Black Magic Shadows (Discord Jones Book 5)

by Drummond, Gayla

  Dating Logan was definitely not a bad idea. In fact, it might be one of my best ideas ever.

  FOURTEEN

  At 9:45 AM, I teleported to the office, meeting Mr. Whitehaven as he unlocked the doors. The elves hadn't arrived yet, and since we were closed for New Year's Day, Tabitha wasn't there. It was my chance to cross one of my questions off my list. "Good morning, boss."

  "Good morning." He pushed the door and held it open for me.

  "I've been meaning to ask you something," I said while walking inside.

  He followed me in. "Yes?"

  "I found out there's a dragon living in Santo Trueno." I turned around to look at him. "Are you the dragon?"

  Mr. Whitehaven smiled. "Why would you think I'm the dragon?"

  "Your eyes glow red sometimes, and I know you've been around for a really long time. Everyone tacks 'Lord' on you, and they all say you're an important person in the supe community." I held up my forefinger. "And you keep treasures in your office."

  "Good points, all quite logical. However, I am not the dragon, though I am closely affiliated with him."

  "How close?"

  My boss was still smiling. "I am his plenipotentiary."

  "His what?"

  "It means, that for all intents and purposes, I am the dragon. He usually prefers not to deal with others, so I handle matters for him as a stand in."

  "Oh." That was a little confusing. "But you're not actually him."

  "No."

  "If you're not the dragon, what are you?"

  Mr. Whitehaven's smile faded slightly. "A hybrid. The dragon is my father, and my mother was human. I cannot take full dragon shape."

  Processing his words took a moment. I took that moment before asking, "But you can change your shape?"

  "Yes, to a degree." He didn't appear willing to add any specifics. I decided I'd been nosey enough.

  "Cool. I've been curious since we met, but wanted to try and figure it out for myself."

  Mr. Whitehaven nodded. "You were close."

  Beyond him, I saw a limo turn into the parking lot. "Thorandryll's here. Want me to make coffee?"

  "No, thank you, unless you wish to have some. I'm not interested in offering that much hospitality this morning."

  My chortle of delight refreshed his smile.

  Thorandryll had brought his mommy, Queen Maeve of the Unseelie. Coward.

  A man, dressed in gray jeans and a faded Pink Floyd tee, had followed them in, but I wasn't sure he was with them. No one objected to his presence. I kept my mouth closed and curiosity in check, expecting Mr. Whitehaven to make introductions once we'd settled in his office.

  The two elves chose the sofa. I sat in one of the chairs on the right side of the office, and the stranger perched on the corner of Whitehaven's desk.

  My boss didn't disappoint me. "Discordia, this is Lord Kadon. Lord Kadon, Miss Discordia Jones."

  We nodded to each other. He appeared to be mid-twenties or so, with medium brown hair and gray eyes. His skin was lightly tanned. The "Lord" looked like any twenty-something who spent his days hanging out at a music store or comic book shop.

  Mr. Whitehaven focused on Thorandryll. "I'm quite displeased with the public display you created last night."

  "Such a grand social occasion always attracts the media, my lord," Thorandryll said.

  "Yeah, well, you could've told me, and I would've teleported. Instead, you paraded me in front of all the cameras." I leaned back in my seat, crossing my arms to glare at the prince. "I don't want to be in the spotlight. Do you have any idea how hard it's going to be for me to do any undercover work for a while?"

  "My son showed you great favor last night. He could have had the companionship of anyone, yet he chose you." Queen Maeve waved her hand at me, forestalling any protest I might make, and concentrated on the two Lords at the desk. "She must grow accustomed to such attention. It will become commonplace once she and Thorandryll marry."

  I nearly choked, spluttering in my haste to respond to that. "I'm not marrying him."

  May as well have kept my mouth shut, for all the attention she paid to me. Maeve continued, her voice level and clear. "It's the best solution to the problem."

  "What problem?"

  That got her attention. "You. We simply cannot allow someone such as you to run amok, upsetting the balance of things with your displays of power and ignorance."

  "Excuse me?" What the hell was she talking about? At a complete loss, I looked at my boss.

  "Discordia has the right to determine her own place in the world. You have no authority to command her." Mr. Whitehaven's eyes began to glow.

  If Maeve were intimidated, she didn't show it. "You do."

  "I wouldn't dream of meddling in her in personal life."

  A chuckle from Thorandryll turned all eyes his way. "No? Yet you hire shifters to work with her."

  "What the hell does that have to do with anything?" I asked, a little louder than I meant to be. "And just why the hell am I some big problem?"

  Lord Kadon chose to answer my questions. "You, my dear, are considered a problem by some, because you walk the line between humanity and the rest of us. You are one of us, due to the power you've inherited, yet not because you weren't born in our realm. Your morals are human, therefore there are many who are uncomfortable with where your loyalties may fall."

  "It's not like I'm the only psychic in the world. There's thousands of us." Where my loyalty may fall in regards to what? I pointed at Thorandryll. "And I am not marrying him."

  "You must." Maeve glared at me. "You're too chaotic. You must be controlled, so that your actions don't impact the fragile peace we currently enjoy."

  Something tempered my immediate reaction, so that I responded to her far more calmly than intended. "Really? I saved your life, instead of Rhaetha's, the woman you threw into your dungeon and left to the mercy of the very god who'd driven her crazy. Was that a bad decision that caused chaos, or a good one that prevented it?"

  Before she could say anything, I kept going. "I've helped in keeping demons from taking over this city, and oh, Dalsarin the dark elf and his cranky pants god from doing that too. Where those bad decisions that caused chaos?"

  "Of course they weren't." Thorandryll scooted forward on the sofa, after a glance at his mother. Resting his elbows on his knees, he looked at me. "For someone so young, and newly come into her power, you've done much good. But power corrupts, Miss Jones, and humans have become more susceptible to such corruption since the Sundering."

  "Oh, and I guess elves aren't susceptible to corruption. I mean, it's not like you guys think you can just order people around or anything. Or think that you know it all, and the rest of us are idiots who can't figure out how to tie our shoes." I scowled. "I'll tell you something right now: You're not the boss of me. You don't get to tell me what to do, when to do it, how to do it, or whom to do it with. Not even he," I jabbed my forefinger at Mr. Whitehaven. "Gets to tell me what to do past normal operations here at Arcane Solutions."

  "You don't understand." Maeve's eyes were flashing.

  "I understand the only chaos I've caused is having anything to do with elves who think they need to 'control' me, and tell me what to do with my own damn life. And what the hell does my working with shifters have to with anything?"

  "They are a lesser species, one you've too closely aligned yourself with. A lesser species that should be destroyed."

  "Try it, and you'll find out exactly how much chaos I can cause, lady," I said at the same time Thorandryll spoke.

  "Mother, that won't help the situation."

  "I think you're a bunch of elitist pricks, looking down on shifters the way you do. Who gives a flip if they started out as regular animals? That was ages ago. They evolved. That's what nearly everything does: evolve."

  Thorandryll threw up his hands and leaned back, a mulish frown on his face. "I told you not to broach that subject, Mother."

  Maeve ignored him. "You're exactly like your ance
stors, girl. Arrogant, yet you lower yourself to the mud by playing with animals."

  "Yeah? You can go screw your..."

  "Enough." Lord Kadon didn't shout the word, but it closed both our mouths. I was sort of glad he'd broken in, because I felt flushed and sweaty, and could feel my pyrokinesis boiling behind the door of its room in my mental maze. "I believe that Miss Jones has made herself very clear. She will not consider marrying your son, or otherwise place herself under your control, Maeve."

  Interesting how he used her first name, and only it.

  The Unseelie Queen rose to her feet. "I believe that's a decision you and she both will come to regret."

  With that, she stalked out of Mr. Whitehaven's office. Thorandryll stood, hesitated long enough to make a half-bow toward the two men, and followed her out. We heard the glass doors swing shut behind them.

  I looked at my boss. "What did she mean by 'fragile peace'? Why is she so gung ho that I need to be controlled?"

  My boss's eyes were no longer glowing, and there was a smug twist to his lips. "Our acceptance by humans is a delicately balanced matter, Discordia. They have their science, their weapons, and their greater numbers, while we have magic and certain other advantages. Though it appears relatively calm on the surface, the fear that began when the Melding occurred is still present."

  I remembered my thought about how easy it would be to bomb the Barrows, and be rid of vampires in the city. "She thinks World War III is gonna break out?"

  "Her worry isn't far-fetched," Lord Kadon said, picking at a frayed spot on the thigh of his gray jeans. "We have two factions, both consisting of humans and supernaturals: Those who believe we can peacefully co-exist, and those who do not."

  "Guessing the now absent Queen is in Camp Two." Possibly the Mayor was too, which certainly didn't make them allies. My skin had cooled, and my pyrokinesis ability was quiet again. "But my marrying Thorandryll wouldn't change jack, if the elves started something."

  "It would, because you'd be under constant surveillance, and therefore, easy to imprison to keep you from acting."

  A chill raised the hair at the nape of my neck, and goosebumps broke out on my arms. "How many people think the same way she does?"

  "Enough that it's an issue, particularly here in this city." Mr. Whitehaven shook his head. "But it's not confined to supernaturals. There are humans who believe as she does."

  "You were raised human. What lengths will humanity go to, in order to remain the rulers of the world?" Kadon looked at me, and my mouth went dry. He nodded without waiting for me to answer. "Exactly. Let's shelve this unpleasant matter, and move onto something I can help with."

  I stared at him. "What?"

  "You've a curse hanging over you."

  Who and what the hell was...I looked from him to my boss, and back again. "You're the dragon, aren't you? That's why she didn't argue with you."

  Lord Kadon smiled. "I am."

  Wow. Of all the questions I could've asked, the one I did was, "Why do you look younger than your son?"

  "I prefer to blend in."

  "And I have found it useful to appear older," my boss added.

  "People pay more attention to maturity."

  He nodded. "Yes, or at least the appearance of it."

  "Cool." I felt overloaded with information now, and kind of wanted to be alone to process it all. I had plans to join the family for a New Year's Eve meal at one, and now wondered if it'd be better for them if I cut ties. Better as in safer. Without thinking, I asked, "Why me?"

  The two men smiled, but Kadon responded. "A fault of birth and ancestry. That's all any of us are, Miss Jones. Beings born into circumstances we seldom would choose, if given the opportunity. What we each must do is make the best of it."

  Chance, in other words. "Awesome."

  He slid off the desk, and gestured. "If you'll be so kind as to rise and come stand before me, I'll remove the curse from you."

  "You can do that?" I was already getting out of my chair.

  "Yes." When I halted in front of him, I realized he was my height. Not exactly the most impressive human male façade for a dragon. He looked me in the eye. "Don't move. I will not harm you."

  "Okay." I flinched as his hands shimmered, the skin covering with iridescent white scales, and claws shooting from the ends of his fingers. "Maybe I'd better close my eyes."

  "If you feel more comfortable that way."

  I did, and felt the air move as he began slashing around me. The dragon slashed from the top of my head down to my feet, leaving no gaps. He even had me lift each foot. "All right, the curse is gone."

  Opening my eyes, I said, "Thank you."

  "You're welcome. You'll still need to find the one who cursed you. It's likely he or she will do so again."

  "Right." I narrowed my eyes. "Maybe it was Maeve?"

  Kadon shook his head. "No, the curse didn't react to her presence. It would've...leaned toward her, if she were its creator."

  "Oh." I'd learned a few too many new things today, but at least that one was comforting.

  FIFTEEN

  I teleported home, feeling as though the weight of the world were on my shoulders. Not quite up to the dogs' usual exuberant welcome home, I targeted the drive in front of the garage as my landing place.

  Logan was on my porch, bending down in front of my door. I said, "Hey."

  He shot upright, turning wide eyes my way, and quickly relaxed. "Hey, I uh," he lifted a bunch of flowers into view over the porch railing. "Brought these for you."

  They were Blue Girl tea roses, actually lavender in color in spite of their name. I smiled, walking across the grass to the steps, and he met me at the bottom of them. Taking the roses, I buried my nose into their velvety petals to inhale their fruity fragrance before hugging him. "Thank you. I really kind of needed them."

  "You're welcome. Do you need more of them?"

  I laughed, resting my cheek against his shoulder, face turned away from his so I could sniff the roses again. "Nope, they and the hug are enough. I already feel better."

  Logan began to rub my upper back with one hand, his other hand flat across my lower back. "Why did you feel bad? Too much champagne last night?"

  "No, something else, but kind of Thorandryll related."

  "Need to talk about it?"

  I lifted my head and leaned back enough to look at his face. "Don't know. It might scare you away. Certainly scares me."

  "I'm not sure anything can scare me away from you."

  "Oh, my God. You just proved it: You are taking classes in how to say the exact right thing.” I kissed him before pulling free, and grabbed his hand to make certain he followed me up the stairs. We sat down at the top of them, and Logan put his arm around me. I held the rose bouquet in my lap.

  "No, you just bring out the best in me."

  "Yeah, right." My scoffing earned a grin from him.

  "We're sitting, which I take to mean you do want to talk about it. Am I right?"

  I hesitated before nodding. "The meeting didn't exactly go as planned."

  "Thorandryll's still in one piece? Damn." Logan gave me a little squeeze. "So how did it go?"

  After I told him, Logan was silent for a moment. He didn't put any space between us, which I took as a good sign. "Lord Kadon's right. Making the best of things is all anyone can do."

  "I guess, but geeze, I feel like I have a big, red bull's eye painted on my back. Like just being around me makes life more dangerous for everyone else." I bit my lip before adding, "I was thinking maybe I should stop seeing my family so much. I've already caused them enough trouble."

  Logan shook his head. "I think you'd better talk to them, and let them decide."

  "Mom and Dad won't like the idea."

  "Right, and why should they? They love you."

  I sighed, a long exhalation that seemed to come all the way from my toes. "I love them too, or I wouldn't even worry about it. And maybe I should leave the clan. You can throw me out or whatever it
takes."

  "No."

  I turned to look at him. He was looking back. "Maeve wants shifters dead. All shifters. She doesn't like..."

  "Who the hell cares what she likes? I don't. Terra doesn't. I'm damn sure O'Meara and the other shifter leaders don't either." Logan's eyes began to lighten. "Much as the elves would like to think otherwise, they are not our leaders. They aren't the leaders of anything but themselves, and maybe a few species that prefer to look to them for guidance. They've held themselves up to humans as our overlords, and they've always considered just about everyone else beneath them, but they aren't in charge."

  Whew, I seemed to have struck a nerve. "Okay, then who is in charge?"

  "The closest thing the supe community here has to a single leader is Lord Kadon. When he chooses to become involved, which he seldom does." Logan's eyes began to darken again. "Aside from him, it's the Council."

  "The vampire Council?"

  "No, the High Council, made up from chosen leaders. None of which are shifters." Logan's top lip curled a touch. "We're not considered important enough for seats on it."

  That was just wrong, but figuring he already knew that, I didn't say it. "So do shifters have a Council of their own?"

  "No." He suddenly grinned. "It's a cat and dog thing."

  "Oh, for crying out loud." I lifted the roses for a long, deep breath of their perfume. "That's ridiculous."

  He shrugged. "The wolves consider themselves better than the other canid shifters, and all canid shifters think they're better than feline shifters. That general feeling's mutual, because the canids are more prone to act on emotion."

  "You're saying they're hot-headed, like me."

  "You're not nearly as reactive as wolves can be," he said, squeezing me again.

  “Speaking of reactive, I’m having lunch with the family today. Want to come with? There’ll be plenty of food.”

  Logan accepted my subject change without pause. “Love to, if you’re sure it’s okay. I know Betty’s not particularly fond of supes.”

  “No, but she’s getting better about it.” My step-mother hadn’t twigged to the fact that it was my fault Dalsarin had targeted my little brother, Sean, a couple of months ago.