Dragon Magic, page 16
part #4 of Ever Witch Series
“Yes, he got all of us out when Radnak’s forces attacked. He’s the one who killed Radnak.”
“Slade.” Tank nodded. “Yeah, I was there for the final battle. We both were.”
Cara looked puzzled. “Slade? No, Slade was never our true heir.”
Alright, now my head was starting to hurt. What was she talking about? Of course, Slade was the clan leader. Who else would it be? He and Everest killed Radnak.
“If it’s not him then who?” Tank pressed, his anger simmering right below the surface.
“Zion.”
Zion? Who the hell was Zion? I looked to Tank, but he seemed as much at a loss as I was.
“Cara, what did this dragon do to convince you all who he is?” Tank asked. “Have you seen him shift? What does his dragon form look like?”
“Like one of us, of course. Though now he’s unable to shift because of the injuries he endured when he was saving us.”
I glanced at Tank. I was beyond confused. His eyes narrowed.
Cara’s smile brightened as she tugged him toward the cabin. “But you’re here now. That’s what matters. I can take you to meet him. He’ll be thrilled to have another dragon in our community.”
“Cara, wait.” Tank gently pulled her to a stop. “I came here to take you home. To where the rest of our clan resides. Whatever this is… I’m not sure it’s where you belong.”
“But I’ve been here since I escaped.”
“I understand that, but Zion is not the clan leader.”
Her eyes darkened, with the same anger Tank had. “Why are you saying that? He is our true leader.”
“Then why is there a barrier keeping you all here?” I challenged.
She shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal that they were all trapped in the mountains. If they believed Zion was the true leader, then they hadn’t received Slade’s message. This barrier was strong if it was able to repel the magic of Selma and the Council.
“It keeps us safe.”
“Keeps you trapped, you mean,” Tank corrected sharply. “I don’t know Zion, but you are not staying here. You’re coming home with me. Now.”
“I can’t leave,” she said as she laughed like it was no big deal. “And neither should you. There’s someone you need to meet. Then I’ll take you to see Zion. You and your friend.”
Red flags were popping up left and right inside my head. Tank seemed to be on the same page. I read the temptation on his face to scoop up his sister and make a run for the barrier. A barrier we weren’t even sure we could go through.
“Darren? Are you busy? Come out. There’s someone I want you to meet.” She ran to the cabin, her skirts rustling around her legs.
“Something’s wrong,” I whispered to Tank.
“You think? Can you sense magic? A curse?”
The air was heavier inside the barrier, but it wasn’t witchcraft. I wasn’t even comfortable saying it was dark, not like what I experienced around the Blood Moon Priests. The magic was here, though, all the same. “I’m not sure. This guy Zion. Who is he?”
“An imposter.” His hands fisted at his sides. “Maybe we should meet him.”
“We have to be careful. Not sure we can reach out for backup inside this damned area.”
He glanced behind us, his aggravated growl a clear message he did not like the notion of being trapped. Not that I did either, especially if we had no way to get a message out. I’d have to try as soon as I had a moment alone.
“Darren, this is Tank. My brother.”
The anger on Tank’s face shifted into overprotective mode the second his eyes landed on the dragon trailing behind Cara. He rumbled when he noticed they were holding hands.
“This is Darren. My boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend.” He glowered at Darren, but the other dragon was either too dumb to notice, or too cocky to think he had nothing to worry about with Tank.
“I’m happy to finally meet you,” he said, offering a hand. “Cara told me all about her family. We feared you perished, along with everyone else.”
Tank made no move to take Darren’s hand, so I did. “Amelie. Yes, we were surprised to find Cara was alive and well. We came to find her as soon as we heard. If you don’t mind, where exactly is here?”
“This is a Shadowguard town. New Haven. It was founded by our Zion. He’s our clan leader.”
New Haven. That was the best this imposter could come up with? New Haven? I searched Darren’s eyes for any hint he was under some type of curse. There were no outward indications.
I mentally kicked myself for thinking it was a good idea to come here without bringing any backup.
“Come, please. You two look exhausted and hungry.” Cara bounded back to the cabin. “I’ll make lunch and we can catch up.”
“Yes,” Tank replied. “Catch up.” He hadn’t stopped glaring at Darren.
Great. Just great. Not only did I have to figure out what magic was at work here, I had to make sure Tank didn’t attempt to murder the young dragon who appeared to be in love with his baby sister.
Yeah, this was going to be a great trip.
Fourteen
Tank
Eating was the last thing on my mind.
I didn’t let go of Amelie’s hand. She took mine as we walked into the cabin, probably to keep me from grabbing hold of that twerp of a dragon and demanding to know what he’d been doing with my sister. In a cabin. In the middle of nowhere. For years.
“You’re going to crush my hand,” Amelie whispered.
I let up the pressure. “Sorry.”
“She looks like she’s been looked after.”
“By him.” The words came out more like a growl, but I couldn’t help it. “I don’t like this at all. We need to take her and leave.”
“How? You and I both tried to get out. We’re stuck. I need time.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know, but you going all crazy-dragon-mode won’t help either of us and it sure as hell won’t help your sister. Take a deep breath and calm down before you lose it.”
I didn’t have to look to know Amelie was glaring at me.
I sucked in a deep breath through my nose and held it, telling myself we’d figure out a plan to get Cara out of here. When I breathed out, my body relaxed, and Amelie patted me on the shoulder.
“Better?”
“Yeah, completely, totally better.”
“Liar.” She kissed my cheek.
For sure, eating was the last thing on my mind.
In the cabin, Cara pushed me toward a small kitchen table and gave me that same look our mother used to give us and laid out a platter with sandwiches on it.
Darren brought over a jug with four glasses.
Amelie plastered a smile on her face. “This looks delicious. Thanks, Cara.”
Cara nodded. “Sure. So, who are you to my brother?”
“She’s with me,” I replied before Amelie could.
“But she’s not a dragon,” Cara pointed out. “After all the losses our clan suffered, after having the world turn on us, how can you be with someone who’s not a Shadowguard?”
Amelie let out a little scoff of indignation.
Cara fidgeted with some cloth napkins. “No offense, I’m just confused is all.”
“Amelie helped me during the war. She had my back. She fought side by side with me. I don’t want to be with anyone else. And I sure don’t need my baby sister telling me different.”
Cara’s lips thinned. She sniffed hard. “You should be with one of your own. You should’ve been here with me.”
“I don’t understand how you came to be here.” I looked around the cabin. “This place? New Haven? When were you attacked? What did Zion do exactly to get you all out?”
“I told you he killed Radnak.”
“Yeah, but where? What happened?”
Abruptly, Cara rose from the table,
Darren reached for her hand, comforting her. The sight was touching, but at the same time made my stomach turn. Was he in on it? Or was he brainwashed like my sister?
“She doesn’t like to talk about it much,” he answered for her. “We lost a lot of dragons that day.”
“You should’ve been there,” Cara whispered, barely audible. “You should’ve been there to help us.”
“I was in that final battle to end the war. Whatever Zion told you is a lie.”
“He didn’t tell us anything. We saw it.”
“Wait. What? How?” Amelie shook her head. “There’s only one Radnak. One Slade and one Everest. Slade and Everest killed him. We stormed the fortress.”
“That’s not what happened.” Cara whirled around.
The longer I looked at my sister, the more my mind returned to those dark days. My sister’s haunted look reminded me of the one I used to see in the mirror. I felt myself falling back through a rabbit hole, straight to those dark days.
As if sensing this, Amelie took hold of my hand and squeezed, bringing me back.
Cara’s eyes narrowed at the sight of interaction. “You weren’t there when we needed you.”
I kept my tone firm. “I was where I was meant to be. I was protecting our leader.”
“Our leader nearly died fighting Radnak. He can’t shift anymore. That was the price he paid.” She laughed, but the sound was far from joyful. “You come here, out of the blue, and suddenly, you think you know what happened? You’re wrong, Tank. So damned wrong.”
“I know what I saw.”
“And we know what we saw.”
“Then tell me so I can understand.” I took Cara by the shoulders.
Darren tensed.
I glowered at him. What the hell was he thinking? As if I would hurt my sister. “What happened that day?”
She swallowed hard. “It was three years ago. We were trying to get by, hiding out in the few buildings that were still standing. The Black Diamonds had driven us out of our homes and into the countryside. We were in a realm, but I don’t remember which one. They all sort of blurred together.” Tears welled. “You know?”
I did know. When we were kids, we moved around so much because of Radnak’s forces, it was hard to keep track of which one was which. Half the time, it didn’t matter. They were all filled with violence and death. It wasn’t until I was with Jenny and Preston that I saw what life away from those horrible places could be like. It was why I fought so hard to save everyone.
“The Black Diamonds came out of nowhere one night. We were on the run, trying to get away and survive. Darren and I and everyone else here banded together.” Cara sucked in a breath as if what came next pained her. “Then Radnak appeared, flying down from the sky. He cut off our escape. We thought we were done for. That we were going to die at that moment.” Her face lit up. “Only we didn’t. Because he came to save us.”
“Zion,” I said, to clarify.
She nodded.
“What did he do?”
“He shifted into this massive black dragon with wings of shadows, and he attacked Radnak.”
Darren leaned closer to her as she told her story, as though he was in the moment all over again.
“The fight was brutal, but in the end, Zion prevailed. Radnak was destroyed, but Zion was wounded in the process. He was forced back into his human form and was unable to shift again.”
I exchanged a look with Amelie. She wasn’t falling for it either, not after the real final battle we’d suffered through. Even if Zion was injured, if he was the true clan leader, he would always be able to shift into dragon form. Always. It was innate. The fact that he hadn’t shifted since that battle bothered me. Not to mention, his dragon form, as Cara had described it, was not at all like Slade’s.
I pushed her for more answers. “Just like that, Radnak was dead?”
“Yes. Fearing for their lives, the Black Diamonds ran. Zion said he would bring us to a new home, somewhere safe, where we could live out our days in peace. Where we’d never have to worry about anything, ever again. This place.”
“You say everyone here was with you during that final fight?”
She started to nod, then paused. “No. Some were already here. Those he saved before he came for us. He said he was gathering those who’d remained.”
“And you think, what, the only Shadowguards left alive are those here?” I asked, alarmed. “Cara, so many more survived. Hundreds more. Whoever Zion is, he’s lying to you about everything.”
“How can he be, after what we witnessed? I saw it, Tank. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“You saw something. I do believe that. But I’m not sure it’s what you think.”
Looking at her now, it was clear Cara believed every word of what she said.
Amelie had mentioned that she didn’t sense any magic, but something had been done to corrupt her memories. Darren’s, too. Had Zion done it to everyone here? Why? So he could be called the Shadowguard clan leader? His name didn’t ring a bell. There had never been another dragon who came forward claiming to be who Slade was. Most fought to protect Slade’s identity and his location, to guarantee Radnak would never find him. Zion sounded as if he’d been alone. He shouldn’t have been, not if he really was our rightful leader.
“Had you ever heard of Zion before he saved you?”
Cara crossed her arms with a huff at my question.
“Please, I’m trying to understand.”
“We heard of a group of dragons fighting to liberate our people,” Darren explained when my sister seemed reluctant to speak anymore. “They would come in, save who they could, kill as many of the enemy they could get their hands on, then leave again. There were rumors they were building an army of some sort.”
“The Light Guard.”
“Yeah, them.” Darren said. “So you heard of them?”
“I am one of them. We both are. Or were.” I motioned to Amelie. “You never met any of the Light Guard yourselves?”
“I wish. We were never lucky enough to be rescued by them.”
“We had to take a chance,” Cara cut in harshly. “We had to get ourselves out of there. No one was going to rescue us from that hell.”
Her glare tore through me.
“I searched for you,” I started.
She stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Heavily, I sank into a chair and held my face in my hands. “I looked for her. I never gave up hope. Never.”
“She talked about you,” Darren told me quietly, watching the door. “In the beginning, she was sure you’d come for her.”
“If I’d known where she was…” I trailed off, not even sure why I felt the need to explain myself to this dragon. What did he know of it? Why did I care if he knew why I never came for Cara? “There was never any sign of her, none. I asked every dragon we saved. None of them had seen her.”
“We moved around a lot. Probably why.”
“Who did you travel with?” Amelie asked when I fell silent for a long while.
“Other younger dragons like us. We were trying to get a rebellion going. To build up our own small force.” He smiled sadly. “We wanted so badly to be like the Light Guard we’d heard about. We thought if we proved ourselves worthy we would be saved. Our leader would come for us.”
“He did. Or at least he found a way to end the war.”
“Zion.”
“No, not Zion. Our true leader fought Radnak and the Blood Moon Priests. He destroyed Radnak to end the war. To liberate everyone before it was too late. He nearly gave his life several times for the cause. He lost his own family along the way.” I shook my head, angry now, at this lying dragon who claimed to have their best interests at heart. “I want to meet him.”
“Zion? I’m sure he’d be thrilled to meet Cara’s brother.”
“Is he close to her?”
Darren smiled warmly as he lifted his hands. “He’s a close friend to all of us. He looks out for us. A true leader.”
Amelie looked ready to explode. If I didn’t pull her aside soon, she’d burst and who knew what would come out of her mouth then.
“And he told you there were no other Shadowguards alive?” I asked, not sure how any of them would believe out of how massive our clan was, only this small handful survived.
“He said he tried to save them but was too late.”
“Right. Well, I want to meet him. Today.”
“Perfect. We have a feast every evening so the clan can gather as a family.”
It sounded more and more like we’d found ourselves in some weird cult. What had Zion done to them? If he was even a dragon. They might’ve said they saw him shift, but what if he was one of the Blood Moon Priests we missed? He could be strong enough to manipulate them all into seeing whatever he wanted. But why? The reason was what made me curious. The Blood Moon Priests were finished. Radnak’s war had been over for three years, and there was no chance he could ever return. What were Zion’s intentions with the Shadowguards he claimed to have saved?
“Perfect. Then we’ll be joining you when you go,” I told Darren. “I’m going to speak with my sister first. Alone.”
“She’s been through a lot,” Darren said. “Before Zion found us, we witnessed several friends being captured. Some were killed. Cara was wounded in the fight.”
I was sick to my stomach. My baby sister was wounded, and I hadn’t been there for her. All those years she had been fighting the very same war, but without the backup I had. Without warriors at her sides.
I left without saying another word and walked outside.
She was by the clothesline, looking at the mountains in the distance.
“I dreamt of your coming for me. I dreamt of it so many nights,” she said without turning around. “I’d wake up, excited, certain I’d heard you calling my name. But you were never there.”
“Cara.” I wasn’t even sure what to say to her anymore. There was no excuse for why I hadn’t been able to save her. Though I’d saved so many others. Strangers. I’d been there for them, but I wasn’t for her.
She surprised me when she took hold of my hands, smiling as tears slipped from her eyes. “Doesn’t matter. You’re here. You did find me. You just don’t need to save me anymore. Maybe I’m meant to save you.”
