Page 8 of Claim the Dragon
And while he was at it, he’d need to get a grip on why this woman was an exception to every rule the Dream Reapers had.
“That’s not a good address.”The driver balked.
Ravyn had just jumped into the backseat and slouched down so she wouldn’t be seen.Her heart was pounding so fast and loud she almost didn’t hear the guy.
“Just drive,” she said between breaths.
“But that’s not a place you wanna be at this time of night,” he insisted.“Nothing’s down that end of town but old abandoned buildings.You can’t possibly want to go there.”
“I said drive!”
Those three words came out in a deeper tone of voice than she’d ever used before and they’d burned her throat on the way.She lowered her forehead to the not-so-fresh-smelling upholstery of the seat and closed her eyes.
What the hell had just happened?
Her hands shook as she lifted them to her chest to press against the slight bulge the sheathed knife created.
Good.It’s still there.
Where else would it be?She’d stolen it from the case where Vertis had said it was being kept.And then she’d had to make a run for it, into the attic and up on the roof where...Why was he there?And why hadn’t he arrested her?Because he wasn’t an enforcer, at least that’s what he’d said.And that made sense, at least a little.
A brisk breeze blew over her cheeks as she looked to the window above her head the moment she heard the whishing sound of the wind.The car was going fast, whizzing by homes and landmarks until they were just a blur.It was a twenty-minute drive from Sodesto to downtown Burgess.She knew the way because she’d taken rides out there several times in the last few months and could probably walk from there to Safeside if she had the time or inclination.So why was she staring out that window as if there was something new for her to see now?
Because there was.
It appeared to be there one minute and gone the next, so she closed her eyes tightly, opening them slowly after a few seconds to try again.After that strange bout of lightning, the moon had appeared and now seemed extra bright.Far, far away, she thought she saw something weaving in and out of clouds.Something that seemed to be following them.What “it” was, she had no clue but she had an eerie feeling that just as she was watching it, it was watching her.
“Lady, I’m not gonna be responsible if something happens to you down here.You meetin’ somebody?”
The driver’s voice snapped her out of what she presumed was a hallucination and Ravyn pushed herself up on the seat.
“That’s none of your business.Just take me to the address I keyed into the database and be on your way.”
If she were any other person, given any other life, she might have felt some measure of gratitude that the guy seemed so concerned for her welfare.But she wasn’t, and hers wasn’t what anyone would call a “normal” life.She’d been born to Ford Walsh, a general in the U.S.military.Her mother had died in childbirth, leaving her father with a girl child he despised for no other reason than because she was a girl child.Each day of her life Ford had reminded her of his disappointment in her, from the way she chewed her food, to the way she walked and eventually to the way she talked.She’d never been good enough for him.So no, normalcy wasn’t in the cards for her and she was fine with that.Adapting, surviving, overcoming, those were her claims to fame and tonight she’d used them all to make what might be the only score needed to see Safeside through to the spring.
But now somebody, or rather something, was following her.
She turned her head to look out the window on the other side of the car.There was more darkness, more buildings, but by now they were nearing the downtown area so there were at least the familiar streetlights lining the curb.The driver was staying on the outskirts of the city, skimming past the business district, instead of going straight through downtown where the clubs and more seedy parts of the city were.She should probably thank him for that, but she remained silent, her gaze focused toward the sky.
She sighed heavily.There was nothing there, just as there shouldn’t be.Nothing but clouds hiding the glow of the moon.A breeze still coasted through the windows since the guy had all four of them rolled down to the halfway point.The fresh air was needed to combat the smelly interior, but it was chilling her, to the point that she folded her arms over her chest.
“Here ya go,” he snapped.
Ravyn didn’t bother responding, but pulled on the door handle and stepped out the moment she’d pushed the door open.She slammed it behind her and stood on the curb looking pointedly at the driver.
“Lady,” he said in an effort to plead with her once more.
“Thank you for the ride, sir.”
Her tone was rude and snappish and probably uncalled for, but it was what it was.And when he pulled away from the curb, tires screeching against the asphalt, she sighed again, rolling her eyes upward.She was thankful he hadn’t gotten out of the car and tossed her back inside, or worse, called the enforcers.It wasn’t much of a leap to make that if she insisted on being in this part of town, she might be up to no good.But he was gone, and she sort of was up to no good, so she turned quickly, running down one block until she could duck into a dark alley.
“Shit!”she yelled when another gush of air hit her so hard she stumbled forward a few steps.
Her gaze flew immediately to the sky.What was up there?Was it coming for her now that it knew she was alone?
“Girl, you gotta get a grip!”She yelled the words into the alley just in case there was someone lurking.Maybe they’d think she was with someone and leave her alone.Or perhaps they’d just assume—as she was starting to do—that she was losing her mind.
Slapping a palm to her chest to remind herself the knife was still there, she broke into a run, going straight down the alley about twenty yards until she came to an old manhole.Across from the drain was a Dumpster.Taking the few steps to the Dumpster, she knelt and reached her hand behind the back wheel, grabbing the crowbar she kept there.With the crowbar she pulled the top off the storm drain, sliding it to the side before going back to put the crowbar in its hiding place.With one last glance around to ensure nobody was in the alley with her, Ravyn turned around and stepped down the ladder hidden inside the drain.Once her head was below street level, she reached up, sticking her finger through a hole on the side of the drain top, and pulled it over the opening to cover the tunnel she was about to travel through.
