“Haze…?”
“That dragon just came by,” I mumble, yanking his sleeve down to look at his arm.
This wakes him up, and he sits up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I…I hurt it.”
“That’s good!”
“No, I…” I stare down at my hands, afraid that they’ll melt at any moment. “I threw water at it, and it melted scales.”
He recoils in shock. “What?”
“I dunno. It flew away, but it was melting.”
My boyfriend stares at my hands curiously, flipping them over and over. “You never fail to surprise me.”
“We might need to find another source of water.”
“Just because you hurt the dragon doesn’t mean you’ll hurt us.” He notions to the three dragons, who are now gathered around us in a circle.
“There’s only one way to find out, though.”
“Just one drop, come on.”
Reluctantly, a droplet forms on my finger, which I then place in his palm. Almost immediately he jerks back screaming and shaking his hand.
“Shit! I’m so-” My apology is cut off by laughter, as he shakes his perfectly fine hand in the air. “You asshole.”
“What? You were so serious; you needed a laugh.”
“A laugh, not a fright. Fuck, I thought you were really hurt.”
He sidles up next to me. “Oh, you care about me that much, huh?”
“Not anymore.” I pout and cross my arms.
The dragons share amused glances, Drea’s pink eyes beaming with pride at her partner’s little joke.
“Yes, you do.” He rests his cheek on my shoulder, grinning up at me with his big eyes.
“What the hell is going on up here?”
Braith’s familiar Welsh accent distracts us as she treks up the hill, Damayanti in tow.
“Where have you been?” I jump to my feet to hug her.
“Losing those farming dudes. They tracked me for a bit, so I camped out.”
“Didn’t you see our fire?” I point to our firepit.
“Yeah, but I’d already set up camp by then so I couldn’t be bothered to come up.” She puts her hands on her hips and glares at Marco. “Why were you screaming?”
“He was being an asshole,” I interrupt before he can speak.
“Oh, come on…” he whines, batting his eyelashes innocently.
“He’s always an asshole,” Braith huffs. “But why was he an asshole this time?”
“Hazel thinks that her water will melt me,” Marco snorts, earning a poisonous glance from me.
Braith snorts as well. “Why?”
“I bumped into that dragon again. I attacked it, and my water melted its scales.”
“Bullshit!”
With a huff, I drop my arms to my side. “I did! There are scales at the bottom of the hill.”
“Show us, then.”
When we get to the bottom of the hill, I scour the ground for amber scales. The sunlight manages to catch one of them, and I pick it up. It’s partially melted, with jagged edges and a dull shine. It’s heavy: it weighs as much as a mobile phone, and is about the same size as well.
“Woah!” Braith snatches the scale from my hand, rubbing the melted edge.
“That is pretty cool,” Marco agrees.
“You believe me now?” I huff and cross my arms again.
“Never doubted you for a second,” he winks at me, but I just roll my eyes.
“Why did it melt?” Braith wonders, turning the scale in her palm. “It makes no sense.”
“It could be allergic,” Marco offers, but Braith shrugs.
“I doubt it’s allergic to water. I mean, it must need to drink to survive.”
“Maybe it’s allergic to elemental water,” he offers again.
“Maybe,” Braith sighs and stores the scale in her jeans pocket. “Maybe Olwen’s login can get us some answers. We need to keep moving.”
* * *
After hours of us walking slowly due to Aqueous’ injury, the city finally comes into vision. The ugly grey buildings look as if they’re touching the sky and dragons zoom along the roads, their companions clinging to their backs.
“So now what?” Marco asks, holding his hand over his face to block out the sun. “We can’t just wander in.”
“I was kinda hoping we would have a plan for that by now,” Braith admits.
There’s no way we can just wander into a library and use a computer without getting caught. We’re fugitives; people will recognise us if we just wander around. Plus, accessing government files on a public computer isn’t the best idea.
“We could break in,” I suggest with a shrug. “Find somewhere with a computer and break in at night.”
“I bet there are cameras everywhere, though,” Marco sighs.
“What about if you shadow sneak and steal a laptop?” Braith grabs Marco’s arm and looks up at him with pleading eyes.
He shakes her off. “They’ll have night vision for dark elementals. Also, shadow sneak?”
The crazy girl just shrugs in reply. “Worth a shot.”
Bluey pads the ground next to me, his tongue lolling out of his mouth like an excited puppy. He looks up at me with his big blue eyes, and an idea forms in my head.
“They don’t know we have Bluey. He could steal a laptop.”
The blue-footed dragon jumps to his feet, nodding vigorously in agreement. He spreads his wings to take off before Braith wraps her arms around his neck. “Be careful. In and out, okay?”
Bluey nods in reply and takes off, so we settle in the grass to wait for him. Aqueous rests his head on my lap, his chest rising and falling slowly.
I’m worried about him.
No matter how much he sleeps, he’s always tired. His wound isn’t healing either; it gets more inflamed every day. I press my palm gently against his neck. Burning hot. Glancing down at his wound, I notice that some parts have crusted over with dried blood, while some puncture wounds seem to be oozing pus.
It’s infected.
“Shit.”
Marco’s head pops up next to me. “You okay?”
“I think Aqueous’ foot is infected.” I nod down to his foot, which the black dragon curls back towards his chest to hide.
“We don’t need this right now,” Braith groans, falling back onto the floor with her hands over her face.
“I think he needs a vet.”
My boyfriend sits up straight next to me. “We’ll find someone.”
“How? We can’t go in the city or we’ll be caught,” I sigh, my hands starting to shake.
He pulls me towards him as my eyes fill with tears, but I’m unable to relax into him without staring at my companion, who can’t meet my gaze.
I won’t let him die.
“Hazy, we’ll find a way. If he can hold on for a bit longer, we’ll find someone,” Braith says soothingly.
“How much longer? He can barely walk!”
Braith recoils at my harsh tone but carries on stroking my arm comfortingly anyway.
Looking towards the city, another idea forms in my mind. A very stupid, desperate idea. I have no choice if I want to save him. Now I just need to do it without Braith and Marco knowing. If I go into the city and get caught, they’ll have no choice but to treat Aqueous. There will be a public outcry if they let a dragon die after catching me.
My companion wheezes beside me, making my heart thump even faster. I need to act fast. I’m not letting him die.
Marco moves away from me, letting me have some space to cuddle up to my dragon. He cracks open one eye to look at me before drifting back to sleep. Carefully I manipulate a funnel of water in my finger, using it to weave through his bloodied claws. Keeping the wound clean is the best I can do until I reach the city.
“Hold on,” I mutter in his ear. “I promise I’ll get you the help you need by tonight. Just please, don’t leave me.” My voice breaks as I utter the last few words, but my companion shows no sign of havi
ng heard me.
Our bond, once unbreakable, seems so fragile now. He’s not invincible, and now it’s hitting home. He can’t die. I won’t let him die.
9
Chapter Nine
Afternoon arrives and Bluey finally returns, holding a blue laptop covered in flower stickers gently in his mouth. He drops the computer in Braith’s lap, who squeals and hugs his neck.
“Great job!”
I acknowledge Bluey with a nod, but I don’t leave Aqueous’ side. He’s still asleep. I keep checking that he’s breathing. I won’t lose him now.
Braith and Marco shuffle closer to me as they gently open the lid.
“Oh wow, you took it while it was unlocked!” Marco congratulates Bluey with a pat on the neck.
“Fuck, yeah.” Braith goes onto the laboratory’s website and starts filling in Olwen’s login details. “Let’s see what we can find.”
A picture of Olwen and Braith pops up on the screen, with a message for a pin. Braith’s shoulders droop as she stares at the picture of her sister, who is holding a martini glass next to a winking Braith. At least Frost didn’t ruin it.
“You okay?” I ask her gently.
She nods. “Yeah, I think I know it.” She types in a passcode and smiles sadly as a welcome message pops up. “My birthday. Sappy shit.”
The page is full of articles by Olwen, and notes that she has taken while working on her research. The last article, called ‘Bray’, sits unfinished at the top. Marco and I shuffle uncomfortably as Braith clicks on it, revealing a video of Olwen in front of an empty white wall.
“Are you sure you want to-” Marco begins, but Braith cuts him off.
“Yes, I’m sure. She wanted me to see it.”
Hesitantly, she clicks play. The video begins with Olwen adjusting a shaky camera. “Bray, I know you’re watching this. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. I didn’t know what they did to you.” She glances at the floor, lip shaking. “They injected you with a serum. It’s like amniotic fluid for the Wyrms; it evolves them. I didn’t know; I only found your file yesterday. They stupidly let me into the serum room,” she smirks slightly. “I’ve downloaded everything you need to know onto my profile. It’s a long read, but you need to look at all of it. Your friends too. It’s no coincidence that you’re in the same camp, Bray. They put you all there to keep an eye on you. Look, I…” She trails off, looking at the door in confusion as the camera shakes. “It’s out.” She dashes out of view before coming back, plucking the camera up and holding it to her face. “I love you so much, Bray. Run. Run and keep on running. Don’t let that thing catch you. Don’t let any of them catch you.” Tears brim in her eyes as the room shakes. “I’m so proud of you.”
Then nothing.
The video stops.
Braith can’t control her sobs, and gratefully falls into my embrace to cry into my shoulder. Her sister did us such a big favour. She’ll never know how much it means to us.
Marco gently takes the laptop from her and starts scrolling through the typed-up articles. He starts scouring through the lengthy research while I comfort Braith. After crying so much that she can’t physically do it anymore, she sits up, drying her face with her jacket sleeve. Damayanti rests her head on her shoulder, licking her companion’s cheek comfortingly.
“Have you found anything?” she finally asks, her voice coming out as barely a whisper.
“No, I’m still looking. She’s written a hell of a lot.”
“She always did like writing essays.”
For a few minutes we all sit in silence, scanning the walls of text for any clues, before something catches Marco’s eye.
Highlighting a paragraph with his mouse, he reads it aloud: “Although we barely have the funding to use the Primordial Dragon DNA, Dr Gard has asked us to harvest DNA from several other fossils as well. His obsession with the Wyrms is taking us off course. I think he wants as much DNA as he can get to make sure they thrive.”
“We already knew the guy was crazy,” Braith mumbles. “But maybe the Wyrms were controlling him at some point, to make him harvest as much as possible for them.”
“Could be,” Marco shrugs. “But at least we know the original goal was just Draca, then Dr Gard stepped in and changed the plans.”
“But why, if the Wyrms weren’t controlling him at that point?” I interject.
“We don’t know they weren’t. They could have been the first fossil.”
My mind drifts back to the television interview. “Do you remember when Dr Gard was on TV? He kept the Wyrms in soundproof tubes.”
“So?”
“So, he knew that they could control him, but he locked them up. He must have been pretty sane to do that.”
Braith considers this for a second. “I guess he doesn’t matter much now, anyway. The Wyrms turned on him; they played him like a fiddle.”
I shudder as I remember the horror on his face as his own creatures turned on him. I don’t know whether it was his conscience, or just fear, but he told us where the Wyverns were before he died. He wanted us to find them, but the video doesn’t hint at why.
“I’ll have a look for some more info,” Braith mutters as she scrolls through the articles. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
* * *
My companion shivers in his sleep, so I drape another blanket over his body. He snuggles into his two blankets but continues to shiver uncontrollably. Marco and Braith are busy with the laptop. Maybe now is my chance?
The problem is getting Aqueous to the city. He can barely walk, and I need to [make sure I have time to] get there before the others notice. Luckily, we moved closer to one of the buildings to steal the Wi-Fi, so it’s only a ten-minute walk to reach the belly of the city.
I can do this.
“Hey, Aqueous,” I mutter in his ear, rousing him from his sleep. “Come with me.”
My companion blinks up at me groggily, his turquoise eyes dull and tired. Eventually he rises to his feet, his legs shaking with each movement. I place my hand on his neck to guide him, and we slowly make our way towards the building. I just need to get close enough to be spotted, then-
“Haze, where are you going?” Marco runs up behind me, making me curse internally.
I quickly come up with an excuse. “I was moving Aqueous towards the building. There’s a vent that can keep him warm. He keeps shivering.”
My boyfriend shuffles his feet. “Just keep out of sight, okay?”
“I will. You go help Braith; you’re better with science stuff than I am.”
He smiles and softly kisses my cheek before going back the way he came, making me sigh in relief.
“Come on, almost there.”
My heart beating hard, I sneak once last glance behind me to check no-one is watching. Braith and Marco have their backs to me, discussing the contents of the laptop, while the other dragons snooze in the setting sun.
Now or never.
Aqueous stumbles towards the vent I told Marco about, but I gently guide him towards the alleyway. We soon get enveloped by the darkness and my nose fills with the stench of rotting food and damp rubbish. My companion whines as we keep moving, heading towards the cobbled street. A few people pass us by, not noticing us in the darkness. My companion collapses on the floor, his knees buckling underneath him.
“No, get up! Come on!” I tried to pull his head up, but it just droops in my arms like a ragdoll.
No, it can’t be too late.
“Aqueous, come on!” I kneel next to my companion, checking his pulse for any sign of life.
“Are you okay?” A voice behind me makes me jump. A tall woman in a long brown trenchcoat approaches us.
“No, it’s my companion, he…”
“I’ll call the emergency vet. You stay here, okay? What’s your name?”
“Hazel Adams.”
Recognition dawns on the woman’s face, but she doesn’t acknowledge it. “O-okay Hazel, I’ll call the vet for you.”
“Tha
nk you.”
As the woman scuttles off, I try to calm my beating heart. It’s too late to turn back now. But Aqueous will get the help he needs.
After a few minutes of me stroking his cheek as he enters another fitful slumber, a roar in the air makes my heart jump into my throat. A red dragon wearing blue chest armour lands on the pavement in front of the alleyway, its green eyes landing on us. A woman in a black police uniform dismounts her companion and stares me down, holding a pair of handcuffs in her hand.
“Hazel Adams?”
“Yes.” I hold my hands out in front of her. “I don’t care, just help him.”
She looks shocked that I’m giving myself up so easily, before clipping the handcuffs to my wrists and covering my hands with a metal sheath so I can’t use my element. As she is reading out my rights, she covers my mouth with a steel mouthguard, but I don’t listen as her dragon checks on my companion on the floor. The pavement continues to shake, signalling the arrival of more dragons. Two people in white uniforms run over and start tending to my companion’s wounds.
I’m sorry. I had to do this.
As soon as they start applying treatment to his wound he wakes up with a start, looking at me with shocked eyes. I want to speak to him, but the mouthguard prevents me, so I just shake my head sadly.
I’m so sorry.
10
Chapter Ten
Cameras flash as I’m dragged into the police station. The policewoman pushes me down into a seat in the reception. “Wait here,” she commands.
I sink down into the chair, resting my head against the cool leather. This was the only way to get Aqueous the treatment he needs. He couldn’t hold on any longer.
“Miss Adams?” Another woman with a sharp black bob struts up to me, her high heels clipping on the floor. She carries on speaking when I nod in reply. “My name is Melody. I’m going to help you go back to camp.”
Shit.
I nod slowly, trying to ignore the stinging in my eyes. I don’t want to go back, but I have no choice.
“Your dragon is getting the treatment he needs,” she smiles, taking a seat next to me. “Once he’s fully recovered, we can start your transfer back to Aria. But first the police want to interview you. They want to know why you ran away, that’s all.” Noticing my discomfort, she changes her tone. “But don’t worry, I’ll sit in with you! You don’t have to be alone while doing this, okay?”
Glass and Ice (Elemental Dragons Book 3) Page 6