Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel)

by Philbrook, Chris

  "He most certainly can."

  "Well, I guess Alexis is the answer. My old boss. She works for Fitzgerald Industries in the Boston office. She knows the Amethyst Project is north of the city. Maybe she can get them into the Boston office and dig around to find the address?"

  "What does Alexis look like?" Kaula asked.

  "She's a feisty redhead. Short, pretty. About forty. She was dating Abe, Tesser's friend. That's how I met Tesser, sort of. I miss her."

  "I'm sure she misses you as well. My hope is that this Alexis friend can help lead them back to us. She must. We've not much time to spare."

  Matty felt a small wave of relief as Kaula continued to stroke her hair. "When will they come?"

  Kaula pondered, running her purple fingernails through Matty's dark hair. She looked down at the glossy strands and seemed to approve of them. "Two, two and a half days. It's hard to say exactly with Tesser. He can be so impulsive. Unpredictable. Like the life he creates. I've tried to orchestrate everything and everyone around him, but it's taken so much effort and people only rarely do what you think they will when they're guided by sorcery. This will be my last act of magic for some time, speaking with you here."

  "Magic? Is this more dream-speak? Anything is possible while you sleep?"

  Kaula smiled, and Matty suddenly felt the weight of her immense age and wisdom. Good lord, she's old. Really old.

  "No, Matty. I've been here, fighting against the daemons that brought you here as well for very long. They've kept my body still, but my mind has been too strong for them. I have been able to gather some resources from this hole in the ground, and now, with you here, I'll be able to send the final message to Tesser. Then, my dear Matilde, he shall come for us. You shall be set free, those that have oppressed us shall experience justice, and I shall have the release I've yearned for, for so long now."

  I miss Tesser. I shouldn't have been so angry with him the other day. "Kaula? The other day when we spoke you said Tesser was a special person. One of a small group? What did you mean by that?"

  Kaula smiled again. "Look into my eyes. What color are they?"

  Matty tilted her eyes up from Kaula's lap and looked up. The woman's eyes were a radiant and bright purple. Almost too glimmering and deep to be real. "You have amazing purple eyes. They remind me of Tesser's gold eyes."

  "As they should. Tesser is my brother, of a sort."

  "You don't look anything alike. You seem Asian, and he isn't. I mean, your eyes look similar, sort of."

  "Not all families look alike, Matty. Some of your ancestors look nothing like you do now. Though they'll recognize you for who you are when they finally meet you. You're going to be very well known soon. You are a bridge in more ways than one."

  "My ancestors? Who are they?" Matty sat up on her elbows.

  "Tesser is a dragon, Matty. One of Earth's seven. An orchestrator of will and the creator and guide to all living things on this world. Your schools call what he has done evolution, but we dragons call it his will."

  A dragon? That makes no sense and yet doesn't sound strange in the least. "I had sex with a giant dragon?"

  "You made love with a dragon who became a man. He has spent so much time away from his natural form. At first to explore your kind, but then, to be with you."

  "Does he love me?"

  Kaula nodded. "Yes, though he doesn't know how to love the way you want him to yet. He has never given himself to anyone before. He has always done his deed selflessly, wishing nothing but improvement and change for the better of anything he has come into contact with. Though at times, a father must be wrathful."

  "Has he killed? Is that what that means?"

  Kaula nodded again. Her choice to not speak on the matter chilled Matty. After a minute of silence, Matty pressed again.

  "Will I have a baby dragon? Is my child… my girl as you said, will she be a dragon?"

  Kaula started to speak, but stopped herself. She tried again, but failed. After thinking on it a third time, she finally said, "Your daughter will share many traits of both you and her father. But there can only ever be seven dragons on Earth. Seven draconic souls are all the world can bear. Any more would upset the precarious balance of things. For your daughter to become one of us, a dragon must die. Dragons are very hard to kill."

  "I wouldn't want that," Matty said sadly.

  "It is not yours to want."

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Mr. Doyle

  Director Fisher sat at Tesser's left hand. Everyone in the packed dining room sat silent, waiting for the man to begin the conversation. After crossing his hands on the table, he started with respect in his voice. "Should I call you ‘Mr. Tesser?’ ‘Mr. Dragon?’ I'm not sure what the etiquette is for addressing a being of your nature while an intelligent tree watches you through a window. Oddly enough, there's no manual entry for it."

  Ellen chuckled and Tesser grinned. "Simply ‘Tesser’ is fine. Fancy titles are an invention for the ego. I'm a dragon. Ego is a strange concept for us."

  It's hard to be egotistical when you're god-like?

  "I can only imagine. Look, Tesser. Mr. Doyle, Mr. Fellows, I've come here with a few of my closest associates at the request of some very important people who you've already met, albeit briefly for security reasons. I'm here to make a proposal. I'd like for you to listen and then ask me any questions you might have."

  A proposal. How dear. Whenever there's an offer from a government official I feel like they keep one hand extended trying to shake your hand and the other with fingers crossed at their back. Let's see how this Mr. Fisher attempts to play Tesser. At the very least, this will be entertaining.

  "Go ahead, Director. I'm all ears," Tesser said as Abe put a carafe of coffee at the center of the table. Alexis sat down creamer and a jar filled with Mr. Doyle's precious sugar cubes.

  Delicious and right on time.

  "Alright. First off, I mean you no disrespect. I want you to know I mean that. We're walking in pretty unexplored territory with you."

  "Just talk, Director. I'm not going to set you on fire if you piss me off."

  Spoon grinned. He sat at Tesser's right hand.

  Fisher began again, "You scare the living fuck out of the world Tesser, plain as can be. I'm here to try and keep you contained and make an attempt at making great use of what appears to be one of the world's greatest natural assets."

  "I appreciate your honesty. Continue," Tesser said as he poured a cup of coffee.

  "The President and the Armed Forces, Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Energy and Natural Resources Committees all want to bring you into the fold. Bluntly put, we'd like to offer you a job."

  "A job? I have had a single 'job' in my entire lifespan Mr. Fisher and that was as a bouncer at a pizza shop just recently. I am a dragon. We do not generally work for humans."

  "Hear me out. Please."

  Tesser shrugged and indulged the man.

  "There are a rather ludicrous amount of strange happenings in this country right now Tesser, all across the world, and you're the biggest friend we have. Lots of people are scared by what's coming out of the woodwork and going bump in the night, and too many are dying at the hands of what you seemingly have stirred up. I'd like to ask you to help us deal with these things. Fly out to different places, look into it, take some scary things out, and then go about your business."

  Tesser sipped his coffee and nodded. "You wish for me to be a killer."

  This should be entertaining.

  "What I'd like is for you to help train a special unit. A division of the Federal Government. Likely allied to Homeland Security or the FBI. I would be the head of that unit. In my wildest dreams, you'd lead us to trustworthy people who can train a cadre of investigators and a counter assault team that can deal with the things our world is now apparently filled with. We're under informed and certainly under armed right now. I'm sending agents and watching frontline first responders deal with shit they aren't prepared for. Do you know how ma
ny cops have died the past three weeks? EMTs? I think you can help. I'm asking for that help."

  "You want Tesser to be your super cop?" Abe asked as he sat down in a plus chair against the wall of the dining room.

  "I hate to say it like that, but we need some heavy artillery. God is on the side with the best artillery, right? He's the biggest gun in town, hands down." Mr. Fisher started making his own cup of coffee.

  Tesser spoke up immediately. "I have many questions. Why is Sergeant Spooner here? He's still injured."

  "Special Agent Spooner is the first hire for the Division we'd like to create with your assistance. We'd like him to serve as your direct contact with the unit. A liaison officer. He'll be attached to you and will be able to draw on government resources as you need them. His performance the night of your first appearance was exemplary, and with his prior relationship with you, he seemed perfect for the job."

  "I dig it. Why you? Why do you get to run the show?" Tesser asked.

  "I don't know what passes for hard to believe for you, but here's the truth; I lied extensively on my intake poly with the Bureau when I joined. I passed the psych eval with flying colors too. Ever since I was a kid growing up in backwoods Oklahoma, I've been able to interact with ghosts, Tesser. Dead people talk to me. I see them all the time. I've kept a lid on it for decades. Everyone thought I was just a stellar investigator, but all I was doing was listening to victims and finding the evidence they pointed me to. When all this came out, I told my bosses and I went from being a closeted freak to a rare agency asset. This is a lot like post-9/11 right now. People are afraid, and they're looking for help wherever they can get it, and they aren't asking too many questions about where it came from or what they have to give up to get it. I was the best candidate because I knew more about the supernatural than the next guy. Simple as that."

  Very interesting. This Director Fisher is quite a character.

  "I can help you, but I will not work for you. You will not dispatch me to where you wish me to go. There are a few things you will need to understand for this to work."

  "Okay. We're very flexible on the details. I'm glad you're on board in some fashion."

  "First, I am a dragon. I predate all of your species. I am older than the dinosaurs and I watched with my own eyes the first monkey pick up a rock to use as a tool. I have flown over every inch of this world. You claim eminent domain as a nation, I claim eminent domain as a species. Your nation is a recent construct that is noble in concept, but has absolutely no authority over me or any other dragon. We do as we wish, when we wish, without regard for your laws. We are not callous or indiscriminate, but we operate on a scale that you cannot fathom. We work in millennia, not Presidential terms. We do not do what is popular right now; we do what is necessary for the rest of time. We will do things that will cause an uproar, and that is simply how it must be. Do you understand?"

  "I uh… Shit. I think so. You know we have really large bombs right? If you piss off enough bigwigs doing whatever it is dragons might do, they might react poorly. Push the big red button and give me a whole lot of ghosts to talk to."

  "Humanity has not invented a weapon that can kill a dragon," Tesser said simply.

  Mr. Fisher seemed to disagree. "Have you considered the nuclear bomb? I don't want you to feel threatened Tesser, but if you do anything drastic, it might get to that point."

  "I understand. I won't be doing anything that drastic, Mr. Fisher. And more notably, your nuclear weapons are powerful, yes, but dragons are immortal. You do not have the means to kill one of our kind. We're the original cockroaches. One of my finer creations, I would add."

  "You made cockroaches?" Mr. Fisher said. The suits in the room laughed with him nervously.

  "Yeah," Tesser said seriously back.

  The men stopped laughing. "Well then. Good on you. What else do you need to tell us?" The Director asked.

  "I would have you employ my friends. Mr. Doyle is an able spell caster that can teach many people the art of sorcery. He can also assist you in developing a curriculum to teach others. Abe as well. He has an excellent mix of intelligence, technical skill, and magical ability. If they agree to work for this new division, I require that you bring them aboard. They are the true assets you need. I also will require that you hold them harmless for anything they do when they assist me. You can't prosecute me or them if they aid me. Mr. Fisher, humans must protect humans in the end. Perhaps you can strike up a bargain with trolls eventually, or a few friendly giants as well, but that's down the line, after they begin to respect and trust you. Humanity has burned many bridges since I first made you, and that was before I was sequestered away."

  "Right. Most of that is done. That's easy. I can't fully guarantee immunity that broadly though. What if you guys decide to commit some vast atrocity together? You have to be held accountable."

  "An atrocity committed by us would give you the leverage to do something, should we do that. Trust in me, Director. I won't lead you astray."

  "Okay. I'll make it happen."

  "Thirdly, you must understand that life is managed on this planet by two entities. Myself and my brother Ambryn. As I am to life, he is to death. We keep all things in check. In my absence, humanity grew to a size and level that I did not expect and didn't necessarily wish for. I'm sure my brother, Ambryn, took steps to bring you into check while I was away. I have a strong suspicion the bubonic plague and a few natural disasters were his handiwork, for example. Put bluntly, Director, if a few of you die, it's for the greater good of the world."

  "That sounds damn callous, Tesser."

  Tesser agreed, "It does. But as I said, we do what we wish, when we wish. I cannot and will not stop every human death. Species suffer. Species go extinct. It is the way of the world. Humanity is not at risk of extinction any time soon, but you are also not out of danger either."

  "I think I understand. But you are agreeing to help? Maybe when things get really bad?"

  "Only when things get really bad and only when they are happening for unnecessary reasons. I should also state that I will not act against another nation, in the name of America. I am not a weapon or a political tool. I am a force of nature."

  "Jesus, you're like a fucking movie script filled with idle threats, Tesser. I thought you were a good guy."

  "I am the good guy, Director. I think you need to understand that if I am speaking in this way right now, imagine what the things I am concerned about are like. I fear nothing, Director. Nothing. Understand that. So what concerns me should horrify you. I am not trying to scare you into thinking that I am a villain or that I am unreasonable. I am attempting to make you understand that while humans have been running the show for a very long time, that is not quite the case any longer. I want to work with you, but you need to understand how this will work."

  Mr. Fisher was taken aback, but kept his cool. "I get it. I'll take what you've said back to the President and the committee chairs. They're going to take it a little rough, but I'll try and speak accurately."

  "That'd kick ass. Mr. Fisher, I appreciate you coming and speaking openly. I expected far less and you've impressed me."

  He seemed flattered. "I'm glad then. In the interim, Agent Spooner will be at your disposal. He'll stay behind and go over all of what he can offer you from an Agency perspective. If you need me, go through him. If you need any kind of official assistance, he is your asset to make that happen. His cell phone has a contact list the Chinese would set fire to Hong Kong for." The older man stood, and the other suits stood with him.

  It's like they share a single mind. I wonder if this Legion character works as uniformly?

  The Director turned to the open window and looked at Ellen. "Ellen, right? A uh, dryad? Is that right?"

  Ellen somehow managed to nod without moving. "A hamadryad. And yes, I am Ellen."

  "Ellen, if you and your people are ever looking for a job, we could certainly use you in some kind of surveillance position. I'm not sure what kind of compe
nsation we'd offer a tree, but I've got some leeway. Mulch? Bird houses? Consider it. A pleasure to meet you."

  Ellen nodded again. Tesser shook Fisher's hand and he left with his entourage, leaving only Spooner behind.

  "Exciting shit, huh?" Spoon asked the group. Alexis was giving Abe a hug off to the side. It was a moment for celebration.

  Tesser looked unsure. "Are they being sincere, Sergeant? Are these trustworthy people?"

  "Agent Spooner. Special Agent, I should say. Just call me Spoon. I'm supposed to lay low. Fisher is a weird cat. He's seen some strange shit for real, and I think he's telling the truth about how long he has been seeing it. I think he knows you're the real deal, and he's stuck between scared politicians and a fucking real-deal dragon. I can't imagine a place that'd be more anxiety-provoking."

  The man makes a valid point.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  A Leaf on the Wind

  Outside of the Project Amethyst building, fallen leaves blew about in the early autumn cold. Golds, browns, reds: the colors of fall. It was unseasonably cold that late afternoon. Frost would come after the nearing nightfall.

  One green leaf was lost. It had fallen very far from the tree whose branch it had sprung from, having been carried on a wind that came from a natural and pure magic. The very same wind had given the leaf enough magical power to stay green, to stay fresh for the chance it needed to return to its branch with a message. So far, the leaf had received no message. Here it blew in circles, somehow drawn to a parking lot like a moth was drawn to flame.

  Deep below the pavement with the painted parking spots, and below the sand, stone, and earth, was a manmade cavern. It was enveloped by wires and cables, and all manner of technology. Some of that technology was manmade and some of it was a hybrid from beyond the Veil. Daemon-infused technology rife with raw evil from another reality pulsed with a life of its own. The thrum of evil in the basement thumped like half a dark heart beat. The other half echoed, beating in a different, much fouler reality across the Veil. The leaf wasn't aware of that, but the immaterial magic of it all drew it to that spot.