He smiled brightly when he saw us, and to our surprise, he even shook our hands. Static electricity moved across my arm when he touched me. My heart leapt in my throat, but thankfully, nothing else happened.
“Well, I made a mistake pre-judging you yesterday, Francesca, but every single day a warden walks in here asking me for all sorts of favours,” he said, staring at me with wide golden eyes. Today, he was wearing a white suit with black stripes.
I had no idea what to say. He showed me his power, proving to me that his magic could do a lot of damage. Avianna’s energy healed me, but Harvey’s magic was different, it was like nothing that I had ever come across before.
“You promised to help me get back to Draconia. Here is the blood. I have done what you asked. Now, it’s your turn,” I told him, getting straight to the point.
“And I wanted to ask if you have any jobs available. I’m not going with her,” Nicolas interrupted, and Harvey glanced at him, looking annoyed. He walked around the desk again and sat back in his chair.
“Last night was just a test, Francesca. I wanted to make sure that you were who you said you were. Right now, I want to hire you full time,” he said, and I cursed under my breath. Of course, he wanted to hire me. Everyone did, once they learned how valuable I was.
“Fran, we don’t have to listen to him. Let’s just leave. I’m sure that—”
“You’re annoying, mate, and if you ever want to make it in this city, then I suggest you shut your mouth. Let the lady talk. She’s the one who looks like a lower class warden, but has just as much magic as any Dark One out there,” Harvey said, slamming his fist on his desk. Awkward silence stretched for an eternity after that, and I was trying hard not to lose my shit.
All of a sudden, I couldn’t stop thinking about the stranger I encountered on the street. If he was no one, then why did I keep sensing that we were meant to bump into each other?
“Fine. Tell me more about this job. I don’t want to waste any more time. I have to return to Draconia,” I said, blowing a stray strand of hair out of my face and flicking my band. Harvey was trying to get inside my head again—the tingling came back. This time I knew exactly what to expect, so I created an invisible shield using Avianna’s energy. Nicolas was staying here, and I had no doubt that he could find a way to support himself.
He smiled and smoothed his beard, as his eyes shimmered with mischief.
“There is an amber necklace in one of the homes located in Westminster that I want you to steal for me. It’s a powerful magical object that I have been trying to get my hands on for a long while now,” he said, then showed us the map on a square box that looked similar to Aly’s TV, only smaller. Harvey called it a laptop, saying it was something like a computer.
“And if I bring you the necklace, then you’ll help me get back to Draconia?” I asked, wanting to make sure that we were both on the same page. I didn’t know the city, but surely, it couldn’t be that much different than any other wealthy residence from back home.
Harvey smiled widely and nodded.
“Of course, you have my word. Now let’s discuss the details,” he said, and I listened.
“You’re my lucky charm, Fran. I can’t believe he just offered me a job,” Nicolas said happily when we were standing outside the gate to the paper factory. “But you know that I would never make it as a thief, so I can’t help you steal that necklace.”
Harvey asked him a few questions once he was done with our business, and told him that he needed a security guard.
None of this was expected. I thought that getting home would be a lot easier. I didn’t have any problem with breaking into some random house to steal a necklace. Nicolas had guarded the entrance to the Dimond city most of his life, and I suspected that Harvey needed someone experienced. I was considering taking him with me, just so he could keep an eye on the street.
“Yes, mate. She’s always been a lucky charm, even when she was with me. I told you that we were going to see each other again, sexy,” the familiar voice startled me again.
“Great. Him again,” I muttered under my breath, seeing Victor strolling towards me. He threw a cigarette on the ground. I had no idea what he was doing here, but I wasn’t interested in anything that he had to say to me.
“What the hell do you want, Victor? We are kind of busy,” I snapped at him. Harvey wanted me to steal the necklace tomorrow night, and that gave me enough time to prepare for any unexpected events. Victor’s eyes looked ordinary. He was still using the cover to make himself look like any human. He glanced at Nicolas and instantly frowned. He most likely sensed that me and Nic were somehow connected.
“I work for Harvey, Fran,” he replied. “And I can see that you already found yourself a new male companion. I bet you were begging for it when I moved on. Right?”
My jaw dropped, and anger lashed out of me in violent waves. Victor had always had a sick sense of humour, but he just insulted me for no reason. I wanted to kick his ass.
“You, son of a bitch.” I heard it coming from somewhere to my right, then Nicolas swung his fist, hitting my ex-boyfriend directly between his eyes. I heard bones crunching, then saw Victor hit the ground a second later. Blood poured from his nose and he was cursing Nicolas out, attempting to stand up. Several people were staring, and some were laughing.
“That isn’t the way you should talk to the lady,” he barked, staring at my ex like he was an annoying insect.
“I’m so glad you left me when did, Victor,” I told him, feeling kind of satisfied that Nicolas humiliated him. I should have listened to Dara when she told me to get rid of him the first time. I ended up in prison because of his ass and never forgave him for it.
Nicolas nudged me to start moving. We started walking away, and a second later, a faint energy ruffled my ponytail. An unknown source of magic began rising around me. Something was happening, and before I could figure out what it was, I abruptly turned around, seeing Victor. He was standing up now, palms up, shooting a stream of red energy towards us.
I instinctively lifted my hand, stopping Victor’s magic, creating a protective shield from the buzzing power deep inside my core. The wind picked up, blowing my hair around my face. My body was alive with magic.
“You were always a coward, Victor, and this just confirmed it,” I said, blasting him back with his own source of magic. He slammed to the ground for the second time. Moments later, the factory workers who were still standing by the gate, started clapping. I dropped my hand, smiled to myself, then tossed my ponytail behind me and started walking away, feeling proud of what I had done.
15
The magic.
“So, that was your ex? The one that you told me about?” Nicolas asked for the forty-fourth time. We came home about an hour ago and I was trying hard to relax, attempting to forget about my confrontation with Victor and Harvey. We didn’t talk much after we rushed through the streets of London. I was still a little shocked that my ex was ready to attack us when we weren’t looking, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. He ran away to this world because he was nothing more than a coward.
Aly was out on her date with the older gentlemen that she met online. On top of that, Avianna wanted to be downstairs with us, and now, she was listening to our conversation. I needed to get used to the fact that she would always be in my head. She could basically read my mind, sense my emotions and certain thoughts. Her magic was extraordinary, and we were linked to each other in almost every aspect.
I popped a piece of bread into my mouth, sitting next to Nicolas on the sofa, and replied, “Yeah, like I told you a million times—that bastard bailed on me and I ended up in prison because of him.” I was really laying it out there for Nicolas. Either way, he knew a lot about me already, so there was no point hiding anything. Warmth was riding inside me and I wondered what that was all about.
“You were a little silly when you were younger, Francesca. As to later on, you have to tell me more: like if there were other men in your l
ife,” Avianna said.
“I’d rather not. I want to put that part of my life behind me now, thank you very much.”
“You’re so lame,” she said, and I shook my head.
“Your magic is growing. I barely sensed it before, but now I can almost taste it. I wish that I could find an egg for myself,” he sighed, and Avianna started making giggling noises.
“Tell him that you will happily let him adopt me.”
“That’s not happening, dear,” I said, and then jumped when Nicolas looked at me like I was truly losing my mind, raising his very sexy left eyebrow. “I meant to say, that it’s very unlikely since the Dark Ones can’t keep any dragon eggs in the non-magical world, right?”
“You’re right, but I have never felt better since being around him—”
“It’s a she.”
“Come again?” he asked, confused.
“Tell him. I can’t believe he thought that I was a male. I don’t think I like him anymore.”
“The dragon inside is a female. I can kind of communicate with her now, since yesterday actually, and she is very offended that you thought she was a male.” I didn’t even know why I decided to share my little secret with him. Nicolas stared at me in shock and amazement. I bet he didn’t expect that.
It took me a while to get used to the fact that Avianna was almost like any other magical being, just in the shell.
“Wow, that’s awesome. We have been blinded for too long.” Nicolas shook his head, then looked down at Avianna. “The Dark Ones have been doing whatever they pleased with us,” he said, and then gently moved his hand over the scales of her shell. “I’m sorry, little dragon.”
“Okay, I guess I can forgive him now.”
I rolled my eyes, laughing, and continued teasing him about Avianna for a little while longer.
Aly returned from her date later on, looking happy. She had a blossoming smile on her face, carrying a lot of shopping bags in the house with her. Nicolas and I didn’t know much about her financial situation, but I felt really guilty when I discovered that she had bought us clothes. I began telling her that she didn’t need to get us anything, but she instantly changed the subject. Then she started telling me all about her date. Apparently, the older gentleman was already looking forward to the next one.
In the evening, after she went to her room, I decided to clean the entire house. I thought that it was the least I could do for her. Aly was a wonderful woman. She took us in and treated us like family, so I felt that relieving her from some of her usual household duties would be a good idea. Cleaning was one of the things that I enjoyed. Somehow, I managed to switch off and not think about my problems. I vacuumed, dusted, emptied the trash, and washed her clothes.
Then later that night, Avianna told me all about her other hosts. It seemed that she had been passed from host to host, and other wardens didn’t seem to know what they were supposed to do with her. She said that dragons normally stayed in their shells for about two years. She couldn’t tell me any more about the Dark Ones, but I was looking forward to finding out more—the whole truth about what they had been doing for the past two hundred years.
I decided to take her with me tomorrow to steal the amber necklace. In the past twenty-four hours, my magic had been unsettled, and I didn’t want any more surprises. Harvey had no idea who owned the house. Apparently, an anonymous buyer snatched the necklace on auction and he only recently received the tip that the owner was keeping it at the address that he gave me earlier on.
Wealthy wardens back in Draconia used to do that too, so this was nothing new. They cast their protection spells around their residences, and sometimes I was forced to return to a place several times before I could finish the job. Magic was a powerful commodity for those who had access to it. Now I knew that every warden in the Lower World could have been treated equally if we all had access to dragons. It was in our nature to breed them. We were supposed to be protectors of their offspring.
“Did you clean the house last night?” Aly asked the next morning when we were practising tai chi in the garden again. I was very quiet when I was cleaning, trying hard not to wake her up.
“Yep, why? Did I miss a corner, or was something not done the way it was supposed to be?” I asked, wondering if she was pissed that I moved some of her things.
Suddenly, she had her arms around me, hugging me tightly. My body went a little stiff, because I had no idea what was going on. No one had ever hugged me like that before, even when Dara was alive. My best friend just didn’t like being affectionate and I didn’t care. We were tight and nothing else mattered.
A moment later, another set of arms moved around me, and the amused voice was saying, “Oh, I love group hugs, guys.”
I was glad when I could finally breathe again. Besides, Nicolas’s body was very lean and muscular. He made me a little flustered and I was afraid that he might have noticed.
“Fran, you’re such a kind soul,” Aly said. “You didn’t have to clean the house. You’re my guest.”
“I wanted to help, and believe me, I’m not such a great soul. Harvey hired me to steal some necklace for him. Back in Draconia, I was a thief and very good one, I might add. People used to hire me to steal all sorts of things for them.” I wasn’t embarrassed about my profession. I had never considered myself a good person. I had done what I needed to in order to survive. I couldn’t get a job because I didn’t have enough magic. That was the long and short of it, and just how things operated in our screwed-up system—a vicious cycle with no way out.
“I’m never wrong about people and I stand behind what I said.” She stared at me intensely. “You’re a good person, Fran, and I think that the three of us should go out for a party. There is a disco for the elderly in the community centre this weekend.”
I didn’t want to crush her spirit, so I said yes, but deep down, I had no idea if I would still be here in a few days’ time. Nicolas was starting his new job tomorrow, so things were moving along for him as well, even if he was working for Harvey. At least he would be able to make some money.
Later on, in the evening, I put on a pair of new jeans that Aly had bought for me, along with my old jacket. Everything fit perfectly.
“I need you tonight, Avianna, and if everything goes well, then we will be in Draconia in no time at all,” I said when I was placing her inside the old backpack that Aly had given me.
Taking her with me was a risk, but I was much stronger with her than without her. We could protect each other, and tonight was important.
“I’m a little scared to leave the house, but you’re right. I don’t think that there is enough magic in this world to keep me going once I hatch out,” she admitted, and I understood. She needed magic in order to survive.
Nicolas was waiting for me downstairs. Aly gave us some sandwiches for the road and wished us good luck. It was already dark when we left her house and in a way, I was nervous. Back in Draconia, I used to break into people’s houses on a daily basis. Here, things were different, and I didn’t know exactly what to expect.
We were heading straight to Westminster; apparently, it was where the British parliament was located. Aly mentioned that a lot of important people lived in that area.
My anxiety came back full force in the tube, so I flicked my band until Avianna told me to get a grip. Her voice kind of reminded me a lot of Dara’s, and the thought that my best friend was still with me seemed to help a lot.
“I lost my father when I was young, and then my mother recently, so I understand what you’re going through,” Nicolas told me when we left the station and walked across the wide street. We were passing a lot of large old buildings with white pillars and posh-looking cars parked outside. There weren’t many people around, but I could tell that the people who lived around here must have plenty of money.
I glanced at him a little shocked. We had spent a few days together and I felt a little ashamed that I didn’t ask about his family sooner.
“I’m
sorry, that must have been tough,” I said, remembering that in the beginning, I just couldn’t get used to the fact that I wasn’t going to see Dara again. Every day when I woke up and opened my eyes, it would hit me like a tonne of bricks. My heart broke over and over each day.
“Both their magic faded, and my mother once told me that she would never want to live without it. Sometimes when I think about it, I want her back. She always had faith in me,” he told me, and I smiled.
A few blocks later, Nicolas stopped me, pointing at the street sign, then the building up ahead. It was the place where the necklace was supposed to be located.
“And how are you going to get in there? Humans will call the police. Women in the black box are always talking about calling the authorities,” Avianna told me.
“You listen to way too much TV. Tomorrow you’re going to stay upstairs,” I muttered, trying to focus.
“In these types of buildings there is always a back entrance, or at least a window that’s ajar. Stay close by, and whistle if you see anything suspicious,” I told Nicolas. He didn’t seem convinced, but agreed anyway.
A moment later, I was climbing over the metal gate to get through the back entrance. These houses weren’t much different from the ones back in Draconia, just as I had suspected. I was always able to figure out a way in, but this time I supported myself with magical energy. The door in the garden was shut tightly, so that was out of the question. It was pitch-black, and the walls were slippery. Using my magic, I was able to climb up the gutter. My heart pounded loudly in my chest. Avianna kept telling me to breathe in and out. Sweat was running down my face, but I kept pushing myself. Finally, I saw that one of the windows on the right-hand side was open. I was lucky this time; otherwise I would have had to smash it.
This took a while, but with my added energy, I opened the window wider and finally slid inside the house. I bruised my left elbow, but Avianna assured me that she would take care of it later on.
Hatched (Draconia World Book 1) Page 11