“Yeah, but then I’d not get the prick who did this to me in jail.” Walker growled at
him but said nothing more. “He hit his kid, Walker. That’s the carnal sin of fatherhood.”
“So stabbing you is okay?” Kenton said that it wasn’t, but it was better than him
stabbing someone else. “I know that. But you are still losing blood like it’s your
business. And I’m not tangling with your mom. She’s fucking scary.”
She was also the most loving person he knew. As he was told to breathe deeply,
Kenton thought of his poor mom. She really was going to be upset with him. He’d
broken his promise to be safe. His dragon was afraid of her too, Kenton thought when
his beast moved along his body.
As he faded out, whatever they were giving him kicking in, he wondered what was
going to happen now. The kid would be safe for a while; the grandmother too. He
looked at Jorden when he suddenly appeared in front of him.
“Hide them.” Jorden nodded. “Give them whatever it takes to get them both to
safety. We both know that he won’t be stopped this time.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Kenton closed his eyes and let the drugs kick his ass. He knew
that Jorden would do what he asked and that Jim and his grandma would be okay no
matter what.
~~~
Emma knew that if she didn’t get some rest soon, she’d be dead. The dragon in her
head told her again that she needed to break into the building she was standing in front
of. But for the life of her all she could think about was the last time she’d eaten more
than a few bites and when she hadn’t hurt like she’d been run over. It had been over
two weeks since she’d been tossed around in her father’s building, and she knew she
wasn’t getting any better. The wound in her leg was giving her the worst kind of pain,
and she was sure that it was infected.
There are things in this building that can help you. I know that you told me not to help you
this way, but you are losing ground daily and they’ll catch you soon.
She wanted to tell him to
shut up, that she knew that, but it took too much effort to argue with him again
. Emma,
you need to do as I have said. If you die, all will be lost.
“Why don’t you do it? I mean, you’re a dragon and all, or so you tell me. I’m sure
that you’re considerably bigger than me. You break in, get what I need, and come back
here and fix me.” He told her that he didn’t work that way. “Of course not. You’re this
all-powerful being and until you get to your owner, you’re just a ring. While I, on the
other hand, am sick, hungry, and in pain.”
I’m only partly here in the ring. I am not the ring. You will understand when you return me
to my owner. My owner will know what I’m about. There are more of us too, as I have said. Once
we are all together again, we will be powerful.
Emma had heard that before too. How there
wasn’t just the ring but an entire set of shit that this dragon was stuck in. At this point,
she just didn’t care anymore.
She moved to the door again, the one at the back of the building, and shoved her
weak body against it. She was surprised when it gave, like she’d really done some
damage to it. Then Emma saw that it wasn’t locked. The turnkey that held it locked at
been left undone. Moving into the building, she was surprised to find it was some sort
of office, a series of offices.
A doctor works here and an artist, I think. I can smell paints and canvas. Also clay. A
beautiful medium, clay.
She asked the dragon if he was going to help her.
No. I know not
where he is now, but this is his office. Here is where you can get what you need to repair
yourself.
“How do you know this crap?” He, of course, didn’t answer her. Whenever she
asked him something that he didn’t want her to know, he’d just not answer. Of course it
would be hard for him to know most of the things she didn’t since she didn’t know the
answers either. The thing was a figment of her fevered mind.
Emma moved to where she thought that some drugs might be. She didn’t want to
steal them, or even sell them, though the money would be good right now. She just
wanted something to take the pain away. And maybe fix up her ribs. Then when that
didn’t hurt as much, she’d try to stitch up her leg, maybe clean it up again.
The dragon—or whatever he was—had told her that she had several broken ribs,
her arm was badly sprained, and she had several lacerations on her body that would
need stitches. But he, too, was worried about the long gash in her leg. It was puffy and
red. She couldn’t go to a hospital, she knew that now, nor could she see any kind of
doctor that might turn her into the police. Or whoever was out for her. She’d been shot
at twice since she’d crawled out of the building. She was sure that the next time she’d
be dead.
The offices were clean and smelled fresh, something that she’d missed since she’d
started this haphazard trip. Most of the time she slept in alleys, with nothing more than
a pile of smelly clothing as her blanket. And food was as hard to come by as places to
rest. Twice she’d been able to go into a building, and both times she’d been caught
there. Had the “dragon” not helped her out, she was sure that whoever was chasing her
would have cornered her and killed her.
“How do they find me? You never said.” He asked her who. “The bastards that
keep shooting at me. And don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t answer me about
why I can’t take this ring off and leave it someplace.”
They find you because they know you.
That made even less sense than when he’d told
her that if she died, he would too. Well, duh, she wanted to tell him. They were the
same person.
They have people everywhere looking for you. They know who you are and your
face. But they know not that you have me. Not as yet.
That was another thing. He never told her who was looking for her. Not that she
knew either, but it would help to know what sort of enemy she’d made that would hunt
her down as this person was. And for what reason? A ring? Not likely. It was more than
likely some enemy of her brother or her dad.
She found a room that was filled with all kinds of medical supplies. She pulled
gauze and tape off the shelves, and she found a few dozen bottles of pills still on the
shelf. But she left them alone. She wasn’t a doctor so had no idea what they were used
for. But the rest she could use.
Sitting on the floor, she pulled the dirty rag that she’d found a few days ago off her
leg. Dark pus was seeping from the wound now, and it smelled badly. It would be her
luck that she’d die from an infection rather than being shot, which she was sure would
be much quicker.
Pouring an entire bottle of peroxide over the wound, she watched it bubble up and
drain off her leg. It burned, but it also felt cool against her skin. Then when she took a
small piece of gauze and rubbed over it, she could see that it was much worse than
she’d first thought. The wound was seeping green goo now, and no longer bleeding.
Getting up, dizzy again, she held onto the table until she thought she could move
without falling. When she was ready, she moved back to the shelves and found several
more bottles of peroxide, as well as something to clean up with when she was done.
Emma thought if she could clean this up, she might just make it to the owner of the
ring. Sitting down, Emma had to close her eyes just for a moment before beginning
again.
You are unwell.
Emma didn’t bother answering.
You will need help if you are to return
me to my owner. You must not get sicker, Emma. You will need someone to help you if you are
to survive this.
“Yeah, well, you said that if I went to the hospital, they’d find me and kill everyone
that helped me. You told me if I went to my doctor, should I have been able to afford it,
they’d find me. And kill him too.” She laughed a little, not really finding any humor in
this all. “It’s not really a win-win situation for me, do you think? I mean, death by
gunshot or death by infection.”
“Do you always talk to yourself when you break and enter?” It took her several
seconds to realize it wasn’t the dragon speaking, and opened her eyes to stare at the
man standing in the doorway. “I can smell the infection from here. Are you planning to
die here or did you come here for help?”
“Both?” The man nodded and moved into the room with her. “I can’t let you help
me. He said it would get you killed. I don’t know why I believe him, but it could be
because I’ve been shot at twice in the last few weeks. But if you could just tell me which
one of those drugs will take the pain away, I’d be really appreciative of it. I hurt like
hell.”
“I bet you do. But I’m not going to call for help, if that’s what you’re saying. I don’t
know why, but I have a feeling you will never make it to the hospital. How long have
you been like this?” She told him that she had no idea really any more. Then she heard
him hiss when he pulled the gauze away that she’d just put over the cut in her leg.
“You’re going to need some serious help. Are you sure you don’t know how long have
you been running?”
“I really don’t know. Forever, I think. I hurt too.” He lifted her up in his arms and
put her on the table she’d been leaning against earlier. “I have to find this person to give
them this ring. Do you think you can fix me up so I can do that?”
“I’m not a doctor. My brother is.” Well, that really sucked. “Yeah, you have no idea.
He’s coming in now. You don’t have to worry about him either. He’s one of the good
guys. But be gentle with him, he’s been hurt recently too.”
She must have spoken out loud and realized that she was hurting more now that
someone was willing to help her. When she looked at him again, his face had changed a
little and she asked him about it.
“I’m the doctor. That was my brother Jorden before. I’m Kenton.” Nodding made
her ill, so she stopped doing that. “I’m going to give you something for pain. Are you
allergic to anything?”
“Bullets.” He didn’t laugh, and she was pretty sure that it had been a joke on her
part. “Just fix me enough that I can get rid of this voice in my head. He’s making me
crazy.”
“Yeah, voices in your head will do that.” He was humoring her. She had no idea
why she though that, but found that she didn’t care for it. Slapping out at his hands
when he tried to pull her shirt up, he told her to behave.
“I need to get out of here.” She didn’t have any idea how that was going to happen,
but she really did need out. “Just cut my finger off, take the ring, and I’ll die a happy
person.”
“There will be no finger cutting off. Just lay still and let me give you this.” He was
too bossy for her, and she tried to slap him away again, but felt the soft glow of drugs as
they entered her system. “Just relax and let it work.”
“They’ll find me.” He asked her who. “I don’t know. But this dragon told me that
when they found me, they’d kill us both and anyone that…what is that you gave me? I
feel fantastic.”
“What dragon? Who told you about the dragons?” Emma wanted to tell him about
the man in her head, but she was feeling too good to let go of her buzz. It was the first
time in weeks that she didn’t hurt. Letting the drug take her under, she saw the dragon
for the first time.
There you are.
He only nodded at her.
Where have you been? Do you know what sort of
trouble I’ve been in?
I do. But it is not over as yet.
She asked him why.
I will not be able to explain it to you as
well as I can show you. There are things put in motion now that neither of us can control, not
now at any rate.
The woman came into her view, older but still beautiful. She was standing in front
of the doorway of a house talking to someone…two men. Emma couldn’t see who they
were, but she knew that they were vampires. Why she knew that when there was no
such thing as vampires she had no idea; she only knew that was what they were. Then
the woman fell back. The hole in her chest was bleeding badly, and Emma knew that
she was dead. When she turned, Emma looking in the direction of the man’s voice, she
wasn’t really surprised to see her brother Bart. But there was something wrong with his
face. He was…burnt.
“You did this to me, Emma. It’s all your fault that I look like this. Come to the
hospital and let me kill you.” She knew that it wasn’t him, on some level, and that it
was her mind. But the woman; Emma knew that she could help her. “Did you hear me,
Emma? I said to come to the hospital and let me kill you. Then all will be right in my
world. You know as well as I do that my way is the only way. It’s the way that Daddy
would have wanted it. Now, come see me.”