They landed in the Palace’s courtyard and were immediately escorted by a group of guards to the throne room. Narses was sitting on the throne with more dragon guards standing around the walls. There was also a pale faced woman standing next to Narses in a red dress. She had golden hair that flowed over her shoulders and wore several bracelets on each wrist. She also wore a crown.
Zane’s eyes locked with hers, and he whispered: “Evelyn.”
“Zane,” she shot back.
Stacey nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Is that the human?” Evelyn asked her father.
“Yes.”
Evelyn, half smiling, stepped away from the throne. “It is too bad about Conrad.”
Zane nodded. “He was a brave warrior.”
“He was killed for your betrayal,” Evelyn murmured back. “So you might live.”
She stopped in front of him, batting her eyelashes. Then she turned to Stacey.
Stacey could hardly look at her.
“Are you afraid of me, human?”
Stacey winced. “No.”
Evelyn curled her fist into a ball and punched Stacey in the gut with it. Stacey dropped to her knees.
“What the hell was that for?” Zane cried.
Stacey tried to get up but struggled. Her vision was blurred.
“Something to remember me by,” Evelyn muttered.
She then walked softly back to her father at the throne.
Zane helped Stacey back up.
“The Humans have been notified of Miss Caversham’s release,” Narses announced. “One of the guards will fly her out to the pickup point at once.”
“Do you have the paperwork?” Zane asked.
Narses nodded to one of the guards who stepped off the wall to approach them. He was holding a scroll which Zane took and unraveled.
“I will be escorting the prisoner when you are satisfied.”
Zane turned over and inspected the document.
“It’s good,” he said finally, and handed it back to him. “However I request a private word with Master Narses before this is to come into effect.”
“Regarding what?” Narses replied.
“The Human Mage.”
Narses sighed. He rose from the throne and motioned for Zane to follow him.
Zane turned to Stacey. “I’ll be back in just a moment. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Stacey said. “Go.”
Narses and Zane departed together to another room.
Stacey watched as Evelyn slunk away from the throne to approach her again.
With the eyes of the dozen or so guards focused on the space between them, Evelyn moved through it, and said to Stacey, “Alone at last…”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“So how do you know, Zane?” Stacey blurted out.
Evelyn rolled her eyes. “We grew up together. Like best friends.”
“Really?”
“My father tells me he is infatuated with you for some reason. He said I should see you as a genuine threat. That’s his polite way of saying you should be executed. I wouldn’t be so polite.”
“Are you … jealous of me?” Stacey questioned.
This seemed to infuriate Evelyn. But she was careful to let it show.
“Why should I be jealous of you?” she said after a moment.
“Because I’m with Zane. Because he loves me.”
Evelyn produced a small dagger from blouse. She showed it to Stacey and grasped the handle.
Stacey took a step back.
“What would happen if I were to stab you now?” Evelyn asked. “I could just say you attacked me, and it was self defense. The guards won’t help you. They wouldn’t dare. Zane would be left with a choice – stay here, marry me and be happy – or turn his back on the clan. How long do you think it would be before he forgets about you?”
Stacey inhaled sharply and braced herself for the onslaught. “Bring it on.”
Evelyn’s eyes went smaller. Beadier.
She opened her mouth and gave a low, fiery roar.
Stacey didn’t take her eyes off her.
“Are you sure you want to die?” Evelyn demanded.
“That’s not up to me.”
Evelyn grinned. “No. It isn’t.”
The Princess jumped several feet into the air and pounced onto Stacey fiercely, trying to stab her. When they hit the floor the blade was plunged into Stacey’s shoulder. She screamed in agony and pushed Evelyn’s hands away, ripping the blade out. Evelyn tried to stab her throat, and Stacey held her wrists with all the strength she had to defend herself.
Evelyn laughed at her. “Foolish human. I’m not even trying.”
Stacey saw a red glow flicker in her eyes as her rage ascended and she felt the weight of Evelyn’s pressure dramatically increase. The tip of the blade pierced Stacey’s skin.
Then something strange happened. Evelyn’s pressure dropped significantly and her hands began to turn blue. Stacey could feel the blade coming back. She was winning.
“What are you doing?” Evelyn demanded. “What sorcery is this?”
Stacey kept pushing. The blade was almost completely away from her.
“No,” Evelyn whispered. “Impossible…”
Then all at once, Evelyn’s pressure completely ceased. Stacey pushed the blade up and it went right through Evelyn’s jugular.
The blood burst onto Stacey’s face, and it was searing, scaling – unbearably hot. The arms of guards pulled her away from Evelyn across the floor as she wailed in pain. Evelyn meanwhile wasn’t making any sound.
Stacey wiped the mess from her face and struggled to her feet. The guards pinned her against the wall while more rushed to Evelyn’s side.
Just as Narses and Zane ran into the room, one of them looked up and said: “She’s dead. The human killed her.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Loud cries of outrage boomed from every corner of the throne room. At the feet of his daughter Narses drew his sword from his side and shouted: “Seize her.”
The arms of several guards bit into Stacey’s shoulders as they forced her towards Narses with his giant blade.
But Zane stepped in between them and drew his sword.
“Let her go.”
“What?” Narses cried angrily.
“I mean it.”
The guards’s grip on Stacey was loosening. She broke away with them as Zane and Narses’s blades connected, with every last man in the room surrounding them. Halfway towards the exit, Stacey stopped and turned back to the fight.
The guards had branched out giving them more space as lighting bounced off each blade with their sharp strikes. There was a moment where Zane was able to push Narses back, and in it he turned to Stacey.
“Get out of here!” Zane cried.
He was again interrupted as the other man advanced to attack.
Swallowed in her tears, Stacey fled the Palace and kept running and running as fast as she could. Her path then eventuated on a group of dragon guards clustered around the front gates. They eyed her suspiciously.
“Please let me out,” she cried, falling into one of their arms.
“Why aren’t you with your Master?” one of the guards demanded.
Stacey looked back fearfully, not knowing what to say.
“Hold on a second. This is Zane’s girl. She’s due to be released today. She should already be at the heliport,” the dragon holding her said.
“Why is she out here? Is she trying to escape?” another questioned.
“She doesn’t want to go home,” the first one declared. “She’s in love with Zane so much she thought she could get away. Silly human.”
He shifted into his dragon, and the others forced Stacey up onto his back.
Soon they were in the sky and approaching the heliport.
Stacey was paralyzed, lost in the horror of killing Princess Evelyn involuntarily, and not knowing what was to become of Zane.
Was it possible he might win?
>
Was it possible?
Was it?
They landed on the roof and the guard shifted into his human self so to hand her over to the security team. As soon as Stacey saw Walter, her friend with the dark glasses, she ran into his arms for safety.
“She’s supposed to have the transfer papers with her,” the Head of Security stated. “Where are they?”
“Do you have any papers on you?” the dragon guard asked.
Stacey hesitated. “They’re back at the Palace.”
“I can’t take her without the papers,” the Head of Security said.
Stacey’s heart beat with immeasurable speed.
“You have to take her,” the dragon guard said. “I’ll make sure the papers are sent. Don’t worry.”
“I need them by tonight. You make sure you tell your leader that.”
“I will.”
The Head of Security turned to Walter. “Get her on board then.”
Once on the helicopter, strapped into her seat, Stacey turned to Walter and said, “Do you have any food or water? I haven’t had anything today.”
A bottle of cold water and a sandwich was passed down from the back to her. The helicopter began to take off, and the air-conditioner flushed into Stacey’s cheeks.
Walter looked at her whilst she ate and drank.
“Did someone hurt you?” he asked. “Your face has marks on it.”
“No,” Stacey whispered. “It was me who hurt them.”
She leaned out the window and watched the Island disappear from them.
It happened all too fast.
She thought about Zane. Thought about him striking Narses through the chest and announcing his command over the other dragons. That he would be a hero to them. A King.
And then one day soon…
While there was still hope in her heart… And the joy he’d given her still alive…
He would come back to be with her again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The day was not over for Stacey. Nor was the night.
As heartbroken and forlorn she was at her parting with Zane and the Island, she wouldn’t be given too long before she was running for her life again.
Right now, it was the middle of the afternoon. Almost two o’clock. She was sitting on the bed of a motel room a few towns out of the city, courtesy of Walter. Since her apartment had been destroyed and he didn’t know what family she had, he had driven her here from the justice hall, to wait out the next few hours. He’d said that the police had only agreed if he said he would stay here with her, and they were given the address.
He gave them a fake one.
It turned out to be a wise action.
Stacey had spent the last couple of hours sleeping. She was also given access to a shower and a new change of clothes. Only now was she waking up, sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on her shoes. Walter was supposed to be around somewhere. In the room, outside it, in his car… But when Stacey opened the door a few minutes later, she couldn’t find him anywhere.
His car was gone from the parking lot.
When she returned to the room she was given a frightening shock, as the phone started ringing. She answered it.
“Hello?”
“Stacey, it’s Walter,” came his voice over the phone. “You need to get out of the room right now.”
“What? Why?”
“They’re coming for you –” Walter said. At that point the phone was knocked out of his hand by someone or something, and the line went dead.
Stacey let it fall from her grasp and then she went to the window and pulled back the blinds.
Cop cars pulling into the car park. Lots of them.
“Shit,” she cursed and then ran out to the bathroom. She closed the door, locked it, and went to the window. She removed the screen and pushed herself through. She hit the dirt below on her knees and quickly stood to dust herself off. She could hear the cops already knocking on the door to the room.
Quick thinking, Stacey hurried over to a wire fence that stood between the motel’s grounds and a junkyard which was next-door. She successfully managed to scale it, and jumped to the other side without harm. She started running across the base of it. Looking back after a moment, she saw officers were searching for her at the back of the room where she’d come through.
“There!” one of them shouted. “She’s over there!”
Panicked, Stacey ran faster kicking up the dirt as she did. She veered round to the entrance, looking for some kind of help, any help.
But the road was empty at the moment.
Stacey made her way out of the junkyard and exited out to run alongside the main road. Looking behind her, there were still no cars. She knew of course there would be soon. The problem was that out here, there was nowhere for her to hide. Any second now the cops would be on her tail and she’d have no choice but to go with them.
And from there… Back to the Island…
Honk-honk.
Someone was out here. She didn’t recognize the car at first, but realized she should have once she saw who was in it.
He honked the horn again.
Opened the passenger door.
“Get in,” Dennis said.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Now the police cars were starting to move. Red and blue lights swung round the corner leaving Stacey in a box of utter terror.
“I’m here to rescue you, you goose,” Dennis scolded her.
The lights were coming too fast. Stacey didn’t have a choice.
She got in and before she’d even closed the door Dennis pressed his foot down on the accelerate. Hard.
The jolt sent Stacey to crack her head against the dashboard, drawing blood.
“Jesus Christ!” Dennis cursed at her.
“Sorry,” Stacey wailed.
“Close the fucking door!”
Stacey managed to slam it shut.
“Buckle up,” Dennis said, their speed increasing. Stacey looked over her shoulder to see the cop lights were still there, but fading. She wondered if they saw her get into Dennis’s car.
At the next intersection he made a left and soon they were moving through a series of backstreets. He slowed down and they kept going… Where to Stacey wasn’t sure.
“I think you lost them,” she muttered.
Dennis didn’t reply.
“Do you want to let me out now?”
“You need somewhere to hide out don’t you?”
“Yes, but –”
“Jasmine called me. Told me where you were. She would have come but she was too far away.”
“How did she know where I was?”
“Your friend must have called her. The guy who got you the room.”
“Oh…” Stacey trailed off. As grateful as she was to be rescued by Dennis, she still hadn’t gotten over his crazy behavior from last night. She didn’t trust him at all.
Eyeing him carefully she asked, “How did you get out so quickly?”
“You mean from jail? My parents posted bail. I got court in two weeks. Over what, right? Such bullshit.”
“You do remember threatening me with a gun don’t you?”
“Pfft,” Dennis muttered. “That thing wasn’t even real.”
“What? You … you fired a shot into the air. I remember. I was there.”
Dennis looked at her funny. “I was just mucking around. I was … stoned.”
Stacey shifted. She was really uncomfortable. “Where are we going?”
“I said we’d meet Jasmine at our cousin’s house.”
“Why your cousins house? Because they’ll probably check our house.”
“So you’re still living with Jasmine? She didn’t kick you out?”
“I haven’t even seen her since last night. But the cops might check our house, so that’s why we’re going somewhere they won’t find you.”
“Okay,” Stacey sighed.
“Don’t sound so grateful.”
“I am … grateful,” Stace
y mumbled.
“No,” Dennis said. “You’ve changed. You used to love me.”
She wasn’t going to argue with him there.
She had changed.
About a quarter of an hour later, they pulled upside Dennis and Jasmine’s cousin’s house. Stacey had never been here before, though she had met the cousin a few times. He was a shady character in his late twenties. He liked tattoos and took drugs. Other than that, she didn’t have much to say about him.
Inside the house, which Dennis entered without knocking, they found the cousin sitting on the sofa in the lounge room watching TV. He was smoking a cigarette.
“Hey,” he greeted.
Dennis hi-five him. “You remember Stacey right?”
“Oh yeah,” the cousin said. “Hey.”
“Hey,” Stacey said. “Matthew … right?”
Matthew the cousin nodded.
“Alright,” Dennis said. “Just chill here for a bit, Stacey. I’m gonna give Jasmine a call find how long before she gets here.”
Stacey sat down and Dennis disappeared into the kitchen with his cell phone out.
“Hey,” Matthew repeated his greeting to Stacey.
She didn’t respond.
“Want a drink or something?” he asked.
“Not really,” Stacey replied. “I don’t know how long I’ll stay here to be honest.”
“Why do you have to be somewhere?”
“Dennis and I … we’re not together anymore.”
“How come?”
Stacey shrugged. “Too much fighting.”
“But he loves you, yeah?”
Stacey shook her head. “He needs to get over me if he does.”
Matthew snorted. “Why, do you think you’re better than him?”
Stacey shrugged.
“Do you think you’re better than me?”
Dennis reentered the room. “Jasmine will be here in twenty minutes. Are we good till then at least, Stace?”
“As long as you don’t threaten me with a gun or anything,” Stacey replied.
“Hmm,” Dennis said sitting opposite her. “If I did that though, then you wouldn’t be allowed to leave, would you?”
Shared By The Dragon Clan: Part Four Page 3