Page 60 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
The sorceress cleared her throat, finally casting a quick look at Orion. “I know where the rebel group is, and they’re all together right now, but they won’t be there for long.”
“Told you, Mommy,” my son said with pleased smile. “You’ll get them today.”
“How did you know that, sweetie?” It couldn’t have been a coincidence, though I wished otherwise.
He shrugged. “I saw it in a dream last night.”
Concern filled me at the thought of Orion having dreams like that. He was too young.
“The boy has the sight,” Verena said, surprise and wonder in her gaze.
“But there’s no sorcerer blood in my family,” I argued, still reluctant to believe despite the evidence.
Her expression turned thoughtful. “But he does have shifter blood, and the gift is often random among their kind.Aidan’s uncle has it, as you well know, dear. I’m only surprised it is revealing itself at his age. That is unusual. It should have waited until he reached maturity, at the least. He is a special one—that is for sure.”
I wanted to take time and process the new revelation, but I couldn’t do it now. If we had a chance to capture all the rebels at once, I had to take it. I turned my attention to my brother.
“When Aidan comes for Orion, tell him about all of this, okay?”
He nodded. “No problem.”
Orion wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I squeezed him as well, wishing I never had to leave him for things like this. At least he seemed confident I would succeed, so that was something.
“Love you,” I said.
He let go and smiled at me. “Love you too, Mommy.”
Paul took Orion’s hand and started leading him toward his house, giving me some privacy with the sorceress. Elen followed them with a determined expression on her face.
I focused on Verena. “Conrad, Rayna, and Freya were already going to meet me in town. Do you think we’ll need any more people than that?”
“Always best to be safe.” She paused and tapped her chin. “Three more shifters should do the trick. The rebel group is in a large place with many entrances we must cover.”
That sounded complicated with no time to plan. “How long do we have?”
“A little over two hours before we lose our chance to get them all at once.”
I cursed. We were going to have to work fast.
***
We’d identified four possible entries into the former YMCA building. There were originally more, but they’d all been boarded or barricaded, so we didn’t have to worry about anyone escaping through those. It was a large, sprawling place constructed of beige bricks, white paneling, and high windows covered in plywood.
Our group broke down into two people each. I had Verena with me at the main entrance while the others hurried to their designated locations. We avoided the wide sidewalk and crept along the side through the waist-high grass. I peeked through the glass doors, surprisingly unbroken. The sun glinted off them, making it difficult to see inside the dim interior. I didn’t notice anyone standing inside the entrance, though.
A minute later, the sorceress let out a bird whistle.
I cringed at the sound, but it was the only thing the rest of the teams could hear from a distance that might not draw the attention of undesirable parties. It let everyone know to start making their way inside.
Pulling the door open, I stepped in first. It was dark as we crept down a decline toward the reception desk. The only natural light came from the nearby pool area windows. They hadn’t included the place when the electrical grid was restored, so lighting was limited. I trained my ears to listen for any sounds.
Voices drifted from somewhere close. I spotted a door by the pool entry marked as a bathroom/locker room. Usually, restrooms in abandoned buildings smelled terrible since dragons arrived. Too many people used them until they were overflowing, but I hardly noticed any odor. The council might not have restored power, but much of the town did have running water these days. The rebels must have cleaned it up when they took over the place.
I couldn’t make out any words, but a moment later, I heard a door shut and spotted movement in the pool area. Crouching down low, I peeked through the window. At least five rebels gathered across the room next to the diving board. The pool had no water, but it looked like they’d converted it into a sleep area. Why not a smaller, less open room?
They spoke low enough that I couldn’t hear anything they said despite the acoustics.
Verena brushed my shoulder and pointed past the rebels, where another of our teams poked their heads around the brick wall of the outside courtyard—Rayna and a shifter from the fortress. They were closer to our targets than us. I heard another team run into at least a few more rebels down the hall. Screams and shouts filtered our way as they fought. One of them was Conrad, with his unmistakable taunts as he attacked his enemy.
