dragons breath 02 - dancing with flames (39 page)

Very well, produce the blades and let us get on with this,
Volker said. The pure dragons had a different tradition they used amongst each other, but this was the method they used when shifters were involved.

Aidan ordered one of his clansmen to watch over Throm’s body, then made his way forward to assist his brother and sister. No matter his inner turmoil, his family needed to present a united force to the Shadowan and show them that despite the loss of their pendragon, they remained strong. Though inside, Aidan felt himself falling apart. He would deal with his pain later when he could be alone. For now, he held his head high and showed none of his despair.

Chapter 36

Bailey

I weaved my way around the dragons crowding the airfield. Though I averted my gaze from the beasts as best I could, the wild scent of them assailed my nose. My body thrummed with the need to fight and kill more of them. I concentrated on the pain of my wounds, letting that be my focus. One dragon had taken a bite of my ankle just before I ran my sword through its heart. I didn’t think any bones were broken, but the punctures from its sharp teeth throbbed, and the skin swelled inside my boot.

A round of growls sounded as I neared the edge of the field, I glanced up at the hangar roof where Phoebe had a stranglehold on Matrika. She must have told the Shadowan the terms of the deal we’d discussed beforehand. I wished I could have heard her speech, but it appeared telepathy only worked on me with Aidan.

The last time I looked his way there had been deep pain and sorrow in his eyes. I didn’t recognize the dragon he had tried to save and reached too late, but the beast’s worn scales and softer body gave the impression it was older. Could it have been his father? I couldn’t recall Aidan ever mentioning any other older male that he might mourn so heavily. All I knew was that his grief had been palpable. Under other circumstances, I might have tried comforting him, but all I was able to do was protect his back by killing the beast eyeing him. Aidan had no idea how close he came to the green dragon taking him down while he fought the other one.

I made it past the row of airport hangars and onto the main road. Some of the tension eased inside me. The scent of the hundreds of dragons behind me was slowly fading. I began to jog down the street, ignoring the pain in my ankle and other wounds, just wanting to put as much distance as I could from the battlefield. After a few minutes, Conrad pulled up alongside me. Had he been lurking somewhere nearby?

He rolled down the truck window. “Looking for a ride?”

“I thought I told you to go back with the children,” I said, giving him a disapproving look.

“I did. They’re back at Earl’s eatin’ their way through the candy stash.” He grinned. “But I wouldn’t be much of a sidekick if I let you walk home wounded now would I?”

“I suppose not.” I worked my way around to the passenger side of the truck and got in. Normally, I insisted on driving if we were together, but I was in too much pain to bother at the moment. “But sidekicks should obey orders.”

“Uh huh, show me one example of a sidekick who always obeyed orders.”

I mulled that over and saw that he had a point.

“There’s a first time for everything,” I replied instead.

Conrad turned the truck around and started driving toward Earl’s neighborhood. With the conditions of the roads these days, it would take about fifteen to twenty minutes. I pulled a miniature first aid kit from the glove compartment and started cleaning up the slash wounds on my arms, chest, and face. The blood was dried, but I was rather certain I could make zombies look good.

I pulled down the visor mirror, noting half my braid had been torn out and my hair hung in all directions. There were three slash marks across my left cheek—one of them a mere half inch from my eye. It didn’t hurt as much as it should. Was I just getting used to being wounded and the minor injuries didn’t bother me anymore? Sometimes, I wondered how much becoming a slayer had changed me. If I ever saw my mother again, would she even be able to recognize her own daughter? That was a scary thought.

I’d just finished tending my visible injuries when Conrad pulled up to the neighborhood “gate” where Justin and Miles opened it right away for us. The sun had set, leaving a fading pink haze on the horizon. We usually didn’t come in around this time, but we didn’t see any dragons on the way back. If Phoebe got the Shadowan to agree to the terms we discussed, the green beasts wouldn’t be a problem anymore in this part of Norman. We would only have the Thamaran on the west side of town to worry about.

Justin and Miles gave me a salute as we passed by them. Though I was no soldier, I returned the gesture since it seemed like the thing to do. Then I turned my gaze ahead where I caught sight of a white cargo van parked along the street with antennas and a small satellite dish jutting from the top. That had to be Hank, the radio guy. Earl had promised to get him here if we rescued the children. Like any good reporter, this was the kind of opportunity he wouldn’t want to miss.

We parked in Earl’s driveway. I caught sight of the mother and daughter scene on the porch, and tears misted my eyes. Christine was holding Lacy, rocking her back and forth. Age notwithstanding, they looked so much alike with their fair skin and wavy blond hair. Even if reuniting them was all I could have accomplished today, it would have made it worth every single injury I got.

Conrad and I walked up to them, and he took a seat beside Christine. “So how much of my candy did she eat?”

Lacy held up her hand, splaying her fingers. “Five.”

“You little goblin.” Conrad reached over and tickled her belly, making her giggle.

Christine smiled at the banter, then looked up at me. “Thank you for this.”

“No problem,” I said, shrugging. It was always kind of awkward on the rare occasion someone took the time to thank me. I never knew how to respond. “I’m just glad she’s safe and okay.”

Christine shook her head. “I can’t believe there isn’t a scratch on her. She told me the dragon never hurt any of the children and that they could even touch its scales without getting burned. I didn’t think that was possible.”

I frowned. “It’s not supposed to be.”

“She could heal our booboos, too!” Lacy added.

“She did?” I asked, surprised.

The little girl jerked her head up and down. “Yep. I had a scratch, and she made it go away.”

Aidan hadn’t mentioned Matrika was a healer. That put things in a whole new perspective because as I understood it, a dragon with such a gift was extremely rare—like one in a thousand. I was willing to bet Phoebe would get whatever she asked for in return for not killing the princess.

“Bailey!” a man called from behind me.

I turned and spotted a guy who appeared to be in his early forties with tan skin, shaggy brown hair, and a thick mustache. He wore a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a blue t-shirt with a yellow smiley face on it. The man had come from the direction of the white van.

“Yeah,” I said, bracing myself for whatever questions he might ask.

“I’m Hank.” He held out a hand, and I shook it. “I’ve been told you are the one we have to thank for returning the town’s missing children.”

Speaking of which, I gazed around not seeing the other six. “Where are the rest of them?”

Hank gestured toward Trish’s house. “They’re in there with your friends Trish and Danae, getting snacks.”

“Oh. Well, maybe I should go check on them,” I said, starting to turn away.

“Wait. I’d like you to answer a few questions for my listeners before you go.”

I knew he was going to say that. Despite being tired and injured, I supposed I had to do it. There was a message I’d promised to deliver to the citizens of Norman if things went well.

“Alright,” I agreed.

He led me over to the van, opening the side door where I caught sight of an array of equipment inside. Electronics weren’t my specialty, but I assumed this was how he managed to keep his radio station up and running. He must have installed extra batteries or something to keep it all powered. There were a lot of gadgets and wires in there.

Hank had me sit on a short stool and lean into a microphone set on a narrow table. He took control of another one. Nervously, I watched as he switched off the music he had been playing and informed listeners that he had another update for them.

“Right here next to me, I’ve got Bailey Monzac. She is the dragon slayer many of you have reported sighting around Norman, battling those dangerous beasts who I certainly wouldn’t want to go near. She has just returned from her latest battle after rescuing the missing children. And I’ve gotta tell you, she didn’t walk away from that fight unscathed.”

Hank paused to glance over at me. “Would you like to tell us how you found the children and got them away from the dragons, Bailey?”

“Um, sure,” I said, not feeling like the confident slayer I should be at all. “I had a lot of help.”

“From who?” he asked, drawing his brows together.

“Well, I had to track down the children’s location first before I could do anything.” I paused for a moment and decided not to mention Javier. His help didn’t come for free, so I wasn’t about to give him any credit. “Then I had to scout out the den where the kids were being kept, which turned out to have about a hundred dragons living there.”

Hank’s eyes rounded. “Surely even you can’t fight that many!”

“No, I can’t.” I shook my head. “But I knew how to contact a source with the red dragons to get their help. For those of you who don’t know, they are shape-shifters and unlike the green dragons, they can take on human form.”

He let out a nervous laugh. “You’re joking, right?”

This was my best chance to put all the information out there. I had no idea how much Aidan would approve of me revealing, but I had to say enough to help convince the people listening. If his clan was going to find a peaceful way to work with humans, there had to be a first step, and this was it.

“I know what I’m saying sounds crazy, but it’s true. After everything else we’ve seen in recent months, you’ve gotta realize there is even more out there that we don’t know about yet. The red dragons are shape-shifters, and they have a fortress near Lake Thunderbird. There are humans living with them who accidentally crossed over to the other dimension before it collided with ours. I’ve met one of those people, and I can testify that they are happy and safe there. Now, the red dragons want to extend their territory farther out and protect the people in this town, too.”

Hank was so stunned that it took him a moment to respond. “So I take it they helped you rescue the kids.”

“Yes.” I nodded. “While their warriors battled the green dragons, a shifter and I fought our way to the kids and got them out.”

“Wow, so you don’t kill just any dragon.”

I gave him a rueful smile, thinking of my father and what he would think of this. “No, but it’s not easy. Something in my genetics more or less drives me to attack all dragons. I can’t really take credit for choosing to fight them because I don’t actually get a choice.”

Hank’s gaze ran up and down me. “How many did you kill today?”

“Um.” I had to stop and think about it. “Five or six, I think.” There were so many of them around me during the battle that I’d literally gotten lost in the melee. It could have been more, but my blood lust had been so high that my memories of that time were a little hazy.

“The fact that you don’t know for sure is amazing.” Hank’s voice was filled with admiration. “I think I’d remember each one just so I could brag about it.”

I forced myself to laugh. “Anytime you want to take over for me, just let me know.”

“I believe I’ll let you keep that job and stick with working the radio,” he replied, amused.

Through the open van door, I caught the flash of lights near the gate. Though it had grown dark in the last few minutes since the sun set, I could make out enough of the car to know I didn’t recognize it. Miles jogged alongside the vehicle, guiding it in the direction of Trish’s house. It was risky letting strangers inside, but Justin was supposed to verify everyone by asking for a name and description of their child before allowing them to enter. They’d also be allowed to stay the night so they wouldn’t have to travel the dangerous streets again to get back home. Even if Phoebe got the Shadowan to go along with the deal, it might take a few days or so for the green dragons to clear out of Norman.

“I believe one of the parents is here to pick up their kid, Hank. Time to go.” I got off the stool, not waiting for his permission to leave.

“Thanks for your time, Bailey,” he said, hurriedly. “I should wrap this up as well…”

I hurried away, not caring to listen any further. The car stopped in front of Trish’s house and a black man and woman got out. I estimated them to be in their early thirties. As soon as they started their way across the lawn, a little boy with dark skin and a big smile on his face went running toward his parents.

The father scooped him up and hugged him close, before handing him to his crying mother. She kissed the little boy’s cheeks over and over, between saying how much she loved and missed him. I moved over to my truck to lean against it to watch. There was something truly amazing about seeing a family back together again, despite all that had happened recently that could have torn them apart forever. It made me miss my own parents and siblings that much more, but it also gave me hope that I would be with them again someday. Sort of like that song by Carrie Underwood “See You Again.”

A black and tan German shepherd came running up to me. I leaned down and petted the retired police dog. “Hey, Bomber. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

He panted and lolled his tongue at me.

“I think he’s missed you,” Jennifer said, walking up.

The curvy woman with short, brown hair was the current owner of the dog, though it was her husband who had worked with Bomber until dragons killed him shortly after D-day. Now she took care of the dog and used him to help keep the neighborhood safe. Jennifer lived on the next block over, so I’d missed seeing her during my last few visits.