Mercy Burns (Myth and Magic 2)

“Given the time, perhaps it would be better to start tomorrow.”

He nodded. “You got a truck or a car?”

“Car. Why?”

“Because as I said, the track was in pretty bad shape last year, and it has probably degenerated since. You’ll need a four-wheel drive.”

“Then I’ll meet you at the beginning of the road into Whale Point, and you can drive from there.”

There was no way I was getting caught out in the middle of nowhere without transport, either. Not when I couldn’t fly. He wasn’t to know that, of course, and that’s just the way I intended to keep it. The more he thought I was one of those draman who’d inherited full skills, the less chance there’d be of him pulling something funny when we were out there alone.

Or was that just my suspicious nature rearing its ugly head again?

“It’d be easier if I simply drove all the way there, but we’ll play it your way. You’re the gal with the money, after all.”

It was pointedly said, so I pushed the money across the table. He scooped it up quickly, then reached into his coat pocket and drew out a pen and a business card. He scrawled several lines on the back, then slid it across the table. “Driving directions.”

I picked up the card and had a look. As directions went, they were pretty detailed, but I guess if this place had been easy to find, more people would have known about it. I flicked the card over. The Captain’s Bay Cruises, it said, in big bold letters. I’ll be damned. He was a sea captain.

I shoved it in my pocket and took another drink. The ice was melting fast—an indication of just how hot this bar was becoming. I blew out a breath, lifting the damp hair from my forehead, then said, “How did you manage to survive the destruction when no else did?”

“Blind luck.” Once again, the memory of the past seemed to crowd close. “I’d been out of the water too long and my skin was itchy, so I headed down to the beach.”

I nodded. According to Leith, sea dragons needed water as much as air dragons needed the sun to fuel their flames. Only for the sea-born, it was a daily necessity, whereas air dragons could survive days on end without being out in the sun.

“And that’s where you were attacked?”

He nodded. “I heard screaming and had started to run back, but was confronted by several men with long blades.”

“Blades?”

“Blades,” he confirmed grimly. “Big brave men that they were, they felt the need to attack a lone teenager in a pack.” He shook his head. “It was lucky that I was still close to the water. I went under and stayed there.”

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; “So you didn’t actually see the destruction?”

He hesitated. “Some. I poked my head up occasionally, but it was all flame and death. There was nothing I could have done to stop it. There were just too many of them.”

“But the town was right next to the sea—you could have flooded the place and washed them away.”

“The sea rarely answers the call of one so young.” He grimaced. “Which didn’t stop me from trying, believe me.”

“So why didn’t your parents—”

“My parents,” he interrupted, voice terse, “must have been among the first to die. Otherwise, they would have.”

And he felt guilty about their deaths. Or rather, he felt guilty about surviving when everyone else had not. It was all there to be seen in the shadowed depths of his eyes.

“Did you see any of them at all?”

“Not really.” He drained his glass. “They wore masks, all of them. Ski masks.”

“Why would they hide their faces if they intended to destroy the whole town? That makes no sense at all.”

He shrugged. “Maybe they simply wanted to ensure that if someone did escape, they wouldn’t be able to identify them.”

Who in the hell would they identify them to? As Angus had already pointed out, neither the human cops nor the dragon council were likely prospects, no matter how many people had died. And the cliques weren’t any different. The ones who had died were the unwanted.