I spotted a street sign racing towards us and instantly knew what to do. Our only choice if I could pull it off. “Gunnar! Get onto the Eads Bridge!”
He turned to me, eyes wide. “No. There are too many innocent drivers up there! Whatever you’re going to do, do it here. It can’t be worth the risk to go up there!”
I wanted to scream as she let out another roar behind us, making Gunnar swerve a little, startled. I grabbed the wheel and turned us onto the on ramp with a screech of tires before Gunnar could argue. “It’s our only chance! Stay near the rail and I’ll take her out!”
Gunnar was forced to regain control of the car, but he spit out a curse in my direction. “How many will die with your plan, Nate?”
“I hope none, I really do, but it’s our only chance. She’s too strong.”
My phone rang, making me jump in surprise. Not recognizing the number, I hit the speakerphone.
“Really? A fucking phone call? Now?” Gunnar yelled between offensive driving.
I ignored him, speaking urgently. “Temple. Kinda busy. Who is this?” I glanced back behind us, hoping the dragon took the bait. She let out a roar of pleasure at us directing the chase to a place with so much potential for collateral damage — so much more fear to feed on from innocent drivers — but I was sure I caught the faintest hesitation in her features, just like Raven in the bookstore. Then it was gone and she was chasing us anew.
The voice of the car chose that moment to go haywire from the impact of her first attack against the rear end of the vehicle — frightening us all over again. “Door ajar, door aja-ajaarr.” Then the voice garbled, and a fizzle erupted somewhere behind the dash. Car horns blared around us as Gunnar swerved back and forth, zipping nimbly between them.
The voice on the phone was bubbly. “Wow. Okay, you do sound busy. Are you in a parade or something? I didn’t know anything was happening today.”
“Facts! Speak faster or I’ll hang up!” I screamed against the wind tearing through the open windows.
As we careened through traffic, I was glad to see that we were out of the dragon’s reach. Then she swiped a car into the median with a powerful backhand and I cringed. The driver stared at the dragon, frozen in utter disbelief. I noticed he was alone in the car, and was grateful. No kids in the backseat to worry about.
I take solace wherever I can.
The car thankfully skidded without flipping airborne, but that seemed to only infuriate the dragon more. “Right, right. Sorry.” The voice on the phone apologized.
Our car’s voice momentarily interrupted her. “Low fyool. Locate the nearest fyooling station at your earliest conveenience.” The sexy British female voice had begun to transform into a demonically possessed version of the childhood Speak and Spell toy. “Now entereeng Soulard. Your destination on riiiight-” It grew worse by the second.
The phone spoke again, sensing the press of limited time. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had company. I work for you. I’m Abby. Miss Belmont informed me to tell you that when we were inputting your personal information into the system, a private video feed popped up into a queue for you to watch. One of the security cameras, as far as we can tell. The system will not allow us to access it. If you could swing by here and check it out, that would be fantastic. I think it’s from the room of…” her voice grew soft. “The attack.”
I blinked, momentarily forgetting the chasing dragon behind us. “The attack on my parents?” I asked, punctuated by another dragon roar in the distance.
“Yes, Master Temple. When shall I tell her you will be here?”
“Um. In an hour or two, hopefully.”
Gunnar interrupted, snatching my phone. “Right. Thanks. Bye.” He tossed it back to me, glaring. “First, dragon. Then company. People are going to die if we don’t stop her. Do something. Soonest.” I nodded, shaking my head free of the sudden emotions as I numbly pocketed the phone. A security feed from the room of my parents’ deaths. That might hold one of those elusive clue-thingies. Another roar startled me back to the present.
Glancing back, I saw the dragon inhale sharply, so I quickly prepared another volley of power, using my sudden emotion for energy. I had seen the red dragon do a similar thing when she had been about to let loose her napalm fire on the roof. I used the same tactic, hoping they hadn’t shared war stories. I let fire roil inside me, drawing heat from anywhere and everywhere, willing it into existence until I could see it clearly in my mind. I saw cars on the opposite side of the highway slowing down as I drew the heat from their engines, even seizing some of them to an abrupt halt, much to their sudden panic.
Or maybe they had just stopped to stare at the freaking dragon tearing after us.
I shook my head, building the fire hotter and hotter, our own car slowing down. “Nate! What are you doing? We’re slowing down!”
“Shut up, Gunnar!” I screamed as the power threatened to burn my blood to ashes. I had never called this much fire before, and I knew it was at my limit, or possibly even beyond it. When the pain began to make stars in my eyes, I let it loose like a rocket launcher. It slammed into her snout just as she began to spit silver spears into another car. The fire halted most of the silver, slamming it back down her throat, causing her to slam down to the ground on all fours, sliding across the concrete highway, her talons clawing into the asphalt like a hot knife through butter. Our car abruptly tore forward, compensating for the floored gas pedal as I stopped pulling the heat from the engine. Gunnar swerved around another car, honking and screaming at them to get out of the way.
They obliged in sheer panic.
I turned back to see the dragon retching a car sized lump of steaming silver onto the road like a cat with one of those vile hair balls they seem to be able to produce at the worst possible moments. She shook her head once and then launched into the sky. A state patrol car slammed into the pile of silver before the cop could dodge it, no doubt racing after us for help, and the car instantly flipped up into the air, somersaulting wildly. I imagined the screams from inside.
Was he a family man? Was he close to retiring, or was he maybe a new rookie on the force, hoping to change the world? I sensed the dragon’s pulse of power, and realized she was toying with me again. I steeled my resolve, blocking out the cries in my own head as the cop died. There was no question. If he hadn’t died from the first impact, the height and speed of the second impact with the road would surely finish him off. He was already dead. I swallowed the lump of guilt, blocking the dragon’s power of fear from my mind.
But before the cop car could strike the ground, the dragon swooped down and caught the wreckage in a snatch of talons, sharply banking away to continue her pursuit beside us over the churning river on the other side of the bridge’s rails. I stared into the driver’s side, hoping to see the cop alive, knowing the odds were against him. If I did what I was about to do, he was going to die anyway. One life to protect so many others. It was a sacrifice that made a small part of me die inside, but I had no other choice. Gunnar roared in fury next to me, partially shifting form so that huge, beefy, wolf arms gripped the steering wheel as he spotted the cop car dangling over the Mississippi River Levy.
“Nate! Do something!” I nodded, still searching, hoping the cop was still alive. Then an elbow punched through the window, and… it was a fucking girl! Not a mature, battle-hardened woman of the force, but a young, and small, beautiful female cop. She was suddenly leaning out the shattered glass, firing at the dragon’s underbelly without the slightest fear. First Spiderman, and now Wonder Woman.
The dragon let out a shriek of furious pain, and then looked into my eyes as we sped alongside her. She smiled broadly at me, and then dropped the car into the icy river, smiling as she ate up the surprise and fear for the cop’s life tearing through my eyes. The cop would die in the frigid water of the Mississippi River because I hadn’t acted sooner.
Not today.
I yelled incoherently as I hal
f leaned out of the open passenger window, ignoring the broken bits of glass. I heard the cop scream as she fell several stories down into the dark water. Pedestrians on the walkway were running in panic, screaming in disbelief. The city was about to discover that their beloved Temple Heir was a wizard.
And I didn’t give one.
Flying.
Fuck.
I called the weather to my command like a cloak, drawing every molecule of water from every cloud within a mile, and then I reached even further. I had never been that great with weather, but it was all I could think to do. She was made of metal, and I was hoping that she wouldn’t have passed swimming lessons as a young dragon-ling.
The weather responded instantly, water slamming into the vacuum I had created in the dragon’s chest. Every crack in her body, every millimeter of space between scales, was suddenly filled with water, weighing her down dramatically. Then I did the opposite of what I had done a few minutes ago. I simultaneously withdrew all heat from her body, and cast the frigid temperature from the river below into those same water molecules, freezing them instantly. She faltered as ice abruptly creaked in her every joint, preventing her wings from working properly, and then she fell.
Fast.
“Temple!” Her bellow of rage was impressive, but the splash of her massive body hitting the river was even better. Sweet vengeance, thy name is Temple. Water splashed up so high that we could even see it from above the bridge. Gunnar slammed on the brakes, and we bolted out of the car — now sitting sideways on the highway — kicking down one of the maintenance fence doors that separated the pedestrians from the roadway. We leaned over the river and watched the bubbles until they stopped, and all that was left was the cool waves of the Mississippi welcoming the dragon to her new permanent residence at the bottom of the river.
Gunnar pointed urgently off behind us, and I saw the cop floundering weakly in the water a hundred yards back. I thought she would have been further away, and deader. Relief flooded over me as I saw a nearby boat pull up to her and toss her a preserver. She was alive, and the dragon was dead. I collapsed to my knees, crying out in relief, unable to hold myself up. I heard the screech of tires, and then metal slamming into metal where our car was parked. A beautiful ball of fire blossomed up over the Aston Martin. Then the world went black as I passed out from exhaustion.
Chapter 22
I woke in the back of an ambulance, wrapped in cheap blankets near the riverfront. I was freezing cold. Draining oneself with as much magic as I had thrown about today had killed wizards before, but somehow I had survived. My thoughts were sluggish, but I saw Gunnar talking to another police officer who was also wrapped in blankets, skin visibly steaming underneath, and it all came back in a blink.
I stumbled out of my ride and attempted to walk over to the two of them. Cop cars were everywhere, red and blue lights strobing around us. I had been out for a while, judging by the height of the sun. Then another thought hit me and I tripped, barely catching myself. Temple Industries was awaiting me, and so was the Minotaur. A cop instinctively reached out to assist me but then halted, uncertainty and fear obvious on his face. I scowled at him and he frowned sheepishly.
Gunnar and the other officer had noticed my approach and were striding towards me. Gunnar hissed at the officer who had shied from touching me. “How dare you? He almost died saving Officer Marlin and countless others from a murdering sociopath, and you can’t even reach out a hand to keep him from falling down on his face? Is that the kind of thanks St. Louis has to offer?” His chest was heaving, and I almost fell down again as his rage suddenly coursed through me like electricity. My skin was buzzing, and my equilibrium wavered as my skin suddenly felt on fire.
“No, sir. It’s just that Captain Kosage said… and the stories about what he did… I was scared to touch him. They say he called down the power of a god to battle a silver demon. I’m not a religious man, but others ran to the nearest church as soon as they could. They’re calling him Archangel, or one of the Four Horsemen. He battled a devil in the middle of a high-speed car chase… and won.” He looked at me. “I’m sorry, Master Temple, it’s just that… whatever you did scares me. I don’t want to risk my family by being too close to you. Or my job when Kosage hears about all this.”
The other officer, Officer Marlin, I presumed, stepped up next to me and wrapped a delicate arm under my shoulder in thanks, supporting my sudden dizziness. She was short, maybe 5’5, and stunning. Her straight, dark, almost black hair would have ended just below her breasts if it hadn’t been tied back. Her thin face was perfect for it, and her bright green eyes were fiery with a hidden power that I could only guess at, and were big enough to drown in. “Now that I’m here, what are your other two wishes?” I mumbled, feeling slightly giddy from the sudden warmth and power that had filled me upon seeing Gunnar.
She laughed delightedly and my heart melted. Girl’s laughter just flat did it for me. Her teeth glowed white as she grinned. “I like him.” Her fingers squeezed my shoulder affectionately, and it was as if the pressure broke something inside me, and then my body coursed with even more energy and power, refreshing me like a long night of sleep followed by a healthy breakfast. Her faith wrapped around me like a giant oak tree trunk for support. I felt stronger, more awake. What the fuck? How was I sensing others emotions, and how was it fueling me? The petite officer spoke again, the blanket making her look frail and delicate, but I sensed there was more to her. “Well, I, for one, am grateful for his help. Never hurts to be friends with an archangel. You should be ashamed of yourself, officer.”
The man’s shoulders shrugged in defeat, but he turned and began walking closer to a small crowd of police officers. Then I felt my perception of the world abruptly jolt, like I had experienced only a few times before, and I grew instantly nervous. Not again… A man suddenly darted out of nowhere with a purse tucked under his arm, and slammed straight into the departing officer. He fell, dropped the purse, and a slew of jewelry spilled out across the grass. The stunned cop reacted quickly, cuffing him, and then a man and woman burst onto the scene. “He stole my purse! Thank god you caught him!” She latched onto her boyfriend in relief. Gunnar and I stared at each other in disbelief as the cop carted the man off to a nearby squad car, the couple in tow behind them.
“Odds are never that good. He’s either the stupidest criminal in the world, or god is looking down on us.” Gunnar said softly. I nodded, but suddenly felt very aware of the power high I was experiencing. The last time I had felt a shift like this some very strange things had happened around me. Odds had run wild. Things that would have never happened naturally suddenly did. Things like this. Was it happening again? Had I reached a new power plateau, distorting chance all around me? I shrugged, not speaking my fear.
Instead, I glanced down at Officer Marlin beside me, changing the topic. “I’m glad I could help, but I seem to remember that boat saving you, not some archangel. I am no hero. I did what anyone else would have done, and a better man would have done it sooner without risking your life.”
She was tiny — and dare I say cute — as she shot me a reproachful grin. When Gunnar stepped closer, the odd energy sensation tripled — filling me up like an overflowing teacup. I shook my head, studying my body for clues to this new power. I knew my body better than most people know their own, having studied the relationship between it and my magic over the years, but I came up with no alternative theories. It was happening again. I had reached a new plateau, and it was feeding off those magical beings around me — namely Gunnar and Officer Marlin — as it matured. But that meant she was…
“Whether I think you are an archangel or not is my own business, not yours. I know what I saw. You were glowing with… power?” She fumbled at a choice for words. “And you saved all of us. There’s no telling what that…” she glanced at Gunnar for the correct word. Gunnar gave it, face serious. “Dragon would have done if you hadn’t slain her.” She let out a light laugh, like only c
ute little girls could manage, and shook her head. “If you aren’t a dragon-slaying hero, then you’re a Savior Archangel. Pick your poison, but you’re one of the two. I would be honored to join you and Agent Randulf here in your next dragon slaying. But please, call me Tory.”
I shook my head immediately. “You almost died today. We can’t risk anyone else. Especially regul-” I cut myself off, feeling like I had almost dropped a racial slur.
“It’s okay, say it. Regular. But I think you’d be surprised…” She stepped back from me for a moment and reached out to Gunnar. My werewolf friend sighed and withdrew a bent piece of metal from behind his back, handing it to Tory. The petite bombshell took it, frowned for a moment, and then placed one of her dainty fists on either end of a long, straight segment of the bar. She lifted her eyes to mine, watching me with a grin, and began to bend the metal perfectly in half, not an ounce of strain crossing her face. It bent like a twisty tie at the grocery store. My eyes widened in surprise and her smile stretched wider. “I am no regular, Master Temple.”
I remembered her shattering her patrol car window with one blow of her elbow, and realized that in most cases it wouldn’t have been possible for even another man. Maybe adrenaline would help, but most would need a cushion to protect their elbow joint from permanent damage, or would have to take several attempts to shatter it so efficiently. She had made it look simple, easy. And she also showed no signs of an injured elbow.
She tossed the bent metal bar into the nearby grass. No one but us had seen it, as they all seemed preoccupied with the random thief they had just caught. “Agent Randulf offered me a job with his new team, although he didn’t tell me what the team was called…” She glanced curiously at Gunnar, but the werewolf’s face remained stoic. “He just told me what the goals of his team are, and what kind of criminals we’d be going up against. He said that he needed your approval before he allowed me to join the pack.”
Obsidian Son (The Temple Chronicles Book 1) Page 15
