Wyoming Dynasty (American Dragons Book 10)

by Aaron Crash

  Steven didn’t like factions in his Escort, and he meant to address it, but there was so much to be done. After months of preparation, they were going to reveal themselves to the unsuspecting humans.

  Steven had changed Dragonsoul culture. Now, he meant to do the same with the humans, though that was going to be far trickier. For one thing, there were a ton more humans on the blue-green gem. Another? At some point, some Dragonsoul had called the humans violent, horny apes. They weren’t wrong. People had a way of doing the exact opposite of what you wanted them to do.

  Skylar Blacke smiled at Steven, and he smiled back. The Three Widows were slowly recovering from losing Teegan Thornrose and Pretty McGillicuddy. Their deaths had been a devastating blow.

  Skylar was an older-looking Dragonsoul with auburn hair and green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her nose. Tessa had mentioned that Skylar’s crow’s feet made her a total MILF. Tessa was almost as horny as Sabina. Almost.

  Which had Steven thinking about Quinnestri. Where was the elf queen with her lust? He hoped to find out.

  Bud, surrounded by papers, had his laptop open and his phone in his hand. “Okay, guys, we dumped a ton of money into this little operation. However, the town of McCook, Nebraska, and Yazoo City, Mississippi, thank you. You brought some good jobs there.”

  “That was the plan,” Tessa said.

  Aria sighed. “Let’s get on with it, Bud.” On the outside, Aria had changed since dying and coming back to life. Her hair was a little blacker, her skin darker, and her green eyes had flecks of ink in them now. As far as who she was? She was still serious, ruthless, and didn’t suffer fools well. Only, she got a lot of practice with that, since her sister wives weren’t exactly all business like she was.

  “Yeah, Bud,” Pru agreed. She wore cutoffs and a halter top. Her sister, Chazzie, wore a filmy cover over her bikini. Both would be heading to the pool area.

  “Don’t much care about the humans.” Chazzie was filing her nails and chewing gum and looking good. Red hair, freckles, and eyes the color of cedar. “We’re dragons, right?”

  “And you dragons share the world with us,” Tessa said. “So, we have to live together. And you’re not going to be hogging all the magic and power. We’re going to share it.”

  “Yeah.” Bud raised a fist. “Humans of the world, unite!”

  Aria pinched the bridge of her nose. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Mouse patted her. “It’s okay, Thirteen, you know these meetings take forever. We could probably handle the business in ten minutes. The banter takes several hours.”

  “But the banter is the fun,” Pru said.

  Chazzie appraised her pink nails. “Well, our banter is, sister, but the rest of these people? It’s all Harry Potter lord of the star swords or whatever.”

  “But we certainly love ’em.”

  “Speak for yourself. That Morta Clique is trying my patience. If they come in gunning their motorcycles at three a.m. again, we are definitely gonna have some words.”

  “Not gonna complain about the baby?” Pru asked.

  “Nuh uh, sister,” Chazzie said emphatically. “You hate that.”

  “I do.”

  Pru loved Sabina and Regina. Chazzie tolerated them. It was complicated.

  “Take control, Bud,” Steven prompted.

  Their blond lawyer, pimples across his forehead, took in a deep breath. “Yeah, like that’s easy with you all. I’m just your consigliere. I haven’t fought demons and explored worlds and all that. I’m not the badass warrior you probably need.”

  “Oh, Bud,” Mouse chirped. “Are you still feeling bad about Big Willy? We can’t all be handsome, rugged freedom fighters. You’re good too.”

  “And aren’t you the CEO of Drokharis Industries now?” Tessa asked.

  Aria turned to Steven. She didn’t need to say a word. The annoyance in her eyes said it all.

  “Okay, people,” Steven said. “We have three things to talk about. Let’s do the hardest one first. We need to give a speech to the humans. I don’t want to do it. I think Aria should.”

  “What?” The room exploded.

  Everyone had an opinion, and they went back and forth a few times before all eyes turned to Aria. She’d been strangely quiet.

  “Instead of getting hysterical,” the Indian woman said, “let’s ask Steven for more information. For example, what does Robert Stains think?”

  Bud fielded that one. “We asked to work with someone else. Steven and I agreed that Bob was too much of a bureaucratic douchebag. He was more about keeping his power than anything else. Buster is our guy, now...Bernard Lumpkin. We love Buster.”

  “One Lumpkin or two?” Tessa asked. She and Mouse actually laughed at that.

  “No more Lumpkin jokes.” Steven stood and walked to the head of the table. “I’ve given this some thought. Yes, I am the Steven Drokharis, and yes, some of you like calling me a messiah.”

  “If the crown of thorns fits, my dude, you gotta wear it,” Mouse said with an evil grin.

  Tessa frowned at her. “That’s disrespectful.”

  “It’s okay. Michaela’s not here, and she’s the religious one.” Mouse motioned for Steven to go on.

  “I’m not a messiah. My point is, I’m already the focal point, and I don’t want to make the big reveal about me. Aria is beautiful, she’s stately, and she was a Dragonsoul from birth. She has that seriousness that I think will really sell our plan.”

  “I don’t know.” Mouse wrinkled her nose. “Some of the humans are gonna be like, ‘Dragon bitches are stupid, yo. We want a dude dragon guy.’”

  “Fuck the humans,” Chazzie said. “It’s all gonna be a shit show anyhow. Some of the fuckers are gonna hate us, some will love us, but I would imagine most will just keep on keeping on. It takes a lot to break people out of their day-to-day.”

  “Amen,” Pru agreed. “Sure, let’s have Aria do it. She’ll be the face of the big reveal. She certainly does have the face for it.”

  “And she won’t put up with much shit.” Chazzie worked her file over a fingernail. “You don’t want us to do it. I would put my foot in the ass of the first reporter who got lippy with me.”

  “Or we’d shoot ’em.”

  “Oh, yeah, there would be shooting. You know there would be.”

  Skylar tapped her finger against her chin. “While Aria is well suited for the initial reveal, you do need to have a male presence. Steven, you can’t hide from this. It should be you, Aria, and Tessa as the main focal point. You have the magical human, the pretty Dragonsoul, and then, of course, the hero.”

  Steven could see the logic in that. “That’s a good idea, Skylar, but for this first speech? I want Aria. Then we can schedule another press conference, and it would be the three of us. Or maybe all of us.”

  “If I get in front of the camera, I want my own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.” Mouse bumped fists with Tessa. They were in agreement.

  “Are you willing to do this, Aria?” Steven asked.

  The Indian woman’s smile was small, amused, and full of love for him. “I’ve died to bring this moment to the world. This will be easy. What will our message be?”

  Steven knew that down to specific phrases he wanted. “Human governments, such as they are, won’t change. Dragonsouls will answer to me and my Primes. We will give them a history of the Alpheros, why we were here, and why we had to hide. Then we’ll talk about the Zothoric Wars, what we did and what we learned.”

  Bud swiped his thumb across his phone. “And that’s when we talk about the Icharaam Energy Generators and the Icharaam’s Promise Centers.”

  “That’s right,” Steven said. “And we spin it that this is our gift to humanity for hiding us for so long. And maybe as an apology for lying?”

  Pru laughed. “No, we certainly won’t be apologizing for anything. That would make us look weak.”

  Chazzie took over. “Yes, this is our gift, this will usher in a new age of peace,
prosperity, and whatever other happy crappy you want to talk about. We’re doing enough for them. But I have other questions on the logistics of sending hundreds of fucking dragons to other worlds across the universe. Are we ever going to talk about that?”

  Steven had been tabling that sticky question for months. He had no answer. It wasn’t like he could police every single dragon in existence. Some of the Dragonkind were power hungry, some were more openminded, and some were bound to cause trouble on other planets.

  He had come to a decision on that. “If anyone becomes a problem, a real problem, Sabina, Tessa, or I will know. And we’ll deal with it. However, for the most part, we’re not going to go after dragons on other worlds unless we’re forced to.”

  Tessa was suspiciously quiet. She worried about what havoc a rogue Dragonlord might cause on another planet. She sometimes talked about the Prime Directive idea from Star Trek. It was something to consider.

  The problem was, whenever she said the words Star Trek, the twins would roll their eyes.

  “We could find ourselves in all sorts of trouble if we try to police the multiverse,” Steven added.

  Quinnestri spoke in a quiet voice. “Multiverse is an interesting idea. In Lyran, we call it the Panileel, or, the Stair. We see each reality as a step on an endless staircase rising up through the stars.”

  Steven could imagine a stone staircase rising up through the stars leading to all sorts of interesting places. He liked the new word for the multiverse.

  The elf queen switched gears. “What are these things from Icharaam?”

  Liam Strider answered. “We’ve talking about the troubles on this world and what the humans need. Steven first saw Animus being turned into electricity in Alamosa... it was something his father did there. It gave him the idea of creating generators.”

  Quinn was quick. “And so, these generators will turn Animus into energy that can power the many gadgets the humans love?”

  Mouse shot a finger gun at the elf queen. “Right you are, baby. But the IEGs won’t be powered by straight Animus, since your average human doesn’t have the juice. The generators will be powered by sex. Humans are horny, humans love sex, and so when they get off, they charge these generators. The spark is stored in a battery-type component, and voila, clean energy. Oh, and masturbation counts, so in essence, instead of investing in coal mines, you should invest in Pornhub.” She laughed a bit too hard at her own joke.

  Steven had installed one of the IEGs on his custom KillaCycle, and it worked perfectly.

  “How big are they?” Quinn asked.

  “About the size of a loaf of bread,” Tessa answered.

  Mouse wasn’t done just yet. “I can just see it now. Some housewife with a teenage son is going to wonder why their IEG is always running on full. Is it because her hubby is cheating on her? Nope. Junior is polishing his knob so much that the lights have never been brighter.”

  “Yep,” Chazzie said. “Gonna be some awkward moments in some families for sure.”

  “And you are going to sell these IEGs?” Quinn asked.

  Liam continued. “That’s why Steven and Bud started the company, though the plan is to run it as a nonprofit. They will sell the units cheaply. The services will also be inexpensive—installing the devices, maintenance, et cetera. This will create a new industry since everything is going to be changing.”

  “So those are the Icharaam’s Energy Generators.” Quinn let that sink in before asking, “What are these Promise Centers?”

  It was Tessa answered. “We know a crapton about healing wounds. This was my idea, by the way, and I figured since my brother can enjoy a normal life even though he was born with childhood MS, other people should have the same chance. We’re opening clinics where people can go for help... terminal cancer patients, people with heart conditions or any kind of health issue. This won’t be free, but we’ll work on a sliding scale. Like with the IEGs, this isn’t for profit. No way.”

  “Which certainly is stupid,” Pru said with some disgust. “We could make a fortune.”

  Tessa rolled her eyes. “We already have several fortunes, Prudence. We’re fine. We do need to pay for the real estate and for the human nurses. As for the healing itself, we have an influx of Dragonskins who survived the Zothoric Wars. They can do the simple Magica Cura on simple colds and stuff. For the more intense diseases? We’ll need full Dragonsouls to work on FleshForge. That will take training.”

  “Which is where I come in,” Liam said. “I found a nice little deserted planet to live on.” His face relaxed as he looked far away. “There are forests, oceans, big snakes, colorful birds, an ecosystem untouched by humans or dragons. I enjoyed the solitude I found there, at first, but I grew lonely.” He smiled, and there were tears in his eyes. “I have to admit, living with people again, being around women, I’m not the lonely soul I once was. So I want to open a school for advanced Alpherian studies. The food will be very good.”

  Steven saw that Quinn was touched by the big, yellow-bearded man’s show of emotions. “What is the name of your world?”

  Liam shrugged his broad shoulders. “Xanadu, from the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem. That will be the name of the planet. As for the school? The Taylor Kubla Khan Academy, named after my very first wife, long dead. Her parents named her after both the poet and his poem. I wanted to call it the Drokharis Academy, but Steven refused.”

  “No, I like that one of your wives gets such an honor,” Steven said. “It will take a bit for the Dragonsouls to get up to speed, but anyone going to Xanadu will have to volunteer in these clinics. For the worst cases, the patients will have orbs that will hook into their cores to keep them healed, like how it is for Tessa’s brother, Jared. That’s what we’re building at the factory in Mississippi.”

  Quinn looked perplexed. “The humans should be very grateful. I can’t imagine they would have a problem with any of this.”

  Mouse laughed sharply. “People are going to lose their shit over all this. They’ll bitch, moan, complain, and there will be internet comments. Oh, yes, there will be internet comments.”

  “I don’t care,” Steven said. “This is something we can give to make people’s lives better. I’m going to ignore all the drama I can. We have something else to talk about. A last item on the agenda.”

  He stood, walked to the corner, and returned carrying both Umbra’s spear and Silas’s sword. He showed them to the elf queen. “Quinn, I was wondering if you can tell me anything about these weapons. They look elven.” He laid the spear and the sword on the table.

  The elf queen stood and reached to touch the spear. Purple runes glowed on the blade, flaring so brightly people had to shield their eyes. Strange, in Umbra’s hands, the spear had glowed orange. Perhaps her own Animus had altered the color.

  “The Night Lance.” Quinn read the words, moving her lips. Her eyes grew wide as her cheeks lost all color. She squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t...I can’t remember. Please, don’t ask me to try. Please. I don’t want to remember any more of my mistakes.”

  She turned and fled, once again weeping.

  Chazzie blew dust off her nails. “I am so tired of these dramatic bitches, always crying. Pru, we never cry ever.”

  Pru chuckled wearily. “We certainly did some crying, Chaz, when we were wondering if we should throw in our lot with Steven. You know we did.”

  Steven wondered if that was the issue with Quinnestri. Was she thinking of coming to live at the Infinity Ranch permanently?

  Maybe, but there was something else, something about her memories. What did she not want to remember?

  Chapter Six

  THIS STRANGE WYOMING place was hot and terrible during the day, but night might be better for Quinnestri.

  The plains started come alive at twilight. The elf queen walked the gravel path outside the hotel feeling ashamed she’d been so weak in front of Steven and his wives.

  And yet, she had her reasons, none of them good.

  A dog-like animal
ran through the sage and turned to give her a look, and his coat was painted red by the sunset. Strange birds cawed in the distance. Quinn breathed in the sweet perfume of the brush. It was as if it were exhaling its sweetest fragrance after the long day of being scorched. The air was cool now, the wind welcome, almost loving on her skin.

  She walked to the east side, where a woman stood in a patch of dirt, whirling around, dancing almost, but in her hands were short staves. She wore tight black clothing that hugged her curves. She was one of the widow wives, a woman with darker skin and black hair with platinum highlights. She was a quiet, solitary woman, and while Quinn had seen her before, her name escaped the elf queen.

  She wasn’t sure if she should turn around and leave the woman in peace or if she could watch. The woman’s movements were beautiful as she trained, and it reminded the elf queen of her own training growing up.

  Quinn went to retreat, but the woman called out to her, “It’s okay if you want to stay and watch. I saw you at the gate, and you seemed sad. Yet, your face changed when you watched me practice my capoeira.”

  “It was beautiful.” Quinnestri approached the woman. “I am sorry, I have forgotten your name.”

  “Michaela Montes.” Her full red lips stretched into a smile to reveal straight white teeth. “I can’t blame you for not knowing. Steven has a great many wives.” She holstered the fighting sticks at her side. She bent. From a small bag, she removed a towel. She used the cloth to wipe the sweat from her face, adjusting her hair as she did it.

  Michaela had a strong Dragonsoul odor, metallic, like a human engine. One of their so-called cars perhaps? The woman tempered the smell with a musky perfume, which mixed well.

  Quinn knew this woman had experimented to get the perfect scent for herself, just as her hair was perfectly cut. She was a lady of fashion.

  Michaela walked up to her. “If you need to talk, I’ll listen. I know the power of confession, believe me. You can tell me your sins.”