“Hey!” Jade called over to them. “Kaylee, is Maddox still being an idiot? Do you want me to train you?”
“Mostly helped me…” Maddox said.
“We’re done for today,” Kaylee said when Jade came over. “I’m beat.”
“And you always will be beat if you train with this guy,” Jade said, tossing her staff to Maddox who caught it, grinning.
“Who wants drinks?”
Mrs. Azuma had appeared, carrying a tray of lemonade. “I thought you’d work up a sweat, Kaylee. I’m glad to see Jade and Maddox have taken you under their wings. I’ve told Alastair, dragon-kin and Merlins can’t solely rely on their magic. And teaching you might help Jade prep more for her Tamer tests in a couple years.”
Jade took a cup of lemonade, her knuckles white.
“Thanks, Mrs. Azuma,” Kaylee said. She gingerly took a sip. The lemonade was sharp and tart, and she had to resist puckering her lips. “Do, ah, all Tamers have to take the test?”
Mrs. Azuma gave her a confused look. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“What if there’s a Tamer who doesn’t want to, you know, keep being a Tamer?”
“Hypothetically,” Maddox added quickly.
Mrs. Azuma tucked the tray firmly under her arm. “I can’t think of any good reason why a Tamer would throw away a chance like that. It’d be the biggest waste of time and talent. Enjoy the lemonade.”
She walked off, closing the back door a little harder than necessary.
“Kaylee…” Jade said, glaring at the door.
“I was trying to help.”
“Well that didn’t help at all. I can deal with my parents and the test on my own.”
“But—”
“Butt out, Kaylee!” Jade snarled. “It’s Tamer business, not yours.”
As soon as the words left her mouth Jade covered it. “Ah crap, Kaylee, I’m sorry—”
“It’s fine. You’re right.”
“They just get me so worked up—”
“I said it’s fine.”
Jade looked about ready to go full-blown groveling. But whether she would or not Kaylee would never know, because just then Edwin burst through the side gate.
“Guys!”
He stopped next to them, hands on his knees. “Sorry—ran all—the way here.”
“Gee, if only there was a training program to help you get stronger,” Maddox said.
Edwin ignored him and straightened up. There was a triumphant look on his face. “I’ve found where the Slayer’s camp is.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Even for Kaylee, who was all for breaking the rules as long as it helped take down the Slayers, this was a little much.
First, there was the whole school thing. By the time Edwin had found out about the Slayer’s location it was too late to do anything about it that night.
“We should probably just tell the Convocation,” Jade had said. “They’ll know what to do.”
“And let them screw this up?” Edwin had said fiercely. “No, if they don’t think we’re helpful enough to stop a djinn giant then why should we be helpful enough to tell them where the Slayers are?”
“Uh, maybe because they’re the Slayers, not a djinn giant?” Maddox said.
“You were the one who suggested going after them to Alastair!” Edwin said.
“I meant with the Convocation, not just us! Going after them alone is just suicide.”
Edwin had been about to snipe back when Kaylee stepped in.
“Why don’t we scout out where we think the Slayers are first, then tell Alastair and the Convocation? That way we know the location’s legit.”
“I know it’s legit,” Edwin said.
“Oh yeah? Tell me how you found it.”
“A simple Seeking spell,” Edwin said. “My dad left the djinn’s urn in his study before the rest of the Convocation moved it to a safe place. I just tracked where the last known location was.”
“Huh,” Maddox said. “Wonder why Alastair didn’t do that.”
“I told him to, but he said it would be a waste of time.”
Kaylee also thought this might be a waste of time, especially since Edwin didn’t exactly have the best track record with successful spells. But he looked so determined that she decided it wasn’t worth arguing.
Which was why, the very next day after school when Kaylee was supposed to be finishing up a history report on trade embargoes during the late 1800’s (truly riveting stuff), she was avoiding skewering her eyes on low-hanging tree branches as she, Jade, Edwin, and Maddox snuck through the woods.
“If I fail this year I’m blaming Edwin,” Kaylee said, glaring at Edwin’s back ahead of them.
“Relax, Kaylee,” Maddox said. “I took that class last year. I can give you my paper to copy if you want.”
“You failed that paper,” Jade said.
Maddox shrugged. “There’s probably a useful line or two in there.”
Jade rolled her eyes and shoved Maddox forward. “Go make sure Mr. Explorer up there doesn’t get himself killed.”
Maddox gave her another little salute. Even after spending so much time around them, Kaylee still had trouble understanding there was another person as able to easily trade barbs with Jade as she was. Jade and Maddox were far more familiar with one another’s lives than she’d realized. But after a day, the sting of that discovery was less now, replaced by simple resignation.
The landscape around them was vacant; miles of pasture land surrounding Scarsdale; tracts of land spaced apart by groves of woods rarely seen by anyone except the people who owned them. Kaylee realized as they walked that Edwin might very well be right. If the Slayers had wanted to hide anywhere around Scarsdale, this would be it.
Jade brushed aside a branch as they entered another thicket of trees. A hundred yards through, out the other side, Kaylee could see splotches of a steel-gray sky. How close were they to the border of safety Alastair claimed was around Scarsdale? Was he being for real or just saying that so they stayed put? Not that any magical protection had helped so far. It seemed danger found them anyway, whether they were in the city limits or not.
Jade caught Kaylee’s arm as she tripped on an exposed root.
“Thanks,” Kaylee mumbled.
Jade nodded, eyes on the ground. She hadn’t spoken much to Kaylee since the previous night. She’d barely looked up the entire time they’d been together.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” Jade said. “At my house, I mean. I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that.”
“It’s okay,” Kaylee said, not thinking twice about forgiving her. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
“Just…my parents, you know, can be strict. They think being a Tamer is the best path for me because it’s important to our family.”
They both leapt over a creek. The break in the trees ahead was getting closer. The murmur of Edwin and Maddox’s voices had softened so that now it was just the wind and crunch of the ground.
“I wish you’d told me about it earlier,” Kaylee said. She found her eyes briefly settling on Maddox. “About a couple things.”
Jade stared resolutely ahead. “I wish I had too. I’m assuming Maddox told you about what happened to him?”
Kaylee nodded, surprised. “How did you know?”
Jade chuckled. “They guy can fight well but he’s pretty lousy at hiding any secrets, especially from people he trusts.” Jade chewed her lower lip. “He…I care about him a lot, Kaylee. I wasn’t wanting to hide that—any of this, really—from you. And if I did, it’s only because I didn’t want that kind of life for you. But that’s not possible now. And I promise from now on I’ll tell you everything.”
“Maybe not everything—”
“Everything,” Jade repeated.
“Seriously, TMI,” Kaylee said, laughing.
A hand clamped over her mouth.
Maddox dropped to the ground, pulling her with him. He slowly let her go, whispering, “They
’re right in front of us.”
Jade and Edwin crouched behind a bush. Just outside the border of the woods was the corner of another empty field.
“I don’t see anything,” Kaylee whispered.
“Concealment spell,” Edwin said. “Maddox noticed it. Tilt your head like this.” He jutted his chin out, keeping his eyes focused forward. “See it once and it stays clear.”
Feeling foolish, Kaylee did what he showed. The empty space in front of them shimmered, then dropped away like a curtain to reveal a camp. A couple vans were backed up to at least a dozen tents, fire pits spread between. Men and women dressed in black combat clothing strode back and forth, some barking out orders.
“There’s almost thirty Slayers here,” Jade said, taking a quick count.
Kaylee watched one man cooking on a camp stove. Others carried boxes of supplies from the back of the nearest van into one of the tents. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were there with the sole purpose of killing her and her friends, Kaylee might have thought the whole thing was some enormous overnight camping trip.
“Okay, we found what we needed to,” Jade said. “Let’s beat it before they see us.”
“And let them continue with the spell?” Edwin said. “The Dragon Moon’s in two days, Jade, and they have almost all the supplies. If we’re here we can’t let them go through with it!”
“They won’t succeed without the star-kissed meteorite!”
“And if they get that?”
Edwin pointed to one of the tents, larger than the others. The back of it was pressed up against the tree line that ran just a bit farther past them.
“That looks like a command tent. Ten bucks says they’re holding at least some of the supplies for the spell in there. If we can just—”
“No,” Maddox said firmly. “This is crazy, Edwin. You found the Slayers, now let’s just tell the Convocation and they can deal with it.”
Edwin let out a long sigh. “You’re right. I was being stupid.”
“Good,” Maddox said. He waved them ahead. “Go. I’ll follow.”
Kaylee crept behind Jade, keeping their heads low. She had almost gotten out of sight of the camp when Maddox let out a curse. Kaylee turned in time to see Edwin slipping away back in the direction of the tents.
“Edwin!” Kaylee hissed, dodging Maddox’s frantic grab and chasing after him.
Kaylee slipped her way through the slapping branches, egging herself on with the thought of giving Edwin a solid punch when she caught up with him.
She slid to a stop at the tree line as the tail end of Edwin’s shoe vanished into the back of the command tent. Kaylee checked to make sure no one was watching, then stole across the space and pushed through the flap.
The inside of the tent was a little shocking. With how barbaric the Slayers had been in almost every encounter, Kaylee had almost expected to walk into a torch-lit enclosure, carpeted in bear skin rugs, with a servant dressed in a robe waiting on her with a goblet of wine.
She was relieved, however, to find nothing short of a war room.
Computers flickered through screens of data, set atop quadrant maps. A giant World War Two-looking radio crackled in one corner beneath rows of compact Slayers weapons hung on racks. The other side was domestic, filled with a king-sized bed, the sheets tousled like whoever lived here had just left.
“Edwin!” Kaylee said. He was rifling through printed documents near the computer, making it so there’d be no way somebody wouldn’t noticed intruders had been here.
“We’re looking for a spell box,” he said, not sounding the least bit surprised that she’d followed him. “Probably black because that’s traditional. Merlins use the boxes to preserve the magic items before use—”
Kaylee yanked him away from the table. “We’re going to get caught, idiot! I don’t care if you’re trying to impress your father or the Convocation or whatever. This is insane!”
“I’m not doing it for any of that.”
“Bull.”
“Kaylee, we need to find—”
Voices outside the tent made them freeze. A couple men laughed as they walked past the front flap, then faded away again. Kaylee relaxed. But only just.
“Edwin—”
“This is our chance to stop them now!” Edwin pleaded.
“I see that, I really do. But there’ll be another chance. Now let’s get out before—”
A man stepped into the tent. For a moment time stopped, long enough for Kaylee to take him in.
He was broad-shouldered, his black combat suit practically straining to contain the rippling muscles just beneath. His eyes were as glittering black as his hair, which was cropped short but shiny. Weirdest of all were his hands that, unlike the rest of him, were almost delicate and long fingered, the skin silky smooth.
The man recovered in a blink. He gave them a toothy grin. “Well, well,” he said, his voice soft. “Here I’d been trying so hard to meet you, and instead you pay me a visit.”
“Run, Edwin!” Kaylee shoved him and swung around, one claw shifted and ready to—
Lancing pain raced up her arm. She gasped in shock as the man gripped her wrist tighter, twisting the claws away from him. His other hand—so strangely soft—gently wrapped around her throat and squeezed, lifting her up.
“Kaylee Richards,” he purred. “At long last. My name is Lesuvius, operator of this little outfit known as the Slayers.” He chuckled. “I put out all my resources to find you, and yet here you stand. Er…” He glanced down at Kaylee’s legs, which were now flailing a foot off the ground, seeking something solid beneath. “Well, somewhat. Will the delights of youth bull-headedness ever cease?”
“Put her down!” Edwin charged back in, one hand glowing with magic aimed straight at Lesuvius’ heart.
Kaylee barely had time to blink. There was a dull thud and Edwin was flying back the way he’d come. Lesuvius pulled his arm back and shook his fist. “I see they do not.”
Kaylee’s vision flickered. She tried to suck in air, to shift, to summon a storm, anything, but she could barely move.
“Now, now,” Lesuvius’ grip lessened and Kaylee managed to get some air, sweet, sweet air. “No checking out until I’m done.”
“I’m—not scared—of you,” Kaylee croaked.
“You shouldn’t be,” Lesuvius agreed. “I’m the good guy. And you have a part to play in all this, Kaylee…But not yet. No, not quite yet. At first I thought I would have to seek you out personally—so difficult to find reliable help these days. But I underestimated the Convocation’s stupidity. Their belief that their magic will save them. Now that I know that, when the time is right, you will come to me. There is no place you can run that I won’t find you.
“So…” He gave another chilling smile, “Until then, I’ll give you a sporting chance.”
He drew Kaylee closer to those eyes like black pits. His breath smelled of sulfur as he whispered in her ear, “Tell Alastair the Dragon-kin’s end has come.”
Then Kaylee’s world was spinning as Lesuvius hurled her through the back of the tent. She landed hard on the grass next to a groaning Edwin.
Kaylee’s throat was on fire. Her eyes couldn’t focus. She heaved for air, all while her mind screamed:
Run.
Run.
Run!
She forced herself up and grabbed Edwin, hauling him to his feet. Flickers of shadows at the edge of her vison made her turn just as a raven dive-bombed her from the trees. Hundreds more followed. They cawed and cackled at her as she ran, Edwin stumbling along beside her.
“Kaylee!” Jade’s terrified face emerged from the trees alongside Maddox’s.
“Help me!” Kaylee gasped.
Maddox hefted Edwin’s other shoulder while Jade batted away a few of the ravens who got too close. They were tapering off now, flocking back towards the camp.
They ran for what felt like hours, until Kaylee’s body seemed to separate from itself and she was nothing but a bundle of pain.
They slowed only once they’d put at least three fields between them, and were in sight of the main road and the flickering lights of downtown Scarsdale.
Kaylee collapsed to her knees. She was still gasping for air like she would never get enough. Beside her, Maddox was coaxing Edwin to put his arms over his head and take gentle breaths. Edwin pulled up one side of his shirt to show an already-darkening bruise on his ribs. His eyes met Kaylee’s and seemed to mingle with fear and relief.
“Kaylee?” Jade asked, laying a gentle hand on her back. “What happened? What did you see?”
“We should have told Alastair first,” Kaylee said. “We’re in a lot more trouble than we thought.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Edwin put in an anonymous tip, but the Slayers were gone before the Convocation got there,” Jade said in a low voice.
She gave Kaylee a sad look from across her desk, but Kaylee couldn’t pretend she was surprised. The Slayers would have been idiots to stay in one spot after letting her go.
She inched her desk closer to Jade’s while their English teacher droned on from the front. It was the last class before they’d be let out for Thanksgiving break, and no one was paying attention. But that hadn’t stopped their teachers from trying to squeeze out every last minute before the bell.
“Of course they’d be gone,” Kaylee whispered. “Did the Convocation actually send anyone?”
“They did.”
“Did they send enough? Enough that if they had run across a Slayer camp they’d be able to do something?”
Jade bit her lower lip. That was a no, then.
“They didn’t believe us,” Kaylee said.
“Yes they did. I was there when Edwin told Alastair.”
Kaylee slumped back in her chair, fighting frustration running through her. She pulled out the new, small Concealment charm Edwin had made for her, so that it no longer touched the skin of her lower neck.
“Maybe I should have shown them this.”
Jade’s eyes lingered on Kaylee’s throat, where she knew dark, almost evil-looking purple splotches in the shape of fingers were showing up.
“Stop it!” Jade slapped her hand and the charm fell back into place. Jade glanced at the board, but their teacher was too busy writing an assignment they had to work on over the break.
Dragon's Awakening (Heir of Dragons: Book 1) Page 20