Mari Mancusi - Scorched

“I wanted to congratulate you,” Connor said simply, ducking under the cave’s low entrance and strolling toward him with deceptively casual steps. As he drew closer in the dim light, Caleb got a better look at the Dragon Hunter, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Connor looked in worse shape than he did—evidently he’d been power-using his gift as well these past few days. Though, of course, his reason was very different than Caleb’s—seeking to find Trinity, not escape her.

“Congratulations from you?” he drawled, keeping his face neutral. No need to let his brother see his upset. “Have pigs finally learned to fly?”

“No, but I understand dragons have. Or one particular dragon in this case.”

Connor spoke lightly, easily, but Caleb could detect the flicker of annoyance cross his brother’s otherwise smooth face. And suddenly he realized why. He must have found out somehow that the egg had hatched. That he had lost. The great Dragon Hunter had been defeated at last. And not only defeated, but defeated by his own no-good, Strata-D criminal twin! A smile tugged at the corners of Caleb’s lips.

“Don’t thank me,” he replied smoothly, running a hand along Fred’s long neck. “It was your girl who did it all.”

Connor’s eyes narrowed. “That’s the worst part, you know. You couldn’t have just gone and done this stupid thing on your own. You had to drag poor Trinity down with you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, should I have left her behind to make it easier for you to kill her?”

“I wouldn’t have had to kill her if you’d just left the flecking egg. It could have gone down the volcano and everything would have been fine. No one would have had to die.”

“Um, yeah, except for the entire world,” Caleb reminded him. “The human race needs dragons to survive. Otherwise we’ll be the ones going extinct.”

Connor groaned loudly. “Is that how the Dracken are playing it now? That they’re on some mission to save the world?” He shook his head. “Seriously, Caleb, how could you believe that? You saw what dragons are capable of. You saw what that one did to our own father.”

“What, defend herself against a man who was trying to slaughter her for no reason?” Caleb asked. “Face it, Connor. Our father wasn’t a hero. He was just a money-grubbing mercenary, killing for coin.”

“And what’s Darius willing to kill for?” Connor shot back. “What does he hope to gain from striking down a poor, helpless old man?” He screwed up his face. “Trinity’s grandfather barely escaped with his life, you know.”

“What are you talking about?” Caleb blurted, against his better judgment. “Trinity’s grandfather is dead.” His brother was starting to piss him off. “And it’s pretty obvious who killed him.”

To his annoyance, Connor started to laugh. “Oh, so they’re trying to pin it on me, are they? I should have known.” He rolled his eyes. “Well, you can call off the lynch mob, seeing as he’s very much alive.”

Caleb stared at him, a strange flurry of emotions hitting him hard and fast. Joy at the idea of Trinity’s beloved grandpa being alive; fury at Connor for trying to blame his friends for his attempted murder.

“You’re lying,” he stammered, trying to catch his breath.

He’s not.

Caleb whirled around. Fred was still standing behind him. The dragon gave him a hard look.

Listen. You know he’s not.

“But why would Darius do something like that?” Caleb demanded, turning away from the dragon. “He wants Trinity on his side.”

“Exactly. He needs her,” Connor agreed. “If she leaves, his whole operation is botched for good. So why not take out the one thing she cares about more than anything in the world? Leave her completely dependent on the Dracken with no place left to go.”

Caleb frowned. He wanted to tell his brother that he was crazy. That Darius was good and kind and had rescued him when he had nowhere else to turn. But that would just prove Connor’s point, wouldn’t it? Everyone here—every Potential they had—was orphaned or otherwise alone in the world, with no ties to their previous lives. That way Darius never had to worry about divided loyalties; no one had anything left to lose.

But Trin was different. She hadn’t come here of her own free will. She hadn’t needed a rescue. She had a life outside these walls. And as long as she did, she could never fully become part of the Dracken. Not in the way Darius wanted her to anyway.

He looked up at his brother. “Why are you telling me this?”

Connor leveled his eyes on him. “Because Trinity deserves to know the truth. And since she’s shut me out, you’re the only one who can tell her.” He shrugged. “But don’t take my word for it. Meet me in Tucson. See her grandpa yourself and hear what he has to say.” He paused, then added, “You say you care about her. Well, now’s your chance to prove it.”

“Argh! That was so close! Try again, Em! I know you can do it!”

Trinity reached down, palming the tennis ball, then stretching to full height again, preparing for another throw. Emmy hovered a few feet away, her wings beating madly at the air, her eager eyes glued to the ball. Trin could barely believe how big the dragon had gotten, going from the size of a baby bird to a plump, full-grown Chihuahua in just a few days. She supposed it wasn’t too surprising, though, given the dragon’s never-ending appetite. Caleb had told her dragons would eat until they exploded; Trinity was now beginning to believe it.

The little dragon did a showy flip, then tossed Trin an impatient look, once again eyeing the ball in her hand. Trinity let the ball fly, watching it spiral high into the open-air courtyard of the west wing. “Have at it, Emmy!” she crowed. “Go, go, go!”

Before Emmy’s birth, if you’d asked Trinity what being a Dragon Guardian meant, she probably would have guessed it was just hop on a dragon and hope for the best—as she had with Caleb in the Nether. But in real life, it turned out, there was a lot more to it than that. The Dracken had created a highly regulated training regimen—one, they insisted, all Guardians go through. From offensive maneuvers to healing arts, defensive tactics to stealth operations—the program covered it all. It was like training to be all the character classes in a Dungeons and Dragons handbook at once—all with the aid of an actual dragon.

The green dragon’s face was awash with concentration, her eyes drilling into the falling ball. She pulled back her head, waited for just the right moment, then opened her mouth.

Whoosh! The flames shot from deep in her throat, hurtling through the air and smacking the tennis ball square on. The ball burst into flames before falling harmlessly to the ground in a puff of black smoke. Trinity let out a loud whoop of triumph, pride gushing through her.

“Yeah, baby! That’s how it’s done!” She held out her hand as the dragon flew by, slapping her palm against an outstretched wing. Emmy squeaked in excitement, dropping to the ground and doing a little victory lap around the still-smoking tennis ball. Trinity couldn’t help but giggle.

“You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?” she teased.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the guard making his move, crossing the courtyard, then disappearing through the door at the far end of the room. She glanced at her watch, her smile fading. Right on time. She turned to Emmy.

Okay, we’ve got five minutes. Let’s do this.

She ran to the edge of the courtyard to the west wall, where a colorful tapestry, depicting a dragon fighting a medieval knight, hung from floor to ceiling. To a casual onlooker, the wall would seem solid and seamless behind its flashy decor. But Trin had studied Aiko’s blueprints and knew there had once been a door, covered up by drywall when the Dracken remodeled. A door that led to a series of twisty passageways which employees had once used to transport trash or receive deliveries. From what Trin could determine from the blueprints, these back hallways culminated at a large underground garage, where a single elevator offered an unguarded exit—a chance to escape.