by Grace, Viola
Working out tension during some light espionage seems like the thing to do while pondering her future.
Eltrinia has been progressing. She is the master of the on-loan gallery, she takes tours of all ages around, and she has been recruited for operative training at the capital.
Learning combat tactics in sparring matches with Trin is bizarrely fun. It is like looking into a tinted mirror.
When she finally gets clearance for her first mission, she is paired with Inoth and must wait for her paperwork before she can go and play spy. They finally make their way to their assignment. It turns out that he gets to be himself, and she has to pretend to be an airhead. Yay.
Inoth has been working on getting closer to Eltrinia, but circumstances and the dragon senator have been very effective at keeping them apart. When he volunteered to be her partner, there were a few snickers, but no one knew Eltrinia like he did. There was no doubt about it, he had gotten the pick of the trainees. She had skills that even he didn’t know about, but he was willing to learn.
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Dragon Designed
Copyright © 2019 by Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-987969-77-1
©Cover art by Angela Waters
All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.
Published by Viola Grace
Look for me online at violagrace.com
Dragon Designed
The Covert Dragons Book 6
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Moving between locations in the djinn fashion was a bit of work, but it let Eltrinia learn from Trin a number of things that she would never have considered on her own. Light combat was one of those things. Orisa was a determined instructor and watched them both, side by side, while they beat the living hell out of each other.
It had definitely been a bonding moment with the woman she considered to be her sister. Eltrinia stepped into her bathroom and stared at her bruised face in the mirror. She let lightning crackle through her skin, and the bits of blood and bruising disappeared.
Only three weeks had passed since she had created an international incident involving the monarchy of Jianoa and the destruction of a mountain. It was kind of fun to have an entire country where she was forbidden to set foot. It really made her feel like she had made an impression.
She checked her chronometer and logged on to her information unit. She needed to do more research on some of the combat techniques that Rish was teaching them.
At the knock on her door, she called out, “Come in.”
The curator came in and brought a tea tray. “So, how was the capital?”
“It was fun. I learned how to properly throw a punch tonight.”
The curator smiled. “Excellent. You look well, but you do have blood streaking your vest.”
“Oh, Trin got a good shot at my nose. It was like it exploded.” She grinned and wrinkled her nose.
“So, you have reached the teen portion of your development. Excellent.”
The curator was using that word frequently. Something had to be up. “Yes, we did some combat training with Rish, and then, we had dessert.”
“As is appropriate. So, you are well now?”
“I am. Why?” Eltrinia looked at her host, employer, and benefactor with narrowed eyes.
“There has been a request or two from the capital to have your assistance in a few matters regarding the labs that have popped up all over the continent.”
Eltrinia reached for the pot and poured tea for two. She picked up her cup and sipped. “I think I can manage that. Would it affect my shifts in the museum?”
“We can work around it. So, you are interested?”
“I am. As interesting as I turned out, there is a lot of potential for abuse in the genetic manipulation of dragons.”
The curator snorted. “You can say that again. Interesting is not the word I would use, however.”
Eltrinia sipped at her tea. “So, when do they need me?”
“How are you feeling right now?”
“Pretty good.”
“Excellent.” She swung the information machine around and pulled up a series of images. “You need to arrive here in ten minutes.”
Eltrinia swallowed the rest of her tea, and she stared at the images, extrapolating the environment she needed to land in. “What do they need me to do?”
“Overwhelm the security systems and assist in destroying any non-viable work. If there are folk in process, so to speak, leave them be, and they will be taken by the senator’s guard.”
“That’s it? Just a little light breaking and entering and some destruction of property?”
“That’s it, for now. The senator’s guards will have identification, and you know what the insignia looks like, so just keep an eye out for that. The people who have designed this project are after it with religious zeal. Those are dangerous people.”
Eltrinia nodded soberly. “I understand. I am not going to do this lightly.”
“Good. Change your vest to something without blood and get yourself to the rendezvous location.”
“Yes, Curator.” She stood and paused. “Do I get paid for this, too?”
“Yes, considerably.”
“Excellent. Creata has offered to help make me a vehicle with an eye to something that can drive itself when I can’t and that I can take with me when I move in the djinn fashion. That costs money as the materials to keep it lightweight are rather expensive.”
“You are learning about commerce. Good for you.”
She unbuckled her outer vest and set it aside for laundering. “I am nearly six weeks old now, and I love to learn. Finances had to kick into it somewhere.”
“You are learning so much so quickly.” The curator smiled and stood up. “I look forward to your update when you return. You always have such fun adventures when you leave the museum.”
Eltrinia shrugged into a matte black jacket with a floor-length skirt. It was her evening espionage wear, and Trin had thoughtfully provided it a few weeks earlier. Mirbella was having a lovely time making practical gowns that all kept with the theme of being able to run, jump, fight, or shoot lightning.
She settled her clothing, checked her hair in the mirror, and grinned at the loose mass of dark hair. The clock was ticking, so she went back to the images on the screen, closed her eyes to design the space around her, and then, she stepped into it, turning herself into smoke to make the journey.
She nearly materialized on one of the guards, but she moved around him and continued forward into the empty space.
She glanced back at the floor, and there was a box outlined with marker, and the words DO NOT STAND HERE were in bright letters.
She looked at the man, and his eyes widened when she stared at him. She pointed down and said, “When it says, do not stand here, don’t stand there.”
He blinked. “Who are you?”
Inoth N’Mir stepped out of the shadows. “She is the operative that we have been waiting for. You nearly cost yourself your life. When she materialized, she would have blown you apart.”
Eltrinia smiled. “Nice to see you again. Enjoying your time on the continent?”
He snorted. “It has been interesting. Now, can you fix the locks?”
“As you wish.”
She turned, crossed the room, and addressed herself to the electric tumblers o
n the very heavy metal door. She set her hand against the lock, and she turned them at a good speed, pausing only when the tumbler set into the opening position.
There were four guards and Inoth behind her. She heard one asking, “Can’t you just teleport through the wall?”
“No. I cannot go to places I have not seen.”
The man muttered, “Then, how did she get here?”
Eltrinia finished the last two tumblers and opened the door. “They sent me photos, and I made a model of the space in my mind. I wasn’t counting on your fat ass to be there.”
The man pokered up, but Inoth told them to hush. The stairs exposed by the door led into damp shadows.
Eltrinia took a step forward, but Inoth gave her a droll look. “Please, let me go first.”
She shrugged, and he led the way into the darkness. One of the younger guardsmen went ahead of her, but the next one offered her a hand. She inclined her head but walked easily down the slippery steps. Keeping control of the lightning was the tricky bit.
She didn’t touch the walls, she walked down the center of the pathway. When the men began to gather at the end of the tunnel, she sighed. “Out of the way.”
The digital lock was less elaborate than the one on the surface. She sent a short pulse, and the door opened, swinging inward. She heard a click, felt a shift of air movement, and threw herself to the side, on top of Inoth, and the two men with him. They dodged the cascade of flames, and the interior lit up enough that she could make her way inside. Inoth beat her to it, and the lab tech holding the flamethrower was soon on the ground.
She watched Inoth move around the room, verifying that there had only been one guard left in the chamber. She touched the wall and shorted out the energy pattern that was flickering in the wall and attached to several stations.
Inoth looked at her. “What was that?”
“There were ignition systems in the walls. They won’t activate now. We can get the information units and take them in for research.”
One of the guards said, “We are not to bring back any of the data.”
She frowned but kept an eye on the guards as they did a systematic search. She found the samples that were about to be churned into new creations, and she opened the case and sent enough power through the samples that they boiled in their tubes.
The same guard who said they couldn’t take the data, screamed in horror as she destroyed the samples.
She glanced over at him. “These were my orders from the capital. Destroy all non-viable items. All viable experiments are to be brought to the capital.”
She took in the strangely arranged uniform, his badge pinned on top of the crest on his tunic. No one covered the icon of the senator’s service.
She lifted her hand, and after the arc of power had dropped him, she continued on, wrecking the lab.
Inoth asked, “Do you know what you are doing?”
“I am pretty sure that I don’t, but I know what kind of damage these experiments can do.” She walked to the three nearly completed projects which were floating in tanks of liquid.
“Shall I take them back to the capital?”
Eltrinia smiled. “That would be lovely. I am going to gut the information machines.”
One of the other guards was tying up the one that she had dropped. “I can bring him home.”
“I am guessing he is a member of the valley researchers. Make sure that he gets to the proper authorities for interrogation.”
Inoth smiled. “You don’t want to question him here?”
Eltrinia moved through the lab and touched the temple of the unconscious man. She flicked through the bits of fanaticism and found what she needed. She extended her left hand and shocked the guard who had been putting the restraints on the prisoner.
Inoth groaned. “Another conspirator?”
“Yes. I will be back in a moment. The other two are fine, by the way.” She heaved the men under her arms, crouched, and transported herself to the Wheel in the capital. Guards rushed toward her, and she said, “Ask the senator.”
She flickered back to the lab and stood straight, brushing her clothing. “There. They are in custody. Now, I am going to take the machines apart. For the tanks, you can find a battery backup next to each unit. It will give you ten hours to fly them back to the capital. Try to keep them upright. They are aware, if not awake. The kinder you are now, the better it will be if you want them to be friends with you after being decanted.”
Inoth blinked. “What?”
“The valley is making females. Female dragons with blends of genetic lines that haven’t been seen before are in these tanks. If they can be brought to a nice and normal term, they will be functioning members of society. If they are not, they can be enemies and fearsome enemies at that.” She looked into the shadows where two brunettes and a woman with a wild head of peacock blue hair were slowly floating, their limbs curled inward and twitched occasionally.
The two remaining guards looked at her, and Inoth smiled. “I will help get them to the surface. I can’t get contact with them, or I would transport them myself.”
Eltrinia showed them how to hook up the battery packs, and then, she stepped back to answer her com.
Vasic Tal was on the line. “Mistress Lem.”
“Secretary Tal. What can I do for you?”
“Did you just teleport into the lobby with unconscious men in dodgy guard uniforms?”
“Oh, you noticed, too? I have never seen a badge worn over a crest before.”
“Yes, I noticed. What are they?”
“Valley sycophants. It seems there is an underground movement. They are being promised first crack at the new developments when they are mature enough to mate.”
“Hells. Right. I will ask the senator about creating a drop zone for you. That way, you won’t have to cause an uproar in the main foyer.”
“Right. Next time, elevator.” Eltrinia grinned.
“You are far too like your progenitor. I will send you images and details for the new drop point.”
Eltrinia chuckled and hung up.
Inoth looked up from the last tank. “They were irritated?”
“They usually are. Trin says it is a natural state. They are working on getting me a drop site for any additional arrests that I need to make.”
The guardsmen looked at her and blinked, one of them whispered hoarsely. “You are on a first-name basis with the diamond dragon.”
She grinned. “Last name, too. We are both named Lem. Now, let’s get these tanks out of here so you can fly them back.”
It would have been easier with more people, but they didn’t have them, so Eltrinia wrapped her skirts tight to keep them out of the way and helped the dragons into the mechanical lift system. Eltrinia stayed with the tanks while the others were being lifted to the roof.
She spoke quietly to her sisters by design. “Don’t worry. They will keep you safe, and you will be educated and raised. You will probably meet my sister and her friends. They are wonderful. You might even have sisters yourself, hell, you might even be sisters yourself. I will check on you as often as I can. I have just started life out of the tank myself, but I was made by mistake. You will have a chance to start with a clean slate and do it right. My life has been a bit of a bungle so far, and I am still learning things. Dragons are complicated. The beings around here are complicated. Men are surprisingly complicated, but you are pure and direct. You are here by design, ladies. Make the most of it.”
She finished her ramble as the lift rose, and Inoth and one of the guards was standing on the roof. The knife to Inoth’s throat was an indicator that the operators had not known about each other.
She used her power to activate her com, and she spoke. “That isn’t very sportsmanlike.”
Inoth murmured. “The other guardsman has been stabbed. We only had a quarter of the men that we thought we did.”
Eltrinia looked behind the two men she was f
acing, and she smiled. “We have a few more than they counted on as well.”
Brommin’s flight of dragons made slight glints in the dark night, but otherwise, the dragons glided in silently and far closer than they should have been since she just called in backup.
Twenty of the largest dragons on the continent landed with soft thuds around the clandestine facility on the edge of the third oldest city on the continent. The guard with his knife at Inoth’s throat was shocked when Brommin’s clawed hand wrapped around him and his prisoner.
Inoth smiled, shrugged, and disappeared in a swirl of black smoke, leaving his captor alone. He returned in a moment with the only proper guard they had had. The man was bleeding from the shoulder and waist, so Eltrinia stepped forward and applied her hands. He jumped as the energy touched him, but his tissue began to knit as she pulled her hands away. He exhaled slowly. “That hurts, but thank you.”
She nodded, and a large bronze dragon opened his hand for the guardsman. “Hello, Torm. Hello, Brommin. Thank you both for coming.”
The dragons looked at her with laughter in their gazes.
“The tanks here have all been fitted with power packs. You have nine hours to get them to a reliable power source. Are you good for that?”
Brommin’s dragon nodded his head.
She stood next to Inoth as the dragons took the tanks and flew off under escort. Three were left for cleanup, and she had only ten minutes to get what she could from the information units.
She transported to the lab and deliberately smashed open every unit. The memory chips were easy to spot. She had spent weeks learning how to build and repair the things after the first and last time she burned out the one the curator had given to her. She was careful as she wrapped the chips in insulated fabric.
“Do you need anything else?”
She looked at the lab and shook her head. “No, this is all that we can get from here.”
“Good. I can feel them shifting their weight. They are getting ready to fire.”
