Page 53 of The Dragon With A Girl Tattoo
“He didn’t go into the Beyond,” I said, moving over to Yrian’s side.He was looking around for something, and I realized he wanted to bind Deus’s hands.
“Are you sure?”Baltic lifted his head from where he, too, was obviously focusing his energy on healing the burns.He was healing faster than the others, because most of the blisters were gone, and he looked sunburned rather than scorched.
“He ran to the field with the cars,” Yrian answered, whipping off his belt and using it to bind Deus’s hands behind his back.
Baltic looked astounded for a moment before his expression shifted to consideration.“Something has changed, then.Archer?Hunter?”
“No clue,” Hunter replied, moaning softly when he tried to sit up.“He definitely went into it the last time Archer and I saw him.”
“He should not have been able to go there,” Archer said with a shake of his head when Thaisa pulled out a bottle of water and offered it to him.“He has allied himself with dark power.”
“And in general, beings of dark power are forbidden entrance to the Beyond,” I said slowly, more to myself than anyone else.“Although the point is moot, I guess, if he’s not running there to hide from you guys.”
“The fact that he hasn’t makes it clear what happened,” Yrian said, now dragging other dragons over to plop them in a sitting position up against one of the trailers, while the vampires did the same for the dragons that had succumbed.“Becket was correct.Xavier is working for Kashi.”
Silence fell over the group, even the surviving dragons now silent, although their expressions showed a wariness that I felt needed watching.Aisling, with a finaltutat Drake’s missing teeth, moved over to cast what I assumed were binding wards on the prisoners.
“It may be that Xavier is working with him, rather than for him,” Drake said slowly, his gaze going around to the other wyverns, all of whom nodded.“It makes sense that he would wish to use Bael rather than vice versa.”
Yrian made a face.“It doesn’t matter what his wishes are.The minute he came into Kashi’s domain, he became a puppet, whether or not he realized it.”
“You think Bael gave Xavier his talisman?”Baltic asked Yrian.
“I think it is the only way to explain Xavier being able to use the Beyond,” Yrian answered.
“I should have realized that,” Baltic said, his lips twisting.“I assumed he hadn’t really gotten into it, since it would have been impossible any other way.I will not underestimate him again.”
“Who?”I asked, confused by the pronoun use.“Bael or Xavier?”
“Both,” Baltic said with a grimness that I felt in my gut.
“What’s a talisman?”I asked Yrian, then immediately modified the question.“That is, what does it mean in this instance?”
“All Firstborn receive a talisman from the First Dragon marking them as his children,” he said, walking over to where Hunter sat on the top of the picnic table, his face still covered in blisters and blackish-red skin.“It would be enough to allow Xavier to use the Beyond.Why are you not healing as fast as the others?”
“We weren’t born balanced,” Hunter said, flinching backward when Yrian reached for him.“Archer was all dragon, while I got the fun side of dark power, demonic traits, and a good three hundred years of self-loathing.I’m still getting used to having the full complement of dragon abilities.”
“Stop moving, or I won’t be able to help you,” Yrian said with a hint of steel in his voice.With his hands on Hunter’s shoulders, he leaned forward, his face filled with concentration.
Gabriel lurched to his feet and came over to stand next to us, obviously curious.“You are a healer, too?”
“No.But these wounds were caused by my fire, and I can ease their effect.”
Hunter took a deep breath, his eyes wide with surprise for a few seconds before he sat up straight, moving his shoulders when Yrian released him.The redness and blisters faded immediately, leaving him looking normal.“That is so much better.Not that I knew I could be burned by anyone’s dragon fire, but still, thank you for the healing boost.”
“Speaking of Yrian’s fire, why did it not affect clothing, but only the flesh beneath it?”Ysolde asked, nodding when her son murmured something about Pixie and him patrolling the area just in case any stray dragons remained.
“I’m willing to bet it’s something to do with his mom and the way furies work,” I said after giving Yrian a few moments to reply.He didn’t.Instead, he started searching the ground where the battle had taken place.“What are you looking for?”
“My phone device.It fell out of my pocket when those green dragons jumped me,” he answered.
“They weren’t members of my sept,” Drake said, acid all but dripping off the words.“They were ouroboros, members of the Chaos Tribe who left the green dragons centuries ago.”
“What on earth happened?”Allie appeared at a trot, stopping at the sight of the decimated area, the bodies of dead dragons, and the group of four who’d survived and were now stuck to the ground by Aisling’s wards.“We just disposed of the last demon when we saw what looked like a fireball explode.Oh no.Are they—”
“Do not look, Allegra,” Christian said, immediately moving to stand between her and the deceased dragons.“I take it the dragon we saw carjacking some mortals was the one you mentioned as causing problems?”
“Carjacking?”I asked at the same time Ysolde said, “Wow, Xavier must really be hurting if he had to steal a car to get away from you guys.”
