Skylar Ryan_Betrayal Read online

  He rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment. Zeek broke the silence with a sob. “You dusted him? How could you do that to Malcolm? He’s your friend.”

  “I didn’t mean to. He attacked me. What was I supposed to do? Let him leave with a dragon and just say goodbye?”

  “No, Zechariah. She did the right thing. He’s not dead anyway. Our gifts wouldn’t allow it.” Warren turned on his heel and retreated into his office. When the door slammed shut, Skylar took it as a sign he didn’t want to be disturbed.

  “Zeek, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Nothing. There is nothing you can say. Warren is right. You did what you had to. I just can’t believe him of all people turned. This sucks.” He kicked the air with his foot and stomped off.

  The Republic stretched for miles. Nothing but white buildings and glass windows to look at. Green lawns looked like plastic as did the trees. There wasn’t much by the way of flowers, nor were there any birds, insects, or animals to speak of. Those things all became extinct with the dragons.

  The war decimated everything. The dragons lost all hope and their mother, the earth goddess, Gaia lost her strength and faded into the void. Keeping the earth healthy was the only job of the dragons. The health of their mother depended on it. In her desperation, Gaia gave birth to a daughter. One who should have been able to restore the dragons hope in humanity, so that they would restore the earth. However, she was only able to keep them from fading away completely before she also drifted away, and the dragons became demons of mist. Able to inhabit humans to do their bidding.

  Dragon mist was put into levels by one of the original Company members. Used as a way to keep track of the ones that stuck around the cities to cause trouble. Though all mists cause trouble, some stay to themselves, trying to fade completely, but unsuccessful. Others like to mess with the weaker minds of the city. The Company liked to study them. To see if any level could change to a lesser or even a higher level, though none of them had in over four-hundred years.

  A level one mist couldn’t get into a host. The only time anyone heard of a level one is when someone started screaming about ghosts in their house. They could move stuff, and knock things over, but not infect. Nobody knew why there are some who are stronger than others. There was an ongoing debate as to whether it has something to do with the Fae that fathered them.

  Level two could occupy a host for twenty to thirty minutes at a time. Then they’d lose hold and were expelled. They end up being the all-around thieves. They steal from unsuspecting people on the street or break into homes. A level two is easy to expel, taking very little energy and always leaves the host lucid. In some cases, they stumble during the process and hit their heads, knocking themselves unconscious.

  A level three mist can keep hold of their host for few hours. They usually have more on their minds than theft. Most are found in nightclubs and bars or hooking up with women on the street looking for a good time. They tend to be less rambunctious, but some cause trouble. There are those that enjoy hunting. Only they use a human as their skin and take lives at the expense of someone else. Leaving all the blame on a human who has no memory of the act. Those are the ones that most concern the Company.

  A level four mist is difficult to best. Not as difficult as a five, but just the same, Skylar doesn’t care for them. The Company seems to think a level four can hold a host for a month or more. Whereas a level five can hold residence in a host indefinitely. Again, the stronger the dragon, the longer they can keep a hold on the conscious mind of the human. Skylar supposed the mind of the host might have something to do with it too. A level two might be able to hold onto a simpleton for a few hours.

  Level four mists are usually more careful. They tend to be elusive, but again, not as elusive as a five. It’s easy for them to blend in. However, level fives were said to hold their hosts and assume their lives. When the bodies burned out, they simply moved on to the next.

  In 2320, what was known as the United States, sent missiles into the middle east.Nobody understood the why, anymore. Since they don’t have texts to tell them what happened, it seems to have been lost in translation along the way. The war was a big mystery. All that’s known, is that when the US bombed the middle east, it started a war that lasted for three years. Apparently, the Chinese stepped in and offered the middle east some assistance, or it could have been the US, but they developed a bomb that wiped out the entire planet with a chemical reagent. It didn’t destroy everything. It just destroyed the world's ecosystem. All plant life died off. Most of the animals had as well. There isn’t an amphibian anywhere to be found and forget aquatic animals. The streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans were contaminated. So, anything that needed water to survive, except for humans, all gone.

  The Company, as they are called, found a way to get clean water. They became the only corporation in the Republic to offer clean water and fresh produce to the people. They hold the power and the government in their grasp. Skylar has only worked for them for a short while, but she was starting to see that maybe there were somethings they weren’t totally honest about. Just like with Malcolm. He never seemed to tell her the whole truth, and now she didn’t know if she wanted it.

  Skylar decided on the ferry system for a ride back to her building. The Republic, though well populated was not the only place to hold a dwelling to live. Some of the buildings outside of the protected zone was still in use by families who were lesser, then the rest. If they could buy their way into a nicer home, Skylar doubted they would.

  She boarded the bus and sat during the transit to the city. The driver had come to know her and made an unscheduled stop next to the edge of the city. She gave him a wink of an eye and adjusted her jacket to prepare for the onslaught of rain. Landing in a puddle soaked her boots and sock, but she didn’t mind. She’d end up plenty wet by the time she arrived home.

  Flying lost its wonder while she was in the city limits. Once she was done with nightly reports she’d simply fly back home and slip in her window. Whenever she had to pay a visit to the Company, she found the white-washed scenery made her sleepy.

  The sun started to raise overhead when Skylar made it home. The climb down the hill covered her in a thick coating of mud. She stripped her jacket and shirt first as she made her way to the bathroom. Kicking her boots off she heard the buckles on the sides, clank, as they hit the wall across her small bedroom. The apartment was only that, a small bedroom and kitchen with a moderately sized bathroom. Water ran in the pipes, but only for a limited amount of time each day, and only in the morning.

  Skylar removed her pants and undergarments and turned the knobs of the shower to the on position. She drew in a breath and allowed the flame of her dragon form to heat the exposed pipes, allowing the water to warm as it flowed into the tub through the shower head. The water was refreshingly hot when she let it run over her body. She closed her eyes and moved, so the spray hit her head. She stood there for a few minutes, knowing soon it would be cold and she wouldn’t be able to bathe. She finished washing and turned off the water just as the steam ceased in the small room.

  Once dry and dressed she moved to the bed outside of the bathroom. A couple of mattresses laid on the floor, new bedding draped over it. A luxury she could afford thanks to the income provided by the Company. She could have had a nicer apartment within the city, but she knew she could never truly feel comfortable within the white walls and grey upholstery.

  The bed was inviting after the night she endured. She felt betrayed and utterly lost. Only letting two people into her heart still left her with only fragments left of it. Opal had been killed, and now Malcolm had betrayed her. She knew she could never let another person through her rough exterior. She laid down on her soft grey comforter and vowed to never let another person affect her. She wanted so badly to put the walls, and kick the bed. She wanted to scream to the heavens and curse the world. Instead, she lay there and stared at the ceiling. The exposed beams overhead, and the electrical wi
res that had long stopped working. She felt the heat of her tears as they rolled down to her temples, and then aggressively wiped them away. She wouldn’t throw a fit, she wouldn’t shed another tear, and she wouldn’t lay there and think of how much it hurt.

  Skylar closed her eyes and thought of nothing but the dragons. They had taken her life from her. They had been the reason for the despair of the world. They would be the reason she carried on. To live a life making them pay for all the wrong they have chosen to do. That’s what she vowed to accomplish in this life she had. Even though she felt there was more. Always felt there was still so many unanswered questions.

  Still, she closed her eyes and dreamt of a life in which animals roamed and grass grew. A swimming hole in the middle of the country. She didn’t understand the dream because those things were foreign to her, but it made her feel again. When she woke the room was dark, the rain had stopped and another night of hunting would need to take place. She would always have the hunt.

  A cool breeze coming in through the window made her jump up. Habit made her close it every morning when she returned. A lone figure stood outside her window.

  “What do you want?”

  “I’m here on behalf of the Company. Your presence has been requested.”

  “For what?”

  “I’m not sure. Warren wishes to speak with you.” The man didn’t wait. He jumped off the side of the building, letting the wind catch him as he shifted to black mist.

  Skylar pondered the reasons for Warren wanting to see her. The only time he had wanted to speak with anyone was when they weren’t performing to their abilities and were about to be reprimanded.

  It wasn’t the first time she had been summoned. In the beginning, she was headstrong and very difficult to train. Malcolm had been given the task of overseeing her abilities, which he had to report back to Warren. Each morning after their hunt, he would drag her into the offices and sit her in Warren’s office for a progress report. Malcolm told him how difficult she’d been right from the beginning. Though eventually stopped. Only telling Warren how well she was progressing, and eventually that she should be allowed solo flight. Skylar looked back on that and figured it was so he could move forward with whatever plans he had for himself. He wasn’t doing her any favors.

  She stood in front of the desk in the middle of the large room that had only one solid wall. The other two walls were glass; windows to the outside and one in. The one that led to the interior of the building was covered with blinds, keeping the eyes of others from seeing in the office. The other two were bare, revealing all of the Republic. From the level of his office, Skylar could see out beyond the Republic to the wastes. She’d never traveled farther than that, didn’t know how far the wastes went, but from her vantage point in the sky, she could tell the world was much bigger in retrospect to what she’d been taught.

  Warren stood at the window behind his desk. His back to her, his hands joined behind his back. When she started to speak he held up a hand and lowered it, as if he were waiting for something. A group of new recruits took to the sky and he nodded his approval and turned to face her.

  “I am assigning you a partner. I need to determine your level of training. It’s obvious my…that Malcolm was not forthcoming about anything.” He looked over at her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes at all. “I’d hate to think your training was sacrificed for his personal agenda.”

  “Sir, with all due respect, I have been going solo for over six months. I hate to see how his training or lack of has affected my abilities.”

  “You were attacked, thrown off guard, and consumed by a level four mist. I think this is the best course of action. You will have a rotation of partners for the next year to ascertain your abilities.”

  “A year, for one misstep? That’s utter bullshit.”

  Warren slapped his palm flat against his desk, his steely eyes glared at her. “You will watch your tone, and your language in my presence.”

  She stiffened at the level of his voice. It reminded her too much of Edith, the mistress of the orphanage. Skylar took a measured step backward and lowered her eyes to the floor.

  “I’m sorry. You must understand, we can leave nothing to chance with you. If he were to come back here and seek you out.” He stopped short and pivoted towards the window. “He cared an incredible amount for you. He could be planning to return with the sole purpose to make you leave with him.”

  “Never.”

  “Then you’ll agree to be shadowed. They won’t get in the way. Just assist when necessary.”

  Her hands were tied. She knew there was nothing she could do. Skylar felt his betrayal more and more with each passing moment. The cold look in his eyes made her flinch as she laid in bed that morning. Trying to drift to sleep with the prospects of being shadowed for however long it took them to realize Malcolm would not be coming back for her. Why did Warren believe Malcolm cared for her so much that he would try to get her to join him? She could never turn her back of the Company. They had given her a place where she belonged. Warren had given her purpose again when she had none, and a family when she didn’t want one. Although, if she thought about it too much, she’d have realized Malcolm was the only one there that felt like family.

  She’d fallen hard for him. His honey blonde hair, the James Dean look, those striking blue eyes. Sure, she’d resisted. Having been hurt by so many others before. She was afraid to love again. The only thing that kept her from drowning in her stupidity was the fact he never knew. He had no idea the way he’d affected her. So, of course, she never for one moment thought he would come back for her.

  Sleep was unrelenting. It came without warning and without kindness. She saw him. Could smell him. Felt him. He laid by her side, and stroked her hair, humming a familiar tune only she knew. A song she’d taught him from her childhood.

  His breath was hot as he spoke close to her ear. “Wake up my iníon na talún. I need to speak with you.”

  “What? Malcolm?” His eyes bore into her. The sun subdued by drapes hanging over the windows. A large tray of fruit sat on her small round table behind him.

  “Yes, Sky. Are you hungry? I’ve brought you something sweet.”

  “How? Only the Company can…” She looked around the room. “How are you here?”

  His hand lifted to the side of her face. The pad of his thumb gently rested against her jaw. “I needed to see you.”

  “Warren thinks you care enough for me to take me away from here. Is that what this is?”

  “Do you want me to take you from here? To whisk you away?”

  “No,” she felt herself juggle with the answer, but was glad when she uttered the word. “I couldn’t leave here. This is where I belong.”

  “You need to belong. I know that more than anyone. I couldn’t take you from where you want to be, but could you ever want to be with me again?” His eyes softened, and she could see the tears before they formed, though they never fell.

  “You hurt me. My heart is broken. You should know that, but you don’t. I trusted you and you left me.” She wanted to cry, to kick her feet, and pound her fists in his chest, but she couldn’t move. All she could do was lay there in the middle of her bed and stare at the wall behind him. She couldn’t bear to look into his eyes.

  He moved closer to her. His body pressed against hers. She fought it as long as possible. His breath moved to her ear once again and he whispered. “This is just a dream. I had to come to you. To tell you the truth.”

  “What truth?” She jerked her head up to look at him and immediately regretted it. His lips touched hers. They were warm and soft. Neither of which she ever could have imagined. He tasted sweet, like strawberries. When he pulled away from her she gasped. “Truth?”

  “I’m crazy about you. When that mist showed up I panicked. I’d never intentionally hurt you. I need you to know that, Sky. I’m in love you.”

  Skylar jumped up from the mattress. She moved over to the table with the fruit and
started throwing it at him. “What are you here to mock me?” The room started to shimmer. The fruit became less corporeal and her hand went through it. “What is this?”

  “This is a manifestation of your power. Yours, not the Company. I know you’re not ready to be broken by another system that promised to protect you and give you answers. I didn’t mean for you to get so involved with all of this. Not when I found out who you are.”

  “Who? Who am I?”

  The room started to fade from her. She felt the hard surface underneath her prone body, telling her she was still lying in bed, though she was standing in the middle of the room.

  “What is this?”

  “I told you. When you’re ready to join me, I’ll send for you. Skylar, we can be together. I want us to be together. When all of this makes more sense to you, you’ll see I only want to help you.” He moved to her in the middle of the room.

  His hands moved to her face, his lips moved against hers again, and she found herself digging her nails into his back. She wanted him. She’d wanted him since the day he showed up on her roof with greasy food and a way out of being all alone in the world she fought so hard to be alone in.

  “Malcolm.” She hissed when his lips left hers. “I can’t-”

  Skylar opened her eyes and found herself lying in her bed alone. The fruit and Malcolm were both gone. She still tasted the strawberries from his lips and sighed into her pillow. She could still smell the musk where he laid in her bed. Reaching out she felt the empty space next to her. It felt warm, almost like he was really there.

  “A manifestation of my power? How?”

  It had to have been a dream. She couldn’t think of him that way. Skylar needed to hate him. She needs to be disgusted by the thought of him. She wouldn’t let him in. “I won’t let him hurt me. Not ever again.”

  Want more of Skylar’s story? Keep an eye out for the series premiere coming June 2019 from Burning Willow Press, LLC. Keep up to date with all of S.L.’s releases by signing up for her newsletter on her website @ www.slperrine.com