Fire Marked

by Val St. Crowe

  The dragons had all landed. Two perched on top of the camper. Two others were in front of me.

  One came close.

  I reached out my hand to it.

  It put its nose against my palm, nuzzling me like a pet.

  What the hell?

  I snatched my hand back, unnerved.

  Lachlan got out of the truck too. He surveyed the dragons.

  One hissed at him.

  “No,” I said to it.

  It cowered, tail between its legs.

  The baby started kicking up a storm inside my womb. I rested my hand on my belly. “Shh, little one,” I whispered.

  “Is he moving?” said Lachlan, coming close.

  I nodded, grabbing his hand to put it against my stomach. “Can you feel it?”

  He knitted his brow together.

  “There,” I said. “That was one.”

  A slow smile stretched across his face. “Yeah, I felt it.”

  I grinned back.

  We stood there, his hand on my belly, both grinning at each other until one of the dragons started trying to nuzzle my belly.

  I swatted at it. “Hey, back off.”

  Lachlan put his arm around me. “When are we going to give this baby a name, huh?”

  I lay my head on his shoulder. “When it feels like we wouldn’t be jinxing things by doing that.”

  “Come on, Penny, you don’t still think you’re going to lose the baby, do you?”

  “I…” I stopped smiling. “You never know what’s going to happen. You should never get too happy, because it might all get taken away.”

  He squeezed my shoulders. “I understand feeling like that. I do. But you know what I think about when I think that?”

  “What?”

  “I think about how crappy it would have been if I never let myself love Hallie. Like if I’d known I was going to lose her, so I never tried to enjoy her.”

  “That isn’t what I meant,” I said.

  “Isn’t it?” he said. “We have to live. We have to take risks. If something horrible does happen, we want to have good memories to hold onto. We want a name.”

  I swallowed. “Okay,” I murmured, feeling like I might start crying. “I’ll think about it.”

  He pulled me close. “We’re not losing this baby,” he whispered in my ear. “We’re not.”

  I shut my eyes.

  “Look, even the dragons stopped trying to hurt him.”

  I opened my eyes. “Did they stop? Or were they never trying to hurt me in the first place?”

  Lachlan’s cell phone rang. He made a confused face and then dug it out of his pocket. “It’s Jackal,” he said.

  “Oh,” I said.

  He answered it. “Hey, man.” He listened. “Yeah, okay. That’s fine. We’re on our way.” He hung up.

  “Well?” I said.

  “He said we can go to the guest house,” Lachlan said, pointing to the outbuilding. “Apparently, Olsen doesn’t want us in the main house.”

  I bit down on my lip. “You think that’s a bad sign?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” said Lachlan.

  We started up the road together, his arm still around me.

  The dragons followed us.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  The guest house was hot and muggy. There didn’t seem to be any air conditioning, so the doors and windows were wide open. There were fans in the windows, blowing hot air through the wide, open room that seemed to take up the entire first floor.

  Flies were swarming through the air, at least twenty or thirty of them. They flew through the air in tandem, as if they were dancing together. The faint hum of their buzzing underscored everything.

  The room was mostly empty. There was a rug on a hardwood floor and an old couch covered in tie-dyed sheets.

  Olsen Hunter sat at the end of the room in a hand-carved chair with arms—it resembled a throne. He was bald with a thick brown curly beard. His eyes were dark, surrounded by long, long dark lashes. He was barechested, and his arms and chest were covered in tattoos that gleamed in the light, almost as if they were threaded with metal or…

  No, as we got closer, I realized what he’d done. He had dragon scales embedded in his skin. They swirled in patterns with the dark ink of his tattoos.

  He had his fingers pressed together, making a tent that he rested under his nose. He glared at us as we stepped inside.

  We saw him, and we stopped. We were probably ten feet away from him, but there was something about Olsen Hunter. Maybe it was the tattoos or the eyes or the flies that were buzzing around his head almost like a dark, buzzing halo.

  He made me feel… unsettled.

  For several moments, no one spoke. No one moved. There was no noise except the buzzing of the flies.

  “I dreamed you were coming,” said Olsen Hunter. His voice was like caramel candy. “I have dreams sometimes that mean things. But other times, my dreams mean nothing. When I dreamed of you, I woke up in a cold sweat. I hoped it was one of the normal dreams. Just something in my subconscious, dislodged by chance. But here you are.”

  I licked my lips. Prophetic dreams? Really? Did that happen because he had dragon scales embedded in his skin or what?

  “Come closer,” he murmured.

  Lachlan and I lurched forward, taking unsteady steps toward him. He loomed closer and closer.

  Now I could see his eyes better. They were dark, but they were multi-faceted, almost iridescent, like the scale of a dragon, like the body of an insect. They were mesmerizing.

  “Here you are, then,” he said. “And it’s really happening.”

  Lachlan cleared his throat. “Look, we came to you because we—”

  “I know why you’re here,” said Olsen, waving that away. “You want my help.”

  “We can pay you,” I said.

  Olsen laughed. “The dragon offers gold. How typical.”

  “You’re insulting dragons?” I said. “But you’ve put scales from them under your own skin.” I couldn’t help myself.

  He touched the scales. “Yes. For protection.” He cocked his head. “I meant no insult, dragon. You don’t understand at all. If you had seen the things in the dark water, you would do anything, even force dragons scales under your skin.”

  “Lots of people are willing to use the parts of dragons,” I said. “They claim it’s for protection. You’re no different.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Perhaps not. But this is no petty play for power. I don’t need dragons for power. Only for protection. Only fire can make water boil.”

  What the hell was he talking about? I glanced at Lachlan.

  He caught my eye and shook his head.

  I got it. He was telling me to shut up. Not to antagonize him. I forced myself to stay quiet.

  Olsen had a faraway look in his eyes. “I told myself they would never come back. That they were buried in the deep water, so far down that they could never swim to the surface.”

  His words gave me chills for some reason.

  My voice came out again, unsteady. “Who would never come back?”

  “The court of the Green King,” he said.

  A tremor seemed to pass through the entire building at his words.

  Olsen flinched, stroking his scales. “The children of the deep.”

  The flies stopped moving.

  Olsen got up from his chair and turned to look out one of the windows. There was no fan in this one, just fluttering, tattered curtains. His back was multicolored, like armor. He didn’t face us. “But if you are here, with that child growing in your belly, then they are coming. It’s only a matter of time. And he will be the only thing that can stop them.”

  “What are you talking about?” I said, my voice shaking.

  He went to the window and leaned outside. “If he can even stop them, that is. He is only one against many. True, he calls the soulless dragons, and they will fight for him, but will it be enough? Can he possibly vanquish them all? What is fire a
gainst dark, briny water?”

  I suddenly had the urge to turn around and run out of this place. I didn’t like it here. Not at all.

  “Who are you talking about?” said Lachlan. “Who calls the dragons?”

  Olsen turned. “Why, your child, of course. The baby in her womb. The blood dragon. His conception is the first sign. I had told myself that it was all a story. So long ago, you see. I can’t quite remember all of it, and sometimes I get confused. I said to myself, ‘Olsen, you never saw the dark children. You made them up.’ Something in a DVD that Jackal brought me to watch. Maybe I smoked too much or snorted too much of his wares when he came along. I got confused. They never existed. I didn’t see them drown the world. But.” He laughed, collapsing back into his throne. “But it was true. I dreamed of you, of the baby coming, and that is the first sign, and they are coming back.”

  “I don’t understand,” I whispered. “The baby is calling the rogue dragons?”

  “Yes, you stupid little dragon girl,” said Olsen, leaning forward, his multi-colored eyes seeming to glow. “He is their master, and he will lead the army against the court of the Green King. He will fight. And if anyone has a chance to stop them, it’s your son. But I think he will fail, because I have seen them, you see. Seen them and wished against hell that they were a nightmare or a movie or a child’s story.” His voice had grown louder. It seemed to echo in the small space. Abruptly, it grew quiet again. “But they are real. And they are terrible.”

  Lachlan stepped forward. “Whatever it is you’re going on about, that’s not why we’re here. If it isn’t Penny, but the baby that’s calling the dragons, fine. All we want is something to stop it. A talisman, maybe. A spell. A potion for her to drink. Keep the dragons from following us around.”

  “That is deeply stupid, vampire,” said Olsen. “He is the chosen one. He must call the dragons. He must assemble his army.”

  “No,” said Lachlan. “Right now, he must do nothing but be a baby. And then he’ll get bigger, and maybe he’ll play football or maybe he’ll be a fucking male ballerina. I don’t care. But one thing he won’t be doing is amassing a fucking army, not for a long time, if ever. So, can you help us or not?”

  Olsen chuckled. He settled back in his chair and shook his head. “Of course you don’t believe me.”

  “It’s not a matter of that,” said Lachlan. “It’s a matter of the fact that there’s enough fate and destiny jerking the rest of us around. Not my son. Not my little boy. He gets to choose.”

  Olsen raised his chin and then slowly brought it down. “None of us choose, vampire. None of us. But if you wish to run, wish to put off the inevitable, then I will give you what you seek.” He cast his gaze heavenward. “Perhaps, after you’re gone, I’ll be able to convince myself it was only a dream or a fantasy. You will hide the boy from the dragons, and I will pretend that the end isn’t coming.”

  “The end?” I whispered.

  Olsen stood up. “You can go back to your vehicle. I’ll have Jackal bring you the talisman.” He pointed at me. “You must wear it for now. When the child is born, he will need to wear it. If he takes it off, the dragons will come.”

  “But… but…” My throat was dry. “What are these children of the deep? Who is the Green King?”

  Olsen stretched his mouth into a smile. “Perhaps they’re nothing. Just something I dreamed…” He wandered away from his throne, nodding slowly. “Yes,” he mumbled to himself, “a dream. Nothing more than a dream.”

  I swallowed hard. I looked at Lachlan, who had his hands clenched in fists.

  And then back to Olsen, who was now muttering something under his breath and laughing to himself like a crazed person as he walked away.

  The flies went after him.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  “He’s nuts, Penny,” said Lachlan. “He’s powerful, but he’s crazy. Everyone says so. They say his mind’s completely fried from too many drugs.”

  I was pacing in front of the camper. Lachlan kept trying to stop me, but I kept shaking him off. “You made him shut up,” I said. “You said all that stuff, and then he stopped talking, and now we’ll never know why the baby is a beacon to the dragons.”

  “Penny, there aren’t any weird water monsters coming to end the world,” said Lachlan. “Do you know how that sounds?”

  “Well, vampires are not supposed to father children either,” I said. “Things are deeply wrong here, Lachlan. This blood bond, and the baby, and the dragons—something’s going on and that man knew what it was, and you made him stop telling us.”

  He sunk both of his hands into his hair. “Look, we’ll go back, then. We’ll get him to tell us everything.”

  “He’s all crazy now,” I said. “Mumbling to himself. He said he was going to pretend it wasn’t real, and he’s already started to convince himself, and he won’t tell us anything now. Now, it’s too late.”

  “Jesus Christ, Penny, what do you want?”

  “Not to be carrying some dragon messiah, that’s what,” I said. “I want to be having a normal little boy, just a typical little baby with no destiny.”

  “Well, that’s all I want,” he growled.

  I stopped pacing. I covered my face with my hands. I thought I might cry, but no tears came. Eventually, I just dragged my hands over my face and looked up at Lachlan.

  He wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at his shoes, looking frustrated.

  Jackal walked up. He held out a talisman to me. It was made of shimmering dragon scales, and they had been put together in the shape of some kind of fish.

  I put out my hand for it.

  But the minute that Jackal laid it in my palm, the dragons started to growl and lunge. Quickly, I tossed it to Lachlan.

  He caught it.

  “If I put on the talisman, then the rogues turn back into crazed monsters,” I said. “We better wait until we have some reinforcements.”

  Lachlan nodded. He shoved the talisman in his pocket.

  “Uh, about Olsen,” said Jackal. “He can be, um, intense.”

  “I was telling her that he’s crazy,” said Lachlan.

  “Oh, as a loon,” said Jackal. “Fucking batshit insane.”

  “So, all the things he was saying, they aren’t true?” I said.

  Jackal shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s been around a long time. He’s older than me, and I ain’t a spring chicken if you know what I mean. There are some humans that can extend their lifespans with magic, but… I don’t know. You looked in his eyes, right?”

  I nodded.

  “I don’t know that he is human,” said Jackal.

  “Then what is he?” I said. “He’s not a vampire. He’s not a drake. He’s not a dragon. What else could he be?”

  “Something else,” said Jackal. “Something old. Something really old.”

  I hugged myself. “Oh, God. Oh, God.”

  “Stop it, man,” said Lachlan. “You’re upsetting her.” But he sounded shaken as well.

  “Sorry.” Jackal shrugged. “Hey, uh, you guys want to just drop me at a bus station in the first town we get to? I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I think I gotta go back to the clan. They didn’t do right by me, but they’re all I know.”

  “Jackal, the Bryant clan is a group of criminals,” I said. “Surely you can do better than that.”

  “Criminals?” Jackal laughed. And then his laughter died in his throat. “Holy fuck. You two are cops, aren’t you?”

  Lachlan turned and opened the door to the camper. “Don’t be crazy.”

  “You are. When we first met you, we got raided in Texas by the police, and we got chased out. And right after that happened, you disappeared. Because you were a fucking undercover cop, feeding them pieces of information, and you took us down.”

  Lachlan turned around. “No, I failed. Because not one charge stuck. Not one of you got locked up, because I didn’t have any evidence.”

  “But you scared off every damned contact we had in the s
tate.”

  Lachlan shrugged. “You seem to have recovered.”

  “You little fuck,” said Jackal. He turned to look at me. “And to think I just helped you get that talisman.” Back to Lachlan. “I trusted you.”

  Lachlan just sighed.

  “You know what?” said Jackal. “I’ll get my own ride out of here. I don’t want to look at either of you.”

  “You sure?” said Lachlan. “You’re out in the middle of nowhere, man.”

  “Get out of my face,” said Jackal.

  So we left him there, out in the wetlands. When we drove off, he shook his fist at us.

  * * *

  It was a long drive back from Florida, but we took turns driving, and we made it back in the middle of the night, just before dawn. Neither of us felt as if we could sleep. The dragons came with us, flying along, our little entourage.

  When I saw the hotel, I couldn’t have been happier.

  We parked the truck in the parking lot and went inside the lobby.

  Which was full of gargoyles. They were everywhere. Milling about, sitting on every single bench. There was no one behind the counter, just a bunch of gargoyles back there.

  “What the hell?” I said.

  “Oh, if you’re trying to check in,” said one of the gargoyles, a female wearing a white blouse, “sorry, but we’ve shut this hotel down.”

  “Shut it down?” I said. “You can’t shut down the hotel.”

  “Well,” she said, “we have. We’re not leaving until our Connor agrees to leave behind his sinful ways and come back to the bosom of his family.”

  I rubbed my forehead. Shut down the hotel? Seriously?

  Well, the only consolation was that it was September, not high season. Otherwise, I would be losing so much money every second that the place was shut down…

  “You’re going to have to get out,” I said to the woman.

  She furrowed her brow. “No, we’re not. Not until Connor comes home with us.”

  “I own this hotel,” I said. “So, you’d better leave.”

  She shrugged. “Make us.”

  I blew out a frustrated ball of fire.