by Dyan Chick
The trees thinned as we drove along the winding road and I could tell that we were nearing the end of the national forest, nearing the highway and civilization, and nearby cities.
Dima accelerated as we joined the rush of bright lights speeding down the freeway. Despite the speed we traveled at now, the interior of the car seemed to be frozen in time. Everyone too lost in their own thoughts. Absentmindedly, I checked my phone again. "Still no signal." I glanced at Dima's phone, still in my lap. "On either phone."
"That's weird," Dima said.
"Mine's dead," McKenzie said. "I thought I charged it before we left, but I must not have."
"Gas station at the next exit," I said.
The blinker clicked as Dima changed lanes. She slowed as she left the freeway and we pulled into a gas station. The sign above the store was dark, but the interior lights glowed warm and bright. Dima pulled into a parking place and turned off the engine. "Anyone need anything?"
"I'll come in with you," I said.
"Then I'm going, too," McKenzie said.
I turned and glanced back at Alec.
"Well, shit, if you're all going, guess I'm in," he said, opening the door next to him.
We all walked toward the gas station and I was surprised to find myself smiling as I thought about my first encounter with Chester. There was no way I'd run into anything odd at this gas station. I'd been to human gas stations hundreds of times and Chester was the first unusual thing I'd ever run into.
Alec opened the door, then stood back, holding it for the rest of us. "Ladies first."
Dima and McKenzie walked in, and I held back for a moment with Alec. "You don't think I'm making a mistake, do you?"
"Are you talking about Tavas?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Honestly, I don't know. But if there's a way to avoid being around that guy, I think it's a good idea." He smiled at me.
"Thanks," I said as I stepped over the threshold. I glanced toward the counter where the checker should be working. It was empty. Stopping right in front of the door, I looked around the small store. We seemed to be the only people here. Goosebumps rose on my arms.
Alec bumped into me. "Hey, why'd you stop?"
Turning around, I pushed him back out the door. "Go back to the car, something's not right."
"You don't have to tell me twice." He turned and left.
"Dima, McKenzie, we need to go, now." I said the words quietly, but the store was small. They should have heard me. Instead, there was no response.
Shit. Moving from the semi-safety of the door, I walked across the front of the store, pacing the counter. "Where'd you two go?"
There were only six aisles, and as I walked by them, I didn't see either woman. How had they disappeared in the few seconds I was talking to Alec?
The sound of something metallic dropping, like coins against the ground, came from a narrow hallway to the left of the counter. Slowly, I made my way toward the hallway.
This is what I got for feeling so sure that nothing bad could come from a gas station. Now I really missed Chester.
Staying to the side, I peeked around the corner of the hall, trying not to give myself away in case there was something terrible hiding down there. Both McKenzie and Dima were standing in the hallway, fixed in place. My first instinct was to call out to them, but before I could, I noticed a shimmer in front of them. There was magic hiding here. Well-masked, extremely well-hidden magic. I hadn't even sensed it. Just like Chester's gas station, there was something here that was preventing me from getting a good read.
Before whatever was there could see me, I flattened myself against the wall. What was I going to do? There was a monster of some sort hiding behind magic I didn't know anything about. It would really help to have someone who knew what the fuck they were doing here. And the one person who was supposed to be protecting us on this trip was frozen next to Dima. My nose crinkled. I knew McKenzie would be more trouble than she was worth.
Slowly, I blew out a breath and tried to think of a plan. There had to be something in my magic arsenal that could at least drop the guise the monster was hiding behind. Why had I stopped practicing after my mom died? A tingle spread up my arms at the thought of my mother. She'd left that journal for me. Magic I could learn to use because of the dragon blood inside me. But there wasn't time to learn how to use new magic now. I had to use something I already knew.
The only new thing I'd mastered, was to call to fire without a spell. And the fire I made now wasn't mage fire. A smile spread on my lips. I could make dragon fire, which had the ability to render magic useless. Whatever it was that was hiding back there, wouldn't be hiding for long.
Hoping I wasn't making a huge mistake, I called out to my friends from my safety against the wall. If I could bring whatever it was to me, maybe it would release them. "Dima, McKenzie, you guys okay?"
No response.
"You two need some help?" I asked.
This time, I felt a change in the air. It moved near me, heavier than it should be. For a fraction of a second, I caught a glimmer of something that reminded me of the wards around Realm's Gate. The lights above us flickered, the florescent buzzing ceasing for a moment, then returning brighter and louder than before. The smell of sulfur filled the air and I could taste the rotten egg scent on my tongue.
I wasn't sure what kind of creature would have a signature like that. It wasn't anything I'd sensed before, but I had a feeling it wasn't good. Not wanting to wait to find out if it was going to paralyze me the way it had my friends, I thought about fire. The scent of sulfur helping fuel my thoughts as I imagined brimstone and blazing flames.
Fire spread from my fingertips to my elbows. Gathering the flames, I formed them into a sphere. All the while, scanning the empty space in front of me, waiting for the unseen monster to reveal itself.
11
My heart thundered in my chest and I ignored the prickle of fear that made the hair on the back of my neck rise. Pushing away the dark thought and negativity that were rising inside me, I waited, hoping I'd be able to strike before the creature took his blow at me.
Just as a nervous bead of sweat slid down my face, I caught a glimpse of a shimmer out of the corner of my eye.
Faster than I thought possible, I knelt down, twisting toward the shimmer, and launched the ball of flame. For a terrible moment, I thought I'd missed as it struck a shelf of potato chips. Then, the flames spread, and the shimmer returned like an iridescent ripple that expanded from thin air.
My breath caught in my chest as the core of the ripple revealed a fuzzy black head, with hundreds of tiny bead-like eyes blinking at me. The creature hissed, showing its fangs and began to scurry toward me, eight long legs clicking against the tile floor.
I found myself facing off against a giant spider, and for a moment, I stood open-mouthed in terror. A scream sounded from somewhere behind me, or maybe inside me, and I lunged out of the way just in time to avoid the snapping of its jaws. Falling to my side, I rolled away, then pushed up to standing as fast as I could. The fire on my hands was gone and I wasn't sure if it would even be effective against whatever this thing was. "I did not sign up for this!"
Igniting the flames again, faster this time, I threw another fireball at the creature. It reared up on its back legs and let out a shriek that made me wince in pain. Nails on the chalkboard was nothing compared to this.
It charged and I looked around desperate to find something to stab it with. Not seeing anything, I had a choice to make. Run through the door, hoping it would follow me, or make my stand. Shit. Knowing I was about to do something really stupid, I ignored my intuition telling me to flee. Ducking down, I moved closer to the beast, then swerved, taking my chances running under its huge belly between its spindly legs.
The spider was slow to register my movement and I tore away from it, running down the back aisle of the store, looking for a weapon.
Clicking legs sounded behind me and I held my breath as I grabbed a c
an of charcoal fire starter off of the shelf. The cap seemed to be stuck and I twisted, trying to break the child-proof seal.
With a screech and a rattle, the spider stopped in front of me, its jaws open, ready to descend. I backed up, still twisting the lid. It didn't budge. This had been a stupid idea. I was going to get eaten by a massive spider. Of all the ways I could die, this was not the one I expected.
Suddenly, I got the top of the bottle off and I yelled a battle cry as I squirted the liquid at the creature. It hissed and backed up a few paces. Once the fluid was gone, I tossed the bottle to the side and the spider blinked its eyes at me, then leaned forward as if it were ready to pounce.
"Oh no you don't," I said, thinking of a roaring bonfire. The dragon fire came to me easily, heat rising up to my face, filling me with resolve. Extending my arms out in front of me, I aimed at the spider, willing the flames to fly forward. I moved on instinct, and to my great surprise, the fire obliged my internal command. An arc of heat roared toward the creature and as soon as the flames touched, it ignited in a ball of orange flames. Heat expanded with the explosion, making me close my eyes against the sudden increase in temperature. The smell of burning hair and gasoline filled my nostrils.
The beast let out one of those wince-inducing screeches. This time, I relished the noise. It was the sound of pain. Of a monster burning alive.
The spider folded in on itself, crumpling to the ground like an ordinary house spider that had been crushed by a boot. Breathing heavy, I watched it shrivel up under the flames.
"Morgan?"
The sound of someone calling my name broke me of my trance and I looked around, realizing for the first time that while I had succeeded in killing the spider, I had also set fire to the store.
A hand grabbed my arm and I turned to see Alec. "What the fuck were you thinking? The whole place is going to go if we don't get out of here."
"Did you not see the giant spider?" I asked.
He lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "Giant spider?"
I grabbed his chin and turned it toward the burning pile of goo on the ground. One of the massive legs twitched as the carcass crumbled.
Alec jumped back, away from the beast, letting out a disgusted cry. "Good thinking on the fire. But now, it's time to go."
Black clouds filled the small convenience store and I coughed, waving it away with my still smoking hands. Closing my hands into fists, I tried to quench the smoke coming from me. My pulse raced. While I focused on killing the spider, I didn't think about how dangerous it would be to have this much fire at a gas station. "We have to get Dima and McKenzie."
Tears streamed down my cheeks as the fumes burned my eyes and throat. Without waiting for Alec, I tugged at his shirt and dragged him down the aisle, away from the smoldering corpse of the arachnid. We walked up the next aisle and I squinted through the gray clouds as I made my way to the hallway.
McKenzie and Dima were still standing there, unmoving. For the first time, I noticed the webbing wrapped around them. I grabbed at it, pulling it away as best I could but all it did was stick to my hands.
"We have to get out of here," Alec said. He wrapped his arms around both women and picked them up, hoisting them over his shoulders like duffel bags. Their heads bounced as he walked with them.
I pushed my way in front of Alec and helped guide him to the door, then held it open for him to pass through. He moved slower than usual, but I didn't think it was from the strain of carrying them. He seemed to be more concerned about making sure they were safe and weren't bobbing too much.
Alec leaned them against the hood of the car. "Keys?"
"Dima had them," I said.
The whole store was ablaze now. We didn't have long until a spark would find its way to the pumps. Frantic, I tore at the sticky webbing around Dima's hands. My heart nearly leapt from my chest when I felt the familiar metal keyring. Tugging it, I managed to break it free from her hand. "Got them!"
Alec already had McKenzie in the back of the car. Quickly, he grabbed Dima. "Drive."
As he shoved Dima in the back seat, I revved up the engine. As soon as Alec closed the passenger door behind him, I gunned it.
"You didn't happen to grab a map, did you?" Alec asked.
I looked over at him as I accelerated onto the freeway. "Seriously? You're asking me about the map?"
"Would you rather I ask you how the hell a giant spider got into a human gas station?" he asked.
I gripped the wheel tighter. "I'm not even sure that was a spider."
"Did it have eight legs?" he asked.
I glared at him as I took the next exit. "I didn't count them, if that's what you're asking."
"That's not what I meant," he said.
"I know what you meant," I said. "It looked like a spider, but I don't know if it was something else. Some other kind of creature. But I don't think that's what matters right now."
I slowed down, and pulled into an empty parking lot, taking the space furthest from the road, then stopped the car. "Right now, we have to help Dima."
"And McKenzie," Alec added.
"Sure, her too," I said.
12
Alec and I opened the back doors of the car. "Feel for a pulse," I said, touching my fingers to the neck of the wrapped body closest to me. It was McKenzie and while I didn't want her here, I wasn't keen on the idea of her dying by giant spider while chasing down the Dragon-Bloods. I knew I hadn't started this whole thing in motion, but it all went back to me. If not for me, the wild dragon wouldn't have escaped, and Jimmy might even still be alive. His only crime was employing me.
Adjusting my position, I moved my fingers along McKenzie's neck, hoping to find a sign of life. While I pressed into her neck, I looked up at Alec. The weak light on the roof of the car cast dark shadows on his pale face. He looked tired.
Then, I felt it, a faint throbbing under my fingertips. "She's got a pulse." I pulled my hand away and leaned over McKenzie's prone form. "Please tell me you found one on Dima."
He looked like he was holding his breath, despite the fact that he didn't need to breathe. Finally, he looked up at me and nodded. "It's there, it's weak, but it's there."
I let out a breath of relief. "Thank the gods. Now, we just have to figure out how to get this stuff off of them and wake them up."
"Hey, Morgan?" Alec asked.
"Yeah?"
"Is there a reason why Dima's tongue would be purple. I mean, is that a siren thing?" he asked.
My blood ran cold and I turned McKenzie's head toward me, harder than I should have, and pried her mouth open. Her tongue was purple, too. "Shit."
"What is it?" Alec asked.
"They've been poisoned. The spider must have bit them or stung them. They were injected with something." I backed up and stood outside the car, pressing my palms to my forehead. We'd learned about this in our magic studies as kids. Something about treating poison. At the time, it had seemed so important and I, like the other mage children in my class, had paid close attention.
Years passed, and I never had reason to use the magic associated with treating magical poisons. So I didn't worry about it, and I moved on to the Realm's Gate high school, focusing on the flashier, more interesting magical studies. The healing arts never seemed important. I could treat burns, scratches, cuts, the basics. But those didn't even require magic to heal if they were minor. Since nobody had ever actually been poisoned, I hadn't worried about it. Chalked it up to overly cautious elders who wanted to scare us into behaving.
"How do we fix it?" Alec asked as he neared me.
I dropped my hands to my sides in frustration. "I'm not sure. I know there's something I can do, a spell, I just don't remember it."
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I checked for service. It was still down. Frowning, I started to pace in a small circle.
I thought back to the lessons from my childhood. Fennel. I stopped walking, the spell was coming back to me. "We need to find fennel. I think I remember the spell."
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I opened the car door and hopped into the driver's seat.
Alec took the passenger seat next to me, then shut the door behind him. "Fennel? Like the seed they add to Italian food?"
I started the car and pulled away from the parking lot. "Not the seed, we need the whole bulb. Or powdered fennel, that would be best. If we could find a metaphysical store, we might get lucky. Sometimes they keep supplies for spells in the back of those shops."
"So what, we drive till we find a place to buy this stuff?" he asked.
"I guess so, I don't know what else we can do."
"How much time do we have?" he asked.
"Minutes, hours, I don't know," I said, a heavy weight resting in the pit of my stomach. We were supposed to be on our way to save James, Lyla, and the other missing dragon mages. Instead, I was now on a side quest to save the rescuers.
"I can make a call," Alec said.
"Phones are dead," I said. "Besides, who would you call?"
"Some of the local guys owe me. Just find me a gas station or something, I can ask to use their phone."
"No more gas stations," I said, eyeing the sign ahead of us. The next exit was in twelve miles, along with a slew of fast food restaurants. "We can try one of the food places."
We drove in silence as I wondered what local guy Alec would call. Was it another vampire? Whoever it was, I was guessing it was his past employer. Whoever he'd worked for before Jimmy. Was there vampire organized crime in the human world, too?
"So do you just give them the fennel and they're good?" Alec asked. It seemed that while I had been wondering about his past, he was wondering about magic.
"Not quite," I said. "I'll have to cast a spell. Fennel is just part of it."
"I thought you were an ex-mage. All I've ever seen you do is light things on fire," Alec said.
The ghost of a smile crossed my lips. I hadn't considered the fact that every time I'd used magic in front of Alec, it had been to use fire. Mage fire, or maybe even dragon fire in the Dizzy Dragon the night I threatened Dima. My brow furrowed as I remembered how the flames had seemed to come of their own accord.