by Riley Storm
She crossed her arms, not going down without a fight. “His precious Outreach Center got my old company shut down and put forty people out of work,” she countered victoriously.
The triumphant look on her face faded at the hard stare from her grandmother.
“I thought I raised your mother better than this, that she would have given you some more smarts, young lady. Don’t pull that on me. We both know that your boss was a prick, who gouged his customers ‘cause he was the only real outfit in town and they had no choice but to go with him. You know that as well as I do, after all, you’re the one who constantly told me that. So, don’t act like he was all righteous. He didn’t pay you very well either.”
Sarah bit her lip. Her grandmother was tearing apart her argument and her judgment of Jax, leaving it all in tatters. And she was doing it with ease, which didn’t bode well for her being wrong.
But does that mean you’re wrong? Just because you initially judged him to be another Chadwick, doesn’t mean that you were wrong. It just means that you should have given him the benefit of the doubt. But he’s shown his true colors now. Hasn’t he?
“You know I love you, Grandma,” she said, embracing the older woman. “You make points, good points. But you weren’t there. You didn’t see the way he looked at me when he first saw me. It was that look, that stare, that was the reason he called me back. I just can’t overlook that fact. He’s after me because of the way I look, not what I can do.”
“Maybe you’re right,” her grandmother conceded. “Maybe he does like the way you look. There’s no harm in that, as long as he can keep it separated from the way he treats you as an employee. Has he come on to you, made any advances?”
“Other than offering me the position as his assistant, so that I was always nearby, in his eyesight,” she said sarcastically.
“You know, it’s entirely feasible he thinks you’re capable of greater things than sitting behind a desk, and he felt that by being around him all the time, you would learn necessary skills and information to do that?” her grandmother offered. “You may be good at your job, dear, but that doesn’t mean your talents aren’t being wasted there. You’re a very smart woman, and you could be doing a lot more if you desired.”
Sarah looked up at the ceiling. “Why can’t anyone understand that I like what I do, Grandma? It’s like neither you nor Jax can accept that I truly enjoy my job. That’s why I went to school for it, why I continue to work in the industry. Why is that so impossible to believe? It’s 2019, girls are allowed to like working on computers!”
Her grandmother patted her arm. “I know, dear. I know. I don’t think you don’t like it. I’m just being an old grandparent. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.”
“Thank you,” she said, once again embracing the woman. “I appreciate that.”
“Just remember,” her grandmother said. “Just because he likes the way you look, doesn’t mean that he hired you for that. Or that he kept you around after you turned down his initial offer to be his assistant because of that. He recognizes your worth too, I would bet the house on it.”
Sarah smiled and just squeezed a little tighter. The older woman had given her a lot to think about.
A lot.
12
Saturday.
The perfect day to go out to another one of the Houses and attempt to engage in conversation with them about coming together to fight the vampires. Everyone would be home during the day, and hopefully not irritated at his interruption. The sun was out and shining, and everything screamed at him that it was the perfect time to go.
What Jax couldn’t decide was which House to visit. He had three options, though in his mind, there were only two options. Of the three, House Panthere seemed the least viable. The feline shifters were almost as reclusive as those of Raptere, and he didn’t expect to receive a warm welcome there.
He should have factored that into his initial decision. Long had the two minor Houses felt scorned by the three High Houses, and they did not like to deal with them unless necessary. No, after the debacle at Raptere, his only options were Ursa or Canis.
The bears were the dragons’ usual allies, the two Houses having worked side by side on many an occasion in the past. In fact, they would have been his first choice, the first place he visited if it weren’t for the fact that Victor had apparently introduced a bit of bad blood between them.
Which left Jax staring at the emblem of House Canis, wondering just how he was to get them to come on board. He’d heard of the troubles Canis had gone through several years back, had heard about their new King, the civil war that had split them apart and carved up a great many of their number, leaving them once again weaker than Ursa.
Would a House still recovering, still learning to operate as a single entity again, be willing to commit themselves to such a dangerous path? Would their King be able to get a consensus to join with the dragons, or was he still dealing with internal factions that hobbled his power?
There were so many questions, and Jax possessed no answers. His eyes flicked back over to Ursa yet again, tempting him to go there, to rely on the natural affinity the Houses felt for one another. Scuffles between line members were nothing new, now or in the past, and he could only hope it wouldn’t impede any high-level negotiations between the Houses.
A distant boom heralded the arrival of one of his kin to the main entrance as the doors flew open.
Now why would someone feel the need to make such an appearance with the noise and all? he wondered, getting up from his seat in the vast Draconis library and heading out into the warren of hallways that would lead him to the sound.
He heard shouting as he neared. The quieter voice belonged to Francis, the steward and caretaker of Draconis Keep. The louder one was quite easy to place.
Aaric was back, and he didn’t sound happy about something.
Suspecting he knew what it was about, Jax continued walking, determined to spare Francis from dealing with an angry dragon shifter. The human didn’t deserve that.
“That arrogant sonofabitch!” Aaric roared. “How dare he embarrass me like that!”
“Because this isn’t embarrassing you right now at all,” came the dry reply.
Jax bit his lip as he rounded the final corner, not wanting to appear with a grin on his face, though he did appreciate the caretaker’s wit. Francis didn’t take any crap from the shifters and often called them out when their emotions got the better of them.
“Aaric,” Jax called as he approached. “What is the matter, brother? What has happened?”
Though Jax had suspected what the issue would be, the sun-filled glare that Aaric turned on him more than confirmed it. Fires raged in his eyes, a subtle warning that Aaric was very on edge.
“Jax. Jax, Jax, Jax,” Aaric said, turning to face him, arms spread wide open. “You’re home. Good. I’d hoped you would be here.”
“I’m here. What seems to be the issue? Come, let us speak somewhere peacefully.”
“Oh, that’ll be the day,” Francis muttered under his breath.
Jax fixed the steward with a glare, but it just slid right off the impertinent human.
“Peacefully, you say?” Aaric barked, his words filled with scorn and sarcasm. “What would you know about talking things over peacefully?”
If Jax hadn’t already known what had made Aaric so irate, he did now. The events of his visit to House Raptere had clearly made their way back to the fire dragon.
“Listen, Aaric,” he said, spreading his hands wide, hoping to diffuse the situation peacefully. “It’s not what it sounds like.”
“Really,” Aaric challenged, crossing his arms. “Please, do tell. Because I just received a message from the Raptere King. Apparently, a certain earth dragon went over there, attacked the guards and tried to storm his way into their House. He left several of the guards in a very bad state.”
“That’s bullshit,” Jax said. “I didn’t hurt any of them.”
“But yo
u did fight them!” Aaric snapped, levelling a finger at him. “After I told you to go and ally with them, to bring them to our side, you went and started a fight!”
“Aaric,” Jax said, trying to remain calm. “You are not the boss of me. You do not command me. I know you’ve kept things going here for a long time, looking after the younger dragons as they awoke. But that’s not needed anymore. I’m almost an elder myself.”
“Your job was to form a coalition with the other Houses,” Aaric said, his voice still filled with fury. “You can’t even follow one simple order.”
“You do not give me orders!” Jax bellowed, trying to get through to the fire dragon, to make him realize he wasn’t in charge.
The problem was, nobody was in charge. They had no leader, no king, and without one, it had fallen to Aaric to do his best to resurrect House Draconis. He had done a wonderful job, but he was no longer alone. Jax could help shoulder some of the burden if Aaric would just let him.
“You need to learn to do as I say!” Aaric shouted, flames bursting into existence in his palms.
“It was so much more peaceful before everyone started waking up,” Francis moaned, beating a swift retreat before either dragon could turn their attention on him.
“Aaric,” Jax said one last time, ignoring the steward’s remarks. “It’s okay. You’re not alone anymore.”
The stress was getting to the fire dragon. Jax didn’t want to fight him. Aaric was a good man, a good dragon, but he’d been tasked with an impossibly difficult mission to defeat the dragons’ ancient enemies, and the stress of trying to protect everyone, his dragon brothers, his mate, their mates, was all getting to him.
But it was too late, for the moment at least. Aaric snapped and launched a ball of fire at him. Jax thrust his left fist forward. Liquid metal flowed down his arm and out from under his shirt sleeve. It expanded rapidly into a shield, catching the fire and absorbing the heat, then dissipating it as steam hissed out from the shield and the metal coating Jax’s arm.
“Don’t do this,” Jax said, squaring up against the fire dragon.
“We needed them!” Aaric bellowed, “to defeat the vampires! You doomed us.”
“That’s not—” Jax’s reply was cut off as Aaric rushed at him, intent on closing distance. “Fine.”
The dragons met in a titanic crash of flame and metal sparks. Fires raged in Aaric’s eyes, while Jax’s grew coppery bright. The earth dragon could call on the earth itself, and everything in it, including metals, ores and more. His powers were among the most diverse of all dragons. Not to mention, he was a century older than Aaric.
Using that strength, his legs planted into the stone and nearly immovable, Jax latched onto Aaric’s arms, flexed, and with a mighty roar hurled the fire dragon down the hallway, back the way he’d come.
The great brass doors clanged for a second time, this time as they opened outward to admit the flailing fire dragon who bounced down the stairs and came to halt on the asphalt below.
Heat waves emanated outward from Aaric, visible to the naked eye. Soon after, the fumes of tar reached Jax’s eyes as he heated the very asphalt itself from his presence. Feet thundered down the hallway behind him, announcing the imminent presence of the other dragons.
Jax ignored them and stalked out of Drakon Keep.
“You need to calm down, brother,” he said quietly, deflecting a ball of fire with his hand, this time calling upon the stone of the walkway underneath him to brush aside the fire. “It will be okay. I’m here to help.”
“Some help you’ve been,” Aaric snapped, suddenly running forward.
Jax grimaced and he too charged. The pair met in a flurry of blows. Jax might be a century older, but he’d not had much practice fighting since awakening.
Aaric had done plenty of it, against the vampires and his brothers. His fists hit like steel hammerblows, and Jax winced as a rib gave way under one particularly vicious strike. But in his frenzy, Aaric was wild, and he left himself open to counterattacks.
Jax struck back and struck back hard. Fists coated in liquid iron hit harder than brass knuckles. The breath was driven from Aaric’s stomach, forcing the two apart as they drew in deep breaths.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jax saw both Victor and Valla on the top steps, watching. Neither came forward to get involved.
“I did my best!” Aaric cried.
Jax frowned. “I know you did, Aaric. We all do. Nobody doubts that. Nobody questions that. You did more than you should have had to, and you did it masterfully. I’m not here to judge you, nor am I here to try and take command away from you.”
“Then why did the magic wake you up!” Aaric cried.
Jax thought he understood what was driving his brother now. It wasn’t anger over the fight at Raptere. It was a fear that Aaric had been judged as unworthy by the magic of their race, that another was to take over for him instead, to be the leader until the elders finally awoke.
“Perhaps it awoke me, for the same reasons it awoke the rest of you,” Jax suggested. “Because we’re what is needed. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m not here because you didn’t do a good job, Aaric. I’m here because I have a purpose. Just like you.”
The fire dragon slumped over, and Jax breathed a sigh of relief as the flames went out. He hadn’t wanted to continue the fight. An angry fire dragon was a mean opponent, even to an earth dragon as powerful as he. Nor did he want to destroy the relationship between himself and Aaric any further.
He took a tentative step forward. “Come, let us get some food together.”
But Aaric, though he was done fighting, wasn’t ready to talk. He brushed past Jax and stormed into the Keep without speaking, shouldering his way through Victor and Valla, who exchanged curious glances with each other before focusing their attention on Jax.
“I don’t know,” he lied, deciding to keep Aaric’s fears private. It was the least he could do for the stressed fire dragon who had done so much, with so little.
The other dragons disappeared back inside with matching shrugs, leaving Jax to his thoughts.
None of them was pleasant.
13
The day started out normal. It was Monday and would be Sarah’s third day on the job. Coming in from an uneventful weekend where she hadn’t seen Jax once, she was beginning to accept the conclusion that the two of them were through seeing one another.
The thought saddened her, despite there being no rational reason she could come up with to explain said feelings. All Jax had done was try to manipulate her. Shouldn’t she be glad to be done with him and his ivory tower?
Her first clue that something was amiss was shortly after she put her coffee down on her desk. Not being a morning person, Sarah had always found that Mondays were tougher than the other days because she had to get back into her routine. It was in this half-asleep non-caffeinated state that she plopped down into her chair.
The comfy material hissed and began absorbing her shape and slowly altering to seat her properly.
It was not at all the standard computer chair that she’d been given upon arrival on Thursday. Her mind immediately became more alert. Looking over the chair, she suppressed a whistle. She knew the brand, knew the make.
This is a $2,000 chair. Why the hell is there a chair costing two grand at my desk? What’s going on?
She looked around for some sign of a prank, or if perhaps everyone had been gifted such chairs. But no, she was the only one. Only a few of her coworkers had arrived, and since she didn’t really know them yet, Sarah refrained from asking any questions.
Her next surprise was when she went to turn on her computer and log in. Everything was different. The mouse, keyboard—she had three monitors now!—it was all new. The computer booted rapidly, and she quickly went to check out the specs of it. All top of the line, best hardware that could be bought.
“What the fuck is going on here?” she mumbled to herself.
“Boss’s orders.”
She turned
around to see that the head of IT himself had come over to her desk.
“What the heck are you talking about, Jared?” she asked, barely able to keep her language from getting overly colorful. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“No. But the boss said you were to have it. It just took us a few days to get it in and assembled. I guess he thinks you’re the new wonderkid or something,” Jared said with a clearly envious shrug.
“I don’t want it,” she said abruptly. But she didn’t get out of the chair. Maybe she could keep that. It was really comfortable.
“Doesn’t matter what you want,” Jared said. “If you had asked for this setup, I would have laughed in your face. But what the boss wants, the boss gets. I wouldn’t turn the gift down.”
“The gift.” She all but spat the word.
This was the last thing Sarah wanted. More charity, more unnecessary “help” from Jax. She’d figured to be free of him and his meddling interference. But instead, here he was, just demonstrating to her once again how rich he was, and what she would get if she just gave in to him.
“Why me?” she said aloud.
Jared, thinking she was asking him, shrugged again. “Like I said, he must think you’re some kind of prodigy, that you’re worth the investment for what you can do.”
Sarah shook her head. “I’m good at my job, Jared. I know that, I’m confident in saying that. But come on, what kind of programmer is worth all this? You know as well as I do that the answer is none. I’m getting special treatment.”
“That you are,” he agreed. “That you are.”
“I need to know why,” she said, standing up abruptly. “I’ll be right back.”
“What? Where are you going?” Jared asked as she walked away.
Sarah paused, turned around and went back to her desk. “I won’t be long,” she promised, snatching up her coffee and then once more heading for the elevators.