by Avril Sabine
Chapter Seventeen
She still felt tired when Friday arrived again and she sat in the car beside Kade, school over for the day. It had been the week from hell and it wasn’t over yet. Monday afternoon she’d had to listen to a lecture from her mother and had been expected to see her every day after Knight training that week. Cooper had complained about how she kept endangering him and letting Ronan knock him out, but at least he wasn’t ringing or sending her text messages every other minute. Tuesday afternoon she’d gone straight from school to Feralenzi to collect Topaz, the dragon egg her and her brother shared the care of, leaving her with him. The only good thing about going to the headquarters this afternoon was that she had the perfect excuse not to visit her mother for another lecture. She had a feeling the lecture would have been a lot more fun.
Closing her eyes, she leaned against Kade. She’d had nightmares every night since the previous battle. The last thing she wanted to do was go running to Ronan again. She had to get over this herself. It was a weakness that would lessen her in his eyes and that she wouldn’t allow. She shouldn’t be having nightmares. Hadn’t she won? Hadn’t she saved her mother and made sure all her family were heavily protected? She’d even saved Roy. And yet she was still having nightmares about losing them.
She continued to sit there with her eyes closed when the car stopped and Maira and Brann both got out.
“Are you planning to get out of the car any time soon?”
“No.”
Kade laughed softly. “I’m sure you’ll get hungry eventually.”
About to reply, she felt Ronan step out of the Void nearby and opening her eyes, she reached for Kade. Pressing her lips against his, she hoped that Ronan would believe this was the reason they hadn’t gotten out of the car. She heard the door swing open and Kade tried to draw away from her. “It’s only Ronan. Ignore him.”
“Nice try, kitten. Get out here and tell me what’s going on.”
Amber kissed Kade one more time before she pulled away and smiled at Ronan. “Surely you’re not that old that you’ve forgotten what a kiss is.”
“Now.”
Amber started to get out of the car, but Kade grabbed her hand, tugging her back to him. His eyes clashed with hers. “Next time you kiss me don’t do it because you’re trying to throw Ronan off the scent. Not unless your life is in danger.”
When she nodded, he let go of her hand and she hopped out of the car to stand in front of Ronan.
He looked her over. “We’re going to my place.”
“I have to pack my bag and go to the Knights’ headquarters.”
“Kade can organise your bag and meet us at my place.” Ronan looked towards Kade who now stood beside Amber. “Thirty minutes.” When Kade nodded, Ronan took Amber’s hand and transported her to his water garden. “What’s going on? You didn’t look this bad Tuesday when we collected Topaz.”
She smiled wryly. “Makeup.”
“You still haven’t answered me. What is going on?”
“You keep trying to turn me into something I’m not!”
“And what is that?”
“A killer!” She couldn’t stop shouting at him even though she knew she shouldn’t.
“A warrior.” Ronan grabbed her shoulder, meeting her eyes. He sent her a picture of her landing behind Gethin, drawing her sword and stabbing him through the back, giving orders with her next breath.
“That’s not me.”
“No? Are you sure?”
“If I’m so great a warrior why do I keep having these nightmares?”
“You’ll get over them.”
“And then what? I become the killer you’re trying to make me?”
Ronan shook his head. “No, then you become the powerful warrior I know you are.”
She wanted to protest that she wasn’t powerful, but this was Ronan. How many times could she be weak in front of him before he became disgusted in her and left her to try and survive on her own? She knew she could find him, but would she be able to find him in time if he left her to her fate. “Where you see a warrior, I see a killer.”
“What do you see when you look at me?”
She laughed, shaking her head, surprised she even knew how to laugh anymore. “I really hope you’re not expecting me to want to be like you.”
“What do you see, kitten? A killer? Is that what you see when you look at me?”
She sobered, meeting his eyes, seeing gold in their depths. A gold that remained instead of disappearing in a flash like it normally did. “Yes, but I also see a warrior. There’s strength, a strong will and a determination to survive against all odds.”
Ronan smiled. “Too late, kitten. You’re already like me.”
She pulled away from him. “No!”
He advanced on her. “You think you have different motivations. You care only for your friends and family.”
She stopped retreating, holding her ground. “What do you care for?”
“Getting that Council seat.”
“And that’s it? You only care about yourself? You said that I think I have different motivations from you. I know I do.”
“One day soon I might even tell you a story that you’ll wish you’d never heard. A story no one else alive knows. A handful know bits and pieces, but not the complete truth.”
Did she really need any more fodder for her nightmares? A story she’d wish she’d never heard sounded like nightmare material. “Don’t bother. I don’t want to hear it.”
“You will. You’ll be begging me for details. But for now all you need to know is, like everyone else, you only care about yourself. It’s what it all boils down to for everyone. Deep down it’s how it would make you feel to lose those you love. We all only care about ourselves. About our lives and those entwined in our lives.”
Amber shook her head, wanting to argue, but not knowing what words would work. She felt Kade arrive and wanted to run to him, wanted to beg him to tell her she cared about more than herself.
“If you’re having nightmares again then come to me. You won’t be any use to me if you can’t focus when it comes time to kill Tahmid.”
“They wouldn’t let you stay at the headquarters.”
“I would figure something out.”
She fell silent a moment as she tried to think, but she was so tired. “Monday night. If they’re not gone by then, I’ll call you.”
Ronan nodded.
She started to turn away.
“Amber.”
She faced him again. “What?”
He raised a hand and Alsandair stepped out of the Void, carrying a wooden box. He opened it and Ronan removed two daggers, holding them out to her.
She took one of them. It was about fifteen centimetres long, light and strong, dragon-leather wrapped around the handle. “Why so short?”
Ronan held out two pieces of dragon-leather with buckles. “They go at the wrist. They’ll change with you. There’s dragon-leather running through them as well as on the handles. This will work better than the sword you use.”
Strapping the sheaths on, she slid the daggers in, surprised at how comfortable they were. “Thank you.”
Ronan nodded once. “If you leave now you’ll be on time and the Knights won’t be trying to get another day out of you.”
She turned to Kade, holding out her hand. When he took it, they entered the Void, coming out in front of the headquarters. Her fingers tightened on his before she could bring herself to let go and take the bag he held out to her. The last thing she wanted to do was to spend one more moment here.
“Only three weekends left.” Kade stepped close so he could kiss her goodbye.
When she finally drew away she smiled. It would be a relief not to have to come back. “And then only one week left of school. Can we go to Temolae Keep or do we have to stay in town until the end of the year?”
“We can spend some time at our castle, but we can’t leave town completely. Now go before the Knights are coming out here d
emanding what’s taking you so long.”
She hurried towards the door, her hand reaching out to open it. There was an explosion. Smoke filled the air and she heard a car race towards her. Shots were fired and she dropped her bag on the ground as she tried to see through the smoke, coughing. An arm slid around her and a cloth was pressed over her mouth.
“Amber!” Kade called out her name, several other voices echoing him.
She struggled to escape, feeling herself being dragged away, sleep trying to claim her. The last thing she heard was Kade calling her name and another gunshot before the world ceased to exist.
Chapter Eighteen
She woke to a pounding head, reluctantly opening her eyes only to find she was blindfolded. Trying to move she found that her arms were chained so they were fully stretched out. Rolling her neck she tried to get the ache out of it from sleeping strung up. Her mouth felt dry, her arms and neck ached and she had a killer headache. Mentally checking her surroundings, she found no one in the room with her and couldn’t search beyond it.
An image came to her of Ronan chained to a wall like this, when they’d been caught by Paili. She pushed it from her mind, refusing to give into the fear that tried to fill her. At least she wasn’t bleeding to death like he’d been. She had other things to focus on instead of worrying about the past.
Where was she and what had happened to Kade? Did they get him too? And the other dragons that had been watching her, what had happened to them? “Let me out!” Screaming made her throat hurt. She needed a drink. And wanted to use the bathroom. Tugging on the chains didn’t help. They were tight against her wrists, stretching her arms so she barely had any movement.
“Face me cowards!” Again she tugged on the chains. Nothing. She was stuck hanging on the wall. “I’m going to kill you when I get out of here!” And she would get out. Somehow. Anger overrode fear. “My dragons will hunt you down and tear your hearts from your bodies!” That’s if she didn’t do it first. How dare they chain her up like this. And where was Kade? She needed to know what had happened to him.
No one answered. The room remained empty. She couldn’t even smell anything to give her a clue to her surroundings. No sounds, no scents, nothing. Again she tugged at the chains. They were too tight for her to change form. She was stuck here. Swearing, she rattled the chains. Still no one answered. Her mouth was dry and her throat was scratchy, her headache no better.
No one was coming. They’d chained her up and left her here. She had no idea how much time passed before she heard the door being unlocked. All she knew was that it had to have been hours. The anger that had faded rushed back in as the door swung open with a soft creak.
She breathed deep, instantly recognising the scents. “You’re wasting your time blindfolding me.” No one answered. The only sound was footsteps. “Wayne. Stanley. Vikki. Jennifer. Dominic. I can smell each of you and you’re all dead.”
“You told me the smoke would make it impossible for her to smell us,” Stanley said.
“It works on dragons,” Wayne said.
Amber smiled, impersonating Ronan’s most predatory one. “I’m not a dragon. I don’t think like a dragon or even act like a dragon. But for all of you I’ll make an exception. If you let me go, I’ll give you a head start. Keep me chained and when I get out of here, I’ll tear your hearts out.” She probably couldn’t do it, but they wouldn’t know that. She heard footsteps come closer and smelled Vikki near her.
Vikki pulled the blindfold from Amber’s eyes, smiling. “You’re not getting out of here. There’s no one to come to your rescue.”
“None of my dragons will stop looking for me until they find me.”
“It’s a little hard to hunt someone down when you’re dead.”
Amber froze, not even able to breath. No! Her eyes held Vikki’s trying to figure out if she told the truth. “You lie.”
Vikki laughed. “He tried so hard to save you, throwing himself into the smoke. It took six bullets before his heart finally stopped beating. There were others. Only one escaped, but he was badly wounded.”
Pain arrowed through her. Not Kade. They couldn’t have killed Kade. One had survived. Maybe it had been Kade. She could have healed him. Who had survived? Ronan. It was always Ronan. He wouldn’t have fought a losing battle. It was always him. Burning hot rage raced through her, numbing the pain. “You better hope I never escape.” Her words were soft, an edge to them she’d never heard before.
Vikki laughed, turning away from her to cross the room. “Dominic, go and fetch me a chair. I need to have a little chat with our new pet.”
Amber watched Dominic open the door, not quite closing it when he left. She tried to reach out, but it looked like it wasn’t just this room guarded against dragon and mage abilities. Her gaze travelled the room. It was empty of all furniture and furnishings. Only the chains on the walls. A bare bulb was fitted to the ceiling and there wasn’t even a window. The rest of the Knights watched her. What were they waiting for?
Dominic returned with a timber chair, placing it in the middle of the room. Vikki sat down, a smile still on her face. She crossed her legs, her gaze remaining on Amber.
“Whatever you want, you won’t get it,” Amber said.
“Oh I think we will. You see, we have your daddy. Surely you don’t want anything to happen to him.”
Amber glared at Vikki. “I don’t believe you.”
“That’s too bad. He’s the one who’ll suffer if you don’t tell us what we want to know.”
“Prove it. Bring him here.”
“We can’t do that right now. He’s in a secure place. As soon as we can we’ll bring him here. You know I was the one who came up with the idea to break up your parents. And it worked. Your mother went running back to your grandmother so we could find out where Helen was living. But your grandparents aren’t the Knights they once were. It was a waste of time.”
“You don’t care about my father?”
Vikki laughed. “Of course not. He isn’t a Knight and he’s the most boring man imaginable. I certainly won’t lose any sleep over his torture. Will you?” Vikki rose to her feet. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours, maybe then you’ll be willing to tell us everything you know about dragons and where to find them.”
She doubted it. There was no way she trusted any of them. No matter what deal they offered. “I want a drink of water.”
Vikki laughed. “You’re not getting anything until you tell us what we want to know.”
“There’s laws against prisoner mistreatment.” She had no idea what they were called or exactly what they were, but these were humans, surely they’d know.
This time it was Stanley who laughed. “They only apply to humans and you’re not human. Not even close.”
She tugged at her chains again. “To think I actually felt sorry for you.”
“I don’t want your pity, dragon,” Stanley spat.
Vikki strode to the door. “Time to go. Let’s see how thirsty she is when we get back.”
Amber watched them go, hearing the door lock behind them. She felt like screaming, but refused to give them that satisfaction. When she got out of here, they were dead. Every last one of them. She tried not to think of Kade, tried not to think of six bullets entering his body, but it was impossible. She’d heard a gun before whatever had been on that cloth had knocked her out. Had that been the first bullet? Or the last one? There’d been shots earlier.
She hung there, her rage growing and she finally understood Ronan’s need to kill. The rage she’d felt at seeing a gun pointed at her mother’s head was nothing compared to this. A sharp cutting pain pierced the anger and her hands curled into fists. They would pay in blood.
She remembered standing near Ronan’s water garden and him asking her, ‘Would you avenge me if someone killed me?’
And she’d thought it was a dragon emotion. No, it was human too. Ronan just wasn’t the one to drive her to that emotion. Kade was. Closing her eyes she fought agai
nst the pain that made her want to cry out. He couldn’t be dead. Vikki had to be lying. But she’d looked so satisfied when she’d spoken the words. So proud. Like she’d been the one to pull the trigger. All six times. She had to get out of here. Again she tugged at the chains. They held tight.
She fumed and raged internally, coming up with and discarding outlandish plans, the panther prowling restlessly within her. When Vikki returned, she only had Wayne with her. “What happened to the rest? Dragons get them already?”
“They had classes. It’s business as usual at the headquarters. Your dragon that escaped hasn’t even attacked us. He thinks it was dragons that took you.” Vikki sat on the timber chair.
Wayne smiled. “Probably had something to do with the dragon blood we spilled. Always good to take trophies from your kills. You never know when they’ll come in handy.”
“The Knights all headed out to the archery range just like they do every other Saturday afternoon. And no one even cares that you’re missing.”
It was nearly a full day since she’d been captured. No wonder she was hungry and thirsty. If she wasn’t chained, Vikki wouldn’t be smiling like that. “When I escape you better run because I’m going hunting and I won’t stop until all of you are dead.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Vikki asked. “You’re never getting free. Ever.”
“Then why would I bother telling you anything? Ever.” She mockingly repeated Vikki’s last word.
“To save your father.”
“Where is he? I don’t believe you’ve got him. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’ll be dead before you get anything out of me.”