Draco hovered above us, flapping his giant wings.
14
“Get down!” I yelled.
Everyone dropped to the ground, not like it was going to help. We were trapped, and we didn’t even have any weapons. They were all in a pile at the edge of the crater, not that one bow and arrow and a handful of steak knives was going to do much good against a giant dragon anyway.
Draco could pick us off one by one if he wanted to, but he hovered above us and laughed. “So predictable. Always trying to save the weak ones.”
I stood up. “Where are the others? What’ve you done with them?”
Avery jumped to his feet. “Are they with Melanie’s parents?”
“Smart boy, aren’t you?” Draco said.
Did that mean the Pritchards were still alive? Or had Draco killed them and the boys?
Without warning, Draco turned his fiery breath on the rope we’d used to climb into the crater. “I’d love to stay and chat, but it’s getting late. I need my beauty sleep.” He laughed and sniffed the air in our direction. “Mmm. Looks like I’ll be having a great breakfast in the morning.” He licked his lips and flew off.
I watched the rope burn, along with all my hopes of getting out of there alive. I heard a moan and realized it was coming from Andrew. We all rushed over to him. He was groggy and no doubt had a concussion judging by the size of the bruise on his forehead. That was when I realized what had happened to him.
I stared at the ground, trying to mentally picture the trail we’d followed here. “Draco set this up. All of it.”
Avery turned to me as the others helped Andrew sit up. “What do you mean?”
“The drops of blood on the ground back by the boulders.”
“Yeah? They were spaced out, but not enough that Draco could’ve been carrying Andrew.” Avery looked at me funny, like he was wondering why we were going over this again.
“I know.” I looked up at him. “Draco wasn’t carrying Andrew. He was chasing him. Andrew was running. That is until he reached the valley. That’s why the trail of blood stopped. Draco must have swooped down and grabbed him. His armor probably got knocked off, which is why we found it on the ground. Then Draco dropped Andrew into this crater. And I mean dropped.” I motioned to Andrew. He was rubbing his head, and he looked disoriented.
“So you think Draco purposely lured Andrew here because he knew we’d come looking for him?”
I nodded. Draco was right. We were predictable. Or at least I was, since this had been my idea.
“But what about the others? Why did he take them someplace else?” Avery tapped his finger against his leg as he thought.
I couldn’t help thinking the worst. “You don’t think he’s planning to eat them, do you? Avery cringed. “He made that comment about having us for breakfast, which means he either isn’t planning on eating the others or—”
“He’s already eaten them.” My stomach lurched.
“Don’t assume anything,” Ophi said, coming up behind us. “Knowing Draco, he let them go and is making a game out of hunting them down. He likes the whole cat and mouse thing.”
That didn’t exactly make me feel better, but right now I had to worry about getting us out of here before Draco returned.
“We have to find another way out of this crater,” I said.
Avery looked up at the sky. “Can the constellations in the sky hear us? Maybe they could get a message to Melanie.”
“No way.” I shook my head. “I mean, yes, they can hear us, but we are not asking Melanie for help. We’ll find our own way out.”
Avery gave me the same look you’d give a stubborn child, but I wasn’t backing down.
“Forget it. Besides, Melanie’s probably sound asleep in her comfy room. The constellations can only get a message to her if she’s in the orb room—or maybe her father’s observatory.” I crossed my arms in front of me. “I’m sure she’s not in either of those places.”
Avery sighed, knowing I was probably right. “Fine. So what do we do?”
Using the constellations wasn’t a bad idea. Especially since we had one in the crater with us.
“Ophi, remember how easily you hurled those rocks?”
He wrinkled his brow and nodded.
“I bet you could give us each a nudge to get out of here.”
“A nudge?” Avery raised his eyebrows at me. “You mean you want him to throw us out of here?”
“Gently.” I shrugged. “Look, Ophi, there are plenty of trees and bushes you could aim for. They’d pad our landing a bit.”
“Or we could get impaled on the branches.” Avery was being the voice of reason, but the problem was that reason would most likely make us dragon food in the morning.
“We won’t get impaled. You guys are all wearing armor.”
“You’re not!” Avery yelled.
“So I may get a little bruised. It beats being eaten in the morning.”
Ophi didn’t say a word. He was letting Avery and me hash it out.
We didn’t have time to debate this, so I stepped toward Ophi. “Come on, Ophi. I’ll volunteer to go first.”
“And how will we get Ophi out?” Avery challenged.
Hmm. Didn’t think of that. “Maybe we could use a branch or make a human chain to pull him out. We’ll think of something.”
“I could pretty much climb out on my own as long as there are places to grab onto,” Ophi said.
I smiled at him, grateful for his help and his superhuman strength. “So you think you can do it? Throw us out of here?”
“Oh, I can definitely do it.” His voice was full of worry.
“Without killing us?” I cringed at the thought.
“I’ll do my best.”
Avery pointed to Andrew’s almost lifeless body. “And what about Andrew? I don’t think he’ll survive being thrown. He’s got a concussion.”
“I’ll carry him over my shoulder,” Ophi said. “I can handle his weight.”
“Guess we better get started.” I forced a smile, trying to cover up my nerves.
Avery reached for my arm. “Maybe I should be the first one to—”
I shook my head. “No, this is my idea. I’m going first.”
Avery squeezed my forearm. “I don’t like this at all. You could get seriously hurt. At least let me go first.”
I smiled and patted his hand on my arm. “I came here to rescue you, remember? What kind of hero would I be if I let you go first?”
Avery shook his head, but he couldn’t help smiling. “What am I going to do with you, Ella?” He stared at me, and I found myself getting really self-conscious. Things were definitely changing between us, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
Avery turned to Ophi. “Be careful with her.”
I took a deep breath and walked closer to Ophi. “How do we do this?”
He knelt on one knee and interlocked his hands to make a stirrup. “Step in with one foot and crouch down a little. When I say go, you’ll spring up, with a little help from me. This way should give you the best chance of landing on your feet or stomach.”
He was going to be doing the equivalent of throwing a basketball underhand. Only, I was the ball and he had super human strength to hurl me out of here like I weighed no more than a baby.
“Got it.” I stepped one foot into his cupped hands.
“We’ll keep it simple. Three commands: ready, set, go.”
I nodded. Avery stared into my eyes, concern all over his face.
“Ready?” Ophi said. “Set.”
My heart seemed to stop beating.
“Go!” Ophi lifted his hands, and I sprang into the air. The force behind it was tremendous, but I knew it wasn’t all he had. He’d held back, trying not to hurt me.
I sailed forward and up in an arc, and before I knew it, I was coming down. Fast. The edge of the crater was in front of me. Just beyond it was a small bush. This was either going to work really well with me landing safely in the bush, or I wa
s going to crash into the edge and bounce back down at Ophi’s feet.
I wanted to close my eyes, but I knew I had to focus on my surroundings. I kicked my legs, trying to propel myself forward toward the bush. I must have looked like an idiot running in the air. It worked in cartoons, but in real life…not so much. I picked up speed as I fell. I wasn’t going to make it to the bush. I was barely going to make it to the edge of the crater. I leaned forward as much as I could and reached my arms out. My eyes shut as the ground sped toward me.
I heard a whooshing sound as I hit the edge. My first thought was we were too late. Draco had returned to claim his breakfast. But my chest throbbed with an intense pain. All the air had been knocked out of me. I gripped the grass, digging my fingers into the dirt. I didn’t have the strength to pull myself up, but I wasn’t going to let myself fall either.
“Ella, hang on!” Avery shouted. “I’m coming!”
I struggled for air, but my lungs didn’t want to cooperate.
Something passed by me in a blur. Twigs broke, and I heard a grunt.
“Ella.” Avery’s voice was muffled. More twigs broke. He must have been struggling to get free from the bush. At least Ophi had judged the force of his throw better that time.
In seconds, Avery grabbed my arms and pulled me into his lap. He cradled me like a baby. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, gasping for air. Thankfully, my lungs were working again. “Got…the wind…knocked out…of me,” I stammered.
“Ophi, she’s okay. Send the next guy up,” Avery called. “Same amount of force you used with me.”
I let Avery hold me until all the guys were out of the crater. All except for Andrew. Ophi would be carrying him up.
As they grabbed the weapons on the ground, they went on and on about how awesome it was to fly through the air like that. Yeah, real awesome. My body felt like it had been in a head-on collision with the ground. Oh wait, it had been!
I tried to stand. “We need to help Ophi.”
Avery helped me up, noticing I was struggling. “Stay here. I’ll get a branch and lower it as far as it will reach.”
I shook my head. “He’ll pull you right over. You’ll need the guys to hold on to you. Make a chain and have the last person anchored somehow to a sturdy tree.”
“We don’t have a rope or anything to anchor anyone to a tree.”
He was right. If we’d still had a rope, we could’ve let Ophi use it to climb out of the crater the same way we’d gone down.
“Hey, someone grab Andrew for me,” Ophi said.
One of the guys rushed to the edge of the crater and reached for Andrew, who was leaning over the top. Ophi had scaled the side of the crater on his own, while carrying Andrew over his shoulder. These constellations were downright amazing.
Avery ran over to help, but Ophi climbed out and smiled. “Piece of cake. Now let’s get back to the castle.”
We still had more guys to find, but this clearly wasn’t working. We needed weapons—real weapons, or we’d all be dead before we found another missing recruit.
The walk back was quiet. Everyone was exhausted. Unfortunately, once again we’d missed the chance to sleep. Ophi carried Andrew, and Avery insisted on holding my hand to make sure I didn’t fall. He was convinced I was still wobbly from getting the wind knocked out of me, and even though I felt fine, I wasn’t going to object to holding his hand.
“Can we stop and rest for a minute?” Derek asked. Aside from Andrew, he was the most beat-up since he’d toppled into the crater. The only thing that saved him was literally rolling to the bottom.
“If we stop, Draco will catch up to us,” Ophi said. “It’s morning. He’s going to find an empty crater and come searching for us.”
I wasn’t sure how he could tell it was morning. It always looked like mid-day thanks to the sun being perched in the same position twenty-four seven. But he was definitely right because Draco screeched in the distance.
I raised a brow at Derek. “Still want to stop?”
He answered by picking up the pace, and everyone else did the same.
When we reached the hill, Serpens and Scorpius must have smelled us because they started hissing and making as much noise as possible.
“They’re trying to communicate with Draco,” Ophi said. “Telling him where he can find us.”
Just what we needed. We were so close to the castle, and yet there was a good chance we weren’t going to make it.
“Run!” I said. We sprinted up the hill, listening to Serpens’s and Scorpius’s cries getting louder every second. But Draco wasn’t answering, and that could only mean one thing. He was close, and he was planning to surprise us.
I tried to check the sky, but I tripped over an exposed tree root. Avery caught me before I fell. I regained my balance and scrambled up the hill. The air got eerily quiet. Serpens and Scorpius weren’t making a sound. No leaves rustled in the wind because there was no wind. The castle door was about fifty feet in front of us. We charged for it, and I heard a sort of whistle. Not a whistle you’d make with your lips or the kind a referee used. This was like someone blowing across the top of an empty bottle.
“Stop!” I grabbed Avery’s arm and jerked him back.
The guys hesitated. A few yelled things like, “What? Is she crazy? The door’s right there!”
Avery saw the look on my face and put his hand up, motioning for the others to stay put and be quiet.
I glanced at the sky behind us and saw a blur of green torpedoing toward the castle.
“He’s going to ram right into us!” Derek yelled.
No, Draco was too high in the sky. “Get down! He’s going to ram the castle!”
We dropped onto the rubble that was once the north gate. A massive wind blew over us, shaking the ground. It felt like an airplane was taking off right over me. I covered my ears, bracing for the impact, but it didn’t come.
I lifted my head and saw Draco off to the side of the castle. He must have changed directions at the last second because he was hovering in front of the broken windows of the tower.
“The orb. He’s by the orb.” I didn’t know what that really meant, but I figured it wasn’t good. I mean, he could do serious damage by destroying the orb. The rest of the constellations would be in danger from all the things Melanie and her family protected them against.
We raced for the castle door. Only, it opened before we got there. Bobson stepped out, and his eyes went to Andrew’s limp body draped over Ophi. Then his gaze fell on me. He stormed over and got right in my face. It might have been my imagination, but I swore his breath smelled like ink. “You!”
“Whoa, back off.” Avery put his hand on Bobson’s chest and pushed him away from me.
“She took the army—”
“Look!” I pointed at Draco.
Bobson’s eyes widened in horror. “Melanie! She’s up there!”
Melanie’s scream pierced the air. Draco dove into the room, destroying the side wall of the tower. I assumed he was going after the orb, but he came back out holding Melanie in his claws.
“Melanie!” Bobson yelled.
Ophi laid Andrew on the grass and aimed his bow and arrow at Draco.
“Shoot him!” Bobson screamed.
But before Ophi had a chance to release the arrow, Draco turned and flew off, dangling Melanie, kicking and screaming, beneath him.
15
If Avery hadn’t glared at me and elbowed my ribs, I wouldn’t have even realized I was laughing. Nervous laughter I couldn’t control.
“What’s with you?” He yanked me away from Bobson. “How can you be laughing?”
“Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you don’t see the irony here.”
Avery looked horrified. “Irony?”
“She kidnapped two entire armies to fight these constellations that she brought here in the first place, and now she’s been kidnapped by one of them.” The second I’d said it, I realized how awful this situation had gotten. There wasn�
�t much hope for any of us at this point.
Avery stared at me with his sad puppy eyes. “You’re not that heartless, Ella. You can’t be. The girl I l—” He clamped his mouth shut in a hurry.
The girl he what? Liked? Loved? I just wanted him to finish his sentence. The strangeness between us needed to be cleared up. But he turned and walked away.
“Avery,” I called after him, wanting to explain my strange behavior. He ignored me and joined Ophi and Bobson, who were no doubt forming a plan to rescue Melanie.
I didn’t want Melanie to get eaten or anything like that, but it was about time she took an active role in this fight. Even if it wasn’t voluntary. Still, I couldn’t let anything happen to her and have Avery question his feelings for me. He was right. I wasn’t that kind of person. This place was just getting to me in the weirdest way. Luckily, I knew how to make things right with Avery because I knew where Draco was taking Melanie.
I walked over to the guys, avoiding Bobson’s wild gestures. He was out of control.
“Whoa!” I raised my hands to block his flailing limbs. “Before you take someone’s eye out, you might want to hear my plan.”
Avery looked at me like he was trying to decide if I was being serious or making another sick joke.
“I know where Draco took Melanie.” I raised one shoulder. “At least, I have a pretty good idea.”
Avery’s mouth curved into a small smile. I was his Ella again.
Bobson didn’t look as convinced. “What makes you think you know where Melanie is? After all, this is entirely your fault. If you hadn’t taken the army to go look for some missing kids, we wouldn’t have been attacked. The army can be replaced. The princess cannot.”
I glared at Bobson, making sure every ounce of hatred I felt for him was apparent on my face. “My fault? Who kidnapped the guys in the first place? Who forced them to fight when they had no idea how? I tried to save them. Anything bad that’s happened here is on your head. Yours and Melanie’s.”
Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances Page 48