High House Draconis Box Set

by Riley Storm

  It was amazing!

  See. Told you, Mom. Told you, Dad. Plymouth Falls can do it. And I helped. You were wrong.

  Chapter 28

  Victor stayed a step or two behind Cheryl as they entered the fenced-off construction site, only speaking up to warn her of moving machinery if she got too excited and wandered close to a truck or excavator.

  This was the culmination of a decades-long dream, and he had no intention of spoiling it for her. The Outreach Center would employ hundreds of people from Plymouth Falls once it was done, and many hundreds—if not thousands—more during its construction. But it was just the start.

  Such a modern building out here, in an old, mostly abandoned section of town harkening back to the days a century or more ago when Plymouth Falls was a booming town would spur a new wave. Victor hoped the area would see a reinvigoration as others set up shop around the Outreach Center.

  Then there were the services that the Drakon Family would provide onsite. Medical, therapy, job training, re-education, life skills and more. It would be a place where someone in Plymouth Falls could come for help from others, or to learn how to help themselves.

  Daycare services for the busy parent or parents. After-school programs for youth. Call centers for those suffering and needing a helping hand. Job-search programs. Tourism and marketing for the town as a whole to encourage new residents and employers to move there, to help it grow.

  Yes, House Draconis was back, and they were going to make their impact on their hometown felt. Victor smiled to himself, knowing that neither House Ursa nor House Canis could pull something like this off. Not to the same extent, at least, though he hoped they too would open new facilities in this area of town, working together.

  “I feel like I’m dreaming. Pinch me!” Cheryl said, all but squealing in excitement as she witnessed the dramatic change even a day could make. “Did you even sleep?”

  “No,” he answered truthfully. “Too much to do. I don’t think the designers slept either, but they were well compensated, so it doesn’t matter. They’ll get over it.”

  “Look at you, being all generous,” she teased, looking over her shoulder at him, silvery-white hair flying everywhere with every bouncy step she took.

  Just beautiful.

  Victor wished he could frame that look on her face, so he could always be reminded of such pure joy. It was contagious too, judging by the smile he knew he was wearing as well. How could such happiness and upbeat spirit not be infectious to be around?

  “I figured there was no point in waiting around. We’ve known all along that the place had to be cleared out and zoned flat before we could start. Sure, they don’t know exactly where to dig for the sub-floors yet, but everything can be levelled, at least. It gets people working.” He paused, remembering how he’d acted before. “And it shows that I mean business. That I’m serious about these new plans, about getting to work right away.”

  “It’s going to take time,” Cheryl said, leaning her hard hat against his shoulder. “An artist’s rendering is one thing, but we need architectural drawings done up, to be gone over by teams of engineers. Everything has to be sourced, laborers, supplies, all that stuff. This is a multi-year project. You know that, right?”

  “I do. And as much of it will be done in Plymouth Falls as is humanly possible, though I’m sure some specialty stuff will have to be outsourced.”

  “Probably,” she said, lifting her head, but staying at his side as they walked, arms occasionally brushing against one another.

  Victor bit his lip, looking down at her. She was right there, so close to him, hard hat and soft gray business suit, white blouse, and black flats. Completely unsuitable for a construction site, but she didn’t care.

  And neither did he. All Victor could think about was reaching out and taking her hand. Slipping his fingers through hers.

  He wanted it. Wanted it badly, in fact, but he held back, restraining himself. Now was not the time. Not here in public. Cheryl had said as much already.

  “What?”

  Blinking, he realized she was looking back at him now, her eyes no longer wandering, but focused on his.

  “Uh, nothing,” he said. Brilliant. “Just watching you. I enjoy seeing you this way. You’re just so gorgeous when you smile.”

  Cheryl blushed hard, her cheeks turning nearly as red as the hard hat. “Thank you,” she said, unable to hide one of those signature grins that just set the dimples in her cheeks ablaze and made him want to sweep her up in a hug.

  Maybe one day. Give her time, though, she has a lot to adjust to.

  He hated having to deny something that had only grown stronger in him during their two days apart, but Victor knew something like this might take a little longer. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off by coming on too strong.

  There would be no mistakes this time. He would let it burn slowly, ensuring that what he thought he was feeling wasn’t just a physical longing.

  “What is that?” she exclaimed, suddenly looking past his shoulder.

  Victor turned as another engine of some sort rumbled to life.

  “Ah, that,” he said proudly. “That’s the beginnings of a crane they’re going to be assembling.”

  “A crane? Already? Isn’t that a bit…premature?” Cheryl asked, coming to stand at his shoulder.

  The backs of their hands brushed against one another, and he shivered, forcibly stopping himself from snagging it. It just felt so natural. So right.

  “Apparently, they’re not satisfied with the factory ruins and want to be able to get at it from above,” he said with a shrug. “Not a massive crane, but big enough. I didn’t question it, just approved it.”

  They watched in silence as the first section was lifted upright and then the “lifter” section squealed and pushed it up, leaving a gap for the next one to be inserted below.

  “So that’s how they do it,” he muttered. “I was wondering how they managed to get it upright.”

  Nearby, more cranes were swinging into action, this time mobile units. Four of them were attached to the upper half of the fixed crane, getting ready to lift that so it could be attached to the top of the base now extended from the “lifter”.

  Putting his arm around Cheryl, he guided her closer, giving them a first-hand look at everything as the cranes worked in unison to lift their larger brother from the ground.

  “So neat.”

  The crane arm went up, was rotated with smooth precision and then placed on top of its base, where men in safety harnesses waited to fix it into place.

  “Neat,” he echoed

  A moment later, there was a deep groan of stressed metal, followed by the shouts of men on site.

  “What’s wrong?” Cheryl asked, moving forward automatically.

  Victor wasn’t paying attention, however, because his nose was telling him someone else was there. Somewhere nearby. Someone powerful.

  Power knew power in the paranormal world. Scent, feel, aura, there were a thousand ways to describe it, all of them accurate. Like now, his dragon was screaming at him.

  Enemy!

  He couldn’t see anything though. Nothing that warned him. Supernaturally sharp eyes scanned in a slow circle as he looked for something, anything, that didn’t belong.

  Something snapped, and more shouts of alarm echoed from behind his back as he surveyed the grounds, but Victor’s attention wasn’t fixated on them. In fact, he’d already filtered the humans out of his mind. He needed to find whoever had trespassed onto House Draconis grounds and deal with them. Immediately.

  “Stay here,” he said, one particular pile of rubble catching and holding his attention for an unknown reason.

  He started walking toward it at an oblique angle, wondering just how he was going to handle whoever it was, without revealing what he truly was.

  And what the hell am I up against? It can’t be a vampire like Aaric suspects. Not in broad daylight like this. It would burn up in seconds if it exposed itse
lf to the sun!

  Cheryl’s voice came to him distantly. “Victor, I think something’s wrong.”

  “I agree. Stay here,” he mumbled, every instinct in his body yelling at him to run for the pile of rubble.

  He made himself walk straight, however, growing nearer but aimed off to the side.

  Metal shrieked behind him, loud enough to grab his attention. Spinning, Victor stared in horror as the crane began to topple, taking several of the mobile units with it.

  “Victor?” he heard Cheryl say uncertainly as the mass of metal plummeted right at her.

  There was only one way to save her, and the dragon shifter didn’t hesitate. He raced back the way he had come, feet covering ground at a pace no human could match. The exposed patches of his skin glowed an iridescent turquoise-violet as he called upon his heritage.

  Several tons of solid steel dropped like a rock from the sky, but gravity was no match for Victor’s sheer panicked desire to reach Cheryl’s side, and he draped himself over Cheryl’s crouched form with barely meters to go. Slamming his fists into the ground, he anchored himself against the impact.

  “Close your eyes!” he barely had time to shout, and then the crane slammed into his back, driving him down against Cheryl.

  The panicked cry for help from underneath him stabbed at Victor’s gut even as the scales on his back erupted in hellish pain. There was nothing more he could do for her. Nothing else, because he’d let his attention waver. Instead of protecting her, he’d left her.

  Eyes closed, Victor accepted the pain into him, taking it as punishment for abandoning her, for not doing as he should have. For not making her his priority.

  Never again, he thought to himself as the wreckage settled, dust billowing everywhere. This I promise you, Cheryl. I will protect you.

  “They’re in there somewhere! I saw them!” a voice shouted as the noise of the crash faded.

  Another sounded from another side. “Come on, we need to get them out! Someone call an ambulance.”

  “Are you hurt?” he asked quietly. “Cheryl?”

  “No,” came the terrified squeak. “I don’t think so at least.”

  He started to smile, but then felt Cheryl start to shake under him, followed moments later by coughs.

  “Pull your shirt up over your nose and mouth,” he ordered, fighting back his own urge to cough. His system could handle the debris, but Cheryl’s human system was much more vulnerable.

  There was lots of shouting from the outside, but nobody was nearby. They wouldn’t be able to start digging them out. Not yet. Closing his eyes Victor called out to his dragon, feeling his power, letting it spread in the air around him. The little bubble of safety enclosed under the fallen wreckage quickly grew humid and damp.

  It was uncomfortable, but the moisture pulled the debris from the air, and he sent it swirling around, creating a tiny little clear patch. Victor couldn’t control the air, but he could still make it easier for Cheryl to breathe.

  “That should be better,” he said as his own vision cleared, and his lungs started working easier.

  “Yes, much,” Cheryl agreed.

  “Hold out your hands, like a cup.”

  Then Victor poured cool, fresh moisture into them, first cleansing them of dirt, and then pooling it for her to drink.

  “Well that’s handy,” Cheryl said, washing out her mouth and then drinking some down.

  Looking at her upside down, still forming a sort of crab overtop of her, Victor smiled, but it was still weak, shot through with fear. “I’m sorry,” he said into the silence that followed.

  “Sorry for what?” Cheryl wanted to know, looking around in confusion. “You just saved my life.”

  “I left you,” he said. “I saw something…something related to my other side, I thought. I went after it, leaving you alone in danger. I shouldn’t have done it. I swear, I will never let you walk into danger alone again. I promise.”

  “Victor,” she said, reaching out to cup his face awkwardly with one hand, feeling his chin and cheeks with a backward grip due to his being inverted. “You couldn’t have known. I’m fine because of you. So, don’t blame yourself for preventing something terrible.”

  He wanted to say more, but she pressed a finger to his lips, then leaned forward and kissed him. It was weird that the last thing he would see before closing his eyes was her neck as their lips met, but the tender, quiet moment between them was more than welcomed.

  “It’s still not going to happen again,” he reiterated after they broke apart to the sounds of machines cutting metal.

  “Okay,” she said with a laugh, still curled up in a tiny crouch under his shield of a body. “I’m going to be okay without reliving what just happened here a second time. That’s perfectly okay by me.”

  They both shared a laugh.

  “I wish nobody was around,” he muttered. “I could get us out of here so much easier.”

  “You know you’re going to have to move at some point,” Cheryl pointed out. “This looks a little suspicious. Plus you’re still glowing. If they see that…”

  “Right. Thanks,” he said, forgetting the human factor in their rescue.

  Easing himself out of his arched form, he hesitated, ready to push up if the metal started to collapse, but the crane had settled by now and bent around his hardened form. It wasn’t moving. The dust around them was finally swirling clear too, and they could start to see through to the outside.

  “I think we can crawl out, to be honest,” he said, pointing behind her. “These bars are far enough apart…”

  “Okay. I’d like to get out. Lead on,” she said.

  Together, slowly, they wormed their way through the mass of tangled, fallen bars, at one point having to move up and over some. But eventually, they emerged into daylight, where he immediately enveloped her in a huge hug that left her feet dangling in the air.

  “Put me down,” she hissed. “Someone might see.”

  “Let them,” he growled. “I’m done hiding.”

  “Hiding what?” she asked, pulling back in the hug to eye him suspiciously.

  “That I’m interested in you.” It was all he could force himself to say, the words not coming easily. Victor wasn’t sure if that was because he didn’t know what else to say, or if he simply didn’t know how. Emotions were not something he was used to discussing, unless they were anger.

  “Oh, you are, are you? Well, I’m at work still, and while I don’t hate your arms around me, it’s a little unprofessional,” Cheryl said, though she was smiling as she wiggled free of his grip.

  “Perhaps later,” he suggested. “After work.”

  “Maybe,” Cheryl said as shouts started to echo around as the workers spotted them, abandoning their efforts to cut through the crane on the other side. “But for now, we’re going to have to endure a lot of things.”

  “Yeah,” Victor said, but his senses were being pulled outward. Again.

  Whoever it was, they were still there. His eyes scanned the approaching crowd but he couldn’t sense anything from them as the workers rushed up to Cheryl and him, slapping backs, asking if they were injured, many of them excitedly describing the crash with hand gestures.

  Victor saw none of it. Taller than all but a few workers, he looked around, trying to spot—

  “Stay here,” he hissed, knowing that this time, she was safe.

  Chapter 29

  Like an eel in water, he slid through the crowd after his prey. The figure, a shorter humanoid wearing a full body covering including gloves, jerked in surprise and then turned to flee.

  I’ve got you now, Victor thought, breaking out into a sprint as he pushed through the last of the workers hard enough to send one of them tumbling to the ground. He would apologize. Later. After he’d caught the saboteur.

  The fleeing suspect bolted around one of the mobile cranes, momentarily disappearing from his sight, but Victor had the scent now. He followed the trail, catching sight of his prey once more as the
y rounded a massive pile of debris, trying to lose him in the maze of junk that littered the site.

  Now he was out of sight of the humans, Victor poured on the speed until he caught a glimpse of his quarry, just a blur of shoes. Whoever it was, they were fast too.

  Non-human. I knew it!

  That left a question of who it might be, however, because vampires couldn’t survive in the sun. Another shifter, perhaps? But why would they be so intent on trying to kill him and Cheryl? It made no sense, as the dragons had barely been awake and active in the world for a year now, and Victor only for the past six months. His brain couldn’t make sense of why any of them would be after him already.

  “I will catch you!” he shouted, but only received silence as a reply. “Fine, we’ll do it the hard way then.”

  They were running around the perimeter of the downed factory building now, the several-acre building broken up into piles of rubble several stories tall. Shattered concrete and bent metal beams stuck up at every which angle as the two men zigzagged through the piles, leaping over anything in their way.

  Victor went to full speed at a straightaway and caught up at long last, leaping forward and tackling the person to the ground, spilling their hat in the process.

  “What the fuck?” he growled as he grabbed at the person’s head, but only came away with a fistful of rubber.

  There was a pained scream and his target yanked with sudden immense strength, pulling the face back to him.

  It was only as he lost his grip that Victor realized what he was looking at. A rubber mask. The person was wearing a rubber mask that covered their entire head!

  And rubber would block out the sun’s rays.

  He snaked himself around, trying to lock up the vampire, for it could be nothing else, he knew now, but the creature was too quick, working his way onto Victor’s back. An arm like steel slid under his neck and started to squeeze.

  Victor inhaled sharply before his air supply was cut off, filling his lungs. Then he got to his feet, the vampire hanging from his back like some sort of spider monkey.