Ambush

  Jude leaped over the boiler tank and crashed through the far wall. Malcolm and Paul followed after him. There was no way that Thomas and Millie hadn’t heard that. I figured we had a couple of minutes at the most before they would be coming up the stairs wondering what was happening.

  Jude stopped in the large fifth-floor foyer. He shook his head and then sat like an anxious lion in the middle of the space. Malcolm and Paul seated themselves on either side of him. Jude appeared agitated, like he was fighting to keep still.

  “You can’t do this,” I said, looking toward the stairs and listening for any sign of Thomas or Scott. “I know what you’re thinking, and you can’t.”

  Jude stared into my eyes and then, while keeping eye contact, lowered his head to the ground. I knew instantly that he wanted me to get on.

  “No,” I said sadly.

  “Yes,” he thought.

  Everything I had ever experienced and feared came rushing up to me. I knew that this was the point of no return. If I hopped on Jude’s back I would be fulfilling my destiny. If I refused, well . . .

  I could hear Thomas and Wane shouting from the floor below. I looked at Jude and wished there was someone here with a clear mind who could bring both of us to our senses.

  “Beck!” Thomas yelled. “Are you up there? Are you all right?”

  I looked at Jude, and the corners of his scaly mouth seemed to curl. I wasn’t all right, but I couldn’t let Jude leave on his own because I knew he would find Kate. I had to go with him to make sure she wouldn’t be harmed.

  Besides, I reasoned to myself—although Jude might have been giving me his point of view as well—who can pass up a chance to fly on a dragon?

  I ran toward Jude and jumped onto his neck. I twisted and wrapped my arms around his neck, while digging my feet into his sides behind his wings. Jude lifted his head up and screamed just as Thomas and Wane appeared on the stairs. The last time Thomas had seen me, he had just dropped me off to go to the prom. Now here I was back in the manor on the back of a big black creature. He and Wane looked more than mildly surprised.

  I’m not certain, but I think Wane swore.

  Jude was obviously not in the mood to be around that sort of language. With me on his back, he turned and ran full speed toward one of the large foyer windows. Thanks to our minds slowly becoming one, nothing he did surprised me. I just held on tight.

  Jude leaped through a window as I held tightly to his neck and kept my head down. I could feel pieces of glass flying over me. I could also hear Thomas yelling my name. Malcolm and Paul burst through two other windows so they could keep on our tail.

  Jude threw his wings open, and we all shot into the air and down into the Hagen Valley. I could see only one thought flashing through his head.

  Kate.

  I hoped my mind would stay clear long enough to stop what was about to happen.

  Chapter 28

  I Don’t Want to Spoil the Prom

  I exchanged thoughts with Jude as we sailed through the sky toward Kingsplot. I kept begging him to turn around and return to the forest. We could hide up in the mountains and possibly never be discovered or caught. Jude wanted none of that; he was on a mission.

  Kate.

  It was pitch black now, and the town didn’t look like much more than a few miles of flickering yellow lights. My dark brain was fighting with me to give in and just enjoy what was about to happen.

  “No!” I shouted.

  Yes.

  My brain kept trying to convince me to go along peacefully. I could hear my own mind whispering to me that I had not brought this upon myself. I had been given the gift, and I had been wrong to suppress any of it. My father and his ancestors had been cowards and fools, afraid to take this gift into modern times, afraid to pillage like we were born to do.

  “No!” I shouted.

  Yes.

  Jude flew swiftly as I held on to his neck, marveling at the ride and trying to think of what I could do to stop what appeared to be inevitable. I looked to my left and could faintly see the silhouette of Malcolm. I looked to my right and there was Paul. I felt connected and part of them. I knew that they had only one purpose, to protect the king. I also knew that as long as they lived, the king was safe. That was great and all, but Jude was on his way to hurt Kate. My own thoughts had betrayed her, and now the dragon was intent on finding her, despite my constant yelling and demanding that he turn around.

  We dropped lower, and I could see the spires of two churches and the top of the Wiggendale Museum. Jude slipped even lower and flew just feet above the ground over a field of clover. He knew where he was going because I knew where he should go. Directions didn’t matter when you shared so many thoughts.

  “You can’t do this!” I yelled. “Kate helped raise the others. She raised the queen.”

  I couldn’t stop my brain from remembering, however, that she had also helped kill the queen.

  Jude screeched and blew fire directly in front of him. The flame pushed back and wrapped over his head, down his neck, and past me. I was suddenly warm and then cold again.

  “Please stop!”

  I could feel Jude’s clear drive to finish what he had set out to do. He wouldn’t let me think him out of it.

  Jude twisted to the east and headed straight for Callowbrow. Prom would be in full force by now, and Jude was in the mood to cause some havoc. He flew over the assembly hall at Callowbrow and then lifted higher to circle the building. Malcolm and Paul drew in closer, flying mere feet behind us. I could see cars pulling up to the front of the hall, and people in beautiful dresses and normal-looking tuxes getting out and walking in.

  There was a red carpet and a huge banner in front of the door with the prom theme, “On the Wings of Love,” printed on it.

  I could hear music thumping in the hall. It was muffled, but the sound filled the air beneath us. I saw Wyatt pull up to the school and help Kate out of the car. They were far away, but even from this distance she was beautiful. She had on a pink dress with short sleeves, and her hair was arranged on top of her head with a few strands dangling down in front of her eyes.

  Kate.

  Jude turned his head to lock his gaze on her. We both watched Kate and Wyatt walk down the red carpet and into the assembly hall. Jude tilted and turned sharply to circle over once more. Malcolm and Paul mimicked his moves completely.

  There was no way that this could end well. I needed Jude to forget Kate and help me get him to safety before it was too late. I kept trying to distract his thoughts with other thoughts, but it wasn’t working

  Kate.

  Jude tucked his wings and dove straight for the roof.

  “Stop!” I ordered, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

  He reached his legs down and grabbed hold of the huge air-conditioning unit on top of the roof. Without a pause, he flapped his wings and yanked the unit off its footings and into the air. It was too heavy for him to carry much higher, so he let go, and the entire unit rolled along the roof and tumbled down into the grass on the side of the building. Jude flew back up into the sky.

  “What was that for?” I yelled, wondering if he was simply going after metal objects like his predecessors had.

  As Jude twisted and turned to circle back, I could see that the spot where the air-conditioning unit had been was now occupied by Malcolm and Paul, who were tearing at the roof with maniacal abandonment. It didn’t look like anyone below had realized what was happening yet.

  “Don’t do this, Jude,” I pleaded.

  Jude twisted again and tucked his wings. He shot toward the front doors of the assembly hall.

  “Nooooooo!”

  I held onto his neck as tightly as I could, knowing that I might not live much longer. Jude flew directly into the large glass front, smashing through the doors with his thick skull. I was hanging on for dear life as he righted himself and stomped into the lobby. Everyone began to scream and scatter. I used the fear of the moment to roll off Jude and onto the floor. I cou
ldn’t let him find Kate and hurt her.

  Jude crashed through the interior doors and into the large open hall. The music kept playing even though everyone was running for their lives. I could see bits of the ceiling falling from above as Malcolm and Paul broke through the roof and made their own grand entrance. I ran in behind Jude, quickly scanning the fleeing crowd for any sign of Kate and Wyatt.

  Jude bit one of the massive speakers and then picked it up with his mouth and flung it across the hall. The speaker shattered as it hit against the wall.

  Kate.

  My heart couldn’t take much more. I felt so helpless and more than just a little responsible for what was happening.

  I looked over at Jude and saw him spot what he was looking for. I traced his gaze and could see Kate at the edge of the room standing still as everyone else ran past her. She looked horrified, but not surprised by these events. Wyatt was begging her to run to safety, but she wouldn’t budge.

  Jude stomped closer toward her.

  I pushed through fleeing students, hollering Jude’s name and then Kate’s over and over. Malcolm and Paul were flying and jumping around the hall like madmen. They were biting at everything and swatting tables and chairs everywhere.

  Jude reached Kate and stopped ten feet in front of her. Kate just stood there, mesmerized by the beast. I wasn’t completely surprised by her reaction. Kate and I had been through a lot with dragons, and she had always been rather taken with the beasts. In fact she had enjoyed their company even more than I had. Sure, she had lost interest as soon as they had turned on us and tried to destroy us, but until that point she had been a team player.

  Jude faced Kate and opened his mouth.

  “Noooo!” I shouted as I jumped in front of Kate, acting as if I were a secret service man who was willing to take a bullet for her. There was no bullet, and no bite for that matter—I crashed to the ground, landing on my right shoulder. Both Kate and Jude stared down at me.

  It wasn’t my proudest moment.

  I scrambled back on my feet and stood in front of Kate and Wyatt while facing Jude. I held my arms straight out from my sides as if to protect them. Jude just shook his head and snorted over and over. We were encircled with scared and escaping students, but it kind of looked like Kate and Wyatt and I were all preparing to dance the spotlight dance with the dragon.

  “That’s him?” Kate asked in awe.

  “Yep,” I replied as students and faculty continued to dash from the room screaming.

  “There are two others,” Kate observed.

  “Yeah,” I replied while breathing heavily. “The one stone hatched three.”

  “I’m sorry I took Kate out,” Wyatt whimpered, thinking that I had brought the dragons to teach him a lesson. “I just came to meet girls.”

  “Thanks,” Kate said sarcastically.

  “What?” Wyatt replied defensively. “Everyone knows you love Beck.”

  I wanted to stick around and really discuss that, but I needed to get Kate to safety and get Jude away from all these students. My head was filling with Jude’s confused thoughts. I grabbed Kate’s hand and pulled her away from the center of the hall and toward the stage at the east end. Wyatt followed us with Jude right behind him. The crowd of students and faculty had cleared off the floor and there was nobody except a few people still hiding behind tipped-over tables and torn-up bits of ceiling.

  “Get to the stage!” I yelled.

  We hopped up on the stage as Malcolm and Paul swooped in screaming from behind Jude. Kate, Wyatt, and I crouched behind the stage curtains, pretending that we would be safe there. Through a crack in the curtains I could see two security guards rush up to Jude from behind. They both had Tasers and shot them toward Jude’s rear end.

  It was a really stupid idea.

  The Tasers didn’t even faze Jude, but they angered his guardians. Malcolm and Paul spun and blew fire toward the now-fleeing guards. The flames melted the bottom of one of the guard’s shoes as he ran. Fire slipped up over the floor of the gym and lit two tables on fire.

  “What are you doing here?” Kate said urgently.

  “I came to save you,” I yelled, watching Paul tear a wall apart. “It’s not going so well.”

  “We have to get them out of here!” Kate said, finally willing to help me.

  “I knew you’d come around,” I said back.

  “You ruined prom,” Kate snapped as we cowered behind the curtain.

  “It’ll still be a memory,” I pointed out. “Just a really terrifying one.”

  Jude reached out with his right arm and swiped at the curtain. It ripped and fell to the ground in one big heap of red velvet. Kate, Wyatt, and I were exposed like a bad magic trick.

  I stood up and put my palms out. Jude kept his gaze locked firmly on Kate. I could tell by his thoughts that he wasn’t clear about what he should do. All the anger I had felt toward Kate was getting mushed up with the feelings of concern I had for her.

  “What now?” Wyatt asked.

  “This is why I told you not to plant that stone,” Kate argued.

  “I was trying to help my father,” I argued back. “I couldn’t let him just suffer.”

  “Didn’t he try to kill you?” Wyatt asked.

  My thoughts raced toward my feelings of my father. He had tried to kill me once. He had tricked me into planting the last stone. He had used me before and tried to use me again in the hospital. I loved him, but he had never been well enough to care for me.

  Jude disengaged from the staring contest he was having with Kate and looked at me.

  He was pulling at my thoughts and thinking of my father.

  I watched the dragon’s mind switch gears. It was clear that I cared for Kate, but it was also obvious I had father issues. I didn’t necessarily want him going after my dad, but it seemed like the only way to get him and Paul and Malcolm away from the school.

  My father is the problem, I thought.

  Jude seemed almost happy with the new direction. Malcolm and Paul stopped tearing at the door the security guards had run through and flew over to stand on either side of Jude. Jude lowered his head, and I turned back and looked at Kate.

  “Do you want to stay here?” I asked. “Or come with?”

  “Hey,” Wyatt protested. “She’s on a date with me.”

  “Come on,” I waved.

  As I turned back to Jude, he read my mind perfectly and screeched. Malcolm and Paul lowered their heads. I hopped on Jude, while Kate got on Malcolm and Wyatt leaped on Paul. I wanted to give some sort of command to make it look like I was in charge, but before I could say a word, all three dragons shot off from the stage and up through the hole they had created in the roof.

  I breathed a small sigh of relief, knowing that for the moment Kate wasn’t the target, she was part of the team.

  Chapter 29

  I’ll Cry Instead

  Very stealthlike, we flew through the sky as if we were jets, just without all the noise and pollution. The only sound was that of flapping wings and Wyatt occasionally screaming like a little girl. The dragons swooped and rocked in smooth, easy motions as they piloted their way over Kingsplot and toward the hospital my father was locked in.

  I could see the large, lit, glass atrium that rose from the middle of the hospital like Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland. I had wanted to save Kate and get the dragons away from Callowbrow, but now I was afraid I was heading into something equally harmful. My dad was not well, and I wasn’t sure if him being attacked by dragons was the best thing for his condition. I tried to reason with Jude as we flew, but he had such a one-track mind. He had read the hurt and betrayal I felt, and I knew that until he finished this objective he wouldn’t easily move on to the next.

  “We could go through the front door!” I yelled to Jude. “If we ring the bell they might just bring him to us!”

  Jude wasn’t buying it. He wasn’t the kind of dragon that stopped to ring bells. He much preferred bringing down the roof. I squeezed his n
eck, tightly pushing the side of my face into his skin. Jude blew out fire, and the puff of warmth rippled over me.

  Malcolm and Kate flew up behind Jude, and Paul and Wyatt maneuvered to a position to their left. Then, like three darts on the same trajectory and traveling at the same speed, all three dragons with us onboard shot directly toward the glass mountain in the center of the hospital’s roof. I closed my eyes. It was the third glass structure I would be flying through tonight. And even though Jude’s head always seemed to absorb the blow well, it was still not an easy feeling flying directly into glass.