“Let her go, Kam. We need her.” I had the pistol aimed at his forehead.
Kam glared at me through narrowed eyes.
“I don’t take orders from you, Jevyn.” He stretched an arm around the woman’s neck. I could hear her gasping for breath against the grip he had on her.
“I’m not ordering you, Kam. I’m asking you to let her go.”
“And if I don’t?”
“I’ll put you down, Kam. But I don’t want to do that.”
“You ever fired one of those things before?”
“No, but there’s always a first time, and don’t think for a moment that I won’t.”
He glared at me for a few seconds. Then, just as quickly as he had grabbed her, he let the woman go. She dropped to the floor, groaning and gasping for breath.
Kam didn’t move, and I could see the gun shaking in my fist.
“Next time you point one of those things at somebody?”
“Uh huh,” I said, trying to control the shakes.
“Make sure you release the safety catch.” He reached out a thick hand and flicked the switch on the side of the gun case. “Otherwise, you might get hurt.” The threat was clear, but I wasn’t daunted too much. He’d let go of the woman, knowing I couldn’t hurt him. Maybe there was hope for Kam yet.
“Grab her and let’s get the hell away from here,” I said.
Kam leaned down and flipped the woman up and over his shoulder in one rapid movement, which brought another scream when Kam clamped his arm over her ass to stop her from falling.
I didn’t have time to tell her to shut up or point out the niceties of social etiquette to Kam, so I just yelled “Run!” at the top of my voice as the rumbling got louder and started to shake the ground.
We had reached the perimeter fence when the place blew.
***
Katie
THE LAST OF the freed dragons had just been loaded in the back of the minibus when the lid blew off the building.
I turned to see the whole building collapsing in upon itself as the top two floors sank into the bottom three.
I had no idea how many, if any, people were left in there, but it didn’t look like it might be many. I dashed around behind one of the parked trucks to get out of the blast and its aftermaths, feeling the air lurch around me as the building self-destructed.
It took a while for the noise of falling debris rattling down to the ground and onto the vehicles parked around to finally end, which was when I peeked around the side of the truck to see what had happened.
It was a hellish scene. Metal and wood beams jutted into the night sky at peculiar angles from the top of a mound of burning debris that looked like a huge bonfire had been set that would likely burn for days.
The rest of us slowly gathered around the minibus.
“How are we all going to get back?” Penny asked as she supported a wavering but mobile Marty. “The minibus is full already.”
“There’s room for two more,” Sparks yelled.
I looked around. Most of the group were fine—sooty and dirty, but physically fine.
“Nova. You drive the bus back to camp. Take Penny and Marty so he can get some treatment, and then come back for the rest of us,” I said as I scoured the faces for Jevyn.
“You got it!” Nova yelled, and I watched as he helped Marty into the back and then started up and sped the bus off into the night.
I turned back to the crew, searching faces again. “Did anyone see Jevyn?”
“Kam’s missing too,” Nindock said.
I wasn’t too worried about Kam, if I was honest. He was big enough and ugly enough to look out for himself.
“Did anyone see where Jevyn went?”
“I think he must have opened those doors. It’s a good job he did, or we would all have been in there,” Frankie said, thumbing over his shoulder at the burning mess behind him.
“Yes, but where is he now?” I asked, feeling the prickle of impending tears at the back of my eyes.
“I don’t know,” Nindock said. “But I hope he’s safe.”
I looked at Nindock. He and Jevyn had been at odds for so long, and the gentleness of his reply took me a bit by surprise. “I mean he’s a colossal pain is the ass, but I wouldn’t want anything to have happened to him. For your sake more than mine.” He laid a hand on my shoulder, and I put mine over his by way of thanks because I was too choked up to actually speak.
“Why are we all hanging around here? Where’s the bus?” A voice I recognized came from behind me, and my heart sank. Kam walked out from behind one of the parked trucks. He had his hand on the backside of a woman I’d never seen before who was struggling to get off his shoulder. His face was a picture of great amusement.
“Who’s the lady friend?” Frankie asked in his laconic tone. Nothing ever seemed to perturb Frankie.
“He’s no bloody friend of mine. Would you tell him to let me go and get his hand off my ass?”
“Kam,” Nindock said. “Please put the lady down.”
Kam looked at Nindock for a moment and then hoisted the poor woman down, gently lowering her to her feet. She stumbled a little and then backed away as quickly as she could.”
“That maniac broke my shoulder,” she yelled, hysteria seeming to take over from the indignation she had demonstrated a few seconds before.
“Let me take a look,” Sparks said, stepping over and holding out a hand toward the woman.
She stepped back nervously, her eyes shifting from person to person.
“Just trying to help you,” Sparks said. “That’s all. I’m Sparks. What’s your name?”
The woman looked around nervously again. “Carol. I need to go home and be with my daughter.”
“We can arrange something,” I said half-heartedly. I had no ax to grind with this woman.
“We can’t.”
“Jevyn?” I almost squealed as I recognized his voice immediately.
Jevyn stepped around the lorry. His face was filthy with dirt from the fire and explosion, and he was carrying what looked like a base unit of a computer. Back lit by the fire and pulled up to his full height, I thought he looked magnificent.
I wanted to run over and hug him.
So, I did, even though his hands were full, and the computer dug into my ribs. I was so glad to see him, and my heart was absolutely racing as I finally pulled away.
“You’re okay?” I asked as I took a step back to look him over.
“I’m fine. You?”
“Fine. What did you mean we can’t take Carol to her baby?”
Jevyn looked around at everyone, checking faces.
“Because she has the cure to the virus, and it’s in here.” He tapped the computer at his chest.
For a moment, everyone was quiet. Then, almost like it was choreographed, everyone started asking questions at once.
Chapter Twenty-two
Kam
Chemosys Complex
Boise, Idaho
“NO. WE TAKE her with us. SCAR or some kind of authorities are bound to be here soon. Once we get back to Nindock’s place, we’ll work out how we get her daughter to us, not the other way around. She’s the key to getting rid of this virus and setting everyone free,” Jevyn said.
I don’t really get why he was so determined to help those creatures, but I had to admire his determination to not cave in under pressure.
If they didn’t sort themselves out soon, I’d just sling her over my shoulder and take her myself.
“Okay, okay. I understand what you’re saying, but is your daughter being looked after, Carol?” Katie asked.
Carol nodded. “She’s with my mom.”
“So, she’s safe for now?” Jevyn asked.
“Well, yes, but—”
“No buts. You and what is on this computer are coming with us.”
Carol stood fuming, holding her shoulder where I’d grabbed it. It was a nice shoulder. Crushable. She really didn’t have much choice.
“So, how do we get back?” Nindock asked. “None of these trucks will be working.” In the near distance, a small parking lot was full of cars. “Maybe we could—” As he spoke, three cars suddenly exploded, lifting and spinning in the air. “Okay, maybe not.”
Sirens sounded in the background.
“Why don’t you fly them home?” I suggested.
Everybody turned to look at me for some reason. It seemed perfectly logical to me.
“What?” Sparks said, poking her glasses back up her nose.
“Huh?” Frankie said, sitting on the bulging fender of the nearest truck.
“That would work,” Nindock said.
“It would,” Katie said.
“What?” Sparks said, poking her glasses back up her nose again, wide-eyed this time.
“Huh?” Frankie said.
“Four people, four dragons,” Rinfell said quietly, standing behind Nindock.
I shook my head. “I’m staying.”
“Why?” I didn’t see who said it, but there were at least three people’s voices.
“Unfinished business,” I said, pointing at the glow of flashing lights approaching.
“Kam, you don’t need to,” Jevyn said.
I was starting to get pissed that they were taking so long to go and that the sirens were taking so long to arrive.
“I do,” I said angrily.
Jevyn held up his hands defensively. “Okay, okay. Well, I can take two if someone carries the computer. We all game?”
A minute later, Jevyn, Nindock, and Rinfell had changed and were loaded up. Jevyn had Katie and a panicky Carol on his back. Nindock had Sparks, who was holding onto the computer and Nindock’s neck equally tightly, and Rinfell was carrying Frankie. He wasn’t holding on at all. I liked Frankie. He was quiet and cool, but I could see in the way he carried himself that he was a tough sonofabitch.
“Go!” I yelled as the first couple of sirens turned into the access road. “I’ll see you back at Nindock’s when I’m done here.”
Jevyn turned to me and blinked his golden dragon eyes. “Be careful.” Then, with a sharp-toothed grin, he added, “And have fun.”
I nodded and returned the grin. “Fun’s my middle name, buddy.”
With the beating of wings and Carol’s screams, they were gone.
I turned around just as the first vehicles rolled to a halt.
“Busy night,” I said to myself.
Then I ran straight at them.
Chapter Twenty-three
Katie
Riding on Jevyn’s back over the Chemosys complex
Boise, Idaho, Earth
THE AIR WAS unbearably hot above the wreckage of the facility, and Carol’s hair kept flicking me in the face as we headed upward, circling around the fire and then leveling out to head off to Nindock’s place. I could see Nindock and Rinfell ahead when I looked around Carol’s back. Sparks was holding tight while Frankie had his hands up, whooping like he was on a rollercoaster at a fair.
After a couple of minutes, we caught up with the minibus, and much to Carol’s apparent screaming displeasure, Jevyn swooped down almost to the ground so Nova could see we were all okay. He stuck a thumb up to indicate his understanding that he no longer needed to go back for us.
We would be back safe at Nindock’s in just a few minutes. It had been quite a night, and the end result was probably a tad more dramatic than I had expected, but I still felt good. We’d rescued the dragons, destroyed the complex, come out of it with just a wounded Marty, and as an added bonus found us a possible route to a cure.
“Busy night,” I said quietly to myself.
“Huh?” Carol said.
“Nothing. Just hold tight and enjoy the ride,” I said.
A slow grin began to spread over my face as I let the exhilaration of flight rush through me. We’d survived. I was with Jevyn. And with Carol’s help, we might be able to bring an end to so much suffering.
I let hope fill me as we winged through the air.
~ ~ ~
Look for Drinking Destiny,
the next book in
the Vampire’s Elixir Series by Pippa Amberwine and Jayne Faith!
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~ ~ ~
Books by Pippa Amberwine
Vampire’s Elixir Series
urban fantasy
Chasing Legends
Riding Rifts
Drinking Destiny
Books by Jayne Faith
Ella Grey Series
urban fantasy
Stone Cold Magic
Dark Harvest Magic
Demon Born Magic
Blood Storm Magic
Stone Blood Series
urban fantasy
Blood of Stone
Stone Blood Legacy
Rise of the Stone Court
Reign of the Stone Queen
War of the Fae Gods
Sapient Salvation Series
dystopian sci-fi romance
The Selection
The Awakening
The Divining
The Claiming
Riding Rifts (Vampire's Elixir Series Book 2) Page 20