Draft of Dragons

by T S Paul

  “...so far. This may be the invasion we have trained for, as the enemy seems unrelenting.” The Legatus paused for a moment and scanned the room. “We are tough, we are strong, and we are fearless! The Legion never dies!”

  Nearly everyone in the room stamped their feet in time with his words.

  “We have only just begun to fight them. Our losses are miniscule compared to the thousands we have already killed. We can and will win this fight,” the Legatus explained. Looking to the Centurions he asked, “Ammo stores, how do we look?”

  “Sir, we have ten million rounds of 7.62 x 39 mm remaining in the warehouse. The howitzers have not been fired recently and we are unsure how effective they will be against the Dracaenae,” a Centurion in the front replied.

  William scanned the room until his eyes found the right man. Making eye contact he said, “Centurion Zheng Wei. You and your men have the most experience with this style of weaponry. What is your opinion of its use in upcoming battles?”

  The Chinese commander moved through the crowd of men and women carefully. Giving a half bow, he spoke to the Legatus. “We should have been using them years ago, sir. As a correction, they are not howitzers but 37 mm anti-tank weapons. Howitzers are more for long range than anything else. The shells are powerful enough to pierce the enemy armor, and with the use of canister shot we should be able to chop up masses of troops quite easily.”

  William turned and looked to his right. Callimachus, or Mack as he liked to be called, looked back at him. “And why have we not been using them?”

  “They are old. Shells for them are something of a rarity now in the outer world. What you have stored may be all that you will get,” Mack replied. He looked at the Legatus shrewdly. “What of the other weapons the Legion has acquired over the years. I know you didn’t throw them away.”

  With so few Gates into the Mystical Library, there were few options when it came to disposal of large items.

  Looking at Zheng, William raised an eyebrow. The former Chinese Captain looked to his left in an attempt to ignore the Legatus, but then looked back. “When my troops and I arrived from Earth in 1937 we reorganized that mess you called a warehouse. It now ranks by year for all supplies. There is a dozen twelve-pound Napoleons stored on the second level. Sharps, Enfield, and Burnside carbines are packed in Cosmoline and ready for cleaning near the back. Third level holds black powder ingredients as well as bar stock for ammunition. All of the lower levels are where swords, spears, and other original equipment is stored.”

  “I remember the Napoleons. We used them for several years until the ammunition was used up,” William replied.

  “Correct. There were other much older and less accurate weaponry stored as well. We, as the quartermaster corps, melted them down into the bar stock on level three. Trusting my life and those of my men to ancient weapons that may have been at the siege of Constantinople is not something I am willing to do. At the moment we lack sufficient ammunition for the Kalashnikovs. We do have fifty million rounds of 7.62 x 22 mm for the much older PPsh-41s but that particular round is designed for pistols and doesn’t have the range that the other does. We would have to allow the enemy to get that much closer,” Zheng explained.

  William frowned and said, “So you are saying we’re doomed?”

  “No sir. We have the weapons. They just might not be enough,” Zheng answered.

  Mack stood up from the table and faced the men. “We have the capability to bring in more ammunition and some arms from Earth. Emesh has said he can do it, but you will need to be specific. You are all unique from each other, but war is your business. Are there weapons we can create here without depending on the outside universe as much?”

  A tall man stood up in the back. “Spears were my people’s specialty. I can have my warriors begin making them.”

  “Do we have wood? It has been many a year, but my cohort still knows how to make onager and ballista. They are a bit labor-intensive to construct, but very effective in confined spaces like Meggido. We used them in the very beginning of this place,” a grizzled looking Centurion exclaimed.

  Mack nodded. “There are building supplies near the town shops. There should be enough to get a good start on all of those. I will ask the God to bring lumber supplies as well. He will know what you need.”

  “Cohorts one and three, start work on the siege equipment. Use whatever supplies you can find up to and including parts of the town. They will burn with the rest of us if the Dragons break through. Two, four, and six can start pulling the older weapons from storage. I want them cleaned and ready for deployment as soon as possible.” William looked upward for a moment and stroked his beard lost in thought. “Break out the melee weapons as well. The men can sharpen and prepare them as backup. No man is to go unarmed from now on. We are in this until the end and we should act like it.”

  “Everything is in place. We only need the signal to move in and surround the town,” Fitzgerald stated. The Witches Council member looked across the oval table at his friends and conspirators. If this went through the way Kassandra saw it, they all would be kings among men. America would need new rulers while the Dragons attempted to conquer the Earth. Why shouldn’t the new rulers be those with the Magick?

  Bethany nodded from the end of the table. “Excellent. I’ve been assured by our contact inside the Emperor’s court that the sons of the dragon have proven to be weak. By doing this thing we gain favor with the court. A goal that all of you know I’ve desired for many long years.”

  “Marcella and her Coven are still a threat. We shouldn’t discount them,” Kassandra remarked.

  Summoning a glass of wine, Council member Fitzgerald took a long drink. “Wishing you were still a part of Marcella’s little group, Kassandra?”

  The woman in question glared at the offensive little man. “No. I saw what I saw. That child shall not rule over us. She is a threat to all of our kind.”

  “Visions aren’t totally accurate. Like tarot, they are more subjective in nature. Could you have interpreted it incorrectly?” Fitz asked the seer.

  “This is my path, don’t you worry. If I were you, I would be more concerned with the town militia and four-hundred years of defenses,” Kassandra shot back.

  “Old men with pitchforks and rakes. Montgomery and I can take care of them. How will we know when the Empire holds the Gate in Otherwhere?” Fitz asked.

  Bethany pulled her cloak away from her face and stared at her fellow Council members. Everyone except Ray Winters visibly flinched at the sight. Once a beautiful woman and the leader of the Witches Council, Bethany’s face was a horror story of scars and burns. For some, Magick and the power to wield it comes with a price too horrible to pay. “They have promised to send word. Our task is to keep the Gate open and prevent outside interference. Once our Lord clears the Gate, victory over the humans will be achieved.”

  “And Marcella? And her granddaughter?” Winters asked.

  “Kill them. Kill them all.”

  Chapter 5

  “So why does everyone avoid you here?” Cat asked me.

  We’d left the house early and had gone into town. Just about every person I’d waved at as we passed had turned the other way or glared at me. The town still looked the same from the last time I was here. A few signs and different shops, though. We circled the town square as we talked.

  Sighing, I shook my head at her. “Aunt Camilla, primarily. She convinced the town I was evil and that I would turn them all into lizards or something. It didn’t help that the squirrels got it into their little heads that she was their enemy.”

  Cat’s mouth dropped open in shock as she cried out, “What?”

  Giggling, I smiled at her. “Grandmother told me that they congregate in her yard and toss nuts at her house. The town thinks I’m touched in the head. The entire time I was gone, my aunt told everyone I was in a mental hospital out of state.”

  “She didn’t! What was wrong with that woman?” Cat asked me.

 
“Meanness with an agenda. She wasn’t possessed then, or at least we don’t think she was. Camilla wanted control of the Coven and was going to get it, no matter what.” I smiled. “You should have seen her face when I confronted her last year in Grandmother’s diner.”

  “That was before we caught up to you and that Loman guy, wasn’t it?” Cat remarked.

  “Yeah. Poor Marvin. We escaped the assassins only to run into crazy family here. Even the cops were against me. Big surprise when I pulled rank and showed them my credentials. At least he survived to testify. I doubt WitSec will ask us for any favors again,” I told her. That entire episode had been so crazy.

  “If they do, say no. Last time was too much of a mess,” Cat answered, remembering the attacks. It was how we got involved with the Strega in the first place.

  “Ya think? I thought Fergus was going to kill me, we bounced around so much. He would just get used to a new place and I was packing him up,” I told her. “It was all he could do but yell all the time.”

  “It’s the smells,” Cat answered.

  Raising both arms, I sniffed. “Do I stink? What smells are you talking about?”

  Cat laughed and pointed at my antics. “Not you. Fergus. Motel rooms really stink if you’ve got the nose for it. He’s so short and low that he must get it more than Chuck or I do.”

  “I always picked clean places. What do you mean, they stink?” I asked. We’d been around the square three times already now.

  “Something my dad told me, actually. Do you know what the Purple Book is?” Cat asked me.

  I scratched my head. “It sounds familiar. What is it?”

  “Used to be that Were folk weren’t allowed in many places. If we travelled outside of the reservations or our Pack territory we would use the Purple Book to find safe places to stay. Sort of like the anti-Irish sentiment in the early 1900s. The Civil Rights Act of 1923 made everyone except paranormals equal in the eyes of the law. Discriminating against us was legal. Newspapers, phone books, and even public advertising was denied to us. So the Purple Book was born. It listed safe places for Vampires to hide from the sun and Weres to grab a burger. If we were found out in public, my people could’ve been arrested or worse. After the reservations were abolished, they kept making the books. It was nice to have a separate system just for Paranormals. It’s an app now. I’ll get you the link.” Cat pointed at her phone. “As I was saying though, according to Dad, most hotels don’t change the carpet regularly. They just steam clean it and trap all those smells underneath it. You may not be able to smell it, but we sure can. I know you’ve seen us sniff the room whenever we enter.”

  My eyes narrowed. “This book was for places like that?”

  “Motels, restaurants, gas stations, even movie theatres. There were hundreds of places we couldn’t go, because of either smells or prejudice. Like I said, it took more than twenty years for that to change after the reservations closed. Dad gave me the lowdown on what to look for, though. He wanted me to understand the risks of staying in such places,” she continued to explain.

  “Are you sure about your history? The Civil Rights Act of 1923 was supposed to prevent stuff like that much prejudice, wasn’t it?” I didn’t know that Paras were excluded from it.

  Cat snorted, “Read the fine print on it. The humans were scared and took it out on all of our people. Congress used the words in it to establish the reservation system in the first place. You Witches had it easy, not shifting. Uh, Agatha, were you aware we’ve circled the town like six times now?” Cat asked me as she looked out the window.

  “Not really. I’ve been going with the flow. I guess we’re starting to attract attention,” I replied.

  “If that local cop over there means anything, I would say so,” Cat pointed to the police cruiser that was now circling with us, two car lengths back.

  “Let me pull in.” Yanking the wheel to the right, I quickly pulled into the first open parking space I could see.

  “Do you know this guy, Agatha?” Cat asked as the cruiser pulled in right next to us.

  “Grandmother said that Cappy retired, but didn’t say who replaced him. At least he didn’t hit the lights on us,” I replied just as the cruiser’s lights lit up. “Or not.”

  “Still got your creds on you?” I asked her. As a team we might be on suspension, but no one had actually come around to collect our badges. We were told to lock and secure our weapons in the safe, but even then it was a tricky situation. The current command vehicle was Anastasia’s personal property. To us, the whole thing sounded a bit messed up in Washington.

  “Of course. Total habit. Why do you think he pulled us over?” Cat asked me.

  “Remember when I said we were attracting attention? We sort of went around the square about a dozen times or so. We don’t have a Big Ben here, so it was no coincidence that we did it,” I explained.

  Cat blinked. I could almost see the wheels in her head moving as it came to her what I’d said.

  “Look kids, Big Ben.” She said with arched eyebrows.

  “Exactly.” We both started laughing. I hadn’t had what could be called a normal childhood, and had spent much of it either with Grandmother teaching me or watching television with Fergus.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  We both stopped laughing and looked out my window. The midsection of a well-built man in uniform stood next to the car. I could see a nightstick in his hand. Pressing a button on the door, I rolled the window down. The air felt much warmer here in town than it did at my grandmother’s house. Part of me felt it might be because of all concrete and buildings.

  “Hello, Officer. Was I speeding?” I asked.

  “Do you ladies have any identification?” The officer asked, ignoring my question entirely.

  I smiled at him and carefully reached into my pocket. Feeling rather than seeing, I could tell he tensed up suddenly. Wallets and guns are usually kept in the same place. Police officers get a bit touchy when looking into cars because of that fact. With two fingers I made a show of pulling out my credentials. Flipping them open, I showed first the badge then my identification. Let me say it takes quite a bit of practice to be able to just do that quickly. Sets the rookies from the professionals.

  “FBI?” The officer took my ID and looked much closer at it.

  “Magical Division. My associate and I are visiting family. Did we break the law?” I asked him again.

  The officer bent down and looked at the two of us. He was way younger than Cappy ever was. “Blackmore. Are you related to Marcella Blackmore?”

  “She’s my grandmother,” I said, smiling up at him. “I grew up here but haven’t really been home in a while. Or least long enough to take in the town.”

  The officer handed me my creds with shaking hands. Even as I thanked him, he was stepping backward. He actually jumped when he hit his patrol car.

  “Something wrong officer…Jenkins?” I peered out the window at the man. His nameplate was small, but I could just make out his name.

  “They tell stories about you around here,” he replied.

  “I bet they do. Trust me when I say that not all of them are true,” I started to explain to him.

  “Did you really kill your own aunt?” he asked.

  “Sort of? She was hit by a fireball that I tossed at her, but in reality she was kidnapped by these really nasty assassins that put a demon inside of her. And then she raised more of them recently. I killed the demon, but she wasn’t around anymore…” I trailed off as I saw his eyes glaze over. “Officer Jenkins, still with us?”

  The man shook his head as if coming out of a dream. “Sorry, what?”

  I stared out the window at him for a moment. “Can we go?”

  “Uh, sure. No more circling the town though. You ladies have a good day,” the man replied. Edging his way around the car he stared at us through the front windshield for a moment before walking away.

  “Very nice. He can handcuff me anytime,” Cat remarked as she peered through the wi
ndow at the officer’s backside. “Maybe even a strip-search too.”

  “Cat!” I tapped my friend on her knee.

  Looking surprised, she turned toward me. “What? I can’t find a man attractive? You have to love a man in uniform.”

  I snorted, “What about Chuck?”

  Cat blushed just a tiny bit. It was only the tips of her ears, but we’d been friends for a long time and I could spot the change in her.

  “Chuck is…” she paused and then looked me in the eyes. “He’s a Packmate and my friend but that’s it. My cat likes him but not like that. Not really.”

  I sighed. “Sweetie, you have to know he’s got a thing for you.”

  Cat shook her head. “Infatuation is one thing, but it isn’t love. I care for Chuck but as his Alpha, not as his girlfriend. I can’t think of him like that, Agatha. He’s just Chuck.”

  “I think it’s a bit beyond that, but your life is your life. I won’t interfere with it, but one day your opinion may change,” I explained to her. I’d seen the way the two of them looked at each other sometimes when they thought no one was watching them.

  Half turning in her seat, she glared at me. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  Tapping my head, I replied. “I see it. It’s right on the edge of my brain like a stray thought of something. Grandmother’s been trying to teach me to use my Foresight and Seer talents. This might, might, be one of those things. We’ll just have to wait and see if it comes true.”

  Cat shook her head. “Not happening. Not in this lifetime.”

  I gave her a speculative look. “Are you absolutely sure of that?”

  “Yes. Stop matchmaking!” Cat grumbled.

  I smiled. “OK.”

  Cat pointed at me. “I know you Agatha Blackmore, and I’ll be watching.”

  “And that is why I love you. Come on, let’s do some shopping,” I said, even as I hit the button on my seatbelt and opened the door. The police cruiser was close but not that close, and my door didn’t hit it.