dragons breath 02 - dancing with flames

by Illene, Susan

  “Alright,” she agreed.

  We settled across from each other with me keeping my sword in my lap. Phoebe reclined back in her chair and propped her feet on top of the oak table. At first, I was surprised to see her relax that much in front of me, but then I realized the position served two purposes. It showed she had no intention of harming me, and she didn’t think I could harm her. That last part grated, but she was Aidan’s sister, so I’d try to get along with her.

  “What is it you want to know?” I asked. Might as well help her if it would get my mind off of my current problems.

  “I believe I’ve figured out who killed our Captain of the Guard, but the tricky part is proving it. The killer used a garrote, which is not a weapon we make at the fortress, yet this one managed to cut through the victim’s neck.”

  “And a human-made one would have melted,” I surmised.

  The only reason shifters could get away with sitting on regular furniture for long was because of the camrium clothes they wore. With direct contact, they’d eventually start to singe it. But with the garrote going into the body, that was even worse. The coolest part of shifters was the outside layer of their skin.

  Phoebe nodded. “Maybe it wouldn’t have melted at first, but by the time they finished the job, it should have at least begun to melt.”

  I mulled that over. “If a sorcerer spelled it, could that work?”

  “Yes, it could,” she answered, seeming pleased with my question. “I’ve had it examined by some of our sorcerers, but they couldn’t have done it. They are watched too closely.”

  I leaned forward in my seat. “You have sorcerers at the fortress?”

  “Aidan didn’t tell you?”

  “No. I got the impression he hated them and thought they weren’t to be trusted.” He’d reacted very badly when he first met Danae.

  “They’re not,” she said, folding her hands in her lap. “But ours have been with us for many generations, and they’re not allowed to roam freely.”

  “You keep them as slaves?” That seemed a little harsh.

  She scowled. “If you knew what they were really capable of, you wouldn’t want them out on their own, either. They are masters of manipulation, and most of them don’t care for anyone except themselves.”

  That didn’t describe Danae, but it could fit a couple of other sorcerers I knew. I considered Verena and whether she might have had anything to do with the garrote. As far as I could tell, she didn’t like associating with much of anyone and certainly wouldn’t help a dragon—even to murder another one. That left Javier. He was enterprising and more than a little shady. I’d only met him once, but he could have been the one to provide the garrote.

  “There’s a sorcerer downtown,” I said, and went on to tell her what I knew about him.

  “Wait.” She held a hand up. “You said he’s got a following of people there?”

  “Yeah.” I knitted my brows. The tone of her voice had me worried.

  She dropped her feet to the floor. “Shifitt. That’s the last thing we need right now.”

  “I don’t suppose you could explain the problem?”

  “There are some breeds of sorcerers who derive their power from their followers. The more they have, the stronger they get. Most prefer to be alone, though, so if this one is amassing a lot of humans to work for him…”

  “He’s doing it for the power,” I finished. That was just great. I’d made a deal with the devil, and I couldn’t even think of a way around it. He was my key to finding the missing children.

  Phoebe eyed me closely. “Have you met him?”

  “Once.” I shifted in my seat. “Almost a week ago. It wasn’t easy getting to him since he’s got protection spells all around his base of operations.”

  “But he let you in?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  She gave me a dark look. “Why did you go to him?”

  “The children,” I said, sighing. “I had to see him because of them.”

  “What children?”

  I explained about the kids Matrika was taking from their families.

  Phoebe’s eyes softened. “It will not be easy getting them back.”

  “Exactly. That’s why I had to ask for his help.” I rubbed my face. “This sort of thing is way beyond my skill set, but I have to do something—it’s not like anyone else can.”

  She worked her jaw. “What does Javier want in return for his help?”

  “Dragon scales. A lot of them.”

  Phoebe cursed. “To keep us out of his domain.”

  “Not you.” I shook my head. “I’ll give him the green scales because the people following him deserve protection even if he doesn’t. There are children in there, too. He’s not getting any red ones, though.”

  I’d come to that decision days ago when I’d last seen Aidan. During our brief wrestling match when I wanted to attack Phoebe, I’d knocked some of his scales from him, but I didn’t collect them. Javier could take the green ones and be happy with what he got.

  “What, precisely, is he giving you in return?” Phoebe asked.

  “The location of the children.”

  She was quiet for a moment. “When are you going to see him again?”

  “Tomorrow.” I’d try to kill one more dragon in the afternoon to finish filling the canister, but if I couldn’t do it, I’d still go. I’d told him I’d be back in one week regardless.

  “You are taking me with you,” she said.

  “What?” I sputtered. “Why?”

  “Because I want to question him about the garrote.” She paused. “And you’re my way in.”

  Chapter 24

  Bailey

  I drove through Norman toward Shadowan territory. My companions and I didn’t have time to go all the way over to the west side of town where the Thamaran dragons roamed. At least, not if we wanted to get to downtown before dark when things got really dangerous, so we were taking our chances with the Shadowans. Aidan wasn’t here to stop me, anyway.

  “Was it truly necessary to bring him?” Phoebe asked, jerking her gaze toward the backseat where Conrad prepared his crossbow.

  “Yes,” I said, gripping the wheel.

  She’d asked that question a few times since we all met at Aidan’s lair this afternoon. We’d even gotten delayed leaving because of it. Phoebe had insisted on coming with me to hunt the last dragon I needed to fill the scale canister. Partly because she wanted to help kill one of her enemies and partly because she said I was still in no shape to fight alone. I figured she only cared what happened to me because I was her way in to see Javier. It wouldn’t be useful if I got killed. No way did I believe her excuse that her brother would be mad if she didn’t watch out for me. She couldn’t possibly care about that.

  “But he’s human. They are fragile and die easily.”

  Conrad raised his crossbow and pointed it at her head. “Want to test how fragile you are?”

  Phoebe blew a light breath of flames that streamed just above the crossbow and stopped just short of his nose. “Try me.”

  He dropped the crossbow. “Do you perform at birthday parties? I know this chick who has a little girl with a birthday coming up…”

  “Conrad,” I interrupted. “Stop trying to piss off the dragon. If my truck gets burned, it’s going to be me killing you.”

  He muttered a few expletives and dropped the crossbow.

  Phoebe settled into her seat, then bounced a little on it. “I can see why you humans like these vehicles so much. I’ve always wanted to ride in one.”

  “If only we could fire-proof them,” I said.

  She frowned. “Yes, that is a problem.”

  I bumped my way over the railroad tracks, which we all knew marked the beginning of Shadowan territory. Silence filled the passenger compartment as we began searching the sky for any flying green dragons. It was about four in the afternoon, which was when they usually began hunting, but not so early they’d be roaming in packs. Mostly, the lone
rs tended to come out at this time of day.

  “There,” I said, spotting one off to the right.

  Phoebe leaned toward the window. “Oh, yes. That one will do.”

  At least having Aidan’s sister with us would guarantee I didn’t attack a dragon that might cause me more trouble like with Matrika. This beast would cross paths with us in just a couple of minutes if we stayed on this block. I searched for a place to park and found a bank with a sheltered drive-through area. Anything that would give the vehicle a little cover and reduce the chances of it getting caught in the crossfire worked for me. I parked underneath, and everyone got out.

  “How about I set up over there?” Conrad asked, pointing at a set of bushes.

  Phoebe’s brows furrowed. “What does he mean?”

  “The dragons don’t always come if we try yelling at them, especially since they know there’s a slayer running around town hunting them now. Shooting at them first gets them angry enough they’ll come down to retaliate—even if they know it’s me.” Usually, anyway, but I didn’t have time for a full account of how things worked.

  “I could shift and attack first,” Phoebe suggested.

  I shook my head. “There’s no time, and I don’t want to risk you having all the fun without me.”

  “Fine.” She put her hands on her hips. “Then what shall we do while he’s shooting at it? Stand here like fushkan?”

  “Fushkan?”

  She knitted her brows. “Fushka means something like idiot or fool, and fushkan is the plural for it.”

  “Oh, okay.” I’d have to remember that one. “Yes, we should stand like fushkan, except do it over there.” I pointed across the street to a large parking lot in front of a grocery store. Conrad and I always tried to keep our positions separate when possible so I could buy him time to get out of the way and hide.

  “Very well.” She didn’t sound happy, but I was glad she was at least cooperating.

  We hurried across the street and stopped next to a couple of half-burned cars. It was as good a place as any for a staging area. I preferred to plan my attacks out a little better than this, but we were trying to make this a quick kill.

  A moment later we heard the zing of a bolt, followed by the roar of the dragon. Two more zipped through the air before the beast came over the trees. Phoebe whistled, calling it toward us. To my surprise, the dragon turned and came straight for our position.

  I raised my sword. “Come on, you little bastard.”

  It was soaring about twenty feet above the parking lot and dropping steadily, but I didn’t think it planned to land. The dragon had positioned itself for a fiery drive-by.

  “You take the right wing, and I’ll take the left,” Phoebe whispered, standing next to me.

  I didn’t have to ask what she meant. “Got it.”

  The green dragon soared lower and blew out a massive breath of flames. Just before the fire reached us, we dropped to our knees. I counted to three and thrust my sword upward at an angle, slicing through the creature’s right wing as it flew over my head. The dragon screeched and went crashing into the pavement. Phoebe and I turned to watch it tumble along before rolling to a stop.

  We raced after it. She grabbed one of its torn wings and flipped it over onto its back. I put a foot on its chest and aimed my sword downward, stabbing it in the heart. This was almost too easy. Even when Aidan had been with me on my early slayings, he had me do all the work. The only time he had stepped in was when another dragon showed up. I understood why he preferred to observe, but I didn’t mind Phoebe’s help this time. I hadn’t been sure how well I would battle with my shoulder not quite healed. It was still too sore and stiff to use much.

  “Good work,” Phoebe said, a hint of surprise in her gaze. “You showed no hesitation, and your instincts and timing were good. My brother has trained you well.”

  I hid my surprise at her compliment. “Thank you.”

  It suddenly occurred to me that she may have wanted in on this fight just to see how I handled myself. Aidan once told me dragons enjoyed testing each other’s fighting skills, and he may have mentioned once that Phoebe trained young female shifters who hoped to become warriors someday. Maybe it was natural she was curious.

  Conrad ran up to us, carrying the canister. “Man, I wish I could have recorded that and put it on YouTube. It would have gotten a million hits, easy.”

  “Maybe someday we’ll get the internet back,” I said, though I lost hope by the day of that ever happening. Civilization had eroded so much it didn’t seem possible anymore.

  “What’s YouTube?” Phoebe asked.

  “Uhhh.” I glanced at Conrad, who shrugged. “I’ll explain that later. Let’s just collect the scales and get out of here.”

  ***

  I parked at the glass shop again. That overwhelming feeling of needing to turn back didn’t hit Conrad and me this time. Javier had promised he would rework the barrier spell to make exceptions for us, and he’d kept his promise. Oddly, Phoebe didn’t seem too bothered by it either, despite the fact the magic should have affected her. She frowned a little and scrunched her brows, but other than that I could hardly tell she noticed it.

  “Don’t you feel the spell?” I asked.

  Phoebe’s lips thinned. “A little, yes, but I’m resistant to sorcerer magic. It doesn’t affect me as much as other dragons.”

  Conrad leaned forward in his seat. “Really? How did that happen?”

  “I don’t know.” She gave him a dark look until he put some distance between them again. “It’s always been that way.”

  We got out of the truck and began heading down Main Street. The same male and female guards stopped us at around the same spot as before. They narrowed their gazes on Phoebe.

  “She is not an authorized guest,” the woman said.

  I held up the scale canister. “If your boss wants what we have for him, he’ll make an exception.”

  The female nodded at the guy next to her. “Go tell Javier the slayer and two of her friends are here.”

  Phoebe crossed her arms and proceeded to have a staring contest with the remaining female guard. If I wasn’t so impatient to get the visit with the sorcerer over with, I might have found it funny. Posturing was never my thing. I fought when I needed to, but I didn’t feel a need to rank in any hierarchy. That was the kind of thing social people did, not loners like me.

  The male guard returned a few minutes later and gestured at us. “Follow me.”

  He led us to a building on the south side of the street this time. We went inside and found ourselves surrounded by rows of shelves stocked with food, household items, sanitary products, and other useful items. Everything was packed in tightly with no space left to spare. I could only imagine Javier had sent his people out to gather it all before the stores were cleared out. Heck, maybe that’s why they’d emptied so fast. The bastard had plenty of time to plan, considering everyone in Kederrawien knew they’d be crossing over to Earth years before it even happened.

  “Like what you see?” Javier asked, strutting down the main aisle where we walked.

  I frowned. “This isn’t even all of it, is it?”

  “Not even close, mi querida. Perhaps…” He tapped on his chin. “Ten percent.”

  Well, that was a comforting thought. Once our own supplies ran low, we might have no choice except to come to the sorcerer. He certainly had enough buildings in downtown to store the goods and dole them out as he chose. God only knew what he might ask for in return, though.

  Conrad crossed his arms. “You know there are people starving out there while you hoard all this in here.”

  “They can come to me and either swear their allegiance or offer to trade,” Javier said, his tone remaining friendly. “I am not inaccessible to the humans if they are truly in need.”

  Phoebe took a menacing step forward. “Of course not. You want the power they can offer.”

  “Ah, if it is not the pendragon’s only daughter. How gracious of you
to honor me with your presence.” Javier smiled. He was putting on the charm, but I caught a whiff of fear in him. The sorcerer had not expected me to bring a shifter along.

  “I’m not honoring you,” Phoebe said through gritted teeth. It was a small miracle steam didn’t come puffing out of her nostrils. “I have questions for you.”

  He lifted a brow, and then turned his attention to me. “Did you bring the canister filled to the top as I requested?”

  I held it up. “Yep, though it only has green scales.”

  Javier scowled. “I asked for both…”

  “If you want the other ones, I brought a whole, live red dragon so you can collect them yourself.” I gestured at Phoebe.

  She let out a low growl.

  “Green will do,” Javier said, taking a step back. “Perhaps we should talk in my office.”

  “Good idea,” I agreed.

  We walked all the way to the back of the place, which was surprisingly far, until we reached a set of narrow switchback stairs next to the rear exit. The sorcerer led us up to the second floor and down a short hall to an office at the end. Going inside was like walking into an old-fashioned study with cherry wood furniture, wall to wall shelves, a massive desk, and a sitting area off to the right. No window, though. The only lighting came from two oil lamps set at each end of the room.

  Javier gestured at us to take a seat. “Would you like anything to drink?”

  “No,” Conrad and I said quickly.

  Phoebe just stood there and crossed her arms, refusing to sit with the rest of us. She might be in human form, but with her black camrium warrior garb and wild, yellow eyes, you wouldn’t mistake her for a normal person. I could feel the heat emanating off of her from where she positioned herself a few feet away. It was like her temper had turned her into a furnace.

  Javier let the silence drag on for a minute before addressing me, “May I see the canister?”

  “After you answer her questions,” I said, gesturing at Aidan’s sister.

  “Very well.” Javier leaned forward in his chair and looked up at Phoebe. “What is it you want to know, daughter of Throm?”