4. Bree

4

Bree

As Riggs, myself, and the others followed Dani along the hall, one thought occupied my mind.

Victor might be here.

I wasn't quite as convinced as Dani that the Fire Drake was involved in this. Was it because I had enough issues believing my own visions, let alone anyone else's?

You just want Victor to be innocent, Caliel stated.

It was the truth, and I knew it. No ordinary fire could trap Dragons—their scales were impervious to most.

The Fire Drake's flames were the exception.

While we ran along, I glanced up at the walls—and ice traveled up my spine as my feet slowed down.

Riggs immediately slowed with me. "What is it?" he asked.

All the halls will be similar, Caliel stated. Look for the differences.

I concentrated as he helped me remember. "The hall I saw the boys in was wider than this one, and it had more art along it. And polished metal tiles."

Riley moved closer to me. "We aren't coming at this the right way. What would two young boys be up to at this time of the night? Everyone else is asleep."

"Good thinking," Marcus said. "Food, is my guess."

Riley snorted a half-laugh. "With you, it's always about food. But, according to Bree, this isn't the hall they were in. This leads to the kitchen, and therefore, not to the boys."

I looked around as we continued to follow Dani, who had pulled ahead. I was sure my memory was correct. Whatever they'd been up to, it hadn't been about eating.

Rafael ranged up beside me, and for a few strides, my body was not my own. Caliel seized control and moved us well away from the lean young man.

Will you quit? I protested. He's a member of the team. We have bigger concerns.

Caliel offered a mental sniff. I will quit once he has earned my trust, and not before.

We slowed down again as we approached the hall's last arched column, and hugged the wall to each side. Framing the arch on the courtyard side were two enormous, carefully pruned bushes that were dense all the way to the ground.

As I carefully spied past them, I saw the courtyard was intensively planted with mature shrubs and trees. But the center of it featured a perfectly circular pool with stepping stones to an intricate metal arbor.

I sucked in my breath. Standing on top of it was Victor.

Riggs exhaled so hard the air hissed through his teeth. "Is that him?" he whispered to me.

My throat was so choked up, all I could do was nod.

"Damn," Dani whispered. "I hate it when Ash is right."

Around the pool, seven others were all in the process of writhing their way to beasts. Three were Dragons. The other four took a little longer to change, but I already knew what they would become.

Wyverns.

My erstwhile friends finished their transformations and crouched around the pool, fastening murky-green eyes on Victor.

He was facing away from us, staring up at the landing ledges to the private quarters. From where we hid, I could see the privacy walls had only been partially activated. No doubt to let in the breeze from the courtyard.

Unfortunately, it would also let in something else.

"Are they up there?" I whispered to Dani.

She nodded. "The Matriarch is still awake, working on something with her eldest daughter in her private quarters." She paused. "The room is on the upper story, third door from the north end."

"And the other daughter?" Riley asked.

A pause as Dani consulted Ash. "She's asleep in her own quarters," she said. "Two down, the first one along, upper level."

Riley worked her way between the shrub and the wall, letting it shield her from view. She stared intensely at the third-story landing ledges, while we nervously watched Victor.

He wasn't fully human any longer. His frame was thickening, the muscles writhing as scales the color of flame erupted over his body.

I swallowed. For this to work, we needed to let Victor start the fire. But what if the Matriarch walked close to the opening at the wrong moment?

Riley returned to us. "I've got it," she whispered. "I can jump to either ledge."

"You sure you got a good enough visual?" Rafael asked.

"Yes."

Cara had told us Riley needed to see a place, in order to jump there.

This is the problematic part, Caliel stated.

It's all problematic, I corrected. What good would her being able to jump to the ledges do, if they were on fire? My eyes dropped to the pool. When I looked up, Riggs was watching me.

The only solution for fire, was water. My stomach twisted painfully into a knot. But the pool didn't contain nearly enough to douse what Victor would throw at us.

We all flinched when the Dragons took off, followed by the Wyverns. The Fire Drake was now fully transformed, its claws hooked over the edges of the arbor roof. Licks of flame appeared and disappeared.

Then Victor's entire body erupted in fire, so bright that I couldn't look directly at him. A column of pure flame shot from him to engulf the ledges above.

Everything it touched—melted. Trees, wood, metal, stone. The arbor went red-hot and collapsed beneath him. Steam came off the surface of the water.

He sent it across the building's entire western face, and the ledges disappeared in a wall of fire.

There was no way out of those rooms, except via the courtyard ledges. Unless Riley could get to them, everyone up there was condemned to die.

My heart was in my mouth as I watched the ledges to the private quarters vanish.

Everything now hinged on Victor's desire to escape detection. Including our own survival…

We backed rapidly up the hall as the Fire Drake spun, sending a wall of flames all around the courtyard.

"Here!" Dani called, and we gathered around where she stood at the base of a pillar. And then she pushed on the columns supporting the ceiling. They creaked, buckled, and brought a section of the ceiling down.

It descended with a tremendous crash of stone and mortar, but the sound was muted against the roar of the fire beyond. Flames burst through the small gaps in the stone, but we were protected on the other side.

When they subsided, Dani used her power to clear us a path through the jagged chunks of stone. Just like in my vision, the walls were on fire. We choked on smoke as we raced back to the courtyard…

Just in time to see Victor's Dragon take off. Most of his scales remained the orange of the Fire Drake, but he now had the slimmer body and the larger wings of the Dragon. We watched him disappear in the smoke, leaving nothing but flame behind him.

That's our cue, said Caliel.

"Okay, gang. Hang onto me." Riley extended her arms.

I cast a frantic glance to the ledge, which was fully aflame. "But—we'll burn up."

"Not with me here." Rafael reached up to his throat and pulled on a cord that was fastened around his neck. When he reached for Riley, my eyes fell to the hand clutching the glowing green crystals—it was covered in silvery, slightly ridged scars.

Those look like burns, Caliel assessed uneasily. Let's hope he's more successful at dealing with the fire this time.

Rafael interrupted our nervous perusal by telling Riley, "I'll only be able to hold it back for a short period."

Hold it back? Caliel sounded incredulous.

"Long enough to get us past it," Riley stated.

"Hopefully," added Marcus.

Not exactly reassuring, Caliel noted as I grabbed onto Riley's arm. But this time, when Rafael moved up beside us, the Gryphon didn't try to move away.

I contemplated that as the air dissolved into golden light, and with a snap, Riley took us to the ledge.

She'd chosen the one at the end. It was an inferno. I experienced the quickest kiss of burning pain before Rafael raised his hands. Somehow, he used the crystal energy to create a bubble around us.

Hellfire, Caliel cursed.

I sensed his amazement as Rafael walked forward, and we hugged as close to him as we could as the flames broke through in places, licking hungrily toward us. The partitioned door to the ledge was partway across the opening, and we hurried through.

Flames scorched the door, and the edges were melting, but the room beyond was still safe, for now.

Okay. He has his uses, my inner grumpy Gryphon admitted.

The suite was lush enough to befit a princess, with two rooms, and a bathing chamber running along one wall. Even as I looked at them, the heat's intensity caused the hangings and artwork to burst into flame.

The room appeared empty, but we spotted an open door along the other wall. The private quarters were not connected to the rest of the resort internally, but they were to each other. Awakened by the fire, Rigg's sister, Sirki, must have sought her family.

Rafael let the shield drop, and we dodged burning bits of falling ceiling as we ran through the door. Embers fell on my top, and I brushed them away before they could burn through to my skin.

The next room over was in darkness, but the heat was even worse. It also was empty. Across the room, yet another door stood open.

Coughing in the smoke, we hurried through. And found Lady Eriana and her two daughters in full Dragon form, raking at the external window with their talons.

It was an effort destined to fail, and they had to know it. But they'd barricaded the landing ledge doorway with every bit of furniture the room possessed. Some of it was already smoldering.

Two of the Dragons spun as we entered. One raked us with her eyes—they widened when they saw Riggs, and then landed on Dani.

"Dani!" the Matriarch cried.

"We're here to get you out," Dani said.

The Matriarch gestured to the entrance. "There's no ways out. That's no ordinary fire." She held up her forearm, showing a livid burn.

"This fire was deliberately set," Marcus stated. "They used the Fire Drake."

All three sets of eyes widened now as they absorbed what that meant.

"We've brought the Jumper," Riggs said.

"I need you in human form," Riley urged. "Hurry."

They immediately transformed, and Lady Eriana rushed to Riggs.

"The boys," she gasped to him. "Their caregivers are staying overnight at the palace party, but the boys are here. And they aren't in their rooms."

"I had a vision of them in a hallway," I said. "But they mentioned a passageway?"

My heart constricted, but Dani asked, "Do you know where they might be?"

She blinked at the mention of my vision, but then her eyes lit up. "They like to explore the old servant's underground passages that connect the kitchen to the receiving area."

"Do they have an external entrance?" Dani asked.

She shook her head. "No. It's why I don't worry about them. Everything is contained here. They merely link those two areas."

"Where are the doorways?" Riley asked.

The younger Dragon answered. She looked to be in her late teens. "One entrance is at the back of the kitchen, behind the ovens. The other is on the west wall of the receiving area."

"Is one of the halls wider, with lots of art on display?" I asked.

All three Dragonas nodded. "The kitchen hall doesn't have art," the Matriarch said.

"Then my vision was of the receiving hall," I said. "I think they were trying to get back to the passageway."

Dani turned to Riley. "We'll need to hop back to the kitchen. Then return to get the Matriarch and the princesses out. You'll have to make a third jump for Havoc, Nettie, and the bearing beast. With any luck, we'll have found the boys by then. Your guys can send you the location, and you can come get us."

Riley didn't argue. She met the Matriarch's eyes. "I'll be right back." To us, she said, "Grab on."

"I'm not leaving without the boys," Lady Eriana interrupted.

Dani responded as she took Riley's arm. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. But we must break this into pieces so Riley can Jump safely. And she needs to get you out as soon as she moves the others so they can find the boys."

The Matriarch drew herself up, but her older daughter moved close to her. "We must listen, mother. There is too much at stake here. We have to get you to safety."

Something within the older Dragona seemed to give, but she faced up to Riggs. "Promise me you'll get the boys out."

Riggs looked down at her. Did he remember her at all? It was impossible to tell.

He stared at her, though, with an odd expression. "Does the name Splinter mean anything to you?"

I shot him a look. But the Matriarch's eyes lit up. "It did to my son. And Michelangelo would save them."

He should have been as confused by this statement as I was, but, he said, "I can't remember if I've ever let you down before, but I don't intend to start now. I will find them."

He took my hand. I folded my free one into Riley's.

And with an audible snap, we vanished in a cloud of golden light.

The kitchen was so filled with smoke we could barely breathe.

We released Riley, but she hesitated, meeting Marcus's gaze.

"Go," he whispered. "We'll be fine. Get them out."

Riley reached up to slide her fingers along his jaw, and cast Rafael a look. "You guys be careful," she said, and then she pulled her hand away and vanished.

I blinked the bright light from my eyes and coughed on the choking smoke.

"This way," Rafael gestured to the large stone ovens running the length of one wall.

We followed him, and found a break in the counters behind them. A wooden door, standing ajar.

The stairs beyond it led to a much narrower passage, designed to facilitate the movement of supplies to the kitchen. It had been hacked out of solid rock. Pipes and wires ran overhead, serving both the kitchen and receiving areas.

The smoke and heat had been choking in the kitchen, but here, it was almost intolerable. Air currents pulled the smoke in, and it billowed around us.

The passage was only dimly lit to begin with. Add the smoke, and it was almost impossible to see. Rafael held up hands that glowed, showing us the way. Riggs was behind me, sword held high. Its light flared, highlighting swirling smoke and rough-cut stone walls.

We crept ahead, crouched over to find clearer air, but my vision swam. Behind me, Riggs coughed, a deep, racking sound.

When I hesitated, worried for him, his warm hand closed on my shoulder, guiding me onward.

Just keep moving, Bree, Caliel said. We cannot breathe in this smoke for long. We have to find those boys.

The Gryphon was right. I focused on putting one foot ahead of the other as we followed Dani and Marcus. Rafael's glowing hands adding spots of welcomed light at the front.

What we walked through wasn't just smoke. The walls seemed to be steaming—I put my hand to one, and yanked it back.

It was red-hot.

Then I saw flickering light beyond Rafael—the other door, also standing open. And beyond it, flames.

The storage area was already on fire.

If those boys are still in that hall, they are trapped, Caliel said.

So were we. Rafael stopped near the open door, and gestured us close.

"I'll have to take us through," he said.

"That's too hot, and you don't have enough left. It'll burn right through your shields," Marcus growled.

"Ash says he can now see them in the hall," Dani insisted. "We have to get through."

I glanced up at the pipes that ran overhead. "Is one of those water?"

Instantly, Riggs was with me. He crouched to give himself room and thrust the sword upward.

Welcomed water sprayed down on us. Warm, almost hot. Caliel was already busy inside me, and icy-blue scales popped up among the darker-blue velvet fur clothing my arms. Then I heard Riggs inhale, and the water slowed in its progress to the ground. Slowed, and then hung, suspended.

I exhaled an icy fog, and forks of frosty lightning extended from my fingers. In the heat, the frozen crystals melted almost as soon as they formed, but I kept it coming, refreezing them. The air immediately dropped in temperature.

"Can you keep it around us as we move?" Marcus asked.

I glanced to Riggs, who thrust again with his sword, freeing a deluge down upon us. Then he caught it, holding it up while I froze it.

Rafael held his makeshift shield aloft and took us out of the passageway and up the stairs.

The heat didn't just melt the ice—it evaporated the water as well. I kept refreezing what was left. It diminished with each step, but it kept us from burning up as Rafael led us into the fire.

Filled with crates and bagged goods, the entire storage area was aflame. We dodged falling bits of ceiling as we pushed for the exit and burst through into the hall. Cinders fell into the feathers clothing my shoulders, and vaporized in the cold radiating off me.

The flames climbed the walls, but had not yet ignited the floor and ceiling. I was running out of water, and the others were soaked in sweat. My exposed skin steamed, and my breath fogged cold into the burning heat.

We came to a section of wall that I recognized—the metal tiles were mostly melted now. "We're close," I said.

"There!" cried Dani, pointing.

At first, I didn't see them. But then, I did—two bodies, collapsed amid the falling debris.

We rushed to them. They were unconscious and covered in burns. One had a bleeding gash across his forehead.

But they were alive.

Riggs bent over the dark head so much like his own, and then slid arms beneath him. Marcus's eyes flashed as he picked up Tyrez's son and cradled him against his chest.

A large section of the ceiling came down not twenty feet from us.

Hurry, hurry, chanted Caliel.

"Tell Riley, ‘anytime now would be nice,'" Dani hissed.

And suddenly, in a pulse of gold, she was there. We grabbed hold, and the walls, floor, and flames swirled away.

Snap!