Breathing Fire (Heretic Daughters)

by Rebecca K. Lilley

  She was right. Anything was better than having them right on our ass.

  I was feeling marginally safer as we made it a good twenty miles farther out of town, unmolested by any further pursuit.

  A sick feeling entered my stomach as a huge shadow fell over the car. It was a stiflingly hot and sunny Vegas day, without a cloud in sight. And then I sensed it’s presence. I could even smell it. The old, familiar, stench of dementia that tainted my family. The shadow got bigger and bigger as the dragon lowered over us ominously.

  “Fuck. Is that what I think it is?” Sloan asked. I would have had to stick my head out the window to see it. I did not want to do that. Seeing it would only make the panicky feeling more acute.

  “Yes. Just keep driving, fast.”

  “Dom is gonna kill me if I let you get killed,” Sloan muttered.

  I snorted. “If either of us survives this, it is Cam that will be killing me.”

  She grimaced. “Overbearing son of a bitch.”

  We barely made it into the unpopulated part of the desert before a huge weight crushed the front of the car. The back end of our car shot straight up in the air, and we were rolling.

  We all just lay there, stunned, when the car stopped rolling. It was turned wheels up. My chest hurt where the seatbelt had abused it. Lynn was lying below me, unmoving, so I knew she’d felt the collision even worse. I looked over at Sloan, and she met my eyes calmly. Damn, I thought, yet again, but she was a good fighter to have at your back.

  As though we had choreographed it, Sloan and I released our seat belts, dropping to the ground.

  I dragged Lynn’s still form with me out of the burning car. Sloan rolled out of the shattered back window like she did it ever day, casually brushing off her dusty black clothes.

  I looked around frantically, but saw no sign of the dragon, no sign of any of them. Lynn began to stir as I took off running, Sloan close on my heels. “What’s happening? I can’t see.”

  I glanced down at her bloody eyes, and cursed. That’s when I felt them behind me. “They’re catching us, Lynn. We’re going to have to fight them.”

  She was still dazed as I set her on her feet. “I can’t see anything.” Her voice was weak. She wouldn’t be much help in a fight in this shape.

  “Don’t let them take you without a fight.” I turned, saw them, and cursed again. “There are seven of them.” I hesitated. “Three are Chinese. One of those is Drake. And one of the Scandinavian ones is in dragon form. He’s a pale blue dragon. I’ve no idea who it is.” I put a gun in her hands. She was badly wounded, and we were badly outnumbered. “Give em hell, sister,” I told her, cocking the weapon and pointing it.

  The men were naturally fanned out as they approached us, as though they planned to flank us. The dragon stalked behind them, a slight distance back, it’s wings outstretched. It was colossal in size, far larger than Villi had been. But then again, I didn’t suppose this dragon had been beaten with a god’s lightning hammer before it shifted.

  I shot Sloan a look. She was a silent presence beside and just behind me. “You should run.” I pointed toward the highway, out of sight now. “They might not chase you. It’s us they want.”

  She just curled her lip. “Fuck that. I have never run from a fight. Dragon-kin don’t scare me.”

  I sighed, selfishly relieved. She was such a reassuring presence at my back. And now it was almost certainly going to get her killed. But I knew better than to waste time arguing with someone as immovable as Sloan at a time like this.

  I turned my attention back to the task at hand.

  Seeing the Chinese there had surprised me enough that at first I didn’t see our brother, Sven, among the three viking draak. Of all the people they could have sent after us, he seemed the unlikeliest choice. He was flanked by two of our nastier cousins. Those two I had expected, but seeing Sven felt like yet another betrayal.

  Sven was a strong telepath, the only dragon-kin that I knew of with that particular skill. He was not much older than I, born sometime between Lynn and I. Growing up, he’d always been a kind brother, a stark contrast to the treatment I received from the other men of the clan. He was the only one, besides my be-spelled mother, who I had regretted leaving behind. And he had even helped us escape, in his own way.

  He had known our plans. I’d seen it in his eyes, the night we planned to leave. He had picked them cleanly from my mind. I had been trembling in terror that he would be our undoing as I gazed at him across the long trestle table where the family was sharing the nightly feast.

  The feasting hall had been as loud and boisterous as always, with both laughter and casual violence. If one of the human serving girls committed the grave offense of dropping a tankard or tray, she was almost certainly raped and beaten. If the offended party was in a particularly foul mood, one of the always present axes or swords the men carried would thoughtlessly hack her to pieces. It would usually draw a round of laughter from the bloodthirsty men.

  But Sven’s look at that dinner so long ago had been quiet and intense. It had confused me enough to abate my terror through that never-ending feast. When I’d been excused from the table, I had walked quickly from the hall. Sven had caught up to me as I left the hall. Silently, he had hugged me, and given me a soft kiss on the forehead. He was much taller than I at the time, though still not fully grown. He’d had to bend down far to whisper in my ear, “Be careful, little sister. Godspeed,” and walked away.

  I had treasured that memory over the years. Whenever I had felt betrayed, as I had many times, I’d thought back to Sven and thought, See, there is someone out there who loves me and wishes me well. It had hovered in my consciousness like some kind of beacon of hope, when there was little. Now, it only made this latest betrayal all the more acute. This was the bitter pill of immortality. Living long enough to see every happy memory you’ve ever had turn to ashes.

  He gave me a tentative smile when our eyes met. I glared back. “What are you doing here, brother?” I asked him bluntly.

  He raised his hands, palm up, saying, “They thought I was the one most likely to get you to come with us peaceably. Any chance of that?”

  “Any chance you’re all gonna turn around and leave us alone?”

  He shook his head, that kind smile still on his face. “Afraid not, little sister. But we have no wish to harm you. And you have to see that fighting us at this point is futile.”

  “Come a little closer and say that to me,” I told him, drawing the axe, and bringing it to front of my body in a defensive stance.

  “You would raise a weapon against me, sister?” he asked sadly, his irises so pale, and his pupils so small, that his eyes looked almost completely white.

  Before I could answer, a gunshot went off from behind me. It didn’t hit anyone, but it wasn’t a bad shot for someone who couldn’t see a thing. “Does that answer your question, brother?” Lynn called out unsteadily. “If you were wondering, I was aiming at you.” I smiled in spite of myself.

  “Just tell her,” a cousin said quietly to Sven. “It’s obvious she doesn’t know. If she knew, she’d be much less hesitant to hurt herself.”

  “Shut your mouth,” Sven told him, in the most murderous tone I’d ever heard come out of my kindest brother’s mouth. “If she knew, she’d fight us twice as hard, you imbecile.”

  “I can hear everything you’re saying, you knuckleheads. What are you talking about?”

  Sven met my eyes, his panicked now. “Please, dear sister. Please just come with us. Don’t get yourself harmed more than necessary.”

  “Why are you helping them take us in? If you don’t want me harmed, then just walk away. The elders have gone insane. I know you know that. Villi was demented-”

  His mouth tightened as he interrupted. “Was?”

  I smiled, savoring the moment. “Oh, did I ruin the surprise? We took his head and heart not long ago. And left him to the tender mercy of a slayer.” Sven shut his eyes at the revelation. The rest of them just s
tared at me, shocked.

  “And the hammer? What have you done with the hammer?” Sven asked.

  I shrugged. “I musta lost it. Oh well.”

  Sven sighed heavily. “That was very unwise.”

  “Why are the Chinese dragons here? What do they have to do with this?” I asked him.

  He sent them a quick look. “We’ve…temporarily allied ourselves with them. They helped us to find you.” Lynn started cursing at them, aiming her gun wildly. They looked more comfortable than they should have, with a blind woman pointing a gun at them. Bullets still hurt like hell, even if they couldn’t kill us.

  I sent Drake a scathing look. He met me with a blank stare. I mouthed a few choice words at him. Still no reaction.

  One of the men with Drake spoke to him in chinese. He just nodded, starting towards Lynn. I stepped up beside her, smoothly sheathing my axe as I moved. “I’m going to try something. Don’t shoot me, k?” I said in a whisper. I started moving before she could answer, picking her up, and running. I grabbed a silent Sloan by the hand as I passed. I closed my eyes, concentrating hard. I never would have tried it on purpose if it hadn’t happened by accident just a day before. Still, I was shocked when it worked a second time. I hovered above the earth with little more than a thought. Transforming was usually a long and arduous process, but apparently I’d found a loophole. My wings of flame beat up torrents of wind as I fought hard to lift far off the ground. The extra weight of two bodies didn’t help.

  It didn’t last long, of course. I’d had little hope that it would, but I couldn’t help trying.

  The arm holding Sloan started shaking first. My heart skipped a beat when I looked down and saw several fist width poles impaling her chest. She was just staring at them, dazed. My whole body started to shake, dropping slowly to the ground, against my will.

  “Drop me, Jillian. I can fend for myself down there. It’s you they want. I’ll hold them back to give you a lead.”

  I sent her an incredulous glance. “Fuck that,” I said, quoting her own favorite phrase back at her. Sloan’s death on my conscience hurt my heart to even think about. I only made it about fifty more feet, however, before the choice was taken from me. The world went black as I felt myself dropping back to earth.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  I Still Think You're A Bastard

  SLOAN

  I woke up with my chest on fire, and the certainty that I was done for. I was lying on my back, every part of my body paralyzed except for my left arm. Agonizingly, I fished around for my cell. I was vaguely surprised when I actually found it. They must have assumed I was dead to have left me a life line. I punched in a number instinctively, before clearly thinking about it. But as I struggled to lift the phone to my ear, I knew there was no one else I would have made my last call to. I barely got the phone to my ear as a gravelly voice barked at the other end. “What’s up, Sugar?” Cam’s voice was curt. “To what do I owe the honor of this call?”

  My first attempts to speak came out as gasps. I was assuming this was due to the gaping holes in my chest. Druids could survive just about anything save a beheading, but being stabbed in the chest repeatedly with an object bigger than a fist could do it, too, if the heart was pierced. I knew by the blood pounding out of me that mine was. “Cam,” I gasped out.

  His tone altered drastically. “Sloan, what’s wrong?” All of the normal antagonism was gone from his voice, replaced by something akin to panic. We’d known each other for most of our long lives, and I’d never heard his voice like that. “Tell me where you are. I’m coming to get you.”

  “It’s too late for me, Cam,” I finally got out. “But you need to get a message to Dom for me. I don’t have another call in me.”

  “Shut the fuck up with that. Tell me where you are.”

  “Tell him that the Chinese dragons took Lynn, and the viking dragons took Jillian. They were both in bad shape when I got taken out. Call him right away please, but talk him out of doing anything crazy. If you can.”

  “Tell. Me. Where. You. Are.”

  “It’s no good, Cam. They filled my chest with holes the size of my fist. My heart’s spilling out of my shirt. It’s a mortal wound. This is the part where you get to tell me it’s my half-blood weakness that did me in.”

  He cursed fluently on his end. “I’m going to wring your neck just as soon as I find you. I have someone working on tracking you by your cell, but for the love of god, give me some kind of direction!”

  “Shit, I don’t know. We took a dirt road off the 215 somewhere west of town. We went off road after that. The tracks should be pretty clear from there. I think I can make out the ruined car in the distance. It’s north and west of me. They tore it to pieces.”

  “I’m on my way. I’ll call Dom now. Keep your phone in your hand, and don’t black out.” He ordered.

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “Just hang in there, Sloan. Just think of the shit you can give me if you survive. It’ll be even better than that time you wiped the floor Siobhan.”

  I grunted into the phone. “Thanks for reminding me. What a nice memory to think back on in my last moments. In case I don’t get another chance to tell you, I still think you’re a bastard.”

  He barked out a laugh. “I know I am, sweetheart. You can tell me that every day for the rest of our lives. Just don’t die.” If I hadn’t known better, I would have sworn that his voice was thick with tears.

  “Cam-” I felt the world going hazy. “I always wanted to tell you that-”

  “You can tell me when I get there, sweetheart.”

  “I won’t make it that long. I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry, Cam. I’m sorry for everything. And don’t ever call me sweetheart.”

  “Baby, cut it out with the apologies. I’ll be there in ten minutes, and I know you’ll regret apologizing to me as soon as you’re better. I’m not above gloating at an injured woman.” Strangely, I still heard those thick tears in his voice. I was really losing it.

  “I have so many-” the world went hazy, but I gripped onto consciousness to finish, “regrets. Goodbye, Cam.”

  His gravelly voice raised to a panicked shout on the other end of the line as the world went black.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  Infamous

  I came to, fully aware that I’d been captured. I was surprised, however, to find that I was not alone, though Sloan and my sister were conspicuously absent.

  Two pairs of eyes tracked me warily as I sat up inside of a small cage. The cage was positioned in a line of similar enclosures, set behind a huge dark red curtain, and hung so far off of the ground that I had no concept of how high I actually was. Only two of the other strange human birdcages were occupied. My gut twisted when I saw that the other prisoners were two very young teenage girls.

  The girls clutched hands tightly across the space that separated their cages. They were opposites in looks, but obviously had some close relationship, and were of a close age, perhaps twelve or thirteen years old. It was obvious to me at a glance that neither was human, though I had no clue what they actually were.

  The bolder of the two spoke first. She had red and gold hair colored like no hair I’d seen before. It looked more like trails of crimson and gold flame than actual hair, and tumbled down just past her shoulders. Her bright golden eyes were piercing and accusatory. “You-you’re one of them! Don’t try to deny it! We heard them talking about you when they thought we were asleep. If you’re here to try to trick us, you can just forget it!” Her young voice was defiant, but held an obvious tremor.

  The other girl, a pale contrast to the girl beside her, made a soothing noise. “Don’t get worked up, Nix. It wouldn’t be good for either of us. Whatever their latest trick is, we won’t let it affect us. Remember, we resolved not to let them feed off of our rage and terror any longer.” The girl spoke in a voice that could break any heart, the despair soft but prevalent, despite her bolstering speech. As she finished speaking, she raise
d watery eyes to mine. They were startling and lavender, and every bit as heartbreaking as her soft voice. Her hair was white and looked soft like feathers. It hung almost to her waist. Her skin was palest alabaster and, combined with her white hair, seemed to create a white glow in the darkness around her.

  Both girls wore thin white slips that didn’t cover nearly enough. “How long have you two been held here?” I asked as my mind began, with dread, to connect the dots of their situation.

  “Why would we tell one of you anything?” the one called Nix spit out.

  “Well, if I was working with them, which I’m not, I would already know the answer to that. So you have nothing to lose by telling me,” I said reasonably.

  “Long enough,” Nix said.

  “Too long,” the pale one stated.

  “Care to elaborate?” I raised a brow at them until they spoke again.

  “Months,” the pale one said.

  Nix followed with. “Weeks for me.”

  I clenched my eyes shut, rubbing my throbbing temples. “So the red one is Nix. What’s your name, white one?”

  “Leona,” the heart-achingly soft voice answered me.

  “Well, Leona, Nix, to answer your statement, yes, I am one of them. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I hate them as much as you do-”

  “Impossible.” Leona’s soft voice surprised me with it’s vehemence.

  “And I’ll help you in any way that I can,” I continued. “Oh, and I have some help on it’s way.”

  “You look terrible,” Nix said softly. “I doubt you could even help yourself.”

  I couldn’t really argue with that. I felt like crap, too, dirty and bloody and weary to the bone. And oh yeah, like my skin was about to burst, my other form was so close to the surface. It was an alarming development, to say the least.

  “What are you two? You’re obviously not related to each other, and of course you aren’t human.”

  They looked at each other, trying to decide without speaking what to tell me.