by Aaron Crash
Sabina slept near the twins, on a chair, worn out. It had been orgy central over in his Primacy, and Tessa was the mayor. Now, the barista was in her element, with tons of friends, cooking breakfast, making delicious coffees, and laughing.
Every now and then, Tessa shifted kind of funny, and walked a bit funnier, as if she were sore in her tender spots. It seemed Eve Downfyre hadn’t gone easy on her.
Steven could hardly believe it. He had another Primacy, and this one they got through fucking and not fighting. If only they could take more territory that way. Nine new wives. Eve’s Eight, or that’s what Tessa and Sabina called them.
His eyes went to the dining room table. They didn’t have enough seats. They’d have to pull up folding chairs. They were eleven in all. Twelve. In the corner, arms crossed, black mask covering her face, stood Uchiko.
Steven hadn’t seen her. She raised a hand. He threw her a kiss, which made the human side of her face blush.
“Did Uchiko drive up with you, Bud?” Steven asked.
Bud left the kitchen to answer him. “I don’t think so. She is a ninja, though, and sneaky as fuck.” His BMW 540i sat in the driveway. With the weather being good, he hadn’t driven his BMW X7, the biggest SUV the German company had ever made. Go big or go home, that was Bud.
Steven glanced back and the corner was empty. Uchiko was around, but she wasn’t going to do any of the chatting in the kitchen. No, she’d heard about the attack and had come up to check on him. She’d found a passion for motorcycles. Her helmet gave her complete anonymity, and she enjoyed the freedom.
Uchiko. He hoped she’d ninja her way into his bed later on. Their sex was great, but more than that, each time they made love, each time he told her he loved her, her confidence grew. He saw how he could manipulate her Animus to adjust her, but he was worried about her body more. That required FleshForge.
Steven went to the window and looked out over his land. The skeleton of Wayne Manor rose from the brush. The name was all Tessa’s doing.
He took a moment to pull up the Path of the Mirror-Souled Dragon.
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FLESHFORGE WAS STILL a partial mystery, though he’d seen Bruno Illick use it to turn his left arm into a shield and his right arm into a spike. So it was very much like Transformatio magic that allowed him to shift into his partial form and his True Form. It was how Zoey could become a wolf or a bear.
Speaking of which, the big girl yelled in the kitchen. “I am not!”
She was getting louder, more assertive, and more independent. Her charge during the Battle of the Thousand Steps Beach had become legendary.
So FleshForge was the next ability he needed to learn. Tessa would join him, of course. At this point, she was matching him, spell for spell.
His eyes went to the Toxicity Exhalant, which wasn’t one of his strengths, but he didn’t want to neglect what could be a powerful new addition to their arsenal. The cloud of poisonous gas could be deadly to both friend and foe. He wondered how Rahaab had been able to spit acid. That was what he was more interested in. Could he learn both FleshForge and Acid Toxicity? He was going to try.
Though he wouldn’t be learning them at the Infinity Ranch.
They had another road trip in front of them. He’d have some time to meditate as well as talk with Aria. They could even do a call with Liam Strider and get his opinions. It was ironic that they still called him the Yellow Ronin, as he was one of Steven’s most important vassals. He and Skylar Blacke were running the two Primacies in Australia and keeping them safe and protected along with the Five Widows and the Three Queens. Steven planned on talking to Bud about how well their legal nets were working. They were trying to keep the remaining two Dragonlords on that far-off continent entangled in soul-damaging paperwork and crippling legal fees.
The women in the kitchen broke out into a round of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Steven was pulled away from his reverie. Time for some breakfast and some planning.
Chapter Six
MOUSE MADE HER WAY to him. “Come on, my Prime, let’s start eating. Zoey’s healthy pancakes are actually really good, and she is going to make a skyscraper of them.” She pulled him down to kiss her.
He held her tight, muscled body to him. She was so little, yet so full of power.
Mouse nipped at his lips. “Easy there, cowboy. Don’t get me all riled up. We have a long morning meeting that I have to sleep through.”
Aria moved her computer and papers, and they all sat down. Steven sat at the head with the Texas twins next to him on his right along with Sabina. On his left were Aria. Tessa, Mouse and Zoey. Bud sat with Fimi, Denise down at the other end. Uchiko wouldn’t eat with them, not yet. She’d be on guard, walking the perimeter.
Zoey would dash up, go to the kitchen, flip her pancakes, and then sit back down. The table was piled with bacon, sausages from the Boulder Sausage Company, fluffy scrambled eggs, and stacks of pancakes of all kinds: blueberry, apple cinnamon, and thick ones with seeds inside them. Those were the healthy ones.
Tessa hefted one. “These weigh like eight pounds each. What’s in them?”
“We ground gold bricks into flour.” Mouse poured syrup onto the one she’d grabbed. “We’re that rich. Seriously, though, buckwheat or some shit. I don’t know. But they taste really good.”
Steven didn’t disagree, but he preferred the blueberry pancakes. He loved the tart bite of the hot blueberries falling apart in his mouth. And of course, bacon, lots of bacon, along with sausage. All washed down with Tessa’s bitter black coffee.
They laughed, joked, ate, and then cleared the table to get ready for their meeting.
Zoey turned on the faucet to start on the dishes. Steven went over to her and took the big bear girl in his arms. She melted against him. Zoey smelled so good—spicy, musky, lovely. She held him to her. With a house of seven women, there was a ton of talking, but not with Zoey. She was simpler. Their embrace said everything for the moment.
Then Steven saved the bear girl from a ton of work. “No, you guys cooked. Chazzie, Pru, and I will clean up.”
“What?” Chazzie called out. “Did I hear that right? Us? Cleaning? Doing dishes?”
Pru sat at the table next to her sister. “He’s lost it. Us? Doing dishes? When was the last time you washed something that wasn’t your own bits?”
“Does cleaning our M60E6 or our Desert Eagles count?” Chazzie asked.
Pru thought for a moment. “I would say it certainly does. Hey, Stevie, we clean guns, not dishes. And don’t you have servants for that? Maybe hire some Warlings for some light cleaning. Or maybe cater every meal? Wait, shouldn’t we have servants?”
Zoey didn’t respond to them but spoke to Steven. “Seriously, I can handle the dishes. Mouse and Tessa will help. And we have an enormous dishwasher.”
Aria had her laptop and papers back at the table. “Come, Steven, we have business. And you shouldn’t be doing dishes. You are our Prime, and such menial labor is beneath you.”
“No, it’s not,” he insisted. “I am never going to become some guy who can’t clean up after himself, no matter how rich or powerful I become. It’s good for people to work. Chazzie, Pru, we’ll have our meeting, but then you’ll help me.”
Chazzie crinkled her nose. “Ew.”
Pru rolled her eyes. “I certainly didn’t sign up for shit work like this. But oh well. At least the sex is good.”
They refilled coffees and sat back down.
Bud thumbed through information on his phone. “Okay, so, I had my IT people go through your internet security with a fine-tooth comb. We’re good there. Your IP addresses are rerouted through Finland. That’s not the problem. The construction people have all been vetted by Magnox Securities, and some of them are even Morphlings. So it’s not them. And believe me, it’s no one at Novak, Boaz, & Jessup. We have NDAs for our NDAs. Did you guys sense anything using your magical powers?”
Everyone turned to look at Sabina.
Her eyes glimmered with green light. “You aren’t lying, Bud. I would know. It’s not someone from your law firm. The last Dragonknights know where we are. I am certain of it. And someone else, someone in the shadows who has been watching us. Waiting for us.”
The Latina Magician repeated the Elf Queen’s words from the Bali waterfall temple, the starting point of their quest for the Holy Grail. “To save the humans. That was the wish of the Dragon Slayer. To save Dragonkind. That was the wish of the Americos Brothers. Good turned evil by sorrow. Good turned evil by fearful desire. Both full of hope for a better world. Daughter and son, brother and sister, husband and wife, and so I will show you the way as I did to Arthur Rex, lost to time, crippled by friendship, consumed by love.”
Steven shivered.
Sabina blinked as her eyes lost their glow and she was left with her colorless pupils. “¡No manches! That wasn’t me. Those words, they came to me, and I had to say them. It seems the answer to our mystery lies in the quest for the Holy Grail.”
They all sat in silence. For once, even the Wayne twins were quiet.
Steven spoke first. “Sir Bruno was Mordred’s son. He was definitely a Dragonknight. I saw that in a vision during that final fight. And Roy Right was actually Sir Bedivere. He was both a Dragonknight as well as one of these Americos Brothers.”
Tessa made a face. “But how can that be? Amerigo Vespucci was born in like the 1400s, and that was three hundred years after the fact. How could fucking Galadriel know to call them the Americos Brothers?”
Aria spoke up. “Perhaps she is watching us now, and that would explain how Umbra knew where we are. Perhaps she’s the power behind the last of the Dragonknights?”
“That doesn’t feel right.” Steven paused and gave Chazzie and Pru a look.
Both were frowning, brows knit.
It was Pru who nodded at him. “Can we?”
Mouse let out a frustrated growl. “Ugh, this act again. Okay, girls, make it quick.”
“I love this part!” Tessa nearly shouted.
Bud was mystified. “What’s going on here?”
“Just watch.” Steven grinned.
Chazzie turned on Pru. “Girl, do you remember any of our official human high schoolin’?”
“I remember three things—that one Alamo Heights High School cheer, go Mules! I remember our history teacher was young and he’d get hard-ons in the middle of class and sit down quick in his desk to hide ’em. And I remember you were homecoming queen four years in a row.”
“You think Mr. Bowman beat his meat every day after school?”
“That’s a certainty. Why you askin’ me about our high schoolin’ and not college?”
“’Cause I damn sure know you don’t remember a thing about Texas A&M. Go Aggies! That was during your celebrated tequila phase.”
Pru blushed. “¡Ay, caramba! but this is not the time to bring that up.”
“No, it’s not. Point is, you and I are not gonna figure this out from no book. Sweet Tits over there—” She pointed at Tessa.
Who thrust out her chest. “Sweet Tessa you mean?”
Chazzie smiled sweetly. “Sorry, Sweet Tessa, yes, she brought that book from Eve Downfyre and the leftovers of Clete’s Escort. Fuck Clete Sariah anyway. Glad he’s dead. From all accounts, he was a bastard.”
“Yes, he certainly was a bastard, and that’s how we like our bastards, dead and gone.”
The twins knocked fists.
An instant later, Chazzie said, “Tessa can read up on the history. You and I will discuss current affairs. For one, the Shadow Hunter is out and about.”
Pru nodded. “And let’s not forget that she, and I do believe it’s a she, took a potshot at Tessa, and Steven saved her life.”
“Any chance Sweet Tessa will go Dragon Slayer on us?”
“Jury’s out, but I’d take the bet she doesn’t.”
“I’ll take that bet. Give me some odds, and we can come to an understanding.”
“Hey!” Tessa protested.
Chazzie held up a finger. “One second. Almost done. Umbra works for Sir Roy Bedivere Right, he bites it, and now she’s working for the next Americos Brother, aka. Dragonknight, who is most likely Mordred ’cause that does feel right.”
“Current events, sis. We got the Sounders moving up from Texas across Oklahoma and into Missouri. And we have the Gris-Gris going north as well. Louis Laloux is on the move from New Orleans. And what about Ugly Ellis Dodge and his Inferno Dogs? Yeah, we know they are congregating in Illinois. For a full-on attack?”
“Maybe marching here as we speak. So, yeah, it’s war. Funny, Morty Flint has been quiet. Funny that we ain’t seen hide nor hair of Needles, Clutch, or Cort Calot. All is quiet and good in the Great Lakes Primacy, or so that’s what we’ve been led to believe.”
“I fucking hate Juice Juice.”
“Amen. He put holes in us. We owe him a couple bullets.”
“Amen and twice as loud as that.”
Steven saw his chance to jump in. “Wait, we know who the Sounders are, but who are the Gris-Gris and the Inferno Dogs?”
Denise and Fimi exchanged glances. “Sounders?” Denise asked.
Zoey explained. “They are a cult of Morphlings led by Juice Juice, and the Wayne sisters are going to have to get in line behind me. I am going to kill him and eat his heart.”
Bud stood up. “Wait, hold on, that was all my news! Okay, Chazzie and Pru, remind me never, ever to get in your crosshairs. So that’s your trick? You talk things to death?”
“And then they kick the corpse a few times just to make sure,” Mouse grumbled. “It’s unbearable.”
Chazzie got spicy. “And yet, here we are, Melissa Craygore, at your table, with your Prime, about to rule the motherfucking world. So be nice.”
“I will if you will,” Mouse shot back.
“Can I have the floor?” Bud asked.
“Why?” Pru asked. “You’re human. Shit, you should be doing the dishes.”
Bud blinked. “I will. I don’t care.”
“You never did them back at the Coffee Clutch.” Tessa grinned at the lawyer-in-training evilly.
Steven took charge. “One person at a time. Bud, sit down. Hopefully Chazzie and Pru got a little of their excitability out of their system. They’ll let you talk now.”
“Steven, baby, I still have a lot of excitability left in me,” Chazzie said. “All this planning has me a little hot under the collar.”
“Later,” he promised.
Bud sat and went back to his phone. “Okay, yeah, thanks. The Gris-Gris are a coven of Magicians, and yes, they report to Louis Laloux, who is not friendly to our cause. And the Inferno Dogs are Ugly Ellis’s Warlings. He has a bunch of them. And word has it they are powerful and highly trained. Remember Liang Pope had all those troops? Well, there are twice as many Inferno Dogs and they are twice as likely to be royal pains in our collective ass.”
“An invasion force,” Steven murmured.
Aria nodded. “Yes. Without a doubt. The last of the American Dragonlords are on the move. I’ve heard news that Ugly Ellis and Louis have joined forces with Alonzo Mac Sterling and Victor Nutgrass.”
“Yeah, that’s what we think as well, which only makes sense. However, we don’t have Morty Flint after us, and Chosen Ben Tozier is dying to set up a meeting,” Bud said. “That was one of my agenda items. Chazzie and Pru covered most of the others. And yes, their back and forth was amazing. I think I might need a cold shower.”
Denise patted his shoulder. “No, no you don’t. You have us, remember?”
Fimi tried to hide her excited smile.
Steven had hoped the other American Primes would want to sue for peace, but that didn’t seem like it was in the cards. He could summon Javier Jones, Abner Savedra, and Imogene Summers as well as their new ally, Eve Downfyre, and they could protect his eastern border. And if Chosen Ben did want to join him, he could throw in some troops as well.
But if he committed his for
ces to the east, that would open his flank up to Paanga Komang, a mysterious Dragonlord who secretly controlled every island Primacy south of Taiwan. Before his death, Liang Pope had been frightened of that Dragonlord sweeping in and taking the PNW.
Now that the Infinity Ranch was compromised, the assassins would come. Bruno Illick was dead, but there were other underworld dragons who made their living by murder. The Shadow Archer was one.
Steven knew he was on every hit list imaginable. They had to leave. No, they had to disappear. An idea struck him.
He chuckled a bit. “We have to destroy the Infinity Ranch ourselves. And then we play dead for as long as possible. I don’t want to get sidetracked by trying to gather more money, acquire more wives, or build more Aeries. That was the game at the beginning, but now, we have more important concerns. The Holy Grail holds the secret to our future. It’s about time we get on with the quest.”
Tessa paled a bit and dropped her head. “I’m not sure I want to.”
Chazzie and Pru didn’t pay attention to her.
Pru had latched on to Steven’s idea. “No, wait, tell us more about your plan. What do you mean we destroy the Infinity Ranch ourselves?”
When Tessa lifted her head, she was smiling again. Good.
Chapter Seven
STEVEN AND HIS ESCORT were packed for the road trip. Kind of.
The Wayne twins had insisted on packing almost every article of clothing they owned, and they filled their vehicle with enough guns, ammo, and pyrotechnics to invade Canada. In the end, they’d done the dishes with Steven, and it had been fun listening to them plot while they worked. They were going to take all their big trucks, the Escalade named Jeeves, the Suburban named Poupon, and their Ford Bronco II from the 1980s, the Orange Crush.
Uchiko had already taken off on her motorcycle to fly down I-80, going east. Steven and his Escort would follow her, but first, he and Tessa had some wicked magic to cast.
