“Hey, girly,” whispered a hoarse, male voice from the alleyway at the end of the stalls. “Hear you’re looking for a missing person.”
Annie moved away from the stalls toward the alleyway. “I might be. Do you have some information?”
“Make it worth my while, and I might.” A dirty hand poked out of the alleyway, the palm open.
Annie slid a coin out of the bag Heath had given her and held it up.
“You wear the uniform of the militia, but I don’t think you’re here on official business.”
“You’re right.” Annie waved the coin in the air. “This is off the record.”
“That will do,” said the man. “Come closer so I can tell you.”
Moving her hand to the pulse laser gun, Annie did so. “What do you know?” As she drew closer to the alleyway, she could make out a thin, pale face hidden behind a mass of lanky, dark hair.
“The coin first.”
Annie dropped the coin into the waiting palm and it vanished.
“This is good,” said the man. “You dragon hunters are wealthy.”
“I’m not looking for a dragon. I’m looking for my father.”
“You are of his blood,” said the man. “I see the family resemblance.”
Annie’s heart raced. “He was here?”
“He was. Buying the fake offerings from those stalls. But what he wanted was to get into the Black Zone.”
“What’s there?” Annie remembered hearing the place name when Heath and his brothers had discussed areas to investigate.
“Prizes beyond your imagining,” said the man. “And I will tell you for another coin.”
Annie took out another coin, pushing down the frustration she felt. “This is your last one.”
The coin was taken and hidden inside ragged clothing. “The Black Zone is a place no one chooses to go. Our determined State uses it for their own purposes, and dislikes others seeing their methods.”
“What do they use it for?”
“For their tests,” said the man.
“Will you show me where this Black Zone is?” It sounded like the kind of place her father would be foolish enough to enter, all on the vague promise of seeing dragon remains.
“Not for all the coins in that purse.” The ragged man drew in a breath. “You must be foolish or desperate to want to go there of your own free will.”
“Maybe I’m both.”
“Don’t listen to him.”
Annie glanced over to a girl with magenta-streaked hair, leaning against the opposite wall. “Why shouldn’t I?”
“Because he lies about the Black Zone. He makes it sound worse than it is, so he can charge you a higher price when he agrees to take you there.” The girl pushed away from the wall and walked closer. She was tall and thin, dressed head to toe in black, her sleeves pulled down over her hands. “And if you really were State militia, you’d know that.”
The man hissed in the darkness and drew back. “I speak the truth. People should not go there. It is not safe.”
“You want to go to the Black Zone?” The girl asked Annie, ignoring the ragged man.
Annie nodded. “You know what’s there?”
The girl shrugged her slim shoulders, her purple gaze running over Annie. “I knew you weren’t legit. When I saw you walking past the stallholders, you were nice to them. That doesn’t happen when real militia come by. Why are you in disguise?”
“I have business to take care of,” said Annie, the girl’s intense, purple eyes making her uncomfortable. Those had to be artificial lenses to get the color so bright. “It works better when I don’t get hassled.”
The girl nodded. “I know the feeling. Keeping to the shadows works best. People don’t notice you when you blend in.”
Annie detected faded bruises on the girl’s cheek and saw the dirt ingrained underneath her fingernails. “I’m Annie.”
The girl smiled. “Juniper Firestar.”
“What goes on in the Black Zone, Juniper?”
“State business. I keep out of their way. But they send their trucks through here at least once a week. I got a peek in the back once. It was full of people. Some already looked way past saving.”
“They’re taking people into this Black Zone?” asked Annie. “To work on a project there?”
“Experiments,” hissed the ragged man.
“Be quiet, you old fool,” said Juniper. “And get out of here. You’ve scared Annie enough.”
The man backed away, keeping his head down. “If you go there, you won’t come back.”
“She looks like she can handle herself,” said Juniper, before turning her attention to Annie. “I can get you into the Black Zone, if that’s where you need to be.”
Annie licked her lips. She glanced around, but couldn’t see Heath.
“Don’t be put off by what old Jardin told you,” said Juniper, gesturing to the now-empty alleyway. “You’ll need to be on your guard in the Black Zone. It’s lawless. Anyone who gets caught there without a permit doesn’t get seen again. But if you know the places to avoid, and who will shelter you, you’ll be fine.”
Annie nodded. She felt she could trust this girl. Juniper looked like she’d had a hard life so far, but there was intelligence in her odd-colored eyes. “I’m looking for my father. He’s on a hunt for dragon relics.”
“Then he’s most likely in the Black Zone,” said Juniper. “Few people have been in there since the changes, so there’s bound to be a ton of interesting stuff waiting to be discovered.”
Annie gripped her hands together. “When can we go?”
“Need to get supplies,” said Juniper. “And best to travel early, before people notice you.”
“I’ll be traveling with three others,” said Annie.
“Fine. But it will cost you more,” said Juniper. “I’ll need to bring backup. Can’t watch out for all of you.”
“My companions don’t need any backup,” said Annie, giving Juniper a wry smile. “They take care of themselves.”
Juniper shrugged. “Fair enough. I’ll need an advance to buy supplies.” Her gaze shifted to the concealed purse.
“Annie!” Heath strode toward her, his gun by his side. His gaze hardened as he looked at Juniper. “Everything okay?”
“I found someone who can take us into the Black Zone,” said Annie. “My dad was trying to get there.”
Juniper’s gaze ran over Heath.
Annie felt a stir of jealousy at the way the girl admired Heath’s muscles.
“We don’t need an escort,” said Heath.
“You will,” said Juniper. She held her hand out toward Heath. “Juniper Firestar.”
He grunted and kept his focus on Annie. “We need to lie low. Rumors of State militia coming through.”
“I thought you were the militia.” Juniper smirked at Heath.
“Where are the others?” asked Annie.
“Waiting by Sarson’s Tavern,” said Heath.
“You only go there if you want your throat slit,” said Juniper. “I can show you somewhere safe until the trouble has passed.” She held up a hand. “And no charge. You’ll pay me fairly when I take you into the Black Zone.”
“She knows her way around,” said Annie, her gaze on Heath. “Juniper could be useful. If we can get in and out quickly like you want, it reduces the risk of discovery.”
“Your lady is making sense,” said Juniper.
Heath stared hard at Juniper. “If this is a trap—”
Juniper backed away. “I don’t have to deal with you. There are other clients interested in my services.”
Annie grabbed her arm. “No! We want you to take us.”
“You don’t know her,” growled Heath.
“If you two want a lover’s quarrel, I can always come back.” Juniper smiled. “And Sarson’s lets you book rooms by the hour, if you need to do a little making up.”
Annie blushed. “No, we’re not together like that. We work together.”
/> Juniper shrugged. “Makes no difference to me. So, do you want me to take you to the Black Zone, or not?”
“No,” said Heath.
“Yes!” Annie glared at him. “She’s an asset.”
“She’s a con artist.”
Juniper rolled up one sleeve. “Call this a con?” Running across her skin were the mottled scales of a dragon.
Chapter 7
Heath stared at the scales on Juniper’s arm. His mouth went dry. “They aren’t real.”
“You can touch if you want to.” Juniper batted her eyelashes at Heath. “I don’t charge.”
Annie moved closer and brushed a finger down Juniper’s arm. “They’re smooth.”
Heath frowned. This couldn’t be possible. “Must be artificial.” Before the State came, there was a trend to get something inked on the skin, or scales inserted into flesh, to show devotion to the dragons. Hell, he even had a dragon tattoo on his back. A shudder of excitement ran through him. Was this a dragon hybrid? He’d only ever dreamed of finding one. He’d heard rumors, but every one he’d investigated had been a dead end.
“There’s nothing artificial about me,” said Juniper. “What do you think, Annie? Am I lying to you?”
Annie blinked several times as she continued to stroke the mottled dragon scales. “These can’t be real.”
“They’re fake?” Heath swallowed his excitement. No one had any active dragon DNA anymore. Definitely not enough to give a person scales. It was rare, but there were records of dragon and human hybrids. Matings between the species was possible, providing the dragon took human form. But the State had wiped out anyone who showed any sign of having dragon DNA. The mandatory testing of everyone’s blood made it easy for them to do that. They wanted every trace of the dragons gone. Juniper had to be lying.
“I’ve never touched a dragon, so I don’t know if these are fake.” Annie looked up at him with wide eyes. “But they feel real to me.”
“It’s all real.” Juniper pulled her arm away and hid the scales under her sleeve. “Don’t draw attention to us. Even in the Badlands, people report you, if they think there are credits to be made.”
Heath stepped closer to Juniper, his gaze on her concealed scales. “Have you been tested?”
“To show I’m legit?” Juniper glowered at him. “I know what I am. And I’m proud of it.”
“I meant have you been tested by the State?”
Juniper shook her head. “Got away before they could stick me with a needle and get rid of me.”
“It’s not possible.” Heath’s head spun with the possibilities. With a dragon hybrid, it would be easy to merge the DNA fragments they’d collected and bring back the dragons.
Juniper smiled. “I’m not the only one.”
Heath’s eyebrows shot up. “There are more of you here?”
“If you behave yourself, you can meet some of them.”
Heath let out a breath. “I have to meet them. Run tests and find out how we can make use of your genetics.”
Juniper held up a hand. “One step at a time. People are here because that’s what they don’t want happening. The State offered us tests and free health checks. Those checks ended up killing thousands.”
“Heath believes in all this.” Annie waved her hand around.
Juniper snorted. Her purple eyes glowed. “How kind of him.”
“He believes in dragons,” said Annie.
“Say it louder and we can attract even more attention.” Juniper growled and shook her head.
Heath caught hold of Annie’s elbow. They needed to get off the streets. And he needed time to process this new discovery. “Where’s this safe place you mentioned?” he asked Juniper.
“Not sure I want to take you there now.” Juniper tilted her chin and met Heath’s hard stare.
“We can pay,” said Annie.
“Which is good to know,” said Juniper. “Because I’m not doing this for charity.”
Heath’s jaw muscles twitched. “I didn’t mean to offend you. We do need somewhere safe though. And you need to keep us alive if you want to get paid.”
Juniper gave a small nod. “I’ll take you to my place.”
“How can we be sure it’s secure?” asked Heath.
“I make use of one of the underground bunkers here,” said Juniper. “The State doesn’t know about them. The entrance isn’t far.”
Heath nodded, impressed she was making use of the same facilities as his squad. “I’ll get Arlo and Lincoln. How will I find you?”
“See that dirt track over there?” Juniper pointed behind a stall where a pile of trash sat. “Follow it to the end, take a right and then an immediate left. You’ll walk up to what looks like a solid wall. Knock on it three times. I’ll let you in.”
“Sounds mysterious.” Heath couldn’t help but grin as he recalled the elaborate entrance codes and passwords they’d invented when establishing their own bunker system.
“It works for me. And keeps trouble out,” said Juniper.
“I’ll come with you,” said Annie.
“Best you do,” said Juniper. “You flashing all that coin around has got you noticed.”
“We’ll be right behind you.” Heath checked the people around them to make sure no one was paying too much attention to Annie. He touched her arm before merging into the crowd.
Hurrying to the Sarson’s Tavern, Heath found Arlo and Lincoln waiting outside, looking like the perfect example of State militia. The crowd kept a healthy distance from them, knowing better than to get too near.
They both straightened as Heath stopped in front of them. “Annie’s found someone to take us into the Black Zone. It’s an area we need to scout.”
“Sounds good,” said Arlo. “Have we got time for a drink first?” He gestured over his shoulder at the tavern where the scent of cheap beer and even cheaper perfume drifted out. “All this dust is making me thirsty.”
“Not the place to go, if you’d like to keep breathing,” said Heath. “Follow me.”
The three of them weaved through the crowd, heading toward the dirt track.
“This would be easier if you helped Annie to remember.” Lincoln adjusted the gun in his hand as his gaze moved across the crowd.
“And risk killing her?” said Heath.
“It worked on me,” said Arlo.
“You had fits for a week after your treatment,” said Heath. “I’m still not sure you got all your memories back where they should be.”
“Yeah, I keep saying you owe me fifteen hundred credits, but you don’t believe me,” said Lincoln.
“Screw you.” Arlo chuckled. “My memories are perfect.”
“Memory recall is too dangerous for wide-scale implementation,” said Heath. “While we’re still testing it on those who are willing, I’m not prepared to take the risk on Annie.”
“Worried your girl might come to her senses and run for the hills once she knows all about you?” asked Lincoln.
“Annie’s a friend,” growled Heath.
Lincoln and Arlo shared a grin.
“Move faster,” said Heath. The technique to restore people’s memory was nicknamed The Jolt by the squad. And for good reason. It sent a massive electrical surge through the brain’s neural pathways, filtering out the hypnotic fog the State have people under.
With the help of Kade and the bunker’s medic, Sophia, they’d devised a method to disrupt the hypnotic state. But the method had injured several. Heath wasn’t ready to offer the procedure to anyone who wasn’t sure about it. He believed part of the reason the procedure was a success was because people already had doubts. Their thoughts were conflicting and that meant they were open to breaking through the hypnotic state and remembering the dragons.
Heath led Lincoln and Arlo along the dirt track, following the instructions Juniper gave him until they reached the wall. He tapped three times and after a few seconds heard the sound of a lock turning.
A small hatch opened in the wall and J
uniper peered out. “Glad to see you boys didn’t get lost.” She slammed the hatch shut, and another lock was turned, before the wall creaked open just wide enough to let them through.
“Who’s this?” asked Arlo, his gaze running over Juniper.
“Your savior,” said Juniper.
Heath made the introductions. “Annie reckons Juniper can help us with our search.”
“I can.” Juniper sealed the wall and led them along a dimly lit corridor. “I’ve been helping people ever since this nightmare of a State came to power. And even if you boys come well-equipped, it never hurts to have insider knowledge. Especially not if you want to go into the Black Zone and survive.”
“Can’t see it being a problem for us,” said Arlo. “I’ve survived well enough without having you around.”
Juniper smirked, as she opened another door that led into a low-ceilinged, open-plan room. There was a small, dated kitchenette in one corner, several large cushions on the stone floor, and a wide screen taking up half of one wall. Across the screen ran a series of codes and live camera feeds, showing what was going on in the marketplace.
Heath exhaled a relieved breath when he saw Annie sitting on a cushion, a chipped mug in one hand. He walked over and she shifted along the cushion, making room for him. “Glad to see you didn’t get into any trouble out there. Wasn’t sure if I should leave you alone.”
He felt too large as he squashed onto the cushion and had no choice but to press his leg against Annie’s. She didn’t seem to mind. And neither did he, his flesh tingling at their closeness. “We just about managed without you. Good to be out of the marketplace. Even in these disguises, people were curious.”
“So they should be,” said Juniper, as she lounged against the wall, her gaze roaming over them. “State militia travel in big packs and drive their armored vehicles into the marketplace. Stallholders have been killed because they weren’t able to get out of the way.”
Heath (Ember Quest Book 1) Page 7