Badass Dragons: The Complete Set

by Rosette Bolter

  So she remained where she was. Waiting for him to say something.

  Or the courage for her to say something herself.

  After a full minute of nothing, he abruptly walked away from the window and passed her. He opened the door to the corridor and closed it behind him.

  Cheryl gave a shudder.

  What had just happened? Was she supposed to just give into him?

  If so, why hadn’t she? Wasn’t she just ruining her chances of rescuing Sophie?

  The door opened and the light was switched on.

  It was the guard.

  “Ms. Thames?” he called to her.

  Cheryl walked towards him, her hands unable to relax. “What’s happening?”

  “Your meeting with Master Synrith has concluded. Please allow me to escort you out.”

  As Cheryl’s legs dragged her into the corridor with him, she looked around for her lover, but he was nowhere in sight. It was after she got into the elevator and saw the floors going down, she realized he had been telling the truth after all.

  She was powerless.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “He has to see me,” Cheryl said to the guard on their way down. “We weren’t finished.”

  The guard didn’t reply. Cheryl turned slightly.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Master Synrith has given me my orders. You will have to make an appointment for another time.”

  “No,” Cheryl said. “I never even got to explain anything to him. He, he –”

  “There is nothing I can do. Please don’t cause a scene.”

  The elevator hit the ground floor. They stepped out and walked past the reception desk.

  Cheryl turned. “What if I want to see someone else here?”

  “No, no –”

  “I want to see Jet. Jet Strongarm.”

  The guard folded his arms. “There’s nothing that can be done.”

  Cheryl pointed to the man behind the desk. “Call him. Would you? Tell him I’m Cheryl, Sophie’s sister. Tell him I need to speak to him at once.”

  The receptionist stared back but made no move to pick up the phone.

  The guard gave Cheryl a hard shove.

  “Stop that!” she cried.

  He shoved her again.

  “Cut it out.”

  He pointed to the exit. “Go.”

  Cheryl turned to face it. “No. I can’t.”

  The guard leant over her shoulder. “You don’t want to try it, Princess. Trust me. Don’t try it.”

  Try what? What’s he talking about?

  Such innocent thoughts. Anything to protect her from the knowledge of what she was about to do. She looked back to the guard again, just a glance, but it was enough that he saw it. The scales of his dragon briefly rose to the surface as his arms spread themselves wide, and his jaw clenched.

  Cheryl stared at him. She saw herself jump out at him, lunging wildly while he dodged her blows. She heard the security alarm sounded and the footsteps of a dozen more guards running down the steps.

  Would she win? Would she even have a chance?

  She blinked the thought away. She turned back to the exit and left the guard and the building behind.

  In front of her, the night was full of darkness.

  But even though he had driven her away…

  She knew there was still time to save him.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Wind howled across the smooth texture of the castle skyscraper’s roof, where Synrith stepped out to meet with the dragon soldier. Crouched before him, Synrith made out the impression of a girl with dark hair, nursing her face from whatever pain had been inflicted on her. Synrith knew who the girl was of course, but he was surprised the dragon soldier was otherwise alone.

  “Well done,” Synrith said as he approached.

  The soldier nodded, breathing heavily.

  Synrith stopped in front of the girl and looked down at her. “Let’s see those pretty eyes.”

  Sophie stared up, biting back tears of rage.

  “Where’s Jet?” Synrith asked the soldier.

  “She had a vampire tracking her,’ the soldier informed him. “He stayed behind the others to follow him.”

  Synrith crouched. “So the truth is out at last. You were playing me all along.”

  Sophie sneered at him.

  “Do you have the dagger you stole from me?”

  She grinned and shook her head.

  “Her person’s were empty,” the soldier droned. “She must have handed it off already.”

  “To the vampires?” Synrith questioned her. “To the one that was following you?”

  Sophie blinked but did not reply.

  “You can go, soldier,” Synrith said to the dragon who had brought her. “I’m going to stay out with her for a moment.”

  “As you wish, Master.”

  The soldier moved past them towards the exit. Sophie remained crouched.

  “So what’s it to be huh?” Synrith asked her. “Are you ready to be my slave now? Are you prepared for all the pain I’m going to make you suffer?”

  “No,” Sophie replied. “You are my slave.”

  Synrith laughed. “Stand up.”

  Sophie stood.

  He read her eyes and saw she was holding something back from him.

  “I saw your sister tonight,” Synrith said, looking for a reaction. “She came by here just before.”

  “I know,” Sophie replied.

  “You know?”

  “A little bird told me.”

  Synrith walked forward until he was standing beside Sophie.

  She faced one way. He faced the other.

  “She had a crazy story when she came here,” Synrith said. “I didn’t let her tell it, but I knew it was there. For a moment it was as though I knew her. Then I thought maybe it was just because she reminded me of you. And then, I wasn’t sure. You girls can muddle my mind at times.”

  “You’ll see her again soon,” Sophie said. “Jet will bring her here.”

  “Really? Tonight?”

  “Tonight.”

  “And what’s the significance?”

  “She won’t be the same. As you’ll soon see.”

  Synrith suddenly became cold with a chill. He felt his balance wavering.

  This had already happened. Not in a dream.

  Like a dream, but…

  NOT IN A DREAM

  Sophie started giggling. The sound – the unpleasant, infuriating sound – disturbed Synrith’s thoughts. He then realized he was wrong to dismiss Cheryl earlier.

  She was not who he thought she was…

  CHAPTER FIVE

  With Synrith refusing to help her, and Jet’s location unknown, Cheryl came to the realization that the only friends she might have left were the vampires.

  How much time had passed exactly since she had left the house? Where was her past self right now? What was she doing?

  Cheryl went over the events that had transpired in her mind. After Sophie had called her, she had raced out to their mother’s house, who promptly turned her away. She had wandered the backstreets looking for her sister, until she did find her phone and the police car showed up.

  Cheryl stopped.

  Cassandra’s vampire brother. Cado.

  Was he still alive now?

  She remembered she had met him in his antique store – almost an hour after their encounter on the main road. There must still be time then. Cheryl spotted an old phone booth located down the edge of the street and started walking quickly towards it.

  Inside the booth she uncovered a telephone directory and flipped through to the antique section where she scanned the names of stores in the local area.

  Zany Finds.

  That was it. She was sure of it.

  She picked up the telephone and dialed the number for reverse charges. After a minute of waiting the call was accepted and a woman’s voice came on the line.

  “Hello?”

  “I have a message for
Cado,” Cheryl said quickly.

  “Who is this?”

  “The dragon Jet is coming there for the dagger. He’s not safe. He’s –”

  Cheryl turned slightly and was startled to see a motorcycle had parked on the footpath right in front of the booth.

  “Hello?” the woman asked. “Where are you getting this from?”

  Cheryl put down the receiver.

  She stepped outside as the biker stepped off his vehicle and removed his helmet.

  He stared at her point blank.

  “Rafe,” Cheryl exclaimed.

  “Cheryl,” Rafe murmured back.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Cheryl’s eyes boiled and burned.

  Rafe’s lips peeled and his teeth clenched.

  He made no further move to attack, and neither did she. Both were waiting for the other to strike first.

  “Maybe we should talk instead,” Cheryl suggested.

  “Maybe,” Rafe replied. He straightened his back up and then looked to his motorcycle. “You want to take a ride with me?”

  “No,” Cheryl said quickly.

  “You know you have to face me either way,” Rafe declared. “Are you sure you want to do it here? In public like this? You want to think about the effect that’s going to have?”

  Cheryl pondered a moment. She knew if there was a chance she could deal with him, she should probably take it.

  “Where would we go?” Cheryl asked.

  “Wherever you want to.”

  “Back to Synrith.”

  “You must be crazy.”

  “No,” Cheryl said. “You need to sit down with him. So no one else gets hurt.”

  “If we were to do that, then we’d need to meet on mutual ground. I wouldn’t be safe in that building.”

  Cheryl stepped forward. “Yes you would be. Seriously, Rafe. What would happen if you went in there and didn’t come out alive? What would your pack do?”

  “Nothing,” Rafe said. “Because the past me is with them.”

  “But you could tell your past self to watch out for you, couldn’t you?”

  As the words came out Cheryl’s mouth, she realized they sounded a bit loopy. There were still many aspects of this phenomenon she didn’t have a hold on.

  Rafe stared back at her. “Fine.”

  He picked up his helmet and climbed back on the bike.

  “Are you coming then?”

  Cheryl hesitated a moment, before she approached his motorcycle and hopped on behind him.

  “You better be reasonable in there,” Cheryl muttered as Rafe fired the ignition.

  “Will he be reasonable?” Rafe shot back.

  Cheryl couldn’t give any guarantees.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  They were outside the skyscraper again less than a minute later. Cheryl stepped off the bike while Rafe remained seated. He was staring at her suspiciously, perhaps wondering if he was making the correct move.

  “I have to make a phone call,” Rafe said pulling out his cell. “But you run along without me. Tell him I’ll be there in a sec.”

  Cheryl bowed her head and walked back up to the sliding doors.

  The guard behind them, waved to her.

  “Master Synrith will be pleased you returned,” he announced.

  “He will?” Cheryl said with surprise.

  “Yes,” the guard replied. “He’s had a change of heart.”

  The guard’s expression altered as Cheryl moved passed him to reveal Rafe outside. He reached out, placing a hand on Cheryl’s shoulder.

  “What’s he doing here?” the guard demanded.

  “He’s requesting a meeting with Master Synrith,” Cheryl said. “A peaceful one.”

  The guard looked at her distastefully. He signaled to the man at the desk.

  “Tell him we have company.”

  The receptionist picked up the phone.

  “Can I go in the elevator?” Cheryl asked the guard.

  “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I mean, yes. Go ahead.”

  Cheryl walked to the elevator and pressed the button.

  As she waited for it to come down, the guard spoke into his radio, alerting all nearby guards that there was a threat within range of the premises.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Master Synrith was waiting for Cheryl on the top floor, right in front of the elevator as she stepped out.

  “Oh gosh!” Cheryl exclaimed. “You scared me!”

  Synrith grabbed her by the wrist and shoved her up against the adjacent wall. “You led Rafe here?”

  “What?” Cheryl cried. “I didn’t have to tell him how to get here!”

  “You’re working with him, aren’t you?” Synrith seethed.

  “No!” Cheryl shouted. “Why are you being such a dick?”

  Synrith glared at her a moment. Then he let go of her.

  “Ouch,” Cheryl said nursing her wrist. “Don’t do that.”

  “Don’t pretend like it hurts,” Synrith said stepping away.

  Cheryl looked up at him. She realized it wasn’t hurting.

  “Why’s he here then?” Synrith demanded.

  “He wants to negotiate a peace treaty with you,” Cheryl said. “He’s making himself vulnerable to you as a gesture of good faith.”

  “Or he wants me to let my guard down so he can assassinate me,” Synrith snapped.

  “It’s not that,” Cheryl argued. “I was the one who convinced him to come here.”

  “Oh really? Why?”

  “Because until you guys work your stuff out, people are just going to keep getting hurt. He’s not as bad as you think he is.”

  “What do you know about him?”

  Cheryl shrugged. “He’s probably not much different than you.”

  Synrith rolled his eyes. “No one is like me.”

  “Said he who is so full of himself.”

  “I never asked your opinion.”

  “Well, maybe you should.”

  The pair stared at each other, the anger radiating between them. Synrith then laughed. He leaned back against the wall chuckling.

  “What’s so funny?” Cheryl asked.

  Synrith let himself slide so far down the wall he was practically sitting.

  “Hey,” Cheryl tried again. “Why are you laughing?”

  “Look at us,” he said. “Arguing like an old married couple.”

  Cheryl frowned. “Can you just trust me for once? I’m trying to help you.”

  “And why on earth would you do that?”

  “Because … Because…”

  “Go on.”

  Cheryl knelt to him. “You remember what you said. When you saved me from falling just before.”

  “That you mean the world to me?”

  Cheryl grabbed his hand. “Yes.”

  Synrith looked at her. His eyes were dull and cloudy. “I have no idea why I said that.”

  “Don’t you play with me,” Cheryl insisted. “You know who I am. It’s me. Cheryl.”

  “Yes…?”

  “From the future.”

  “The future,” Synrith laughed. “Okay. So what happens in our future?”

  “You die,” Cheryl said without hesitating. “Rafe’s going to kill you with the golden dagger.”

  “Oh really – well that is utter –”

  “It happens tomorrow night. I came back for you. To save your life. That’s why I’m here. That’s the only reason.”

  Synrith blinked. Then he closed his eyes.

  “Take my arm,” he said.

  “What?”

  “The right one. Take it.”

  Cheryl wrapped her hands around it. He pulled her up with to stand against the wall.

  His eyes were still closed.

  “Repeat after me. ‘I am yours.’”

  “I am yours,” Cheryl said.

  “‘I am powerless.’”

  “I am powerless,” Cheryl whispered.

  “‘I will never deceive you.’”

  “I will ne
ver deceive you.”

  “‘I am your slave.’”

  Cheryl paused. She was awash with anxiety again.

  “‘I am your slave,’” Synrith repeated firmly.

  “I am your slave,” Cheryl said finally. “And I am also your salvation.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  When Rafe entered Synrith’s office, he was not escorted by a guard. In fact the corridor behind him was eerily quiet – the door’s turn and creak echoing as it opened.

  He didn’t enter the room right away. He remained motionless, the lighting around him not penetrative enough to reveal any more than his dark figure. His arms were bulging, full of intensity and muscle. His eyes were glowing neon blue. Cheryl could hear him breathing. The wind of the city night moved along the window glass.

  “Well don’t just stand there,” Synrith muttered, calm and composed. “Come in. Take a chair.”

  Rafe scratched his nose with the tip of his left thumb.

  His arms then fell by his sides. He advanced.

  Cheryl was standing next to Synrith who was seated behind the desk. She could see that it was giving Rafe a lot of grievance being here. He didn’t trust Synrith, or his surroundings.

  They waited in silence while Rafe dragged the chair in front of the desk back, and then proceeded to sit in it. He kept his legs apart and his fingers interlocked, pointed towards the floor.

  “So what can I do for you?” Synrith asked.

  Rafe glanced up, fidgeting. “Step down.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “I said, ‘Step down.’ You’re finished here.”

  Synrith ginned. “You make such a compelling argument.”

  “You’ve heard her story – yes?” Rafe demanded. “She tell you what is to become of you?”

  “That you’re to kill me with my own dagger? Yes I’ve heard the story.”

  “Well, if you want to stay alive, you’ll adhere to my request.”

  “I thought you wanted to negotiate,” Synrith said thinly.

  “This is the negotiation,” Rafe said. “You leave here, leave your building behind. You do it tonight.”