dragons breath 02 - dancing with flames (34 page)

A cold chill ran through me. “How have you seen him before and survived?”

“Several years ago, I came upon The Shadow fighting a dragon renowned for its ferociousness. It was a brutal and bloody fight. For a moment, I watched as your father tore into the dragon, but then my better sense prevailed, and I fled before he could turn on me next.”

“Well, that’s just great,” I grumbled. “At least my father can spare time for dragons if not me.” It was petty for me to be jealous of the beasts Wayne killed, but it seemed to me they got more of his attention. If he hadn’t saved my life, I might not have thought he cared at all.

Aidan put a hand on my shoulder. “If the rumors hold true, your father is not a social person. He prefers to walk his path alone, living only for his next battle. Earl may be right that he does not know what to say to you, but at least he made the effort to find you.”

I expelled a breath. “Yeah, I guess, but whose father leaves his daughter to handle a huge city of dragons by herself after watching her nearly die?”

He was quiet for a moment and then his gaze darkened. “Were you wearing shifter warrior garb when he found you?”

I nodded.

“Then he knows you are working with us.” Aidan gave me a sympathetic look. “It is likely that he sees it as a betrayal to your heritage.”

I stilled. The outfit I’d worn that day had never crossed my mind once as I wondered why my father would not talk to me. He’d been a slayer long enough to know there was only one way I could have gotten the camrium uniform. Finally figuring out the answer didn’t make me feel any better.

“You’re probably right.” I rubbed my face. “He can’t be happy about that.”

Aidan gave me a weak smile. “If it helps, my father will no longer speak to me because I refused my nomination.”

“That doesn’t help.” I gave him a disgruntled look. “Now I only feel worse because working together is causing a rift between us and our families.”

He stared at me for a moment. “I have to believe that what we are doing is worth the sacrifice. No matter the cost to ourselves, we have a chance to make things better for my toriq and your people. Do not lessen the importance of our alliance.”

“You’re right.” And he was. I didn’t know my father before, and his refusal to speak to me now didn’t change anything. As long as I could eventually reunite with the family who did care about me, I’d be okay.

Aidan’s expression turned serious. “Speaking of which, the battle will commence in three days. You should make transportation arrangements for the children. Phoebe has informed my father she will be focusing on their rescue during the battle so no one will question you being there as long as you blend in as a human.”

I would have to fight with normal clothes over my camrium uniform, but it would be worth it to avoid any more trouble for Aidan and his sister. “Alright, I can handle that.”

“Good.” He nodded. “Phoebe and I will return soon to discuss the final arrangements.”

“You have to go already?” I had hoped he would stay and train with me for a while.

“There is much to do.” Aidan took a step back. “Continue working on your control as much as you can. It is important that you can keep your focus on the children during the battle.”

“I will,” I said, having already considered the same thing.

“Take care, Bailey.”

He shifted into his dragon form again, not bothering to move far from me. It was another test, but I had no trouble passing it this time. Seeing Aidan in his dragon form seemed to get easier every time I did it. He took off into the sky a moment later, leaving me alone in the field.

Chapter 31

Bailey

It was early afternoon, and the streets were mostly deserted as I drove through them on my way to Earl’s. I hated to risk going there at this time of day, but I wanted to give him as much notice as possible about the impending rescue operation. We had to start planning how to transport the kids out of there and get them returned to their parents.

On that thought, I turned on the radio to listen to Hank’s latest updates. He would be a part of my plan, assuming Earl could get in contact with him in time.

“Hey, folks. For those who missed the news earlier today, I’ve got an interesting development for you. A reliable source has told me that the U.S. military has consolidated its forces on the East Coast somewhere around the Virginia and North Carolina border. They have begun waging a war against the dragons in that area, and they’ve made some headway.”

I glanced at the radio, shocked. That was the first good news I’d heard from Hank since last month when he announced a farmer was giving away all of his corn if people would just come out and pick it for him. Yeah, that wasn’t something that should seem like a big deal, but when you don’t have stores to purchase your food from anymore, it becomes one. Still, Hank’s news today made me feel optimistic for the first time in a while. I’d written off the military, figuring they had disbanded sometime soon after they stopped dropping bombs on the dragons in Oklahoma. There had been no reports of their activity in nearby states, either, making everyone think they’d lost the fight. How had Hank managed to find this out?

“…according to my source, they’ve managed to establish a one-hundred-square-mile safe area between Virginia and North Carolina. Having said that—don’t go packing your bags just yet. The perimeter is a hot zone and too dangerous to be crossed. The military is fighting daily battles against the dragons to keep them out. Countless people have already died trying to get close, and I don’t want to see ya’ll end up among the dead.”

I listened to Hank continue his update while scanning the sky. I’d just passed the railroad tracks as I drove down Boyd Street, and I had entered Shadowan territory. There were a couple of dragons flying off to the north, but they were too far away to be a concern. Oklahoma University came up on my left. The grass was overgrown, many buildings had storm or fire damage, and the only living thing visible on the grounds was a dog roaming around. Every time I took this route, it hurt to see what had become of the campus. Had it really just been last spring that I’d been a student taking classes there?

After Boyd Street narrowed to two lanes, I turned my attention back to the road and caught sight of a blond woman ahead waving her arms. She stood on the sidewalk, a desperate look on her face. I considered not stopping, but the tears on her face seemed too genuine to ignore. She needed help and seemed to know exactly who my truck belonged to.

Pulling up alongside her, I rolled down my window, “Do you need help?”

“Yes!” She dashed up to me and clutched the door. “A dragon took my daughter, and I’ve been trying to find you. People say you can help.”

Now that I could see her up close, I recognized her. This was the same woman who I had rescued when her house was hit by a tornado a few months ago. She had a cute little girl with her that we also pulled from the debris. Conrad had taken her and her daughter up to some relative’s house not far from here. He still went back to visit them sometimes, but I never saw them again. It took me a moment to remember the woman’s name, though Conrad had mentioned it a few times.

“You’re Christine, right?” I asked.

Her eyes rounded. “How did you know?”

“I was with Conrad when we pulled you out of your house after the tornado.”

“Oh!” She gasped. “That was you? And here I am asking for your help again.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about that. Now tell me what happened with your daughter.”

She wiped a tear from her cheek. “Last night. I was asleep, and I didn’t hear Lacy go outside. The dragon must have seen her in the backyard and taken her.”

I gave her a look of sympathy, hating to ask the next question. “How can you be sure it was a dragon if you were asleep?”

In my experience, humans were just as bad if not worse since D-day, and they were just as likely to take the girl. I’d counted six kids yesterday and if Lacy was another then that made seven. How many children did the damn dragon need before it was satisfied?

“My aunt told me.” Christine sucked in a breath. “She doesn’t get around well, but she heard a noise and peeked out her bedroom window. The dragon was carrying Lacy away.”

Damn—there was no denying that. My chest tightened as the little girl’s face entered my mind with her pink cheeks and ringlets of blond hair. As I recalled, she couldn’t have been more than five years old the last time I saw her. This was the first missing child I had actually met before, and it made the situation seem that much worse. Not that I hadn’t been taking it seriously. It was just a little closer to home this time now that I knew one of the victims.

“I’ve already got a plan in the works to rescue all the missing kids,” I said, thinking about how best to help the woman. “Why don’t you come with me, and you can hear all about it.”

“Do you really think you can save her?” Christine asked.

“I’ll do my best.” Nothing was guaranteed, but I’d rescue those kids or die trying.

Something about that thought struck me. When had I become the person who people came to for help? Just a few short months ago, I’d been the kind of girl who kept a low profile and avoided attention. The very thought of anyone seeking me out would have sent me running, but I didn’t have much of a choice anymore. I had the ability to protect people and with that came a huge amount of responsibility.

Christine hesitated. “I, uh, don’t know if I should go…”

“Unless you’re a dragon, you’re safe with me,” I promised.

She gave me a weak smile and after another moment hopped into the truck. I checked the area to be sure we hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention. This was a neighborhood with a lot of trees and a limited view of the sky, but I didn’t spot any flying green objects. Hitting the gas, I continued on my way to Earl’s neighborhood. We only had a few blocks left to go so it didn’t take long to hit the perimeter they’d set up.

Miles—a former military guy in his mid-twenties—and an older man I didn’t know well stood guard. They lowered their weapons as soon as they recognized my truck. I hadn’t seen Miles around much since he joined some secret group in town that tested alternative ways to take down dragons. He had asked me to help out, but I didn’t have the time, and I didn’t want to encourage them. His group was still struggling to come up with something effective, which was tough when almost every resource they had could be burned in an instant.

The few ideas they’d attempted so far had gotten several of their members killed. There was no easy way to fight dragons unless you were fireproof, and the clever beasts learned any tactics humans came up with rather quickly. The only tried and true method I’d found that worked was to get up in their face and poke my sword into them until they died. Once again, fireproofing required. If I could have talked Aidan into some special gear for Miles and his group, it might have been different, but he refused. I suspected he worried they’d come after shifters as well.

Miles stepped in front of my window, and his gaze shot to Christine. “Who is that?”

“A woman whose daughter was just taken by the dragons.”

His gaze softened a fraction. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Christine sniffled. I probably could have mentioned her daughter in an easier way, but Miles tended to put me on my guard. He was too stiff and completely lacked a sense of humor. Danae and I had pulled numerous pranks on him during the summer hoping to lighten him up, but nothing worked. I suspected he was born without the necessary facial muscles required to laugh or smile.

“She won’t be here too long, don’t worry. I just need to take her with me to talk to Earl.”

Miles nodded. “No problem.”

“How’s it going?” I asked while we waited for the other guard to open the make-shift gate.

Miles glared at me. “It would be better if you joined my group and helped us out.”

“Sorry, but missing kids take priority,” I said, giving him an unapologetic look.

“Yeah, and how is that going?” He crossed his arms.

“I know where they are now. It’s just a matter of getting to them.”

“You know!” Christine grabbed my arm. “Why didn’t you say that?”

“Yeah, and why haven’t you rescued them already?” Miles narrowed his eyes.

I caught a glimpse of Earl standing in his yard down the street, watching us. The second guard had removed the barrier, opening the way for my truck. “I’m only explaining this once so if you want to know, you’re gonna have to get someone to take over guard duty and join us.”

Not bothering to wait for his reply, I hit the gas pedal and hurried down the street. Ten minutes later I had everyone gathered in Earl’s living room, including Miles, Justin, Danae, Conrad, and Trish. As soon as they’d seen me enter the neighborhood, they’d figured something was up for me to come here in the middle of the afternoon. Christine might not have recognized me right away, but she was happy to see Conrad. They were now sitting next to each other on the couch, and he was doing his best to console her while appearing rather upset himself.

“Okay,” I said, pacing in front of everyone. Moving around helped me focus, and it reduced the anxiety I felt at having so many people looking at me. “Some of you may have heard from Conrad that a bunch of dragons are living at the airport.”

Earl nodded, but everyone else shook their heads. I’d told Conrad to keep the news to himself until I had more information, and he had apparently taken that order to heart.

“At my current count, there are seven children there,” I said.

“And how many dragons?” Miles asked, looking at me with disdain. “Since you just left the kids there without rescuing them.”

Danae punched him in the arm. “You are such an asshole. Let her talk.”

Miles ground his teeth, but he kept his mouth shut.

I turned my attention to Earl. “We checked out the place during the morning when they were sleeping in their dens. There was no way to get a precise count, but with Aidan and his sister’s help we were able to determine there are at least seventy or eighty.”