Crimson Dahlia (20 page)

The
silver dragon let go. As the black dragon dropped through the air, Ellie
morphed back to human. Still limp as a rag doll. Still falling.

Oh
my God!

Lila
dove, even though she knew she wouldn’t catch her friend and had no idea what
she’d do to stop Ellie’s decent if she did. She willed Ellie to wake up. But
that didn’t happen.

I’m
not going to reach her in time
!

She
pulled up short as Ellie’s form suddenly froze in place just before she hit the
ground.

“Thank
heaven,”
Lila thought.
“Alex caught her.”

She
watched as Alex rushed to where Ellie hovered and dropped her into his arms.
Charlotte appeared beside them, and the three of them disappeared.

Lila
prayed silently for her friend to be okay, but her attention was pulled away by
a fearsome sound. Maddox let loose a terrifying roar that slammed through the
air and tossed her around as if she were caught in a riptide of ocean waves.

As
he dove toward the ground, Lila realized that
this
had been what he’d
feared - his inability to control his dragon form without Lila’s emotional
healing power. The silver dragon opened his maw and released an inferno of
flames at the fighters below. Everyone scattered, including Maddox’s forces, as
the fire bore down on them.

“Ramsey?”
Lila called in
a panicked voice.

“I
can’t turn it off,”
his voice came back to her, strained.
“But maybe I can…”

Suddenly
the flames turned back in on themselves, not quite reaching the ground.
“I
don’t think I can do that again,”
he said.

“Griffin,
shield everyone. Selene, get Charlotte and get them all out of here,”
Lila
instructed.

“What
about you?”
Ramsey asked.

“Ramsey,
I’m afraid I have to break a promise a third time today,”
she said.
“And
I won’t be able to talk to you while I do this.”

“Can
you stop him?”
Griffin asked.

“I
doubt it. Not if all of us couldn’t. But I can knock him out of it I think,”
she answered
.
I hope,
she tacked on to herself.

“I
can feel your uncertainty,”
Ramsey said to her.
“But if you think
it’s worth the try, do it.”
The total faith and confidence he had in her
gave Lila the last little bit of strength she needed.

Lila
turned and gained altitude. She needed to surprise Maddox for this to work, not
that he was paying her much heed. Once she was high enough, Lila spun and put
her body into a full stoop. The sound of the wind ripped at her as she dove at
the silver giant. She reached unthinkable speeds. Maddox was distracted as he
made another flaming pass at the people on the ground. Between Griffin and
Ramsey, they were managing to keep the fire off everyone. Lila blocked that
out. She concentrated on picking her place. She aimed right for his back.

As
she fell, she gathered the power within herself. She pictured it almost like
shaking up a coke can or a bottle of champagne. She let all that energy bubble
up and fizz inside her. She was going to need every ounce of it to do what she
was about to attempt.

She
flared her wings at the last second and morphed back to human. She landed
exactly where she’d wanted to—on his back where the left wing connected to his
body. She held on to the delicate membranes, but Maddox didn’t seem to notice
his passenger. He was too enraged and too focused on the people on the ground.
Lila took advantage of his distraction to gather a little more power inside
herself.

Closing
her eyes and centering everything she had on her ability to heal emotions, Lila
slammed every bit of that power into Maddox. Her plan was to put a peaceful
tranquility inside him that was so great that she hoped she’d put him to sleep,
just as she had when she’d helped Adelaide that night.

But
almost immediately she could tell that things weren’t going according to plan.
It almost felt as though Maddox was totally blocking her, as if there was no
place for her peaceful feelings inside his body or mind.

Lila
pushed harder. This had to work.

And
then a strange sensation began to pulse into her. Mild at first, but as it
grew, Lila recognized it for what it was.

Rage.

Her
link with Maddox had somehow resulted in an emotional backwash. His evil hatred
was pouring into her as her tranquility flowed into him.

This
is going to destroy me,
she thought.
But if it works…

Lila
opened her mind, allowing Maddox’s poison to gush into her. Flashes of his
memories struck her all at once. Like watching random scenes of a movie, all
from his point of view.

She
saw flickers of other dragons. There were four of them, all living in a cave
underground. Maddox and another dragon about his size— a lovely, dark green
creature. Beside them were two smaller pale green ones. Snapshots flashed
through her mind that didn’t seem to be in any chronological order. The smaller
dragons as babies. The four of them flying through the air. Maddox teaching the
youngest to breathe fire. They had been… happy.

His
family
.
She could feel the intense love and devotion Maddox had for them.

Then
more flashes. Villages consumed by fire. People scattering like ants. Their
screams were so annoying.
Food…
. That was how Maddox thought of them.
And he had to feed his family.

Before
Lila could wrap her head around that, a new memory sucked her in. Maddox was in
the air. There was another dragon – massive and dark purple in hue. And Maddox
and his mate were fighting it. Lila watched as the purple dragon snapped
Maddox’s wife’s neck with a sickening crunch and flung her body to the ground.

Lila’s
viewpoint changed. She could now see through Maddox’s perspective, as if his
eyes were hers. The large purple dragon slammed its body into Maddox’s
children, forcing them to the ground where it crushed them, right beside the
motionless form of their mother.

Residual
pain from Maddox tore through Lila. She tried to block herself from it, before
Maddox’s agony drove her mad.

That’s
it. This must be the source of his rage. Losing his family – and his true
te’sorthene - destroyed him
.

Then
another flash. Maddox in human form now. He was with the Vyusher, but they
didn’t know his real plan. She could hear the thoughts bubbling in his mind. He
was building an army. He would find and kill that purple dragon and massacre
its entire family. He would use these insects. These wolves. Because he could.
Because their hive mind allowed him to control them. That little bitch, Karin,
who could change any gifted person into a wolf metamorph, had given him that
gift… that curse, to shift into a wolf. He hated being inside his wolf body.
Even his human body was an anathema to him. Only the freedom and power and
glory of his dragon form felt right to him. But without his family, he couldn’t
control it. And he needed control to destroy his enemy and all of his enemy’s
kin. And when the purple dragon and his family were all gone, Maddox would use
the wolves as slaves.

That’s
all they were worth, after all.

Lila
gasped in horror.
He’s completely mad!

More
flashes. More snapshots in time. Faster now…

Maddox
recognizing the purple dragon, this time in human form, when he came to visit
the King and Queen. The Vyusher weren’t all wolves then. They weren’t even
called the Vyusher. He would wait, though the frustration ripping through him
had him on the verge of shifting and killing the man right then and there.
Patience was required.

More
memories… Maddox realizing his opportunity to gain more power over the Vyusher
through Gideon.

Maddox
watching in satisfaction as the purple dragon fell under the might of his
wolves. Selene’s power held him down just long enough for Maddox to kill him.

And
then frustration as his plan to kill the purple dragon’s family failed. Two of
his descendants got away. Children. He couldn’t take over the Vyusher as slaves
yet. More patience was required.

More
flashes. Faster and faster.

His
wolves killing more and more of the Svatura people. He had the Vyusher well and
truly convinced now that wolf metamorphs were the superior race. That pack mind
certainly helped. And so did Gideon’s ability to force his will on people.
Maddox only needed to control Gideon to control them all.

That
bitch Ellie shifting into a dragon and killing Gideon. Once more his plans on
hold. She and her brother were going to die. It was just a matter of time.

Fear
raced through Lila’s veins as the truth hit her.
He’s deranged and
completely obsessed. And he’s grown more powerful than any of us. How will we
ever end this?

Finally
the flashes of memory stopped. Lila had taken every ounce of Maddox’s rage into
herself. She felt something bubbling under her skin. A tingling a little like
what she felt when she morphed into a falcon. But bigger. Much bigger.

She
clamped down on it tightly but couldn’t hold it. And then she heard Ramsey’s
voice in her mind.
“I’m here, Lila. Hold on to that. Anchor on me.”

With
great effort, she pushed Maddox’s rage back into him. He’d rejected her peace
and tranquility. Maybe she could overload his system by mixing in his own rage.
In one massive push, with the feel of her energy draining with every passing
moment, Lila forced it all back into him as hard and fast as she could. Black
spots began to dance behind her eyelids. With one last drive, she felt his body
go floppy beneath her hands.

Lila
smiled
. I did it
….

And
then she blacked out.

Lila
felt familiar warmth penetrate her body. It made her want to snuggle deeper
under the covers. It felt like home. It felt like…

“Dad?”
she mumbled though her dry, cracked mouth.

“There
she is,” she heard him say. “See, I told you, Lucy. She was just tuckered out
from everything. She’s fine.”

Lila
could barely keep her eyes open. Blurrily she looked around. They were back at
the castle, and her parents and Ramsey were standing over her with concerned
looks on their faces.

“What
happened?”

“You
managed to give us enough time to get out of there, and you forced Maddox out
of the dragon morph,” Ramsey said. “It was pretty bad ass, actually.”

“Ramsey,”
her mother gasped. “Don’t encourage her.”

Lucy
looked back at Lila and squeezed her hand. “It was a very dangerous thing to
do. I understand that you did save a lot of lives, but don’t think that gets
you out of trouble with me.”

Ramsey
winked over her mother’s shoulder and mouthed, “
Bad ass
.”

Lila
stifled a giggle. “I’ll try to avoid similar situations in the future, Mom.”
She sat up and looked around, feeling much better now. “Where is everyone else?
How long have I been out?”

Hugh
and Lucy glanced at each other. “Not long. Charlotte brought you back with the
last group about twenty minutes ago. Your eyes were glowing pale blue when they
brought you in. Have you ever had that happen before?”

Lila
frowned. “Like Ellie and Selene sometimes? No. But I’m gaining more powers, so
maybe it as something to do with that. Where is everyone anyway?”

“In
the Great Hall,” Ramsey answered.

Hugh
stood up. “Which is where I should be now. There are a lot of injured folks.
I’ve been working nonstop since the battle began.”

“I’ll
come with you.” Lila swung her legs over the bedside.

Hugh
frowned and looked away. “That’s okay. You stay here and rest a bit.”

Lila
narrowed her eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

"There's
not much you can do," Lucy said.

Lila
got off the bed. "Physical wounds aren't the only things that need healing
out there."

"It's
okay," Ramsey said softly to her parents. "She can handle it."

Lila
looked at each of their faces. "Handle what exactly?" Her heart sped
up. Bad news was coming. She could feel it.

Ramsey
stepped up to her and took her face between his hands. "It's Marcus,"
he said. That's all he had to say, and she knew.

Lila
felt like she’d just been punched. And at the same time, it felt as if she were
watching all of this from somewhere else. She stared into Ramsey’s green eyes,
searching for solace.

"He’s
dead?” she whispered.

Ramsey
nodded.

"I
know you got very close to him this last year, honey,” her mom said. "And
if you need someone to talk to, we're here for you."

Lila
didn't take her eyes away from Ramsey’s. The tears that she expected to fill
her own didn't come. Not yet at least. Later… maybe.

"Take
me to him."

"I
don't think—" her mother began. But she stopped talking when Ramsey took
Lila's hand and led her from the room.

The
Great Hall was a cacophony of loud noises and bad smells and horrible sights.
Ramsey led her to where what was left of the Louisiana clan had gathered.

The
group parted as they became aware of Lila’s presence. Slowly, her face pale and
her heart thundering away behind her ribs, she made her way to where Marcus
lay. He was perfectly still and covered in blood, but to Lila he looked as if
he could just be sleeping.

She
knelt down beside his body. "Marcus," she whispered, secretly hoping
he would open his eyes and say something sarcastic to make her laugh. But of
course he didn’t. She reached out with a trembling hand and placed it on his
chest. It was still. There was no heartbeat, no movement, no breath.

Nothing…

Lila
closed her eyes. “Marcus,” she whispered again. Then she looked up, her eyes
pleading “Dad?”

Her
father’s comforting hand fell on her shoulder. “He’s gone, Lila. There’s nothing
I can do.”

Lila
bit her lip, but nodded.

She
leaned forward and pulled Marcus’s body onto her lap. She wrapped her arms
around him and stayed there for some time, just holding him. Finally, with a
last, silent goodbye, she sat up and very gently laid him back on the floor.
There were people who were still living that she could help now. She could
practically hear Marcus telling her to get her weepy little butt up and get to
work on them.

Lila
looked at the faces of the friends she’d made over the last year. “Put him in
my room for now. We will honor him soon. But there is work to do before then.”

She
went to move away, but stopped when Stephen said, “Wait.”

She
hesitated a moment and then turned to face him. She’d seen him fall on the
battle field, but guessed that Charlotte had got him to Hugh in time. He looked
fine now She and Stephen had always had a little trouble getting along. He
didn’t quite trust her, given her association with the Vyusher, and he hadn’t
agreed with Marcus’s alliance with Selene in the first place. Now Lila looked
at him a little warily, waiting for him to lay the blame for Marcus’s death at
her feet.

And
then her eyes widened as he dropped to one knee. He looked up at her. “We want
you to take Marcus’s place as the leader of our clan. If you agree, we will
pledge our loyalty to you here and now.”

Before
she could say anything, the rest of the Louisianans followed Stephen’s lead and
dropped to one knee.

Lila
felt tears burn hotly in her eyes and her throat tighten. But she knew this was
right. Just as she’d heard Marcus’s voice telling her to get up and get moving
a moment ago, now she heard him telling her to lead his people. To protect
them. To honor him by taking on this responsibility.

She
knew what to say, a tradition in their clan that she’d heard a hundred times
while she’d stayed with them. Forcing the tears back, she asked in a strong and
steady voice, “Do I lead you?”

“You
lead us.”

Lila
looked over the faces of her new clan. Tear- stained and grief- ridden, and
now… hopeful. She could feel it in their emotions. With a nod fully as regal as
any Selene had ever given, she indicated that they should rise. And then gave
her first order as their leader.

“Those
of you who can help here, stay. Those who can’t, take Marcus and any others we
have lost to my room. Do what you must to heal yourselves and clean up. I will
join you later, after I’ve done what I can here.”

As
they moved to do her bidding, Lila turned to face her parents. Lucy’s eyes were
huge with tears. “You’re leaving us again,” she whispered.

Lila
pulled her mother into a hug. “Not yet. It won’t be safe for us on our own
until Maddox is truly defeated.”

Hugh
frowned. “But I thought you—”

Lila
shook her head. “Maddox is still alive. I only forced him to sleep so that he’d
shift out of the dragon. He can’t control it.”

“That’s
why he needs you,” Ramsey said, as realization struck.

She
hadn’t looked at him yet. She was a little afraid to after what had just gone
down. But when she mustered the courage to glance up, she saw only his steady
support staring back at her. “He needs me to help him control the dragon. As I
did with Ellie the first time she morphed. There’s more. But we can go into
that later.”

Ramsey
nodded.

“Can
you go with my people? Help them?”

He
took her hand and looked into her eyes.
“I would lead them by your side if
you asked me.”

Lila
didn’t answer. They had become so much closer through all of this. But now
wasn’t the time to be making big decisions. At least… one huge decision was
enough for now.

Ramsey
turned and followed her new tribe.

Lila
watched him go. Then she turned to her parents and took a deep breath.  “How is
Ellie?”

“She’ll
live,” Hugh said.

Lila
exhaled loudly. “Thank heaven.”

Hugh
nodded. “She was hurt pretty badly, and I had to save some of my power for
others. So she’s still out. I’ll work more on her later.”

“The
others?”

“No
one else from our family is hurt. Charlotte is sleeping. She’s exhausted after
all that teleporting. Dexter’s with her. Alex is with Ellie, of course. Griffin
and Selene are doing what they can to help. Selene’s somewhere in here. Griffin
is outside holding a shield over the entire castle in case Maddox thinks to
attack while we’re so vulnerable.”

“Adelaide
and Nate?” she asked.

“Nate
is back with Talia. Some of the Council wants to arrest them now. Or worse. So
his wanting to go to Talia was actually a good thing. Keeps him out of sight,”
Hugh said.

“Adelaide
is also in here somewhere, helping bandage people,” Lucy added.

“She’s
okay?” Lila asked.

Hugh
shrugged. “She seems to be.”

Lila
frowned, but nodded. “Okay then. Let’s get to work.”

Her
head was already pounding with the mass of emotions beating at her. So many
people were hurting. Not just from physical wounds, but from the pain of loss,
and also the damage of horrors witnessed. She could at least help with that.