Heat pressed against me. Even though I didn't need to breath to survive, it felt as though my lungs were being crushed. I sat up, searching for a clue that would tell me where I was. Directly in front of me burned a circular, green fire. Within the scorching ring hung three people by their wrists. Heads bent, each moaned in pain. I took a step forward. "Hello?" The one in the middle looked up. His face was streaked in dirt mixed with blood. "Troy!" I rushed to the edge of the fire. "Troy, I'm coming." With only the briefest pause, I ran through the flames. They engulfed me, scorching my hair and burning up my clothes and my skin, but I didn't pay it any attention. My eyes fixed on Troy. "Hang on." At my words, the person on the right of Troy looked up. "Mom!"I knew instinctively the person on the left of Troy would be my dad. "Dad, it's going to be all right. I'll free you all." From the outside the ring of fire had seemed thin and small, but I spent many minutes within the
Still more than twenty feet away, Adam, Christopher, and Joanna climbed off their horses and tethered them to some nearby trees. Adam didn't look happy. I could guess the reason. Once again, I put his love into harm's way. It was a wonder he still had hair. "Don't go near it," Adam said to Joanna, speaking about the dragon. She sweetly pulled herself from his grasp. "Jasmine is near him and she's fine. The dragon seems to know her and like her." She touched Adam's worried face, caressing away the worry. "I'm going over to meet the incredible creature." Adam opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Abernathy, who watched them as I did, chuckled. "How has meeting your grandfather been?""Weird," I admitted, watching the three of them. Christopher stayed back, biding his time with the horses. "Adam looks like my grandfather, but doesn't act like him." "He's changed a lot since this time, that is true, but his heart is the same, still full of love. He's just found a w
"Still bossy, I see." Instantly, I knew who it was. "Laeddin." He appeared in front of me like a breath a fresh air. My horse whinnied and tried to pull away, but I held his reins keeping him steady. My heart raced. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?" I was happy to see him though. Laeddin wore a muslin shirt with the sleeved rolled up, blue jeans and brown shoes. His cuff tattoos were gone and I knew that was because he was free. No longer a genie tethered to a bottle or a cave, but able to roam wherever he wished. "It wasn't too hard.""I'm glad you're here." I hugged him. It felt only a little awkward. "It's so good to see you." "And you," he said, stepping out of my arms. "I'm grateful for what you did." He shoved his hands in his front pockets. "At first I was upset, but it means a lot to know you cared so much for me.""Of course," I said, tugging on the reins of my horse. "I do care about you." That was true. And I always would. "Did you want to meet Joanna?" Co
Christopher sat next to me, our backs facing Abernathy, who had gone back to sleeping. They hadn't been able to kill a deer, or even find one, though Adam mentioned wolf and deer tracks. Adam and Joanna ate food from their packs. Chris and I didn't have any, and that was okay. It wasn't necessary. Abernathy had mentioned celebrating my birthday, but he snored softly as though he didn't remember that we had plans. I'd heard plenty of stories from my mom about him over the years. For the dragon, sleeping wasn't out of character. Celebrating with Adam, Joanna, Abernathy, and Chris would be nice, but I wouldn't mind if we didn't celebrate at all. Nothing could compare to what Troy did for me. Making the unicorn blood cake and proposing marriage. My heart sank for a moment at the thought of him. How I missed him. But then I remembered the vision Laeddin showed me. He let me see my future. And what a future it would be. Everything was going to be okay. I would beat Sharra. I would m
In the morning, Abernathy offered to give us a ride to the chateau. I wanted to say yes. Adam wanted us to say yes as well. He was so done with Chris and me. But Joanna wanted to stay with us. She wanted to see it through to the end. And whatever Joanna wanted, Adam made happen. I wanted Joanna to stay with me as well. So I thanked Abernathy, but told him we would ride. "Very good, vampire. But remember what I said."I knew he meant Arthur and especially Sharra. "I will."The dragon flew away, his large golden wings sparkling in the sunlight, like an apparition in the clouds. I watched him go feeling only a little sadness. Mostly I was ready to complete my mission. Get all of the crown pieces and go after Sharra. Joanna urged Adam to pick up the pace. I went along happily, in an effort to get us to the chateau sooner rather than later. That day and the next went by without any incidence. Chris and I mostly kept to ourselves, even during breaks. I could tell Joanna had more question
We let the wolves track Arthur until we came to a thick forest just outside the city of Vaucouleurs. It was nearly midnight. Millions of stars shone in the night sky. When we reached the forest edge, Crayith and the other wolves stopped. "He's in the village," Crayith said. "I can smell him." Christopher leaned forward. "I can hear him. Jasmine, we need to get in there." He stepped from the trees. "Agreed." I turned to Joanna. "Stay here. We'll be back." I paused. "Please. It isn't safe for you to come with us." She wanted to resist. I could see it on her face. Finally she nodded. "Are you sure? Adam and I can be of great help." Adam looked uncomfortable. "I feel partly responsible for bringing him out with us." "Don't worry about it. We'll handle the situation. Stay with Crayith." I looked at the lead wolf. "You'll make sure no harm comes to them?""You have my word." The wolf bowed. "Thank you." I followed after Christopher. He reached the edge of the village and was trying to
From within my mind, I witnessed Sharra torturing Troy. Troy screamed. His body kept shifting from human to dragon form. "Now tell me you don't love Jasmine. Tell me you wish to see her dead and I'll let you live," Sharra said. "No," he said through clenched teeth.Sharra touched the orb on the tip of her staff to Troy's abdomen. He screamed again, writhing in pain. His arms were in shackles and a large chain hung them up above his head. She went to him and cut a line along his neck with one of her nails. "Stop it," I shouted, reaching out for him, though I didn't know where they were and I probably wasn't even in the same realm. Sharra turned like she heard me. She wore all black, her collar lace, and it came to just under her chin. "Jasmine. It's so good of you to come. Look at Troy. You can't want him to suffer so much. Hurry, dear, or he'll be dead before you can bring the gems to me." "You promised that we could trade," I said, though I was hesitant. "The crown for Troy an
I pushed open the door and went inside. "Wow, these really hurt. It's never done this before."Christopher took my arm. "Maybe because you're nearly finished collecting them all?""I don't know." I fell to my knees. "Whoever is down here with us will be upon us soon. I'm going to go slow them down. Hurry." He went to the door and ran into Adam. "What are you doing here?" Joanna pushed past him and came over to me. "Hey, Jasmine." She looked devastated. "Joanna?" I held onto my head with one hand. "I thought you - ""I was. Afraid of you, if that's what you were going to say. And I thought you a monster." She shook her head. "I'm guessing some of your kind are, but not you. Just as Ansel Grafton is a human monster, Arthur was a bloodsucking monster, but not you." She knelt beside me. "I'm sorry, Jasmine." "No." The pain in my head was so strong I thought I might die. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." "Never you mind. Just tell me how I can help." Adam and Christopher were s