by Brenda Trim
“There’s an entire box of random objects beachgoers left behind. I think the matching sandal is in there. I wish it was easier to reconstruct the device,” Blaine complained as he took the metal object from Finn’s hand. “Too many tiny-ass pieces. I doubt we found half of them. So, you think Blaze is going to cooperate with his protective detail?”
“Hell no, that stubborn kid won’t cooperate. He wants to prove he’s able to protect himself. Trust me, his actions will bite us in the ass. As son of the most powerful dragon in the realm, Blaze believes he’s stronger than any of us. Not a good attitude to have if you’re supposed to have bodyguards following you.”
“That’s what I was thinking, too. If we can keep him inside the city limits, he’ll at least be safer. No Unseelie are getting through the levels of protection we have in place.”
Finn agreed with Blaine. He was just thinking about the invisible bubble surrounding the city and how the additions Isis and Pema put in place made them nearly foolproof. They couldn’t even bring dead Unseelie through the barrier for scientists to study.
“The chances of Blaze staying in Duamutef are slim to none. Don’t you remember when your fires burned so hot it made you restless?”
Blaine chuckled. “I spent most of my time back then in bed with the females. Best way to burn off excess energy.”
“You haven’t fully transitioned after hundreds of years? That has to be a record. We should tell the elders so they can record it in our history,” Finn teased.
“Don’t hate the player,” Blaine said using his favorite Earth euphemism.
Finn had to admit that Blaine had a point. Sex was great for burning excess energy and tension. His gaze immediately traveled to Talysia and he watched her smile at a customer. He would love to relieve his stress with the alluring siren.
Before he could further fantasize about the female his comms unit went off in his pocket. Fishing it out, he noticed Blaine had his in hand, as well. An emergency code flashed across the screen.
Glancing up, Finn looked at Blaine. “Fucking hell. They’re attacking again.”
Blaine nodded then turned to a group of nearby knights. “Shift and follow us to Sordette. Unseelie are attacking,” he ordered.
Gasps had Finn turning away from Blaine. Talysia stood in her shack with her hand covering her mouth. He wanted to go to her and reassure her that she was safe. There was no time for him to go to her, but he refused to leave without telling her and the rest of the crowd they were safe.
“Don’t panic,” Finn announced loudly while keeping his eyes locked with Talysia. “You’re safe here. Slate, Caleb, and Bane will stay here and protect you.”
The rustle of clothing sounded next to Finn and he knew Blaine was stripping down to shift into dragon form. Nakedness wasn’t foreign to any of them on Khoth, but suddenly Finn’s skin was jumpy with Talysia’s eyes on him.
Unable to glance away, Finn pulled his shirt open and tugged it from under the strap across his chest. The weapons belt was magically enhanced to shift sizes with them when they did. Unfortunately, the shaman of the realm hadn’t managed to make their clothing adjust with them.
It was just as well. Finn couldn’t imagine flying or battling while fabric constricted his legs, wings or arms. It would limit his range of motion too much. Finn found himself smiling when Talysia’s hand fell away from her mouth and her mouth dropped open.
Her tongue ran over her lower lip when his hands went to the fly of his pants. At the worst time ever, Finn’s cock filled with blood and stiffened in his pants. If he took them off she would see how much he wanted her. Shaking his head, Finn reasoned there was no way she would know his shaft was aching for her.
‘Now is not the time, sket.’ He chastised his unruly cock.
In one swift move, Finn kicked his shoes off and removed his pants. He stood up, straight and tall and met Taly’s turquoise eyes for a split second before shifting into his dragon form.
He kept his gaze on her as he launched into the sky. The way her eyes grew even wider as she bit her lip made him want to shift back and take her into his arms. Ignoring his desire, Finn flapped his wings and headed for Sordette, putting the siren out of his mind.
There was no room for distraction. He had to get his head in the game if he wanted to come out of this fight whole. The sounds of battle reached him before he was able to see the town. Sordette was smaller than Duamutef, but highly populated, nonetheless.
Finn screeched and called his fire from his belly. Unfortunately, he had to stifle the flames as he noticed the skirmish was in the middle of the business district. There was no way to burn the enemy without damaging buildings and killing civilians.
Finn landed on top of a Buggane that had a dozen females cornered in an alley. The massive Unseelie howled and clawed at his legs while his talons pierced through grey flesh.
Something hit one of Finn’s wings, but didn’t go through the thin membrane. He turned his head and noticed a new creature in the mix. The energy signature was distinctly Unseelie, but it wasn’t something Finn had encountered before.
The creature had four arms and a thin body with mottled red skin. It was nearly as tall as the Buggane’s seven-feet, as well. The flesh was slick and had a wet appearance. The texture reminded him of shark skin. With a flick of his tail, he sent one of them flying through the air.
“Take that Squidartha,” Lorne called out from further down the alley.
“Great name for a piece of Unseelie trash,” Finn told Lorne using dragon mind speech.
Lorne chuckled and nodded. “My Cambree has me watching an Earth movie, Star Wars. These fuckers are tough, so keep on your toes.”
Finn considered how Lorne’s life had changed from the somber, always serious bachelor he had known for centuries. Since meeting Cambree and having kids, Lorne told jokes, took vacations, and was almost relaxed.
Bending down, Finn bit off the head of a Buggane. The flavor of moldy cheese made him gag, and he spit out the nasty orb as he shook his head. One of the females screamed, making Finn realize he’d sent poisonous blood spraying in their faces.
“Sorry,” he sent mentally and headed down the alley. A Red Cap used the trash can to vault itself onto Finn’s back. The tiny fucker was as big as an ant to him in his dragon form, but that bug had teeth. Razor sharp ones that sliced through the membrane of his wing.
When Finn turned his head to snap at the powrie, he noticed the females were behind him so there was no way to use his flames to eliminate the tick on his back. The knife-like claws dug between his scales and hit flesh. Dragon hide was difficult to pierce, but this creature was doing a damn good job.
Rearing up on his hind legs, Finn let himself fall against the brick wall, hoping to crush the Red Cap. The fucker was smart and used its teeth to cling to his wing when they flared. Brick dust floated through the air upon impact while Finn’s blood dripped to the street below.
Holes appeared in his wings and Finn was left with no choice but to fold them up and squash the Red Cap. The second Finn’s wings were against his back, he slammed his torso against the brick wall again. Brick crumbled under the force and a squeal went silent.
Shaking the now dead powrie from his back, Finn ran to the alley opening a few feet away. On the street, dozens of Squidartha were fighting Maahes in human and dragon form.
Finn remained at the mouth of the alley to keep enemies from sneaking past him and reaching the females at the end. He heard them sobbing in the bac
kground as they reassured each other.
The plate glass window of a store to his right was shattered and clothing, shoes and jewelry scattered across the stone sidewalk. The sparkle of the fake gems glittered in the late morning sunshine, calling to his inner dragon.
Every dragon had a desire to hoard items. The most coveted among his kind were gold, silver, and precious gems. Finn started his collection when he was a young dragon. His parents helped keep his collections safe in their hoard for decades until he was able to establish his own. In many cases, families kept their valuables together and passed on the secret location when generations died. Because of that most had massive hoards.
Finn fought the urge to snatch the jewels and fly them away. First, it was the wrong time to get sidetracked by anything. Second, it was fake jewelry, worth nothing.
Suddenly, a multi-armed beast ran toward him. A swipe of his wing and Finn found himself spinning wildly. He expected to slam into the body so had put as much force behind the movement as possible, but the Squidartha ducked at the last minute and kicked out. The hit to his back made his dragon turn faster. Landing awkwardly on his side, Finn was stunned into immobility from shock.
The red creature felt wet as it sat on his injured wing and two of its arms stabbed at his other wing while the other two arms slammed fists into the back of his head. Finn wanted to duck down the alley and hide from his fellow Maahes. The fact that a creature got the best of him so thoroughly and so quickly made him feel like he was on his first mission again.
He recalled getting his ass kicked by Buggane when Legette first sent him out to a battle. Then it was because of his inexperience and anxiety. Now, it was pure stupidity. Never underestimate an opponent. That was the first message drilled in their heads when they went through training.
Keeping one eye on his surroundings, Finn flipped to his back, taking the Squidartha with him. The noise it made reminded him of a branch scratching a window during a storm. Kicking a foot out, Finn deflected another enemy while bouncing a few times to dislodge the fucker under him.
Getting to his feet again, Finn felt like he’d been through the ringer. And, his right wing was killing him. Lifting his appendages in the air to keep them away from enemies, Finn called up his fires and blasted the one on the ground with his flames.
Fire exploded between his legs and set the others trying to attack him back several feet. Lorne was embroiled in a fight a few feet away. Looked like he had things under control as he swung his sword and sliced arms from the thin body.
Finn swiped one hand through the air and talons tore through flesh. Red limbs flew in all directions as Finn kept at it. Several enemies were trying to run away, and Finn was tempted to give chase. Instead, he blew several bursts of fire at them. Three balls of flame hit their mark and had several Squidartha screaming and flailing.
Unfortunately, a rogue fire ball sailed through the missing window and burst against a display case in the store. Finn hurried to the opening and stuck his wing inside the shop. It was the wing the last Squidartha had stabbed and pain nearly stole his breath when he moved it rapidly.
Accustomed to fighting while injured, Finn used his wing to extinguish the flames before they destroyed everything while using one giant paw to take out a Red Cap trying to sneak down the alley.
Once the flames were out, Finn positioned himself near the alley and slashed through as many enemies as he could reach. He was tiring fast as blood dribbled from his wounds and his wing continued to scream at him.
Within minutes they’d managed to kill all the Unseelie in the area. Finn stayed put while several other Maahes scouted the area from the air and ground.
Lorne approached Finn and sheathed his sword on his back. “You want me to take that out, buddy?”
Finn swiveled his serpentine head around and caught sight of what Lorne was referring to. The small weapon the Squidartha stabbed his wing with was embedded deep in his appendage. No fucking wonder it hurt so much, he thought.
“Fucking hell. Yes. I think it’s lodged in the bone,” he replied to his friend using dragon-mind speech.
Finn lowered his body and extended his wing as much as he could with the agony. Lorne grabbed hold of the handle and kept his hand on Finn’s shoulder. “I’m not surprised it’s buried in the bone with the way you batted out those flames. This is going to hurt,” his friend warned. “On the count of three. One, two…”
Finn tossed his head back and screeched as Lorne pulled it before he ever got to three. “Douche dick,” Finn cursed at his friend.
“Stop being a baby and start burning these bodies. I want to get home to my mate and kids before nightfall,” Lorne instructed Finn.
Nodding, Finn kicked the bodies and body parts away from the broken window and into the middle of the street while his fellow knights helped. The females exited the alley and thanked him for saving them then entered the store and started cleaning up.
Once all the bodies were piled in the street, Finn called his fires from his belly and together with Blaine they torched the newest Unseelie, along with, their long-time arch nemeses. A foul-smelling odor filled the afternoon sky, but Finn didn’t bother sticking around to choke on his bile.
Instead, he launched himself into the air and wondered what it would be like to have a female waiting at home. He never contemplated having a mate, but lately it was on his mind more than he cared to admit.
The fact that Talysia’s smile and alluring voice popped into his head at that moment meant nothing. Sure, he was attracted to her, but there was nothing more there aside from lust. Although, that desire was so strong he nearly sought her out instead of returning to the castle.
* * *
Chapter 6
The music thumped so loud it vibrated Finn’s chest as he entered Club Toxic. The sensation was familiar and had his shoulders relaxing as soon as he crossed the threshold. Blood raced through his veins and his fire stirred in his stomach. It was heady and welcomed.
It had been way too fucking long since he’d taken a night off to unwind and enjoy himself. Between the constant vigilance and fighting, coupled with the way Talysia’s presence affected him, Finn needed to get laid in a bad way. The physical release would go a long way to equalize his system.
Damn, if his thoughts didn’t make him sound like a sket. Finn loved female company and losing himself inside a warm, willing body, but he never thought he prolifically slept around. His mother would roll over in her grave if she thought he was promiscuous. As a female, she was sensitive to how he treated other females and drilled into his head that he must value them as an individual and treat them with care and respect.
Hitting it and quitting it wasn’t respectful in the least.
“Ah, come to daddy,” Blaine murmured next to him.
Finn glanced sideways at his friend. This was precisely the type of male his mother did not want him to become. The Maahes was a known player, but Finn had never seen him treat females with anything less than care and respect. Even when they were begging him for more than a few nights.
“Fuck, bro. Don’t say that. I can’t imagine you as anyone’s dad,” Finn cringed.
‘It’s an Earth saying, scrote,” Blaine said as they traversed the crowded bar. Small tables were stuffed to the left as they entered. Most of the tables were bar height making it easy for people to stand and enjoy their drinks. The tall bar stools were largely unoccupied. Along the wall, in the dar
kened edges of the room, there were low tables that sat only two or three each. It was designed for a more intimate conversation set back from the heavier crowds, but it was so loud in the place there was little intimacy to be had.
“Females love me. My dick is my gift to the world,” Blaine declared with a wave of his hand in front of his pants while he gave a group of females lingering nearby a hundred-watt smile. “There’s nothing but pleasure to be found in my bed.”
“And yet, that attitude works for you. I’m stunned that females don’t see right through your bullshit,” Finn told his friend. Blaine headed for the shiny black bar to the right. Finn scanned the dance floor as he followed behind his friend.
“They want what they see,” Blaine replied before he turned to the bartender with a smile. “Dragon’s piss, please. Finn?”
“Same. Thanks,” he told the bartender then turned back to survey the crowded dance floor.
“Here you go,” the female quipped, drawing Finn’s attention. Turning around he picked up the orange-amber liquid and took a sip. The alcohol burned as it went down, adding to the fires stirring in his belly.
Two females were already hanging off Blaine’s every word. The way the male worked faster than lightening made Finn question what he was doing wrong. They’d been in the bar less than five minutes and the dragon had two potential dates for the night.
Perhaps he was closed off, Finn thought. It took one glimpse of Blaine and there was no doubt he was open, willing, and ready to give any female the night of her life. Consciously deciding to be open to anything, Finn smiled and swiveled to face the dance floor.
Bodies writhed and moved with the music. Upon first glance, Finn thought the scene looked like a giant orgy with females and males grinding against one another. As he focused on individuals, he saw friends having fun with each other and couples so into each other that they were oblivious to their surroundings.