Dragonfall

by Erik Schubach

I just giggled as she got back in her bed. Then we both turned on our sides to face each other and we just gazed upon each other, our feelings and emotions flowing freely between us through our soul bond. It was the most intimate expression between us. It actually soothes my soul. It is like it knows its other half is there and embraces it freely.

  The doc cleared Quinn, and said she could be discharged, asking about her leg miraculously healing. She just shrugged and said, “It's a dragon thing.” We tried hard not to let people know that I could heal her with a touch, claiming her wounds for my own. She had just minor abrasions and some deep bruising left, but nothing serious. I'm sure I'll be stealing those later.

  When Quinn pressed him on when I could be discharged, he gave a nebulous answer, “Well we don't know enough about Doctor O'Connell's physiology to really know that. As reticent as I am to say it, I think we will leave that up to her. I'd like to at least keep her until her dragon scales fully receded. Then I can give her a thorough examination using human standards. She lost a lot of blood and we can't seem to type it, so we just introduced a lot of fluids and plasma.”

  That sounded fine to me that would only take an hour or three as my scales were receding faster and faster now. I snapped at the doctor, “I'll be havin' none of that Doctor O'Connell shite. You're the doctor here, please call me Myra.”

  He nodded to me with a slight smile. Quinn walked him out of the room and conferred with the guards. They got on the radio as she walked back to my bedside. We just sat and silently communed as she held my hand, slowly stroking the back of it with her thumb. She was lulling me to sleep.

  I woke up a little later when someone arrived at the door, Quinn got up and retrieved her gun and badge from the man and a garment bag.

  I heard the echo of Caragh's excited voice in my head from a dream I didn't remember, saying, “She comes!”

  Quinn winked at me and disappeared into the jacks to emerge minutes later in her Agent Trask garb. No matter how cute she looked in that hospital gown, her smart business suit with her badge hanging from her belt and the bulge of her sidearm on her side under her suit-coat really got my motor running. She draped her flying jacket over a chair and rejoined me.

  I purred, “Well hello there Agent Trask.” She blushed then looked around to make sure nobody was watching and gave me a peck on the lips.

  I looked at myself, all the scales were gone except where the IV was in my arm. There were still a few red blotches where the worst of the burns were healing and I peeked at my chest and there were only some bruises around five red spots on my skin. I grinned and sat up. “Looks like I'm ready fer action.”

  Quinn comically pushed me back onto the bed. “Not till Doc looks at you woman. Don't be so impulsive.”

  I cocked an eyebrow and asked, “Oh, you mean like a certain agent we know?”

  She responded in a highly professional manner, “Shut up.”

  I chuckled and grabbed my call button and repeatedly started hitting it. She rolled her eyes and asked, “You know that doesn't do any good don't you? One press and your call light shows up at the nurse's station until they clear it. Like the crosswalk buttons.”

  I nodded and said, “Of course, I know, but it makes me feel like I'm rushin' em when I keep pressin' it.”

  Her eyes sparkled in mirth as she looked at me. Then a nurse came in and cocked his head at me in question. I said, “Could you be a good man and fetch me doctor? I'm ready to check out of this five star hotel of yours.” The man grinned and wandered back out.

  I chuckled when I saw an epic confrontation happening at the door. Mei was standing chest to chest with one guard, glaring way up into his unblinking eyes. Well, more like chest to stomach, she was such a wee one like me. Quinn snorted and said, “For God's sake Simms, let Mrs. Reid in.”

  The man moved aside, the other agent at the door was trying to suppress a grin. Mei looked at her nemesis' shoes as she walked past and the man's shoe laces burst into flames. The man quickly crouched and swatted the flames out and looked over at Mei, who was staring back at him defiantly. She comically pointed two fingers at her eyes then swung then toward the man. He finally broke into a grin, saying, “That's assault on a federal agent you know ma'am.” She tilted her head and glared at him, he held his hands up in surrender, shaking his head and turning back to his duty at the door. We all broke into laughter.

  I called out, “You'll always be on the losin' end with this one Simms.”

  Mei looked at us and broke into the cheesiest of grins. “Hello ladies.”

  We exchanged greetings and she passed some smuggled food to me. May our good lord smile down upon this woman. Then we told her that as soon as the doctor looked at me we would be sprung.

  She shared as much info as she could pick up from the news and from eavesdropping around the agents in the hospital as she could.

  Quinn got a call and walked to the far corner of the room then rejoined us a few seconds saying she said that we would look into it after our current crisis.

  She pocketed her mobile and I tilted my head at her, I hadn't had my dragon senses up to listen in. She shrugged. “Just another case for the international task-force. Apparently another of your dragons went through his awakening and flew to the area from Norway. He ignored all attempts that fighter jets made to get him to land to identify himself. But he was actually able to evade the jets in Norway, Canada, and the US. They say he is huge, like 'you' huge.” That was sayin' somethin'. Francisco was the largest of my Drakon and his dragon aspect was only two-thirds the size of mine.

  I nodded, wondering if it was the wee one that we released from his shard yesterday. Though it usually took a few days for an awakening to occur. I asked, “Water or earth?”

  She shrugged. “That's the thing, besides not complying to the hand signals from the pilots to land, they aren't quite sure. Though they are positive, he wasn't an earth dragon.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Well then, that just leaves water dragon, ya know.”

  She nodded. “In any case, they want us to locate him after we deal with Morgan. He'll have to go through the same immigration process as everyone else if he's to join your clan.” I nodded back and turned as my doctor entered the room with a female nurse.

  I saw Mei handing Quinn one of my dragon scales as the doctor and the nurse did a complete workup on me. Quinn smiled at it and put it in her pocket.

  The nurse whispered in my ear as she took my blood pressure, “I know this is inappropriate, but my daughter will never believe I worked on you. Would it be possible to get your autograph for her before you leave today Doctor O'Connell? She simply loves Firebrand.” I grinned in conspiracy and nodded. Me lord, I'll never get used to people wantin' wee little Myra O'Connell's autograph. I had to smile at the name Firebrand that the public had taken to calling me in my dragon form. It was the first callsign Quinn had given to me when she headed up my first protective detail all those months ago.

  When the doctor finished he looked satisfied and pulled the IV out of my arm, where the lone, gold-tipped, red dragon scale was. It faded away in seconds after the needle was removed. He said with a voice tinged with a slight lack of surety, “Looks like you are almost at one hundred percent Doct... Myra. I'd prescribe a burn ointment and some antibiotics for the skin irritation, but it would probably be useless. At the rate you are healing, it will probably fade in a few more minutes. I'd love to examine your tissues to determine how your Drakon physiology differs from human.”

  I backed almost imperceptibly away from him and Quinn somehow gave the impression of interposing herself between us with the slightest of motions. She said in a guarded tone, “She isn't a curiosity or a science experiment to dissect. She's a person Doc.”

  He held his hands up in a placating gesture. “No, of course. I didn't mean it like that. I was just thinking of all the people who could be helped if we knew how her healing factor worked. Just wistfully thinking out loud. No offense was intended Myra.”

  I
just nodded at the man. I had this primal fear of being spirited away by the government and dissected like an alien in some underground lab ever since I discovered I wasn't quite human. Maybe I watch too much television.

  I think the doctor caught that and said softly, “Hey, the people of this city and country would never let that happen to our dragon.”

  I nodded again and relaxed some, Quinn must have felt this in me and she relaxed her guard too. I blinked when I looked down and saw her hand move away from the holster on her side that was turned away and out of view of the doctor. Me lord, had the fear and anxiety I was broadcasting kicked her protective streak in that severely? I placed a hand gently on her arm and sent nothing but love and tranquility to her through the blood-tie. She visibly relaxed.

  The doctor left to sign my discharge papers and Mei pulled out some of her clothes from her bag and offered them to me. I rolled my eyes. She dressed more stylishly and girly than I did. I swear she picks the most feminine clothes she can when she has to bring me some. I'm like her very own dragon dress up doll. I sighed, it was a sundress. I swear I heard her giggle through the door of the restroom. I could feel the amusement rolling off of Quinn.

  When I got back out, Quinn had just got off the phone. She bit her lower lip in want at me. I blushed twirled for her, the hem of the dress flaring out. Then she said with a smile, “Let's get you fed, a safe-house won't be ready for another hour.”

  I blinked. “Safe-house?”

  She grinned in apology. “Yes, apparently you remodeled our loft a bit. The Agency has contractors over there now, they say it will be a few days before repairs are complete.”

  I blushed in embarrassment and just whispered in explanation, “You were hurt.”

  She gave an understanding smile. Then Mei offered, “Just come stay with James and me, we have plenty of room and you already have a protection detail at the door and next door. And that group of guys you've had spying on us from the house down the block since the Saint George thing.”

  Quinn squinted at her and said very carefully, “We don't have a team down the block watching you.”

  Mei shrugged. “Well maybe you should talk to your own people then. Us researchers are trained to notice things almost as well as you lot are. I just figured the government saw us as a threat now.”

  I asked, “Why didn't you say anything before?”

  She shrugged again and said, “I just figured you already knew. I'm sure they are watching you too Myra. No doubt they see anyone with arcane power as a threat.”

  I hissed, “We're citizens of the US, surely they aren't spyin' on their own people!”

  I could feel some new anger seething inside of Quinn, something dangerous. Almost like the anticipation of the hunt. She pushed it aside with an enormous force of will. I could feel it smoldering in the corner of her mind. Shite. She didn't know anything about it! Then she spoke in her professional tone, “Ok, thank you Doctor Reid. I'll make the arrangements.” It hit like a wall, the double meaning in her words. Heads were going to roll somewhere and me girl was going to be the one wielding the ax.

  Chapter 15 – Thralls

  We rode to James and Mei's place on the outskirts of town. Quinn was driving Mei's car on a random route to her home. When we arrived in her neighborhood, Quinn looked sharply at her, then my Japanese-American friend nudged her eyes toward a rancher style house just down the block from hers on the opposite side of the street.

  The garage door was closed, but you could see the tops of two dark SUVs through the small slit windows in the bay door. Their living room had an attached glass sunroom, with bamboo blinds drawn on all the windows that stuck out of the front of the house and I could see that there would be a clear view of Mei's place through the windows of that sunroom. Quinn didn't slow and I saw her eyes flicking around, taking it all in without turning her head as we drove past. I heard her mutter under her breath, “Fuck.” Then we continued to the pretty, two-story Victorian house of my friends.

  Quinn looked around the inside of the car and then pressed the button on the garage door opener clipped to the visor. One of the two big bay doors of the four-car garage rolled up. I almost snorted, Maggie had already been brought here and Quinn parked next to her. There was a dark SUV parked across the street, part of Mei's protective detail. The agents from her detail and mine that had followed us from the hospital pulled into the driveway of the house next door.

  We entered the adjoining door into her kitchen and Mei just said, “You know where the guest room is.” As she stopped in the kitchen and started pulling food out of the cupboards and refrigerator. We knew better than to try to help her. The kitchen was her domain and she'd even take on a dragon if they tried to help. Quinn snorted, I must have been broadcasting my observation on all frequencies.

  We placed what little we had with us in the guest room and made our way out to the living room. I had no doubt that bags containing our clothes from our loft would arrive soon.

  A few minutes later, Mei was calling us to the kitchen table where she had assembled a meal accompanied by drool-inducing smells. I mumbled to Quinn as we took our seats and I started salivating over the choices. “You know, I've been thinkin' about leavin' you for her. She can cook.”

  Quinn smirked. “Assuming I don't snag her for my own. She can cook.”

  I regally stuck my tongue out at my mate and a giggly Mei chimed out, “Shush both of you. James beat you to me.” She was all smiles and flirty.

  I nodded as if in serious thought. “Yes, I heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, ya know.”

  She spun her salad tongs like a pistol and said, “You better believe it.”

  We all shared a chuckle and Mei dished us up, an extra couple helping on my plate. She was the world's best hostess. I slapped Quinn's arm playfully when she made little oinking sounds as I shoveled in the food. Good lord in heaven I was starving.

  Mei came to my rescue. “She has a dragon's metabolism Quinn. She's allowed to be a little piggy.” Traitor! I grinned instead and started our traditional mealtime conversation. Mei enforced the 'no business' rule as we ate.

  As we were finishing up and I joined Mei in the kitchen to wash the dishes. Our stuff arrived with all sorts of computer and tactical equipment to set up a mini HQ. We walked out to join Quinn as the last of the gear was set up and the other agents disappeared out the front door as Dawna walked in and took her place by the door. Mei disappeared for a moment and returned with a large mug of coffee she placed on the entry table beside Agent Grove. Like us, she was partial to Dawna.

  Quinn fired up the mini HQ and screens popped up on the tactical screen. Information was flowing in from various sources and one made me take notice. On the lower left corner, where info flowed in from unrelated cases that Quinn liked to keep track of, I saw an air chase over Michigan heading southwest. A cockpit recorder in a US fighter jet showing supersonic airspeed, displayed the shape of a dragon disappearing into the distance. The tracking radar was sporadic like it couldn't get a lock, but they clocked him pulling away at over mach three.

  Shite, even I can barely get to the speed of a passenger liner if I go high enough, let alone supersonic. I smiled, this new wee one was going to make a fine addition to the clan. The white wispy contrail he left behind had me convinced he was a water dragon as we had guessed.

  I noticed Quinn was watching the same data feed. She typed in a few commands then whistled as a size was extrapolated from the data. Tip to tip, he had one hundred-foot wingspan. That almost rivaled my own one hundred and five-foot span. This was the granddaddy of all water dragons.

  We exchanged glances then sat down as Quinn started sifting through the recent intelligence.

  After a couple minutes I almost whispered, “I... saw her.” I closed my eyes. “What she really is.” I had not wanted to think about the end of the battle. I tried to block the memory out, but I had to share with someone.

  Quinn and Mei turned to me and I reopened
my eyes and looked nervously toward Dawna then back at my girls and continued, “When I broke the amulet binding the air elements. Whatever it was that was stopping my dragon senses to see past the black hole that Jackie... Morgan had wrapped herself in, failed.”

  I took a shuddering breath. “She's a rotting and withering corpse. I could see the stolen power of me water Drakon holding the deterioration at bay. The stench of decay almost overwhelmed me. There was a darkness, a specter hovering behind her. I think that la Fay may have killed Jackie and is just using her body.” I closed my eyes again, willing the memory away.

  Quinn's anger surged inside of her. Her protective instincts causing her to feel as though she had failed to protect Jackie from a fate like that. My mate takes on too much sometimes, she can't protect everyone. She whispered to me, “But I sure as hell can try!” I laid a consoling hand on her arm and she took a cleansing breath and went back to sifting through data.

  About an hour later James arrived, I heard his flat voice at the door, “Ok, I'm here, you don't need to hold my hand all the way into my house.” We all smiled at each other then James came through the door, his long face tight with frustration. He paused a second when he saw us and the mini HQ, understanding what was going on and why were in his living room. Then deadpanned, “Ahhh... We always needed a skylight.” We all burst into laughter.

  I mock snapped at him, “I'll be havin' none of that now. Shouldn't you be more respectin' of yer house guests?”

  He didn't say a word. Instead he held his hands out like a frame above him and looked through it at the ceiling. There are times that I can see what Mei sees in the man. I threw a pillow from the couch at him. There was a satisfying thud as it hit him much harder than any human could throw it. Mei hopped up and stepped over to give him a quick peck on the lips when he leaned down to her. I grinned inwardly at them. Our lord in heaven has never put a more unlikely pair together, but for some reason, they fit.

  He shared with us some interesting news. He put some latex gloves on then pulled the burned remains of Morgan's tomes out of his bag. They were wrapped in plastic. He unwrapped them and thumbed through some surviving pages and then stabbed a finger at a spell. I was so glad that I didn't have my dragon senses up right now, the smell of the burnt flesh from the cover would probably have sent me over the edge just then.