by Viola Grace
They dug through the other two, and right where the brain should have been was the charm.
Trin held hers up and squinted. “Well, you have been wrong about one thing.”
“What?”
“You definitely have a mage around here.”
Kabyl looked at the charms she held in her hands. “Shit.”
“Put the charms in your pockets, and we will do another pass. If someone is making this kind of killer, they might not have stopped at three.”
Kabyl smiled slowly. “I have pockets?” She patted her hips and found them. She loved pockets.
The charms were shoved into the pockets, and she shifted again.
Trin looked at her. “If we see any more of them, same procedure? Drive them to the nearest open space and use you as bait?”
Kabyl nodded, her dragon huffing lightly.
She launched upward and focused on the area around where the Hemming cabin had been.
The nearest villagers would be the Dakkers, so she flew over their building and felt a pang of anguish at the torn-open building. There were no heat signatures, so she kept flying.
When she caught the next signal, she picked up speed, diving toward the first small family group she had seen. The Thebars. She drove the creatures back with short bursts of attacks while Trin followed and used her wind to blow them toward the nearest cliff.
Ah, that is one way to do it. She tried to use smaller jets, and they seemed to work. Three more creatures were being propelled back, and they howled as they fell back and tumbled into the crevasse.
Kabyl’s dragon took over and swooped into the narrow space, coating all three creatures thoroughly before swooping upward and listening to the crash beneath her.
Trin was standing in human form on the edge of the chasm, and she beckoned to Kabyl. “I am going to need a lift down there. I am too damned big.”
Kabyl nodded and landed, settling securely before letting Trin climb astride her neck.
Trin pressed her hands to Kabyl’s neck.
Kabyl blinked her wide eyes and lifted her head. She felt energized. Her body had been tiring, but now, it was like she had just woken up, fresh and ready to go.
She could feel Trin on her back, so she moved forward carefully and dropped into the crevasse once again. She glided down to the rubble of the creatures.
Trin patted her and said, “Continue reflecting the moonlight. I will find the charms.”
That was news to her, but Kabyl opened her wings and watched the light fill the narrow space. Trin went straight to the spot where they had found the other charms, and sure enough, they were located in the head and neck area of the creatures.
Trin was shaking her head as she climbed back on. “I have no ideas what these are, but I really don’t like them. Can you get us out of here?”
Kabyl looked around, and she nodded. She walked up to the wall and put her front claws on it.
“Okay, up first. Got it. Hanging on.” Trin’s legs tightened, and she held onto the spines that Kabyl could see in her shadow.
“Do they make mirrors large enough for dragons?”
Trin’s voice came to her. “Yes, they are called high-rise buildings, and they have a lot of glass. You can also see yourself in a still lake.”
“How are you talking to me?”
“I am the diamond dragon. It is what I do.”
“Right, well, when I get to that large silvery stone, hang on because I am going to drop and start flapping.”
She climbed and gripped the shining rock and pushed away with her wings scooping frantically. Trin held on, and Kabyl got them up and out of the crevasse, and then, she landed on the ground at the top. She looked down, and the rock was still clutched in her claw.
Trin got down and patted her neck. “Now, shift to human, and I will give you a ride back to the hospital. I promise we will do one more pass before we go.”
Kabyl shifted back to human and looked at the rock. She blinked. She had seen that before. “Trin, can you shave a bit of this stone off when you transform? I want to take it to analyze it.”
“It looks like silver.”
“No, it looks like platinum, but I need to run the checks to be sure.”
“Does this area have mining?”
Kabyl looked at Trin. “It does, but it is highly regulated. There aren’t any licenses available this time of year.”
“Um. And of course, all people abide by the laws.”
Kabyl sighed. “My dad is a peacekeeper. I know that they don’t.”
Trin shifted and sliced off the sample that looked tiny next to her claw but was still about half a pound in Kabyl’s hand.
Kabyl put it in her pocket and climbed up Trin’s side. Trin’s neck turned, and her jaws carefully plucked Kabyl off, and she placed her in one clawed hand, covering her with the other. “It is safer. I will set you down if I see another creature.”
Kabyl didn’t answer. Trin was warm, and even her claws were radiating heat. Kabyl tried to fight it, but she was exhausted. The warmth pulled her under.
* * * *
Trin looked around for any more signs of the creatures, but they seemed to have gotten all the ones that were out and about. Kabyl was snoring softly in her grip. The energy that Trin had transferred wasn’t enough to wage a small war.
Kabyl was astonishing. The liquid she exhaled was very likely nitrogen, her stamina was exceptional, and she must have a heat-sensitive vision. Considering her wake up had only happened that week, she was a juggernaut. Trin’s dragon was amused. A juggernaut that snores.
Trin finished her sweep of the area and then poured on all the speed she could muster to get her back to the hospital. She needed to call some family and friends to help.
Chapter Eight
A woman with Trin’s features but white-blue eyes and black-blue hair was sitting next to the cot in the office when Kabyl woke up.
“Trin would like me to transport you to Rekker City. I just dropped her off, and you are next.”
“What?” Kabyl didn’t have a chance to ask more. The woman gripped her arm, and in a cascade of dark smoke, they were sitting in a library somewhere very warm.
A woman was standing with a book in her hand, and she smiled. “You must be Kabyl. This is Eltrinia. I am guessing that she didn’t make introductions. She looks far too smug.”
What had to be Trin’s sister smiled. “I might have given her a short bit of warning. But you are right. Kabyl Ambermarle, I am Eltrinia Lem. Trin’s younger sister.”
The other woman snorted and then introduced herself. “My name is Aelemilal. Please call me Aeli. I am a mage, and Trin mentioned that you have objects that are unusual and require analysis.”
Kabyl sat up, and she was still wearing the white shirt and the trousers that Trin had provided. “Right.” She fished out all the items and set them on the chaise that she was straddling.
Aeli nodded. “Can I grab them?”
“Please. They were the control units for some kind of creature that was seeking out solo villagers and consuming them.”
Aeli paused. “This?”
“I think it is a chunk of platinum.”
“Ah, that is a far easier identification.” Aeli picked it up, and as Kabyl watched, tendrils of vines emerged from her forearms and touched the chunk of rock. She opened her eyes with a smile. “Yup. Platinum. Good call.”
“How did you do that?”
Aeli smiled. “I was a mage before I found out I was a dragon.”
Eltrinia chuckled. “And she is an earth and plant dragon.”
“Oh. Yeah. That. It is easier for me if folks come here.” Aeli smiled.
Trin walked in with her arms loaded with bags. “Oh, Kabyl, you are awake.”
Eltrinia got up to help her. “This is how she deals with first shifters. Feeds the heck out of them. It works.”
Aeli cleared a spot on one of the tables. “It actually does. I mean, my first shift was quick, but my body demanded that I g
ive it the time it wanted, so I ended up locked in place and sleeping for an entire year. It was pretty restful.”
Eltrinia held two fingers apart, and an arc of lightning went from one to the other. “I had to eat and then practice channeling lightning, oh, and the djinn stuff. Teleportation is a bit of a bear to get a hold of. You have to know where you are going so that you can get there.”
Kabyl asked. “You have been to the hospital?”
“Good catch. No. Trin sent me her image of the building because she can do that with other dragons, and then, I was sitting next to you until you woke.”
“Why did you wait?”
“Folks freak out when they wake up in a place that isn’t where they fell asleep.”
Kabyl nodded. “Understandable. If my week wasn’t already wild, this would cap it.”
Trin and Eltrinia started opening the bags, and amazing scents started wafting through the library. Trin smiled, “Come up and eat, Kabyl. Since your dragon deals with hot and cold, you are a calorie burner. There is every possibility that you can gain energy from consuming things that you hunt, but until you are willing to test that, we are working with takeout.”
Aeli clapped her hands. “Yay! The butler has me on a strict diet of homecooked meals.”
Trin quirked her lips, but there was a bit of a wistful expression.
Eltrinia put a hand on her sister’s shoulder as she said, “Congratulations, Aeli.”
Aeli sighed. “Don’t congratulate me too hard. My mom said that dryad pregnancies can take eighteen months. We won’t know if my mom’s or dad’s genes are going to rear up or if the magic has an effect.”
Trin smiled. “Let’s hope that the dragon portion is the one that wants to see the baby.”
Aeli nodded, and she exhaled. “Let’s. If not, I can just go for a nap for a while and wake up closer to my due date. Well, as long as I am in the garden.”
Trin chuckled. “So, is the councillor excited?”
Aeli rolled her eyes. “He needs a hobby.”
Eltrinia grinned. “You have just given him one.”
Kabyl pieced it together. “Aeli, you are pregnant?”
She nodded with a grimace. “Not planned but still kinda nice.”
Kabyl watched them chat about someone named Mirbella, and she eased around the table to start eating.
She could almost feel the food being broken down and transported to all of the aches and pains in her system. She poured herself tea, and it helped wash the food down as she kept eating.
Eltrinia looked around at one point and went, “Whoa. We are going to need more food. Back in a minute.”
She disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
Trin grinned, and Aeli was amazed. “Where did you put all that?”
Kabyl shrugged. “I have no idea. It is just being broken down, and I am feeling more alert with every passing moment. Frankly, I don’t even know what I ate. I could probably eat my mom’s cooking after this.”
Trin snickered. “You mentioned that before. It isn’t good?”
“Oh, it defies description. Acids where there have been sugars; spices where there should be vanilla. Vanilla in places it should never be. It is like she puts in the things she likes even though steak is not the place for raspberry syrup.”
Trin shuddered, and Aeli looked intrigued. It was as if her brain was percolating the options for food combos.
As they talked, Kabyl kept eating.
There was a slight tingle in her senses, and she stepped aside as Eltrinia reappeared with an entire dessert cart.
“I raided the teashop. The curator is going to bill you.” She winked at Trin.
Kabyl’s stomach grumbled as she looked at the stacks of pastries that she had only seen in magazines and on the data unit that they had. At one point, they had tried to get her mom to look up recipes, but she chose to improvise every time.
“Do they taste as good as they look?” she asked Eltrinia.
She inclined her head. “They do. The curator wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Who is the curator?” Kabyl was being drawn toward the tiny tarts and delicate cakes.
“She’s my guardian. We are waiting until I am two, and then, she’s letting me move out or get married.” Eltrinia smiled. “She hopes I will opt for moving out. The courtship is so much fun, I am not in a hurry for it to end.”
Kabyl had been reaching for one of the treats, and she paused. “Two? How old are you?”
Trin chuckled, and Aeli grinned.
Eltrinia made a show of counting on her fingers. “Eleven months. That is when I popped out of the canister and dropped into a bolt of lightning on the way to the ocean.”
Trin chuckled. “She’s mostly my clone. There was a faction down here that enjoys trying to make bigger and better dragons. Eltrinia was the result of some very important work, and now, she is making them pay.”
“Only when I am not working at the museum.” She picked up a macaron and handed it to Kabyl. “Don’t overthink it. Genetically, we’re still sisters, just with different parents.”
Kabyl took the treat and nibbled at it before popping the whole thing into her mouth. “Why did you tell me that?”
Eltrinia smiled. “Trin is collecting very useful dragons as they wake and gathering them into a weird little club.”
“I am hardly collecting you. But, among the normal-waking dragons, there are some that have special talents, and those fires burn bright. I want to keep in touch because fire like that gains attention. Having a group to call on is a nice and stabilizing ability. I have been alone, and I have been with friends. Being with friends is better.” Trin smiled.
Aeli inclined her head. “I definitely agree.”
Eltrinia popped a pastry in her mouth and mumbled, “I like cake.”
They all chuckled, and the tower of pastries slowly dwindled as they surrounded the cart and dug in, swapping favourites and encouraging new flavours to be sampled.
When they were finished and the table was clear, Aeli nodded. “Right, so to business. Let’s look at the charms.”
Aeli frowned and took a look at one, pausing and then licking it. She spit a little after that. “Well, these are standard seeking charms, but I need to look this part up.”
Aeli closed her eyes and extended one arm up. In the heart of the library, a shelf quivered, and then, a book came sailing through the air. Vines shot from Aeli’s hand and caught the book. For a moment, it looked as if her wrist was wood.
Kabyl frowned and focused on Aeli’s skin. “How does it transform so fast?”
Aeli chuckled. “Practice. My dragon form takes quite a while to take shape, but I can use flashes of transformation, like a carnivorous plant. As time goes on, you will be able to use flashes of your dragon in everyday life.”
Trin held up a fingertip and showed her diamond-hard nail. “I use it to open pickle jars and tighten screws.”
Eltrinia flexed her hands. “I charge coms.”
Kabyl looked at the pitcher of lemonade on a small table, and she pressed her hand to it. Frost lines crackled across the pitcher. “Apparently, I chill drinks.”
She stopped the energy and pulled her hand back. The others congratulated her while Aeli flipped through the book and looked for the symbols. She frowned, put in a bookmark, and kept flipping.
She found a second one, and when Trin asked what she had found, she held up her hand to ask for a moment.
She flipped between the three pages, and a worried frown furrowed between their brows.
Kabyl looked at the pages, but the words wouldn’t form. “What language is that?”
Aeli kept her eyes focused. “Elder magic. Language before language.”
Kabyl was confused. “What?”
“Language of trees.” Trin murmured next to her.
Finally, Aeli made notes with three parts of the largest glyph separated, and she grimaced. “Right. Whoever made this is an asshole.”
Trin frowned
. “Why?”
“This,” she pointed to the first glyph, “means life. The next means consume; the third means all. The separate glyph is seek.”
Kabyl frowned. “Why would anyone want that?”
“Because the sign for life and the sign for precious are the same, except for this tiny little mark.” She used a red pen and made a stroke across the center of the circle with the arrow on one side. “Someone wanted these things to hunt for precious items, and they created killers.”
Kabyl looked to Aeli. “They are still making them. The first one I injured had one companion a few days ago. Today, it had two, and there were three on the opposite side of the forest.”
Aeli looked to Trin. “You are helping her with this?”
“I am.”
“Good. Call me when you have captured the idiot doing this. I will be there, or if Zzara is available, we will both want to have a word with him.” She shrugged. “And the Mage’s Guild, of course.”
Trin nodded. “Of course.”
Kabyl coughed to hide her fury. “Is there a chance of seeing a schematic of the mineral content of the region?”
Aeli nodded, and she walked around to the shelves, picking out a specific book that was over two and a half feet tall. “This is the report given to the first senator regarding mineral content of the continent. For obvious reasons, I don’t let this one fly around.”
She set it on the desk, and she stepped aside. “Go ahead, Kabyl, tell it what you want to see.”
Kabyl walked around and touched the book. It was warm. “Right. I want to see the Anuik Range.” She used the name that the book would recognize.
The cover moved under her hand, and the book flew open, pages flickering until it stopped with the familiar rivers and lakes of her home displayed. Thick veins of gold, silver, and something else wove through the region, with small sprinklings of clear jewels.
She knew what she was looking for. She had seen enough mining maps to know where most of the activity was. The small bit of gold that was threaded through the area was black at a mine access point. “That’s it. That’s where they are coming from.”