by Livia Quinn
I recognized the truthful tone in her voice but there was something else as well, regret? Regardless of my hard feelings, I had recently found out that what I’d thought about my mother for most of my life had been wrong. Not that that was my fault. “What are you doing here?”
Again hurt flashed across her face and she looked away. When she looked back her stormy eyes so much like mine had lightened to the color of volcanic ash, her determination evident. “I’m here to help, Tempe. We have work to do. You can’t just lie here and let our enemies take over and destroy what we went through all of this for.”
All of this was the big lie they’d perpetuated to convince me and River, and whoever it was all aimed at, that my father, a powerful djinn, was dead, and my mother, a Tempestaerie like me, didn’t care. Who’s to say if it worked?
The discussion was getting too hot for Jack apparently. He held up his phone and said, “I’m going to call Jordie.” Then Jordie’s ringtone sounded and his eyes flashed with concern.
Jack
Now we’re screwed.
“Jordie, what’s wrong?” I gripped the phone and put my hand over my other ear to block out the mother-daughter exchange, which was getting hotter by the minute.
Jordie was uncharacteristically flustered. “Daddy, I’m at Aurora Borealis. I never heard from Aurora last night and I got a weird partial text from her so I came to the store.”
“Jordie. With your mother running loose?” And who knows what else, I wanted to say. “Lock the door. We’ll be there soon.”
Jordie said, “Um… I’ll be okay ’til you get here, but I don’t know about Ms. Aurora…” Her voice hitched. “Daddy, she looks like she might d-die.”
“Talk to her baby. We’ll be there as quickly as we can.”
Jack turned to the others. “You heard?” Only Montana nodded. I repeated Jordie’s news to the others.
Phoebe said, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. We need to get Tempe over there. Tempe, do you still have the globe I left for you?”
“The LIAB?” Tempe looked at me.
I asked, “What’s a LIAB?”
“It’s Zeus’ Ignis Orbis,” an irritated Phoebe said.
“Whatever, Mother,” Tempe said.
It sounded like another one of Tempe’s creative curses to me. Tempe looked over at me and explained. “Remember the night you found me at Phoebe’s? I found a small glass globe in my mother’s bedroom. It appeared to be some kind of weather making machine. It had a tiny thunderstorm inside with lightning and everything, so I gave it an acronym, LIAB, for—”
“Lightning in a bottle. Got it,” I said, wondering why Phoebe was so anxious to find it all of a sudden.
Tempe shrugged tiredly. “It seemed to fit.” To Phoebe she said, “I didn’t know you’d left it for me but I assumed it might be trouble if it got into someone else’s hands. To make sure it was safe, I put it in a metal box River had in the basement and buried it near the Forge in case it needed a source of power to stay charged.”
“You did what?” Phoebe’s voice was shrill. Uh-huh, she was up to something.
Tempe threw up her hands, her voice getting stronger and her temper rising. I didn’t know if that was bad or good, but I might need to get out of the line of fire.
“Well, how was I supposed to know it was important,” Tempe said, glaring at her mother. “You didn’t leave me any instructions. Not about that, or anything else, I might add.”
“Never mind that. Get up. We must go get it. Now.” Phoebe’s eyes became focused like arrows through the big window to the swamp. Her body fairly thrummed.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
She turned with a wily smile on her face. “Nothing is the matter. In fact, some ‘matters’ might have improved decidedly.” Her cryptic comment was followed by a forceful command, “Carry her if you have to, Lang, but let’s find that Orbis.”
I carried Tempe outside with Phoebe and Montana walking beside me. “Phoebe, if Aurora is in trouble, shouldn’t we get over there?” I also didn’t want to leave Jordie any longer than I had to.
Not wanting to tempt whatever it was in the swamp, we stopped about fifty yards from the bank. Conor had returned though and nothing messed with the knight much less the dragon.
“First we need to get the Orbis. Go on, Tempest. Tell Conor where it is so he can retrieve it.” Conor stood with his massive arms crossed, one black brow arched.
“Put me down, Jack, I’m okay.” Steadying herself, she squinted into the dawn light and pointed toward the edge of the swamp. “It’s over there, Conor, about twenty feet this side of the big Cypress.”
Conor strode down the hill, his swords glinting in the early morning sunlight. His head moved back and forth, apparently sensing the LIAB underground, like a dragon divining rod. Then he knelt abruptly, raised one fist shoulder high and…plunged it into the rock hard gumbo. Phoebe gasped when Conor’s fist hit the dirt rocking the ground. All eyes went wide at the sheer strength in his fist. Montana couldn’t contain a grin, like she was the proud mommy of a dragonling.
Wet gumbo could be like thick sticky glue. There were jokes about farmers going into fields and coming out a half a foot taller. But when dry, it was as hard as concrete.
His large hand came free of the dust and crumbled gumbo holding a black trash bag. It seemed effortless for him when he carried up the hill and sat the box at my feet, so I was surprised when it was too heavy for me to lift easily. Conor said, “Move aside, Lang.” Looking at Phoebe he asked, “Where d’ ya’ want’it?”
Phoebe sank to her knees, peeled away the plastic bag, and looked at the seemingly solid metal box. There were no openings, latches or locks that I could see. Tempe’s mother ran her hands over all of the surfaces except the bottom then exasperated she looked at Tempe. So did the rest of us.
Tempe said, “What? I sealed it, before I lost my power.”
“Well, Zeus’ blue bolts! Now how are we supposed to get it open?”
Tempe’s gaze narrowed on Phoebe. “How was I supposed to know we’d need to get it open. If you’d stuck around maybe none of this would have happened. You didn’t exactly leave River and me instructions when you left town knowing we could end up in this predicament.”
Phoebe sank back on her heels. She didn’t even have the motherly consideration to look contrite. “This complicates things. How did you plan to reopen it?” She looked at Tempe and huffed, “You know, you could have had it spelled shut.”
I was thinking Phoebe had a helluva nerve to criticize Tempe’s decision when she’d split town with no notice. I started to say so, but then I decided this was something they needed to work out between themselves.
“Aurora could have done it.”
Tempe said, “Aurora didn’t even know about it.”
Phoebe’s eyes became unfocused briefly and I wondered what was causing her so much concern. She looked like a woman with a big dilemma. The elemental creature that had been creating havoc in the big swamp for days screeched, which had become a frequent occurrence and didn’t even cause Phoebe to react. Then the truth dawned on me.
“When you and Dutch decided to leave, and you knew this power-down was imminent, you left that mini lightning bottle for Tempe to find. The LIAB was going to be the key to the Paramortals’ maintaining an edge over their enemies during the Chaos. Am I right?”
Dylan, who stood nearby, dripping wet, suddenly started laughing. We all stared as he doubled over and then sat back on his haunches wiping tears from his eyes. Sputtering, he said, “Yessir, that was going to save the day!” His manic gaze traveled from Phoebe to me, his eyes going wide.
“Now, we’re screwed.”
Chapter 4
Jack
Dragon fire is just messy.
Phoebe rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the enigmatic tough guy turned idiot, and sighed. I noticed she didn’t deny either mine, or Dylan’s conclusions.
I summarized. “And now Aurora
can’t open it and neither can Tempe. What about Conor? Can’t he just blast it open with dragon fire?”
Phoebe said, “Zeus’ white lightning! Are you crazy?”
“Well, how did Tempe seal it?” I asked.
She turned to Tempe, “I assume you used lightning—”
Tempe nodded.
“Well, lightning’s hot.” I looked at Conor.
Conor’s pupils flared. “Nae like dragon fire.”
“Oh, that’s nonsense,” said Phoebe. “Compared to the precision white heat of our lightning, dragon fire is just messy. You’re liable to simply melt the metal down around the Ignis Orbis and then it would be ruined.” Conor looked offended. “Well, there’s no help for it. We must go on to Aurora’s and see what can be done. It’s back to my original plan.” She didn’t explain further.
Before we headed up the slope to the house, I told them about Ryan’s call. I didn’t miss the narrowing of Conor’s eyes when I mentioned the flying pterodactyls. “I take it you know what these things are.”
Conor’s voice was graty and deep, his eyes narrowed slits as he said, “Aye, they are probably some kind of goofus, one of several species of flying vipers. The smallest is called a shmoo. I didnae see any on my fly-over. I will take care of them.” He frowned suddenly and grabbed Montana by the shoulders. Then he pulled her to him for a quick hard kiss and spun on his heel.
We all stepped back as his dragon form took shape. He lowered his head and Montana reached up to stroke his neck. “Fly safe, love.”
The mighty black wyvern expanded his wings, stretching out his body until he took up most of the back grounds. Montana tugged me back.
Every time I watched Conor lift off I was mesmerized. I was watching a forty-foot tall dragon, in the twenty-first century! He was menacing and majestic and as I had discovered before, like watching the raw dynamics of flight, without fuel, technology or man-made artificial thrust.
In one motion the dragon lifted his massive ebony wings then slammed them down, creating thrust, then drove the air down again in a blast that nearly blew me over and lifted his frame straight up into the air, where he floated like a hovercraft (how he did that, I didn’t have a clue) as if allowing me to soak up the view.
Add smug to that description.
Then he flew off toward the lake. I sighed, looking toward Aurora’s shop downtown, worried about my girl.
What’s the matter?” Montana’s voice came over my shoulder.
“I need to find Ryan and see if he’s okay. But I’m concerned about Jordie.”
Montana
I could see the headline now: Paramortals survive Chaos to die in car accident.
I didn’t see Jack Lang torn with indecision often. He didn’t know whether to leave his man behind without backup, or abandon Tempe and Jordie to whatever plans Phoebe was hatching.
“I’ll take care of Jordie, and Tempe, Jack. Go on to the lake and check on your deputy.”
Jack squinted at me. “You’ll stay with them?” He squeezed Tempe’s hand and eyed Phoebe who wrapped an arm around Tempe’s waist.
I understood why Jack asked that question. He knew I still had some vamp power, and I could fight, whoo yeah. Whether I’d be successful taking on an ancient being like Phoebe, I didn’t know, but it wouldn’t stop me from trying if she actually threatened Tempe.
“I don’t know what she was up to with the knife, but you can handle it, right?” he asked.
I had known Phoebe for over three hundred years and knew that despite her eccentric behavior, which I put down to her age and heritage, she and Dutch had crafted this elaborate scheme to protect River and Tempe. She wouldn’t be trying to take her out now. Unless…
I remembered the brief moment when Tempe and I had nearly come to blows due to the loss of our Paramortal bond. I’d recognized it and backed off before Tempe could react to a show of aggression. I was the older more mature Paramortal by about four hundred years. Without her blood bond, my friend’s Tempestaerie had instinctually regarded my vamp side as an enemy. But Tempe and Phoebe were both Tempestaeries so that shouldn’t be an issue.
I smelled blood and found it immediately on Phoebe’s wrist. Understanding blood transfers only too well, suddenly I knew what Phoebe had been attempting, some kind of Tempestaerie blood transfusion.
I nodded at Jack. “Don’t worry about Jordie or Tempe. We’ll take Dylan’s truck over to Aurora Borealis and check on Aurora and Jordie.”
“We’ll carry Dylan along.”
Phoebe cast a worried glance at Dylan who had come inside and was taking out invisible bugs with his pretend gun, augmenting his kills with sound effects. “Chuu, ch-chuu…” She shook her head.
Jack’s expression changed when he saw Phoebe’s concern. It seemed we were both wondering what was going on between Phoebe and Dylan.
I knew Jack didn’t like how Tempe’s parents had handled their parental responsibilities. It had been hard for him to see Tempe and River as little more than pawns in their parents’ Paramortal games, and it was hard for me to argue with that. I’d been bound to their plan, but had hated standing by watching my friend doubt herself and refuse her inborn magic.
Jack thanked me and kissed Tempe on the lips. He turned to go, but swung back around at the last second. “One more thing, Montana. I haven’t heard from Georgeanne since I got word she’s shacking up with Fritz, but if you catch sight of her, keep her away from Jordie, discreetly.”
Tempe refused help as we loaded into Dylan’s SUV. Though immortal, all three of us made a show of putting on our seat belts when Dylan insisted on driving. We were especially vulnerable during the power down and didn’t want to survive Chaos and end up dying in something as mundane as a car accident, with one of our own Paramortals driving. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
Jack
“Mom,” not that witch. Uh-boy.
I called Jordie on my way to the lake.
“Daddy, I’m really worried about Aurora. What’s wrong with her?”
“Hang in there, baby. Tempe’s coming over there with the others to see what they can do for her. How did you get to Aurora’s? Did you call a cab? You know what I told you about leaving the house.” I’d known she was safe as long as Beffie was in the house. Aurora had brought the fairie dog to us when we’d thought Jordie was sick. Beffie’s mission was to protect her.
“I couldn’t reach you, Dad, so I called Mom.”
She was miffed, defensive, and she’d said, “Mom”, not G, not mother, not that witch. Uh-boy.
Jordie hadn’t even tried to call me. I had no texts and no missed calls, so she was lying. And she never lied. What was this sudden shift about? What about last night when she had been hysterical about her mother showing up and ruining everything, when she’d said she hated her? Now there was a change of heart toward G? Why? What had brought this on? I coughed, pretending to choke until I could keep from screaming.
Instead, I grit my teeth and said softly, “Calling G was definitely off limits. What were you thinking?” I looked up at the moon. Was it my imagination or was I seeing the outline of that other troublemaker moon?
“She was really sweet…”
I shook my head, glad she couldn’t see my face. “Honey…”
“I know, Daddy, but I had to get to Aurora’s and you weren’t there.”
I heard the two unspoken words, for me. What was happening to my daughter? We’d been so close and seen eye to eye on all things Georgeanne. Until today. Shit. It was Chaos. Was it because of her new Paramortality? She wasn’t supposed to be affected yet. But what did I know?
“I really felt her sincerity,” Jordie said, and I raged inside.
That woman doesn’t have a sincere molecule in her body. I wanted to say that, but knew I’d only make things worse. Until I could physically be there to keep Georgeanne away from her I had to remain calm.
“Promise me, Jordie. You won’t go anywhere with her and if she comes around you again, you’ll let me k
now.”
She didn’t agree quickly but ultimately promised. I added, “And no excuses about not being able to get in touch with me. You can call Peggy and she’ll patch me through, or call Montana.” I was glad I’d warned Montana.
Chapter 5
Jack
Don’t stand in front of a fire-breathing dragon. This is NOT rocket science.
The gravel surface crunched under the cruiser’s tires as I pulled up next to Ryan’s vehicle. At first I didn’t see my friend and deputy. Then silhouetted against the sky, a rifle barrel, dark and steady, stuck out from behind the roof of the deputy’s car.
I followed the direction of the rifle. I hadn’t noticed its target, because the lake had been silent, as if it were just another calm winter morning, but in this case the silence was deadly.
Surrounded by water five hundred yards from the bank was a bass boat, one of those fancy high-end models the pros outfitted themselves with. And circling above him like buzzards waiting for their prey to die, were hundreds of… well, the fisherman had told Ryan they looked like pterodactyls, and I had to agree.
He’d lowered himself into the boat as one by one the gangly looking things dove down to snap at him, toying with him before going in for the kill. The only thing visible above the water was the motor and the man’s head, which occasionally popped up above the side. He was flattened onto the raised platform of the boat in an effort to minimize what they could snatch.
Ryan’s voice was low and gravelly and I knew his days of escape, or denial were over. “What the hell are those things?” Ryan asked, his eyes shifting briefly to meet mine. “I guess it’s too late to pretend I’m not in Kansas.”
Ryan’s words may have been light but his body language told me he wasn’t fooled. He expected the whole truth. Though it was hard to tell how big the things were, there was no question of their deadliness.