Shattered (27 page)

For a moment, Trinity couldn’t speak. She just stared at the dragon as her heart seemed to smash into a thousand pieces. It was all she could do not to run screaming from the RV. To grab Emmy and never let her go.

But that wouldn’t be right.

That wouldn’t be right for Emmy.

“I’m crying because I’m happy,” she assured the dragon. “And, yes, he has a plan to help us. He knows of this place—this special place.” She bit her lower lip. Emmy was smart, but she wasn’t sure she could grasp the intricacies of the whole time-travel aspect of the plan. And she didn’t want to complicate things further. “A place where no one will try to hurt you,” she clarified at last. “A place where you can fly around all day long and hunt anything you want to eat.” She paused then added, “And there will be others just like you for you to hang out with.”

Emmy’s eyes widened.
Other
dragons? Like me?

Trinity felt the tears slipping from her eyes now. “Yes,” she managed to croak. “Lots of other dragons to make friends with and play with. You’ll never be lonely again.”

That
sounds
wonderful!
Emmy cried, her eyes dancing with excitement.
When
can
we
go?
She started hopping around eagerly, puffs of smoke escaping her nose.
I
want
to
go
now! I want to see the other dragons! I want to talk to them—there’s so much I don’t know about being a dragon. I bet they can tell me so many things!
She turned back to Trinity.
What
are
we
waiting
for? Let’s go to this special place.

“Emmy…” Trinity sucked in a breath. “That’s the thing.
You’d
be going. Not me.”

Emmy stopped short. She looked up at Trinity with horrified eyes.
What
do
you
mean?

“I mean…this is a place for dragons. Not people. I’d have to stay behind.”

What? No!
She could see the panic rising in Emmy at an alarming rate. Her nostrils flaring, her scales bristling, her eyes rolling. She shook her head vehemently.
No, I won’t go without you. You’re my Fire Kissed. We’re bonded. We’re destined. There’s no way I’m going to leave you behind.

“Emmy, listen to me,” she said firmly. “I don’t want you to leave me either. In fact, it’s the last thing I would ever want in the world. But don’t you see? This is your opportunity. A chance for you to live the big, fat, beautiful dragon life you deserve to live. I can’t give that to you if you stay here. All I can offer is more danger. More suffering. Possibly even death.”

She shook her head, the tears flowing freely now. “I made a promise to protect you, Ems. To keep you safe. Now it’s time for me to make good on that promise.”

The sobs rose to her throat, preventing any more words. She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against the dragon’s, unable to look at her, unable to face the unhappiness she knew she’d find written on Emmy’s face.

It was too much. It was too sad. It was too—

But
I
promised
to
protect
you
too.
The dragon protested in a plaintive voice.
How
can
I
protect
you
if
you
send
me
away?

Trinity winced. The question was so simple and yet so damn complicated—all at the same time. But suddenly she realized what she had to say.

The only thing she could say.

“I won’t…need protection anymore,” she explained slowly. “Once you’re gone, I’ll no longer be in danger. My dad and I can get an apartment. I can go back to high school. Apply for college. Get a job. Live a normal life.” She forced a smile to her lips. It was nearly impossible to hold. “Don’t you see, Emmy? This isn’t just about you and your happiness. Once you’re gone from here, I’ll get to fly free too.”

It was the worst lie she’d ever told, and pulling the words from her throat was nothing more than sheer torture. But what else could she say? If Emmy knew the truth, she’d never agree to go. And she had to go. It was, as Virgil said, the only possible solution.

You’ll be free?
Emmy questioned, looking her straight in the eye, as if she didn’t quite believe her.
You
swear
you’ll be free? That no one will want to hurt you anymore?

“Yes,” Trinity affirmed. “No one will want to hurt me anymore.”

Then…
The dragon drew in a breath and ruffled her wings.
Then
I
will
go.

Scarlet opened her eyes. Paradise was gone. The glass palace in the sky was gone. All the dragons of the Nether were gone. She was back in the rear of the bumpy, smelly truck with Caleb still unconscious by her side. She looked down at him, her heart squeezing. He looked so helpless lying there. So pale, so weak. Almost as if he were already dead. But she knew deep inside there was still a spark of life. And she had to hold on to that.

She reached out and brushed a lock of hair from his face then, on instinct, leaned forward to kiss him softly on his forehead.

“I won’t let you down,” she whispered. “I promise. I’ll get to them in time.”

A sudden nausea gripped her and she leaned to the side, puking her guts out as far away from Caleb as she could manage on short notice. She stared down at the vomit, her head pounding and her fingers trembling. Her whole body was flushed and sweaty and she felt an almost overwhelming weakness—as if she’d come down with the flu. The Nether hangover, she realized, just as Caleb had warned her about. She shook her head, a little amazed. If it felt this crappy to come down from one single trip, what must it be like for an addict like himself? No wonder the last time he’d been out for days.

“We’ll get you help,” she whispered, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. “Once we get out of this mess, we’re going to get you the help you need.”

But first things first. Drawing in a breath, she focused on the plan they’d made, trying to remember all that Caleb had taught her. Would she really be able to do this? Had Emmy’s blood really given her the power to play with people’s minds? She thought back to how the Potentials had done it to her. Sinking their fingers into her consciousness and changing her thought patterns. Could she really do the same if she tried? Now that she was back in reality, the whole thing seemed impossible. Crazy, even.

You
have
the
blood
of
a
dragon
swimming
through
your
veins,
Zoe and Zavier had told her.
You
would
be
amazed
at
what
you
can
do.

Squaring her shoulders and crossing her arms over her chest, Scarlet closed her eyes, reaching out, trying to connect with the minds of the two men driving the truck. At first she felt nothing—just a big, black void, stretching out as far as her mind could see. But she forced herself to press forward, widening the search, as Caleb had taught her, until finally the two consciousnesses danced in front of her like shiny balls of light.

She gnawed at her lower lip. Here went nothing.

He’s sick. Stop the truck. You have to help him.

She opened her eyes, listening, feeling for a change in movement coming from the vehicle. But the truck kept barreling on down the road with no signs of slowing down. She exhaled.
No
big
deal,
she told herself.
Caleb
said
it
might
take
a
few
tries.
Then she readied herself for push number two.

You’d better stop and check on him. If he dies, you’ll be in big trouble with Mara. You know you don’t want to mess with her.

She thought of Mara as she pushed. Of her cold, dark eyes. Of her knowing sneer. She thought she was so great. So superior to poor Caleb who was lying before her, sick and shivering. Scarlet hoped she would be around when Mara realized her plans had been thwarted. That Caleb—through Scarlet—had beaten her at her own game.

But first she needed the damn truck to stop moving.

You
have
to
stop. You have to stop the truck NOW.

Her stomach lurched and it felt as if there were knives stabbing at her brain. But still she pushed with all her might, concentrating hard on the hope she’d seen on Caleb’s face. She had to do this. She couldn’t let him down.

Stop
the
truck! Stop the truck! Stop the—

The vehicle jerked hard and she was thrown against the wall, slamming into the metal side and crashing to the floor. Tears sprang to her eyes and she bit down on her lip to keep from screaming as the pain reverberated through her entire body. It hurt so bad that it took her a moment to realize what had happened.

The truck had stopped. She heard two doors outside, opening then slamming shut. Footsteps, accompanied by two voices, coming closer. She bit her lower lip, her whole body gripped with fear.

The
blood
of
the
dragon. Emmy’s blood.

She heard a click of a lock and the rear door began to slide upward, the sudden outside light blinding her for a moment. When she could see again, she found the Homeland Security agent and another guy standing at the exit, peering into the truck with matching annoyed expressions on their faces.

“What’s wrong with him?” the agent asked.

“He’s sick,” she told them quickly. She pointed to the puddle of vomit. “He threw up all over himself and almost choked on it. Then he started having this…I don’t know…seizure or whatever. Like he was OD’ing or something.”

The men exchanged looks. The agent sighed then gestured for his partner to follow him into the truck to check on Caleb.

“Stay there,” he warned Scarlet, waving a gun in her direction. She nodded meekly.

“Just help him,” she begged. “He’s…my boyfriend. I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

The two men exchanged amused looks at this and the guy with the gun stuck it back in its holster at his side. She hid a small smile. Good. Let them think she was some silly girly girl who wouldn’t leave her guy behind in some crazy effort to escape.

Head still pounding, she readied for another push. Probably the last she had in her. Caleb had talked about depleting your spark, and now she understood firsthand what he’d meant. She felt like she could easily sleep for a week. But first she needed to bring this home. She squeezed her eyes shut. Here went nothing.

Oh
my
God! He’s convulsing! Help him! Now!

The men dove toward Caleb, who in reality wasn’t moving a muscle. One grabbed him by the head, the other held down his already-limp arms, using all his strength. It would have been funny, actually, if so much hadn’t been riding on the whole thing working.

“Keep him still!”

“Don’t let him swallow his tongue!”

As they busied themselves with their “patient,” Scarlet made her move, grabbing the gun out of the guy’s holster, then winding it up and slamming it as hard as she could against his jaw, just like she’d seen in the movies.

SLAM!

He didn’t even cry out. Just slumped over, a shocked expression frozen on his face as he was knocked out cold. She stared at him for a moment, pretty surprised herself. Caleb had told her the guy’s mind would be weakened from her manipulation, making him easier to render unconscious, but she’d still thought she’d have to hit him at least twice.

“What the hell?”

The agent dropped Caleb’s head. It hit the ground with a loud thump. He scrambled to his feet, reaching for his own gun.

“Don’t even think about it,” Scarlet growled, training her weapon at his chest.

He froze, his eyes lifting to her and her gun, as if assessing them both. “Do you even know how to use that thing?” he asked at last.

“I’m from Texas,” she spit out. It was sort of an answer anyway. “Now drop your gun and drag your buddy here out of the truck.”

He sighed but obeyed without her even having to push him this time. Which was a good thing, since she was pretty sure her spark was all gone at this point. Grabbing his partner under the arms, he slowly dragged his unconscious body to the truck’s edge. She joined him, kicking the body with her foot. A moment later he went tumbling onto the desert floor. The man jumped down after him.

“Now toss me the keys.”

The man looked up. “You’re going to be in big trouble, little girl,” he told her. “Attacking government agents is a pretty serious offense.”

“So, what, I should just kill you then? So you won’t tell on me?” she asked sweetly, tightening her grip on the gun.

He swore under his breath but reached into his pocket, throwing the keys up onto the truck bed. She scooped them up in one hand, then turned back to him. “Walk a hundred steps into the desert,” she told him. “When you see me pull away, you can come back for your little friend here.”

The agent scowled, stepping off the road, counting under his breath. She watched him for a moment then dropped to her knees to check on Caleb. Thankfully, he still seemed okay. Still locked in the Nether but breathing normally. She wished she could move him to the front cab of the truck, but he would be too heavy for her to drag. Better to keep him here for now.

“It worked, Bad Seed,” she whispered. “And now the misfit toys are going to save the day.”

She rose to her feet and hopped out of the truck, pulling the door shut behind her. Then she leaned over to the unconscious man and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.

“Blood of the dragon,” she whispered to herself then headed to the driver’s seat.