Reloading, Xan made sure all his weaponry was ready and accessible. With quick and sure steps, he walked through the dark. A change of feeling was in the air as if the atoms weighed heavier here, and the scent of earth grew richer as he rounded the last set of wine racks.
He might’ve paused to let his eyes grow accustomed to the deeper darkness, but a light flicked on about eighty feet away. Not an electric light, but a gas lamp, slightly blue, as it settled to a brighter blaze.
The one small lantern was enough to show Xan the basement had ended. A big cave had been carved into the limestone stretching down farther than the foundation of the house. With the clean walls, it was clear it wasn’t natural nor dragon-made. It didn’t surprise him that the old dragon would have someone else do his work for him.
Chests lined one side of the cavern. Stacked high and thick. This dragon’s hoard was ordered. No sign of modern treasures. Lois would probably find the gold and gems she expected down here.
In the center of the cave at the lowest point, the ground was rounded as it dipped and housed a king-size bed. Or rather, it was more of a nest. And within it lay the missing girl. Alyssa appeared unharmed. It almost looked like she was sleeping, but the noise the dragonkin had made while fighting and the gunshots should’ve woken her.
Beside the bed, there was a simple little table and chair. The Governor sat with one leg crossed over the other. One hand rested near the lantern.
The dragon smiled and opened his mouth to say something. At the same time, Xan dropped to one knee and fired. The shots echoed, making it seem like there were more than actually were discharged.
A few bullets grazed the Governor’s arm leaving but a few scratches before he was in front of Xan, snatching the rifle from his grip. Whittaker swung it like a bat and smashed the uninjured side of Xan’s face. Flattening the barrel between his hands, he then tossed the weapon off to the side.
“This wasn’t what I was hoping for, Dragonslayer, but your dedication and determination are impressive.” With amusement in his eyes, the Governor stood over Xan. “I haven’t seen one of your kind in decades. I was hoping for a little more of a fight, but we don’t want to make things any messier than they already are.”
Xan sat up on his knees. The world spun for ten seconds before it settled into a pounding headache. He couldn’t see clearly, but he knew where the dragon was. Pulling a knife from his boot, he lunged forward in an attempt to lame the beast before he could access a weapon to finish him off.
Whittaker knocked the blade aside and kicked Xan in the chest. “Stay down. You have no chance against me. I’d snap your neck right now if I didn’t want to know one thing. I’ve been so careful these last few decades. I’ve an eye for details. Yet I must’ve missed something. What was it? How did you find me?”
Coughing as he regained his breath, Xan glared at him. “I know a dragon when I see one.”
His options were running out. He needed to get past the dragon to get the girl. That wouldn’t even do. Xan needed to kill Whittaker to assure Alyssa’s safety.
“Oh come now. Let’s not play that game. I can make your death swift or slow. It’s up to you.” His grin told Xan that he wished the latter choice.
“No game. I know your kind. So power hungry that you don’t see how obvious you are.” Xan spat. “You try to take over the world with your dragonkin army and think no one will notice?”
Whittaker laughed, flattening a hand against his chest as if it was the best joke he’d heard in decades. “Take over the world? Quite the imagination you have. I only want this country. And I’ve been no more obvious about it than any other politician. So tell me again,” he said with a snarl. “How did you know?”
Perhaps Lois’ theory was stretching it a bit, but greed was bred into the bones of dragons. Whittaker only wanted this country? No small treasure there.
“I’ve true sight. I’ve known your true nature since I saw you at your inauguration two years ago.” It was a rare gift, but one his father taught him to use well. No glamor or magic could fool his eyes.
“Hm, how fascinating. Perhaps I’ll save your eyes for my collection.” The Governor’s gaze drifted to the hoard on the far wall. It was the only cue Xan needed.
In one smooth motion, Xan ripped a grenade from his belt and pulled the pin as he threw it at the pile of chests.
As Whittaker bellowed and dove for the grenade, he transformed into his true form. It was as if he were slipping out of a human cocoon and freeing himself as a massive scaly butterfly. His wings unfurled and fast curled against his body to protect themselves from the blast. A long tail thumped on the cavern floor as he threw himself onto the grenade.
In all his years, Xan had never seen a dragon with his own eyes. Paintings and drawings, even a lucky photograph, but the ones he’d slain had been in human form. There was a bit of him in awe of the massive creature. Sinuous and powerful, beautiful in an ethereal way.
Xan forced his gaze away and stumbled as he ran to the bed. Alyssa hadn’t moved. Her breathing was shallow as he scooped her up and pressed the detonator on his belt.
The grenade went off, muffled by the dragon’s thick hide. Whittaker roared with it and rolled back toward the entrance. His side was blackened, but otherwise unmarred.
Five seconds after the grenade blast, there was a second explosion. The cavern shook, and Xan cradled the girl against his chest as the ceiling crumbled down. It began near the middle, so he had to dart toward the rear, but once the first hole appeared, the manor above decided it wanted to fall in its entirety.
The hole grew fast toward the front of the cave, and everything from above poured in on top of the howling dragon. Noise and dust blurred Xan’s senses. Yet he could hear and see enough to know that Whittaker wasn’t going to be buried under his house.
The way Xan had come in was filling with debris. The only exit was up, and he needed to go before Whittaker realized he was still standing.
Cradling the girl as he was, Xan wasn’t going to be able to climb. Carefully he lifted her over one shoulder. She was feather light and hadn’t uttered a sound. With a hand free and the light coming in from above, Xan picked his path upwards.
His eyes burned and his throat hurt from holding back his coughs, not wanting Whittaker to hear him amongst the chaos. As the sounds of the collapse eased, sirens grew louder from the street. Xan hoped that Lois was gone. That she was safe and far away from a furious dragon.
Xan clawed his way out and onto the grass just as the dragon burst free of the wreckage. Whittaker screeched, a wail of fury and desolation. The shriek made Xan shudder and want to burrow into the soil out of sight.
The emergency vehicles were visible on the road. The blue and red lights grew in number within thirty seconds. There were shouts and the discovery that the gate was open. Using the distraction, Xan pulled Alyssa with him under a broken slab of roof.
The dragon paused and scanned the area. More shouts were accompanied by gunfire. Whittaker bared his many teeth and roared. He then took to the air with a great whoosh of his wings. The force of it fanning the fires and causing the flames to burn brighter.
Xan didn’t relax. He couldn’t see the sky, but he didn’t doubt Whittaker was waiting above until he absolutely had to leave. This was his home, his lair. More so, it was his hoard buried below.
And Xan was the one that had caused it all. There would be no easy death for him if the dragon caught him now.
When he judged five minutes had gone by and he could hear voices, Xan slipped out of his hiding spot. There was no sign of Whittaker. Where he’d gone, Xan didn’t know, but the Governor wouldn’t disappear. He’d be back with some story of terrorists blowing up his home.
The pain was growing in his throat and head. His adrenaline rush was wearing off. Xan needed to escape while he still could. He crawled with the girl tucked against him to the darkest of shadows, and he ran with her to the rear of the estate through a small copse of trees. There were other reside
nces on both sides and a highway below him.
He skirted along the edge of the trees, moving closer to the service road and the house with no lights on. The girl needed medical attention as soon as possible, but he didn’t have a vehicle. Hailing a driver or calling a cab wasn’t an option. It would look too suspicious.
A flash of lights came over a small hill, and Xan hid down in a ditch with Alyssa. The car moved slowly along. Too slowly. He peeked up, recognized the car and its plate, and stood.
Xan hurried to the car as Lois leapt out of the driver’s side.
“Oh my God! Is she alive?”
“Yes, but she needs a doctor. What are you still doing here?” Part of him was furious, but another part was ecstatic that she had stayed.
“I wasn’t going to leave without you.” Lois opened the rear door and then hastily added, “And the girl. I had to know she was all right.”
Xan placed Alyssa in the backseat, setting her down gently as he folded her legs so he could close the door. “You have to take her to the nearest hospital. Claim you found her on the side of the road somewhere. I’ll find my way back home.”
Even as he said it, he swayed and had to grab the car for support. Lois was fast at his side to help hold him up. “You’re getting in the car, and I’m taking both of you to the hospital.”
“No.” Xan felt weak as she opened the passenger side door and pushed him in. “I might look bad right now, but I’ll be fine. Take care of the girl.”
“I’ll take care of both of you.” Lois slammed the door shut and ran to the driver’s side. She slid in behind the wheel and shut the door. “You just have to trust me.”
He glanced over at her, ready to protest, but then nodded. His eyes slid shut as she shifted the gears and sped down the road.
* * *
CHAPTER 10
The rest of the night was a blur. Xan nearly panicked and ran when Lois pulled up to the hospital, but she had everything planned out. She told the nurses that she’d come across Xan attempting to rescue Alyssa from a gang of men, and since she had a gun, she scared them off with a few shots in the air.
The girl was rushed off to be treated. Her family was called and excitement erupted at the hospital. Lois convinced the nurses to stash Xan in the back of the hospital and out of the spotlight while he was seen to. Nothing was broken. He was given painkillers and told to rest.
While all the focus was upon Alyssa, Lois crept out a rear entrance with Xan. After a bit of sleep in the car and once the pills had kicked in, he was feeling better.
“I think Whittaker went to Carmine and took out his frustrations there.” Lois glanced nervously at him.
“Why? What’s going on?” Xan gave his head a shake to clear out some of the cotton that seemed packed in his brain. Whittaker didn’t know he lived in Carmine. Surely he wouldn’t randomly attack a city? He was Governor of the state. He had to make it look good for his presidential bid in a few years.
“I’ve been listening to the news. It’s like the apocalypse happened. Fires, explosions. People are fleeing the city. The military has been sent in. Most people are screaming terrorists, but I think it’s too much of a coincidence.” Lois tapped the steering wheel. “Even with the news the Governor’s house has been bombed, Carmine has been getting more air time. And dedicated as he is, Whittaker is going to be in Carmine today to show his support for the people.”
This was his chance. Security was going to be tight, but if Xan could strike while the dragon was still recovering from last night, he might have a chance. All it would take is one shot.
Shots he kept missing. It wasn’t for lack of skill on his part. The Governor couldn’t have known he was on that building last week during the charity event. And down in the lair he missed again. Perhaps the first time was bad luck, but the second time?
“Here’s something that will make you laugh. The emergency crews searched through the Governor’s home for survivors and found no one. Whittaker being safe at a colleague’s house, of course.” She snorted. “Yet in their search, the crews found several chests under the house full of coins. Not gold or silver or anything. Those stupid coins with Whittaker on them. They were handing them out at the charity event. The ego on the bastard! Hoarding coins with his own face on them.” Her laughter was harsh.
“Fuck.” It all made sense now. Why didn’t Xan see it before now? He was an idiot.
“Wow. I didn’t know you could swear. Isn’t that against the dragonslayer’s code or something? And it was funny. A little.” Lois pulled off the highway on the exit to Carmine.
Lazy streams of black smoke mingled with the clouds from all points in the city. Even from a distance, the city looked dark, as if night still enshrouded it. The sun had risen an hour ago, but it didn’t chase away whatever nightmare Carmine had experienced.
This was destruction a dragon could wreak.
The Governor needed to be slain today. No more waiting and planning.
There was one thing to take care of first. Xan turned his head to Lois. “Do you still have that coin?”
“What? Yes, I think so. Somewhere. I don’t know. Why?” Lois sped along the traffic-free road. No one was going into Carmine, but many were coming out.
“Mine is in my apartment. I need to stop there and get it. Then we’re going to a church.”
“I don’t even remember the last time I’ve been to church. It’s not even Sunday!” Lois exclaimed.
“The coins were from the dragon’s hoard. They’re cursed.” That’s why he missed the shot. Xan had been obsessing over reasons why he’d missed, but it was obvious now. He was stupid to pick up the coin in the first place.
“Why would a dragon give away his treasure? Aren’t they, like, the ultimate hoarders?”
“Perhaps he wished some bad luck on certain people at the event. Or it may have been an accident. One of his staff could’ve taken the coins and thought they’d make great party favors.” Xan didn’t know and didn’t care. The reason wasn’t important. Now that he knew he was cursed, he could rid himself of it.
“One of the Governor’s assistants got trampled to death in the aftermath of the assassination attempt.” Lois’ voice was low as she said it. “No one was charged for it. He was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Really bad luck.” She shrieked and threw her hands up. The car swerved and they both grabbed for the wheel. “Oh my god! I took one of those coins. I don’t know where it is!”
“It has to be somewhere. We’ll look through your things when we get back to my apartment. Then we’ll go to the church.” Xan put a hand over hers on the steering wheel. Partially to comfort and partially to make sure she didn’t let go again. “Do you have faith?”
“I believe in God, yeah. I was raised Christian. I don’t go to church or anything, though. Will that matter?” She nipped her lower lip.
“No, it won’t matter. I don’t attend church regularly either. It only matters that you believe or else the curse can’t be vanquished in that manner.”
“Thank God.” Lois breathed out and followed his directions to his apartment building.
Carmine was a disaster. Ruined buildings, cars, and businesses. The concentration of police and military were the thickest closest to downtown. Xan directed Lois around that area and found a few streets impassable. If a dragon had done some damage, it was clear people had done the rest.
His building was mostly untouched. Just the lobby windows were broken. There was a foul stench in the air. Something worse than meat, but there was no time to investigate. Xan didn’t say a word this time when Lois went for the elevator.
Xan opened his door to a messy apartment and felt an intense wave of the need to clean zip through him. Huff came out from under a pile of papers and squeaked at them. Lois swore and apologized to the ferret.
All that time the animal had been loose in his apartment. Those things weren’t pets you could toilet train.
He twitched and forced himself to walk past his cupboards to f
etch the briefcase he had with him the night he attempted to assassinate the Governor. The coin was exactly where he knew it to be.
It felt filthy as he picked it up. Not a smudge of dirt on it, but knowing it was part of the dragon’s hoard made Xan want to scrub it clean. In essence, it was what he was going to do when he went to the church.
“I can’t find it!” Lois had thrown everything from her bag onto the floor. She rifled through the papers in the living room like a whirlwind. “I don’t know where it is!”
“Calm down.” Xan strode into the living room and held up his hands. “Let’s clean everything up. Shake your clothing and the papers. Maybe it’ll fall out.”
“Okay, okay.” Lois shook and tossed. Xan followed her, picking up the discarded clothing and checking it once more before he folded them.
“Maybe I left it at my condo. God, what happened to my condo? We left dead dragonkin there.” Lois slumped down onto the couch and pressed her head to her knees.
Xan placed her clothing in her bag and checked that as well. “Everything would be cleaned up and taken care of. The Governor wouldn’t want any evidence left of his offspring.”
Sorting through the papers, he piled them on the coffee table and could breathe a little easier being able to see his floor again. No ferret messes on it, either. At least none he could see at the moment.
“I’m going to be cursed forever.” Lois groaned and flopped over on her side. Huff hopped up and bounded over to paw at Lois’ side. “Go away, brat. My life is ruined.”
Huff sat up on her hind legs as Lois buried her head under her arms. Xan wasn’t sure if she was crying or not as he hesitantly approached the couch. Reaching out, he rested a hand on her leg and slowly caressed it. A warm flush went through him, and he wasn’t sure what to say. Then he caught a gleam in the ferret’s mouth.
“Lois,” he said in a soft tone, not wanting to scare the critter away. “I think Huff found your coin.”
1303 The Dragonslayer (The 13th Floor) Page 6
