Chapter Forty-Six. When Dealing with Monsters #2
“Touch her and you’ll have to kill me too,” James says, stepping in front of me.
Mrs. Murphy screams again in anguish. “Robert, he’s my son. My son. You promised me you’d protect him.”
“That’s when I thought the gold was yours.” Poachers hold her back as she cries out. “You lost your usefulness long ago.”
Mrs. Murphy struggles and a small needle gets jammed into her neck. The next moment she’s sagging against the very men she hired. James shakes as he roars beside me.
They’re monsters. We’re dealing with real monsters.
“You won’t get away with this,” I bellow.
False confidence, of course, but my parents will figure it out, I’m sure.
I think to the note I left on the kitchen table apologizing and explaining why I had to come here.
Plus, if they plan to stab me with the same volcanic glass I had impaled in my arm and my father in his stomach, it’s easy to make the connection.
Dr. Burke holds up a hand to stop his men. Everyone halts.
“You’re right, Farren. I have a better idea.” He turns to the men closest to the stalls. “Get the dragon we worked on last night.”
Metal screeches like it’s being twisted open. Then Bex strides out into the training yard with a head harness on. Her growl rumbles the ground under my feet. I gasp. She’s been descaled, almost completely.
“It will be less messy this way. Or well, less messy for us. You rushed here to steal her too. We couldn’t stop you from getting too close.
” He shrugs. “She’s hurt a lot of trainers lately.
This will be just another tragic accident.
A poor copper-crafter who didn’t understand her limitations.
” Dr. Burke smiles. “Bex is scheduled to be put down this morning so you’re welcome to do the work for us. ”
The poacher reaches for Bex’s head harness as others raise their glass blades.
Descaled like this, she’s vulnerable to any weapon, and I won’t be able to craft her in place.
He plans on unleashing her on me. He’s forcing me to decide: Let Bex kill me or kill this tormented dragon and then these poachers will finish me off.
“Farren,” Dr. Burke calls out, almost like he’s having fun. “I know you care for James. Prevent him from intervening, or he will die with you.” The morning air whips through the training ground. The lake nearby lays still. All is so quiet while I’m offered the most difficult decision of my life.
“It just has to be you, Farren. You’re the only one who has to disappear,” Dr. Burke yells again.
I let my eyes drift to James, and once they do, he’s all I see.
I could always tell when he was staring at me after his crash, and I finally understand why.
We were always connected once I gave him that gold.
I could sense him. It was an extension of my gold-crafting.
Then we collided this summer and I noticed him for an entirely different reason.
I fell in love with him. I’m desperately, unmistakably in love with him.
“James,” I say softly, an ache choking me. “Get Hort and go. Find the gold and save the hatchlings. Escape now and stop them later.”
He squeezes his eyes closed a moment before fixing me again with his dark brown eyes. I wish I could see his dimples one last time. “Don’t you dare, Walsh. Don’t you dare even think about sacrificing yourself for me.”
I’m crying now as the men with Bex step closer, as she roars again. I could kill Bex. I could. But then these men will come for me. I think of how easily Art defeated me. I’m not a fighter, not in the physical way. And I don’t have enough gold to shield myself. “James, please.”
“I love you. Do you understand that? I love you! If you die it will destroy me.”
“And I love you,” I shout. His face flashes with surprise. He really didn’t think I loved him. He never thought he deserved it when falling for him was the easiest thing in the world. “And this way one of us lives. I can save you.”
If he doesn’t want to run, I could force him to not fight. Gold condenses in my palm. James crafts against me with fear in his eyes. I can feel his struggle, another tug-of-war. It would be so easy, so easy to take over. I’m stronger than him. In this one way I’m stronger.
The gold meets his chest and begins to wrap. I could do it. I could shield and protect him.
James steps forward, ignoring the threatening metal, and grabs my hand. “Farren, please,” he begs. “You’re not alone. You don’t have to be my savior. We can do this together.”
I lower my arm an inch. The gold retracts. I choke on indecision. I don’t want to do this alone. I don’t want to pretend I can. Not anymore. Amidst all the commotion James whistles.
“Make your choice, Farren,” Dr. Burke bellows, and Bex is released of her harness.
The massive Sprinter comes for me, just like she did before, in this very spot.
I pull away from James fully and focus on Bex bearing down on me. I try crafting against her like before. But only her claws remain silver and it’s not enough to pull or control against her weight and rage. I’m going to have to kill her in order to survive.
Then somehow James and I are going to face these men. Together.
As I ready a spear, ready myself to do the unspeakable, a flash of silver comes into view. Hort skids across the dirt and roars in his mother’s face. The sound is devastating and loud and I know exactly what he’s saying. No! Don’t hurt them!
Bex rears back. But that rage she wore fades at the sight of her baby. She grunts, shakes her head. In pain, she’s in so much pain from her descaling.
“Get rid of that dragon,” Dr. Burke demands.
For a second I can’t believe the poacher’s ignorance, but a moment later I realize how this seems. Faced with a rogue Bex, they think James called in Hort to defend us.
They don’t understand. This isn’t a bigger male dragon roaring his disapproval at a smaller female because of bloodlust or a territorial dispute.
This is a son calming his mother, who’s in severe pain.
A son saying, I’m here. I’m right here. And you’re not alone.
Their first mistake is a tranquilizer. Hort shields his mother with a bow of his wing.
The silver-tipped sedative pings off the gold.
Enraged at the attack on her baby, Bex paws a poacher with her claws, still silver and sharp enough to tear through his copper armor.
Their second mistake is not fleeing right then and there.
They thrust out their obsidian. Hort moves to protect his mother again.
Bex makes short work of the other poachers, throwing some across the grounds with her tail. One flies all the way to the lake. It’s then some of the men catch on and start running.
“What is this?” Dr. Burke shouts.
“Maternal instinct,” I say before binding him in gold and forcing him to the ground.
I pat Hort as he comes to check on James and me. I’m not a fighter, and as it turns out, I don’t have to be.
Humans or dragons? Which would dominate over the other? It’s an age-old question our forefathers debated and why crafting began. But it’s never been one or the other. We were meant to work together.
“No. No,” Dr. Burke cries, buckled to the ground where I don’t let up my crafting. I’m stronger than him. As long as I focus, I can keep him there forever.
As I walk up to him, sirens ring through the air.
“Thousands will die because of you. Thousands could have been saved.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Burke, saving people and dragons is my specialty. Now all I want to hear from you is the location of the rest of the gold.”
Police cars surround us as he fumes. My mom tumbles out of the first one on the scene, and she runs for me. James was right. I’m not alone.
“You heard her,” James says from my side, his hand against my back in reassurance. “Start talking.”