Cyborg Heart

by Anna Lewis

  The sky-high lights of Manhattan disappeared behind them, giving way to the lower landscape of the borough.

  Great, Amaya thought, as the dragon carried her farther and farther from her father. I’m gonna die in Brooklyn.

  The journey took only lasted a few more minutes, but it felt like a lifetime to Amaya. Finally, the black dragon circled low over an abandoned factory and dropped Amaya ungracefully on the gritty rooftop.

  A small pop, and the dragon was gone. Raeph stood beside her, panting from the effort of the chase.

  “Let’s go,” he said, gripping her hard by the arm. “We need to get inside before Endres—“

  A skid of gravel, another pop, and Endres was standing on the rooftop beside them. His suit was gone, and he glared at them, naked and angry.

  “This is where you’ve been hiding out, Raeph?” Endres growled, his deep brown eyes aglow with contempt. “In a factory? Typical of a Donaes, I suppose.”

  Amaya didn’t know what reaction she expected from Raeph, but it certainly wasn’t good humor. The dark haired man, naked again, shook with laugher.

  “How completely Solas of you, Endres. Your clan never fails to disappoint me with your pretentious snobbery. Ironic, considering your current misfortune.”

  Endres reddened and took a step closer to Raeph. His eyes burned. “How dare you speak of my clan’s misfortune, when it was brought about entirely by the duplicitous actions of your—“

  Amaya toppled over. Blood seeped down her torn leg.

  Raeph and Endres leaned over her prone form, their argument momentarily forgotten.

  “Uh-oh,” Raeph muttered.

  ***

  When Amaya came to, she found herself in a small bed with clean white sheets and a chain attached to the footboard. The other end of the chain, much to her dismay, was linked to a thick iron cuff around her right ankle.

  Endres appeared at her side, his expression of concern nothing like the anger that had gilded his face on the roof.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered, voice kind. He wore a light gray t-shirt and slim pair of jeans that hung just a little too large on his lanky frame. Amaya wondered how long she’d been out. Long enough for Endres to go shopping?

  “They’re Raeph’s,” Endres informed her, as if he read her mind.

  She pulled herself up to sitting, and fresh pain shot up her right leg. Amaya gasped in pain, and Endres put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Easy, there,” he said. “I tried to care for you the best I could, but I am no healer.”

  The shreds of Amaya’s white silk gown hung over her injured leg, stained with streaks of red, drying to an ugly brown. The wound had stopped bleeding, however, and appeared to be knit together, the repaired skin shining in the waning moonlight.

  “I… well, I cauterized it,” Endres admitted. “It’s the best I could do to stop the bleeding.”

  Amaya said nothing, just stared at her leg.

  “I’m sorry that I caused you pain,” the man said, his head dropping with shame.

  Insane laughter burst from Amaya. “You’re sorry you caused me pain, dragon boy?” she snapped, trying to quell the laughter. This was neither the time nor the place for histrionics. “You’re sorry? Oh my god, of all the ridiculous, stupid statements—“

  “You have my apology, what more do you want?” Endres looked pained.

  “I want to go home,” she replied.

  “Then you ask for the one thing I cannot give you,” he said. “Ask for something else, and I will do my best to fulfill your wish.”

  Amaya didn’t want money or a favor; she just wanted her freedom. “I’d like to use the restroom please,” she told the dragon.

  Endres looked puzzled. He fished through his borrowed jeans, pulled out a small key and unlocked her fetter. “Lean on me,” he instructed, hoisting Amaya up against him for support.

  They proceeded like this—Amaya limping and Endres holding her up—through the dimly lit room.

  “It’s an old light bulb factory, I guess,” Endres informed her as they passed a stack of dusty cardboard boxes with “100 watt” stamped on their sides. “Leave it to Raeph to pick the grungiest lair he could find.”

  Raeph. Amaya had forgotten about the other dragon. “Where is he?” she ventured.

  Endres shook his head, white-blond hair falling over his forehead. “He stepped out for a moment.”

  “And left me with you? Weren’t you two just arguing about which of you was going to eat me?”

  “We reached an agreement,” Endres said, purposefully vague. “I swore to him that I would not make off with you and he allowed me to tend to your leg. It’s win-win.”

  Amaya didn’t see the silver lining on this particular cloud, but she remained silent, old proverbs about poking the dragon bouncing around in her head.

  They reached the other side of the dark room and Endres gestured toward a small door. “Here you are, my lady.”

  Amaya slipped into the tiny bathroom without responding to his mocking title. She locked the door and collapsed against it, her mind spinning. There was a small, dusty window in the bathroom, but it was too small for her to squeeze through. Plus, she discovered upon peering through the filthy panes, they were on the second floor. Even if she could get through, she’d fall to her death.

  Well, running was out. She was injured and the red dragon was fast. The only choice was a distraction.

  “Endres!” she screamed, and was instantly rewarded by a pounding on the bathroom door. “Endres! I see Raeph! He’s right outside and he’s brought reinforcements!”

  A muttered curse came through the door and then the sound of footsteps dashing away.

  The moment they disappeared, Amaya wrenched the door open and fled into the darkened room. If she could just find a staircase, she could slip out and hide long enough to come up with the next part of the plan.

  There, her brain shouted. At the end of the room, a door was set into a shadowy wall. Amaya knew she only had a few more moments before Endres realized that she lied. She flung herself across the room toward the door, yanked it open and came to a screeching halt.

  Where there should have been a staircase was nothing but torn iron, disappearing into an abyss.

  “I thought it would be smart to rip those stairs out,” Raeph said behind her. “I mean, I did it to keep curious neighbors out, but this is an unexpected bonus.”

  Amaya spun to face him, livid. “Kill me or let me go,” she demanded. “But I’m getting sick of your bullshit.”

  Raeph just grinned. “I can’t do either of things, little goat,” he said. “But you’ll have your part to play soon enough.”

  The adrenaline from her escape was fading and the pain in her injured leg was too much for Amaya to bear. She collapsed against the wall.

  A hand came to rest on her cheek, and Amaya was overwhelmed by the scent of sulfur and salt. Hot tears, unbidden and unwanted, poured down her cheeks.

  “Oh no, stop crying,” Raeph said, his strong hands trying to wipe away her tears.

  “Raeph!” Endres shouted, footsteps ringing out on the bare floor as he sprinted toward them. “What did you do to her?”

  “I didn’t do anything, she just started crying!” Raeph sounded confused. “Do all sacrifices cry this much?”

  Amaya wiped away her tears and glared up at him. “They do when you keep calling them ‘sacrifices.’”

  The dragon boys—one light, one dark—stared blankly at her.

  “What else should we call you?” Endres asked. His brown eyes were soft, worried.

  “Amaya,” she said. “You can just call me Amaya, okay?”

  They nodded in unison. It would have been comical if the situation didn’t involve kidnapping and ritual sacrifice.

  “All right,” Endres agreed. “We can call you Amaya.”

  “’Amaya’ it is,” Raeph said. “But, Amaya, you’re still mine.”

  “No, she’s mine,” Endres snapped.

  “W
hatever,” Raeph threw up his hands in frustration “Until we figure out which clan you actually belong to, you’re staying here.”

  Amaya nodded mutely, alternate escape plans already swirling through her brain.

  But Raeph wasn’t finished.

  “No harm will come to you while we figure this out, but if you try to escape again,” he grinned, teeth sharp and gleaming. “I will personally destroy everything you love.”

  “Are you threatening me, dragon?” Amaya asked, bold in her terror.

  “That’s not a threat, little goat, it’s a promise.” Raeph said, guiding her back toward the little bed and tossing her on it.

  As Raeph clicked the lock and re-secured her to the bed, Endres sat beside her, gently stroking her hair. “Get some sleep,” he advised. “You’re going to need it.”

  ***

  The morning light allowed Amaya her first unrestricted view of the factory, although now it looked more like a comfortable loft than an abandoned ruin.

  A set of black leather sofas was gathered around a large, flat-screened television. In a different corner sat a king-sized bed, sheets rumpled and slept in. There was a small air mattress inflated near the foot of the bed, a human-shaped lump wrapped in blankets was curled up on it.

  A low, tune-less humming was coming from the farthest corner of the loft, where a gleaming kitchen was built into the wall. Raeph bent low over the stove, stirring something in a frying pan. His tattooed torso almost glowed in the light of day. He was wearing pants this morning, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Amaya. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed.

  The spicy scent of eggs and onions wafted toward her and her traitorous stomach rumbled.

  “Little goat!” Raeph shouted across the loft. “You’re awake!”

  “I told you not to call me that,” Amaya grumbled as he sauntered toward her.

  “You said not to call you ‘sacrifice,’” he said, brandishing the key to her chain. “You didn’t say anything about ‘little goat.’”

  He had a point.

  “Now, little goat,” Raeph continued, “If I unlock you, do you promise not to run away?”

  Amaya glared at him. “And give you the satisfaction of destroying everyone and everything I love? No, thank you. I’ll pass.”

  Her sarcasm was lost on Raeph, who simply unlocked her cuff. “Run free, little goat!” he announced. “Or, limp free, I guess. Running’s probably out of the question right now, huh?”

  “I’m fine,” Amaya announced, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and immediately crumpling with pain. “My legs asleep, that’s all.”

  “Right,” Raeph replied, one dark eyebrow cocked. “Well, hobble on over to the table and get some breakfast. We’re having eggs.”

  He strolled back over to the kitchen, leaving Amaya to carefully pick her away to the breakfast table. Raeph may be awful, but the eggs smelled delicious. Amaya couldn’t remember the last thing she’d eaten. Hors d’ouevres at her father’s solstice party? She honestly couldn’t say.

  After he’d served her a plate of eggs and poured her a cup of steaming coffee, Raeph plopped down in chair across from her.

  “I’m sorry about your leg,” he said, sipping his own steaming mug.

  Amaya was shocked. Apologies didn’t seem like part of Raeph’s vocabulary.

  “That’s so like Endres, though,” he continued. “Always grabbing first and asking questions later. His whole clan is like that, a bunch of arrogant aristocrats who think everything in the world is theirs for the taking.”

  There was a stir from the air mattress. Raeph lowered his voice and continued, “If I were you, Amaya, I would be terrified of being claimed by Clan Solas. They’re a blood thirsty lot and would love nothing more than to—“

  “Raeph!” Endres was awake. “What are you telling her?”

  “Nothing!” he replied, merrily. “Just bringing our little goat up to speed on her current predicament.”

  Endres heaved himself off the mattress and ambled toward them. His eyes were still dazed with sleep and his white-blond hair stuck up at all angles.

  “Don’t call her that,” Endres muttered, taking the third seat at the breakfast table. “Her name is Amaya.”

  Raeph rolled his eyes. “Don’t buy into this nice guy act, Amaya. He just wants to butter you up so you’ll choose him.”

  “I get a choice of who eats me?” Amaya said. “How generous of you.”

  “Our generosity is exactly what got you into this mess,” Endres said, helping himself to coffee.

  “What do you mean, your generosity got me into this?” Amaya asked. “I didn’t ask for anything from you.”

  It was Raeph who answered. “No, but your father did, Amaya. He asked for a pretty big favor several… wait how old are you?”

  “Thirty three,” Amaya answered. “It’s not polite to ask a lady her age.”

  “Well, it’s also not polite to welch on your debts,” Raeph said. “Like I said, your father asked my clan for a pretty big favor thirty three years ago.”

  Endres groaned. “He didn’t ask your clan, you liar, he asked my clan.”

  “And that, little goat, is exactly why we’re in this predicament.”

  Amaya sipped her coffee as Raeph explained.

  “Your father is a self-made billionaire, right? Well, he didn’t exactly do it himself.”

  Thirty-three years ago, William Bond had made a deal with a dragon. Full of ideas but short of money, he’d approached Clan Solas with a request: if they would give him a small sum, barely a fraction of their hoard, he promised to repay it with interest within thirty-three years. The dragons of Clan Solas had laughed at this request. They didn’t strike bargains with humans, but William Bond was insistent. If they lent him the money and he failed to repay it in triplicate, they could keep his collateral.

  “His collateral?” Amaya interrupted. “What exactly did he put up for collateral?”

  Raeph and Endres sighed in unison.

  “Do the math, little goat,” Raeph said. “It’s not that hard.”

  “Me? He put me as collateral? But… but that can’t be. I wasn’t even born.”

  “Exactly,” Endres answered. “Your mother was pregnant, and my clan requested the most valuable thing your father had. That would be… you.”

  Amaya was silent, the realization crashing down around her.

  Raeph continued with his story. Clan Solas did not lend William Bond their own gold. No, they’d given him gold that was rightfully the property of Clan Donaes, Raeph’s family.

  “That’s a lie and you know it,” Endres interrupted. “That gold was the property of my clan and your family tricked them out of it, Raeph—“

  Raeph shrugged, unaffected by Endres accusations. “The point is: she was bought with my family’s treasure, ergo, she belongs to us.”

  “You are such a lying sack of sh—“

  “When it came time to collect the debt, your father refused,” Raeph pushed on. “He seems to think money is thicker than blood.”

  Amaya shook her head. “No, he would never do that. My father loves me.”

  “He might, but he loves money more, little goat,” Raeph said. “He willingly gave you to us.”

  Silence spread over the loft like an impermeable fog. Raeph picked at his eggs, Endres sipped his coffee.

  “I need some fresh air,” Amaya said, pushing her chair away from the table.

  “Head up to the roof,” Raeph waved her off. “You won’t be able to get down, not unless you jump. And you don’t want to do that, do you?”

  Throwing one last glare in his direction, Amaya fled to the roof.

  ***

  The winter day was cold, but the fresh air on the roof was a welcome relief from the stifling heat of the loft. Amaya sagged against the edge of the roof, weary from the revelations of the new day. She gazed out over the sea of rooftops and shivered.

  My father did this to me?

  “Here,�
�� Endres said, appearing behind her and holding out a black trench coat. “It’s cold out here.”

  Amaya took the coat, but skeptically eyed Endres’ t-shirt. “Aren’t you going to be cold, too?”

  He just shrugged. “Dragon.”

  They sat like that for a few minutes, Amaya huddled in the coat and Endres standing silently, watching over her.

  “Raeph’s an ass,” he said finally. “And his clan is no better. A bunch of scheming snakes who’ll take anything they can get their claws on. They took my clan’s hoard. Claimed everything and left us nearly penniless. That’s why I’m here, Amaya.”

  His tone was soft, almost gentle. She looked up at him, dazzled by his beauty in the soft winter light. “I don’t understand,” she said.

  “I’m the first son of my father,” Endres said, folding his long legs under him and joining Amaya on the low wall. “It is my duty to return my clan to our former glory. If I can claim you–the daughter of William Bond—then Clan Solas will no longer be the laughing stock of our world.”

  “I’m glad to be of service,” Amaya choked and bowed her head. She’d already cried in front of this man, this dragon, once so far. She did not want to do it again.

  Endres stood up abruptly and held out his hand. “Let’s go,” he offered.

  “Go where?”

  “Anywhere,” he said. “Don’t worry, I won’t steal you. Clan Solas always keeps their word.”

  Amaya eyed his fresh clothes. “And what about your—“ She gestured to his outfit.

  “Good point,” Endres said, unbuckling his waistband. “Would you mind holding these for me while we fly?”

  Moments later, Amaya found herself with an armful of clothes, being carried back over the river by a gigantic red dragon.

  She’d flown before, of course. Her father had a private jet and a helicopter but none of those things could compare with this wild freedom. “Faster!” she cried, surprising herself.

  Endres heard her and streaked low over the water. Amaya’s toes dangled in the frigid river and she laughed in surprise as the cold waves lapped at her feet.