Dragon Consultant

by Mell Eight

  Dane stood up first. He wanted to stay and speak with Mercury about something happier. He longed to see Mercury smile and Mercury's eyes light up again. Dane's terrible impulses when Mercury had been unconscious and naked had only doubled the moment Mercury had spoken to him. Dane wanted Mercury and he was pretty sure Mercury wanted him too, but Nickel wouldn't allow Dane the private time to find out for certain. Dane doubted he would find that time until after Jacobson was dealt with and they had rescued the air dragons, at which point Mercury would be healed and on his way back home with his kits. It would be better for Dane if he found a way to push his lust aside and forget about bedding Mercury altogether.

  He would run screaming from Dane eventually anyway, just like all Dane's past lovers. Why put himself through that pain again, especially since he already knew Mercury would be leaving soon enough?

  "I'll take your bowls back to the kitchen," Dane said, holding out his hand for Nickel and Mercury's empty bowls. They passed them over and Dane stacked them on the tray before turning and leaving the room. His resolve would have to start now. Right this minute. He had to stop thinking about Mercury in a sexual sense. Instead he thought about Nickel's face if he were to catch them in bed together and the murderous rage that would no doubt follow.

  Dane was laughing softly to himself when he reached the kitchen. Three bowls had been left on the floor and there was no sign of the kits that had left them there. Dane stooped to pick them up and stacked everything in the dishwasher. Copper hadn't brought his bowl down yet, not a surprising fact, so Dane waited to start the wash cycle.

  Nickel met Dane in his office a few minutes later. Nickel was wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt and it looked like Mercury had made him comb his blue hair. He didn't look nearly as wild now, Dane couldn't help thinking, except then he glared up at Dane. His eyes were still as serious as a serial killer's.

  "Are we going?" Nickel snapped. He held out one hand imperiously for Dane to take so Dane could transport them both to work. How could Dane not obey his command? Dane took Nickel's hand while trying to hide a grin and pulled them both towards work.

  Becky was already sitting at her desk when they arrived. She stood up with a wide smile when she saw that Dane wasn't alone.

  "Who have you brought with you?" she gushed. Becky might have been a banshee, but she liked kids. She was too busy to help out at Dane's house like Daisy, but she never minded when Dane brought them to work.

  "This is Nickel. He's waiting on the phone call from Jacobson with me."

  "And the little one?" Becky asked. She walked around her desk and kneeled on the floor. She was looking at Dane's feet and he confusedly followed her gaze to see Lumie. He had the thumb of one hand in his mouth. The other hand was fisted around the cuff of Dane's pants. Dane should have noticed Lumie. There was no possible way Dane could have missed him. Hell, even Dane's magic hadn't noticed that he was transporting a third person.

  Lumie smiled happily up at Dane and gave his thumb another contented suck. That damned brat!

  "I Lumie," he chirped at Becky with another smile.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The kits never could stay away for very long. Mercury knew that. Even Nickel, his most independent kit, and Copper, his most aloof kit, had to stop by and see him at least once a day. All dragons had some form of separation anxiety thanks to the genetic behavior of parents abandoning their kits once they had physically grown enough to survive on their own. It was a terrible practice, but the territorial urges that all fully-grown dragons experienced meant that parents would be just as likely to accidentally view their kits as territory intruders as protect them. Dragons spent too much of their childhoods alone, something his kits were all too aware of.

  Mercury had learned to fly at nine years old and had been lucky enough to eventually wander into a city where he was tossed into the local orphanage. Too many kits died because of a practice that dragons couldn't help repeating. Nickel and Copper, for example, had barely been surviving in the woods when the enemy had taken them. 'Ron and Chrome were too young to have experienced that firsthand, but they had been through the government labs and were equally scarred. Dragon kits needed the chance to actually grow up. To be fed and clothed and hugged even after they had learned to fly. It was an issue Mercury had thought about asking whether the Genie of the East had a possible solution to, not that he had high hopes someone could change a territorial need. Besides, he had to actually save the dragons from the enemy first before he could even think of a more long-term solution.

  Chrome and 'Ron ended up sprawled across his bed not even an hour after Nickel and Dane had left. 'Ron whined and crawled under the covers, her head resting on Mercury's knee. Chrome took up the end of the bed with a grumble.

  "It's not fair!" 'Ron moaned. She rolled over, pulling the covers with her as she moved. Chrome snarled and yanked on the blankets to flatten them back out underneath him, which made 'Ron squawk and flail to move the blankets back where she wanted them.

  Mercury let out a snarl and sent a pulse of magic through the blanket. Both kits froze in place. "That's enough," Mercury admonished. He preferred their antics to sitting alone and bored, but allowing them to continue would destroy the bedroom and might accidentally also destroy Dane's house.

  Dane seemed very prosaic about the kits running roughshod around his house. Mercury doubted the banister would ever be the same, given Chrome's stories about chewing on it, yet Dane had not complained even once. Dane was such a beautiful man with or without his glamour, but Mercury couldn't help also admiring Dane's easygoing personality. Plus, the way Dane had looked completely furious—his eyes flashing with power and his fists clenched in anger—when Mercury had told him about the labs had been both deadly and stunning. It wasn't an image Mercury would ever forget, nor did he honestly want to. Beautiful men whose power was equal to Mercury's own weren't a dime a dozen. Mercury wanted to savor every moment and every memory so that when he was healed and had moved on with his kits, Mercury could take advantage of his fond memories of Dane in his few, private—kit-less—moments.

  "Sorry, Daddy," Chrome and 'Ron both grumbled simultaneously.

  "But it's still not fair!" 'Ron reiterated with another whine.

  "What isn't fair?" Mercury asked, wondering if he was going to regret asking. 'Ron had complained about the fact that she couldn't hop like a frog just as fervently as when she was pointing out the poisonous snake Lumie was about to investigate.

  "That Nickel and Lumie both got to go to the office with Dane. I wanted to go too!"

  "And Lumie?" Mercury repeated sharply. He knew Lumie fairly well after watching over him for a few months and couldn't help wondering when Lumie had decided to go too. The real question Mercury had was whether Dane had noticed Lumie tagging along. And the answer was probably not. Mercury sighed.

  Mercury knew that Lumie's powers were above average, so if something did happen Lumie could take care of himself. Hopefully Dane would also notice Lumie before Lumie got into trouble. Unfortunately, all Mercury could do at the moment was worry.

  "If you ask nicely, Dane might bring you to his office next time," Mercury replied, hoping he wasn't putting words into Dane's mouth.

  Chrome and 'Ron immediately brightened. 'Ron crawled up Mercury's chest and stuck her head out of the end of the blankets right below Mercury's chin.

  "Really?" she gasped excitedly. "I have to tell Copper!" She bounced off the bed and dashed for the bedroom door.

  "Wait for me!" Chrome yelled as he jumped off the bed and ran after her. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving Mercury alone again. He groaned tiredly as he levered his body into a sitting position. Dragon fever sucked royally. Aside from the fact that he had probably been well on his way towards dying in the woods before Dane had rescued them, which would have left his poor kits alone and none of the other dragons saved, the recovery was a long and annoying process. He was a Bronze Precious Dragon, strong in magic and in body. His magic had recovered, of cour
se, but he didn't have the strength or stamina in the rest of his body to handle the stress using his magic caused. He could barely walk to the bathroom and back.

  It was an amazing improvement from the first time he had made that short journey. Daisy had needed to support him back to the bed then. He could do it on his own now, but it rankled that Dane had promised to return in time to make lunch for the kits because Mercury couldn't even get downstairs to the kitchen. He couldn't take care of his own kits!

  Mercury pushed away his depressing thoughts. He only needed a few more days to recuperate, Mercury reminded himself. He would be back to full strength soon enough, and then he and his kits would leave Dane's house to continue on their journey. There was no need to impose on Dane for any longer than they needed to, even though they could hopefully continue working together against the government stooge hurting the dragons.

  Yet the thought of leaving sent an unhappy pang through his chest. He would still see Dane, Mercury reminded himself, even if it wouldn't be multiple times a day.

  Mercury threw his legs off the side of the bed with a snort of disgust and slowly levered himself to his feet. Maybe a bath would take his mind off of Dane's pretty face. He had clearly been lying in bed for too long if he couldn't get his mind off the man he wanted to join him in bed. Dane was the Genie of the East. He had said he wasn't an actual genie, but to get that reputation he had to have a lot of influence and power in the supernatural community. He wouldn't need to stoop to Mercury's level to find a bit of pleasure; hell, he probably had dozens of lovers eagerly waiting for him. Mercury was a precious dragon, which meant his magic was far stronger than most other magical creatures, but even he wasn't a match for someone with Dane's overwhelming abilities. Dane wouldn't appreciate Mercury's infatuation, Mercury knew, and he tried to force that resolve into his brain where lust had taken over.

  His progress across the room was slow, but steady. His feet were sturdier than his thoughts, to be perfectly honest. Mercury reached the bathroom doorjamb and leaned tiredly against it. His eyes saw the bathroom—the sink, toilet, and bathtub unchanged since his last visit—but his mind was still stuck on that morning, eating oatmeal with Dane. It was difficult to wait on an invalid and his kits, yet Dane hadn't seemed to mind the extra effort.

  And, damn it, he was thinking about Dane again. Mercury stumbled the rest of the way into the bathroom and yanked on the lever to turn the hot water on in the tub. He spun back around to shut and lock the door. Only Lumie could get through that without making an inordinate amount of noise and damage, which meant Mercury had a private space all to himself for a few moments. He made sure the tub was filling and shucked his clothing, then sat down on the toilet cover to wait for his bath to be ready.

  His scales were dull, Mercury noticed as he ran a hand down his chest. It was the clearest indication that he was still unwell—aside from the fact that he had to take a bath instead of a shower because his legs wouldn't hold his body up long enough to get clean. He wasn't looking his best, which was another reason Dane would never deign to look twice at him.

  Mercury snarled at himself. He needed to get Dane out of his head! He was losing objectivity. His focus needed to be solely on finding and destroying the last of the government labs. He needed to save the dragons, not assuage his own libido.

  The tub was full, so Mercury shut off the water and carefully climbed in. It was nice and warm, the steam gently caressing his face as he leaned his head back against the wall behind him. The bar of soap was green and smelled faintly of jasmine as Mercury leisurely washed off his scales. The heat and the nice scent combined began to relax his tight shoulders. The bath could only be better if he had someone to massage the last of the tenseness from his muscles.

  Dane would be good at giving a massage. Mercury could tell by the length of his fingers and the strong muscles in his forearms. Dane, with his long blond hair dripping and plastered to his trim and sexy body as he leaned over Mercury in the bath to get to the next group of muscles. His big blue eyes were intent on his task, but did not lack the heat being naked in the tub together required.

  The bar of soap was lost as Dane took his hardening length in hand. He stroked himself slowly, enjoying the fantasy and pretending it was Dane's long fingers squeezing him firmly. He twisted his fist slightly with an extra squeeze as he got to the head and let out a little gasp as his hips arched involuntarily upward in the water. That loss of control would make Dane grin in triumph. Mercury would be returning the pleasurable favor with his own hand, of course, and eventually those sexy pointed ears would appear as Dane also lost control and his glamour slipped.

  Mercury came with a muffled shout, his hips bucking into his hand and the water sloshing violently around him. His magic sparked and popped harmlessly across his body, adding to the sensual experience. The fantasy image of Dane's head thrown back, his eyes squeezed tight and his mouth open on a long moan as he came in Mercury's arms, was slow to fade away, but when it did Mercury slumped back into the tub with a sigh.

  So much for forgetting about Dane and moving on. Mercury's mental fantasy of what Dane looked and sounded like when he came was going to haunt him for ages.

  Mercury let out a groan of exasperation, a sound his slowly calming libido reminded him wasn't all that different to the sounds he had been making while thinking about Dane, and grabbed the soap. He finished cleaning himself quickly and released the valve to let the water drain.

  The towels were soft and fluffy as he dried off. The towel rack probably didn't appreciate him using it to stay upright, but he was quickly coming to the end of his endurance. The order of the day was to find fresh pajamas and climb back into bed. He needed a nap, and hopefully when he woke up again his brain would be back in working order.

  "Daddy?" 'Ron said as she knocked on the door. Mercury wrapped the towel tightly around his waist and carefully stooped down to pick up his dirty clothes.

  "Yes, 'Ron?" he called as he slowly made his way to the locked door. "I'm coming."

  "There's a man outside on Dane's front lawn," 'Ron continued. "He doesn't look happy and Chrome says we need to make him go away before he comes into our territory."

  Sudden strength filled his legs as adrenaline shot through his system. He flipped the lock and threw the door open.

  "Where's Chrome now?" he snapped.

  "Getting Copper," 'Ron replied, her eyes filling slowly with tears at his harsh tone. "Copper can fly, so he can help!"

  Mercury hugged her quickly in apology, but pulled away after a few short seconds. They might not have the time to spare for hurt feelings at the moment, depending on who was on Dane's lawn.

  "Go to Copper and Chrome and tell them to stay put. I'll go check this guy out." Mercury gave her a little shove towards the door and 'Ron obediently scurried off. He let the towel drop to the floor and pulled on the dirty pajama pants in his hands with a few sharp yanks that almost sent him toppling sideways. He had to hold onto the walls as he left the bedroom and walked in the direction of the grand staircase he could see just ahead.

  There was a shivering feeling in the air that didn't feel entirely natural. The smell of magic was burning his nose. Mercury hadn't been able to explore the house over the last few days like his kits, so he didn't know what the rest of the house was supposed to smell like, but Dane didn't smell nearly so caustic and dragon magic from the kits couldn't cause what Mercury was sensing. It felt tainted and unnatural, like the bitter aftertaste on the back of his tongue he always got from breathing inside a recently scrubbed and bleached bathroom.

  The air almost felt like it was flexing, like the tainted magic was pushing against a dome covering the entire house. The intruder was trying to breach Dane's shielding, it was the only explanation, and without Dane home to reinforce his shields it was only a matter of time before the intruder broke through. Mercury had to hurry and find a place where he could see the intruder and make a stand, but his damned legs couldn't move any faster. He only needed a few
more days to recover; couldn't the enemy have waited that long so he could trounce them properly?

  Copper's door was firmly shut when Mercury stumbled past. He could sense Copper, Chrome, and 'Ron's magic behind the sturdy wood. Copper apparently could feel him too because a second after he had finally walked past the door, it swung open and Copper stomped out.

  "They'll protect the egg," he insisted, although the way his eyes shifted uncertainly towards the door told a slightly more pessimistic story. "I can lend you my shoulder, even if I'm not strong enough to fight." He matched actions to words and slipped underneath Mercury's arm, forcing Mercury to lean on him instead of the wall. Mercury wanted to protest and send Copper back to his precious egg, but at the same time he knew that if he did Copper would be devastated. If he could send Nickel off with Dane, then he ought to also be able to trust Copper with his weight.

  Copper was different than Nickel, of course. He had been glued to the egg for all the time Mercury had known him. He, Lumie, and the egg had all come from the same facility, but where Lumie had quickly identified himself as quite a personality over the last few months, Copper had hid himself away. Mercury honestly didn't know what Copper was capable of, but he was willing to find out.

  He moved faster with Copper's help. The air felt oppressive and sick. It almost swirled as they passed through it, leaving behind nausea in the pit of Mercury's stomach. The tainted magic was growing. It was almost as if it was building up to something terrible. Mercury wanted to reach out with his own magic to see if he could figure out what was happening, but the thought of touching the tainted magic with his own sent a shiver of disgust down his spine. It would be better to look and see what was happening so Mercury didn't blindly waste his magical reserves.

  The grand staircase opened up into a furnished landing on the second floor. Large picture windows overlooked the extensive back yard. Mercury didn't see anything amiss outside those windows, so he let Copper turn them both towards the stairs. The banister continued down to the first floor and the entrance hall, where there were large, locked double doors. Above those doors was a massive window. Its edges were veined with designs and colored glass in the shape of leaves and flowers, but the center was clear. Mercury could see a long driveway leading from the left side of the house through an expansive green lawn and out into the distant forest.