Fireborn (The Dark Dragon Chronicles Book 2)

by Ripley Harper

  Nobody here thinks I’m a monster. At all. They think I’m a good person, and they respect me, and they’re honestly grateful for what I did. They make me feel like a hero, actually, and soon everything inside me begins to feel looser, lighter, happier.

  Baby Susan’s parents, the Canadians, turn out to be the two Seakeepers who were injured in the grenade explosion. She has a huge white dressing around her head; his entire chest is bandaged and his one arm is tied up in a sling. But they are alive and healing and happy, and they tell me, eyes shining with emotion, that they can’t wait to go home to their baby girl. They miss her so much. The mom cries when she thanks me, and the dad asks me in all seriousness if I’ll agree to be little Susan’s godmother. I shake their hands and tell him I’ll think about it. When I turn away, I struggle to wipe the grin from my face.

  Their healers, a striking older woman from China named Chun and her assistant, an English guy named Steve, both tell me that they’ve never been particularly powerful Earthkeepers before. Chun had some skill with simple cuts and scrapes, she says, but up to now true Healing has always been beyond her. John tells me he has never been able to Heal anything before; the only earthmagic he ever mastered was making certain plants grow, and he’s never even been particularly good at that. Both of them are convinced their new Healing skills must’ve come from me, and no matter how often I tell them that this can’t be true, they insist on thanking me over and over again. In the end I just smile and nod, accepting their thanks. (Hey, it’s a free country, and if they really want to believe that I’m incredibly awesome… Well, who am I to stop them?)

  I go from person to person like a princess or a politician, working the room. I listen to their stories, shamelessly enjoying their respect and gratitude. I’m almost at the end of the line when two pretty blond girls, obviously sisters, fall to their knees before me. They blush when I pull them to their feet.

  “Please accept our greatest apologies,” the older one says in a heavy accent I can’t quite place. “We are aware that you do not approve when we perform this action.”

  “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment,” I say smiling, trying to put them at ease. “It just seems a little medieval to me.”

  “The White Lady always insists on us kneeling in her presence,” the younger sister says. “It has been drilled into us from very young age.”

  I narrow my eyes. “You’re Skykeepers?”

  “Yes,” the older one says. “We claimed White since we were young.”

  “I thought you could only pledge yourself to a clan once you turn eighteen?”

  “The White Lady does not follow such traditions. In secret, if not openly. She always wants the children with promise of great power to come to her while they are very young.”

  I look at the younger sister. “How old were you when you claimed White?”

  “Ten,” she says. “I am fifteen now. I have been Skykeeper for five years.”

  “We both pledged ourselves at the same time,” the older one says. “I was thirteen years old then.”

  I wince inwardly, imaging what it must be like to place yourself at the White Lady’s mercy at such a young age. “Who else here are Skykeepers?” I ask, raising my voice a little.

  After a brief hesitation another girl steps forward. She’s dark-haired and olive-skinned and dark-eyed, but also young. Also pretty.

  I catch Daniel’s eye. “I’m beginning to see why you’re so keen to take them with us.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replies loftily.

  The last Skykeeper who steps forward to greet me is a slightly built, bespectacled African American guy who can’t be much older than me.

  I ignore Ingrid’s icy glare, taking my time to study the four Skykeepers. According to Ingrid, people like them have been mercilessly killing people like me for hundreds of years.

  But right now, right here, I just can’t feel it.

  “My friend,” I say, tilting my head at Daniel, “tells me it would be dangerous for you to return to your homes. Is that true?”

  “We can’t go back, my queen.”

  “Call me Jess, please.”

  They share an uncertain look before the dark-haired girl speaks. “The White Lady believes that we betrayed our clan by following you, and she won’t rest until she’s had her revenge. The fact that we’re now cured of our shine-sickness will mean nothing to her. She doesn’t accept excuses or hand out second chances. Going back will mean certain death for us.” She speaks perfect American English without any noticeable accent, her voice low and calm.

  “Can’t your parents help you? Your families?”

  It’s the guy who answers. “Our families denounced us when we lost ourselves to your power. They won’t take us back now. We are dead to them forever.”

  “That’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”

  His eyes harden. “The White Lady has always divided families this way. That’s why she has such an iron grip on the Skykeepers. I don’t care what anyone else says; she’s evil and she’s made our clan into something it should never have been.” I notice that he’s balling his fists, in spite of his even tone. “I’m sorry I lost my family, but I’m not sorry for leaving my clan and finally breaking the hold she had on me. I’m a Skykeeper in my blood and my bones, but I am White no longer. That I promise you.”

  Behind him, I catch a brief glimpse of Ingrid’s hard, cynical stare.

  “Can you be a Skykeeper without belonging to the White Clan?” I ask.

  “I don’t know.” He looks me straight in the eye. “But that’s what I am.”

  “That is also what we are.” The older sister waves a hand at her sibling, indicating that she speaks for both of them.

  “Me too,” says the dark-haired girl.

  I look from the one earnest face to the next.

  Damn. What a mess.

  But there’s no way I can simply leave them to be killed by the White Lady, no matter what Ingrid says. “Look,” I tell them. “I’ll do what I can to protect you from that horrible woman. But you must understand that you’re probably placing yourselves in even greater danger if you stay near me. My magic isn’t exactly too stable, to say the least, and we have very few allies –”

  I don’t get to finish my sentence because the two sisters throw themselves at my feet again. “My queen!” the older one gushes, her eyes shining with happy tears. “Thank you!”

  “We pledge ourselves to your service,” the younger one says, her eyes tearing up too. “Now and forever.” Her sister joins her, so they speak in chorus. “Our bodies and our power, our magic and our lives. All this we offer you.”

  I look at Daniel for help. But before he can say anything, one of the other Skykeepers, the young man, steps forward.

  “Relax,” he says, smiling faintly. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Iryna and Dasha have spent most of their lives in the White Lady’s court, so they know very little about modern life. Their ways may seem strange to you at first, but they are very powerful Skykeepers, and thanks to you their will is their own today. You don’t have to feel weird about this. They may be on their knees, but they don’t see themselves as your slaves. Not anymore. Not after what you did for us. They offer their service as a gift of loyalty and friendship to you; nothing more and nothing less.”

  His calm, eloquent little speech makes me feel a lot better. “In that case, I guess it’s okay,” I say uncertainly.

  And then, of course, he falls to his knees too. “I pledge myself to your service,” he says with his head bowed, his voice clear and even. “I pledge to you my body and my power; my magic and my life. And I do this freely and of my own will.”

  “I too pledge myself to your service.” The dark-haired girl echoes his words as she kneels too. “I pledge to you my body and my power; my magic and my life. And I do this freely and of my own will.”

  Oh, for crying in a bucket.

  “Please,” I say. “Don’t do that. Honestly,
you guys. Get up.”

  None of them move a muscle.

  “They’re waiting for you to accept their pledge,” Ingrid says coldly, her face bitter. “Which you will do at your peril, and against my advice. It might look as if they’re offering you something, but they’re not. Make no mistake: they’re asking something of you, and if you accept this ‘pledge,’ you’ll be obliged to give it to them.”

  “What do they want from me?”

  “Your help.” She spits out the words. “Your protection.”

  “I offered that anyway,” I say. “Or did you miss that part?” Then I turn my back on her.

  “So,” I tell the small group of Skykeepers kneeling on the floor. “Um. That’s great. Thank you? Anyway. If that’s what you want, we’ve got a deal.”

  They remain kneeling, heads bowed.

  “But you need to get up now. I’m serious. This is kind of freaking me out.”

  They don’t move.

  Sofia suddenly appears at my side. “A pledge of this kind is usually sealed by magic.”

  “Really?” I feel my heart sinking. “What kind of magic? Because the only magic I’m one hundred percent sure I can do right now is to set them on fire, and I don’t see how that’s going to help.”

  There’s a nervous little whimper from the younger sister.

  “Don’t joke about stuff like that,” Daniel says. “The sisters grew up in the White Lady’s Palace; you’re terrifying them.”

  “I’m sorry,” I tell the girls’ bowed heads. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” I lift my hands in a helpless gesture. “It’s just that I don’t know what to do.”

  “If the magic won’t flow from you in a natural way, a formal promise will have to do,” Sofia says.

  “What’s a formal promise?”

  “You make a promise.” She winks at me. “Formally.”

  I look around to see whether anyone else has any other ideas.

  Nothing.

  Okay then. I take a deep breath. “I hereby formally promise,” I begin, feeling incredibly stupid, “that I will give you all the protection I can. I also accept your service. Formally.”

  I pause for a few seconds, trying to remember what they said earlier. “Um, furthermore, I also formally accept your power and your magic and your... bodies.” I feel myself blushing. “Um… Oh! And your lives. Yes. Definitely that too.”

  Ugh. This is going so badly.

  I take another deep breath; there’s no turning back now. “All of this I formally promise. On my word of honor.” Then I put my hand on my heart, as if swearing allegiance to the flag.

  WHooooooOOOSH.

  When the magic takes us, nobody is more surprised than me.

  First, there’s a feeling of tension. Unbearable. As if something is about to explode. Then there’s a flash of lightning. Or no, it’s not a flash. And it’s not lightning. But it’s a, I don’t know, a rush of... something. Pure energy. Power.

  A burst of pure power. A swirl.

  Warm and golden and light and fantastic.

  A feeling of peace and wholeness snakes through me and the four kneeling Skykeepers, sinuously, like a cat rubbing itself against our souls. Everything feels alight with joy. With the absolute rightness of what just happened. Then all four of them get up at the same time—like, exactly the same time—and they beam at me, wide-eyed and delighted.

  Wow. I realize that I’m grinning back at them, my smile literally stretching from ear to ear. Unable to help myself, I hold my arms out to my Skykeepers and we all hug each other. Even just touching them like this feels right and good.

  “Well, you certainly did it now,” Ingrid says disapprovingly.

  Her words are so true that we all burst out laughing.

  Holy shit.

  I certainly did it now.

  I find Gunn outside Daniel’s parents’ bedroom, guarding the prisoners. The three men are sitting with their backs to each other, hands and feet taped together, gagged. They look like professionals: tough, lean, hard-eyed. But the way they’re bound reminds me so much of being tied up in the school library that I shudder.

  “Is that really necessary?” I ask.

  “Hi Jess.” Gunn smiles, ignoring my question. “It’s good to see you up and looking so well.”

  When my Skykeepers form a loose half-circle behind me, his smile becomes a little less open, his eyes a little more wary. “I see your newly minted Skykeeper guard has already reported for duty.”

  “You know about them?”

  “Ingrid filled me in while you lot were hugging,” he says, his voice perfectly neutral.

  “She’s really angry about this, isn’t she?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you?”

  “Not angry, no. Worried, maybe. I’m not sure if their pledge to you can erase their pledge to the White Lady. As far as I know, nobody has tried anything like it before.” He shrugs his broad shoulders. “But what’s done is done; we’ll make the best of it. Are you ready to leave? Staying here is becoming more dangerous with every passing second.”

  I shrug. “It’s not like I have a lot to pack.”

  “Great. We’ll get on the plane as soon as you’ve dealt with the prisoners.”

  “You can’t fly anywhere now.” Michael, one of my Skykeepers, speaks up from behind me. “The White Lady will be watching the skies.”

  “It’s the quickest way out of here,” Gunn says.

  “Controlling air is the most basic of the Skymagic skills,” Michael says, “and the White Lady knows where you are. That plane will drop like a stone.”

  Gunn swears. “He’s right. I should’ve thought of that myself.” He gives Michael a measuring look. “Maybe having a Skykeeper guard isn’t the worst idea after all.”

  “We can use the truck we came in; there’s space for more inside,” Michael says. “But we might run out of gas before we reach the nearest town.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Gunn says. “We’re stocked up on gas. Jess just needs to deal with the prisoners first.”

  I look at the men tied together. All three of them are studiously avoiding my eyes, as if I’m the Medusa and my gaze will turn them into stone.

  “What exactly do you want me to do?” I ask.

  “I was kind of hoping you’d know.”

  “How the hell would I know?”

  “You’re a firemaster now, Jess. Or so everyone keeps telling me.” There’s something in Gunn’s voice I haven’t heard before. A wistfulness, maybe.

  Dasha, the older of my two Skykeeper sisters, steps forward. “My queen.”

  “Please call me Jess.”

  She makes a graceful, almost dance-like movement, and I pretend not to realize she caught herself half-way to her knees. “I know these men. They are very, very bad. They murder for the White Lady, all her enemies, many good people. You must stop them.” Her voice peters out when all three prisoners turn their heads to look directly at her, their eyes cold with menace.

  “Don’t worry,” I tell her. “I will.”

  Then I step closer to Gunn and, when I’m sure nobody else can see, I round my eyes at him. “Just about any idea would be helpful at this stage,” I mutter under my breath.

  “You know what would be great?” I’m surprised to see a subtle challenge in his dark blue eyes. “If you used your firemagic to bind them to your will.”

  “Gee,” I say drily. “I wonder why I didn’t think of that.”

  “Order them not to come after us again. And to forget everything and everyone they saw while they were here. And to stop killing people for the White Lady. Actually, to stop killing people, period.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “What a great plan.” But my voice sounds weary rather than sarcastic.

  “Think you can do it?”

  I rub my face. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

  “Maybe is good enough for me.” He turns to my Skykeepers. “Tell everyone to start block
ing her immediately. Those who can’t need to leave straight away. We can’t risk anyone becoming shine-struck again; it took too much out of her to fix all of you the last time.”

  But before anyone can move, the door slams open and a wild-eyed woman storms sobbing into the room. I met her earlier: her name is Shannah, or Shonda perhaps, and she’s this super friendly Seakeeper from Florida who always has a wide, white smile on her face.

  Not now though.

  “They’re coming. They’re here! It’s too late!”

  “What’s going on?”

  Her eyes are so wide that the whites around her irises form two round circles. “We’re all dead!” she screams, literally foaming at the mouth as the spit froths from her lips. “They’ve got bombs! It’s too late! Death and smoke!” Her voice breaks as her face crumples into a mess of tears. “Explosions everywhere! Bombs and fire! Nobody can survive the fire. My babies. Dear Jesus, my babies!”

  “Shondra,” Gunn says, stepping closer to take her hands in his. “Listen to me. You need to calm down. Tell us what’s going on.”

  “Didn’t you hear what I said? We’re all going to die!”

  “No. We’re not.” He gently takes her by the chin and turns her head toward me. “She can stop it. You know what she is. But if you want to live, if you want to be there for your children, you need to help us figure this out.”

  She nods, a bit calmer now, although she’s still sobbing helplessly.

  “This is Foresight?” he asks.

  “They used to say my grandmama had the sight. But none of us really believed it. I certainly never had it. Nor did my mama. Not a single true vision. And to get this, now…”

  “You’re sure it’s the sight?”

  “Yes! Of course! Oh my God, I can feel it in my bones, in my –”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “Minutes.”

  “How many planes?”

  “Just one.” A shuddering sob. “But they have enough bombs on there to blow us all to hell.”

  Gunn places his hands on both her shoulders, as if to shake her, but his voice remains calm and gentle. “Please, Shondra. I need you to think. Can you tell me anything about those bombs? What they look like?”