Destruction's Ascent, page 25
part #3 of Dragon Ridden Chronicles Series
He turned thoughtful eyes back to the window. “You forgot hardheaded, obstinate, stubborn, and snippy.”
She rolled her eyes. Yes, yes, there were lots of negative words to describe her.
His face softened in the reflection off the window glass. “You also forgot loyal, passionate, and soft-hearted.”
She snorted. “I’m none of those things.”
“No?” he asked turning a wicked glance on her, one that was almost intimate in its intensity. “How else do you explain the lengths your friends will go to for you? Or the fact that you’re risking the displeasure of your commander, and by extension the emperor, by trying to save a boy that most would say is better off wherever he is.”
Tate’s chin lowered as she looked up at him.
“I think maybe you don’t see yourself quite clearly,” he said.
Tate bit her lip. She wanted to believe him. She did, but she had spoken true the night before. Trust takes time, and her trust had already been damaged. She was slow to give her loyalty, but once given, it was nearly impossible to take back. She didn’t know if she’d be able to bear learning that he had gotten close to her for reasons that were less than pure.
She stepped closer, seeing the way he stiffened, the way his eyes almost seared hers with heated desire. “Are you here because of someone’s orders?”
It was difficult getting the next question out, given the way his face darkened with hurt and anger, the desire of before being pushed aside. “Are you here because I’m the only female dragon-ridden in existence? Someone as long-lived and difficult to kill as you?”
Someone who might be able to bear dragon-ridden offspring? That question stayed behind her lips. It was a piece of poison planted by Christopher. Something that had been preying on her mind after he’d insinuated the Creators had a hand in her bonding with Ilith for the purpose of breeding other of her kind.
He spoke through clenched teeth. “You do yourself and me a disservice with those type of questions.”
She drew back, her eyes searching his. What she saw there made the tight ball in the pit of her stomach unclench—not all the way, just slightly. There was genuine affront there, and it made her think that perhaps he really hadn’t had any of those motivations.
A thunderous screech rent the air before Tate could say anything else. Her heart suddenly raced and she jerked back, looking around in confusion.
"What’s that?" she shouted over the dreadful noise.
"We have visitors," Ryu said with an unhappy look.
The screech sounded again.
Ryu turned and strode down the hallway, Tate following close at his heels. They reached the staircase and descended down it before heading to the library.
"We should really get that sound changed," Thora said as soon as they came into view. He stood next to a desk, looking irritated and out of sorts. "It is most appalling."
Tate agreed. The sound hurt her ears and made her want to punch something.
The sound abruptly stopped and Blaise appeared in the doorway moments later. He didn’t get the chance to speak before a yowl from behind cut him off. Willa, her fur matted and covered in sludge, darted into the room, mewls and pained growls falling from her.
Night roared and leapt across the room, pinning her to the ground and shoving his nose against her fur, growls and noises of distress escaping him.
Roslyn and a young girl appeared in the doorways, their faces anxious. They trembled with fear and desperation.
"They said they knew you," Blaise told Tate. "And given that one's resemblance to your friend, I let them in."
"I do know them," Tate vouched, her chest tightening with concern.
Tate left Night to deal with his offspring. To Roslyn, she asked, "What's going on?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to turn," Roslyn told her.
"It's fine, Roslyn. You did the right thing," Tate assured her.
"Aren't you the Duke of Spiritly’s daughter?" Thora asked, drifting closer.
Roslyn blinked and shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Once. Not anymore."
Thora made a sound like he was thinking as he stared hard at her.
"What happened for Willa to be in that state?" Tate interjected, impatient for answers.
"I'm not sure," Roslyn said. "I was at your apartment to talk about places I'd found for rent when Willa and this girl staggered in. They both seemed terrified out of their minds and convinced someone was after them. Since you weren't home, and no one knew where you’d gone, I suggested we come here." Her voice was uncertain at the end as if she wasn't sure she'd made the right decision.
"You did well," Thora assured her, his words smooth with no hint of the grumpy old man Tate normally associated him with.
"I know you," Tate said suddenly after a long moment spent staring at the other girl. "You're the Avertine girl I spoke with a few days ago." She thought about where she’d seen her. Ah, she had it. "The one the big guy told to get back, so he could deal with me."
Eva. Tate thought that was it.
"Yes, lady," the girl's voice was meek and watery, a complement to the red and puffy eyes. She looked and sounded like she'd been crying.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Tate kept her voice soft and kind, while inside she wanted to snap at the girl, tell her to hurry up, that they didn't have time for her to compose herself. She did none of that, knowing it would only make things take longer.
"You gave me your address the other day and told me if I wanted to see how Daniel was doing, I should stop by and see for myself."
Tate nodded. She had. She just hadn't expected Eva to be brave enough to do so.
"I went by this morning to see if he was there," Eva confessed. Her chest heaved as she fought against more tears, her voice thick and clogged. "Someone took him. Someone took Daniel."
A buzzing filled Tate's ears and the sinking sensation that had invaded the pit of her stomach since Willa’s first yowl of distress expanded, threatening to take up residence in her chest. Her chest hurt, and she realized she'd been holding her breath. She released it, inhaling deeply again and again.
Ilith roared inside her, going wild as the strong emotions threatened to destabilize Tate further. Ilith fought to get out, to protect them from this pain, to avenge those that were theirs.
Tate clamped down on her, not ceding any control to her other half. If they were to bring Dewdrop home, they had to stay rational, not go tearing around the city with no plan and no idea of who to kill.
"Explain," her voice snapped out. It contained a guttural growl that didn't sound like her at all. It was how Ilith would sound, if a dragon's vocal chords could be inserted into a human's body.
Eva blanched, her body rocking back as she went still and silent. As if she knew that by holding absolutely motionless, the dangerous being hunting her would pass her by in favor of less smart prey.
Tate couldn't bring herself to care, advancing on the girl, death in her eyes if Eva didn't spill everything she knew right this second.
Ryu's arms locked around her, hard bands of the strongest metal, holding firm, no matter how much she strained. "Easy, ahvena."
Tate's muscles were locked tight but gradually they loosened, lulled by Ryu's scent—a combination of a spring thunderstorm and the earth after a hard rain. It made her feel safe, imparting a measure of calm despite the anger simmering in her body.
"They wore masks and nasty-smelling, long shirts," a lilting voice said from Tate's right.
Tate twisted to see the owner of that voice, her eyes widening. A feral girl-child, no more than nine or ten, wobbled on two feet as she clutched her father's fur to keep upright.
"Willa," Tate whispered.
That was the only person this could be, and given the way Night stared at her like she hung the moon and stars, a combination of awe and wonder in his face, Tate knew she was right.
Willa's hair still contained the stripes of her animal form, and her eyes were the same vivid green. They held a bit of stubborn rebellion and anger that carefully concealed the fear hiding deep within.
She stood upright like a human with a human's form. The ears were too long and there was the slightest pelt covering her body, but otherwise she looked human.
The rest of the adults stared at her in stunned fascination and Willa's expression turned unsure.
Rushing to comfort her, Tate knelt before the child, picking up a lock of hair. "Hey, sweetie. Your new form is beautiful."
Willa ducked her chin, her fingers playing in her father's fur.
Tate turned her attention to him. "Did you know this was possible?"
Was he able to do this? Why hadn't he shared?
His expression was grave in his furry face. This is something they got from their mother. She's the only one of my kind who could change shapes, as far as I know. I wasn't sure if the ability would manifest in our young. I didn't want to put pressure on them and risk them feeling shame if it didn't.
Tate could understand that. She'd seen him with his cubs enough times to know he was a good father. He wouldn't want to make them feel bad about themselves if he could help it.
"Willa, can you tell me what happened?" Ryu asked, keeping his face and voice gentle as he came to kneel at Tate's side.
Willa reached out, running her hands over Ryu's jaw, her face wondering at the bristly feeling from his stubble. "The dragon man who gives good scratches," she said shyly.
Ryu smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling under Willa's touch. "Yes, that's me."
Tate turned her head to give him a questioning look. The familiarity Willa treated him to showed they'd encountered each other often, but Tate couldn't think when. Ryu rarely came to her home, and Night didn't let the children wander unsupervised.
"Men with funny faces and stinky long shirts came. Dewey was angry and Pax tried to protect him. They got really mad and hit Dewey and then stuffed Pax in a blanket." Willa's eyes welled with tears. "Pax told me to stay hidden. I should have helped him, but he told me to stay hidden."
Those tears stabbed at Tate's heart, and she enveloped the cub in her arms, stroking her hair much the same way she would have if she'd been in her animal form. "Oh no, sweetheart, you did the right thing. We wouldn't have known what happened if you hadn't done that."
Willa's head moved against Tate and gem-green eyes peered up at her. "You'll go save them now."
"Yes, I'll go save them now." Tate promised, not caring about peace or the precarious nature of things. If she had to rip this city apart to find Dewdrop and Pax, that's what she would do.
Night growled his approval next to her.
Tate stood and turned to Eva, advancing on her with a wintry expression. "You're not as innocent as you pretend to be."
"I don't—I'm not—" Eva backed away, her eyes flitting around the room as if she hoped for rescue from some other quarter.
"Tate," Ryu warned, shadowing her across the room.
Tate ignored him, focused on the girl. Ilith was a hot brand against her mind. The dragon wanted vengeance, to protect what was hers, and she didn't particularly care what she had to do to get it.
"Funny faces, long shirts," Tate said, her head tilting in an almost reptilian manner. "Sounds like Avertines to me."
Eva shook her head and started crying. Tate couldn't bring herself to care. The emotional side, the caring part of her that would normally feel empathy for another felt far away at the moment.
"What did your people do with my friends?" Tate's eyes had shifted to dragon, her hands curling as talons tipped them in a smooth transition.
"I don't know. I don't know." Eva gibbered in the face of the horror Tate had become.
Distantly, Tate noted Night stalking the woman from the other side, his eyes intent and alert. She saw the horror and fear on Roslyn's face, the caution on Blaise and Thora's as they watched her, their bodies poised to react.
"Tell me, or I'll find the rest of your people and make good on my promise." A sinful lust for blood and destruction echoed through her voice. "I'll destroy everything that you ever cared about, burn it down until there is nothing but ash. I think I'll leave you alive, so you can always remember as you wander cold and alone in this world."
"Tate, that's enough." Ryu's voice was a whip of sound as he grabbed her arm and tried to jerk her away from the girl.
Tate didn't budge, her head twisting as she hissed at him, the sound deepening until it rumbled through the room.
"Careful, dragon man. We like you," Tate/Ilith hissed, an odd sheen rolling over their eyes. "But no one touches what's ours. We’ll raze this city to the ground if our hoard has been harmed."
A growl rumbled back from him, his dragon pushing forward to challenge Tate/Ilith. It was a warning, meant to say he would only let her push so far. A fierce sound meant to shock her out of the current red haze her thoughts had descended to.
"Look at her.” Ryu shook her, his voice harsh when Tate/Ilith hesitated. “You'll get nothing useful out of her if she's too terrified to talk."
Tate/Ilith's head turned to watch the girl cowering before them. Ilith felt nothing at the sight, taking it as her due. She had no sympathy for an enemy.
Tate's feelings were a little more complex.
She couldn't help feeling a tug of remorse at the sheer terror on Eva's face, tears and snot making a mess of her. Eva trembled, her heart beat visible in her throat, racing faster than was probably safe.
It didn't make Tate feel good seeing that. It left her cold. For the first time, she saw what Ryu meant by dragon madness. It would be so easy to succumb to her baser instincts. Ilith didn't process things the way Tate did. Oh, Ilith had emotions, often complex and intricate, but she didn't have a human's empathy or moral compass.
To her, the girl had a connection with Dewdrop and Pax's disappearance. That was enough to attract Ilith's attention, and not in a good way. Ilith saw her as an object—one that could either help or hinder. She didn't much care how she got useful information out of that object or if it ended up broken in the end.
There was a hard piece of Tate, deep inside, that half-agreed with Ilith. Anyone involved in bringing harm to those she considered hers deserved what they got. She didn’t know when, but somehow Dewdrop, Night, Pax and Willa had become her family. It was more than friendship or companionship. Their bonds were deeper than blood. Even if she never recovered her memories, they were her link to this world. They were what stemmed the tide of loneliness that sometimes threatened to drag her into a deep abyss. She’d do anything to ensure their survival, no matter the cost. She would feel remorse for her actions later, but in the heat of the moment, it was hard to hold onto the person she had become—the one that cared, someone who tried to act with honor and understood there were shades of gray in everything.
She had to wonder if that hard part of her had its origins in a distant past, one where she walked with titans and made the difficult decisions that came from surviving in a world gone mad. War changed people and often in not very nice ways. For the first time, she thought maybe it was a good thing she’d forgotten her previous life.
She took a deep breath. She wasn’t alone anymore. Hadn’t been for a long time. All that effort chasing ghosts among her memories, trying to find the people she’d once known, and she’d somehow managed to put down roots here, develop precious connections she wasn’t willing to lose. That meant staying in control and fighting to preserve what was hers.
She straightened her shoulders, composing herself before giving Ryu a nod, letting him know she had herself under control again.
Ilith didn't want to recede, and Tate struggled to force her back. As tempting as it was to level the city looking for the culprits, they needed calm and finesse right now. Something Ilith simply didn’t possess. Tate had to promise Ilith her vengeance once they found the responsible parties before she would cede her hold.
Ryu’s grip was slow to leave her, his face not quite trusting as he considered her, weighing her control. He wasn't the only one, Thora and Blaise watched her with the same cautious intensity. She had no doubt if she hadn't gotten herself back under control they would have done it for her.
Her odd humor woke up at the image of her human self at the bottom of a pile of dragons. It would have probably ended with her crushed, but Dewdrop might have laughed himself into a gasping fit.
A pang hit her at the realization that he wasn't here and might never get to see such a sight. The resulting pain from that thought was sharp and stabbing.
"Enough crying." Ryu's voice whipped out, his eyes not leaving Tate's for a long moment. Approval gleamed there before he turned his attention to Eva.
"Perhaps we should all calm down," Roslyn ventured when the girl struggled to gain control of herself.
"I'm plenty calm. Don't I look calm?" Tate said with a dangerous twist to her lips. Seeing the expression, Eva flinched back.
"Tell us what happened, love," Blaise said in a soothing voice as he stepped closer, almost putting his body between Tate and the rest.
Ryu didn't move, and Tate took that as a sign that Blaise knew what he was doing.
"I didn't know they were going to take him," Eva wailed. "They said they wanted to make amends and bring him back into the fold."
It was all the confirmation she needed. She left the girl behind, striding for the front door.
"Tate, where are you going?" Thora shouted.
She glanced back, noting how Ryu shadowed her, his prowling gait that of a predator on the hunt.
"The girl was just the decoy to get under Dewdrop's guard," she said. "If we want answers, we need to ask the people who know them."
That meant finding the Avertines and doing some serious damage until they told her all that they knew.
"We need a plan. I know you're angry, but your friends aren't the only ones in danger," Thora said.
Tate's face turned speculative. He was right. She needed to be smart about this.
