I was held there for long moments as I tried to get my wits about myself, and I knew instantly that something had happened to Brooklyn.
“Motherfucker,” I wheezed.
Keifer offered me a hand up, and I hastily stood while yanking up my pant leg.
There, at the base of my ankle, were two twin marks, where what looked like two sets of fangs pierced the bony part of my ankle.
Mother.
Fucker.
“We gotta go,” I said hurriedly, hobbling as I ran/limped out of the gym.
“What happened?” Keifer asked.
“I think Brooklyn was bitten by a snake,” I uttered hurriedly.
Keifer blanched.
That was one of the drawbacks of having land. With land came snakes. And with snakes came the potential of getting bitten.
I ran through the pain, making it down to the pond even as I listened to Keifer hanging back because he was trying to make Skylar understand what was happening over the phone.
I made it down to the pond in time to see Blythe running towards us.
She froze when she saw me, then turned around and started running back toward the pond where I could see Angus crouching down next to Brooklyn.
Brooklyn was crying, dark streaks ran down her cheeks from where her mascara was running with her tears.
“It hurts,” she said.
“What happened?” I asked as I made it to her side. “You’ll be okay. I know it hurts right now, but the healing will start to take place…”
A dragon’s magic will help heal the body, but it only repairs. If there’s something that destroys the body’s cells before the repairing can begin, then there’s more at work there than a dragon’s magic can handle, Angus said.
Keifer nodded.
“That’s what Skylar said, too. We’ll have to take her to the hospital,” Keifer agreed.
“Shit,” I said. “What could get worse?”
You know that saying that says ‘it can always get worse?’ It’s something that nobody should say aloud. Why? Because if you do, then there’s a possibility that it can, indeed, get worse.
“I think that the snake was being controlled…” Blythe said. “By something similar to a dragon rider.”
“Controlled by what?” Keifer asked.
Then realization dawned on me.
The Purists couldn’t find us…couldn’t pierce through the veil to get to us.
But animals could.
I’d made sure of that with my own two hands.
I felt sick to my stomach at having put my mate and family in jeopardy.
“They’re working with fucking dragon riders?” I asked in shock. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Keifer rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“How do you know it was a dragon rider?” Keifer asked Blythe.
“Well, it had to be something, because that was no ordinary snake,” Blythe said. “Slithered right past me from clear across the field. Angus clocked it before it even started moving, and stepped in the way. The snake moved fast around Angus before he could even react, heading straight toward Brooklyn like it was a homing missile angling for one person, and one person only. Brooklyn.”
“What happened to the snake?” Keifer asked as I slowly scooped Brooklyn up into my arms.
“Angus ate it,” Brooklyn smiled for the first time since I’d arrived two minutes ago.
I leaned down and kissed her head, turning around to see Perdita land not but five feet from us all.
Let’s go, she said, offering her tail to me.
I nodded and walked towards her, climbing up her tail like one would a hill.
She helped us up to her back and we rose at the same time Declan, Keifer’s dragon, landed beside him.
He and Blythe rose almost as fast as Perdita and I did.
“Wait!” I said, halting our forward movement. “If the Purists really had something to do with this, we can’t just go flying in there without a plan. They’re going to be ready for us the moment we cross over the border. We need to put up a veil,” I said to Perdita.
Perdita shook slightly, vibrating with pent up energy as what I said penetrated her rage fueled brain.
You’re right, she agreed.
I could no longer see Keifer anymore. He had the ability to cloak himself.
My power wasn’t such as his.
I could ‘cloak’ to an extent, yes, but it was nothing like Declan and Keifer could do.
Perdita, however, had learned to adapt, and she could make anyone see what she wanted them to see.
Which was why, in the next moment, she made it seem like we were nothing more than a bird flying through the air.
“Alright,” I said. “Let’s go.”
The ride to the hospital was quick and efficient.
At one point, we passed over the border where the land seemed to ‘disappear’ and I thought I saw movement below, but I couldn’t be quite sure.
We went to the furthest hospital in hopes that if the Purists did bring forces to the hospitals, then they’d check the closer ones first.
Perdita landed at the helipad, and I had to thank my lucky stars that we were able to land there since a helicopter followed right behind us.