by Dyan Chick
The two of them raced toward our car and Alec slowly walked over to where I was still holding Tavas.
"You sure you want me to try this?" he asked. "We don't know what it will do to a Fae."
Alec's fangs were already showing. The scent of the blood must be too much for him. In the street lamps, Alec looked more pale than usual.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine," he said.
"When was the last time you ate?" I asked. Goosebumps rose on my arms.
"I don't remember," he said. "Before we left."
I took a deep breath and held up my arm, wrist inches from Alec's face, offering my flesh to him. "I need you to heal him. And I need you to be strong enough."
"No." Alec pushed my arm away, then bit down on his own wrist.
Before I could object, he held his wrist over Tavas's mouth and dripped blood over the unconscious man's mouth. Alec lowered his wrist to Tavas's mouth for a moment, then pulled it back. He pressed his palm into his wrist to stop the bleeding.
Without a word, I held up my arm again. "You need to drink."
Alec shook his head. "I told you the day we met that I wouldn't drink from you and I meant it."
"Things are different, this is an emergency," I said.
"We can't have our leader being all woozy from blood loss," he said, pushing my arm away. "I'll be fine."
I was going to object again, but right then, Tavas started coughing. He rolled onto his side and I had to lean over him to keep him from rolling right onto the ground.
My chest was pressed against his torso and I could feel his breath on my cheek as I shifted my position, trying to gently ease him to the ground.
"I didn't realize you cared so much, little dragon," Tavas said.
My cheeks warmed and if I wasn't concerned about hurting him worse than he already was, I would have dropped him. "You know why I'm here."
Finally in a position where I could let go of him, I backed up and looked down at him. His face wasn't as pale as it had been, and his breathing was getting easier.
"I wasn't sure you'd come for me," he said, groaning as he sat up. He looked down at his blood-stained shirt and lifted it up to inspect the wound.
On instinct, I reached out to him, tracing my fingers over the dried blood and his washboard abs. "The cut healed completely."
Tavas looked up at Alec. "I take it this is your doing?"
Alec nodded.
Tavas stretched out a hand. "Thanks, mate."
They shook, Alec looking a bit uncomfortable at the friendly actions of a man that I'd spent the last week hating. Now, he was our only hope for saving our friends.
Dima and McKenzie arrived back at that moment, holding the jar of fennel powder and breathing hard. They must have run all the way back.
"He okay?" Dima asked.
"He's breathing, if that counts," I said.
"He can speak for himself," Tavas said, hoisting himself to standing. As soon as he set his sight on Dima, he flashed a white-toothed grin. "Why, hello, beautiful."
Dima put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. "Don't even try it. I've heard enough about you."
He shrugged, then turned to me. "So what's the plan, little dragon? I told you that if you saved me, I'd help you."
"James and some other dragon mages were taken," I said.
Tavas lifted an eyebrow. "Other dragon mages? So that's what the whole wild dragon in Realm's Gate thing was all about."
"Seems that way," I said, knowing he was referring to the fact that those with dragon blood didn't get their powers awakened until they were within a short distance of a full grown dragon.
"Whatever we're doing," Alec said, "can we do it away from here? That queen said she'd come check on us and I'd rather get out of here before she returns."
"Smart vamp, this one," Tavas said.
"Yeah, we should go." Without waiting, I started walking toward the car.
My friends and Tavas followed me. I was still torn on having him accompany us. He was untrustworthy, that much was clear. I knew he was capable of using his words to trick anyone he could and I couldn't think of a reason why saving James would benefit him. If I wanted him in my corner, I had to find a way to make him believe that this was good for him.
When we reached our car, I stopped Tavas while the others got inside. He smiled what would have been a charming smile had I not known him.
"Don't give me that look," I said.
"What look? Can't I be grateful that you rescued me?" he asked.
"Grateful?" I scoffed. "You never even said thank you."
"Thank you," he said. "I'm saying it now."
"Right," I said. "Look, I know you don't want to help me. I know you only agreed so you could help yourself, but I need to hear it from you. I need to know you didn't kill Jimmy. And I need to know that you're not going to turn on me the first chance you get."
"I didn't kill the vamp," he said. "You're going to have to believe me."
"How can I?" I felt anger rising inside me. Chester said it wasn't Tavas, but there was the video showing him and I'd seen him shape-shift before. "It was you on that video, not me. How do you explain that?"
"Ask me how I ended up here tonight, being sentenced to death," he said, all traces of humor gone from his expression.
"Don't change the subject on me, Tavas."
"Ask me," he said. The words came out like a dare, as if he knew I wasn't going to like the answer.
Taking a breath in through my nose, I held back my frustration. "How did you end up here tonight?"
"Because my twin brother got himself mixed up with the Dragon-Bloods, and in Fae law, we're bound to our blood. If a member of our family commits a crime, we're held equally responsible and we all face the same punishment."
"Bullshit." I may have only spent a few hours with Tavas, but I learned my lesson about believing a single word he said.
"It's true," he said. "You know we can't lie. It's a curse."
"You don't have a twin," I said, but doubt was already creeping through me as I watched Tavas's expression.
"We need to go," Alec called from the car. "Whatever is going on here, you figure it out in the car."
"One minute," I said.
"No minutes, now!" Alec pointed.
I turned to look in the direction we'd come from. The dozen Fae guards were headed our way and none of them looked especially happy to see us. Panic shot through me and I pushed Tavas toward the car. "Get in."
Then I ran around to the passenger seat and hopped in. I smacked my hand against the dash to punctuate each word. "Go, go, go."
Alec sped away from the warehouse, twisting and turning down tiny one-way roads lined with run-down buildings and more rusted warehouses. "That didn't look like a friendly visit."
"Something must have changed," I said.
Twisting so I could see the back seat, I locked eyes with Tavas. "This twin thing, you're telling me the truth?"
He nodded, then lifted two fingers in the air. "Scout’s honor."
I wrinkled my nose at the human reference. "That doesn't work for you."
He shrugged. "Okay, Fae's honor. Either way, it's true."
"Why were the guards coming after us?" I asked. "Twin trouble?"
"Probably," he said.
"What the hell is going on here?" McKenzie asked. "What is wrong with you people? I was supposed to come along to help you, to protect you, while you rescued some missing mages. I almost died by giant spider, ran from a crazy witch, we just rescued a Fae who was charged with the murder of a vampire crime lord, and now this convict is talking about a twin and he apparently pissed off the Fae guards. And none of it seems to bother any of you?"
I stared at McKenzie, who was wide-eyed and breathing heavy. Part of me wanted to laugh, and part of me wanted to scream back at her. Nobody wanted her here, but she did make a good point. None of this was going as we hoped.
Tavas broke the silence first. By laughing. Alec joined in, then I found
myself unable to hold it in anymore and laugher burst from me.
At this point, everyone in the car was laughing, even McKenzie. There wasn't much else we could do. We'd been through hell and hadn't even come close to our objective.
Gasping for air, I finally calmed myself down and wiped off my damp cheeks. "We warned you, McKenzie."
"Right," she said. "Remind me never to go anywhere with you again."
23
Cheer up, little dragon," Tavas said. "You're about to witness the end of the world."
"What is that supposed to mean?" McKenzie asked.
Moments ago, we'd been laughing, and now it felt like all the joy was sucked out of the air by Tavas's words. He might have a flair for the dramatic, but everything he said had meaning. Those weren't just words to Tavas. If he was saying them, things were far worse than we thought.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "Does this have something to do with your twin brother?"
"Explain the twin brother thing to me," Alec said.
"I have one, he killed Jimmy," Tavas said, matter-of-factly.
"Right," Alec said. "Of course there's two of you."
"Relax, mate, if it weren't for me, you'd still be in those vampire torture boxes," Tavas said.
"Last I checked, you're not the one who saved him from the box," Dima said.
"Calm down, sweetheart," Tavas said. "We're all on the same team."
"For now," she said.
"Okay, that's enough!" I shouted. "Everyone hates everyone, I get it, but you all have to get over it right now. We have people who are depending on us."
Surprised that I'd said those words, I settled back in my seat. If anyone had a right to be doubtful of Tavas, it was me. But as much as I didn't like it, we were connected in all of this. We had to work together.
I looked at Tavas. "I'm guessing that this is all connected somehow. Your brother, the missing mages, James, the whole end of the world thing, am I right?"
He nodded. "You're bright for a dragon."
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I pushed on. "Time to explain. Tell us about the end of the world, and whatever the hell else you know that relates to all of this."
"It's the whole Dragon-Blood ceremony thing," Tavas said as if that explained everything.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Seriously?" He seemed genuinely surprised that his explanation didn't clear everything up. He turned to McKenzie. "Aren't you the head of security for the Mage Order?"
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"You don't think I don't keep tabs on that?" He laughed. "You are terrible at your job, you know that?"
"Hey, there's no reason to be an ass," I said before I realized I was defending McKenzie. Though, between the two of them, I think I preferred McKenzie. She might not like me, but she was honest about that. And she hadn't tried to turn me in to the other side. So far, McKenzie had been almost helpful. Maybe I should lighten up on her.
"Honestly, you mages should know, your order is hiding things from you if they haven't given you this information. I mean, the date has been in the calendar for two hundred years." He shook his head.
Suddenly, the car stopped and I looked out the window to see where we were. Alec stopped at a gas station.
"Why'd you stop?" I asked.
"We're low on gas, and I have to find something to eat," he said.
"Don't look at me," Tavas said from the back seat. "Just because you gave me a donation doesn't mean I'll reciprocate."
"I told you I'd donate," I said.
"No, you can't," Dima said. "You're already weak from teleporting, we can't have you losing blood. I'll do it."
"You sure?" I asked. Giving blood to a vampire was considered an intimate experience. It was something I'd promised myself I'd never do, especially while working for a group of vampires. The last thing I needed was them thinking they could get blood from me any time they wanted. But Alec was my friend and I knew he wouldn't take it the wrong way in our current circumstances.
"Alright, you two lovebirds," Tavas said with a hint of sarcasm. "Why don't we find a place we can lay low for the night and you can do your thing and we can start fresh in the morning."
"We don't have time to stop," I said. "James..."
"James, yes, I get it, love," Tavas said. "But I can't teleport this car back to California. And you are going to get us killed if you attempt to do it twice in one day."
"He's right," McKenzie said.
Tavas smiled at her. "Maybe I was wrong about you."
"Don't even think about it," McKenzie said.
"Fine," I said. "Let's get gas and find the nearest hotel. We'll all rest till first light, then we go save our friends. Right, Tavas?"
"They're not really my friends, but," Tavas began.
"Don't give me that shit," I said. "James is probably the only one who doesn't know how much of a scoundrel you are. If anything, he's the best shot you have at a real friend."
"Oh, little dragon, you forget that we've known each other a long time. James knows exactly what kind of a scoundrel I am."
"Well, I suppose that's why you have to help us, isn't it?" I said.
"Yes, I'll stay. That's what you're getting at, right?" He cocked his head to the side. "You need to get better at asking for what you want."
"Noted," I said as I placed my hand on the door handle. "Tavas, you'll come into the gas station with me in case we have any more trouble."
"I can do it," Alec said.
"No, you stay here and pump gas. The last thing we need is for you to make a snack out of some unsuspecting human." As soon as the words were out, I wished I could take them back. "I'm sorry."
Jaw set, eyes steely, Alec didn't answer. Instead, he stepped out of the car.
"Nice," Tavas said. "Maybe I'll take friendship lessons from you."
"Shut up, Tavas," I said. "Come on."
The two of us walked to the gas station while Alec filled the tank of the car. I let out a long breath as I thought about what I had said to one of the few people in this world I could count on. Alec had been there for me when others failed me. He'd never questioned my innocence when the rest of Realm's Gate was calling me a murderer. And here he was helping me hunt down and rescue a bunch of missing mages and a dragon.
"He'll be fine," Tavas said.
Pausing in front of the glass door to the convenience store, I turned to look at him, brow furrowed in confusion. Was he talking about Alec and the rude comment I'd made or James? Guilt swirled inside me. I couldn't even feel bad for Alec without my thoughts turning to James. I was a terrible friend.
"Both of them, truth be told," Tavas said.
My blood ran cold. "You're still in my head, aren't you?"
He shrugged. "It's not an easy connection to break."
I whispered a curse under my breath as I pulled open the door to the store.
"It's not so bad," Tavas said. "I mean, I can tell Alec how bad you feel if you want."
I ignored Tavas while I grabbed some bottled water for everyone in the car, then walked up to the counter. "These and gas on pump six."
The plump, older woman behind the counter smiled sweetly as she pulled the bottles closer to her so she could ring them up.
"Why'd you volunteer your blood, anyway? It's not like you have romantic feelings for the guy," Tavas said.
The cashier paused, bottle mid-scan and looked at us like we were crazy people.
"Blood drive," I said.
The excuse helped her relax and she finished scanning the water, stuffing them all into a plastic bag.
I handed her a fifty and waited for my change.
"Anything else I can get for you today?" she asked as she set the bills and coins in my hand.
"Actually, we were wondering if there was a hotel nearby," I said.
"If you make your way through town, you'll find some bed and breakfasts, but I bet they're all full up at this time of night." She looked up and pursed
her lips as if thinking hard about this question. "There's something off the freeway, a few miles north. Some chain."
"Thanks," I said, reaching for the bag.
"Have a nice night," the cashier said, pushing our bag of water closer to us. She still seemed wary of us, but that probably came with the territory of working the night shift at a gas station.
Tavas took the bag from me, then swept his arm out in front of him. "Ladies first."
I glared at him, trying to read into his sudden attempt at being a gentlemen.
"Oh, ease up, Morgan," Tavas said. "I'm just trying to be nice."
His use of my given name startled me, causing me to forget the quip I was going to use on him. Instead, I blinked back in surprise, then turned and walked to the door.
As the door closed behind me, I let out a sigh of relief. No Oracles, no spiders, the gas station hadn't tried to kill us. Maybe there was something to having Tavas tag along that changed the rules.
"How can it not be better with me than without me?" Tavas asked.
I shook my head. "Can we just pretend that you can't read all my thoughts?"
"Sure, love," he said. "But it won't change the fact that I can."
24
We made it to a cheap motel on the side of the freeway. The air was sour, probably a result of whatever they were making in the factory we could see in the distance. I wrinkled my nose, hoping we'd be back to the familiar air of Realm's Gate soon.
As I stood in the parking lot in front of the entrance to our room, I stared at the lights that lit up a factory. There were no sounds or signs of life, just the lights on the tall stacks, illuminating the clouds of smoke rising into the night sky.
It was a vivid reminder that even though it didn't feel possible that I was on the other side of the country, we really were a long way from home.
By the time we got inside the crappy room we'd all share, I was struggling to keep my eyelids open. I didn't like the idea of another detour on this journey, but I knew that magic used your energy. Part of me was surprised I was still standing after everything we'd been through today. I'd always thought of myself as tough, as a survivor, but I'd never been pushed to my limits like this.