Scorched By Flames - Vella Day

Chapter One

Pain stabbed the back of Zulema Garcia’s head, throbbing and pulsating until the agony was enough to rouse her into consciousness. Moaning, she licked her dry lips.

What the hell just happened? And where was she? Wherever it was, the stench of this place made her stomach revolt. As bile raced up her throat, Zulema managed to open her eyes and spit out what was left of her last meal.

Like the trained warrior she was though, she assessed her situation to determine any present dangers. When she detected no immediate threats, she worked on a plan to get out of there—wherever that was.

It was dark. That much was evident. And damp, which implied her captor was probably holding her in some kind of basement or underground bunker. What was worse than the fetid smell was the fact that her hands and feet were shackled and bolted to the floor. Crap. Someone was determined to keep her there.

Zulema had been in worse situations—trained for stuff like this in fact—but that didn’t mean it would be easy to escape. Thankfully, she wasn’t an ordinary dragon shifter. Her father had been a powerful warlock, and as such, she could teleport, among other things.

Closing her eyes, Zulema pictured her home at the edge of Avonbelle Province. With a nod, she imagined flying across Tarradon. When she opened her lids, she hadn’t moved. And that made her mad.

“Hey! Anyone there?” she called, unable to keep her anger in check any longer.

This had to have been some kind of mistaken identity. Last night, Zulema had gone out with friends to a local bar. Sure, she’d had a few drinks, but as a dragon shifter, it was near to impossible for her to get any kind of buzz. She remembered leaving through the back of the bar to the alley, ready to teleport home. Only she didn’t remember reaching her destination. Or should she say, it was apparent from her current situation that she never made it there. But who would kidnap her? Her family was poor, which meant this wouldn’t be about any ransom.

The door to her enclosed room opened, letting in scant streams of light. “I see you’re awake. That’s unfortunate.”

Unfortunate? What did that mean? The man, whose face she couldn’t make out, bent over, and unlocked her chains, and a trickle of hoped surged. “Why did you take me?”

“To save you and your family, Zulema.”

Damn it. If he knew her name, she’d specifically been targeted, but it still made no sense. “We don’t need saving.”

He smiled, or at least some light flashed off his teeth enough to make it look like he had. “You do. From us.”

Us? Her stomach churned. If she understood her situation better, she would have changed her hands into fire shooting weapons and burnt him to death.

The man bent over her. She felt a prick on her neck, and then her vision turned white.

When she awoke, she was in a different room, one that was a lot brighter and possessed a bed. While this was an improvement, the absolute silence disturbed her soul. What kind of game were they playing?

This room, while cleaner, was too warm. As a dragon shifter, the muggy heat didn’t settle well with her, but she’d deal. Because she wasn’t tied down this time, Zulema sat up and slowly eased to her feet. The ten by ten room had white-washed cement walls and no windows. There was a toilet attached to the wall and a slightly stained sink with a mirror above it on the other side. This was definitely a jail cell of some kind.

Zulema checked out the room thoroughly, looking for some kind of camera or listening device. When she was convinced she wasn’t being watched, she pounded on the door. “Why am I here?”

When no one answered, she returned to the bed. Without a doubt, someone had drugged her. Now that she was feeling a bit better, she concentrated on teleporting the hell out of there. But no matter how hard she tried, she remained in the room, and that fact scared her more than anything. Had her captor somehow stolen her magic? While no one had taken it from her before, she had heard there were people with that ability.

Teleporting wasn’t her only skill though. Zulema held out her arms to transform them into fire shooting claws. When nothing appeared, her pulse skyrocketed. She rushed up to the door and pounded on it again. “I want answers.”

Then she waited. And waited some more.