Mari Mancusi - Scorched

“But then you’d never see me again,” Caleb reminded her with a wink.

“Really? Can I get that in writing?”

He gave her a mock offended look, then grabbed her arm, dragging her back over to the bed. He sat her down, taking her hands in his own. She tried not to notice the way her skin warmed under his touch—or the shivers that tripped up her spine as his eyes turned serious.

“Look, I get it, okay?” he said. “I understand how hard it must be for you to be here. And the Dracken can come off as pretty radical—”

“Radical?” Trinity repeated. “Come on, Caleb. If you looked up ‘evil cult out to destroy the world’ in the dictionary, you’d find these guys’ pictures.”

He shook his head vehemently. “You’re getting the wrong idea. I’m telling you. Darius and Mara and the rest of them aren’t like that at all. They’re good people. They believe in what they’re fighting for. They’re trying to save the world. And you’re so important to that mission. Everything they’ve worked for their whole lives rests on you—and their ability to keep you safe. Imagine yourself in their shoes. You’d want to keep you under lock and key too, wouldn’t you?”

Trinity bit her lower lip, hating the fact he was making so much sense. She turned to face the wall, feeling his stare burning at her back but refusing to meet his eyes. For a moment he was silent. Then he spoke.

“I was homeless,” he stated flatly, “living on the streets of Strata-D, probably only a few demerits away from a lifetime in the mines. Everyone had dismissed me, the no-good shadow of my hero brother.” He sighed, remembering. “But then Darius came. He plucked me from the streets and offered me hope. Recognized my gift and gave me a job. He told me I could be great if only someone would give me a chance.” His voice cracked. “And then he gave me that chance. So here I am, working every day to prove he wasn’t wrong about me.”

His words were so earnest, so proud. But Trinity could hear the doubt threaded just below the surface. As if he himself wondered if he was worthy of the chance he’d been given.

“He can save you too, Trin,” Caleb said softly. “If only you’ll let him.”

A silence fell over the room as she struggled for a clever reply. But her mind had gone completely blank. The silence stretched, awkward and long. Finally, Caleb let out a long, deep sigh.

“Look,” he said, “do you want to get out of here for a bit?”

She turned, her eyes widening. “Can we?”

“Well, not like you’re probably thinking,” he admitted. “I mean, your physical body has to stay here in the mall. Darius would kill me if I put you at risk. But we could go to the Nether.”

“The Nether?” she repeated doubtfully. “You mean the place with the dragons?”

Caleb nodded. “It’s a place beyond time and space,” he replied, “ruled by the collective unconsciousness of dragons. Before they’re born and after they die, they exist here, in this Nether space. Those with the gift have the ability to travel there, channeling our energies through special gems.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out two glittering rubies, and grinned. “It’s like this big, amazing playground—and it can become anything you make of it.”

“Will Emmy be there?” she asked, intrigued despite herself.

“Absolutely. And my dragon too.”

“You have your own dragon?” The thought had never occurred to her. But she supposed it made sense. “Is it an evil mutant one out to destroy the world?”

Caleb laughed and shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint, but we don’t clone mutants anymore. Our technology is a bit more advanced than yours. My dragon was made from a pure strand of DNA from one of Emmy’s true children. Darius gifted her to me after I passed my Guardian trials. Wait until you see her, Trin. She’s so beautiful—sparkling teal scales, huge golden eyes, a wingspan that could block out the sun.” He smiled dreamily. “First time I laid eyes on her, I fell in love.”

“Cool. What’s her name?”

His smile faltered. “Um…what?”

“Her name?” Trinity repeated. “Your dragon, I mean. Does she have a name?” She glanced over at Caleb curiously, surprised to see he’d gone bright red.

“Oh. Um, yeah. Sure she does. Her name is…Fred.”

Trinity burst out laughing. “Fred?” she repeated incredulously. “Your beautiful, majestic, not to mention female dragon is named Fred?”

“Hey! You’re the one who called your dragon Emmy,” Caleb protested, his face now a peculiar shade of purple. “That’s not exactly High Goth’Or the Great and Terrible either!”

“Okay, okay!” She held up her hands in innocence. “Fred it is. Fred the dragon.” A snort escaped her, despite her best efforts.

“Are you going to laugh at my poor dragon all day or would you actually like to meet her?”

She forced herself to sober. “Explain how this works again?”

“The how is irrelevant,” he assured her. “I mean, you don’t need to know how one of your cars works in order to drive it, right?” He reached out, taking her hands in his, pressing the ruby gems between their palms. “All you have to do is enjoy the ride.”

The thunder came first. Then a sharp wind, scraping her face and stealing her breath. Her eyes flew open, a screech of surprise tumbling from her lips, as the world shot back into focus.

She was flying—or riding at least—on the back of a mighty dragon.

“Oh my God!” she cried, throwing herself against the creature’s back, terror surging through her. Her arms flailed, seeking handholds around the dragon’s thick neck as her thighs squeezed its midsection, desperate to hang on.

Please don’t let me fall. Please don’t let me fall.

She dared, for a split second, to look down, and her stomach rolled as the earth seemed to weave dizzyingly in and out of focus miles below her.

Please don’t let me fall. Please don’t—

You okay?

She opened her eyes in surprise at the voice. In her initial panic of waking up on the back of a dragon, she’d all but forgotten she’d come to this nightmare of her own free will. With Caleb holding her hand. He pulled up alongside her, astride his own dragon, flashing a cocky grin. He was wearing black leather pants that molded to his thighs and a black T-shirt that couldn’t disguise his strong, flat abs. He looked confident and happy and, well, pretty damn hot, she had to admit, despite herself. Something about a guy on a dragon… And the dragon herself, Fred, was as beautiful and majestic as he’d promised, despite her silly name. Her massive wings steadily beat the air currents into submission—leather cracking, membranes stretching—as an elegant tail flapped lazily behind her, serving as rudder.

Caleb lifted a hand, offering a casual salute, a teasing smile playing at his lips. Trin gritted her teeth, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her frightened. Instead, she forced herself to straighten and her shoulders to drop, as if she were on some casual bike ride—no big deal.

We couldn’t have started this out on the ground? she sent, realizing it was the only way to communicate over the thunderous flapping of dragons’ wings.

He shrugged playfully. Why waste time walking when we can fly?

Gee, I don’t know. So I could learn to steer?

She couldn’t hear his laugh but she could see the amusement dance across his face and it made her hackles rise. So this was a big joke to him? He thought it was funny? What if she fell? What if she careened to her death? If you died here, in this Nether place, did you die in real life? She remembered her real-life burn from the last time she’d visited and shuddered.