Charred Hope (#3, Heart of Fire)

by Lizzy Ford

  Restless and worried, he flung off his comforter and wrapped his sheet around his waist then went to the bathroom. The cabin had clothing waiting, and he changed quickly.

  “You’re safe in the cabin,” he said when he re-emerged. “You’re in no shape to come with me.”

  Ginger flushed in anger.

  “Don’t even try,” he warned, amused. “You’re staying here. Cabin won’t let you leave, even if you wanted to. I suggest you get some rest and regain your strength.” I couldn’t save Gavin, but I will save you.

  “You’re in no shape to fly,” she said in irritation.

  “I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “I’ve got to take care of some business, then I’ll bring Skylar to meet you.”

  Ginger’s expression softened. “I’d like that, Chace.”

  Uncertain how to respond to the amount of emotion in her voice, he nodded curtly. He went to the kitchenette and wolfed down pizza. It helped his pounding head, and he chugged two liters of water down before going to the door and looking out.

  It was almost sunset. The dragons would be active soon. The fastest way to end this mess: convince them to wipe out those threatening the peace. Any thought he had about giving griffins mercy was gone with the realization of what would happen to Skylar, if he didn’t act.

  He’d go to the dragons for backup then rain down fire on those trying to hurt his Sky and destroy the shifter community.

  “Your phone has been buzzing.” Ginger’s soft voice drew his attention from his planning.

  Chace crossed to it, aware he probably had a few messages from Skylar already. He hadn’t wanted to tell her what he was doing, in case Freyja was lying about Ginger. There were half a dozen messages from Sky and two from Gunner. He read through them quickly, frowning at Gunner’s. Sky was asking where he was and if he was safe. Gunner, however, told him what she was doing.

  For reals, dude. You need to be here. That girl is crazier than you. She’s gonna challenge Dillon on her own.

  “I’ve gotta get going,” Chace mumbled and hurried out of the cabin. The last message from his friend was sent over an hour ago, while Chace had been unconscious.

  He paused on the ledge outside the cabin, stretching his senses. Skylar was able to locate the shifters, but he didn’t have the same skill. Instead, he sniffed the air, seeking the faintest scent of griffins. It didn’t take much to assume that wherever they were, she’d be close, too.

  He wasn’t able to smell anything in his human form. With dragon senses that were a hundred times more powerful, he should be able to identify which direction to try at least.

  He texted Skylar quickly. Don’t do anything crazy. I’m on my way.

  “Ginger, stay here!” he called over his shoulder once more. Willing the cabin to keep her safe, he undressed and shifted. This mess ends tonight.

  Chapter Twelve

  Soaring in the skies as a phoenix wasn’t much easier than a dragon. Skylar found her attention darting between keeping herself steady and eyeing the griffins, who didn’t seem at all concerned about the smaller winged beasts in their midst. They were more occupied with trying to find her, circling and flying in dizzying circles without being able to locate her.

  They don’t know I’m a phoenix. Not for the first time, the idea of watching them flail around in confusion amused her.

  Luke kept close to her, guiding them subtly further north without drawing the attention of the griffins. Far below, she was able to see the massive black lion and tan panther racing with ground eating strides in the same direction Skylar went. The flock of griffins was keeping pace with the creatures below, assuming what Dillon had about her being a panther shifter.

  One of them snapped at her, and she squeaked involuntarily before steering away. At times, she found herself too interested in what was going on below to notice when she crossed over into the flight path of a cranky griffin. With her clothing strapped to her back, it was a little harder to balance.

  Mason was right about me making a horrible Pegasus, she thought more than once. If a two-pound pack threw her off, what would a full-grown man riding her do to her ability to fly right?

  She scoured the terrain below them. It had gone from the deserts of near The Field to the pine and mountains of the Tucson Mountains to the desert once more, headed west, towards California. They were closing in on Dillon’s position, even if she wasn’t certain where he was.

  Dillon wasn’t in the mountains. She wasn’t certain why that surprised her, except that she half expected him to throw her off a cliff the next time they met. If a height loving griffin wasn’t in the mountains, where was he? More importantly, why?

  Another secret hideout? Freyja was there as well, which made her think it was a location the two didn’t want discovered. Neither had moved since she began making her way there a couple of hours before.

  The sun was perched on the horizon directly ahead of them, the sky beginning to turn vibrant shades of pinks and oranges. Skylar checked again to try to identify where Chace was.

  He was hidden. How was that possible? Unease went through her, but she assumed, if he was in danger, it was at the hands of Dillon and Freyja, which meant she was headed the right way. She didn’t doubt he was able to handle one of the shifters. Two, though, might be more of a challenge, especially if Dillon had another lasso or some other trickery up his sleeve.

  She drifted out of the way of a large griffin, back towards Luke, and coasted for a moment on the sturdy wings of a phoenix. Flying was relaxing, when she wasn’t worried about her balance or being sideswiped by a griffin. The cooling evening air ruffled her feathers. The stench of griffins was strong. Thus far, they were content to track the great cats below without making any attempt at snapping one of them up.

  As she had a few times before over the flight, she tested the shifter magic to see if she was able to pick up the stream of griffin power. It was present, within reach, in case she needed to tap into it.

  There. Skylar slowed her pace, her vision sharper as a phoenix than it had ever been as a human. She searched the area below her for some kind of structure or indication of where the two were hiding.

  Nothing was below them, aside from the open desert.

  Puzzled, she precariously inched closer to Luke, leery of letting one of his wings knock her off kilter, and nipped at his tail feathers.

  He spun in mid air, mouth open as if to spew fire at the griffin that dared touch the magnificent plume trailing him. When he saw her, he closed his mouth and hovered, waiting.

  Skylar looked down emphatically at the area below them.

  The griffins slowed when the cats below them began walking, and the milling creatures around her scared her for a moment. She feared any nudge or accidental brush of her wings that might send her toppling towards the ground. Easing away from the griffins, she awkwardly began drifting towards the ground. With some apprehension, she managed to land near the great cats.

  Luke alighted beside her, and Mason grumbled loudly before stopping in front of them.

  Not yet convinced she was in the right spot, Skylar paced on all fours to where she sensed the two then scratched at the ground beneath her.

  Her talons scraped metal, and she cringed at the sound of nails on chalkboard.

  There’s something beneath here. Skylar urged her body to change quickly and braced herself for the pain of transforming into a human once more. A moment later, she pulled on her clothing then dropped to her knees beside the spot, lasso in hand.

  “They’re here,” she said.

  A glance at the sky revealed the griffins still swarming around. They didn’t seem alarmed she was there and kept their distance, making her pause.

  What were they up to? Why weren’t they attacking their boss’s number one enemy?

  Unless Dillon wants me to find him.

  Skylar leaned back and assessed the area around her. Whatever facility was beneath the desert sand, it was well hidden. There was no doubt that Freyja and Dillon
were both beneath her feet and no doubt she had no idea how to get to where they were.

  “Hey, Mason,” she called and waved the great cat over.

  She stood, wanting to ask if he knew of this hiding place from having worked with the two before. Trotting towards him, she felt the ground lurch beneath her.

  Skylar landed on her knees and looked down, startled. The glimmer of metal was dim in the indirect rays of light from the setting sun, but the shift in the ground was enough to show her the extent of the structure she stood on. It was a good twenty meters by twenty meters.

  Climbing to her feet, she took a step to test the ground beneath her. Assured it was safe once more, she started forward.

  Mason’s roar warned her a second too late.

  The earth beneath her gave out, and Skylar fell.

  Shift! Was it her mind or someone yelling at her? Her instincts were too scattered for her to choose any one shifter’s signature to transform into, and she tumbled helplessly into the darkness, unable to gauge how far away the ground was or what waited for her.

  The lasso flew free, topping with her into the darkness. She hit the ground a second later and heard the sickening snap of her leg.

  Skylar groaned. Lights exploded in her mind, along with a flare of hot pain that streaked up her shin into the rest of her.

  Fuck that hurt! She lay still for a moment, breathless from the impact and sensations in her right leg. It was broken, which made her plan of facing Dillon a little trickier than she expected.

  The sound of padded feet hitting shale a few feet away told her she hadn’t been the only one to fall. She sensed Mason padding towards her. His warm breath tickled her neck a moment before his soft muzzle nudged her.

  “I’m … okay,” she said, pushing his massive head away. Mostly.

  He gripped her by her collar and hauled her up. Skylar elevated her right leg to prevent any part of it from touching the ground, hissing at the pain caused by the movement. She flung an arm over his back and rested her weight on him, fighting back the sensation that she was going to pass out or throw up.

  “Shit. Dropped the lasso,” she muttered. Unable to see in the dark, she had no way of finding it. “Where are we?” A glance upward revealed the dying light from the way they’d fallen. It was a good ten meters high, and her voice echoed around them. The darkness smelled wet while the sound of a gurgling stream came from nearby. The ground beneath her had been rocky, natural terrain.

  Not a compound, she realized, taking in the dark world. Cavern.

  Southern Arizona was littered with hidden caverns and sunken rivers. As her eyes adjusted, she became aware of the faint glow of fluorescent rocks lining distant cave walls.

  The sound of metal grating on rock came from above. Skylar watched with concern as the skylight to the rest of the world closed slowly, sealing her in the darkness.

  Her phone vibrated, and she pulled it free, relieved to see a note from Chace.

  Don’t do anything crazy. I’m on my way. She read it silently then smiled. “Too late, dragon.” Tucking the phone away, she shivered in the damp chill of the underground cave. Mason was warm and solid beside her.

  She looked around to distract herself then tested her shifter radar to find Freyja and Dillon.

  “They’re here, Mason,” she whispered. Her senses told her nothing more, aside from the fact she was practically on top of Dillon and within meters of Freyja. She could pick up both of their shifter signatures, a sign of how close they really were.

  Yet she didn’t see or hear anyone.

  Mason growled, and she guessed he was able to identify what her human senses couldn’t. Skylar took a deep breath. She’d ventured this far to fix the issue of them hurting shifters once and for all. She wasn’t going to back down now, and she judged she had a short time before her leg put her into shock.

  “Dillon, Freyja, I came to talk,” she called firmly. “We need to settle this once and for all.”

  With the exception of Mason’s growling, she heard no other shifter.

  “I don’t want any other shifters or humans getting hurt,” Skylar said. “I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement.”

  “Agreement.” It was Dillon’s voice, closer than she expected. “The way I see it, you’re in our backyard. You’re hurt and ten meters below ground, without your dragon. What motivation do I have to negotiate with you?”

  Good point. “Can I ask you something, Dillon? As an old friend?” she returned, mind working quickly on how to counter his challenge.

  He was silent.

  “If I had my dragon with me and an army of shifters at my back, would you be willing to negotiate then?”

  “No.”

  She shouldn’t feel bad knowing Chace was right about him, but she did. Maybe it was her desire to preserve as much life as possible, or maybe it was the last remnants of the relationship she’d once had with Dillon. But no part of her wanted to kill him, even if that was what was best for the shifter community as a whole.

  “Well,” she said, taking a deep breath. “I figure you all have wanted something from me since the beginning. I’ll trade you whatever that is for the safety of the shifters.”

  Another long quiet, then Freyja spoke.

  “Smart,” she said. Her voice came from the opposite direction of Dillon’s. “What makes you think we still want anything from you?”

  “I’m not dead,” Skylar said simply. She tested the shifter magic again to determine who was closer. “Dillon may not be interested, but you’re a whole lot smarter than him, Freyja. What do you think of my deal?”

  “I think it’s worth a listen,” the dragon shifter stated. “Though I have no real need to negotiate, either. Chace is buried under a mountain, which means it’s just Mason between you and me. Not much of a challenge, is it?”

  “People love to tell me they’ve gotten rid of my dragon,” Skylar said in some amusement. While she wasn’t able to sense him, she knew he wasn’t dead after the text. “Never seems to work that way. But, if you want me in exchange for keeping all the other shifters safe, I’m happy to talk to you.”

  “No deal,” Dillon spat. “We’ll take what we want from you! There’s nothing you can do to stop us, Skylar.”

  “Now, Dillon, let her talk.” Freyja sounded closer.

  Skylar squinted but wasn’t able to make out anything in the utter darkness of the cave. They were too far for the faint glimmer of fluorescent rocks to be of use, and her senses were too dulled to help her.

  “You’d walk away with me right now? Do whatever I tell you?” Freyja continued.

  Mason snapped at her.

  Skylar strained to hear the movement of the shifters stalking them before finally giving up. She needed to be a dragon or lion to know where they were.

  “It’s not part of the plan,” Dillon snapped. “We don’t need her to come voluntarily. We just need her chained to a wall somewhere.”

  “For what purpose?” Skylar ventured.

  “Locating the shifters. Controlling them in a way only you can. I don’t know what your gift is, but we’ll figure it out fast,” Freyja replied. “Dillon, our goal has always been to help the shifter community retain a strong, deserving leader. We might get what we want in every way this way.”

  “Strong leader,” Skylar repeated. “You or Dillon?”

  “Me, of course.”

  Dillon snorted.

  “Dillon is bigger, stronger physically,” Skylar mused. “And the dragons won’t follow you, Freyja, once they realize you turned on them.”

  “Dragons will fall in line behind the strongest of their kind, like griffins. It’s how it’s always worked,” Freyja said dismissively. “Dillon doesn’t have the mental capacity to lead.”

  “I don’t?” Dillon snarled. “Who manipulated everything while you were in hibernation? I delivered Sky and the others on a silver platter!”

  “And killed off a bunch of shifters to renew the dragon-griffin divide in the comm
unity,” Skylar added. “Then again, Freyja hasn’t exactly inspired anyone to follow her either by selling out everyone who has ever done business with her. Does that bother you, Dillon? Or do you think you’re safe from being sold out?”

  Silence.

  Mason nudged her, as if to hush her. He was probably right. Provoking both her enemies at once, when she had a game leg and minimal backup, was probably not the smartest strategy.

  Or was she talking so much because she’d started to slide into shock?

  “You never did tell me what happened to my mother,” she voiced. “I think I deserve to know that much, after all you’ve both done to fuck with my life.”

  “Dead,” Freyja said flatly. “Now, onto business.”

  Skylar’s heart sank. She knew as much, but hearing the confirmation from the person who probably had a hand in her mother’s death made it somehow more final. She was having trouble focusing at the moment. The pain in her leg had gone from fiery to numb and she shivered, uncertain if she was hot or cold.

  Shit. She needed to do something quickly to get medical treatment or at least, to get out of this horrible darkness, where she was at their mercy.

  She tested the magic again. Freyja was speaking, but Skylar struggled to focus on her words. There was a chance she could escape by flying upwards towards the top of the cavern, where she’d fallen through. Or maybe even defend herself. She could set something on fire to see what was going on …

  Shaking her head, Skylar forced her attention back where it belonged.

  “… your deal,” Freyja was saying.

  “Could you repeat that?” Skylar asked.

  There was a sigh. “I said, I’m willing to consider your deal, if you’re serious about it.”

  “You won’t let Dillon hurt any other shifters?” Skylar asked. “And you’ll let Mason go?”

  “I won’t let Dillon hurt anyone else, including Mason.”