California Imperium
Page 13
Teegan complained, “Great, now I need another healing spell for my ass. Fuck!”
Mouse laughed. “Yeah, don’t get in the way of Zoey and her man. Sorry, Teegan.”
Zoey shifted to human and clung to him, weeping in great shaking trembles. Steven held her, and Mouse came over. The hard, sarcastic blonde knelt and touched Zoey’s hair. “See, Zoey? See? Steven is just fine. And we gave him another Primacy.”
“I couldn’t fight,” Zoey sobbed. “All I could think of was you, and if I died, I’d never see you again. Or if you died. If Hindmarch Hotham got to you first. We couldn’t reach you. The phones didn’t work. It was awful, Steven. I failed you.”
Steven held her. “It’s okay. You were strong to leave the lighthouse. You were brave and confident, even if you were alone.”
“I was for a while.” Zoey’s face showed her hurt. “But then I started missing you. And this morning, during the battle, I froze. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Really.”
Mouse and Tessa finally helped Zoey off him. Steven stood up, then gave Mouse and Tessa hugs. The Five Widows left to pack. The mansion was hardly standing, and they couldn’t stay there. They’d travel to the Glass House Mountain Aerie.
Bud was on the phone, talking with Harold Finkfuss, the Magician who helped run the Queensland Primacy. He gave Steven a wave, and Steven waved back. Then he noticed Denise Pryce and Fimi Eyota staying close to Bud, both pale.
Tessa drifted to him. “This was Denise’s and Fimi’s first fight. Let’s just say, it kind of freaked them out.”
He turned to her and took her into his arms. “Hey, you look like the daughter of Merlin.”
The barista laughed like a bell. “Well, now that you mention it, I am Merlin’s daughter. And you just thought I was a pretty face.”
“No, I liked your ass as well,” Steven joked. “But to be honest, I only love you because you make really good coffee.”
Tessa kissed him, and it was like going home. Her body, her smell, the stink of the gunpowder around her, and the heady aroma of her excitement. It was all so familiar. Her lips so soft, her mouth hungry for him. He wanted her, but that would have to wait a bit.
Steven squinted. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
Tessa shrugged. “No worries. You’ll spend some quality time with your Queensland Primacy, uh, make that both of your Australian kingdoms, and then we’ll get on with The Mystery of the Dragonknights and Merlin’s Daughter. We have to get to Bali and go on a cool jungle adventure.”
Her enthusiasm was infectious. However, he did have business in Australia to take care of first. He hoped the Wayne twins and Sabina were having luck with their own mystery.
Bud marched over. “Okay, so I don’t think Hindmarch’s people are going to be a pain. He had a lot of legit business, and his people have contingency plans for this kind of thing. Their main lawyer is Olivia something. Olivia Bolivia maybe? Is that right?”
Steven quirked an eyebrow. “So why are you here?”
Bud looked shocked. “Dude, you can’t go back to America. I have to be where you are. You’re my best client.”
“Only client,” Tessa put in.
Bud shrugged. “Yes, only client. But, Cool Whip, dude, you have got to quit getting Primacies so fast. We are running out of paralegals. We’ve had to hire an HR firm just to hire other people who can find people to deal with the mountains of paper and contracts. You’re killing us.” He paused. “Uh, yeah, remembering there’s a mansion full of dead bodies back there.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
“You bill by the hour,” Steven said. “Keep billing us. We can pay. Why did you bring Denise and Fimi?”
“Well. Yeah.” Bud scratched his head. “They were not happy being left behind, so I brought them. We’ve been hanging out.”
Steven could understand that, and he knew why his consigliere seemed so nervous all of a sudden.
“I didn’t sleep with them,” Bud said quickly.
Steven nodded. He knew that. He asked Tessa, “Any word from Chazzie, Pru, and Sabina?”
She shook her head. “With the cell phone hijinks, we’ve been in the dark. But Sabina has been, um, talking to me I guess you’d call it? Last I heard, they’re safe. I can’t really scry them because of the tattoos, but I feel like they’re okay. The Wayne twins are unstoppable.”
And unpredictable, Steven thought. At least Pru is.
Liam came over and stuck out a hand. “Greetings, my Prime.”
Steven shook the Yellow Ronin’s big mitt. He smiled and found himself at a loss for words.
Liam filled the silence. “Casting portal magic suits you. You are surpassing me, and I find that oddly comforting. Soon I can return to Nebraska, to my quiet life, and never have to battle another dragon for the rest of my days.”
Steven quirked an eyebrow.
The big blond man knew the truth. “Not until we face the Zothoric.”
“Bingo.” Steven shot him with a finger gun. “And we’ll do it on another world. I have plans for that. At the moment, we have other mysteries on hand, and I don’t have my army yet.”
Liam nodded, an odd smile painted across his face. “People still refer to me as the Yellow Ronin. I let it pass for I like the sound of it. In reality? I’m a vassal of the great Drokharis Primacy. I will fight with you, Steven.” He paused. “I heard that our Sabina achieved True Form. She is now a full Dragonskin. I’m proud of her and honored I could help.”
“It is a real accomplishment,” Steven agreed. He had more to say on the subject of Dragonskins, but he let it pass.
Liam left to help Bud and Harold Finkfuss concoct a cover story for the Hindmarch Hotham battle. The dead Prime’s lawyer, Olivia Bolivia, had jumped in to help. She was actually Olivia Bowles, but Bud had changed that with his accidental nickname.
HOURS LATER, IN A CONVOY of Toyota Land Cruisers, they’d relocated to the Glass House Aerie, which was almost a literal glass house. The number of windows was amazing.
The house sat surrounded by a landscape so green and beautiful Steven thought about moving to Australia permanently. The grand living room had two fireplaces and a view of Mount Beerwah, the tallest of the twelve rocky mounds that made up the Glass House Mountains. After growing up in the Rockies, Steven couldn’t really call them mountains, but the area was interesting. It was the remnants of volcanic activity millions of years ago; Australia had some of the oldest landscapes in the world.
With how pretty it was outside, the house had a ton of decks and outdoor living rooms, one even with a full bar. Fans spun overhead along the walkways, keeping everything cool. There was as much living space on the outside as there was on the inside.
The palace had two wings with a variety of bedrooms. His Escort staked their claim, and Zoey’s decision was clear. She was going to cling to him, sleep with him, and not let him out of her sight. He needed to talk to her, but he wasn’t sure what the solution was. Zoey wasn’t jealous. She was just insecure and clingy. And yet at times, she could rise to the occasion, like she had when she’d left him at the lighthouse.
Zoey did leave him to help cook dinner as the heat of the day started to wane. Being in the southern hemisphere, January was their summer, and the days were long and hot.
After Steven got his things stowed away, he found Uchiko sleeping in the master bedroom, with more windows and stunning views of other stony mounds. She was exhausted, but safe, and he hoped she felt loved. She kept out of the way, hidden, most of the time, and Steven knew once she woke up, she’d return to the shadows.
When Steven walked out to the main deck, he was greeted with the three wives he’d acquired along with the Queensland Primacy: Adelaide Sima, Isla Kellar, and Matilda Janszoon. And their children.
Aubrey was only a couple months old, wrapped in a blanket, fast asleep in her mother’s arms. Adelaide didn’t raise her eyes to meet his. She was older, with a hooked nose, but nice blue eyes under hair the color of mahogany.
Coop grabbed hold of Steven’s arm, yanking on it. “Dad! Dad! Mum, it’s Dad.”
“It is, sweetie,” Isla said agreeably.
Steven stared a bit too long at Isla’s curls, and then he bent down. “Hey, Coop. I’m more your Prime than your dad. Can you say Prime?”
The kid looked at him suspiciously, then flung his arms around Steven. “Dad!”
Steven smiled. There was no way he was going to convince this kid of anything. “Yeah, Cooper. Steven Drokharis is home for a bit.”
Matilda Janszoon’s daughter, Emma, was two and trying to keep up with her half-brother Cooper. She toddled over, trying to get to Steven.
She gave him a sweet, if drooly smile. She had toddler hair, which was a wild mess. Emma fell, got on her feet, took three steps, and fell again.
The toddler’s mother, however, was the very essence of cool, made-up, and looking good. While Adelaide and Isla wore shorts and tops that covered them, Matilda was in a bikini top with short shorts. She gave him a long, heated stare with green eyes and dark red hair that fell in a fountain down her back. It was obvious what she expected. “G’day, Steven. Welcome to our little bit of paradise.”
Cooper ran from Steven and knocked down little Emma, who immediately let out a squall. Matilda was quick to grab her daughter. From the safety of her mother’s arms, Emma reached out a chubby fist. Steven took her hand and shook it. “Pleased to see you again, Emma.”
The toddler cooed at the sound of her name.
Cooper had run down the steps and stood in the field. “Hey, Dad, let’s find lizards! You wanna find lizards with me? I hope I find some shinglebacks. I call ’em bogeyes. There’s a bog across the field by the swing!”
Ironic. He knew a thing or two about being a lizard and being hunted. He kept those thoughts to himself. Cooper would have plenty of time in the future to learn about the real world of Dragonsouls, the predators and the prey.
Steven turned to Isla and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think trying to find lizards in Australia is a good thing. Aren’t they all deadly?”
Isla nodded. “Some are. But Cooper can tell which are which. We study them. And I trust in your magic, Steven.”
Their eyes met, and then she glanced away.
A Magica Cura spell would do the trick. Being a Dragonsoul would also help against the toxins. “Okay, then. A lizard hunting we will go.”
Emma had escaped her mother’s arms and wobbled over to Isla and hugged her leg. It was apparent that the toddler thought of them all as her mothers.
“I like lizards as well,” Matilda said, “but I’ll stay up here. You won’t be gone too long, will you?”
“Not so long.” He and Matilda again shared a moment of tense lust. It was strange. These women were his, and Matilda wanted to take advantage of that. More wives for him. More sex.
Tessa and Aria stepped out onto the deck. Tessa was in a short summer dress while Aria wore capris and a tight V-top which exposed a valley of brown skin.
“Would you like to go bogeye hunting with me?” Steven asked.
Cooper hollered from the field. “Come on, guys! Let’s go find lizards!”
Tessa grinned. “That sounds oddly fun.”
Aria went and embraced the three Australian women, doted on the baby, and kissed Emma on her cheek. The Indian woman then joined Steven and Tessa on the path through the greenery while Cooper ran ahead. He’d found a stick, and sometimes a stick is better than any toy in the hands of a four-year-old. It can be sword, it can be a rifle, and when hunting lizards, it can pretty much save your life.
“How am I ever going to tell him I’m not his real father?” Steven exhaled out some of his stress. “And that I killed his father.”
Aria was quick to respond. “He and his mother should be grateful to be a part of your great legacy. You did not murder him, nor did you force yourself upon his mother. He will understand, and if he is a good boy, he will continue to idolize you.”
Steven didn’t know what to say to all that. He’d not grown up in the Dragonsoul culture. At times he found it brutal, at other times, stupid.
“Tessa, what do you think?” he asked.
“As a very human person, and very sensitive, I’m with you on this. Aria, I can’t believe he won’t grow up to hate the man who killed his father.”
“Humans,” Aria said, exasperated. “It is the way of dragons. It is constant war. Jaxon Wenck came to kill us, and we killed him first. Steven got his territories and his Escort. We won the battle honorably. There is no shame. There is no hate. And if there is, Steven will face Cooper on the field of battle, and the strongest will survive.”
The idea of fighting an embittered Cooper made Steven sick to his stomach.
And the fear in Adelaide and Isla, it was almost as bad as Matilda’s desperate attempt to seduce him. Because she knew if they made love, there would be less of a chance he’d kill little Emma, and it would solidify their relationship.
They walked down the dirt trail that cut through the short green grasses and scrub of the field. It ended in a line of trees, where Cooper swung on a tire swing.
Steven stopped. “I can’t take on any more wives, not with the amount of Primacies I’m collecting. And I can’t be a father to Cooper, Emma, or Baby Aubrey. I’m stretched too thin. And if I’m going to change things, I’m going to change things now.”
“It’s Pretty, isn’t it?” Tessa asked. “We talked. She said you took her history pretty hard.”
Aria was silent, scowling at him. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “You need wives, Steven, as many as you can get. They will keep you full of Animus, they will fight for you because they love you, and because of that love, they will be willing to sacrifice everything for you.”
Steven stopped for a minute. He found himself grinning. It might have been inappropriate, but he couldn’t help himself. “Being with the two of you, just the three of us, it feels like old times. We started this together. I love you both, so much. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“I feel the same.” Aria lifted her eyes to him. “I love you and Tessa like I love my own life. Our strong feelings for each other give us power. That is why you need wives.”
Tessa didn’t speak. She waited for Steven.
He sighed. “It’s the time we spend together. It’s our conversations. It’s our sex... all of that brings us closer together. If I had hundreds of wives, I couldn’t have that with all of them. And I wouldn’t see you two as much as I would want. Already, it’s a lot.”
The three watched Cooper swinging.
Steven kept his voice low. “Pretty McGillicuddy, it’s quite the name. Do you know why she chose it?”
Aria shrugged. It was obvious she didn’t care.
Tessa responded in a whisper. “She wanted a happy name. She wanted a silly name. Because her life hasn’t been happy, silly, or very pretty.”
Steven waited a beat. Then he asked Tessa, “Do you think she would mind if we told Aria her story?”
Aria exhaled in frustration. “Pretty is part of your Escort. You can do what you want.”
“No, she wouldn’t mind,” Tessa answered.
Aria crossed her arms.
Steven went on anyway. “Pretty was engaged to a Prime, a young Dragonsoul she was in love with, in the Miami-Dixie Primacy. On the eve of their wedding, the young Prime was murdered by an old Dragonlord. He saw that he broke her heart, but he didn’t care. He married Pretty, trapping her. She was his pet, and he could do whatever he wanted. The old Prime gave her to his vassals, to anyone who wanted her. She was passed around, for years, until she was traded to another Prime, then anothe
r, but no one wanted her. That was how she wound up with Cassius Pine. He collected the women no one else wanted.”
Tessa took up the story. “She likes to be told she’s special because most of her life, she wasn’t special. She was a pet, ordered to sleep with other men, and she had to do it. It was abuse, pure and simple.”
Aria shook her head. “Yes, the world is troubled, and there is evil, and some dragons are destined for sorrow. But Steven, you will not change that by refusing wives.”
He took Aria’s hand. “I told Pretty that I loved her, and she was special. She said I was lying to her. I couldn’t mean those words because I didn’t know her, not really. It’s haunted me. More than that, it’s got me thinking. I need warriors, not wives.”
Tessa came up and shoved Steven with her hip. “Okay, Mr. Drokharis, let’s hear your plan. I get the sense you have one.”
“I do,” Steven said.
Cooper finally got tired of swinging alone. “Guys! Come on! We haven’t found lizards yet!”
Steven grinned. “Let’s go find lizards. I’ll tell you my plan over dinner.”
Tessa shoved him again. “Not fair!” She then sobered. “Look, I get it. I’m polyamorous, and we don’t believe that love is limited. I can love a bunch of people. However, love takes time, and there are only so many hours in the day.”
Aria kept silent. Her frown seemed permanent, and there was no way Steven could convince of her anything.
“Don’t you trust me?” He stared until he melted her resolve through force of will.
A smile broke across Aria’s face. “Steven, you are the only Prime I could ever trust.”
Chapter Sixteen
AUSSIE BBQS WEREN’T so different from American grill fests.
Harold Finkfuss stood at the grill, because he was a guy who liked power. He started the process with several onions, to get the BBQ smell going. Then he slammed down rump, sirloin, and T-bone steaks. He also added what he called snags, which were sausages. Some were beef and some were pork. As for hot dogs, Harold insisted they had to be boiled. Corn on the cob, however, could be boiled or grilled, and he made room for them alongside the steaks and snags.