* * *
I was spoiled for life. Coach would never do it for me again. I’d slept. I’d eaten. I’d watched a couple of movies, and we’d exited the plane before anyone else. Thanks to that, we had made it to customs first and were now leaving the terminal in record time and searching for someone holding a sign that said “Lila McCarty.”
As I pushed Dad in an airport wheelchair, the others followed behind.
“I can’t believe I’m in freakin’ Chile,” Mercedes said, her braids whipping from side to side as she took in the sights and sounds.
The airport didn’t seem too big, but it was very modern and well maintained. The main corridor was wide, flanked by glass walls that let in lots of natural light.
“And I can’t believe we made it in one piece,” Fang said. “That was as pleasant as that time I got trapped in that cave for two days.” He looked a little green, as if he’d just gotten off a rollercoaster instead of a comfortable plane.
“Trapped in a cave?” I asked.
Ki rolled his eyes. “His own fault. He thought he smelled pizza in some cavern and went looking for it and got lost. When I found him, he was ranting about pepperoni.”
“I swear there was pizza. I just never found it,” Fang insisted, giving Ki a swat which he dodged.
“Santiago is in Santiago,” Tom announced, stretching his arms forward. “Tell me, how does it feel?”
“Very meta,” Santiago said.
Well, he’d made a joke. I called that progress.
“There,” Ki said, pointing at a tall, broad man in a black suit and tie. He was standing among other drivers in a line near baggage claim and was holding a printed sign with my name. It took me a moment to recognize him, but it was Black Rock.
When he saw me, he gave the sign to the man standing next to him and smiled, showing two rows of perfect white teeth. He seemed very glad to see me, which made the blood rush to my cheeks.
“Hi,” I said lamely. “You thought we needed a sign to find you?” I gestured to his imposing stature.
“I wanted to make you feel at home.” He stepped forward and kissed me on my cheek. I was taken aback for a moment until he did the same to Mercedes, and I noticed others around us greeting each other in a similar manner. It seemed to be the way in Chile.
“You got all of your luggage?” Black Rock asked.
Ki nodded, using his freehand to pat his backpack. “We packed lightly. Carry-ons only. And Fang only needs one pair of underwear, so...”
Fang shot eye daggers at Ki. I could tell a wrestling match ending in a game of Uncle and maybe an atomic wedgie would break out any minute. I just hoped we were out of the airport before it happened.
“Smart to travel light. That means we get out of here faster,” Black Rock said. “Follow me.” He began walking at a leisurely pace. People got out of the way as his imposing figure cut down the crowded corridors.
“Damn,” Mercedes said, leaning over to whisper in my ear, “he looks hot in a suit. If only he wasn’t such an Alpha Douche.”
“He’s not, and shush. He paid for our flights,” I whispered, hoping he hadn’t heard her.
Mercedes had liked Black Rock initially, but the dismissive way he’d treated her because she was “human” had lost him major points, so many that Mercedes was on a quest to find the perfect moniker for him. So far it had been Lame Lizard, Dumb Rock, and now Alpha Douche.
“If you need any extra items we can provide them,” Black Rock was saying as he parted the sea of people like a modern day Moses. It didn’t seem as if he’d heard Mercedes’s comment and was still considering our light packing.
A moment later, we stepped out of the airport onto a busy sidewalk. It was sweltering outside—the hottest part of the day since it was noon—which was weird. We’d been deep in snow back home, and it was eighty degrees here. Not that I was complaining. Summer in November was fine by me. There had to be a beach with my name on it somewhere.
Many travelers stood on the curb with their luggage, waiting to be picked up. Others hauled their suitcases onto cars of makes and styles I didn’t recognize. Black taxis with yellow roofs honked at potential customers. The signs overhead were in both English and Spanish, but they didn’t help my disoriented state—not with all the honking and people rattling in Spanish at a million miles per hour. Not being able to understand what was going on was frustrating, and it made it seem as if the world had fallen into chaos.
“Busy time of the day and year,” Black Rock said as he waved an arm over everyone. It paid to be tall. “Ah, he saw us. C’mon.” He moved up the sidewalk as a long, black limousine pulled alongside the row of already-parked cars.
A limousine? Seriously? Must have been a bitch getting it through this traffic.
I rushed ahead. “Excuse me, excuse me.”
People turned angrily, but let me pass without a word when they noticed I was pushing a wheelchair. We tossed our carry-on bags inside the huge trunk of the limousine, while cars behind us honked and drivers poked their heads out, spewing what I assumed were insults, judging by Santiago’s raised middle finger.
Black Rock’s companion helped get Dad inside and went to return the wheelchair. I was about to duck into the car after all the others, when my spidey sense froze me on the spot. I glanced up, my eyes darting in every direction. Next to me, Black Rock did the same, probably alerted by his own instincts.
My hands itched for my sword, which was hidden under the lighthouse over five thousand miles away.
A shiver ran down my spine. I turned back, away from the limousine, and found a piece of luggage sitting right behind me. It was black canvas, unremarkable, like so many others, but it was unattended. My eyes darted around, searching for its potential owner, hoping beyond hope I was being ridiculous. Everyone around me seemed occupied with their cell phones or trying to hail a ride.
Except for one person.
He was walking at a clipped pace and, just as he disappeared behind a revolving set of doors, he threw a quick glance over his shoulder. I barely caught a glimpse of his face, but the panicked set of his eyes imprinted in my mind.
My gut turned to stone. My gaze dropped back to the suitcase.
Time slowed to a crawl as possibilities thundered through my mind.
Black Rock took in my expression, then noticed the abandoned piece of luggage. His eyes widened as he seemed to take a single second to process what my brain was still struggling to figure out.
Without warning, he threw himself at me, shoving me into the limousine and shutting the door behind us. We landed in the middle of both long seats, Black Rock’s massive body on top of mine.
“What the hell?” Tom exclaimed.
Everyone leaned forward, peering down at us.
My heart hammered against my chest. Two seconds passed, and I started to feel stupid and awkward. But that only lasted until a huge explosion rocked our world.
The limousine flew sideways. We spilled to one side, falling on top of each other against the windows that shattered, spewing glass. Mercedes screamed. The guys cursed.
Another explosion. The limousine tipped again. Arms, legs, entire bodies revolved as if inside a blender. We dropped like rocks and hit what was the top of the car as it met the ground with a groan. Then I began to feel the heat. The limo was on fire.
I tried to reach Dad, but was impossibly tangled and flat under too many bodies. “We have to get out,” someone was shouting over the sounds of someone else pounding against a crumpled door.
The heat kept building. Metal groaned and smoke started to seep through the cracks.
We were literally inside an oven. Trapped as the world turned to smoke and raw heat.
Chapter 6
My brain seized up as the smoke filled the limo’s cabin. We were going to die. The car was going to explode once the fire reached the gas tank and that would be it. Pinned beneath arms and legs I was unable to identify, all I could do was panic.
No.
Th
at wasn’t all I could do. I was a freaking magical creature.
Remembering the spells my aunt taught me, I directed my warden magic outward, using a spell to chill the air and push it away from us. Immediately the smoke began to recede, making it easier to breathe and think.
Beside me, Tom did the same. More magic joined mine, and though I couldn’t see, I knew that everyone was battling the fire together.
Everyone except Santiago.
True to his word, he wasn’t using magic, choosing instead to help Dad get disentangled. Helping Dad was honorable, but I couldn’t believe he’d pick a time like this to follow through with some stupid declaration to never perform magic again.
I didn’t have time to stew on it further since we were still battling the blaze. Luckily, our combined powers seemed to work. Even though we couldn’t see the flames from under the crumpled limo chasse, the dwindling heat told us our efforts were paying off.
Shouts from outside. Sirens. The airport’s security and fire rescue finally arriving. Faces appeared, telling us to stay calm and they would get us out. Sometime later, giant metal shears cut through the frame and we were helped out into daylight.
Hundreds of people crowded behind lines of yellow tape. Police cars, fire trucks, airport security and administrative types were all engaged in various tasks. I spotted the charred pavement where the bomb had torn our world apart. Part of the device remained, a twisted hunk of metal and wires covered in fire foam. Definitely a bomb.
My eyes darted around. We were out in the open. What if another attack came?
I ran up to Black Rock, who was being helped out of the destroyed limo. As soon as the EMT let him go and disappeared inside for another of our party, I pulled Black Rock close.
“Is it safe? Are there others? Do you know who did this?” My words came out in a torrent.
He held a large, reassuring hand out. “We’ll get you out of here. Hold on.”
I wasn’t sure how he thought that was going to happen. There were police everywhere. Even if we were somehow all unharmed and didn’t need to go to the hospital, I was sure we’d spend the entirety of our trip answering questions and trying to sort out who wanted to kill us. I put my head in my hands. All I’d wanted was answers. Yet, I’d put my father and Mercedes in mortal peril after only a few minutes on foreign soil. This all royally sucked.
Then Black Rock clapped his hands.
Like the scene in my kitchen where he stopped Santiago’s spell, this clap was powerful. But this time, it stopped everything.
Noise stopped. Movement stopped. A police woman in front of me stood frozen in mid-step, her foot hanging in the air, her mouth formed in a silent shout. A bird hung in the sky. A jet of extinguisher foam hovered on its way to the hot pavement.
“How?” I asked.
Beside me, Tom did a slow circle. “Ho-ly shit.”
Ignoring us, Black Rock was all business. He collected everyone from the scattered mess, helping Ki and Mercedes out last. She seemed a bit banged up, dirty and rumpled, but okay, thank God. Dad, on the other hand, appeared unconscious in Santiago’s arms. Black Rock found a wheelchair and helped him into it. Then Mr. In-Charge smoothed back his dreads and straightened his rumpled suit, his eyes scanning the parking lot.
“We’ll take that van there,” he said, pointing to a large excursion-style van a few rows over. “I’ll drive. Please gather your things and make your way there as quickly as possible. If you have medical needs, we will see to them at the conciliatory. I assume everyone can walk?”
We all nodded except for Dad. Was he okay? Worry rioted in my gut.
“Good,” Black Rock said. Besides his dirty suit, you’d never know he’d just been in a life-threatening car accident. “Flavio, my driver, will stay behind. It will make the story I’m going to plant in their minds more plausible if someone was in the vehicle at the time.”
I’d forgotten about the driver. He was dabbing a quickly healing cut on his head. He was a dragon too, I assumed.
“You can plant ideas in their heads?” Fang asked, wide-eyed.
“Our father can do that,” Ki added. “But he’s the only dragon I know who can.” Both brothers looked at Black Rock with pure admiration. Apparently, this was some next-level stuff. I remembered when he zipped our lips shut this summer. I knew he was powerful. I guess I didn’t know exactly how powerful.
No wonder someone wanted to kill him.
Or was it us that they wanted dead? Could Tara track us even here?
“Please, head to the van. I’ll be there shortly.” Black Rock gestured to the parking lot and then walked back to Flavio for what appeared to be some last minute instructions.
Fang and Ki scooped up what they could find of our bags while I helped push Dad to the van. We loaded him in the backseat, Santiago slipping in protectively beside him. The Spaniard wouldn’t meet my eyes as I buckled Dad in. His expression was morose as he held my father upright. He didn’t want to talk about his non-use of magic and I didn’t have time. I took Dad’s pulse, determined that it was strong and steady, and decided we would have to wait until we got somewhere safe to assess any more damage.
I leaned over to stare into Mercedes’ pupils. “Are you okay?”
She gripped her skull. “My head hurts. And, damn, Lila, when you said it might be dangerous, I didn’t know we’d be going full Bond movie right after getting off the plane.’
“I’m so sorry, Mer. We can send you home.”
“Are you crazy? I need to see who would try to blow up Captain Douche. Seems like he pisses lots of people off, huh?” She stopped talking as Fang slid onto the bench seat beside her. “Well, hello, muscles. Did you get my bag?” He handed it to her.
She smiled flirtatiously. I knew that look. She was developing quite a crush. A human/ dragon relationship was hard, but it might work. I’d certainly flirted with it. But then again, I had been warden and was now a dragon myself. Either way, I didn’t have time to worry about that either.
I slipped out of the van and walked to where Tom stood with the driver’s side door open.
“What’s up?” I asked, going around him to see what he was staring at.
A balding man in his sixties sat at the steering wheel. Completely frozen.
“What do we do with him?” Tom asked.
I shrugged. “Black Rock said we need to take the van. Maybe he’ll pay the guy back?” Guilt crawled up my limbs. We were stealing this poor man’s van.
Black Rock saved us the trouble of worrying much longer. He walked up, lifted the man out of his seat, deposited him against a tree trunk on the grassy berm and put a fat roll of cash in his breast pocket.
“Get in, please,” he said.
We didn’t hesitate.
In minutes, we were on the highway. The world zoomed back into being. Cars came unstuck beside us as the conciliatory leader whisked away from the airport.
In the passenger seat beside Black Rock, I stared at him. “How did you do all that?”
He glanced from the road to me. “All that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Froze everyone, tweaked time, recreated a whole new memory of what happened into all those people’s minds?” I ticked them off on my fingers, gesturing wildly.
He shook his head like none of it was impressive. “You did some pretty amazing cooling spells in the limo. Fast thinking. It saved us.”
It was my turn to be embarrassed and brush away the compliment. Heat rose in my cheeks as his golden eyes held mine for a few beats. There was that fire I felt between us. What it was and what it meant, I had no idea.
“I apologize for what happened,” he said to the whole vehicle. “The conciliatory and myself specifically have big enemies. Drug cartels, rival dragon lords, many want us dead. I had no idea they would attack at such a heavily populated area or I would’ve taken much more caution.”
Tom leaned forward. “So, you don’t know who did that?”
“I suspect the Gonzalez Cartel. We’ve shutdo
wn many of their operations. Last I’d heard, there was a fifty thousand dollar price on my head.”
“Fifty thousand dollars?” I said, mouth open. “To kill you?”
“To bring in my head specifically,” he said with no emotion. “They don’t know I’m a dragon, of course. They think I’m American Special Forces, undercover.”
“Imagine their surprise if they ever do get you alone.” Tom smirked.
Black Rock smirked, too. “A few have tried. You can picture their faces when I shifted right before devouring them.”
“Wicked,” Ki said from beside Tom.
“Let’s not get too excited about murder,” I mumbled.
The small smile Black Rock had allowed on his face quickly extinguished. “It was all within conciliatory protocol, I assure you.”
“I’m sure it was,” I replied, having no idea what might be considered legal or illegal to dragon laws. Actually, I had no way of knowing exactly what we were in for at the conciliatory. I was the epitome of a fish out of water here. I was a new dragon, a practical baby. The boys might be fledglings, but I was still in diapers with my dragon shifting abilities, though I really needed a better metaphor for myself. I did not want Black Rock thinking of me in diapers. But then again, why would I want him thinking of me?
I shifted my eyes over and he met my gaze with his patented intense stare, the one that seemed to see inside me. Did he know I had a bit of a crush? That his body in that suit did something weird to my insides, making them feel squishy and hot at the same time?
One corner of his mouth quirked up before he drew his eyes to the road.
Heat crept up my neck before I turned away. Dear lord, don’t let him be able to read minds, too.
I focused on the scenery to clear my mind just in case he could. Chile was just as beautiful as I’d imagined. Even more so. Beyond the airport was this bustling city with glass skyscrapers framed by snow capped mountains. Trees were nestled in between the buildings giving it a balanced look, not too much industry for it to feel sterile.
Perilous: The Dragon’s Creed Series Book 3 Page 4