by Linsey Hall
Something hard hit me from behind, and I flew forward, landing on my face. Burning pain fired through my nose. Smoky wind rushed by my head, blowing my hair up.
The smoke dragon had nailed me.
I scrambled to my feet and spun, finding Aidan in the path of the fire and stone dragons. He lunged to the side, but the stone dragon got him in the arm, a blow so powerful that Aidan grunted, the first sound of pain I’d ever heard him make. His arm hung at an odd angle, limp at his side.
A freezing, wet force slammed into my head from behind, soaking me in a deluge of ice water that made my brain ache like an ice cream headache on steroids. I fell to my knees, my stomach heaving from the pain. Icy water dripped down my back, and my hair plastered itself to my head.
“We come as friends!” I shouted, my own voice making my head throb. The words sounded stupid—take me to your leader-esque—but I couldn’t think of anything else with my brain frozen.
Heat flared at my back. The fire dragon! I dodged just in time, throwing myself to the ground before it lit me up.
These little bastards were pissing me off!
I scrambled to my feet just as Aidan swung a tree branch with his good arm. It cracked against the stone dragon, who’d been headed straight for my skull, and the little monster hurtled in the other direction, head over tail. It caught the air under its wings again, flying high and uninjured.
“Ideas?” Aidan muttered, chucking his broken branch aside. He gripped his dislocated arm and shoved it back into its socket, grunting.
What a badass.
My head still ached, and I was soaked to the waist. I so did not have the energy or the patience for this.
I spun to face the smoke dragon that hurtled toward us. Its gray gaze met mine as it charged.
I held out my hand, something unfamiliar but natural urging me on, and commanded, “Halt!”
The wispy gray dragon pulled to stop in midair, confusion sparking in its silver eyes. Out of the corner of my vision, I caught sight of the fire dragon doing the same.
“They’ve all stopped,” Aidan said.
“Yeah.”
My dragon sense, which up to this moment I’d only used to find treasure, tugged in my chest. Like it recognized these little guys.
“I’ve got no idea why,” I said, though I knew it had to have something to do with my FireSoul. I wanted to play with that info for a little while before sharing it. Even though Aidan was such a smart guy that he’d probably make the connection anyway.
“You didn’t mirror my Elemental Mage powers?” Aidan asked.
“No.” Though it might have worked, considering these tiny dragons were made of the elements.
I twisted my hand so I held it palm up and beckoned. “Come here.”
The smoke dragon tilted its head, its gaze considering.
“I won’t hurt you,” I said. “Now, come here.”
Its wings beat twice, sending it drifting on the wind, until it sat on my palm. It was about the size of a terrier, balancing easily on may hand. Warm tingles spread across my skin and up my arm.
Kin.
The feeling was so strong, so real, that I couldn’t ignore it. Was this a real dragon and not just an apparition of magic? It was so tiny. And no one had seen a real dragon in centuries. I peered at the dragon, trying to find something—anything—that made sense about it.
“Are you an apparition?” I asked the dragon.
It blinked and might have shaken its head, but the movement was so faint that I wondered if I was making it up.
I looked at Aidan. “Do you think it understands me?”
“Hard to say.” He reached out a finger, hovering it a few inches away from the dragon.
The little gray dragon hissed.
“Hey, now. He’s nice,” I said.
The dragon glanced at me, then at Aidan, then stretched its neck out to sniff Aidan’s fingertip. A weird, deep trilling noise came from its chest, then it rubbed its head against Aidan’s fingers.
“Like a cat,” I murmured. “I’ve always wanted a cat.”
“Well, you can’t have my dragonets,” an angry voice said.
I whipped around, searching the forest. The dragonet launched itself from my hand back into the air. I couldn’t see anyone in the trees around us.
“Nullifier! We’re here as friends,” I said.
No response. The four dragonets flew off, disappearing between the trees. I reached for my dragon sense. It pulled me forward.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s follow him.”
I ran through the forest, trying to keep my footsteps light. Though he was old, from what I’d heard, the Nullifier was fast. And he knew this forest.
“We need your help,” I called. “Please just talk to us!”
Golden lights sparkled in the forest around us, trying desperately to catch our attention. I kept my mind focused on the tug of my dragon sense and my gaze on the forest ahead.
Suddenly, the ground gave out from beneath my feet. I screamed, my arms pin-wheeling. I grabbed onto roots and dirt, clawing at anything I could touch to try to slow my descent. I slammed into the ground. Pain surged up my legs.
I scrambled up, but nothing felt broken. Aidan surged to his feet beside me.
Darkness all around. Light from above. Fifteen feet up, maybe twenty.
“Good trap,” Aidan said.
“Yep.” The walls were vertical and the tree roots too skinny to be used for climbing. “Really good trap.”
Aidan walked the perimeter of the hole as I let my eyes adjust. It was about fifteen feet in diameter. A dark, deep pit perfect for sitting in while applying the lotion to its skin.
“No way out from down here,” Aidan said.
“Hello!” I called up. “We’re just here to chat!”
Okay, that was a lie. We were here to ask him to risk his life to save Magic’s Bend. But I didn’t think I should lead with that.
There was only silence from above.
“I’m Cass Clereaux,” I called up. “I’m here with my friend Aidan. Your friend Aethelred sent us.”
A head appeared from above. It was backlit by the sun, so I couldn’t make out features, but it had to be the Nullifier.
“Aethelred?” His voice sounded creakier and older than it had.
“Yes! Aethelred. Though he appears to like the color blue better.”
The figure grunted. “That he does.”
“Will you let us out?” I asked.
“No way to get out,” he said. “Gravity only works one way.”
“A rope, maybe?”
“Why are you here?” Distrust tinged his voice. “And how’d you get past my security?”
“Your security quite liked me,” I said, recalling the dragons.
The figure grunted again. “Terrible taste, those dragonets have.”
“What is a dragonet?” I asked.
“A small dragon, naturally. Not flesh and blood like the old dragons, but magic. They’re part of Swiss folklore.”
Of course. “They’re amazing.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, girl.”
Damn. I’d been hoping it would. Though I had meant every word. Those dragonets had been amazing.
“She means it,” Aidan said. “Cass doesn’t lie.”
Yes, I do. And he knew it.
“Who are you?” the Nullifier asked.
“Aidan Merrick.”
“The Origin. Don’t like your kind.”
“How many could you have met?” Aidan asked.
“More than you’d expect.”
“Hopefully not my father,” Aidan said.
“Fortunately not. Though I’ve heard of him. I hope the apple falls far from the tree.”
“It does.” There was no offense in Aidan’s voice. Not that I’d expected any, considering his father’s wrongdoing. Murdering friends and colleagues was hard to come back from.
“Good, then.” The Nullifier shifted so that his head disappe
ared. “Enjoy your stay!”
Like the freaking Holiday Inn?
“Wait!” I called. “You have to help us! Aethelred’s home will be destroyed if you don’t. Thousands of homes will be lost. People’s lives.”
An aggrieved sigh sounded from above. His head appeared a moment later.
“How can I trust you?” he asked. “If you know what I am, you understand why I must be wary.”
“I do! I do understand.” And could relate, considering that I, too, spent most of my life hiding. “It’s smart to be wary. Call Aethelred. He’ll vouch for us.”
“Call him? With what? Do I look like someone who would have one of those blasted mobile telephones?”
I didn’t know what he looked like, but he sure didn’t sound like someone who would have anything to do with technology.
“Use my phone!”
“But then I’d have to let you out,” he said. “And I don’t think I’ll do that. Farewell!”
His footsteps hurried away.
“Shit.” I looked at Aidan. His face was cast in shadow. “Any chance you could fly us out of here?”
A second passed. Tension creased his brow. “No. My magic is still blocked by the Nullifier. I can’t access my Magica or Shifter powers.” He shuddered. “It feels like hell.”
A sympathetic shiver crossed my skin. I tried my Mirror Mage powers again, hoping I could mirror Aidan’s power over the earth and lift us out of here.
I breathed deeply and called upon my magic. I found nothing but emptiness, like a gnawing hunger. Not unexpected, but miserable.
I sank down against the dirt wall and clutched my stomach.
“This is the worst,” I said.
Aidan dropped down next to me and looped an arm around my shoulders. I snuggled up against him. He smelled like himself—soap and spice—but his distinct forest scent was missing.
“I think I get why the charms comms and your healing work. They can’t hurt the Nullifier. But I don’t get why my FireSoul power works,” I said. “I could use that against him.”
“Your FireSoul power isn’t like any other power. It’s not really a magical talent. It probably can’t be repressed by the Nullifier because it’s who you are, not what you can do.”
Who I was.
I didn’t know if I liked the sound of that. The only example I had of FireSouls who’d embraced their nature were the Monster and the Illusionist.
The others—Nix, Del, Aaron, the FireSoul I’d gotten my lightning power from—had fought their natures.
So what did that make me?
Good? Bad? A monster?
I didn’t know what I was. And it didn’t really matter. My existential crisis was nothing compared to the fact that Magic’s Bend was at risk.
I shook my head and scrubbed my hands over my eyes, trying to force my worry away. I had shit to do.
“Okay. We’ve got no magic,” I said. “Just my FireSoul ability. So, I guess I’ll try to find us an exit.”
It was a weird use of my power, but I had to at least try. I closed my eyes and focused on my desire to escape. Maybe I’d find the perfect path of sturdy roots to climb to freedom.
But my dragon sense lay dormant.
“Nothing,” I said. “There is no path. The walls are too soft, and the roots too skinny.”
What the hell was my dragon side good for if it couldn’t get me out of a stupid hole?
Dragons.
I leapt to my feet.
“Dragonets!” I called softly, picturing them in my mind. I tried to reach out to them mentally—something that felt a bit like hoodoo but was worth a try. “Dragonets!”
I focused everything I had on the tiny dragons, feeling like a Khaleesi-wannabe. But these dragons weren’t my children, and I was no mother of dragons. I was just a girl stuck in a hole hoping that I had some ridiculous power to call dragonets to me.
“Dragonets!” I kept my voice singsong and low, trying not to alert the Nullifier. He didn’t like his dragonets’ affinity for me.
I glanced down at Aidan. “Is this ridiculous?”
“Best chance we—” A grin spread across his face, and he pointed up. “Not ridiculous at all.”
I glanced up. Four small figures hovered at the mouth of the hole—flame, smoke, stone, and water. Their wings glinted in the light. I grinned.
“We need a way out!” I called up.
The water dragon flew down to me, hovering just out of reach. She—and I was just guessing it was a she—was the strangest and most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Her body was transparent crystalline blue, like the Caribbean Sea. Light from above glinted off her wings, making her shimmer even in this darkness.
“Will you help me?” I asked.
She tilted her head, as if considering me, then flew back up to the light. The four dragonets raced off. Aching emptiness filled my chest. My new friends didn’t actually like me.
“Guess that didn’t work.” I hated the lame dejection in my voice. “I can call Del to come get us, but she’s still regenerating her power. It’ll take a while.”
Something thumped against the dirt wall next to me. I spun to see.
A thick rope lay against the wall, hanging from the hole above. The four dragonets hovered at the top of our pit.
“Holy crap,” I said. “It worked.”
“Up you go,” Aidan said. “I’ll catch you if it breaks.”
His chivalry both annoyed and delighted me. But from a practical standpoint, I was lightest and least likely to break the rope. Who knew if the dragonets had tied it off to something sturdy? Physics, and knots, were probably not their strong suit. And at least one of us needed to make it out of here to help the other.
“All right, thanks,” I said.
I grabbed the rope and started to climb, bracing my feet against the earthen wall. Dirt crumbled and I slipped a few times, but I made it to the top. The grass felt heavenly beneath my hands as I scrambled out of the hole.
“Thank you,” I said to the dragonets.
They fluttered nearby. Acknowledging my gratitude?
I glanced around. There was no one else in the forest, just dappled sunlight and silent trees. My gaze followed the rope, finding it tied around the base of a tree. Probably the Nullifier’s backup plan if he caught the wrong people.
I turned and leaned over the hole, meeting Aidan’s gaze below.
“The rope is tied to something strong. You should be good to climb out.”
Aidan scaled the rope like a pro, easily three times as fast as me.
“All right, let’s go find that jerk,” I said. “I can’t believe he left us in that hole. To die?”
“Hopefully not,” Aidan said. “If he’s willing to let us starve to death in a pit, it’s going to be damned hard to get his help.”
“No kidding.” I took a deep breath and focused on my dragon sense. The tug about my middle pulled me left.
“That way. We’re actually close now.” I turned to the dragonets. “Thank you again.”
They stared back at me. I decided to assume they understood.
Aidan and I set off through the forest. The dragonets trailed behind. I could get used to these little shadows. It’d make going out in human cities difficult, but I’d be willing to adjust.
A few minutes later, we came across a quaint cottage sitting in a small clearing. It looked a lot like the one from Sleeping Beauty, so idyllic that it outshone even Stechelberg. There was even a little water wheel churning up the stream that flowed by the house. Flowers in a riot of shades tumbled from window boxes and along the edges of the house.
“Looks like our guy is a gardener.”
The front door opened. A small, white-haired man in a tweed suit peered out, shock on his face. He reminded me a lot of Dr. G. There were even leather patches at his elbows.
“How’d you get out?” Irritation colored his demand.
I pointed back to the dragonets. “Had a little help.”
He scowled at
the dragonets. “Traitors.”
“Don’t blame them,” I said. “I can be very persuasive.”
His blue gaze met mine, considering. “How? They don’t like anyone but me. And even me they aren’t sure of.”
I shrugged. It was probably my FireSoul they liked, but I wasn’t going to share that. Considering the hell my FireSoul had put me through, it was nice to have a sweet perk like being friends with tiny dragons.
“We still need your help,” I said.
“I left you in a pit. How did that not convince you I’m not willing to help?” he said.
“We don’t have a choice,” I said. “You’re our last hope to save Magic’s Bend. An enormous portal is out of control. It’s going to destroy the town. Thousands of people will lose their lives.”
He harrumphed. “Not my problem.”
“But it could be,” Aidan said. “You could be a hero.”
“Or at least not an asshole,” I said. “Because it takes a real asshole to ignore this kind of thing.”
The Nullifier’s eyes flared wide. He harrumphed again. And again. Like he didn’t know what to say. I wondered how many people he’d spoken to in the years he’d been hiding. Not many, if those booby-traps were anything to go by.
He turned to go into his house. “Come in, then.”
I glanced at Aidan and gave a small fist pump, then followed the Nullifier into his house.
It was bigger on the inside than I’d expected, and just as quaint as the outside. Dark wood chairs with brightly colored cushions crouched around an iron fireplace. All old and homemade, but well cared for. Cuckoo clocks lined the walls. There was nothing modern within, but I wasn’t surprised.
The Nullifier stood and looked around. His dilemma was clear. There were only two chairs in front of the fire.
“Go through.” The Nullifier gestured to a door at the back of the house before going into another room. “I will bring tea.”
“Now we get tea?” I mouthed at Aidan.
He shrugged, then walked toward the back door. I followed him out into a small garden. A delicate, wrought-iron patio set graced the flagstone seating area. Flowers in every shade of the rainbow edged the patio. A meadow extended about fifty yards, terminating at the forest.
Aidan and I sat. A few minutes later, the Nullifier came out with a delicate porcelain tea set and joined us.