Dragon Blood 3: Surety (9 page)

“Why, we’re allies.” Ronan turned to Amber, his predatory smile momentarily appearing. “Aren’t we, kitten?”

Amber nodded.

“We will expect an answer by Friday.” Ronan headed for the door, holding it open.
“Time to go,”
he said to Amber, Kade and Rian. They all filed out of the room, stopping in the hallway while he locked the door. “I’ll let you know when they make a decision.”

“What do I tell my mum? She’ll want to visit them,” Amber said.

“Gary can deal with her.” Ronan strode away.

Amber stared after him. He could be so annoying sometimes.

“Do you need me or will I return to our lands?” Rian asked.

“No, I’m right.” At least she hoped she was. It wasn’t like Rian could face her mother for her. “Thanks for bringing my sword.”

Rian nodded and strode off in the direction Ronan had taken.

“Where to?” Kade reached for her, holding her close.

“Your place. I guess.”

“Straight to my room?”

She hesitated. “No. I probably should get the lecture out of the way.”

Kade laughed, taking them to his front door through the Void.

All Thursday Amber waited to hear from Ronan while she, Donna and Gary continued to stay at Kade’s. It wasn’t until Friday evening that Alsandair appeared from the Void as she stepped out of the bathroom, having just finished filling the last of her jewellery with power. A quick mental search showed her Kade was in the lounge room with Brann.

Grabbing hold of Alsandair’s forearm, she tugged him outside before he had a chance to speak. Letting him go, she pointed a finger at him. “You stir Kade like that again and I’ll tell him I don’t care if he kills you. What did you think you were doing winking at me like that?”

“Give me a call when you get bored with Kade and-”

“Stop right there. I’m not interested.”

“You kept him from killing me.”

She shook her head, barely able to believe what she was hearing. “Are you serious? Did you really think I’d have let him kill you over a misunderstanding? You dragons are unbelievable. I did not save you because I’m interested in you. I saved you because I don’t believe in killing people because of a moment of stupidity.”

“You think I’m stupid?”

“No,” she growled the word. “Why are you here anyway?”

“Ronan sent me.”

“Why does he keep sending you? Why not one of his other Golds?”

Alsandair shrugged.

Amber stared at him a moment longer, trying to figure it out. Giving up, she asked, “What’s the message?”

“Your grandparents are ready to talk. Ronan wants to see both of you.”

She nodded. “Let him know we’ll be there soon.”

With a nod, Alsandair disappeared into the Void.

Amber sighed heavily, hoping she’d sorted Alsandair out. She’d hate to see him killed over a misunderstanding. Although she was beginning to wonder if it had been more about a dragon seizing what he thought was an opportunity to get close to a mage.

“Amber?” Kade stepped outside. “What are you doing out here?”

“Ronan wants to see us. My grandparents are ready to talk.”

“Who brought the message?”

She wanted to tell him that it didn’t matter, but she could see it clearly did. “Alsandair.”

“Why did you bring him out here?”

“So I could tell him that if he keeps stirring you I won’t care if you kill him. Happy?”

“Yeah.” Kade stepped forward, a grin in place as he held her. “Is that a promise?”

“It doesn’t count if you,” she jabbed a finger against his chest, “stir him first.”

“Are you ready to go?”

“I need to tell Mum-”

“Brann can tell her.” He took them through the Void to Ronan’s place before she could object.

“Kade!”

“We didn’t have time for a lecture.”

“Well you better make time for this one.”

They both turned to face Ronan.

“A lecture about what?” Amber asked.

“He’s the reason we were attacked at Feralenzi.” Ronan’s gaze remained on Amber, but he nodded towards Kade.

“I told no one,” Kade said.

Ronan finally looked at Kade. “Except for putting in a request to make it another test. Negotiating for and gaining something of value. Well you nearly lost something of even more value.”

“You turned it into a test?” Amber demanded.

Kade nodded.

“What about Flinn? He needs to do tests too.” She couldn’t help worrying about Crystal, whose fate was currently tied to Flinn’s.

“He completed a test last week. Stole something valuable.”

“Why didn’t Crystal tell me? We talk nearly every day.”

“He let her think it was another training exercise.”

“He lied to her?” Her anger flared when Kade nodded. “Do you lie to me?”

Kade grinned. “No, but you’re more dangerous than Crystal.”

Ronan chuckled. “You can’t argue that, kitten.”

“So what does this mean? No more tests until we catch the other mages?” Amber asked.

“No, it means you need to set up your next test as soon as possible,” Ronan said.

Amber stared at Ronan, uncertain if she’d heard right. “You want them to attack us?”

“Bait,” Kade said.

“Yes. Draw them out. Let them think we don’t know they’ve got a spy. When they’re found, it’ll be death. No one can interfere with tests, particularly by sharing information gained from test requests,” Ronan said.

“What test?” Amber asked.

Ronan shrugged. “I’m sure Kade can figure one out. It doesn’t matter what, just that we bait the trap.”

“And Flinn is included. I don’t want him and Crystal falling behind.” Amber looked to Kade who nodded in answer.

“Flinn will be included because I want all three of you mages there. And when we find Shannon, she will learn what happens to those who cross me.” Ronan turned his attention to Kade. “Let me know the details as soon as you figure them out. Make sure it’s one where you can have three Golds. I’ll play warrior to one of my Golds.” He started for the doorway. “Time to see what our reluctant guests have to say.”

Amber stared after Ronan, mentally trying to catch up with everything that was happening. It was a wonder any dragon survived more than a handful of years.

“Amber?”

She met Kade’s gaze, reaching for his hand. “Yeah, I know. We can’t stand here all day.” Heading in the direction Ronan had taken, they caught up with him as he was unlocking the door. He checked the room before he let them in.

Charles and Helen rose to their feet the moment Amber stepped into the room. It was Charles who spoke. “We want to talk to our granddaughter alone.”

She felt like pointing out that they only claimed her as their granddaughter when it suited them, but guessed starting an argument probably wasn’t the best of plans.

“Amber? Do you want to be alone with them?”
Ronan directly asked Amber.

She started to say no, then nodded. Her hand tightened on Kade’s before she slowly pulled away from him. “I won’t be long.” When Kade and Ronan left the room, closing the door behind them, she turned back to her grandparents. “What do you want?”

“How well can you control your dragons?” Charles asked.

“I don’t own them.” She pushed away the memory of telling Kade he was hers. “They’re my allies. Well, Kade is obviously more than that.”

“Can you make sure they keep their word?” Helen asked.

“Dragons always keep their word,” Amber said.

“They always twist it so they don’t have to keep the same word you think you’re getting them to keep,” Helen said.

She tried not to think about how Ronan had promised to consume only one more dragon heart. Finding out he could do that one twentieth at a time and practically live forever had not been what they’d expected. “Ronan said you’d be free at the end of the year.”

“Death is also freedom.” Charles moved as close to her as his chain would allow him. “How do we know it isn’t death he’s offering us?”

“How do you know it won’t be death going up against some dragons?”

“Death in battle is honourable. Death from being tricked by a dragon isn’t,” Charles said.

“They won’t kill you at the end. If you survive to that point, you’ll be leaving alive. I’ll make sure Ronan says exactly that,” Amber said.

“And Kade? You would let him kill us?” Charles asked.

“No. If you need it, he can make the same promise.”

“We’ve talked about it,” Charles said.

“We have conditions of our own,” Helen added.

“Then I’ll call them in so we can discuss them.”

Helen shook her head. “No, only the three of us.”

“I won’t go against them.” She met her grandmother’s sharp gaze.

“If we work for your dragons until the end of the year, you work for the Knights for the same amount of time,” Charles said.

“No.” She didn’t even have to think about it. Not after seeing what they thought was a crime.

“Yet you would have us work for our enemies,” Charles said.

She should have known he was going to be difficult. “You’re earning your freedom.”

“No. We’re betraying our people,” Helen said.

“So you won’t do it?” Amber asked.

“That depends on you,” Charles said. “What do you have against working for the Knights. You don’t seem to have any objection to killing dragons.”

“The only dragon I’ve ever killed was one trying to kill me.” An image of Paili attacking her filled her mind. Forcing herself to focus, she pushed the image away. “I won’t work for people who kill every dragon they see regardless of what they’ve done.”

“Yet you’ll work for a dragon who is a murderer. He’s killed someone from your own family,” Helen said hotly.

She didn’t know what to say. Telling her grandparents that it was better than letting him kill her family probably wouldn’t help the situation. But it was more than that now. He knew how to survive and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her friends and family. And everything she learned about him and what he’d experienced had her wondering how he’d managed not to become as bitter as her grandmother. “I won’t work for the Knights. I don’t work for Ronan. We’re allies. I have a say in what happens.”

“Do you?” Charles asked.

“Yes.” She met his gaze, refusing to look away. “What’s your answer?”

Charles didn’t look away either. “That you will at least meet the Knights and give them a chance. You only have the dragons’ side of things. Give the Knights six months to prove themselves.”

It didn’t look like he was going to give in on the subject. “I will give them a month. That’s more time than necessary,” Amber said.

“You will keep an open mind and not shame us in front of our people,” Charles said.

“I won’t stand by and let them harm any of my people,” Amber warned.

“Dragons aren’t people,” Helen snarled.

Amber didn’t even look at Helen, she continued to hold Charles’ gaze. “Well?”

“We’ll help you kill dragons, but we won’t do anything to harm our people,” Charles said.

Amber nodded, holding his gaze a moment longer before she opened the door.
“You can come in,”
she said to Ronan and Kade.

Amber pushed the shopping trolley while her mother walked beside her. She wondered if it was possible to learn how to not give into guilt. Ronan would probably tell her it was only a matter of not being so weak. But he hadn’t been there last night when her mother had begged her to take her to her parents and then complained how there was nothing normal about their lives anymore. If spending a Saturday morning doing grocery shopping was the highlight of a normal life, maybe her crazy one wasn’t so bad.

Donna reached for a bottle of herbs, dropping them into the half full trolley. “We haven’t done this in ages.” She smiled at Amber as they turned into the next aisle.

“Maybe because I hate going grocery shopping.”

“At least no one is trying to kill you here,” Donna said.

The lady ahead of them stopped suddenly and Amber nearly ran into her. “Great.”

“Wait up.” Donna stopped in front of a shelf, trying to reach one of the jars at the top.

“Let me get that for you.” A man who had entered the aisle, hurried forward. He handed the jar to Donna and smiled.

“Oh, hello.” Donna returned the smile. “I’m afraid I’ve forgotten your name.”

“Wayne Smith.” He looked towards Amber. “Is this your daughter?”

“Yes, this is Amber.” Donna placed the jar into the trolley. “How is your daughter? Uhm, Jennifer, isn’t it?”

Wayne chuckled. “At least you remembered one of us.”

“Mum, I’ve got other plans for the day, remember?” Amber stared at her mother, wishing she could talk directly to her mind so she could remind her that she’d only agreed to two hours. The rest of the day was hers. And she wasn’t about to spend it shopping with her mother. This wasn’t fun. It was a chore.

Donna ignored her, continuing to chat with Wayne. Amber glared at the man, wondering who he was. He looked a little younger than her mother and was probably a gym junkie if the muscular arms showing beneath the sleeves of his t-shirt were anything to go by. He had sandy brown hair, which was little more than stubble, and a ready smile. Her gaze narrowed. The man smelled odd under his excess of aftershave.

“Mum.” Amber couldn’t keep the annoyance out of her tone. “Gary will be wondering where we are.”

“Gary?” Wayne looked from Donna to Amber.

“A friend of mine,” Donna said.

“Her boyfriend,” Amber added.

“Well, I’ll let you go then, but my offer for dinner is still open. My daughter and I know very few people here. It’s tough being new to a town. It’d be nice for her to meet someone her own age. And you’re welcome to bring your boyfriend along too.” Wayne’s smile never slipped.

“No teenager wants their parents choosing friends for them. I’m sure she’ll meet enough kids at school.” The last thing Amber wanted was her mother organising her social life. If her mother thought grocery shopping was fun then she hated to think what she’d arrange for her social life.

“She’s homeschooled and there isn’t much in this area for homeschooled kids.” Wayne reached for Donna’s hand. “It was lovely to run into you again.” With another smile in Amber’s direction, he wheeled his empty trolley down the aisle.

“Where do you know him from?” Amber asked.

“I’ve run into him a few times. He’s a lovely man. Lost his wife a few years ago.”

“What about Gary.”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that. Wayne wouldn’t be interested in me. He’s about six years younger than me.” Donna started walking along the aisle.

“Good. I don’t like the way he smells.” Amber pushed the trolley, looking ahead to Wayne who was turning at the end of the aisle.

“Amber! Hush.” Donna glanced behind them. “Don’t talk about people like that.”

“Let’s just get this over with.” They turned into the next aisle and Amber was relieved Wayne wasn’t in sight. It was bad enough shopping with her mother without having to talk to some old guy whose daughter needed friends. The last thing she wanted in her life was more people to worry about.

By the time they returned to Kade’s place, Amber was barely holding onto her temper. The car drive home had been spent arguing with her mother. When they pulled up, Amber flung the door open, half out of the car before she turned back to her mother. “Don’t you understand? My life will never be normal. Ever.” She slammed the door behind her, striding towards the house.

Brann came out before she reached it, passing her with a nod, headed for her mother’s car. She stopped a moment to see what he was doing, turning away when he started gathering grocery bags.

Kade stood in the doorway, watching her, a hand on the doorframe.
“Do you want to go hunting?”

The panther stirred, but she shook her head.

Kade pushed away from the doorframe, slowly crossing the distance between them. He stopped in front of her. “You can’t avoid it. Hunting helps calm the wild animal.”

“All I’m interested in is what you’re doing about your next test.”

“Flinn and I were talking about doing it next weekend. Think your mum will tell Crystal’s mum she’s staying with you?”

Amber groaned. “She’s more likely to tell Crystal’s mum what’s going on.”

“Flinn’s trying to convince Crystal to move in with him.”

The last thing she wanted was Crystal completely dependent on Flinn. She bet her mother would feel the same way, although not for the same reasons. “I’ll see what I can do.” She looked towards her mother disappearing into the house with some groceries, Brann following with the rest. Another argument was the last thing she wanted. She felt the panther stir. “Maybe we should go hunting.”

Kade grinned. “Want a lift or you flying yourself?”

She didn’t bother answering him. Since she was dressed in dragon-leather, she forced the panther away, changing into a goshawk and taking to the air.
“Try and keep up.
” She felt Kade’s amusement as he took to the air behind her.

Diving into the scrub behind the house, she flushed some smaller birds from the long grass. Instinct had her swooping after them, but she veered off. She was more than an animal. Far overhead, she could sense Kade, staying well above view in case anyone was about. She mentally searched, finding only animals in this direction.

“It’s safe. No one for miles.”

Kade flew down in front of her. Diving towards the ground and then pulling up again as a wallaby jumped from the trees to bound across open ground.

Again Amber reined in the instinct to give chase. Sometimes the panther wanted to go after creatures far too big for the goshawk. Ahead and to her left was a pigeon and she changed direction slightly. The distance between them narrowed, her concentration focused on her prey.

Above her a dragon flashed in and out of the Void, breaking her focus. Amber angled upwards, trying to recall everything she’d sensed about the dragon. There was nothing she recognised.
“Kade? Did you see it? Another Gold.”

“No. Where was it?”

“Above us, but it’s gone now.”

“Maybe we should return home.”

“I want to call Ronan. See if he’s got someone watching me.”
Amber flew towards the ground, mentally searching the area before she landed and changed into human form.

Kade landed beside her, changing, a hand reaching for her waist to tug her closer. “If you notice them again, tell me and I’ll get us straight out of here.”

“What if they were friendly? That’s possible, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

She eyed him, not sure if she heard a touch of scepticism in his tone. “So I could be paranoid about nothing.”

“It’s the paranoid dragons that live the longest.”

His words made her think about Ronan and his belief that friends were enemies that hadn’t gotten around to stabbing you in the back yet. “I’ll call Ronan.” Taking her phone from her pocket, she once again tried not to think about where it went when she became an animal. Were some of her animal parts made of electronics when she changed? Nope, she wasn’t going to think about it. Instead she dialled Ronan’s number.

“They’re still alive.”

“I wasn’t ringing about my grandparents. Do you have any Golds watching me?” Again she searched the area.

“No. You sent him back, remember?”

For once she wished he’d ignored her. “Okay. See you.” She mentally searched the area again.

“Don’t you dare hang up. What’s this about?”

“I noticed a Gold flash in and out of the Void way behind Kade’s place while we were out hunting.” Again she checked the area. They were still alone.

“A young one?”

“What?”

“Young Golds can’t stay in the Void for long periods of time. They flash in and out. When they first start some of them can only manage ten minutes. Was it a young dragon?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does Kade?”

“He didn’t notice them.”

“Male or female?”

She felt like growling at all the questions he fired at her. “It was so quick I barely realised they were there. Only that they didn’t seem familiar.”

“I’ll send Chait to watch you.”

She shouldn’t have rung him. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“With all the time I’ve invested in you I’m not about to let some stray dragon kill you. Now go home and wait for Chait. If you’re not there shortly your grandparents won’t get fed today.” Ronan disconnected.

“Damn dragon.” Amber glared at the phone.

“You want me to take you home?”

She bit back her first instinct, which was to refuse, then decided it wouldn’t help her grandparents trust dragons if she let them starve. “Yeah. I suppose.”

“We can hunt once we collect Chait.”

Amber opened her mouth to tell him it was rude to listen in on other people’s conversations, then closed it. Why bother when he’d keep doing it anyway. “Fine.”

Kade grinned. “You’ll feel better once you’ve hunted.”

“So you keep telling me,” she muttered. She had a feeling it was going to take a lot more than hunting to make her feel better. Especially at the rate her problems were piling up in her life.