by Aaron Crash
Steven had never seen Bud so frazzled. Well, no, when Steven had finally slapped the guy, he’d been more scattered, but this was a close second, and he understood why. While Steven had been training and studying nonstop, Bud and Liam had taken over the day-to-day operations. They were running a small empire. Liam knew the dragon side of the legalities and politics, while Bud had become their liaison with the human world. Bud loved it when Steven referred to him as their consigliere.
Bud continued. “Now, Boaz & Jessup and I are BFFs. They’ve been giving me the rundown. For example, they have vendors and contractors who are, uh, openminded when it comes to their customers. For example, we hired some demolition guys and some architects to look at the Colorado Springs Aerie and the Lookout Mountain Aerie. We can rebuild. It won’t be cheap, but we have a ton of cash we can use. Part of the deal is that we, er, you can Mind Wipe these guys when they’re done. They kind of expect it.”
Tessa snapped her fingers. “Ben Affleck. Paycheck. Ben does these jobs but gets his memory erased and hijinks ensue. Based on a Phillip K. Dick story, if I’m not mistaken.”
Aria echoed the snapping. “Losing your memory? It’s like the Hindi movie Ghajini about a man who gets amnesia when his girlfriend is murdered. He is trying to get revenge, but he can’t remember anything, so he has to use tattoos and Polaroids.”
“Wow, Hindi Memento anyone?” Tessa laughed.
“It was originally done in Tamil,” Aria said.
And there the two went, each doing their pop culture thing and doing it with smiles.
Skylar listened intently but didn’t seemed annoyed. That was good.
Steven pulled them back on track. “I’d like to get the Lookout Mountain Aerie back in order. Those pools were sacred. It’s where I first got the power to shift into my True Form, and we might be able to use them again. Actually, I would bet on it. Maybe make that a priority.”
“Well,” Bud said. “We kind of have a priority thing already, other than our Australian kingdom. Primacy, not a kingdom, a Primacy. Anyway. Part of owning a Primacy is dealing with any kind of supernatural or dragon-y type of crime. Local law enforcement is mostly kept in the dark, but the higher-ups know who to call, and it’s not Ghostbusters. Not one in a million cops know about Dragonsouls, but they know there is some X-Files shit going on in this world. It filters up and out to the Dragonlord Prime in charge of that area.”
“Do we have something?” Steven asked.
“Yeah.” Bud read over his phone. “It came to me because I’m your liaison with the human world. Heck yes, I am. It’s from the sheriff’s department in Grand Lake. There have been some break-ins and a murder. They’ve been telling the locals it was a bear thing, but it wasn’t. Eyewitnesses claim they saw people turning into animals.”
Skylar spoke up. “Cassius Pine had an Aerie in Grand Lake, overlooking the water. It was hard to get to… for humans. Not for us. We could just fly in. Cassius Pine didn’t include his wives on any of his business, but maybe he had some Morphlings and they’ve gone rogue. Should we check it out?”
“Yeah, you’re going to need to,” Bud said. “But the sheriff said to wait a couple of days. Something about the staffing rotation and the cyclical nature of the attacks. Almost ritualistic. So you have some time.”
“Keep in mind, Steven,” Liam said, “policing the supernatural community of your Primacy means you’re also judge, jury, and executioner. If you find them, and if you think they are guilty of these murders, it’s up to you to put them down.”
“Badass,” Bud said. “You gotta go Judge Dredd on them, Cool Whipp.”
Tessa approved of the reference.
“Most of the time when people try and kill me, I kill them right back,” Steven said. “I can’t imagine these Morphlings would come quietly.”
“Probably not.” Bud then went to the next item on the agenda. “Okay, I know we need a private plane. I’m working on it. I kind of always had a crush on the G6, because of the song, but the Gulfstream G500 looks sweet. Classic or new? I can’t decide. And then there’s the new Cessna Citation Hemisphere.” He sighed like his heart would break if he couldn’t buy all three.
Mouse wandered in, but instead of coffee, she went right to Steven and curled up on his lap. He held her close. “For the love of biscuits, is the junior douchebag lawyer bitching about jet shopping?”
“Junior douchebag lawyer?” Bud coughed. “Senior douchebag lawyer. This shit has me working overtime, but I’ll pass the bar without a problem. This is on-the-motherfucking-job training.”
“Bud, just choose,” Mouse said. “We’re going to need one if we’re going to be jetting back and forth to Australia. Portal magic might get us killed. And dragon flight is exhausting.”
“I don’t know. I kind of liked the book.” Tessa waited a beat. “Ha. Anne McCaffrey. Dragonflight. It’s the first Dragonriders of Pern book. Come on, I don’t make many literary references, so you have to appreciate them when I do.”
“Know your audience, sweetie,” Mouse said sleepily.
“Okay,” Bud said. “I’ll buy us a jet. Fine. And a pilot. Which might be more difficult.”
“I have a pilot’s license,” Skylar said.
Everyone looked at her, kind of shocked.
She smiled demurely. “Age does have some benefits. And Cassius Pine didn’t care what we did. It’s been my hobby for a while now.”
“Skylar. Flies through the sky. I get it,” Mouse said.
“Stop stealing all the good lines,” Tessa quipped. “But really, that’s super helpful. Thanks for joining us, Skylar. Pretty has been so wonderful to me. We just love you all so much.”
Skylar blushed. “Well, thank you. Yes, we are all happy to be here. But Steven, my sister wives would like you to schedule some time with each of them. They are ready. It seems Sabina’s visions broke some of the ice.”
Tessa and Mouse looked at each other. Then laughed.
“I couldn’t come up with a joke!” Tessa giggled.
“Me neither!” Mouse chuckled as well. “Yeah, there were so many, my mind went blank.”
“Ladies,” Aria said primly. “We need to focus now.”
“I’ll do that, Skylar,” Steven said. “We have a couple of days before we fly to Grand Lake. I can make sure I, or we, make time for them.”
“Yes,” Aria affirmed. “We want to make the five widows feel welcome.”
“The Five Widows,” Mouse said. “Sounds like a new show on Netflix.”
“No way!” Tessa brightened. “Rhaegen Mulk had his Terror Trio, Rahaab his Trinity of Wives, and Steven Drokharis has the Five Widows.”
“Are you okay with that?” Steven asked Skylar.
She shrugged. “It’s how you keep referring to us. And it does sound formidable.”
“Badass!” Bud held up a hand for a high five. Tessa obliged him.
“And you also have the Onari Guard,” Liam said.
Aria gave Steven a long look. “It is as it should be. We need to grow in power lest our enemies destroy us.”
The Yellow Ronin furrowed his brow. “I have something to discuss,” he said. “And I’m glad Sabina isn’t here. You see, she is struggling, failing to find the focus to shift into her Homo Draconis form. If she can’t do that, she can’t do the final rituals which will unlock her True Form.”
Mouse shivered in Steven’s lap. She’d helped Edgar Vale torture himself for hours on end, burning off every bit of his skin, in the final ritual. It had driven him insane and traumatized her.
“What can we do to help?” Tessa asked.
“Sit with her. Meditate with her. Offer her your time and your attention,” Liam said. “Doing this alone is difficult, but if we support her through this time of crisis, she will find her way. This is where many fail. Uchiko and her ninjas are half-dragons forever because they didn’t have the necessary focus and support during this critical phase. In the end, they were lucky. Most simply die.”
Steven won
dered why the Latina Magician hadn’t mentioned anything. But then the answer came to him immediately. She was proud, and this was intensely personal for her. In some ways, he knew she doubted herself because of her disability. He’d told her time and again that she was a valuable member of his Escort already and didn’t need to complete the rituals. But her mind was set on it.
He thought of Uchiko and her failed Dragonskin ninjas. They were outcasts, not welcome in the Dragonsoul world and required to be hidden from the humans. Rahaab had taken their memories but fixed their skin, so it was possible to reverse the effects. Maybe with something called FleshForge? That seemed likely. But again, if he couldn’t perfect his Magica Divinatio, how could he hope to progress along the new skill tree abilities?
Speaking of which.
“Tessa,” Steven said. “I saw words in the encrypted pages when I tried to use divination. ‘Not yet time. Wait for the next torch. Then you will open one eye.’ Does that mean anything to you?”
Tessa shook her head. “No, and it’s not even a very good haiku. But Steven, I’ve gone back to the second volume of your father’s grimoire. I want to try portal magic.”
It was like she’d told them all she wanted to bang Bud on the table in front of them. There was a moment of disbelief.
Aria beat Steven to the punch. “No! You have seen what it does to Liam. And we are not ready to face the Zothoric, not when we are still fighting among ourselves. It’s dangerous.”
Tessa raised an eyebrow. “More dangerous than going through the Dragonskin rituals? Or going up against an Alpheros? Or what about fighting lizard men on motorcycles in a thunderstorm? Have you been paying attention, Aria? All of this is dangerous.”
Steven thought about it. Skylar asked about the possible portal between the North American continent and Australia. No one knew of one. Liam had done some looking, but the only static portal he knew about was between Denver and Mumbai. It was why Aria had been given to Rhaegen Mulk to marry, to bring their Primacies together.
After Aria had refused the marriage, her father had disowned her. Since then, Rhakshor Khat, the Dragonlord Prime of the Maharashtra Primacy in India, had not reached out to Steven.
“That’s the thing,” Tessa said. “I won’t be able to create a new one for a while. However, I think I can tweak the existing portal by moving both sides. I might only be able to do it a few miles at first, maybe farther once I get better.”
Liam dropped his head and rumbled laughter. “You youngsters. You wonderful, amazing, brilliant children.”
Tessa’s eyes went wide. She glanced at Steven. “Is that good or bad laughter?”
Bud shrugged. Aria was quiet, waiting to see where this went.
“I’ve heard you were special, Tessa.” Skylar smiled warmly. “You use Magica Defensio spells like no one else. And now you are revolutionizing Porta magic. But, Liam, is that even possible? I’m not a Magician, so I don’t know.”
Liam turned thoughtful. “I’ve read through Stefan Drokharis’s notes on the Porta magic from the second volume. The Denver doorway has existed for thousands of years, before the Europeans came to America, even before the First Nation people migrated down from the Beringia Primacy, long gone now. Across the U.S. there are mystical pools surrounded by ancient Dragonsoul ruins buried deep under the earth. One of those pools leads to India. We’re not sure why, and the answer has been lost to time. But the portal has been around for a long time and has not alerted the Zothoric to our presence. It could be possible to alter where each opening appears without drawing their attention. But dangerous as well. You are dealing with the fabric of time and space.”
“It’d be like moving a hose,” Tessa explained. “The hose is there, but I’m just gonna adjust each end a bit.”
Bud had to make a dumb joke. “Uh, huh, ha, you’re talking about adjusting the hose.”
“Dude,” Tessa hissed. “Now that you’re a zillionaire lawyer, no dick jokes.”
“Better than dick pics,” Mouse threw in.
“Very true,” Tessa replied.
Steven let them banter. He found himself thinking about the mystical pools in the Lookout Mountain Aerie. The caves lay in ruins, but if they could be excavated, maybe those pools could prove useful in the future. It seemed like it. He also thought about the three doors on the rooftop of his father’s St. Vrain Aerie. They led to other worlds, but he wasn’t ready to explore them, not just yet.
“So there were Dragonsouls in America before the humans?” Steven asked.
“Without a doubt,” Liam said. “The Alpheros came to Earth fifty thousand years ago. They mated with the early humans, and the first Dragonsouls were born. And spread. I’ve investigated the lore about Rahaab, Mathaal, and Icharaam, and I’m wondering if they didn’t tell other early Dragonsouls about the Mirror-Souled Path. There are stories about three powerful dragons that ruled all of North America thousands of years ago, the Americos, but that might just be legend. Or they might be dead.”
It was the first time Steven had heard about them, but his intuition perked up. Working on divination magic had deepened his connection to mystical knowledge. “Or they are still alive, posing as normal Primes, but hiding their true power. Hmm.” Steven turned to Tessa. “Honestly, do you think you’re ready?”
“I totally kicked ass at Divination Tag, Steven. I’m ready.”
Aria scowled. “Unlike you, Steven, she didn’t have to cheat.”
Tessa gave her a fist bump before continuing. “I’ll be careful with the Portal magic, but I have to try. I think once I master that, I might be ready for the new Mirror-Souled abilities. Liam, have you had any luck with them?”
“I haven’t tried.” Liam’s frown deepened. “Without an Escort, without a constant flow of Animus, I simply don’t have the strength. Worse yet, if I tried, it might kill me. Unlike you reckless brats, I plan on living a very long time.”
“When are you going to get back on the old bang wagon?” Mouse asked.
Liam shook his head, giving her a bored look. He hated talking about his personal life and the fact he was still grieving his murdered Escort from fifty years ago.
“Anyway,” Steven broke in. “We’ll continue to study and train. Bud will finally buy us a jet, and Skylar will fly it. We’ll deal with the Grand Lake Morphling problem, then tackle the Queensland Primacy issue.”
“First, though,” Bud said seriously, “you have a date with the bang wagon. Four new babes need your loving attention. Listen, bro, if you need help, you can always count on me.”
Steven laughed. “It doesn’t work that way, Bud. Sorry.”
“He’s right, though, Steven,” Skylar said. “You have your duties as a Dragonlord Prime to perform.”
Bud sighed. “Your life, Cool Whipp, your fucking life. Billionaire bang-boy and all-around badass. If I didn’t like you, I’d hate you.”
SEVEN
Two nights later, Chastity Wayne was still in Chicago, still in the middle of the Dragonlord drama going on. This time, she’d made it all the way up to the bar in Morty Flint’s Aerie, at the top of the InterContinental Hotel in Chicago.
She put an arm around her Prime, Carlo Bart Baxter. She stood on his right. Prudence was pressed up against him on his left. Their place at the bar had a view of the Magnificent Mile stretching out in a flash of lights, cars, people, shops, hotels, and restaurants. To think, at one time, after the big fire in 1871, the Water Tower had been the highest landmark around. Morty had been Prime back then, ruling over the Big Shoulders Primacy. Of course, it had been tiny compared to the amount of land he now ruled over.
Chazzie and Pru wore matching pink gowns that brought out their creamy skin and accentuated every freckle. Their pink lipstick was the same color. They’d done up their eyes in dark makeup to make their light brown eyes pop, pop, pop.
Morty Flint had asked a few Primes up for a secret meeting, hush, hush, and don’t kiss and tell. Along with Carlo Bart were Louis Laloux from the French Swamplands Pr
imacy and Roy Right of the Sin Cities Primacy.
The twins had studied up on the Dragonlords at the private rendezvous, a cabal within the Conclave if you will. Maybe Rahaab had done something similar twenty years prior. Ha.
Both twins excelled at research. Knowledge was power. Not quite as powerful as a pretty smile, a round ass, and a big pair of tits, but almost.
Louis Laloux was a voodoo cobra who would kill you while he gave you chocolate. And Roy Right was all swagger, sin, and lust. He’d cut your throat for a dollar poker chip and laugh while doing it. Both were power hungry, sure, but weren’t all Dragonlord Primes?
Carlo Bart had insisted the twins come up with him because for one, they looked so good, and he loved showing them off. And for two, he trusted Chazzie and her sister. As he should.
Chazzie glanced at the gold ring on her left hand and smiled. These poor dragons had no idea who they were dealing with.
As for Morty, he’d grown comfortable in his massive Primacy but kept himself safe. Rumor had it he had fifty wives, from vicious old Dragonsoul females who could melt the pavement with ChromaticFury to a variety of Morphlings who could take any shape, to Warlings who could murder you from a thousand yards with a slingshot. Morty was swimming in vassals and pussy, without a doubt.
So he came across as relaxed and in charge. Unlike her boss and the two greedy Primes who sipped scotch from tumblers, ice clicking.
Chazzie had really wanted to get to know the East Coast Primes. They were kind of a mystery, kept to themselves, but didn’t seem buddy-buddy. There had been whispers that the three Primes might be the legendary Americos brothers.
Anyway, Chazzie was stuck with the villains she knew. Boring. Typical. Easy to predict.
Morty acted as bartender, pouring drinks, lighting Louis Laloux’s cigarette, and playing host. His gunmetal eyes were bright and inquisitive. Chazzie noticed he wasn’t drinking, not a drop. Could he be planning a hit on them?
It’d be a shame to watch him die. Carlo Bart could blast the shit out of the Primes in the room. He had secrets no one could guess. And while Chazzie and Pru might have seemed unarmed, they weren’t. Far from it. Both had diamond bracelets dangling from their left wrists, a gift from Carlo Bart.