by Silver Milan
“Shut it!” Jayden said, smacking Razor behind the head.
“Hey, that was uncalled for,” Razor said.
“There are kids seated at the table beside ours,” Jayden said. “They know how to spell you know.”
Little Gemma ran over to Julia from the other table. “Mommy, what does fucking mean?”
“See!” Jayden said.
“I want you to forget you ever heard that word,” Julia told her daughter. She leaned down and whispered quietly to her, and then gave Razor a death stare.
“Sorry,” Razor dropped his eyes to his hands.
“Do any of you lions miss Belgrade?” Michelle asked, changing the subject. The falcon shifter’s long red hair was tied into a tight ponytail for the meal.
“Not particularly,” Duncan said. The huge biceps of the big lion shifter bulged underneath the sleeves of his T shirt as he cut himself a slice of meat. “It’s kind of a relief to be back: I’m just glad I can finally speak English when I’m out and about. It’s an amazing feeling to have strangers understand me again.”
“You never really did learn Serbian that well, did you?” Connor asked.
“No,” Duncan said. “Not like your Julia.”
Connor nodded, and smiled proudly at his wife. “She has a gift for languages.”
Teri smiled. “I remember whenever any of us wanted to leave the apartment complex for any reason, to buy meat from the market, clothes, and whatnot, we’d always be rushing to Julia’s room to beg her to come along.”
“You should have started charging for your translation services,” Connor said to Julia with a wink.
“Oh come on, I wasn’t that indispensable to you guys,” Julia said. “Jett spoke Serbian just fine. As did his White Swords. And you all had Google Translate on your phones.”
“True enough,” Teri said. “But you’re way less intimidating than a dragon, or some translation app for that matter.”
“I’m not intimidating,” Jett said.
“Ha!” Teri said. “You may not see it, but we do.”
Jett glanced at Ariel. “Am I intimidating?”
“Um, yes?” Ariel said. “You may not realize it, Jett, but you’re one of the most intimidating people I’ve ever known. Even to me, sometimes.”
Jett frowned. “I hate the thought of intimidating you.”
She smiled and wrapped an arm around him, kissing him on the cheek. “I like you that way. Makes me feel safe.” She glanced at the other lions around the table. “Most of you are intimidating as hell, too. Don’t get me wrong. Why do you think I like it here with you all? This is the safest place to be in the world, right here. With you guys.”
“Aw shucks,” Razor said. “Though honestly, I’m not sure whether to feel grateful or insulted.”
“I’d be grateful,” Jayden said, casting a quick glance at Jett, who was scowling at Razor.
“For me, the one plus about Belgrade was the garbage disposal,” Razor said. “All you had to do was waltz downstairs and throw your bags into the waiting bin. Here, we have to toss our sacks into our trucks and drive all the way to the city to throw shit out.”
“Wait a second,” Michelle said. “The only nice thing you can say about Belgrade, a city renown for its architecture and culture, is that you liked the garbage disposal?”
“Pretty much,” Razor said. “Though I admit, sometimes when throwing out your garbage, you’d meet a sexy Serbian girl along the way, dressed in a nice short skirt with long hair reaching down to her bum. Good luck finding that when you throw out your garbage here! We definitely could use some more fine-assed Serbian girls around.”
“Someone’s cultured,” Brian quipped.
“Yeah yeah, shut it baby werewolf,” Razor said.
“Wanna go?” Brian said. The twenty-year-old slid a hand over his head, combing back his spiky-hair. When he removed his palm the spikes instantly jumped back.
“Not now,” Razor said. “I’m busy eating. I promise to kick your ass later though.”
“You’re the one who’s going to get his ass kicked,” Brian said.
“We’ll see,” Razor said.
“What about you witches-in-training?” Connor said. “Do you miss Belgrade?”
“We never really got to see it,” Michelle said. “For myself, I walked around the cobbled streets for maybe two hours before Ked called and told me Jett needed rescuing.”
“What about the Steel Tower?” Connor pressed. “Do you miss it?”
“Can’t say I do,” Ked said. The bear shifter scratched his grizzled beard. “We’re learning at a much faster pace with Mathis here in charge of our training. And we don’t have to worry about a cruel taskmaster making us do hundreds of pushups and forcing us to run five miles each morning.”
“I was wondering why you were all getting so out of shape with us,” Razor joked.
“I do miss some of the friendships,” James said. The panther shifter was staring out into space. “Not to mention the eye candy. A bunch of shifter girls, dressed in form fitting white robes? Hell yeah I miss that.”
“Too bad it was against the rules to touch them,” Ked said. “But out here, we’re free.” He glanced pointedly at Michelle, but James ignored the gesture, pretending to be absorbed by what was left of his meal.
The table was quiet for several moments; the only sounds were the scraping of cutlery on plates and the smacking of lips as mouths chewed.
“Did we ever find out what happened to that vampire witch?” Julia asked.
“No,” Jett said. “She’s still out there, somewhere, so we need to keep our guard up. The scouts have been back to the battleground multiple times. Her undead minions are still decaying.”
“What about Midnight?” Cliff asked. “Has anyone noticed anything out of the ordinary?”
Jett downed a large chunk of meat. “I’ve been in touch with my brother by email. He tells me everything is quiet in the city.”
“What about Dan?” Gwendoline asked. “Did you have it review the security camera archives, checking for anything suspicious recorded while we were gone?”
Jett frowned. “No. Dan seems to be down.”
“Down?” Gwendoline said. “That seems unusual. I can’t remember Dan ever experiencing downtime before.”
“Yeah well, Midnight’s computer system was designed by humans,” Jett said. “We all know how reliable their technology can be at times. I’ve assigned Duncan to pour over the logs from the local cameras Blue Hurricane has set up around the camp. He’ll let us know if he finds anything, right Duncan?”
“That’s right,” the big lion shifter replied with his mouth full.
Ariel heard the muted buzz of a smartphone.
Jett put down his knife and fork and reached into his pocket to retrieve his sat-phone. He showed Ariel the message he had just received from Flame:
Call me.
Jett stood up and walked out of hearing range as he quick-dialed the White Sword in question.
After a short exchange he hung up and returned to the table.
“What did he want?” Ariel asked.
“Ephephany is here,” Jett said. “The dragon witch of Midnight.”
3
“Ephephany?” Ariel said. “I thought she didn’t want to help us train?”
“She doesn’t,” Jett said. “I’m assuming she’s here for another reason.”
“Maybe she misses Gwen,” Mathis said.
“Ha!” Gwendoline said. “More like she misses you.”
Mathis wrapped a possessive hand around Gwendoline’s shoulders. “She’ll have some problems if that’s the case.”
“Damn right,” Gwendoline said.
“Well where is she?” Cliff said, surveying the foliage that surrounded the camp’s central courtyard. He always got jumpy whenever someone new was coming. He acted the same way when Jett visited the camp during the early days when Ariel had first joined the pride. It seemed a lifetime ago.
“Flame is e
scorting her here now,” Jett said.
A moment later Ephephany emerged from the trees, stepping into the camp from the direction of the gravel parking lot. She appeared to be a young girl of about seventeen or eighteen, and was dressed in business casual: a blazer covered a white dress shirt, topping a black skirt. Thick stockings sheathed the uncovered portions of her legs, revealing thin thighs and calves. Her feet were adorned in small, shiny dark shoes, while black spectacles completed her outfit.
Her hair was clipped into a high ponytail, high school sports style, which made her seem younger still. She didn’t wear any bone accessories: as a dragon shifter, she could tap into the magic that flowed through the universe via her own bones. Jett had once told Ariel that Ephephany was the most powerful dragon in all of Midnight. She could have ruled the city if she wished, but that was not the path of the Wayfarers. Her role was only to act as adviser to the king of Midnight. Though technically she still served her witch masters, apparently the Wayfarers had granted her a lot of autonomy, given her power.
When Ariel saw her, she instinctively reached through her bone accessories and touched the Strength, readying herself to act in case the witch decided to strike. Ariel wasn’t sure she’d be able to do much against a dragon witch like her, but she’d sure as hell try. She’d protect Jett and her pride as much as she was able.
Ephephany was overshadowed by Flame, who emerged behind her, and Ariel couldn’t help but be distracted by him. The gorgeous man possessed skin of an unnatural, deep red hue. He was much too beautiful to be a fashion model, and the baleful glint in his eye and the dangerous way he held himself hinted at his darker profession. A thin beard outlined his jaw line, and either side of his head was shaved. The hair on top he grew long and spiked, and the way it curled to one side made his head seem a little like a lit match.
He wore ebony boots with scarlet streaks of flame running up the sides, below camo leggings patterned in forest digital. He had a thin harness strapped over his bare chest so that his sculpted abs and pecs were readily visible underneath. He carried a pistol holstered on either side of his hips, and two swords scabbarded in an X pattern on his back. Ariel had never seem him use them, as she had only witnessed Flame fighting while in his terrifying dragon form, but she could tell by the graceful, slender way he moved, that those weapons were extensions of himself. She was reminded of a snake poised to strike.
“It never ceases to amaze me how little you age,” Mathis said as Ephephany approached. “Though that’s one of the benefits of being a dragon witch, I suppose.”
Ephephany eyed Gwendoline and Mathis uneasily.
“I think we’ll take our leave,” Gwendoline said. “Mathis?”
“Ah, yes.” Mathis stood, as did Gwendoline.
“No,” Ephephany said. “You need to hear this.”
Gwendoline exchanged a look with Jett, and then sat back down with Mathis.
“So you have decided to join us in Blue Hurricane, and help train Ariel and the others?” Jett asked.
“Not exactly,” Ephephany said. “Midnight needs me now more than ever.”
“Maybe she’s come to collect us for her Wayfarer masters,” Ked said. “And take us back to the Steel Tower.”
Ephephany swallowed nervously, as if Ked had hit on the precise reason.
“That’s not why you’re here, is it?” Jett asked.
“No,” Ephephany said. “I came to warn you.”
“Warn us?”
“My eyes and ears in the court tell me Gabriel intends to hand you and all of Blue Hurricane over to the witches,” Ephephany said. “To appease the Wayfarers for the attack you made against their Steel Tower. At least, that’s the excuse he’s using.”
“Flame and Brazen, too?” Jett asked. “Gwendoline?”
“He intends to hand over the two White Swords as well, yes,” Ephephany said. “But not Gwendoline. Only you, Flame and Brazen will face charges for roaming the land of the witches uncollared.”
“But the witches know I participated in the battle against their Tower without a collar, too,” Gwendoline said.
“Yes,” Ephephany said. “And they want you, but apparently Gabriel has refused them. He doesn’t want to lose you. But Jett, on the other hand…” She shrugged.
“When does my brother plan to take us?” Jett asked.
“His attack party will arrive tonight.”
Jett had made a contingency plan for this very thing. He owned a warehouse in the city. He glanced at Ariel, then Cliff. “Looks like we’re going to be leaving the woods behind for a little bit.”
“The pride can be packed in an hour,” Cliff said.
“Good,” Jett said.
“Should we start?” Cliff asked.
Jett nodded. “Might as well.”
“You heard the man, shifters,” Cliff said. “Start packing your things!”
“But we’ve only just settled in,” Sarah said.
“Sorry sweetie, that’s life,” Cliff said. “Unless you want to go back to the Steel Tower?”
That got her to her feet fast.
In moments the table had cleared, save for Cliff, Ariel, Gwendoline, Mathis, and Hugh. The latter individual was Mathis’ Keeper, a baseball-cap wearing, big-biceped, T-shirt clad hunk of a man who had sworn to protect Mathis with his life. Speaking of protectors, Flame hovered in the background, also ready to defend Jett and the others if Ephephany betrayed them.
“Have a seat.” Jett beckoned toward the picnic table.
Ephephany bowed her head in thanks and sat down. Jett plunked down across from her.
Ariel decided it was safe to release the Strength at that point, so she did. She missed the sensation of power flowing through her veins, but it was a comfort to know that it was there, readily accessible through the bone she wore. Ariel wondered how it must feel to be a dragon witch like Ephephany, with the very bone under her skin and muscles providing the Strength. The witch merely had to reach inside herself, Siphoning through her own skeletal system… it creeped out Ariel slightly just thinking about it.
Now that Ephephany was seated across from her, Ariel noticed the dragon witch was wearing a familiar silver band around her throat. That band restricted her dragon powers, and prevented her from transforming. Jett and Gwendoline wore similar collars, but theirs were fake, courtesy of an expensive jeweler Jett knew in town. But Ephephany’s was real, no doubt. The witch didn’t strike Ariel as someone who would break a rule that was otherwise so zealously enforced by the Wayfarers Ephephany served: when a dragon leaves a den, by decree of the witches, he or she must do so collared.
“Have you talked to Gabriel, asked him why he’s doing this?” Jett asked.
“No,” Ephephany said. “Gabriel rules only through his advisers of late, and is rarely seen. He won’t even see me, in fact. But I think he’s only doing it because he wants you as far away from here as possible. He fears you could rally the dragons against him and retake the throne. The witches are merely providing him with a convenient excuse.”
“But he’s my brother,” Jett said. “I can’t believe he’d do this to his own blood.”
“Neither can I,” Gwendoline said. “I want to go see him. Talk to him.”
“No,” Jett said. “Even though Gabriel hasn’t agreed to give you to the witches yet, he could change his mind at any time. Especially if you walk right into his hands.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Gwendoline said. “He wouldn’t betray me. I know him.”
“I thought I knew him too…” Jett said.
“Jett is right,” Ephephany told Gwendoline. “It’s too dangerous. He’s been turning on those most loyal to him. Already he had most of his advisers rounded up and executed.”
“What?” Gwendoline said. “That doesn’t sound like Gabriel!”
“I know,” Ephephany said. “I’m worried someone has him under the influence of some kind of compulsion.”
“But he’s immune to compulsion, like the rest
of the royal family,” Gwendoline said.
“A vampire witch doesn’t need compulsion to control a dragon,” Mathis said quietly.
“What are you saying?” Ariel asked.
“He’s implying Gabriel is undead,” Ephephany said.
“I refuse to believe that,” Jett said. “Undead. A fate worse than death.” His eyes shone with anger. “My brother. My dear brother...”
Ariel wrapped an arm around him and squeezed him tight. “I’m sure he’s all right.”
Jett didn’t say anything, his expression remaining dark.
“Does she know about the vampire witch?” Mathis asked Jett.
“What vampire witch?” Ephephany said.
Mathis looked to her. “Apparently Blue Hurricane was attacked by a powerful vampire witch shortly after Jett abdicated. She had a whole troop of undead Orions serving her. She tried to kill Jett, drain his blood. I’m guessing she intended to raise him as undead afterward. She failed, of course. One of Jett’s lions blew off her head with a rifle, and they slew the Orions, leaving the bodies where they fell. But a few weeks later when a hunting party stumbled on the site of the battle, they noticed that the witch’s body had vanished. Plus, there were several dead crows, drained of blood, littering the area next to the bodies of the minions. Also, they couldn’t find the restraining collar Jett had removed from his own neck.”
“I had heard about the battle at the Steel Tower in quite extensive detail from certain Wayfarer colleagues who witnessed it,” Ephephany said. “But this local skirmish, no, it’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“Queen Yvonne doesn’t keep you in the loop with happenings near your own capital city, does she?” Mathis said.
“Apparently not,” Ephephany said. “Assuming she ever learned of it.”
“So what do you think?” Gwendoline said. “Could this vampire witch have penetrated into the upper echelons of Midnight society? Could Gabriel truly be undead?”
Jett shook his head ardently.
“It’s possible,” Ephephany spoke before Jett could get in a word. “But I believe the chances are remote, given the defenses we have in place against such a stealth attack. As to Gabriel being undead: the two times he has made a public appearance, I haven’t noticed the characteristic smell of the undead, but that could be a red herring: I’m no expert in Death magic, but I’ve heard the stench of the undead can be a masked by a special Weave known only to a very few high ranking vampires. I will say this: Gabriel did seem... drugged, however.”