by Bianca D’Arc
Paul stilled, and all motion around him ceased as the half-dozen goons who had kept him at bay watched their leader attentively. Paul shimmered, shifting shape so that he was human again between one eye blink and the next. He wore different clothing that he’d been wearing in the car, Syd noted with some surprise. Black leather covered him from head to toe as if he’d been riding a motorcycle. He looked badass…and totally sexy.
Syd stayed behind the fancy car, not wanting to draw attention to herself just yet. She wasn’t sure what she could contribute to the confrontation, and she didn’t feel the buildup of energy she’d felt when confronted by Elliot. Without that, she didn’t know if she could do much of anything to help, and she might just get herself hurt or killed. Better she watch and wait for the right opportunity. For now, she was observing, hoping the magic—or whatever it had been—came back to her when, and if, she needed it.
“And just what do you think is my heart’s desire?” Paul asked the other man, walking calmly through the line of people who had been fending him off with their chanting—or trying to—only moments before. Paul moved as if he owned the place, walking confidently and with no hurry, toward the man in the suit.
“Come now,” the fancy man replied in an oily tone. “I know how rare your kind is. Have you ever even met another dragon shifter?” The man smiled, and it turned Syd’s stomach. “I know where there are other dragons. I’ve even worked with a few. I could introduce you. If…you come to work for me.”
Paul seemed to consider, and Syd wanted to gasp, but she didn’t dare draw attention to herself. He couldn’t seriously be entertaining the idea. No. He had to be playing some sort of game with the guy. No way would Paul turn to evil to achieve his goals. Just. No. Way.
For one fraction of a second, Paul felt temptation, but then, he looked across the yard toward where he knew Syd was hiding behind the car, and all thoughts of taking the easy road fled. The so-called easy route to his goals had never proved to be either easy or the actual route to his goals. No way would he make that mistake ever again. But the sorcerer didn’t know that.
“Work for you?” Paul mused, moving closer to the sorcerer. He wasn’t quite in striking distance yet, but he would do his best to put himself between the blood path mage and Syd. Paul couldn’t be certain the others hadn’t seen her approach and he wanted her covered should they decide to attack her again. “What’s the pay? Besides an introduction to other dragons, I mean.”
“Pay?” The sorcerer seemed taken aback for a moment before the ingratiating smile returned to his face. “Why, I’m sure we could come to some arrangement. I’m not a poor man, and those who work for me are treated well.”
“I’m sure,” Paul said, unable to hide the sneer from his voice. Was this guy for real? “Just who would I be working for?”
“I am Samuel Kreegar,” he said as if the name should ring a bell. It didn’t.
“Should I have heard of you?” Paul asked bluntly. He was almost in position. The sorcerer didn’t like Paul’s question, but he seemed to hold onto his anger by a very frail edge.
“I am Third Warden of the West Coast Coven. Once I finish here, my elevation to Second is almost guaranteed, which will mean a great deal more power, which will, of course, trickle down to those who work for me.” The man couldn’t sound any slimier if he tried, but Paul had just learned something about the way the Venifucus was organized, so he tried to keep the guy talking, even as he moved into position to block any attack on Syd.
“Coven?” Paul tried to sound casual, even as he questioned the other man. “You mean like for witches?”
Kreegar laughed, and it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “Witches…and so much more. The hags are among the weakest of our number,” he boasted. “And they talk too much,” he finished dismissively. Apparently, Kreegar didn’t realize he had a lot in common with the women he despised.
“I just want to be clear,” Paul said, finally arriving at the optimum position he’d been seeking. “You’re all sworn to the Venifucus, right?”
Kreegar tilted his head. “You know we are. Why ask?”
“I just want to be certain,” Paul said, gathering his power for a quick shift. “Before I declare my ongoing allegiance to the Lady of Light.” The moment the words left his mouth, he shifted into his much more durable dragon form.
He gathered his breath even as the sorcerer’s eyes widened in shock, but Kreegar was quicker than Paul had hoped. He had a shield up around himself and his people even before the first lick of flame blasted from Paul’s mouth. The dragon’s fire did not touch them, but at least it put them on the defensive. Paul hoped Syd and Arthur would take advantage of the few moments of reprieve he bought them by running for cover.
The moment he ran out of air—and therefore, flame—the fight was on. Kreegar lobbed dark bolts of acidic magic at Paul, but it couldn’t penetrate his dragon hide. The scales were tough and protected not only physically, but magically, as well. Still, each hit stung like the dickens as Paul gathered another deep breath for flame.
He looked around to find that Syd had broken cover and raced to Arthur’s side. It looked like she was trying to convince Arthur to run away, but the old man was having none of it. As a result, Syd was out in the open, in the midst of it all. Paul didn’t like that. No, not at all. There was no guarantee her magic would manifest at the moment she needed it. Just because she’d been able to deal with Elliot, that didn’t mean she was ready to deal with a full-out assault by multiple enemies.
Damn. If only she weren’t so vulnerable out there in the open like that. Paul wasn’t sure what he could do to help aside from keeping the bad guys busy, so he opened his mouth and blew fire at their enemies, doing his best to take the pressure off Syd and Arthur long enough for something to develop in their favor.
With any luck, the wolves would arrive soon. Backup was coming. They just had to hold out long enough for it to get here. That thought firmly in mind, Paul went to work.
That Kreegar guy made Syd’s skin crawl. She had been silently rooting for Paul to choose the right side, and when he did, she felt a huge sense of relief and joy. She knew he was one of the good guys.
She ran over to Arthur, daring greatly, but when she got to him, he refused to move. He just looked at her with that calm, sort of all-knowing expression in his eyes and stood firm no matter how much she pleaded.
“This is not the time to run,” he told her quietly, even as the roaring of flame sounded nearby. “One cannot run in the face of evil. It must be confronted and stopped, or it will take over.”
“Arthur, there’s a freaking dragon buying us time to get away,” she told him, trying to reach for his arm but getting nowhere. It was as if there was some kind of invisible force field around Arthur that she couldn’t reach through. “Take the gift he’s giving you and get to safety.”
Arthur just looked at her, his eyes shining with energy she didn’t fully understand. “Safety is not what you think it is,” he told her. “You must take this moment to reach your full potential. You must find the fire within and let it take flight. Only your flame can end this standoff safely.”
“Safely? Arthur, I killed someone today,” she admitted, still feeling anxious over what had happened. One side of her felt a sense of calm triumph over besting evil, but the regular human part of her psyche—the only side she’d known until recently—was still shocked and appalled at what she’d done.
“You ended an agent of evil. What you are would not allow you to harm anyone who had not committed their hearts and souls to evil. You are meant to do what you did. You are a tool of the divine. Or, you will be. Once you reach your full potential. Once you take to flight.”
“Flight?” She was so confused.
Syd looked around and realized that while Paul was keeping the big bad guy at bay, some of the lesser minions were starting to take note of her presence. Arthur seemed well shielded—whatever that barrier was—from their anger, but she was wide open. A nice, ju
icy target.
Suddenly, about five of them started chanting again. Shit!
Syd could feel something pressing in on her. It was a force. Something they were doing with their words and their slow movements closer to her. They couldn’t get right up in her face because of whatever it was Arthur was doing, but they were definitely inching their way closer. She felt the pressure all around.
Then…something began to tingle inside her. She started to feel hot. An aching fire in her blood made her tear at her clothing, but it was no use. She felt the rise of…whatever that had been…magic, she guessed. The same thing she’d felt at the nursery when Elliot accosted her, but more. Much, much more.
She moved away from Arthur, not wanting to hurt him. Unfortunately, that brought her closer to the minions. She tried to keep an eye on all of them, but they were closing in, and she doubled over in sudden gut-wrenching pain. Something was happening.
Then, there was cold steel against her ribs. She straightened, shocked by the freezing feel of it. The evil feel of it. She came face to face with the bastard that had hit her on the head, and she saw red. Literally. Red.
The red of fire. She realized immediately what the steel was. It was a gun placed against her ribs with icy cold intent. Her skin started to glow, and her temperature rose even higher. Everything shimmered with the heat she was generating.
“Stop it, bitch,” the man sneered. “Or I’ll shoot you.”
She couldn’t have stopped what was happening for anything. She didn’t know how to control it, and she didn’t even really know what it was. Whatever was going to happen was just going to happen no matter what she did. Syd growled at the man, unable to form words as she gave in to the inevitable.
Flame erupted from her. It engulfed her. She heard the gun fire, but she didn’t feel the impact. Instead, she felt the cold steel turn hot and molten, and heard the pops as the remaining ammunition baked off, scattering all around, none of it coming even close to her. Somehow, at least one round hit every last one of the minions who had been menacing her and Arthur. They fell to the ground, one by one, as the man who had tried to shoot her began to scream.
She couldn’t hear much over the roar of the flames, but she watched as he burned in her flame, sinking down into ashes almost within the blink of an eye. She was glad. He hadn’t suffered too much. Her human heart felt bad enough about killing him. She didn’t want to make his suffer. She didn’t want to take joy in his pain as he would have done with her.
Syd looked at Arthur to make certain his magical shield had held and that he hadn’t been hit by any of the wild bullets. He smiled serenely at her, a bit of triumph in his gaze as he motioned toward the sky with the glowing ceremonial staff in his hands.
“Fly, my child. Become what you were meant to be. Fulfill your destiny!”
She just barely heard his words over the roaring of the flames. They were licking out from her fingers, and even as she looked down at her arms, they…changed. Her arms grew feathers and then elongated and spread out into wings.
She had wings? Wings of fire? What the…?
The fire created a sort of wind, and suddenly, she was floating. Then, she was…flying?
It felt natural. It felt right. She wasn’t scared of flying. She was only concerned for the people down below, growing smaller as she rose higher.
She could feel it now—the sun was calling her—but Paul and Arthur were down there. Paul was buying time, but Arthur just stood there, shining. He was protected by something she didn’t quite understand, but for how long? She had to go back and help them.
Closing her wings in tight to her body, she arrowed down, snapping her wings open at the last moment as she glided over the outcropping. Paul looked up as his flame died out. He was vulnerable, and Kreegar went after him. Paul stumbled backward as blood red energies reached out for him.
Just the sight of those energies sickened her. The newfound part of her that could fly seemed to know what to do, so she let her instincts guide her as she circled and came at the sorcerer from behind this time. She fanned her wings and felt…something…gathering. It was like before with Elliot, only way bigger.
The energy felt enormous, and it couldn’t be contained. As she soared over the battleground, she felt it bleeding out the tips of her feathers. Little sparks of fire blanketed the ground below, and she cringed inwardly at the thought that she might be hurting her friends or setting fire to Arthur’s house. She looked around as she circled and was grateful to see the house wasn’t on fire. Thank goodness!
The minions weren’t menacing either Arthur or Paul, anymore. Those who’d been shot by the cooked ammunition either lay where they fell, bleeding, or were crawling away as fast as they could manage. Those who had been with Kreegar, facing Paul, were running, too. They were ducking the flaming sparks, and when one happened to land on them, they howled in pain.
Satisfied she was at least helping in some small way, Syd wheeled around for another pass.
Chapter Eleven
Paul staggered as Kreegar got in a good shot that made him return to human form. How in the world did that bastard manage that one? Paul shook his head. Kreegar had power, Paul would give him that, but they had fought to a standoff. Paul could keep him at bay, but he hadn’t found a way to get under Kreegar’s defenses yet…but he would.
“You’re wasting your power here,” Kreegar shouted, his attention split between dodging Syd’s phoenix sparks and watching Paul’s every move. “There’s still time to change your mind. Join me and your brethren. Several dragons are allied with me, and we’ll be on the right side of things when the Mater Priori makes her presence known to the world.”
“The Destroyer was banished long ago,” Paul countered, fishing a bit as he looked for an opening. Of course, he was willing to listen to any intel Kreegar was willing to pass on…before he died.
“I have news for you,” Kreegar said in a smug tone. “She’s back. Has been for months now. She’s just recovering from the journey before we make our move. The other dragons in our number are part of a long-term plan we’ve had for centuries to re-take the world now that our leader is returned. The war is only just starting, my friend. You should think hard about what side you want to be on.”
“I’m not your friend, and I’ve already chosen. Long ago.” Paul moved toward Arthur, who was also moving—finally—toward him. They stood, side by side, facing Kreegar.
“That’s too bad. I didn’t want to have to end you, dragon, but if you will not join us, you will have to die.” Kreegar launched his most powerful attack yet, forcing both Paul and Arthur to stumble back a few feet, but Arthur’s shields were holding strong around both of them.
Now, in human form, Paul called his magic and began lobbing mage bolts back at Kreegar. Arthur was handling the shields for both of them, allowing Paul time to concentrate on the fight. In human form, Paul’s magical bolts took the form of lightning-shaped spears of fire. They stabbed through and burned away the sickly blood red balls of fog that Kreegar sent to envelop and smother Paul and Arthur.
Arthur’s light shone through the attack, but his power wasn’t infinite. At some point, Kreegar would wear him down, and things would go from bad to worse. Right now, Paul was able to fight without having to worry about shielding, but even so, the best he could do was push back when Kreegar pushed them. They were pretty evenly matched, which meant Kreegar was one of the most powerful mages Paul had ever encountered. He was used to having the advantage over his opponents. This time, it was too close to call, and Kreegar was really making Paul work for every inch of ground he gained.
They exchanged blows for a while, but Syd was circling, and she swooped low for another pass, even though she didn’t seem real sure about her power yet. She’d found the phoenix within, but she hadn’t yet proved able to harness the reputed power in her new form.
Paul knew it was a lot to ask that she hit the ground running. Or, rather, take to the sky throwing magical fire bolts. She deserved
a chance to get used to her new form before having to fight in it, but she wasn’t getting it. She had better figure it out pretty quick or Paul wasn’t sure what would happen. They needed her at full power on this.
He sensed her swooping around for another pass, but she was approaching from behind Paul and Arthur’s position, in full view of Kreegar. Paul wanted to shout when Kreegar’s aim went over his head. He was lobbing those balls of blood magic directly into Syd’s path.
Shit!
Syd saw the puff of reddish grey smoke heading straight for her. She wasn’t good enough with her wings yet to avoid it, though she tried. She hit the sickening miasma head on and squinted her eyes shut, holding her breath until she was clear of it. It had felt sort of like swimming through molasses. She’d lost altitude, as well.
In fact, she would be dangerously close to Kreegar in another moment. Oh, crap!
Panic must have triggered something inside her because she felt power rise once more, quickly, and she followed her instincts. She screeched, her voice coming out of her bird’s beak unlike anything she’d ever heard before. It was loud, and it was high-pitched, and it was pretty evident that it actually hurt Kreegar.
He didn’t just cringe—he fell back under the force of her vocalization. He looked stunned, and she let her newly discovered phoenix side take the reins. Fire surrounded her. It shot from her feathers like big, pointy darts, each swirling in the air on its way to the target: Kreegar.
Tilting her wings experimentally, she learned quickly how to focus the onslaught so that the fire rained down on him—and only him. He didn’t just fall back this time. No, he was screaming as he landed on his ass in the dirt, his hands rising up to try to protect himself, but to no avail.
His tattooed face lit up as his shields failed, and then, she was past him, turning tight for another pass. Only…Kreegar was gone. Her flames had overcome the protective properties of his magical tattoos and whatever shields he had and consumed him…and only him. The dry tinder of grasses and scrub all around didn’t burn. Not one bit.