Scorched

Trin frowned, unease itching at the corners of her mind. His words were exactly right and yet something still felt wrong—something hazy just around the edges. On impulse, she attempted to push into his brain, as Caleb had done to read her thoughts, but found herself blocked by a solid, black wall. And suddenly doubt seeded in her mind.

Maybe it was just desperation—of not wanting to believe a truth too horrible to swallow. Or maybe she was just going crazy—with all that had happened, it didn’t seem too farfetched. But what if there was something else going on here? What if he was lying? Doctored the paper to say what he wanted it to? What if her grandpa wasn’t dead after all? What if this was just another way of trying to keep her here?

“Look,” she tried. “I just want to—”

“I’m sorry, Trinity,” he interrupted, his tone final. “But it’s too dangerous. You will not be allowed to leave these walls.”

“For how long?” she demanded, the anger and frustration inside of her threatening to boil over. “How long are you going to keep me locked up in this damned place?”

The Dracken didn’t reply, simply bowed his head respectfully, then turned to walk away. Trinity watched him go, furious beyond belief, then found herself reaching out again, trying desperately to break through his wall.

And then, just before the Dracken leader slipped into the shadows, she heard it. Escaping his mind like a tendril of smoke, twining its way back to her and her dragon.

What do you care? it taunted. It’s not like you have anywhere left to go.

PART 4: SMOLDER

Chapter Thirty-One

“Have you seen this girl?”

Connor watched wearily as Trinity’s grandfather approached two teenage girls walking out of the convenience store, flashing the five-by-seven school photo in their faces. “Her name is Trinity. She might have been traveling with a brown-haired boy who looked something like him.” He pointed over at Connor. The girls studied him with interest, giggled, then shook their heads before walking away. Connor sighed. This was beyond useless.

Trinity’s grandfather dropped the photo to his side and rejoined Connor by the car. “I think we’ve hit a dead end,” he admitted mournfully. “I can feel traces of her spark, as if she were here at one point, but no one remembers seeing her.”

Connor clamped a comforting hand on the old man’s arm. He looked beyond exhausted and for good reason. Maybe it had been a mistake to teach him how to glean energy signals from the atmosphere. It was a useful Hunter trick when tracking down dragons and it could work on others with the gift as well. But while Connor had discovered Trinity’s grandpa to be a natural-born Hunter, he was also very old and very weak. Energy gleaning took a lot out of even the hardiest of Hunters and was a technique to be used sparingly. But once Grandpa had learned what he could do, he refused to stop doing it. Every second she was gone, she was in danger, he’d reminded Connor. They’d come this far; they couldn’t give up now.

“It’s as if she’s vanished off the face of the earth,” Grandpa muttered, raking a hand through his thinning gray hair. His whole body was trembling, Connor noticed, and he looked as if he could barely stand.

“Look, why don’t we find a hotel and get some rest,” he suggested kindly. “Once you’ve regained some spark we can try again.” He was pretty drained himself and could use a small break before pressing on.

“No.” Grandpa frowned. “There’s no time for rest.”

Connor gave him a stern look. He was beginning to realize where Trin had gotten her stubbornness from. “You’re dead on your feet. You’ll be no good to her if you collapse and I have to bring you to the hospital.”

Trinity’s grandfather groaned in response but thankfully didn’t try to argue. “Okay, fine,” he said. “But just for a short time. Then we’ll try again.”

“Right. Now wait here and I’ll grab us some supplies.” Connor gestured to the convenience store. “You want anything special?”

Trinity’s grandfather shook his head and Connor headed inside the store to make his purchases. In addition to water, he grabbed a few oranges and energy bars. It was important for a Hunter to properly fuel his body in order to achieve maximum spark. And at this point, they could both use as much spark as they could get.

Once he had paid for his purchases, he headed back outside. “Are you ready to…?” He started to say, but then realized Trin’s grandfather was no longer leaning against his car. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen at all. Connor’s gaze darted from one end of the street to the other, anxiety prickling at his skin. He tried to tell himself that the old man had probably gone to find a bathroom or something—his bladder was beyond useless at his age. But as the minutes ticked away, that idea started to seem more and more unlikely.

Charlie? He reached out, grimacing at the effort. His spark was so low at this point it wasn’t even funny. Where’d you go? Are you okay?

I’m fine! Grandpa’s excited voice shot through Connor’s head a moment later. I met some guys—they know where she is! They’re going to take me to her!

Connor tensed, warning bells clanging in his head. No! he cried. Wait for me. Don’t go anywhere until I get there.

It’s fine, Connor. They’re real nice fellas. They’re going to—

His send stopped abruptly, as if the connection were severed by a knife. Fear throttled Connor as he tried to find the old man with his mind. But it was as if a brick wall had slammed down between them.

Flecking hell. What had he been thinking—leaving him alone like that? Trinity had told him her grandpa was gullible, but he didn’t think even he would be so stupid as to go off with a bunch of strangers alone. Evidently he underestimated the man’s determination to find his granddaughter at any cost.

Suddenly Connor heard a cry—an old man’s cry of pain—echo through his head. He sprang into action, racing down the street in the direction of the sound. Stomach churning, he pushed past curious bystanders, not bothering to apologize, as his pulse drummed out his fear.

This couldn’t be happening. Not after he’d promised Trinity he’d keep her grandpa safe. If he couldn’t come through with that, how could he expect her to trust him with anything else? And it wasn’t just that, either, he admitted to himself. He’d grown fond of the crotchety old geezer in the last few days. He couldn’t let anything happen to him.

He swung into an alley and stopped short, dropping down behind a trash compactor at the sound of men’s voices. Peering around, he froze as he saw Trinity’s grandpa surrounded by a group of thugs who were glaring at him menacingly. The old man’s face was awash with confusion and fear as he looked back at the men.

“I don’t understand,” he babbled. “I thought you were going to take me to my granddaughter.”

“Oh, we’ll take you to Trinity all right,” one of the men said with a nasty sneer. A scar slashed across his cheek and, from the way the others looked to him, Connor figured him the leader. “You’ll make a good dinner for her dragon.”

Connor stifled a groan. He’d been praying this was just some kind of robbery—a group of street rats taking advantage of an old man. But no, these men knew about Trinity and they knew about her dragon. Which could mean only one thing.

They were sent by the Dracken.

Oh, Trinity, he thought. Be careful who you trust.

Grandpa’s face paled. He made a move to escape, but the men grabbed him, yanking him back. One