by F. L. Jordan
“Wait, are you serious?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her, enjoying the comfort of their embrace.
"Unfortunately, yes," Natalie sighed.
Zach quickly did the math, “That would mean he was with both of us at the same time.”
"So we've technically already had sex," she joked and he laughed.
He was thankful for the humor, "Well then, giving me that kiss you owe me won't be that big of a deal."
Natalie suddenly realized the intimacy of their embrace and tried to ignore the fierce blush that rose into her cheeks as she looked up at him. Why did he have to be so damn good looking? Natalie removed her hands from around his waist, slowly sliding them up his chest and around his neck.
She pressed the fingers of her right hand into the back of his head, tilting his jaw down towards her, "I guess not."
Zach lowered to meet her lips with his, reveling in the feeling of a genuine kiss. It had been years since he'd kissed anyone with passion. He took the opportunity to enjoy it, raising his left hand to cup her jaw and deepen their embrace. He was surprised when her tongue begged his lips to open. Zach happily gave her what she wanted, enjoying the taste of her. His free hand began to wander, finding the soft mound of her breast beneath her uniform. Natalie moaned softly into his mouth and he instantly wanted more.
Guys, we're at work, Copper's tired and slightly annoyed voice filled their minds, Save that for later.
Zach broke away from her, surprised by his quickened heart rate and heavy breathing, "So much for not wanting an office romance."
Natalie giggled, hugging him and kissing his sore jaw as she whispered, "I just want my phone."
Zach laughed as well, digging the device from his pocket, "Liar."
She took it from him and stuffed it into her back pocket, “You caught me, but we can discuss that later. Right now, we need to tend to Copper. I torched the charm, but I’m sure he feels like shit.”
That would be a correct assumption, Natalie, The little dragon watched them from his place on the desk. He was happy for them, but was too lethargic to show it.
“Do you think an energy potion would harm him?” Natalie asked.
“As long as it doesn’t have amla or gentian in it, it should be fine,” Zach turned to pick Copper up, gently handing him to Natalie. “Also, the tox report came back on those pills Eli found.”
“Oh yeah?” she gently cradled the worn out animal and watched as Zach picked up a book and a sheet of printer paper.
He handed her the document, “They’re essentially ecstasy laced with Nightshade, Black Fennel, and dirt.”
“Dirt?” Natalie looked at the report, “Oh God, do you think it’s grave soil?”
“What else could it be? Infused with dark magic,” he opened the book and found the page he'd been reading before Daniel had interrupted, "it can be used to raise the dead, or keep the dead from coming back."
"Let's go for a drive," Natalie's mind was racing. "We'll pick up a potion for Copper and then head to the slums. I need to track down one of my contacts and see if they know what's going on."
"Lead the way," he motioned for her to go, setting his book down and grabbing the dreamcatcher from his desk. He wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.
Natalie opened the door and stepped out into the main office. Several officers shot her sympathetic looks as Zach closed the door. The dark bruise on his jaw earned more attention. It was clear to everyone there that the three of them were having a rather bad day.
As the trio walked past Captain Levit’s office his door opened and the man stepped out, “Lock, Hail come here.”
Zach groaned, not looking forward to the lecture he was about to receive. Natalie simply obeyed, entering the office. The other captains had already left, probably more than eager to be away from Corvis’ drama.
“I want you two to take the day off,” Levit’s words shocked both of them.
“I’m sorry,” Zach was afraid he was about to get fired, “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
“No, you did,” Levit said with the authority of his position. “Take care of that dreamcatcher and go home. The three of you look like shit. Also, since Natalie is your partner now, I’m assigning her a permanent car. Pick the keys up from Betty on your way out. After today, I expect the two of you to crack down hard on this new drug pandemic. Shit’s been on the streets barely four days and the local hospitals are already filled with dead bodies.”
“What’s the mortality count so far?” Zach asked.
“Last report was in the mid three hundreds,” Levit sighed. “The city is overrun with addicts, but this isn’t how they should be getting taken care of. I’m not sure why the commissioner is dragging his feet on the issue, but in this precinct I’m in charge, and I’ve had enough.”
“I can’t say I blame you for taking action,” Natalie admitted. “Christ, what if it gets into the schools? Teens always seem to be looking for the next new trendy drug to play with.”
“Agreed,” Zach turned to go. “I also don’t blame you for telling us to go home. Working on a case like this while exhausted creates a lot of room for error.”
“Exactly,” Levit smiled, “now get out.”
They both responded in unison and exited the office. Zach instantly headed towards the main entrance, “I’ll meet you out front.”
“Ok,” Natalie stroked Copper’s head gently as the little dragon looked longingly towards his human. He’ll be ok. He just wants you to rest for now.
I don’t like him being alone, Copper admitted to her. I never have.
That’s because you love him, she hugged him tightly, and he loves you, too. Don’t worry, we’ll get you feeling better real soon. Natalie kissed his scaly head and he nuzzled into her.
Why do I like you? he asked, inhaling her sweet scent. Being near you is calming. I don’t understand it.
Probably has something to do with the fact that I can talk to you, Natalie gave a genuine reply. Slag seems to calm around me, too.
Maybe, I felt something similar when I first met Zach, Copper admitted as she got a set of keys from Betty. The woman eyed him with confusion, clearly wondering why he was with the wrong person.
Why were you such an angry youth? Natalie recalled his tale of the pet shop.
The first thing I saw when I hatched was a human. Since I was a rare color, he separated me from my siblings and sold me off when I was only a few days old. Copper hadn’t expected to ever tell anyone but Zach about his past. A breeder purchased me and tried to get me to cover several females. I was too young. I tried to get the females to mother me, but dragons in heat have tendencies to be hostile towards brood that isn’t theirs.
He lifted his wing to show her faint scars that were hidden beneath. One tried to rip my wings off, so I killed her to protect myself. The breeder was angry because it was one of his best females. He sold me to another breeder who was also impatient and didn’t let me mature. After two more unnecessary killings, I was sold to the pet shop. By then I’d become scared and defensive. The day Zach came into the store I had broken out of my cage and was trying to escape. He caught me and asked if I wanted to go on an adventure. I’d never heard someone’s voice like that before. I crawled into his coat pocket and refused to come out.
At least you got out, Natalie set him in the passenger seat of the squad car, and you found a pretty cool human.
Humans, he looked at her earnestly. Please keep him, Natalie. He’s happy when he’s with you.
The dragon’s plea surprised her, Copper, we’ll just have to see how things pan out, ok? I like him, but we don’t know how we’ll do together as a couple yet.
I think you’re perfect for each other, he curled up in the seat as she pulled out of the garage.
Natalie didn’t respond. She agreed with him, but there was a rather large problem that she knew would eventually arise between them. She was a witch, and not just any witch, but a fucking queen. Zach hated witches, and
rightfully so. His past and the fact that he dealt with the aftermath of dark magic on a daily basis only worked against her. How could she expect him to love something he hated?
Zach stood on the edge of the curb, waiting patiently for her to pick him up. She pulled up and rolled down the window, “Get in, loser, we’re going shopping!”
“Real funny,” he took the step off the curb, cautiously feeling for the car. Once he found the handle and opened the door Natalie chose to mess with him, letting off the brake just enough to make the car move. To her surprise, Zach lept inside, narrowly missing Copper as he landed in the seat. The door closed and he put on his seatbelt, sticking his tongue out at her.
“You’ll have to try something a little slicker than that to prank me, Miss Lock,” he found Copper and gently set the lizard in his lap.
“Considering the nature of our relationship,” she said playfully, “maybe you should use my first name.”
He smiled and leaned back in his seat, offering her his hand, “And which relationship would you be talking about exactly?”
“This one, dummy,” she slipped her hand in his, controlling the vehicle with her other one.
“Come over tonight,” Zach’s invitation surprised her.
“Fine,” she gently squeezed his fingers, “but I’m making dinner this time.”
“I thought you liked my cooking?” he didn’t bother hiding his offense.
“I do, but I think it would be fun to treat you this time,” she was already thinking of things to buy.
“Fine,” Zach agreed, “but no bones.”
“I’ll make sure it’s blind boy friendly, don’t worry,” she winked at Copper who simply stared at her in astonishment.
Natalie’s actions were so different to the way Daniel had treated Zach. The man had never offered to cook. In fact, he had demanded Zach have dinner ready at 6:30 every night, no matter what Zach’s schedule looked like. If it were late by even a minute, Daniel would initiate a fight. Even after Daniel had transferred to night shift, he still expected dinner at 6:30, delivered to the station. Zach had developed a severe anxiety about the meal that still controlled his actions even though Daniel was long gone from his life.
“Good, to the market then?” Copper watched as Zach gently stroked her hand with his thumb. Physical displays of affection had also been beaten out of his human. Hell, hugs and scratches came so rarely from the man now that Copper nearly forgot he was capable of them. Zach had been affectionate towards him more times in the past week than he had in nearly ten years. It felt like the old Zach, the fun loving, happy, mischievous boy he’d grown up with, might actually still be alive under the hard, protective, grouchy exterior the man had created. Natalie had unknowingly broken down several of Zach’s rules for living.
“Yes,” Natalie responded, “for groceries and potions.”
“Potions? We need more than one?” Zach stroked Copper’s head.
“Gotta purify that dreamcatcher somehow,” she laughed as she turned onto the street that would take them straight to the city market.
Zach hummed in agreement and stifled a yawn, “Do you mind if we wait in the car?”
“Not at all, you two really do look awful,” Natalie didn’t want to admit that she fully preferred the idea of him not tagging along, she knew too many market vendors from past coven fellowship meetings. It would be easier for her to purify the dreamcatcher without him, as well as ask around about Agram’s activities.
Zach felt the car come to a halt and begrudgingly let go of Natalie’s hand. The contact had been relaxing. The second he released her, he could feel the dark magic of the dreamcatcher that was in the seat behind him stronger than ever before. He’d almost forgotten it was there, why was it so powerful now? Why had its magic faded in the first place?
“I’ll be back in a bit, ok?” he heard her unclick her seatbelt and open the door.
“Ok,” another yawn escaped, he fully intended on napping until she returned.
Once the offending charm was removed from the vehicle the tenseness in his body vanished. He sat back and delved into his memories. Zach pictured a young woman in the very same academy uniform he had hanging in his closet. Her wild black curls poking haphazardly out from under her white cap as she walked across the stage to receive her diploma.
As he’d sat in his seat, gently fingering his own freshly acquired diploma, he couldn’t help but think she was beautiful. He’d thought she was beautiful the first day he’d seen her. Zach thought about the party they’d gone to at the beginning of their training. He’d spent most of the night drinking liquid courage, just reaching the point of intoxicated bravery to ask her to lunch when Daniel had kissed him. His drunken mind had easily switched from the task of asking Renee Lock to be his girlfriend to making out with his best friend.
Daniel had taken him home that night, pressuring him into providing some sort of payment for being his driver. He’d happily agreed to a date and stumbled into his parents’ house where an angry dragon scolded him for being out so late the night before a test.
Zach remembered wondering if Renee would be interested in him as he’d watched her walk off the stage. He’d been with Daniel for a few months, but things hadn’t been going well. Both Copper and his family had encouraged Zach to break up with him. He was tired of trying to hide bruises and make excuses about why Daniel refused to publicly admit they were together. He knew he was in an abusive relationship and planned to break up with the man as soon as graduation was over. He planned to use the fact that they were going to be working too far apart as his main reason for the split, since Daniel couldn’t gaslight such a concrete fact. That plan quickly failed when Daniel excitedly announced that they would be working at the same station.
Daniel had taken Zach out to celebrate their graduation, and proudly handed him the keys to the very same apartment he lived in now. He’d felt obligated to stay with him after such an act of generosity. Daniel had also gotten him incredibly drunk that night and stuck a ring on his hand, telling him that he was the only one that could truly love him.
Zach’s father had been livid, not because he was marrying a man, but because of the man himself. His dad had hated Daniel the moment Zach had introduced them. He remembered his father pulling him aside to tell him that he needed to stay away from the man because he had a bad aura. He’d thought his old man was insane back then, but now he wished he’d listened to him. He wished he’d never yelled at him or pushed him away when he'd tried to help.
Zach realized now that this was the first time Daniel had manipulated him into fighting with his family. He did it several more times, creating a large rift between Zach and his loved ones, isolating him for better control.
He wondered if the man had hurt Natalie in the same ways? He’d obviously been physically abusive towards her, but had he mentally manipulated her into submission? She was already isolated from her family, so all Daniel would have had to do was come between her and her friends. Based on her story, he’d been able to do that easily.
Zach jumped as the car door opened. At first he feared someone was trying to steal it, but then he smelled the familiar sweetness of strawberries and smiled, “Get everything?”
“Sure did,” she climbed into the driver’s seat, gently placing a small glass vial into his hand, “This is for Copper.”
Zach pulled the cork and the little dragon in his lap eagerly drank the potion inside, coughing slightly as he emptied the vial. Copper shook his whole body and laid back down, That tasted awful, but I do feel a little better.
“Good,” Zach heard a bag rustle and Natalie set something warm in his hand, “I hope you like roast beef.”
“How did you know I was hungry?” Zach gingerly unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite, hoping not to accidentally eat any of the paper. It was good.
“Educated guess,” Natalie started up the car and began eating her own food as she drove, “it’s 1:30.”
It was a short drive from the ma
rket to Zach’s apartment. Natalie dropped him off and headed home to freshen up. Zach was exhausted, both from the poor night’s sleep and the stress of his chaotic morning. Once inside, he decided to take a nap. He had plenty of time before dinner.
The exhaustion paired with the recent meal had him staggering like a drunk. Zach entered his apartment and dropped his keys in their bowl, kicking his shoes off and hanging his gear on the coat rack beside his door. Normally he returned home in civilian clothing, but they’d been in such a rush to get treatment for Copper that he hadn’t changed at the station.
“Copper,” Zach said through a yawn, “feel free to grab whatever you want from the fridge. I’m going to go lay down.”
Whatever I want? Copper asked apprehensively.
“Uh huh,” Zach was already in his room, unbuttoning his uniform.
Copper had never been given such a freedom. It was exciting. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed an egg, a chunk of fish, and a small piece of cheese. He chose not to stray far from his regular diet, fearing an upset stomach during dinner, but the power of choice was nice.
Zach climbed into his bed wearing only his boxer briefs, too tired to care about finding a pair of shorts or sweats. He was also too tired to remember to set an alarm.
Chapter 12
Zach woke with a start. It smelled like something was burning. He tossed the quilt off and ran into his living room, “Copper, what’s on fire?”
“Sorry!” he was startled to hear Natalie’s voice coming from his left, it sounded like she was trying to open a window, “I’m not used to a gas range, oh... my God. You need to put some clothes on, sir.”
“How did you get in here?” Zach wasn’t even remotely embarrassed to be standing before her nearly nude. “What time is it?”
“5:15, Copper let me in,” her voice took on a husky quality that Zach recognised well.
“Could have woke me up, Copper,” he turned to go back to his room. “I’ll be out in a second.”
As he closed the bedroom door Natalie picked up an oven mitt and fanned herself, willing her heart rate to return to normal. Zachariah Hail in nothing more than his underwear was an incredibly satisfying view.