Free The Emerald Dragon (The Lost Ancients Book 3) by Marie Andreas Page B

stay here. Sorry, Harlan, maybe Covey can put you up on the sofa. Something odd is happening tonight, and I need you all here. I’ll get the girls back.”
    He was at the door before anyone could argue.
    “Oh and someone should grab her.” He looked at me, but before I could point out I was fine, a wall of black rose up, and the last thing I heard was Covey yelling my name.
     
     
     

 
    Chapter Eleven
     
     
    I found myself in a destroyed building. It wasn’t Covey’s house, but filled with broken things from the people I knew and loved, like someone had dug them out of a dig site as mementos. As if someone had been hoarding these items. I wandered through endless tunnels, filled with broken items. A tiny part of my mind told me I wasn’t awake, but had fallen into a nightmare. Even as part of me knew this wasn’t real, another part equally knew it was. That I had lost everyone and everything, and this was my life.
    I screamed myself awake.
    To find Garbage sitting on my chest peering down at me, her arm back for what was probably another strike at my face. “You go bad place. No go again.” She started the slap, but I blocked her tiny hand.
    “Stop it. I’m awake.” It took my brain a few minutes to shake completely free of the images and feelings. Those were worse than the images—the bone-deep feeling that what I’d dreamed was real. If this was a new side effect of my using magic, or in last night’s case, over using magic, I think I wanted to go back to throwing up.
    “How did you know where I was?”
    Garbage scowled and stomped around on my chest some more. “You tell me in head. Bad place. Not good.”
    Light trickled in through a gap in the curtains, but it wasn’t a full bright sunlight. It had felt like I had been asleep for days, but clearly it was earlier than I usually woke up on a weekend.
    It took me three tries to fall out of bed, and every part of my body felt like it had been beaten by a gang of thugs with sticks. I looked down where Garbage was now stomping around my pillow. “Did you beat me up?”
    “No, I try to wake you up. Face only.”
    I lifted my shirt, but where it felt like I should have massive black and purple bruises, my skin was surprisingly unmarked.
    “Is Alric back?” It had taken a few minutes to mentally catch up with the final events of last night, but Garbage looked more mad than sad, so I figured that must be a good thing.
    The door popped open before Garbage could respond. “Ah, you’re awake?” Harlan peered in further and noticed Garbage. “I told her to leave you alone.”
    I shivered as I thought of the scary place I’d found myself in. “Actually, I’m glad she woke me up.” At Harlan’s raised eyebrow, I added, “Nightmares.”
    “I see. By the way, your nose is bleeding.”
    I put my hand up and sure enough it came back with blood. Harlan gave me a concerned look, but then handed me a handkerchief without question.
    Covey was hunched over a mug of coffee in the kitchen, and two more half-empty mugs of tea told me someone else had been with her. Most likely, Alric. Who was gone again.
    “You’re bleeding.” Covey was far more of a morning person than I was, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at her right now. Her eyes were haggard and half-open and she clutched her cup of coffee as if it was a lifeline.
    I held the cloth back up to my nose and took a seat. “Where’s Alric?” Might as well cut to the chase.
    “He’s gone back out. He found where the girls were grabbed, but hasn’t found them. She seems better though.” She nodded to Garbage who had followed us out of the bedroom and was sticking her head in Alric’s abandoned teacup. I’d never seen any of them drink anything with caffeine, and wasn’t sure it was a good idea to start. However, it was good not to see her as heartbroken as she had been.
    “Garbage? Sweetie? How are you doing?” I removed the cloth from my nose; whatever caused the bleeding seemed to have