Dragons and Magic

by Blair Babylon

  “Then we’ll bring them in through the back doors.”

  “Angels fly. They’ll fly right over that fountain full of sea monsters and slimy, green crud.”

  “We still need to figure out what to do about it. Maybe I’ll shift to my dragon and order the serpents to keep their ugly heads underwater.”

  “Yeah,” Bethany said, cringing again.

  He was right, though.

  But they didn’t have to go yet.

  The neon-glowing apes sprinted around the ballroom, carrying chairs over their heads or tables slung between them while Bethany conducted the operation, her arms flailing.

  In an hour, the ballroom was staged, and the gorillas leaped into the air and dissipated into smoke.

  Bethany performed another summoning, steeling herself for statistically what was likely to be a catastrophic failure. She hadn’t had a glitterbomb in weeks. Her spellwork that morning had been outperforming her work on every previous occasion.

  She braced herself, eyes slitted, for glitter grenades or a slimy green waterfall full of slithering sea serpents to manifest.

  Math asked, “Bethany? You okay?”

  She waved him off and focused her energy on punching the portal and summoning the spirits.

  Crayon-colored storks and flying foxes soared through her hole in the veils of reality, carrying tablecloths and chair-covers draped between them.

  Red pandas, looking like crosses between bears and foxes, trundled in, running upright and holding pink and green floral centerpieces in their front paws.

  Good Lords of Magic, she hadn’t screwed up.

  Oh, it was going to be so much worse when she finally did.

  But she got to directing these apparitions at dressing the ballroom.

  In twenty minutes, the cavernous space looked like it was ready for a fancy wedding reception.

  With the last of the tables ready, Bethany clapped her hands, and the red-panda and stork apparitions spun in the air and vanished.

  With the ballroom staged, she couldn’t procrastinate any longer.

  She turned to Math. “Okay, fine. Let’s go.”

  Math slapped his laptop closed. “Things are going on back at New Wales, too. We’ll need to go there after the angel investors leave.”

  “We?” Bethany squeaked.

  “Yeah,” Math sighed, looking downcast. Bethany felt waves of reticence roll off of him through their mating bond. Wow, there was something he really didn’t want to tell her. “We need to talk about New Wales and dragon society. There’s some stuff happening you need to be briefed on. But first, we need to see about those dang sea monsters in the fountain out front.”

  “We could totally talk about New Wales. Let’s talk about New Wales.”

  “Nope,” he said. “I’m still the CFO of this casino, for the time being, at least, and I say let’s deal with those serpents.”

  Well, Math was still her boss, even if she was sleeping with the boss.

  “Okay,” Bethany sighed.

  They walked through the lobby of the casino, where glistening rows of card tables lined up into the gloomy distance. The chairs, serving stations, and dark slot machines were in good shape, but Bethany would task her minions with one last polish tomorrow morning before the angel investors arrived.

  The sliding doors opened, and they strolled out into the harsh desert sunlight.

  Ahead of them, amidst a sea of concrete, the fountain sparkled in the sun.

  Wait, sparkled?

  Yes, the fountain’s switched-off mechanicals and the clean water in the pond were sparkling. Tall nozzles that would spray water upward twinkled silver. Black gaskets gleamed.

  “What happened to it?” Bethany asked, placing her hands on the warm cement retaining wall and leaning over.

  Math wrapped one strong arm around her waist and dragged her back a step, doubtlessly thinking he was saving her from another green slime-based assassination attempt. “Careful.”

  “The green slime is all gone. Did the serpents eat it?”

  “Sea serpents are piscivores, not vegetarians. They eat fish, a lot of fish. Dragons are obligate carnivores and don’t eat plants. They wouldn’t eat algae.”

  “Oh, no. The poor things must have been so hungry.”

  “They’re reptilian, though. Their metabolic rate is lower than that of mammals’. They should be able to go for weeks or longer between feedings.”

  Bethany looked at him. “You don’t have a slow metabolism.”

  He shrugged. “That’s the fire thing. Generating fire takes a lot of energy. And flying. But sea serpents don’t do either of those. Algae and plankton are tiny. I’ve never seen a serpent eat anything smaller than a medium-sized shark.”

  The broad head of a sea monster broke through the pond’s surface, horns shining in the sun and tendrils trailing behind it. It leered at them with its horizontal-barred eye and grinned with its many-tusked mouth before diving back into the dark, silent water.

  Bethany said, “It looks like it could eat a shark. They look kind of sickly, though. Maybe they should be eating more than just algae.”

  Another sea serpent breached the surface, shaking its head that was ringed with tentacles like a lion’s mane. As it fell back toward the water, it opened its wide maw and nose-dived toward a fountain fixture, half-swallowing the tall prong.

  Math backed up a step. “Oh, my.”

  Bethany blinked. “What’s it doing?”

  Math flinched away. “I think it’s cleaning the algae off, but—”

  The sea serpent worked its mouth up and down the fountain spigot, scraping with its teeth and sucking off every last bit of plankton and algae.

  Bethany winced as she watched the serpent bobbing up and down the rod. “That looks obscene.”

  The sea monster’s wet mouth slurped as it gobbled the steel.

  Math said, “It can’t do that while the angel investors are here. Those kinds of ranches are only legal outside the city limits.”

  The sea monster gagged, coughing and horking as it swallowed.

  Math covered his eyes. “Oh! Geez, Bethany. Can’t you order them to stop?”

  “Controlling legendaries is Master Mage-level magic. Can’t you go alpha dragon and order them to stop?”

  The sea serpent thrashed as it thrust the rod deeper into its own throat, it’s long, snake-like tail whipping the water.

  They dodged the waves of water sloshing out of the fountain.

  He said, “They’re eating. I can’t order them to starve themselves to death. Can’t you conjure up some fish for them to eat?”

  “Apparitions don’t have physical bodies. They’re manifested spirits. The sea serpents would still be hungry if they ate apparition fish. My usual guys don’t eat. I guess legendaries need to eat, though.”

  The sea serpent slobbered and sucked on the spigot as it thrashed in the water.

  A rogue wave jumped the retaining wall and slapped Bethany, knocking her off her feet.

  Beside her, Math staggered backward and grabbed her hand to help her off the cement.

  Sun-warmed water streamed down her soaked hair and clothes, puddling in her shoes.

  “Are you okay?” Math asked, horrified. “You didn’t swallow any, did you?”

  She spit fresh water out of her mouth and laughed. “No, but I have to say, that water is a thousand times cleaner than it was last week.”

  “At least those damned creatures ate the green slime,” Math muttered. “Come on, let’s go back to the penthouse and get those wet clothes off of you.”

  Bethany nodded. “Yeah, I need to change into something dry.”

  “That is not what I said.”

  Angel Investors

  THE angels’ alabaster wings glared in the sunlight as they circled and coasted down to the back doors of the casino.

  Math plastered his most unassuming smile onto his face. “I trust your flight went well?”

  “We encountered turbulence over the Sierr
a Madres,” the first one intoned, his golden halo spreading out around his head and bleeding into the surrounding air.

  The updrafts weren’t that bad. Math had ridden them hundreds of times. “Sorry to hear that.”

  Two more angels landed behind the first one. Their combined halos outshone even the desert sun.

  The one on the left announced, “The updrafts were less than optimal.”

  “That’s a common complaint,” Math said, refraining from rolling his eyes. “This way into the casino?”

  “We want to observe the view when guests arrive,” the angel said, his sonorous voice spreading out through the casino. “We shall enter through the front.”

  “We can see that on our way out.” Math opened the steel door that would lead the angels through the kitchens and to the casino. “This way?”

  The angels glanced at each other—radiant blue and black eyes meeting and speaking silent volumes—but they followed Math into the casino.

  So far, so good.

  The casino itself gleamed and sparkled in the overhead pin lights as they walked through.

  Math glanced back at the angels, who gazed impassively over the stunning work Bethany had performed with her magic. Their enormous wings trailed on the carpeting and remained pristine white because Bethany’s anteaters had hoovered up every trace of dirt. The angels’ bare feet padded on the carpeting, where no nails or splinters assaulted them. When their gauzy togas drifted in the air conditioners’ breeze and caressed the perfectly positioned, gleaming poker tables and chairs, no dust rose into their air in their wakes.

  Angels weren’t known for emoting, particularly, but the three semi-divine beings seemed impressed as they walked through the casino and then the pristine ballroom, Math was sure. The chandeliers’ ropes of crystals glittered in the sunlight, and the snowy tablecloths draped elegantly over the tables. The china place settings stood in clean, concentric circles, and the crystal wine glasses and goblets reflected the starry lights from above.

  They damn sure should be impressed. This place had been a disaster area just four weeks before.

  After an hour of touring where Math showcased their lovely, tastefully decorated, and amazingly clean set-up, the head angel—whose name Math hadn’t gotten, but that wasn’t unusual, either—stated, “We will now view the fountain at the forefront. Our brethren reported that previously, it was befouled.”

  Yeah, that green slime had been as befouling as the rumored depths of Hell.

  The angel uttered, “We shall observe it now.”

  “All right. This way.” Math led the way to the front of the dim casino, toward where sunlight glowed against the windows and rotating doors.

  There was a minor kerfuffle when the angels’ trailing wings got caught in the rotating doors. Math had to scoop up the feathery confections like a lady’s wedding dress’s train and carry them through while the angels pushed. Evidently, they didn’t feel at all odd with him cuddled up to their backs as they shuffled in a circle. Math emerged with the head angel into the blinding, broiling afternoon sunlight.

  Over by the fountain, Bethany stood on the cement retaining wall that ringed the fountain, her slim form dark and lithe in the bright afternoon.

  Math continued around the revolving door and escorted the other two angels out, holding onto their wings. The silky feathers in his hands felt more like diaphanous lingerie than like a big ol’ bird, but maybe that was just his brain’s first association upon seeing Bethany Aura waiting for them over by the fountain.

  When he had herded—maybe, flocked—the angels outside, they walked toward where Bethany stood on the fountain wall, her head held high, her fists braced on her hips.

  Birds swirled above the fountain, riding the air currents from the sun-warmed cement.

  A whole lot of birds.

  Magpies. They were swooping magpies.

  And they were all the colors of the rainbow.

  Witchy power rolled off Bethany like waves.

  God, Math loved it when she was spellcasting. It made him want to take her to bed and see what else that power could do.

  He said to the angels, “May I introduce my dragonmate, Bethany Aura.”

  The leading angel inclined his head, his halo crackling around him. “Dragonmate Bethany Aura, it is our pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

  Behind Bethany, in the pond of the fountain, a broad, round head began to breach the surface. Tentacles slithered above the water.

  Bethany flicked her fingers.

  A chartreuse magpie swooped toward the sea monster’s head and attacked it with its sharp beak and claws, nearly taking out the monster’s eye.

  The sea serpent sank below the surface, leaving nary a ripple.

  Bethany smiled at the angels. “Charmed.”

  Math called the control booth, and the newly cleaned fountain sprang to life, jetting clear, fresh-smelling water into the air. Mist cooled them as the water spouts danced.

  Math asked the angels, “Seen enough?”

  “Yes,” the head angel enunciated. “We will now look over the financial records.”

  That was easier. Math had ferreted out the embezzler, Folant Vishap, who had been the head of the Finance division, and submitted his report to King Llywelyn the day before. Math had written a scathing report naming-and-shaming the culprit and telling the King that he was one hundred percent certain, which he was. He’d filed a complaint to sue the man to return the money and contacted the DA’s office to have him arrested.

  Math had left a voice message for the king while Bethany had made like a sea serpent on a fountain fixture, so to speak, trying to get him to crack while he recited the details.

  He’d repaid the favor with interest afterward, because the legends about dragons liking to eat fair maidens were absolutely true. He’d used his serpentine tongue on her until she’d cried for mercy, and then he’d taken her bent over a couch until she’d clenched around him, as the mating bond channeled his ecstasy into her body.

  Math smiled at the angels. “Right this way.”

  When he glanced back at Bethany, she was still holding her position, right up until she bent to wipe some water spots off the side of the retaining wall.

  Another sea serpent dared poke its head above the surface.

  A gesture from Bethany’s graceful fingers sent her platoon of magpies dive-bombing it until it cowered below as she polished the water spots away.

  God, he loved everything about her.

  Through their mating bond, he pushed a wave of love and a memory of him lying on his back as she rode him, grinding down on him as she came.

  He heard her gasp as he walked behind the angels and, once again, helped them negotiate the revolving door so that their wings wouldn’t get shorn off.

  New Wales Dragon Clan

  BETHANY stood inside the Dragon Palace, waiting for an audience with the Dragon King and Dragon Queen.

  From the outside, the Dragon Palace wasn’t so much an antique European castle as it was a beautiful Spanish mansion from the 1920s, perched on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She estimated the square footage at twenty thousand feet, with maybe ten bedrooms and a few extra bathrooms, plus the enormous ballroom and entertaining rooms.

  Inside, however, it looked exactly like an antique European castle.

  Enormous paintings of people wearing ball gowns and tiaras or tuxedos and royal honors filled the walls all the way up to the high ceilings. Subtle tattoos—dragonmate markings—peeked from under the glittering necklaces and starched collars of the depicted people, and the irises of their eyes held a thousand colors, as close as an oil paint artist could come to the distinctive eye characteristic of the mated dragon.

  Bethany was sure that Math could have transformed into his airplane-sized dragon in the ballroom they’d walked through, and he probably could have sat up on his hind legs in this vast, cavernous waiting room. The tufted furnishings were upholstered in rich, sumptuous velvets and trimmed with thick
fringe.

  And now, they stood in a white hallway, waiting for the Dragon King.

  Across from where they sat on a tufted couch, an enormous portrait of the two monarchs loomed, making them appear twelve feet tall. The Queen wore a gold and sapphire tiara with her cobalt blue ball gown, while the king wore a black tux. Royal honors, which looked like military ribbons, formed a solid block over the left side of the king’s chest, and he wore a glittering medal dangling beneath the many ribbons, a scarlet sash across his chest and under his coat, pinned with a five-pointed, gemstone-lined star on his hip, an eight-pointed gold and ruby star below his white bow-tie, precious-stone-encrusted buttons on his coat, an ornate livery collar that looked like a wide, flat necklace but was laid wide on his broad shoulders, three rings, and a gold watch.

  Her mate, Mathonwy Draco, sat beside her, leaning back on the settee with his long legs crossed at his ankles. He must have seen that she was inventorying the king’s jewelry. “I must have mentioned that dragons like to give pretty rocks to their mates.”

  “That’s a lot of pretty rocks, he’s wearing,” Bethany mused.

  “It’s one of our few redeeming traits. I remember that you were wearing those shoes when we first met in the HR office. The sparkle caught my eye.”

  Bethany regarded her violet witch boots, turning her ankle to let the glitter catch the sunlight. “They’re comfortable. I didn’t know that sparkly shoes were dragon bait. Wait, isn’t the king a dragon?”

  “No. Queen Bronwyn is the dragon. King Llywelyn is her dragonmate. He’s a mage, I think.”

  Bethany frowned. “Is that weird?”

  “What?” Math asked.

  “That your king isn’t a dragon?”

  “Queen Bronwyn is a dragon.”

  “Yeah, I know. But the king isn’t a dragon.”

  “Because he’s her dragonmate.”

  “Okay. Nevermind.”

  Math shrugged. “It’s been pretty evenly matched, the last few centuries, as to which mate in the Royal Couple is the dragon. But the monarchs are chosen by a magical item, the Dragon Scepter. No one understands how it chooses.”