It was an hour before Cord could be sure she had drifted into restless sleep. Dawn painted the horizon with a shy blush. He slowly stood and went to the window, hands on hips, gazing west.
He’d been afraid of this. On the other side of the mountains was the desert. People had been finding bones in the desert for a very long time. Human archeologists put them together in interesting combinations but sometimes they got it right. Sometimes getting it right meant they didn’t believe what they’d found. This time a collection of bones had reassembled with no human help.
The dragon had to be extremely weak and hopefully he was deep in the uninhabited expanse of sun and sand. Left alone, eventually he would find a human and feed then they would probably lose track of him. At this point there was no way the starving dragon could understand how he had been reanimated. He wouldn’t be looking for a power source as unimaginable as the one who had called him back to life.
It didn’t matter, the creature had to be destroyed before he learned too much about the present. Cord and Legion would be hunting tomorrow. It was uncomfortable to leave the women so soon, but the risk of allowing an uncontrolled dragon to appear was much greater.
This brought him to the real problem. An issue he’d known was coming, but before discovering elemental witches walked the world again he’d had no way of addressing.
Dragons had not gone down easily in that last great conflict. Most of them had been gathered in two spots, fighting a pitched battle they’d been deceived into thinking was their biggest problem. In reality, irreplaceable blood had been sacrificed to draw them as a group to the two poles of the Earth.
The capture had been accomplished, freezing them instantly then burying them deep beneath what should have been endless icecaps. In that time, no one could have imagined humans would stumble onto a new method to ensure their own destruction by the evil that almost enslaved them once.
If the world lost the icecaps, it didn’t matter how many bullets, bombs or flame throwers they had. None of those would kill a dragon. Most wouldn’t even slow one down.
Ice-cold eyes gazed out over the peach-tinted world. Aristocratic nostrils flared as he drew in the information he needed. A slight movement drew his eye to Molly’s backyard. There stood Legion, hands on hips, gazing to the west. Slowly the big earth dragon’s head turned to look up at the second-floor window Cord stood in.
The two elemental dragons nodded with the slightest dip of chins. The job was clear. They would wait ’til the women were awake, but that’s all the time their friend in the desert would have.
Cord clothed himself with a thought and slipped silently down the stairs to the kitchen. Fine coffee was a pleasure he had no intention of abandoning. Without little Miss Miracle around to monitor his actions, he appropriated some from an importer he knew in Miami, keeping the magic low and lean. He only required a small bag.
He had an hour, or he hoped two, before Kelly and Minuet came down the stairs. Enough time to study the pressing problem and see how bad it was. A few more small acquisitions and he had copies of the latest research available on melting ice shelves in the South Pole. The information was disturbing. There was little time, much less than he’d hoped.
Legion opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen. Cord glanced up but didn’t acknowledge him any more than that. Legion pulled a chair around and sat down. He spent a few minutes reading the information spread out on the table, and hissed in silent frustration.
“We need Harrison and his witch.” The earth dragon’s voice was barely more than a whisper, but the low rumble held distinct menace.
“I know. It’s fucking worse than I expected,” Cord agreed.
“They really are amazing,” Legion continued. “How do the shit-for-brains keep coming up with excellent ways to destroy their entire race? Even if there weren’t danger in the ice, melting icecaps will change the world as they know it.”
“They have no fucking idea they’ve been here before. The brink of extinction seems to be their favorite place.”
Legion shrugged, his usually impassive face twisted into a scowl as he glanced toward the west. “Not our job to tell them. Our pal has found a human already, can you feel the change?”
“Wonder why he hasn’t gone silent.” Cord sat back and sipped his coffee.
“Probably thinks he’s the only one.” Legion held out his hand and a cup of coffee appeared in it. The coffee was pale with added cream and its sweet aroma told Cord there was perhaps a cup of sugar in it.
“There’s someone besides the idiot. Did you feel the birds last week?”
Legion nodded and glanced at Cord. “Wizard power was all over them.”
“How the hell long have you been here?” Cord wanted to know as he looked at the earth dragon with a raise brow.
Legion shifted and took a deep swallow of his sweet coffee. “Long enough to get tired of waiting for your ass to show up.”
“What the fuck were you waiting for? You should’ve called me.”
Legion smiled. “Was about to, but things sort of took care of themselves.” Legion stood and strolled to the back door. “Meet you in a couple hours. Dust off the blade.” Then he was gone.
Cord frowned at the closed door. He didn’t want to tell Kelly where he had to go this morning, but she would know without asking anyway. He needed to stop concentrating on that concern before his two ladies came downstairs. He didn’t want their home filled with the bitter aroma of death first thing in the morning.
He disposed of the materials he’d been reading and took his coffee into the living room. A wave of his hand removed all signs of the candlelit evening he’d shared with his Wind Witch. He sat on the couch and commanded the TV to show him Barney.
Half an hour later he was frowning fiercely. Now he understood Kelly’s laughter last night. But a promise had been made, and as soon as little feet hit the floor upstairs, Barney would appear on the couch. It was going to be a long morning, well, hour at least.
Not long after, he heard the race of little feet rushing to her mother’s room. Cord carefully put down his coffee cup. There was no way the big purple paws could hold it. Being an expert at assuming a new identity didn’t mean it was exactly easy. In this case, it was the voice he was most worried about.
Shortly his two ladies came down the stairs so he stood. He hadn’t added the tail until it was necessary to stand.
Minuet came around the corner and froze. Big eyes examined him from head to tail then she squealed, leaping from a standstill in a very good imitation of a little kangaroo. Barney caught her with the appropriate laugh. Kelly stood in the doorway and tried very hard to pretend she was only laughing because Minuet was so delighted.
Minuet adored her breakfast with Barney. The only really difficult thing was that Barney sucked at stealthily patting Kelly’s ass. Kissing her good morning was out of the question, but there was an expected bonus to the situation. Kelly seemed to think his being willing to be Barney for Minuet was amazing.
Every time she touched him, he got a shot of near sexual power. The strength of her approval wasn’t sexual at all, but that was the only equivalent he had to compare it with. Minuet insisted on eating breakfast in his lap. Her laughing joy was just as potent as her mother’s approval. Being Barney got him huge points. A handy thing to remember.
Breakfast was cleaned up and Minuet sent upstairs to change out of her pajamas when Legion and Molly came in the back door. Barney had disappeared as soon as Minuet’s feet met the stairs.
Kelly greeted them with a smile as she looked her friend over critically. “I don’t see any broken bones.”
“Why would you be expecting any? I was very gentle with him.” Molly intentionally misdirected the concern.
Legion grunted, but there was a smile on his face as he glanced down at his Earth Witch. “Don’t be fooled, she’s very good at healing a body when she’s done with it.”
“As long as you’re still useful,” Cord grinned.
Molly grabbed his hand and pulled it up to her waist as she elbowed his ribs. “Get over yourself, Rot Wood,” she snapped. “How long will you to be gone?”
“Not that long,” Cord said casually as he turned to Kelly. Pulling her into his embrace, he looked into her eyes seriously for a moment. “It’ll be all right. Call me if you need me.”
Her arms circled his neck as she strained up on tiptoes. “Kiss me then come back to me.”
Her request was more than it should have been to him. Her natural ease in displaying their intimate relationship in front of her friend and Legion made him proud. There was no hesitation, no shy attempt to deny his connection to her this morning.
His kiss was quick but fierce, claiming her, eating her and pulling away before it became too hard to do that. “Trust me on both those,” he told her softly.
Legion was having a little more trouble letting go of his woman, but the two of them had to be out the door before Minuet came downstairs asking questions. In case anyone was watching, they climbed into Cord’s truck.
Driving ’til they reached a deserted section of road on the way up the mountain, Cord pulled over and parked it out of sight.
“He is about two hundred miles away,” Legion said casually as he glanced at the sky. “Better do angel of mercy. How’s your shiny sword looking these days?”
Cord nodded. “Saintly. I’ll come from the south. Go be the wrath of God.”
Legion nodded. “Meet you at the body.”
Both of them faded from the light range visible to the human eye and took off in opposite directions.
Chapter Nine
Minuet was mildly disappointed when she came down the stairs and Barney was gone. Molly thoroughly enjoyed the three-year-old’s description of breakfast with Barney. Kelly acted as if she were laughing too.
Minuet dashed out to the backyard to play with Coco. Molly and Kelly followed her more slowly.
“So what do you think?” Kelly asked Molly. She didn’t have to explain what she was asking. They were both living in a different world than they had been yesterday.
“We’re in big trouble,” Molly repeated herself from the day before. “But I guess it could be worse. They could like looking like lizards.”
Both women chuckled as they settled into the patio chairs and watched the dog and child. The silence that was comfortable filled with tension. So many things they needed to discuss, new discoveries, new fears. Whatever it meant to be elemental witches bound them together. It was clear that their friendship had been influenced by a deep recognition. But that wasn’t the tension the two women shared.
Sitting, watching the child while knowing the males who shared their beds had gone to face death put them in the company of every warrior’s woman since the beginning of time.
Molly reached over and took Kelly’s hand for a brief squeeze. “We shouldn’t worry. They’ll smell it on us when they get back and be all conceited about it.”
“I know, but how do you quit?” Kelly wanted to know.
Molly shrugged. “I was hoping you knew.”
“You know this threat in the west isn’t their main concern, right?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah, have you asked what the real problem is?”
Kelly shook her head. “I figured he would tell me when he was ready. At this point, I’m taking things one at a time.”
“Me too,” Molly admitted. “You practice the craft yesterday?”
“Yes, it’s amazing. Did he teach you anything new?” Kelly wanted to know.
“Several things, but they had nothing to do with the craft.” Molly glanced at Kelly and laughed softly.
Kelly looked down and smiled, folding her hands in her lap. “I know what you mean. They can be so inventive.”
Molly’s eyes were twinkling as she looked at her conservative friend. “I never appreciated education this way in the past.”
“Has he demanded you quit your job yet?” Kelly asked.
“Like the third thing out of his mouth,” Molly declared with no small amount of disgust. “They seem to like ordering people around.”
This time Kelly laughed. “I almost feel sorry for Legion.”
“Don’t waste pity on him. He can take care of himself,” Molly declared.
* * * * *
Roughly two hundred miles to the west, Cord stood surveying the dilapidated shack. He was behind an outcropping of boulders that littered the bleak terrain around him. Terror flowed out of the one-room structure. Inside, the dragon had a victim. He was feeding on the endless supply of fear. It had probably transformed into a demonic shape, threatening the human and demonstrating his power by inflicting pain.
It was time. Cord allowed the change to flow over him, moving his form to the edge of the human light spectrum. In this guise, he appeared to glow. He added white wings and flowing white clothing to ensure the human’s interpretation. Then he dropped shields. A thundering roar erupted from his adversary in the cabin as he felt the arrival of another dragon.
Cord flashed to the front of the cabin. The door burst open and a large, demotic form charged out. The beast had been feeding most of the night and now had a respectable power reserve. At eight feet tall, the dragon had put on a massive human-shaped body with blood-red skin. Black horns curled up from his forehead to create a ram’s head configuration. There were more horns spiking down his back and across his shoulders. Black leather pants ended at his knees to reveal lower extremities with cloven hooves.
Yep, exactly as expected, this one was using proven methods to feed. It wasn’t even that creative, and Cord was not impressed.
In the open doorway, a cowering old man crouched on the floor. Cord adopted a benevolent smile and raised the flaming sword in his hand, as if to engage horned dude. Stupid dragon was focused solely on his shiny white form and didn’t sense the threat behind him. He was in mid-bellow when his head simply separated from his body and rolled a few feet away, freezing a shocked expression on grotesque features. A moment later the red form disintegrated.
Legion remained out of the human’s sight spectrum as Cord calmly walked up to the sobbing man. Offering his hand in the standard human expectation of how a being who looked like him should act, he helped the man and to his feet. Placing his palm on the old guy’s forehead, Cord manipulated a few facts and slowed his heart rate. The guy was in pretty good shape and didn’t need too much help to avoid a heart attack.
Then Cord slowly faded out of the human’s visual range, not wanting to add to the old guy’s terror. In an afterthought, he wrote the words Go To Church in the dust at the man’s front door. That should complete the impression he wanted to leave.
Appearing in a form the human could understand and draw comfort from made explaining the event unnecessary. What had happened was certainly a supernatural episode, so directing the man’s attention to thinking a supernatural protector had saved him gave him the security he would need to live the rest of his life as a sane individual.
And who was to say things hadn’t transpired exactly as a higher power directed? Cord’s philosophy was, if someone needed to think he was the hand of God to feel safe, he’d be happy to leave them with that impression.
Cord and Legion quickly left the area. This time flying in tight formation just in case there was anyone who could observe them. Caution and deception were as much a part of their natures as the need to feed. Anyone watching the power leave would see one mark streaking in a different direction from where they would eventually end up. They didn’t give away the women’s location by using the opposite route. That would be too obvious.
The entire event had been accomplished in silence. Creatures who wasted time talking were seldom the last ones standing. A simple lesson that was almost impossible for an ego-driven aggressor to learn. Cold killers were not handicapped with the need to discuss the job at hand. Also, completing the
operation in the shortest amount of time possible elevated the odds of success.
Minutes later, normal-looking human forms of Cord and Legion swung into the truck and calmly pulled on to the road.
“Feel anyone watching?” Cord asked Legion. The earth dragon had a slightly higher sensitivity to the vibrations being observed created, even if it were from a distance. The unavoidable boom of a dragon death could easily have drawn attention. No one in this age would know what they had heard though.
“Area felt clean,” Legion confirmed.
“Good.” Cord nodded.
“Only reason that one was here is because he’s an idiot. Nothing will be that easy if the popsicles wake up,” Legion stated mildly.
“I’m more concerned with the humans finding one. I don’t think they can animate it, but now that we’ve met Minuet, we have to consider the possibility. Creative bastards that they are, humans always find a way to bring about the worst possible outcome,” Cord continued. “Manipulating their perception of events will be impossible on a mass scale. You know the first person to stumble across a winged demon trapped in ice will have it on the internet ten seconds later.”
“We’ll be sure no one finds them,” Legion answered in his usual abbreviated way.
Cord glanced at his big companion and raised a brow. “Good plan. Now tell me how to guarantee that.”
They were almost back at Kelly’s house. Legion shrugged. “You already have a plan or you wouldn’t be talking about it. Let’s hear it.”
The earth dragon was a beast of few words, but there was no lack of thought in the ones he did use. They couldn’t exactly be called brothers, but they understood each other well. The silent battle had been accomplished because there was no need to discuss it. The plan of attack was simple. Doing the job right meant no grandstanding. If a confrontation developed into a flashy show of strength, the hunter was doing it wrong.
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