by Aaron Crash
The Wayne twins hung onto their duffel bags and guns. Chazzie tsked. “When was the last time we were in a fucking Walmart, Pru?”
Pru nodded. “Summer of 2008. We had to get coolers, ice, and Bud Light. Carlo Bart threw a lake party and hadn’t planned for shit. We also bought shotguns. And didn’t we get toys for the kids?”
“Yeah, we did. ’Cause we’re awesome and such team players.”
Tessa dropped her satchel, which contained the Drokharis grimoires and the topaz pen, along with the Dragonknights book she got from Eve Downfyre. The barista stripped off her shirt. “I’m going shopping! I’m going to ‘buy’ a ton of clothes.” She air-quoted the words. “It’s going to be so much fun! Who’s with me?”
Zoey also started to take off her clothes. “I will, Tessa! How cool is this?”
Mouse clutched the Slayer Blade to her chest. “Huh. Would you look at that? Tessa goes from bloodthirsty death machine to Miss Walmart 2019 in five seconds.”
“Come with us, Mouse!” Zoey pleaded.
Mouse made a motion with her hand. “Yes, yes, you go. I’ll catch up.”
Steven and the rest of his Escort made their way back to the camping section. Might as well bed down on mats and grab sleeping bags.
The Waynes picked the choicest supplies while Sabina unfolded a chair and sat down. Aria stood, arms crossed. Uchiko appeared out of nowhere. She’d left her white gi behind and wore pink sweatpants and a pink Juicy jacket, totally bejeweled. UGGs covered her feet. Her half-dragon body looked remarkably at home in the normal clothes.
The ninja bowed. “Steven-dono, will you let me listen to your plans?”
“The more the merrier,” Pru said. She wore a big white parka and snow pants. She was taking no chances with the cold.
Chazzie matched her sister. “Yeah, Uchiko, we like you around, since you don’t talk much.”
Aria wasn’t about to touch an article of Walmart clothing. She wore a red turtleneck and black slacks from her luggage. “We will talk briefly, and then we’ll get some sleep. However, I do think we should have someone keep watch. Those dragons were waiting for us at the gas station. If they could find us there, they could attack us here.”
Sabina cast a Divination spell. “The brown dragon we killed was Alonzo Mac Sterling, the Dragonlord of the Miami-Dixie Primacy.”
Pru made a face. “Ugh, we own Florida. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“It is a good thing.” Aria didn’t get the joke, and Steven wasn’t sure he did either.
When Chazzie saw his confusion, she laughed and unfolded a chair for him. “Google weird news of Florida at some point. Then you can decide. Tilt the U.S. and all the crazy runs right into the southeast corner.”
Steven didn’t have any strong opinions. Another Primacy meant more vassals, crazy or not. “Sabina, there was a black-and-orange dragon at the Sapp Brothers fight. Do you have any idea who he was?”
She shook her head. “He is hidden.”
“Damn.” Steven sat on a creaking folding chair. “He cast AnimusChain on me. And he could’ve taken me out, but instead, he left the fight along with Yellow and Maroon.”
“Candler and Helge,” Pru said. “Candler certainly isn’t getting any thinner, even in his True Form. I bet those cowards ran back to Morty.”
“Maybe not,” Chazzie returned. “Losing their Primacies might have galled them into an alliance with the other Dragonlords. And to lose Denise and Fimi? That’s salt in the wound.” She sighed. “We’re driving right by the Great Lakes Primacy. We could do a side trip to Chicago, maybe.”
Aria paced. “No. If Kansas is under siege, we should stop the invasion force there. That is the next logical course of action. We do not want them taking Colorado. That would put Tessa’s and Steven’s families in danger.”
A bad feeling filled Steven’s belly.
Sabina ripped open a little bag of cinnamon almonds and picked a few out to crunch on them.
Pru and Chazzie were sharing a can of peaches. The two were strangely quiet.
“Okay, you two, do your thing,” he said.
The twins looked surprised. “What do you mean?”
Aria snapped her fingers. “Yes, yes, yes. I would like to hear what you think.”
“Kinda tired,” Chazzie said.
Pru had a faraway look in her eyes. “Jimmy was cute, in an overweight, acne sort of way. Poor guy should stop beating off so much and find himself a nice human to bang.”
“Humans. They don’t get sex like us dragons do,” Chazzie murmured. She then shook herself. “Okay, you’re right. Pru, how many Dragonlords are left in the U.S. now that Alonzo is dead?”
Pru motioned with her fork. “We got Candler and Helge in the wind. Two there. Louis Laloux had some of his Gris-Gris at the Sapp Brothers, you know he did. There was a lot of Impetim magic hitting us. I didn’t see Ugly Ellis Dodge, but I recognized a few of his Inferno Dogs. That explains all those Warlings. That’s four. And Victor Nutgrass. He procured the tanks. And, of course, our buddy Morty Flint. We never did show him our titties.”
“Nobody deserves to see our treasures except for Steven,” Chazzie said.
“And me,” Sabina said softly. She continued to crunch on her almonds.
Steven suddenly felt hungry. “Hit me with some jerky.”
Chazzie tossed him a package. “You get Pru’s boobies, mi amiga, but not mine. Ah, lesbian love, ain’t it beautiful?”
“Easy on us, sister,” Pru said quietly. “So that’s six Dragonlords left for us to deal with. I don’t think any foreigners were there.”
Steven thought of dragon he’d seen hitchhiking, the one with the tattoo on his neck. He still hadn’t told Uchiko that her old teacher was making his way east.
They lapsed into silence. The only sound was Sabina chewing.
Chazzie gave the Latina a sharp look. “Girlfriend likes her almonds.”
“I do.” Sabina smiled, unashamed.
Aria threw up her hands. “Enough. Steven, the Holy Grail can wait another few months. It’s been hidden for millennia. There is no rush there. We have more important problems.”
Steven chewed down the jerky. He cracked open a bottle of water and washed it down. “Eve Downfyre asked who Tessa wanted to be. I’ve been asking myself the same question. Who do I want to be?”
He let that sink in. Then he said, “I’m not in this for Primacies. I don’t want to be a Dragonlord in the end. I want to free this world, dragons and humans alike, from the Zothoric. Nobody better use the word ‘savior.’ Not around me.”
“Don’t worry,” Pru said, giving him a long look. There was love there. “I was thinking more of messiah.”
“No. Not that either. I’m just heads down working on the next thing that might help us. We need the Holy Grail. And it should be in that lake in Maine, between the Cross of Rock and the Cold Ocean. The real question is if our allies can hold Kansas.”
“Sounders!” Chazzie said abruptly. “Dammit, but in all that snow, I couldn’t tell if Juice Juice was there or not. But all those Morphlings we shot down in the convenience store were Juice’s bears, boars, and wolves.”
No one replied.
Aria and Steven locked eyes.
The Indian woman’s face softened. “We will follow your lead. Yet, we know so little about the Holy Grail.”
“She’s certainly not wrong,” Pru said. “That tiger boy was probably a Dragonknight since he could do AnimusChain. What if the last of the Dragonknights get the Holy Grail before we do?”
Steven didn’t think that was a possibility. “From what the Elf Queen said, the Holy Grail has to be found by Merlin’s daughter and the lost son. But I don’t know for sure.” He stood. “I don’t want to turn back. We have to trust that Javier, Savedra, Imogene, and Eve Downfyre can hold our eastern border. We’ll continue east tomorrow morning. The highway should be open by that time.”
He checked for Uchiko, but she was gone.
Chazzie yawned, then Pru, then Sa
bina.
“That shit is contagious.” Chazzie stretched. “I’ll grab us some pillows. This Walmart has every little thing we need. As the brains of this operation, I volunteer other people to take watch. Pru and I need to sleep.”
“Tessa and I can set up wards,” Steven said. “I’ll need some Animus, but that shouldn’t be a problem.” He was worried about the fighting in Kansas, but he had to follow his gut. Every part of him wanted to continue the quest.
He left the women to wind his way up to the front. The wind whistled loudly, and snowflakes beat at the front doors.
He found Uchiko at the cash registers. She was tracing a claw around the very human technology. When she saw him, she stiffened.
“It’s okay, Uchiko. It’s only me.”
She half-smiled with the human part of her face. “You will never just be an ‘only,’ Steven.” She paused. “The humans who work here probably think their lives are so tedious. Yet, I would trade everything to have their simple existence. I’m still haunted.”
Steven drew near. “By what?”
“Peach cobbler.” Uchiko grinned, then looked away. “I would make it for Mathaal during our time taking care of him in Montana. It was excellent. When I smelled the peaches Chazzie and Pru were eating, I couldn’t stay.”
“Your peach cobbler is outstanding,” Steven took her in his arms. Then he told her about his vision about the tattooed Dragonsoul.
She melted in his arms. “Seeing Niwashi again would be difficult. He made me, and I failed him. He knows my shame more than anyone.”
“In the end, you finished the task he gave you, Uchiko. Rahaab is dead. We couldn’t have gotten to him without you and the Onari Guard.”
Uchiko let out a single sob, but she took hold of her strength. “Are you any closer to finding a cure for me and my friends?”
“I am,” Steven said. “FleshForge is the last spell we need, I think. We hope that working with you will tell us more about the Dragonskin rituals.”
“That is my hope as well.” She leaned back. “Kiss me. Then take me. You need the Animus. And I need your touch. And your love.”
“You have both,” Steven said. “Always.”
She unzipped her Juicy jacket and let it slip off her shoulders. One breast was perfect on her chest, while the other was smooth scales. He cupped her soft mound. They kissed until Uchiko couldn’t wait.
She swept down her pants and offered herself to him.
He took her from behind, while she gripped the cashier’s counter. He had to smile. Most likely, they weren’t the first people to have sex in the Walmart. Humans didn’t see sex like dragons, but they were still horny apes.
The Animus felt good when he finally erupted inside her.
Uchiko agreed to take the first watch while Steven went to find Tessa, Mouse, and Zoey. All three were sleeping in the little camp the twins had created for them in the camping section. The Wayne twins had set up beds for everyone, which was very thoughtful. Maybe his stern talk had gotten to them. Doubtful, but a boy could dream.
Chapter Fourteen
TESSA WAS WIDE AWAKE. She lay in her sleeping bag and listened to Steven and the other women sleep. Out of all of them, only Aria snored, though she insisted she didn’t. In spite of her protests, there had been many a night when Tessa had to lightly push the Indian woman to get her to stop sawing logs. On some nights, it required a shove.
Aria, though, wasn’t the problem. Tessa’s mind simply wouldn’t shut off. She didn’t want to wake up anyone, so she tried masturbating, quietly, but even after an orgasm, her brain continued to chirp at her.
Well, she might as well get up and relieve Uchiko.
Tessa walked up to the front. Trying on all the different clothes with Zoey and Mouse had been fun, and it was easy to forget her mistake with the brown dragon. He had a name, Alonzo Mac Sterling, but then again, he was simply another Dragonlord who’d fallen.
It had been a mistake to kill him, and yet, she had a hard time feeling bad about it. He had attacked them. If their positions had been reversed, Sterling would’ve killed them all if given the chance. Then she went through the other side of the argument. What if Big Brown had turned on his allies? They could’ve learned the names of the Dragonknights still alive in the U.S.
Yeah, but his Animus had felt so good when it hit her.
At the front, the ninja was nowhere to be seen. Of course not. She knew how to hide in the shadows.
“Uchiko?” Tessa called out quietly.
Movement, and then she appeared. “Yes, Tessa, is there anything wrong?”
“I can’t sleep. Why don’t you get some sack time, and I’ll watch the doors.”
“Thank you,” the quiet woman said. “I will rest. And thank you for trying to help me.”
Tessa embraced the ninja before she could retreat. “It’s my pleasure.” Hugging Uchiko was like trying to pet a pissed-off cat. The ninja left after a stiff, awkward moment.
The barista had to laugh a little. Then she found cigarettes locked in a glass case. Could she use magic to open it?
She wasn’t sure. She touched the lock on the glass doors and whispered, “Incanto.” After enchanting the mechanism, she was able to open the case. She grabbed a pack of LeMac Lights and a lighter and went to the front. No use getting the owner all upset about smoking inside the store.
It was around four in the morning and the blizzard was gone, the sky clearing. Stars shined on several feet of snow. Their vehicles were pretty much buried. In the distance, the plows were hard at work clearing the streets.
Tessa shook out a cigarette and lit it. She hadn’t smoked in a while, although she loved it. Damn things, they were completely addictive. She’d done a fair job of managing her addiction, but she found it hard to quit completely. Maybe she could control her dragon-slaying desires in a similar way. She hoped so. Yet, she’d lost control during the fight.
Tessa stood near the cracked door and held the cigarette outside. Ha, it was like she was a teenager again, smoking out of the window of her room, trying to hide it from her mom. How stupid. It had never worked, and the minute you used air freshener, you were busted. Nevertheless, when the demon nicotine called, you answered.
Surprise, surprise, Mouse crept up. She was in a long flannel nightgown, totally homemaker material, with fuzzy Elmo slippers on her feet. She didn’t look like the fearless warrior she was, but then again, Mouse didn’t like to fight. That didn’t mean she wasn’t wickedly good at it, and she’d be quick to remind anyone of that.
The blonde’s eyes were sleepy, and if there was one thing Mouse loved, it was sleep. She stuck out a hand. “You got up, and I got worried. I know, I know, being me is such a pain. I’m a mean skank, until I’m not. Hit me with a cancer stick, baby.”
Tessa offered the slim woman a smoke.
Mouse lit up. “Oh yeah, I forgot one of the perks of being magical creature. We don’t get cancer. You can, Tessa, being human and all. You shouldn’t do it. If we lost you...” Her voice faded away. “We can’t lose you.”
“Not until after we find the Holy Grail.” Tessa stared off into the early morning.
“No, T, not ever.” Mouse moved close to exhale out the door. “It’s not just your magic. You glue us together. The things you can do... and not the sex, but who you are. I get jealous of you all the time.”
“Me? Why?”
Mouse held her smoke and shivered. “Ugh, it’s fucking cold. And yet, here you are, being polite and not smoking up Mr. Owner’s business. See? You are so fucking...kind.” She crinkled her nose. “No, that’s not right. You’re more than kind. You draw people to you, and you make them feel welcome and at home. Even the Texas chainsaw bitches.”
“Machine-gun twins?” Tessa raised her eyebrows.
“Even them, and they don’t much want to belong.” Mouse inhaled smoke and breathed it out. “Hey, look, I’m a dragon.”
Tessa breathed out a little laugh. “Chazzie and Pru need to belong. They
know that. Steven isn’t going to tolerate much drama.”
Mouse nodded. “Yeah, he’s too busy trying to take over the world.”
“Save the world you mean.” Tessa thought of Jared, and what they might do to cure him. If they were successful, though, word would spread. It would jeopardize the great Dragonsoul secret that had been kept from the humans for fifty thousand years.
“It’ll be better once Steven marries us,” Mouse said.
Tessa went silent. Her heart beat faster, and it wasn’t from the nicotine.
“That scares you, doesn’t it?” Mouse asked gently.
Tessa so wanted to say it didn’t. The words weren’t there, though. All she could do was stand there and smoke.
“Does it scare you?” the barista finally asked the blonde.
Mouse showed the barista her left hand. “No. I was married before, chained body and soul to Rhaegen Mulk. I know what it entails, and yet, with Steven, I want the connection. It’s weird, for me, because I know the power of it...there’s this link that goes beyond what you’ll ever feel. It’s a safe feeling. And yeah, it can be scary, but where would we be without him?”
That was the truth of it, Tessa knew. Without Steven, she’d still be at the Coffee Clutch, working and living with a roommate, making love to men and women without a care in the world, until on sleepless nights, she’d wonder what it all meant.
“Is it because you won’t be able to sleep with other guys?” Mouse asked.
Tessa thought long and hard. “No. Not to say I haven’t thought about that, but with Steven’s uncountable number of wives, getting new people to sleep with will never be a problem. I like men, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not where I go.”
Mouse was quiet. Then she rolled her eyes. “This is the part of the conversation where you tell me where you go. For the love of biscuits, don’t make me be nosy.”
Tessa searched her feelings. Why was she reticent about the whole marriage thing? She wasn’t sure. She simply bristled at the idea of being owned. Zoey wanted that, it was a part of her, but not Tessa.
Mouse saw the truth. “You don’t know. That’s cool. I think Steven is a little shy about the matter as well. If it were up to him, he wouldn’t do it at all. Even though it will make us stronger. And we need to be strong. Wouldn’t you agree?”