“Speaking of singling people out, though,” Councilor Morgan spoke up. “Is there anyone you are more suspicious of than others? Just between us.”
Commander Jones shook his head. “I’ve been wracking my brain, but I’m at a loss. Honest.”
“Does anyone have any idea why the Dark Warriors have attacked twice in one day?” Jake asked. “It seems random? They didn’t even harm that many civilians, and neither of the attacks seemed to be aimed at government officials who might have sensitive information to give them.”
“The Dark Warriors at the Winking Wizard attack were clearly looking for a specific person, although I have no idea who.”
All eyes turned to Hugh when he said this. “Really? What makes you say that?” Councilor Isviar asked.
“Right before they left, one of the wizards said something along the lines of ‘She’s not here. Let’s go because we’re wasting our time and losing men for no reason.’”
The room was silent for a moment as everyone took in this new information.
“Did you catch any other details?” Councilor Morgan finally asked.
Hugh shook his head. “Nope. All I know is they were definitely looking for someone, and that someone is a she.”
Councilor Isviar frowned. “We should make a list of every female in Torch Lake who occupies even a remotely important position. Heads of departments, top advisors, that sort of thing. See if we can figure out who the Dark Warriors might be most interested in.”
“That’s still not going to narrow it down very much,” Jake observed.
“I know,” Councilor Isviar said. “But we have to do something. Hopefully when we take action things will start to become clearer.”
“Speaking of taking action,” Councilor Morgan said. “I think you all should be the first to know that the High Council has made the official decision to allow outside armies to assist us with the war effort.”
“What?!?” Hugh exclaimed. “That’s just asking for trouble. “We already have spies in our midst, and you want to add more people who might not be loyal to us?”
“I won’t deny that there are some risks,” Councilor Morgan said. “But Krystal’s presentation this morning was very convincing. The Dark Warriors have become strong and organized, and we’re going to need a lot of help to defeat them. During the last war several clans worked together, with Falcon Cross leading the charge. This time, we might be leading the charge, but we still need help. Our clans have a history of working together, and we can’t throw that away at a time when we most need our allies.”
Hugh felt like his whole world was being pulled out from under him. How could the High Council agree to this? Everything in Torch Lake was already in chaos, and they were going to let more potential spies in.
But although Hugh thought that news had turned his world upside down, it was nothing compared to what he was about to hear. Before anyone else could reply to the High Council’s decision on the outside armies, the door to the conference room swung open and one of Councilor Morgan’s assistants ran in.
“Councilor Morgan!” the boy yelled, his face red as he waved a paper wildly in the air. It looks like there’s been another attack.”
Councilor Morgan was immediately on his feet, his face drawn and grave. “Another attack? Are you certain? That makes three in one day.”
The boy nodded, then gave the paper to Councilor Morgan. “This is the report I just received. This attack was on a house. It looks like the woman who lives there was kidnapped, although we’re still trying to confirm that she isn’t somewhere else. A pizza delivery guy discovered that the incident had occurred and alerted authorities right away. The doors to the house were left wide open, and there was significant evidence of foul play.”
“How do we know it was the Dark Warriors?” Councilor Isviar asked. It was a somewhat silly question. Crime was almost nonexistent in Torch Lake, so if a kidnapping had occurred then it was almost certainly due to the Dark Warriors infiltrating the city again.
“One of the neighbors heard the commotion and looked outside. He said he saw a large group of wizards, all dressed in black, leaving the house and flying away on broomsticks. He said it was hard to see, but from his description it sounds like the Dark Warriors alright. He didn’t call the police at first because he didn’t realize it was an attack. He thought it was a bunch of rowdy wizards playing around.”
“And do we know the name of the woman who lived in the house?” Councilor Morgan asked, scanning the paper in his hands. “It looks like we might have just discovered which woman the Dark Warriors were after.”
“Yes,” the assistant said, pointing to the bottom of the paper. “It says right there. The woman’s name was Krystal Roth.”
Hugh sat up instantly. “What?! They kidnapped Krystal? But why?”
“Krystal Roth?” Jake asked, scrunching his brow. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
Councilor Isviar’s face had turned pale. “Krystal is the one who gave the presentation this morning about allowing outside armies to help Torch Lake.”
“Ohhh,” Jake said. “Wow, I guess the Dark Warriors are not a fan of her plan. It seems extreme to kidnap her though.”
“We have to get her!” Hugh said, jumping up. “I’m going after her.”
“Hugh, calm down,” Councilor Morgan said. “You’re always in such a goddamn hurry.”
But Hugh could not calm down. Somewhere deep within him, alarm bells were going off. He didn’t know why he cared so much about Krystal, but he did. And he knew that if he didn’t catch up to the Dark Warriors right now and get Krystal back, he was going to regret it forever. All he’d done was kiss her, but he already felt like he was falling for her.
“I’m going after her,” he repeated. And then, before the High Councilors or anyone had a moment to protest again, Hugh ran out of the conference room and toward the building’s exit. As soon as he was outside, he began to shift into dragon form. He was going to catch up with those dark wizards and show them that when they messed with Krystal, they had also messed with him.
And he was the wrong dragon to mess with.
Chapter Eight
Hugh flapped his giant dragon wings against the cold night air, not even noticing the heavy rain that lashed against his face. His dragon hide did a good job of protecting him from the elements, but even if it hadn’t, Hugh still would have been flying as fast as he could through the storm. He had to get to Krystal.
The urgency that filled him was strange. He had never been so intent on rescuing someone before. He’d been involved in countless rescue attempts, and he’d always tried to give those attempts his best efforts. But he realized now that he had never truly poured his heart and soul into a rescue attempt, as he was doing now.
In the very short time he’d known her, Krystal had captivated him. She mattered more to him than anything, and he couldn’t bear the thought of losing her to those horrible Dark Warriors. He was glad that he’d taken off too fast for the High Council to protest. He didn’t want them forbidding him from chasing after her, because his heart had given him no choice but to chase after her.
Hugh had no idea which direction the Dark Warriors had gone, so he had to go on instinct alone. His instinct told him that they would most likely fly north, so that’s what he did. No one knew for sure where the Dark Warriors’ headquarters was located, but the area to the north of Torch Lake was pure wilderness. If Hugh had to guess, the Dark Warriors probably wanted to keep all of their home bases in the middle of nowhere. That way, they would avoid discovery by humans, and hopefully make discovery by other shifters or wizards difficult.
Hugh flew as fast as he could, praying that his guess was right. The heavy rains made flying difficult, but at least that meant flying would be difficult for the Dark Warriors as well. And a large dragon could handle the rains much better than a wizard on a small broomstick.
Hugh zoomed past the City Guards, who seemed startled by his presence. He roared back at
them in an annoyed tone, hoping they understood that he was not pleased with them. He couldn’t believe how lazily the guards hovered in the air, as though there were no real threats around, and there wasn’t a war going on.
No wonder the Dark Warriors got in. The guards are useless.
Hugh didn’t understand how such highly trained guards could slack so much on their job, but he would have to worry about that later. Right now, he needed to focus on getting to Krystal.
He flew on for the better part of an hour, and had started to worry that he had gone the wrong way. He hadn’t seen any other signs of life out here. The Dark Warriors must have either landed already, or they had gone a different direction. Or perhaps they were somehow flying much faster than they normally did in an effort to get as far away from Torch Lake as possible. Whatever the case, Hugh’s heart sank in his chest more with every minute that ticked by.
But just as he was about to give up hope and turn back toward the city in defeat, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent: Krystal. He breathed in deeply, filling his keen dragon nose with as much air as possible. The scent was stronger, and there was no doubt it was Krystal. He had caught her trail!
With renewed energy and determination, he flew even faster now, following the trail of her scent as he zoomed above the trees. Within a few minutes, he caught sight of several dark figures on broomsticks shooting through the sky in front of him.
Gotcha.
It looked like there were about seven or eight of them. In the darkness and rain it was hard to get an exact count. But no matter how many there were, they were no match for an angry dragon.
Hugh flew on, staying as silent as he could. The closer he got to them without alerting them to his presence, the better. He would hit them hard before they even knew he was coming. Hugh’s sharp dragon eyes peered through the night at the wizards, trying to gather as much information about them as he could before they saw him. As he got closer, he could clearly see that one of the broomsticks had two people on it. One of those people must be Krystal, held prisoner. He decided that his best bet was to come in breathing fire, and try to hit the wizards on the outside of the group, while reaching for Krystal with his dragon feet. If all went well, he could pluck her right out of their grasp before they had time to react. He hoped that the wizards who weren’t killed by his initial fire blast wouldn’t be foolish enough to attempt to attack him again, but he had to be prepared just in case. If they came after him to try to get Krystal back, they would be met with a wall of fire.
No one was going to keep him from rescuing this woman who had managed to capture his heart.
Hugh had almost completely closed in on the wizards by the time they realized he was there. One of the wizards looked back, whether by chance or because he sensed something there, Hugh had no idea. But as soon as that wizard’s eyes caught sight of the large dragon that was chasing them down, he screamed out and alerted the other wizards. Hugh knew it was time to make his move.
With a giant roar, he dove with all his might toward the wizards. They were all already raising their magic rings in his direction, trying to keep him from getting to Krystal. But Hugh was impervious to their spells. His dragon hide protected him from their attacks, and he was flying much too fast for them to be able to take aim at his vulnerable spots.
As he neared the group, he breathed out a long stream of fire at the outside line of wizards. Then he reached down, just as he had planned, and snatched Krystal up with his dragon claws. The wizard she’d been riding with tried to grab at her and hold her down, but he was no match for the strength of Hugh’s dragon. Instead of pulling Krystal back, he ended up being pulled off his broomstick and into the air, hanging off of Krystal’s feet as she hung from Hugh’s claws. Hugh heard Krystal screaming, and he could feel her shaking violently as she tried to get rid of the wizard. There was not much he could do to help, other than hold Krystal as tightly as he could so that she wouldn’t fall. Breathing fire on the wizard was out of the question. He was almost sure to singe Krystal as well if he did that.
Hugh could, however, breathe fire on the other wizards, who kept trying to attack even though they should have known it was helpless. Hugh let loose stream after stream of fire-breath, sending wizard after wizard spiraling toward the earth in flames. In a matter of minutes, all the wizards were gone except for the one who still clung stubbornly to Krystal’s legs. Krystal continued to kick, but the wizard stubbornly held on. Hugh decided to help Krystal out a bit, and began swinging his dragon legs side to side as hard as he could. This might make Krystal feel a little seasick, but at least she wouldn’t fall. He had a firm grip on her. The wizard, however, was holding on by his own strength. And that strength wasn’t enough to withstand a dragon’s shaking. The wizard lasted about a minute before he lost his hold on Krystal’s legs and went tumbling toward the earth. Hugh glanced down as the wizard fell, and saw flash after flash of light from the wizard’s magic ring. The terrified man was probably casting dozens of different spells, trying to figure out one that would keep him from falling.
Hugh didn’t wait around to see whether the wizard managed to save himself or not. Even if the Dark Warrior did manage to stop his freefall, there was no way he was coming after Hugh anymore tonight. All Hugh had to do now was turn and fly home.
He flew slower on the way back, trying to keep the ride as smooth and comfortable as possible for Krystal. The rain had thankfully slowed somewhat, but the wind was still howling. Krystal was going to be chilled to the bone by the time they got back to Torch Lake, but all Hugh could do was keep moving forward. He didn’t dare stop until he was out of the wilderness, and safe from any Dark Warrior attacks. Well, relatively safe, at least. These days, it seemed like Dark Warrior attacks could easily happen even in the middle of Torch Lake.
Still, Hugh breathed a sigh of relief when the City Guard came into view. That meant he was returning to Torch Lake airspace. This time, the City Guard seemed to actually be guarding the city. They motioned for him to stop, and he did, hovering in mid-air as they looked to see who he was. The guard’s eyes lit up with recognition when he saw Hugh, and they waved him through.
Hugh began to spiral lower, thankful that he was almost home. He was worried about Krystal and how cold she must be. Hopefully warm clothes and a hot beverage would fix her up quickly. Hugh decided to fly straight to his house and take care of her there. He was sure he would have some sweats that would work for her, even though they would be horribly oversized. And he wasn’t sure about heading back to her place now. It sounded like her house had been damaged quite a bit by the Dark Warriors, and the High Council and military leaders were probably going to want to investigate the place. He would give them their space.
Besides, her house was a prime target for the Dark Warriors. He didn’t know if they’d be foolish enough to attack again tonight, let alone attack her house for a second time in one night. But the Dark Warriors often proved to be foolishly brave, and they just might try it. Hugh didn’t want Krystal anywhere near that house until the problem with the City Guard had been figured out.
And so, he flew to the hill where his neighborhood was located, and spiraled downward more until he landed in his own front yard. He gently set Krystal down, and then began to shift back to human form himself. He had barely finished transforming from dragon to man when he realized that Krystal was swaying back and forth with a woozy look on her face.
“Krystal,” he shouted, running toward her to try to steady her. But before he could reach her, she lost consciousness and began to fall to the ground. He caught her in his arms, and was startled by how pale her face looked.
“Come on, girl,” he said, lifting her limp form and heading for his front door. “Let’s get you inside. I’m gonna take good care of you, I promise.”
She did not respond, of course. But Hugh felt his own heart responding, twisting up in an achy, hopeful way that felt a lot like he imagined love might feel like.
Chapter Nine
&
nbsp; Krystal blinked her eyes open and found herself staring at a towering white ceiling. She blinked again, disoriented, and tried to sit up. She had the strange sensation of being underwater, even though she was clearly sitting in the middle of a very dry living room—not a pool or lake or any other body of water.
I was underwater for a long time though, in a manner of speaking. There was so much rain it felt like I was drowning.
Krystal sat straight up in an instant as she remembered the events of that evening. At least, she thought it had been this evening. Was it still the same day? She looked around, still confused as to where she was. She was lying on a soft gray couch, wearing navy sweats that were several sizes too big, and she was covered with a thick, woolen blanket. To her right, on a wooden coffee table, sat a mug of steaming tea. She was in someone’s house, warm and cared for. But whose house? And was she safe?
Krystal furrowed her brow, trying to think of where she might be. Everything started coming back to her. The attack at her house, flying away with the Dark Warriors, feeling hopeless and thinking she would never be found, and then suddenly turning to see dragon claws reaching for her.
Hugh! It was him. He rescued me!
Krystal looked around, trying to see if Hugh was nearby. She didn’t see anyone else in this large living room. She did notice that a fire was crackling in the large fireplace across the room. This must be Hugh’s house. As Krystal continued to think about what had happened, she had a vague recollection of landing in a familiar-looking yard, and watching the dragon who had been carrying her morph into Hugh. She remembered not feeling well at all, and then suddenly everything had gone black. That was the last thing she could remember before waking up here.
Krystal swung her legs over to put them on the floor and see if she could stand up. She expected to feel dizzy as she slowly rose off the couch, but was surprised to find that she felt mostly ok. Her hair fell in waves around her face, and she realized that someone had brushed it and apparently blow-dried it. Her hair had been in a sopping wet ponytail when she was rescued by Hugh. Had he brushed and dried her hair? She felt a wave of both embarrassment and gratitude. She had to find him and thank him. If this was indeed his house, he must be around here somewhere. Then her embarrassment increased as she realized that someone had pulled her out of her wet clothes to put her in these sweatpants. Had that been him, too? She wasn’t wearing any underwear, presumably because it had been soaking wet from the rain as well. If he’d pulled off all her clothes, then he’d seen her naked. Krystal’s cheeks heated up at that thought. She couldn’t be mad at him if he had undressed her. She’d rather have him see her naked than end up with pneumonia, and he probably knew that. Still, the thought of him looking at her without any clothes on made her feel both horrified and excited all at once. If he had looked, had he liked what he saw?
Dragon Misbehaving Page 5