Opening and closing the bathroom door rather loudly, I called out, “Ashe?”
He emerged from the main area, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “Oh, sorry, the Babushkas are feeding me.”
I looked at my watch—it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. “You ready to go?”
A smile curved his lips as he held up a key fob. “Yeah, and Evgeni gave us a car to borrow. Come on.”
He led me into the lower level and through one of the mysterious doors. The lights automatically brightened when we entered, revealing an underground garage.
“What? How do the cars get in and out?”
Ashe laughed, “You mean you don’t know? Evgeni hasn’t shown you this?”
I shook my head. “No. We were dropped off at the door.”
“Let’s see what car he gave us?” Ashe asked and pressed the fob. An orange sports car halfway down the row chirped.
“Huh,” came my soldier’s reaction.
“Fancy,” I said, sliding into the passenger seat and buckling the seat belt.
Ashe examined the lit-up dash. “This is more like a jet cockpit than a car,” he said, running his hand along the center console that ran between us. “It’s a convertible,” he said, pushing a button.
Sure enough, the hard ceiling lifted before disappearing.
I had to shake off my unease.
If Aaraeth said Ashe’s intentions weren’t bad, then I had to trust her.
The loud engine roared as Ashe drove the car into a glass and steel box at the end of the row. As soon as he’d stopped, the platform began to move upward. Bright sunshine spilled through the ever-widening gap as we were lifted into the main driveway. When the oversized car elevator stopped, we faced the gate, and it opened to let us through.
We didn’t talk as Ashe drove down the winding streets.
My mind was too busy trying to figure out what he was thinking and what he wanted to talk to me about.
A pit lingered in my stomach.
I had to change Ashe’s mind. I had to prove to him that I was ready. The thought of leaving him again was almost too much to consider.
Time slowed and dragged on as Ashe drove west, out of the city. I’d been too wrapped up in my own thoughts to talk, and the wind rushing through the open top on the highway made it impossible.
“You’re not taking me somewhere to murder me, are you?” I asked over the wind when we pulled off onto a smaller road, leading through shrubby pine trees. “I don’t think Evgeni thought we’d be going so far.”
I’d been gazing out my window at the scenery, but when I’d turned my focus back toward Ashe, I knew something was wrong—more than just this conversation. His knuckles were tight on the steering wheel, and his posture was rigid.
Checking the rearview mirror again, he said, “Me neither. But we’re being followed. I thought I’d lose at least one of them, but I haven’t been able to shake either.
As the road led into barren beige mountains, Ashe accelerated, and I glanced behind us. A black sedan followed, keeping up with our relentless pace—matching us turn by turn.
Ashe began taking the curves at dangerous speeds, the rear end fishtailing out behind us every now and again.
“Shit!” He spat, rechecking the mirror.
“What should we do?”
He shook his head, “I’m trying to lose them.”
“What if I call on Aaraeth? We could fly out of here.”
His nostrils flared as he focused on the road. “If they’re wyverns, they’ll be faster. Besides, they’re probably armed and could shoot us down.”
“We should be able to control their dragons, shouldn’t we?” I asked.
“That takes time and concentration,” he sighed.
Picking up my phone, it’s ‘No Service’ warning made a chill run through me.
“I have no cell service. We need to find a way back toward the city.”
“I know! That’s what I’m trying to do.”
The hillside next to us dropped away as we continued to climb up the valley. The sight reminded me of a place George and I had visited in Mexico.
“Look!” I pointed ahead.
Two SUVs sat parked, blocking the narrow road up ahead.
I gazed at Ashe, his pale eyes assessing, his mind calculating.
“You have your seat belt on, right?”
I nodded but realized that was stupid; he couldn’t look at me now. “Y-yes. I do.”
“Hold on, I’m going to pull a U-turn. Push the button to put the top up, just in case.”
“Just in case what? Wait, a U-turn?” I asked.
“Just do it! Use the key fob. It’s in the console!”
My eyes widened as I took in the narrow road hemmed in by a steep, almost cliff-like slope on one side and a steep drop to the other. I scrambled for the small remote and pushed the button. The top began to close, blocking out the desert sun and leaving us in shadow.
We were nearing the blockade, but a final curve lay between us and whoever was in those SUVs. A sign marked, ‘Caution—25mph,’ flew by.
We were going a lot faster than that.
I didn’t want to watch, but I had to.
I braced myself as we neared the curve. Time seemed to slow down, and our speed decreased as Ashe downshifted and spun the wheel.
The car responded with a tight U-turn, but the rear wheels slid out, grazing the cliff’s edge and spitting gravel into the ravine.
Ashe corrected the swerve and slammed on the gas as we faced off with the black sedan that had been following us.
Nearing it, the car veered into our lane, causing Ashe to jerk the wheel to the left.
We fishtailed halfway in the ditch, but Ashe revved the engine, and the car lurched forward and onto the road.
But we weren’t ready for the oncoming truck, and it crashed into us with jarring force. My head smacked the headrest hard, and I blinked, disoriented.
Slamming doors and yelling came from the direction of the sedan. Our rear window shattered into a spiderweb of cracks, and I realized that our attackers were shooting at us.
Then I caught words that chilled me to the bone: “Don’t kill them, you idiot, we need her alive!”
Ashe had already begun to respond by flipping the car into reverse and slipping past the truck. As we accelerated, relief filled me.
I let out a deep breath and sagged in my seat. But my relief was short-lived when our sports car sputtered and began slowing.
Our gazes locked for a moment, and Ashe said, “When we stop, I’ll park close to the edge. Head down the ravine. We have a few miles on them, so they won’t be able to catch us if we’re on foot.”
“No dragons?”
He shook his head. “No, if we’re on foot, we can hide. They have a sniper gun—they’d be able to shoot you out of the sky before you got anywhere. Maybe even kill Aaraeth.”
I wanted to ask him how he knew this but then thought better of it. Did I want to know how he knew these things or what to look out for?
As the car came to a stop, I grabbed my backpack and escaped. Sliding down the steep slope of sand and gravel, I met Ashe’s eyes for confirmation and he nodded.
It was tough going down the mountain, and I fell hard, skinning the back of my thigh and palm of my hand.
Ashe grabbed my wrist and pulled me up. “Come on.”
We hadn’t gotten far when the squeal of brakes could be heard from above. I shielded my eyes to look up, but could not see the road. Following Ashe, I continued to downclimb as fast as I could. My body soon began shaking from fatigue and fear, but I knew I had to push on.
A shot rang out from above, and I ducked, then slid down the face of a car-sized boulder we’d been climbing over. Ashe pulled me behind the rock and shielded me with his body as more bullets flew by. A few hit the boulder, spraying us with dust and shards.
Then I felt Ashe jerk, and I knew he’d been hit.
“How bad is it?” I asked.
He touched hi
s arm, and his fingers came away bloody.
“Oh my god!” I gasped.
“It’s superficial. We have to go!” He pushed me toward a sketchy animal trail.
I picked up my pace as I darted through the brush and rocks. As we moved downward, our attackers were following at a punishing pace.
We continued our trek into the late afternoon, our pursuers just out of sight.
My legs had become wobbly and my balance, unreliable. I’d been using my hands to lift myself and steady my way through boulders and down steep sandy slopes.
I couldn’t go on, but I had no choice.
Running along an animal trail, I tripped and found myself laid out over jagged rocks.
Ashe had no comforting words or time to stop for a break, he simply pulled me up, and we continued.
I was running on adrenaline and fear alone.
Suddenly, my soldier pulled me down into scratchy bushes. His hands were damp on my arm, and sweat ran down the side of his face.
“Look, they’re airborne,” he whispered.
I peered up into the sky where a deep bluish wyvern circled up ahead, its underside a bright yellow.
“I don’t recognize that dragon. Is it a Drake?”
A click sounded as Ashe loaded a handgun. “No, it’s a Harrow.”
“You have a gun? I thought you said we weren’t armed?” I asked.
“To fight them, we aren’t. I only have a few bullets.” Ashe crept through the shrubs. I spotted him about twenty feet from me in a crouch, waiting for the wyvern to near.
Would Evgeni send them after us?
No, Aaraeth answered. He is many things, but Evgeni would not put you in danger like this.
I jumped when Ashe fired twice.
The screech of a dragon made me cover my ears.
He’d either pissed it off or injured it.
“Come on,” he called to me, sliding the firearm into his waistband.
I did as he said, catching up to him. We’d lost our pursuers, but continued down the drainage, through the trees, scrambling over boulders and debris.
After another punishing distance, he stopped beneath a half-dead tree.
“Drink some water,” he told me, holding out his water bottle.
“I’m good.” I pulled out my own and downed the entire thing. “I have another. Do you need one?”
He shook his head. “No, save it.”
Blood trickled down his arm, mixing with sweat and dirt before dripping off his elbow.
Untying the bottom of my shirt, I bit the edge, ripping the fabric into a long strip.
“Turn,” I said. “Push up your sleeve; your arm is still bleeding.”
He allowed me to wrap his bicep before tying the end off.
“Where did you learn to drive like that?” I asked.
Breathing out a laugh, his eyes met mine, but he didn’t answer me. Instead, he ran his fingers down the side of my face, his thumb running over my lips. Closing my eyes, I sank into his touch. His breath feathered over my face and his lips touched mine in a gentle kiss.
For once, I wanted his restraint to break. Just once… well, maybe not here…
But as usual, that desire and need I felt from him were kept at bay.
When he pulled away, I looked into his eyes—questioning.
Wondering what he had wanted to talk about.
Instead of speaking or kissing me again like I wanted, Ashe turned and pulled his own backpack on.
I checked my phone. “Still no signal.”
“I know, we’re in a more remote area. We’ll have to hike out.”
I nearly wept. “Hike out? We must be miles from the city. Why can’t we fly?”
“Trust me,” he whispered.
“I don’t know if I can do this. I have nothing left. I’m out of energy,” I told him.
Ashe held out a granola bar, but I shook my head. “That won’t help. I’m exhausted, and it has nothing to do with food.”
He opened the wrapper of his bar and offered me a chunk.
Reluctantly I took it and popped it into my mouth, weaving on my feet a bit.
It turned out that I could go much farther.
Pushing myself with every step, our little hike turned into miles of climbing, rock scrambling, and trying not to die. Ashe had me lead to set the pace as we followed the dry creek bed down the valley.
We hadn’t heard or seen our attackers for hours.
I fell onto the ground beneath a lone tree to empty rocks from my shoe. The toe of my sock was pink, soaked with blood.
I was too tired to even talk. After tapping my shoe against a nearby rock, I pulled it back on and tied the laces.
Ashe crossed his arms over his chest as he surveyed the area. “If you can hold on until nightfall, we’ll fly out,” he told me, checking his cell phone.
“What about Evgeni? Taya told me that he bugged me. Do you think he could track us here? Help us?”
Turning toward me, my soldier nodded. “Possibly, but I don’t know. It depends on the equipment he used.”
I struggled to stand.
Ashe pointed down the valley. “Up ahead is where the highway crosses this canyon, but it’s basically a sheer cliff on both sides. We need to start hiking up and around. We’ll wait there until nightfall or maybe flag down a passing car.”
“We have to hike up?” I asked, defeated. “Do you think those guys are gone?”
Ashe shrugged, “We can hope.”
“Why would someone do this?” I asked, downclimbing another vertical section. My hands stung, and they were bleeding, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Ashe’s shoes skidded on loose rocks as he came to a stop. “People have done a lot worse for a lot less. If another Prime could forge a bond with you, then they’d have the power to control those around them. Humans, Dragonborn. People think your grandfather has this power either because it’s an alpha thing or a Prime Leader thing. It’s because he and your grandmother have a Prime bond.”
“Does Evgeni have it?”
“I think so.” He’d gotten farther and farther ahead of me but turned and said, “Wait here, let me see where we should go.”
I closed my eyes on a long blink as I teetered precariously on the slope. Finally, Ashe called out for me to follow him.
25
After a treacherous and steep scramble, the bridge came into view below. Then one last vertical climb down, and our journey would be over.
The sun sat low in the sky as the wind blasted every inch of our exposed skin with sharp shards of sand.
The highway was empty, and I itched to call on Aaraeth to take me away, but I knew Ashe was right. I'd seen wyverns fly, and they were fast.
Skidding down to where the road had been carved into the mountainside, I froze, sensing something. Ashe abruptly stopped as well. His eyes glazed as he spoke to Eondian.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Shhhhh. Three Dragonborn, around the bend. Shield yourself from them so they can't sense you…. Come on… I've seen you do it," he whispered.
I imagined the invisible bubble around me.
Reaching out, my soldier took my hand. "We can hide underneath until they're gone."
Ashe jumped the barrier and stood on a slanted concrete support. He motioned to me, but I hesitated. Biting my bottom lip, I considered the unprotected hundred-foot drop next to him. But I had no choice. It was climb over and hide or be seen.
Trying to ignore the cliff, I lifted one leg over, then the other, gripping the metal guardrail with my sweaty palms. My legs trembled, but I followed Ashe down the concrete support to a narrow passage beneath the viaduct.
Pointing at a flat spot tucked under the road, he said, "We can sit there until they leave."
He scrambled up and reached down, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up.
Our hiding spot was larger than I'd initially thought, at about four feet tall and three feet wide.
A car crossed, shaking dust from the c
rossbeams as it passed.
Ashe wrapped his arm around me and squeezed, and I settled against him, looking down into the canyon.
"We'll be okay," he whispered.
"Aren't you ever afraid?" I asked, searching his eyes in the dim light.
He raised one shoulder. "I think everyone is afraid, only… some things are worse than others."
"You've seen worse?" I asked.
He sucked air in through his teeth, "Yeah. I've seen a lot worse in The Guard."
I frowned and looked at him, but he didn't meet my eye. Instead, he held his water bottle up to gauge the amount before returning it to his pack.
"I have bananas. Do you want one?"
He nodded, and I pulled them apart, handing him the fruit.
We ate in silence, staring off into the canyon. The other Dragonborn presence niggled at me, and I wondered when they'd leave.
"Why aren't they hiding their presence from us?" I asked around a mouthful of banana.
"They can't. They're wyverns; usually, only Primes can do it." He rolled up his banana peel and shoved it into a side pocket of his backpack.
"Why did you say that I know how to do it?"
He swallowed, "You do it a lot. I think it's instinctual for you. You hide your power or make yourself feel like a wyvern."
"Oh? I hadn't realized that I did it. Today was the first time I did it on purpose," I told him, not lying. I finished my banana and drank some water.
"Huh—Really?" He asked curiously.
I nodded and crossed my ankles. I considered pulling off my shoes and sweaty socks, but the thought of having to put them back on again stopped me.
"So, your secret mission, how did everything go, or can you even tell me that much?"
He released his hands that were clasped around his legs and leaned back beside me. "Well, the mission was a success… I was in the field, but that's actually unusual for me."
"Hmmm… what exactly do you do?"
He ran a hand through his hair and breathed out a laugh. "I work with numbers and probabilities. I help design algorithms and AI systems. We take all the data available and use it to get better results. There's a lot of analytical modeling and numerical analysis involved…" he glanced over at me. "I know… it's pretty dry. Most people's eyes glaze over when I talk about it."
Over Easy (The Dragon Born Academy Book 2) Page 22