Page 77 of Blue Embers
I found myself looking around the room for something I could plunge through the back of her skull, though I knew I wouldn’t get within five feet without being noticed. Hell, I probably couldn’t even stand for all I knew. My limbs felt like jello and my breath was coming in shallow, unsatisfying bursts.
I slowly reached around myself with one hand, slipping my fingers under my sweater to feel for the mark Killian had left. Sliding my touch over the area, all I felt was a painful kind of sensitivity like I’d just been lightly skinned. I drew back with an unintentional hiss. Looking up, Haera hadn’t budged. Part of me wondered if she really was a robot and she’d been put into some kind of sleep mode. She certainly was acting like one now.
Turning toward the embers again, I slowly slid my hand along the brick of the hearth, wondering if they’d burn me. As my hand neared, I could feel the heat becoming less bearable with every inch, but I kept going. Lifting my fingers, I prepared to grab one of the red coals and squeeze it tight, hoping it wouldn’t hurt me.
“I wouldn’t,” Haera’s eerie voice spoke through the silence. I whipped my head around to see her still staring out the window. “You’ll only burn yourself now.”
Flaring my nostrils, I drew back my hand and placed it in my lap.
“So?” I said. “Your big plan is to get Killian to pull strings and locate the child. What happens if he doesn’t do what you want?”
“They always do what I want. In the end, I’m willing to risk more than any of them ever will.”
“Really? Because you’ve been at war with the Draak for a thousand years.”
She turned to look at me then, pivoting on her heels in a smooth motion.
“I’ve never been at war with them,” she said. “I love them more than anyone. They were my children. But they lost their way. We all did.”
“How can you say you love them and torture them like this? How can you do this to your ‘children.’ Cause them all this pain. War destroyed two worlds already and countless Draak and Zephyre and humans. Why carry on?”
Haera cocked her head, her features softening to something almost relatable. “You’re young. You only think you know emotion. You’ve read history books, but you can’t possibly comprehend the moments we’ve shared.” She stepped forward, her eyes unblinking. “I loved once. Like you, I knew a man who completed me. A man I would have sacrificed everything for. A man Ididsacrifice everything for. In the end, he showed me just how wrong we were to create Draak. Their power is too great and if it stands on my shoulders to correct the world, I will do it. There are no others like me. To you tiny creatures, Draak are gods andwecreated Draak. I.Am.God.”
“What the fuck are you?” I said, narrowing my eyes. “What do you really want?”
Before our conversation could continue, the front door swung open and the red-haired man marched in.
“Mother,” he said. “They’re coming.”
“I know,” Haera said, unalarmed.
I eyed the gun on the man’s thigh as he walked further into the room. I couldn’t be sure whether or not I could get to it in my weakened state, but it was worth consideration. Glancing through the door to the driveway, I noticed that Malice and Lukan had been cuffed where they were lying down, secured at the ankles and wrists. They were still unconscious, but I knew they had to be alive. There was no point in restraining dead Draak.
Leaning up against one of the SUVs was Keera, Ronan, and Everly. They were huddled close for warmth as the men in tactical gear relaxed on the porch and the two Draak stood facing the woods like guard dogs. Everly’s gaze traveled slowly toward me. For a brief moment, we seemed to agree that we couldn’t let this scenario progress. She was furious. By the look in her grey eyes, there was a storm inside her that was nearly out of control. I resonated with that. I was at my limit, too, and I was feeling a bit crazy about it.
Glancing back at the man who’d come into the cabin, I reevaluated the idea of snatching his gun. He was stronger than me, that was certain, and he hadn’t been weakened by some obscure poison. Disarming him was so far out of my realm of possibilities that it seemed useless to even think about, but in that moment, I was beyond desperate.
“What should we do with the others?” the man asked.
“Divide them,” Haera said. “The Draak will be emotional. They’ll have trouble deciding who to pursue.”
I watched the man step closer and mapped a straight path to grab his firearm as he spoke to his mother. There was no way this was going to work, but I had nothing to lose. Then, the sound of a deep, hollow roar plunged down from the sky in the distance.
The man turned toward the doors, more alarmed than his mother appeared to be, and without even wasting a second, I rushed to my feet with every ounce of energy I had. I stumbled into him, like a child barely learning to walk, and grabbed for the gun. If he got into a position where he could wrestle me, I’d lose, so I yanked the pistol free of it’s holster and pushed myself off of him before that could happen.
Falling onto my back, I fired two shots into the man’s chest as he lunged to take his weapon back. The kick from each shot was almost too much for my weak arms to control, but it did the trick. The man was driven back by the impact and slammed into the wall. I fired once more, watching his body slump to the ground.
Outside, I could hear a commotion happening and knew that Everly had taken the opportunity to make a stand herself. I rolled over onto my side and fired twice at Haera, who hadn’t even reacted yet to the sight of her son being shot down. With each bullet that pierced her midsection, she barely flinched, making me question whether or not I’d even hit her. I hesitated for a few seconds, watching her regain what little composure she’d lost. When I realized I’d probably made no difference at all, I lurched to my feet and ran as quickly as my wobbly legs could carry me.
Outside, Everly was fighting with one of the armed men as two others approached with their weapons raised to fire. I interceded, firing one shot at each of them. I missed one, but the other was met with a bullet to the thigh, bringing him to his knees. Keera seized that moment to rush the last woman and attempted to disarm her as Ronan rolled under one of the cars.
Across the way, the two Draak had realized what was happening and turned to rush us. I raised the pistol once more, firing at the broad figure of one of the men. He roared with aggravation as the other began to charge like an angered bull. To my right, Lukan had awoken from his unconsciousness and was pulling against his restraints, but the black veins forming along his neck made me wonder if he’d even be able to fight, even if he managed to free himself.
As I rushed into the yard, my unstable feet slipped out from beneath me and I rolled to the ground. I raised my head to see Keera being thrown down by her opponent, but the sight of the remaining Draak beginning to shift drew my eyes away. I watched him burst into white flames in the shape of his dragon form, wings the length of a bus. The heat of his transformation felt like opening a preheated oven on my face. Behind him, his companion was struggling less gracefully to change, a Phyre Glass bullet wound on his shoulder.
When the two dragons emerged from the blinding blaze, one crouched to leap up into the air. I braced for whatever was about to happen, watching the ghost-like shape lunging for the attack. Gunfire added to the noise of the chaotic uproar as Everly began shooting at the beast. Keera was still on the ground as her opponent raised his gun toward Everly. I was overwhelmed with fright and confusion when, out of the darkened sky, came a massive shadow that lit up red with vein-like embers when it collided with the pale dragon. Four times its size, the Ash Bringer clamped down on the beast’s neck and drove it to the ground, crushing one of the SUVs beneath it with a furious roar. I could only think of one Draak it could be. Draven.
Ronan scurried out from under the other car and ran to his father. Keera was still on the ground, motionless. I rolled over and crawled my way toward her, pistol still in hand. Upon reaching her, I realized there was a small pool of blood seeping from her head. I turned her to see where it was coming from only to find an abrasion on the left side of her skull that was bleeding onto the snow.
