Fuse, page 8
Instead of going through the door, she went to the side of the shop and found a window she could crawl through. She pressed her palm to the window and gave it a gentle shove, hoping the owner was just as careless as the blacksmith next door.
And they were.
The window opened with a gentle squeak. Cora was having unnaturally good luck that evening, and that gave her an extra high. The sword was hooked to her belt, and her pack was over her shoulder as she climbed inside and landed with a hard thud on the floorboards.
It was dark inside just like the other shop, but there wasn’t a fire for light. Locating the right potion would be impossible without some visibility. She explored the desk at the front of the store and found a set of matches stored inside. After a quick swipe of the match against the hilt of her sword, she lit the lantern sitting in the corner. The smoke from the extinguished matchstick drifted to the ceiling, and she rubbed it against her tongue to extinguish it completely before she tossed it aside.
Flare’s deep voice came into her mind. Are you hidden?
It went against her nature to lie, but she didn’t see the harm this time. Yes.
Wait until I give you the signal.
Sure. She browsed the shelves and examined each potion. There were labels underneath, along with a few sentences for the description. She came across an assortment of things. One potion gave a person the ability to grow an extra arm for a full day. Apparently, it increased productivity. Another one allowed the recipient to grow eyes in the back of their head temporarily.
Cora didn’t know that kind of magic existed.
She finally came across what she needed. It was a healing potion specifically made for beasts such as dogs, horses, and other creatures. She wasn’t sure if that applied to dragons, but it was her best option.
She dug into her purse and collected enough coins for the payment. Then she exchanged the potion for the money. The liquid was inside an airtight glass tube with a cork stopper. She placed it in her bag because it would look too odd walking around with it in her hands. She was just about to head back to the window when something caught her attention.
Inside a black cage was a purple potion. Although there were no flames or applied heat, the liquid was bubbling, boiling of its own accord. It was thick, reminding her of molten lava endlessly flowing.
Her legs took her in front of the cage, and she stood there, just watching. There was something hypnotic about its contents. The way it constantly churned and boiled was creepy as well as mesmerizing.
She couldn’t look away.
Love of the Beast.
She read the description below. Dragon Tears—the ultimate power of healing. She read the sentence again, searing it permanently into her brain. Was she looking at the product of dark magic? Or was it something beyond that? Was the liquid literally composed of dragon tears? Or was that just the name?
The lights suddenly turned on, making the room glow like the sun was shining through the windows.
“What the hell are you doing?” A loud shriek came from the stairway in the corner. A woman covered in multicolored beads, wearing a pair of glasses with only one lens, stared her down. “A thief!”
Cora panicked and didn’t bother leaving through the window. She headed straight for the door. “I’m sorry. I didn’t steal. There’s money on the counter.”
The woman grabbed a rope dangling from the ceiling and gave it a hard tug. A loud bell rang and reverberated across the walls and outside the shop. It was loud enough to burn Cora’s ears.
It was an alarm.
Cora burst out of the door and ran as fast as she could.
The woman’s shrieks followed her. “Thief!”
Cora ran across the street and headed to the gate as quickly as possible. She had to get out of there before the guards homed in on her.
The dragon’s voice erupted loud in her ears, practically a scream. What happened?
I got caught.
How? By whom?
I’m running for my life right now. We’ll talk about it later.
He released a growl.
Cora remembered the way back to the gate, but she took every side street possible. The sound of bells erupted from every corner of the city. She knew they were all searching for her. Even if she made it to the gate, there was no guarantee she’d make it through.
She kept running, heading down the small alleyways and ignoring the looks from the bums who slept there. If she had to kill someone to make it out, she wouldn’t hesitate. If she were captured, they would hand her over to the Shamans.
And she’d rather die trying to escape than let that happen.
She broke from the buildings and headed straight to the gate. To her horror, it was closing. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Flare? I don’t know what to do. They’re closing the gate.
“There! In the brown cloak!” The leading guard pointed her out to his comrades. “Capture or kill.”
Flare?
Why wasn’t he responding?
Flare, do you know another way out of the city?
There still wasn’t a response.
He must have taken off and abandoned her to her fate. There wasn’t time to be hurt by the betrayal, but she couldn’t deny the pain in her heart. But what else did she expect him to do?
She had to get out of this on her own. She pulled the sword from her belt then held it at the ready. She didn’t have a clue how to wield it, but she would figure it out.
The guards stopped in their tracks the second they saw the sword.
“What is it?” one guard said.
“I don’t know,” the watchman said. “Dark magic, clearly.”
This was working out in her favor. She spun the blade in her wrist, trying to be more intimidating than she really was. Her hood covered her face, so they probably assumed she was a man.
Hopefully.
More guards charged from the left. While they stopped at the sight of the sword, they didn’t seem as scared now that she was completely surrounded.
“Surrender,” the watchmen demanded.
She gripped the hilt tighter. She had no intention of releasing the sword. She would take down as many of the guards as possible on her way to the grave.
The guard who had demanded her surrender silently communicated with his comrades, and they moved in.
Here goes nothing.
Cora swung the blade at the watchmen with a speed she hadn’t expected. The blade was lighter than she anticipated, and it sliced through the air, making a distinctive whistle.
She slashed the watchman across the chest, slicing through his uniform and his skin. He immediately fell back into the dirt, his open wounds bleeding out.
The rest of the guards hesitated at the sight of their fallen leader.
Cora didn’t have time to process what just happened. All she could think about was survival.
Their fear was quickly replaced by anger, and they rushed in from all sides. Cora ducked out of the way of a blade and avoided another ax. Her only advantage in that situation was her speed. She could dodge quicker than they could attack. But that wouldn’t last forever. With nowhere to hide and no plan of escape, she would tire out eventually and be captured.
She parried a blow coming her way then sliced a guard down the arm. He screamed and fell back, gripping his gaping wound. She quickly turned to stop the next blow when she felt the point of a blade pierce her side.
She didn’t scream or cry out.
She was in shock.
It didn’t hurt, surprisingly. Her body numbed all the pain, and the added adrenaline masked every sensation. Her heartbeat suddenly became loud in her ears, telling her it didn’t have enough blood to pump.
Instead of falling to her knees, she kept fighting. “Who was that?” She turned around and held up her blade. “Because they’re about to regret it.” She charged the first man she came across and stabbed him hard in the gut, returning the blow he’d given to her. Then she kicked him to the ground.
She turned on her heel and faced the rest of the guardsmen. Now there were twenty of them, moving in from all sides. Blood seeped into her shirt, and she was growing weaker by the second.
She gripped the hilt tighter and prepared for her inevitable fate.
The guard closest to her left moved in, aiming right for her neck.
She stiffened her body in preparation, knowing she probably wouldn’t be able to block it in her weakened state.
The man swung his sword with incredible speed, ready to put her down for good. But his sword never hit its mark. Knocked from his hands, it landed in the dirt at her feet.
A man dressed in all black decapitated the guard with a single clean swipe, severing his head from his body. It rolled to the ground and lay motionless, the same look of horror still on the guard’s face.
Cora immediately stepped back, feeling the bile rise in her throat.
Alone and outnumbered, the man moved through the sea of guards and took them out one by one. Blood spilled into the air like a geyser, and the cries of dying men echoed throughout the city. Some called out for mercy, while others simply screamed until their bodies gave out. Severed limbs littered the ground, and a pool of blood soaked into the dirt, turning it into red mud.
One guard remained, and he stood shaking on the spot. He held out his sword with no intention of using it. His face was pale as the moon, and his lips were bloodless. “I have a family…” He shrank under the gaze of the attacker.
The man stared him down before making his move. He slammed the hilt of his sword into the guard’s skull and sent him crashing to the ground. The guard lay motionless with his eyes closed, his chest still rising and falling with deep breaths.
The man in black wiped the blood off his sword with the guard’s uniform before he tucked it into his belt. He stared into the city and watched the torches grow one by one as they set the alarm. More troops were headed to the entrance.
He approached Cora, his face visible for the first time. He was over a foot taller than her, and his shoulders screamed with strength. His arms were the size of her head, and the deadly look in his crystal-blue eyes was more terrifying than the soldiers he’d just massacred. “Let’s go.” His voice was oddly familiar. It rang in her ears in a way she’d heard before.
“Who are you?” She wasn’t walking out with a stranger, even if he did just save her life.
“Shut up and let’s go.” He gripped her by the elbow and began to drag her.
Unable to walk, she collapsed on the ground. Her hand immediately went to the wound in her side, and her fingers felt the blood drip down her hands. “I can’t…” She’d never said those words in her life, but now they escaped her lips effortlessly. Her vision began to blur, and her heart thudded painfully. She’d never experienced death, but she suspected this was it.
He released a familiar growl then picked her up. “Don’t ever say that again.”
Her head bobbed as he carried her out of the gate. She looked up into the sky and saw the sunlight breach the horizon. Splashes of pink, purple, and gold began to permeate the land. Even though her body was failing and the darkness began to descend, tranquility washed over her, giving her a sweet and peaceful death.
Nine
He slapped her hard across the face, leaving a mark that would remain for several days. “Wake up.” He gripped her by the shoulders and shook her viciously. “If you keep those eyes shut, I’ll do something far worse than slap you.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and the leaves of the tree were directly in her line of sight. She saw them sway in the wind, rustling with the distant breeze. Judging by the light, it was late morning.
“There she is.” The man gripped her by the neck then forced her lips apart. He poured something directly into her throat and forced her to take it. “That’s the rest of it.”
She swallowed everything then coughed when it went down the wrong tube. Her chest burned with every movement she made, and her side would scream if it had lips. The sudden pain cleared her vision, and she focused on the man hovering above her.
She’d never seen him before in her life.
He had dark hair that was almost black, much darker than her brown strands. It was short and cleanly cut, like he visited the barber often, unlike most men in her village. His chin and cheeks were covered with a thin line of scruff that was the same color as the hair on his head.
His eyes were terrifying. They were unnaturally blue and beautiful, but their intensity was frightening. They possessed unbridled rage that could unleash at any given moment. His hard jaw was just as unforgiving. For a handsome man, he didn’t look very happy.
After gazing at his face, she noticed something about his eyes. The way they were shaped was familiar and reminded her of another pair of eyes she’d stared at for long periods of time. His voice was unmistakable. She’d heard it insult her time and time again. “Flare?” But it couldn’t be. It simply wasn’t possible.
Approval came into his eyes. “Perhaps you’re smarter than I give you credit for.” He patted her on the shoulder before he forced her to sit up. “How do you feel?”
She coughed again, feeling the burn in her throat. “Like shit. How do you think?”
He rested one arm on his knee as he crouched down beside her. “You’re alive, right?”
“What did you make me drink?”
“That health potion you stole—like a damn idiot.”
“It’s for animals.”
“And what do you think you are?” Somehow, he was harsher as a human than a dragon.
“But I got it for you.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have gotten yourself stabbed, then.”
“Look, I almost died, so can you stop being an ass for just a second?”
“Let me think about that.” He rubbed his chin and looked into the trees. “No. You lied to me and did something reckless. I’m going to be an ass to you for a very long time.”
She felt the wound in her side and noticed thick gauze had been wrapped around it. It was so tight she could hardly breathe. “I thought I was going to die.”
“You’d only die if I let you.” He rose to his feet, and that was when she noticed the blood soaked into his black shirt.
“Is that yours?”
“Yes.” He grabbed his canteen of water and returned to her, holding it out so she could take a drink. “It’s the area where you removed my scales.”
“What?” She was horrified at the meaning in his words.
“Human or dragon, the affliction is the same.” He shook the canteen in his hand, commanding her to take a drink.
“Are you okay?”
He gave her a smartass look, partially smiling while giving her an irritated glare. “I carried you ten miles. Yes, I’m fine.”
“You could bleed to death.”
“But I won’t.”
She rubbed her hairline and noticed the dried blood that crusted there. “Or we might both bleed to death…”
“That would be poetic, wouldn’t it?” He shoved the canteen into her chest. “Drink this. I’m tired of holding it.”
She snatched it from his hand and gave him a sour look. Then she took a drink and washed away the tart taste of the potion he just shoved down her throat. “There was a potion inside the shop called Love of the Beast. It said it was dragon tears or something like that. Apparently, it can heal almost any illness. I should have gotten that for you.”
“It was in the shop?” His eyebrow was raised like he was genuinely surprised.
“Yeah. It was inside a solid black cage, and I didn’t have time to open it.”
“I’m surprised anyone would sell it.”
“What is it?” She’d read the name and the description, but that didn’t give her enough information.
“As you said, dragon tears.”
“Yes—but what does that mean?”
He sighed in frustration. “Sometimes I forget how naïve you are.”
Instead of snapping, she remained quiet because she was eager for him to continue.
“Dragon tears are both magical and powerful. They can save a person from the brink of death, heal any injury, and can even bring someone back from the dead if they’re given at just the right time. As you can imagine, anyone would pay top dollar for them.”
“So…does it really come from a dragon? Or do they just call it that?”
“The name is literal. Only when a dragon cries can the tears be harvested, and since there are no more free dragons, the potion is extremely rare.”
Cora remembered when Flare cried earlier on their journey. He was so distraught over the annihilation of his species that he gave in to his grief. If she’d harvested them at the time, she could have used them to heal his scars. If only she’d known at the time.
“And even if dragons were still around, it would still be nearly impossible to gather dragon tears.”
“Why?”
“Dragons are emotionless. They understand anger, jealousy, and betrayal but not sadness like humans. You can torture a dragon endlessly, and no amount of pain will make them cry. You can strip their treasures away and enslave them for years, and they still won’t break down. They will only shed a tear for one reason.”
“What reason?”
“Love. When a dragon truly, deeply loves someone, they release dragon tears, either because they lost someone they loved or because their loved one is in pain. There is no other instance.”
She took this information quietly, understanding the significance of the potion. Now she understood why it was locked up, unlike the other potions in the store. “So, you have fused with a human?”
“Is that a question?” The same irritated look was on his face.
“You lied to me before.”
“I never lied. I just danced around the question.”
“So…what does that mean?”
“It means…we need to keep moving before those guards hunt us down. They’ll be crawling over these hills by nightfall. We need to get to Solstice before their messenger does.”
“Why?”
“I told you.” He rose to his feet then extended his hand to help her up. “I need to speak to someone there. It’s very important that I do.”
