Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(13)

Honk. Honk.

“Uh-oh.” Her mom turned and waved at the black truck parked at the end of the driveway. “Your dad wants in the garage. We need to move.”

Beth climbed out. Bryn stayed in the backseat of the car where she was and closed her eyes. Part of her still held out hope that if she fell asleep and woke up, this nightmare would be over.

“We’re home,” her mom said.

Bryn lugged her new school clothes up the fire escape steps and hung them in her closet. Feeling wrung out, she collapsed on the bed. What seemed like a short while later, someone was shaking her shoulder.

“Wake up,” her dad said. “We’re going to teach you how to fly.”

The allure of flying had lessened, but it still seemed pretty cool, so she rolled out of bed and followed her parents up into the attic and out the hatch, which led to the roof. The moon was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds.

A buzz of anticipation filled her body. She shifted into dragon form. Her muscles and joints protested less than before. Maybe it became easier each time.

“Flex your wings,” her mom instructed.

The sensation of flexing her wings felt like contorting her arm to scratch an itch on her shoulder blade. “Now what?”

Her dad shifted and walked to the edge of the building. “Follow us.”

Both of her parents jumped off the building. No warning. No instructions. They just extended their wings and took off.

“Are you crazy?” All that was going through her mind was the “If your friend jumped off a bridge, would you?” speech. In her case, the answer was no.

Her mom circled back and landed. “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t expect me to ignore sixteen years of common sense.”

Her dad landed with a thump. “Once you’re airborne, your dragon instincts kick in.”

Should she bet on that? What if her instincts were messed up? “Can’t we start on the ground and flap? How do you fly if there isn’t a building to jump off?”

“When we’re on the ground, we can lift off. This is how your father and I learned to fly,” her mom said. “We thought it’d be easiest.”

Bryn gazed at the pavement three stories below. “If I die, I won’t have to go to dragon school.”

Extending her wings, she took a deep breath and threw herself off the roof. Air ripped at her wings as she plummeted into the darkness. Her heart jackhammered in her chest. She twisted her body, trying to orient herself. Which was the ground and which was the sky?

Flap, her instincts screamed.

She extended and contracted her wing muscles. The air felt thick and warm. Her descent slowed, and her body leveled out. She gained altitude, and the air cooled. Now it felt like she was swimming in cool water. Her pulse returned to normal as the night air flowed around her body, caressing her scales. Flying was exhilarating.

Somehow she knew the burning sensation in her stomach was fire waiting to be released. She flew until she was above the clouds. In a moment of personal triumph, she blasted fire into the heavens.

Her dad swooped in by her side. “Good job. Now, see if you can keep up.” He shot through a cloud.

Bryn took off after him. Narrowing her eyes to slits, she banked and climbed higher. She watched her father’s moves and imitated them until they seemed like second nature. Soon, she had no trouble keeping up with him. Then her mom shot past him, and she had a new target to follow.

Where her dad had been all muscle and power, her mom’s maneuvers appeared effortless. When her mom executed a diving roll, Bryn tucked her wings, shifted right, and laughed as the world spun. This was better than any roller coaster she’d ever been on.

After righting herself, she broke through the cloud bank where her mom had disappeared and saw the rooftop to their building below. Her mom landed, sending up a mild spray of dust. Bryn hit the roof with a bone-jarring thump and pitched forward. Debris shot high into the air and then rained back down on her like dirty snow. Yuck. She’d have to work on that.

Her dad landed next to her. She turned to speak, but growled when she realized the dragon next to her wasn’t her father.

“Relax,” the Black dragon said in a male voice. “I’m a friend of Zavien’s.”

Another thump sounded. Bryn turned to see her dad advancing on the stranger.

“He knows Zavien,” she shouted.

Smoke came from her father’s nostrils. “What do you want?”

The Black dragon shifted to human form. His dark hair was streaked with silver. The charcoal-gray suit he wore hung perfectly on his lightly muscled frame. He resembled the television version of a CEO.

“I seek what the Directorate wishes to hide.” His tone seemed a little too dramatic. “I mean you no harm. Quite the opposite.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gray velvet box. “I brought you a gift.”

He opened the box to reveal a gold key-shaped pendant decorated with red and blue gemstones. It was beautiful. Only an inch long, it looked like it would open an antique jewelry box.

Smoke shot from Bryn’s nostrils. The scales on her snout heated. She shifted to human form. “Sorry, I don’t have that under control yet.”

Her parents shifted and stood next to her.

“Who are you?” Her dad’s tone was less than friendly.

“My name is Onyx. I’m the leader of the Revisionists, and I believe your daughter will be the key to the Directorate’s downfall.”