War Council. Kidnapping me isn’t going to stop them from trying to get their message out. It’s only going to make them more motivated.”
“Nice try, lady. We heard about your speech today. It’s obvious that you are the brains behind that operation.”
“Nope, just the pretty face,” Krystal said, suddenly feeling bitter. Why was she getting kidnapped when there were so many people at the War Council who had done so much more than she had? This seemed horribly unfair.
“Whatever. Come on, pretty face. You’re coming with us.”
The Dark Warriors dragged her roughly over the broken glass. Krystal shrieked again and tried to get away, but all she managed to do was scrape her bare feet on the jagged edges of her window that were scattered across the room. Wind and rain were rushing into her bedroom thanks to the open window, but the fact that she was going to have ruined carpet was the least of her worries right now. When they got her to the window, they shoved her out of it carelessly, causing her to cut her thigh on a sharp edge of glass that remained in the windowsill. They made no apologies for their rough treatment, or for the fact that she was now bleeding. In fact, the sight of blood only seemed to make them rougher.
Once outside, they gagged her with a bandanna, tied another bandanna around her eyes, and used some sort of rope to tie her hands behind her back. Krystal felt herself panicking as she became more and more helpless with every knot they tied. Where would they take her? And what would they do with her? How long would it take for anyone to realize she was missing? She’d had the day off work today, but surely when she didn’t show up for work tomorrow, the veterinarian she worked for would grow concerned.
Krystal’s stomach growled again, and she realized that she’d never received her pizza. Was the delivery guy still on his way? Would he realize something was wrong and alert the authorities when he found her front door wide open and no one home? Krystal could only hope.
She gave up struggling as she felt one of the Dark Warriors shove her onto a broomstick. There was no way she was getting away now, and it was better to save her energy for whatever was to come. With a heavy heart, and no idea where she was going, Krystal heard the Dark Warrior wizard behind her scream out a flying spell. The broomstick they were on rose into the air, and they zoomed through the cold, wet night sky. It was late summer, but the rain had brought a cold snap, and the higher they rose, the more worried she became.
They should have hit the City Guard’s watch by now. But somehow these Dark Warriors were slipping by unnoticed. Or, perhaps, they had been noticed, but the City Guard was looking the other way. After all, it sounded like the Dark Warriors had spies in the High Council meetings. It was no stretch to think they had some of the City Guard under their control as well.
Krystal felt her stomach turn. Hugh was right: spies were a problem. But it didn’t matter that Torch Lake had not yet invited outside armies in to help. There were already spies in their midst. This realization only made Krystal surer than ever that Torch Lake needed all the help they could get. The Dark Warriors were growing too strong, and someone had to stop them.
It looked like that someone was not going to be Krystal, however. Bound and silenced, all she could do as she flew through the night sky was pray that someone would find her before the Dark Warriors decided to dispose of her.
Her spirits were low, knowing how low the possibility of a successful rescue would be. Her heart felt as cold as the night air around her, and the only thing that could warm her was thinking of Hugh.
If only he were here now.
Chapter Seven
“There’s a mole somewhere. There has to be,” Head Councilor Morgan slammed his fist on the table in the High Council’s conference room. The table was thick, sturdy wood, but it reverberated under Councilor Morgan’s fist.
“Probably more than one mole,” Councilor Isviar said. “Someone is feeding information about our plans to the enemy. Not only that, but it’s become painfully clear that some of the soldiers on the City Guard are helping the Dark Warriors.”
/> “That should be pretty easy to figure out, shouldn’t it?” Jake asked, looking over at Commander Jones, the head of the Torch Lake military.
Commander Jones sighed. “None of the soldiers have seen or heard anything unusual. They’re all at a loss as to how the Dark Warriors entered the city. And without some sort of evidence, what am I supposed to do? Accuse the entire City Guard of lying to me?”
“If that’s what it takes!” Hugh said, jumping to his feet. “This has to be solved! It’s unacceptable for the Dark Warriors to be sneaking in like this.”
“Sit down, Hugh,” Councilor Morgan said. “Losing our tempers isn’t going to help.”
“Neither is doing nothing,” Hugh huffed. But he sat down. He didn’t want to get on Councilor Morgan’s shit list. Councilor Morgan was the one who decided who got to go on which missions, and being on his shit list was the best way to get stuck on the crappy missions. With war brewing, the last thing Hugh wanted was to be stuck on crappy missions. He wanted to get out there and fight where it mattered.
“Commander Jones,” Councilor Isviar said. “I want interviews conducted of every single City Guard, using lie-detection spells. I understand you don’t want to accuse them of lying, but no one should take offense to being interviewed if they have nothing to hide. And if each guard is interviewed, it’s fair to all. It’s not like we’re singling anyone out.”
Commander Jones grunted his reluctant approval.
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