by Julie Kagawa
“Lexi,” I said, turning away from Winky-guy. “Your new friends. Are you going to introduce me or what?”
“Oh, yeah. This is Ember, the one I was telling you about.” Lexi waved at me like a game show attendant showing off the day’s prize. “Ember, this is Drew, Travis and Colin. They just got here from Colorado State, so Kristin and I were going to show them around the beach.”
“Ah.” I glanced at Kristin, sitting casually against the hood of the Jeep, one long tan leg resting on the bumper. Two of the three guys couldn’t stop staring; you could almost see the drool hanging down their chins. “Well, I don’t think you’ll want to go anywhere near the water today,” I said. “You know, with Jaws hanging around out there.”
She pouted, but I was relieved. I didn’t like the way these three were staring at us, or the way that Travis casually put an arm around Lexi’s shoulders. My dragon growled uneasily, recognizing another predator, as Colin’s gaze lingered on me.
“That’s okay,” Travis said as Lexi blushed. “There are other places we can go. I heard there was this supersecret spot you locals go to hang out, am I right? Pirate’s Cove, Dead Man’s Cove...something like that?”
“You mean Lone Rock Cove?” Lexi asked, smiling up at him. I wanted to kick her. Lone Rock was a little-known inlet several miles down the beach. You had to take a dirt path from the road to get there, so it was pretty isolated. It was also where “questionable things” happened, according to Liam. Dante and I had been cautioned not to go there alone, and never after dusk.
The boys’ grins widened. “Yeah, that’s the one,” Colin chimed in. “Would you ladies care to show us where it is? We have beer and Doritos. It could be a picnic.”
No, I thought. We wouldn’t. “Let’s go to the Smoothie Hut instead,” I offered. Where there will be lots of other people around. “I’m starving, and I’ve been craving curly fries since lunch.”
“Oh, Ember, where’s your spirit of adventure?” Kristin sighed, sliding lazily off the hood, making sure to rub her smooth thigh muscles down the metal. If the Jeep were a boy, it would’ve spontaneously combusted. Flipping her hair back, she gave the guys a sultry smile. “We can take you there,” she purred as Lexi bobbed her head in agreement, “if you agree to buy us something later tonight.”
The boys grinned at one another like they’d won the lottery. “Well, you drive a hard bargain, gorgeous,” Colin said. “But I think we can accept those terms.”
I stifled a groan. I didn’t want to go; I didn’t like these three for some reason. I’d seen how males acted around girls; they often got very stupid and possessive. I still wasn’t an expert on the nuances of human behavior, especially when it came to their mating rituals. Maybe this was normal?
I really should’ve listened to my dragon.
Garret
I wasn’t terribly fond of these clothes.
When fighting creatures with fangs that could sever ligaments, claws that could rip you open like a paper sack and breath that could melt the skin from your bones, armor was essential. A good flak jacket could take a lot of heat and damage and was better protection than a Kevlar vest when dealing with a dragon’s natural weapons. Over the years, however, our enemies started to realize that firearms were just as efficient, and now were just as likely to shoot us as blast us with flame. Still, when forced into their natural forms, dragons always fell back to their deadliest weapons. Our black-and-gray combat uniforms were made of flame-retardant fabric and lined with steel plates; they couldn’t protect us from everything, especially a direct blast of dragonfire, but it was better than going into battle with nothing.
The point was, I was comfortable in armor. The more padding and steel between me and my enemy, the better. I’d been through missions where my armor had been ripped to shreds, burned and cut to pieces, and if I hadn’t had it on, I would have been dead. I didn’t like feeling vulnerable or exposed. And there were few things flimsier than shorts and the loose black tank top I was wearing at the moment. I might as well have walked around this beach stark naked.
“You’re sulking again,” Tristan remarked from the driver’s seat, not looking up from the window. Like me, he wore shorts and a tank top, the picture of a fist with the thumb and pinkie held out gracing the front. Unlike me, it didn’t seem to bother him.
“I’m not sulking.”
“Right. Brooding, then.” He fell silent as a young couple walked by the Jeep, close enough to touch his arm dangling out the window, but he didn’t even glance their way. His gaze hadn’t left the group at the edge of the parking lot. “We’ve been here over three weeks, partner,” he informed me, as if I’d lost track. “You’re going to have to get used to it sometime. This is where that whole adapting-and-blending-in thing applies. Can’t walk around the beach in full combat armor, even if there is a dragon nearby.”
I knew that. I also knew the Order required us to finish this mission, regardless of my personal feelings. Guns and dragons and fighting and death: that was what I was good at. Long stakeouts in a cheerful town surrounded by civilians, less so. “Do you still have the targets in sight?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
He snorted, again without looking back. “Garret, I can hold the crosshairs on a target for two hours without moving it or dropping the scope,” he said irritably. “I think I can keep an eye on a bunch of teenage girls.”
I let the jab slide. It had been a frustrating three weeks. Three weeks of research, of watching the beach 24/7, observing the different groups, weeding out tourists, family units, the poor, the employed. From the intelligence we’d received, we knew that the sleeper dragon was young, well-off and it would be drawn to the popular, pretty crowd in order to fit in. The clique that “owned” the beach, so to speak. After countless hours of investigation, we’d finally narrowed it down to a group of teens who were out here nearly every day, and usually together. Any one of them could be our target.
Phase one, complete. Now, we were almost ready for phase two, the part I’d been dreading. The part where I’d have to infiltrate the group, get them to trust me and discover which of them was a fire-breathing monster of legend.
I had no idea how I was going to do that.
“Well, well,” Tristan muttered, causing me to glance across the lot again. “Looks like they’re about to take off with a bunch of frat boys. That could be problematic.”
I followed his gaze to where a Jeep similar to our black one was pulling out of its parking space. Two of the girls, the blond and the brunette, sat wedged between a pair of strange guys in the back. All four were laughing and talking, and had beer bottles in their hands. The other, the small redhead, sat up front, her eyes trained out the window like she really didn’t want to be there. Her surfboard stuck precariously out of the back as they squealed off down the road.
I glanced at my partner. “What now?”
He put the Jeep in Reverse and backed out of the lot. “Easy. We follow them.”
Ember
It was late afternoon when we got to the cove, which was flanked on two sides by a wall of windswept cliffs that sheltered it from waves and casual tourists. The small white beach leading down to the water was completely empty, though if we waited a few hours for the sun to set, that would change. Lone Rock Cove was not a place normally visited during the day, as the broken bottles, trash and other things lying in the sand indicated. A single large boulder sat in the center of the beach halfway between the cliff walls and the ocean, giving the alcove its name.
I made a face. I didn’t want to be here. The three guys had been drinking most of the way, ignoring the fact that this was very illegal, and had encouraged Lexi and Kristin to do the same. They’d tried to get me to drink, too, and under normal circumstances I would’ve joined in. But they still made me nervous, and I didn’t think getting tipsy around them was a good idea. One of the guys, Coli
n, kept trying to put his hands on me, and I kept squirming out of his grip, my temper fraying thinner with every attempt. If he only knew the true face of the girl he was feeling up so intently...he’d probably wet himself.
Keep it together, Ember. You do not want to cook this idiot like a marshmallow s’more, even if he is asking for it.
“Hey,” Drew said, shielding his eyes from the glare of the sun and squinting at the far cliffs. “Is that...a cave?”
“Oh, yeah.” Kristin shrugged. “Not much of a cave, really. Just a big hole that fills up with water when the tide comes in.”
“Let’s go check it out.”
“Uh, let’s not,” I said firmly. No way was I letting my two friends go marching into a dark, lonely cave with these guys. My mind was made up; I definitely didn’t like them. Pulling back from Colin, I grabbed Kristin’s arm and steered her away from Drew, who scowled. “Thanks, but we really should get home now. I promised my aunt I’d be back by six.” A lie, but I wanted to get out of here. “Come on, Lex.”
Kristin pulled out of my grasp and rubbed her arm, frowning. “I want to stay,” she said. “You two can go on. I want to show Drew the cave.”
So not going to happen. I glared at Kristin, wondering what she would do if I dragged her out by that pretty but empty head of hair. “We came here in one car, genius. You’re looking to hitchhike home if you stay.”
“Hey, now.” Thick arms wrapped around me from behind, and Colin pulled me back to his chest. “Relax,” he breathed in my ear. “You’re so uptight. Let them see the cave—what’s going to happen? You can wait here with me.”
I stiffened, arching away from him. He chuckled, and his grip tightened. “Come on. Don’t be like that.”
“Get off me,” I growled, pushing at his chest. Don’t Shift, Ember. If you Shift and eat this troll, Talon will lock you away for the rest of your life. Plus, you’d probably get food poisoning.
“Let her go, dickwad,” Lexi snapped, finally sensing the danger. A little late, I thought, trying to keep his lips away from my face and his hands off my butt. “She said she doesn’t want to, so leave her alone. Kristin, come on. Let’s get out of here.”
The other boys protested. Colin ignored them all and clutched me tighter. “Just relax, beautiful,” he murmured, nuzzling along my neck. “We’ll have more fun if you relax.” Raising his head, he pressed thick, sloppy lips to mine.
My temper and disgust flared. Planting my feet, I shoved him. Hard.
He flew backward and landed on his butt in the sand, a startled grunt escaping him. For a second, he stared at me in shock. Then his face went red, and he leaped up with a snarl.
“Bitch!”
I didn’t see the slap coming. I mean, I did, but I wasn’t expecting it. In my sixteen years, no one had ever hit me. Annoyed swats upside the head, or taps with a ruler when I wasn’t paying attention, but they’d never really struck me. Not even Scary Talon Lady had ever laid a hand on me. I wasn’t prepared for the explosion of pain behind my eyes, the world tilting violently, feeling sand under my hands and knees when I fell.
The instant rush of fire through my veins, my dragon surging up with a roar, ready to blast this puny human to cinders.
Lexi and Kristin screamed. I clamped down on my fury, gritting my teeth with the effort not to Shift, not to erupt into scales and teeth and claws and show this human true fear. My fingers crushed the ground beneath me, the nails elongating into curved talons, and I buried them in the sand. My nostrils flared, and my lungs burned with heat as I bowed my head, fighting to stay in control. I knew my eyes had gone slitted and reptilian, and didn’t dare lift my head as the disgusting human stepped closer. I trembled and squeezed my eyes shut. If he so much as touched me, there would be nothing but a pile of bones and ash when I was done.
“Hey!”
The shout came from behind us. I raised my head just as something slammed into Colin from the side, pushing him off. He flew backward again, tripped and went sprawling in the sand. Blinking, I craned my head up and looked into the face of a boy.
My heart gave a weird little flutter. I’d been around Lexi for over a month, listening to her gush about boys, watching her point out the “gorgeous” ones. I understood human beauty now, and I’d even reached the point where I could nudge Lexi toward a cute guy, and she would agree that he was hot, but I still didn’t get the fascination.
Maybe all that boy-watching had finally sunk in, because this stranger was, to use two of Lexi’s favorite words, absolutely gorgeous.
He was about my age, maybe a little older, with cropped hair that glinted a pale gold in the sunlight. He was tan, lean and muscular, as if he spent most of his time out in the sun and the rest at the gym. And his eyes. They were the brightest shade of gray I’d ever seen. Not silvery, more...gunmetal. Metallic. They pinned me with a vivid stare, and my heart leaped as he extended a hand. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I almost whispered. Making sure my digits were free of scary-looking claws, I placed my hand in his, and he gently pulled me upright. Those brilliant eyes gazed into mine, and my stomach danced. “Thanks.”
“What the hell!”
Colin had leaped to his feet and was stalking toward us, his friends in tow. They did not look friendly or charming now. But then, another stranger appeared, taller than my rescuer and just as fit. He had short black hair and midnight-blue eyes, and his lips were curled in a dangerous smirk as he stepped up beside us. Colin and the others halted at his arrival, no longer outnumbering the new boy three to one, and everyone stared at one another for a moment.
“Well.” The other stranger’s voice dripped sarcasm, and he raised an eyebrow at the three goons in front of him. “Yet another fine example of evolution in reverse. Good thing we decided to take a walk, huh, Garret? We would’ve missed the monkey show.”
The light-haired boy, Garret, didn’t move, but his mouth twitched into a grim smile. “And they say chivalry is dead.”
“Who asked you?” Apparently, Colin had recovered, though not enough to come up with anything witty. Squaring his shoulders, he stepped forward, and Garret deftly moved me behind him. “You’re messing with my girl, kid,” Colin said, his face pulled into an ugly scowl. “This ain’t your business. Get lost, before we send you to the E.R.”
“I’m not yours!” I snapped before either of them could reply. “And if you bring that nasty, slobbery excuse for a mouth anywhere near me again, I’ll kick you where the sun don’t shine!”
Colin blinked, possibly too thick to realize what I meant by that, but the gray-eyed boy in front of me chuckled. It sounded...rusty, somehow. Out of practice, as if he didn’t laugh very often and I had surprised it out of him.
His friend snickered, too. “Sounds like she doesn’t want you around anymore,” he said as Colin swelled with outrage. “At least, that’s how it looks to me. What do you think, Garret?”
Garret’s voice went cold, soft and lethal. “I think they need to leave. Now.”
Colin lunged, swinging a savage fist at his smaller opponent. I jumped, but Garret somehow caught the arm and twisted it so that Colin flipped over and landed square on his back in the sand, his breath leaving his lungs in a startled oof! I blinked in shock, and Colin’s friends gave howls of fury and leaped into the fray.
I scrambled back, retreating with Kristin and Lexi, away from the sudden brawl. I wanted to help; my dragon was urging me to get in there and start blasting away, but of course I couldn’t do that. Besides, the two strangers were doing fine on their own. I didn’t know if they took some kind of martial art, or if they were just badasses, because they dodged, blocked and countered punches with no problem, moving seamlessly with and around each other. The dark-haired stranger blocked a vicious hook, lunged in and drove his knee into his opponent’s stomach, bending him over. Garret ducked a nasty right c
ross, then returned with a fist under the chin, snapping the other’s head back. I whooped in encouragement.
In a few short seconds, the scuffle was over. The taller stranger landed a blow across his opponent’s jaw that sent him crumpling to the sand, and Garret caught Colin in the temple with a savage elbow, knocking him down. Colin tried to get up, failed and slumped back, cradling his head.
Straightening, the two boys looked at their fallen opponents, then back at us. The dark-haired one grinned. “Well, that was entertaining,” he said dryly, rubbing his knuckles. “Reminds me of so many good times we’ve had together, right, cousin?” The other boy shook his head and turned to me.
“Do you need a ride?” he asked in his quiet voice, and for some reason, those bright gray eyes sent another quiver through my stomach. “We can take you home, or back to the main beach, if you like. I promise we’re much better behaved than these idiots. Even Tristan over there.”
The other boy sniffed. “I’m not even going to dignify that statement by taking offense.”
I shook myself, needing to stay focused as Lexi and Kristin looked a bit shell-shocked. Lexi clung to me, shaking, and Kristin stared wide-eyed at the bodies sprawled in the sand. “Back to the main beach would be perfect,” I told Garret.
He gave a somber nod, but at that moment, Colin groaned and staggered to his feet. He swayed, glaring poison at the two strangers, then, shockingly, turned his furious gaze on me. “You bitch,” he spat, and Lexi gasped with outrage. “You West Coasters are all the same. You ask for it, beg for it, then refuse to put out. You’re nothing but a whore! You’re nothing but a slut—”
Releasing Lexi, I straightened, marched up to the reeling jock, and kicked him where the sun didn’t shine.