This time, his handwriting was resolute.
*****
Alec walked down the concrete hallway into the main room, stopping only to remove a handgun from the holster of a dead and disappeared security guard. His finger throbbed. He didn't really know how to use the gun, but he only had to shoot one thing in the room to achieve what needed to be done. He knew from watching movies how to check to see if it was loaded, and he made sure the safety was off. No sense risking a small mistake now.
The carnage in the main dragon observatory was incredible, and the destruction matched the chaos and the noise. Three men were fighting against a dwindling number of Mr. Host's now naked security men. How they had lost their clothing was beyond Alec, but they looked afraid, and disorganized. They don't have any junk. Or nipples. Look at that. The three men (two younger, one older) were all shooting guns into the daemons that were highly effective against them. Each pistol shot seemed to kill instantly, and the man with the automatic weapon was firing so many bullets, even the daemonic bodies couldn't withstand the attack. The old man held a sword in his hand that crackled with an electrical charge. A naked guard tried to sneak up on him, and an arc of electricity shot out and destroyed him. A black puff of smoke was all that remained.
Alec watched as a smaller but similar golden version of Kaula literally went around the room, tearing Mr. Host's men limb from limb as easily as Alec could tear off a sheet of paper towel. That must be Tesser. I thought he'd be bigger. Each of the mangled bodies disappeared into a puff of smoke instead of gore and right as each was destroyed, their faces shifted into that of Mr. Host's. It's almost like he's trying to catch up to Tesser to fight back. Above them in the earth, a terrible thumping, scraping noise resumed. Something was digging down to get at them again. Something very large.
"STOP!" Alec screamed. Suddenly the gunfire abated, and the daemon guards turned towards him, concerned and apologetic. Caught. They raised their hands in a calming gesture, attempting to appear nonthreatening.
"Now Alec, don't do anything rash," Mr. Host said. Another Mr. Host added, "Please leave; it's for your own safety. You don't understand how much I care for you, Alec. Please listen."
Behind a row of the face-shifting bastards, Tesser's face changed. He'd seen Alec enter the chamber. "YOU!" He screamed out a half dragon's mouth. From above, a massive crack appeared in the reinforced concrete ceiling and gray dust fell like dirty snow. Something was nearly inside the room.
Alec nodded sadly. "Yeah me. Me all along. But I came out here so we could set things right, Tesser."
The half dragon stormed across the room, knocking aside several of Legion's remaining bodies, but he stopped short of dismembering Alec. As the men that came with him dealt with the surviving guards, it crouched slightly, coiled and ready to end his life. "Speak," he said, his voice full of restrained anger.
"I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for taking Matty, and I hope to God nothing is wrong with your child. God only knows what the fuck these things were pumping into her. She's safe, right back there. I wrote something on the wall for you too. Make sure you read it. Make sure the lawyers read it. All I wanted to do was help people like my dad did, Tesser. Well, like I thought he did. Here now, I'm starting to realize that my father may not have been the good person I thought he was. All I wanted was to do good. Be a hero. All I wanted to do was follow in his footsteps, make him proud. And you know what? I did. I took every step the same as he did, and in the end, it got me the same thing it got him." Alec looked down at the handgun, then back at Tesser. "In bed with a devil, and dead."
Kaula, I'm sorry this took so long.
"Nooooo!!!" Legion screamed through all his remaining mouths in unison.
Alec put the handgun to his chin and pulled the trigger. A forgiving blackness took him away from the world filled with the consequences of his family's mistake.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Tesser
The handgun went off with a muffled crack, and Alec Fitzgerald met a messy, but honorable end. Legion's multitude of now human forms all spun to face Tesser, their identical faces covered in humiliation and anger.
"I guess this time it ends a little differently, eh?" Tesser said through the incredible pain he was experiencing. The dragon's body was torn up by the daemonic assaults that had been laid against it. His flesh was torn, bloody, and agonizing.
"Like you, I cannot be killed, Tesser. I will return, and next ti…" the bodies of the daemon ceased to exist in the blink of Tesser's dragon eye, leaving a strange popping noise in their wake. The sound of Earth's air rushing in to fill their void.
The ceiling continued to crack from Garamos' loud assault above. He'd be through the concrete in just a few seconds. The smell in the room was beyond horrifying. Daemon blood and the rapidly rotting carcasses of the manifested bodies that didn't disappear gave off enough of a stench that the three men in the room had to cover their faces.
Abe is alive. I was worried there for a moment. Abe had been tossed into a desk by the explosion of the massive spider's corpse. His head had been racked up hard against the wooden top of the desk, and he'd lost consciousness and a lot of blood. Mr. Doyle was tending to the young man as he leaned up against the desk that'd nearly killed him. His eyes swayed to and fro, unable to focus. The aged British warrior was producing another bottle of reddish liquid from a pouch for the boy. He'll be okay in time.
Tesser turned to Spoon, who was nursing a hurt shoulder. He was covered in slime, dirt, and a hundred small cuts that wept just enough blood to make him look like he'd been thrown through a pile of plate glass windows then tossed with salt and lemon. He looked bad. "Spoon. Can you go to where Alec said Matty was? Make sure she's okay. Bring her to me. Please."
"On it," Spoon said before limping away towards the hallway Alec had come from. Strength personified. This is the best of the human spirit.
Tesser turned to the giant, torn plastic enclosure that held his sister away from him. The room was too large for him to shift into his full form in, so he simply began to rip the plastic apart to get at her. The soft clear substance gave way easily under his claws, and before long, the scaffolding holding it up came down too. She was exposed now, ready to be freed. I hope she hasn't suffered too much. Let me set you free, sister.
The ceiling broke apart, raining down television-sized chunks of concrete. Garamos' tree trunk sized fingers poked into the room before tearing back a sheet of concrete, letting in fresh air, and the soft rain of white snow. Tesser looked up and saw his brother's face. Garamos seemed relieved.
"Is she safe?" Garamos rumbled from above. Tesser could see Kiarohn circling above and Zeud leaning over the hole.
"I don't know yet. She lives, but she seems… not well. She is very sick," Tesser said. The dragon of life leaned over her face and removed the massive mask as Zeud fell to the floor of the massive chamber in naked human form. She was back to being a long legged, incredibly beautiful redhead. She came to her sister and brother, her face full of worry.
"Jesus shit. You are beautiful," Abe said, holding the back of his head.
"Thank you," Zeud said politely back.
"Son, you already have one redhead," Mr. Doyle said, never taking his eyes off of Tesser and the purple dragon. Abe looked sheepish.
"Zeud, pull that tube out," Tesser said pointing to a large IV tube with the diameter of a human's wrist. It entered Kaula's body at the point most aptly described as the dragon's armpit. Zeud did as she was asked as Tesser removed another tube from her rear leg. Bright red blood feebly spilled out when the evil feeds were taken away.
Another woman appeared, dropping from the hole in the ceiling. She landed on the floor deftly like a cat, rolling and coming up already on the move. She was tall like Zeud, but had a paler skin tone and long blonde hair. Her eyes sparkled both blue and green and she too was remarkably beautiful, though there was something uncivilized about her. Something wild.
Tesser stopped and smiled at the strange
woman. Her appearance was the dawn after an endless night. "Fyelrath. I've missed you so. I'm glad to see you," Tesser said, pausing to greet his sister.
"Is she alive?" Fyelrath asked. Her face was wrought with fear for her sister.
"Only in the strictest sense," Tesser said sadly. He stood near her face, and shifted down into his human form. He was naked again, like his sisters.
Each of them moved to their sick sister and rested a reassuring hand on her still face. Her sides inflated slowly as she breathed through her nose gently, in hitching inhalations. It was weak, but her breathing was her own finally. She seemed to be returning to some kind of life, though slowly.
"Tesser?"
"Matty?" Tesser stood quickly and turned. Behind him, Spoon helped Matty walk. She looked drained and weak. She had an arm around his shoulders and leaned on him heavily. Tesser went to her and took her weight, wrapping his arms around her strongly. He lifted her off the ground in an embrace and inhaled her scent. She smelled of cool running water that had been fouled ever so slightly. She smelled like the drops of evil that were scattered all around Kaula. He didn't care. She was in his arms again. He found her mouth and kissed her passionately, ignoring the grossness of their bodies. I have missed this woman so. Mother of my child and… woman I love.
"You're naked again," Matty said with a smile, her nose against his.
A tear spilled out and ran down Tesser's face. A tear of joy. "I have a lot of trouble with clothing."
"More of that prolific need to be naked, eh? Sexy times again? Cross off another species?" Matty taunted, squeezing him tightly again. Their argument was long lost. All that was left between the two of them was the joy of being back together.
"No, nothing like that. Been too busy today. Maybe if you're free later?"
Matty started to cry, and the two simply held one another. Everyone else watched and there were more tears.
"Freedom at last," a weak new voice added.
Kaula. Tesser turned and sat Matty down. The purple dragon's sad eyes were open, though they were flecked with black and grey. She had been invaded by the evil from across the Veil. Her body was tainted and profoundly ill. "Kaula. It is so good to see you. To hear your voice again."
"Oh, my darling brother, it is good to see you again as well. Fyelrath, Zeud, Garamos. Kiarohn I am not strong enough to lift my head to look up at you, but I feel your wind against my face. It is a welcome sensation." A small gust of wind picked up in response. Kiarohn's kiss.
"What can we do? How can we revive you? Put life back into this body to make you well again?" Zeud asked, rubbing her sister's snout.
"Who else is here? I can smell four humans. I recognize two of you. Henry, is that you I smell?"
Spoon stepped forward, overwhelmed by the moment, "Yes, Kaula, I'm here. Thank you for the help earlier. You saved Abe's life, probably all of ours." The other men looked at Spoon, wondering what he was talking about.
"A small token of my appreciation, Henry. Thank you for dealing with my urgings all this time. I've pressured you so much of late and you've handled it very well. Better than I expected." Kaula was proud, but tired.
"Urgings?" Spoon asked.
"I compelled you to follow my brother. The alley? Your presence at the restaurant that day was partly due to me whispering in your ear, Henry. Were it not for your instincts, I would not have been able to reach out to you in the first place. I'm glad you were able to avoid punishment for my compelling you." Kaula's voice became more exhausted with each word but she finished her statement.
"It's no problem. I'm glad you did what you did."
Kaula closed her eyes, seemingly nodding. "Who else is there? Two men. You smell of magic. A most welcome thing to breathe in. Who are you?"
Mr. Doyle stepped forward first. "I am known as Mr. Doyle, Kaula. I am but a modest wizard, channeling your magic for the greater good."
Kaula snorted a weak laugh. "Mr. Doyle, your channeling of magic has not always been for the greater good. I can smell the years on you, and they add up to far more than what your body says. Although you are a good person. I am pleased that you have aided my family this night. Welcome."
Mr. Doyle stepped away, speechless at last.
"I'm, Abraham Fellows, Kaula. It's an honor," Abe was still unsteady from his injuries, and used a discarded carbine as a cane. At least he has the sense to keep the barrel down.
"The honor is mine, Abraham. To be surrounded by men and women of such valor does me a credit that I can never repay. Thank you for your sacrifices, Abraham. You have done a great thing this day."
"I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Kaula," Abe said, puffing up proudly.
"I know, and in time, you'll be called upon again. I'm certain of it. And Matty, you are here too? No longer just a pleasant dream? Step in front of my eyes so I can see you in this world finally."
Tesser helped Matty move so Kaula could see her. The couple stood near her left eye. "Hello, Kaula. It's nice to finally meet you," Matty said. She seems almost as weak as my sister.
The tiniest dragon smile cracked Kaula's lip. "The same to you, Matilde. I'm very proud of you. My brother chose wisely."
"Thank you," Tesser said.
"No, Tesser, thank you. It saddens me to say this, but here is where one journey ends and another can begin. We all have the two of you to thank for that chance of new beginning," Kaula said.
"What?" Fyelrath and Zeud said simultaneously.
"Kaula, what are you speaking of?" Tesser asked firmly. She's scaring me.
Sadly, but proudly, the dragon of magic spoke. "Tesser, brothers and sisters, I am too far gone to continue. My body is full of the evil Legion pumped into me from across the Veil, and it shall not last. I am hollow now. Near all of my will is spent to stay alive for this moment. I can live only so much longer, and the longer I remain, the worse the world will be for it. All my magic is corrupted and darkened, and should I survive, the world's magic will reflect what they have made of me. I am their success in failure. If I survive, they have won."
"But you cannot die. Dragons are immortal, right?" Abe asked aloud, his voice filled with the same fear and uncertainty the dragons felt.
A new voice, a man's voice spoke, "I suppose there is one way for a dragon to die."
Everyone turned and laid eyes on the speaker. It was another dragon, a small one, half the size of the others, and as black as midnight. His presence seemed almost like a lack of reality in the shape of a dragon. His wings were folded and his tail wrapped at his feet. His neck was long and topped with a skull that was wreathed in six curving horns, two upward, two back, two forward, framing the jaw. The dragon's scales gleamed with a sinister slickness, and his eyes were a strange, sad, soul-filled black. His very existence seemed mournful.
Tesser snarled and stepped in between the strange new dragon and Kaula. The other two female dragons did the same as Garamos' massive dragon fist slammed into the chamber floor through the hole above, cracking stone and threatening God-like violence.
Tesser threatened the dragon, "Ambryn, away with you. You were never made for this purpose! It is anathema to even think of it. The balance would be cast to oblivion! All would be lost! There must always be seven! Always! Never six."
"Silly brothers and sisters, Ambryn is here at my request," Kaula said, sounding even more exhausted than before. Ambryn sat back and crossed his arms patiently, a sad expression coming across his face as his eyes drifted to the floor.
What? Tesser spun and faced his sister. "Are you insane? If you die, all magic will fade. The world will fall into even more chaos. There must be seven. We cannot carry on without you. The balance."
"Kaula, this is madness," Zeud, the dragon of fire pleaded.
Kaula sighed. "I've arranged for everything." Kaula turned a massive purple eye to Matty. The eye drifted down to Matty's stomach. "Matilde. Your daughter."
Matty understood. She nodded. She'd known for some time now.
What? "Kaula? Matty?
What is going on here?"
"Tesser, you chose wisely. So very wisely. I had to nudge you a bit once. Had to urge you to take the risk. You couldn't simply make a baby dragon with heedless lust. You needed love too. And you did it. You loved her. You still love her, and you always will. And that love, your love… is enough. To birth a child capable of being the seventh dragon in my stead, I needed the dragon of life. I needed you, and I needed Matilde, a woman strong enough to bear the burden of a dragon in her womb. With your union, and my passing, your unborn daughter will become the seventh dragon unborn. Rejoice. As one life leaves this world, another is poised to join it."
"Noo…" Tesser said, dropping to his knees sobbing, shaking his head like a destroyed child. He put his hands on Kaula's face gently, pleading. "No, you can't. You mustn't. We've had forever together, the seven of us. You mustn't give up. It's too soon. We'll find a way."
Fyelrath stood shaking her head, her arms crossed over her breasts, salty tears running from red, sad eyes.
Zeud backed away, incredible pain on her face. She shook her head and mumbled unintelligible words of sadness. She backed into a bank of computing equipment and began to cry as more snow fell softly on them all. Above the winds churned powerfully, stirred by Kiarohn's grief.
A single wet tear fell to the floor from Garamos' eye above. It splashed as if a bowl of water had been tipped over. His lips curled in anger. "Ambryn, if you do her bidding, so help me, I will destroy you."
The much smaller dragon was crying as well. To watch death itself cry was more emotional than anyone gathered present could handle without joining in. "I suffer this duty for my sister, Garamos. I've wept since she beckoned for me and I realized what she needed. I've wept for this whole battle, fighting my own daemons. Hate me not, brothers and sisters. I do this for her, for us, and for the balance."
Garamos roared into the night sky above. He punched the earth above repeatedly, trying to vent his anger. All he managed to do was shake free several tumbling chunks of stone and iron. He was shattered with grief.
Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) Page 34
