by D. R. Rosier
One of the others said, “Annaliese is guilty of regicide, of killing our king. You truly want to let it go?”
Gene laughed mockingly, “Has it been so long that you believe your own rhetoric? That charge was political in nature, to keep her out of power and put her ambition under check so we could claim power. In truth, we owed her thanks back then for putting the insane monster down. Things are far different now, we know she had no desire to rule from the beginning, and our position is firmly entrenched after three hundred years and will remain so. We’ve led our species for three centuries, and none have even challenged us in over a hundred years. Things are stable, and all we’re doing now is throwing away resources and wasting money on something we no longer need to pursue.”
Another snorted, “Perhaps, but if we allow her to live after destroying the council in Dallas, and after we have declared her to be killed on sight, we may very well be challenged.”
Gene shook his head, “Except, she didn’t kill the council, a dragon did. No vampire will think less of us for not going after a dragon, no one tangles with dragons and lives to tell about it. Speaking of which, the dragon is an ally and lover of Annaliese, if the other reasons given to back off aren’t enough, maybe that one will be.”
The first said, “That’s a temporary problem. I’ve been told she’s a half-breed, the other dragons will kill her for us, and then we can remove Annaliese. Though my mages have had no luck at finding her, she can’t hide forever.”
Gene shook his head, “I once again urge the rest of the council to back off, and to declare her independent and untouchable. I have no desire to tangle with her again, and you would be wise to agree. I call for a vote.”
The one who hadn’t spoke at all yet, said, “Fine, let’s vote.”
The vote went quickly, and was four against, and one for leaving Lisa alone.
Gene sighed, and closed his eyes.
He opened them back up and said, “I’ve been instructed to tell you, that if you want a war, you can have one. She also advises those watching this, and they are since I’ve been streaming it online to several vampire councils, that the next head council better leave her the fuck alone. Oh, and one more thing, the war is over, fuck heads.”
All the F-bombs were obviously Lisa’s instructions when she laid her compulsions. He pulled out a small device from his coat pocket, and then pushed the big red button on the end. There were several blocks of C-4 under the trench coat, and the room went up in a fiery explosion. When the explosion cleared, there was nothing left but small pieces of flesh, bone, and viscera in the room, along with broken stone, and a burning room.
Harold said, “That’s… compulsion is scary.”
It really was, it was also highly illegal, but there were no rules in war, not when it was one very old vampire, against a whole race of them. I hoped Gene’s words were prophetic, and the war was really over now. Only time would tell, hopefully the next council would be smarter. It would help, that several of their race had witnessed them admit Lisa wasn’t guilty of shit, and it was a political frame up.
Lisa smirked, “Better than a trip to London. It also makes my point, I may be the oldest vampire in existence, and I’m not going to fight fair. Hopefully, the next council is smart enough to not look for me.”
Harold asked, “How will you know?”
Lisa said, “E-mail. I have a vampire in the Dallas coven under compulsion to let me know. Other than that, and the compulsion not to tell anyone he’s my spy, he’s free to keep any secret and be who he is. Just… threats to me will be reported. Chances are, we won’t be able to scry the new council, I’m sure they won’t use that same lair.”
“Think it’ll be enough?”
Lisa nodded, “They’d have to be insane for it not to be. I’ve proved I’m innocent, and ruthless. They’ll respect me for the latter, and they’ll not fear leaving me alone because of the former. Plus, there’s that whole dragon lover thing, they won’t want to cross you.”
My phone rang, and I answered it and put it on speaker.
“Hey boss.”
Brent said, “Theo’s on the line too. It looks like you’re going to have to run.”
I grunted, “Any ideas. We were thinking maybe a coastal city, or even the Caribbean. Maybe Puerto Rico?”
Theo said, “An ancient water dragon claims that territory, even with your disguises I wouldn’t recommend it. Corpus Christie is okay, it’s too small a population for a dragon to claim it, just three hundred thousand or so. They’d also never expect you to stay in the same state. The vampire presence there is small as well, I don’t think they even have an official council there, the small group of twenty or so run a couple of clubs, and report to the council in San Antonio. The catch is, Lisa will have to wear a disguise too, even if the vampires don’t hunt you, they’ll report you, and wherever you are the dragons will be sure to look.”
Lisa said, “I’ve always wanted darker brown hair, and tanned skin. What will we do there? I have money to last us centuries, but we’ll both get bored fast tanning at the beach every day.”
I was startled by that, but I really shouldn’t have been. I had enough money for a year or two, but Lisa was ancient, of course she was rich. It’d just never come up in conversation.
Brent snickered, “If Carol didn’t hate you, I’d suggest doing down there what you did here.”
Carol Martin of Martin Security Enterprises. She did down there, the same thing Brent did up here. We’d met her briefly, when we’d gone down there with Harold and looked into the ancient prison for the creepy spider people race. While she wouldn’t recognize me, we’d still have the same issues, since I was a siren.
I sighed, “Not my fault, I tend to have that effect on most women.”
“It also wouldn’t be laying low,” Lisa said, “We need something where Melody won’t have to use her dragon magic, at least not in front of people.”
“Yeah, I’ll need to practice and develop to learn more.”
I wasn’t too worried about that part for myself, except the more I knew the better chance I’d have if I ever ran into a dragon in a fight. I was getting used to processing the information my water magic gave me of my surroundings, Lisa had been making me do that almost constantly the last two days. I still hadn’t discovered any new abilities or applications for my magic. I should probably work on my siren side as well, I’d be much more powerful right next to the gulf, and might be able to figure more stuff out there as well.
“I don’t know, let’s just get there, and maybe get a place, establish our new identities, and see what’s available. It won’t be easy for me to get a job where females are involved, we might need to figure out a business of our own, and Lisa can talk to all the females.”
Lisa snickered, “Good point. I have plenty of money to start one up.”
It would be easy to get a job anywhere working for a man, I’d have them eating out of my hands in the first minute or two. But… that didn’t appeal to me at all, where working and being my own boss did. I just wasn’t sure what yet.
Brent said, “Alright, we have the beginning of a plan at least. Take your picture, and Lisa’s picture once Harold has an illusion set up for her, and I’ll work on getting fresh identities, open your accounts, and transfer monies in a way that can’t be traced. Once that’s done you can head on down, find a place to live, and maybe even take a vacation until you figure out your next step.”
“Sounds good, thanks Brent.”
Theo said, “Be careful, and don’t take the necklace off.”
“I won’t.”
We hung up. It wasn’t a complete plan, I still didn’t know what I’d be doing, but it would get Lisa and I settled into a new life that was safe. It might even be fun, we’d have to furnish our house, and redo our wardrobes.
Harold said, “I’ll get on that illusion, you want dark brown hair and tan skin?”
She nodded, “Please.”
He got up to take care of t
hat, and I sighed.
Lisa kissed me, “It’ll be fine. We can visit Harold with your power, and creating a new life together will be fun. Maybe we should buy a large boat.”
“A boat?”
Lisa nodded, “We can go out and practice your magic more safely, away from where it can be detected. I bet your dragon form would be a hell of a swimmer too. Who knows, something will come up. I’ll miss chasing down bad guys as much as you will.”
“Too bad we can’t just start our own security and investigative firm.”
Lisa’s eyes went wide, “It would piss off Carol, but why couldn’t we. We’d just need to hire a very broke but very talented mage.”
I laughed, “Wouldn’t our new identities be too thin to pass muster, the government would have to approve of us, and use us.”
Lisa bit her lip, “Maybe. It’s a crazy idea anyway, and far too risky.”
I replied, “Far too risky,” my voice tongue-in-cheek.
We grinned at each other.
I knew then, it wouldn’t be easy, and maybe it would start out small, maybe a private investigator firm where we could build up our reputation before trying to interface with the government, but we were going to do it. Carol would be pissed about the competition in a town of only three hundred thousand some odd people, but we would do it. The simple truth was, we were both adrenaline junkies, and loved a challenge. The idea of starting some boring and safe business was untenable. Still, taking that risk, and staying off dragon radar would be a challenge. The idea of laying low for a century and developing both my siren and dragon magic, would be the smart move.
One thing for sure, she was absolutely nuts to consider this risk, and so was I.
We grinned wider, I couldn’t wait…
Afterword:
I hope you enjoyed the story. This was the second book in the Melody Smith series. It may be the final one, I’m not sure. The first book in this series didn’t do so well, and I only wrote the second because Melody demanded it, but if enough people want a third book there is plenty of story left to tell.
If you can, please take the time to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.
About the Author: If you have any comments or suggestions you can send me an email at [email protected]. I started out posting short stories online and at readers’ requests started to publish them. If you like my work, or even if you don’t, please consider leaving a review of this book.
Other erotic fantasies by D. R. Rosier:
Cirenthian Chronicles – Book one is Out of Darkness.
Marcus, an ancient vampire, finds himself moved to another world where suddenly he is alive again, and magic is a known and powerful danger. No longer a vampire and dealing with emotions he hasn’t felt in over a millennium, will he be able to start a new life? This series is now complete.
Necromancer Chronicles – Book one is The Necromancer.
Vincent is a necromancer and has an even darker secret. Feared by the rest of the supernatural community he lives on his own, often struggling with his powers, and how to use them. But change is coming, and he will soon find himself dragged into the middle of a suspicious and untrusting community.
Anise is a sorceress, but she has secrets of her own. She is an ancient being, who has walked the earth for time immemorial. She lives in a never ending cycle of life, forever watching those she dares to care about age and die. But she is about to find something new that will offer her hope, if she can live long enough to find it.
Cytherean Chronicles – Book one is Flame of Cytherea.
This two book series follows the chosen champion of a goddess, brought to her world and healed after he was mortally wounded on Earth. At first Justin is a little lost, not knowing anything about the world he finds himself in or even why he is there.
Ashley’s Tale – This two book series follows the tale of a woman with unique parentage in a world greatly different from our own Earth. It is twenty-five years in the future, and the supernatural have long since been exposed. Ashley must struggle with her conflicting nature to find a balance, and her hidden power, as she is taken unwillingly into an extraordinary destiny.
Ashley’s Daughters – This three book trilogy is about Ashley’s three daughters. It’s about a new world of dragons, and a second new world of human mages and all the fallout involved. Of course, it’s also about them finding love, and their place in the worlds. It starts about twenty-eight years after the end of Ashley’s tale.
Sentient – This is the standalone book following an artificial intelligence from an advanced race, a man who comes back from war a little broken, along with diverse others as the Earth itself is put into danger as they are dragged into an interstellar war against their will.
Sentient: Evolution – This is a sequel to the stand alone book Sentient. It takes place a thousand years later, when Aide finds herself alone and broken, yet still following her programming. Others join her as a new menace approaches, one that makes the Sthellan look like a great neighbor in comparison.
Will Aide be able to recover and rise to a new challenge? She’s been alive too long, she must either evolve, or wither away, if only she could bring herself to care…
More books and series can be found on my author’s page at amazon.com/author/drrosier
The Dragon Slayer and the… This is a series of novelettes in a unique world, each story will be different characters with HEA endings. These will be about eighty pages long and priced appropriately. The first book, The Dragon Slayer and the Princess, is now available:
Sir Lance Spears, Baron, knight dragon hunter, has been hunting dragons for ten years. It’s what he’s dedicated his life too, eradicating the dragons that destroy human villages and see humans as prey.
He’s also been alone for ten years, and tired of the women of the peerage that see nothing of him, only of his titles and money. Not to mention, they all play the courtly game and faint at his feet. That’s not what he wants. He wants a challenging intelligent woman who will help make life interesting.
He should have been more careful about what he wished for, as his life is about to become very complicated as nothing seems to make sense about his next dragon hunt. It doesn’t fit in his world view as he enters a neighboring kingdom to help slay a dragon. He’s not sure what’s going on, and he also can’t get a certain princess with fiery eyes and attitude out of his head either. He better figure it out though, or he could lose everything… including his life.
Return of Magic - This epic fantasy series follows Katie Merlin’s successor, and diverse others as magic reemerges in our world in response to a dire threat. The government is in tatters, technology stops working, and most of the world’s population is dead. A new era for mankind has started, and they must share it with other races, such as elves and dragons.
Melody Smith Novels – This is an urban fantasy that follows Melody Smith, a siren with hidden depths.
Melody Smith is a siren. It isn’t an easy life, most of the people around her are affected by her mere presence, and she has very few true friends in her life. Her love life is a disaster, and her boss and guardian, Brent, has been keeping secrets.
She’s about to find out she can become more than she ever would have guessed, if she can survive.
Shawn Moore Novels – This trilogy is an urban fantasy that follows a warlock named Shawn Moore
Shawn is a young man down on his luck, living in the streets. He isn’t lazy, it’s just for some reason people don’t like to be around him, and even fear him to a certain extent. They’d always had.
His life is about to change though, as a man named Ben tells him he had an uncle, an uncle that died and left him an estate. He isn’t sure he buys it, and has no idea he’ll soon be fighting for his very life.
Not to mention, fighting for his soul.
Ted Stedman Novels – This series is a mashup of litrpg, sci-fi, and other things. The first title in this series is Ted Online:
Ted Stedman had a prett
y good life so far. He’s forty-three years old, and still in good shape when something at work happens to put him in wheelchair. He finds his life is over, or at least the one he’d always known. That is, until a research doctor at his own company walks into his hospital room, and offers him a deal that seems too good to be true.
Join Ted as he enters a fully immersive online world, and finds that everything isn’t quite how he imagined it to be. He’ll have his new virtual life, access to the real world, and a game world to explore as well. As if three worlds to keep straight wasn’t complicated enough, he has even more surprises coming his way.
Mike Stedman Novels – This series is erotic sci-fi space opera. The first title in the series is Invasion:
Mike Stedman is unique. Not human. Not A.I.
He’s both.
He’s got himself a new ship to explore the stars that rivaled anything in the A.I. or Xaran fleets, a new position he never expected, and problems dropped into his lap that he didn’t see coming.
He wasn’t ready for it, he wanted to explore who he was, and the galaxy with his ship and companion Chrystal.
Then the biggest surprise of all, invasion. Worse, the Xaran empire’s technology isn’t up to the task, he needs to step up, and step up big.
Dark Dungeon – Book one of this trilogy is Dungeon Spawned.
Nurien wakes up in a crystal prison, a soul stone, and has no idea what happened to him, or what he was. It takes him a while to figure things out.
A dungeon imp eventually shows up to tell him what he is, a dark dungeon, and to help him learn and grow. Problem is, it doesn’t take long for him to figure out that things aren’t quite matching up to little Ebony’s expectations. Luckily, he has some other help in his head, another soul trapped in the crystal prison with him. Unluckily, that help is a power-hungry demoness from hell.