by K L Rymer
Myrddin glances at Megan and I swallow. Shit. This is so unfair to put her under the spotlight like this, but ever the trooper, Megan steps forth and offers those aged members of the council that brazen scouse attitude.
The redhead crosses her arms. “I’m here. What do you all want to know?”
The fae woman raises a fair, elegant brow then peers at the angel beside her. She clears her throat and speaks in a voice like dripping honey. “Thank you for joining us on such short notice. We understand that you have been through a lot lately and we humbly apologise. We did not mean for it to go this far...”
Meg shrugs. “It’s all right. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Again, the council members stir uncomfortably when they get a buttloud of that pure sass. Myrddin tenses and he’s never appeared so anxious.
How can he, the most famous wizard ever, let these clowns intimidate him? He’s way more powerful, I’m sure.
Then again, I remember how cautious he was around the members of the senior faculty after Matthew III tried to get me expelled, and I wonder if any of the council members here have a chair on that panel.
The fae woman inclines for Megan to continue. “Well, what do you have to say? Feel free to express your concerns.”
Megan draws a deep breath, preparing her spiel. “Well, let’s be honest. It’s shit. Darkness has fallen over my world. People are losing their minds, and it won’t be long until a war starts. Too many have been affected by the Black Dragon’s shadow... So... yeah... I am pretty pissed. I had to leave my home. My degree... But me Nan’s happy though, so there’s that.”
Mattie and I suppress a snort, and now an image of that sweet old lady fills my mind. I see her doing Tai Chi with Mr. Tanaka by the cherry blossom tree, and she’s gotten pretty good at it too.
Myrddin sucks air through his teeth, and he sounds like a steaming teapot.
The fae narrows her shrewd eyes. “I see... I expected as much. But I am pleased to hear that your grandmother has found peace.”
Megan bows her head in silent thanks.
The vampire has his say now, never taking his hungry gaze off Megan. I bet he smells her blood and I’m impressed by his level of control. “Of course... the last thing I want is for my prey to kill one another... There’d be nothing left for us vampires...”
Megan nods, and she really does have balls of steel. “Exactly, Vlad. You poor vampires will starve once all the humans have gone.”
Myrddin draws a loud breath, and the silence that follows seems to slice the air in half. The council members watch that redheaded human completely astonished.
My heart thumps and I glance briefly at Mattie. Crap. Megan took it a tad too far.
But then the hush is broken next when Vlad (it’s not his real name, but it’s going to stick) tosses his head back and produces a dry, soft laugh. The shifter and the mage follow suit, but only the fae and the angel keep their probing eyes on Megan.
“You’ve got to love her feisty spirit...” Vlad remarks, straightening his back. “But it would be catastrophic if we just let the humans kill themselves.”
“Yes... simply devastating...” the shifter says, and it sounds like sarcasm. But then he goes on to say, “Not all humans are bad after all. They deserve a chance.”
My eyes pop, and I peer up at Myrddin. The wizard looks as if a huge weight has lifted from his shoulders, and I smile.
It looks like we may get the help we need...
“However...” the mage proceeds and the four of us look up. “We believe that it would be best that you tried to negotiate with Matthew Humphrey III before we come to any final decision. War is not always the right answer.”
I grind my teeth, squeezing my eyes tight shut as I resist the urge to scream.
I knew it. This was too good to be true. They’re still going to sit back and let us do all the work.
But it’s pointless. Matthew senior will not back down. He’s dead set on his stupid plans, “To take over the world...” He’s a power-hungry megalomaniac. A supervillain and we need to bring him down.
A chat over tea is completely out of the question.
Matthew steps forth and addresses the elder. “Sir... may I have a say in this matter?”
The mage regards him thoughtfully. “Yes... you may...”
Mattie breathes in. “As you may not know already... I am Matthew III’s son. Matthew IV.”
“Yes, we know... Vlad confirmed it when he sniffed your blood earlier.” The mage meets that disgruntled look in the vamp’s eyes. “Sorry... but the name’s going to stick.”
Megan and I glance at each other briefly, stifling laughter. I’m so glad she’s a part of our kickass group. I needed the normality of a human friend.
Matthew continues. “Well, as his son... I can confirm that he will not back down. He may even refuse to talk. I know him. I was raised by him after all. He’s a cruel man.”
I study the profile of his handsome face, knowing what’s running through his mind. I see it in his storm cloud gray eyes. He’s thinking of his mother’s soul—that beautiful, glowing orb sitting in the top drawer of his father’s desk.
The mage tapers his old, wise eyes and looks to Myrddin again. “And what do you have to say, Great Wizard Merlin?”
Myrddin sighs. “Myrddin... and... I agree. That man has manipulated his son his entire life. He truly is a malicious individual, and I think it would be in the best interests of all if he were annihilated.”
The mage’s eyes fall on me now. “And what do you say, Daughter of Merlin?”
I roll my eyes. “Myrddin... and... I think we need to assassinate the son of a bitch... Sorry... but you asked for my opinion, and there it is...”
Megan smiles at me proudly, and I hold my head high. She’s not the only one who can be brazen around here. Now all we need is Zahara, and the three of us will be unstoppable.
The mage leans back in his recliner, and now all council members huddle closer, talking in hushed tones. The angel keeps his careful, black eyes on me, and I shudder.
Why are his wings gray? It makes no sense. Angels have white wings. Black if they’re a fallen angel...
Finally, the council members pull away, addressing us once again.
“How many dragons do you have in your horde?” the fae woman asks.
Myrddin counts with his fingers. “Nine.”
The fae purses her lips, deliberating. “And two of these nine dragons are adults?”
Myrddin bows. “That is correct.”
She exhales, fixing her piercing eyes on me. “The Black Dragon is very powerful. We feel it would endanger the entire dragon race. Nine is not a large enough number to sustain a population. What’s the male to female ratio again?”
I answer now. “4:5.”
Fae lady continues. “So four males and five females... That’s rather good. It’s usually better for a population as a whole if the female ratio is slightly higher...”
She’s got that right. No offense, men, but your sperm is cheap. Ovaries for the win.
The fae speaks again. “But to lose any member of an already small population... it would be devastating. The dragons were previously thought to be extinct for thousands of years.”
I close my eyes, dipping my head in shame. To put our dragons in direct danger is highly selfish. We’re doing this to save the human population—a species that caused the decline of their race.
But I can’t just sit back and let that monster put an end to innocent human lives.
I truly believe that if we all come together and stop a common enemy, then the supernatural, human, and dragon races combined can create something beautiful.
Sure, the human race as a whole may not be ready to deal with the existence of dragons and supernaturals, but there are a few who will make it all worth it. One is standing next to us now, and she’s awesome.
I look to the human, and she gazes back, and I know she’s thinking the same.
We can work togethe
r.
Plus, the rest of Mendacious and I have a human parent. So of course, we want to save Homo sapien. They make up one half of each of us.
Save the Homos, I say.
The angel speaks at last, and the moment I hear his profound voice... I freeze.
It rattles the very bones of your body.
“It is settled. You will try to negotiate with Matthew Humphrey III. If he refuses to withdraw and insists on causing more devastation... then... as the Angel of Death... you have my permission...”
A loud gasp leaves my lips, and Death cuts me off with a sharp, scythe-like glare.
So... that’s why his wings are gray? He’s mother fucking death... The Grim Reaper.
He’s as neutral as... well, Switzerland...
But who cares. I’m still pissed that he killed my goldfish fifteen years ago. I was five; I didn’t understand death back then.
For shame, Death... for shame...
Death rises at last, never taking his neutral gaze off me. I bet he heard my thoughts about the goldfish (a goldfish I never even gave a name by the way; I just called it fish), but no little kid needs to find their fishy floating upside down one day... they just don’t.
“This council meeting is finished. Please vacate the room through the golden double doors...” Death’s voice booms and we all vacate that dark, onyx chamber.
When Death tells you to leave... you leave.
Well, at least we have their support... somewhat.
We will try and talk to Matthew senior. If he refuses to negotiate and still insists on war, then... we kill him.
Simple.
Time for Mattie to give Daddy a little call.
Chapter 20 – Matthew
So I gave my old man a call...
It’s his last chance after all. If he refuses to surrender, then... he dies.
Also, if he doesn’t hand over my mother’s soul, then I will ensure that his death is as painful as the day he tore it from her comatose body.
The time has finally come to fight for my mother, and place her back where she rightfully belongs.
No one belongs in a glass orb. It’s inhumane, wicked. And besides, it’s been long overdue, and I miss her smile.
We all agreed to meet in Snowdonia in the end.
With Diafol’s shadow blanketing the mortal realm, we won’t have to worry about humans seeing us so much anymore.
The infamous Black Dragon’s shadow only works on certain individuals, and Bryn and I have talked it over.
We think it has to do with the purity of one’s soul, but there have been stories of inmates on the news who have been spared (people who have murdered and performed heinous crimes), and then there are sweet old ladies in retirement homes who have not been spared, so it must be random.
Regardless... it has to stop. It’s cruel and immoral, and will only cause misery.
I stand beside the father/daughter duo of Bryn and Myrddin, and in that moment it’s plain to see that she’s his daughter.
They have the same fierce expressions in their similar hazel eyes, and it’s obvious they’ve made up their minds.
Father is going to die.
We all agreed to meet without our dragons and lay down our “magical arms”, so to speak.
Yet we still have Brynmawr and Gwyneira hiding behind the mountains just in case Diafol creeps up unawares.
The Red and White Dragons wanted to come. Gwyneira has a score to settle with her own father for almost trying to kill her, and it seems we really are more alike than I realised.
I can feel the White Dragon at the back of my mind, waiting for me to call her in case Father pulls any tricks.
Bryn is doing the same with Brynmawr. In fact, it appears the two are having a mental conversation because the blonde keeps smirking to herself, and I roll my eyes.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” I ask Gwyneira.
She sighs inside my head. “I don’t know... but judging by Brynmawr’s creepy smirk, probably something grotesque. What do we see in these two...?”
Bryn laughs out loud, “Oh, Brynmawr, you old scoundrel!”
The girl’s lucky she’s hot. If I didn’t know any better, I’d be giving her a wide berth right about now. She’s so crazy.
I give a mental chuckle. “Funny how times have changed. We once swore to slay these two... and I actually believed at one point that that was what we were meant to do, Gwyn... All just to appease Father... We were such idiots.”
“No... I was the idiot. Truth be told, I was still a little pissed that Brynmawr broke my heart... He refused to work with me and help me put a stop to the human race. But instead, he shunned me...”
I pull a frowny face, probably looking a little crazy myself. “Weren’t you the one who left him?”
She doesn’t get to finish as my father emerges at last, and all four of us turn silent.
No one utters a sound as we stand in that dull, lifeless valley. The sky is greyer than usual, and the landscape bleak and cold, yet we still don’t take our eyes off each other.
We’re enemies now after all. It would be foolish to even consider blinking.
My father’s black gaze finds mine, and at once I see that disdain.
He never did love me.
His pointed, devilish face sneers, and now he grips the handle of his cane, probably wishing he could beat me senseless with it.
“Look at you, Matthew... siding with the enemy. You really did turn out to be a huge disappointment. If I’d known this the day Patricia fell pregnant with you, then... I’d have killed you both...”
My skin crawls as he makes a jibe about my mother, but Myrddin throws a palm against my chest, preventing me from moving further.
Next, Father’s eyes fall on Bryn, and a smirk twists his features. “I see you brought your bastard along, Myrddin...”
Before either Bryn or I can retort, Myrddin says, “Don’t you speak ill of my child, Humphrey.”
Father gives a mirthless laugh. “But I only speak the truth. She is by definition a bastard. At least I married my child-bearer before I put a baby inside her... I always took you for a wizard of class... but I guess I was wrong.”
Now it’s my turn to throw a hand across Myrddin as his eyes burn serpent green.
It’s painfully obvious the wizard still loves Jennifer. I catch him ogling her when she laughs with her parents by the bonfire, but he’s too afraid to approach. Even when Damien gave him some very good tips (ones I will have to try some time on Bryn), he still refused to make his move.
Myrddin gulps several deep breaths, calming down at last, and now another silent spell extends between the four of us.
Now it’s Bryn’s turn to address my father. “We’re only going to do this once and once only... but back off, Matthew... If you do, we won’t cause you any harm...”
Father regards her as if she’s shit on his shiny, leather shoe. “Who do you think you are, child?”
Bryn smirks and fuck if it doesn’t turn me on. She looks so badass. “The daughter of Merlin, of course.”
I can almost hear the sound of Father’s teeth grinding metres away, and it appears he didn’t like that comeback one bit.
What did he expect? You go up against the Queen of Sass, expect to be burnt.
I did back in first year, and had to apply Aloe Vera many a time to my wounded ass. She just always has a comeback.
With one last, sweeping look at the three of us, Father whirls away and takes his leave.
Never turn your back on an enemy, they say, yet he’s so confident that none of us will attack. We have a code to follow after all. We’re Knights of the Round Table. We have too much honour and he knows it. Hence why we called this pointless meeting...
We wanted to give him a chance to do the right thing.
Bryn growls, stepping closer, and now Myrddin and I stop her.
“You coward... come back and face us!”
Father regards her from the corner of his eye. “
I have nothing more to say to either of you. Besides... I don’t feel like being betrayed today. I know you have the Red and White dragons hiding in the mountains... For shame. At least I had the courtesy to come alone.”
Shame prickles my chest at his cold, cruel words. He’s right, but we have to be cautious. As we said to the Council, Father is a malicious man. In fact, he probably did it on purpose, knowing that if the Council found out that we betrayed a part of the agreement, then they’d sympathise with him.
The bastard.
“Oh, just so you know...” Father drawls before he teleports away. “I have no intention of backing down. I’ve already come this far... It would be a terrible waste not to see my plans come to fruition...”
He fizzles away, and the moment we let Bryn go, she runs to the spot where he vanished, stamping the ground with her muddy Converse.
“Come back! We’re not done with you yet!”
Myrddin and I just leave her to it. My professor turns to me now and says, “Well, you heard your father, Matthew...”
I shut my eyes, channelling my lightning as it cracks between my fingers, and my hair rises.
Looks like the war is still on.
Chapter 21 - Bryn
We embark for war at last, leaving the safety of the spirit oasis behind us forever.
The dragon babies are fully-fledged adults, each of them standing taller than two elephants now. Buddy has finally surpassed Brynmawr and Diafol in size, and just like his rider, Jack, he truly has become a formidable force.
He has a ring of horns around his head and a barbed back and tail, and scales that shine like plates of brass armor.
In other words, he’s a monster, and Diafol will be shitting blocks of ice when he sees him.
Then there’s Maximus. The arrogant, golden asshole who could talk the moment he hatched. Back then, he sounded like Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone (the most precocious child you can think of), but now he sounds like Benedict Cumberbatch (who happened to voice a dragon too in the Hobbit).
He speaks with the Queen’s English, and he’s so pompous and self-important, it hurts.