Emma (Dark Fire)

by Cooper, Jodie B.

  He glanced up, holding her eyes. Pain filled his face. Emphasizing the first word, he said, “This is Lily. That other person looked like Lily, but she had to be a filthy witch.” His words ended with a curl of his lips.

  Several things registered at once: the girl’s tattered dress, the metal collar around her neck, and the group’s discussion about wizards and witches. All of it crashed through her brain, making horrible sense.

  Extending his claws, he reached for the mesh collar around Lily’s slender neck.

  “Don’t,” she said urgently. Grabbing his arm, she stopped him from cutting the collar.

  “Em, I swear to you, she’s innocent. She never tried to kill anyone.” Hurt eyes searched hers. “Alex is probably short for Alexandria. The witch must be Andrew’s mate. With his help, the witch must’ve captured Lily and collared her. The witch collar isn’t just sucking her life force to gain power, it is stealing Lily’s image. The witch is making everyone think she is my sister.”

  Emma felt like a heel for hurting him even a little bit. “I get it. I really do.” Her hand tightened on his arm. “But if you cut that collar off, won’t the witch know it?”

  “Yes,” he growled with satisfaction. “The spell is tied to the collar by the witch’s blood. She’ll instantly lose her ability to mimic Lily’s face and voice.” He sucked in a sharp hiss of anger, understanding. “And if the witch isn’t near anyone when the spell collapses she will escape. We’d never catch her.”

  Chapter - Red Alert!

  Less than an hour later, Emma held onto Tyler’s back as he descended from the sky in a burst of speed. Ignoring a shout of greeting as they sped through the sunny sky, a sky tinted with a deep purple haze, he aimed for Fortress.

  Tyler landed on his private balcony, dropping to his knees.

  Emma scrambled off his back, realizing she had somehow overcome her fear of falling in the last few days.

  Several feet away, a gryphon dropped to the landing area. His golden mane shook, nearly throwing his cloaked rider off his broad shoulders.

  A girl squealed, and the cape fell from Jenna’s head as she slid off Zach’s back in a hasty tumble.

  Emma wondered why Jenna wasn’t flying under her own power. The girl was chimera. That meant she was half fury and had wings.

  Zach shifted, changing to his human form. He turned on the girl. “Next time you want my attention, say something, don’t kick me with those pointy boots of yours,” he said, snarling at her.

  Emma turned away from the arguing teens just in time to watch Tyler shift. Bare chested, he stood with Lily curled in his arms. Before the flight to the castle, the girl had briefly stirred. Wild-eyed, terrified, she’d searched the area around them, and warned them of Andrew’s betrayal.

  Tyler hurried past the stunned teens. “Zach, go get one of the enforcers, but don’t say anything about Lily,” he said, as he placed the bone-thin girl on his bed.

  “What’s going on?” Jenna asked, confusion coloring her words. Reaching toward Lily, the girl saw the collar about the same time as Zach.

  They growled in unison. Every hair on Emma’s body rose in warning.

  “After last night’s attack on Scrimp Shaw, most of the enforcers have been reassigned to patrol. The balcony guards are gone and they have cadets on inside guard duty.” Zach took off, heading out of the bedroom.

  “Witch,” Jenna snarled, eyes filling with angry tears. “A bloody witch had my best friend and I didn’t even know it.”

  Zach closed the door behind a hard-eyed cadet wearing a royal blue sash. The cadet didn’t look much older than Emma was, but he had an edge of ruthlessness about him.

  Tyler began explaining, laying out the facts in quick sequence. Before he could finish, the cadet raised a single hand. The teen’s pale blue eyes looked like ice, frigid and filled with fury. “Finish it later. She needs a healer.”

  “Agreed.”

  He nodded to Tyler. His words were blunt, nearly harsh. “Stay here. Don’t move.”

  The broad shouldered teenager turned on his heel, returning to the gathering room. He left the doors between the rooms open.

  “Red alert,” he snapped to the other cadets lining the huge outer room. Through the open door, Emma heard his rapid orders. “No one leaves. If anyone enters, detain them under armed guard. That includes any member of the family except Lord Aaron and Lady Valerie. Tucker and Martin, find the Wér-Dragon and Lady Valerie, get them here stat. Hendrix, get a healer, preferably a master. Beatrice, take four cadets from the hallway and find Lily and Andrew. When you do find them, do not approach them. Keep them under surveillance and send word.” He paused a split-second. “Move, people!”

  He returned, walking with a lethal grace that spelled trouble. Anger rolled off him in waves.

  Jenna broke the silence. “I’m not letting her lay there in those filthy rags.” She reached toward Lily.

  The grim-faced cadet stepped forward, grabbing her wrist. A growl rumbled under his words. “She’s not leaving my sight.”

  Jerking her wrist out of his grasp, Jenna turned on him. Baring her fangs, she hissed. “Lily’s my best friend. I would never hurt her!”

  “Maverick, I agree with Jenna.” Tyler stepped forward, supporting his clan sister.

  Maverick snorted, bending closer to the snarling girl. “You have a bloody chip on your shoulder. I wasn’t worried about you biting her you little vamp. I’m more concerned about that blasted collar she still has around her neck.” He touched the filthy skin just below the offensive piece of twisted metal. “Some collars are created to explode if anyone but its creator or wearer touches it.”

  They were still absorbing his words when a woman, with midnight hair artfully piled on her head, rushed into the room. “Oh my God, Lily!”

  Emma knew the woman had to be Tyler’s mom.

  The woman’s mate, and Tyler’s dad, strode into the room moments later. Bigger than life, the man dominated the room. The moment his eyes landed on Lily, his roar of fury shook the walls.

  Tyler, Emma, Zach, and Jenna eased back as her parents hovered over Lily, caressing her hair, holding her hand.

  “Explain.” Lord Aaron’s single word demanded a full explanation. His voice shook with suppressed rage.

  Tyler told him, not leaving anything out as they watched the healer rush in and begin work over Lily’s silent form.

  A few minutes later, the healer stood from his bent position. “Has she opened her eyes or said anything at all?”

  “Briefly,” Tyler said, worriedly glancing at the slender form of his sister.

  The healer shook his head. “We need the collar off. I know, before everyone starts telling me no, that it is the only way to catch the witch, I’m telling you it must come off. From her unresponsive condition, the collar had to be linked to a be-spelled item wherever she was being held. The moment you moved her, the spell snapped, triggering an internal alarm of sorts. The collar is slowly killing her.”

  The words barely left the man’s mouth when Lord Aaron shifted to wér, and slipped his claws under the collar, slicing the metal in several places. He removed the pieces, tossing them to the floor in a pile.

  The healer grunted his approval and went back to work.

  Tyler finished telling his dad what had happened. They spoke quietly as the healer worked.

  “I’ve done about as much as I can do. She should come around in a while, no doubt starved,” the healer announced.

  Lily’s mom and Jenna took over, carrying Lily into the adjoining bathroom.

  Lord Aaron cursed and turned to Tyler. His voice vibrated with rough emotion. “I understand why you didn’t come to me, but I wish you had of. A threat toward your mate was not a slight thing.”

  “I agree,” Tyler said, curling his arm around Emma.

  The powerful wér-dragon cocked his head, eyes firmly on Tyler’s neck. The big man chuckled. “Well, now that is what I call fast work, young lady.”

  Tyler straighten
ed, clasping Emma’s hand in his. “Dad, I present my mate, Emma Baker. Emma, this is my dad, Lord Aaron McQuinn the Black Wér-Dragon.”

  “Not the best of circumstances, but welcome to our family,” Aaron said warmly. His hard, steel colored eyes softened, welcoming her more than his words.

  ___________

  Emma watched Tyler stalk by her. Like a captive tiger, he paced around the large area of his bedroom, waiting for a single chance to escape. She didn’t blame him; she was ready to scream at the inactivity.

  Lily was going to be fine. At least, that’s what the healer insisted. The adults and Jenna had disappeared with Lily, leaving Emma alone with the boys.

  Kyle had shown up, swearing and cursing, furious that he hadn’t realized the girl was a witch and not his long-time clan sister.

  The testosterone inside the room had built to unmanageable proportions as all three guys ranted and raved. They wanted to make the witch and Andrew pay, but ripping the two of them to shreds was rather hard to do when both teens had disappeared.

  Not removing the collar hadn’t been a choice, but the action had destroyed the best chance of capturing the witch responsible for Lily’s abduction. From what Tyler said, the two were probably halfway to Wormwood and the safety of the witch’s home turf.

  She snorted in frustration, knowing catching Andrew and the witch was important, but in the bigger picture, the escaping teenagers ranked rock bottom.

  She stalked to the windows, searching the evening sky for any sign of movement because like it or not the U.S. government wouldn’t sit still while monsters roamed wild through the country.

  She wished she had access to a TV or the internet, not knowing what was happening in the outside world was like running around blindfolded.

  After the attack on Scrimp Shaw, Emma worried the military would focus on Capital City. If they did, the death toll would skyrocket, and the conflict would bloom into all-out war.

  “Has anyone heard anything about the attack last night?” she asked, turning toward Tyler as he walked up behind her.

  He curled an arm around her, stepping nearer until his body slid against hers. “I heard dad talking to Aunt Lydia. He said General Maxwell and the council are considering a counter strike.”

  Air hissed through her lungs. Struggling to contain her fear, she looked up into his face. “If they attack one of the nearby towns, they’ll kill a lot of innocent people. The American public will scream for your heads.”

  Kyle leaned against the back of a large sofa, crossing muscled arms. “We’d never attack civilians. Scuttlebutt says the enforcers infiltrated the military camp and captured the enemy general.”

  “We did,” Zach said, joining the conversation. Strands of golden hair escaped the confines of a leather strap. He looked at Emma, smirking. “I was checking in with Uncle Max to see if there’s been any word on my cousin Ethan when they brought the mortal in. Lydia and Keith were there. The moment the mortal general saw Keith, he started cursing about traitors. Keith held it together okay until Thackwart called Lydia a traitor’s whore. Your uncle shifted, changing into one of the biggest dang wér-dragons I’ve ever seen, and white, pure solid white like a silvá.”

  “Pale colored dragons never have a wér shape,” Kyle said with a negative shake of his head.

  “Yeah, well, he was definitely a wér, and Dark Fire! He was fast! He got past two seasoned enforcers guarding Thackwart, before anyone could stop him. And then it was Lydia who had to pull him away from the sniveling, piece of crap, because no one else could get near him.”

  Unable to help herself, Emma grinned. “How’d he react to having scales?”

  Zach snorted. “When he finally calmed down, Keith flashed a sharp toothed grin at Lydia and asked if she was up to another run in the woods.”

  “You don’t seem very surprised about him shifting into a wér,” Kyle said, raising an eyebrow in question. “Is that why you showed up only wearing Tyler’s shirt and sash?”

  “Um, yeah,” Emma said, turning slightly red faced. “Not to change the subject, but we’ve got to figure out a way to talk with the government, and I don’t mean Thackwart. He really is a useless piece of crap.”

  “If you haven’t noticed, we’re teenagers. I doubt if Earth is any different than Tuatha, but no one would listen to us,” Zach said, looking at her with disbelief.

  “Negotiating the peace is up to the council and enforcers,” Kyle said firmly.

  “Right, like they’re doing such an awesome job of it,” Emma said sarcastically, ignoring her touch of unease when the reclining wér-wolf growled at her.

  “You’ve already got something planned,” Tyler said, watching her thoughtfully. “What are you thinking?”

  He wasn’t asking to be polite. He really wanted to know what she thought. Her lips twitched into a full-fledged smile of pleasure.

  “Can you fly us to my house?” she asked, knowing it wasn’t a simple question. Patrols filled the dusky skies, enforcing the ban on travel beyond Capital City’s borders.

  Chapter - Challenge

  Crossing the town on foot and dodging the enforcers that patrolled the area was challenging, but it didn’t take long before Emma, Tyler, Kyle, and Zach entered the forest, heading toward her house.

  Hours later, they cautiously approached the small meadow surrounding her house. Through a break in the trees, the velvety black of midnight greeted Emma’s gaze. While the red-tinted faerie dust made blue skies appear purple, the energy-laced dust turned the full moon a bloody color.

  She sucked in the warm breeze and grinned. She felt a bit winded, but unbelievably she had managed to maintain the swift pace Tyler set for them. Her body was changing at a phenomenal rate. So fast, it was nearly impossible to believe.

  At the edge of the ten-acre yard, Kyle split-off from the group, staying in the trees as the rest of them headed toward the house.

  Reaching the porch, outside the kitchen, she hesitated. If her plan backfired, she might cause a lot more trouble for the dragons. She snorted to herself. With or without her interference, the fighting could explode into a bloodbath. She had to try.

  “Emma?” Tyler questioned.

  “Sorry, last minute worries,” she said.

  “It’s too late to back out now,” Zach grumbled. His voice whispered from the dark. “If we get caught, granddad will skin me alive.”

  Ignoring golden boy’s sarcasm, she headed toward the old shelves lining the enclosed porch, searching for the spare key.

  “You can go home anytime,” Tyler growled at him.

  “And miss all the fun?” he asked, snorting under his breath. “Walking across the yard, I felt eyes on us. I’m going to catch up with Kyle, no point letting the wolf have all the fun.”

  Tyler’s soft grunt was the only answer the gryphon received as he turned to leave.

  She felt along the back of the shelf. Her fingers touched cold metal, and not a moment too soon. The phone started ringing. “Well, crap.”

  “What’s that noise?”

  “Phone,” she said hastily, giving the difficult lock her full attention.

  The moment she pushed the door open, the answering machine beeped.

  “Emma, pick-up the blasted phone or I’ll beat you, you little wretch!”

  Relieved to hear her best friend’s worried voice, Emma chuckled and hit the speakerphone button.

  Kayla didn’t give her time to speak. “Touch her, you growling jerk and I’ll rip your bloody head off!” Kayla’s husky voice darkened with a violent tone Emma had never heard before. The sound made every hair on her body stand-up, quivering on the edge of fear.

  “Calm down both of you. Kayla, don’t threaten him. Tyler, stop growling. It’s just Kayla. I’ve told you that she’s my best friend,” Emma huffed, tugging his snarling face away from the small black box. “It’s called an answering machine with a phone and... Oh, never mind, I’ll explain later.”

  “She – it – threatened you,” Tyler snarl
ed, glaring at the box.

  Kyla’s husky laughter floated through the room. “Oh my, is that the good looking hunky dragon you were telling me about?” she questioned, anger quickly forgotten. If one thing was constant about Kayla, it was her quicksilver approach toward life. Her swift changes of emotion could give a person whiplash.

  Tyler raised his eyebrow and glanced around the room. Emma chuckled, “Yeah, I can’t wait until you meet him. Kayla, things are a bit crazy at the moment, so I’ve got to go.”

  “That doesn’t sound good. Are you okay? We’re trying to get back home, but they’ve put up roadblocks everywhere,” Kayla said angrily. “The minute the council popped up on our back door step, dad turned around and headed home. Where’s Keith?”

  “He’s with Lydia. Honest, everything will be okay. Tyler’s here, he’ll protect me. Look, things are really crazy and I’ve got to run. Bye,” Emma said, quickly hitting the off button amid Kayla’s protests.

  “Emma?” Tyler asked quizzically. “Is this technology like the bug you told me about?”

  She grinned at him, pulling him toward the stairs and her bedroom. “Come on, I’ll explain while I get my laptop turned on. The thing I was talking into is a phone. You saw me use the handheld phone at lunch the other day. I can use a phone to call and talk to anyone, anywhere in the world. Anyway, I shouldn’t have hung up on her, but she would’ve gone nuts if she found out what I’m about to do.”

  “She threatened you,” Tyler growled, following as she snatched up her laptop.

  She turned and headed downstairs. At the bottom, she hesitated. The only place bright enough and big enough would be the deck outside the rec room. Like many homes built in northwestern Arkansas, the house was multi-level. Most of the bedrooms were on the top floor, the ground floor held the living room, kitchen, and den. The basement was not a true basement. Yes, the front half was underground, but the back half was not.

  “That’s just Kayla. She’s always threatening to beat me. She usually threatens to beat me with whatever is within arm’s reach. It’s just her way of venting steam. She’d never hurt me.” Emma took the basement steps at a trot, entering the rec room. The concrete walled room ran the entire length of the house. A kitchenette sat to the left of the stairs, to the right was a group of chairs and sofas surrounding a large flat screen TV, and in the far left corner was a pool table. On the wall, opposite of the staircase, was a sliding glass door.