My thanks, Fire Kissed, Emmy whispered in her mind, her voice weary and broken.
“Who was that?” Trinity demanded, glancing back at the door, praying the man wouldn’t reemerge. She couldn’t stay long. He might return with backup. Still, she had to make sure Emmy was okay first.
Just a man assigned to care for me. He’s worse than some, but not as bad as others.
Trinity shuddered at the idea that there could be worse. “But why?” she asked. “I mean, how could anyone do this to you?”
She tried to remember the other vision—the city engulfed by flames—but instead all she could see was this one gentle giant before her and her great suffering at the hands of mankind. Was this why the dragons rose up and destroyed the world? Was it merely an act of survival?
I do not know, Emmy whispered in her mind. With great effort, the dragon managed to right herself, letting out a long, surrendering sigh. Then she met Trinity’s eyes with her own. But I need your help.
Trinity found herself nodding. Of course. At that moment, lost in the dragon’s beseeching eyes, she would have done anything she’d asked. “What can I do?”
My time grows short, but my children…they still have a chance to live.
“Children?” Trinity cocked her head in question. “You have children?”
A shadow of confusion passed over the dragon’s face. I have not laid any eggs, she admitted. And I’ve never seen their faces. But I can hear them call to me all the same. My children are here. Somewhere nearby and still unscarred. They still have a chance to fly free.
Trinity remembered what Connor had told her. The government had cloned Emmy. They’d taken her DNA and created a whole race of dragons. That’s why they didn’t care about Emmy’s condition. She was nothing more than a tissue sample, to be used and discarded. The keeper’s words came rushing back to her.
In two weeks, she’ll be monkey meat.
Trinity gritted her teeth, squaring her shoulders. She wouldn’t let that happen—couldn’t let that happen. Not to this poor beast who had suffered so greatly, who was willing to sacrifice her own life to save her children.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” she declared, giving Emmy her most confident look. “You and your children. You won’t die in here, Emmy. If it’s the last thing I do, I will set you free.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The scene faded and, once again, Trinity found herself in the motel room with Caleb, the egg still cradled in her lap as tears streamed down her cheeks. Caleb reached out and stroked her hand gently. She didn’t pull away.
“That night, you went online,” he told her, “you emailed everyone you could. The most passionate, the most militant, the most dedicated animal rights’ activists out there—you told them of Emmy’s plight and asked for their help. Of course they were more than willing to join up. After that, it was just a matter of breaking into the facility and freeing Emmy and her offspring.”
Trinity drew in a breath. Before now, she couldn’t have fathomed why anyone would want to unleash a pride of dragons on the world. But after seeing Emmy’s suffering…
“What did we plan to do with them?” she asked. “I mean, they’re not exactly stray pets, ready to find forever homes once they’re out and about.”
“The history texts are vague on that account,” Caleb admitted. “But I’m sure you had something in mind. Or maybe you didn’t—maybe you were only focused on setting Emmy free. All I know is, as I said earlier, your heart was in the right place.”
Trinity frowned at that. “Yeah, I’m sure that made people feel a hell of a lot better once the dragons started chowing down on their children,” she retorted bitterly. “I mean, sure, we miss little Lucy, not to mention the entire planet’s infrastructure, but hey, at least that chick’s heart was in the right place.”
Caleb gave her a wry look. “Seriously, don’t beat yourself up. At the time, you had no way of knowing the fifteen baby dragons you rescued alongside Emmy had been genetically altered.”
“Altered?” She cocked her head in question.
“Their technology wasn’t as good back then as it is in my time,” Caleb explained. “They had to combine Emmy’s DNA with some other lizards—nasty, violent things. And then, to keep them alive once they were born, they pumped them full of steroids.” He shrugged. “Some historians will tell you their goal was to turn them into weapons. And, well, weapons they became, breaking free of their Dracken rescuers and flying wild.” He gave her a rueful look. “You can probably guess the rest.”
“The Scorch,” she said in a dead voice. “The end of the world. All thanks to me. Wow. That’s going to look awesome on my college application.”
“Actually it won’t,” Caleb contradicted. “Because it’s not going to happen this time around. Don’t you get it? That’s why we’ve come back. We’re going to change things. We’re going to get that happily ever after—for both the human race and the dragons themselves.” He beamed widely.
She stared at him. “Are you stupid or just utterly insane?”
His smile faded. “What do you mean?”
“Um, gee, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you seem to think bringing dragons back into the world is a good thing? I mean, hello? Fire and brimstone? Worldwide apocalypse? Didn’t you guys learn anything the first time around?”
“Yes! We did. We learned tons,” Caleb replied eagerly. “Don’t you see? That’s why we decided to come back and do it all over again. This time we have control of the dragon, not the government. Those mutated dragons will never be born. Instead, we’ll just breed more Emmys. Sweet, gentle creatures, with gifts to help mankind.”
Trinity gave him a skeptical look. “Gifts? What, like helping Boy Scouts cheat on their campfire merit badges?”
“Try curing cancer,” Caleb shot back, “eradicating diabetes, wiping out AIDS. Dragon blood has almost magical healing properties,” he informed her. “Not to mention the creatures are pretty much unsurpassed at sniffing out natural resources buried deep in the ground. Oil, precious metals, water, new food sources—the types of materials we need for continued survival on this planet—dragons can help us excavate them all.”
He sounded like he was quoting from a press release. “Okay, fine. Say that’s true. What do the dragons get out of the deal?” she asked. “I mean, seeing as they’re basically being volunteered to dedicate their lives to save the human race and all?”
“Everything,” Caleb declared staunchly. “They’ll be treated like royalty—given food to eat, space to fly. They’ll be protected, honored, worshipped around the world.” He paused, then added, “And most importantly, they won’t be dead. Which, you know, is kind of the biggest thing, if you think about it.”
He met her gaze, as if daring her to argue with his logic. When she didn’t immediately reply, he continued, “We’ve done our calculations, Trin. We need dragons as much as they need us. Without them, very soon we’re going to be the ones on the endangered species list.” He squeezed his hands into fists. “I, for one, am not willing to let that happen.”
Trin didn’t know what to say. “You really believe this?” she found herself asking. “You really, truly believe that this dragon egg here has the power to save us all?”
Caleb gave a fierce nod. “Everything depends on her survival.”