Page 10 of Firedrake Betrayal
“He needs a hospital,” I say.
I need to stop looking at Brennan. My gaze keeps landing on his pulse and sticking. Each time it happens, my stomach cramps and my mouth waters.
“No. We need to find Jade.” Patten leans against the side of the car, scowling at the mountains. The guards who survived Brennan’s fire are probably busy sweeping the area.
“Going back there is dangerous,” Shep warns. He’s in a pair of black sweats he pulled from the trunk of my car. He knew he would need to shift when we went to rescue Dominik, so he brought a change of clothes.
As he peers into the distance, my gaze lands on his throat.
When I realize how long I’ve been staring at his pulse, I look away.
“And if Jade is there?” Patten asks. “What then?”
Shep turns from the mountain, raking a hand through his hair. “A dragon literally flew over the town, and I don’t see even one police siren flashing. Why is no one driving into the mountain to find out what is going on?”
None of us has a response.
Shep finally says, “We need info. It’s too risky to go back into town without it. And we can’t leave Wilkerson if Jade is there.”
“We get this info how, exactly?” Patten uncrosses his arms and moves to climb into the driver’s seat.
Shep nods to his left, to a dusty gas station farther down the road. “They must have a TV. Maybe someone saw what happened in Wilkerson and stopped in for gas. We might not learn much, but it’s better than standing around here.”
We climb back in the car.
Patten drives, Shep is in the passenger seat, and I’m beside Brennan, trying not to notice the dried blood on his chest and how slow his heart is beating.
As Patten pulls into the tiny gas station, we’re the only ones in the forecourt.
We leave Brennan in the back seat with a blanket thrown over him. He’s cool to the touch, and his skin is getting palerminute by minute. If we don’t get him medical attention, he won’t survive the night.
“Hey.” Shep grabs a bar of candy on the way to the counter where a man in a pair of navy mechanic overalls and a cap pulled down low is paging through a car magazine. “Just this.”
The gas station clerk turns another page as Shep places the bar on the counter. He’d worried entering the store with no T-shirt, bare feet, and just a pair of black sweats would cause a scene. He needn’t have worried. The guy never looks up as he speaks out of the side of his mouth. “Two dollars.”
“So, heard anything about any dragons?” Patten asks.
I raise my brow. He shrugs as if to say,what’s wrong with my question?
The man turns another page, disinterested.
Spotting a TV on the right side of the counter, I wander over to see if I can learn anything on the news. There’s no mention of a dragon spotted flying over a tiny Oklahoma town. A female reporter with a fixed smile runs through the day’s shocking city crimes, worries about the economy, and the result of a big football game. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“So, no dragons around these parts, then?” Patten tries again. “Or any strange old men wearing khaki who like to collect supernatural beings?”
I turn from the TV, shaking my head at Patten’s nerve.
The clerk looks at Patten. With a blank expression, he turns to Shep. “Two dollars for the candy. Was there anything else before you take your crazy friend out of my store?”
We get the message.
Shep pays for his candy with a crumpled bill he pulls from his pocket and we walk out, letting the door slam shut with a jingle as we return to the car.
“If Jade is there, we can’t leave,” Patten says, drumming his fingers on the wheel.
“Wilkerson is small,” I remind him. “It won’t take Atticus long to track us down if he wants to. He might not want us, but if he thinks Jade is with us…”
“We’re going to have to risk it. Taking Brennan to a hospital is going to be useless. No doctor is going to be able to fix what’s wrong with him, and if he dies, Jade will be devastated.” Shep reaches for his seatbelt, buckling it.
