Smoked (6 page)

“How does that feel, Emmy? Does that feel any better?”

Scarlet paused from rubbing oil into the creases between Emmy's neck scales, her eyes roving over the dragon, assessing her handiwork. Emmy was still pale and painfully thin compared to her former self, but Scarlet thought she could see a slight blush of color coming back to her scales, and it gave her a small bit of hope.

It had been three days since Emmy had been brought back to Team Dragon, and Scarlet and the others had worked around the clock to make sure the dragon felt safe—if not happy—in her new home. The former airline hangar had indeed turned out to be the perfect dragon cave—large enough for Emmy to stretch her wings and fly if she felt the urge, without the risk of being spotted by anyone from the outside world. Sure, it wouldn't be the best flying ever—more like swimming laps in a pool, back and forth, rinse and repeat. But it was better than anything she'd had back at the government lab and certainly better than the old McCormick barn.

But Emmy hadn't seemed interested in flying. Instead, she'd retreated to the sleeping nook they'd constructed at the far end of the hangar. Connor had found and hung some old, moth-eaten red curtains from the terminal to give her privacy, and Trin had painstakingly decorated, collecting some of the shinier pieces of plane fuselage and placing them around the nest as stand-ins for actual dragon treasure.

But Emmy hadn't seemed to notice their efforts. Nor had she asked to turn on the TV/DVD combo that Trinity's dad had picked up at a garage sale a few towns over. Even Scarlet's suggestion of watching the last season of the BBC show
Merlin
—Emmy's favorite program—had been dismissed with a shrug. All of which worried Scarlet more than she wanted to admit. As did the fact that Emmy was barely eating or drinking. The others chalked it up to posttraumatic stress, which did seem a logical conclusion, but to Scarlet it seemed more than that. Through their bond, she could feel Emmy's nervous energy, bouncing around her head. She wasn't just depressed—she was agitated. Worried about something. But when Scarlet tried to ask her what it was, her words fell on deaf ears.

“How's she doing?”

Scarlet looked up from rubbing to see Trinity hovering hesitantly between the two curtains, shuffling from foot to foot. She sighed and waved her inside. Trinity obliged, still looking a bit nervous as she approached the two of them, and Scarlet could feel Emmy stiffen under her hands.

It was weird. While the dragon was certainly wary of anyone and everyone who approached since she'd returned, she seemed to get particularly fearful when Trinity showed up, which didn't make any sense. After all, Scarlet knew more than anyone how much Emmy loved and cared for Trinity—it was all she would talk about back before she'd stopped talking in the government lab. Yet now that they were reunited? The dragon seemed to go out of her way to avoid her.

“She's clean at least,” Scarlet said with forced brightness after pushing a reassuring thought in the dragon's direction. “I scrubbed each scale individually, and now I'm moisturizing. She seems to like that, even if she doesn't want to admit it.”

“She always did,” Trinity said sadly, sitting down in the chair across from Scarlet and the dragon, giving them space. She, along with several of the others, had attempted to help with grooming when Emmy first arrived. But Emmy refused to let any of them touch her. Only Scarlet. Which wasn't exactly helping Scarlet's already shaky relationship with Trin—as if the girl needed any more reasons to hate her. In fact, Scarlet was pretty sure Trinity wouldn't be talking to her at all if it wasn't the only way to reach her dragon.

“Has she said anything else to you?” Trinity asked. “Like where she was all this time after we broke her out of the lab?”

Scarlet shook her head. “I asked her,” she said. “Repeatedly. But she won't answer. She hasn't said anything since she's been back. It's like she's forgotten how to talk.”

Trinity gave the dragon a heartbreaking look. “What happened to you, Emmy?” she asked, her voice quavering a little. “Whatever it is, you can tell us. We won't be mad.”

Scarlet could practically see the waves of frustration radiating off Trin. She turned to Emmy.
Come
on, Ems
, she tried.
She
only
wants
to
help
you.

The dragon shifted, turning her face to the wall. But not before Scarlet caught a guilty look crossing her face. And was that…a tear leaking from her eye? She frowned. Something must have happened. Something Emmy didn't want to admit to Trinity or anyone else. But what could it be?

She turned back to Trinity. “I'm sorry,” she said apologetically. “When she's ready to talk, I'm sure she will.”

“Yeah,” Trinity said dully. “I'm sure.”

Scarlet watched as the girl rose slowly to her feet, giving Emmy one last look, then sighed heavily before heading back to the curtain. When she reached it, she stopped.

“Maybe I'm not your Fire Kissed anymore,” she said in a soft voice, not turning around. “Maybe we're no longer destined. But I still love you, Emmy. I will always love you and I will always protect you. That will never change.”

And with that, she stepped through the curtain and disappeared. Scarlet said nothing, listening as her footsteps faded and the exterior door to the hangar clanged shut behind her. Then she turned back to Emmy. The dragon was staring at the closed curtain, a tortured look on her reptilian face.

Oh, Fire Kissed. Why couldn't you have just let me die?

Scarlet startled as Emmy's words echoed through her head. It'd been so long since she'd heard the dragon speak, she'd almost forgotten the sound of her voice. But there it was, clear and unmistakable and unbearably sad.

“Emmy, what are you talking about?” she scolded. “Of course we weren't going to just let you die. That's crazy! Why would you even say something like that?”

The dragon lowered her head to the ground, releasing a long, slow sigh. Scarlet waited, wondering if she should say something else. But then, Emmy spoke again.

She
tried
to
send
me
away, you know
, she told Scarlet mournfully.
To
a
happy
place
filled
with
other
dragons. But I didn't go. I thought I could help her. Instead, I ruined everything. And now, because of me, the world will burn all over again.

Scarlet stared at her, not having a clue as to what the dragon was talking about. A happy place filled with other dragons? The world burning all over again? Had Emmy gone mad from her time in captivity? Was she having delusions? She wondered if she should try to call Trin back—maybe she would know what Emmy was going on about—but she didn't want to upset the dragon further.

“Look, Emmy. I don't know what you're talking about. But I do know that you haven't ruined anything,” she insisted instead. “In fact, you've done a lot of good since you've been around, not the least of which was saving my life.”

She thought back to the first time she'd encountered Emmy in the cave. She'd been bleeding badly after a fight with her mother's boyfriend and thought she was going to die. But then Emmy appeared—like an angel from heaven—giving her blood from her one soft scale to help seal up the wound. This particular pocket of dragon's blood, it was said, could perform medical miracles if given voluntarily by the creature in question. And without that miracle, Scarlet was pretty sure it would have been game over for her.

Suddenly, a thought struck her. Maybe Emmy's blood could heal Caleb too, bring him back from the Nether once and for all. And maybe healing Caleb would give Emmy more confidence, make her see how valuable she really was. Scarlet's heart pounded in her chest. It was the perfect plan! Something to give Emmy a purpose, and as a bonus, she'd get Caleb back too. Why hadn't she thought of it sooner?

“Emmy, do you think you could maybe…”

She trailed off, realizing the dragon was already shaking her head. Evidently she could still hear Scarlet's thoughts before she voiced them, through their blood bond.

I'm sorry
, Emmy said, sounding wistful.
I
wish
I
could. But it seems I am useless in this now, as in everything else.

“What do you—?” Scarlet started to ask, then broke off as she watched Emmy lower her gaze to her arm. Scarlet followed the look, then gasped as she saw it.

“Emmy!” she cried, horrified. She dropped to her knees, taking Emmy's paw in her hands. So many scales had been broken, she hadn't noticed this one in particular. But there it was—her healing scale, ripped away. Only an ugly scar remained in its place.

The poor dragon. The poor, poor dragon!

“Oh, Emmy!” she cried, looking up at the creature, her eyes blurred with tears. “I'm so sorry. I didn't realize. If I had known, I never would have asked. I'm such an idiot. Please forgive me.” Here she thought she was going to make the dragon feel better. Instead, she'd only made things worse.

Emmy regarded her sadly.
It's all right
, she assured Scarlet.
You
couldn't have known.

Scarlet's heart panged at the suffering she could hear clearly in Emmy's voice. She couldn't imagine how much pain the poor beast was going through each and every day. Not just the physical pain that would eventually heal with her wounds. But the mental anguish to know she was no longer whole.

She stepped up to the dragon, opening her arms wide to embrace her fully. Emmy was so big now she could barely manage to get her arms around her head. For a moment, the dragon was stiff, unyielding, But as Scarlet continued to hold her and whisper in her ear, she eventually softened, snuggling her head against her chest, her soft breath tickling the hairs on Scarlet's arms. For a moment, they just stood there, holding one another, pulling strength from one another—no words necessary.

Finally, Emmy pulled away. Scarlet looked at her questioningly.

“What is it?” she asked.

While
I
cannot
cure
Caleb, there may be another way.

Scarlet's eyes widened. “Really?” she asked, hope rising within her. “What other way? Whatever it is, I'll do it!”

The dragon looked hesitant.
If
I
help
you, will you agree to help me in return?

“Yes, of course,” Scarlet said a little doubtfully, not sure what she was agreeing to. But if Emmy could help Caleb… “I would help you no matter what. You know that, Ems. What do you need me to do?”

The dragon gave her a stern look.
First, you must promise never to speak of this. Not to anyone. Especially not to Trinity.

Now Scarlet's heart was really pounding in her chest. Was she about to learn what Emmy had been hiding at long last? What had made her so estranged from her former Fire Kissed?

“Of course, Emmy,” she assured the dragon. “You know you can trust me.”

Emmy seemed to consider this for a moment, then snorted, puffs of smoke billowing from her nose.
Very
well
, she said.
Open
the
door
and
get
on
my
back. We need to take a little ride.

Thirty minutes later, Scarlet was high in the clouds, Emmy tearing through white mist at breakneck speed. As they dipped and wove through the atmosphere, she couldn't help the small thrill tingling from her fingers to her toes, despite the somber circumstances. Besides the one brief flight after Emmy's rescue from the government lab, the only other time she'd ridden a dragon was in the Nether—when Emmy's future children, Zoe and Zavier, had taken her to Caleb. She remembered then thinking the whole thing was pretty thrilling—like some kind of crazy Six Flags Over Texas roller coaster or the like. But in real life, it was even better.

But she forced back her enthusiasm, knowing Emmy probably wouldn't appreciate it. After all, this wasn't a pleasure ride. And the dragon wasn't having any fun.

Whatever
she
needs
you
to
do
, she told herself,
you
need
to
do
it
without
question. No matter what it is. After all she's been through, she deserves that at least.

And maybe, as a bonus, it would lead to her getting Caleb back. Her heart warmed as she imagined his blue eyes opening, meeting her own, his trademark smirk spreading across his face.

Oh, Buttercup
, she imagined him saying.
I
knew
I
could
count
on
you.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity (though was perhaps no more than twenty to thirty minutes), Emmy seemed to slow. Scarlet opened her eyes. They were out of the clouds and into the open sky again, and she willed herself to look down. The arid desert landscape seemed to roll out before them like a blood-red carpet in all directions. But straight ahead, a gigantic rock structure, the remains of some kind of long ago volcanic ash, rose to the sky like the Dark Tower of Mordor.

“Where are we?” Scarlet questioned aloud. She had no way of estimating Emmy's average miles per hour and had no sense of whether they were only a few miles or a few hundred from their home base.

Where
we
need
to
be
, Emmy replied simply.
Now
hold
on. I am going in for a landing.

Scarlet gripped the dragon's scales tighter as the beast lowered her head and raised her wings, coming in for a landing on an uneven ledge near the top of the rock structure. A moment later, they touched down—perhaps not as elegantly as Emmy would have done before they'd broken her wings and not set them straight, but Scarlet managed to hold on and bite back an
oomph
as pain ricocheted through her.

Once they were settled, Emmy lowered her wing, allowing Scarlet to leap down to the rocky surface. Now on solid earth again, she looked around, trying to determine where they were and what they were doing there.

Emmy made her move before she could inquire, walking around a towering rock structure and disappearing from view. Scarlet scrambled after her, curious. Her eyes widened as she turned the corner to find a small, dark cave cut into the side of the cliff. Emmy made a gesture to the cave.
I
am
too
large
to
enter
, she told her.
But
go
inside
and
tell
me
what
you
see.

Now Scarlet was feeling truly freaked out. The last thing she wanted to do was enter some strange, dark cave on the top of a random mountain without any light source. After all, who knew what kind of creature might make this den his or her home?

Stop
being
such
a
coward
, she berated herself.
Emmy
needs
you. This is your chance to prove yourself to her, not to mention help poor Caleb.

Mind made up, she sucked in a breath and pulled out her cell phone, switching it to flashlight mode. Then she willed her feet to step forward, ducking down to enter the cave.

It was small, cramped, not even large enough for Scarlet to stand in, and so she was forced to hunch over and crouch down to walk through it. She wondered, as she made her way inside, how Emmy had even fit inside this small of a burrow in the first place. She'd been told that dragons liked to jam themselves into tight spaces—it made them feel more secure—but this was ridiculous.

It's no different than your pirate cave back home
, she tried to tell herself.
You
and
Mac
spent
hours
in
there
as
kids. It was the safest place in the world.

The thought made her feel a little better, and she waved the phone/flashlight around, trying to figure out what she was supposed to be looking for. Something Emmy had left behind and was now too big to retrieve?

A sudden thought struck her. What if Emmy's soft scale had fallen off in here back when the dragon was holed up inside? What if that was why Emmy had brought her here—so Scarlet could retrieve it? Maybe it couldn't be reattached to the dragon herself but had enough blood left inside to heal Caleb.

There
may
be
another
way
, Emmy had said. Could this be what she meant?

Scarlet's heart rate picked up as hope started pumping through her. Yes. That had to be it. She would find the scale, and they'd bring it back to Caleb, and everything would be okay. Turning her flashlight to the ground, she started looking for—

“Ow!” she cried, practically jumping out of her skin as she felt something sharp pierce her ankle. Startled, she leapt away, managing only to slam the back of her head against the cave's low ceiling. Losing her balance, she tumbled to the ground, dropping her phone in the process.

Are
you
okay?
Emmy's voice came through, sounding anxious.

“Yeah, I guess,” Scarlet said, reaching up to rub her head. She could feel a large lump already forming. Then she scrambled for her cell phone. “But I think something bit me.” Visions of copperheads and scorpions danced uncomfortably through her mind as she felt around for the hard plastic and glass of her phone.

Instead, her fingers made contact with something soft. Leathery.

Something moving.

“What the—?” She scrambled backward, heart in her throat now. “There's something in here, Emmy!” she cried. “Give me a little light!”

The dragon obliged, blowing a small fireball into the cave. The flames bounced off the walls, providing a moment of illumination. Scarlet took advantage, scanning the cave quickly, looking for her phone—looking for what she had touched instead of her phone.

And then she saw it. Or make that
them
. Two tiny birdlike creatures huddled together, peering back at her with large, frightened eyes. One was black as night with sparks of gold dancing off his skin. The other was pink with delicate purple-veined wings.

Scarlet stifled a gasp of surprise, her heart now slamming against her rib cage. It couldn't be. It was impossible. And yet…

There was no other explanation.

Summoning all her willpower, Scarlet's hands closed around her cell phone, and she switched it back on. Then, with shaky fingers, she raised it slowly, back in the direction of the two creatures.

The two baby dragons, to be precise.

“Uh, Emmy?” Scarlet cried out to the entrance of the cave. “Did you forget to tell me something?”

I
thought
it
would
be
better
for
you
to
see
for
yourself
, came the dragon's voice, sounding a little sheepish.

“Not better for my freaking heart, that's for sure,” Scarlet managed to reply, trying to breathe normally again. She looked at the baby dragons. They looked back at her. Then the pink one took a tentative step forward, sniffing the air. On instinct, Scarlet held out a hand, like she would do to a strange dog, inviting it to sniff her. The dragon stared at her for a moment as if nervous, then took another cautious step, craning her long neck until she touched the tip of Scarlet's finger with her snout. Then she backed away skittishly to the protection of her slightly larger brother.

“It's okay,” Scarlet whispered. “I won't hurt you.” She bit her lower lip. “Are you… Do they call you Zoe?” she asked.

Of
course
it's Zoe
, something inside of her insisted. Who else could it be? Zoe and her brother, Zavier, the same dragons she had met in the Nether who had told her they were Emmy's children, waiting to be born. At the time, they hadn't known when this would happen—or if it would even happen at all. But now here they were. Like an impossible dream come true.

How on earth had Emmy, the world's last dragon, been able to have babies? Did those scientists back at the lab have something to do with it? Scarlet had read about scientists cloning a sheep and a dog. Could they have figured out how to clone a dragon as well? Though if they had, wouldn't the baby dragon clones look exactly like their mother? She frowned, wishing she'd paid more attention in science class.

However it had happened, it had obviously happened. And recently too, judging from the remnants of cracked shells she now observed littering the cave. No wonder Emmy hadn't returned to them for two months after being freed. She'd obviously had other things on her plate. And no wonder she'd been so agitated when they'd dragged her back to the airfield; she must have been frantic to get back to her babies.

Drawing in a breath, Scarlet held out both hands this time, petting the creatures' tiny, scaled feet with gentle fingers. The baby dragons looked at one another, blinked their big eyes, then turned back to her. Taking turns, they each crawled up her arms and settled on her shoulders. Scarlet could feel their sharp little claws tickling her skin and couldn't help but laugh. Zoe flapped her wings and squawked with alarm at the sudden noise.

“Sorry!” Scarlet soothed her, reaching up to stroke her gently. “I didn't mean to startle you.”

Zoe flapped her wings reproachfully a couple more times, as if to make her point, then grudgingly settled back on Scarlet's shoulder, small throaty noises that sounded like purring escaping her mouth. Scarlet smiled, forcing herself not giggle this time. “That's a good girl,” she cooed to the dragon. “That's a very good girl.”

She heard a shuffling at the mouth of the cave and remembered Emmy was still waiting for her outside—probably dying to be reunited with her precious offspring. Scarlet felt her heart melting a little as she imagined the impending reunion between mother and babies, proud that Emmy had trusted her with the task. Moving slowly, so as not to startle them again, she crawled out of the cave and back to the mother dragon.

As she emerged, her eyes fell on Emmy, who was pacing the cliff side with obvious agitation, puffs of smoke billowing from her nostrils.
She's worried about them
, Scarlet thought.
How
sweet
is
that?

“Look, guys!” she said aloud to the baby dragons. “It's your mommy!” She stepped toward Emmy to allow the babies to get closer. Seriously, this had to be the cutest thing ever. Two baby dragons. A worried mom. And she was the one who would reunite them. The one who would—

Emmy let out a low growl from deep in her throat and backed away. Scarlet stopped, confused.

“What's wrong, Emmy?” she asked, squinting her eyes at the dragon.

But Emmy wouldn't look at her. And she wouldn't look at the babies on her shoulders either. Scarlet's heart started pounding uncomfortably in her chest.

“These are your babies, aren't they?” she tried.

Emmy was still for a moment, then nodded reluctantly.

“Well then, don't you want to see them?”

To her surprise, Emmy snorted again, shaking her head violently from side to side. Scarlet took a hesitant step backward, confused as anything. This didn't make any sense.

“I don't understand. Didn't you want me to rescue your babies? Why else would you have brought me here?”

Emmy turned to look at her.
You
wanted
blood
for
Caleb
, she said.
I
can't give it to you. But they can.

Scarlet stared at the dragon in shock. In her excitement at finding Emmy's children, she'd almost forgotten their original purpose for coming here.

“Right, I mean, that's great,” she stammered. “That's a good idea, in fact. But, Emmy, these are your children, right? Don't you want to—?”

After
you
take
their
blood, I need you to kill them
, Emmy said suddenly.
Then
we
will
leave
this
place
and
not
return.

“What?” Scarlet cried, now completely shocked. She switched to mind speak, worried the baby dragons would sense something was wrong. The poor little things. The poor, helpless little babies!
Emmy, what are you talking about?

You
agreed
to
help
me
, the dragon reminded her, giving her a worried look
. You said, whatever it was…