Let There Be Dragons (The Children of Ankh Book 3)

by Kim Cormack

  “Did you see any of the others?” Zach questioned as he continued to gently play with her hair.

  Kayn grinned, knowing he meant, while she was trapped in the in-between. She remained still as she answered, “I spent my time trying to avoid that creepy jerk in black spandex. Have you ever met that guy?”

  Zach chuckled quietly and whispered, “I can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure.” The sound of the others steady monotonous breathing prompted her to ask, “What time is it?

  Her sweetly attentive friend responded, “The last time I looked, it was two forty-five. So, it must be around three o’clock in the morning. We should get some sleep. We kind of shirked our responsibilities yesterday.”

  They had, hadn’t they? The Correction could have come for the girl last night. They’d do a better job tomorrow. Zach laid down and got comfortable on the pillow. She closed her eyes again and drifted off to sleep.

  She heard someone knocking on the hotel room door and then the sounds of muffled talking. The door closed and Kayn opened her eyes.

  Melody pushed the breakfast cart into the room and announced, “Rise and shine. Time to eat and get ready for school. We’ll text you with the directions to the new hotel once we’re all settled in.”

  They ate breakfast, got ready for school and not one of them mentioned her little psychotic episode from the evening before. They drove to school discussing the job. Kayn could tell she was going to have a wild day visually, when the crowded hallway at the entrance to the school was full of students with crazy bright auras. That part of the healing ability had become tolerable as the colors dulled. She’d just healed from death and today, it looked like everyone was towing around a damn rainbow. She had some crazy optical sensory overload going on. Kayn sat down at her desk, ready for the first class of the day. Hannah hadn’t shown up. Just as she was beginning to succumb to the feelings of concern, Hannah walked in. A wave of relief washed over her. Damn it, she shouldn’t have associated her with the mortal version of her best friend Kevin. Dragon or not, she cared about what happened to this girl now.

  They spent the remainder of the week trying to avoid her without hurting her feelings while getting to know her daily routine. There was more snow forecasted so they stayed in a seedy motel downtown versus going back to the campsite. Each day, they watched the trials of Hannah’s life and got to know her quite well, even though they were consciously trying to remain detached. They were routing for her to survive her Correction. They came back to the hotel each day and told the others what they’d learned about the quirky new girl named Hannah. The highlights being, that she lived with her grandmother, her mother and a little sister that she picked up from a babysitter every day after she was home from school. That’s what she’d been doing when she’d almost caught them sitting in the car a couple blocks from her house on that first day. Hannah went to music lessons on Wednesdays at five o’clock and she played the violin quite beautifully. She had a loving family. They were always hugging each other and saying ‘I love you’ each time they parted. As time passed, it became difficult to watch Hannah walking home holding her cherub faced sister’s hand, knowing their end was near. Out of sheer boredom, Kayn began to guess how the sweetheart of a girl’s Correction would go down. Her mother came home from work late at night. She appeared to be a janitor. All Kayn could think about was how easy it would be for somebody to follow her mother up to the apartment while everyone was sound asleep and off them all. It seemed like the obvious route in.

  After seven full days and evenings of somewhat inconspicuous surveillance, they were sitting in class waiting for Hannah to arrive. Her desk remained ominously empty for the entire hour of their first class. They both knew her Correction had happened. After the bell went, they raced out to the parking lot, hopped into the car and drove to her apartment building. Neither of them bothered to speak, until they pulled up in front of the perfectly inconspicuous looking complex.

  Zach stated the obvious, “There’s no police tape around this place. That’s a positive sign.”

  Kayn had an ominous feeling as she replied, “Maybe, nobody’s found the bodies yet?”

  “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine this morning,” he teased as they strolled up to the door.

  She walked over and glanced around the side of the building, looking up at the small sundeck of the third-floor apartment. Kayn wasn’t sure what she expected to see but there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary. She wandered back over and stood beside Zach. He began pressing call buttons, explaining to each person that answered that he’d lost his key until someone buzzed him in. They walked up the three flights of stairs feeling heavy hearted, knowing what they were going to find. Zach pushed open the gray weighted fire door and they stepped into the third-floor hallway. Right away they spotted the partially open door at the end of the hall. Droplets of blood led them all the way to the front door like a sick trail of breadcrumbs.

  As they quietly made their way down the hall, Zach whispered, “She could still be alive.”

  Kayn didn’t respond. She knew he wanted to believe that but they both knew they were walking into a slaughter. All Hannah had for backup was a feeble elderly grandmother, a five-year-old child and a mother that never looked behind her once as she entered the building late at night. During her own Correction Kayn had been warned by her sister’s screams and she hadn’t had the time to get away.

  “Please…please,” Zach whispered as he bumped the door lightly with his elbow. It swung the rest of the way open. A metallic odor wafted out.

  She knew that scent. It had been scalded into her brain on the night of her own Correction. They stepped inside, they found Hannah’s mother’s crumpled corpse in the hall a few feet from the doorway. She’d been followed inside, just as Kayn had predicted it would happen. Her throat had been slit. She’d died quickly. This was a small blessing, for at least she’d never have to know the fate that would befall her family. She turned to look at Zach, and he’d already begun to tear up. She wanted to shut her emotions off but now, she couldn’t. He was going to need her to be the one that did the thinking. Kayn opened the first bedroom door. It was obviously the grandmother’s room. She could tell by the décor, without even getting a good look at the body on the bed. Kayn walked over to the bed and if there’d been no blood on the covers it would appear that the elderly woman had died peacefully in her sleep. They were all gone. She could feel it. There was a hollow sensation within this apartment. She could sense the lack of life within the walls. They needed to hurry up. They couldn’t be seen here. Zach had his hand against the wall. It was a good thing fingerprints were no longer an issue. Witnesses however, would have to be dealt with and there had been enough carnage in this building for one day. He hesitated, so Kayn took the lead by shoving open the last door. She didn’t need to get a close look at the tiny body under the covers. Some things were better left unseen. The other bed was empty. Kayn looked in the closet and under the bed. Where was she? They must have woken her up and given her the opportunity to fight back.

  Zach began to frantically search the apartment while repeating his hopes aloud, “She could still be alive. Maybe she got away?”

  Kayn had gotten away during her Correction but she hadn’t made it far…The drops of blood in the hall. They’d both assumed the blood had come from the assailant’s clothes. Kayn darted out of the door leaving it wide open on purpose, so the bodies would be discovered quickly. She sprinted down the hall, following the morbid trail that led to the door they’d come through. She hadn’t noticed any blood on the stairs on the way up. If you really looked there was the smallest droplet every three or four steps. She was probably smart enough to put pressure on a wound. The blood trail ended and it was time to follow her instincts. There were only two possible directions for her to go. Hannah was an intelligent girl but she would have been in a terror driven panic and possibly already dying from an injury. She would have been looking for somewhere to hide. The laundry room was cl
early marked and it had a door to close. As they stepped into the laundry room, Kayn could smell the sickeningly obvious scent. There she was… She’d been propped up beside the hot water tank. Her soulless eyes stared into nothingness for she was long gone. Zach knelt before her, took two of his fingers and gently closed her eyes out of respect. He remained there for a moment.

  Kayn protectively laid her hand on his shoulder and urged, “We need to leave.”

  He nodded and rose to his feet, with tears glistening in his eyes. This was the first prospect they’d lost together and she suspected it wouldn’t be the last. Kayn recalled the warnings about never allowing yourself to become too attached. Neither of them spoke as they drove back to the hotel. This job was done and a family of wonderful souls had been snuffed out last night. It was now that she realized why they’d been sent in alone to do this job. These traumatic events were meant to grow their bond. She had the ability to turn her emotions off to avoid the pain completely but for him, she’d chosen the alternative. This was a lesson. Well, lesson learned. She just wanted to get away from this place and move on. They got into the car and her phone buzzed. Kayn took it out of her pocket and looked at it.

  There was a text from Markus, “We’ve run into a bit of a situation. When the job is done, send me a message and I’ll send the Aries Group in to clean up. Drive the RV up north to Alaska. We’ll message you with the details of the next job. We’ll be a few days late.”

  She’d been secretly counting down the days until she could see Frost again. Kayn messaged back, “Hannah didn’t survive her Correction. We’ll leave today.”

  She relayed the message to Zach and he said, “At least the roads are reasonably clear now. I’ll message the others and tell them to meet us there.”

  Her phone vibrated again and she looked at the screen. It read, “You will find it easier in the future if you don’t use names.”

  That was probably true. When they arrived at the RV the others were already there waiting. There was a solemn undertone as they travelled. Grey’s goofy behavior would have been a pleasant distraction on this trip. They rotated their driving shifts, played board games and watched movies. Frost still hadn’t texted her back. Kayn stretched out on her bunk to rest her eyes. When she awoke, she wandered up to the front and found out they’d already crossed the border. They were in Alaska. She’d never been to Alaska.

  Astrid hollered from the driver’s seat, “I’m pulling over! You guys have to see this! Get your jackets on, it’s going to be frigging cold!”

  Kayn felt the motorhome slow and park as she bundled up in her winter gear. Haley tossed her a toque and some gloves. Once they were all geared up, Haley was the first to step outside. The icy air wafted in and her breath was visible. Kayn contemplated opting out and staying indoors but the sounds of awe made her curious. She winced as she stepped outside. Cold was an understatement. Shit, it was bloody freezing. Her eyeballs felt like the moisture was being sucked right out of them and every area of exposed skin was in agony. This ceased to mean anything when she looked up at the swirling glorious glowing hues in the sky. The northern lights. She’d seen them before but never like this. It was other worldly. Melody was standing beside Zach and his arm was around her waist. Interesting. He’d been flitting between Melody and Haley for a while now. It would look like something was happening and then the poor guy would be shoved right back into the friend zone. The whole Handler situation would definitely make him a less than attractive relationship prospect. Her mind darted back to Frost and the fact that he hadn’t responded to her texts. Perhaps, he’d had time to think about what he was getting himself into? She needed to concentrate on something else. Kayn interrupted the moment by bringing up work, “We should text Markus and find out about this job.”

  Astrid pointed to the door. With quivering lips, she suggested, “Let’s go back inside to discuss this.”

  They all darted back in, closed the door and left themselves suited up in their winter gear. The engine had only been off for a few minutes but the temperature inside the RV had dropped. They took a seat at the table.

  Melody responded to her earlier question, “We found out the details of the job while you were asleep. A girl just survived her Correction and she’s in the hospital but there’s a glitch. Triad’s already here. According to our Oracle, there’s only a small window of time. We’ll heal her then Astrid and Haley will need to take off with her, while you guys run interference with Triad. If they don’t know she’s missing until morning, it will give them a good head start.”

  “Can’t we just get them alone, snap their necks and be done with it?” Kayn asked as she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Someone needed to start the engine and get some heat going.

  Astrid grinned and replied, “That’s not what we were ordered to do.”

  Why wouldn’t they just kill us the second they saw us? The lightbulb above her head flickered. Kevin was here, wasn’t he?

  Zach replied to her thought aloud, “Yes, he’s here. It’s Kevin, Stephanie and Patrick. We know where they’re staying and that there’s only the three.”

  Haley was visibly frozen as she trembled and added, “They’ve rented a car for us and it’s waiting in the parking lot at the hospital. You just need to keep them busy long enough for us to get away. We might be on the run with her for a while.”

  This was a goodbye. Kayn leaned over and embraced Haley.

  Haley gave her a few pats on the back and said, “We’ll miss you too.”

  Zach slid out of the bench seat and announced, “Alright we need the heat going. I’ll drive to the hospital. I don’t know how long we’re going to be able to give you without any of those funky restraints. We won’t even have anything to drug them with but we’ll do our best.”

  Kayn sat in the passenger seat and shimmied over to let Astrid share the seat with her. They heard the others go back to the bunks to gather their belongings.

  Astrid whispered, “In this temperature they won’t be able to leave the hotel unless they’re fully clothed. Jenna says, the two of you have intimate relationships with the three and this should prove helpful.”

  Intimate relationships with the three? She’d only had an intimate relationship with one…

  Astrid leaned over and whispered in Zach’s ear, “I’m impressed, you have many layers I knew nothing about.”

  “We were drunk,” he whispered. “It was a one-time thing.”

  Was she hearing this right?

  Astrid smiled and quietly spoke, “You don’t ever have to explain anything to me. I’m just passing this on. Jenna seems to think that’s the key. Melody should stay back in the room, so she can act as your Healer if shit goes south.” She turned around, looked directly at Kayn and added, “I know due to recent events, this situation might be difficult but you don’t have to worry about Frost. If anyone understands the whole honey pot scenario, it’s him. It’s practically in his job description.”

  It was, wasn’t it? They pulled up in front of the hospital and said their goodbyes once more. Melody went in with the others and they sat there in awkward silence waiting for her to return. Zach flicked through the radio stations and opted to play some music from his cell. He plugged it in and a song with hilariously timed inappropriate lyrics came on. They both giggled as he skipped the song. He ultimately opted to turn the volume down and address what he knew she’d overheard, “Promise me you won’t tell anyone what you heard. Not even Frost.”

  “Of course I won’t. You could have just told me. I wouldn’t have judged you.” Kayn replied.

  He smiled back at her and offered her some friendly advice, “You don’t have to do anything. You just have to make him think you might. That’s all Astrid meant by that honeypot comment. String him along until visiting hours are over.”

  Melody returned faster than expected and the conversation was silenced. Their exhausted friend was armed with the instructions on how to get to the hotel. She sat up front with Zach wh
ile Kayn fixed herself up in the bathroom. This time she wasn’t a virgin sacrifice but she was being asked to forfeit a fragile trust for the greater good. It wasn’t what she was being asked to do. She knew Frost would understand the premise behind the job. It was who she was being asked to do it with. Frost had a little bit of a sore spot regarding all things Kevin related and understandably so. Kayn went through the motions as she fixed herself up, applying lipstick and eyeliner. It was bloody cold. The heater couldn’t keep up to the freezing temperature outside. She sat on the closed toilet seat and bounced around for a while as they drove down the highway. Why was she so worried about what Frost thought? It takes two seconds to text someone back. She felt Zach turn off the main road and when they came to a complete stop, she stood up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was being ordered to do this. This was a job. Dragons don’t feel guilty. Dragons follow orders and kick ass. She stepped out of the bathroom, strolled over to her bunk and grabbed her backpack. So be it. The three of them stepped out into the freezing night and she noted that they had a long walk to the doors. Zach had attempted to hide their RV from view by parking it around the side of the hotel. They sprinted through the snow to the main office and burst through the front doors. They were greeted by the warmth of the lobby and the blaring of country music from the attached pub. They stepped into the elevator and rode up to their room in silence.

  Melody unlocked her room and explained, “They won’t even be expecting her to be released from the hospital for at least a week but I’ve healed her. They’ll be leaving with her as soon as they figure out how they’re going to smuggle her out. The nurse came in and gave her a sedative right after I healed her. I don’t know, they had some half-baked scheme involving nurse’s uniforms and gurneys. I need to have a nap, just in case I have to heal Zach. Kayn, you heal quite quickly. If they’re in the pub eating dinner you guys are all set. It’s the only place to eat unless they plan on getting all bundled up, so even if they’re not drinking there is a good chance they’ll be there. If you’re drunk when you get there, I’m sure they’ll be more intrigued than threatened. Have dinner and try to keep them occupied for as long as you can. You just need to keep them from checking on her tonight. Keep them away from their phones just in case they have someone who is going to call them with any changes. Hopefully they won’t realize she’s missing until tomorrow. That should give Haley and Astrid a good head start.”