Clash of Flames: An Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Book 7 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department)

by John P. Logsdon

  My first few signings were crisp and clean, but after that it started to look like I’d graduated from medical school.

  After about fifteen minutes, I finished up and handed the clipboard back to him.

  He ran through all the pages, then stamped the front, added his signature, and placed the entire thing in a white tray that sat next to him.

  “The only thing remaining is for you to recite the Topside Allegiance, Mr. Dex,” he announced. “Please raise your right hand and turn toward the camera.”

  I did.

  “Directly under the camera, you will see the latest Topside Allegiance. I have included your name in the top section.” He pointed. “Please read the entire allegiance while keeping your hand firmly in the air.”

  I cleared my throat.

  “I, Ian Dex, solemnly swear to uphold and defend the Topside Allegiance, taking every precaution to avoid causing injury to any normal regardless of any risks that it may cause me or any other supernatural. I recognize that I am being given the liberty to travel topside, but such liberty may be revoked at any time, without cause or provocation.” I took a breath. “Furthermore, I understand that I represent the supernatural community as a whole. Therefore, I will do my best to protect normals from other supernaturals as a matter of course.” The page scrolled some more. “Failure to keep my promise to uphold and defend the Topside Allegiance may result in my immediate removal from topside, and I may be subject to disciplinary action, which may or may not include deep reintegration, as well as time in prison.”

  The light dimmed and the text faded away.

  “Thank you, Mr. Dex,” the man said with a warm smile. “You have satisfied the Reintegration Process Committee requirements and, due to the fact that you are an officer of the Paranormal Police Department, you are not due for another reintegration cycle until this time next year.”

  “Cool,” I said, standing up. “Thanks.”

  “Please exit through the red door and have a nice day.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice.

  Chapter 12

  The rest of my crew looked about as shellshocked as I felt. There was something about having your brain scrambled around that made you wonder how much control you truly had over your thoughts and actions.

  “Everyone okay?” I asked as I took a seat next to Rachel.

  They all nodded, but it looked like nothing more than a reaction to the question and not a conscious answer.

  We were out in the hallway that everyone exited to when they were done with reintegration. There were chairs and water fountains and such, but it wasn’t what I would consider the most secure place to speak about things. Still, I needed to know what was going on topside.

  “Griff,” I said, turning toward him, “were you able to get through to Lydia?”

  “I was,” he replied. “She said everything has been quiet. There have been no reports of foul play from any of the casinos, nor have any of our normal informants called in any complaints.”

  “Good,” I sighed. “That will make things easier.”

  “What things?” asked Rachel.

  “I’m going to need you all to train me to…” I paused and looked around. “Actually, what say we take a walk to the cafe? I’m starving.”

  They looked at me curiously, but clearly caught on to my concerns about our being watched.

  Griff stood up. “I dare say that I’m rather famished myself.”

  We walked down the corridor and entered the cafeteria. It was mostly empty, which was perfect for us. But we still had to be careful, just in case there were eyes tracking us. The truth was that we were likely just being paranoid. That was a temporary side effect of going through reintegration. Arguably, it was a valid side effect seeing how they played around with your deepest thoughts and beliefs while you were in those chambers. This was all done by choice, though. We were the ones who wanted to live topside, after all.

  I ordered a couple of fish tacos and grabbed a seat near the back.

  Everyone else on my squad clearly had bigger appetites than I did at the moment.

  Rachel, Jasmine, Serena, and Warren got pancakes and eggs, Chuck had a steak with potatoes and corn, Griff had salmon and vegetables, Felicia had a big bowl of chili, and Turbo had a burrito that was at least two inches taller than he was. Jasmine carried it to the table for him.

  “Okay,” I said, after finishing a bite, “I’m going to need all of you to help me to learn how to use my powers to the fullest.” They seemed more engrossed with their meals than with my words, but I continued on. “I’m able to control the power well enough, but I don’t know how to maximize it. Each of you are masters at your art. I need your mentoring so I can face my ‘brothers’.”

  There was no argument.

  Everyone knew this was an odd situation. Having me at my best was the only way we’d have a chance at defeating a bunch of amalgamites. And based on what I was told before, the others were not as powerful as I was currently. They were more powerful than I’d been prior to being bitten by that damn vampire, though, and that was my worry.

  What if they grew in strength eventually?

  If that happened, it’d take more than just me to combat them. My team would certainly try to help, but they wouldn’t last very long. The only way we’d be able to drop a bunch of amalgamites who had the same level of power as me would be by getting a lot of backup from the Directors. Sadly, they weren’t being all that helpful as of late.

  Bastards.

  “The way I see it,” I said, “I’ll need to be able to control my magic so I don’t wear myself out too soon.”

  “Agreed,” said Griff, who was known for playing more of a defensive role during our bouts with the bad guys. “Self-preservation is paramount to any successful battle.”

  The pixie in me wanted to call him Captain Obvious, but I held that down.

  “True,” Rachel said between chews, “but you can’t win a fight if you don’t punch back.” She then turned to me. “What you’ll really need is to learn how to block and punch, Ian. With your power, you should be able to do both.”

  “It’ll take some practice, though,” Jasmine chimed in.

  Nobody argued the point.

  I turned to Warren as he was dousing his pancakes with enough syrup to cause the average person to drop into a diabetic coma. How he managed to stay so ridiculously thin was a mystery. It wasn’t like the man exercised. I suppose some people just had the metabolism of a hummingbird.

  “I’ll need you to help me with runes, Warren.”

  “Sounds good, Chief,” he said, not even bothering to look up.

  “Chuck and Felicia,” I said, glancing over at the two of them, “vampire and werewolf stuff.”

  “It’s mostly about control,” replied Felicia while working her knife and fork like a samurai.

  “Yep,” agreed Chuck.

  “Serena—” I started.

  “Healing,” she interrupted. “Yes, you will need to learn that thoroughly if you are to survive against what we saw earlier.”

  “Great.”

  The final person in the bunch was Turbo. He wasn’t exactly known for his prowess with Pixie Dust, but he could lay out a stream of obscenities with the best of them. The problem there was that he only did that in extreme situations. He prided himself on keeping his nerdiness at the forefront of his personality, not the vulgarities. The last couple of weeks taught me that I had gotten pretty decent at calling people names in creative ways, anyway. Where I needed Turbo’s help was with technology.

  I didn’t say anything to him, though. He had his coat and hat off, lying on the table next to his plate, and all I could see of him was his lower body hanging out one side of that burrito.

  “Well,” I said, downing the last bite of my second taco, “as soon as you’re all ready, we’re going to go see my friends in the Badlands.”

  All eyes flashed at me, realizing that I meant it was time to visit Valerie and the valkyries.


  Chapter 13

  This was the third time I’d visited with the valkyries, and it was the second time for my crew.

  We stood in the center of a large arena. Around it were rows of seats that were occupied by some of the most beautiful women in the universe. They were tall, muscular, battle-hardened, and yet simultaneously carried with them a level of femininity that would be the envy at a Hollywood ball.

  Valerie, the leader of the troop, was so incredibly attractive that she made fae look pale in comparison. Her battle gear alone was enough to set The Admiral ablaze, and he was always quick to point that out.

  Even Rachel had expressed serious interest in our visiting for some playtime, should my desire for that ever arise.

  So far, I had declined.

  It was one thing to have a fantasy going about such activities, but there was something entirely different between fantasy and reality.

  Been there.

  Done that.

  Got punched in the coins.

  But, much to The Admiral’s chagrin, this wasn’t the time for sexual deviances. We had to keep our minds on the task at hand.

  “Speaking of hands—” began The Admiral.

  “Shut up!” I interrupted before he could finish his sentence. “I’m working right now.”

  “So am I!”

  “Ian Dex,” Valerie said, stepping over while sharing smiles with the rest of my team, “you have returned to us again. I am pleased.”

  “I wish it were under less urgent circumstances,” I replied. “It turns out that there is a little flock of amalgamites who are trying to kill me and my team.” I scratched my head. “Well, they seemed to be trying to kill them, but we honestly don’t know exactly what they want, yet. If I was to guess, though, I’d say they want me to join their ranks.” I looked up at her. “They’re apparently my brothers.”

  “How many?” she asked.

  “Four,” I answered. “That we’re aware of, anyway. I suppose there could be more.”

  “Are they all as capable in the sack as you?” she queried with a seductive look.

  “Hey,” said Rachel, replacing her valkyries-are-sooo-dreamy look with her I’m-going-to-punch-Ian-in-the-coins look while staring at me. “I thought you said you didn’t sleep with them?”

  Like I said, fantasy and reality are not the same thing.

  “Relax, little one,” Valerie said, putting her hand on Rachel’s shoulder. My girlfriend basically melted at that point. “He did not have relations with us, though we wish he had. We only know of his abilities because we watched him more than satisfy a dragon.”

  “Ew,” winced Rachel.

  “I told you about that, Rachel,” I growled. “This was before you and I were back together, as you may recall?”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she replied. “Sorry.”

  “Anyway,” I said, tearing my smoldering eyes off Rachel, “I don’t know how good my brothers are in the sack. I just know that they’re trying to kill, or hurt or whatever, everyone on the PPD, except for me…I think. After that, they’re bound to try and take over Las Vegas.” I blew out a long breath. “The bottom line is that I have to stop them, and in order to do that, I need my team to help train me.”

  Valerie’s eyes lit up at that.

  “Training?” she said as the muscles in her arms rippled. “This is for battle?”

  “Yes,” I replied, feeling suddenly worried. “Why do you seem excited by that?”

  “Because, Ian Dex,” she cheered, “battle is our first love. It’s even more interesting than sexual adventure.”

  “Okay,” said The Admiral, “now that’s where I’m going to have to disagree with the lady.”

  “Stow it,” I commanded him. Then, speaking to Valerie again, I asked, “I don’t suppose you’d care to assist in my training, then?”

  “Honestly?” she replied with wide eyes. “That would be incredible. The last time we helped train someone was during the Roman era. It was quite exciting, and we are quite possibly responsible for Rome’s many successful conquests.”

  “How do you fathom that to be true?” asked Griff, who was quite the historian, according to him anyway.

  “Because our skill with the blade is legendary.”

  “Yes,” Griff said, “I imagine it is. But are you not responsible for selecting who will live and who will die on the field of battle?”

  Valerie looked him over. “It is our first charge, of course.”

  “Then, my lady, if you trained the Roman soldiers, were you not biased toward their living on the field of battle?”

  Valerie opened her mouth and closed it a few times. She even pointed at Griff once or twice. Finally her shoulders slumped and she said, “Damn.”

  “Do not feel abashed,” Griff said finally. “It is the way of men to prey upon the kindhearted. They manipulate at every turn. One merely need only look at the historical records to witness the horror that befalls those who trust.”

  That brought the mood down in the arena.

  Blasted historians.

  “Right,” I said, bringing the topic back to me and my much needed training. “Even though what Griff said is probably true, I’m not interested in manipulating you, Valerie.”

  “Sounds quite similar to what Aulus Plautius claimed when he asked us to help train his soldiers,” she replied.

  “That may be,” I countered, “but I’m not looking to conquer the world.” I touched her hand. “I just want to stop four amalgamites from taking over Las Vegas.”

  She looked down at my hand and then back up at me. There was a hint of shine to her magnificent eyes, and her face softened.

  “We will help you, of course,” she said, “but only if you will agree to discuss terms of pleasuring when we are finished.”

  I glanced at Rachel. She was all smiles. So was the rest of my team.

  “Oh, all right.”

  Chapter 14

  Recognizing that everyone on the team was so enamored with the valkyries, except for Chuck and Griff, of course, I had to get them to focus on their training. I told them that this was going to be the basis for their annual reviews.

  That shaped them up.

  My first round was with Serena. The reasoning was that any damage I’d take during training would result in my needing to heal myself. Looking at the musclebound ladies who were itching to kick my ass, this seemed the logical path to take.

  Yes, I was already a fast healer, but there was a huge difference between five minutes and five seconds. If you don’t believe me, ask your spouse.

  “The first thing you’ll need to do is control your heart rate,” Serena explained as we stood in one of the far corners of the arena, away from the rest of the squad. “It’s fine to let your blood pump when healing someone else, but when it’s your own body undergoing repair, you need to stay calm, cool, and collected.”

  “That’s so the blood doesn’t just squirt out of me like a geyser, right?”

  “Partly,” she confirmed, “but it’s more about making sure your mind stays in the game. In fact, you’d be well advised to avoid looking at your wounds while healing them. It’s completely unnecessary to see them as you work, and it’s likely to break your calm if you do.”

  That made sense.

  Over the years I’d been injured more times than I could count. As long as I had been able to get away from the battle, or end the battle, I would heal all on my own. Now and then I’d end up in the hospital or subject myself to the healing hands of Serena, obviously, but in most cases my body just did its thing without much fuss. That said, I’d learned early on that it wasn’t such a grand idea to look at my wounds. It made me queasy.

  “Got it,” I said, pushing to keep an active pace going for my training. “What’s next?”

  “You have a leg up on my abilities in that you can combine your normal magic with your healing magic.”

  “Mmm…I don’t get it,” I replied, confused.

  “I can only channel healing en
ergy,” she explained. “This is a form of magic, but not like the kind used by mages and wizards.”

  I gave her a double-take. “Are you saying you’re a cleric?”

  “No, Ian,” she laughed. “This isn’t a video game.”

  The moment she pointed that out, I wanted to facepalm.

  Here I was, a dude made up of a bunch of genetic mishmash, having tons of skills and knowledge of every race and profession in the supernatural community like nobody else in the entire world—with the possible exception of my ‘brothers’—and I was jumping into thoughts of World of Warcraft and Everquest.

  “Right,” I finally groaned. “Just ignore me.”

  “Anyway,” she continued, “since you can channel the power of your normal magic along with your healing, you should be able to manage almost instant repair.”

  She then pulled out a knife from her boot. It was long and curved, with a handle made of white stone with skulls engraved on it. That thing belonged in a video game.

  After taking a deep breath, she slid the knife along her open hand, causing a long cut to form.

  Then, she turned away and closed her eyes.

  Her lips were moving almost imperceptibly and I had no idea what she was saying, but the cut began to slowly close until it was finally healed completely. The entire process took roughly thirty seconds. It was mesmerizing.

  Once she was finished, she glanced back down at her hand, opening and closing it a few times.

  “There,” she said, looking a little tired. “Now, that took a little time to heal, but it was still much faster than if I’d bandaged it and just let nature take its course.”

  “Totally,” I agreed.

  “How long would it take your body to heal from a cut like that?” she asked. “I mean, without intervention.”

  “Five minutes?” I guessed.

  “That’s pretty incredible,” she admitted with her eyebrows up. “Then again,” she added, “I recall our sessions with the whip when we used to…” She shrugged. “Well, you know.”