“It’s alright, but we need to get you checked out too.” I said, to her as she continued to watch me. She nodded, cradling her useless arm, her face tight.
Raego was back in human form, glancing at the statues and the hunters, looking impressed and cautious.
“How did they know where to find us?” He waggled a hand at the men.
I shot him a weak grin. “I texted Mallory. He was waiting with Tomas and the Dragon Hunters for my call.” Raego shook his head.
“You definitely come prepared for the worst.”
“I was a good Boy Scout.” I said tiredly, looking around the room at the frightening dragon statues. “What are you going to do with them now?” I asked.
He pondered that for a minute. “Lawn ornaments?” He offered, face questioning.
Tory began to laugh between sobs of pain, struggling to catch her breath. I couldn’t help it. I joined in, and soon we were all laughing between pants of pain. Grimm nuzzled Misha affectionately with his bloodstained muzzle and then clopped over to me to do the same. Just a friendly, horned, blood covered, red and black peacock-feathered, death-unicorn. Cuddling. I knew that image would stick in my mind to make a cameo in my dreams for years to come. Misha glanced at her babies in the corner, faces contorted in pain, and I heard her sob lightly. Raego touched her shoulder and whispered a few words to her that seemed to cheer her up, her eyes widening with hope. I didn’t want to ask. I just wanted to get the hell out of here.
Raego plucked the book from the ground, looking over at me. “Mind if I peruse this before returning it? It really is a family tome. I would like to study it before returning it to your guardianship. I don’t want any surprises cropping up when I meet up with my brethren… subjects,” he corrected. “Of the Dragon Nation.”
I nodded. “As long as Tomas doesn’t diminish your flock in the meantime.” Raego nodded seriously, glancing at the dragon hunters pointedly. “But I still expect the payment you promised.” He laughed, but agreed.
Mallory approached, checking me quickly to assess the damage. Satisfied, he shook his head, grinning. “Yeh’ were right, laddie. You do know how to have a good time. Want me to start the car?” I nodded, too tired to speak. “I’ll take Tomas and the rest with me. Dinna’ want any more trouble with your other friend there. Old habits die hard.” With a flick of his head, he indicated the dragon hunters and Raego eyeing each other warily. I nodded again. After a few words between the two men, Tomas met my eyes, promising a long talk later, and then rounded up his men to leave, grimly lugging away the bodies of his fallen comrades. I felt sick.
Once they were all gone, Gunnar climbed to his feet, looking drunk, but remained silent, eyes downcast. He had probably found a way to blame himself for everything. He usually did. Drama queen. But there was nothing to do about that now. I felt dizzy from both how much power I had used in the fight, and my wound. I was stunned that we were all alive. Well, all of us except for Peter. Oddly, I didn’t even feel bad about that as I looked at his frozen fear-stricken obsidian face. “And how exactly did you come to command the unicorn?” Raego asked softly as he helped Misha — now in her impressively nude human form — into her dress.
“A favor.” I answered simply. Grimm neighed one more time, and then flew into a shadow and disappeared. No one spoke as they watched me. At that moment, the room brightened significantly as the moon finally lost its control over the eclipse.
“I owe you, Nate. You could have used that coin to protect your friend, Tory, but you used it to save me instead. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
“It was a gamble, kid. Sometimes gambles work, and sometimes you go belly up. I was just lucky.” I looked around the room. “We were all lucky.”
“Son of the Dying Sun, or Obsidian Son, but not kid. Not ever again.” Raego said softly.
“Maybe, but that’s a mouthful. I’ll stick with kid.”
Raego shook his head, smiling. He motioned for us to leave the room, supporting Misha as we left. The rest of us supported each other. The house was mostly empty, few of the dragons from earlier visible. I wondered why, but Raego shook his head as I opened my mouth. “They can feel my power. Any loyal to my father were turned to stone, but the others have fled to no doubt spread word.” As if verifying that claim, we did see several more dragons frozen into statues as we left. Creepy. “I will receive dignitaries soon, especially since all the big names are already in town. Everyone is covering their ass right now, no doubt preparing gifts appropriate for their new Lord.”
We were quiet for a few hallways as we all recovered, regaining our strength. Gunnar finally piped up as he and Tory carried each other. “I am not fit to lead a team if I can’t even protect myself from two dragon’s seductive wiles.” He said guiltily. “She took me too easily at the night club. I was useless.”
I waited a moment and then smiled at him. “But they did have huge racks, Gunnar. I mean, they were beyond glorious. Many men have fallen for less.”
Tory grinned darkly. “Hell, I would have done anything to see those up close. I could rule the world with a pair like that blonde’s.” We each looked at her, surprised. She blushed, and began to laugh, but was cut short by a jolt of pain in her arm. Misha was there in an instant, supporting her weight. Tory nuzzled her head into Misha’s neck.
“So what happened after I was captured?” Gunnar asked carefully, face hard.
Tory and I told him the story, the full story about the media and the dead cop. His shoulders sagged further with each word. I even told him what Jeffries had said about the very likely possibility of him losing his job. He was quiet after that. We exited the house, stepping out into the large circular drive before he spoke again. The dragon hunters had apparently all left, but I spotted Mallory at the wheel of Gunnar’s Land Rover, patiently waiting for us. He must have had a spare key on him. Gunnar finally spoke. “That was my life. Without it I have nothing. The FBI won’t be able to stand up to the freaks if they continue to crawl out of the woodwork. Even though I was under their control, I heard everything. I saw him talking to congressmen. He was giving them… gifts. Bribes. His dragons were seducing them in a back room. He owned them as much as he owned me. I don’t think people are going to stand for his coalition, despite support in political channels. I think a revolt is coming. At least major ripples in the pond anyway. The regulars don’t want to accept us as humans with equal rights, and I don’t blame them after the crimes I’ve seen.”
Everyone turned to me as if waiting for the axe to drop. My name had been smeared across the media the most, and my secret was out, completely, stark naked for all to see. I looked them each in the eye. “Well, I’ve been thinking.” Gunnar immediately groaned and Tory smiled. “As I was saying…” I continued, frowning at Gunnar’s grin. “I am a billionaire who has no chance of spending all the money at my disposal. What do you say to me privatizing our little club here?”
Everyone’s eyes widened at that, and I smiled, proud of the shocked reactions. Misha looked anxious, but the others hadn’t overcome their shock.
“Like Vigilantes?” Gunnar blurted, face full of disapproval.
“No, no. That’s illegal… But kind of.” I flashed a guilty grin. Tory watched me curiously. “Perhaps consultants would be a better term?”
Raego remained silent, but was smiling alongside Misha. Tory turned to Gunnar, arching a brow. Finally Gunnar nodded. “That sounds legal. Kind of.” He grew more enthusiastic as he realized that perhaps his life wasn’t over. “I like it. Black Ops Mythical Freaks Assemble!” He cheered, smiling like a child.
“Again, kind of a mouthful. How about Black Ops Wizards?”
“But I’m not a wizard.” Gunnar argued.
“Neither is the she-hulk or Obsidian Son, but it sounds much catchier, and there is that Kentucky Senator who declared all freaks were the spawn of wizards anyway.” Everyone quickly agreed, nodding enthusiastically.
“We’ll need to d
iscuss pay though since we aren’t all billionaires.” Gunnar began. “For instance, we’ll need enough to pay bills, healthcare, and-”
“Six figures work for everyone who wants to do this full time?”
My words cut like a knife. Tory blinked at me. “That…” She cleared her throat. “That is enough to buy me as your sex slave for eternity.” She said before catching herself with a fierce blush. I realized I was focusing so much on my stomach pain that my power was leaking out again. I struggled to juggle the two so that she could answer honestly. She scowled at me, glancing at Misha first in apology. Misha grinned hungrily. “What I meant to say is that I come from a very poor family, and that is more than I have ever hoped to make in law enforcement.”
“The job will be tough, and as you saw today, very dangerous. I will pay accordingly.” I glanced at Gunnar. “With full health expenses covered outside of that, of course.” I raised a hand for silence as Gunnar guffawed. “With no deductible.”
The silence was thick, and then Tory spoke. “Nate Temple for president?”
Everyone laughed at that. I looked over to Misha. “I assume Raego will be needing you. I release you from my power.” She blinked at me.
“It wasn’t your power that kept me around. You wear my tooth.” I blinked, but she continued. “And you promised sex once this was all finished.” It was my turn to be embarrassed, and that is no easy task. Everyone else joined in on razzing me after that. Misha looked from face to face. “I was serious. He promised.” They laughed harder.
Gunnar’s conscience had a say. “This still sounds shady. I stand by my pledge as a federal agent, and don’t want to do anything illegal.”
“We will be dancing on the fringes of the law, hence the term Black Ops. But the government will be hiring us, so that should appease you. Otherwise we’ll freelance into cases of our own choosing.”
“They aren’t going to like it…” Gunnar said carefully.
“Of that, I’m sure. But that’s also the fun of it. No more red tape strangling innocents to death. You will have the agility to act swiftly. Think about it. People will cease to care once they realize who allows them to tuck their kids in safely at night.” I paused to let that sink in. “Now, who wants to be Robin to my Bruce Wayne?”
Gunnar growled. “No fucking way. You went there.”
Tory beamed. “I’m Catwoman!”
Raego rolled his eyes. “You can’t be Batman. You don’t even have any cool gadgets.”
“I can make some.” I argued.
We approached the Land Rover as Raego said his goodbyes to everyone. Misha agreed to stay with Raego for a little while, but made me promise her a date first. My mind was already working on a way to substitute Tory for myself, and Misha didn’t act like that would be a problem.
We climbed into the car with Mallory at the wheel. He waited for my instruction. I reached into my pocket and felt a tiny slip of satin. I grinned from ear to ear. “Now, I think we all need to visit a doctor. Shall we drop you off at the hospital?” I asked.
“What about you?”
I grinned wickedly. “I have my very own doctor. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Tory and Gunnar gave me odd looks, but finally shrugged at my silence. “We can discuss details of our team later.”
“So, it’s official. I bet we’ll even have Papparazi’s soon.” Gunnar groaned.
“Welcome to the lifestyle of the rich and famous,” I smiled, already thinking of my good doctor, Indie, as Mallory pulled out of Raego’s driveway.
Chapter 42
I leaned back in the bed of my master suite at Chateau Falco, twining a red silken strip of cloth about my fingers, pondering wizardly thoughts as I stared into the fireplace at the edge of the room. The smells from the tray of fresh fruit on the bedside table beckoned to me, but I stoically resisted, content to just relax until my nurse came back to check on my recovery from the battle at Alaric’s home. I glanced at the coin Asterion had given me, which sat on my nightstand, and pondered the god’s involvement in the dragon mess. It was devoid of its power now, but was still a powerful relic that I had yet to study in depth. Later. So many things to study. I would meet the Minotaur to try and get some answers, both about his history with the dragons and my musings about Hermes.
I had put out a few fires since the eclipse, and was still recovering in — and getting used to — my new home at Chateau Falco. I missed Plato’s Cave, but I couldn’t complain too much. Here I had a Butler! And Indie had delegated duties to all the employees at Plato’s Cave with ruthless efficiency. It was business as usual, just how I liked it.
I had managed to get a grip on my new power after an intense personal assessment. The distortion of chance was gone, which was good, as well as the leakage factor on those around me. Double good. Once I was fully healed I would have to look into it more specifically in an attempt to figure out why and how it had happened. I briefly wondered if my parents’ had done something to pass on their power to me upon their deaths, even though I thought the idea impossible. But it wasn’t important at the moment.
People and newspapers both discussed the topic of Alaric’s coalition openly and fearfully, but seemed pleased that it seemed to fizzle into nothing at the man’s disappearance from St. Louis’ social scene. Raego had cleverly issued a statement about Alaric moving back to Europe, complete with travel itineraries and everything. No one questioned it, thankfully. Detective Kosage had been forced to make a public statement renouncing my involvement in the recent crimes after I had put some weight on the mayor about moving my company to a new city. Kosage had been none too pleased, but no love lost there. In fact, I had no intentions of moving the company, but no one else knew that. Even if I had wanted to move the company, I had too many things to do to even entertain the thought at present. I still had to figure out what the Pandora Protocol — my parents’ secret project at Temple Industries — was, and what importance the mysterious music box held. Why had the thief stolen it?
My fingers flexed about the satin in a brief surge of anger. The thief… Peter. But had he also been my parents’ murderer? The video feed had said Titan! at the moment of their deaths, and I had a hard time believing that Peter would have been strong enough to take them out. Even with his new power.
And he was definitely no Titan.
A small part of me missed my old friend. Not the psychopath he had become, but the boy who had been with me since childhood. Gunnar and I didn’t talk about it, except to answer a few phone calls about him joining Alaric to Europe. Again, no one seemed to question it. Raego had come by to drop off the book that had started it all, and to discuss the topic of the break-in at my company. He had no real answers — even having met with all the dragons in town for a brief oath of fealty to their new leader — but was confident that Peter had been the thief, but not the murderer. Alaric had had no reason for their deaths, and Peter had been unable to act of his own volition without the charismatic Dragon Lord’s approval. Which meant that the murderer was still at large. But there was no one left alive to question now, what with Alaric slain by the dragon hunters.
I sighed, running the material through my fingers again therapeutically. The dragon hunters had met Raego at my home under a white flag, learning that Alaric had used them as pawns the entire time. Tomas had been disgusted at that. Their enemy had tricked them into inadvertently working for him to take out Raego. They had agreed to a truce of sorts, that is, until one of Raego’s dragons broke a law or stuck his neck out too high. Raego had smiled, nodding his wholehearted agreement.
Tory and Gunnar had healed without complications, and then promptly been fired. Of course, that wasn’t how it was worded, but the result was the same. Jeffries had been the one forced to give Gunnar the news — against his will — as Special Agent In Charge, Roger Reinhardt, leaned on him. Ah, bureaucracy. Kosage didn’t mind firing Tory. My friends didn’t mind too much, what with the new pay raise from a certain billionaire be
nefactor, although Gunnar’s heart did seem to break a little at the situation. So I had cleverly arranged a self-esteem boost by asking Ashley Belmont to meet me for a very important business discussion at one of the priciest and most romantic restaurants in town. Somehow I had forgotten to put anything in my planner, despite the fact that I had double-booked Gunnar to meet me at the same time and place for an altogether different business discussion. Gunnar and Ashley both showed, but I stayed home. I hadn’t heard much from either since, other than the brief text message from Gunnar hours after the appointed meeting time. I owe you one, asshole.
Raego had informed me that Tory had been spending quite a bit of time with Misha as well. He also told me he’d been able to release her two children from their obsidian prison, and after an oath of fealty to the Obsidian Son, they seemed to be recovering nicely, wrestling all around Raego’s inherited house with Tory, of all people.
I smiled at all the happy endings, then hissed softly as I put too much weight on my healing wound. I adjusted myself, leaning back into the pillows more comfortably. Then the bathroom door opened, and a silhouette stood before me, limned by the candle light behind her and the fireplace before her. “Ready for your hourly check-up, Nate?” A sultry voice asked. Indie took a few steps closer, and my testosterone replied hungrily. She stood there in a nurse outfit, smiling darkly.
“Of course, my good nurse. Of course…” Flesh, hands, and lips met in a sweaty jumble, which hours later, I couldn’t quite remember accurately. But I did feel better, healed. Completely healed… Ready to soon dive back into the fray and discover the truths behind my parents’ murder.
The world was a darker place without them, but I wasn’t going anywhere, and I hoped my new team would be a benefit to society. Someone had to be there to keep everyone safe. It was our duty. We had the ability to protect the weak, so it was on our shoulders. I sympathized with the Titan, Atlas.
Obsidian Son (The Temple Chronicles Book 1) Page 30