It was too much. It was too sad. It was too—
But I promised to protect you too. The dragon protested in a plaintive voice. How can I protect you if you send me away?
Trinity winced. The question was so simple and yet so damn complicated—all at the same time. But suddenly she realized what she had to say.
The only thing she could say.
“I won’t…need protection anymore,” she explained slowly. “Once you’re gone, I’ll no longer be in danger. My dad and I can get an apartment. I can go back to high school. Apply for college. Get a job. Live a normal life.” She forced a smile to her lips. It was nearly impossible to hold. “Don’t you see, Emmy? This isn’t just about you and your happiness. Once you’re gone from here, I’ll get to fly free too.”
It was the worst lie she’d ever told, and pulling the words from her throat was nothing more than sheer torture. But what else could she say? If Emmy knew the truth, she’d never agree to go. And she had to go. It was, as Virgil said, the only possible solution.
You’ll be free? Emmy questioned, looking her straight in the eye, as if she didn’t quite believe her. You swear you’ll be free? That no one will want to hurt you anymore?
“Yes,” Trinity affirmed. “No one will want to hurt me anymore.”
Then… The dragon drew in a breath and ruffled her wings. Then I will go.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Scarlet opened her eyes. Paradise was gone. The glass palace in the sky was gone. All the dragons of the Nether were gone. She was back in the rear of the bumpy, smelly truck with Caleb still unconscious by her side. She looked down at him, her heart squeezing. He looked so helpless lying there. So pale, so weak. Almost as if he were already dead. But she knew deep inside there was still a spark of life. And she had to hold on to that.
She reached out and brushed a lock of hair from his face then, on instinct, leaned forward to kiss him softly on his forehead.
“I won’t let you down,” she whispered. “I promise. I’ll get to them in time.”
A sudden nausea gripped her and she leaned to the side, puking her guts out as far away from Caleb as she could manage on short notice. She stared down at the vomit, her head pounding and her fingers trembling. Her whole body was flushed and sweaty and she felt an almost overwhelming weakness—as if she’d come down with the flu. The Nether hangover, she realized, just as Caleb had warned her about. She shook her head, a little amazed. If it felt this crappy to come down from one single trip, what must it be like for an addict like himself? No wonder the last time he’d been out for days.
“We’ll get you help,” she whispered, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her. “Once we get out of this mess, we’re going to get you the help you need.”
But first things first. Drawing in a breath, she focused on the plan they’d made, trying to remember all that Caleb had taught her. Would she really be able to do this? Had Emmy’s blood really given her the power to play with people’s minds? She thought back to how the Potentials had done it to her. Sinking their fingers into her consciousness and changing her thought patterns. Could she really do the same if she tried? Now that she was back in reality, the whole thing seemed impossible. Crazy, even.
You have the blood of a dragon swimming through your veins, Zoe and Zavier had told her. You would be amazed at what you can do.
Squaring her shoulders and crossing her arms over her chest, Scarlet closed her eyes, reaching out, trying to connect with the minds of the two men driving the truck. At first she felt nothing—just a big, black void, stretching out as far as her mind could see. But she forced herself to press forward, widening the search, as Caleb had taught her, until finally the two consciousnesses danced in front of her like shiny balls of light.
She gnawed at her lower lip. Here went nothing.
He’s sick. Stop the truck. You have to help him.
She opened her eyes, listening, feeling for a change in movement coming from the vehicle. But the truck kept barreling on down the road with no signs of slowing down. She exhaled. No big deal, she told herself. Caleb said it might take a few tries. Then she readied herself for push number two.
You’d better stop and check on him. If he dies, you’ll be in big trouble with Mara. You know you don’t want to mess with her.
She thought of Mara as she pushed. Of her cold, dark eyes. Of her knowing sneer. She thought she was so great. So superior to poor Caleb who was lying before her, sick and shivering. Scarlet hoped she would be around when Mara realized her plans had been thwarted. That Caleb—through Scarlet—had beaten her at her own game.
But first she needed the damn truck to stop moving.
You have to stop. You have to stop the truck NOW.
Her stomach lurched and it felt as if there were knives stabbing at her brain. But still she pushed with all her might, concentrating hard on the hope she’d seen on Caleb’s face. She had to do this. She couldn’t let him down.
Stop the truck! Stop the truck! Stop the—
The vehicle jerked hard and she was thrown against the wall, slamming into the metal side and crashing to the floor. Tears sprang to her eyes and she bit down on her lip to keep from screaming as the pain reverberated through her entire body. It hurt so bad that it took her a moment to realize what had happened.
The truck had stopped. She heard two doors outside, opening then slamming shut. Footsteps, accompanied by two voices, coming closer. She bit her lower lip, her whole body gripped with fear.
The blood of the dragon. Emmy’s blood.
She heard a click of a lock and the rear door began to slide upward, the sudden outside light blinding her for a moment. When she could see again, she found the Homeland Security agent and another guy standing at the exit, peering into the truck with matching annoyed expressions on their faces.
“What’s wrong with him?” the agent asked.
“He’s sick,” she told them quickly. She pointed to the puddle of vomit. “He threw up all over himself and almost choked on it. Then he started having this…I don’t know…seizure or whatever. Like he was OD’ing or something.”
The men exchanged looks. The agent sighed then gestured for his partner to follow him into the truck to check on Caleb.
“Stay there,” he warned Scarlet, waving a gun in her direction. She nodded meekly.
“Just help him,” she begged. “He’s…my boyfriend. I don’t want anything to happen to him.”
The two men exchanged amused looks at this and the guy with the gun stuck it back in its holster at his side. She hid a small smile. Good. Let them think she was some silly girly girl who wouldn’t leave her guy behind in some crazy effort to escape.
Head still pounding, she readied for another push. Probably the last she had in her. Caleb had talked about depleting your spark, and now she understood firsthand what he’d meant. She felt like she could easily sleep for a week. But first she needed to bring this home. She squeezed her eyes shut. Here went nothing.
Oh my God! He’s convulsing! Help him! Now!
The men dove toward Caleb, who in reality wasn’t moving a muscle. One grabbed him by the head, the other held down his already-limp arms, using all his strength. It would have been funny, actually, if so much hadn’t been riding on the whole thing working.
“Keep him still!”
“Don’t let him swallow his tongue!”
As they busied themselves with their “patient,” Scarlet made her move, grabbing the gun out of the guy’s holster, then winding it up and slamming it as hard as she could against his jaw, just like she’d seen in the movies.
SLAM!
He didn’t even cry out. Just slumped over, a shocked expression frozen on his face as he was knocked out cold. She stared at him for a moment, pretty surprised herself. Caleb had told her the guy’s mind would be weakened from her manipulation, making him easier to
render unconscious, but she’d still thought she’d have to hit him at least twice.
“What the hell?”
The agent dropped Caleb’s head. It hit the ground with a loud thump. He scrambled to his feet, reaching for his own gun.
“Don’t even think about it,” Scarlet growled, training her weapon at his chest.
He froze, his eyes lifting to her and her gun, as if assessing them both. “Do you even know how to use that thing?” he asked at last.
“I’m from Texas,” she spit out. It was sort of an answer anyway. “Now drop your gun and drag your buddy here out of the truck.”
He sighed but obeyed without her even having to push him this time. Which was a good thing, since she was pretty sure her spark was all gone at this point. Grabbing his partner under the arms, he slowly dragged his unconscious body to the truck’s edge. She joined him, kicking the body with her foot. A moment later he went tumbling onto the desert floor. The man jumped down after him.
“Now toss me the keys.”
The man looked up. “You’re going to be in big trouble, little girl,” he told her. “Attacking government agents is a pretty serious offense.”
“So, what, I should just kill you then? So you won’t tell on me?” she asked sweetly, tightening her grip on the gun.
He swore under his breath but reached into his pocket, throwing the keys up onto the truck bed. She scooped them up in one hand, then turned back to him. “Walk a hundred steps into the desert,” she told him. “When you see me pull away, you can come back for your little friend here.”
The agent scowled, stepping off the road, counting under his breath. She watched him for a moment then dropped to her knees to check on Caleb. Thankfully, he still seemed okay. Still locked in the Nether but breathing normally. She wished she could move him to the front cab of the truck, but he would be too heavy for her to drag. Better to keep him here for now.
“It worked, Bad Seed,” she whispered. “And now the misfit toys are going to save the day.”
She rose to her feet and hopped out of the truck, pulling the door shut behind her. Then she leaned over to the unconscious man and pulled his cell phone from his pocket.
“Blood of the dragon,” she whispered to herself then headed to the driver’s seat.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
That night Trinity tossed and turned in the back bedroom of the underground RV, unable to sleep. And who could blame her, really? These were the last hours she would have with her dragon before losing Emmy forever. How could she close her eyes and let them slip away?
When she’d gone back to Virgil and her father, armed with Emmy’s decision, they’d explained some of what would have to happen before the time travel could take place. Because Emmy would be living out her entire life and dying millions of years before Trinity was born, Virgil would have to perform an de-bonding beforehand, so their life forces would no longer entwine. At first Trinity had balked at this—she remembered the de-bonding she’d almost been forced to go through back at the Dracken headquarters.
But Virgil had assured her this was different. That was an involuntary de-bonding—two minds ripped apart that wanted to stay together. Emmy had the power to voluntarily release her most of the way on her own. The machine would just work to neutralize the last traces of their connection—such as the blood Emmy had given Trinity when she’d been shot. It would not hurt Emmy, he promised. And it would not kill her. Sure, she might be a little weak for a few days, maybe some flulike symptoms, but in the end, she would be back to her old self.
Her old dragonless self.
She looked over at the sleeping dragon beside her, and her chest tightened as thoughts of the impending loss settled like a dead weight in her stomach. She found herself trying desperately to memorize everything about her. Every scale, every tooth, every claw. Every part of her that, after tomorrow, she’d never see again. She was so sweet. So beautiful. So…Emmy. How could she just say good-bye?
“You’re getting so big,” she whispered. “Soon you’ll be as big as a house.” She swallowed hard. “I wish I could see you like that. You’ll be so amazing.”
The tears came again, splashing down her face. Silently, she rose, so as not to wake her, and headed into the adjoining kitchen. There, she found her father, sitting at the table, picking at the remains of some takeout Chinese. Complete with empty packets of duck sauce strewn about, she noticed. He looked up as she closed the door behind her.
“Hey,” he said. “Couldn’t sleep, huh?”
She shook her head, sitting down across from him. It was so strange to have him here. The father she never knew. And yet, somehow, he didn’t feel like a stranger. Maybe it was because she’d seen him in the vision with her mother. The love that had reflected in his eyes. He had been important to her mother. And that made him important to Trinity too.
“I’m sorry, baby,” her father said, reaching across the table to place a hand over her own. “If all had gone to plan, we would have transported her back months ago. Before she ever had a chance to hatch from her shell. She would have never known the difference.” He paused, searching her face with his worried eyes. “And neither would you.”
Trinity felt the tears slip down her cheeks as her heart squeezed in her chest. Back then, before Emmy was born, she would have been ecstatic to have such a simple solution. A way to keep the dragon alive and still save the world. But now…
She thought of Emmy. Her sweet, beautiful, wonderful Emmy.
How could she just let her go?
“I remember that night I left you and your mother,” her father continued. “I can’t even tell you what that felt like—to walk through that door and know I could never return. That I’d miss your first steps, your first words, your first smile. Your first ballet recital.”
“I…never took ballet,” Trin managed to choke out. The most ridiculously inconsequential statement to make at a time like this but she’d lost all ability to speak rationally at this point, her mind was so consumed with pain.
Her father smiled gently. “The point is I didn’t want to miss any of it, just as I’m sure you want to experience every moment with Emmy. But I had to let you go—even if it literally tore my heart in two. Because I cared about you guys that much.” He paused then added, “I know you care for Emmy very much the same way.”
“Yeah,” Trinity agreed. “I do. And I want what’s best for her. And if that means letting her go, well, that’s what I’m going to have to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
“Is this the place? Are you sure?”
Connor peered out the bus window as Trevor turned into a sprawling parking lot of a giant store called Wal-Mart. He glanced over at Rashida, who was studying the GPS coordinates on her phone. She looked up. “Yeah, this is definitely it, where Scarlet said that she’d be.” She squinted at the store. “I don’t get it though. I mean why would Trinity come to a place like this with a dragon?”
“Because her father told her to,” Connor said with a sigh, watching all the people outside pushing carts and loading up the trunks of their cars. If only she’d never broken the music box and found the pendant. She would still be with him, under his protection. Instead of out there, somewhere, on her own—with the Dracken and government hunting her down like a dog.
They’d all been more than a little surprised to get Scarlet’s frantic call the night before. Even more so when she told them what she knew. Here he’d been trying to rally the Potentials to help save his brother, only to learn it was Trin who was in actual danger.
After that, they’d mobilized immediately. Driven all night. Now that they’d all shared the vision of the mutated dragons and the Dracken’s true mission, everyone wanted to help. So they all filed onto the stolen bus and headed straight to Fauna.
Connor pursed his lips, scanning the parking lot. He knew it could very well be a trap. That th
e Dracken could have forced Scarlet to make the call to lure him into their sights and take him down once and for all. Even Scarlet’s story—that the Dracken had forced her to give up Emmy’s location—seemed to ring untrue. But at the end of the day, it was a risk they all agreed they had to take. They couldn’t just leave Trinity to face the military herself. And they certainly couldn’t risk Emmy falling into government hands.
As Trevor parked the bus at the back of the parking lot, Rashida turned to the other kids. “Okay,” she barked. “Listen up.” She threw Aiko a couple of walkie-talkies they’d picked up at a sporting goods store a few towns over and clipped another to her belt. “Team blue, you circle the store’s perimeter. Take note of all the available exits and call them in.” She turned to one of the other girls, handing over two more walkies. “You case the parking lot. If you see any suspicious vehicles, let us know.”
“How will we know they’re suspicious?” Trevor asked.
“Out-of-state license plates,” Connor interjected. “And anything remotely military looking.”
“Remember, Mara is working with the government now,” Rashida said. “She’ll probably bring an army with her. Or at least some kind of black ops team. But at the same time, they’ll probably want to keep things on the down low. To not scare away the public.”
She turned to Connor. “You and I will check things out on the inside. Perhaps your connection with Trinity will help us narrow down her whereabouts.” She cleared her throat, her eyes roving over the busload of kids. “If any of you spot her, alert the rest of us immediately and bring her back here.”
“What if she won’t come with us?” Aiko piped in. “I mean, we did sort of try to kill her last time we saw her. She’s not likely to just go along quietly now.”
Rashida grimaced. “Good point.” She looked questioningly at Connor.
“Tell her you’re on Team Dragon now,” Connor said. “She’ll understand.”