Dragon's Conquest (Dragons of Midnight Book 3)

by Silver Milan

  “You do know I can’t place another restorative Weave on you, not without killing you, right?” Ephephany continued.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Mathis said. “Let’s just get on with this.”

  Flame and Viper continued to move ahead of the main group, darting between the buildings, acting as scouts. The pair reached the wall of the estate, well away from the main gate. They chose a spot situated between two small sheds, and then beckoned the others to approach.

  When everyone arrived, Flame boosted Viper onto the wall, and the agile vampire easily clambered onto the flat top. Viper peered over the other side and gave Jett the A-okay with thumb and forefinger before vanishing over the edge.

  Flame helped everyone over in turn. Jett went last, and he waited at the top of the wall to help Flame up behind him.

  Ariel found herself on a street bordered by estates, the different stone walls and fences that enclosed them were covered in gems or precious metals.

  Flame and Viper scouted ahead as usual, and the party made its way through the city. They took back streets and alleys whenever possible, and dashed across any main streets they came upon.

  Now that Ariel was on the streets proper, the LEDs far overhead provided only just enough light for her to see by, even with her enhanced vision, as most of the estate lamps were directed inward. There were many shadows out there… she remembered the last time she had traveled Midnight at night, led by Gwendoline, who had forced her to do so under compulsion. Ariel could have sworn she had seen eyes in the darkened alleyways then, but none were present tonight. Those making up her small party were the only ones out and about. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. It had to be her imagination. Then again, there were all those cameras out there…

  Jett and his White Swords seemed to know where all the cameras were, and Jett was careful to choose paths that hugged the walls of the estates, and kept the party mostly in the shadows. Ariel thought it was inevitable that they would be spotted by at least a few cameras, but without Dan running the city, any security personnel watching the camera feeds would have to be extremely lucky to notice them, especially considering that there were probably at least a thousand different live feeds to monitor.

  Sometimes Flame and Viper signaled the coming of a patrol, and the party members ducked into nearby alleyways or scaled fences into estates if no other hiding places were available.

  Once there, they would listen in the shadows until the stomp of boots had subsided, and then they would emerge once more.

  “Is it just me,” Jett told Gwendoline at one point. “Or have the patrols increased dramatically since the last time I lived here?”

  “Gabriel has instituted a curfew,” Ephephany explained. “And increased the patrols to enforce it.”

  “That would explain a few things…” Jett said.

  Ariel stayed close to Jett the whole time, so that when Gwendoline increased her pace to walk beside him, Ariel’s enhanced hearing allowed her to hear everything Gwendoline said.

  “I want to see Gabriel as soon as possible,” Gwendoline whispered.

  Jett’s eyes darted to Ephephany, as if concerned she might be listening in, then he returned his attention to Gwendoline. “Not yet. We need to confirm that the witch’s story checks out. You can go after we reach your estate.”

  Gwendoline seemed about to contest him, but she bit back whatever it was she was going to say and nodded instead. She slowed her pace to resume her original position behind him.

  Ariel joined him and said, very softly: “You don’t trust Ephephany?”

  Jett looked at her, his eyes sad. “I do, but not entirely. Would you, in my position?”

  “No,” Ariel said. “I suppose not.”

  What if she’s undead? Ariel thought.

  Ariel remembered all too well what had happened to Savanna, president of the Steel Tower and dragon witch. If even a being of such immense power as a dragon witch could be turned into an undead...

  Ariel shook her head.

  What a situation. We have no idea who to trust.

  Jett paused along the way, and led the group into an alley where Flame and Viper were waiting.

  “We’ve spotted the members of the Black Guard Gabriel has watching her estate,” Flame said. “We’re going to have to retrace our steps and come at the estate from the side.”

  “Do it,” Jett ordered.

  The group emerged from the alley and backtracked, then continued down a side street.

  They finally stopped in front of a wall that seemed made entirely out of gold. It was higher than the walls of all the preceding estates.

  “We’re here,” Jett said.

  “Gwendoline’s estate?” Ariel asked.

  Jett nodded.

  “Will the White Swords be expecting us?” Ephephany asked.

  “No,” Gwendoline said. “I thought it best not to warn them.”

  Jett frowned. “You doubt the White Swords? Men who fought by my side through three wars? Men who guarded my estate through thick and thin? Men I would trust with my life?”

  “No, she’s right,” Ephephany said. “It’s better this way. If there is a vampire witch in our midst, as you seem to suspect, then the most loyal of friends can be turned against you. The worst part is, you wouldn’t even know it.”

  Jett scowled at her. “The whole reason we’re going to my sister’s estate is so I can gather them. And now you’re trying to tell me I can’t trust them? I won’t listen to this.”

  Ariel found herself unable to hold back the thoughts she had been having. “How do we know you yourself aren’t undead?” Ariel asked Ephephany. “You did say that the scent can be masked.”

  Ephephany shrugged. “You don’t, of course. Feel free to turn on me whenever you wish.” Though she didn’t say it, Ariel heard the implied threat loud and clear: but it won’t go very well for you.

  “Ephephany isn’t undead,” Jett said, though his words did little to help the sudden tension. “The vampire witch wouldn’t confront Ephephany until she had most of the city. No, Ephephany will be the very last of us to fall. My White Swords won’t be taken very easily, either. I somehow doubt the vampire witch would dare face them until she consolidated her hold on the city.”

  “All I’m asking is for you to be cautious,” Ephephany said.

  “Noted,” Jett said.

  “For one who seemed so doubtful about the presence of a vampire witch earlier,” Gwendoline told Ephephany. “You do seem overly cautious all of a sudden.”

  “Let’s just say I don’t want Jett to get caught,” Ephephany said.

  “My White Swords won’t betray me,” Jett said. His words seemed spoken more to convince himself than anyone else. He turned toward Gwendoline. “How many do you have guarding the main gates to your estate?”

  “The main gates?” Gwendoline said. “Two vampire slaves.”

  “Any other guards on the grounds?” Jett asked. “Not including White Swords, I mean.”

  “Well, there should be four more watching the walls on the different sides of the estate,” Gwendoline said. “All dragons.”

  “Could you lead us on a path that would avoid them?” Jett asked.

  “I could.”

  “Good,” Jett said. “Because I definitely don’t trust anyone who’s not a White Sword. Speaking of which, where have you deployed them?”

  “You’re remaining White Swords?” Gwendoline said. “They’ll be guarding the main mansion at this hour. Mamba and Titan will be at the front door. Cronus will be patrolling the grounds immediately surrounding it. Poison will be watching from the rooftop.”

  “Even though you’re not home?” Jett asked.

  “Yes,” Gwendoline said. “Gabriel and those working in the Treasury Department are the only ones who know I’m not in the city. Well, and Ephephany, who collared me before I left. My neighbors, and everyone else, think I’m still there. In fact, I’ve been answering emails from those not in the kno
w as if I’m still in my mansion. Mamba and Titan have orders to turn away all visitors.”

  “Nicely done,” Jett said. “Though I’m not sure what the purpose was.”

  “When you break the First Rule, it’s best to cover your tracks,” Gwendoline said.

  “Unless you want to end up like me,” Jett said. He wrapped an arm around Ariel. “Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” He gave Ariel a peck on the cheek and released her.

  His touch momentarily made her forget the dangers they were all in. A fugitive, sneaking into the city he was banished from, and the lion and human witches with him.

  Yes, we’re all in trouble if we’re caught.

  “Any others in and about the mansion?” Jett asked.

  “I have five servants inside, with their own bedrooms,” Gwendoline said. “Two dragons, three vampires. They should be asleep at this hour.”

  “Good,” Jett said. “All right, over the top, people.”

  Flame boosted Viper onto the wall. The vampire White Sword confirmed the coast was clear, and then Flame helped the others over the wall in turn.

  When everyone was over, Jett ordered Flame and Viper to assume their customary lead positions. “Take us to the mansion. Gwendoline, go with them. Make sure we don’t encounter any of those guards you mentioned.”

  “You want us to approach the mansion from the side and avoid the main entrance, correct?” Flame asked.

  “No,” Jett said. “We won’t be able to escape the notice of the White Swords, no matter what direction we come from, nor how much stealth we employ. Take us to the mansion’s main entrance. If they’re not with me, I’ll know pretty quick.”

  “Unless they have orders to pretend otherwise,” Ariel said softly.

  But Jett pretend he didn’t hear her.

  Gwendoline, Flame and Viper led the way, and the rest of the party followed, making their way through the garish outbuildings.

  Ariel decided to press home her point.

  “What if you’re wrong about them,” Ariel said to Jett quietly along the way.

  “I’m not wrong,” Jett replied. “Not about these men.”

  Gwendoline, Flame and Viper emerged from the cover of the final outbuilding, and Jett and the others followed just behind.

  They approached the mansion from the front, crossing the variegated cobblestone of the main courtyard. A fountain gurgled softly beside them, depicting a rearing dragon with wings extended, water streaming from its open maw.

  Ahead awaited a pillared portico. Two massively built men stood at attention underneath it, just in front of a pair of towering twin doors.

  “Mamba is on the left,” Jett whispered to Ariel quietly. “Titan the right.”

  8

  Ariel studied the two White Swords in question.

  Mamba looked entirely unlike most of the other dragons Ariel had seen before in this place. His skin was literally covered in green scales, giving him the look of a human lizard. He had short hair and a trimmed beard. He was dressed in a gi, something Ariel was well familiar with from her martial arts training: a two-piece white garment closed with a cloth belt. Practitioners wore it on the mat because of the ease with which the wearers could move in it.

  Titan, meanwhile, looked typical of the dragons she had seen in this place before. Model type, arrogant features; remote, fiery eyes; exotic, tanned skin. His hair was completely shaven, including the eyebrows, and he wore only a harness on his upper body, like Flame, so that his chiseled chest was visible for all the world to see. He had to be the biggest man Ariel had ever seen, in terms of musculature, bigger even than Jett, though her dragon held a slight height advantage.

  Both men carried pistols at hips and swords crisscrossed on their backs, just like the other White Swords. And they all wore the now familiar headsets.

  Neither of them made a move as Jett and the others approached. Both merely stood there calmly, waiting patiently.

  Jett stepped forward and both men bowed.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Sire,” Titan said.

  “And you as well,” Jett said. “Have you notified Cronus and Poison?”

  “They know you’re here,” Titan told him.

  “Good,” Jett said. “Effective immediately, Flame is in command of the White Swords. Viper, join Mamba at the front door. Titan, you’re with us.”

  “What do you want me to tell the Swords?” Flame asked.

  “Maintain standing orders,” Jett said. “Guard the perimeter from all approaches. Deny entry to any who want to visit Gwendoline.”

  “Understood,” Flame said. He spoke quietly into his own headset.

  Jett led the way inside and Ariel followed with the others. She noticed Mamba gazed at Mathis with disgust as he passed, and when Ariel went by, the reptilian man stared at her with open hostility.

  Her skin crawled and she stumbled on the small step-up between the porch and foyer.

  “Watch your step,” Jett told her.

  She nodded, hurrying inside.

  Behind her, Viper assumed a position beside Mamba to watch the front door.

  She found herself in a foyer lit by hanging light fixtures shaped as translucent dragons, curled up in sleeping positions. Cherrywood panels lined the walls. There was a single tapestry on the left side, picturing a white dragon with her wings unfurled and breathing a beam of white light against a horde of vampires, disintegrating several of them.

  “Beautiful,” Mathis said, going to the tapestry. He placed a tender hand on the dragon’s ferocious head. “It’s you, Gwen, isn’t it?”

  Before she could answer Jett spoke quietly to Gwendoline. “Lead us to somewhere we can talk without waking your servants.”

  “This way,” Gwendoline said just as softly. She led them into a hall carpeted in luxurious white fur, passed a room that obviously served as a small library, and into a glass-doored conference room. When everyone was inside, she shut the doors behind her. She placed her hand on a biometric pad next to the door and the glass panels immediately frosted over. Ariel heard a faint whirring then, and felt a slight breeze: air was being pumped into the room.

  “This room is completely sound proof,” Gwendoline said. “Dan has no eyes or ears here, either.”

  “Good. Sit down everyone.” Jett took a place at the wide conference table, and waited for everyone else to follow suit. Then he turned toward Titan. “Update me on the situation. I want to know everything that has happened since I abdicated.”

  Titan glanced suspiciously at the rest of the group; the big man was obviously reluctant to speak in front of everyone.

  “All present are in my confidence,” Jett said. “Other than the White Swords, these are the most loyal people you’ll find in all of Midnight at the moment.”

  Titan glanced doubtfully at Ariel and Mathis one last time, then returned his attention to Jett. Titan told his story, and confirmed everything Ephephany had told them about Gabriel.

  “Your brother the king has been acting increasingly more irrational,” Titan said. “Just this evening he announced a blood drive for tomorrow morning. All residents will be required to donate blood to help save dragon lives. Nurses will be going door to door.”

  “A blood drive?” Gwendoline said. “To help save dragon lives? Has there been some sort of attack or natural disaster at one of the satellite dens?”

  “Not exactly,” Titan said. “The king calls it a preventive measure.”

  “For what?”

  “He seems convinced we’re about to going to war with the Orions,” Titan said. “Or at least, that’s the latest news on the Midnight Intranet. I can show you.”

  He pointed at the laptop sitting on the conference table. Gwendoline slid it toward her and opened it.

  The wall on the far side of the conference room was apparently a big flat screen monitor, because it immediately updated to show what was on Gwendoline’s laptop, allowing everyone to see.

  Gwendoline launched the browser, whose home page def
aulted to the Intranet.

  Titan pointed out the relevant article, which was the first item on the top of the page. The headline read: “Preparing For The Coming War.”

  “I must see Gabriel immediately,” Gwendoline said. “It’s obvious something isn’t right here.” She clenched her fists until the whites of her knuckles showed. “A blood drive.”

  “If you were a vampire witch secretly running a dragon den,” Mathis said. “A blood drive would be the perfect excuse for you to gather and store dragon blood before you made everyone undead. You could bag it up, refrigerate it, and keep enough to power your rule for months, maybe years. We all know how much of a boost dragon blood gives to vampires, especially their witches, after all...”

  “Instead of storing the blood for weeks, the vampire could be planning something big,” Flame said. “Something that would need her to keep her Strength levels enhanced, requiring her to constantly replenish her power, especially considering the repressive effect Midnight has on magic.”

  “Maybe she plans to accelerate her conquest of Midnight?” Gwendoline said. “Emerging from the shadows to declare herself queen of Midnight, and ordering the remaining dragons to surrender?”

  “They’d never surrender,” Jett said. “To a vampire? Wouldn’t happen. Not when they know what that vampire would do to them.”

  Mathis nodded. “Suck them dry.”

  “Then she would have to be confident enough that she could destroy any who opposed her,” Gwendoline said. “Perhaps she has already raised an undead army of some considerable size.”

  “An army of dragons?” Jett said.

  Ariel thought he shuddered slightly as he spoke. Ariel didn’t blame him. She couldn’t suppress a shiver herself.

  “This is all mere speculation,” Ephephany said. “We don’t know for certain yet that such a vampire witch is pulling Gabriel’s strings.”

  “And we don’t know for certain that such a witch is not,” Gwendoline said. “Damn it, Ephephany. Can’t you see what’s going on here?”

  “If it’s true, then this is all the more reason why you can’t visit Gabriel alone,” Mathis told Gwendoline. “I’m going with you.”