biting, spitting, clawing.
“We need help down here!” Scarlet shouted into her headset.
A moment later, Aiko and Filia dove down, accompanied by Noa and Baby—surprising their enemies, taking them by the tails, grabbing them, and dragging them off Burgess. It was all the advantage the red dragon needed. He ripped into the first purple, pulling his head clean from his body. Zoe followed suit.
Caleb watched in awe. Gone was the gentle, sweet dragon they all knew. Now she was a warrior and she was determined to avenge her brother. Opening her mouth, she blasted the second dragon with fire, literally burning its eyes from its head. Now blind, the dragon stumbled around uselessly until Burgess, Zoe, and Filia put it out of its misery.
“Man, that sister of yours…” Caleb swore under his breath. The pain was starting to subside somewhat, and he was feeling a little better. “She’s something else, isn’t she?”
But Zavier didn’t answer. And when Caleb looked down at his dragon, he realized in horror that he would never answer again.
Zavier was gone. And Caleb was dragonless once again.
But, he told himself as the tears sprung uninvited to his eyes, at least this time it wasn’t a senseless murder. Zavier had died a hero. Sacrificed his life to the greater good. To save his brothers and sisters. To save the world.
“You did good, Sparky,” Caleb said, his voice choking on the words. “Now get some rest. You’ve earned it.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
As the dragon battle raged on outside, Trin crept through the back door of the mall, using the rope to climb down into the Dracken basement. The hallways were eerily dark and deserted, prompting worry to crawl through her gut. She had hoped a good number of the Dracken would be distracted by the fight going on outside, but to have everyone gone—well, that was just too lucky to be a good thing. Her pulse kicked up in concern, and she found her eyes darting to every corner, sensing a trap. But in the end, she had no choice, and she forced her feet to move forward.
She followed the route Caleb had described until she reached the passageway that dead-ended at a large, heavy door. Peering inside, she saw a huge open room: the dragon holding pen. Empty except… Her heart leapt as she spotted Emmy at the far end, penned up in a metal cage.
Emmy! Trin sent. We’re here to rescue you. I’m outside your door.
The dragon’s head jerked up. Her eyes turned to the door, and Trin let out a breath of relief, realizing she’d been heard.
Just hang on, Emmy. I’ll be there in a—
Wait! Don’t—
But it was too late. Trin had already pushed open the door—just as a dark figure stepped out of the shadows.
It was Darius.
The Dracken looked older than she remembered him. Whereas once his skin had been smooth and unshaven, now he was scarred and burned, and his hair was wild and unkempt. In fact, he looked as crazy on the outside, Trin thought, as he had been on the inside all along.
She squared her shoulders. “Step aside,” she told him, hoping to exude a confidence she didn’t quite feel. “It’s over. You’ve lost.”
He raised an eyebrow but stood his ground. Then, to Trinity’s chagrin, he started to laugh. “Over?” he repeated. “Now that’s a good one.”
She frowned, feeling her semblance of control fleeing, though she had no idea why. “Your dragons are dead,” she added. Maybe he didn’t know what was happening outside. “Or they soon will be.”
“Those dragons were already dead before the fight began,” he said dismissively. “Mutated, sterile, insane. Your dragons did me a favor, putting them out of their misery.”
Trinity stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. “But you were going to breed them with Emmy,” she blurted before she could stop herself.
“Was I?” he asked. “No, of course I wasn’t,” he answered quickly. “Why would I want to create an army of hybrids when I can have the real thing?”
“What?”
“They were bait beasts, of course, nothing more,” he said with a sick smile. “A means to giving Emberlyn’s children their first taste of blood. Now that they have it, they will always thirst for more.”
Trinity watched, confused, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He pressed at the screen and then held it out to her. There, she saw a live stream of the dragon fight going on outside the building.
“In one hour, this video will be uploaded to all the