When Anya made no move to take the card, Conryu did. “Maria’s out shopping today. Could you call her and let her know what’s happening? She can better help Anya pick out what she needs than I can.”
“Good idea,” Mr. Kane said. “Why don’t you two get going and I’ll tell her to expect you.”
Conryu nodded. “Be sure and tell her this wasn’t my idea.”
“Never fear, I’ll take all the blame.”
He left Mr. Kane’s office with Anya in tow. Hopefully Maria didn’t strangle him on sight.
Maria Kane stood in front of the shoe store mirror and admired the shiny black dress shoes she’d slipped into. They looked nice and didn’t pinch her toes too much. Should she fork over a hundred dollars of her summer money for something she’d probably only wear a handful of times a year? She grinned. Of course she should.
“They look really nice.” Kelsie sat on a bench a little ways away and watched her preen. Maria felt bad for her. After Kelsie walked out on her mother with Conryu, she’d been cut off from the Kincade fortune. To go from the richest girl in the world to just a regular person had to suck, but as far as Maria could tell Kelsie seemed happy to escape her family, even if it meant being broke. The fact that she was sleeping on Conryu’s couch probably helped.
Maria sighed and kicked the shoes off while ignoring a salesman loudly trying to convince a gray-haired woman to buy an expensive pair of sneakers. She’d accepted that nothing would happen between Conryu and Kelsie. Once she made peace with that, she found she liked the girl more every day.
She and Kelsie had been wandering around the mall since early that morning. A stack of bags sat on the floor beside the bench. Maria had treated her to a couple new outfits, ignoring Kelsie’s insistence that what she had would be fine.
“So do we have plans for our last day of freedom?” Kelsie asked.
“I don’t. Did Conryu mention anything?”
“Not to me, though I suspect pizza will be on the menu.”
They shared a laugh. It was nice to have a girl to hang out with. Rin and her family had moved out of the city two days after the attack. They decided living in the country would be safer. Maria didn’t blame them, but she missed her friend.
Maria’s phone rang and she recognized the number at once. “Hi, Dad, what’s up? Yeah, we’re still at the mall. Why’s he coming? Bodyguard? To who?”
“What’s going on?” Kelsie asked.
Maria shook her head, trying to focus on what her father was saying. They had Conryu playing bodyguard for some girl from…
“Where did you say she was from?” Maria asked. “The Empire of the Dragon Czar. Seriously?”
She listened to her father for a minute more.
“Yeah, no problem. We’ll meet him out front.” Maria put her phone away and decided against the new shoes. “They’ve got Conryu on bodyguard duty. Some girl the Dragon Empire wants dead. Dad doesn’t think she’s in much danger this far from the Empire, but she insisted on having Conryu protect her.”
“And of course he agreed,” Kelsie said.
Maria nodded. “Can you imagine him saying no? All they had to do was dangle a damsel in distress in front of him and he agreed to whatever the Department wanted.”
They collected their bags, left the shoe store, and set out for the main entrance. A pair of screaming kids ran past them followed by an exhausted-looking woman that had to be their mother. The mall was full of families buying school supplies. And not just young kids. Sentinel City was sending three girls to the academy this year, no boys though. Maria doubted there would ever be another male wizard in her lifetime.
“If it was one of us in danger he wouldn’t hesitate to protect us,” Kelsie said.
“I know. It’s one of the things I love about him, but it makes Conryu easy to manipulate. And it’s not just women, he’d go out of his way to help anyone.” Maria shrugged. “It’s who he is and I wouldn’t change him for anything.”
“Me either.” Kelsie got the faraway look that always made Maria think she was fantasizing about Conryu. That look didn’t bother her anywhere near as much as it used to.
They finally got free of the crowds and pushed through the front doors. No sign of Conryu yet so they went to the car and stashed their purchases. Maria had borrowed her mother’s new sedan. The city government had agreed to pay for the replacement since it was their SWAT team that shot up her old one.
Maria locked the doors just as a familiar rumble approached. She spotted Conryu a moment later. He didn’t have his helmet on, instead a half-visible girl wore it, her blond hair streaming behind her as he pulled into a parking spot.
Conryu waved as they approached. He put the kickstand down and the girl climbed off. Maria’s jaw dropped when she got a good look at her. That was who her father wanted Conryu to protect? Why couldn’t he have an ugly girl to watch over? Because Maria was cursed. Everywhere he went beautiful women found their way to Conryu.
Just look at Kelsie. She was pretty enough, but this girl was on a whole other level. She could have been a supermodel for heaven’s sake.
“Did you know she’d be that cute?” Kelsie asked.
“No, my father failed to mention that part. I’ll have to discuss it with him tonight.”
Prime flew up out of the saddlebag and into Conryu’s grasp. The girl said something and he laughed. They looked entirely too friendly.
“Hey.” Conryu gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her cheek. “Your dad called, right?”
“Yes, though he left out some details. Aren’t you going to introduce us?”
“Right, sorry. Anya Kazakov, let me introduce my girlfriend Maria and my regular friend Kelsie. God, that sounds horrible, doesn’t it?” He grinned at Kelsie, totally unaware of the awkwardness of the situation or at least pretending to be. “Is there some better way to describe our relationship? After all we’ve been through regular friend seems inadequate.”
“Just friend is okay.” Kelsie offered a hand to Anya who looked up from her shoes and shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Anya said.
Maria thrust out a hand. “My dad says you’ve had a rough time. Don’t worry, we’ll get you set up.”
“Thank you. It was very kind of Conryu to agree to protect me. Being with him makes me feel safe for the first time in ages.” She grabbed his arm and hung on tight. “I hope we can all be friends.”
Conryu gave her a helpless look. It wasn’t his fault, she understood that, but god. If Anya planned to hold on to him like that she wouldn’t be able to stay silent for long.
Anya took a moment to enjoy the feel of Conryu’s well-muscled arm in her hands. She’d been struck from the moment she first saw him by how handsome he was. The picture she’d seen in the Paris newspaper didn’t do him justice. And the city, Sentinel City, seemed more alive than any place she’d ever visited. Seeing it from the back of a screaming motorcycle might have affected her perceptions.
His girlfriend’s glare made her realize she might be clinging a little too much. Anya relaxed her grip, and let go. He wasn’t going to just disappear after all.
The four of them marched toward the mall doors. Anya had read about malls, but never visited one. Back home what passed for stores generally stocked one or two types of each item and if you wanted something else, you had to sew it yourself. Anya’s mother had a knack for sewing and she made Anya many beautiful dresses before they’d been forced to flee.
Conryu opened the door and held it for them, and she followed the other girls through. He fell in behind them as his girlfriend took the lead.
“So what do you like to wear?” Maria asked.
“Anything’s fine. What sort of thing do you wear at the academy?”
“They provide you with an outer robe and you can wear whatever you want under it.” Maria looked deep in thought. “Something warm for the winter, a pair of boots…”
Maria went on muttering but Anya wasn’t listening. She glan
ced back over her shoulder to find Conryu in conversation with the other girl, Kelsie. She had a big smile and was nodding at whatever he’d said. They seemed to get along well.
“Here we are.” Maria stopped in front of a store filled with more types of clothes than Anya had ever seen. She stared at the abundance. A handful of girls picked through the racks, seeming oblivious to the wealth surrounding them. What must it be like to consider such things ordinary? Anya wondered if she’d ever get used to this new country.
Conryu handed the plastic card to Maria. “I’ll leave you three to it. If you need me, I’ll be keeping watch out here.”
Anya’s stomach flip-flopped. “You’re not coming in?”
“If you’re attacked, I’ll deal with it, but I’m not looking at clothes. I can watch the whole store from here. You’ll be fine.”
Anya licked her lips and nodded. She’d dealt with far worse during her journey here. Conryu couldn’t be three feet away every second of every day. She needed to get used to fending for herself. Of course, the last time she’d been on her own she’d had to kill a man. It would be nice to avoid having to do that again. Anya could still see him staring with his lifeless, accusing eyes. His death rattle haunted her dreams.
Maria held out a pale-blue blouse for her to consider. “Have you been tested yet?”
Anya laughed. “In the Kingdom all they did was test me. Blood tests, magic tests, you name it and they tested it.”
“What were your results?” Maria returned the blouse to its rack.
“Twenty-five hundred and earth aligned. What about you?”
“Nineteen hundred and light aligned.”
Over the course of an hour she picked out three outfits and a sturdy pair of shoes. When they left Anya had a pair of heavy bags in her hands and fifty dollars left in her budget.
“What do you want to get with your last few dollars?” Kelsie asked.
Anya had everything she needed, but was there something she wanted?
“Hey, I hate to rush you ladies,” Conryu said. “But if I don’t get moving, I’ll be late to the dojo. Are we ready?”
“I’m set,” Anya said.
“I think we’ll call it a day as well,” Maria said.
“If you’d like to go back with Maria and Kelsie, I’ll be home in a couple hours.”
“No! I mean, I’ll stay with you if you don’t mind.”
“Sure. I don’t suppose you want to learn Kung Fu?”
2
The Dragon Czar
Traveling by wind portal was like riding in the eye of a tornado, or at least what Yarik imagined that would be like. All around him the wind screamed and howled, trying to yank out his hair and tear off his clothes. Beside him the dragon-blood warriors, Hedon and Victor, didn’t seem troubled in the slightest by the wind. Their bald heads and silver scales gleamed in the diffused light. Each warrior carried a heavy backpack stuffed to bursting with the supplies they’d need to complete their mission.
Their guide through this magical portal, a White Witch named Nosorova, appeared as a pale blotch in the madness. Yarik had worked with the witch before and found she had all the personality of a dead skunk.
After a while the sensation of movement stopped and they hung in the empty nothingness of the realm of air. If the place had a name Yarik didn’t know it nor did he care to. What he wanted, badly, was to escape it.
“This is the location provided to us by Lady Wolf,” Nosorova said. “Remember, capture the girl and return here as fast as you can. One of us will be waiting around the clock to collect you. If Lady Wolf has betrayed us and you’re captured rest assured you will be avenged.”
Knowing he’d be avenged didn’t reassure Yarik in the least, but it wasn’t like the witch would care. “Send us through.”
She nodded and the next thing Yarik knew he was falling, then his feet hit the ground, his knees buckled, and he ended up on his ass. Hedon and Victor landed easily, their enhanced muscles absorbing the impact.
He looked around at the empty field illuminated by dim moonlight. Nothing but corn stubble in every direction. Not a single house, barn, or tractor in sight. If this was a blind spot in their defensive wards, it would naturally be far from any cities.
Silently cursing witches and magic in general, Yarik got to his feet and brushed himself off. From the inside pocket of his navy jacket he took out a fancy, foreign cellphone provided by the External Affairs Committee.
He turned it on and pulled up a map. They were in Sector Eight, five hundred miles from Sector One where Anya was supposed to be attending the magic academy. According to his information, classes began in two days. There was no way he could get there, scout the target area, devise a plan, and escape before her studies began.
The nearest town was a speck called Trent twenty miles to the south. Yarik hated hiking, but saw no alternative.
He turned the phone off and faced the dragon-bloods. “Time to go.”
They each offered silent nods and the three of them set off.
An hour later Yarik’s legs were shouting at him, his back ached, and he wanted a drink. At least they’d found a road, a dirt road, but still, it looked smoother than most of the ones back home. The czar, may he rule forever, wasn’t overly concerned with highway maintenance.
To the east the sun had just appeared on the horizon, filling the sky with a riot of colors. If he hadn’t been so sore and tired Yarik might have enjoyed the sight.
The flash of headlights coming toward them caught Yarik’s eye and filled him with hope. “Hide those scales. We don’t want to draw attention.”
The dragon-bloods narrowed their eyes and their scales sank into their skin and vanished. Now they looked like normal, if huge, men.
The headlights were attached to a beat-up old truck that would have looked right at home rattling down roads in the Empire. Yarik waved his hands to draw the driver’s attention. The truck slowed then stopped.
The window rolled down and the driver, a wrinkled man that had to be in his seventies, asked, “You boys need a ride? I’m headed in to Trent. Don’t look like you’re from around these parts.”
“No, sir,” Yarik said. “We’re just passing through and ran into a bit of car trouble. We’d certainly be grateful for a ride.
The old man’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s your car? I didn’t see it on my way by. Where you headed anyway?”
Victor made his way around the back of the truck toward the driver’s side. To his credit the driver realized at once he was in trouble. He stomped on the gas, but Hedon had the back tires a foot off the ground.
Victor wrenched the driver-side door open and yanked the old man out by his wrinkled neck. There was a crunch and he went still. Yarik grimaced at the unnecessary death, but done was done.
“Hide the body and let’s get out of here.”
“Yes, Agent.” Victor dragged the corpse off to the side of the road and Hedon helped him cover it with dirt and rocks.
Yarik climbed into the cab and studied the controls. Everything looked the same as what he was used to. He should have no trouble driving the truck where they needed to go.
Roman Orlov, Dragon Czar and absolute ruler of the empire that bore his name, stared at the map spread out over the table of his war room and scowled. The two generals that oversaw the eastern portion of his empire shied away from his angry expression and well they might. Roman had killed men with his bare hands for telling him something he didn’t want to hear. Adding two more corpses to the heap, even two of his most experienced generals, meant nothing to him. They could be replaced – anyone in his empire could be replaced – only Roman was truly required for the nation to thrive.
He stabbed a claw into the center of the Land of the Night Princes. The vampires’ country bordered his and served as a source of endless trouble, the most recent insult being the smuggling of dark magic weapons that the rebels had used to murder Roman’s White Witches. It was time to burn the rats out of their holes.
“Why, exactly, do you think my army can’t handle a bunch of pasty-faced ghouls?” Roman asked with mock calm.
“Majesty,” General Ivan said. “The enemy is immune to mundane weapons and highly resistant to the witches’ magic. Their only real weaknesses are sunlight and silver blades. Our soldiers aren’t fast or strong enough to beat them in hand-to-hand combat and they hide during the day. The moment night falls our soldiers are vulnerable. Without some sort of protection the men won’t survive a night.”
Roman slammed his fist on the table. “You’re the generals. Make it work. We must put an end to them before their interference brings real chaos to my empire. If I can’t stop these monsters, the world will think I’m weak. You have one day to come up with a solution or I’ll find some new generals.”
Roman stalked out of the war room and marched down the wide hall toward his private quarters. Worthless excuses for generals. For all his greatness, Roman was always held back by the weakness of his subordinates. Why couldn’t the miserable vampires just mind their own business? Certainly, his hunters killed a few strays that came too close to the border, but that was their own fault.
He punched the stone wall with enough force to bury his scale-covered knuckles three inches deep. It was less satisfying than striking flesh, but it helped a little.
Halfway to his chambers he rounded a corner and found Lady Wolf waiting. He hadn’t yet decided what game the woman was playing. She claimed her organization wanted better relations with his empire and perhaps they did, but he seriously doubted they wanted nothing else.
Some people looked at Roman, saw his physical strength, and assumed he was stupid. He loved it when people did that, it made crushing them so much more satisfying. In his almost five-hundred-year reign, he’d seen everything men and women were capable of. At this point little surprised him.
“Majesty.” She bowed, showing proper respect as a visitor to his court. “I trust your agents arrived in the Alliance safely.”
Wrath of the Dragon Czar: Aegis of Merlin Book 5 Page 2
