Claim the Dragon

by A. C. Arthur

  “What you got for me today, Ravyn?” Happy Winters rubbed his hands together as he waited behind the counter to see what Ravyn was going to pull out of her bag.

  She’d been going to Happy for years, exchanging her stolen goods for cash that went to building and maintaining Safeside. He was a trusted counterpart and they enjoyed doing business together.

  “Here,” she said when she was finally able to pull her hand free of the backpack she’d been carrying. She’d wrapped the knife in a wad of dark green material and now slapped it onto the counter with a loud thud. Not on purpose, but because her arm felt so heavy she’d needed to hurry and put it down.

  “You okay there?” Happy asked with a lift of his bushy white brows. The hair was a stark contrast to the deep terra-cotta hue of his skin.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she muttered. “How much can you give me for it? Word on the street is it’s worth at least half a million.”

  “Whoa.” Happy was already shaking his head even though he hadn’t finished unwrapping the material from the knife. “You know I don’t carry that type of cash. But let’s take a look-see, and then we’ll go from there.”

  She did know and she wasn’t actually expecting him to give her that amount of money, but she wanted him to know she was well aware of what was in her possession.

  “Hmmmm,” he said when he finally had the knife uncovered. He didn’t touch it but ducked down behind the counter for a few moments before rising with a book in his hand.

  Happy had books stacked all over this place—kind of like she’d had in her bookstore. It sparked warm memories each time she came into this place, which was probably why she liked it so much. The shop wasn’t big and was nestled between a donut shop and a video game store at the corner of Canal and Benning Streets. There was a narrow staircase once you came through the front door and then the space opened to what looked like a bookstore instead of a pawn shop.

  Ravyn felt a little woozy so she rested an elbow on the counter and closed her eyes while waiting for the nausea to pass. She’d had colds before and had even had a touch of pneumonia a few years back, but she’d never had the flu—which is what Lorna Meg had assured her she had a few days ago. Whatever it was, it was past time for it to have done its damage and moved along. She was sick of feeling sick all the damn time.

  “Ohhh,” Happy said.

  He reached out and grabbed wire-framed glasses from the paper cup sitting near the cash register, then slipped them on his face. Why he hadn’t done that before he’d started reading whatever had him so intrigued in that book, she didn’t know, but she really needed him to hurry up. Her stomach was churning and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to hold the nothing in her stomach back much longer.

  “I don’t believe it,” Happy said just as a chill eased down her spine.

  It was a slow movement, as if someone was dragging an ice cube down the center of her back, and she pushed herself up to stand straight. Seconds ago she’d been sweating, and now that chill from her spine was spreading through her body.

  “What don’t you believe?” she asked Happy, but she was already surveying the room.

  To the left was a darker area than to the right because there was no window on that side. No window meant no exit, if she needed to make one. To the right were the two windows that faced the street. A second-story drop but she wasn’t thinking about jumping out of a window. Was she? That depended on the feeling that was growing inside her, the suspicion that someone was coming, or was perhaps already here.

  “Where’d you say you got this?” he asked her.

  Ravyn shook her head. “I didn’t say.” Even though she was certain he knew, she never told Happy that she stole anything or who she stole it from. Those were details that could get both of them in trouble, so they’d had a silent agreement to never divulge them. But today he was asking and she couldn’t help but wonder why.

  She watched as he ran a finger along the words in a book with tattered end pages. He flipped a page and it made a crackling sound. There was a picture on the next page.

  “There,” he said and turned the book around so she could look at it right-side up. “That’s what this is.”

  Her vision was a little blurry, had been for the days since she’d been sick, but Ravyn closed her eyes, waited a few seconds and opened them again. The words came clear this time.

  “Tutankhamun.” She recited the first word she saw. “What does this have to do with my money?”

  “It has everything to do with why I’m not giving you any money,” he said. “Read on.”

  But his directive was too late. “What do you mean you’re not giving me any money? That’s what we do, Happy. I bring in items and you pay me for them. That’s our business arrangement.”

  Happy shook his head, his lips turning down into a frown that was a direct contrast to his name. “Not this time, Ravyn. I can’t.”

  “What do you mean you can’t?” She’d raised her voice, something she’d never done with Happy before because he was probably old enough to be her grandfather. “This knife is the real deal. There’s a picture right here in one of your ancient books, so that should mean something to you.”

  “It does mean something to me, Ravyn. And if what that book says is true, which I believe it is, it’s gonna mean a whole bunch of something to you too.”

  “What are you talking about?” She shook her head because his words were beginning to sound like they were coming through a tunnel as her ears clogged up again. “I just want my money so I can get back home. I won’t bother you anymore if that’s what you’re trying to say. But please, give me my money now. I’ll take whatever you offer.”

  But if he offered her something insanely low, she might be forced to threaten a man she’d come to feel quite fondly about.

  “I can’t. Not just because of the...the—” he paused, looked down at the book, then shook his head as he glanced back up at her “—but because it won’t let me.”

  “What?” Now her head was throbbing and she was thoroughly confused. “What won’t let you? Happy, you’re confusing me and you’re giving me a horrible headache.”

  He gasped and backed up so far, he slammed against another one of his shelves, sending books tumbling to the floor.

  “It has begun.”

  “What has begun? What the hell is wrong with you?” And what was wrong with her? Not only were her teeth chattering now, but Happy seemed to be swaying from side to side.

  “The curse,” he whispered so low she barely heard him.

  “The what?”

  “He said ‘the curse.’”

  Ravyn whipped around to see the same guy who’d been on the roof, at the club and just about everywhere else she’d been in the past few weeks standing four feet away, dark shades covering his eyes, hands pushed into the front pocket of his pants.

  She instinctively reached into the waist of her jeans to pull her knife free, but her fingers tangled in the jacket Cree had insisted she wear and before she could summon more strength to untangle them, the guy was right in front of her, grabbing both her wrists.

  “Let go of me!” she yelled.

  “Don’t touch her!” Happy yelled, as well. “It will kill anyone who touches the owner of the dagger. The words are clear. ‘Death comes to the owner and all who come near them before the next full moon.’ I won’t buy this. Get it and her out of my shop!”

  What the hell was going on? Happy was yelling. The guy with the long thick locks bound at his nape was holding her wrists tightly while frowning at Happy. And she was going to throw up.

  “She’s not capable of hurting me,” the guy said. “Grab the dagger and let’s go.”

  “Wait a minute,” she said and pulled her arms away from his grasp. Where the strength had come from to actually achieve that feat, Ravyn had no idea but in seconds she was stumbling back from the
guy and her arms were free. “You don’t tell me what to do. I don’t know why you’ve been following me but if you aren’t the law, you need to step off. And you!” She turned toward Happy pointing down at the knife...because she had no idea why they were now calling it a dagger. “Get me my money!”

  “You can’t sell what you’re not supposed to have,” said the guy who not only looked a lot sexier up close and personal but also smelled like what she presumed to be a chunk of heaven. The rich savory scent had wafted up her nostrils and through all the crap that had been clogging them up for days until she was not only breathing clearly but was now swooning at the magnificent scent.

  “And I’m not buying no cursed dagger. You can just take it and go.” Happy didn’t rewrap the knife, but he did use the edge of his book to push the material holding it closer to the edge of the counter.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” she admitted because damn was everything around her doing a complete one-eighty these days?

  “He’s telling you the dagger is cursed because it was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun.”

  Happy nodded enthusiastically. “That’s right. Listen to him. It’s cursed because the pharaohs put a curse on everything that was packed into the tombs so that anyone who dared disturb the tomb of the ancient Egyptians, especially another pharaoh, would die for their efforts. This dagger is going to kill you, Ravyn, and anybody that sticks around you won’t survive either.”

  She looked down at the knife...dagger...and then back up at Happy. “It’s just a knife. And it’s worth a lot of money that I need.”

  “Nope. Nope. Nope. I’m not buying that. And I’d like you to hurry up and get it out of my place if you don’t mind.” Happy stepped back again but looked over his shoulder before colliding with the shelf this time. He folded his arms over his chest and shook his head as if to magnify his words.

  “He’s right. There is a curse. But I can help you,” the sexy guy with locks said.

  He wore dark jeans and a button-front white shirt. His blue jacket looked a little like an enforcer’s minus the gold buttons and regalia on the shoulders. And now that she was staring at him close up in the light of the shop, he was much broader than any enforcer she’d ever seen. From his wide shoulders, to the muscled arms and chest she could tell would be chiseled and well-toned by the way the shirt barely stretched over it, he was a masterpiece. The tips of her fingers tingled with the urge to touch him, to explore and maybe to... Holy crap, was she turned on by this guy?

  “Who the hell are you? And why have you been following me?” Those questions made a lot more sense than Why do I want to wrap my legs around you right now?

  “My name’s Steele Eze. I can help. Let’s just—” He paused and moved to the counter to reach for the green material.

  Something—a lot stronger than the buddings of arousal she’d just been experiencing—soared through Ravyn’s chest, swirling like a hurricane and pushing her forward so that she hurriedly wrapped the dagger and then picked it up to pull closer to her chest.

  “You’re not going to steal this from me,” she insisted.

  He didn’t seem as afraid of the dagger, or her for that matter, as Happy did. She was so pissed at the pawn dealer she tried not to spare him another look.

  “I’m going to help you,” Steele said. “Just come with me and we’ll see what we can do about this situation.”

  Ravyn was shaking her head but she couldn’t take her eyes off this man. He hadn’t answered her question about why he’d been following her and she didn’t have time to go round and round with him. If Happy wasn’t going to buy the dagger, then she needed to find someone who would.

  Without another word she pushed past the stranger and ran down the stairs, slamming through the door until she was outside in the cool autumn air. Her legs must have been moving fast because people seemed to be everywhere around her, buzzing by in flashes. She was no longer sweating and the twisting and turning of her stomach she’d unfortunately become used to in the past days had ceased. Well, at least that was something good to happen today, she was finally getting over the flu.

  There was an antiques dealer a few blocks away. The cool air felt good against her skin so she decided to keep walking.

  “Excuse me,” she mumbled when a man was coming right for her and she didn’t have enough time to move out of his way.

  The man didn’t reply and she barely felt their bodies collide, but Ravyn didn’t care, she kept on moving. She’d seen the picture of the dagger in that book Happy had. When she’d owned her bookstore, she carried very few archaeology books because, given her proximity to the airport, her best sellers were novels and magazines. The book Happy had looked old and authentic, so there might be some sort of ridiculous lore surrounding the dagger. All that meant was she had to get rid of it a lot sooner. Coming to a stop at the curb, she pulled the dagger away from her chest and tried to readjust the material around it. The traffic light was taking an awful long time to change, so she pulled her backpack around to her front and stuffed the dagger back inside. When she adjusted the backpack again and was about to walk across the street, there was a woman standing in front of her.

  “Excuse me, ma’am,” Ravyn said and stepped to the side.

  The woman remained in front of her. Had she moved with her? Ravyn didn’t recall seeing her take a step, but then again she’d been looking at her feet. And why did she even care?

  “Sorry,” Ravyn said this time and stepped in the other direction so she could cross.

  “No need to apologize,” the woman replied, but her lips hadn’t moved.

  Of that Ravyn was certain because she’d been staring at the odd hat the woman wore. If odd could be translated to mean old, because she could have sworn that was the type of hat worn in some of the old black-and-white movies Kal Pagen watched at Safeside because their satellite signal was spotty and the channels which hosted the more recent movies were often the first to blink out.

  And had she just acknowledged that the woman’s lips hadn’t moved? Ravyn admitted she was having a day, or actually a week, considering the illness, but how often had she run into a ventriloquist, and why would said ventriloquist waste her talent by striking fear in someone walking down the street? Ravyn’s heart skipped a beat at the thought that the woman might be something other than a person who was trained to talk without moving their lips.

  With a shake of her head, Ravyn continued across the street. But now she was much more attuned to the people around her. There were so many, more than she’d ever seen on a Thursday afternoon in this area of Burgess. It was strange but she’d seen stranger—the cursed dagger she was carrying, for instance. The antiques store was a few steps ahead and she was just about to skirt around a trio of men standing on the sidewalk so she could get to the door when a hand on her elbow stopped her.

  “You need to come with me,” a man said, and she knew who it was before she even looked up to see his face.

  Yanking her arm away, Ravyn balled her hands into fists and lifted them in the stance that said she was ready to fight. “If you don’t back the hell up and stay away from me, there’s gonna be trouble.”

  He didn’t move. “There’s already going to be trouble. That’s why I need you to listen to me. Let me take the dagger and—”

  “Fuck off!” she yelled and punched him in the chest. His chest felt like his name, hard as steel, which was kinda sexy, but he hadn’t budged an inch. She hadn’t actually presumed that striking him would move a man his size out of her way. It was meant to let him know she was serious about him leaving her alone.

  “You don’t understand.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” she snapped and this time when she flattened her palms against his massive chest and pushed him, a rush of adrenaline soared through her and he did stumble back a step.

  He looked more startled than she felt ab
out the strength she’d managed to accumulate in just a few moments. With no explanation for how or why that had happened she figured it was better to quit while she was ahead. Dodging around the three men on the street she ran into the antiques shop and hurried to the back of the store where the owner usually sat at a small table having tea while she waited for customers.

  “Welcome, welcome, my dear. I’ve been waiting for you,” the older woman said when Ravyn came to a stop just short of crashing into her table with the old floral decorated tea set.

  Ravyn was about to speak again but instead blinked at what the woman had said. No, the woman couldn’t have meant she was waiting for Ravyn specifically. Just for any customer, right? She shook those thoughts away.

  Without hesitating Ravyn said, “I need to sell something, and fast.”

  * * *

  “Dammit!” Steele yelled as the continued buzzing of the communicator on his wrist stopped him from going into the shop behind Ravyn.

  Turning his back toward the street so no one would see him talking to his arm, he answered it. “Yeah?”

  “Staff meeting in twenty minutes. New clients and updates. Theo wants everyone there. That means you, Steele.” Magnum spoke in clipped sentences with that matter-of-fact tone Steele hated as much as his smartass banter.

  “I’m kinda tied up right now.”

  “Unless you mean you’re literally tied and bound by some evil demonic who’s about to feast on your heart, there’s no excuse. Get here, now!”

  “Just fill me in later.” Steele sighed, not even trying to hide his exasperation.

  “Don’t make me come get you.”

  Fuck!

  Magnum would come get him if Steele continued to resist and when his brother arrived, the city of Burgess might not survive their altercation.

  “Fine!” he gritted through clenched teeth. “I’ll be there.”

  “Good.”