Torn in Flames by Susan Illene

Author:Susan Illene [Illene, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-23T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Bailey

The summer heat had grown unbearable. We had the windows down in all the vehicles since we couldn’t afford to waste fuel with air conditioning. I fanned myself with a map, but it hardly helped. The heat radiating off the dragon in the back seat just made the rest of us humans that much more miserable.

“Dragon boy, you need a bath,” Rayna said.

I glanced back and caught her wrinkling her nose at Zoran. He sat on a seat covered with a black camrium blanket to protect it from his hot skin and understood that if he burned anything, we’d draw and quarter him. Mostly, he’d been quiet and contemplative, but he baited Rayna every now and then. She seemed to enjoy arguing with shifters. I would have moved her to Conrad’s vehicle if I thought she truly didn’t like sitting next to one.

Mom had relocated to the station wagon at the convoy’s center to help with the kids. With our new setup, we had a colorful crew riding in the truck, making for an entertaining trip. Only the high temperatures caused the time to pass more slowly. I wanted to hope the weather in Oklahoma might be cooler, but I doubted it. They probably faced even worse scorching temperatures.

Zoran growled. “I’m no boy, and everyone needs a bath. All of you smell just as bad—maybe worse.”

Over the last two days, we hadn’t found any safe places to stop for the night near a good water source. With us sweating a lot, we’d become rather gross. I couldn’t argue with Zoran that we could all use a wash. This evening, we absolutely had to find a better spot for camping.

On a bright note, the one good thing about traveling through pure dragon territory was the interstate became a neutral zone. As long as we stayed on it, we reduced our chances of being attacked because they didn’t patrol it much. The rule applied to dragons, but they didn’t bother humans on the path often either. I’d seen them flying in the distance, and despite them having to have seen us, they didn’t come closer.

“There’s a town a few miles ahead, and it looks like it has some ponds that might be worth checking out,” I said, staring at one of my topography maps. I’d acquired them from the coalition, and they covered parts of our route, including the current leg of our journey.

Rayna mopped the sweat off her brow with a rag. “Thank God.”

“The trailer needs checking as well.” Morgan gripped the steering wheel. “It’s getting a little shaky.”

Since we had the only vehicle that could tow a horse trailer, Onyx came with us. It had gone okay so far, but I’d also noticed the unsteadiness over the last few minutes. The sorcerer slowed his speed, hopefully buying us time until we reached our next stop.

“Hurricane Mills is small, but we might get lucky and find what we need for the trailer.”

“I need to fight soon as well.” Rayna eyed Zoran.

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