Lapidary

We took a different route from the one we used on our way to Lakelyn. Devton was quiet, and I was certain he was thinking about everything Lakelyn had said. I tried to make a list of the people Ryker could have spoken to about the White Crystal. He didn’t speak to me. Then there was Bellevue – but they weren’t close, and Devton’s men had searched through everything she had inherited.

“I think someone must have stolen the crystal on the night Ryker died,” I said. “They broke into our apartment and took all the gems, jewels, and rocks.”

“Do you have any idea who that could have been?” Devton asked.

“No. And there was no sign of forced entry.”

We reached the courtyard in the center of the prison – where the veil between worlds was thin. Devton opened his mouth to speak but suddenly light cracked in front of us. It split the air, the very fabric of our world apart. The ground shook, as if we were experiencing an earthquake. A full rift had formed, one that led from our world to another.

For a moment, we just gawked at it as if it wasn’t real. But then a talon stepped through the portal and a red dragon appeared. He had a smooth yellow belly and spikes traveling from his long, brown horns, down his scaled back. His eyes were two black slits, and he had two mighty wings. His tail had a strong metal spiked ball at its tip, and I instantly took several steps away from him. Devton stood in front of me, and the rift closed.

This dragon had come from the Netherworld, and it was pure evil. It inhaled.

“Move!” Devton cried.

I jumped to the left while he went right, just in time to miss the flames that spouted from the dragon’s mouth. I hit the stones, rolled, then used the momentum to get back onto my feet. The dragon lunged for Devton, who leapt out of the way again and ripped off his shirt. I was close to the dragon’s hind legs now, and he swung his tail toward me. The ball was so big it would be able to squash me like a bug. I ducked, and his tail collided with the wall, shattering stones and causing several prisoners to scream. The dragon spun around, toward me, mouth agape. I ran forward – between the dragon’s legs, to avoid his teeth. Devton took to the air as the dragon did. The beast then turned around, and somehow, I avoided his talons. The dragon then sprang after Devton, who suddenly looked incredibly small compared to the reptile. The dragon missed and landed on the ground again, cracking the floor and making the prison shake.

By now, even more prisoners were screaming, and the angels had realized something was wrong. They swooped in, and the dragon noticed them. The dragon sent a river of flames in their direction, and two angels were too slow to swerve out of the way. They caught fire, wings and all, before falling to the ground by the dragon’s feet. I wanted to help them, but they were dying so quickly amid hysterical screaming. The dragon stepped onto one of these angels, and he met his end with a sickening crunch.

Adrenalin coursed through my veins. I had to get out of there.

The dragon swung its spiked tail and broke another wall. Several angels shot their white light magic toward the dragon, but its scales offered protection. When they realized this tactic didn’t not work, they used their guns. All this did was anger the dragon. He roared before taking flight.

Several angels scattered, and black wings were among them – Devton. He hadn’t left because I was here. He hasn’t abandoned me. The dragon swallowed an angel whole and then rained fire down on the prison. Several prisoners were incinerated in their cells, and the walls turned black from soot. The dragon flew through several buildings – crushing some prisoners and setting others free.

Devton flew toward me, but the dragon saw him and chased him, which caused Devton to change his course to lead the dragon away from me. The dragon swatted an angel out of the skies, and he fell close to me – dead before he even struck the ground. I rushed toward him and took his sniper rifle, which had landed close to his body.

Once I had the rifle, I searched his body for ammunition that I stuffed into my pockets. As fast as I could, I pelted toward the wall, passing several hysterical prisoners. Some were screaming, others had taken cover, while others were wielding rocks as weapons. I didn’t have time to tell them that the rocks wouldn’t do them any good against a fully grown dragon.

I cursed myself for being so unfit, and by the time I reached the stairs, I was panting. I took the steps two at a time and came to a halt on the wall. Here, several angels were in the air, shooting at the dragon, but their bullets bounced of his armored body. Why didn’t they try something else? The dragon was still chasing Devton, who was slower, but more agile. He turned a sharp left, and the dragon did the same, but clumsily. The dragon reached out with his claws, but Devton dodged and dived down. The dragon roared before following. Bullets rained down on them.

Devton tucked in his wings and plunged into the water. I thought the dragon would follow, but he turned away at the last moment. He soared above the water, but his spiked tail slammed down, creating a wave that broke against the wall and splashed me. I didn’t move.

Devton soared up from the water, and the dragon spotted him. The dragon gave chase, and the angels opened fire. I cried out for them to stop, as they might hit Devton, but they didn’t listen.

A bullet tore through Devton’s wing.

I cried out as he lost control, flapping his wings desperately to stay in the air. But he was losing altitude and didn’t have much control over which direction he fell – toward the wall. The dragon was gaining, so I took aim. Through the scope I could see the fire burning at the back of the dragon’s throat as his mouth opened wide to swallow Devton whole. My finger was on the trigger, and I inhaled deeply. As I exhaled, I squeezed the trigger and the bullet shot into the dragon’s mouth. A choking sound escaped him before he fell into the ocean. He sank. Dead. I had killed him.

The wave his body created collided with the wall as Devton did. The half-daimon cracked his head against the stone, and his body fell, before the waves swallowed him. I ran closer and stopped on the wall just above the place where he had collided.

I looked down, but he didn’t appear.

“Fuck,” I said. He must have struck his head so hard that he had passed out. If someone didn’t get him, he’d drown. I looked toward the angels, who were trying to regain control of the prison by rounding up the prisoners, and realized they were not going to help.

An estimate put the wall at eight meters high, and I was terrified. Ryker had jumped and died, but he had fallen onto concrete. I would fall into water, and I’d be fine. I’d be fine. There was nothing to fear.

I glimpsed Devton between the waves, drew a deep breath, and leapt. My body fell, but my soul seemed to stay behind. I couldn’t scream. I fell fast, and when I hit the water, I didn’t feel any pain, but maybe that was because of the adrenalin. I kicked for the surface as hard as I could then took a deep breath. Devton was floating in the water, and I swam toward him. I turned him onto his back and wrapped an arm around his chest. It was hard to keep both of us afloat, and I couldn’t find a way back into the prison.

Lakelyn’s head broke the surface, and I almost cried out, thinking she wanted to drown me again. She reached for me, and I tried to hit her, while holding Devton above water. Blood was dripping from his forehead, and his huge wings were slowing us down.

Lakelyn said, “I’m helping you, bitch.”

She grabbed me by the shoulder and began to drag us toward Swordfish Chain. The journey was long and slow, and I battled to keep Devton’s head above water. Once we were close to the island, the waves washed us onto shore. I snorted saltwater and coughed before looking at Lakelyn. I was about to thank her when she spoke.

“How the fuck did a rift open?”

There was only one logical explanation. “Someone must have the White Crystal.”

Horror spread on Lakelyn’s face, and I knew she was thinking about her father. The mermaid disappeared into the ocean before I had time to thank her. Had she saved me because I had torn up the letter she had written?

And then there was my father, who worked at Shark Bay. Had he been there when the dragon attacked? Was he okay? Devton was breathing, so I abandoned him for a few seconds to run into the cottage where my phone was. I texted my father, and he replied instantly, which told me that he was all right. Maybe he was at home when the dragon attacked. I left my phone on the bed and returned to the beach.

Devton groaned, and I touched his face gently. The wound on his head was closing, just like the tear in his wing. I wish my body healed itself like that. I stroked his face, and when his eyes opened, I instantly removed my hand.

He sat upright and touched his head. “What happened?”

“You got shot and fell into the water where Lakelyn helped us to get to shore – the dragon must have broken her cell, and she got out.”

Devton stretched his wings and examined the tiny hole that remained. “How did you get into the water?”

I shrugged and suddenly felt tired, my limbs heavy. “I jumped after you.”

His eyes widened. “You jumped off the wall?”

I nodded. I hadn’t mastered my fear of heights and falling, but I had come one step closer to doing it.

“You saved me,” he said.

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Even as I said it, I knew it was true. Without me, he would have drowned.

Devton’s expression softened, and we sat in the sand, staring at each other for a long time. There was no need to speak. He looked at me as if I was the first person ever to save him, to see someone worth saving. We sat until his wounds healed and his wings folded in to form tattoos. Only then did he say, “I owe you a debt.”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I remained silent. He watched me for a while then continued, “You wanted to know why Ryker kept returning to Vesea.”

I met his gaze. He’d gone so quiet when I had asked Lakelyn if they were having an affair. “Yes.”

“I know why.” He drew a deep breath, as if what he had to tell me was hard. “Ryker was part of the illegal diamond trade.”

“Bullshit,” I said quickly. “Ryker was a law-abiding citizen.”

Devton chuckled. “He most certainly was not. He, the merfolk, and the humans, were smuggling diamonds through the city.”

Furious, I got up. “Ryker was rich as fuck.” His mother had given him money every month. “He had no reason to partake in illegal diamond trade.”

“Yet, he did.” Devton did not bother to get up. “I met him because of it.”

“You knew him?”

“Not well,” he responded. “We did a small business deal once.”

I looked into his blue eyes and shuddered. Maybe I hadn’t known Ryker, or what he was capable of, well after all. Before I had time to think it, the stupid fucking voices started. I paced around with my hands in my hair, probably looking exactly like the crazy person I was.

“Shut the fuck up,” I mumbled.

Devton frowned. “I didn’t say anything.”

My face grew warm, and I headed to the cottage without saying goodbye. All the while, the voices whispered, like ghosts.