Dragon Heartstring

by Cross, Juliette

  “Fine. Send him in.”

  I stood and straightened my tie before striding to the door just as Nadine opened it. The man who walked through was not the friend I knew at the university. He walked with a limp and a cane and wore his hair much longer, partly hiding the burn scars along the right side of his neck, jaw, and cheek. The look in his eyes was different as well. Where there had once been confidence, perhaps vanity, there was now only menace. Still, I reached out a hand to shake his. He did the same, his hand withered from the burns, more evidence of the last day we’d seen one another.

  “Aron,” I said, taking his hand in a firm grip.

  “Demetrius,” he said, not bothering to hide his animosity.

  “Shall we sit?” I gestured toward my small conference table near the glass wall overlooking Gladium’s towering business district. “Nadine, can you get us some water please.”

  “Of course,” she said, rushing away and closing the door.

  Aron took his time and made a show of limping slowly to the table, propping his cane next to him, and easing into his chair. I settled next to him and waited. He stared at me for a minute, measuring my suit and my face. We were both men of keen observation and calculation. Holding myself in a casual but business-like posture, I refused to give him the satisfaction by asking what prompted this visit.

  He finally smirked and said, “I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve come.”

  “Naturally.”

  “It should be no surprise if you’ve heard of the upcoming hearing at parliament.”

  “You’re referring to the proposal to ban the Volt gun,” I said, laying it out on the table. No need to play games.

  His steely gaze narrowed. “Yes. You know of it then.”

  “I am a board member of the Chamber of Commerce. Any parliament matters that affect the Gladium commerce are brought to our attention.”

  Of course, it was brought to my attention before the Chamber got news to the board. But I wouldn’t tell this bastard.

  “I see. And what is the Cade stance on the matter?”

  “The Cades will support the ruling of parliament, of course.”

  “Of course.” He grinned, distorting his face into something altogether sinister. “Still so careful with your words, aren’t you, Demetrius?”

  The niceties were over.

  “Always.”

  Nadine stepped in carrying a tray with a pitcher of cold water and two glasses. The glass rattled as she slid it between us. She glanced at both of us, then quickly exited the room and closed the door.

  “Perhaps I should be more direct,” he said with a sneer. “What is the stance of your sister? Jessen?”

  “What do you think it is, Aron?”

  “I don’t give a shit what she thinks. It’s what she plans to say publicly that I’m interested in.”

  Yes, Jessen would be at the hearing, but I wasn’t sure whether she planned to speak. Perhaps she did.

  I sat up straighter. “If my sister plans to speak to parliament about her experience four years ago, then I will support her. She is my family.”

  He grunted with disgust. “I imagine you will. But if I were you, I’d tell your sister to stay at home.”

  Leaning forward, not quite sure how I managed to keep my temper in check, I asked, “Is that a threat, Grayson?”

  “Of course not. I would never threaten the almighty Cade family.” He grabbed his cane. “But she might want to be careful when she takes that half-breed kid out to the park next time. Anything could happen to him.”

  In a blink, I had my fists in his jacket, and I jerked him to his feet.

  “If you go anywhere near my nephew, I’ll kill you myself.”

  He grinned, tightening the scars around his right eye. “As I said before. I’m not threatening anyone in the Cade family. However, Jessen might toss a warning to her friend proposing this ban. That Icewing bitch might get what’s coming to her.”

  Unable to hold back the violence, I shoved him back with force, knocking him into the glass wall of windows.

  “Don’t you fucking touch her.”

  He caught himself and slowly shoved up with his cane to stand straight. He combed a hand through his hair and laughed. Not an ounce of joy in the sound. “Seems I might’ve struck a chord, Demetrius. Guess once one family member goes to bed with that trash, the rest are sure to follow.”

  How I didn’t crack his skull against the glass, I have no idea. Fury rode me hard, heat crawling up my neck. “Get the fuck out.”

  He gave a slight bow. “With pleasure.” He limped for the door. After he’d opened it, he turned and said, “Once upon a time, you understood what loyalty to your own race meant. Seems you’ve forgotten. I’ll remember that.”

  I stood in the doorway and watched him walk in an uneven gait toward the elevator. A formidable man, bald and beady-eyed and wearing a long trench coat, followed after Aron.

  As soon as the elevator closed in the foyer, I turned to Nadine. “Did Grayson give you any idea who the man in the trench was?”

  “No, sir. Not at all. The man gave me the creeps. Never took a seat, even after I offered. Just stared at me for a minute, then stared at your door for the remainder of the time.”

  Aron had brought a hired bodyguard. Either he’d grown extremely paranoid over the years or he feared for his life for other reasons.

  “Interesting,” I mumbled.

  “Sir?”

  I cleared my throat. “Nadine, can you get me Lucius Nightwing on the line?”

  “Uh, Lucius…Nightwing?”

  I paused in the doorway and shot her a smile. I’d never called my brother-in-law before. “Yes. He’s in my files, trust me.”

  I closed my office door and sat back in my chair, waiting, going over the brief but all-too-informative meeting with Aron Grayson. Over the years, I’d met many pompous fools in the business world who loved to spout dire words to get what they wanted. But Aron Grayson wasn’t that kind of man. When I called him friend, I didn’t even know who he truly was. Since then, he’d become a twisted, corrupt player in the business world. Though I didn’t have direct dealings with him anymore, I’d heard from my friend Max at the Gladium Precinct—the province’s police force made up of mostly humans with the exception of some Morgons on their special teams. He’d told me that Grayson dabbled in illegal trade with Primus, a human-only province to the west, and possibly even more sinister operations.

  The desk comm buzzed. “I’m connecting you now, sir.”

  “Thank you.”

  After the third ring, a pleasant-voiced woman answered. “Nightwing Security, Tower Two. How may I direct your call?”

  “Yes. This is Demetrius Cade calling for Lucius Nightwing.”

  “Hold please.”

  After a brief moment, the video image of Lucius popped on-screen. “Cade. This is unexpected.”

  “Yes. There’s something I need to talk to you about. Something I’d rather Jessen didn’t know.”

  “What’s that?” He leaned forward in his desk chair.

  “Actually, I was hoping to talk to you in person on this.”

  The last thing I needed was for Lucius Nightwing to decide to finally kill Aron Grayson with the ammunition I was about to give him. That would only get Lucius put in prison. Not an option. This was definitely an issue to discuss man to man.

  Lucius raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got me awfully curious, Cade.” He checked his wrist comm. “The Children’s Hospital Fundraiser is tonight at Spire Maiden. How about we meet there? We can find a moment to talk privately. It’ll be loud enough.”

  “Hold on, let me check my calendar to be sure.”

  “Cade, you’re on the guest list for the event. I saw Jessen’s list last night.”

  “I am?”

  Lucius gave a tilted smile. “I’ll see you around nine.” Then he clicked off the comm.

  I buzzed Nadine again.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Do I have anything sc
heduled for tonight?”

  “Yes, sir. You have the Children’s Hospital Fundraiser at the night club, Spire Maiden. nine o’clock.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  “Sir?”

  “I don’t remember scheduling that event.”

  “Um, no, sir. Your sister, Jessen, called and arranged it about a month ago…with me.”

  “Did she now? A fundraiser at a club? Kind of unusual.”

  “Yes. The club is closed to the public and open only for the fundraising event.”

  Jessen had done her damndest to get me out of my shell and onto the night scene. I didn’t mind. In recent years, I’d devoted my life to my work. I spent so many hours behind my desk or at a conference table that I’d forgotten what it was like to mingle and have friends.

  Speaking of friends, I picked up my personal, hand-held comm device and punched in Max’s number. On the third ring, he popped onscreen.

  “Hey, man. What’s up?”

  He was definitely at the station, but the background voices were louder than usual.

  “Hey. Did I catch you at a bad time? Is that singing?”

  “Yeah.” He laughed and glanced off to his right. “One of the lieutenants is retiring. What ya got?”

  “Are you aware of the upcoming hearing on banning Volt guns?”

  “Am I aware of it?” he scoffed. “We’ve been planning for the barricades and protesters for weeks. The whole precinct is ready for the damn thing to be over.”

  “Good.” That put my mind at ease. Some.

  Max’s easy nature disappeared. The pensive detective looked back at me. “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. Well, hopefully nothing. Can we meet up for a drink soon?”

  “Sure. Just give me a call when you’re free.” Someone called his name beyond the comm. “All right. I’m coming,” he said with a wave, then turned back to me. “We’ll talk soon, Cade.”

  I nodded and clicked off. I hoped there was no need to involve Max in this. But the look on Aron Grayson’s face a few minutes ago told me otherwise.

  Chapter 6

  Spire Maiden was the first nightclub designed to appeal to both Morgons and humans here in Gladium. Hell, I doubted there was any club anywhere else in another province that was quite like it. Of course, it was the project of Lorian Nightwing, Sorcha’s husband and mate. The two had teamed up to create a beautiful feat of architecture and design that was comfortable for both species.

  The interior was open fully to the night sky several stories up so that Morgons could move freely by flight from one floor to another. But rather than a stairwell flush against the walls, there was a glass elevator right next to the dancefloor. Genius, really. The elevator was obviously only for humans, but was put in as a centerpiece, not an afterthought, keeping them part of the party as they ventured from one floor to the next.

  Tonight, the lights were dimmed, but it was still well-lit in the interior, and the buzzing of overlapping voices filled the room rather than blaring house music. There was a band setting up. A Morgon stood on stage tuning his guitar. Another one worked with amplifiers and walked over to ask him something. Both Silverbacks were similar in build with long blond hair.

  “Welcome, brother.” Jessen waltzed up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Glad you could make it.”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t miss one of your charity events.”

  Jessen seemed to fill her time organizing fundraisers more than anything else these days.

  “Well, this is going to be a fun one. Not the same old boring thing. We’ve got a band and great atmosphere.”

  “I like the same old boring thing.”

  She hooked an arm through mine and guided me into the crowd where servers carried silver trays of wine and hors d’oeuvres.

  “You know you could’ve dressed down a bit.”

  “I came straight from the office.”

  “Demetrius. You were at the office till just now?”

  I made no reply.

  She rolled her eyes with a sigh. “You’re going to die young if you keep up this stressful pace.”

  “I enjoy work,” I said as she stopped a server and lifted two glasses of red wine before handing one to me.

  “Well, tonight, try to take your business cap off and enjoy the party.”

  Across the room at the bar, Lucius stood talking to his cousin, Paxon.

  “I will.”

  “I’ll catch up to you later,” she said before welcoming someone new.

  I made my way through the crowd, draining the glass of wine before I reached him. Lucius faced me as I approached, his midnight black wings opening slightly.

  “Cade,” he said with a nod. “You remember my cousin, Paxon.”

  “Yes. Hello.”

  The man with identical wings standing at his side tipped his drink to me.

  “Would you like something stronger?” asked Lucius. “You look like you could use it.”

  “Hell yes.”

  Lucius held up two fingers to the bartender who promptly delivered two glasses of the amber liquor, Brevette, a fine import from Primus. Lucius handed over a glass. I wasted no time and knocked back a gulp that burned sweetly down my throat. As I hoped, it took the edge off my nerves with the news I had to deliver. Reminding him of the day I stood on the side of that arrogant bastard, Aron Grayson, was not something I wanted to do. But it was inevitable. I had to be sure my sister and nephew were kept safe.

  I glanced at Paxon, wishing he would go away. Lucius seemed to know exactly what was going on in my head because he said, “Paxon, why don’t you give us a minute.”

  His cousin studied me for a second longer, then gave a nod and headed over to his wife, Ella, who was one of Jessen’s best friends.

  “All right, Cade. I’ve waited long enough. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

  I gulped down the rest of the Brevette and slid the empty tumbler onto the bar. “I had an interesting visit this morning.”

  “Oh?”

  “From Aron Grayson.”

  The man’s eyes flared an otherworldly blue, and his pupils narrowed into serpentine slits. An electric current lit the air and raised the hairs on my arms. I knew enough from my sister to understand this happened to Morgons when their dragon rose to the surface. For Lucius, all it took was the mention of Grayson.

  “What the fuck did he want?” His vocals were more growl than words.

  “Lucius, I need you to keep calm and not lose it over this.”

  “I’m calm.”

  “Like hell,” I said, waving at the bartender and then pointing to my glass. “Promise me you’ll listen before you react irrationally.”

  I think something popped in his jaw as he breathed in a deep lungful of air. He scanned the room. I followed his gaze to Jessen. Slowly, his eyes dimmed to a more human color, and the energy snapping in the air dialed down from deadly to just dangerous.

  The bartender filled my glass, glanced at Lucius, then filled his to the brim. I tossed a bill on the bar. Drinks were covered with the donation to the hospital to attend the event, but that poor guy might be working overtime tonight. Especially after I finished this conversation with Lucius.

  “I’m listening,” he said, taking a gulp of his Brevette. “Now tell me why he visited you.”

  “My sister will hate me for this…”

  “Go on.”

  “Did Jessen tell you she plans to speak at the parliament hearing on the ban of the Volt gun?”

  Lucius’s frown deepened. He tracked Jessen across the room as she welcomed new guests and played hostess.

  “No. She hadn’t mentioned it to me.”

  “The only reason I tell you is because of Grayson. He wanted to know if she planned to speak out about her injury.”

  “And what does he plan to do if she does?”

  “Look, he didn’t threaten her directly.”

  “If he did, I’d cut his balls off with a rusty, dull blade and stuff them do
wn his throat.”

  “I’m sure that would go over well with the Gladium Precinct.”

  He scoffed and leaned on the bar. “Cade. If I wanted to kill him, he’d already be a dead man.”

  “Well, let’s not take that route just yet.”

  He darted another glance at me. “What did you mean by ‘directly’? Did he indirectly threaten her?”

  “The only threat he made for certain was against Shakara Icewing.”

  “Did he now? Well, best let her know so she can inform her father.” He nodded across the room.

  “She’s here?”

  “Right over there.”

  A flair of heat washed over me. Shakara sat at a bar-top table near the dance floor. A blond guy, a human, was laughing with her about something. He looked familiar. Inhaling a deep breath, I turned back to Lucius to catch a ghost of a smile flitting across his face.

  “I’ll tell her. But Lucius, do me a favor. Get some of your Nightwing Security men to watch Jessen and Julian. Everywhere they go.” I combed a hand through my hair in nervous agitation, breaking my usually perfect composure. The idea of harm coming to Jessen or Julian shook me to the core. “Just to be on the safe side.”

  “You think he’s stupid enough to attack my mate or my son?” The growl had returned to his voice.

  “No, I don’t. But I can’t be sure. I don’t know him anymore. And the man he is now is twisted. Even more so than before. I’d like to ask another favor as well.”

  “Go on.”

  “Would you assign a man or two to trail Shakara until the hearing is over?”

  Lucius examined me as if he were trying to divine my thoughts. “And what’s your relationship with Shakara?”

  Damn Morgons. Always so pushy and forward.

  “She’s one of my sister’s best friends who’s been threatened by a business associate who is known for dealing dirty. If there is anything I can do to prevent harm coming to her, then I’ll do it.”

  “Because she’s Jessen’s friend, of course.”

  “Of course.” And while my mind had been entertaining much more intimate thoughts of Shakara, I sure as hell wasn’t admitting that to my brother-in-law. “I’ve done enough damage with the mistakes of my past. If I can be of help in this, then I will.”