Core (6 page)

Ava had a feeling that if she pushed Jim, if she gave him even the slightest provocation, he would be angry enough to kill. She’d seen that look before. She’d seen it on the faces of the opponents that would rather end her life before they lost another match. But it had never been on Jim’s face before. He’d been angry. He’d been drunk. He’d been just plain mean. But Ava never thought her retaliation would push him to murder. His wild eyes told her she should have guessed.

Miriam whimpered from behind her husband. She wrung her hands together, tears slipping from her eyes. “Jim, please, we can talk about this,” s
he begged, her entire person trembling.

Miriam tried to grab onto Jim’s arm, to reason with him. As Jim swung to get her off of him, Ava found her chance. She shoved his arm up into the air and brought it back down over her knee so that the gun slipped out of his grasp and slid across the floor.

In the next instant, Jim’s body was hoisted into the air, right out of Ava’s grasp. He was slammed down hard into the floor, then lifted up again and smacked into the corner. Mac had his beefy hand around Jim’s throat, the gun Jim had dropped pressed tightly against the smaller man’s forehead.

“
Move, and I’ll pull the trigger,” Mac said.

Ava couldn’t believe those words were coming from him, from the same man who’d chest-bumped Cale just a day before, who’d won the
smiles of his sons with ease. He seemed bigger than Ava remembered–stronger.

Cale offered Ava his hand and she took it, surprised to feel how warm it was as he pulled her up to her feet.

“You alright?” he asked her.

“He didn’t shoot,” Ava said. It wasn’t really an answer to Cale’s question but he didn’t press.

“That him?” Rory asked as he plowed up the stairs, his eyes already glued to Jim.

Ava remembered how angry he’d been the previous night when he saw that Cale had gotten hurt. He looked just as intense, his brown eyes gleaming, red rushing to his face and neck.

Karma was at Miriam’s side, checking her face, making sure she didn’t have a concussion. Then Miriam pulled the other woman in closer and whispered into her ear. When she pulled away, both women smiled at each other, or at least Karma’s eyes gleamed a little. Ava felt like she was in an alternate universe as she watched them hurry down the stairs. 
Why is the entire Anders family in my hallway? And what could Miriam possibly have to say to Karma?

“We’ll be right back,” Karma called back up. “Try not to kill him if you can help it, Mac.”

“No promises,” Mac answered. And by the looks of it, he meant what he said.

Jim scoffed a
t the man who balanced his life on his trigger finger. “You’re all going to prison for a very long time. Breaking and entering, attempted murder of a senator. I almost feel sorry for you,” he said, clenching his teeth against the pain of his broken nose. He glared at Ava. “You think I’m going to forget about this? You think you’re not going to pay for it?”

Cale pulled Ava aside once again. “He hit you, Ava?”

She shook her head. “Not today, no.”

“But he has. He’s hit you before.”

Ava didn’t deny it and she didn’t look away in shame. She stared straight back at Cale, unflinching.

“
How many times?”

Still no answer.
She had no desire to admit it out loud. It didn’t need to be said. It was almost as if talking about being hurt by him gave Jim even more power.

But she didn’t need to say anything. Cale’s eyes flashed, interpreting her silence accurately. “And you still live here with him? You didn’t speak up?”

Ava couldn’t find the words to explain how her life had gotten that way. How she knew how to defend herself but had resolved not to, for Miriam’s sake. How desperately she wanted to leave. How many times Miriam had refused.

“I had good reasons,” she said. “Trust me. I’m not some victim.”

Cale studied her, his eyes exploring her face, paying attention to her posture, her expression, even the pulse of her blood through the veins in her neck. Satisfied that she was stable, he let go of her, turning all of his scowling fury onto Jim. But before Cale could start in on him, Miriam walked back up the stairs and straight to Ava. She looked over to Karma, who gave her an encouraging nod.

“I was talking with this very nice lady,” Miriam started. “And she thinks I need to ask you a few questions. Ava, I need you to tell me the truth.” Miriam took a deep breath. “Has Jim ever hit you?”

“Yes.” Ava didn’t hesitate.

The word came out bluntly.
Plain, honest truth. A part of Ava had been dying for Miriam to open her eyes, to realize what she’d been through and why. 
How could she not know? 
Because Ava had been careful. So careful.

“More than once?”

“Often.”

Miriam
hesitated, fighting back her tears. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t think you could handle it.”

Miriam swallowed that. Then, she squared her thin shoulders, jutted her chin forward and did something about it. She went to Karma and took a blue folder that she’d been holding for her.

“Will you keep him there while I talk to him?” she asked Mac.

“My pleasure, little lady,” he answered.

Jim took in a breath, about to say something emotionally scarring, no doubt, but Miriam wound up her little hand and popped him right in the mouth. He was so shocked he couldn’t figure out how to close his lips again. Miriam opened the folder and dropped two documents on the floor in front of
him.  Then she shoved a pen into his face, nearly up his nose.

“You’re going to sign both of these,” she said.
Every part of her was shaking. “Ava’s adoption papers and our divorce papers. The settlement is already spelled out. You can keep your money and your house. I keep my daughter and you never show your face anywhere near us again.”

 
“You really think that’s going to work?” he spat out.

Miriam smiled at him, a glow in her eyes Ava had never seen before. She held a flash drive up to his eyeball. “Here’s how I know it’ll work.
This morning, instead of going sick with worry about where my daughter had gone and instead of cleaning up the house so you would be more comfortable, I decided to do what I should have done years ago. You see, a long time ago, I had surveillance cameras placed in every room of this house. But until today, I was too afraid to use them. But not this time. While you got your kicks slapping me around and while you threatened to
kill
my Ava, I recorded you. You so much as sneeze wrong, and I will send this video to every law enforcement agency in the country.”

Jim snatched the pen and scribbled his signature in all the right places. Then Miriam had the boys carry the suitcases she’d already packed down to their van.

“May we have a ride to this hotel,” Miriam asked Mac once he had left the senator a parting gift that would probably make smiling for the camera very difficult at his next photo shoot.

Mac asked to see the print out Miriam had with the hotel’s address on it. He crumpled it into a ball and handed it back to her.
“Ava’s family now. You can stay with us until you figure something out.”

Miriam leaned over to Ava. “Who are these people?”

Apparently, I have no idea.
 “I’ll explain later,” she answered. She picked up the folder Miriam had rested on her lap and flipped through it, trying not to let what Mac said stick to her. 
Family.
 Ava knew family was no fairytale. It was complicated. And every experience she’d ever had with her family ended in hurt. Still, she couldn’t believe how different her life had become in just a few days.

“Adoption papers, huh?” Ava said, frowning at Miriam. “Who says I want you to adopt me?”

Miriam smiled and kissed Ava’s cheek.

“And you’re sure you don’t want his money?” Ava asked.

Miriam broke into laughter, a high, tinkling, delirious sound. “He hasn’t got any. Can you believe it? He’s so badly in debt, they’re repossessing the house.”

So that’s why the security system didn’t go off. Jim can’t afford the bills.
 
Ava watched as Miriam laughed so hard she couldn’t keep from crying. For the first time, Ava felt like maybe, just maybe, she was really seeing Miriam.

“I am really proud of you, Mom,” she said.

Miriam rubbed her tears into her cheeks, a sappy smile on her pale lips. “Ava…you just called me mom.”

Ava did her best to hide her frown. She let Miriam cling to her as they drove. She didn't have the heart to tell her it would never happen again.
 
Mom.
 The world felt forced, like it didn't belong to her. Even after what Miriam had done, she didn't understand Ava, and Ava didn't understand her. 
Different. They would always be too different.

Six

Tradition

The logs in the fireplace crackled, filling the room with the scent of wood and smoke. It was hardly autumn, and Miami never got cold enough to actually need a fire indoors, but Karma had stoked it anyway, for her own reasons. She told Miriam and Ava that they could sit closer to her or Cameron if they felt too warm.

“I think I might have a concussion,” Miriam said.

She was propped up in their monster of an armchair, Ava and Karma in the sofa across the room from her, and Cameron as far away from the group as he could be while remaining within hearing distance. Cale sat on the floor with the other reds, near enough to Ava that he could lean back on her leg, close enough to the fire that if he stretched out his foot, it would be caught up in flames.

“No, you’re not losing your mind, Miriam. It’s real,” Ava said. “Remember the creatures?”

“Yes, I certainly remember the creatures.” She shook her head, trying to forget them again. “So, they were dragons, too?”

A chorus of protestations erupted from the family, some angry, some offended, some rationally objective. At one point
, both Rory and Mac spit into the fireplace. The flames crackled in their own sort of outcry. Karma put her hand up to silence the room.

“The creatures you saw were sirens, not dragons. That particular race of sirens is called nightfolk due to their affinity for dark places and because of the shadow eels they keep as pets, often on their persons. Sirens in general tend to be jealous creatures, wanting fame, honor, and most of all, love and affection for themselves. They are nothing like dragons. You’ve heard of them through your own legends, I’m sure.
Vampires. Werewolves. Mermaids. Even some knights of old were sirens, dragon slayers praised for deceiving the writers of history.

“Usually sirens–
like the ones that attacked you–do not plan or plot. They are impulsive creatures who see others receiving attention and react without thought. They form clans often, but never for long enough to fulfill any real goals before they turn on one another. But the three that attacked you seemed to be deliberately casing your home. And the pendants….”

“What about them?”
Ava asked.

Cameron spoke up from his place at the dining table ac
ross the room. “Since it was my task to verify our facts on siren crests, I’ll explain.”

Apparently, Karma had given him homework. She nodded for him to go on.

"Multiple reliable blue dragon sources agree that siren crests and everyday accessories common to their kind are generally of a gaudy nature. Shiny, attractive, and alluring. But the pendants we found at Ava’s home more resemble handmade work. Crude and durable.”

“Sounds like a dragon crest,” Cale interjected, warranting an approving nod from his younger brother.

“There is no evidence that they were made by a dragon, but it can be deduced that they were at least made in a dragonlike fashion, for whatever reason.”

While Cameron spoke,
Karma left the living room and returned with a cup of hot cocoa for Miriam. Ava watched as Miriam sipped it, then tried to hide her grimace from her host. Of course, Karma could tell she didn’t enjoy the beverage.

“Is it cold?” Karma asked, taking the cup back from her. “I was not paying as much attention to temperature settings as I usually do.”

Ava studied Karma as she left once more. She realized that the blue dragon wasn’t passionate about cooking at all. Ava had thought she enjoyed dreaming up meals for the men in her family. And her cooking was delicious. But for Karma, preparing food was a science, the best tasting meal achieved through accurate flavor combinations and measurements. When Karma returned again, Miriam sipped the cocoa and smiled.

“It’s delicious,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Ava, would you like one?” Karma asked.

Ava shook her head. She had spent the whole day talking with Miriam and reviewing their paperwork. At last, when they were too frustrated with the piles of legal documents, Ava had presented them to Karma, who then called Cameron over. He had both the divorce and adoption papers organized, tabbed, and ready for delivery in under an hour.

Then, Ava took the rest of the evening to explain her recent choices to her mother. When Karma called a “nest meeting,” Ava and Miriam had no idea what she talking about. Ava figured out that it meant they got to sit down together and talk about all the things that confused or worried them, and she was overwhelmed with both anxiety and relief.

No, she didn’t want a hot cocoa. She wanted to know everything Karma did. She wanted answers.

“Forgive me,” Miriam spoke up. “I can’t help but notice…Ava and I are the only humans here. And please, excuse me for asking this. Where are all of your other riders? You haven’t…
eaten
them, have you?”

“Miriam, for God’s sake, they don’t eat
people
,” Ava said, rubbing her temple in frustration, wishing her mother would stop being ridiculous. “Those are just stories. No one has a princess trapped in a tower. They eat food just like we do." 

One by one, each losing interest in the talk, the three reds of the family inched closer to the fire, watching intently, as though it was a movie, as if every flicker was something new and exciting. Rory reached in and
touched a tongue of the flame before he pulled his hand away and continued to stare. His expression didn’t change at all. Just a dull, blank stare. Like he was hypnotized.

Ava jerked her thumb towards them. “Explain please,” she said to Karma.

Karma observed the reds, her eyes soaking up their body language and sorting through the mountains of facts she’d somehow stored in her mind.

“They have trouble
focusing at times. In cases like these, a simple fire helps to prevent spontaneous wrestling matches. We can continue. They’re listening.” She turned away from them, every move she made slow and deliberate, from the way she folded her hands to the tone of her voice. “If I may address your concern, Miriam, we don’t all need riders like Cale does. I will start at the beginning, so try to keep up, both of you.”

Ava’s muscles tensed at the insult, though she knew Karma hadn’t meant it that way, and she tried not to be offended. Cale looked up at her, resting his head against her knee in an attempt to relax her. It worked. Ava couldn’t believe he’d even noticed the change in her in the first place. It was as though he was always paying attention, always in tune.
 

Karma must have noticed the change in her as well. She paused but she didn’t comment or apologize. Instead she cleared her throat. “
There are five races of dragon–blue, red, green, black, and grey–all with one purpose: to protect the unprotected. 

“My young
est son and I are blue dragons–our core is made of water and our dragonblood runs blue. We protect knowledge. We don’t need riders, because we can change into our second form whenever we’d like. Most often, it serves no intellectual purpose for us to do so and the form is left alone.”

Ava chuckled at the thought of Karma or Cameron transforming into big scary dragons, calculators
and laptops in hand. Of course they thought it was useless to change forms.

“Red dragons, like Cale, protect humans
. In order for a red to change–”

“
Wait, they protect
humans
. We’re powerless?”

Karma shook her head. “No. No
t powerless in the least. Just…fragile. It is a very necessary duty. Humans help to maintain the balance and thus should be protected.”

Fragile?
 Ava had never felt fragile in her life. But when she looked over at Miriam, she could see why dragons would think they needed protecting. “Go on.”

Karma nodded. “In order for a red to change to its second form, it must have a human rider that can spark its core and catch its dragonblood on fire.

“A red dragon harming a human without reason or commission is against red dragon law. And since Cameron and I are pescetarians, none of my family will be eating any of yours tonight.”

Miriam nodded, though she didn’t seem to relax at all. She was sitting so straight in the armchair it was impossible for her to
be comfortable. “So if Ava is Cale’s rider, she has to light his blood on fire so he can become a giant lizard?”

“That’s one way of thinking of it, yes. The two of them must go to his tribe’s birthplace and find their dragonstones as a rite of passage. Then, they must earn consent from the red council. When it’s all done, they will be bonded together for life. It is a well-known procedure, though finding a rider has become a rare phenomenon.”

“Mmmhmm….” Miriam nodded her head slowly. “So a road trip, then?”

“Exactly.
We’ve had the funds for the journey set aside since Cale was born. They can leave as soon as they’d like.”

“Sweet,” Ava said. “Cale didn’t mention the perks. Free trip to… Where are we going?”

“Peru.”

“Cale?”
Ava said, looking to him. But he was still gawking at the fire. She used one of the sofa cushions to smack him in the head. He snapped out of it and blinked at her. “Peru?” she asked.

“Sorry it’s so far,” he said. “It won’t make you change your mind, will it?”

A slow smile spread across her face. “A free trip to South America? No, it won’t make me change my mind.”

“I bet the dance will,” Cameron said, smirking from across the room, half hidden behind his laptop.

Ava sat up in the sofa. “Dance? What Dance? Karma you forgot to tell me about any dance.”

Karma stared at Cameron, giving him what Ava suspected
to be a sharp, scolding look, though to Ava it seemed like her features were unchanged. Blue splotches crept onto Cameron’s cheeks, though his expression was as stoic as his mother’s. 
Blue blood,
 Ava thought, 
it makes his blush a different color
.

“I did not forget,” Karma said. “I was simply saving that piece of information. I didn’t think it was a good time to share it.”

“Why do you get to decide what information to keep from me? If it’s about me, I want to know.”

“I did not mean to offend, only to inform strategically.”

Ava’s impatience flared, replacing her curiosity, and Cale touched her shoe, resting his hand on it like he wasn’t even thinking about it. “It’s just a red dragon tradition, Ava. It doesn’t really affect the pact,” he explained. “It’s so our herd can meet you.”

His herd.
 Ava tried to recall all Karma had taught her. Every dragon had a nest, his family. Nests belonged to a herd, and herds made up tribes. Tribes were collected into one of the five races. 
His herd is going to meet me? 
That meant his entire community.

“And we have to dance in front of them?” Ava squirmed in her seat. She was a fighter, not a dancer.

Karma sighed, disappeared into the kitchen, and returned with a bucket of water. She threw it onto the flames and steam flooded the house. She opened the sliding door to let it out as the reds protested.

“What was that for?” Mac asked. He sat down in Karma’s seat and pulled her onto his lap. “You ruined the show.”

Karma seemed to relax in Mac’s embrace, though she didn’t smile or kiss his cheek. “Ava wants to know about the dance, and I won’t do the explanation justice.”

“I forgo
t about the dance,” Rory said, shouting for no reason. “When is it going to be?”

Mac grinn
ed. “Tomorrow night. I already sent word.”

Karma studied her husband.
“That seems unreasonably soon.”

Mac pulled her closer to him and planted a sloppy kiss on her neck. She blushed blue and pushed him away.

“We’re excited, Karma,” Mac said. “Let us be excited.”

She cleared her throat, still composed.
“Of course. This is red dragon business. I don’t expect to empathize.”

Mac lifted her and stood up, setting her back down in her seat like she weighed no more than ten pounds. Then he pulled Cale up to his feet. “That means you can’t see each other until tomorrow night.”

Cale looked almost afraid with is father’s thick arm around his neck. “Wait,” he said. “Let me just talk to her for a second.” But Mac tossed him towards Rory.

“It’s tradition, Cale. Rory will make sure you stay away for the night. Usually, both dragon riders and their dragons are the same gender. I’ll have to call in a favor to get Ava ready, since she’s a girl.”

Rory half-dragged his brother up the stairs and shoved him into his bedroom, then locked the door behind him. He jumped onto the bed, destroying the springs in the mattress as Cale crossed his arms.

“Mom’s right,” Cale said, shaking his head. “Why is Dad rushing the dance? I just found her and we’re chasing her away.”

Rory shrugged, opening a water bottle and chugging it. “Like he said, he’s excited. I am too.” He sighed. “My baby brother getting his wings. And at eighteen.” He shook his head. “You’re going to be famous once people find out. There hasn’t been a pact in….”