Page 15 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
“Yes.” She arched a blonde brow. “If I had not seen your fierceness in battle, I would dismiss you as nothing more than an annoying fly. You are forced into fights more often to proveyourself, but your enemies underestimate you, which makes besting them easier. I rarely need to engage in battle, but when I do, they attack hard and fast since they assume I’m very dangerous—not that I mind a challenge.”
Nadine glanced between us before motioning toward Freya. “She does appear like the tougher one.”
The story of my life. Most people were more afraid of feral cats than me, even if I pointed my sword at them. I did try to use that to my advantage when possible, though.
“Over here!” a young woman shouted from down the street, gesturing wildly at us. She was the one who’d said she’d look for the missing men with her friends.
I was going to tell Nadine to stay with Freya, but the councilwoman took off at a jog before I could stop her. Maybe her adrenaline helped her push past her injuries. With the determined look on her face, I decided it was best to let her go and just stay close. We passed four houses before reaching the location where the young woman pointed toward an open gate around the side. Directly beyond it, a guy knelt by two prone figures.
Sprinting past Nadine, I called out, “Are they still alive?”
“Barely.” The twenty-something man with curly black hair took his fingers from the farthest guy’s neck, where he’d been checking the pulse. “Looks like they were each shot and knocked hard in the head.”
Damn. This wasn’t good.
I turned to Freya. “Can you fly to the hospital really fast and pick up Danae? Bring her back here?”
Thankfully, she knew my sorceress friend who specialized in healing.
“Of course.”
The female shifter moved far enough away from us to safely transition to her dragon form. I was truly amazed at how helpful she’d been today, but she’d mentioned that she and Ruari wanted to prove themselves to Aidan in any way they could. They wanted him to trust them. Since I’d returned, they’d both volunteered for any job and did their best at it. I had been gone a long time, but their personality changes still surprised me.
A moment later, Freya flew off, picking up speed fast. If anyone could help the injured men, it would be my sorceress friend. Danae was as famous in town as me, and they welcomed us both upon our return. I suspected they’d missed her more, though, during the five years we’d been away in North Carolina. They might have even thrown a party when she returned. Being a mother now, she didn’t work as many long hours as before, but she still helped more people than a regular doctor could manage.
I kneeled next to one of the injured men, both lying on their stomachs where they’d been dragged. The blood streaks in the grass along the path indicated as much. At best guess, they’d been drawn toward the yard in front of the house next to me and then shot. I had no idea when or where they’d received their head injuries.
While I recognized them, I only knew one by name—Jack. He was the leader of the posse that had been a biker gang. The middle-aged man still called the shots for his guys and did everything possible to look after the town.
He had a bullet wound coming out of his shoulder and another in his leg. Someone had also struck him at the base of the skull, where blood seeped from his nearly bald head. It had probably been a few weeks since he’d last shaven it. I took a clean rag from my leg pouch—glad there were several in there—and used it to put pressure on the shoulder wound. That spot bled the worst.
With my other hand, I drew out a second cloth and handed it to the young man crouching on the opposite side of the injured guys. He took it and put pressure on the gut wound his victim had sustained.
Nadine sat down next to us, leaning her back against the side of the brick house. Her adrenaline was wearing off, but the concern and guilt in her eyes told me she had to stay close to the men who’d been protecting her.
“It’s not your fault,” I said, my hand still on Jack’s wounded shoulder. The blood flow had begun to slow, but I didn’t dare let up until Danae arrived.
The councilwoman shook her head, voice coming out hoarse. “They told me I should have stayed at the courthouse where we have more security, but I didn’t listen. I insisted I should be able to go home to rest.”
From what I’d learned, she’d lost her husband when the dragons arrived. She had one child, but he was an adult living in Virginia with his wife when the apocalypse happened. For years, she’d had no idea what happened to him. I’d used my satellite phone from the NAC a few weeks ago to confirm that he and his wife lived within coalition territory. Nadine had been nothing but kind to me after I arranged for her to speak to her son. It had felt good to give her that gift.
Jack’s breathing turned more labored and shallower. I didn’t think his gunshot wounds were bad enough to cause that, but his head injury could have resulted in swelling and bleeding in the brain. How much time did he have left?
As I worried about him, Larry arrived. He was out of breath, and his face flushed.
“What happened?” he asked.
I gave him a summary of what I knew.
He kneeled next to his other wounded friend and nudged the young man holding pressure on the wound. “Let me take over from here. Appreciate your help.”
Our volunteer looked relieved and gave us a nod before slipping away.
Almost half an hour passed before Freya returned with Danae in her arms. Thankfully, my sorceress friend had received the gift of being fireproof at the same time as Conrad, so the shifter’s high body heat didn’t affect her any more than it did me. They landed in the front yard. While Freya transitioned back to her human form, Danae rushed toward us.
“Thanks for coming,” I said, moving to give her space. “He’s in the worst shape, but they’re both bad.”
“Please save them,” Nadine said, her voice weaker than earlier.
