Elina nodded and watched Jane go back to the play yard. She briefly spoke with Danny, who squinted up at the sun for a couple of seconds and then shook his head. Something about the way he looked up caught Elina's attention. She frowned, trying to think what was eluding her. The tilt of his head reminded her of something she'd seen several times since she had been here. It was important . . ."El!" Liv materialized right in front of her, a mischievous smile on her face. She flung her arms around Elina. "I missed you."Elina's breath exploded from her lungs at the sudden sight of the little girl. Liv had endured terrible things in the underground city and that had bonded the two of them. At ten, she was years older than she should have been, her childhood ripped away from her. Elina closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the feeling of love she had for the little girl. To save her life, the ancients had converted her, bringing her wholly into their world, so technically, she shouldn't

Daniel helped Lana onto the blue dragon. It was large and scaly, its tail long and spiked. Lana sat on its back, her knees gripping hard as she leaned forward to whisper into its ear while she patted the long neck.He picked up May next and placed her on the red dragon. Like Lana, she stroked and caressed the stone scales and spikes. Danny wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered in her ear. She nodded several times.Elina frowned. Something about his posture, the way his dark jeans looked leaning against the crimson red of the dragon, moved through her mind slowly. Something was there just out of reach, something she needed to catch hold of, but her mind refused to cooperate. The more she tried to grasp the memory, the more it eluded her.The wind rushed through the compound, stirring the leaves on the ground so once again they rose, this time swirling around the dragons and children. Danny leapt on the back of the brown dragon and Amelia the orange one. They mounted them as if

The monster shrieked his fury as the spikes opened his flesh and droplets of acid blood leaked out. He lunged toward the child, as if the dragon hitting him was her fault. Darkness had told Elina he would kill all five children and his servants wouldn't stop until his order was carried out. Damonq reached the child just as the two monsters simultaneously attacked her, coming in from either side of the dragon. The big beast swung its neck around, the wedged head rushing straight at the monster he'd already hit with his tail, mouth open, fire pouring out. The flames engulfed the monster and the undead screamed and plummeted toward the ground below.The second monster reached for the child, fingernails long and curved like the huge talons on a harpy eagle. The little girl screamed and screamed, the sound grating on Damonq as she threw herself to the opposite side of the blue dragon, away from the monster. Her hand slipped, and she shrieked again as she dropped into space. Damonq caught

Liv and the injured dragons were swallowed and then Amelia and Danny with the girls and their dragons followed. The grate sprang back up, slamming the wall into place. The entire exchange had taken seconds. Damonq dispensed with both withered hearts, hurling them to the ground and incinerating them immediately. He turned his head to see Elina running for her house, with Darkness one step behind her.This had been her worst nightmare, the dream occurring over and over for the last month. Elina knew she shouldn't run to her house. If she did, the ancient known as Damonq would die. He always died saving her. She'd tried to avoid this destiny. She'd made certain not to meet him, never to speak to him, yet here she was, forced to make a split-second decision. If she didn't make it to her house, Darkness would have her again and there would be no stopping him."Don't follow," she pleaded, rushing up her steps. She knew Damonq would. He was one step behind Darkness. She knew coming after Da

One of the monsters waved his hand to remove the gun. She felt the pull, as if a great magnet had attached itself to the weapon and yanked, but in her mind, she countered the magnet with an opposite one, pushing the powerful compulsive drawing-away. The smile vanished from the monster’s face, and his two comrades looked at each other.She felt the one coming up behind her. His energy was evil, oily, a filth spreading across her porch and reaching her before he did. She turned and fired a missile right into his chest. Flames raced up his torso and he screamed, sprawling backward, rolling and then jumping off the porch to run. The wind fanned the flames as he raced away.She felt movement and tried to turn back around to face the double threat, but Damonq moved then, his arms going around her as he rolled, tucking her body under the weight of his, one hand smoothly removing the gun and firing at the monster closest to them. He staggered back into the rail and fell backward over it, clut