Dragon Gate

by Gary Jonas

  Brand looked over at the giant reptile. He shook his head and said, “Look at the fucking dragon.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  JONATHAN SHADE

  Rayna calmed the dragon by stroking its neck. I didn’t want to get too close, and Brand shared my reluctance. Esther stood behind us, even though she couldn’t be harmed by it.

  “She’s a sweetie,” Rayna said.

  “She damn near grilled my ass,” I said. “I wouldn’t call that sweet.”

  “She didn’t even ask for your safe word,” Brand said.

  “Come closer. I’ll introduce you,” Rayna said.

  “Introduce us from way over there,” Brand said.

  “She won’t bite.”

  “Or fry?” Brand asked.

  “She does like her meat smoked.”

  “I’m reminded of a Tom Lehrer song,” I said.

  “‘We Will All Go Together When We Go’?” Brand asked.

  “That’s the one.”

  “I’d whistle it, but the dragon might take that as an invitation.”

  “Don’t be cowards. She might take it personally and think you don’t like her,” Rayna said. She turned to the dragon. “They’re afraid of a poor little ol’ dragon.”

  The dragon chuffed and smoke blew out its nostrils.

  “Fried snot, anyone?” Brand asked.

  I slowly moved toward the dragon. “Here goes nothing. Brand, my will is in the top drawer of my filing cabinet.”

  “I think I’ll wait in the car.”

  “It’s okay,” Rayna said. “She’s calm now. Jonathan, meet Clara. Clara, this is Jonathan.”

  “Um, hello,” I said.

  “You can stroke her under her chin. She likes that.”

  “Maybe I’ll leave that to you.”

  The dragon lowered its head further and twisted a bit to place her head between me and Rayna. I found myself staring into a gigantic eye. When the dragon blinked, the upper and lower eyelids closed and opened, but a third went horizontally across the eye too.

  “Extra eyelid?” I said.

  “Many animals have a nictitating membrane.”

  “If you say so.” I slowly reached out and touched the dragon’s scales beneath its eye. They felt rough and hard. The dragon moved its head to the side and damn near knocked me on my ass. I managed to keep my feet. “Whoa.”

  Rayna laughed.

  “You think it’s funny? The dragon made me quote Keanu Reeves. Next thing you know, I’ll break out in air guitar.”

  Her laugh faded to a kind smile. I liked to see her smile. It had been a long time since I liked anything that way.

  “We should get her to safety,” Rayna said.

  “I suspect she’d be safe damn near anywhere.”

  “She likes the cavern beneath The Steam Room. She’s actually our secret ingredient. Her breath, when channeled properly through a vent, removes the pain from lactic acid buildup in muscles.”

  “You keep a dragon under the gym?”

  “Yes. Lucas must have closed the center for the day.”

  “Can he do that?”

  “He owns a third of the company, so yes.”

  “How the hell did you get a dragon into Boulder?”

  “Clara was transported when I was a child. We came through the gate, and the wizards at DGI helped us get Clara through. We spent weeks healing her up. My father told me the Marshalls planned to sacrifice her because she couldn’t provide eggs anymore. She’s ancient, so they were going to retire her. Lucas and my father didn’t like that idea, so we brought her here. We are her caretakers. Isn’t that right, Clara?”

  The dragon chuffed again.

  “I had all this written in my diary, and planned to have you read it, but that’s not possible now.”

  I remembered the diary sopped in Kelly’s blood and nodded. “It’s all right. You can tell me whatever I need to know.”

  “I’ll try.”

  Brand and Esther finally approached the dragon.

  “Wow,” Esther said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “Isn’t she wonderful?” Rayna asked.

  “As long as she doesn’t decide I’d look better baked,” Brand said. “Should we be worried about the Marshalls showing up?”

  I laughed. “You think they’d do anything when we have a dragon here?”

  Rayna frowned. “Actually, Brand is right. We should get her to safety.”

  “She’s a dragon. What could they possibly do to her?”

  “They use dragons, Jonathan, so they do know how to kill them. They hunt them for sport, or they enslave them.”

  I didn’t say anything about the enslavement because if the Nobles were keeping a dragon locked in the basement of The Steam Room, that was a kind of slavery too. But people don’t like it when I point out things like that. They’d have their own justifications, but it didn’t make it right. Still, who was I to judge?

  “Fine. And how do you propose we transport the dragon?”

  “I don’t know how they transported her last time.”

  “Lucas just brought her up here today,” I said. “Odds are he used a big truck.”

  “Or he rode her.”

  “This is Boulder, not Pern. I think people would notice someone riding a dragon through the sky. Then again, it is Boulder, so maybe they noticed but just thought it was cool.”

  “I can ride her,” Rayna said. “What do you say, Jonathan? Want to fly on a dragon?”

  “I’ll drive my truck,” Brand said. “Meet you two at The Steam Room.”

  Rayna stroked the dragon’s neck and whispered in her ear. The dragon chuffed again, which was unnerving then lowered her center of gravity. “Okay, Jonathan, she’s ready for us.”

  “How do you know that? You have some sort of telepathic link to her?”

  “She’s ready to be mounted.”

  “I’m not taking that straight line,” I said.

  Rayna blushed.

  I watched as she climbed onto the dragon. She wrapped her arms around the neck.

  “Here goes nothing,” I said and climbed up behind Rayna. I put my arms around her, and it felt good. Her hair smelled of mint.

  The dragon rose then lowered itself. I felt the mighty animal’s muscles flex, and we launched into the sky. I held on to Rayna for all I was worth.

  Below us, I heard Brand say, “Only in Boulder.”

  With every flap of the dragon’s wings, we rose, then started to drop, then rose again. This continued as the dragon gained altitude. I was glad I hadn’t eaten anything in the past few hours. Then she went into a smooth glide.

  I kept hold of Rayna and tried not to look down. I felt this would be one of the coolest things I’d ever done if I could simply enjoy it, but I worried that the dragon would do a barrel roll and send me plummeting to my death. I fought to control my breathing. Riding bareback on a dragon was definitely an experience, but it made me wish for a saddle with reins. My feet dangled and I couldn’t find purchase anywhere. I didn’t want to move too much because I didn’t want to upset the dragon either.

  Rayna shifted to try to look back at me, and I felt my weight shift so far, I thought I’d fall, but the dragon angled herself to keep me aboard.

  “She likes you,” Rayna called back.

  “I hope so.”

  “Are you nervous?”

  “Only extremely.”

  She laughed. “Not to worry. I’ve ridden Clara many times, though it’s normally on summer nights. This is the first time in the afternoon. Look how beautiful the mountains are.” She pointed.

  I glanced over. “Yeah, real nice.”

  She laughed again. “You really are nervous. When I was a little girl, riding Clara on a July night was the highlight of my summer. She’s a very gentle animal.”

  “Unless she’s blowing fire at you.”

  “She didn’t know you then.”

  As the flight continued, I calmed down a bit. That initial takeoff was rou
gh, but the gliding was actually relaxing. The only problem was that I kept thinking eventually we’d have to land, and the lack of control bothered me a lot. It wasn’t that cold, so the temperature didn’t bother me.

  “There’s the CU campus,” Rayna said and pointed toward the university. “Folsom Field is right there.”

  “At least we’re avoiding the traffic,” I said.

  “Want to go higher? Maybe fly over the foothills?”

  “Mostly I want my feet back on terra firma.”

  The dragon banked to the right and did a lazy circle. I closed my eyes and held tighter to Rayna’s waist. Inertia held us in place, but this did not feel like a safe mode of air travel.

  “There’s The Steam Room. She’ll land at the back of the building.”

  “We’re coming in a bit fast, aren’t we?”

  “Landing might be a bit bumpy, so hold tight.”

  My heart thundered as the dragon swooped down toward the street. There was a narrow alley behind the strip mall with Dumpsters and pallets and a few trucks. I wanted to close my eyes, but I worried that if I did, I wouldn’t know when we’d land and I might be thrown from the dragon’s back.

  The ground came up fast.

  “Oh shit!” I dragged out the last word with all the breath I had in me.

  Rayna laughed.

  Then the dragon flapped its wings, lurched up a bit, then dropped to the ground with about the same force as you’d get jumping from the third step on a stairway.

  “You can let go now,” she said, trying to keep from laughing more.

  I took my hands from her waist. “I hope I didn’t leave any bruises.”

  “It’s all right. It’s nice to know something scares you.”

  I slid to the ground and moved to the front of the dragon. I patted her neck. “Thanks for not killing me,” I said.

  The dragon’s lips cracked in what looked like a smile, but that had to be my imagination.

  Rayna dropped to the ground and stroked the dragon’s neck. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of keys. She selected one and handed the set to me. “This is to the lock on the rollup door there.”

  I knelt and unlocked it then pulled the door up. It rolled easily enough.

  Inside, Thomas Marshall and three of his sons stood ready for us. One had an arrow nocked. One had a sword ready. One had a battle ax. Thomas Marshall had a sword.

  “I thought I heard something,” he said. “Rayna Noble, your time has come.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  JONATHAN SHADE

  As soon as I spotted the Marshalls, I did the only thing I could. I yanked the door down. I heard an arrow thunk against the door, so at least that part worked okay.

  “Get on the dragon and get out of here!” I yelled.

  “What about you?”

  “They’re after you. Now go!”

  She scrambled onto the dragon, and I felt a whoosh of air as Clara launched them into the sky. I managed to get the door closed and locked.

  I looked both ways down the alley, but neither way looked promising. Too far in either direction. There was a little bit of cover with the Dumpsters and trucks but not enough.

  I saw a stack of pallets next to a Dumpster. That seemed to be my best bet. I raced over and used the Dumpster for leverage, thankful that it was full and heavy. It rolled a bit, but the wall of the building kept it from going too far. I kicked the top pallet over a little then got on top of the stack, pulled the askew pallet over, and leaned it against the building. It was just high enough that when I climbed it, I could reach the roof. I grabbed hold, swung one leg up for purchase, and pulled myself up. I rolled onto the roof and kipped up to my feet.

  I ran to the other side of the building and glanced over, looking for the Marshalls. I figured they’d come out through the front door. I didn’t see them yet, so I looked to the west and saw the dragon carrying Rayna off into the sky.

  If anyone saw her, I suspected they’d think they’d received some great drugs on that last buy.

  My weapons were all at the unfinished castle with Lucas and his sons. I looked around on the roof but didn’t see anything useful. When I heard the front door open, I chanced a glance over the side of the building and saw the Marshalls burst into the parking lot. Thomas pointed in both directions and battle ax guy went one way to go around the building while archer boy went the other. The two swordsmen stood in the parking lot.

  I could hear Thomas speaking, but with the traffic noise, I was too far away to make out the words.

  Maybe I could wait them out. I sat down, making sure I was out of sight. Once they were gone, I’d find a way down. I pulled out my cell to check the time. It was 4:22.

  It occurred to me that I should make a phone call. I patted my pockets, found the business card, and punched in the number. The phone rang.

  “Detective Kramer.”

  “Hi, Detective. This is Jonathan Shade. You wanted me to call you with any new information.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “If you’re really fast, you just might find the guy who killed Graham Noble at The Steam Room.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  As I ended the call, I heard a sound on the other side of the building. By the time I realized what it was, the ax man pulled himself onto the roof with me. I should have kicked the pallet back down. Damn.

  He saw me and smiled but didn’t come at me. Instead, he reached down and helped archer boy onto the roof. This just wasn’t my day.

  Archer boy pulled an arrow from his quiver.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handful of coins. As he nocked the arrow, I threw the coins at him. They didn’t do any damage, but at least they threw off his aim. The arrow flew harmlessly past, and I charged at the two men, screaming at the top of my lungs.

  Ax man raised his weapon, but I was on him before he could bring it down. I slammed into him as hard as I could, and he flew backward against archer boy. The archer couldn’t keep his balance and fell off the roof. I jumped back and did a quick snap kick to ax man’s chest, and he followed his brother off the roof.

  I heard them land, and it didn’t sound good.

  A glance over the side told me they weren’t going to be doing anything for a while. The archer landed badly and clutched his broken leg. Ax man landed worse and with his head at an unnatural angle; it was safe to say he was no longer among the living.

  I lowered myself over the side of the roof, dropped to the stack of pallets, then jumped to the ground. I grabbed the ax and the bow. The archer tried to fight me when I took his quiver of arrows, but a solid punch to his face smacked his head against the ground, and he was too dazed to fight anymore.

  Should I kill him? That was the real question.

  Before I could decide, a man pushed through the exit of the business next door to The Steam Room. “What’s all the noise?”

  “These guys fell off the roof,” I said. “Call an ambulance.”

  If he thought anything about me holding a battle ax in one hand and a bow and arrows in the other, he didn’t say. “I’m on it,” he said and went back inside.

  I knelt beside the archer. “Don’t make me regret not killing you.”

  He was in too much pain to give me any grief.

  I strapped the quiver to my back and jogged down the alley. When I reached the end, I peeked around the building: all clear. I moved to the other side and peered into the parking lot.

  Swordsman stood near the door to The Steam Room. He looked this way and that but didn’t spot me. I set the ax down, grabbed an arrow from the quiver, and stepped out into the open. I wasn’t much of an archer. I’d never had any training; I’d just messed around with a bow and arrow a few times. Who was I kidding? The guy was fifty yards away. I couldn’t make that shot.

  “You!” he shouted when he spotted me. He drew his sword and strode toward me, an intense look on his face.

  I nocked an arrow and let it fly. It hit the buildi
ng ten yards away and dropped to the ground with a soft thwack. Clearly I wasn’t Robin Hood material.

  The swordsman laughed.

  “You think that’s funny?” I tossed the bow aside, let the quiver drop to the ground, and lifted the battle ax.

  The swordsman stopped when he saw the ax. His smile twisted into a frown.

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “Where’s Henry?” he asked.

  “There are too many of you clowns running around, man. Which one was Henry?”

  “You have his ax.”

  “That should tell you something.”

  “Did you kill Matthew as well?”

  “Not yet. He’s not feeling too well, though. You can back off now, and I’ll let you go.”

  “My name is Peter,” he said.

  “Somehow I don’t think introductions are necessary.”

  “I just wanted you to know who killed you.”

  “You’re getting ahead of yourself, Peter.”

  He raised his sword to a fighting position. I kept the ax ready, but the damn thing was heavy. After what felt like an eternity, he attacked.

  I managed to parry the first blow with the ax. He whipped around to come at me again, but I jumped back. I hit the edge of the curb, lost my balance, and fell into the parking lot. When I rolled over to my feet, I no longer had the ax.

  He rushed me. I jumped to the side, did a shoulder roll to my feet, then circled around. I needed him to commit to another attack. Then I could try to move inside his attack, disarm him, and maybe break his neck.

  It wasn’t a good plan, but it was all I had.

  We circled a bit. “I’m unarmed,” I said. “I should be an easy kill for you.”

  He smiled. “You’re not afraid. You’re still alive and you’ve taken down several of my brothers. I suspect you’re dangerous whether or not you’re armed.”

  “We could call it a draw and go grab a beer.”

  “What’s a beer?”

  “You’ve been so busy killing people, you haven’t tried a beer? You haven’t lived, Peter. There’s a tavern across the street,” I said and pointed.

  He didn’t fall for that, but I hadn’t expected him to, so that wasn’t a big deal. I stepped up onto the curb and circled around again. I smiled and dropped my guard.