Shattered (7 page)

“That’s not true,” she cried, her heart breaking at the hurt she could hear hidden beneath his anger. “We
do
need you.”

But he had already turned from her, storming across the arid plain, leaving her and his dragon behind. She watched him go for a moment, her stomach lurching with nausea mixed with fear. He wouldn’t really stay here, would he? In this horrible, lonely place?

Her mind flashed to the last time she’d seen her mother—of her sunken cheeks, her ghostly pallor, her glazed-over eyes. The Nether had stolen away the woman’s very soul and, in the end, death had been the only possible means of escape.

Trinity hadn’t been able to save her mother. But Caleb…

Somehow, she found her feet, sprinting after him, reaching him and jerking him around by his arm. His gaze caught hers, trapping her where she stood, and for a moment they just looked at one another as her knees threatened to buckle out from under her.

“
I
need you,” she corrected in a hoarse whisper. It was the only thing to say.

He stared at her for a moment, anger and hurt warring on his face, as if he wanted desperately to believe her but just couldn’t. Despair washed over her and she found herself moving toward him. Wanting to show him what she couldn’t speak.

But before her lips could brush against his, he pushed her away, with a gentleness that belied the tortured look on his face. “Don’t,” he said in a strangled voice. “Please don’t, Trin. It’ll only make it harder.” He stared down at the ground. “And it’s so damn hard already.”

Trin’s heart broke. “Caleb—”

He shook his head vehemently. “Look, I’ll be there for you, okay?” he cried. “You know I will. I dedicated my life to you long ago and nothing has changed. Whatever you want, whatever you need from me, I’ll do it. I’ll always do it.” He gave her an anguished look. “Just please don’t ask me to walk away from my dragon. That’s the one thing I can never do.” He paused, turning away. “Even for you.”

“There it is,” Scarlet whispered as she crouched down behind a rusty tractor, a few feet from the darkened farmhouse. Her gaze traveled to the adjacent barn and she closed her eyes to listen. While her ears could pick up nothing beyond the typical cicada and cricket chorus soundtracking the Texas night, her mind caught something else entirely. She opened her eyes, beckoning for Rebekah to catch up. “It’s in there,” she told her friend, pointing to the barn. “I’m sure of it.”

Rebekah joined her behind the tractor, peering around its rear wheel and leveling her eyes on the darkened farmhouse and barn. Then she turned back to Scarlet. “How do you know?” she asked, her voice filled with skepticism. “It’s so dark I can barely see my hand in front of my face, never mind a fire-breathing beast hiding out in a barn.”

Scarlet shrugged, not sure how to explain. Truthfully, she had no idea
how
she knew—just that she did, without a shadow of a doubt. Almost as if she’d been gifted with some kind of crazy dragon-homing device directly implanted into her brain. Had the dragon’s blood connected her to the creature in some weird psychic way, letting her know where it was at all times? That was, of course, how these things always seemed to play out in the fantasy novels she’d read, where poor peasant girls of no consequence bonded with dragons and became heroes of the realm.

But this wasn’t a fantasy. It was real life. And how this was all happening was a complete mystery. But it didn’t matter, she told herself. The important thing was they were there. They’d get in, they’d get their video, and they’d get back to the football game before anyone knew they were gone.

“Why would a dragon be hiding out at the Old McCormick place anyway?” Rebekah added, looking doubtfully at the neglected yard, strangled by weeds. “You’d think a creature of myth and legend would choose someplace a little more…I don’t know…glamorous?”

“Maybe the Four Seasons was booked for the weekend,” Scarlet suggested wryly.

“Or they just couldn’t afford the fire insurance premiums?”

Scarlet giggled, gesturing for Rebekah to follow her as she left the tractor and crept toward the barn, careful to keep her footsteps light and not make too much noise. The last thing they needed was to scare away the dragon before they could film it.

Just
one
shot. One really good shot,
Scarlet told herself.
That’s all we need.

She still admittedly felt a little guilty about the whole thing. Like she was some evil paparazzi, stalking the poor dragon in order to exploit it for cash. But she made Rebekah promise they’d remove the identifying geotags and not tell anyone where they filmed the footage. This way, the dragon couldn’t be tracked down by anyone else who might have a more nefarious purpose in mind.

No
dragons
will
be
harmed
in
the
making
of
this
video,
she reminded herself.
And
no
mothers
will
be
either…ever again…if all goes to plan.

She imagined her mother’s face when she presented her with the check. It didn’t have to be the millions that Rebekah had bragged about—just a few grand for a security deposit and a U-Haul rental. Enough to pack their bags and drive out to New Mexico, to get a place on the reservation near Grandmother and start a new life, just the two of them. Leaving the monster behind for good. He was too lazy, too unorganized, and, of course, too broke to follow them that far. And she was pretty sure out of sight meant out of mind.

Somehow she managed to reach the barn without tripping over any rusty farm equipment. Rebekah joined her a moment later, flicking on her cell phone and shining it at the front doors. The dim light revealed a large, imposing padlock, securing the doors in place. Damn. Scarlet felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. It was locked from the outside. Which meant there was probably no dragon squatting on the inside. Had she been wrong?

“Maybe someone locked it inside the barn?” Rebekah suggested, a little too kindly, as if trying to spare Scarlet’s feelings.

“Yeah, maybe,” she muttered, walking around the barn with her own cell phone shining, standing on her tiptoes to try to look in the windows. Unfortunately, it appeared as if they’d all been blocked out from the inside with dark blankets. She sighed, returning to Rebekah, disappointment dropping like lead in her stomach.

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “Maybe my sixth sense was just a side effect of today’s Salisbury steak special…”

Rebekah gave her an exaggerated shocked look. “Are you saying you’re already thwarted, Scarlet-in-the-library-with-the-revolver?” She clucked in mock disappointment.

“I take it you’re not?”

“Come on. No way is some pesky padlock going to keep me from fame, fortune, and a Ford Fiesta. Watch and learn, grasshopper.”

Scarlet watched, eyebrows raised, as her friend pulled out a portable handsaw from her backpack, likely swiped from her father’s toolbox. “Will that break the lock?” she asked, a shred of hope rising within her.

“Well, it’s no sonic screwdriver, but it should do the job,” Rebekah replied with a grin. She grabbed the lock and began sawing.

“Remind me to text you next time I get locked out of the house,” Scarlet said with grudging admiration.

But as her friend worked at the lock, her apprehension grew. What if she was wrong about all of this? What if they went through all this trouble to break and enter only to find nothing more than a rusty toolbox and a few dusty saddles inside?

Then
we’ll be right back where we started from,
she told herself.
Nothing
lost, nothing gained.

But if she was right…

Promise
me, Scarlet, promise me you’ll look after Mom.

She squared her jaw. The dragon would be there. She had to be.

“Ta-da!” Rebekah proclaimed a moment later as the lock cracked open. “It’s show time!”

“Shhh…” Scarlet hissed, slapping her on the arm. “Can we at least vaguely attempt to be stealthy here?” There were no lights coming from the farmhouse, but still. You never knew who might be in earshot. And then there was the dragon itself, if it was indeed in the barn.

“Sorry,” Rebekah whispered. “I just got excited. Who knew a life of crime could be so exhilarating?”

Scarlet didn’t dignify her with an answer. Instead, she reached out, wrapping her hand around the door handle and slowly pulling it open. The rusty hinges groaned in protest, and for a moment the door refused to budge. But with Rebekah’s help, they finally managed to pry it open enough to slip through.

“Ew!” Rebekah whispered as she stuck her head in—then quickly back out. “It’s like the freaking bog of eternal stench in there!” She pinched her wrinkled nose. “Someone seriously needs to change drago’s litter box.” She reached into her bag for her dad’s video camera. Pulling off the lens cap, she turned it on and switched it to night vision. The view screen illuminated an otherworldly green color as the inside of the barn came into focus.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’m rolling. Here be dragons—take one.” She slipped into the barn, panning the camera from left to right. Scarlet followed, her misgivings increasing by the second. It was so dark all she could focus on was the glow coming from the camera, a green circle bobbing in midair. She squinted at it, trying to see what—

A pair of round eyes blinked back at her.

“Oh my God! Oh my freaking God!” Rebekah shrieked, dropping the camera to the ground.

“Shhh!” Scarlet hissed. “What are you—”

She felt her friend push past her, diving for the door.

“Get back here!” she cried, dashing after her. “What about your Ford Fiesta?”

But Rebekah was already halfway to the tractor. By the time Scarlet got there, her friend was on her bike and ready to go. From the glow of her cell phone, Scarlet could see her face had turned pure white.

“Forget it. It was a crazy idea,” Rebekah declared. “I’m going back to the game.”

“You left your dad’s video camera in the barn.”

“He can buy a new one. Did you see that thing, Scarlet? Did you see it?”

“Yes, I saw it. That was kind of the whole point of coming here, remember?”

“I thought you were joking,” Rebekah cried, sounding close to tears. “I thought we were just messing around. That it was going to turn out to be a mutated goat or something. But that thing…It’s real. It’s…” She shook her head angrily. “Get on your bike and let’s go.”

Scarlet surprised herself by shaking her head. “No.”

“Are you insane?”

“We came here to get that video. I’m not leaving until I get it.” After all, it was just a new car for Rebekah. But Scarlet’s whole future depended on these particular fifteen seconds of fame.

“Fine. But if you’re not back in twenty minutes, I’m going to call the cops.”

Scarlet let out a frustrated breath. “You won’t need to. I’ll be in and out. No big deal.”

Rebekah gave her one more disparaging look then pedaled her bike off down the road. Scarlet watched her go, sighing, then turned back to the barn. She was on her own.

“Okay, dragon,” she muttered. “Hope you’re ready for your close-up.”

Slowly she made her way back to the barn. The door was still cracked and she wondered, for a moment, why the creature hadn’t tried to follow them outside. With careful steps, she slipped through the doors and found the camera on the ground, still rolling and glowing green. Picking it up, she scanned the barn again, her hands shaking so hard she wasn’t sure even steady cam could compensate.

“Hey, dragon,” she whispered hoarsely. “Are you in here? I’m not going to hurt you. I just need a little video, okay? It’s for a good cause, I swear.”

As if in answer, the dragon stepped out from the shadows. Now that her eyes had adjusted a bit, Scarlet could make out her silhouette. It was small. Well, small for a dragon, anyway. The night before in the woods, she’d been so freaked out, she’d pictured the creature to be larger than life. But in reality, it wasn’t much bigger than her neighbor’s Golden Retriever. Was that normal for real-life dragons? Or was she just a baby?

She trained the video camera on the creature. “That’s it,” she whispered. “Good girl. That’s a good girl.”

Good
girl? What does she think I am, some kind of dog?

Scarlet squeaked, nearly dropping the camera. She staggered backward, her eyes bugging from her head as she stared at the dragon.

“Oh my God, you can talk?” she cried.

The dragon looked just as startled. It backed up slowly, looking at Scarlet with wary eyes.

You
can
hear
me?

The voice whispered across her consciousness like a gentle breeze, though the creature’s mouth never moved. It was high-pitched, young, definitely female—and definitely belonging to the dragon standing in front of her. Even though that was, of course, totally, utterly impossible. But then, so was everything else about this whole scenario.

An excitement swelled in Scarlet’s stomach. A dragon—a talking dragon. This was getting cooler and cooler by the second.

“I can hear you just fine,” she said, feeling a little silly talking out loud to the creature. But it seemed rude not to answer her, and she had no idea how to do the whole mental telepathy thing.

The dragon gaped at her for a moment, looking as astounded as Scarlet felt.

How
is
that
possible?
she asked at last.
Humans
can
never
understand
anything
I
try
to
tell
them. Well, besides my Fire Kissed, of course, but she’s different.
The dragon paused, peering at her with suspicious eyes.
Are you
sure
you’re human?

“Uh, yeah, last I checked,” Scarlet stammered, still overwhelmed by the fact that she was actually conversing with a creature of myth and legend in a rundown Texas barn. If only Rebekah were still here—though it sounded like it was quite possible that her friend would not be able to hear the dragon, even if she were.

But Scarlet could hear her just fine. Much like she’d been able to sense her presence in the barn without knowing why.

“Maybe it has something to do with your blood?” she added, a thought striking her. “That’s how I was able to track you down. I mean, that’s my theory anyway.”

The dragon cocked her head in question.
My
blood?

“Yeah, you know,” Scarlet said with growing confidence. “Remember last night in the woods? You healed my arm with your blood. And ever since then, I’ve been able to feel you somehow. Like, where you are.” She considered this for a moment. “Maybe it’s like when people give vampires their blood; they become psychically connected for all eternity.” She couldn’t help a small smile at this. Imagine being psychically connection with a dragon! How cool would that be?

The dragon raised a scaly eyelid.

Are
you
a
vampire?

“Well, no, of course not,” Scarlet admitted lamely, feeling her cheeks heat. She wasn’t sure if that had been a sincere question or if the dragon was teasing her. (A dragon…teasing her!) “Vampires don’t really exist, obviously. I mean, I don’t think they do. Of course up until yesterday I didn’t think dragons existed either, so really, what do I know?”

She was rambling. Babbling like a fool. To a dragon!

Dragons
don’t really exist either
, the creature informed her. Scarlet watched as she nudged something under a nearby bench with her nose. A moment later, a weak beam of light shone through the barn. Some kind of battery powered lantern?
Well, not anymore anyway. As far as I know, I’m the last one. The rest died out millions of years ago.