Dragon Protectors

by Kristin D. Van Risseghem

  I nod. “Yes, but it’s not as bad as before.” I don’t know how I know, but Bronx is not going to be waiting for us at the Eye.

  “Let’s get you outside,” Staten says. “Maybe some fresh air will help.”

  I don’t have the heart to tell him that it won’t. But we leave the museum and head to a secluded park bench. The boys shield me with their bodies.

  “Try using your magic and tell me what you feel,” Staten says.

  I do as Staten suggests. Carefully, I bring my flames to my opened palm, letting the energy travel throughout my body. It swirls and hums, locking onto the tiny part that’s Bronx. The connection I feel with him is alive but fluttering. Hmm, that’s never happened before. Is he in trouble?

  He told me once we’re connected. He gave me a part of his soul. And that’s what I find—a bright, emerald green spark of everything that he’s made of. The goodness in his heart. The sureness of himself. His love for me and his brothers.

  “Bronx?” I mentally ask him. I’m pretty sure that Staten has already tried communicating with him, but I need to do it for myself. “Hey, can you hear me?”

  I don’t get a response, but I do caress the bond between us in case he can feel me, so he knows I’m thinking of him.

  “I can’t help think that my fatigue has to do with Bronx,” I say. “There’s something wrong. I’ve tried contacting him through our bond but nothing.” I stand and start walking toward the Eye. Maybe he’s there already.

  “I haven’t been able to connect with him either,” Staten says. “And I’ve been trying all day.”

  “I’m worried about him.”

  “He’s a big boy and can take care of himself,” McQueen says.

  “What if he was taken?” Manny asks. “He might not be able to fend off everyone. I know he doesn’t like killing humans, or dragons for that matter.”

  “Look. Let’s not speculate on anything.” Staten shakes his head. “It’s just going to drive us crazy creating all sorts of what ifs. When we know something solid, we can address it.” He turns to his brother. “Call Dad and see if he’s heard anything about Bronx. Brooklyn, call Noelle and see if she’s seen him at the school. And if not, have her go casually look for him.”

  It doesn’t take too long to walk the few blocks to get back to the river. We linger around the meeting spot and as time passes, the sinking feeling in my chest about Bronx becomes greater.

  McQueen talks with his dad, but Danzel doesn’t have any news on Bronx. He didn’t know he was missing. He said that he’d get one of the techies to see if Bronx actually boarded his flight.

  I contacted Noelle, leaving a voicemail for her to call me as soon as she gets my message. I also leave her a coded text.

  Me: Have you seen my friend? We’re supposed to be meeting soon, and I haven’t heard anything. Getting worried.

  We wait around for another couple of hours, watching the tourists come and go. We gaze at the boats driving along the river into the sunset. I watch the Eye go around in circles. And we wait.

  Eventually when the moon is high in the sky, my own eyes feel like sand is caked under the lids, and I can no longer feel my legs from standing so much, Staten suggests that we stay in a hotel close by just in case Bronx’s flight had some issues. We’ve all used our phones throughout the evening, researching his flight in case something happened to it. All of our batteries are running on empty, just like we are.

  As we tote our bags with us, Staten checks us into the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel, across from the Waterloo Station. There, we get a one-room suite with two beds; it’s all they have left. Thankfully, the hotel clerk didn’t ask if we are celebrating anything special. Perhaps the lady thought we are brothers and sister traveling together.

  When we finally get into the room, I flop onto the bed while the boys plug in their phones.

  I try once again to reach Bronx in my mind. “Please answer me if you can. Everyone is getting really worried about you.”

  Manny orders us room service while McQueen is in the shower. I’m still lying on the bed when I feel it dip. From the sandalwood smell, I know it’s Staten. “Hey, Brooklyn.” I sit up. “We’ll find him.”

  “I know. My mind is running with worst case scenarios, which isn’t helping.”

  “We all are. I understand. Try to get some sleep. If he doesn’t arrive tomorrow, we still need to press on to Ireland. Dad will let us know if a trail is picked up on him. Then we’ll hurry back if need be. I won’t let my brother die at the hands of the enemy. Not if I can help it. But right now, we don’t know who has him, if anyone does.”

  “I know,” I say again.

  Manny and McQueen join us in the bedroom when my phone vibrates. Picking it up, I swipe it on, and it’s a text from Noelle.

  Noelle: Sorry, had a mission. Back now. No excitement from that. Let me check on your friend. Give me 30.

  The wait is excruciating, but thankfully our food arrives and gives us something to do while Noelle goes and looks for Bronx. I wonder what she’s going to tell us about the mission and if she’s found anything about the drones.

  Finally, my phone rings. I grab it with shaking hands. Manny gently takes it from my fingers and answers for me. “Noelle, this is Manny,” he says. “You’re on speaker. Go ahead.”

  “Hey, guys. I assume that everyone is with my girl?”

  “Yes, we’re all here,” I say. “Except for Bronx.”

  “Yeah, about that. He’s not at the school. I didn’t want to ask a whole lot of people. I know a couple of students who have him as an instructor for the last class of the day, and they said his class was cancelled. No one has seen him. I swung by the Lounge, the training center, and his room. That’s where it gets interesting.”

  I cringe. Manny drapes his arm around my shoulders.

  Noelle continues, “His room was unlocked, and the door slightly opened. So I pushed it all the way, so I could see if he was in there. It looked like his room was broken into.”

  “This is Staten. How do you mean? What did his room look like?”

  “I’ve never been in his room, but things were thrown about. Drawers were opened, and others were lying on the floor. Most of his clothes were gone, but I expected that since he was packing it all up to leave. But the desk lamp was broken, and the bed turned on its side. It kinda looked like there was a struggle in there.”

  “Shit!” McQueen says.

  “Yeah,” Manny agrees.

  “Okay,” Staten says. “Thanks, Noelle, for looking into it. I think it’s safe to assume that he was taken by force. My bet is a Slayer Team because the dragons wouldn’t do that. Even the rogues wouldn’t use him to get to Brooklyn.”

  “Why is that?” I ask.

  “Because they would have the entire Pride rain down on them. While they are rule breakers, they don’t need a price on their heads. It just makes more sense that it’s the Slayers who have him,” Staten explains.

  “Noelle?”

  “Yeah?”

  “We’ll catch a flight out tomorrow or the next day and come home to look for him.” I don’t ask Staten if that’s what we plan to do. I’m not taking no for an answer. There is no way I’m letting Bronx be where he is for another day. Not if I can help it. Besides, they could be torturing him. “We need to stop at a place first and then catch a ride home. In the meantime, have you looked into the drones?”

  “Oh, yeah. I asked one of the Third Years about it. Don’t ask any questions about how I got the answers. Anyway, he said that Mr. Astor pulled the best candidates from that Level and is training them on how to use them. Each drone is equipped with specialized scanning lasers searching for dragons in the sky. It’s a new technology that’s been years in the making. Taking magic and infusing it with mechanics. Those can be day or night drones. Some have titanium tracking darts that fire if they identify a dragon. All information is being captured and downloaded into a server room someplace on campus. The guy didn’t know where. But they are t
eaching the students how to fly them and how to fire the darts. They’ve set up a schedule, and there are at least a dozen drones out at any given time.”

  We let her talk and give us the entire story. It’s unbelievable. “Noelle?” I ask. “Try to get some information on the darts: what they do, can they kill, are they a sedative. What’s the end game of using the drones? Are they trying to capture a dragon?”

  “Yeah. Okay. I’ll go back to the guy. It might take a few days, though. Most of Level Three has stopped training and are in the drone rotation.”

  “Good work, Noelle,” Staten says. “Keep us posted, and we’ll see you in a few days.” After a moment of silence, he nods at me.

  “Okay, it’s really late here, so we’re going to bed,” I say. “Thanks, Noelle.”

  “Night everyone. Sleep well.” She giggles and cuts the connection.

  Oh, boroughs. We have our work cut out for us now. Not only do we still have to find a Pride Leader willing to help me, but we also have to find Bronx and get him back to us in one piece. The start of this mission is already going to shit.

  I can’t say for sure if the boys got any sleep. What I can tell you is we all look like hell the next morning. By the dark circles under our eyes and the rumpled clothes we still wear, it was a sleepless night for everyone.

  I know we’re thinking of Bronx and are running through a melee of questions in our minds. Questions that no one wants to ask out loud for fear that those possibilities will come true if voiced.

  We order breakfast as we rotate in the bathroom and get ready for the day. Staten is firm that we still need to travel to Ireland today to see if their leader will meet and work with me. Since we came all the way over here, we can’t turn back empty-handed. Bronx wouldn’t want us to.

  Our phones are fully charged and while I’m in the shower, Manny is looking up train schedules to get us to the ferry.

  I’m the last to use the bathroom, but I don’t dawdle. I’ve checked the map and know that it’ll take quite a few hours to get to Holyhead by train. Running my hands through my wet hair, I emerge from the room and smell hot bacon and eggs waiting for me. Again, I’m wearing Staten’s earrings and when he notices them, he smiles. Man, I love seeing those dimples. My heart aches a little more each time I see them.

  “It’s about six hours to the ferry,” Manny says. “We’ll need to take a taxi, and soon, if we’re going to make the 8:45 train.”

  I nod as I shovel food into my mouth. McQueen and Staten pack their stuff. Manny’s bag is already sitting at the door. Before long, I’m packed, and we check out of the hotel. We make our way to the Euston Station to catch the train that’ll take us to Holyhead ferry.

  “Bronx?” I’m not giving up on him. I keep telling myself that maybe it’ll be the next time that I hear him through the bond.

  The crew is quiet this morning, each lost in our own thoughts. Staten buys us tickets, and we’re running to board the train. We find an open cabin and claim it as our own. Maybe some of us can get some sleep during this part of the journey. McQueen sits next to me and tells me to lean against him and sleep, which I fight. But the constant lull of the train and the smooth rhythm as it glides on the tracks forces my eyes to close.

  “I’ve been waiting for you, Brooklyn.”

  My eyes snap open. I’m in my dragon form, back on the plateau overlooking the mountain landscape. A green dragon is hovering in front of me.

  “Bronx?”

  “Yes, Sweetheart. It’s me. You’re finally asleep and in a calm enough state for me to bring you here. Where are you guys?”

  “Where are you? No one can get ahold of you. We’re worried sick.” I watch as his wings fold, and he lands next to me on the ledge. “Tell me everything you know, so we can come get you.”

  “I don’t know where I am. All I know is that one minute I was in my room packing, and then four guys come charging in. I fought them the best I could. I think I broke one guy’s ribs, but they still overpowered me. Gave me a shot of something because the next thing I knew, I woke up in a cell of some sort. No windows, just cement blocks. It’s musty, so I think I’m underground.”

  I rub my head against his chest. It’s so good to feel him, to know at least in this dream he’s safe. My dragon must feel the same way. She’s purring.

  “We’re on our way to Ireland today looking for their Pride Leader, and after that we’re coming home to find you. Staten says that since we’re over here we might as well try him since we didn’t have any leads on you. But now—”

  “No. You guys continue on that path. I’m not going anywhere.” Bronx nuzzles me back.

  “But they could kill you.”

  “And what good would that be? They need me alive to get you. They want you, Brooklyn. You’re the only one they know who is a dragon. They think you’ll lead them to the rest of us.”

  “So they don’t know you are one?”

  “No. At least I don’t think so.”

  “When we land, I’m going to use our bond to find you.”

  “It might not work. I think they’re drugging me or something. This is the first time I’m coherent enough to try contacting you.”

  I clench my jaw. “If they hurt you, so help me God.” My dragon agrees; a rumbling sound comes from deep within my throat. “It could be in the food or drink. They are giving you at least that, right?”

  “Yes. Bread and water.”

  I nod. “Try to hold out for a couple of days. We need the connection to be open. We’ll fly out of Ireland as soon as we can. Maybe gauge it to stop eating in two days. Since we’re seven hours ahead of New York, I’m assuming that’s where you’re being kept.”

  “It’s logical, but again, I don’t know.”

  I feel Bronx begin to fade and then watch his dragon disappear. “Bronx, don’t go. Not yet!”

  “I can’t stop it, Sweetheart. I’m sorry. I must be waking up. I’ll eat for a few days and then stop. Hopefully, that’ll give you time ...

  I jolt awake. “Bronx!” I sit up.

  “It’s okay, Babe,” McQueen says. “I’ve got you. It was only a dream.”

  “I saw Bronx. He’s okay. Someone took him. They’re holding him in a cell. I told him to give us two days to get to him.”

  “What else did he say?” Staten leans in closer, putting his elbows on his knees.

  “Four guys jumped him in his room. He thinks he broke one of their ribs.” I watch Staten pull out his phone and text someone. “They’re feeding him bread and water. That’s all I know.”

  “I just texted Dad to look into the hospitals for any man with broken ribs brought in the last twenty-four hours. If he finds one, he’ll get there and interrogate him. He could be one of the kidnappers. I’ve also asked him to look into the why and possible locations. This could be an act of war if the slayers have him.”

  Smart. And that’s why Staten is the self-imposed leader of the group.

  A knock on the cabin door startles me. Through the frosted glass, a person’s body can be seen. Manny stands and glides open the door. “Yes?”

  “Lunch is being served in the dining car if you’d like to buy anything,” a train worker says.

  “Thank you.” Manny closes the door and turns to us. “Food, anyone?”

  “You know I’ll always eat,” McQueen says.

  I adjust my clothes and run fingers through my hair, standing. “I’m ready.”

  Throughout lunch and the rest of the train ride, the boys chat while I remain relatively quiet. I chime in every now and then but leave them to their conversation. My dream with Bronx has soothed me. At least he’s okay.

  Boroughs. I didn’t even ask him if he was hurt. He better not be, or I’ll be going full dragon and smashing his captors to bits when I find them.

  I manage to get another short nap in before we disembark the train. The ticketing line is short, and again Staten buys our passes. There is a ferry leaving in ten minutes. The two-hour ride across the Irish Sea will be a
welcome change from being cooped up in the cabin.

  We won’t see the sunset, but I can imagine what it would look like from the superferry. Ideally, all of my boys would be with me, and we’d watch from the highest deck. For now, I’m surrounded only by three of them. We decide to hang out on the decks, warm our faces from the sun, and feel the wind blow through our hair. It’s like flying, but slowly across the open sky.

  After the ferry ties to the dock, we take our belongings, hail a cab, and ride the eight miles to Phoenix Park Hotel. We check into the room and opt to sleep in the same room once more. Plus, it saves on costs.

  We freshen up and change into more durable clothes. I opt to wear my specially made duster jacket, shirt, and black jeans. I didn’t pack the boots, so my sneakers will have to do.

  McQueen suggests that we sit down and eat as we wait for dusk. As we meander the streets, we spot Ryan’s F.X. Buckley, a steak restaurant. Of course, we order rare or medium-rare steaks, which I understand since we’re dragons. The interior is nicely lit with green hanging lights. Blue striped wallpaper that reminds me of a pinstriped shirt hides the endless bottles of wine as the chalk boards show the daily menu.

  After our food comes out, I ask to no one in particular, “Are we going to walk the park and see who’s out? Will they be in dragon forms, or how will we know they are one if they appear as humans?”

  “You’ll be able to see some part of their dragon form while as a human,” Staten says. “Send a bit of magic into your eyes when we’re out. Most dragons over here wear their scales as a second layer of skin all the time, so transformations are quick.” He looks at McQueen. “He tells me that you’re getting really good at shifting, almost as fast as us. Keep practicing, and you’ll get it. McQueen also said that you’ve mastered changing into clothes halfway through shifting so when it’s done, you’re not naked. That part you taught yourself.”

  “Yep, sure did. I was experimenting with magic and just thought of it, so I tried.”