by A. C. Ryals
“Get in the back,” he said to Jess.
He barely had the door open before he started yelling at the driver.
“Are you out of your motherfucking mind? You took her on a fucking plane? Are you fucking simple?”
Jess climbed into the back where a small woman in an oversized t-shirt was climbing into the far back to make room. She left behind a car seat with a whaling baby. The baby was tiny, but her lungs sure seemed strong.
“Start driving,” Wrath continued. “You should have fucking called. I would have told you what to do. I would have sent our fucking doctor. Jesus fucking Christ, man.”
“You know what’s wrong with her?” Kurt asked.
“Yes. They’re prone to motion sickness like you wouldn’t believe. They’re also incredibly fearful of heights, even as infants. That and her venom glands are coming in. They need to be in a warm dark place, preferably underground. On a pallet on the floor. Even feed them on the floor. You don’t move a newborn basilisk. It’s torture for them. In fact, during the last stage of pregnancy your mate should have been on bedrest.”
“We didn’t know,” Kurt said.
“I’m going to take you underground. There’s a nursery and a spare room. You’re stuck here for six months. She can be moved around before then, but not across the fucking country. Bloody hell.”
Jess looked back at the young woman to see how she was responding to all the yelling. She gave Jess a weary smile.
“Six months?” Drake asked.
“You’re really going to bitch about the time? You’ll have to talk to Alex. She’s our doctor,” Wrath answered. “Jess, don’t touch the baby. She’s upset and likely toxic to humans.”
“Don’t worry about them,” the woman said to Jess. “Dragons insult each other. It’s a sign of affection.”
“But my daughter will be okay?” Kurt was asking.
“I’m not a doctor, but my eldest, Seth, went through worse when he was born,” Wrath said.
Kurt nodded.
“Park by the path there. There’s a door on the hillside,” Wrath said.
After Kurt parked, he got out and got the crying baby from the car seat. It was still dark out, so Jess had no idea where they were going. The little woman in the far back climbed out and stuck to Kurt’s side like a magnet. Wrath took the lead down a narrow path through a copse of trees to a small hill. There in the side of the hill was a door that looked like it belonged on a fallout shelter.
Wrath opened it and held it open. Inside, there was a wide, dimly lit hallway with a finished stone floor. The ceiling was high, about 12 feet.
“Down the hall, take a right, first door on your left,” Wrath said.
Just as the door closed a man came around the corner in pajamas, “What’s going on?” he asked.
“My niece is sick, Artie. Is Alex here?” Wrath said from behind Jess.
“Yeah, she’s in the nursery. I’ll make some coffee,” Artie replied.
Artie disappeared back around the corner and they followed. He gestured to the nursery as he passed it.
They went into the nursery where a young woman in a lab coat was waiting.
“Put the baby on the mat,” Alex said, kneeling beside what looked like a yoga mat.
Kurt knelt across from her and gently laid the baby down.
Alex pulled out a pen light and shined it into the baby’s mouth. “How old is she?”
“One day,” Kurt said. “I thought she was a dragon. I saw scales. It wasn’t until we got to the pediatrician’s office that we found out she was a basilisk. The doctor wouldn’t touch her after he saw the venom glands.”
While they continued talking, Jess stood with Wrath in the doorway. The nursery wasn’t like any she’d seen before. There were no beds, just mats on the floor. One of them had a railing around it, presumably to keep a baby from wandering. The light was dim and there were no windows. Other than that, there were cabinets and the usual baby supplies.
Alex was explaining basic infant care and suggesting that the parents take turns going outside while the other laid with the baby on the mat.
“We’re going back to the house,” Wrath said. “Text me if my little brother causes any trouble.”
They walked out in the cool early spring air. The sky was turning grey with the sun’s approach to the horizon, and it was easier to see the path than it had been minutes earlier.
“How did they have a basilisk?” Jess asked.
“It’s down to magic. Draconids aren’t susceptible to most magic, but when they mate with someone who has magic they are susceptible to, they might have a basilisk. Apparently, we can add sirens to that list.”
“So, not all basilisks are descended from you?”
“Right. We take in basilisks whose families can’t care for them and the rest intermarry with my family. So most basilisks are still related to me.”
“Do you think Etel predicted this might happen? I mean, it’s unusual for him to contact you, right?”
“Maybe. Even Kurt was taken off guard, though. His mate can shift into a dragon. It would stand to reason that they could have dragon offspring. But the siren magic won out.”
“It’s another thing Etel can use as an excuse to make you keep in contact with dragons.”
“It is. If he’d visited Kurt and his mate while she was pregnant, he may have figured out what the baby was based on the feel of her magic. That would mean that he willfully endangered the child by not telling them. That seems harsh, even for him. I suppose I have some questions for my big brother.”
The air was refreshingly cool at first, but it was getting uncomfortable. Jess shivered and Wrath put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into his warmth and inhaled his smoky scent.
“I could just warm the air around you, but I think I like this better,” Wrath said.
“Me too.”
Chapter 20
It took another two cups of coffee for Jess to feel awake. She considered going back to bed, but she was just alert enough that she knew she wouldn’t fall asleep.
Wrath kept her company while she ate her breakfast of cereal and toast with strawberry jam. He admitted he kept the jam on hand for Lily since she raided his pantry whenever she came over.
Jess felt her affection for the dragon growing. She thought he might feel the same for her. It was in the little things he did. The solicitous way he kept her coffee mug full and made sure her toast didn’t overcook. He’d touch her frequently, putting his hand on her back or letting their knees touch under the table.
After breakfast, when she should really have been working, he took her back to bed for a session of slow easy lovemaking.
When she finally sat down to work, her mind was filled with thoughts of him. Having him in the same house, within shouting distance, didn’t seem close enough. Maybe a nooner would calm her down. It was annoying how needy she felt.
He’d said he might not be able to love her, but her silly heart was hoping he already did.
~
Wrath knew what was coming. He felt Kurt’s approach. He too had been a father expecting a baby dragon and was at a loss when he wound up with something different. For Kurt it was worse, though. Basilisks were now hated by dragons. They were a novelty when Wrath had his.
He got up and went downstairs. Jess was down there working, and he’d rather not have her act the part of the maid answering the door for him.
Kurt’s fist was just about to knock on the door when Wrath opened it.
“Brother,” Wrath said. “Come to my office.”
Wrath led Kurt up the stairs and then sat at his desk. Kurt politely waited for Wrath to gesture for him to sit before taking one of the chairs across from him.
“What’s on your mind?” Wrath asked.
“I’m out of my depth,” Kurt said, predictably. “I don’t want to worry my mate over it, but I don’t know how to raise a basilisk. Will she get over her fear of heights?”
“She will never want
to fly,” Wrath said. “In fact, she might have to be sedated to ride on a plane. That’s why basilisks have a fleet of private planes and a team of nurses. That way they can be heavily sedated without a chance that they may wake mid-flight and shift out of panic. You’ll have to help her learn to do things like walk down a flight of stairs without getting sick.”
“What about doctors? The one wouldn’t touch her. Is she really that dangerous?”
“She is. The only doctors who can treat her properly are other basilisks. Putting a needle in her arm could kill a human or another shifter because the toxin in her blood is magic and travels up any weapon or medical instrument. Teach her early not to bite when she’s angry, it’s a strong impulse for them even in human form.”
“But she’ll be able to protect herself.”
“Right. She’ll be strong. She can easily kill any shifter in hand-to-hand combat, even a dragon. She’s resistant to dragon magic and normal dragon fire. It’s possible that she’ll be able to use some dragon magic. You don’t have to worry about her. She’s delicate now, but you’ll spend most of your time protecting the world from her rather than the other way around.”
Kurt looked down at his hands. “All of my kids will be basilisks like yours were?”
“Your next child might be a dragon. A wyvern and a half-fae had several children. Only two were basilisks. If you wait until you’re older and your magic is mature, you’re more likely to have a dragon.”
“Will she need to live underground?”
“Does your house have a basement?”
“Yes,” Kurt said.
“If she sleeps down there with any windows blacked out, she’ll be content. The first floor is also an option, but they feel safer underground.”
“I don’t want to give you the impression that I’m disappointed in my daughter. She’s not what we expected, but she’s ours. You can’t keep her.”
“Don’t intend to. We don’t kidnap babies. Some parents like to spread rumors that we do, but that’s only because they don’t want to admit that they came to my people to give up their children. You can handle a basilisk, baby brother. I managed it. I recommend that she have contact with the basilisk community, however. She’ll need to talk to people like herself. If you keep that from her, she’ll find them herself. They always do.”
“Thank you for helping us,” Kurt said.
Wrath sensed Lily approaching the house so he asked, “Have you ever seen a shifted basilisk?”
“No.”
“Do you want to?”
“If they wouldn’t mind.”
“I know just the one. She loves showing off.”
The two dragons headed out to the front porch.
“Just so you know, there’s an 80% chance she’ll want to fight you,” Wrath said.
“A girl?” Kurt asked.
“Yep. You won’t be able to say no.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Lily came running around the house. Wrath braced himself and caught her when she threw herself into his arms.
“Hey sweetheart. Want to show Uncle Kurt your basilisk? He’s never seen one before.”
“Sure,” she said, pulling back from the embrace. She gave Kurt a once over. “What kind of dragon are you?”
“Air.”
Her eyes got big. “That’s awesome. Can I see? Do you want to fight? I’ve only ever fought Poppy, and he always lets me win. Please?”
“I don’t know if that’s…” Kurt began, but by the way his shoulders were sagging, Wrath knew she already had him.
Lily knew that too, so she went in for the kill. “Please, Uncle Kurt? No biting. We fight until one of us is pinned.”
“I mean…” Kurt began futilely.
“Please?” Lily asked, puppy dog eyes in full force.
“Alright, until one of us is pinned.”
“Yay!” Lily said, grinning and hopping up and down.
“I’ll be the ref. You need to pin your opponent for three seconds, no biting, no punctures of any kind, no magic, and no flying,” Wrath said.
~
Jess came out onto the porch with Wrath at the sound Lily’s first shriek. Wrath put his arm around her as he watched Lily coil herself into striking position. He couldn’t comment on the fight since both fighters had excellent hearing.
He wondered how his baby brother would handle the girl. It was easy to underestimate the striking distance of a basilisk. She wasn’t allowed to use her teeth, but she could lunge and coil herself around Kurt’s neck in a heartbeat. Basilisks weren’t constrictors by nature, but they learned the tactic during their sparring lessons.
Kurt watched her warily. Wrath knew what the young dragon was thinking. The sweet teenager was hustling him. The thing was, she wasn’t a skilled fighter. If Kurt wanted to overpower her, he could. Even as an air dragon, the smallest of the dragons, he was larger than her. Plus, he moved quickly on four legs and he could pin her in a multitude of ways.
He was hesitating because he’d never fought a basilisk and she was less than two decades old compared to his two centuries. He was still a baby himself in Wrath’s mind, but he was old compared to Lily.
All he had to do was keep her off his neck.
Kurt stepped forward, predicted Lily’s lunge, dodged, and then wrapped his talons just behind the base of her skull, forcing her head to the ground. He was taking it easy on her, not shifting his full weight to her neck.
Wrath began counting. Lily whipped her tail around and hit Kurt in the face. His grip loosened and she was back in the game.
She lunged again, aiming for his neck. This time, she got him. She began coiling. Kurt slipped the talons of one hand under her tightening grip. It was a risky move with a basilisk, but it was unlikely she would tighten enough to puncture herself and thus poison Kurt.
Kurt pushed up and stood on two legs. It was almost cheating. Terrified of being so far off the ground, Lily shrieked and loosened her grip, letting herself fall to the ground. Annoyed, she regrouped and lunged, this time with fangs. Kurt dodged but one fang grazed his shoulder.
Wrath was sure she wasn’t loaded with venom, but it was still cheating.
“That’s enough!” Wrath shouted, getting to his feet and striding between the combatants. “Lily, you’re disqualified. Now apologize.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly in Akkadian.
“Apology accepted,” Kurt responded with only a mild mispronunciation. Dragons normally spoke Sumerian and only used a little Akkadian.
Jess had come up beside Wrath.
“She’s hurt,” Jess said, reaching to wipe the blood from Lily’s mouth.
Time moved in slow motion then, Wrath would swear it.
Lily, surprised by what Jess said, turned her head toward Jess. By doing so, she closed the distance between her blood and Jess’s hand. Kurt and Wrath both moved to stop Jess from touching the blood, but Wrath knew it would be too late.
It was all so wrong. A young basilisk misbehaved, got a small wound, and now Wrath’s mate was going to die. An accident. A stupid fucking accident.
One tiny drop of blood from a first-generation wyvern basilisk was all it took to kill a human. The moment it touched Jess’s skin she had three minutes to live, tops.
Jess collapsed. Wrath caught her before her head hit the ground and wiped the blood away with his shirt before laying her down.
Kurt and Lily both changed back instantly. Lily’s eyes were wide and her hands went to her face. Wrath could hear Jess’s heart beating weakly.
“Have you done the binding spell?” Kurt asked, kneeling down, naked as the day he was born.
“I can’t. My dragon is… cursed or broken or whatever. You do it,” Wrath said.
“I don’t know how to do it for another person,” Kurt said.
“Speak in third person. Use our names. Your dragon will know where the magic is supposed to work. It’s easy. Do it.”
Wrath patted Jess’s face.
&nbs
p; “Open your eyes, Jess. Listen.”
Her eyes fluttered open, and Kurt began reciting the words in Sumerian in the voice of his dragon.
NO. STOP! Make him stop!
Wrath’s dragon writhed within him. If he’d doubted that he was cursed, he didn’t anymore.
Kurt completed the spell and Wrath grew lightheaded. He collapsed beside Jess.
“What’s wrong?” Kurt asked.
His dragon was trying to break loose. Wrath felt too weak to control it.
“Call Etel and get away. Get Jess and Lily away. Run!”
Everything went black.
Chapter 21
Jess was dead. She was sure she was dead. The lights were going out and she was all but paralyzed. Then she heard strange words in a baritone voice.
Suddenly she was being scooped off the ground. Her eyes opened and she saw Kurt was holding her. Why was he carrying her? Was he still naked? Ew.
She would have voiced an objection. It had to be some kind of ethical violation, but the intense look in his eyes told her to shut up. Plus, he was running with her in his arms. Why was he running?
She heard an ear-splitting roar and assumed it had something to do with that.
“In here,” Lily said, breathlessly.
Then they were going down a set of stairs into a dimly lit corridor.
“Sound the alarm! Take cover! I need a goddamned phone!” Lily was shrieking, panicked, and running down the corridor bare assed naked.
Kurt laid Jess down on the floor, looked her over, and got to his feet. Jess sat up and leaned against the wall. She felt like she had fire in her veins and wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“What’s happening?” she asked.
“Ezzu’s curse, I guess. His dragon took over. I’m not sure his human side is conscious. After I call Etel, I’ll go out and keep him distracted so he won’t hurt anyone.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No. The beast could attack you. If he accidentally kills you, he might die, literally. His life is bound to yours. If you love him, keep yourself safe.”
“Can you fight him?”
“No. Not well. But I’m faster than him. Ever seen a hawk being pestered by songbirds?”