Nothing looked amiss—it was in the air. A malevolent, almost undetectable mist hung on the breeze. The Cows stood quivering behind us.
"What the hell is it?" Hank asked as we scanned the area.
"Is the phone you used to call Junior secure?" I asked, wracking my brain to try and figure out how something had found us.
"It's a burner," he said tightly as the power that rolled off him made me back away. "Can't be traced."
"Sweet Dolly Parton in a jog bra," Dwayne hissed. "I texted the Were Possum designer and told her everything about my children and my house. I forgot I could be traced."
"Who in the hell would know to trace Dwayne?" I snapped as I pulled my Glock with my right hand and directed the Cows to get low with my left. "Me and Hank I get… but Dwayne?"
"Only one person I'm aware of knows Dwayne and I are working with you," Granny said in such a vicious tone of voice that the Cows started to cry.
"She wouldn't," I shot back with more conviction than I felt. Angela wouldn't set us up to die. She was my friend… kind of. I knew I annoyed her, but I certainly didn't think that she'd kill me over it.
"Can you explain this?" Granny demanded.
"No more than I can tell you the gender of Dwayne's children," I snapped angrily. I did not want to believe Angela would ambush us.
"We're girls," Pat whispered in a frightened voice.
"I'm sorry," I apologized sincerely and wanted to crawl into a hole. "That was extremely rude of me."
"No worries," she said kindly. "We know we're unattractive."
Now I felt like an ass, but at least I knew what they were before I died.
"You're all beautiful," Dwayne insisted. "You just need a bath, some blonde highlights, a little lipo and a new wardrobe. I have that all covered and if any of your eventual boyfriends make you feel unworthy, I will kill them dead after a marathon torture session."
"Thank you, Daddy," they all said in unison.
"You're welcome."
"Um, Daddy?" Jamie raised her hand to speak.
"Yes, dear?" Dwayne replied.
"It smells like Fire Starters to me."
Crap balls. She was right. I detected a faint Dragon scent. This was bad. Hank and I had experience with Dragons. Dwayne had destroyed two with a disastrous and messy mind meld, but as far as I knew Granny was a Dragon fighting virgin… and the Cows were probably useless.
"She's correct," Hank said grimly. "I can't tell if they're still here."
"I can feel them. They're still here," Granny whispered in a strangled voice.
"How and where?" I demanded wildly as I sprinted to the back of the Hummer and pulled out the liquid that prohibited the Dragon shift. Junior had created a compound that when ingested by a Dragon would keep them from shifting. A brilliant invention, considering a shifted Dragon was roughly the size of a football field.
I tossed loaded squirt guns full of the solution to the Cows, Hank, and Dwayne. Granny was frozen to her spot and had apparently lost her damn voice.
"You aim for the mouth," I informed the terrified Cows in a clipped tone. "The eyes or ears might help, but the mouth is a sure fire win—pun intended. Do not under any circumstance get it in your own mouth. You won't be able to shift if you do."
"What is this stuff?" Francis asked shakily.
"It's stuff that will keep us all from burning to a crisp if we aim correctly," I explained tersely. "Can any of you shoot?"
"Hell to the yeah," Pat said with pride. "We might be pacifiers, but all of us can shoot a single testicle off a bull from three hundred yards. Squirting some shit in a mouth won't be no problem."
Deciding not to correct her about claiming to be a rubber nipple, I narrowed my eyes and slapped my hands on my hips. "Are you bullshitting me?" I demanded. "One nut? The other one is totally intact?" I wasn't sure even I could shoot so accurately. Nuts were pretty close together.
"Yes siree," Jamie jumped in, defending her sister's boast. "One nard completely obliterated and the other one left in perfect acorn status."
"Jesus," Hank grunted as he leaned forward. "Harsh."
"Yep," I said, impressed. "But effective."
"My girls are amazing," Dwayne added as he too bent forward in phantom pain.
"I hate to break up the party," Granny whispered in a tone that made every hair on my body rise, "but there are approximately twelve Dragons on the roof."
I glanced up slowly and my blood turned to ice. They hadn't shifted yet which was to our advantage. Twelve of them. Twelve of us… kind of. I had a horrifying feeling the Cows might bolt. Dwayne removed his shirt, grabbed Granny's head and shoved it into his neck.
"This is another fantastically shitty idea," he ground out as Granny titty twisted him to break his hold. "Granny, drop fang and drink. There is no way in hell we're coming out of this alive unless we can all actually fight Dragons. I don't think I can mind meld twelve at once."
"Will I be able to fly?" Granny asked as she let go of her death grip on Dwayne's nipple.
"No," he said.
"Well, that doesn't really seem fair," she whined.
"Life is not fair and then you die," he hissed. "OR NOT if you drink my blood. Do it, damn it. Now."
Granny bit down without another complaint. My stomach churned at the thought she might end up having the same effects I did. However, Dwayne was right. We were staring at dismal odds at the moment. We stood a far better chance of coming out alive if we had his dark and scary Vampyre blood in our systems.
"Hurry," Dwayne insisted to Granny as he zeroed in on Hank. "You're next, big boy."
"I've already killed a Dragon," Hank said as he scanned the area surrounding us for movement on the ground.
I let myself go into my mind and pull up my Vampyre part that scared the living daylights out of me. Glancing up at the roof again I gasped in fury and dismay. The Dragons had disappeared. "Son of a bitch, they're gone. What's in the back of the house?"
"A pool in the center. Cabana to the left. Tennis courts to the right," Dwayne laid the landscape out succinctly. "You killed one Dragon," he told Hank. "How'd that work out for you?"
"I'm sporting a new arm and leg other than the ones I was born with," Hank ground out through clenched teeth.
"Drink," Dwayne shouted at him. "We don't have time to argue and you won't be any help if you are missing body parts."
"Point," Hank said as he let his fangs drop and sunk them into Dwayne's neck.
Granny was shaking with the new and deadly power that coursed through her small body. Her eyes were dilated and her hands bunched into tight little fists at her side. However, the person I really worried about was Hank. His power was enormous without the Vampyre blood. What in the hell would this turn him into?
I needed to focus on the positive even though I wanted to rail at the Heavens.
"Are any of you able to fight?" I asked the Cows.
They stood in mute terror and my stomach dropped to my toes. This was a clusterhump waiting to happen. I pushed the ugly thought from my mind that Angela was responsible for this and focused on the matter at hand.
"Essie, you and four Cows will come with me around the right side of the house. Granny and Dwayne, you take the others and go left."
Hanks eyes blazed and the power that shimmered around him was mind-boggling, sexy as hell and completely unnerving. Dwayne was no slouch either. His skin glowed and his eyes were frightening slits. I held up my end as I felt the rush of unstable Vampyre voodoo fill my body. My hair flew wildly around my head and there was no breeze. Granny seemed to be the one a little off. Grabbing her, I shook her and made her look at me.
"Can you do this?" I demanded. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, winked and literally levitated off the ground.
"Okay," I muttered as I whipped around to Dwayne who was watching her in shock. "That is totally not fair. How the hell can she fly?"
"No clue, doll… and no time to figure it out," he said as he took Granny's hands and
pulled her back to earth. "Plan?"
"Not really," Hank said. "Weapons won't work. We need to get the solution in as many mouths as we can or today will be our last. Remove the heart or head—neither is easy."
"Cows, you cannot run under any circumstances," I barked. "If you can't shift and fight, you need to aim and shoot the liquid."
"Should we fart at them?" Pat asked timidly.
To die of asphyxiation or by Dragon… that apparently was the question. Why Shakespeare came to mind every time I was facing death lately was a mystery, but it was an apt inquiry. We'd made it through the farts before; perhaps we could live through them twice.
Hank rubbed his jaw and blew out a long breath. "You will use your, um… gas bombs only if we tell you to. They may be a good distraction, but they could also debilitate us."
"Our ass-fire aim is pretty accurate," Harley said. "It does permeate the air, but the main damage goes where we shoot it."
"Good to know," Hank said with a wince and shudder. "You will fart on them only on command. We clear?"
Everyone nodded.
"I honestly can't believe I just said that." Hank laughed and ran his hands through his hair. "Essie, come here."
Hank grabbed me by the waist and kissed me hard and fast. My toes curled and my lady bits clenched in desire. I knew the kiss could be our last, but I refused to believe it. I would not believe it.
"I expect you to finish what you started here after we're done playing with the Dragons," I told him as my eyes turned icy blue.
"I plan on it," he told me with a smirk that despite all the danger we were in made me want to throw him to the ground. God, I was wild about him.
"That was hot," Francis said with a giggle and a thumbs up.
"I thought so." I grinned at her and gave Hank a quick squeeze.
"Maybe you can give us some flirting lessons if we're still alive after tonight," Pat suggested timidly. "We've never had boyfriends before."
"Um, sure," I said, wondering how in the hell I could help them.
"Essie is a fabulous flirt," Dwayne told his girls. "She could hit on a dead man and he would get it up."
"Dwayne," Hank barked. "One more sentence about my mate and you won't have to worry about the Dragons."
"Roger that," Dwayne answered with a salute.
"Let’s go," Hank said. "Eyes open and squirt guns in front of you. It would be helpful if we kept at least one alive, but not necessary. Fight to kill because that is exactly what they will be doing."
Chapter 10
I imagined many different scenarios as we made our way to the back of the house. The one that greeted us stopped me dead in my tracks. On the near side of the pool twelve Dragons sat casually on cushions of hunter green and cream stripes that adorned the teak pool furniture. Behind them on the far side stood nine shifted wolves. Their scent was barely familiar as a shifter. The human side of the wolves was almost missing. Their eyes were an alarming shade of red that I'd never seen. All nine foamed at the mouth as they pawed the ground in agitation.
"What the hell?" I muttered as I froze and took in the horrifying scene.
Dwayne, Granny and his four Cows stood about a hundred feet to our left and gaped in confusion at the array of enemies before us.
"What's wrong with them?" I whispered to Hank.
"Don't know, but I'm sure we're about to find out," he muttered and stepped forward. "You're trespassing on private property," he said to the Dragons in a tone that belied the fury I felt building inside him.
"Is that so?" the Dragon in the front asked with a slick smile that made me uncomfortable, and my wolf claw at my insides for release.
They were a beautiful species—dark, mysterious and deadly. All of the Dragons I'd come upon thus far had black hair, sky-high cheekbones, full lips and gorgeous bodies. They stood over six feet tall and had eyes that appeared to switch from green to yellow with their moods. Right now they were a mixture of both.
"Yes, it is so," Hank shot back, equally as slick. "I'd suggest you leave on your own accord before you're forced. Violently."
"Now there's an irony," the Dragon said as he stood and casually stepped closer.
My body tensed and my fingers itched to wrap themselves around his very pretty neck. Hank, feeling my aggression, moved in front of me to stop me from throwing down the gauntlet first. He was correct. It was far wiser to let them make the initial move. I didn't for a second think we'd leave here without a battle, but stranger things had happened.
The other Dragons chuckled as the leader continued. It made me want to grind my teeth. Not helping matters—I could literally smell the fear from the Cows behind me.
"Yes, we were warned to leave by the staff. As you can see, that counsel fell on deaf ears," he purred and grinned, revealing a set of razor sharp fangs.
"And full stomachs," another added with a slimy smirk as he joined his comrade.
"I'm sorry," I said as I stepped out from behind Hank. "Could you clarify what you just implied?" I was fairly sure I understood, but desperately wanted to believe I was mistaken.
"You are quite daft for being so alluring," the Dragon said as he leered at me.
"Not daft at all," I shot back with a tight smile. "Just wanted to make sure you're as revolting as you seem before I remove your head."
He threw his head back and laughed. He patted his stomach and smacked his lips together. "They were delicious—screamed and fought the entire time we ate them. Quite a challenging meal."
Dwayne's cry of anguish was stupidly ignored by the Dragons as they kept their focus on Hank and me. I knew without looking the terrified Cows were backing away. Not good. It would be much easier for the Dragons to have them for dessert if they were far from us. Reaching down into the bag of Vampyre tricks I had no clue how to use, I willed the Cows to come closer. I felt them fight it, but it worked. They were now at our backs and shaking like leaves in a storm.
"You killed innocents," Hank ground out. "They had no part in your game."
"We were hungry," a third Dragon said sulkily as he and the rest rose and formed a semi-circle around their leader. "And they were rude."
The rabid looking wolves held their ground on the far side of the pool. staring with hatred at both the Dragons and us. Hell, were they in charge here?
"They were humans. They had no way to defend themselves," Dwayne hissed furiously. His skin was now iridescent and his eyes glowed. Granny held his arm as she struggled to keep from floating away. The Cows behind him looked close to fainting.
Again the Dragons ignored him as if he wasn't there. Were they stupid or did their arrogance make them careless?
"We've come for you," the Dragon said as he pointed at Hank and me. "There are some who wish to meet you before your untimely death. I really don't understand the curiosity about you two. You're just lowly wolves."
The laughter from the rest of the Dragons went all through me. My fangs dropped and my claws exploded from my fingertips. I held back the rest of my shift with great effort. I'd have a better chance in my Vampyre-laced human form than I would as a wolf.
"Actually, I'm in the mood for some steak," the one to the left of the talkative asshole added as he zeroed in on the Cows.
"Yes, that is very interesting. I thought we had eliminated the Were Cow species years ago. Looks like we missed a few," the head Dragon said with disgust. "Easily remedied."
"Actually, not so easy," Dwayne shouted in a voice which finally caught the attention of the Dragons.
Never in my life had I seen Dwayne look so frighteningly inhuman. His anger flew off of him in waves of purple crackling light. The beams were visible and clearly blistering as his daughters backed away, slapping out the small fires igniting their clothes. Granny stayed with him. She took in his magic and added a pink flame of her own to the violet electricity flowing out of Dwayne.
"You. Ate. My. Staff. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find humans who will work for Vampyres? Not to mention, I liked th
em," he bellowed so loudly we all winced.
He was literally on fire now and the Dragons had the wherewithal to finally look alarmed. However, it was too late…
"You remember Dwayne's party trick you never wanted to witness?" Hank whispered as he stealthily moved the Cows and me away from Dwayne and back toward the house.
"Oh shit," I gasped as I quickened my pace as much as I could without being obvious. "You're joking."
"Nope, I'm not. Duck and cover when they blow," he instructed under his breath.
"What in tarnation do you mean blow?" Francis choked out in a trembling voice.
Some Were In Time Page 11