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

“Did you get the picture?” Annabel asked June. Crispin deleted the picture from her phone but not before she sent it to her friend. That might be the only evidence the police would have to find her if something went wrong or if that Unseen creature came after her again. She was still unsure if she should trust the dragons or not.

  “It's blurry but he looks nice. I don't see any wings and I examined the picture twice. Your theory’s completely wrong. He looks like your kind of guy. I didn't see anything to disqualify him from being on Annabel's list,” June said. Light music played in the background as she spoke.

  Annabel sighed. “That's the problem.”

  “What do you mean that's the problem? You're looking for something wrong with him, aren't you? Why can't you accept he's someone you might want to be with?”

  “I thought about that. I thought about that a great deal. He's nice. He doesn’t seem to have too many issues. He has great hair.” She paused for a moment. “Do you think it would be weird for me to ask him out?” Based upon their last conversation, he stated they were stuck together for the moment. It could be a good time to make her move. He might feel pity on her or think of saving her like a damsel in distress.

  “I don't think so. I've asked out dozens of guys. They usually prefer it. It lets them know you’re interested in them.”

  Annabel nodded. There was truth in those words. She wasn't convinced she was up to the task and resorted to her usual method of attempting to talk herself out of a crazy idea. “There's another girl over here. I think she might be his girlfriend or something.” She could heard the desperation in her voice as she searched for some flaw. Guys like Crispin always had a flaw when it came to being in a relationship.

  June gave an exasperated sigh. “I'm hanging up now. Next you're going to tell me he's married or has a dozen kids. I'll see you tomorrow. We need to talk about this finding excuses routine.”

  “Fine,” Annabel said, hanging the phone up. June didn't believe her. She would handle this by herself. She could do it. She handled many things before. They didn't always work out perfectly but they were handled. Granted, she wished they were handled better when she looked back on them with scrutiny. In the morning she’d sort this. It was too late now.

  She sat on the bed and exhaled deep. She felt calm. Tomorrow was definitely a new day and everything would work out fine.

  Annabel looked around when she woke up. She forgot she slept somewhere else besides in her warm bed. It took a few minutes for her to remember where she was and when she did, she buried her head in the pillow. This weekend was becoming one she hoped she forgot later.

  Someone knocked on the door. It was probably Crispin or Jules. She had to do all the experiments they talked about yesterday because of the Unseen. She didn't mind. All she wanted was to be safe from that dark creature. The Unseen as they called it. She rolled out of bed. Might as well get it over with. Annabel opened the door.

  Neither Crispin nor Jules was standing there. Instead, Sera handed her folded clothes. “I wasn't sure what size you were. If they're too big or small, you don't have to wear them. I just thought you might want something comfortable to wear. The tests are long.”

  “Thanks,” Annabel said as she accepted the clothes. They looked normal. It mustn’t be something she had to wear special for the tests. Sera genuinely wanted her to be comfortable. There was still skepticism when dealing with her. She couldn’t read the young woman easy.

  Sera turned to leave then looked back at Annabel. “Oh, and Jules told me whenever you're ready, you can meet him to start. His office is downstairs. You take a right in the living room and open the door. You can't miss it.”

  “Do you know what kind of tests he's going to run on me?” Maybe she should have asked for the pamphlet. She laughed internally – that was a joke. There likely was no pamphlet. Not many people got attacked by an Unseen and lived, like Crispin said.

  Sera shook her head. “I don't deal with that stuff. Most of it's too complicated for me to understand.”

  “This should be interesting then,” Annabel said to herself aloud thinking about what was happening. She would find out soon what the tests consisted of. Worrying about them without proof was useless. She felt fine.

  Sera heading downstairs. Annabel closed her door and changed. She went to find Jules. There was no one in the living room. They were probably waiting for her in Jules' room to see her progress on the tests. She opened the door to the right of the room.

  The sun beamed on her. Annabel's eyes took a few moments to adjust before she was able to see she was outside. “Took a wrong turn?” Henry asked from the chair by the pool. His hair was still wet from having swum earlier.

  “Sera told me this was the way to Jules' room,” she said with confusion. She felt Sera lied to her. There was definitely something going on with her and Crispin. She viewed Annabel as competition.

  Henry walked to her and smiled. “You took a wrong turn. You should’ve taken a left. I can show you where you need to go if you want me to.”

  “That would be...okay?” Annabel wasn't sure what she should say.

  He hooked his arm with hers as he led her into the house. “It's this way,” he said walking with her into the room to the left. He pushed the door open and let her go in first.

  Crispin and Jules were waiting for her. Papers lay on a table as they checked over data they gathered earlier. All of it dealt with the Unseen attack from last night, time stamps visible from a distance. They looked up from the papers when they heard Annabel and Henry enter the room. “What's going on?” Crispin positioned himself closer to Annabel. He cast a dirty look at Henry, especially when he saw their arms linked together.

  “She took a wrong turn. You can always come outside and talk to me if you get a break. I know these guys can be dull.” Henry winked, walking through the door without a look back. He made sure to leave before Crispin gave a response.

  “Is he always like that?” Annabel asked. She wasn't sure if he was trying to impress her or not. He was coming on strong.

  Crispin shrugged. “He's been like that for as long as I've known him. It's his defense mechanism. Let's start these tests before he comes back.” He motioned for her to come closer. The tests needed to start. They didn't need to dwell on Henry any longer.

  Chapter 9