Oracle (Dragon Oracle Book 1)

by Jada Fisher

  He laughed at that, shaking his head at me like I was hilarious. “You have some strange ideas in that head of yours. Now, I would be incredibly grateful if you informed me of any visions you might have of our opposing faction, but you can always walk out the door and never speak to me again. Whichever is your prerogative.”

  “I…I think I can do that. I don’t really control the visions, or what they show me.”

  “Perfect! May I see your phone? I’ll put my number in.”

  “You have a cell phone?” I asked, somewhat surprised.

  “Yeah, how else did you think you would get in contact with me?”

  “Um, I dunno. A scrying mirror? Throw a crystal in a pool of rainwater at midnight?”

  He laughed again. “You really do have some interesting ideas ruminating up there. Believe it or not, we’ve adapted to utilize cell towers just as efficiently as you humans.”

  I handed him my phone and watched as he effortlessly punched his number in. That was another thing that was gentlemanly of him. He could have asked for my number so he could text me whenever the hell he wanted, but he was putting the power in my hands. It would be my choice to reach out to him.

  He gave me back my phone and smiled brilliantly at me. “Now that we’re all fed, perhaps you’d like the full tour?”

  “Uh…” Part of me was tempted. As bizarre as it was, I liked spending time with the eccentric man who had just turned my world upside-down. But I also needed to think about everything that he told me, figure out what it meant for both me and Mickey. “That sounds fun, but I really should go check on my sister.”

  His expression faltered only slightly, but he recovered quickly and beamed at me. “Of course. I absolutely understand. If I may, I’ll walk you to the door and see you on your way.”

  He offered his arm and I stared at it a moment before hesitantly linking my arm through his. I was about as awkward as you could imagine, but he didn’t seem to mind at all. He kept talking the entire walk to the door, thanking me again for coming and apologizing for how we met. By the time I made it to the front door, I began to wonder how long the man could go without breathing.

  “Here you are,” he said, opening the exit for me. “I do hope to see you again, Miss Davie.”

  “We’ll see what happens,” I answered without committing before booking it out the door and down the drive. This time, the security guard didn’t give me a hassle on exiting and I couldn’t have been more relieved.

  I headed home, my head full of thoughts. Naturally, my first hope was that my life could return to normal and I would never have to worry about any of the impossible stuff he told me ever again.

  But I knew that wasn’t likely to happen. I could sense it down into my very core that something had changed irrevocably in my life. It was like I had ripped the Band-Aid off and now it was never going back on again. As I looked around, I saw the world in a whole new light. One that was just as terrifying as it was intriguing.

  There was also the added revelation that my…hallucinations weren’t some form of mental illness. That I was somehow blessed with a power that had been thought to have entirely disappeared. All those years of medication, all those hours of therapy, a waste.

  But then again, they had made the terrible nightmares stop. Were those awful scenes a side effect of glancing into what a human shouldn’t know, or were they visions in and of themselves? I hoped not. They had been far too horrifying to ever survive.

  The hair stood on the back of my neck once more, stopping me in my tracks.

  I looked up, realizing that I had walked past the bus stop and was wandering down the hill that led up to the gated community. It certainly wasn’t a bad neighborhood, but there was no denying that a terrible feeling of dread was squeezing my stomach.

  I looked over my shoulder and while my eyes couldn’t see anything, my mind could. Shadows, lurking just beyond my peripheral vision. I couldn’t tell what they were, and yet I knew they were terribly dangerous.

  I started forward, speed-walking away from the threat, only to have those same shadows rise up in front of me like a wall.

  Fear lanced through me, and I froze once more. The wall of shadow combined with the forms behind me, and the next thing I knew, I was completely surrounded.

  8

  Hits the Fan

  For someone who could supposedly see the future, I had no idea what to do. I could only stare as the shadows slowly sank into the back of my mind to be replaced by men dressed in dark clothing.

  “What do you want?” I snapped, bringing my fists up. I was by no means of brawler, but Mallory had made me learn at least a couple of self-defense tactics, and my time on the wrestling team added to that. Though a “real” fight was another matter.

  “Easy now.” One stepped forward in front of me. He was tall, with golden hair and hazel eyes that shone mischievously at me. “We mean you no harm. We just want to talk.”

  “You need a group of you to talk?”

  He shrugged. “Can you blame us for taking precautions? When words get around of an oracle, some very unsavory folk can get involved.”

  I paled at that and my stomach dropped. “O-oracle?” They knew. I didn’t know how, since I had just found out myself, but they knew.

  “How about we save everyone some time and ditch the part where you deny what we already know, and you come with us. Someone very powerful would like to speak with you.”

  I tensed again. “Do I have any choice in this?”

  “Well, no. Not really.” His smile grew sharp and jagged. “So, let’s not make this complicated, okay, doll?”

  He took another step forward and I braced myself, throwing a punch with all of my might. My fist connected, and the man stumbled back. I took the opportunity to run, but the rest of the men closed in, grabbing for me.

  One managed to latch onto my sleeve. I shook off my jacket, still struggling forward, but another caught my hand.

  I reacted before I could think, sliding my hand out of my glove. It came free, and the man jumped back in shock.

  “Really?” I shot back, cradling my hand to me. “That’s what gets you to back off?”

  “You’ll have to forgive them,” the original man said, wiping the blood from under his nose as he recovered. “Dragon-kin don’t burn.” He stared down at my exposed hand and arm, taking in the hyper-pink, mottled skin and all of the gouges and wrinkles in the limb. “It’s not exactly a pretty sight.”

  I felt my temper flare. Not only did these men have the audacity to try to kidnap me in broad daylight, but now they were insulting me too. There was only so much a girl could take.

  I ran toward him, a stupid action in hindsight, and slammed my shoulder into his middle. He skidded a step or two, but what I didn’t expect was for him to bend forward and wrap his arms around my middle. The next thing I knew, I was being thrown over his head.

  I barely remembered to put both of my hands behind my head before I landed, and they hardly provided enough cushion as my skull slammed into the ground. I sat there a second, dazed and breathless, when I felt someone grab my wrists once more and try to haul me up.

  “Let go of me!” I screamed, kicking my legs wildly. But someone caught those too and pinned them down.

  No! I wasn’t some damsel in distress. I never had been and I never would be.

  I tensed, pulling inwards with all of my strength. I could feel whoever was holding me struggle to keep me bound, and I threw all of my weight to the side.

  Thankfully, my exertion had made me work up a bit of sweat, because my wrists popped out of the grip of whoever was holding me, leaving only my ankles still trapped.

  I sat up so fast that I head-butted the man still trying to pin my legs, and he fell back. I didn’t have time to celebrate my victory, however, as arms wrapped under my shoulders and hauled me back to my feet.

  I tried to whip back and buck out of the grip, but whoever was holding me had grown wise to my all-out resistance. Their grip unde
r my arms tightened, trying to pull back like a chicken wing, and then a cloth was pressed to my mouth.

  “Chloroform, really?” I yelled into the fabric.

  The little leader of the group just gave me a small smile. “Mugwort, actually. Don’t worry, we have an antidote.”

  “Antidote?” I blurted, but my head was already spinning and my stomach churned. I wretched once, then slid into total darkness. As the last of my thoughts rushed from me, I couldn’t help but wonder what I had gotten myself into.

  I was in a large room, almost like a palace. Stained glass and crystal were everywhere, making the whole scene sparkle like someone had put a soft-focus filter on my dreams and added about a thousand lens flares.

  I was moving, but gently. I blinked rapidly, trying to have the rest of the vision solidify so I could figure out what was going on. The details came in bit by bit. There was…music? Yeah, music. Soft, lilting, and magical. I focused on that, letting the sounds of the harp and other instruments that I couldn’t recognize flow over me.

  My hands were warm. Too warm, actually. Like someone was holding them.

  I looked to my extended arm to see that my white-gloved hand was indeed in another’s. My heart stopped for a moment, and when I turned my head, it was none other than Bron who materialized before me.

  Other people suddenly popped into existence around him, and I realized we were at some sort of ball. The young man was dressed like a prince from some sort of fantasy movie, his coat of velvet and his breeches so pure white that they were nearly blinding.

  “You look beautiful, you know,” he said, regarding me with that same sweet smile he had sported when we first met. I looked down, dreading what kind of ball gown monster dress I was in, only to see that I was wearing an outfit similar to his. Well, that was a pleasant surprise.

  I wanted to ask him where we were, what was happening, but that wasn’t how my visions worked. Instead, my mouth opened and spoke words on its own. “You’re just saying that so I don’t run out right now.”

  “Please, Miss Davie. When have you ever known me to lie?”

  My eyes rolled and I looked to the side, feeling a blush creep up my neck. “Well, I’ve never caught you in one.”

  He laughed, tilting his head back, and I could see the muscles of his neck as they moved. “Always suspicious, aren’t you?” he said once he was done.

  “It’s kept me alive thus far, hasn’t it?”

  “And I am eternally grateful for that.”

  The music stopped and I moved to step away, but his arm stayed firm around my waist. “Bron?” I asked, looking up into his emerald eyes.

  He had a strange expression on his face, one that almost seemed to go right through me. His head lowered toward mine, his fingers squeezing my waist protectively, and everything in the vision dissolved, until it was only the two of us.

  “May I?” he murmured when his mouth was only a breath away from mine.

  “I—”

  I sat up so hard that my stomach practically heaved out of my mouth. My head swirled violently, trying to figure out what was up and what was down and what the hell had just happened.

  My hand went to my mouth, tracing my lips where I could still feel the warmth of Bron’s breath. What was wrong with me!?

  Sure, he was pretty. And polite. And apparently the equivalent of dragon royalty, but that didn’t mean anything to me! As far as I was concerned, he was some eccentric rich boy that had hauled me into his family feud and gotten me kidnapped.

  That vision, though… It made me think about things. Things that I absolutely shouldn’t be thinking about. Things I didn’t have time for. Crushes, romance, and boyfriends were for normal people with normal lives. Not me.

  I groaned and tried to rub my hands, only to have my hands jerk to a stop behind my back. Suddenly, reality came rushing back and I remembered what had led up to my unexpected nap.

  Another tug of my hands revealed that they seemed to be handcuffed behind my back. That was discouraging.

  I looked around to see that I was in what looked like a basement, albeit one that hadn’t had a good sweeping in quite a while. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and I was sitting on a large piece of cardboard that looked like it might have once been a refrigerator box. I was alone, which I didn’t expect, and there was only a single ray of light streaming through a tiny window near the ceiling on the other side of the room.

  I took a couple of deep breaths and tried to remember all I knew about kidnapping situations. Not much, actually, beyond kicking out a tail light of a car if you were in a trunk and to never allow yourself to be moved. At least it still seemed to be the same day. I hadn’t been out for too long.

  My concentration was interrupted as a large bead of sweat dripped into my eye. I hissed a curse and flinched away. I was cold, so why was I sweating?

  My stomach rolled once more and it took everything in me not to lose the lunch that Bron had fed me. Right, the mugwort. They had mentioned an antidote, hadn’t they? As much as I didn’t want to give away that I was conscious, I was feeling sicker by the second.

  “Hey!” I called, my voice raspy. Goodness, I realized I was incredibly thirsty on top of everything. “Hey, I’m awake!”

  For a moment, nothing happened, and I was sure that they hadn’t heard me, but then the door creaked open.

  It was the same fellow who I had socked in the face. I was satisfied to see that his nose was still red, although all the blood was gone.

  “Rise and shine, princess,” he said, twirling a vial between his long, skinny fingers that I guessed housed the antidote he had mentioned. “Ready for you medicine?”

  “Are you going to taunt me or actually come down the stairs and give it to me?” I asked, venom lacing my words.

  “You’re the seer, why don’t you tell me?”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” I spat. “Besides, you seem to know more about it than I do.”

  He shook his head, swaggering down the stairs like it was some grand hideout and not some janky basement. “That’s right, they mentioned you were human-raised. Amazing. I have no idea how you survived, to be honest.”

  He had almost reached me when he stopped short. I struggled to my feet, despite the fact that my limbs were shaking and I felt like I was going to melt into a poisoned puddle at any moment.

  “What do you say?” he asked, smirking as he held up the vial.

  “Give me the antidote,” I said, affixing him with the hardest gaze I could.

  “That’s not very polite of you.”

  I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what kind of power trip the guy was on. It wasn’t the first time I had dealt with it and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. From foster parents who wanted my sister and I to grovel with gratitude for them deigning to feed us, to losers at school, it was all old hat. “I don’t have to be polite. Now give me the stupid antidote.”

  He looked mildly surprised by my response, his eyebrows coming together. “And why should I, with an attitude like that?”

  I let my voice drop into my lowest register, which wasn’t too hard considering that my throat felt like it was rapidly closing. “How about we be honest with each other and put this power play to bed?” I asked. “You attacked me in the middle of the street in enemy territory, which means you’re a minion at best. Someone much more important than you wants to speak to me, and it’s your job to deliver me safely. If I’m dead, someone will be very unhappy with you. I may not have had a vision about it, but I would bet money that that powerful someone is quite skilled at doling out punishment for failure.”

  He closed the distance between us, his hand wrapping around my throat. I was surprised by the gesture, but that shock didn’t compare to when his eye burned bright yellow and his jaw began to stretch toward me, scales flowing across his face and sharp teeth growing in waves.

  “Listen here, little girl,” he hissed. “I don’t have to be nice to you. Mugwort takes an awful long time to get to your heart, and th
e trip isn’t pretty. I can let you get a whole lot worse before you get better.”

  He brought the vial up, pointing the sharp bottom toward my eye. I could see the reflection of my own iris in the polished glass and I had to do my best not to blink.

  “Now you have been very, very rude to me. So, if you want this nice potion, you’re going to have to get onto your knees and apologize to me. You got that?”

  I nodded and he let me go, taking a step back and allowing me to draw in huge gulps of air.

  “I’m waiting,” he said while I coughed.

  I glared daggers at him, but sank to my knees. It was surprisingly easy to do considering how the mugwort was making my limbs so incredibly weak.

  “Now what do you say?”

  “I’m very sorry for being rude.” I said softly, keeping my face entirely impassive. “May I please have the antidote?”

  He laughed, pacing just beyond my reach yet again. “That was a terrible apology. Try again.”

  I rolled my eyes, but persisted. If only my hands weren’t bound behind my back, I would put everything into making him the one who was sorry. I might not have been the best fighter, and I might have a soft layer of fat from processed food all over my body, but I was a scrapper. I never would have survived my life otherwise.

  “I am so very, very sorry for being ungrateful. You are handsome and generous and I don’t deserve the antidote, but I beg you please, please, pretty please give me the antidote?”

  He laughed, pleased as punch, and finally returned to me. “That wasn’t half-bad. Head up, please.”

  I tilted my chin up and before I could do much else, he dumped the vial all over my face. I barely managed to get some into my mouth, and my cheeks burned as I was reduced to licking the bitter mixture off my lips and cheeks. How humiliating.

  “How was that, witchlet?”

  Strength flowed through me as the antidote took effect almost immediately, and I let my eyes flick up to him for just the briefest of moments. “Ever heard of the human saying that pride comes before a fall?”