by C. T. Adams
Actually, his scent was a vague combination of oranges and cloves. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing to impress him or not. But call me cynical, I would’ve bet the bank he already had just the perfect prize in mind.
I heard Bobby clear his throat. Nikoli turned to him in a sharp angry movement. “You have something to say, Agent Mbutu?” The words were polite but had edges like daggers.
Bobby rose but didn’t step into the light. I still couldn’t figure out what his scent was. “Actually, Tony didn’t disobey a direct order, Alpha.”
Coffee and jalepeños rose into the air and joined the hot metal scent emanating from Asri. She put a hand on her hip and shot Bobby an annoyed glare. She obviously wanted to start in on me. I was happy to have Bobby talk for as long as he wanted. The look in her eyes was a lot hungrier than I would like.
“Explain, snake.”
I turned to glance at Bobby, as well. His voice was calm and his face was a mask. He blinked his eyes and continued.
“You told Yurgi to tell Tony to help him bury the remains. We have just learned that he didn’t understand that instructions through the pack members are the same as those directly from you. Yurgi attacked Tony. He defended himself. In the process, he defeated Yurgi. Strictly speaking, Alpha, after Tony defeated Yurgi, he was no longer an Omega. Even without realizing it, he was successful in a dominance challenge. Tony only disobeyed the order of a subordinate wolf, which is no crime.”
I was wondering how the hell Bobby knew exactly what happened in the woods. I understand how Nikoli would know, since Yurgi should have made it back by now.
“A point well taken, Agent,” conceded Nikoli. But the scent of dark glee oozing through the room belied his words. “The agents of Wolven must deal with the letter of the law and it is good that you consider these things. However, I am Alpha of this pack and it is the spirit of the law that I must consider. Anton understood that he disobeyed and, in fact, is this very minute expecting that he will be punished for his actions.” He looked at me and his amber eyes could bore through stone. “You’re willing to ‘take what I dish out,’ isn’t that right, Anton? Please do not lie and make me angrier.”
I think my face showed the surprise I was feeling. Could he read my thoughts?
“Fine. Yeah, I thought it might bite me in the ass. But Bobby said his matter was urgent. I know Bobby. I didn’t know Yurgi. Bobby’s ‘urgent.’ won out over Yurgi’s ‘urgent.’ Is that what you want to hear?”
Nikoli raised his nose into the air. Then he looked searchingly in Bobby’s direction. The mildew scent of curiosity overrode the smell of scorched coffee. “You told him your matter was urgent?”
Bobby’s voice remained calm. “I told his wife to tell him it was urgent. Yes.”
“Tell me, Asri. Do they lie?” The words were mild, but there was a note of dark amusement in his voice. It was a rhetorical question. He wanted to see what she would say. I got the impression that he didn’t really value her opinion much. I watched her jaw tighten. Her anger bit at my nose. I couldn’t blame her. She tapped long red fingernails rhythmically over the fabric of her blue jeans in annoyance.
Her voice was throaty but musical. There was no trace of accent. The words were carefully chosen and harsh. “No, Nikoli, I do not believe they lie.”
Her eyes remained locked on mine and she easily transferred her anger for the pack leader to me. “Yet, the commands of an Alpha should not be so easily dismissed when something easier or more convenient appears.”
“Hmm,” Nikoli mused. “What is your opinion, Wolven? Should Anton be punished for his actions?”
Bobby’s answer was succinct. “Yes.”
I wasn’t surprised, but I was annoyed. Nikoli was surprised. His brows raised high on his forehead. “Indeed? Why?”
Bobby stepped forward into the light. “Tony has always been a predator. He opens his mouth when he shouldn’t. He does what he wants without regard to anyone else’s needs. He’s been able to get away with it in the human world because he was just that good. He never had to learn diplomacy because he simply eliminated any opposition. But negotiation is a critical skill in our world. Sazi are not easily eliminated and we all must always consider the whole of the Sazi people.”
He’d been staring at Asri while he spoke. He barely tore his eyes from her long enough to give me a look that would cut stone. “Occasionally, Tony needs to get his teeth bashed in to get it through his thick skull that some rules can’t be skirted. If you don’t teach him control now, someday I’ll be forced to kill him. He’s a loose cannon.”
I glared at Bobby. He wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean I liked it.
“But,” he continued, “He has value, or Lucas wouldn’t have convinced the Chief Justice to rescind the council’s execution order and send him here.”
That widened my eyes. Who is this Lucas and why did he keep doing things for me? I was wanted for murder. My number would be up if I got arrested. I already knew Lucas is the Alpha in Boulder, where Sue had been being trained. He’s on the Sazi council. But why the interest in me? I didn’t know his plan, and it made me nervous.
Nikoli laughed suddenly, startling us all. His roar of mirth filled the room and bitter oranges filled my nose. The sound stopped as abruptly as it began. He leaned back in his chair and studied the three of us.
“So you are asking me to somehow be strong, but merciful. Teach him our Sazi ways, but make allowances for his human skills and human wife. Bash in his head, but…” He held up one finger and continued with thick sarcasm painting his voice, “Not so much that he’s not in perfect health when he leaves.”
Worked for me.
He waved the words away with a dismissive gesture. “Bah! You ask too much, Wolven.”
A look passed between Bobby and Asri. They each fought to hide a small smile.
“I suppose you’re right, Alpha.” Bobby responded.
Nikoli stood and walked toward us. His heavy black boots echoed on the platform until he reached the carpet. His eyes, which had faded to black during Bobby’s discourse, began to glow softly. The amber light intensified with each step. I think it was my spine he was crawling up today.
“Anton, here is my decision: You have caused damage to my pack members and my authority. I will forgive damaging Yurgi because he attacked first. You defended yourself and defeated him. You are no longer Omega. You injured Sergei. He disobeyed my direct order that you and Mbutu not be attacked before you reached me. I will forgive you this also because you chose to injure, rather than kill. You will not take Sergei’s place in the pack because it was not a proper combat. You did not answer my mental call, which no one before has withstood. I do not know how that was possible. It merits further study. However, it is already being discussed among the pack, and could undermine my authority. I cannot allow my authority to be questioned, so it is that for which you will be punished today. Asri is my enforcer. She will punish you. But….”
He put his hands behind his back and leaned in toward me. The thick scent of mildew rose and blended with the deer blood still on his breath. “I am interested in testing your skills. You will be allowed to defend yourself. You will not be allowed your gun but I have a knife you may use. Asri is alphic so she may change forms at will. You will remain in this form.” He looked at Bobby with a smirk. “Agent, I would ask that you remove your magic shield from Anton. I will do the same. I might also suggest you step back.”
Bobby nodded and both he and the Alpha made a small gesture. Suddenly the pain in my head and body was only half what it had been. It was still intense, mind you, but I was able to relax my jaw for the first time in an hour. It seemed odd, but I had no time to dwell on it.
Asri smiled darkly, but her scent was the warm dryer air of gratitude. “Seldom am I offered such an honor. I am often called upon to punish, but the wolf must stand silent and endure my touch. It is hardly a challenge.”
Nikoli turned and regarded her with furrowed brows. “I thought
I was challenge enough, Asri.”
She bowed her head. “In battle and in bed, yes.” She licked her lips again. “But he still smells human, Nikoli. I have not tasted human flesh for so very long. Humans fight so much harder because their fragile lives are so fleeting.” She bowed again. “I am honored, my Alpha.”
Greeaat, I really needed a battle today with someone who craved human flesh. And just how old was she? I mean, Sazi laws had forbade killing humans for centuries. If she was that old, she was damned powerful. Not the kind of person I wanted to fight when I could barely see straight. The migraine was still hovering at the edge of my mind.
Bobby held out a hand expectantly. I grudgingly placed my Taurus in his outstretched palm. Nikoli reached down and pulled a wide push-knife from his boot. He tossed it to me right when I blinked and then turned away. I grabbed it out of the air when I saw it sail past my eyes. I cursed when the silver blade burned my hand. Oh sure. Silver is an affront when I have it…
A brilliant flash appeared in front of me while I was regarding my scorched palm. When I glanced up, Nikoli and Bobby had both retreated from the floor and I was now face to face with Asri’s animal form. I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing in front of me. I backed away instinctively. I had thought the term a euphemism but I knew now it wasn’t. And I instantly knew where Asri was from.
Chapter 5
THREE STEPS BACK took me about two feet away but it wasn’t enough. A forked yellow tongue flicked from between her scaly lips and touched my cheek. It smelled of rotting meat and old death. “You taste human, too.” she said as the tongue retreated to her mouth.
She swished her tail so I could see the full length of her. Jeez! A normal sized Komodo Dragon is bad enough. They grow to about twelve feet. Asri was closer to twenty and her head stood to my thighs. That her tiny form could contain something that must weigh more than three hundred pounds amazed me. It also scared the shit out of me. I’ve visited Komodo. The dragons are nothing to be taken lightly. They’re smart, fast and their bite is septic. That means if the dragon doesn’t rip out your belly on the spot, you’ll die from poisoning in a day or two. Then it’ll just track you down at its leisure to feast on your corpse.
“I don’t suppose you’ve got human teeth in there,” I asked as I circled further from her. She followed my motions slowly and deliberately with short arms that ended in six-inch long claws sporting a stripe of the same brilliant red as her nails.
She smiled, showing curved teeth with jagged serrations. “What do you think?”
“I was afraid of that.” One interesting fact about dragons—it’s the back of their teeth that will shred your flesh to ribbons. I turned suddenly and sprinted to one side. I remember reading that dragons aren’t too good at corners. I hoped not to give her enough running room to do serious damage.
“Stand still!” she said as we circled a third time.
“I thought you wanted a challenge,” I taunted. Right about then, Nikoli turned up the overheads and the room was suddenly ablaze in light. I screamed as the light hit my already ravaged eyes. Asri took the opportunity to lunge forward. The sound of her feet on the carpet reminded me of machine gun fire about a block away. I moved out of the way, but not in time to avoid one set of claws raking down my arm.
“Motherfu—!” I drew in a sharp breath and instinctively clamped my other hand over the wound.
My biggest problem was that the damage was to my right arm, so now I was forced to use my burned left palm to hold the knife. I wiped the blood from it and winced as the raw wound scraped across the fabric.
Asri paused a moment to lap up the blood from the burgundy carpet as I moved to the side.
“Yum!” she said, licking her snout. “I can’t wait to take a strip of hide.”
Ah, Hell! That’s right. I’d forgotten that’s a standard Sazi punishment. They actually carve a strip of flesh from your body. Okay, I figured out my goal of the day. Keep all my skin attached.
My injured arm was almost useless now. I was going to need a healer myself pretty soon. Sadly, I was still fit to travel. I needed to find a way to end this quickly. I didn’t know when someone would yell stop. How much damage would Nikoli think was enough? I did know there was no way I was going to actually defeat Asri. She was just toying with me. I needed an advantage. I looked up and around as I sprinted around her again. The room was pretty empty with the exception of the few chairs against the wall where Bobby sat, and the tables on the platform by Nikoli.
Think, Giodone! The knife was no good. The push blade wasn’t much more than three inches long. It probably wouldn’t even make it through her armored scales.
I heard Sue’s tired and pained voice in my mind. I don’t think dragons can see in the dark.
That’s right! It’s why Nikoli turned up the lights. I looked up again and when I did, Asri struck. She moved forward in a blur and knocked me off my feet. I rolled hard to the side. Her teeth snapped in frustration as my stomach moved away from her strike.
With my good left arm, I heaved the knife upward as I stood and moved again. My aim was good, thanks in large part to years of practice in intentionally adverse conditions. The silver blade penetrated the ballast of the twin overhead fluorescent and shorted it out. It sparked and sputtered, sending blue fire to rain down on us. With a few choice swear words of his own—primarily in Russian, Nikoli reached over and started frantically clicking screens. In a moment, he had turned off the circuit through his computer, leaving only the light over his platform remaining.
“Nikoli!” the dragon exclaimed with annoyance.
He raised his hands in innocence. “He’s allowed to defend, Asri. I will not burn down this hotel for your convenience. Perhaps he is more of a challenge than you thought. Even I did not expect that.”
She hissed—an angry, vicious sound. Her massive head turned this way and that, searching for me in the dim room. Her tongue flicked out over and over as her head swayed from side to side. Just when she’d found me by scent, I would move. I stayed in the shadows of the corners. With the knife gone, I had little left in my arsenal.
Her tongue continued to flick out in rapid succession. Spittle dripped from her jaw in long strings. The forked yellow whip flashed as she walked through the light.
“You can’t hide from me forever, Anton. I can smell your blood. You’re over…HERE!” She moved with preternatural speed, knocking Bobby off his chair in the process. But I was already gone. I’d deliberately wiped blood on the carpet and then used the elastic of my inner pants holster as a tourniquet to stem the flow while she was searching the room.
Nikoli’s eyes followed me carefully. A small smile played over his lips. He was enjoying the cat and mouse game. Asri still hovered near the chairs by Bobby. No good. I needed to be there.
Nikoli didn’t stop me when I carefully reached onto the table next to him and removed a tray filled with fruit. His glowing amber eyes looked amused and he smelled of oranges and cookie spice. I darted to the other corner before Asri saw and tossed a large orange into the opposite corner of the room with the injured arm. There wasn’t much feeling left because of the tourniquet, so I wouldn’t be able to do that more than once or twice more. She didn’t respond at all. Oh, that’s right. A dragon’s hearing sucks in the low and high ranges. I aimed the next piece of fruit at one of the overhead fixtures in the corner. The sharp clang of metal attracted her attention. Her head snapped around and she pounced on the fruit in a blur.
“Come out, little wolf,” she called when she realized my trick. “It’ll hurt a lot more if I have to keep chasing you.”
I almost laughed but held back. I didn’t really think the pain would be proportional to whether I delayed the capture.
She quickly moved to the corner and I ghosted her until I was behind Bobby. He glared at me, leaving the impression that he would not be a shield. I ignored him and carefully, oh so carefully, lifted a chair from the end of the row. His cocked head raised in understanding and
he nodded slightly. I retraced my steps to my original corner. I heaved another piece of fruit but the arm wasn’t working right. I nearly beamed Nikoli. He ducked and shot a look of annoyance in my direction. I’d bet that the oranges had been replaced by burning coffee.
“Finish this, Asri, or I will step in and you shall be punished.”
That didn’t occur to me. If it’s Asri’s job to punish me and I escape, what will he do to her? I felt worry and sorrow. I knew it wasn’t mine.
Back off, Sue! I ordered, and shut down the connection temporarily. I couldn’t worry about Asri right now. I was allowed to defend myself.
It didn’t matter much, because Asri had found me. I’d waited too long and she was here. She stood on her hind legs to her full height. My head didn’t even reach her throat.
“Enough of this, wolf cub! Take your punishment!”
“Not quite yet,” I replied and raised my left hand. I slashed across her belly with the sharp metal tray. It stuck in between her ribs. She let out a grunt as blood began to flow. Rivulets swam and danced across the shiny silver. An eerie yellow light hummed around her and the wound sealed before my eyes, pushing out the tray. She stepped on it and hissed at me. I reached backward and found the chair. A quick swing caught her in the chest and she lost balance. I darted to the side and started to run, but she recovered faster than I expected and knocked me back into the corner. There would be no escape.
She quickly wrapped her arms and legs around me until I couldn’t move. I could smell her fetid breath as she nuzzled my neck with her snout. She slid a slow tongue around my shoulders and ran it up and down my cheek.
“You’ve been quite an interesting opponent, little one,” she said in a whisper low enough that even Nikoli and Bobby wouldn’t be able to hear. “I’d welcome another challenge in better surroundings when you recover from today’s injuries.”
