Still slightly drunk, the Old Man called to us from the other van, about to climb in. “It will be hard for him. He’s not used to it.”
Everyone’s a comedian.
I was tempted to draw one of my Berettas and wing him, but resisted the impulse. I yelled, “Imari, don’t let him drive. You’ll get pulled over.”
“On it.” Her flaming hair died down to a mere shimmer of flame here and there, giving her a bald look. The flames on the rest of her body went away. I guess she didn’t want to burn up the van she’d be driving. Stinky dampened himself as well. They went off together. Quartz, Thorn, and Misty got into my van with me. Thorn took the wheel. He sent the van rolling into the street, into traffic, and cast me a side look. “Back to the hotel?”
“Yeah.” My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and checked caller ID. Cousin Kinsey. I answered. “Caine here.”
“I’m at the hotel, got in early. Is Lauphram with you? He’s not answering his phone.”
He might have accidently squeezed it too tight. We lose a lot of phones that way.
“No, he’s not with me anymore, but he should be getting back to his suite in the next half hour or so.”
“Good. We need to go shopping for the wedding rings. If I have to do this, I’m going to do it with serious bling.”
“Fine, but I’ve got the Old Man tomorrow night for his bachelor party. You should get ahold of Izumi, Imari, and any of the lady demons around the hotel, and have a night on the town for yourselves, fair being fair.”
“Not a bad idea. A little drunken debauchery might be distracting.”
I grinned an evil grin. “Talk to you later, Mom.”
Her voice emerged, hard and frosty. “Don’t call me that.” She killed the connection. I put my phone away. “If Kinsey is in, more of our people should be here as well. Maybe my uncle as well.”
Quartz spoke from the back. “Good. We need more people to beef up security. We’re covering too many suites right now, spreading ourselves thin.”
“You have a point. Especially since I expect to hear from my dragon grandfather soon about the gift Colt left him. I’ll probably get an earful from Kinsey about it too.” I raised my voice, speaking to everyone in the van. “Let’s try not to mention dead dragons when she’s around.”
Misty said, “We got your back.”
I nodded. “Good to know.”
The drive back to the hotel went smoothly. I spent the time thinking about my missing tats and how to compensate for that when I went to the Village to deal with my father’s people, and my brand-new brother. It occurred to me that before I started running amok, I should find out more about them. From comments Selene had made, it seemed the Villager’s shadow dimension might be the place that had spawned shadow magic, letting it bleed into other realities. How my shadow magic worked here, and there, might be two different things. I needed to sneak in and perform a few experiments.
Instead of the outside lot, Thorn drove us to the side of the hotel, down into the underground area. We found a parking spot, got out, and walked to the elevators. We piled in, and I pressed the button for our floor. The car started with a small jolt. I watched the lit numbers change. We’d fallen into one of those comfortable silences where no one feels the need to talk, just to be talking.
I heard a muffled whump! The elevator lurched to a stop between floors. I pulled out a Beretta Storm, slid into a back corner, and stared up at the false ceiling, knowing there was a concealed service hatch up there for maintenance. “Thorn, grow a wall to keep out anyone trying to drop in. Quartz, pry the doors open. Misty, call for backup. Let our people know there’s trouble.”
The roof lights acquired a violet tint from Thorn’s leafy growths. Quartz dug his fingers into the doors. They screeched as he applied demonic super-strength.
Misty stared at me. “Out of service. Doesn’t make sense.”
“Magic interference,” I said. “This is another hit.”
Quartz spoke over his shoulder to me. “Boss, I don’t think we’re in Vegas anymore.”
I growled. “I swear, if I see munchkins or flying monkeys, I’m going to cap their asses.”
But it wasn’t Oz outside the widening doors. I stared out past Quartz at an elaborate garden where fenced-off sections were further separated by white-gravel walkways. Instead of mercs, there were three women in blue-topaz robes, with golden sashes and slippers. Their hair, lips, and eye-shadow were metallic gold. As were their eyes. Their nails were an inch long, painted gold, more like talons really. There was a dusting of gold powder on their cheeks. They smelled of dragon. They were dragons. And they didn’t look happy.
The one in the middle had her arms crossed under ample cleavage. The other two held staffs crowned with forked prongs. The hollow base of the prongs held yellow topaz jewels that smelled of lightning.
Magical weapons. The Imperial guard. They’ve either been dispatched to kill me, or members of the royal family are nearby. Maybe both.
I pulled Quartz back, taking his place in the elevator doorway.
The woman in the middle said, “Caine Deathwalker, your presence is required. Come.”
I didn’t move. “How ill-mannered. You have forgotten to kneel in the presence of your true king.”
The girls on the ends lowered the tips of their staffs. Forward of the jewels, golden jags danced between prongs, a crackling threat. The one in the middle repeated her command. “Come.”
“You’ve been ordered to kill one of royal blood?” I asked. “I don’t see an order of execution in anyone’s hands.”
The girls on the ends looked at the one in the middle for permission to kill.
She shook her head, no.
The weapons were raised.
The team leader said, “The emperor commands that you attend him.”
I frowned. “That’s odd. I don’t remember giving myself such an order.”
The girls were all turning red in the face. They’d be stamping their feet in rage next. The middle girl said, “You have been transported to the dragon world. If you intend to leave again, you will eventually have to come out of that box.”
I said, “If the Usurper wants to talk to me, he knows where to find me.”
Their leader offered me a rather attractive smile with a hint of cruelty to it. “You are required, alive and in one piece, for now. Nothing was said about your companions. If you wish them to live, stop playing these stupid games, now.”
The prongs were lowered again and set to crackling with current.
“Misty, white out.”
He grunted. And the air inside the elevator got very wet and silver. Compressed clouds exploded out the doors, obscuring the Imperial guards and their weapons. In that moment, I ducked low, went out, and cut hard to the side, running for it. Lightning flashed in the clouds. The middle girl yelled for her subordinates to hold their fire. From the sound of footfalls behind me, I knew my demon guards were close behind.
We broke out of the cloud-cover and I saw a low fence, hopping it in time so I didn’t trip. This put me off a white-gravel path, onto a bed of red grass and teal-hued fronds that had a prehistoric look to them. I crashed through the fronds, splashed through a pond with sage-colored lilies, and leaped over another low fence. This put me back on a white-gravel path.
We ran along the path, changed direction at the next intersection, and continued to haul ass. The constantly changing environs made me think this was some kind of botanical exhibit. The sky was blocked-off by a grid-work dome of iron hexagons, each one filled in with white crystal flakes. My dragon speed let me easily pull ahead. I paused, letting my demon guards catch up.
“This place is cool,” Thorn huffed.
“Planning to stay?” I asked.
“No. Which way?” Thorn asked.
Misty and Quartz looked at me, awaiting a command decision. Since we didn’t know where on the dragon world we were, it didn’t really matter. I pointed at random. “That way.” I saw t
all trees in the near distance. We could climb them and drop down on pursuers. This was serious, but there was no reason we couldn’t have fun while evading capture.
We reached a larger section bristling with mauve spruce, and stands of aspen that could have come from Colorado. We slunk deeper into the stand, coming to an oval pond with a gilded moon-bridge stretching cross its narrower sides. At the highpoint of the bridge, a man stood alone in a golden cloak, the hood thrown back. It was like looking at a middle-aged version of myself, one not so ruggedly handsome, but a little taller. My grandfather.
Kur. Fitting name for the dog that’s stolen my throne.
One of his hands rested on a bridge railing. He wore the imperial ring: a gold band with a dragonhead on it. The eyes were rubies. A sword was clenched in its teeth; to wield power, or to break it. He was as old as the ring, around a hundred thousand years old. Only the most ruthless dragons live so long. It was a record I intended to shatter. Which meant he really needed to die so the clock would stop on my goal. You can’t live longer than someone older who won’t die.
Kur said, “It’s about time you got here. You’ve kept me waiting long enough.”
I grinned at my grandfather. “Aren’t you dead yet? Just how long do you intend to live?”
TWENTY-FOUR
“When speaking to old people, it’s
best to yell slowly and to lie often.”
—Caine Deathwalker
I shot my guys a fast stare. “Stay here. This is family business. Keep an eye out for the guards.”
Quartz nodded toward my grandfather. “Isn’t he dangerous?”
“Sure, but he won’t kill even a half-breed if there’s royal blood involved. It would set a precedent he doesn’t want his people thinking about.” I stepped onto the bridge, moving forward in a relaxed manner.
The mind-games were already starting; Kur occupied the highest point around so I’d have to look up at him. He thought it gave him a psychological advantage. It didn’t. I’ve had to look up at most people all my life, being height challenged. A sense of inferiority was a weakness I’d never allowed myself. I’d been raised by the Old Man, for damnation’s sake—an eight-foot friggin’ giant.
As I neared the top of the bridge, I put my Beretta away, set a hand on the opposite railing, and vaulted up, sitting so I could look down on him. My head, higher than his, breached protocol. I felt very good about that.
He said, “Still disrespectful, I see.”
There’s no way I’m acknowledging you as Emperor. That’s my job.
I said, “My mom ruled until running off with my dad. That right is now mine, no matter what your precious Dragon Counsel decided. You’re only a regent putting on airs.”
“So, what? You’re going to start calling yourself the ‘Dragon King in Exile?’”
“It’s the truth.”
He sighed. “I’ll not argue your grievances, not here.”
“What’s so special about this place?”
“I commissioned building this place the day my daughter, your mother, was born. As a young child, we often walked these paths. This place holds good memories for me.”
I looked around, trying to envision a little girl laughing, running across the bridge. “No one uses it now?” The place was empty, but could accommodate hundreds at a time.
“When your mother left the dragon world, I closed this place. Running the whole world, I no longer had room for sentiment. Or so I thought.”
“Getting soft in the head in your old age?” Or perhaps that’s just what you want me to believe.
“Softer hearted perhaps.” He hopped up on the other railing, a seat that let him look down on me again.
Always games to play.
I stood, balancing on the railing, staring down at him. I grinned a challenge.
He said, “So, if I stand up too, are you going to climb a tree next?”
I pulled on my shadow magic, willing a footstool of darkness to appear on the railing, under my feet. It materialized top down, lifting me higher. The stool balanced on cross rungs between the legs.
I said, “Oh, I don’t think that will be necessary.”
He studied the stool. “You’ve been learning new tricks. Getting ready to take on the Villagers?”
“It’s necessary. They’re showing an unhealthy interest in me, and might get in my way when I conquer this world since they’ve formed alliances with dragons in the Imperial Court.”
He stopped breathing a moment. His eyes flared slightly before he controlled his surprise.
I said, “What? You didn’t think I had a reason to dump that silver in the Throne Room and bloody up the floor?”
“I’d have to be insane to understand you. You’re a sociopath.”
“That’s just an unfounded rumor started by people I haven’t managed to kill yet.”
“You’re saying the Silver Clan is working with the Villagers to assassinate you?”
“Yep. Both groups want my genetic code obliterated. The Silver Clan can’t come at me directly because I do have some royal blood, and you have forbidden any dragon to take my life.”
“Even though you are half-breed scum, you are my daughter’s child.”
“She’d be so touched to hear you say that.”
His gaze sharpened, striking like a sword. “Do you happen to know where she is? My agents have scoured Earth, Fairy, and hundreds of hell-dimensions, and still—she eludes me.”
“You’re not the only one she’s hiding from. I haven’t seen squat since she dumped me off on Lauphram.”
Kur nodded. “She should have just killed you and kept the throne. That would have made the Villagers happy, too.”
“Whatever. All I know is; if I see my parents again, he’s getting a fist to the face and she’s going to get bitch-slapped a little. It’s the least justice demands.”
“You mean vengeance.”
“Sometimes, it’s the same thing.” I dissolved the stool under me. My feet returned to the railing. I jumped down onto the bridge. “Are we done here? I have plots to weave and people to stomp.”
He reached into his cloak.
Carefully, I watched his hand emerge with a scroll of parchment tied with gold ribbon, sealed with a blob of red wax. The wax bore the imprint of the Imperial Seal. He held the scroll out to me. “Take it.”
I did. “Your letter of resignation?”
“A commission as a royal executioner. It gives you permission to kill anyone acting against my decrees. It also lifts the ban on you being on the dragon homeworld.”
“So, you’re giving me permission to kill your enemies.” I laughed. “I always wanted a license to kill. I’ve already got fast cars and fast women.” I stared at him, a sudden thought occurring to me.
He must have read it in my face. “No, it doesn’t let you kill me with impunity.”
“Hey! You had this ready. You weren’t surprised to know the Silver Clan’s been busy behind the throne.”
He widened his eyes dramatically. “I know everything. How do you think I’ve lived so long? Nothing has surprised me since your mother left home, at least not until I met the boy who dropped off the dead dragon. I could see the child my daughter used to be in his face. You have a son.”
“You have a great-grandson. His name is Colt.”
“A delightful child. He gave me what you call on Earth a one-finger salute.”
He flipped off the dragon emperor in his own throne room. I wish I could have seen that.
Kur said, “The next time you come, bring the boy here, let him look around. Some traditions should be passed on.”
“Just not the throne?”
“Believe it or not, the main reason I have always opposed you is your lack of compassion and sympathy for others. Absolute power needs some virtue to temper it. Now that you and your Red Lady have a child to protect, and a legacy to leave behind for that child, I can rest easier.”
“In time, I will be strong enough to take what�
�s mine.” I stared at the royal ring on his finger. “You’re not quite as strong as a god. You won’t risk the final chance to be one; to embrace death in the hope you can force open the door to divine immortality. Selene took that chance, resurrecting as what she is: Goddess of the Red Moon. She surpasses you. Our son is born a demi-god. When I’m done training him, he will surpass you as well. Your time on my throne is numbered. That’s what his one-finger salute was all about.”
Kur shrugged. “You still have to survive millions of Villagers gifted with shadow magic.”
I shrugged in turn. “One step at a time.”
“He called out, “Myrrh!”
Steps approached on the bridge, from the opposite end secured by my demons. I watched the three imperial soldiers from before. They’d been waiting in the trees until summoned. From the anger on their faces, they’d heard quite a lot of our discussion. They came to a stop several feet away. The commander in the center looked to her emperor.
“Please tell me I can kill him now.”
He sighed in sympathy. “I understand how you feel, but the answer is no. That’s the one thing that would cause my daughter to return and claim her throne. Her first act would be to execute me. She’s pure-blood so no one would stop her.”
I said, “So, she’s the one you fear.”
Kur stared at me. “You may think yourself abandoned, but she loves you. Have you ever thought that the place she hides in is so dangerous, it protects her, but might kill a child who’s only half a dragon? Sometimes, we give children away to save them, not because we don’t love them.”
“Then why haven’t I seen her in all these years, even if it’s a quick visit in the dead of night?”
“She will have known my people were always watching, waiting for exactly that opportunity to regain what we’ve lost.”
The scroll crumpled in my fist. “Something else I can blame on you.”
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.” He gave me a taunting smile, much like the one I always use. Kur slid off the railing, landing on the bridge. He waved at his guards. “See that this person and his demons find their way to a portal. I am done with them.”
07- Black Blood Brother Page 18
