We parked across the street from a house that looked exceptionally normal. The well-kept, three-story home was squished between two not so nice-looking houses. Those houses matched the rest of the neighborhood, which was why a tingle kept worming around under my skin. I itched to get out of the car and confront the sources. But, I knew better than to give in. Instead, I tried to focus on Oanen’s half of the conversation with the Council.
“Megan spoke to him the day after Nicolette was taken into custody. It proves she’s not responsible.”
A long drawn out pause followed that statement. I tried to read Oanen’s expression for clues, but he wasn’t giving much away. Not since my promise to talk after we were done here.
“I disagree,” he said, “and can confidently speak on Megan’s behalf that she disagrees, too.”
I frowned. I trusted Oanen. He knew me well enough to speak on my behalf if he thought it necessary. Why was it necessary, though? The evidence couldn’t be any clearer.
“No. Nothing has changed. She seems more tired and not as quick to anger.”
“She’s sitting right next to you, too,” I said, “and feeling plenty of anger. What’s going on?”
“I understand,” he said, just before hanging up.
Without me needing to threaten bodily harm, he turned toward me and started talking.
“They don’t believe Nicolette is innocent and won’t remove her house arrest.”
“What? Are they deaf or blind? Or just stupid?” I clenched my fists and wished I was in Uttira.
“Neither. They believe she’s working with someone or maybe several people. Adira wouldn’t give me more information than that. She asked how you were doing and if you’ve run into any wicked.”
That just pissed me off more. She knew something. I was sure of it.
“Fine. Adira and the Council are once again useless. No offense to your parents.”
“None taken. I agree with you. They’re up to something. We’ll need to prove without a doubt that Nicolette is innocent by finding the real killer.”
He looked at the house, again.
“I think it’s time to say hello,” I said, reaching for the door.
Sleeping in until noon meant that we hadn’t had much daylight when we started out. After going to the island then heading to New Jersey, not much remained. As we let ourselves in the gate, a hint of twilight creeped into the sky.
“I want you to stay behind me,” Oanen said softly, holding the gate so I could pass.
“Fine.” I knew he was trying to watch out for me. But no matter where I stood, if the hooded guy was truly wicked, I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back. Even if Oanen was in the way.
I followed him up the steps and waited on the small porch as he knocked.
A curtain to our right moved a few moments prior to the door opening. Instead of the guy from the bar, a young woman looked at us questioningly.
“Can I help you?”
“I hope so,” Oanen said. “We’re looking for someone.” He pulled out his phone and showed her the picture of the hooded man.
I saw the flicker of recognition in her eyes before she looked up at us.
“Sorry. I can’t help you.”
“Can’t or won’t?” I asked.
“My name is Oanen Quill. This is Megan Smith. We’re here on behalf of the Uttira Council,” he said. “And, you know what that is because you knew not to lie just now. How do you know this man?”
She started to shut the door.
Oanen stepped forward to block it with his hand. As soon as his palm crossed the plane of the threshold, he flew backward. He hit the fence with a metal clatter and crashed to the ground.
Rage filled me, and I turned to the door.
“Elizabeth Sias, open the damn door.”
“Megan, quiet,” Oanen said. The strain in his words made my anger worse.
I fisted my hand, ready to beat down the puny panel keeping me from kicking the ass of the girl who just fried my boyfriend.
Oanen’s fingers captured mine.
“I’m fine. And you just figured out her name,” he said softly. “And, right now, she’s talking on the phone. I’m trying to listen.”
His explanation and a quick glance at him calmed some of my anger.
“It’ll take more than a fence to hurt me. You know that.” He kissed my temple gently then slowly tugged me away from the door.
“We’re looking for a man named Zayn. Elizabeth knows him well. She told him not to come home.”
“So a girlfriend, wife, or relative.”
“Exactly what I’m thinking. And if that’s the case, he’s on his way here because he’ll want to keep her safe.”
“She’s not in danger.”
“He doesn’t know that. And right now, she’s watching us leave. When the car doesn’t move, she’ll let him know.”
We got back into the car. Street lights came on, and the curtain in the window moved again.
“Stay here. No matter what,” he said reaching for his door.
“Where are you going?”
“To the roof. I’ll be able to see more from up there.” He paused and gave me a stern look. “Say it. Say you’ll keep your butt in that seat no matter what.”
My fury stirred again, and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
“No. What you really want me to say is that you’re cute when you’re all domineering. Not going to happen, bird boy. Bossy isn’t attractive.”
His pupils dilated noticeably.
“Megan…”
“I will stay in the car. Now, stop being a bully and go fly away.”
He exhaled slowly and left the car without kissing me, an indication of how far I’d pushed him.
Sulking, I watched the house.
What the hell was my problem? Everything was off. My temperature. My mood. My ability to sense any wickedness. My ability to send the wicked to hell. I was a broken fury. And if I wasn’t careful, I was going to break one of the few things I still had going right.
Restless and feeling sorry for myself, I pulled out my phone and called Eliana.
“Yeah, what’s up?” she answered, sounding annoyed.
“Everything okay?”
“Get off my pillow. I told you not to do that,” she said in a strained and slightly muffled voice. Before I could ask what she was talking about, her words became clear again. “I need to find Piepen a better home.”
A high-pitched squeal came from the background followed by fervent begging.
“You do what you need to do,” I said, feeling bad I’d made a mess for Eliana. It seemed I was on a roll for messing up relationships.
“Thanks. I gotta go.”
The line went dead.
Sighing, I pocketed the phone and leaned back in my seat. Rather than focus on the wisps of wicked around me, I closed my eyes.
“You can do this, Megan.”
“Wake.”
The word echoed in my mind, pulling me from a deep sleep. If not for the ache in my shoulder and the chill penetrating my legs, I would have tried to ignore the command. Uncomfortable and more than a little cranky because of my discomfort, I opened my eyes to look for my pillow and blanket.
Instead of seeing familiar bedroom walls, I saw a face I knew well from the picture on my phone.
“You,” I said, trying to sit up. I couldn’t get my hands under myself.
“Here,” he said, reaching for me. “Let me help you.”
He helped me from my side-lying position to sitting up against a beam.
I frowned at my bound hands and feet, confused. I couldn’t remember confronting him or trying to send him to hell. Nothing new hurt on me. No burns. So then, what had happened? How was I no longer in the car, and why wasn’t I angry?
Giving my bonds an experimental tug, I studied the now unhooded-man.
“Zayn, right?”
“Correct. And those are magic bindings,” he said. “Like last time.” He tilted his hand and studied me. “How did you get out of the last ones?”
“Why don’t I want to send you to hell?”
He smiled slightly.
“Because I’ve been good lately, not breaking any rules. Human or non-human.”
A shimmer in the air just behind him caught my attention. I sat in the center of another large space. A table lit with a dangling overhead light lay just behind the guy squatting before me. However, between him and the table, a shimmer of something moved in the air, creating a bubble around us.
“More magic?” I asked.
“Yes. For your protection. I’ve invited a few people here and wasn’t sure if you’d be ready to face them.”
“What do you mean?”
He shifted slightly on the balls of his feet, pivoting just enough to expose the three older men sitting at the table. Their rough, weathered faces were turned in our direction. Their dark eyes were filled with a weary acceptance I’d seen before.
“They are dragons with more years than either of us can hope to see. And with those years come a lot of mistakes.” He shrugged lightly. “Or, rather, choices a fury might not agree with.”
That last statement drew my attention back to the hooded man.
“You know what I am and took me anyway?” I asked.
“I know what you are, and I know once you understand, you’ll have no reason to come after me.”
“I doubt that.”
“You’ve said it yourself. You have no desire to punish me. That’s because I’ve done nothing wrong.”
My gaze flicked back to the dragons.
“Why do I need protection from them?”
His grin widened.
“This shield isn’t to protect you from them but from yourself. You’re a fourth-generation fury, and I don’t want you burning yourself out. The last thing I want is for the other three to come after me because I wasn’t careful.”
I snorted.
“Right.”
“What part do you doubt? My fear of you or my care?”
“Any of it. All of it.”
“I know a lot of things I shouldn’t. Trust me when I say I will take the utmost care of you. Now, be patient and listen. You’ll understand what’s going on soon enough.”
He patted my stretched-out leg and stood, leaving the shield. As soon as he stepped through it, the shimmer turned into an opaque green like I was sitting in an upside-down glass bowl. My ears popped painfully, but I could suddenly hear things. Seagulls crying out. Distant traffic. The quiet murmur of deep voices coming from the table.
I could also feel.
One of those three dragons was not like the others. Oh, they all had a level of wicked that made my skin feel too tight. But, one of them had done things that begged me to send him straight to hell. My gaze locked on the one with longer, grey-streaked hair he kept back in a low ponytail.
I opened my mouth, the words to demand a confession from Rylee McGoan on the tip of my tongue. However, not a sound emerged.
Rage clawed at my middle, and I struggled with my bonds.
“We’ll need to speak quickly,” Zayn Sias said. “I don’t know how long that spell will hold her.”
“Why is she here? Why are we here?” the dragon closest to me asked. His dark eyes watched me instead of Zayn.
“She’s here as a witness. You’re here because each of you has spoken to me about your desire for the old ways to return. About your discontent with the way things are now.
“I cannot change your lives for you. I cannot miraculously fulfill your dreams of flying free or eating whatever you’d like. None of us can break those rules without consequence. And that’s why she’s here. To be a witness. So that she knows, and so that you know, what I’m saying is the truth and what I’m doing is within the bounds of what we are allowed to do.”
While he spoke, my anger and the need to free myself intensified. Knowing what would happen, when I gave into the urge gripping me hard, didn’t even give me pause.
My gaze remained focused on the furthest of the three men; and the intense, burning need to punish only grew stronger with each passing second. The space within my magic cage began to warm and reflect an orange glow. And, it wasn’t just from my eyes.
I could feel the fire growing inside of me. I tried to hold it back. I knew what would happen if I completely gave in to it. I could feel my old burns starting to tingle with pain. Yet, I was helpless to completely stop what was happening or my need to punish.
“Get to the point, Druid,” the middle dragon growled.
“Yes, of course. I’m here to offer you an opportunity to be free of your oppression. To make a stand against it. To give your life for it. I won’t promise redemption. I won’t promise you will go to a better place once you’re gone. But I can promise your soul will be used to create something that will always stand against those who wish to oppress the unique and undesired.”
A tingle of pain encircled my wrists, and I looked down at my bonds. Green sparks flew from the metal as flames engulfed my hands. Like the last few times my fire appeared, it seared my skin. And, like the last few times, I couldn’t stop any of it.
I opened my mouth to cry out, but nothing came. In agony, I raged against my silence, the rage feeding my fury to the point where I stopped feeling.
“You want to kill us?” the first dragon asked. “Use us in some type of ritual sacrifice?”
“Yes,” Zayn said with not an ounce of shame or remorse.
He’d just admitted to wanting to kill them; yet, I still felt not even a hint of wickedness from him and everything from the three dragons.
“You’ve all admitted to me that you’re weary of this existence. That you’re tired of what this world has to offer you. I’m offering to help you find a quick and peaceful end. An opportunity to use what’s left of your existence in a way that strikes a small blow of retribution against those who oppressed you. That’s all. If you’re not interested, you are free to leave. There’s no spell keeping you here. If you are interested, I will willingly accept the gift of your soul, and I will respect any dying wishes that you have.”
The metal binding my wrists burst apart with a loud snap. Zayn, who’d been focused on the dragons, glanced at me as I reached for the bindings on my ankles.
“We don’t have much time,” he said. “As soon as the fury is free, you will want to be gone.”
I set my hands on my ankles and watched the flames burn through the shackles there. Free, I got to my feet and moved to the green surrounding me. It sizzled and sparked as I neared it.
All four of the men were watching me now. Zayn’s eyes were filled with urgency. We both knew it wouldn’t be long now.
“There’s nothing else I can say that will convince you of my need,” Zayn said rapidly. “Many others have already given their souls to my cause. They believed their willing sacrifice would earn them a place in whatever god’s realm upon their death. I can’t say I believe the same, but I swear you will live on because of your soul-sacrifice. Who among you is ready to be done with this world? Who among you is ready to commit one more act of defiance against those who oppressed you? Who among you will help me?”
I pressed both hands against the barrier. Light engulfed me to the point it was hard to see. Outside the magic bowl, the men squinted.
The dragon who had been quiet so far, the one pulling me with his wickedness, finally spoke.
“I will.”
And with two words, he set my world on fire.
“He is mine!” I screamed.
Rage consumed me. Ablaze, I could feel my skin giving way to the fury. I struck the shield with my fists, raining blows on the druid’s magic.
Two of the dragons fled seconds before I burned through the shield.
“No!” Zayn yelled as I stepped through the remnants of the shimmer. “Please, I need him.”
Yet, he didn’t try to stop me from reaching out for the dragon.
The old one stood as I stopped before him, his steady gaze on me. He didn’t flinch as I reached out and grabbed him by the neck.
“Don’t do this,” Zayn begged. “How many burns do you have already? You can’t condemn him to hell. You can only condemn yourself.”
His words barely registered through the words ricocheting in my mind.
“Rylee McGoan, confess.”
“Fury, I have done many things in my life. More than most. Confessing would take more time than either of us cares to give. Take me to hell. If you can.” His gaze shifted to the druid who was mumbling something I couldn’t understand.
“Maybe next time, Fury,” the dragon said with a slight smile.
“No. This time, I’ll get it right.”
“Rylee McGoan, I condemn you to he—” A bone-shattering ache exploded in my core. My mouth opened in a silent scream as the flames finished engulfing me.
Darkness extinguished my vision, but not before I saw the fire spread to Rylee, who smiled serenely at me.
“Fury?”
A trickle of cold water splashed on my face. I turned my head and opened my mouth, taking a small drink and sputtering.
“Thank the useless gods,” a familiar voice said. “I thought you’d gone too far and burned yourself out.”
I wasn’t so sure I hadn’t. My skin felt raw and exposed. Like I’d been burned all over. That thought created an avalanche of memories that dumped on me all at once.
Opening my eyes, I groaned.
“I think I can help you heal a bit if you’ll allow me,” Zayn said.
“Yes.” I didn’t care what he did. I just wanted the pain to stop. Even my eyelids hurt.
He held up a tin, twisted the top off, and dug out a finger full of salve.
“Open up and try to swallow as quickly as possible. Your gag reflex will only increase the longer it sits in your mouth.”
I opened up, and he swiped the paste so far back, I almost gagged anyway.
“Swallow,” he said.
I did, just as the taste hit me. The rancid tang had me gagging as an aftereffect.
“Sorry. There isn’t a way to make that more pleasant tasting without ruining the spell.”
He reached out and pulled back the blanket covering me. I wanted to grab it back and swear, but I couldn’t move. Everything hurt.
“Why am I naked?” I rasped.
“You burned everything away.”
Burned away my clothes? That hadn’t happened before.
He continued to look down at me. I did, too, but had to turn my head away from the sight of my raw flesh. How close had I come to burning myself out like Zayn said?
My gaze caught on the crisp husk of a body not far from me, and I gasped. The dragon. He’d been burnt to almost nothing. Like me, his clothes were gone. Unlike me, his corpse was blackened from head to toe. A thin bone protruded from behind him, all that remained of his wings.
I closed my eyes against my impotent anger and frustration. I didn’t even know what he’d done to deserve that kind of end.
The gods had done this. They’d made me this way by giving me a power that I couldn’t control and didn’t understand. All the anger I felt in that moment was directed at them for robbing me of the life I should have had.
Something wet trailed from the corner of my eye.
“I don’t understand,” Zayn said. “The paste should be helping.”
