Dragon mage the complete.., p.45
Dragon Mage_The Complete Series, page 45
"I think the Fae had the right idea," Quinn said. "I'm going back downstairs."
"There's more room down there," James said.
I nodded, trying to hide the let down feeling. Tavas had barley earned my trust and wasn't doing anything to demonstrate that he had any concern for me at all. I supposed I didn't need him to show anything for me. While I couldn't be sure he considered us friends, but I thought we were at least friendly. It shouldn't bother me that he hadn't joined the others, but I knew I would have helped him if he had called. It made me question my judgement. Was I wrong to involve him? Could he be trusted despite the fact that my gut told me I needed his help?
When I got back to the kitchen, I found the missing Fae leaning against the island, pouring himself another glass of whisky.
"You're all still alive, then?" he asked. "Wait, where'd the bossy mage and the siren go? Did you lose them already?"
"No," I said. "No thanks to you."
"Hey, I told you I'd help with this dragon queen problem. Not monster attacks inside your own house."
"It's not my house," I said. "And you know we need all the help we can get to get rid of the dragon queen so losing members of our party would not be beneficial."
"I'm not so sure," Tavas said. "The vamp doesn't bring much to the table."
"Hey," Alec said.
Fuming, I walked over to Tavas and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him toward the dining room on the other side of the kitchen. "We need to talk."
He set his drink down with a sigh, then followed me to the dining room while the rest of the group stared after us in silence. It probably didn't look good that I was taking him off for private conversation, but I needed to know if Tavas was going to be worth the hassle. I couldn't have him deciding to quit helping us in the middle of a battle. Or worse, deciding that he wanted to change sides.
I was pretty sure that in order to defeat the dragon queen, I needed Tavas's help. I still wasn't sure why that was, but Chester told me I had to follow my intuition so that was what I was going to do.
Tavas leaned against the wall in the dining room, a smirk on his face.
"What is going on with you?" I asked. "Last time we talked, you said you'd help me. You were polite even. What the hell is all of this? Is there something I'm missing? Some game you're playing?"
"You don't trust me," Tavas said.
"I did, but now I'm doubting it," I said. "What's with the asshole act? I thought we were past all of this."
"Look, little dragon, I told you I'd help you, but that doesn't mean I have to play nice with all your friends," he said.
"What do you suddenly have against my friends?" I asked. "What am I missing here? We're about to put the lives of everyone in that room at risk and I need to know that you're fully on board," I said.
"Let me get this straight, you don't trust me, yet you're going to let me be part of all of this for some reason? Why did you call me back here?" Tavas asked.
"I need your help, I already told you that," I said.
"Why me? Did the Oracle tell you to find me again?" he asked.
I felt blood rush to my cheeks. This wasn't a question I wanted to answer but it was likely someone had already told him I'd been the one to insist he join us. Otherwise, he wouldn't be pushing it so much. "No, I wanted you here."
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't know why," I said. "I just had a feeling we needed your help. Happy?"
He shook his head. "After everything we've been through, you can't just admit that maybe you missed me a little?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked. "Tavas, you're my friend."
"Am I?" he asked. "Friends don't keep things from one another."
I threw my hands up in frustration. "What are you talking about?"
"When you came to find me, you re-opened our connection, did you know that?" he asked, his voice low. "You initiated the connection and then you never closed it. I wonder why that might be."
I stared at him, mouth parted, trying to think of how to respond to that. Had I left the connection open? Did I do something wrong with the spell? "That's impossible."
"Tell me, Morgan," Tavas leaned in closer to me, whispering near my ear. "Is there a reason why you haven't made any moves on James? Maybe you've been too busy thinking about me."
Angry at the implication Tavas was making, I took a step back, afraid I would lose my temper and slap him. My hands shook and my nostrils flared as I looked at him. "How dare you make this about you."
I shook my head. "I thought better of you. I see I was wrong. If you want to help us, we'll take the help because we're in over our heads. But when this is done, I don't want to see you again and I want you to teach me how to get you out of my head. For good."
Not waiting for a response, I marched back into the kitchen.
As soon as I entered, the others made a big show of pretending to be engaged in conversation but I knew they'd been quietly eavesdropping. Right now, I was too mad to care.
"No more drama," I said, slamming my hands on top of the papers spread on the island. "We're gong to Nowhere. We're going to steal the weapon from Dr. Byers. This is it. You're either in or out. If you're not in, feel free to walk out that door right now. You can go to my house, Marco and the other vampires will protect you until we can finish this. But if you're in, you're in. For better or worse. I can't make any promises. This could get ugly. But this is the only option we have. If you don't agree," I pointed to the doorway, "that's the exit."
The room was silent.
Tavas picked up his glass and took a sip, staring at me over the rim.
Internally, I dared him to say something. To challenge me. I was fed up with this and I was tired. Deep down, I just wanted to curl up on the bottom of my shower, hot water beating down on me, and cry until all the tears were gone. But that wasn't an option right now.
"I think we need to go in groups," Quinn said. "We don't know what kind of pull the doctor has over the people in the town. We don't know where his spies are or who they have been told to look for."
I nodded to Quinn, grateful that she'd taken the reins to start the conversation.
"Morgan, I think you're too familiar," Quinn said. "If his spies have been warned, I'm guessing both you and James are high on their priority list. And your magical signature is too intimately known to hide from him."
I didn't argue. Dr. Byers could probably sense me from a hundred yards away. "So we keep me in a back up position. I need to be able to monitor whoever goes in. I'll stay out unless it's an emergency."
"Then I should go in," Tavas said. "I can keep her informed."
I winced, knowing that I'd have to explain that he was back inside my head.
James looked over at me, his expression hurt. "I thought I severed that."
"I somehow reestablished it when I went looking for him," I said.
"You two are linked?" Quinn asked.
"We haven't tested it out," Tavas said. "But I think it'll work if needed."
James glared at Tavas. "This is your doing, isn't it? Were you going to tell me?"
"Why would he have to tell you?" I asked. "He's in my head."
"Yes, but I should know this," James said.
"Why? Because we kissed? We don't even know if what we feel is real," I said, then I slapped a hand over my mouth. I hadn't meant for those words to come out at all, let alone while we were this close to finally going after Dr. Byers. Somehow, I'd let Tavas's jabs about James get to me and they'd tumbled out in a rush of hurtful words.
"What are you talking about?" James asked.
All eyes were on me and I shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to talk about this right now."
"But there's something to talk about," James said. "It was something the dragon queen said, wasn't it? You've been acting different since you saw her."
"Of course she's acting different," Dima said. "She's been through a lot. Cut her some slack, okay?"
"You know, this is all very daytime television," Quinn said. "But none of it will matter anyway if we die during this heist or if we don't take out the dragon queen."
"She's right," Tavas said. "Some of us might not even live through this."
James opened his mouth to say something, but I set my hand on top of his hand and he looked down, then closed his mouth.
"Please, let's stop fighting. Quinn is right, we can talk as much as we need to once we finish this." I took a deep breath and let it out. "I don't like what Tavas is suggesting, but it makes sense. If he can communicate with me while inside, it'll be like having our own two-way radio."
"Okay," Quinn said. "Tavas should go with Alec. Then I'll go with the siren."
"Dima," Dima said. "The siren has a name."
"Dima," Quinn said.
"Why me and Tavas?" Alec asked.
"Because as much as the Fae drives me crazy, he has a point, you have no skills. If Morgan is going to have to sweep in and rescue someone, it's going to be you," Quinn said.
"Hey," Alec said. "I can help."
"I'm sure you can, but not as much as a siren or a Fae or a mage," Quinn said.
"Fine." Alec glanced at Tavas. "But you better not screw me over."
"James, you'll stay with Morgan. You two are our insurance policy. Worst case scenario, Morgan and James will bail us out or they'll take care of what we can't finish," Quinn said.
"You want him to burn the whole place down if you fail," I said.
"You catch on fast," Quinn said.
"How will that help us?" I said. "We can't finish off the dragon queen without that weapon."
"Tell me how much of a chance we'll stand if you lose us, but the doctor and the weapon still go free?" she asked.
I didn't like it, but I could see her point. The dragon queen would be weakened without the doctor at her side. She'd lose access to his spiders and be forced to do her dirty work herself. "Let's not let it get to that but if it does, we'll do what needs to be done."
"So we just scout the house when we get there?" Alec said. "We don't even know about the best way to get in or when the guards are on duty or any of that."
I looked at James. "Your friend Pyx. Can she get us anything on his house? Blueprints, security systems, anything?"
"I'll make a call," he said.
23
After using aerial maps online, we discovered that Dr. Byers's house was on three acres of gated property in the center of Nowhere. It was as if the city had been built around the mansion he called home. I wondered how long he'd been living there and I wondered how long he'd been influencing the little community.
Pyx was able to send us over a few segments of blueprints that had been used to secure permits before Nowhere went off the human grid. Now, the town seemed to exist in a bubble, ignored by local ordinances and avoided by human traffic. I wasn't exactly sure how they managed it as it wasn't set up the same way as Realm's Gate, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. We knew you didn't need anything special to enter, but it was pretty clear you had to have some magic to notice that it was there.
"We won't know what kind of perimeter has been set up," I said. "When I first entered Nowhere I was in a rush and either I didn't notice any magic surrounding the town or it wasn't there."
"I'm sorry, but your magic detecting skills can't be the best we have," Quinn said.
"I'm damn good at detecting magic," I said. "In fact, I made a living off of it before the shit hit the fan."
"Yet you somehow missed the undead skeletons in the hidden room?" Quinn asked.
I swallowed and clenched my teeth. The words stung because I had missed it, which wasn't like me. "I never learned about necromancy and I'd never come across it before. But I found the false wall and unlocked the secret drawer. So unless he's using necromancer magic, I can do it."
"If you say so," Quinn said.
"Morgan is a gifted mage," James said. "I've been around a lot of mages and most of them wouldn't be able to break into my place."
"As I was going to say," I glanced at Quinn, daring her to cut me off. She stayed quiet. "I didn't notice if there was a perimeter. But this time, we can take our time at the entrance and I can check for any magic before we enter."
"How close can you get before you have to stop?" Alec asked.
I zoomed out on the map we had open on the tablet in front of me. "Here," I pointed to what looked like a storefront a few blocks away from Dr. Byers's house. "I can wait here with James. We'll see if we can find a restaurant or something to kill time in."
James closed out the map and opened the PDF that Pyx sent over. "There are three entrances. We won't know what kind of security until we get there. Pyx couldn't find anything on the grid to indicate human surveillance but we will have to play it by ear when we arrive. If Tavas and Alec take the back entrance, and Dima and Quinn take the side entrance, we'll double our chances of finding the weapon and getting out. If either group gets caught, you deny that there is anyone else in the house."
"Wait," I said. "McKenzie. She's going to want to help and we can use her. She's got skills."
"We'll send her in the front door," Quinn said. "She is the new head of the Mage Order after all. She can say Jasmine sent her with a message."
"I hate that idea, but it's good," I said. "Good thinking, Quinn."
"Time to wake her up?" Dima asked.
I took a deep breath. The sun had set already and I was starting to feel tired but I knew we had to keep going. It was now or never. I was thankful for the dragon blood that allowed me to use more magic before I needed to sleep. "It's time. If she needs to sleep more, she can sleep on the drive."
"I'll go wake her up," Dima said.
"About the drive," Alec said. "We're not all going to fit in one car."
"I don't ride in cars if I can help it," Quinn said. "Flying is so much faster. James, care to join me in the sky?"
"Don't the humans see you?" Alec asked.
"Even if they do, they convince themselves it was an illusion," Quinn said. "Nobody believes in dragons anymore."
"Partly because there are so few of us," James said.
"Where are the other dragons, anyway?" Alec asked. "Can't they help us?"
"The wild dragons would join the queen," Tavas said. "You don't want them here."
"Are there other elites?" I asked. James and Quinn had eluded to more elites but I'd never actually asked about them directly.
"A few," James said.
"Maybe," Quinn said.
"Maybe," James agreed. "If they're still alive, they are hiding. If we defeat the dragon queen, Quinn will make the announcement and they will come back."
"Oh," I said. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Not sure," Quinn said. "It's been a long time."
"So I hear I'm the distraction in the master plan you geniuses created while I was sleeping?" McKenzie said from the hallway.
"Not the distraction," Tavas said. "You're the main event."
"Dress it up however you want, Tavas, it's still me putting myself out there."
"Don't worry," Tavas said. "I don't think you're his type."
"Gross. Just don't let him stay inside my head if he worms his way in there, okay?" McKenzie said.
"We won't," I said, gesturing to myself and James. "If anything goes south, we'll kill him and you'll be free."
"So I take it our plan B is destroy by dragon fire?" She looked skeptical.
"What else?" I said. "It's worked for us so far."
It was true, fire had been our biggest weapon from the beginning. It was successful at taking down the spiders and had sent the dragon queen away. But none of the people going into the house could conjure fire the way McKenzie and I could. "We might want to get everyone a lighter. Just in case you run into any spiders."
"Without the gasoline to fuel that fire, it won't do much good," Alec said.
"Find something flammable. An oil painting on the wall, curtains, furniture. If you have to, burn the whole place down," I said.
"But do try to find the weapon first," Quinn reminded them. "Try not to give Morgan an excuse to toast the building with her nemesis inside it before we get what we need to take down the dragon queen."
"Are we doing this?" Alec asked.
"Let's get this over with," I said, then I looked at James. "You flying, then?"
"It'd be a good warm up for you," Quinn said. "I know you're a bit rusty shifting back and forth."
"She has a point," James said. "I'll meet you outside the town limits."
I wanted to say something to him, but after my outburst I didn't know how to act around him. So I said nothing and he turned away from me, leaving the kitchen without another word, Quinn at his heels. When this was all over, I was going to have to figure out what the jumbled mess of emotions was doing inside my heart.
McKenzie threw me a set of keys. "You're driving. I was unconscious last time we went to this place."
I looked down at the set of keys in my hands. We were doing this. After all these years, I might have to face Dr. Byers on purpose. My insides clenched and I reminded myself that I wasn't going into his house, which didn't seem to ease the anxiety. I closed my hands around the keys and reminded myself that I was an adult and a trained mage. I could make dragon fire. I was powerful. Nothing like I'd been as a child. I nodded to McKenzie. "Let's go."
"Shotgun," Tavas called.
"Only if you don't get inside my head and distract me while I'm driving," I said.
"I haven't gone inside your head once since you contacted me," he said. Then he placed his index finger on his lower lip and tapped it a few times. "That's not true, actually. I went inside your head once, when I first arrived. While you were speaking with James in the hallway."
"What? Why did you do that?" I asked.
"It wasn't on purpose, I swear." Tavas held his hands out in front of him in mock surrender. "Once I realized what happened, I got out of your head and as a show of good faith, I didn't go back in."
I glared at him, angry, but believing him. "Thank you."
He blinked a few times. "I'm sorry?"
"I said thank you, for not going in my head once you realized."
