Burning Bright (Going Down in Flames)

by Chris Cannon

  “I think they came after us for some reason,” Jaxon said. “There’s no way they happened on both of us.”

  “When it was just me I was willing to believe it was the luck of the draw, but I think you’re right,” Bryn said. “We had to be targeted for some reason.”

  He leaned back in his chair and stared off into space like he was thinking. “Which means they weren’t after Quintessence.”

  “Um…I seem to remember them sucking out a lot of my life force,” Bryn said.

  “Maybe they just did that to cover something else up,” Jaxon said.

  “Like what?”

  He ran his hand back through his hair. “That’s where my theory falls apart. I don’t know what they could be after. It’s not like you or I have access to some secret information.”

  “I could call my grandfather and ask what they’ve found,” Bryn offered, because she really wanted to know what the heck was going on.

  “No. My father said he’d call me. I’ll share whatever he tells me. I guess I should say thank you for coming to look for me.”

  “You’re welcome, though you seemed to have the situation taken care of by the time we got there.”

  “Mostly,” he said. “But it’s nice to know that someone notices when I’m not where I’m supposed to be.”

  And now this felt awkward and a little too serious. “I guess it really is our job to look out for each other now, isn’t it?”

  He grinned. “I’d like to point out that I’m normally a lot less trouble than you are, so you’re getting the better end of this deal.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m one lucky girl.”

  He acknowledged her joke with a grin and then pushed to his feet. “Do try to remember that.” He walked to the door and let himself out.

  She locked the door behind him. Weird how she felt closer to him now. Shared drama probably had that effect on a relationship. Whatever kind of relationship she had with Jaxon, it seemed to be shifting…which was natural given their strange circumstances. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

  Rather than think too hard about the absurd state of her life, she grabbed her book and relaxed on the couch. The now non-possessed hero of the book was declaring his undying love for the main character when Bryn’s phone rang, startling the crud out of her. She reluctantly set her book down, hoping whatever she was about to hear would make her feel safer.

  “Bryn,” Jaxon’s voice came through the line. “The Greens they questioned claimed it was just circumstance that they chose us because we were alone. Apparently, it’s their job to collect Quintessence from unsuspecting students so that they have enough to share with the higher-ups in their dragon-pire ring. They called themselves feeders. They haven’t been doing so well with that, and their bosses take what they want from them, so they were ambushing people to try and stock up. They fed off several other students in this same manner but were successful in making the students forget so the incidents went unreported. They were desperate when they attacked you, and tonight when they came after me, because they’d just given so much energy to their higher-ups.”

  “So, normally they don’t ambush people and drug them?”

  “No. They just touch them in passing. Contact for a few minutes allows them to siphon off a dose of energy and the victims don’t remember a thing. That’s how they usually operate.”

  “So they were behind the students who were so tired, like Clint and Ivy?”

  “Yes, but my father said their answers in that area led them to believe that there were other feeders on campus.”

  “Well, that’s just fantastic,” Bryn said.

  “I think the good news is that they weren’t targeting us in particular.”

  “I guess that makes me feel better.”

  “I’d feel better if they’d learned who the ringleaders of this group were, but the higher- level dragon-pires never let anyone see their faces,” Jaxon said. “They wear masks, robes, and gloves to conceal their Clan colors.”

  “Speaking of Clans, were they able to determine if the dragon-pires they arrested were hybrids?”

  “Yes. And you can’t share this information with anyone. Not even Clint and Ivy.”

  “They wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  “I’m not telling you unless you promise not to share.”

  Damn it. She hated keeping information from her friends. Still she wanted to know. “Fine. I won’t tell anyone.”

  “They were Green-Blue hybrids.”

  “Wow.” That was the only response she could come up with for a moment. “I’d never expect that pairing.”

  “I’m not sure how it would happen.”

  “If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say that the Greens were females who were denied marriage and the Blues were males who kept them as mistresses. The secret offspring of that union would have the brains of a Green and the ambition of a Blue.”

  “And an angry, ambitious, genius who is unstable might resort to extreme measures to achieve their goals,” Jaxon said.

  “I can’t tell you how much I hate the fact that some hybrid combinations are unstable.”

  “Because it proves that the Directorate had a reason for creating the marriage laws,” Jaxon said.

  “Exactly. I don’t get it,” Bryn said. “I’m not unstable.”

  Jaxon laughed.

  She almost threatened to blast him with a fireball but that would prove his point. “I’m not homicidally unstable,” she corrected. “And you’d have to think that any dragon raised in a loving supportive environment wouldn’t want to hurt other dragons.”

  “For centuries, dragons hoarded treasure and kept control of land. It’s in our nature to seek out treasure and power. Some combinations of those genes lead to bad results.”

  “I guess.”

  After hanging up the phone, Bryn lay on the couch for a while, rolling this new information around in her brain. She had no answers to the Silver cult dragon-pire mystery or to her odd and most certainly one-time feeling of attraction to Jaxon. It must have been the stress or the fact that she’d been concerned for his well-being. When she saw him tomorrow she was sure everything would be back to normal.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  News spread about the Greens that had been arrested and students seemed to grow leery of their classmates. Garrett approached Bryn during Basic Movement.

  “This is ridiculous,” he said. “Everyone is looking at us like we might go darkside and try to suck out their Quintessence at any moment.”

  “I’m sorry.” She wished the Directorate would share that the dragon-pires were Blue-Green hybrids but understood why they’d want to keep that information quiet during their investigation. “Your entire Clan shouldn’t be judged by the actions of a few random whack jobs.”

  “I feel like we need to put together some sort of PR campaign, like, ‘Remember we’re still the dragons most likely to heal you or help you with your homework so stop looking at us like we might slit your throat at any moment.’”

  “We could put that on a poster,” Bryn said. “Although, we might want to tone down that last part.” He didn’t seem to appreciate her attempt at humor. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said. “And as a Green, the illogical nature of this situation is highly annoying.” And with that he stalked off.

  Clint and Ivy had been standing in line behind her, so they’d heard the entire exchange.

  “It is kind of ridiculous that people would be suspicious of the whole Clan now,” Clint said.

  “Do you think all the dragon-pires are Green?” Ivy asked.

  “Who knows?” said Bryn.

  “I’m just playing Devil’s advocate here. In one way it makes sense,” Clint leaned closer and whispered. “Greens are acknowledged as being the most intelligent dragons. What if a group of them were tired of being ruled by inferior-minded Blues?”

  Bryn snorted with laughter. “Sorry, I just h
ad an image of Ferrin reacting to your description.”

  “That would not be pretty,” Ivy said. “I hate that those dragon-pire lackeys were able to feed off us and then make us forget it.”

  “That’s really been bugging me,” Clint said. “I have absolutely no memory of anything happening. No missing time. We weren’t late for classes. How did they manage it?”

  “I have no idea,” Bryn said.

  The line for jousting moved forward, and Bryn was next to go up the ladder to do battle with the giant foam-tipped cotton swab. She climbed the rungs with ease. When she reached the top, she discovered she was facing-off with a Blue female.

  “Your marriage will be a joke,” the girl said before swinging at Bryn’s shoulders.

  “Excuse me?” Bryn blocked the blow and swung at the girl’s hips.

  The girl dodged the blow. “You heard me. Jaxon deserves better than you.” The girl swung at Bryn’s head.

  Bryn ducked. “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care.” She swung at the girl’s legs. “And your opinion means nothing to me.”

  “Really? It seems to be upsetting you.” The girl swiped at Bryn’s shoulders.

  Bryn smacked the girl’s stick down, knocked her off-balance, and then whacked her as hard as she could, toppling her off the podium and into the pit of foam blocks below.

  Who in the hell did that girl think she was? Bryn focused on cold. Tell-tale wisps of smoke drifting from her nostrils would tell everyone how pissed off she was. No one had been so openly rude to her in months. What was that girl’s problem? She climbed down the ladder ready to give the girl a piece of her mind, but when she reached the floor her new not-so-friendly acquaintance was nowhere to be seen.

  “Did you see where she went?” Bryn asked Ivy while Clint climbed up to take his turn.

  “Who?” Ivy asked.

  “The girl I just faced off with?”

  “No.”

  Bryn gave her a summary of the lovely conversation.

  “She’s probably jealous because Jaxon is higher up the social ladder than whoever she’s contracted to marry,” Ivy said. “Don’t let it bother you.”

  Right. In theory it was easy to say that the girl’s opinion meant nothing, but Bryn hadn’t missed the random verbal insults from Blues and she wasn’t happy to have them back. “I thought I wouldn’t need to be thick-skinned anymore, but I guess I was wrong.”

  “There’s been a lot going on lately,” Ivy said. “She probably just caught you off guard.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Bryn,” Jaxon’s voice came from behind her.

  She turned around to see him coming toward her with an amused smile on his face.

  “That’s your I-know-something-you-don’t look,” Bryn said. “What’s up?”

  “You won’t find this amusing,” he warned, “but we’ve been summoned to dinner at Westgate Estate this evening.”

  “What?” That had bad idea written all over it. “Why? And why do you think this is funny?”

  “I’m not sure why we’re having dinner, but I find it amusing because I’ve had to endure several meals at your grandparents’ house and that last one was especially horrific.”

  “True.” Which left her little room for griping. “I don’t suppose you know who is going to be there?”

  “My parents and your grandparents, as far as I know. But you might want to call your mother to find out if she’s coming.”

  “What? I thought that was supposed to be a Christmas thing.”

  “I spoke to my mother about us wanting to exchange gifts at the Christmas Ball instead, and she agreed that would be better.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  After their last class, Jaxon walked Bryn back to her room. She had two hours to mentally and physically prepare for what could possibly be the world’s most uncomfortable dinner. First step, call her mom.

  “Hello, sweetie. What’s up?”

  “This will sound weird, but were you invited to have dinner at the Westgate’s tonight?”

  Her mom laughed. “Are you joking?”

  “No. I have it on good authority that Lillith has been trying to make sure that you’re included in some sort of dinner out of misplaced maternal instinct.”

  “She wants to put your father and I in the same room with Ferrin?” Her mom snorted.

  “Uhm…no. Here’s the crappy part. If it happens, Dad isn’t invited.”

  “If that’s how the invitation is extended, I’ll refuse it,” her mom said. “When I told you that I’m just happy to be part of your life and I had no illusions about being accepted back into dragon society, I meant it.”

  “While I don’t love that answer,” Bryn said, “I’m beginning to see your point. I’d like to see both you and Dad. Can I come visit you tomorrow?”

  “We’d love that. Why don’t you come out for lunch?”

  “Should I stop and pick up some carryout?”

  “No. I’ll cook,” her mom said.

  There was only one problem and she wasn’t sure how to explain it to her mom. “There have been some safety issues on campus, so I’m not supposed to go anywhere alone. I bet I could get Clint and Ivy to ride to Sanctuary with me, and then they could go to Dragon’s Bluff for lunch.”

  “What type of safety issues,” her mom asked. “Did something happen to you?”

  “I’m fine, and that’s all you need to know right now. I’ll explain everything else tomorrow.”

  “Yes,” her mom said. “You will.”

  “Before you become upset, just be thankful that you won’t be spending time with Ferrin tonight.”

  “I’m grateful for that fact every day of my life. See you tomorrow.”

  Bryn called Clint and Ivy to see if they were okay with her plan. Once they were on board, she went to stare into her armoire. No matter what she wore, she wouldn’t be mentally prepared to deal with Ferrin. She reached out and touched her favorite pair of jeans. How funny would it be to show up for dinner in jeans and a sweatshirt? Her grandmother probably wouldn’t find it amusing. Speaking of her grandmother, maybe she should touch base with her.

  “You’re having dinner at Westgate Estate tonight?” Her grandmother sounded surprised. That wasn’t good.

  “So I’m guessing you’re not?” Bryn said.

  “Not that I’m aware of,” her grandmother said. “Maybe Lillith wanted to keep it just the immediate family.”

  “That is not a good idea,” Bryn said. “There won’t be anything to distract Ferrin from his hobby of disliking me.”

  “If he’s hosting the dinner, he shouldn’t be openly rude to his guests,” her grandmother said.

  “I don’t find that comforting,” Bryn said.

  Bryn changed outfits three times before settling on a black skirt with an aqua cashmere sweater set. It wasn’t super fancy, but it was upper class, and that’s what she was aiming for.

  When Jaxon came to collect her at six o’clock he was wearing a black suit with a navy tie. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “Why does that feel like a trick question?”

  “Probably because it is. No matter how you think my father is going to react, you never know what he’s actually going to do in a social situation.”

  “Fabulous.” Bryn followed him to his car. “According to my grandmother, it’s just us. They weren’t invited, and neither was my mother.”

  “Really?” Jaxon looked perplexed. “That’s strange.”

  “Maybe your mom just wants to see you,” Bryn said.

  “I guess we’ll find out.” Jaxon drove them to Westgate Estate in his fancy black sports car.

  His mother waited for them inside the foyer with Asher on her hip and a huge grin on her face. “I’m so happy to see you two. Come with me.”

  Either Asher made her supremely happy or she’d been drinking wine before they arrived.

  “Where are we going?” Jaxon asked.

  “You’ll have to wait and see,”
Lillith said. “It’s a surprise.”

  Jaxon didn’t love surprises. His mother had to know that,but it’s not like she could say that to Lillith, so they followed her down the hall, up a flight of stairs, and past several closed doors before reaching a small dining room with an oval mahogany table set for four, plus a bassinet in the corner.

  “This is cozy,” Bryn said.

  “I thought so, too.” Lillith sat. “I’ve missed interacting with people and Ferrin is rarely home, so I thought it might be nice for us to catch up.”

  This seemed a lot more low pressure than she’d expected, especially if Ferrin wouldn’t be joining them.

  “How’s Asher doing?” Bryn asked.

  “He’s wonderful,” Lillith said. “Would you like to hold him?”

  “Sure.” Bryn took the baby, holding him in the crook of her arm like she’d seen Lillith and her grandmother do. He was sleeping at the moment, making soft snuffling noises that melted her heart. “He’s adorable.”

  “I know.” Lilith sighed. “Especially when he’s sleeping.”

  Ferrin entered the room. He stiffened when he saw Bryn. Was it her presence or the fact that she was holding Asher? Did he think she’d rub off on him in some weird way? If she was marrying one of his sons, holding the other one shouldn’t be a big deal. And that was an odd thought.

  “Bryn, what an interesting surprise.” Ferrin said the word interesting like he meant unwelcome. “I wasn’t aware that you’d be joining us this evening.”

  “I did say I wanted to have dinner with our family,” Lillith said.

  “It would seem we define that term differently,” Ferrin replied.

  “This is going to be loads of fun,” Bryn told Jaxon, not bothering to keep her voice low. If he could be obnoxious, so could she…in a respectful grown-up way, of course.

  “Ferrin doesn’t like surprises,” Lillith said. “That’s all.”

  Bryn was pretty sure that wasn’t the root of the problem but knew when to keep her mouth shut.

  “Any news on the Quintessence-siphoning dragons?” Jaxon asked his father.

  Nice topic change.

  “No. We’ve followed down the vague leads given to us, but the imbeciles don’t know who they were reporting to.”