The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy

by Charissa Dufour

  We passed the windows and flopped onto a narrow, flattish section of the roof. About a foot away from the gutters the roof sloped up toward a peak. I had ended up in the position closest to the dragon, and while it rained down more fire on the men, I scuttled forward and ducked behind a brick chimney. Emma was a breath behind me.

  The dragon finished its attack and turned to look in our direction. I held my breath, noticing that Emma was doing the same thing. Slowly, the dragon let its eyes slide over its surroundings, looking for more movement. I took the opportunity and dashed forward; sadly, the men were also holding still and the dragon quickly noticed my movement. I had barely made it out from behind the chimney when the beast blasted me with its fiery breath. I took the hit in my stomach and, without thinking, dropped to roll down the roof, back into my hiding place.

  The pain of the fire felt as though Habanero-heartburn had broken through my stomach and erupted across my skin. I rolled and wiggled until I was back behind the chimney. Emma patted my burned shirt, making sure the last of the fire was out.

  I laid there in agony, barely aware that something had drawn the dragon’s attention back to the street, when Emma jumped forward and rushed it with the speed of a three-hundred year old vampire. I forced myself back to my feet and raced after her, the pain making it impossible to breathe. But as a vampire, I didn’t need to breathe to run.

  Emma was already twined around the dragon’s neck, repeatedly stabbing it with her iron. I vaulted myself up onto the dragon’s back, barely missing a swing from the dragon’s spiked tail. I landed on its back, its smaller spikes cutting into my burned stomach.

  Draped over the dragon’s back, I drove my own piece of iron into the dragon’s gut. We continued to stab it, all the while ducking and dodging away from its tail and teeth. As we thoroughly distracted the beast, the men grabbed their own weapons and climbed to our aid.

  From where I hung, I saw Josh climb up the dragon’s leg and drive a bike-wheel spoke into the dragon’s head. It wasn’t until they had helped me off the monster I saw that Josh had struck it directly in the eye, the spoke just reaching its little brain.

  Nik, Emma, Josh, and I stood on the London roof and stared at the dead dragon.

  As we stared at the dragon, I noticed the shop door open and the owner peer up at the dead beast. Without warning the others, I charged up the incline of the roof and over the peak, leading us out of the shop owner’s sight and, generally speaking, toward the car. I scurried over the roof and launched myself across a narrow alleyway, assuming the others were following me. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted the others a mere second behind me. I turned back and kept running. I led us across a few more buildings and over two more allies before jumping off the roof and rolling with the painful landing, saving my legs from any more punishment.

  Before I could force myself back to my feet, the others landed next to me, rolling just as I had. Josh rolled right into me and held still, breathing heavily. I suddenly realized that I had taken off without checking to see if anyone else was wounded. I pushed myself up and looked at them. Each of us sported at least one burn mark. Nik also had a little blood on his cheek, though the original cut had long since healed.

  “We need to keep moving,” Nik said between staggering breaths.

  We all nodded in agreement before groaning our way to our feet. Nik crossed to where I stood and patted me on the back.

  “Good job leading us away. I don’t think he saw us. And we’ve gone in such an unusual pattern, I doubt he’ll be able to track us,” he said as he gave me one last pat.

  I ignored his condescension and turned toward the nearest cross street. “We going back to the car or walking back to hotel?”

  “We’ll get a taxi. I’ll send someone to get the car in the morning.”

  “Um,” I murmured, glancing down at my half-healed stomach. “What are we gonna say to the driver?”

  Nik glanced around at each of us before looking at his own burned arm. Though the two older vampires were mostly healed, their clothing looked horrible and reeked of brimstone.

  “Emma, your burn mark is the smallest. You’ll go into a store and buy us some jackets.”

  Emma nodded and began to lead us forward again. A few minutes later, Nik, Josh, and I were hiding in an alleyway behind a smelly dumpster while Emma slipped into a closed shop and snatched a few jackets.

  So much for buying, I thought.

  “So that turned out to be a men’s shop,” she said by way of greeting as she began to hand out the coats. “But I did the best I could.”

  I suddenly realized she was talking to me as she handed me a leather jacket three sizes too big for me. I slipped it on and pulled the zipper up to my neckline. The others donned their coverings without complaint.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said when I realized Emma was waiting for a reply. “So long as it covers the damage.”

  Emma pursed her lips as she stared at my awkward figure; she liked everyone to look their best.

  An hour later, we entered the hotel and rushed to the elevator, drawing the attention of the night staff. Emma looked slightly rumpled, even though her jacket fit better than mine. I could only imagine what I looked like.

  Thankfully, we had remembered to wash the blood from Nik’s face.

  Chapter Six

  Some hours later, I woke to the sound of Emma slipping into my room.

  “What?” I groaned.

  “We need to get you cleaned up. The sun will be down in an hour or so, and Nik wants to be on the plane for Paris as soon as we can.”

  “We’re going for that mystery guy of Faunus’?” I asked, vaguely remembering the faun’s request that we bring a certain vampire back to her.

  “Yep. C’mon. Up, up,” she said with a clap of her hands.

  Though I was growing to like Emma, her zesty energy was beginning to wear on my travel-confused mind. I wasn’t even sure what time my body thought it was supposed to be. I rolled away from her and pulled a pillow over my head. Emma jumped on the bed, grabbed the covers, and yanked them off of me.

  “You’re still in your clothing,” she exclaimed as though I had committed a sin.

  I groaned in response.

  “If you get showered and dressed, you can have a drink.”

  I heard Emma open a bottle and the room filled with the sweet smell of blood. This got me up. I reached out for the bottle, but she quickly pulled it out of reach.

  “Showered and dressed,” Emma repeated.

  I glared at her for a second before trundling off to the enormous bathroom. I would have liked to have stayed in the hotel long enough to actually enjoy it, but the idea of staying in London, with more angry dragons, was less inviting. A few minutes later I emerged from my shower, dressed as ordered. Again, I reached for the bottle.

  Emma squinted at me as she handed me the bottle. “After you drink,” she began, “I will do your hair and makeup.”

  “Ugh. Emma, no one will notice if my hair is nice.”

  “I’m sure Nik and Josh will notice.”

  “All the more reason not to.”

  “Too bad,” she said with a smile as she slapped the bottle into my outstretched hand.

  I guzzled the liquid before returning to the bathroom. Emma was in her element as she fluffed my hair and painted my face. I did my best to glare at her through the whole ordeal. If I wasn’t careful, she was going to turn me into a real girl.

  Emma ignored my glare, knowing it wasn’t real. She continued with her morning-person cheer as she coated my eyes with eye shadow.

  “You think this will really work?” I asked out of nowhere; I hadn’t even realized I was thinking about the artifacts or Sedgrave.

  “You mean the wizards’ plan?”

  I nodded, instantly regretting it as Emma pulled away, nearly painting my forehead with makeup.

  “I think it will. I think in a few weeks’ time you won’t be linked to Sedgrave and happily running away with whichever
man you chose.”

  Though I couldn’t see Emma’s face at that point, I could hear the tension in her voice.

  “You still love him, don’t you?” I asked in a whisper, shocked at my own audacity.

  There was a long pause while Emma retrieved some mascara and applied it to my lashes. I waited silently, letting her come to her own conclusion as to whether or not she would answer. It was her business and, in truth, I shouldn’t have asked in the first place.

  Emma cleared her throat. “You mean Nik?” she asked unnecessarily.

  I waited until her hand was away from my face before nodding.

  Emma walked around to the back of my seat and began combing my hair.

  “Yes.” She paused again. “Yes, I love him. Leaving him in Paris was the biggest mistake of my very, very long life, and one I shall never stop regretting.”

  “What happened?”

  Emma cleared her throat again, and I could tell that she was near tears. I wondered if she had ever had a woman to talk to about this.

  “We were trapped in a crowd. The religious type. I had made friends with a human named Thomas. He found me in the crowd and agreed to get me out… but not Nikolai. To my shame, I agreed. He snuck me out, leaving Nikolai to distract the mob. I regretted it the instant the danger was over, but I couldn’t get back. I tried. I really did.”

  I turned to look at her, suddenly aware Emma was no longer fussing with my hair. She was leaning against the granite countertop, her face contorted as she tried not to cry.

  “Have you ever told him that? That you tried to go back to him?”

  She shook her head. “What’s the point? He’s had over a hundred and fifty years to harbor this hatred. I’m just happy he’s willing to let me come along.”

  I reached up and patted her awkwardly on the arm. “Give it time, Emma. When this is all over, and he’s over this stupid infatuation, I’ll help you win him back. We’ll think of something.”

  Emma frowned down at me, her tears suddenly forgotten. “You mean you’re not interested in him?”

  I let out a sigh. “No. Not really. Let’s face it, I am a woman, and Nik is an exceedingly handsome man. Before I realized it was just because of Sedgrave, I was kind of… um… intrigued?”

  “Hard not to be.”

  I nodded in agreement. “But now that I know it’s all fake. Well, now it’s just sorta discouraging.”

  “What about Josh?”

  “Josh claims he liked me before Sedgrave was raised. I don’t know what to believe.”

  It was Emma’s turn to sigh. “While it may be true, in my experience, when a person is under any sort of love potion, or charm, they will say or do anything to get the object of their obsession. Don’t dismiss his statement out of hand, but don’t depend on it either.

  “Now, what about Jim?” she added after a little pause.

  I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her. Emma laughed and returned to my hair, wiping the last tears from her cheeks.

  I continued to consider her words as we emerged from my room, my two little bags in hand. Her array of luggage was already sitting by the door to our suite.

  “Excellent, come here Ashley,” Nik said as he climbed to his feet, the broach in hand.

  He pinned it to my collared shirt and held up his phone. A second later the phone camera flashed in my eyes and Nik smiled.

  “What’s this all about?” I asked as he took the broach off my shirt.

  “I’m sending a picture of it, with you, to Drake to confirm that we have it.” Nik glanced back at his phone. “You could have at least smiled.”

  I gave him a sarcastic grin before following the others to the door. We left the beautiful hotel and headed back to Heathrow.

  In all my dreams of traveling around the world, this was not what I had imagined. I had envisioned lying on beaches, drinking alcohol, and generally ignoring the reality of my life. Instead, I was hopping from one country to another, staying just long enough to be barbequed by a dragon.

  During the hour of sitting at the terminal, waiting for our plane to go through its pre-flight checks, Nik received a text from Drake. His brows pulled together in a frown as he read and re-read the short message. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but something about his expression stopped me.

  A minute later, he said, “Josh, would you mind getting us some coffee? I’m feeling the time change.”

  I nodded in agreement. “Emma, could you help Josh?” I asked, wanting to talk with Nik alone.

  She hesitated a second, giving me a confused, almost hurt expression. I smiled at her, trying to convey that she didn’t need to feel hurt. I’m not sure she got it, but she compliantly followed Josh. When they were out of earshot—which is a long way with vampires—I scooted over to sit next to Nik.

  “What was in the text?”

  “Drake says he’s working to track down the dagger. The one we stole from Periphetes.”

  I nodded. “Pity Periphetes couldn’t have come with us.”

  “He’s busy with the peace talks. Periphetes is more valuable to us there, as a true ally and a fae.”

  “What had you so upset?”

  “Drake believes the dagger is in Rome.”

  “And?”

  “There is a lot of nasty stuff in a city as old as Rome.”

  I didn’t have anything to say in response to that, so I changed the subject. “What happened between you and Emma?”

  Nik gave a little start, surprised by my question. “You know what happened.”

  “I know the facts, and only the bare essentials. She left you in Paris to get killed by a mob.”

  “Exactly.”

  “How do you feel about it?” I asked, trying to do a little recon for Emma.

  Nik turned in his seat to look at me, slipping his hand into mine. “What does it matter? That’s the past.”

  I carefully repositioned myself in my seat in such a way as to need both hands and therefore removed my hand from his without it looking deliberate. When I had repositioned, I placed my hands in my lap so that Nik could not take it without seriously violating my privacy. I saw Nik’s eyes glance to my hands and back to my face.

  I gave him a hesitant smile before speaking. “Nik, you know my opinion on that matter. Now tell me what happened between you and Emma.”

  “You could change your mind,” he said, ignoring my question.

  “Nik, until Sedgrave is dead, and I am no longer linked with him, I will not be making any decisions of any sort. Now… what happened between you and Emma?”

  Nik let out a put-upon sigh before settling in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. “We were in Paris. We were in a very anti-vampire, or anything mystical, mob and they were getting rather excited about the hunt. She was by my side, then suddenly she was gone. I later found out that she had fled, leaving me to distract the crowd, though in the moment I had thought she was dead.”

  “You do know she went back for you, right? She went back the same day, regretting what she had done, but she couldn’t find you.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Nik grumbled.

  “It does. You just can’t see it yet.”

  “It doesn’t matter because I love you.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes. It wouldn’t help to annoy him. I had to remember that he was, essentially, under the influence of a powerful spell. I couldn’t hold him accountable for the things he said, no matter how ridiculous they were.

  “Nik. I’m flattered. I really am. But I don’t feel the same way, and when Sedgrave is dead, you may not feel the same way either.” Nik opened his mouth to argue but I kept talking. “I’m not saying your feelings aren’t real. I’m say they may not be real, and until we know one way or another, we need to just let things lie. So all I’m asking is that you remember what I said about Emma, and remember what I said about us.”

  Nik’s jaw muscles flexed angrily. Eventually, though, he nodded. A second later, I spotted Josh and Emma weavin
g their way through the crowd toward our terminal.

  I gave Emma a wide smile as I took my coffee from her. For the first time since Nik had kissed me, I felt vaguely at ease. It seemed that both Nik and Josh understood the possibility of it all being fake, and were willing to respect my wish of waiting until Sedgrave was dead. I wasn’t sure if they would hold to this—I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t either—but I couldn’t expect everything from spell-befuddled men.

  Baby steps, I told myself.

  It wasn’t long after my talk with Nik that our plane was declared ready and we boarded. The wait between boarding and taking off was considerably longer. Once again, Emma sat near me, reading the tail end of the book she had purchased in Heathrow.

  We arrived at Orly Airport around eleven p.m. It was a nice, neat airport, without any of the ludicrous glass walls or glass ceilings featured in so many modern airports.

  I’m talking to you, Heathrow.

  Like in London, Nik drove as though he lived in this maze of a city. Though he had once lived here before, it was in a time when horses were the business of the day, rather than the luxury Cadillac that would have a hard time parking on any of these narrow streets filled with IQs and Fiat 500s.

  “Are we not getting a hotel?” I asked.

  “No. I hope to be in and out and on our way before the sun comes up. The address Faunus gave me isn’t too far away.”

  We drove into a little neighborhood with streets barely wide enough for the Cadillac. If it hadn’t been the middle of the night we would never have managed it. Only Nikolai’s decades of practice allowed him to parallel park the Cadillac in a space much too small for the car. Once he had turned off the car, he peered out the window and up at a loft sitting atop a few small shops and one little café.

  I looked out the window myself, noting the general decay of the area. Though the shops had received a fresh coat of paint in the last decade, most of the second story apartments looked as though they hadn’t been touched in generations.