Better yet, maybe I'd just caught his gaze at an odd angle. Right? Right!
"You should leave her alone," said one with a blue mohawk whose spines nearly reached the ceiling. "We're here for Blitzers, not to harass her."
"But I so enjoy watching her jump when we sneak up on her," Eskal said, visibly amused.
The expression looked weird on him; as if the only smile he should be able to accomplish was a snarky, sneering one. He just didn't seem to have the temperament to be what anyone would call nice.
Iyadre cocked his head at me. "You must live nearby. There were no cars in the parking lot."
"I'm/She's staying at the bed and breakfast," Eskal and I said together.
My heart jumped into my throat and the ice cream, the notebook, none of it mattered anymore. I'd been followed, or worse, had Eskal been that thing I'd seen in the sky last night? I'd come back and pay the lady for the sundae. That much cash would hurt over time, especially for some dumb dessert, but I had to get out of there.
I pushed myself to my feet and dove out between them, running for the door and completely forgetting my umbrella. I dashed into the rain, droplets stinging my face as my sneakers splashed along the sidewalk. Behind me, I heard the door chime again in the distance.
Then four sets of feet splashed along behind me.
I was too far from my bed and breakfast to make it to the door before they caught me. As I ran, I tried to find somewhere I could dash into. Why had I left the safety of the ice cream shop? At least the waitress could have called 911 if Eskal and his men had decided to try to shake me down or something.
God, were the dragon eggs really worth it? The opals? No, no whatever they were. It wasn't worth dying for. My foot hit a slick grate and down I went in a heap, ice exploding across the sidewalk as I landed. The magic left my hands feeling like pins and needles had taken root; as if I'd been sleeping on them wrong for the past two days. I tried to haul myself back up again, but Iyadre grabbed me by the arms.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my last defense. My bottle of bear spray would probably fuck me up, too, but it was better than laying down and dying for them. I ripped off the cap and hit the button.
Nothing happened.
"Here," said Iyadre.
He snatched the bottle from me and screwed the top down tighter. There was a satisfying popping noise as the canister pierced internally. I drove my elbow into Nariti and reached for the bear spray once again.
But I was caught off-guard when Iyadre tossed it to me with a shrug. I snatched it, held it, and stared at the four tall, admittedly gorgeous men surrounding me; though Iyadre was rubbing his side. "What do you want? I already told you, Eskal. I'm not what you think I am. I'm nothing. I'm nobody. I'm just a paleontologist."
"Is that why there's ice on the ground when it's 75 degrees outside?" he asked, then he considered the spray. "We find ghost peppers to be comforting, my little witch. That will be nothing more than a hot shower to us."
He wasn't even trying to hide it from me. Wasn't that against their rules? I swore I remembered some kind of law or something that prevented supernatural creatures from harassing people like me, especially in action as their true selves. It was a secrecy pact of some kind that was bound with normal people using witchcraft and I-
I shook the thoughts away as hard as I could. I wasn't going to end up like Mom. I wasn't going to go down that path again and start pretending that fairies were lurking just around the corner. The secrecy pact was the excuse why we didn't see unicorns hurtling down the highway beside us when we were driving. It was the excuse when a spell didn't come together or when you saw a weird shadow on the moon at night.
Everything in that world proved itself because it said it did. It was flawed, wrong, impossible. I rubbed my temples and slowly lowered the bear spray. There was no reason to use it if it wouldn't work. More than likely, I'd end up with a face full of it and choking. I didn't want to be incapacitated around these freaks.
All I'd wanted was a little ice cream.
"What do you want?" I asked again, tired and cranky. I pocketed the bear spray for later. If one of them came at me, I was willing to risk it. As it was, they seemed to be fine keeping their distance even if they had circled me.
Eskal yawned. "We've already been through this. Only the power of a mortal witch can awaken dragon eggs. And we must have them. You will fetch them for us and we will make it worthy of your time. What do you wish? What do you dream of? I'll make it your reality, no questions asked."
"I want to be left alone," I said, meeting his gaze fully. I wasn't about to back down from some fire-breathing low-life, no matter how much his shitty shoes cost. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not. I'm a scientist. Maybe I dabbled in some garbage when I was a teenager, but that's long done and over with. Everybody fucks around with a Ouija board a few times."
"You've done more than screw around with a Ouija board," Iyadre said.
I glared back at him. "It was an example, not an admittance. It doesn't matter what I have or haven't done. I don't want you people bothering me. I don't want you following me. I don't want you swooping over my hotel room-"
Eskal moved at blinding speed, grabbed my shirt collar, and pressed me against the nearest wall; that of a bank that was inconveniently closed. "You saw me last night?"
"I saw you last night. Put me down or I'll tell the whole god damned world what I saw."
His brows snapped together and he dropped me. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and brushed me off. "My apologies. I wasn't certain it was you out there."
"Yeah, well. I wasn't sure it was you until you just confirmed it."
Iyadre broke out into a laugh but Eskal silenced him with a glare. That was it, then. Eskal was their leader. Did dragons have alphas? I had a general idea of the structure of the flights, based on the nonsense books I'd read over the years, but I wasn't entirely certain that it worked like that for them. It was possible that I was confusing it with a werewolf book I'd read some quiet, lonely night.
The rain continued to drizzle over us and I decided I'd had enough. I pushed past Eskal and wedged myself between Nariti and Iyadre, kicking my heels back to soak their fancy clothes just a little bit more.
This time, they didn't follow. I walked slowly at first. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do with predatory creatures? I was sure I'd seen that on an Attenborough documentary of some kind, probably about lions. They always seemed to be in Africa tracking this animal or that one. Then there'd be some kind of drama that brought the whole thing together and-
Why was I thinking about Animal Planet shows? I walked in the rain, trying to ignore it. It wasn't terribly far back to the bed and breakfast, but it was frustrating enough. If the dragons had just let me alone, I'd have remembered my umbrella. Instead, I showed up soaked to the bone and a little bit on the chilly side. After all, 75 in the sun was one thing. 75 on a breezy day while you were being rained on was something else.
I turned on the shower in my room and fell into the tub connected to it. There, I tipped my head back and let the hot water wash over me. My wet clothes dripped on the towel rack. Tomorrow would be another day; another long, hot, probably humid as possible summer day and I'd be back at work.
That meant that it was possible I'd have another run-in with the dragons, but I doubted it. Hadn't I made myself clear? They couldn't buy me back into their psychotic world, into a place where nothing made sense and science barely existed. The only people who really had any respect for science were the alchemists, and even then, it was a thin respect. They saw scientists as sort of second cousins that did something like they did, but not exactly.
Magicians, even alchemists, were arrogant people. They thought they knew how the world worked because of some senseless book that they'd read. I grabbed the soap and lathered up, sighing as the water grew even warmer. It was perfect, absolutely perfect, because someone had spent time understanding the science behind capturing water pressure an
d putting lightning in a jar.
Magic couldn't do that. It wouldn't bring me happiness, I reminded myself, and it was directly responsible for losing the only family member I'd had. I rinsed off and decided to leave my hair alone for the moment. I'd throw some dry shampoo in it tomorrow morning or, if I got up early enough, go ahead and do the whole wash thing.
The only problem with that was the fact that my hair tended to curl up if the humidity was too bad. It's not like anyone was looking at me at the site, anyway, but I still wanted to look presentable instead of having nothing but frizz sticking out everywhere.
Mind you, some girls could pull off that look. I couldn't. Plus, trying to comb it all back out? It was a nightmare.
I toweled off quickly enough and grabbed one of the spare robes that came with the room. It'd probably been used by hundreds of people in the past, but it wasn't threadbare and that was all I needed.
Outside, the storm took a turn for the worse. My window sill continued to leak, but it was well worth it to stay inside. Had I been smart, it was where I would have been all along.
My hands still felt like there were pins and needles in them. I rubbed my fingers together, then my palms. Nothing would completely dismiss the discomfort I felt. It was so distracting I didn't notice the carpet runner had a lump in it, probably from a maid cleaning while I'd been gone. I tripped over the bulge and went hands-first into my mother's dragon egg.
There was a spark of light and heat washed through me. I tried not to scream, fearing I'd bother the others staying there. Or worse, I'd bring someone running to check on me.
I landed on the ground, the egg beside me. An enormous crack ran up one side of it and I pressed my hands to it, trying to push it closed. A clear liquid leaked from it and I realized I'd been wrong; no one had ever blown the egg; they'd just sent it along whole.
Expecting the long-rotten contents to make the room reek, I picked it up and carried it to the bathroom. Maybe I could wash it down the drain. Yet, another fissure appeared and a third. I sat it in the sink and gasped when the shell shattered off, leaving only a small, crumpled lizard lying on the porcelain.
The tiny dragon, as red as a coal in a fire, slowly lifted its head and looked around the room. Then its gaze focused on me and it chirped happily and flung itself at my chest.
Chapter 7
Nariti
Eskal needed to be stopped, but I didn't know if I was the dragon to do it. I leaned my head back as we drove home, Iyadre and Vadriq together on Vadriq's bike. "You have to leave her alone."
"I'll do as I wish. The girl is our only chance-"
"I realize that. You realize that. She has no desire to help us nor is there any way that we can purchase her services. We are stuck, simple as that. Perhaps, if you apologize to the Fontaines-"
He snorted. "The Fontaines don't know any mages. We've had more experience with the human witchcraft circle than they have."
"Then reach out to the unicorns or the phoenixes. Each community owes us a good turn. They know plenty of witches that would surely-"
Eskal cut in and whipped the car out of traffic, pulling into a parallel parking spot that made me flinch. We were inches from the bumper of another vehicle. "I have no interest in what they turn up, if they could find anyone. We have a witch in front of us. We should make use of her."
"But why her?" I sighed. "If you'd just listen for five minutes-"
"She's meant for us," he said.
His voice quivered when he said it, too. And I had to find some way to let him down gently.
No one would have suspected Eskal as a romantic. He didn't have the typical trappings, but all he wanted was someone to woo and care for. Vadriq covered some of that, but it wasn't the same as it would be with an omega. I smoothed my hair back and collected my thoughts, trying my best to be kind. "I know you dream of an omega for the flight, but you know the odds and so do I."
"She is meant to help us, nothing more. I wasn't talking about a mate for us," he said, but his heart wasn't in it.
I reached out to touch him but he turned away. My phone went off and I sighed, grabbing it instead. "Yes?"
"Nariti, Leo. How y'doin'?"
My gaze drifted to Eskal, who had gotten very stiff and very still. I turned down my phone's volume a bit. "Busy. Do you need our help with something?"
"Yeah, tomorrow. They need someone from your company over here full-time. Looks like the eggs are going to be an issue. Too bad about Eskal being a jackass. Hudson won't let any of us lift a finger to give you a hand with it."
I sighed through my nose and felt a headache coming on. "What do you mean by 'an issue'?"
"None of the jewelers believe they're opals. The color's wrong, they're supposedly raw but look like they've been tumbled; all that kind of bullshit. You guys really fucked up."
"I know," I gritted.
Leo's tone was as bright as ever. "Anyhow, I suggest you get down there bright and early. I'm sure you've got other deals or whatever, but you're just gonna have to put them off."
"Don't tell me how to do business," I snapped and hung up.
I tossed the phone into the passenger footwell and leaned forward until I could rest my head against the glove compartment. "If Mother wasn't already dead, I'd kill her."
Without an answer, Eskal pulled back into traffic. The rest of the trip home was inconsequential. I knew why Mother had hidden those eggs. I understood it. Everything had been a mess when she'd last laid. World War 2 had been in full swing and we had been busy trying to help our side win. The government was well aware of our existence, though I wasn't certain if they knew about the rest of the supernatural world.
We were simply too large, too hard to hide from government surveillance. So, we'd brokered a deal when the satellites started to point us out; we helped when they needed it and they left us alone.
It had worked for a little while. Then they'd come with their bombs and their guns and-
Vadriq and Iyadre had beaten us home. Though we typically lived apart, it felt right for the flight to stay together for now. Maybe it was the rising threat to our only nest. Or maybe we all just felt lonelier than we wanted to admit.
Eskal said nothing to me as he left the car. I pulled the keys from the ignition and followed him. The moment we were inside, the door shut, he fell into the couch. "Our foundation is cracking. We're losing claim to our eggs. And we can't convince some little human to help us."
"It's because you're being a dick," Vadriq said as he walked into the room, carrying a plate of sandwiches. "You know you're being a dick. I know you're being a dick. You're usually a giant cock but this? Love, this is so much worse than your typical bullshit."
I sat down without a word, wondering if Vadriq wanted anything in particular written on his tombstone. Eskal turned his head to gaze at his lover, his face carefully neutral. "And what would you have me do?"
"Let her come to us. She keeps having explosions of magic because we're near her. Eventually, something will happen and she'll be driven into our stead. Then, we ply her. We bend her. We beg her. She'll give in. We'll have our eggs hatched and alliances to make. The Yarrow flight is begging for an alpha, by the way."
"You spoke to Alashia?" I asked.
Vadriq shoved a sandwich in his mouth and settled in. "As long as she would talk to me. She has six betas under her flight, including herself. No alpha. No omegas. They've been pairing off, but any eggs have been infertile. Dragonkind is dying out, so say the rest of the flights we have contact with. The magic is leaving this world, and what are we if not magic?"
Eskal wrinkled his nose at him but didn't say a word. I picked up a sandwich, myself, and shook my head. "We've outlasted periods like this before. Shifters aren't magic, exactly."
"Close enough for it to be a problem. Three eggs have been hatched in the past two years. That's low, even for us," Vadriq said.
"And lower, still, if we lose the eggs the museum has," I sighed. "You didn't mention them to anyone, rig
ht?"
Silence took the room and a sinking feeling overtook me. Eskal stared at Vadriq. "You didn't."
"I didn't see any reason to keep them a secret. It's not as if anyone can do anything with them other than us, right?" Vadriq swallowed.
Eskal said nothing. He got up from his seat and swept from the room. After a moment, a door slammed shut. I found myself rubbing my temples again. The headache compounded itself. "But they don't know where we are, right?"
"I don't think they do. To the best of my knowledge, they know the state but not the city."
"Not that it matters," Iyadre said, taking Eskal's seat for his own. "The opal find will be all over the news. Digs like this find so little, so often, that when they do it's an explosion of press. I wouldn't be surprised if you have to wade through them in the morning."
On Wings: A Reverse Harem Dragon Shifter Romance (Her Secret Menagerie Book 2) Page 6
