Plight of the Dragon (18 page)

“No!” Chelsea threw herself at Davies. He tossed her aside like a dirty rag. She toppled into another person and fell to the ground, bleeding.

Sebastian roared, anger bursting from him in waves of wings and talons. The museum case shattered into a zillion little chandelier crystals, flying into the crowd like glass missiles.

17

CURIOUS

Marcus

“
Aren’t you Kyra’s
boyfriend?” Vortex Girl leaned in the doorway and crossed one leg over the other. When Marcus remained silent, she continued. “Yeah, you’re the one who helped me out of that little mess a while back.” She held her hands comfortably in front of herself, except when she used them to accentuate her words, which was often. “Was that guy your friend?” She pointed over her shoulder.

There was another pause, presumably to allow Marcus to speak, but again, he said nothing. What he did do was study her with mild curiosity. His head tilted slightly to the side, a smile slowly spreading across his face with each nervous word she continued to spout. At least, he assumed it was nerves that had her rambling on. Could be she was nothing more than a babbling imbecile. Nevertheless, he found himself leaning toward her, into her drivel.
 

She coughed. It sounded faked. “Cause if he was…your friend, I mean…then I’m sorry about the whole zapola thing. Just can’t help it sometimes. Just happens. But you know,” she paused for what appeared to be effect, “he was acting kinda douchey.” She stood away from the door now and took a step into the trailer. She appeared agitated and downright pissy. “Do you talk? Or are you some kind of mute?”

She was a feisty one. Dangerous and feisty. Marcus cocked a brow and didn’t move. “Where did you send him?”

She relaxed, and a mild case of guilt washed across her face. “So he was your friend?” Her hands began to knit some unseen sweater, and her shoulders swayed back and forth. Marcus wasn’t sure if this was a sign of nerves or a desire to dance. “Well, he shouldn’t be hurt or anything. Just relocated.”

Now Marcus took one step, and one step only, closer. “Yes, but to where?” His voice was low and gravelly.
 

The girl jumped as if finding tiny bugs on her feet, then she moved back to the safety of the doorway. “Could be anywhere, really.” She shrugged. “Los Angeles, New York, 1890s London, Jupiter.” She bit her lip.
 

“Fantastic,” Marcus grumbled and pushed past her out the door.
 

Mystic’s Magical Market was peculiarly quiet, which suited Marcus just fine. He envisioned the bottleneck of patrons at the entrance, a frenzied fear running rampant among them. He felt…nothing. Curious.
 

“I told you I was sorry!” she called after him. He heard her descending the few steps behind him.
 

“I heard. Lot of good it does me. Now get lost.” He didn’t glance back. He didn’t have the time or desire to deal with her any longer. Fire was raging through his body, and his muscles felt like they were going to snap.
 

“You didn’t explain why you were going through Sebastian’s stuff.” Her tiny footsteps rushed to keep up with his wide stride.

“Why are you still here?” he asked, nostrils flared and teeth bared.

“Were you… Are you looking for Kyra?”

Marcus’s brisk, stretched stride came to a complete halt. Finally, something interesting from the girl. He turned on Vortex Girl and regarded her through a narrowed slit of a glare. “Do you know where Kyra is?”

“Sure!” Her entire body lit up, and she beamed confidence, then dimmed. “Well, not really.”
 

Marcus growled under his breath.
 

“But I saw her and Talia take off that way.” She pointed toward the iron works that only minutes ago had been a dazzle of lights and moving wonders. The Fun Zone, now dark and dormant.
 

“Just the two of them? No Sebastian?” Marcus had no idea who Talia was, but that caused him no concern.
 

“Why are you so interested in Sebastian?” Vortex Girl popped her hands on her hips. “I thought you and Kyra were an item. You’re not jealous, are you?”

Marcus’s lips pressed together in a firm line, and his hands flexed before clasping into tight fists. “What’s that way? Just rides and games?”

“There are plenty of rides and games, all right,” she said with a gleam in her eye, “but if you keep going, you’ll find yourself amidst the Big Top show area.”
 

Marcus regarded her. She was young and excitable, an unpredictable combination. “Other than, ‘they went that way,’ you don’t know anything else?”

Her body straightened, as if called to attention by a teacher. “Oh, sure. I know lots of things. For instance, did you know the first Ferris wheel was invented in—”

Marcus waved a hand, dismissing her ramble. “About Kyra or Sebastian, girl.”

Her eyes widened like the full moon. “Oh. No.” She shook her head.

“Then beat it.” He turned and resumed his strut. Moving through the Fun Zone, he watched patrons melting down various aisles. Like a receding wave, they flushed down the midway toward the main entrance and the portal. Little did they know, it was closed. Then he noticed another curious thing about the carnival. Static electricity, like lightning, every once in a while would randomly strike, run a course along the side of a tent or across the ground. It wasn’t natural and he suspected the electricity had something to do with the carnival. Interest stirred in him, and he wanted to amass the answers to the unasked questions, like a dragon lord amasses power. What was the source? What was the purpose?

The Fun Zone eventually dropped behind him, and he entered a city of tents. Every kind of tent imaginable surrounded him. Simple tents, ornate tents, monstrous tents, mousy tents. It was never ending.
 

And still, the shuffle of small feet followed him. He rolled his eyes and grumbled. He didn’t want to get sucked into a vortex, accidentally or on purpose.
 

Marcus’s stomach tugged. It was a minor pinch, but it meant his insurance policy worked and Kyra was somewhere in the vicinity. His piercing gaze searched the crowd. A multitude of people filed through this section of the carnival, like herded Behemoth. They pushed toward the exit, confusion, irritation, and disappointment their companions. But not everyone sought an exit. Some drifted with leisure from show to show, or chatted with carnies, while others pressed quick and purposeful toward a ruckus farther down the row. Marcus cranked his head to see what was drawing the people like a masterful trap.

A wail, sounding much like Davies’s, punched through the crowd, and the little vortex girl ran past Marcus. Feet stumbling, she paused and threw her flared hands up to her face. “Oh my beastie! Sebastian!” She disappeared into the crowd.
 

“Interesting.” Marcus stepped to the side, into the shadows one of the tents provided. He watched with keen interest as the boy, Sebastian, morphed into some kind of beast, shattering the glass box within which he’d been trapped into a bazillion miniature pieces. “This will be more fun than I first imagined,” Marcus muttered to himself. He flipped several of the stolen tarot cards in his right hand, as a dry smile squirmed into place on his face. First he’d deal with the carnie fuck, then he’d collect Kyra.

“Hey, boss.” Marcus jerked. Rick had silently slipped up beside him. “Where’s Chet?”

Marcus grunted. “Early departure.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Rick studied the commotion in the midway. “Good news. Bolsvck and Davies, both located.” He gestured to the crowd.

“Yes,” Marcus said, the word slipping slow and dark from his tongue. “Where are the others?”
 

“Toby and Darren are around here somewhere. Left Darren over there only a short while ago.” Rick glanced over his shoulder and pointed, then turned his attention back on Marcus. “What now?”

“We kill dragons.” Marcus peered at Rick, insidious intentions gleaming in his eyes. “Are you ready?”

18

NEEDS

Kyra

Kyra vaulted toward
Sebastian. He needed her. She knew he needed her. Even if he wouldn’t admit it. Her heart ached to close the distance, to speed to his aid. She didn’t care about the hurtful things he’d said. They’d work through that later. Right now, they only needed each other. She had to get him out of that box.

Her momentum came to a screeching halt, wrenched back at the arm by Talia. “Are you trying to ruin everything?” she hissed.

Kyra’s head snapped back and forth between Talia and the mess in which Sebastian currently found himself trapped. She flung her arm in his direction. “He needs my help,” she murmured.

“If you go over there now, all the effort to disguise you will have been for nothing,” Talia responded. “Besides, when have you known Sebastian to get stuck in a situation he couldn’t maneuver his way out of?”

Kyra’s mouth dropped open to answer. No words came. She couldn’t think of any, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist. After all, when he’d come to retrieve her from Marcus, he’d been damn well banged up.
 

“Catching flies there, beautiful?” Drakhögg said as he strutted past. He spun around playfully and swatted Kyra on the butt. Kyra’s mouth dropped open again, and she stared after him. He was following her father toward Sebastian. Davies was rushing the scene like a sideshow freak in need of a fix.
 

“Did you see that?” Kyra turned to Talia, feeling the astonishment on her face, and caught Ryhuu inspecting her with disdain as he, too, followed the leader.
 

Talia crossed her arms and glared at the back of Drakhögg’s head. “If you mean the asinine behavior, then yes, I did.”

Kyra minded Ryhuu, made sure he was far enough away, and then spoke no louder than a whisper. “He’s supposed to be betrothed to me, and he was just flirting with me.”

A terse giggle volleyed up Talia’s throat. “Rather serendipitous, the man actually making a pass at his fiancée.” Her eyes twinkled with unspoken laughter.

“But he doesn’t know it’s me,” Kyra huffed. “He thinks I’m some blonde girl he just met.”

“I don’t know what—” Talia started to say, and stopped abruptly at the sound of loud howls and roars and shattering glass.
 

Kyra’s heart clenched, as did her fists.
 

“You win,” Talia said. “Let’s move closer. We still need to stay out of the way, or you might be discovered.” Locking hands, they moved together along the edge of the tents toward the chaos.
 

Ahead, wings flashed above the heads of the crowd, and then disappeared back into the mass of people again. It was only for a moment, long enough for Kyra to know Sebastian had lost control, and Kalrapura had taken over. If only temporarily. Chelsea scrambled feebly at the edge of the crowd, attempting to push her way through, and Davies came flying backwards, as if thrown by an incredible force. Kyra’s throat squeezed tight.
 

It was a disaster. Sebastian out of control. Her family with front row tickets to the show. And her, trapped and unable to do anything, or she’d be forced to denounce her Moorigad status, choose a clan, and a man in which she held no interest. She stared at the scene, heart aching to be in the midst of the commotion, and then her attention was drawn to someone running at Sebastian from the other direction. Vortex Girl. Kyra’s heart dropped below her gut. Well-meaning or not, that girl was bad news. Kyra couldn’t,
wouldn’t
, let her desire to avoid her family put Sebastian in danger of getting shifted to another world or dimension.
 

“No!” she yelled and pressed forward at a quicker pace, following her need to help him. Eight steps in, she stumbled against the side of the nearest tent, overcome with light-headedness. Her heart panged and skin turned hypersensitive. She shuddered, wanted to hurl.
 

“What’s wrong?” Talia’s hand pressed gently against Kyra’s shoulder blades.
 

“I feel…” Kyra began and paused, feeling a wave of nausea. “I feel like I should be going that way,” she pointed beyond Sebastian, toward a bend in the lane, “rather than over there.” She jerked her hand in Sebastian’s direction. “The feeling is overwhelming.”