Dragon Blood 1: Pliethin (14 page)

The three dragons stared at Amber. She was still grinning. Now if only her luck would hold a little longer. “Who’s first? I need you to hold your tail on an angle suitable for the handle of a large trolley. I’ve got a building to hide you in until my brother can find us.”

Kade pointed towards Maira, who shook her head.

“Quit arguing or I won’t be able to get any of you out of here.”

Maira stepped forward. Amber quickly draped the paint splattered cloths over her and then holding onto her tail, waited until Kade nudged the door open further before pushing against Maira’s tail.

“Go in the opposite direction of where I move your tail, unless I’m pushing forward,” Amber whispered. “Just like a trolley.” She stopped talking as she stepped out into the light and held her breath as they moved slowly along. The slight breeze that ruffled the drop cloths masked the walking motion and she sped things up a little, pulling back on Maira’s tail once they reached the building she’d broken into. Then she guided Maira in. As soon as they were inside, she pulled off the drop cloths, closed the door on Maira and rushed back to Kade and Brann.

With every minute that passed, Amber became more anxious. She had to stop herself from continually looking around. Instead she searched the area for dragons with her mind. It continued to stay clear. She didn’t search Ronan’s building since she didn’t want to risk alerting anyone. She had no idea exactly how her abilities worked and if anyone would notice what she was doing. Once all three dragons were hidden she returned the drop cloths and grabbed the chain from their cell. Shoving it in her backpack, she shut the door behind her and left Ronan’s building for what she hoped was the last time.

Taking note of the number on the front of the building, she stepped inside with her friends. She stopped in front of Kade. “Ronan can’t find your minds while you’ve got these chains on, can he?” Kade shook his head. “That’s what I thought. You know I can’t stay here with you, don’t you?” Kade nodded. “Let Jay and Crystal help you, please. Let them get you out of here.” She pulled out the wallet, her jaw dropping open when she saw all the fifty-dollar notes inside. She took several hundred out for herself and checked for ID. There was only the money. “Give this wallet to Jay. He can use it to help you escape.” She couldn’t resist smiling. “It seems fitting to me.” She threw her arms around Kade. “Be careful.”

Before she chickened out, Amber slipped outside and glanced around. There was still no sign of Ronan’s warriors. She hurried down the street and hoped she wasn’t heading in the direction they’d come from. Taking note of the name of the street as she turned the corner, she pulled her phone out.

“We’ve only just got a trailer now,” Crystal said.

“Good. You’ll need large cloths too. Like painter’s drop cloths.”

“How many?”

“Six should do.”

“What are we picking up?”

There was no way she could explain it over the phone. It was something that needed to be seen to be believed. “I want you to keep an open mind and to ring me before you try to move the… ah… items.”

“Where do we have to pick these items up from?”

Amber gave her the address. “Make sure you ring me first.”

“Okay.”

“And tell Jay I’ve left money there to help cover the cost of moving the… items.”

“Aren’t you there?”

“Not anymore.”

“Amber-”

She spied a taxi and waved it down. “I have to go. Ring me when you arrive.”

“Okay.”

“Where to?” The taxi driver asked as she hopped in.

“Roma Street train station.” She sat her backpack on her lap. Now that she could relax for a few minutes, her mind seemed frozen. She wasn’t sure what to do next. Did she try and return home now? What if Ronan caught Jay and Crystal while they were trying to move the dragons? Then her mind went blank again. Sleep. That’s what she really needed. She struggled to ignore her body’s requirements. Her stomach rumbled and reminded her of another need. She might have better control over her panther, but it wasn’t perfect. She needed food.

At the train station, Amber first used the bathroom and then grabbed a strong coffee and a sandwich. Since she only had more dragon-leather in her backpack, she bought a shirt plastered with advertising to pull on over her leather vest and then studied what destinations were available to her. When her phone rang, she nearly dropped her coffee. The display read Crystal.

Amber answered the phone. “Have you arrived yet?”

“What the hell is going on?”

“Jay.”

“Don’t Jay me! There’s… there’s… shit!”

“Dragons?”

Jasper swore again.

Amber couldn’t resist giggling.

“And money! There’s a few grand here.”

“Jay. Calm down.”

“What the hell are you into? And why are they chained up? And why the hell does one of them keep glaring at me and slashing his tail around?”

“Ah, that’d probably be Kade. Tell him I’m safe.” Amber waited while her brother repeated her words.

“Okay, that calmed him down a bit. Now what’s going on?”

“We’ll sort that out later. First you have to get them out of there.”

“They’re not all going to fit in the furniture trailer at once. I might be able to get two in. Why did Kade step back and push the other two towards me?”

Amber hurried over to a bench seat and dropped onto it. Her legs felt weak at the thought of Kade left there alone. She forced herself to concentrate. “He wants you to take them first.”

“He can understand me?”

“Yeah.” There was silence. Amber grew more worried. “Are you still there?”

“I had a spiked drink at the party I was at last night, didn’t I?”

Amber smiled. She knew exactly how he felt. “If it makes you feel better to think that.”

“Yeah, just peachy. So what do I do now?”

Amber reached out with her mind. The street was clear. She searched further. And there they were. Searching the streets for their escaped prisoners. She quickly pulled back. “Move them. Quickly. While the coast is clear.”

“How do you know that?”

“Trust me. No time to explain yet.”

“Where do you want me to take them?”

“Hicksville.”

“It’ll take me more than eight hours to get there and back.”

It was Amber’s turn to swear. “Leave two cloths and go.”

“Amber.”

“Hurry. Please. Question me later when we’re all safe.”

“Take care, Amber.”

“I’m trying to.” She hung up and stared at the phone. Now what? If she waited until they got the dragons home and she could ask Flinn to help, there’d be at least six hours before he could return to Kade. If he agreed to help. That was too long. Rising to her feet, she started walking, trying to stay awake. Sitting wasn’t helping. If only she had a licence. And she didn’t know anyone else with one.

Although she did know how to drive. Maybe… she shook her head. What if she was caught? Why would she be? It wasn’t long before she’d be able to go for her provisional licence. But if she was caught… the better question would be, what if Kade was caught?

She rang Jasper’s phone as she hurried towards the taxi rank. “I’ll meet you somewhere.”

“What?”

“I’ll take your car. You can take the taxi I’m about to catch and go hire another vehicle and trailer.”

“No. You don’t have a license.”

“That’s the risk I have to take. Jay, if they’re found, someone’s going to kill them.”

“Where are you?” When Amber told him, he quickly suggested a place to meet.

“I’ll owe you big time.”

“You better believe it.”

Amber hurried to the taxi rank and hopped into the first one, giving the driver the destination Jasper had told her. She reached out with her mind. Ronan and his two dragons were headed in her direction. Not good. She forced herself to stay calm, to make the panther back down. Trying to take her mind off the situation, she focused on the handmade dreamcatcher hanging from the rear view mirror.

“What feathers are they?”

“Hawk. My daughter made it for me.”

Amber stared at it thoughtfully. “Are you willing to sell it?”

“Well…”

“Fifty dollars.”

“I don’t know.”

She really wanted those feathers. Wanted to see if she could use the Pliethin to alter what she could change into. “What’s your price?”

“Eighty.”

“Done.” Amber pulled the money out, holding back the grin that threatened to escape at the expression on the taxi driver’s face.

He shoved the notes into the pocket of his shirt before he unhooked the dreamcatcher and handed it to her.

Amber put it inside her backpack. “Thanks.”

He shrugged. “I guess at that price I can pay her to make me another one. She should get a buzz out of that.”

They fell silent. Amber checked on Ronan again. She couldn’t find him. But she could find his warriors. Could he hide himself? Is that why she hadn’t noticed him before he put the knife to her throat? How were they meant to work around that? He could be anywhere.

“Have you got pen and paper I could use?”

The taxi driver handed over a notebook and pen. Amber tore a page out and rested it on the front cover. She did a quick sketch of Ronan. She frowned, then altered it slightly. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave a fairly good impression of him. Nearly twelve years of doing art at school might have paid off after all. And her parents had always said it was a waste of time doing it as a subject in high school. She handed the pen and notebook back, slipping the picture into the front pocket of her backpack.

They arrived at the destination before Jasper and Crystal. Amber searched for Hound and Tory. They were still travelling towards her. She guessed they must be in a car. They weren’t going fast enough to be flying. How long would it be before they decided to fly? As soon as they were away from the city? When it was dark? Was she going to lead them back to Kade’s home?

“Are you getting out?” The driver asked.

“I’m waiting for someone.” She handed over the money currently on the meter. “He’ll need a lift somewhere.”

“Okay.”

Amber got out of the taxi as she sensed them getting closer. Then she spotted her brother’s car. They pulled over in front of the taxi.

Crystal was out of the car and running towards her before the engine was off. She threw her arms around Amber. “What have you got yourself into?”

Amber smiled. “Later. No time yet.” She looked at her brother as he reached them. He handed over his keys. “Thanks.”

“Be careful.”

Amber nodded. “You too.” She gave him the sketch she’d done. “Keep an eye out for this person. I want you to arrive in one piece.” She pulled away from Crystal to hug her brother, whose chin rested momentarily on her head, the colour of their hair blending. “Take really good care of Kade for me.”

Jasper nodded, his blue eyes filled with a look of concern as he momentarily rested a hand on her shoulder then turned and walked to the taxi. Amber watched him go, his familiar slim form carried away by the taxi. She suppressed the urge to call out a warning, hurrying to the trailer instead.

Amber tapped twice on the side. “I’m driving now. Jay’s going back for Kade.” Her answer was two knocks.

As soon as they were on the road, Crystal began with the questions. A steady stream of them that Amber had no hope of answering.

“Please,” Amber begged.

“I have so much I need to know.”

“You and me both. They’re pretty stingy with their answers. All I can tell you is that yes, it is the Kade, Maira and Brann you met last weekend and normally they can change back into humans.”

“Why can’t they?”

“It’s the chains.”

“How did you find out about them?”

“It’s a very complicated story.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“I basically stumbled onto their secret. Look, I can’t tell you any more until I discuss it with Kade. He’s really angry I brought you into the problem. But I couldn’t leave them there. And I needed to find help for myself too. There’s another dragon after me. One that’s really old and has abilities Kade doesn’t.”

“If you’re trying to scare me, it’s working far too well.”

Amber reached out and clasped Crystal’s hand for a second before she put it back on the steering wheel. “I’m petrified of what he plans to do. It takes every bit of willpower to talk to him without turning to jelly. Are you sure you want to come with us? I can drop you somewhere and you can catch a taxi home. I’ll pay for it.”

“No. I might have nightmares for life, but I won’t desert you.”

“Trust me, you don’t know what nightmares are until you dream of blood red eyes stalking you.”

Crystal shuddered. “Great! Now I will.”

Amber chuckled. “Sorry. I guess you will. You’ve never been able to watch horror movies.” They fell into companionable silence.

The quiet was broken about half an hour later by Jasper ringing. Amber handed her phone to Crystal to answer.

“He’s with Kade.”

Amber reached out with her mind. The dragons were still following her. A little closer, but not by much. “Tell him to keep an eye out for the man in the picture. The others aren’t there.”

When Crystal finished passing on the message and ended the phone call, she asked, “So where are they?”

“Following us.”

“What!”

“You still want to come with me?”

It took Crystal nearly a minute to answer. “I think so.”

A few minutes later, the phone rang again. Jasper and Kade were on their way. Amber relaxed a little. They were safe for now. She glanced around at the thinning traffic. Not a good sign. A car passed her and she looked at her speedo. There was no way she could go any faster than eighty while towing. She hoped she came across someone slower than her that she could sit behind. The last thing she wanted was to be alone on the road in case Hound and Tory caught up to her.

By the time they pulled up at Kade’s house, Amber was shaking with exhaustion. She dropped her head on the steering wheel, unable to move.

“Do you want me to let the dragons out?”

Amber could only answer Crystal with a nod. She needed sleep. Even an hour would be good. Instead she forced herself to open the car door and stumble out. She grabbed her backpack and pulled it on. Her head jerked up as the front door swung open and Flinn strode out. He stared at her for a moment before he came towards her.

“What’s going on? Who’d you bring with you? Where’s Kade? Why can I sense a Pliethin and who are the dragons tailing you that tried to barge in on my mind?”

“We need help.” She turned to see what Flinn laughed at. Maira and Brann stood behind her, Crystal behind them. “It’s not funny.”

“Oh yes it is. Maira more than anyone deserves it. She’s always thought herself better than anyone else since one of her grandparents is Gold. Not enough to pass it along to her though. You ask any warrior. They’ll all say the same. Almost Gold isn’t good enough.”

“Please help them.” Amber hated having to beg Flinn. “Kade wants you to tell his clan. He said it’d be his brother favour.” Crystal came to stand beside her.

“No. Not a brother favour. Not with the trouble you brought with you.” He gestured skyward before he turned his attention to Crystal. “Who’s this?”

“Crystal, this is Flinn.”

“Don’t you think enough humans already know about us?”

Amber shrugged. “She’s my friend. She won’t say anything.”

“I’ll help on two conditions.”

“What?”

“You and the Pliethin.”

“No!” Amber was echoed by Maira’s roar.

“What’s he mean by you?” Crystal asked.

Amber held out her hand. Fire appeared in it and she threw it up in the air like a ball. When it landed on her palm again, she snapped her hand shut and it disappeared.

Crystal’s jaw dropped. She blinked. Finally she managed to speak. “Show off.”

Amber smiled slightly before she turned back to Flinn. “Try again. No deal.”

“It’s not negotiable. You don’t know where to find someone to help. I’ll call Kade’s parents. All you have to do is answer to me instead of Kade and give me the Pliethin.”

“I don’t answer to Kade. You can even ask him that. You and I would kill each other within the space of a week. If that long.”

“You and the Pliethin.”

“How do you learn to do that?” Crystal asked. She reached out to touch Amber’s palm. “Could I learn?”

“Sort of.”

Crystal met Flinn’s gaze. “Then what about me instead of Amber?”

“Crystal! No! You can’t reverse the process if you don’t like it.”

“We’ve always done everything together. Why should this be any different? You’re not leaving me out of it.”

“I’d leave myself out of it if I could.”

“Only because it takes you ages to get used to new things. Give it another month and you won’t want it any different. It’ll be normal for you. And don’t bother arguing. I know you too well.”

“He’s a real pain to put up with. He expects everyone to follow orders.”

Crystal grinned. “I guess he’ll soon learn not everyone does.”

Amber laughed, turning back to Flinn. “Well?”

“She will follow orders.”

Amber shrugged. “We’re only human.”

“That isn’t negotiable.”

“Then no deal. You find some other way to get your Pliethin and Dragon Mage. I’ll figure out another way to help Kade.” She managed to control the smile that wanted to escape when Flinn growled.

“She will at least try and follow orders.”

“She can hear you.” Crystal glared at Flinn. “And she will only follow orders that are reasonable.”

“You don’t own her. Crystal will work with you for as long as you treat her well.”

Flinn nodded sharply. “Let’s get this over with.” Flinn turned away and strode towards the back of the house.

Maira threw herself in front of Amber and Crystal when they started to follow. She growled with teeth bared.

“Back off, Maira. Kade isn’t here to deal with this mess. And even if he was, he couldn’t do any more than you can.”

Maira forced Amber to take a step back. Amber let fire fill her hand.

“I will throw this and I will aim for the wings. Don’t push me. I’m tired, exhausted and fed up with running from Ronan. I’m not in the mood for any more dramas.” Amber stepped forward and Maira retreated. Brann growled from behind her. She turned to face him. He did the strange bow from earlier. Maira howled, outrage filling the sound. Amber turned back and Maira stepped out of the way, her tail flicking back and forth. Amber closed her hand and the fire went out. She hurried around the house, Crystal at her side.

Flinn waited, impatiently pacing. “Change your mind?”

Amber shook her head. “A slight disagreement. What’s the quickest way for Gold Dragon blood to get into the body?”

“Into the blood stream through a cut or by drinking it.”

Crsytal screwed up her face. “I’m not drinking someone’s blood.”

One of Flinn’s hands momentarily became a claw and he ran it across his palm. He held out the hand to Crystal.

“You never said anything about blood and cutting.” Crystal stared at the blood pooling in Flinn’s hand.

“Are you backing out already?” Flinn demanded. “If you won’t drink it, a cut is the only other way.”

Crystal glared at him and stepped forward, her hand outstretched. Her eyes closed at the last second so she didn’t see the claw rake across her palm. She hissed when she felt it. Flinn pressed their palms together and Crystal tried to pull away. “It’s burning!”

“It’s meant to,” Amber said.

“A warning would’ve been good.”

Amber ignored her friend’s glare. “I know you.” She smiled. “You would’ve alternated between yes and no as you tried to psyche yourself up. This way we did it without all the procrastinating.”

Crystal rubbed her uncut hand across her arm. “Why does the air feel weird? Like it’s full of energy.”

“That’s the Pliethin you can feel.” Amber frowned. “Although it doesn’t feel as strong to me as the last one did.”

“That’s because you’ve already used one,” Flinn said.

When Crystal started to ask another question, Flinn interrupted her. “Now what?”

“You were there that night. I had the Pliethin for at least a minute, maybe two. Kade held me as both dragon and human while I held the Pliethin. I don’t know if that makes a difference.” She turned to Crystal. “No matter what happens, you can’t let go of the Pliethin until Flinn takes it. That’s extremely important.”

“It’s going to hurt, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. But you have to take it the moment I give it to you or there mightn’t be enough energy left in it for what he has to do. Okay?”

“Why are you giving it to her?” Flinn demanded.

“Because I want to check something out. And I was the one who got it.”

“There better be enough energy,” Flinn warned.

Amber ignored him and took the dreamcatcher out. She removed two of the feathers and handed one to Crystal. “Make sure you don’t let go of the feather either.” She held tightly to hers as she pulled the box out. Calling forth fire, she heated the padlock until it popped open. She unhooked the padlock, an indrawn breath at the heat on her fingers. Staring at her hand, she couldn’t find a single blister from the heat. She guessed that was something, even if touching hot metal was painful.

“Hurry up,” Flinn said.

Amber opened the box slightly and grabbed the Pliethin. The air crackled with energy and a jolt of it went through her arm. She turned to Crystal, handing it to her friend. Her teeth were clenched hard as she fought the wave of pain. Crystal clutched the Pliethin. Flinn was instantly there. He was a dragon for a minute, becoming human before he took the Pliethin Crystal struggled to hold onto. She staggered back the moment Flinn had the Pliethin. A ragged breath escaped her and Amber threw her arms around her friend.

“I could almost hate you for not warning me how much pain,” Crystal whispered. “Oh my god.”

Amber turned to see what Crystal looked at. Flinn held the Pliethin, wings outstretched, forelimbs held in a victory type position, the Pliethin grasped tightly in one claw. And he blazed gold. The air around him shimmered with the colour.

“I want to reach out and touch him to see if he’s real.” Crystal’s voice was an awed whisper.

“Don’t. I’m not sure what that would do.”

“Oh Amber, if this is a dream, I never want to wake up. How could you not want this?”

“Some moments are good, but there’s a lot of moments that are mostly a nightmare.” The crackle of energy in the air began to lessen. Amber continued to watch, an arm around Crystal’s waist. Crystal had her arm around Amber and they leaned against each other. Amber yawned. She desperately needed sleep. But not until help arrived.

The glow around Flinn faded and he shimmered into human form, dropping to his knees. His eyes were focused on the Pliethin in his hand. The dull, misshapen creature lay there, unmoving.

Crystal cried out, kneeling in front of Flinn to gently touch the Pliethin.

“It will be fine,” Flinn said softly. He raised his hand. “Thank you.” As soon as he opened his hand the creature rose above it and faded away. Flinn looked up at Crystal’s gasp. “It returned to its own world. It’ll come back when it starts to regain energy.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Crystal asked.

Flinn could only nod. He looked too exhausted and dazed to do anything else. His head came up as they all heard a vehicle and he struggled to get to his feet. Amber came forward to help Crystal pull him up.

“It’s okay. It’s Jay and Kade.”

“Who’s Jay?” Flinn demanded.

“My brother.”

“Another human?” Flinn didn’t bother to keep the derision from his voice.

Amber smiled wryly. “Can you still call Crystal and me human?”

Flinn only grunted in answer.

The three of them walked towards the front yard and arrived in time to see Kade come out of the back of the trailer, his tail moving irately as he glared at them.

“Call for help,” Amber told Flinn before she hurried to Kade. She threw her arms around him and refused to let him shake her off.

He hissed and finally managed to pull back. He sniffed at her then growled.

“Not being able to talk to you is really frustrating.” She grabbed the chain and remembering the energy that had played along Brann’s she pooled it in her hand before she released it into the chain. Amber staggered, nearly hitting the ground. Jasper grabbed her in time. The world spun around and she took several deep breaths as she tried to bring it back into focus. Kade nudged her.