Draft of Dragons

by T S Paul

  “The Great and Powerful Marcella Blackmore doesn’t know about New Orange? Color me surprised,” Ana laughed. Scanning the room, she could see that none of us had a clue.

  “Interesting. When was New York founded?” she asked.

  “Early 1600’s by the Dutch,” Minerva replied.

  I gave her a funny look as to why she knew that. Minerva was old, but not that old!

  “Kid, I watch the History Channel while my pies bake. Don’t make me come over there,” Minerva smirked.

  Holding up my hands in defense, I shook my head. “I bow to your wisdom.”

  “You better,” the older woman replied.

  “As Minerva might know then, the Dutch and the English were constantly at war with each other over trade and territory. They all needed what the New World offered. The Dutch may have founded New Amsterdam, but the English called it New York when they took it away from them thirty years later. Less than a decade later the Dutch took it back calling it…wait for it… New Orange.” Ana laughed at the looks on our faces. “Humans called it that for less than two years when it changed hands again and switched back to New York. But Vampires don’t like change, and to us it is still New Orange. Stupid, I know. Imagine how it is to keep straight the regular names much less the ancient ones.”

  “What rules?” Grandmother asked Ana.

  “Excuse me?” Anastasia replied to her.

  “You mentioned you were in New York to enforce the rules. What rules were they breaking?” Grandmother asked again.

  Reaching up, Ana pulled her long hair away from her shoulders and fluffed it. I knew from experience that this was one of her delaying tactics.

  Ana smiled but it quickly became a frown. “Everyone has rules they live by. They are what make us unique among the animals. You must remember that I was still under the control of my Master and his Master as well. If you didn’t do as they commanded, you would be killed or something much worse would happen to you. They have ultimate control over those in their bloodline and can command you to do anything. I’ve seen younglings take the long walk at an Ancient’s command.”

  “What’s worse than dying?” Chuck asked. It was still hard for him to imagine his mentor a monster.

  Tipping her chair backwards just a bit Ana made a show of raising her hands and stretching. Instead of easing back, she allowed the chair to slam down with a loud crack.

  “When I was first captured by my Master’s people, it was my job to clean the cages of slaves meant for his table. When they died or were no longer of use they were consigned to the pit.” Ana’s eyes had a faraway look as she looked past me at the wall of the kitchen. “Alukah is beyond old. He came into being in a time where Vampires and other Paranormals were like the Gods. Some say the reason most Vampires cannot walk in the sun is because our race was cursed by the Gods for unearned pride and vainglory. Below the fortress, deep in the earth, lay one of the last of the Echidna. Where he got her is unknown to me, but she was a fearsome addition to the city. Ending up in the pit was considered to be fatal. When Varro left, his job of feeding her was left to me.”

  Grandmother gave Minerva a very long look before looking back at our team’s Vampire. “Do you know if it’s still there?”

  “I have no idea. The above-ground ruins of Stari Ras still exist but does the undercity? The Purge killed a great many of our race, but I didn’t check to see just who was left before I fled. I could ask my Master, but I doubt he would tell me. Vampire secrets and all that. There are times, Marcella, that I wish Hoover’s men hadn’t found me in California,” Ana lamented.

  I nudged my grandmother and asked, “What’s so important if a monster is still there?”

  My grandmother licked her lips and looked at me. “Do you remember me telling you of the classic monsters of antiquity?”

  I nodded, “I do.”

  “The Echidna is supposed to have birthed almost all of them.” Grams looked away for a moment, then back at Ana. “Its children are called the Dracaenae. Have you heard of them before?”

  Ana winced. “Yes. My Master and some of the cities had dealings with the Draconic Empire. The Dracaenae are their foot soldiers.”

  “They are indeed. How did the Vampires have contact? Were the Gates large or small?” Grandmother asked Anastasia.

  Looking skyward, Ana counted off on her fingers. “There were four that I am aware of. Arkaim had the largest. Most of them were simple holes in the wall. Only the smallest of Dracaenae or their servants could enter our world. Do you think us stupid? The Vampire race was there at the beginning of time. Allowing the Dragons entry into this plane of existence was forbidden at even the highest level. You do not allow an enemy past your own defenses.”

  “Nonetheless, you were in contact,” my grandmother replied.

  “It was another time and it was trade. You are too young, Marcella. A thousand years ago, things were far different in the world. Christianity was becoming a thing and those of us considered evil were cast aside. Our influence, while still great, began to wane. We lost contact with the others. Your people and the Were. Crossing Europe became dangerous for us and we needed to rely on the humans more. Using the Gates was the only way for certain luxuries and communication to pass. Did we make deals with the enemy? Maybe. That was beyond my level, but I could ask. When the Purge came, much was destroyed. Arkaim above is an archeology site. The humans speculate about its origins. Below, it’s a tractor factory, churning out profits for the good of the kingdom, its riches plundered and destroyed by ignorance and greed.” Anastasia swept the table with her eyes. “I’ve given everything to help you. Why would I lie about any of this?”

  Reaching across the table I laid my hand on Ana’s. “Grandmother, what is this about?”

  Taking a deep breath, my grandmother Marcella spoke. “You have been to Otherwhere. When you were there, did they speak to you of the fight? The constant enemy at the Gates?”

  I thought for a moment. The Legionnaires that escorted me and the other visiting Witch showed us all the highlights of the place. There was one door we never entered, though. At the time, we were told it was where battles were fought and lost. I didn’t remember my answer. “I was shown a door but not told specifically where or what happens behind it.”

  “For good reason. Owl and the Legion were training you. They wanted you to be in control of your powers and to be able to operate independently of others. Minerva and I had the same training, although it was many, many years ago.” She pointed toward the Garden outside. “The Gate is there. It is one of the only ways that a Dragon can enter our universe at present. Tir na nog and Stonehenge are others. All are guarded and guarded well by the Council and other peoples. Only the Garden has a buffer zone between them and us. The Legion are that buffer, and our Coven the final guards. For thousands of years the Dragons have been trying to get in, and for the same amount of time we have been fighting to stop them.”

  Ana slowly began to nod. “Plans within plans. It must have taken them centuries to set this up.”

  I looked from Ana to my grandmother and then back again. “What?”

  “It was all a plan. Everything. The hidden monster clued me in. It may have birthed an army right under everyone’s noses. But the Purge interrupted their plan,” Grandmother explained. “Without the Vampire resources, the Dragons needed new allies and a new plan.”

  “Exactly,” Ana replied. “You would think the Masters of Hell would’ve caught on.”

  My mouth literally dropped open. “The Demons were working for someone?”

  “You suspected it in Charleston. We already have had this conversation. None of their actions made any sense. Why build a Gate when there was already one in California? It seemed like it was a distraction, but if so, why did the actual Demon Lord defend the fort?” Grandmother questioned me.

  “Wait, wait, wait, you’re making my brain hurt,” Cat said, holding up her hands. “Why couldn’t the Dragons go through Hell if they wanted to come here so b
adly? The Gate was open for a while.”

  “Advanced mythology, kids,” Minerva said. “Hell isn’t a unified kingdom. Think of it more like a collection of street gangs. Each gang has a small kingdom or turf that they rule in its entirety. Demons or other residents vie for the chance to leave, possess souls, or sometimes just eat. They exist independently except when threatened. A Dragon invasion, even one that was just passing through, would be something that all the gangs would fight. Helping one group threatens the others and so on. Some of the gangs are Gods as well.”

  “Street gangs?” Chuck asked.

  “The Goddess Hel rules one of them,” Minerva answered. “Every religion on this planet has a name for Hell. Expect at least some of them to be real in some aspect. The Demons that you tangled with are the minor leagues compared to some. I expect Camilla’s possessor had some sort of deal worked out with the Dragons, but Charleston is really far from Briarwood. Be glad you beat him there.”

  “Otherwhere is fighting a war?” I asked.

  Grandmother nodded. “Since they were founded. Light versus Dark. Or in their case, Legion versus Dragon. They battle almost every single day. It is why I trained you so hard as a child. You aren’t to just take over here but to lead the town in case of attack.”

  “Say what?” I asked her.

  “We must attack them while they are unsuspecting and weak!” Thomas Huttner cried out.

  “It’s not the proper time yet. We must weaken them in the eyes of the public first. Direct attacks such as those in our past will only alienate us. Trust me on this. Politics and the art of the spin is what we do in this big white house,” President Montfort explained to his new Chief of Staff. “It was a mistake on my part, sticking you into this position, but I needed more of our brothers here with me. Politics is an art, Thomas. As my Chief you need to understand the ins and outs of this place just as much as I do.”

  “How do I learn these things?” Thomas asked his new boss.

  Montfort rubbed his chin in a nervous habit. “I’m thinking. We have Agents in the other parties but none that wouldn’t be noticed in this office. Uniting the parties is a future step in the great plan. Doing it now would be catastrophic. The sheeple must be kept in the dark as long as possible. There is one possibility, but it could be risky.”

  “Risky how?” Thomas asked.

  “We have a new recruit of sorts in my district. All of his bonafides check out, but there is still an aura of suspicion about him. Once upon a time he was part of the machine here. Recruited by J. Edgar Hoover himself. He ran the FBI Magical Division before the Witch was placed in charge of it,” the President explained.

  “Dalton? You’re talking about Dalton, aren’t you?” Thomas asked him.

  “Yes. He’s under suspicion due to his extended life span. His file says he was fresh out of the Academy in 1959, after all. For a man of seventy plus years, he looks maybe fifty. According to our experts, Dalton was exposed to more Magical energy than a regular human should be over the years. It affected him on a cellular level that isn’t repairable,” President Montfort explained. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a thick and tattered file. “The changes to his body and the way the previous administration treated him made him ripe for the picking by our Agents. He was callously dumped from his position and forcibly retired.”

  Taking the file, Thomas started flipping through it. “Can we trust him, though?”

  “Our proctors say yes. He knows things, so many things, that we can use. Things about the Paranormals that we only learned by dissection he got first hand, up and personal,” Montfort replied. “There is a similar hatred of them as well. For years they took everything he had. Spells were used to erase his memory and at some point, even control where he went.”

  Thomas set the file on the President's desk. “What’s the problem, then?”

  Montfort shook his head, “Something doesn’t seem...right about him. It might just be me and my political prejudices. I have trouble believing that the FBI and the boys over in the OSS just allowed him to retire. Even if it was forced. In case you missed it in that file, Anastasia, the Vampire, was his boss in the FBI for more than twenty years. She was Hoover’s assistant, as well. Jack Dalton knows her better than anyone outside of the Bureau. As an operative for us, he’s perfect.”

  “Bring him in. I’ll make him my aide. Maybe he can keep me off the worst of the rocks and shoals and I can see if he has true member potential. A resource like him should be on the lower council at least,” Thomas replied, thinking of all the ways he could use someone with Jack’s knowledge and stature.

  “Just be careful, Thomas. Jack Dalton knows where a great many of the past’s secrets and bodies are buried. It’s very likely he’s the one that buried them! I’ll send the order to have him moved up here as soon as possible. One caveat though,” President Montfort looked his Chief of Staff in the eye. “He’s not to know about me or anything that we discuss in here. His instructions will be to infiltrate our office and gain useful intelligence. He will be told that someone here is also an active member but not who that someone is. The Proctors will watch him and take his reports. If he proves to be an enemy, it will be your task to have him eliminated. Understood?”

  Thomas nodded. “Understood. Thank you, sir.”

  “Good. Now back to the regular agenda. The British Ambassador will be here…” Both men went back to work.

  “Master, the first wave attack was repelled like those in the past.” The special messenger prostrated himself before his Master and God.

  The Dragon Emperor didn’t move any part of his body except his head. His roar shook the entire room, causing mosaics centuries old to shatter. “Must I do everything? Are my Generals so weak as to come begging for every move on the chessboard?”

  Casting one yellow-rimmed red eye toward the messenger, the Emperor spoke again. “Take word to my seemingly worthless sons. They are to press the attack and not allow the Legion to rest. They are nothing but heavily armed humans. Crunchy on the outside but soft and weak on the inside. Use the Drakons if need be but they are to remember this is only the first attack. Now go!”

  The messenger half crawled from the room, thankful to have his life intact, if only for a little while. He still had another message to deliver, after all.

  “Nine sons I have and all of them are idiots,” the Emperor remarked.

  “They are afraid of your response should they fail,” Set explained. “They all want the power without the work.”

  “It has been millennium since we ruled the Earth. My sons should be embracing the plan, not hiding from it,” the Emperor explained. “Is everything in place?”

  The Dark God unfolded himself from the corner where he hid from prying eyes, and appeared in front of the massive Dragon. “Bethany on the American Council is sworn to my service. She and the others will hold open the Garden Gate at the appointed time. Aim and his Demons succeeded in shaking up the American government enough as to cause conflict and chaos. One of my personal lesser plans there has produced fruit that may provide a back-up effect for us if need be.”

  “The Vampires?” The Dragon asked.

  “Have refused all contact. My influence upon them has been blocked by Hecate and some of the others. All of the smaller Gates have been blocked or destroyed,” Set replied.

  “And the Forgotten? If responsive, they could make the biggest contribution. Have any awoken? My sons have told me nothing,” the Emperor said.

  “Several are awake in what is known as Greece, but they are under the influence of the Gorgon and lost to your cause. Tianlong is awake but refuses to open the Celestial Gate to your army,” Set informed the Dragon.

  “Treacherous dog! When we consume the world, he will die last!” A large gout of flame shot from the Dragon’s head, engulfing the room in flame. Set stood amidst it all, his arms crossed in front of him.

  “Was that supposed to impress me? You forget that I laid the basis for this attack. If not for me
, you and the others would still be slinking around on that swamp of a planet you retreated to when the humans kicked your ass last time,” Set thundered. “Stick to the plan. If the Forgotten rebel, let them. Once you are across and into the realm of Earth they will be prey.”

  “Hmmm, prey,” the Dragon Emperor muttered. “It will be as you asked. But watch yourself, Godling. You think us powerless to stop you, but remember we rule worlds. If you betray us we will find a way to destroy you if it takes another millennium to do so.”

  Set only smiled and blinked out of the Dragon throne room. Unlike most mortal beings, he was not restricted to using the Gates.

  Chapter 4

  “Can we expect any relief?” Centurion Tunstall asked. Half the commanders of the legion were jammed into the war room.

  Legatus William Payne glanced in Tunstall’s direction. “At the moment, no. Owl informed me that supplies and ammunition are doable but not any relief or large numbers of men. Time Travel isn’t one of his powers, and other than the recent Demon conflict there hasn’t been anything major with casualties he can borrow men from. Peace doesn’t help us here.”

  The sound of rumbling and a bit of discontent made its way to the front of the room. William held up his hands for quiet. “We have allies, but many of them are guarding the other Gateways that lead to Earth. As we have always known, this place is the most important. Only from here can the Emperor and his children invade in large enough numbers to matter. Centurion Tunstall, you will not have to defend another fort to the end. This I promise you.”

  The former Florida Militiaman nodded to his commander. He was one of only three survivors of what history called the Fort Mims massacre. It had been his duty to protect several hundred men, women, and children from an invading army of natives. He had failed. Owl had found him bleeding his life away, watching the Red Sticks ride off. Joining the Legion was a much better option than dying from sepsis or dysentery. Looking back to his commander he could see the man was still talking and he’d missed it.