Shattered (28 page)

That night Trinity tossed and turned in the back bedroom of the underground RV, unable to sleep. And who could blame her, really? These were the last hours she would have with her dragon before losing Emmy forever. How could she close her eyes and let them slip away?

When she’d gone back to Virgil and her father, armed with Emmy’s decision, they’d explained some of what would have to happen before the time travel could take place. Because Emmy would be living out her entire life and dying millions of years before Trinity was born, Virgil would have to perform an de-bonding beforehand, so their life forces would no longer entwine. At first Trinity had balked at this—she remembered the de-bonding she’d almost been forced to go through back at the Dracken headquarters.

But Virgil had assured her this was different. That was an involuntary de-bonding—two minds ripped apart that wanted to stay together. Emmy had the power to voluntarily release her most of the way on her own. The machine would just work to neutralize the last traces of their connection—such as the blood Emmy had given Trinity when she’d been shot. It would not hurt Emmy, he promised. And it would not kill her. Sure, she might be a little weak for a few days, maybe some flulike symptoms, but in the end, she would be back to her old self.

Her
old
dragonless
self.

She looked over at the sleeping dragon beside her, and her chest tightened as thoughts of the impending loss settled like a dead weight in her stomach. She found herself trying desperately to memorize everything about her. Every scale, every tooth, every claw. Every part of her that, after tomorrow, she’d never see again. She was so sweet. So beautiful. So…Emmy. How could she just say good-bye?

“You’re getting so big,” she whispered. “Soon you’ll be as big as a house.” She swallowed hard. “I wish I could see you like that. You’ll be so amazing.”

The tears came again, splashing down her face. Silently, she rose, so as not to wake her, and headed into the adjoining kitchen. There, she found her father, sitting at the table, picking at the remains of some takeout Chinese. Complete with empty packets of duck sauce strewn about, she noticed. He looked up as she closed the door behind her.

“Hey,” he said. “Couldn’t sleep, huh?”

She shook her head, sitting down across from him. It was so strange to have him here. The father she never knew. And yet, somehow, he didn’t feel like a stranger. Maybe it was because she’d seen him in the vision with her mother. The love that had reflected in his eyes. He had been important to her mother. And that made him important to Trinity too.

“I’m sorry, baby,” her father said, reaching across the table to place a hand over her own. “If all had gone to plan, we would have transported her back months ago. Before she ever had a chance to hatch from her shell. She would have never known the difference.” He paused, searching her face with his worried eyes. “And neither would you.”

Trinity felt the tears slip down her cheeks as her heart squeezed in her chest. Back then, before Emmy was born, she would have been ecstatic to have such a simple solution. A way to keep the dragon alive and still save the world. But now…

She thought of Emmy. Her sweet, beautiful, wonderful Emmy.

How could she just let her go?

“I remember that night I left you and your mother,” her father continued. “I can’t even tell you what that felt like—to walk through that door and know I could never return. That I’d miss your first steps, your first words, your first smile. Your first ballet recital.”

“I…never took ballet,” Trin managed to choke out. The most ridiculously inconsequential statement to make at a time like this but she’d lost all ability to speak rationally at this point, her mind was so consumed with pain.

Her father smiled gently. “The point is I didn’t want to miss any of it, just as I’m sure you want to experience every moment with Emmy. But I had to let you go—even if it literally tore my heart in two. Because I cared about you guys that much.” He paused then added, “I know you care for Emmy very much the same way.”

“Yeah,” Trinity agreed. “I do. And I want what’s best for her. And if that means letting her go, well, that’s what I’m going to have to do.”

“Is this the place? Are you sure?”

Connor peered out the bus window as Trevor turned into a sprawling parking lot of a giant store called Wal-Mart. He glanced over at Rashida, who was studying the GPS coordinates on her phone. She looked up. “Yeah, this is definitely it, where Scarlet said that she’d be.” She squinted at the store. “I don’t get it though. I mean why would Trinity come to a place like this with a dragon?”

“Because her father told her to,” Connor said with a sigh, watching all the people outside pushing carts and loading up the trunks of their cars. If only she’d never broken the music box and found the pendant. She would still be with him, under his protection. Instead of out there, somewhere, on her own—with the Dracken and government hunting her down like a dog.

They’d all been more than a little surprised to get Scarlet’s frantic call the night before. Even more so when she told them what she knew. Here he’d been trying to rally the Potentials to help save his brother, only to learn it was Trin who was in actual danger.

After that, they’d mobilized immediately. Driven all night. Now that they’d all shared the vision of the mutated dragons and the Dracken’s true mission, everyone wanted to help. So they all filed onto the stolen bus and headed straight to Fauna.

Connor pursed his lips, scanning the parking lot. He knew it could very well be a trap. That the Dracken could have forced Scarlet to make the call to lure him into their sights and take him down once and for all. Even Scarlet’s story—that the Dracken had forced her to give up Emmy’s location—seemed to ring untrue. But at the end of the day, it was a risk they all agreed they had to take. They couldn’t just leave Trinity to face the military herself. And they certainly couldn’t risk Emmy falling into government hands.

As Trevor parked the bus at the back of the parking lot, Rashida turned to the other kids. “Okay,” she barked. “Listen up.” She threw Aiko a couple of walkie-talkies they’d picked up at a sporting goods store a few towns over and clipped another to her belt. “Team blue, you circle the store’s perimeter. Take note of all the available exits and call them in.” She turned to one of the other girls, handing over two more walkies. “You case the parking lot. If you see any suspicious vehicles, let us know.”

“How will we know they’re suspicious?” Trevor asked.

“Out-of-state license plates,” Connor interjected. “And anything remotely military looking.”

“Remember, Mara is working with the government now,” Rashida said. “She’ll probably bring an army with her. Or at least some kind of black ops team. But at the same time, they’ll probably want to keep things on the down low. To not scare away the public.”

She turned to Connor. “You and I will check things out on the inside. Perhaps your connection with Trinity will help us narrow down her whereabouts.” She cleared her throat, her eyes roving over the busload of kids. “If any of you spot her, alert the rest of us immediately and bring her back here.”

“What if she won’t come with us?” Aiko piped in. “I mean, we did sort of try to kill her last time we saw her. She’s not likely to just go along quietly now.”

Rashida grimaced. “Good point.” She looked questioningly at Connor.

“Tell her you’re on Team Dragon now,” Connor said. “She’ll understand.”

Everyone nodded and it was time to go. At Rashida’s command, they spilled out of the bus and split up into their teams. Connor exited last, scanning the parking lot, his hand involuntarily traveling to the waistband of his jeans, where he had stashed his gun.

“You’re worried,” Rashida observed.

He shrugged. “I’m always worried,” he admitted. Then he smiled at her. “But it’s nice to have backup. I’m impressed with how you rallied the troops like you did. You could be a good soldier, you know?”

She groaned. “No, thank you. And anyway, it’s the least we can do. Trust me, everyone here wants to help Emmy just as much as you do. I mean, maybe the Dracken don’t really want to save the dragons. But we still do. And we’re ready to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

He held up a hand. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” he said. “First we need to find her.”

And
Trinity
too
, he added silently, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn’t want to think about what would happen to her if the Dracken found her here.

They walked up to the glass doors, which silently slid open before them, granting them entrance. As they stepped inside, a woman in a blue smock welcomed them to the store. Connor looked around, giving a low whistle. He’d never seen anything like this place. So large and packed floor to ceiling with useful items. If only they’d had just one of these stores back home. These common goods would have meant a lifetime of difference for his people.

“Do you feel her?” Rashida asked. “Do you think she’s here somewhere?”

He closed his eyes, reaching out. For a moment he thought he felt something, but it was gone as soon as it came. He opened his eyes, frustrated. “I don’t know,” he said, scanning the store again. “This place is so huge and there’s so much stuff everywhere. I’m not getting a good read.”

“You don’t think the Dracken and the government already showed up, do you?” Rashida asked worriedly. “I mean, they did have a head start.”

“It’s possible,” he admitted. “They could be observing the store from afar, waiting for a sign of Trinity and the dragon. Obviously they wouldn’t want to make their presence known until they were sure they had her in their sights.” He glanced up at the ceiling above him and shivered a little. “For all we know, the Dracken are watching us right now.”

“We certainly are.”

Connor whirled around, heart in his throat. But instead of seeing what he expected—Mara or maybe one of her Dracken friends—his eyes fell upon a tall, lanky, Asian teen with blond hair, his skinny arms crossed over his chest. He was flanked by two other kids around the same age, both with brown hair and black-rimmed glasses.

“Luke, it’s him!” cried the brown-haired girl. “One of the twins!”

Her friend—Luke—nodded vigorously. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I remember him from the museum surveillance tapes they put on TV.”

Connor glanced over at Rashida, his hand hovering over his gun again. He didn’t know whether to deny it or demand these kids tell him what was going on. Who were they? And how did they know about the Dracken?

“Where’s Trinity?” the other boy demanded, taking a threatening step toward Connor. “What did you do to her?”

He
knows
Trinity
too?
Connor’s heart was now beating a mile a minute. “Who are you?” he asked. “And how do you know about Trinity?”

“We’re her protectors,” Luke shot back, not missing a beat. He puffed out his chest. “The Order of the Dracken.”

Connor stared at him, speechless. What? What did he just say?

“Uh, no. I don’t think so,” Rashida broke in with a snort. “Trust me, I know the Dracken. They’re, like, old and well dressed and from the future and stuff. Pretty much the opposite of you tools.” She smirked and turned to him. “Right, Connor?”

But Connor couldn’t speak. In fact, he couldn’t even move, the fear inside threatening to throttle him.

Rashida’s eyes narrowed. “Connor? Are you okay?”

He wanted desperately to tell her he was. To toss the whole thing off as some kind of freaky coincidence. But his soldier training wouldn’t let him. The puzzle pieces were all there, fitting together far too perfectly for his comfort.

The Order of the Dracken. The new order. Here. Standing in front of him.

Had the time line they’d worked so hard to bend now snapped back into its original, horrifying place?

He had half a mind to reach for his gun. To shoot the three of them point blank, forcing fate to stand down. But how could he do that? These were just innocent kids. They hadn’t done anything wrong…yet.

Still, the Dracken. The very first Dracken, back on the time line. He felt like he was going to throw up.

“Listen,” he said. “We can handle this ourselves. Maybe you should go home and—”

Suddenly a female voice broke out over the store’s loudspeaker. “Attention Wal-Mart shoppers,” she said calmly. “We’re experiencing a malfunction with our sprinkler system and will be forced to close the store early today. Please put aside your purchases and file out of the store in an orderly fashion. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

No sooner did the announcement finish than Rashida’s walkie-talkie crackled to life. “They’re here,” the voice—Trevor’s by the sound of it—said urgently. “A bunch of unmarked trucks. They’re circling the store and dropping a group of men off at each exit.”

“And I see Mara. She’s at the front of the store,” someone else reported in next. “They’re stopping everyone as they walk out and asking for IDs.”

Connor swallowed hard. He didn’t know whether to be horrified that they were actually here or relieved that they obviously hadn’t found Trinity yet.

“Ask him if they’re armed,” he hissed at Rashida. He could feel the questioning stares of the new Dracken kids on him, but he didn’t have time to explain.

Rashida asked and a moment later Trevor’s voice returned. “I don’t know,” he said. “They’re dressed in plain clothes. But they have that military look to them. Buzz cuts and biceps, you know.”

Rashida and Connor exchanged glances. “They probably don’t want to cause a panic,” she said. “Or alert the media. Emmy’s so famous now, they can’t just capture her and then hide her away to experiment on. The public would demand answers.”

“Right…” Connor paced the aisle. “They want to steal her away, right out from under everyone’s noses. Without them even knowing.” He closed his eyes, searching for Trinity again.

Wherever
you
are,
he tried to send.
Hunker
down. Do not make a move until I tell you to.

“So what are we going to do?” Rashida asked, her face pale. “How are we going to get out of the store without them seeing us?”

Connor rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure,” he mused. “If only there was a way to create a diversion. To distract them so we could slip out.”

“We could get on the loudspeaker. Tell people there’s a bomb threat or something.” Rashida suggested. “If they’re all panicking, trying to get out of the store at once…”

“Not a bad idea,” Connor agreed. “Though a riot like that could end with innocent casualties. People getting trampled, squished against glass…”

“If we don’t, then
we’ll
be the casualties,” Rashida reminded him wryly.

“What if
we
alerted the media?” Luke piped up.

Connor and Rashida turned to look at him. Connor had almost forgotten they were still there. “What do you mean?” he asked warily.

“I don’t know. I’m just thinking, nothing screws up a sting operation like a bunch of rabid reporters on the scene. If we get them all here, surely they would cause enough chaos to allow us to slip through.”

“But how are you going to get them to come?” Connor asked. “We’d need all of them at once, not just a random reporter or two. By the time you called them all and told them the story…”

“Oh, I don’t need to call anyone,” the brown-haired boy interrupted. “I just have to harness the power of the interwebs.” He held up his phone and snapped a photo of a surprised Connor. Then he started pushing at the screen. A moment later he looked up and grinned. “One order of lamestream media, coming right up.”