by Milana Jacks
Seven walked to the table as if to sit. I intercepted her. Seven froze when I sniffed near her neck. I inhaled a scent of perfume, based on some citrus fruit, she’d worn earlier today. It intensified my headache. I sniffed her hair, and then her shoulder. Ah, there we are. Faint, but unmistakably the scent of a spirit. It made my mouth water and my dicks pulse.
Seven stepped back. “I’m trying to keep an open mind here and think your sniffing is some sort of a fetish. Which is fine by me. Maybe you could give me a heads-up next time.”
“Sure,” I said and turned to Clementine. Her blue-gray eyes widened, and she leaned in expectantly. “Is it Seven?” She seemed excited.
I’d found a spirit. Right here in this room. The scent of a spirit, I admitted, made me want to eat the air around me. An aphrodisiac. “I’ll have to sleep on it. Let it settle. I’m…unfit for flight tonight.” I smiled. “Is there somewhere I can spend the night?”
Because this dove had a bleeding heart, carried that thing right on her sleeve, I knew she would offer me a bed. I wouldn’t leave until I figured out what to do with the spirit I’d found.
Clementine
Seven shook off my coat and hung it over the chair. I showed Knight to my twin’s room. Nobody had slept in that room since she’d passed away that awful night in October as we made our way back from the next town. I’d driven, slid off the road, and hit an abandoned home. Clare had died from a stray pipe sticking out of the house. It stabbed her right though her heart. Countless times, I’d replayed our last moments in my head. What if I’d taken the other road, the one she’d told me to take, instead of the shortcut that would get us to Pittsburg faster? We’d borrowed Ms. Lawson’s ancient pickup truck with half a tank of gas, and I insisted it wouldn’t make it back if we took the longer road. I should have taken the longer road. My sister would have lived, and I never would have had to deal with dragon drama.
I left Knight in her room and went to bed early.
7
The next morning, Seven’s voice from the kitchen awoke me. I threw on a robe over my pajamas and walked outside to find Seven and Knight standing around the table. By the way they glared at each other, I knew this was a drama morning. “Good morning,” I said.
“Hey, Clem,” Seven said. “I was just leaving to get some milk.”
“Bummer.” I’d drink black coffee because I could hardly wait a minute before the caffeine cleared the early-rising fog from my brain. According to Seven, coffee wasn’t what it used to be. I’d spent my adult years in the Ice Age, so I didn’t know what coffee had tasted like before. This coffee was just fine by me. Besides, coffee beans didn’t grow on trees. Nothing grew on trees anymore unless someone had found a way to protect the land and the goods from the cold.
Coffee, a luxury nowadays, was expensive and hard to come by. We drank what we could afford. It tasted fine with some synthetic powdered milk readily available in the habitat. Real cow milk could be found on the farms, like the one near Arthur’s property, the one from which my twin got milk. I hitched a breath, suppressing my grief yet again, only so I could function today. If I thought about Clare, I would curl up in bed for a week, and the business I’d built in the past month would vanish. Not to mention, I sensed Arthur calling for me. It was innate, something between the dragon creature and his bird creature. I’d have to go out and see him today. With Knight still here, I dreaded it.
“Robert!” Knight bellowed so loud, I dropped my cup. It shattered into pieces on the floor.
I sighed and got the broom. As I swept, Robert came through the door. I dumped the shattered pieces in the garbage, then sat at our kitchen table, my hand propped under my chin. With Knight all worked up, and Robert all bulky and anticipating his lord’s command, the room grew small and stuffy with testosterone. Seven held her own with the guys, while I suffocated under all the dominant vibes. I wished for fresh air, the kind Knight’s dragon had given me last night.
And it was his dragon and not the man. I didn’t know how often the dragon took over the man’s sanity, but I presumed the men who carried such strong, dominant beasts had issues with control. I barely handled my dove creature. And Knight had confirmed that my dove and I weren’t in sync yet. I never quite felt like my old self or that the creature was a part of me, probably why I’d never landed correctly, whereas my twin had landed and carried her bird just fine. “I’m not made for any of this,” I said.
Heads turned my way.
“Sure you are,” Knight said. “This entire family is made for us.”
Seven sat next to me and dropped her keys on the table. “I am not a spirit.” She punctuated each word.
“Robert,” Knight said to his wolf. “The girls would like some milk. Have someone get it.”
“In a minute,” Robert said. “What about the spirit?”
“Seven is Arthur’s spirit.”
Robert pierced Seven with a glare.
She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Is it true?” he asked her.
Hm. Well, this was interesting. Ha! Seven was blushing. Robert and Seven may’ve had a thing. Kind of like my thing with Knight. Still all unresolved, unmentioned, and now there was drama.
“I’m not Arthur’s spirit. Or anyone’s spirit,” Seven said. “The concept of a spirit belonging to a dragon lord is way too possessive for my tastes. I prefer for a man to be Seven’s spirit or Seven’s something, not the other way around. So Arthur’s spirit crap has to leave the house along with the people who’re spitting out this nonsense before I get my shotgun, because I ain’t moving to Ohio. No way in fucking hell.”
Knight wanted her to move into Arthur’s territory? Ha! No way.
Robert spun around and slammed the door behind him.
“I don’t think we’re getting milk,” I said. Just as well. At this rate, I’d never wake up and get to work. Maybe I should lie in bed all day? I glanced at the clock. 5:00 a.m.
“You are moving to Ohio. If I have to carry you there, I will,” Knight said.
Seven went to her bedroom and slammed the door.
Knight glared at me, his eye red, but not swollen or purple. “Talk some sense into her.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Explain that the spirit and the dragon have to come together. And they have to leave my territory. They must do this today.”
“Why today?”
“Because my beast is clawing at me about this territory shit, and I don’t want Arthur with the cyborgs. I worry something’ll happen to him. I’m not gonna allow it. If Arthur doesn’t leave, I will force him out.”
“What are you saying?”
“I need the spirit to pack her bags and move into his territory. Arthur will follow her.”
“What if he doesn’t?”
“He will follow his spirit.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because I would follow mine.” Knight paced the kitchen, ran a hand through his hair. “The spirit is here. Her scent is strong. It’s all I smell. It’s consuming me, and I can’t shut it off. I can’t stop thinking about it. She has to go.”
Something twisted in my chest. Oh God. I was falling in love with a dragon lord, and any mention of his spirit made me nauseated. “If I talk Seven into moving to Ohio, would you do something for me?”
He paused. “Anything.”
“Summon Mother Nature. I want her to take back the dove she gifted me.”
“I don’t think she will, because Arthur tried to give the dragon back.”
I bit my lip, the world as I knew it crumbling all around me. With Seven gone, I’d have nobody here. I didn’t want to lose another sister. Wait a second. I didn’t have to. I would go with them. Arthur and Seven. Me, their bird. “Brilliant,” I said.
Knight nodded.
I went to speak with Seven but stopped dead in my tracks when Knight snapped his head to his right. Seven stood outside her bedroom, shotgun aimed at Knight. “I am no one’s spirit,” she
said. “I am Sevenina Arer, Seven for short. You can accept it, or I can drill it into your head with a big bullet. You pick. I’m flexible on that.”
Oh my God! “Seven, don’t shoot him.”
“I don’t want to.”
Even though Knight could heal himself or maybe even dodge the bullets, I opened the door. “I’ll come by later,” I said.
Knight didn’t move.
“You promised you’d summon her. So go and work on the dream catcher. Do you need more feathers?”
Knight stormed out of the house. Seven joined me at the door, and we watched him stride down the street.
“God, he’s fine when he’s walking away,” Seven said.
Knight had one of those man butts you could bounce a coin on. I sighed.
He spun around and strode back.
“Oops. He wants to be shot.” Seven lifted the gun.
Knight ignored her and pecked my cheek. He whispered, “There is an unspoken code. It says I shouldn’t have touched you. We broke the code last night.” He kissed my neck. “I shouldn’t have slipped and allowed it to happen.”
“I know,” I said. “Arthur might lose his mind.”
“True. With that said, it doesn’t mean I didn’t wake up this morning happy to find the taste of your pussy in my mouth. I’d do it again.”
“Promise?”
“Mm-hm.”
8
Clementine
A dragon’s call was a siren’s call. Usually, I resisted it by getting busy at my shop and suppressing my creature, suppressing the feeling that I had to go to him. Today, I thought about Clare a lot, remembered how great it’d been to have my twin around. Clare was his bird, and she was loyal. She answered the moment she sensed his call.
Today, I couldn’t resist the dragon’s call. After I’d spoken with Seven, I didn’t even bother getting ready for work. She would not move to Ohio and become someone’s spirit. She’d never cared for Arthur, said Knight was wrong, said the days of forced marriages were long gone. She pointed out that Arthur behaved as bossy as Knight, so she couldn’t be the spirit creature. It sounded unnatural to her to submit. If Mother Nature had gifted her with anything, she would’ve gifted her a hot, submissive man.
It made perfect sense to me, but I also considered Knight and the fact that he’d smelled a spirit inside my house in the same way he’d identified Selena and Amy, the two other spirits, a couple of months ago when I first met him in New Orleans. Seven’s answer would not satisfy Knight. Not even a little bit, and I feared he’d kidnap my sister and take her to Ohio. Knight would do what was necessary. The dragons fought and believed that they could balance the elements and bring Earth to her natural state once they had their spirits and powers. A worthy cause to be sure, but not one Seven believed in.
Seven picked up my slack again and went to open the shop. I left the house for the meadow.
From my vantage point, the green of the meadow stood out as an oasis in the middle of the ruins. I extended my legs and my wings, aiming for the bench. I landed on the bench, slid, toppled, hit my chest, and lodged my body in the gap between two planks, my wings sprawled. I groaned, which came out as a painful whine.
A large pair of hands picked me up and put me on a dirty lap. I looked up and into dragon eyes. Arthur’s hazel iris swirled around the pupil. “My bird,” he said and ran a hand down my back. I knew he didn’t mean me. He meant his bird, my sister’s bird. He put me on the bench, and I changed into my human form, my ass hitting the cold bench, my body nearly freezing on the spot. My teeth chattered. “Shit, it’s cold out.”
“Colder than usual,” Arthur said, his voice deep and hollow. It reminded me of Knight’s voice from last night. Dragon was here, Arthur’s mind immersed in the beast. I didn’t fear him, but I didn’t enjoy speaking to him either.
We sat there for a bit as Arthur worked his element, making the grass taller, greener. Wildflowers started spouting around us.
“Thank you,” I said. “For growing all these.”
“And yet you betrayed me.”
I gulped. “I want to help you,” I said. “I may not know much about the creatures, but I know that men should be men and dragons should be dragons. You and Knight are giving me the creeps.”
A rumble in his chest. I believed the dragon laughed.
“Why are you still in Pittsburg? You know it’s Knight’s territory.”
“Because my spirit is here.”
Bingo. It had nothing to do with cyborgs and everything to do with Arthur’s spirit. “Knight thinks he’s found your spirit.”
“I highly doubt that. He wouldn’t even consider her.”
“Knight thinks it’s Seven.”
“Do you feel like eating grapes? There are seeds under the ground. Old, but I can work with that.”
“What?”
“Do you feel like eating grapes?”
“No, no, Arthur, focus. We have problems. Knight is serious. He is threatening to…to force you out of Pittsburg.”
“I really am working the cyborgs. It’s not a lie. And Knight won’t force me out.”
A grapevine broke out of the ground. I watched it grow to about a foot, sprout leaves, and provide fruit. God, if land would unfreeze everywhere, where would we be? No more famine. Full bellies of nutritious natural food for everyone, not packaged chewables that tasted like plastic.
Arthur paid me no mind, working his element, enjoying his dragon thing as if we sat at the park feeding goldfish. I gripped his biceps, dug my fingers in. “You have to leave,” I said. “I swear I will bring Seven to Ohio. We’ll all go there.”
“Seven?”
“My sister Seven. Knight said she’s your spirit.”
Arthur’s dragon retreated. We were back to business when he widened his human eyes. “Oh, hell no.”
I gaped. “Why hell no?” My sister was the best.
“The last time I saw Seven, she threatened to put my balls in a vise.”
“Seven jokes a lot.”
He gave me a pointed look.
“Okay, maybe not.”
Arthur chuckled. “Why would Knight think Seven’s my spirit?”
I pointed at my nose. “He smells spirits.”
Arthur’s lips stretched into a smile. “Did he tell you that?”
“Yes.”
“He’s so full of shit. He’s in denial, or he’s lost touch with his dragon. I keep mine close.”
“Maybe too close.”
“Maybe.” Arthur put a straw of dry grass into his mouth. “Knight can scent what I or you can’t. This is true. But I’m certain he can’t or refuses to scent one particular spirit. Maybe Seven is his spirit.”
My heart skipped a beat. I felt like someone had slapped me. The wind blew through the meadow and ripped the flowers right out of the ground. The vine bent and broke in half.
Arthur lifted his nose and wiggled it. “I can feel Knight coming into his element. Imagine all his power. Imagine the ability to take people’s breath away.” Arthur inhaled deeply and shivered. “It’s colder than usual because Knight is out of balance. The element is on the loose. This is not good. Every one of us needs to breathe.”
In the distance, dust lifted. A storm was coming. “Oh God, it can’t be true. Not my sister.”
“Why not? She is beautiful, strong, and a part of us already. From Clare, I know more about you and Seven than I know about my own family. Mother Nature picked out the most unlikely lot to have anything handed to them. Two inmates for dragons and three homeless girls. She took care of us when nobody else did. She and Michael have that in common. They take care of people, really love to boss us around.”
“Who’s Michael?”
“Knight. Before all this.”
The winds whipped around us, spinning dirt everywhere. Arthur shielded his face. I smelled the fresh forest, the freedom of the sky, the sun on my never-tanned skin. In the wind, I felt Knight. Knight had come to power, but he’d seduced the wrong girl. I did
n’t know if he was confused or if he was playing an awful game. I intended to find out.
Arthur tried to leave, but the winds forced him back down. He tried to bend and pick up the sad rose he’d grown. The wind blew so hard, Arthur froze and couldn’t get to it. I plucked the rose from the ground. “Same place?” I yelled over the whooshing of the winds.
Arthur tilted his head. “Your hair is not moving.”
“What?” He was worried about my hairdo? This morning, everyone had woken up crazed.
“You hair”—he pointed—“is still.”
“I’m worried about you, Arthur. You’re not making sense.”
“You believe him. You believe everything Michael says as if it’s written in stone.”
Our eyes met, and I knew I had betrayed Arthur, my dragon, the one my twin had worshiped, worked for, and loved more than her own family. I betrayed the creature given to me, I betrayed everyone for a man who would get a spirit and not a bird. I said nothing, because Arthur had me figured out. He knew I’d fallen for Knight, thereby compromising our sacred relationship.
“Don’t let him catch your breath,” he said. The ground under Arthur opened, and he sank inside.
I wanted to scream.
So I did.
I screamed until the wind calmed.
9
Knight
My wolf pack and I walked the ground level, every once in a while pausing to throw money into thousands of empty jars that beggars had laid out next to their sleeping places. I kept telling myself better days were coming. If only we could all gain control of the elements. If only we could predict the endgame, if only I could talk sense into Arthur. But the if onlys got so numerous in my head, I quit thinking about them before they drove me mad.
I flung my wallet. It thumped against the wall and landed with a thud. I kept walking. Money bought us nothing, least of all happiness. I’d learned that the hard way growing up and watching people drive fancy cars, pick up pretty girls, and take them to fine hotels. All I’d wanted was to be rich. The fastest way had been to join the mob and get the boss to trust you. Arthur and I had joined up, but before we made it to the boss’s circle, we got arrested and put in prison.