Charred Tears (#2, Heart of Fire) (6 page)

He’ll talk to me when he’s ready.

“I hope we can find some answers at Caleb’s,” she said.

“You got a good excuse as to where you were for over a week?”

“I’ll just tell him the truth. I got kidnapped by another dragon.”

Mason laughed.

Skylar sank into silence, troubled by her thoughts and more by the complication of Chace. She had enough to deal with right now; he shouldn’t be forefront in her thoughts. But he was.

They arrived at Caleb’s a short time later, and she rubbed sweaty palms on her pants, eyeing the house. Caleb’s library was the only place she knew where the slayers’ secrets might be kept, since The Field’s computers were destroyed.

Mason got out of the SUV, and she followed more slowly, concerned. There was no explaining a way out of what had happened. The disappearance of the only dragon slayer around was going to be noticed.

Not slayer. Protector.

Mason knocked then walked into Caleb’s house, aware of the open door policy the most senior slayer had. After their last interaction, Skylar braced herself to have her ass kicked by the middle-aged slayer.

To her relief, no one was in the foyer when they entered.

“Why don’t you go to the library and I’ll smooth things over with Caleb?” Mason whispered. “It’ll give you time to find something, just in case he decides to kick us both out.”

“You don’t have to ask twice,” she said and started down the hallway at a jog.

“I’ll text if we need to leave fast!”

“Thanks, Mason.” Skylar set her phone to vibrate instead of ring and tucked it into her pocket.

She entered the huge library and stopped. Every time she came, she doubted she’d ever be able to find something in the thousands of books lining the floor-to-ceiling the shelves.

“It’s not like I can google what I want,” she mused. Was the lack of online information because the slayers had secrets or was it simply the discomfort of Caleb and his predecessors with modern technology? She’d seen Dillon try – and fail – to teach his father to use a computer more than once.

As usual, her attention went from the books to the odd collection of animals and creatures in the case at the center of the library. It always drew her interest, but this time, she sensed something different about the collection.

Skylar walked up to it, eyes falling first to the statues of dragons that appeared identical to the tattoo on her neck.

Absently touching her neck, she realized it was itching, the way it did when …

…
shifters.

She stared more closely at the figurines before her, not quite grasping what it was her instincts were telling her, why they always compelled her to the case first whenever she visited the library, why her neck was itchy now.

Why she felt the need to
help
them.

“What’s your secret?” she whispered to the cluttered collection.

There were hundreds of the tiny figurines in the case. She circled the case then glanced quickly towards the library’s entrance. Caleb had a way of sneaking up on her. She half-expected to see him in the doorway and was relieved that he wasn’t there.

Skylar opened the glass case quickly and reached in, following the strange sense that felt too much like a shifter’s presence. She plucked up two of the dragon figurines. Each was the size of a quarter, solid and black. It wasn’t just the dragons that seemed to need help; all were radiating the shifter magic that beckoned to her.

“How do I help you?” she asked the statues.

The answer is in the palm of your hand.

What had her mother meant?

Skylar’s fingers tingled with warmth, the way they did when she touched Chace. Uncertain what to think of the sensation, she instinctively knew she had to protect the little figurines, the same way she knew she should protect Chace.

“So weird.” With a sigh, she pushed the figurines into her pocket and went through the collection quickly, removing as many dragons as she could find and stuffing them into her pockets.

The soft scuff of someone’s footsteps in the marble hall reached her. She hastily closed the door and hurried to one of the nearby shelves. The figurines in her pockets warmed the skin beneath almost to the point where she was uncomfortable. Distracted by the sensation, she didn’t notice who entered until he spoke.

“Um, Sky, I think we should go. Fast,” Mason hissed. He waved her towards him with a glance down the hall behind him.

She sprang forward.

Mason all but ran out of the house, and she went with him, heart thudding quickly. Skylar cast a couple of looks over her shoulder, expecting to see Caleb chasing them. No one did, and she hopped in the truck.

Mason started it and gunned the engine, tearing out of the crescent driveway.

Skylar’s gaze went from the door of the house to him as she pulled on her seatbelt.

“What’s wrong? Was he furious to know I was there?” she asked anxiously.

Mason said nothing, his laser focus on driving fast and well out of the subdivision. She studied him, noticing the wetness on his clothing for the first time. The faint, metallic scent of blood reached her, and she frowned. There was blood all over the front of his black jeans and speckling his bare forearms.

“Mason, what happened?” she asked in a hushed voice.

He ran his fingers through his hair then clenched the steering wheel with both hands.

But he didn’t answer. His features were too tight. Sensing his distress, Skylar said nothing. She stared out the window for a long moment, afraid to know how bad things had gotten between Mason and Caleb.

One of the dragon figures was jabbing her in the thigh, and she shifted, reaching in to adjust them. She tugged one free to gaze at it.

“What is that?” Mason asked.

“A little dragon I found in the library.” She studied it. “It’s got shifter magic. It makes no sense.”

“Is that from Caleb’s figurine collection?”

“Yeah.”

Her phone vibrated. She reached into her back pocket to grab it.

Where are you?

“One guess who that is,” she said and instinctively glanced up at the moon roof to see if Gavin was hovering overhead. He wasn’t, and she put the phone away, uncertain what to tell him. “Can we go somewhere where dragons can’t get to us?”

“Does such a place exist?” Mason snorted.

“Maybe just inside. So we’re not easy targets out in the open.”

“This has been the worst night ever.”

She didn’t ask, and he didn’t explain. Instead of leaving Phoenix for Tucson, where they both lived, he pulled into the parking lot of a hotel south of Phoenix.

“This work?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll grab a room. Be back.”

She almost stopped him to ask if that was a good idea, since he was covered in blood. His movements were too quick and jerky, a sign he probably didn’t want to be reminded of whatever happened.

She watched him hurry into the lobby of the hotel before refocusing on the dragon.

“What’s your secret?” she murmured once more. “Why were you in Caleb’s library?”

The odd magic around the figure pulsed. An idea formed, one that seemed farfetched and outlandish.

“Are you what happens to old shifters? Or are you a new one?”

Mason’s tap at her window jarred her. He flashed a room keycard and opened her door.

“Second floor, overlooking the pool. It’s only got one bed, so I’ll sleep on the couch. Don’t say I don’t spoil you.” He tried to keep his tone upbeat, but it fell flat.

“It’s perfect, Mason.” Pitying him, Skylar offered a bright smile and got out of the vehicle. “Lead on.”

She trailed him into the hotel, the dragon figurine clenched in one hand. Mason took the stairwell instead of the elevator, but she paused at the foot of the stairs, opening her fist.

The dragon was moving, its tail stinging her palm as it repositioned itself.

She uttered a surprised sound.

“You okay?” Mason called, out of sight on the second floor landing.

“I have to show you something!” She closed her fist around the moving figurine and ran up the stairs.

Halfway up, she slowed. The dragon was prying her fist open, not by its movement but because it appeared to have tripled in size.

“Mason …” She stopped, astonished. The creature grew before her eyes, turning from black stone into a faded purple, miniature dragon. It spread its wings and belched a tiny orange flame then hunkered down, as if focused on the rapid physical expansion of its body. “Shit. I think we have a problem!”

Skylar darted up the stairs. By the time she reached the second floor, she needed two hands for the dragon, which now felt like it weighed a few pounds.

“I need some place open.”

Mason stared at her then the creature in her hands, his eyes widening as it grew larger, heavier.

“Now, Mason!” she barked. “I have no idea how big this thing is going to get!”

“I, uh … two-forty-nine. It’s our room.” He looked around wildly then approached the plaque on one wall. “This way!”

Skylar followed, careful to keep the ballooning dragon balanced in her hands. By the time they reached their room, it was large enough for her to wrap two hands around. The fur lining its translucent scales was soft, the scales themselves smooth and flexing.

Now the size of a terrier, the creature was trying to get free of her grip, growling in complaint and pawing at her arm with the one foot it had free.

“Okay, go!” Mason said, shoving the door open.

Skylar walked into the hotel room. It had one large bed, a tiny bathroom, and a small balcony overlooking the lit pool. Staggering under the weight of the dragon, she crossed to the balcony and nudged the doors with one hip, unable to open it.

Mason leaned around her and yanked it open, and Skylar hurried onto the porch outside, setting the dragon down carefully. The moment it was free, it squawked and unfurled its wings. They shimmered lilac and periwinkle in the light from the pool area.

“Where the hell did it come from?” Mason demanded, baffled.

The answer is in the palm of your hand.

Skylar glanced at her hand. She stepped back, admiring the dragon’s color and the way its wings almost glowed in the dim light. “I hope it doesn’t get too much bigger.”

Even as she spoke, the creature continued to grow, soon eclipsing the size of a couch, until there was no room for it and them on the patio. Skylar stepped back with Mason into the hotel room.

“You need to fly, dragon, before you take out that railing,” Skylar said to it.

The creature faced her, its eyes a deep lavender hue. It tilted its head to the side, snorted a puff of smoke then turned away. It leapt up onto the railing overlooking the pool, expanded its wings on either side and leapt towards the night sky.

Or tried to.

“Oh!” Skylar rushed to the railing.

The dragon plummeted downwards, into the pool, landing with a huge splash that drenched the chairs and plants around the walkway. The sight of the great beast hauling itself out, growling and yowling all the way, assured her that it was pissed, not hurt.

Skylar laughed. “I swear these dragons are like five-year-olds!”

The dragon shook excess water from itself. It had grown larger, now the size of a car. Its wings went out again though this time, it tested itself before carefully taking flight. Hovering over the pool, it seemed satisfied and vaulted upwards, disappearing into the dark sky above.

Skylar followed it with her gaze until she wasn’t able to see it anymore. The sight of the dragon thrilled her, reminding her of how beautiful the creatures were, despite their apparent moods.

“What the fuck just happened?” Mason breathed from behind her.

“I could ask you the same thing,” she said pointedly and turned, crossing her arms. She leaned against the railing.

“Where did it come from?”

“Well, if I had to guess …” She pulled a figurine free from her pocket. “I was just holding it and it started to grow.”

“What? That’s crazy.” Mason shifted forward to grab the stone dragon.

A sliver of unease went through her at the sight of it in his hand.

It’s Mason. The only person I trust.

“How many did you get?” He returned the stone dragon, eyes drifting to her pockets.

“Not sure. Maybe twenty?” She shoved a hand into each pocket and began pulling the figurines free. Skylar set them on the table then dug around for more, until she was certain she’d gotten all of them. “Twenty two, including the one that flew away.”

“My god, Sky,” Mason said. “Do you think you can do whatever you just did to all of them?”

“I’ve never heard anything that bat shit crazy in my life,” she said. “But … Mason, I’ve always sensed some sort of magic around the figurines in his library. This time, it was really strong, like they wanted me to find them and take them away. I can’t explain it.”

“Try it again.”

She hesitated then picked up one of the figurines and clenched it in her hand. It grew warmer, the shifter magic stronger, before it began to move again. Opening her hand, she set it on the ground on the patio. It went from quarter sized to the size of an apple, a basketball, ottoman, couch.

This one was a gorgeous dark green in color.

“Okay, off the patio, dragon,” she ordered when it became too large for the balcony area.

The green dragon was more cautious than the purple and tested its wings before taking off into the sky.

“Mason, I don’t get this at all,” she whispered. “If each of these figurines is a dragon …”

“… then how did they get so tiny?” Mason joined her at the railing, watching their latest dragon fly away.

“You think that’s what happened to them at The Field? Caleb was turning them into … those?” She motioned to the remaining twenty dragons.

“Then keeping them as trophies? Like some sort of psychopath?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Another thought struck her, and she gave a confused laugh. “Should I have done that? Freed them?”

Yes.
Her instincts were firm.