Dragon Blood 3: Surety (13 page)

Amber glared at Kade as they came out of the Void into a dimly lit park. “That took us further away. It was completely the wrong direction.”

Kade growled. “What did you expect? I’ve barely started learning the pathways through the Void. Did you think it’s automatic? Do you know the streets of every town in your country?”

“Of course not. That’d be impossible.”

“Then why would you expect me to know paths to everywhere through the Void?”

“Sorry.” She looked away from him. “I just don’t want to waste the time we’ve got. We’ve already wasted two days.” Her mother hadn’t wanted to let her out of her sight so they’d enlisted Gary’s help. He’d been reluctant, but Amber had told him she’d be going anyway and there’d be a big argument. He’d agreed to take her mother to dinner Wednesday night and Friday night. She was hoping they’d only need tonight to find Ronan, but so far it was taking a lot longer than she’d expected.

“We could force him to take us to the prisoners.”

Amber shook her head. “I want to show him I can find him. I want him to know he can’t hide from me.”

Kade laughed softly.

“What?”

“Dragon.” He said the word affectionately.

“I’m not. I’m human.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Take me back to the last place. At least it was closer to Ronan than this is.”

Kade took them through the Void to the last place they’d been. An empty alley with overflowing industrial bins. “He won’t be happy to have you track him down. It might even turn him against you in the long run.”

“He thinks he can disappear when he no longer needs me and I won’t be able to go to him for help. I want to show him that’s not an option. I’m not some weak human he can ditch when I’m no longer useful. He needs to learn that now.”

Kade chuckled. “I think he’s already starting to realise you’re not weak. Just be careful tonight. He won’t be the only one there. He’ll have guards.”

Pulling out her phone, she checked the time. “Fly me. Going through the Void isn’t getting us there quick enough.”

“I thought you wanted to be back before your mum gets home.”

Amber shrugged. “So I’ll be in trouble again. This is more important.” It was probably a crazy idea to track Ronan down, but she wasn’t about to let him tell her what she could and couldn’t do. It was a matter of survival. She thought of her brother and Crystal and everyone else who was important to her. She didn’t have a choice. Not if she wanted to keep them safe. Ronan had to believe she was just as strong as him. “Come on, fly me there.”

“We don’t have a saddle.”

“I’ll manage.” She grinned. “Besides, if I fall I can always turn into a goshawk.”

Kade shook his head and stared at her for a moment before he turned into a dragon. Amber scrambled up onto his back, leaning forward to hold on with her arms, pressing her knees into him. He took to the air and Amber directed him, as she continued to search out Ronan. It took several hours to reach their destination, a warehouse on the Sunshine Coast, in an industrial area.

Amber slid off Kade’s back, her arms and legs trembling from holding on tight for so long. Using her healing ability, she stopped the trembling while she checked who was in the area. It was quiet and dark, several people inside the single storey, aluminium clad building. Two humans, four dragons and Ronan.

“What’s the plan?” Kade asked.

“To not get killed.” She pulled out her phone and dialled Ronan’s number.

He answered on the first ring. “No.”

“Why are you in such a bad mood?”

“Did you actually have something decent to say or did you ring to pester me again?”

“I’ve come to see the prisoners. Can you get someone to let me in?” She stepped up to a metal door and knocked on it. The phone disconnected and she spun as she felt Ronan appear behind her.

“How did you find me?”

Grinning, Amber slid her phone into her pocket. “I told you I could.”

“Can you find anyone you want?”

She shook her head. “Only people I know well.”

Ronan pointed a finger at her. “You don’t know me.” He reached out, grabbed her arm and took her inside the building through the Void.

“What about Kade?”

“I’ve sent someone for him.”

Amber was relieved when he appeared in the room. The relief was short lived when she saw it was Alsandair. He was smiling, Kade wasn’t.
“Are you okay?”

“Just get it over with, Amber. Gary sent me a message to say they’re home and your mum’s livid. Expect a call from her any minute.”

She quickly pulled out her phone and turned it off before returning it to her pocket. She faced Ronan. “I want to see the prisoners.”

With a single nod, Ronan strode from the small plywood clad room and into the large open space of the warehouse. On the other side of the warehouse was another plywood clad room, Tory standing guard at the closed door. He opened the door before they reached it, stepping out of the way.

Inside, one of the prisoners sat with his head bent over a computer as he worked on drawing a face using his drawing tablet. It was the mage who’d formed a ball of ice for the official the day they’d captured him. His desk was a stained timber table, the chair a fold out one that had peeling vinyl hanging in strips. In the corner, on the floor, sat the other prisoner, his arms wrapped around his legs as he rocked back and forth.

“I’ve nearly-” the man looked up from his computer, his words stopping abruptly when he saw them. He scrambled to his feet, backing away as his eyes flickered to each of them. A skinny man with long black hair tied at the nape of his neck and fear in his brown eyes. “I can’t go any faster. But I’m nearly there. You promised me. You promised.” His gaze momentarily darted to Ronan before it returned to Amber.

“What did you say to him?” Amber demanded of Ronan.

Ronan grinned. “Apparently you give him nightmares. He has a bit of an issue with you letting him fall to his death.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Amber asked.

“You promised me.” The man couldn’t back away any further. He was against the wall, the other prisoner at his feet continued to rock back and forth.

“I told you that you couldn’t see them. You wouldn’t listen.”

Amber tried to keep the anger from her voice when she spoke to the man pressed against the wall. “I’m sorry, but it was a battle. This is different. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Unless he tries to escape,” Ronan said.

Amber shot Ronan a glare before she turned back to the prisoner. “What’s your name?”

“Cooper.”

“And your friend?”

Copper looked down at the man at his feet. “I never knew him before they brought us all together. That’s Miles.” He continued to remain pressed against the wall.

“What do I say to him? How do I make him stop being afraid?”
She sent the thought to Kade.

“You’re asking the wrong person.”

Amber held back a sigh. “Look Cooper, I don’t plan to kill you. We just need to know everything you know about the people who recruited you. I’m only here to make sure that you’re being treated okay. Dragons don’t always know how to deal with us humans.”

“I didn’t know. None of us knew. We didn’t expect this. We though it’d be fun. When they turned into dragons we were amazed. It was like a dream come true. Then it became a nightmare.”

“We? How many of you were there?” Amber asked.

Copper came away from the wall slightly. “Six. The first one they put the blood on his hands. His palms were red with it when he took the Pliethin. Shannon kept saying they didn’t take that much blood from her. That she could smell it on Jasper, but not that much. It didn’t work. They were so angry they slit his throat in front of us and there was blood all over the floor. I don’t even remember his name.” He shuddered, falling silent.

“Why did they only send four of you against us if they had five?” Kade asked.

Copper shook his head. “They gave him too much dragon blood to drink. That’s what they tried next. Within minutes of drinking it he was on the ground clutching at his stomach, screaming. He started coughing up blood, still screaming. Then he was quiet.” Copper covered his face with his hands. “They still made us drink it. Shannon kept saying you only took a couple of drops from her. This time it was a teaspoon instead of half a glass. I waited for it to kill me, but it didn’t. They kept asking her how you’d made the mages and she kept saying she didn’t know. Kept telling them she was blindfolded.” He uncovered his face. “Don’t make me go back there. Please.”

Amber tried to feel nothing for Cooper, but she ached to comfort him. She hated when Ronan was right. “I-”

Ronan interrupted. “I’ve already told you. Until the ones who made you are dead, you belong to them. Get the drawings done and we’ll deal with them.”

“Then I can go back to my old life? I can forget all about this and go home?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that your problems will be over once they’re dead?” Ronan asked irritably.

Amber’s gaze narrowed.
“You better not be planning to kill him.”

“You can’t have him. You can’t adopt every single stray.”

“I don’t want him. But I’m not going to let you kill him.”

“You can’t let him go back to his old life. He might tell someone.”

“He won’t. I’ll make sure of it. Both of them will be helped to return to their old lives.”

“What’s wrong? Why isn’t anyone saying anything?” Cooper asked. He looked at each of them.

“I was thinking,” Amber said. “How old are you?” She sent her thoughts to Ronan.
“I’m serious. No killing either of them.”

“Miles has already tried to kill himself twice. I don’t know why Cooper bothered saving him. A waste of time,”
Ronan told Amber.

“Twenty.”

He was only two years older than her brother. Barely an adult. She had no idea how to save him, not if Ronan really wanted to kill him. She couldn’t afford to claim another one. Eventually Ronan would say enough and then there might be someone else she needed to protect even more. “Where do you live?”

“In Brisbane. In my parents’ home. I’ve got an older brother who lives with us too.” He sounded defensive.

“Ronan’s right. We need to find out who will be looking for you. Without names we’re working in the dark. We’ll do everything possible to help you get your life back to normal, but you have to know that some things are going to always be different.” She looked down at his hands. Lifting her own she momentarily called flames to them. “Some things can’t be undone.”

Cooper seemed to sag. “I just want it to be the same as it used to be. I want the nightmares to end and I want to forget this ever happened. And I want Miles to stop staring into space and rocking like that all the time. It’s driving me crazy. He’s a couple of years older than me. Why can’t he cope?”

“Age means nothing,” Kade said. “You won’t end up like him.”

“How can you know that?” There was fear and a sound of desperation in Cooper’s voice.

“Because you’re talking to us right now.”

Cooper stared at Kade a moment before he nodded his head.

It was another couple of hours before they were finally able to leave. Cooper had wanted more reassurances and Ronan had wanted Kade to see if any of the images Cooper was in the process of drawing looked familiar. None did. Before they returned to Kade’s room, Amber warned Ronan once more not to kill their prisoners. The predatory smile he gave her didn’t reassure her in the least.

When they arrived home, Kade sent Brann to tell Amber’s mother that they were already asleep and would see her in the morning. Amber dropped onto the bed, wishing it was true, but it didn’t take long for exhaustion to overtake her and she fell into dreams filled with blood. This time it was blood creeping across the floor, coming closer and closer no matter how far she retreated.

The sound of the bedroom door opening had Amber sitting up, launching a fireball before she could register it was her mother in the doorway. At the same time Kade turned into his human form and disappeared into the Void, reappearing in front of Donna who was screaming.

Swearing, Amber threw herself across the room as the fireball impacted with Kade’s back, pressing her hands against him as she healed him. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Keeping a hand on Kade, she reached out to hug her mother with a single arm. “You shouldn’t have come in here like that. I was asleep. I didn’t know it was you.” She could feel the tremble in her mother’s body. “Say something, Mum.”

Donna’s mouth opened, then closed.

“Mum?”

“I thought I got here in time. She didn’t get hit, did she?” Kade eyed Donna.

“Mum?” She let go of Kade to take her mother’s hand, still keeping her arm around her. “Maybe you should get Gary.”

“I sent Brann for him.”

Maira entered the hallway stopping in the doorway behind Donna. “Can I help? Is she okay?” There was the sound of running footsteps and Gary and Brann joined her.

“Donna?” Gary tugged her away from Amber, sliding an arm around her waist. “Come back to our room and I’ll check you over.”

They were partway down the hallway before Donna pulled away from him. She met Amber’s eyes. “You’re grounded.”

Amber laughed, running forward to throw her arms around her mother. “I love you.”

Donna hugged her tightly. “You’re still grounded.”

“No I’m not.”

“This isn’t up for discussion.”

“Are we going to school today?” Maira asked. “Because if we are, we better get ready or we’re going to be late.”

Amber pulled away from her mother, then stepped forward again to hug her fiercely. “Never do that again. Knock first. And I’m not grounded.” She strode back to the bedroom.

“For a month,” Donna called after her.

Amber closed the door as soon as Kade was in the room and her smile faded as she sagged against the door. Kade drew her close, wrapping his arms around her. “Thank you for saving my mum.”

“Maybe I should have Brann and Maira take turns at guarding the door.”

“I thought she’d be safe here.” Amber couldn’t keep the images from her dream out of her mind. The last thing she needed was a return of her nightmares. “I thought I could keep her safe.” Over and over she saw the fireball headed for her mother.