New Breed (#1) (Dragon’s Fire) Read online

“You talked to the entity that created the Unseen?” Jules asked. He was making sure he got the entire story from her. This, in particular, was one of the main points he wanted to get accurate. It seemed unbelievable.

  Annabel nodded. “He offered me the chance to lead all the Unseen on Earth. Or at least a thousand of them. I remember that portion of the conversation because it seemed an odd number to offer.”

  “A thousand seems possible. Controlling a force of that size guarantees you the control of wherever you want. I can't imagine anyone standing up that force.”

  “Should I have agreed to take control of them?” Annabel asked with a chuckle. She felt worried again.

  Jules shook his head. He flipped a few pages of his notes. “I wouldn't do it. I'd make them destroy themselves.”

  The door to the room opened. Annabel and Jules turned to see who came in. Crispin appeared shaking his head. “Do you know where Sera or Henry is? I went to each of their rooms and neither one is in there.” He wasn’t too concerned for Henry. It wasn’t like Sera to leave in the middle of the night though and it troubled him.

  “Henry's out for the night. He'll come back in the morning as always. Sera should be in her room. Are you sure you checked it thoroughly?” Jules shrugged. He was busy working on new devices in his office. He assumed everyone else was behaving themselves.

  Crispin opened his mouth to respond but closed it. He heard a sound from the other room. “Give me a moment,” he told the two as he walked towards the noise. He came back with Henry and Sera. “I found them,” Crispin said. He folded his arms across his chest. He knew what happened.

  “Hey, what do you know Annabel's here. Amazing. I didn’t see that coming,” Sera said sarcastically leaning against the wall. She was wearing her dress clothes complete with her dark hair stacked upon her head. It was obvious to tell she wasn’t sleeping upstairs like Crispin thought.

  Henry, dressed in nice clothes as well, joined in, adding, “Me neither. This is a complete shock. I also didn't see any groceries in the kitchen.” He turned to Crispin and smiled.

  “I'll deal with you two later. For now, I think Jules and Annabel need to tell you what happened tonight,” Crispin said motioning for Jules to begin talking about what he learned. This was important for the team as a whole to understand.

  Jules started, explaining everything that happened during the night. When he had problems with details, he turned to Annabel or even Crispin to see what information they were able to add to the conversation. Jules did not miss the essentials of the development.

  Henry's face changed into a more serious one. “Guess that ends the fun period over here. It was over before it started,” Henry agreed with Crispin and Jules. They needed to be on guard now for more attacks. At least he had one fun night out before stopping.

  Sera nodded. She knew what this meant as well. “What are you going to do with her?”

  Annabel looked to Crispin for an answer. He told her to stay here for a while. If he wanted to change his mind, now would be the best time.

  “Annabel's staying here for a while. At least until we can figure out how to block the Unseen from coming after her. We'll be able to defend her from any attacks,” Crispin explained. He gave grin towards Annabel.

  Henry and Sera exchanged a look between themselves. They talked about this earlier. They knew Annabel would be staying for longer than one night. They both laughed. Neither was able to stop themselves.

  “What's funny about that?” Crispin asked. He folded his arms over his chest again. He was defensive around them now. They were making him uncomfortable and it was his own place.

  “Nothing at all. I think I'm going to sleep. I'm tired,” Sera said leaving through the door. She tried to conceal her smile from Crispin.

  Henry followed Sera out of the room. He knew tomorrow would be long. He turned around at the door frame and said, “I'll give you two sometime. Annabel, remember my room is the third one on the left when you go upstairs.” He winked at Annabel and then at Crispin before he left. He knew he was in trouble.

  “I’m thinking that's his permanent personality,” Annabel said when Henry left. She was confident in her guess.

  “He'll get better. He's a good person to have on your team if you need help. I think he's tired of being stuck in the house all day,” Crispin said with Jules nodding in agreement. “You're going to stay in the same place as before.”

  “I'm staying here for now. I think I might be able to rig something for her,” Jules told them. He pulled out a soldering iron.

  Crispin opened the door and helped Annabel up the stairs. He saw the light was still on in Henry's room. Sera's was dark. He needed to think of how to approach this situation.

  Annabel followed Crispin close. She kept sensing something in the corner of her eye. She was seeing shadows everywhere. “Should I be worried about the Unseen coming after me over here?” She jumped at a shadow coming in from the window.

  He shook his head. “You'll be safe here. No Unseen would attack a place with four people ready to destroy it.”

  “You're such a good guy. You're always saving me, the poor damsel in distress.” She smiled at him and brushed his hair from his face. It was blocking his eyes.

  He smiled back when she told him that. “Well, even heroes need to sleep. I definitely need some after everything that happened. I'll see you in the morning."

  “That sounds good,” she said remaining there. She was waiting to see if he would make a move towards her. The last time she tried anything, he switched the subject. She may be reading him wrong. It seemed he kept searching her out. He might only want a friendship with her. She wanted to know.

  Crispin moved away and started towards another room next to her. “I'll be in here if you need me. You can bang on the wall and I'll come,” he said opening his door and going inside.

  That was her answer. Annabel heard his door close before hers did.

  Chapter 16