Dragon Marked: Supernatural Prison #1 (27 page)

“I’m going to have to run forever?” I cried.

He shook his head. “No, we will make you safe, we will
find a way. But for now there is no time. If they take you, they will be able
to hide you from me. Instead, I beat them at that game and I will hide you from
them.”

He shoved a bag into my hands, a heavy knapsack.

“Go now, Jessa. I have learned much this night, but
there is no more time.” He pretty much picked me up then and tossed me through
the portal.

I closed my eyes, bracing for whatever protections to
attack me. But there was nothing, just a weird sucking sensation, then with a
diving roll on the ground, I was on the other side. I was in the human world.

Holy shitballs.

I took off along the long, winding, dirt road, nothing
on either side but trees and fields. I didn’t slow until the black Range Rover
came into view, just sitting there in the center of the dirt path as if Louis
had dropped it out of the sky. Skidding to the side, I wrenched open the driver’s
door and without hesitation jumped into the black leather seat. I didn’t take
any time to remove the bag; it clanked to my side as I hit the button to start
the powerful machine. I knew there would be keys inside somewhere, and sure
enough, at the touch of my fingertips the V8 engine roared to life.

As I slammed the stick into drive and pushed my foot
flat to the floor, I silently thanked Braxton for my multitude of driving
lessons. The four tires skidded on the dirt road before finding traction, and
then I was off. In the rearview mirror, dust blew up behind me and I swore, in
the far distance, I saw the Four dive out of the dome. Shit. They were already
after me.

I decided to not look back again. I focused on trying
to recall where the airport was. We all had to memorize the map. It was part of
the evacuation route should it ever be required. But looking at a map and being
there in real life, not to mention being chased, was spazzing out my mind a
little.

I stayed on the road until we reached a fork and I was
starting to get my bearings. I knew the first turn was left, then there was
another long road. It was definitely hard to orientate myself, everything
looked the same. I was surrounded by huge fields of corn. I continued to take
the turns, three left and two right, and then I sucked in a deep breath as the
familiar supernatural symbol appeared on a small plaque, discreetly placed
beneath the human speed sign.
Thank eff.
I sobbed my next few breaths. I
was going the right way.

It took thirty minutes, but suddenly the large hangar
building appeared on the horizon. I didn’t bother to look for a place to park
my car, I just continued to drive until I pretty much ended up on the tarmac.
There was only one plane out of the hangars, and it looked ready to roll. I
screeched to a halt near the back of the wing. A quick glance in all of mirrors
– I was still alone for the moment. I threw myself out of the car, leaving the
door hanging open, and sprinted for the steps. I clunked my foot on the bottom
step and a man appeared at the top.

“Hurry, Miss Lebron, we have to leave now.”

I recognized the golden ring he wore on his middle
finger. He was a guild. Humans that helped us out; he was going to get me to
safety. I really hoped we wouldn’t have to kill him afterwards. I’m sure Louis
just wiped their memories.

I ran up the stairs, taking them three at a time. Once
I was inside, the plane door slammed close and was secured. The takeoff
procedure started immediately before I’d even made it past the front entrance.
I leaned against that wall, the heavy bag hanging off my side, and took a
moment to calm my racing heart. Until we were in the air I wouldn’t feel safe. In
reality, knowing how crazy powerful the Four were, I wondered how I’d ever feel
safe again.

“Miss Lebron?” I spun my head to find the guild man
right beside me. “You need to take your seat and buckle up.”

The plane was already moving. I lurched a little as I
left the wall I was hugging.

Moving down the hall – it was quite large for a
private plane – I emerged in a long open room that seemed to have lots of
leather chairs. And as I focused on the scene before me, I froze, and then loud
and violent sobs burst from me. Mischa was in the closest chair, and further
back were the Compasses. All four of them. Red hair caught my attention too.
Grace, the healer witch, was off to the side.

Wait, what?

I knew it was weird that she was here, but right now I
was focused on the others.

“Jessa.” Mischa’s arms came around me. “Thank God you’re
okay.”

I lifted my trembling arms, securing them tightly
around her, and held on like my life depended on it.

Jacob, who’d also jumped to his feet when I’d
appeared, swept me away from my sister and carried me back to buckle me in next
to him. “Come on, baby girl, we got you now, you can relax.”

Mischa was back in her seat and the plane had started
rapidly down the runway, and then we were in the air. I managed to get my sobs
under control, lifting both hands to wipe at my eyes. I’d never been on a
plane, and was distracted from my crying fit by the weird sensations of blocked
ears and pressure in my head.

Tyson leaned over Jacob. “Open your mouth wide and
yawn.” He had to speak loudly over the thrusts of the engine.

I followed his instructions and had immediate relief.

“Thank you,” I shouted back. A few more sobs shook me,
but I had them under control. I wiped away the last of the wetness of my
cheeks. “What’s wrong with Braxton?” I finally noticed the way his head was
lolling to the side. He looked like he was asleep.

Maximus laughed. “Well, let’s just say none of us were
very happy with Louis’ little plan, but Braxton actually had to be … well,
convinced. He’s having a little nap.”

I cast worried eyes at my bestie, but he didn’t seem
to be in distress. His breathing was nice and even.

We ascended for a long time, and then finally, as the
plane evened out and started to glide, Braxton blinked a few times before his
head shot up. He raised a hand and rubbed at his temples.

“Jessa…” he bit out, looking around the space. The
relief across his features when he noticed me was apparent. “I’m going to kill
that fucking wizard. If anything happened to you…”

The light went off for the seatbelt sign, so I clicked
myself free and crawled across the boys to hug Braxton. “I’m fine,” I said.
“Louis saved me.”

Braxton didn’t look convinced. “Tell me what happened.”

I quickly went through everything, touching briefly on
the Four and the power they’d had to halt my shift to wolf. Only Braxton knew
of my dual shifting abilities, so I didn’t mention that my dragon had been cut
off also.

Then it was their turn. Tyson started. He explained
how Louis had come to them and decided to put this contingency plan into place.
He said that if the Four decided to attack, it was better to be prepared, and
if they didn’t he’d return and fetch the boys. He’d grabbed Mischa at the last
minute while I’d been occupied with the Four.

I turned to the witch. “Hi, Grace.” She returned my
smile. “How did you get roped into this?”

Her very dark doe eyes blinked a few times. “Louis
asked me if I was willing to help you all, that you would need a healer.” She
shrugged. “There was nothing keeping me in Stratford, and I’ve always envied
the closeness of your pack.” Her stare was direct. I could see Tyson locking
his gaze on her too. “So … here I am.”

“Thank you,” I said, my tone low.

I didn’t even want to know why Louis thought we’d need
a healer.

Braxton hit the button to free himself from the
harness then. “Fucking wizard took us all by surprise. I told him we needed to
stay and defend you, but he insisted we had no idea what we were going up
against and that we had to be smart. I was on my way to smack him in the face
when everything went dark.”

Tyson kept a straight face. “He hit Brax straight in
the chest with a knockout spell, fastest cast I’ve ever seen.”

Mischa moved across then and squished in with all of
us on the large couch. “What is in the bag?”

I reached down and freed the knapsack that was wedged
in between me and Maximus. Lifting the lid, I tipped the contents onto the
small table. Bundles of cash, passports, and driver’s licenses spilled out.
Damn, the sorcerer was like a human Boy Scout, always prepared.

We sifted through the lot, opening each document to
find there were new identities for all of us, including Grace, enough paperwork
that we would be able to survive in the human world if we needed to. And a
crap-ton of cash. Lastly, there was a folded piece of paper.

I opened it to find a hand-penned letter.

I didn’t recognize the neat writing, but I assumed it
was from Louis. I read it out aloud to the group.

“Jessa, if you are reading this, then the Four know
about your mark. I hoped it wouldn’t come to pass, but I always have a
contingency plan for these situations. I have included in this bag everything
you should need to venture into the human world.”

I sucked in deeply before continuing: “New names, new
identities, nothing traceable for the Four. You may not need them as I’m
sending you to a safe house of a friend, a friend that I trust with my life. He
knows a lot about the marked, he will have answers for you. I, too, have a lot
to explain. I have learned many things this day but there was no time. For now,
stay safe.”

I glanced down at the rest of the note. It was filled
with directions to follow once we got to our new destination. He’d signed his
name at the bottom in a flourishing signature.

Mischa leaned over to look. “Does it say where we are
going?”

I looked between all of them. “Don’t you all know
where we are going?” Seriously, I just assumed someone knew.

Heads shaking side to side and grim faces. I scanned
the rest of the directions of the note but there was nothing to indicate our
final destination. Rising from my seat, I made my way into that little front
alcove, where the man who’d welcomed me on board was preparing food.

“Hello.”

He jumped. “Sorry, Miss Lebron, is there anything I
can help you with?” He faced me and I realized he didn’t look much older than I
was.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name when I first got on
the plane…” I let the sentence trail off.

He dried his hands on a towel. “I’m Craig.” I wondered
if he was going to shake my hand, but he didn’t move, so clearly not. I
observed him for a moment. He was my first real human and I was fascinated by his
lack of energy, almost as if he were cloaking it, but I knew that was simply
what a human was. He was cute but sort of plain. Mousy brown hair and washed-out
blue eyes. Nothing special about him, but maybe his normalness was special all
on its own.

“Hi, Craig, you can call me Jessa.” I smiled, which he
returned, but ten to one he was still going to call me Miss Lebron. The guild
was big on their formalities. “Can you tell me where we are going?”

His smile faltered minutely. A sort of blank look
crossed his face. “You know, I’m not actually sure. I was called on last minute
for this charter.” He straightened a little. “I’ll go and check with the pilot.”

He disappeared and I knew he was heading to the front
of the plane where the pilot and co-pilot would be sequestered. Probably more
guild members. They were on standby everywhere in the world. Craig was back in
a few minutes.

He looked uncomfortable, fidgeting with his white
button shirt. “The pilot said the official flight path is for Japan, but that
we’re actually heading to Romania. To the Carpathian mountains.”

I could sense his confusion, but they never questioned
supernaturals. I nodded my thanks before I stumbled back into the main cabin. Six
sets of eyes were watching me closely. Braxton got to his feet. He had to duck
so he wouldn’t hit his head in the small area.

“Did you find out where we are going?” He reached my
side and took my hand. I blinked rapidly as I stared up into his blue eyes.

My voice was a bit vapid as I tried to catalogue my
thoughts. “Where in Romania is mount Drago located?” I’d asked Louis that
earlier, but I wanted to check he had the right information.

Braxton paused. I could hear his breath. It had suddenly
gone that quiet in the plane.