Boreal and John Grey Season 2

by Thoma, Chrystalla

  Running toward the creature, Finn looked like a matchstick figure.

  Ella broke into a sprint, trying to reach him.

  She was stopped by a deafening boom that shook the roof. A tremor went through the building as the dragon perched on the ledge, digging enormous claws into the concrete. Its winds spread, a glittering backdrop, a snowy theater curtain.

  Finn slowed and drew his knives. There was a radiance about him, emanating from his fluttering hair, his face, his hands. It reflected on the blades of his knives so that they burned like flames.

  Ella swore, half-expecting Finn to run and leap onto the dragon’s back, like he’d done last time.

  Instead, he knelt on the roof and opened his arms wide, the knives he held glinting. He stayed there, still as a statue.

  What. The. Hell. Now was not the time to meditate. Especially not with the dragon’s head bending over him, with those sharp blades-for-teeth gleaming. That thing could swallow Finn like a pill.

  It looked too much like a sacrifice, Ella’s heart boomed.

  No. She had a clear shot and she’d take it, nest and dragon eggs be damned. She halted and raised her gun, aiming down the barrel.

  The dragon chose that moment to flap her wings, perching on the ledge like a damn oversized pigeon, opening her mouth wider. A roar rolled out, shaking the roof.

  Ella cursed and squinted, adjusting her aim. Drew a breath and let it out, focusing.

  Finn exploded into action, a silver whirlwind, his knives tracing bright arches in the dark as he danced out of the way of the dragon. The elongated head chased him and he moved backward, drawing the dragon away from the ledge.

  Well, at least there was that.

  Ella tried to get a shot in, but Finn kept darting in the way, his blades flashing — it was like a goddamn show, because he wasn’t scoring any hits. Wasn’t even trying to.

  “What the fuck, Finn?” Ella hissed between her teeth as the dragon roared again and snapped at him. “Why aren’t you trying to kill her like Dave said?”

  Unless the dragon had laid her eggs, and Finn would want to know where.

  Crap.

  The dragon’s tail swung around, crashing into a satellite dish, propelling it at Ella. She threw herself to the side, slamming into the ground, her breath leaving her.

  Damn damn damn.

  When she sat up, blinking to clear the stars from her eyes, she decided she’d hit her head too hard.

  The dragon stood poised on the ledge, glittering wings stretched wide, and Finn rode astride the long neck, his hands gripping the polished crest.

  Boreals. Dragonlords. Finn had tamed the dragon before, the first time they’d met, and now... how much control did he have over the creature?

  Finn turned his head to the side, silver hair dancing on the wind, his gaze searching for Ella.

  She couldn’t tell if he saw her.

  A moment later, the dragon sprang off the building, soared high against the clouds and vanished.

  ***

  Ella rode the elevator down, her legs shaking all the way. Deep breaths. She strode to Dave’s car, struggling to ignore the fear churning her stomach. “Damn dragon just disappeared. How are we going to follow her?”

  “Relax.” Dave was chewing on a plastic straw, humming around it. “Looks like they’re heading east.”

  “And you know this, how?”

  “I’ve got agents posted all over the city, watching.”

  She bit down on more questions and slid into Dave’s car without waiting for an invitation. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Dave let a long-suffering sigh and got behind the wheel. Police cars passed them by, sirens wailing and lights flashing.

  They rolled down the avenue, following them. Ella stared outside. She couldn’t get the image of Finn seated on the dragon out of her mind.

  “Everything all right?” Dave asked.

  “You’re asking me this as we’re following a dragon flying over the city?”

  He tsked. “Now is as good a time as ever.”

  Maybe to a robot it was. “Everything’s peachy.”

  “I was merely asking if any Gates have opened. If there’s anything out of the ordinary I should know about.”

  “Relax, Guardian. The Gates are shut. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t have noticed if something had fallen through.”

  Dave shrugged, taking a turn, the lights of the police cars ahead streaking his face with blue. “And what about human issues?”

  “If you’re asking about the sniper...”

  “Are you wearing your Kevlar?”

  Ella glanced at his hard profile. “Yeah. Didn’t know you cared, Dave.”

  “Of course I do.”

  Yeah, right. She still hadn’t figured out if Dave had any emotions whatsoever or just pretended too well.

  Dave drove in silence for a while. His mobile beeped and he glanced at it. “Changing direction. Going north.”

  “She’s heading toward the industrial district,” Ella said and Dave nodded.

  “Lots of places for a nest there.”

  But then the phone beeped again and Dave swore and took a sudden left turn. “Heading east.”

  Night had closed in, moonless and starless. She glanced outside, trying to locate the dragon. She could recall clearly the rider on his white steed, burning like a flame as they flew against the sky.

  Damn fairytales.

  “What will you do with the dragon eggs? Shoot them?” For some reason the idea made her shiver.

  “Let us find them first.”

  “So you mean to keep them? Found a dragon nursery? A zoo?”

  “Don’t be absurd.” Dave was unmoved. “Of course they’ll be killed. We can’t have dragons loose on this world.”

  Although there was an Aelfr, and a Duerg. Dave didn’t seem to see the contradiction.

  “No secret plans of unleashing the dragons on the army and taking over the government?” She observed him as she said it, and an image of Godzilla trampling over buildings in Tokyo flashed through her mind.

  “That’s not my mission.”

  “Right.” Ella wasn’t sure what to believe. “Though, I assume, your orders could change.”

  “I haven’t been contacted for centuries.”

  She leaned her head back. “Because the Gates were closed.”

  “And they’re still closed.” He raised a dark brow. “Unless you’re lying and Finn isn’t in control.”

  In control. A phrase Finn had used a couple of times already. Interesting. “I told you, Dave, the Gates are closed.”

  “Sure. Although Finn looks tired. Keeping the Veil strong and the Gates closed is obviously taking its toll on him.”

  Ella sat straighter, alarms going off inside her head. “He looks fine to me, so stop worrying.” And fishing for information. “He’s got it covered.”

  “He’s a fast learner, huh?”

  “Yeah,” she said. Why did the phrase ring a bell?

  “If there’s anything you’re not telling me...”

  “Where are you going with this, Dave? You’re a suspicious bastard, you know that?”

  “With good reason,” Dave said. “You always hold out on me.”

  Ella clamped her jaw and stared up at the sky because he was right.

  Yeah well, turnabout was fair play. Besides, this time round she wasn’t sure she knew anything at all.

  ***

  “Dragon’s on the roof of the Citigroup building,” Dave said into his phone, his fingers tapping a rhythm on the steering wheel. “Bring backup.”

  Ella got out of the car and stared up and up. A skyscraper. Or close.

  Well, there’d better be elevators. She marched toward the entrance where two agents she didn’t know were explaining the situation to the guards — lying about it, in fact, telling them a helicopter had landed on their roof — and demanding to be let inside.

  The guards shrugged and motioned at them to enter. Ella followed on their heels, flas
hing her badge. They all crammed into the elevator, not waiting for Dave, and went up.

  God, she hated elevators. And heights. Not necessarily in that order.

  And... more rooftops. She sighed as she stepped out into the cold air, drawing her gun.

  She froze.

  The dragon stood, its huge head lowered, caught in Finn’s hands. He was murmuring something, his lips so close to the flared nostrils he seemed about to kiss the dragon’s snout.

  Yet another what-the-fuck moment, and it was still the same evening. Oh and where was the nest? Dave wouldn’t be pleased.

  She raised her gun. “Finn?”

  “No!” He turned toward her, lifting a hand as if to stop her. But he gazed beyond her.

  “Take the beast out!” an agent shouted from behind her, and the dragon turned yellow eyes toward them. Intelligence lurked behind the slitted cores, and Ella hesitated for a split second.

  The dragon stomped back and turned, spreading its feathered wings, and Ella took a step back. Then the creature jumped off the roof with a sound like a thousand whips cracking.

  Shit.

  “Down!” came a shout from behind her. “On your knees.”

  She spun around.

  Three agents surrounded Finn, guns trained on his head. He didn’t seem inclined to kneel but held his hands out to the sides — empty.

  “Hey!” She strode over and shoved her way between them. “What are you doing? He’s with us.”

  “He let the dragon escape,” a man cut like a wardrobe informed her, his gun aiming at Finn’s chest.

  “He must have his reasons.” She reached for Finn whose blank expression forebode nothing good — then a hand landed on her shoulder and she was pushed down, a gun pressed to her head. It was so unexpected she yelped as she dropped to her knees, feeling the impact through her kneecaps.

  Then it all went to hell.

  A burst of movement and grunts of pain informed her that Finn had decided to take action. She struggled to get up.

  He was ungodly fast. He seemed to dematerialize and materialize with no in-between transition. One moment he was punching the gun out of one agent’s hand — the next he was kicking another’s feet from under him — and then he was grabbing Ella’s arm and yanking her against him, borrowed gun pointing at the last man standing who seemed to inexplicably have lost his own.

  Finn was muttering something under his breath, but Ella couldn’t pick out the words. He jerked her around, using the gun to cover the other two agents who moaned, lying on the roof, caught in the headlights lining the rooftop.

  “Finn, hey.” She tried to step away but his grip around her waist tightened to the point of pain. “Finn!”

  His eyes were empty. Shit, Finn didn’t seem to be behind them. He swung the gun forward — at something Ella couldn’t see.

  She caught the barrel and pushed it down. “Stop. Hey, can you hear me?”

  A violent shiver went through him. He let her pry the gun from his hand. His gaze was still vacant, the blue of his eyes turned to slate grey.

  This was even scarier than the dragon.

  The man who was still standing took a step forward.

  She brought the gun back up. “Don’t.”

  “What the hell is going on here?” Dave’s voice boomed from behind her.

  She glanced at him over her shoulder. Oh god, she never thought she’d be so happy to see him. “Dave, tell your men to back the hell off. I’d hate to shoot them, but my trigger finger’s cramping.”

  “He let the beast go.” One of the men, a thin, balding guy, jabbed a finger at Finn who had hunched over, shivering. “He rode it all the way here and then the fucking beast flew away. Goddamn retard—”

  “Shut up,” Dave said, then nodded at Ella. “Status.”

  “As you can see, boss,” she ground out, “I’m okay, but Finn is... cold.”

  “Cold.” Dave frowned.

  Finn shuddered, groaning deep in his throat. His wide eyes were fixed on a point in space. What the hell was he seeing?

  “As I said,” Ella said, her jaw clenching, “he’s frozen stiff from the ride on the dragon. He wasn’t dressed for it. Can we get him indoors?”

  “Goddammit.” Rubbing a hand over his brow, Dave sighed and nodded. “Get inside. I’ll talk to him later.”

  Chapter Four

  Clues

  “Come on, Finn, let’s get you warm and comfy.” Ella’s heart hammered as she led him into the elevator and hit the button, sending them down. Finn hadn’t reacted to her manhandling him, twitching from time to time, his face white as death. “You’re here, you’re safe, yeah? It’s me, Ella. You know me.”

  When the doors dinged open, Finn jerked back, pressing his body to the metal wall of the elevator. He reached for his knives.

  “No, Finn, dammit.” Ella grabbed his hands and his fingers clenched around hers, threatening to break her bones. Still, she held on. “Come on, babe. It’s safe. You’re fine. Look at me.”

  It was just like when Dave had shot him, dammit, and she’d found Finn in a back alley, barely able to stand. She felt she was having a flashback herself.

  She had to bring Finn back before Dave realized what was happening — if he hadn’t already. What a clusterfuck.

  Mike had said his brother had gone through something similar. He might know how to help Finn. First, though, they had to deal with Dave.

  She had to buy Finn some time.

  Pulling his arm over her shoulder, she dragged him out into the chilly night, the wind a knife cutting through her flesh. Her phone rang as she hailed a taxi and she ignored it in favor of opening the door one-handed and settling Finn inside.

  She’d barely gone around the other side and gotten inside the taxi, when her phone rang again, and guess who it might be. Rattling off the HQ address to the driver, she leaned over to buckle Finn in.

  Finn grabbed her wrist, and she bit back a yelp of pain.

  “It’s me, Ella,” she hissed. She lifted her other hand to his cold cheek. “Come on, snap out of it.”

  He swallowed, gave a slow blink, and his fingers relaxed around her wrist. “Ella.”

  Oh, thank god. She wanted to wrap herself around him, make sure he was okay, but the taxi driver’s hard eyes stared at her through the rear-view mirror and she settled for stroking Finn’s cheek instead.

  “Almost there now,” she whispered. “Hang on.”

  The phone rang a third time as they reached the HQ. Ella rolled her eyes and answered it, holding it away from her ear.

  “Where the hell are you?” Dave hollered. “I’ve been calling—”

  “Chill, big boss, we’re almost at HQ.”

  “HQ? What the hell are you doing there?”

  Here goes. “I thought you wanted to discuss this behind closed doors?”

  A silence full of heat met her words. She waited.

  “Fine,” Dave bit out. “I’ll be at the office in ten and you’d better be there.” He disconnected.

  Now that had gone well.

  She paid the taxi and went around the car to help Finn — but he ignored her hand and hauled himself out on his own. His knees started to buckle but he still ignored her, leaning on the car door and gritting his teeth.

  Her patience was running low. “Dammit all, Finn, will you let me help you?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Ella took a step back, furious, worried, and damn well pleased.

  Because her stubborn elf was back.

  ***

  “You let the dragon escape.” Dave’s eyes narrowed on Finn. “I want to know why.”

  “I didn’t.” Finn sat across from Dave’s desk, a mug of strong, hot coffee cradled in his hands.

  “You didn’t. She just upped and flew away, did she?”

  Finn didn’t bat an eye. “Your men scared her.”

  “I see, my men are to blame, when you were standing right next to the dragon before she jumped off the roof.”

  “I cou
ldn’t kill her,” Finn said, his fingers white around the mug. “She’s laid the eggs. I need to find the nest.”

  “Why didn’t she fly you there?”

  Finn’s glare cut like a dagger. “Next time I’ll make sure to ask.”

  Ella coughed to disguise a snicker.

  “Don’t get cheeky with me,” Dave said evenly. “We could be at the nest right now, finishing off the whole brood.”

  Finn sat ramrod straight in his chair, not a single tremor betraying him. He’d made his way to the office on his own and had accepted the coffee without a word. Now he gazed steadily right back at Dave, not a flicker in his eyes, his jaw set.

  “Are you suggesting you don’t need backup to catch the dragon? That I can trust you? Because that’s bullshit.”

  Finn shrugged.

  “We’ll need to find her again.” Dave rose and propped his fists on his desk. “I wish I knew how something that big can hide in the city.”

  “How did you find us?” Finn asked.

  “I had observers posted.”

  Finn’s jaw twitched. “You don’t know much about dragons,” he said quietly. “Duerg.”

  “And you don’t know much about me,” Dave returned, scowling. “Aelfr.”

  Ella frowned. “Which means what exactly? Is there something you wanna share, Dave?”

  “Just putting the boy in his place.”

  Finn set his mug on the desk; his hands fisted. He looked ready to launch himself at Dave.

  Whoa. Ella moved to stand between them. “Okay, both of you, calm down.”

  “He didn’t kill the dragon.” Dave’s gaze never left Finn.

  “We’ve covered this. Wait, was it an experiment? An ‘I’ll-trust-Finn-only-if-he-kills-the-dragon’ sort of thing?”

  Finn blinked.

  Dave swore.

  Oh dear. “That was it, wasn’t it?” Ella was past amused and working on pissed. “Is all this a game to you?”

  “Not a game,” Dave said. “But he isn’t doing himself any favors by letting her go. I’m not reassured.”