Destiny Kills

Needing to do something, I walked to the edge of the trees. This area near the cliff was higher than the house, so it provided a good vantage point from which to view the surrounds. There was no one moving down there. No dark shadow of a car. Nothing to indicate there was another soul breathing in the night besides me.

Yet that man hadn’t come from thin air. And he surely wouldn’t be alone. They never were. There was always one who hung back, armed and ready to take action if needed. . . .

Goose bumps ran across my skin and the hairs along the back of my neck stood on end. I swung around, saw a broad chest covered in a brown sweatshirt, then he was on me, grabbing me, his arm locking around my throat as he tried to raise a stinking white rag to my nose and mouth.

I twisted in his grip and bit his arm as hard as I could. The chloroform-soaked rag hit my neck and shoulder instead of my face, and instantly my skin began to burn. Pain surged, and a scream ripped up my throat. But I used the energy of that pain to bite harder, and my teeth drew blood, even through the material. My attacker hissed, but didn’t release me, so I stomped down on his toes.

He cursed and pushed me away. I staggered several steps before I caught my balance, then pivoted on one foot, my heel smashing him in the face as he lunged toward me. He went down hard and didn’t move.

I left him lying there and ran across to the trunk of the car, upending the plastic bags until I found the bottles of water. After untwisting the cap, I leaned forward and tipped the contents over my neck and shoulder, trying to stop the burning, trying to wash the foul stuff from my clothes. It took three bottles to ease the burning and a fourth before I felt totally safe.

“Jesus, Destiny, are you all right?”

The voice came out of the night, scaring the shit out of me. I jumped around, fist raised before I fully realized it was Trae, not another attacker.

He stopped abruptly and held up his hands. “Whoa. It’s me. You’re safe.”

“Sorry.” I lowered my hand with a grimace. “But those bastards have a habit of sneaking up on me.”

“Next time I’ll whistle ‘Dixie’ before I get within punching distance.” He glanced at the man on the ground, then back at me. “What happened to your neck?”

“They tried to chloroform me.” I grabbed another bottle but this time drank it. My mouth felt drier than the Sahara, and I very much suspected the cause was fear rather than a result of exertion.

But it wasn’t fear for myself. It was fear for my mom, fear for my dad. Fear that I wouldn’t be able to fulfill all the promises I’d made.

That in the end, I’d have to sacrifice one promise over another, one parent for the other. I needed to get the codes that would free my mom and the kids, but would the cost be not getting to Maine in time to see my dad and say good-bye? To tell him the love of his life was alive, and that she’d meet him on the forever plains? He had to know that before he died. Had to. Otherwise, when his soul answered the call of dawn’s rising, he’d be fated to haunt this reality, forever trying to ease the ache of his heart.

It was the way of his kind.

The way of my mother’s kind—even if the ceremonies prayed for the guidance of very different Gods.

I briefly closed my eyes against the sudden prickle of tears. I could do this. I just had to keep trying, keep believing.

“Chloroform?” Trae stepped closer and, with gentle fingers, brushed wet strands of hair away from my neck. “That looks more like an acid burn.”

“Chloroform does that to sea dragons. We’re hyper-sensitive to it.”

“But why would the scientists even use chloroform? There’s a lot of drugs on the market that are safer and work faster.”

“But they won’t work on us. Chloroform does. Something to do with our body makeup.” I offered him the water. “Were there any others?”

He nodded and took the drink. “Two of them. They split off, which is why I’m late getting back here. It was easier to take them out one by one but it took longer.”

“And what does ‘take out’ mean, exactly?”

“It means just that. Taking them out of the picture and making sure they can never hurt you—or anyone else—ever again.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was bad enough that I had blood on my hands, but now he did, too.

“But if the bodies are found here—”

“They won’t be,” he cut in. “I flew them out to sea. And I seriously doubt anyone is going to report them missing. Not if what you’re saying about Marsten is true. He wouldn’t want any investigation happening that could shed serious light on what he’s doing.”

That was true. I glanced back at the man I’d knocked out. “And what about him?”

He hesitated. “What do you want me to do about him?”

“Leave him.”

“That could be a decision that comes back and bites you in the ass. We don’t know how many more are out there, remember.”

“I know, but killing in cold blood is different than killing in a fight. I just can’t—”

“Then we won’t.”

Relief slithered through me. “What about their car?”

“I drove it off the property and abandoned it several miles up the road. It’s wiped clean of prints.”

“Good.” I bent to pick up the scattered groceries. “At least we should be safe from them for a while.”

“Unless they’ve got another way of tracking you.”

I glanced at him sharply. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “You said yourself that you underwent a lot of examinations and operations. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they’ve got another way of finding you.” He must have sensed the panic that was surging through me, because he smiled and added, “It’s unlikely, but we’ve still got to be aware of the possibility. We can’t afford to relax just yet, that’s all I’m saying.”

I blew out a breath, then nodded. He slammed the trunk back down, then walked around me and opened the passenger door. “Let’s get moving before that man awakens.”

“Good idea, Ninety-nine.”

He snorted. “Do I have breasts and dark hair?”

“No, but Ninety-nine was the smart one, remember? Although it probably wasn’t hard to be smarter than Maxwell Smart, if the show had been anything to go by.”

He laughed, slammed the door shut, then ran around to the driver’s side. The sudden brightness of the head- lights as the car started up had me blinking.

He drove cautiously through the trees, edged the car through a smashed section of fence, then we bumped our way along a barely-there track, moving through the dunes and grasses for what seemed like ages.

When we finally hit the road, Trae turned right and gunned the engine.

“Feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere,” I said.

“Basically, we are.” He didn’t offer up other information, though, asking instead, “How were you planning to get to Maine?”

“I haven’t even thought about it yet.”

“You haven’t got ID, so we won’t be able to take a flight.” He glanced at me. “I could fly you there. It would be quicker than driving.”

I shifted in the seat a little, my heart racing at the thought of being carried high and free. “Can an air dragon carry a full-grown human in flight?”

“Depends on the wingspan of the dragon, and the size of the human.” He glanced at me, devilment in his eyes. “You’re just lucky I happen to be one of the bigger ones.”

“So you keep boasting,” I said dryly. “But I’ve seen very little evidence of it so far.”

“Just waiting for the right time, sweetheart.”

I rolled my eyes at the endearment. “It’s a long flight from here to Maine. Even if you are one of the larger dragons, can you carry me for that long?”

“I honestly don’t know. If your weight does prove to be a problem, we’ll fly in short bursts.”

I wrinkled my nose. “It’s probably better if I swim. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about being dropped