by Amy Cissell
I stood and hugged him, and then I heard those blessed words, “Dinner’s ready.”
We ate, cleaned up, and then Isaac and I retired to our room. We made love and then laid there in each other’s arms. “Please be careful tomorrow night,” I exhorted him.
“You, too.”
“Call me Thursday morning?”
“Absolutely.”
“Are we kind of lame?” I asked.
He held up his finger and thumb, mere centimeters from each other. “A little bit.”
I smiled and kissed him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
ISAAC WAS WAITING for me with a cup of coffee. He smiled and said, “Breakfast?”
I armed myself, dressed, packed, and then went to the kitchen. After breakfast and more coffee, Isaac and I headed to Florence’s. I held his hand in a tight grip, not relishing the upcoming three-day separation, knowing he was playing second in a dominance fight to the death.
I sighed and climbed back to awareness.
“How do you take care of the bodies?” I asked.
“What bodies?”
“After fights to the death? The wolf returns to human form, right? So, what do you do with the bodies? I’m assuming you don’t call the cops and report an animal attack, but doesn’t someone notice when people disappear?”
“The packs tend to be pretty insular. Even though most shifters have regular jobs, they’re generally not jobs that would notice if someone stops coming to work. Sure, there might be an inquiry if there was no word, but usually the employer will get a call from a spouse or a parent or child saying that so-and-so has become ill and then a few days later, another call officially resigning to recover from illness and, by the way, we’re moving to Rochester to be closer to the cancer treatments or to Arizona for the dry heat. We send someone to gather the dead shifter’s work possessions, accept condolences and flowers, and then they cease to be. If that’s not enough to sever contact, eventually we tell whoever that the subject of their concern has passed on.
“Usually the winner of the fight is tasked with this. In taking a life, that life becomes their responsibility until all the duties of that life are discharged. That means looking after any dependents who need assistance.”
“Not a bad system” I changed the subject. “Did you have a job?”
“Not for a long time.”
“Didn’t you say you had one in the sixties in Portland?”
“There was a time that I was in the military. I’ve held a number of different jobs. When you don’t age, you don’t stay in one place too long because people tend to get suspicious.”
“Stop prevaricating,” I said.
“You’re ridiculously stubborn. In the sixties, when I got a job, there wasn’t an internet and forging backgrounds was easier. I claimed to have transferred from the East Coast, my Alpha arranged for the references, and I started work in private practice as a pediatrician.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I gasped. “You were a fake doctor?”
“I graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1888. That’s what I did after the Civil War.”
“Tell me more about being a doctor. When you were in the military, were you a military doctor?”
“Yes.”
“Wasn’t it hard being around all the blood?”
“I’m not a vampire, although there were plenty working the night shifts during war time. So many free meals.”
“So, pediatrician?”
“I like kids.” For the first time in my life, I had a sudden desire to procreate. I smothered it ruthlessly.
“Would you like to go back to practicing medicine?”
“I’d need to go back to school. Things have changed a lot since last time I practiced. Maybe when this is over…” He pulled into Florence’s driveway, and she appeared, took my bags, and then went to the backyard.
I walked into the circle of Isaac’s arms and pulled his face down to mine. I kissed him deeply and thoroughly. I was breathless in seconds, and he was breathing pretty quickly, too.
“I’ll call you in the morning.”
“You’d better. Give Rebecca my best wishes and tell her to be careful.”
Isaac kissed me again. “See you in a couple of days, Princess.”
I squashed the desire to cry. This man was making me have feelings. I should’ve dumped him ages ago. “Be safe.”
He got into the truck and drove way. Goddamn stupid emotions. I took a deep breath and turned and walked into the house.
“You will need to keep your thoughts locked down carefully tonight. A couple of my sisters have the ability to pick up surface thoughts. I have told them that you’re a rare dragon shifter with powers similar to our own who has been bound by an evil Fae—they all know about Harvey and his magical tattoos.”
“Won’t they wonder why the chains are iron and not silver?”
“The only one who will know is the one that will help you break them. Everyone else will see only your tattoos and they are so terrible looking that it’s hard to tell what’s in the ink. It could be iron or it could be tarnish.”
“I’m nervous.”
“Me, too. Would you like to watch television?”
“Why not?” Two hours later, I remembered why I didn’t want to watch television. The morning news programs were still obsessed with the strange events in Portland. Scientists were saying that it appeared that low-frequency electromagnetic pulses were affecting the area, but they couldn’t find the origin. There were rumors that another EMP would hit on the equinox. The possibility of terrorism was trotted out, but the government believed the threats were not credible.
“Holy shit, Florence,” I whispered. “There are rumors about this?”
“I hope so,” she said. “I started them.”
“Why?”
“I told my friend in the FAA that it would be in everyone’s best interest to ground air traffic and have a no-fly zone around the Rapid City Airport. He believed me—I always warn him about unexpected severe weather, and I’ve never been wrong—but said he couldn’t issue a blanket no-fly for a specific airport without something else. So, I called a friend in the CIA and started the rumor.”
“How do you have so many high-ranking friends in the alphabet agencies?”
“The sixties were a busy time for me.”
“Can you elaborate?” I asked.
“What do you think?”
I sighed and went back to the television. Florence was even more bad-ass than I’d thought.
I switched off the television when the news gave way to daytime talk shows.
“Can we talk more about Monday?”
“Of course.”
“Will your friend ground air traffic?”
“Yes. The current rumor is an EMP-causing nuclear device will be detonated somewhere over the Midwest, so all airports in the region will be shut down.”
“That’s going to disrupt a lot of travel.”
“It almost makes me hope the weir doesn’t work perfectly. If nothing happens, the threat won’t be credible, and we’ll have a harder time getting them to listen for the next one.”
“There will still be considerable electrical problems after, with the gate at the epicenter,” I pointed out.
“True. And the problems are growing in Portland. Available flight paths in and out of the airport are disappearing, and most of the local airports have stopped operating completely.”
“Seriously?”
“There are problems with the electrical grid, too.”
“Huh. Maybe this isn’t the best time to be asking this question, but what do you think are the long-term technological implications of releasing all this magic into the world?”
“It might be a good idea to find a much older car to travel in if you don’t want to get stranded when the computer shorts out.”
Before I knew it, I was in the back yard watching the moon rise. My stomach clenched. I knew that Rebecca was issuing her challenge and
that either she or Isaac was soon going to have a fight to the death.
As the sun set, the wi…—mages, I corrected myself—began arriving. I cleared my mind and thought of nothing but being a shifter trapped by a treacherous Fae. Since this was most of the truth, it wasn’t too hard.
Florence built a small fire in her back yard and instructed me to sit cross-legged facing it. Another wi…—mage sank into an identical position across the fire and facing me. The remaining twelve, including Florence, sat around us in a circle.
Florence gave a brief instruction, and then they joined hands and began raising power. I’d never experienced a feeling like this before. I could feel them drawing on the earth and the power flowed through me. Even though the pain was starting to overwhelm me, the ecstasy still made me smile.
The woman across from me grasped an enormous sledgehammer and nodded at me. I closed my eyes and reached for her essence. She was waiting. We grabbed “hands,” and I pulled her with me to that place within myself where my dragon lay dying.
“What do I do?” I asked.
“Go into your dragon self to add your strength. When I say flex, do so. I’ll break these bonds.” She raised the sledgehammer over her head, and I merged with the dragon. I screamed in pain as we became one.
All I could think of was the pain. I was freezing and my bones felt brittle. I tried to grab that part of my consciousness that was still Eleanor and find the strength I needed.
Through my screams, I heard someone yell, “Now!”
It took a moment to remember what that meant, then I dug deep and found as much strength as I could and flexed my dragon muscles. I strained against the bonds.
They creaked but did not break. I paused, panting, then heard the voice yell, “Again!”
Again and again, I stretched against the chains. Over and over, the voice yelled, and I lent my strength to the blows of her hammer. Finally, when I was about to give up, the manacle on my left ankle broke. The relief at having one of the chains broken was palpable. My strength grew as I was able to draw power from the earth with that leg.
The mage paused for a moment and her presence manifested on my other side. We repeated the process, but with my added strength, it took less time this go ‘round. I was panting by the time my second leg was freed.
After the third manacle broke, hope lent itself to the increasing strength, and the last leg was freed in one mighty strike.
All that was left now was the chain around my neck. This is the one that worried me. It would be too easy for this woman to miss the chain and strike my head. I pulled experimentally at the chain, but although it was weak, I was not strong enough to break it myself. For the first time since I’d merged with the dragon, I opened my eyes. The mage was waiting near my head, hammer in hand. I nodded, and she raised the hammer and screamed, “Now!”
The hammer came down, and I flexed instead of flinching. The hammer struck the chain holding the last manacle in place, and I pulled back as sharply as I could.
The chain snapped. I was free.
I fluttered my wings experimentally and managed to hover a few inches above the ground before exhaustion overtook me, and I needed a rest.
The mage stepped back and bowed sarcastically. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but if I find out that you have played Florence false, I’ll destroy you myself.”
I projected my thoughts into her head. “There is nothing I do or have done that Florence hasn’t been fully aware of.”
“Are you lovers?” I tasted the tang of jealousy that accompanied the question.
“Only friends. There is no romantic attachment on either side.”
“I’ll have the truth of this from her, and until then, you’re safe. Rest and heal, but watch your back.”
I bowed my head to her. “Thank you, for the strength that aided my freedom and for the respite to heal before you strike.”
She backed up and disappeared, presumably going back into her own body. I should probably do the same. My dragon would heal now that she was no longer bound. It was too much work, though, and I fell asleep. I woke in Florence’s back yard. Florence was the only one present. The sun was high, and it was hot.
“What time is it?”
“Nearly two.”
“Shit. Isaac?”
“He’s called, at last count, fourteen times. I told him you were fine, but apparently, he needs to hear it from you. You are fine, yes? Savannah said all was well and the tattoo knots are gone from your back.”
“I already feel stronger and should be back to one hundred percent in a day or two.” I twisted around trying to see my tattoo. Florence handed me a mirror. I peered at it and saw thin, white scars where the knots had been.
“The scars are smaller than they were this morning, so they will likely disappear when you’re completely healed.”
“Did Savannah talk to you?” I asked.
“No, will she?”
“She knows who I am and threatened me with great bodily harm if I was lying to you.”
A pink stain crept up Florence’s cheeks. “She said that?”
“She did. She asked if you and I were lovers, and the air tasted of her jealousy.”
Florence stood up, and for the first time since I’d met her, her movements were not quick and efficient. She handed me my phone. She was grinning, for Pete’s sake, and when I opened my mouth to tease her, she shushed me.
“Call your young man before he calls me again. Don’t you want to know what happened on his end last night?”
“I’ll call him, but don’t think you’re getting out of this!”
Florence laughed and walked inside.
I stood up and dialed Isaac’s number.
“Florence? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Isaac’s voice was frantic through the static.
“Hey, baby,” I said.
“It’s so good to hear your voice.” He sounded much calmer and a lot more suave. “Everything went well?”
“Like magic.”
“You crack me up.”
“And with you?”
“Rebecca is now one of three female Alphas in North America.”
“Did you have to fight, or did Greg accept her challenge?”
“He accepted her challenge. They fought, and now he’s dead.”
“Question. I know that there are tons of different types of shifters, but I’ve only met wolves. Are you species specific in your organization? Do the others have packs, too?”
“We tend towards the habits of our animal species, but we don’t have the same ranges. There are prides of lions and the hyenas live in cackles, which is a great crossword clue if you ever need it. Greg’s pack—Rebecca’s, now, I guess—does have one bobcat, though. You’ve even met him.”
“Jesus?”
“Got it in one.”
“Why haven’t we seen any other groups?”
“There are few places where we come together and the wolves are currently the most powerful—or at least the most numerous—in North America.”
“Sorry about the sidebar. I always have questions.”
“I love trotting out my extensive knowledge of shifter lore.”
I smiled and then asked, “Are you okay? No injuries? You sound good.”
“Nothing serious. There won’t be a mark on me Saturday.”
“That’s so many days away.”
“I know, but there are two more nights to get through. It wasn’t so bad last night, though. It was good being with a pack again.”
“Maybe we can find a pack for you to run with every full moon, and then you’ll have enough confidence in your control to stay with me during the day. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too. Tell me more about your night. What happened? Are you okay?”
I told him the story and only edited a little. “…and so Florence’s ex-girlfriend knows what I am, if not exactly who, and threatened me if I was hurting Florence. She’s all giddy now. It was cute.”
/> “Cute?” The question came from behind me.
“And now she’s standing behind me, eavesdropping on my conversation, and making snotty comments.”
“I should let you go,” Isaac said. “I’m sure you need to rest and work on the finishing touches for the weir you’re putting together. I love you.”
“I’ll see you Saturday.” We hung up and I took a deep breath before turning around. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“Nothing. You’re going to rest and eat. Tomorrow, we will do a last practice casting and some light training. Saturday, I’m assuming you’ll be involved in ridiculous sexual acrobatics when you reunite with your wolf. Sunday is the big day.”
“Will we be ready?”
“You will be ready. We have done everything we can to minimize the threat to humans. There may still be unintended consequences. Collateral damage.”
“I need to believe that’s not going to happen.”
“Eleanor, when the magic is finally released, it is almost guaranteed that technology will fail. That failure will result in deaths as people’s heating and refrigeration systems fail. Transportation as we know it will end. People will starve. People will freeze. We are going to plunge this world into a pre-industrial age and there is no way that the population at its current levels can be sustained without tech. People are going to die.”
I knew she was speaking truth, but I didn’t want to hear it. No matter how many deaths I tried to avoid by being careful, I was going to be responsible for the largest die-off in the history of the world since the biblical flood.
“What do I do, Florence? Do I stop?”
“Can you?”
A wave of nausea nearly knocked me off my feet when I thought about grabbing Isaac and heading home. The pull towards the gate was so strong now that it was almost painful. I didn’t want to count on that pain lessening as the distance grew.
“I don’t think so.”
“Then, we do what we can to temper the effects.”
Again with the truth. Why’d she have to be so truthy? I remembered my resolve to stop trying to avoid the harsh realities and to start living like a leader. I did not have the luxury of burying my head in the sand. My actions have far-reaching and unpleasant repercussions. It was probably a good thing Florence was coming along. I had a feeling she wouldn’t tolerate self-pity and would keep me grounded. Isaac was fantastic, but he was more interested in protecting me and there might come a time I’d be tempted to let him. Florence would not protect me.