City of Dragons: Of Flesh and Blood

by Wilder, Adrienne

  “Yeah, I gathered that.”

  “Which cannot be allowed.”

  And Orin was so on board with that idea it wasn’t funny, until Medan smiled. Yeah, looking at her was like watching a freight train bearing down on his ass while tied to the tracks.

  She purred and said, “I want to keep you safe, but to do that I need something from you.”

  “What could I possibly have that you need?” After all, she was Female. And not just Female but a Queen.

  Medan’s golden eyes flashed to black. “I want Serena’s RHage.”

  “No.” Orin shook his head. “You said yourself that no Queen could hold it because it’s a first RHage.”

  “Which is why Rehbek’ah wants to own you. She can use you to house it and call it out as she pleases.”

  “And you think I want to Belong to you any more than I do her?”

  Medan smirked. “I am not asking you to Belong. I am offering you complete freedom. I can free you from Serena’s RHage because I have somewhere else for it to go.”

  Orin still didn’t believe her. It just wasn’t possible. Only a Female could control it and all Females were endowed with a first RHage impressed on them from their Queen! No Female could hold two, not even Medan. It would take a Female with no RHage, a Female never impressed.

  Or at least never impressed by a Queen.

  “You can’t be serious.” Orin tried to breathe but some asshole had just uncorked the planet and there wasn’t enough air left for him to fill his lungs. His hands shook, his entire body shook. He stared at Medan and wished with everything to wake up from this nightmare.

  Medan’s lips parted, flashing tiger-sized fangs. “Oh, I am very serious.”

  “You’ll kill her.” Orin tried to stand up but his legs wouldn’t work.

  “She will not die.”

  “How can you say that? Christ, Medan, we’re talking about Serena. It took three of you to kill that bitch. I know what this thing feels like. I’ve seen what it can do.” Hell, he’d been the channel for it when she used it to kill millions. “I won’t. I can’t--”

  “You will.” Medan’s words were like ice.

  “And you can’t make me.” God of Man, Orin was really asking for it.

  An earth shaking growl lit up in Haley’s chest. “You are so very right. I cannot make you give it to me, but unless you give Haley the RHage she will die.”

  Orin glared at her. “Why doesn’t it surprise me you’d reduce yourself to such petty BS? I won’t do what you say, so you’ll kill her to punish me.”

  “Her death will not be on my hands. It will be Rehbek’ah.”

  “Only if you send her in there and don’t help her.”

  “If I send her in at all she will die. She has no RHage, and that means she has no defense against the RHage of others.”

  “Is that why she almost lost it this morning?”

  Medan turned Haley’s head to look at Deshi. “Yes. It was an unforeseeable accident.”

  Orin said, “Deshi said what you left was only a sliver. If Haley lost it over a sliver then how the hell is she going to control the entire package? Not to mention we’re talking about Serena here.”

  “Because the piece of RHage left in her was mine. The only reason Haley didn’t kill herself or the Chetrah she works for is because she is Female. Even then her resistance was limited. If Deshi had not been there, she would have killed Farley trying to give it to him.”

  Funny thing was, Medan didn’t seem one bit broken up about that prospect. It would have killed Haley though. Farley wasn’t much but he was hers. So Deshi saved the day, huh? Orin glanced at the Prince. His eyes were on the floor. Yeah, well at least the Male was useful for something.

  “There has to be another way,” Orin said.

  “There is not. This is your purpose, Orin. Just as it is Haley’s purpose.”

  Medan would have to put it like that, but then again as a Queen, a Male would have no other worth but to serve.

  “We’re more than just instruments for your use.” Even though Orin meant it, he regretted saying it. The look on Haley’s face, the expression manufactured by Medan, made his insides curl.

  “Yes, please…tell me about how you are worth so much more. Amuse me, Orin.”

  “You know what I mean.” Damn it, the shakes were back, probably because she was leaking so much sunshine and happiness all over the room. A quick glance at Deshi told Orin he wasn’t faring much better. The Jersey City Prince looked like he was ready to puke in his expensive shoes.

  Medan said, “I do not.”

  Orin swallowed. “We’re more than sex and food, Medan. We’re people. We have lives.”

  She cut him off. “Lives? You mean the pitiful existence where you try and cheat your biology by shooting up with lab-born concoctions so you don’t have to feed? Or perhaps Deshi has a life?” She looked at the Male and he flinched. “Ah, yes, Deshi. Married to a Human woman. As if cutting out your Nevus was not insult enough to your people, now you are reduced to feeding half-breeds and letting them fuck you for her personal entertainment. A disgrace if there ever was one. If you were my Son I would eat out your heart and leave the rest to rot.”

  Orin stared at Deshi and tried to keep his jaw off the floor. Christ. Never in a million years would he have… He looked away. Otherwise he might do something stupid like try to apologize, or maybe go all out and actually feel sorry for the Prince.

  Maybe he already did.

  Medan said, “Give Haley the RHage.”

  “I don’t want her to die.” And Orin was sure if he gave it to Haley that’s exactly what would happen. Serena wasn’t just powerful--she was evil. Everything she went near died. And she enjoyed every minute of it.

  “I would not endanger Haley. She is too important for me to waste. Like you, she has a use. Therefore I allow her to live. The only reason either of you still breathe is because it is my will that you do so. When Rehbek’ah takes you--and she will take you--your usefulness will end.”

  Orin said, “I’ll fight her.”

  The Queen gave him a tired look. “Even if her First RHage was not Blood, you would not stand a chance. When her other three RHages mature, she will take you and nothing you do will stop her.”

  Guilt, grief, fear, it all drove Orin forward. He curled in on himself because it felt like all his emotions were going to burst out of his chest. Medan was going to use Haley just like he’d been used by Serena. And Medan? A Queen with two first RHages? One of which was the most powerful force ever known in the history of the species? The ramifications were too frightening to even consider. Orin didn’t want this, and now there was nothing he could do to stop it.

  No, Medan had her mind set. She would do this at any cost…any amount of death. And if he didn’t? Medan would make good on her vow and kill him and Haley.

  Because a Queen’s promise is like the Universe.

  Forever.

  Orin brought his eyes up and something must have shown in his face because the Queen’s expression went dark. Very dark. Medan frowned.

  “You owe me. One favor. Remember? One unquestioned favor.” Yeah, he had Medan’s attention now. Her eyes were blacker than the ace of spades.

  “Nothing would please me more than to let you waste your favor, but before you ask, I want you to taste.” She raised Haley’s wrapped hand. “Taste and you will understand.”

  Orin’s hearts pounded like a double drum behind his eyes. “I can’t.”

  “One drop. A single drop. And you will see why Haley can hold the RHage. Why it will not hurt her.”

  Orin backed away. God, to taste Haley. He tried to keep his eyes glued to the carpet but they were pulled back up against his will. Just one taste. A drop of Female blood.

  He told himself no because this would only lead to other things, but Orin’s hands betrayed him by reaching out to unwrap the towel. White terry cloth streaked with green fluttered to the floor in a series of folds. Fresh ichor welled in the gashes and
dripped like honey from Haley’s fingertips. Medan wasn’t letting her heal.

  “Just one taste, Orin. With all your control, with all your discipline, surely you can handle it.” Medan grinned. “Do this, and if I’m wrong you can walk away. Haley can walk away.”

  Orin blinked. Holy shit, she was serious. A real life get-out-of-hell-free card.

  “All I have to do is taste?” Orin asked. She nodded. “And if I disagree, that’s it? No strings? No exceptions?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

  Fine. Okay. Orin’s eyes went back to Haley’s hand and he couldn’t help but lick his lips. God of Man, to feed from a Female. Something inside his chest burned. But this wasn’t feeding, it was just a taste. A very small taste.

  I can do this. She’ll be wrong. She has to be wrong. And then we can walk away.

  Or at least Haley could.

  Orin closed his eyes, took a breath, locking everything down. When he opened them again Haley’s hand was still waiting. Ready and terrified, he leaned forward, parted his lips and flicked his tongue out under Haley’s first finger. With the barest caress, Orin took a drop of blood.

  He sat back on his knees and rolled the flavor across his palate.

  Cream. Haley tasted like cream, mixed with orange blossoms and sunlight. The heat hit him hard and fast, searing over his body like a flash fire. Orin burned so hot he had to open his mouth to breathe. The terrible power inside his chest shifted and he held on with every ounce of will he had. The crash and ebb of metaphysics drew a moan from Orin’s throat. Head to toe, he trembled with the exertion of keeping Serena’s RHage contained. And just when Orin thought he was heading down the dirt road to serious trouble, it stopped.

  Dear God of Man, he hadn’t tasted a scent like that since Africa.

  “How…” It was all he could squeeze out.

  Medan’s voice was way too calm. “I do not know.”

  Impossible. Then Orin reminded himself how Niles Fury had died for Haley. A complete stranger. A total unknown. He’d followed her and Medan had allowed it. “You knew?” She had to have known. Why else would she have wanted Haley for her Enforcer?

  “I did not. Until I tasted her through her vessel, I did not know such potential lay within her flesh.” Orin scented no lie, but he knew from experience Medan was holding something back.

  She said, “You agreed, Orin.”

  Yeah, he had. If she was right, he’d give Haley the RHage. And damn it, Medan was right. Once she had it, what would stop it from eating away Haley’s mind and making her punch drunk with power?

  What have I done?

  As if reading his mind Medan said, “She will never be what Serena was.”

  “How do you know?” All the death. All the destruction. Orin couldn’t live through it again. “How can you be so sure?”

  “She cannot. Haley can contain the RHage because she is Female, but her Human impressions will keep her from ever taking it to its full potential. Truth be known, she may never even be able to use it.”

  Otherwise she’d be a threat. If there was one thing Orin was sure of, it was that Medan wouldn’t do anything to risk her place in the Atlanta Hive, so she truly believed what she said. But what would save Haley from being used like a puppet whenever she was tired or weakened? All Medan would have to do is slip inside and take control.

  Orin had to make sure that would never happen. Maybe it was time to cash in on his one favor after all.

  “I still want my favor.”

  Medan’s eyes widened. “You cannot deny what you felt, Orin.”

  “No, you’re right. I can’t deny it.”

  “Then there is no favor for me to grant. Remember, we agreed.” She smiled.

  “This favor is completely different.”

  Medan’s eyes narrowed and on the back of a growl she said, “Speak.”

  “Haley gets control of the link between you. She opens it, she shuts it. No more taking her over against her will. Ever.”

  Black, black eyes bled to gold, then red. “This is a waste of your favor, Orin. Surely you do not mean to lose it on such a trivial, useless…meaningless act.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s not useless.” In fact, going by the tone in the Queen’s voice, he knew damn well it was a favor well spent. If he could stop Medan, force her to leave Haley alone, it would be worth an arm and maybe both legs.

  Medan said, “You do this to win Haley’s favor. An unnecessary gift I can assure you. Haley’s thoughts of you are very--”

  “No. Stop.” Orin pointed at her. “This isn’t about me, it’s about her. You’re not changing my mind.”

  “And yet you brought her here for me to use.”

  Yeah, a mistake he’d have to live with, or make sure never happened again. “No more, Medan. Shut up and do this!”

  The Queen sneered. “Your arrogance has no boundaries.”

  “It’s my favor. There were no limits. It’s a debt you owe to me. You don’t get a say in it.”

  “You will regret this.”

  Yeah, well Orin already regretted so much. What was one more to add to the list? “Do it, Medan!”

  Anger, a palpable force, boiled out of Haley’s body, hot enough to make Orin sweat.

  God of Man, he hoped she couldn’t go back on her word. If she did, they were worse than just dead.

  Silence. Then Medan said, “So be it.”

  Haley slumped forward and Orin rushed to the edge of the bed to keep her from spilling into the floor.

  Chapter 32

  The darkness made the pain a little more bearable while Farley waited for his arms and legs to fall off. ‘Cause there was no way something could hurt this bad and stay attached. It just wasn’t possible.

  “You feeling better?” Garrett asked.

  Farley touched the towel wrapped around his head. It was still damp from the melted ice. He fondled his scalp, wondering if the thing had split yet or if it was just going to fester like everything else.

  Farley said, “Not really.”

  “Is there anything else I can do?”

  “No, just don’t turn the light on.” No, cause if the light came on he was going to burst into flames. Poof. Maybe even explode. Take out a wall or two.

  “Lights are staying off.”

  “Good.”

  How long had he been down here now? It seemed like years. After Terry had gotten him into the back of the car, Farley had kind of lost track of things. Then his brain came back on line in the infirmary when they hit his eyes with a pen light, sending bolts of lightning into his skull. Hypersensitive was an understatement.

  So now Farley was in the Tank, where the ink well of blackness was so thick the shit stuck in his lungs when he tried to breath.

  Garrett said, “You did good. Inoata is talking to the DA as we speak.”

  “Talking?” Yeah, right. Not with the amount of hardware he was going to need stapled to his head.

  “Well, writing with magic marker and a white board. His jaw will be wired shut for the next six weeks.”

  “I hope the fucker looks like a bulldog when they take the screws out.” Farley shifted his weight. The pile of coats and towels he was on did very little to ease his aches and pains. Something told him if he was on a two-foot-thick feather bed it would still feel like gravel digging in his ass. Shit, even his dick hurt. Kicking off the blankets they’d wrapped him in did nothing to ease him either. Nope. He was just going to have to ride this out. That’s what he got for feeding on a half-breed. Like a box of chocolates, a Male never knew whether biting into one was going to fry his ass.

  Garrett said, “You mind telling me what happened out there?”

  “I ate a hybrid.” Farley could practically hear Garrett’s eyebrows having a head-on right in the middle of his forehead. “Geeze, Garrett. It was a fucking half-breed. Had a peanut for a brain. Might as well have been a pet cabbage. Quit staring at me like that. You’re making my head hurt worse.”

  “It’s dark
, and you have a towel over your face.”

  “Yeah, but I can feel all your disappointment raining down all over me. It was him or me. I chose him. Trust me, I’m paying for it.” Boy, was he. Technically he could have stopped after ripping out its throat, but that was like saying no to sex. Farley sighed and wished Haley was here. This wouldn’t hurt half as bad if she could pet away the pain.

  “Do you think you’ll be up by this afternoon?”Garrett asked.

  Afternoon? What day was it?

  Farley groaned. “Honestly? I think I need to stay down here for a few weeks. Maybe longer. Just toss me some Twinkies and cream. Yeah, cream would be nice.” Garrett’s breathing deepened and his scent changed, leaving a tang on the back of Farley’s throat. Stress. “Garrett?”

  “Yes, Farley?”

  “Something’s bothering you and it has nothing to do with me eating the half-breed.” He made it a statement and Garrett didn’t deny it. For no real reason, Farley thought of Frankie’s warning about the heat on Inoata. Maybe that’s what was eating him. “Back in the Dens, there was some talk, about a Bureau big wig having a kid picked by Inoata.” Farley heard his boss’s muscles pull tight. “Whoa, ease up before you pop a blood vessel. I think your BP just shot over one-eighty. You know, if you need me I’m here. You let them know upstairs and I’ll get on it. As soon as I’m up I’ll…”

  Garrett cut him off. “Her name is Jessica, and she’s my Granddaughter.”

  “What?” Farley tried to sit up and promptly wished he’d thought that through first. “Ah shit…” The nausea was back. He ignored it and kept pushing until he was no longer prone. “Man, if I never eat another half-breed it will be too soon.” Farley pressed a palm to his right eye. “Garrett, why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because there are a lot of other families involved in this too.” In other words, Garrett didn’t want it to look like he was being given preferential treatment. Farley leaned against the wall and watched Garrett’s faint outline shift.

  Farley sighed. “Tell me what you need.” Garret went completely still. “Anything you want me to do, and I’ll do it.” ‘Cause God of Man knew his boss had pulled a lot of strings for him over the years. As far as Farley was concerned, he owed Garrett big.