She chuckled. “Yes, James got the generator working this morning so we have power and water.”
I looked around and found a bar of unopened soap in the cabinet under the sink and a towel in a side cupboard, then started the shower. I wiped down the mirror above the sink and disrobed to take stock of myself.
It looked as though whatever becoming a dragon was doing to my body, it was done now. My new, toned, firm body hadn't changed any more and the twins were the same. The patches of scales looked almost pretty to me. I smiled and turned to look at my profile. Oh lord, I'm turnin' vain! I turned away from the mirror in embarrassment then got in the shower.
After cleaning up, I felt much better. I dried my hair the best I could with a towel, got dressed in my blood stained clothing then made my way back into the bedroom to try to find a brush to attempt to tame my fiery mane. No such luck.
I think I was imagining things, but I swear I smelled freshly baked bread down the hall.
I went into the main room and James and Quinn were sitting around on the couch and Mei was in the kitchen apparently wrangling up something for us to eat. I veered off to help her and she hissed at me and pointed toward the couch.
Quinn chuckled, “Apparently, the kitchen is hers. We all tried, but she threatened us with bodily harm.” With a bit of humor, I backed slowly away from a now grinning Mei and joined the others on the couch.
Quinn grinned and started running her hand through my hair. “This looks nice.”
I shook my head. “It looks like a nest from the pits of hell. But thank you.”
Mei was calling out to us, “There isn't much in here that isn't past its expiration date, but I was able to scrounge up enough for a meal. Unorthodox breakfast but hey, this is sort of an unorthodox situation.”
She brought out a wooden tray with four plates. On them were what looked like handmade flat bread with refried beans and chili covering them, and four glasses of water. Believe it or not, it tasted quite good. I finished up everyone's leftovers and Mei retrieved the pot with the remaining chili and scooped it onto my plate with a chuckle.
I blushed in embarrassment when I looked around to see everyone watching me eat. I shrugged. “If I survive this, me food bill is going to go through the roof.”
Quinn went out to the SUV and came back in with a laptop and connected an antenna to it. Then looked at the window and pointed the antenna south. Then she powered it up. I looked in alarm at her. She obviously felt it as she turned to me and explained. “Encrypted satellite link. They can't get our location from it.”
Then she started pulling up news reports from Denver. By all, that's holy! There was no covering this incident up since it occurred where hundreds of people in the middle of downtown witnessed the firefight on the fourth floor and gargoyles flying and crashing through the hotel windows. There was one piece of footage of our vehicle leaving the scene with thralls in pursuit and a gargoyle leaping from rooftop to rooftop above us. They were reporting twenty three FBI and Interpol agents dead, sixty one “terrorists”, and five civilians. Thirty more terrorists were taken into custody.
The reports varied from elaborate hoaxes to proof of magic, to the end of days prophecies by religious fanatics. This couldn't get much worse. I couldn't help stressing over what this was going to mean for me once it was all over... if I lived through it. Would I ever lead a normal life again? I realized it was silent in the room and I looked around and they were all staring at me with sympathetic looks on their faces.
I shrugged. “Well, what's done is done. No use cryin' over spilled milk ya know.”
Quinn had an intense look on her face, her lips pursed. “I need to check in. I have to contact Danes.” I could feel the apprehension rolling off of her.
I put a hand on her arm. “We can't be sure if he's been compromised. Anyone could be a thrall.”
She nodded. “I'll do a video call so we can see.” Then she pulled up a video conference program, the FBI seal came up and she typed in her credentials. She seemed to sigh in relief when a menu came up and a small window in the corner of the screen had live video of us. I knew her relief was because they haven't locked her out of the system yet. James, Mei, and I moved out of the camera's view.
Quinn clicked the Deputy Director's name. A bar started moving back and forth across the screen with “connecting” blinking on the screen. We sat like that for almost ten minutes. Quinn was just reaching over to disconnect when the screen flickered to life and battered looking Danes appeared with a bandage covering his right eye and another along the right side of his face. “Trask, where the fuck are you? Is Firebrand safe? Wait don't answer the first.” We all sighed in relief since he had no rune mark and was still an arsehole.
I moved beside Quinn. “Agent Trask got us to safety. I'm sorry about your men. We had no idea he had such things as gargoyles. Thralls were bad enough.” Then I had a sudden thought and said, “Doctor Arnett... Henry?”
He looked down for a second, gathering his wits it seems then addressed me with an apologetic tone I didn't think him capable of. “He's in Denver General in critical condition. His team couldn't get him out in time before they were overrun. The two agents gave their lives protecting him.”
My eyes were tearing up and Quinn put a hand on my shoulder and projected warmth and strength to me through our link.
Danes continued, “They think he'll pull through just fine.” Then he turned his attention to Quinn. “The city is crawling with thralls, gargoyles, and other creatures we are trying to identify, looking for you. The local police have been told how to deal with thralls. They need to smudge or wipe off that damn mark. The people aren't even aware they are being controlled. We are getting a lot of calls from Interpol, the NSA, and a whole lot of other acronyms. The National Guard is mobilizing. We'll get into that, first I need your sitrep!”
We left Quinn to present our current situation with Danes. Mei was still crying after we heard about Henry, and James was consoling her. I spoke softly, “He's gonna pull through just fine. Henry's got too much work to do at the museum not to, ya know. And he has ta keep our surly lot in line.” She chuckled a little and wiped her tears on her arm.
She said, “Who knew dragons were so nice?” We all chuckled a little and waited for Quinn to finish. I helped Mei wash the dishes we had used and take inventory of what little food supplies we had. We didn't even have our purses, but James had his wallet with thirty dollars cash and his debit card that we most likely wouldn't be able to use or it could be traced.
We went through the entire cabin, I felt like a thief ransacking someone else's property like that. We came up with some rope, some candles and matches, a hatchet, a couple long knives, and two hunting rifles with a box of shells. James deadpanned, “Not much, and we don't need the matches with Sparky here.” Mei actually squeaked and covered her mouth as he tilted his head toward me. That got me chuckling.
I grinned at him. “And that's about enough of that mister.”
Mei looked at me. “So Myra. How did you know you could do all of that?”
I looked at her and thought about it for a moment. “I really didn't. Almost anything I find me-self doin' that is dragon-ish, it seems to be on instinct. I think Caragh's spirit is somehow guidin' me. I can just feel nature around me, the water and the earth. It wants to help us, I'm just askin' favors of it and it responds.”
She smiled at that. “What does it feel like?”
I shrugged trying to put it into words. “I don't know if me words can do it justice. It is all around us and it feels... alive? I can feel the water in the well and in the stream, it is so full of energy and just wants to be moving all the time. The ground below us is stoic and nurturing and full of solid energy I can almost taste. Me flames feel like they are inside of me burning like a beacon of strength I can tap into at any given moment. All of these elements feel like... friends?”
I waved it away. “I'm soundin' like an eejit here.”
She was shaking
her head. “No, actually you aren't. Now I'm feeling a little jealous, it sounds amazing.”
I tilted my head and smiled at her. Then she squinted. “What about air? Isn't it an element? And there was apparently the fourth Drakon clan of the Wind.”
I shook my head, I had already asked this of myself and had reached out to it to no avail. “No, I mean, I can feel its energy around me, but I can't seem to communicate with it. I'm aware of it but we must be on different wavelengths.”
James prompted, “Maybe it has something to do with the lost clan. Maybe something happened that severed the link between the wind and Drakon race? Damn, I wish we had all six scrolls, maybe the answers are in the other three or in the torn off sections in the Dragon Scroll.” I nodded in agreement. All of these were questions and thoughts that have been rolling through my own head.
Quinn finished up and joined us. She didn't look happy as she spoke, “Once things get better organized they are going to send a team to 'protect' us. Things are getting bad in Denver, the mayor is having anyone who doesn't work in the city and have relatives outside of Denver, evacuate until the threats are handled.”
Then she motioned with her head to the door. “Since we are basically in hiding right now and all of your research has been confiscated. I wanted to test some things out.”
I nodded and the three of us followed her to the porch. James and Mei sat in the porch swing and Quinn cutely motioned with her finger for me to follow her. I could follow this woman all day every day. She had me stand in the dirt driveway as she went to a pile of wood waiting to be split for the fireplace.
Without warning, she took a chunk of that wood and threw it at me with her full strength. I caught it easily, as she grinned at the results. She placed a piece on a large stump then flicked her hand down and her fist was covered in granite and she struck the wood with an incredible blow, splitting it down the middle.
Then she put another piece on the stump looked at her hand and the granite slowly caught fire. Then with more force than I would have thought her capable of, she struck the wood and it exploded into splinters. She grinned at me. “Apparently your gift to me from our blood tie.” She looked at her other hand and water came up from the ground and covered her other fist. She tried striking another piece of wood and it didn't seem to have any affect as she grabbed her hand. “Mother fu.... umm... I mean, ow!”
I giggled at her as I ran to look at her fist. It was red but not really hurt. I could feel it in my hand, I still took the sting away. Then I said, “Water is more for moving things around en masse or infiltrating and expandin' from within. Enough of it can act as a shield.”
I put a single finger on the log she struck and asked the water in it to congregate in the middle of the log please, then asked it to expand from there. Then the log split open with the water pressure at its core. I grinned, “Sometimes science and subtlety can be doin' more than brute force and violence.”
I could feel the waves of amusement coming from her as she said, “Showoff. Now how do you know all of that and how did you know you could do what you just did?”
I winked at her. “Well, we were havin' this same conversation in the cabin while you were talkin' yer nonsense with Danes. It is instinctual, like Caragh is guidin' me somehow with her knowledge.”
She nodded then put a huge log on the stump. “Care to see what the Queen of the dragons can really do?” Then she stepped back.
I grinned and snapped my arms downward with my fingers spread and instantly I was aflame. Wood from the pile was blown back and a large log almost fell off the stump. I re-centered it then jumped up into the air with my fist cocked and came down on a log, striking out with my fist with all my might like it was judgment day! The log exploded into splinters and my momentum carried my fist through and the stump splintered outward.
I was shaken by the fury of the blow and just stood there looking at my fist buried in the stump. It scared the hell out of me, the violence of it all. I think I was starting to hyperventilate when Quinn's face came through the flames. Her scent of safety soothing me as she hugged me, whispering “It's ok Myra. I got you.”
I took two deep breaths and smiled sheepishly to her and nodded. She put her forehead against mine and smiled. Then she stepped out of my flames. “What about the other elements? You just did water and fire. How about earth?”
I shook my head as I put another log on a different stump. “Earth is nothing to be playin' with. It has more power than any because it is all around us though it doesn't have the rage of fire. You saw what it did to that gargoyle last night.” I clapped my hands together and two boulders exploded from the ground on either side of the stump and basically turned the log and stump into toothpicks as they were crushed between the stones.
She smiled as I went back to mostly human. I liked my expanded senses. Then she asked, “Spar with me a while? I need to get a handle on these powers you are feeding me.
I nodded and said weakly, “Oh me lord, you're going to kill me in the forest.” I heard a stifled laugh from the porch. I squinted over at the cute little Asian American perpetrator. “There'll be none of that now.” Mei stuck her tongue out at me. I couldn't stop my smile.
I looked back at Quinn. Ok, but you better be takin' it easy on me.”
She started slow, my instincts were kicking into full gear as I dodged and blocked her blows. She kept speeding up a little at a time. Then she stopped. “This is sparring. That means you try to hit me too, not just avoid me.”
She was playful. I nodded. “Well, I'm not used to hitting people.”
She snorted. “Now THAT is amazing with your hair trigger temper.”
I squinted at her. “Now yer just provokin' me.”
I started swinging at her, she made it look almost too easy as she dodged it and slapped my followup aside. She grabbed my arm as it went past and she twisted my body and straightened my arm and my wrist then slammed my fist into her palm. “Keep your wrists straight, arm straight from your body, twist as you strike. Put your body into each blow.”
I nodded and we continued, she just deflected most of my blows. As we sped up, some started getting through so I knew that was her limit. I still had some speed. Then she started slowly counter attacking after she was satisfied. She kept speeding up to about the same point. So that was her maximum. We must have sparred for an hour. She was panting and I was barely breathing hard, and we sat on the porch.
James was shaking his head as Mei went to get us some water. James said, “You two were moving so fast. I could barely follow it.”
I shrugged. “It wasn't too bad with Quinn holding back. I guess she likes me better alive than dead.” I bumped her shoulder.
She squinted at me. “I was going all out in the end. Were you at your limit?”
I looked down bashfully. “Well, you were getting' through me defense but I had more speed and strength in reserve.”
I felt waves of pride for me rolling off of her. “Next time we'll add in kicks. I want you to be able to defend yourself if anything happens. Punching is just a small part of fighting.” She was in full protector mode again, it felt right. I nodded and on instinct cuddled into her side. She froze for a second then smiled and draped an arm around me protectively. I could seriously have lived in that one moment forever.
We drank the offered water and then Mei started lunch. Top Ramen and baked beans. She made sure to give me double what everyone else was eating. I felt embarrassed at that. Quinn snuck a few extra bites of hers onto my plate.
It wasn't until I finished eating that I realized what Quinn was up to with the demonstrations and the sparring. She was giving my magic a workout as well as myself. This is the first time I had done so much with my dragon abilities that I didn't pass out afterward. She was having me exercise the magic just like she would my body. The sneaky trollop! But I approved, it wouldn't do, getting exhausted in the middle of another attack.
When we were done and we washed the dishes, Quinn plug
ged the bureau’s laptop in to charge and we all congregated around it to see the news she started streaming on it.
After we got sick of seeing the terrible happenings in Denver we sat and chatted amongst ourselves about life in general, keeping away from any topics of our current situation or anything dragon-y. We learned that James collected old black and white movies and that Mei actually wanted to be a chef when she was younger until she discovered her love of folklore. My lovely protector shared that she loved rafting whenever she had time off. I shared my embarrassing love for comic books, especially those that had a mythology and legends feel to them.
Then Quinn asked if I felt rested enough for another round. She put me through the wringer. It was more difficult to counter her when she could use all her training against me. The only thing that saved me from becoming bruised and bloodied mess was my speed. I had to push it to the limits to compensate for her years of training.
Then she had me practice doing various things with my elemental magic. From fine control to a powerful force. We found I could control two at once like I did when I saved Mei. But it seemed to be my limit. But I could feel something was missing I just couldn't seem to figure it out.
Caragh's words echoed in my head. “But you still hold back, you must embrace yourself. Let the dragon out or he will win.” What did she mean by holding back and letting the dragon out?
It was dark when we finished up. Mei gave us some canned corn and more chili and some flat bread. My plate was heaped high. “That's all that's left unless you trust that can of processed meat that doesn't seem to have an expiration date. We're going to have to do a supply run soon if we're going to be here much longer. James has thirty dollars cash, we shouldn't use his debit card. Myra and my purses were left at the hotel.”
My chestnut haired agent nodded. “I have about seventy on me. James, in the morning you and I need to do a quick run to that convenience store couple miles away. You are the least recognizable of us so you go in. I'll stand guard at the car.” James nodded at that then he and Mei turned in to the bedroom on the other side of the cabin.
Drakon_Awakening Page 11
