by TR Cameron
“Do you think I’m strong enough?” She vehemently disliked the part of her that craved his reassurance but pushed that worry aside.
Ikehara gave a sharp nod. “I do. But only if you fully accept yourself.” A small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Mistakes and all.”
His words filled the hole inside her that had slowly expanded throughout their training session. She answered his nod with one of her own. “Okay. I don’t have any idea how to do that.”
He laughed, a joyful sound in the seriousness of the moment. “Knowing your own ignorance is the first step toward enlightenment.”
She chuckled. “More Spiderman?”
His smile fully materialized. “Patrick Rothfuss. Have you read him?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes.
He rose smoothly to his full height. “You should. He has much to say but needs to write faster, though.”
Cali stood. “All right, I think I’m ready.”
Her instructor took several steps back and raised his blade in a defensive posture. “Then hit me if you can.”
She surged into the attack, intent on making his order a reality.
The session sufficiently exhausted Cali that she fell asleep the moment they returned to the apartment. As soon as she was resting deeply enough not to notice, Fyre climbed to his feet from where he lay on the rug beside her bed. The conversation they’d had earlier had left him uncomfortable and reminded him of something he simply couldn’t remember.
He felt confined, cooped up, and like a part of him was missing. The apartment was too small. He padded to the window and nudged it open with his magic. A simple veil protected him from sight as he launched himself into the air. He spread his wings wider than he had in a week, caught the breeze, and pushed himself upward with strong strokes. As he climbed higher and higher, he spiraled to catch a full view of the city. From above, it was a collection of shapes rather than structures, and the blue river called to him.
The Draksa flew to it, dove, and flashed into the water with a giant splash. His wings were as effective underwater as above, and he glided gracefully along the bottom, disturbing the silt as he passed. He summoned a shield above him to keep it from rising to betray his position. All his kind breathed in water as easily as in air—part of their innate magical nature—and were completely at home beneath the surface. He coasted to a stop and settled into the cool alluvium. The quiet allowed him to think.
He had no regrets over his choice of partner. Cali was definitely his kind of human. He wasn’t sure why that was, but he was happy it was. Maybe it was instinct. Lately, he’d wished his memory was clearer and that he had more than only urges to lead him. Fortunately, he was adaptable and didn’t spend too much time fretting. It would be nice to remember more, though.
Two fish whipped past overhead, and he entertained the idea of chasing and eating them for a moment. An odd sound distracted him, and he spent several seconds trying to discern what it might have been before it was warped by distance and waves. A scream, maybe. Or a shout, but not a happy one.
Fyre pushed up with his powerful legs and whipped his wings to gain speed. Sunlight greeted him as he broke the surface with water trailing from his body. He called in his veil again as he curved in the direction the sound had most likely come from. There were large buildings on the opposite shore, and he focused on them. Another sound surged through the air, definitely a scream this time. He turned toward it and headed to an abandoned-looking warehouse. When he reached it, he pulled up short and hovered in place with strong sweeps of his wings to peer through the broken places in the dirty windows.
Inside, a group of four men in jeans and matching leather vests over t-shirts stood in a loose circle around a fifth, who clambered slowly off the floor. His face was bloody and he whimpered as he moved. As soon as he gained his feet, one of the men darted in and punched him in the nose to fell him again with another scream.
Fyre growled quietly. While some three-on-one battles might be fair, this one clearly was not. Still, he waited, not sure what was going on. Perhaps these humans were playing a strange game? He couldn’t recall seeing anything like it but with his spotty memory, he wasn’t positive.
The man on the far left—bald-headed, muscular, and sporting a chain that hung down the right-hand side of his dirty jeans—dispelled his concerns. “Well, now, Jimmy, it’s too bad you decided to open your mouth to the wrong people. We can’t have that.”
The man on the ground shook his head and spoke fast. “No, I didn’t. The police sweated me but I didn’t say nothinʼ. I wouldn’t say nothinʼ never.”
His accuser knelt to meet his gaze. “We all know you have no spine, Jimmy. Lying is all you’re good for. And now that we’ve had our fun, it’s time for you to go bye-bye.”
The speaker rose and drew a gun from behind his back. Fyre launched himself forward and shattered the glass panes as he entered, already breathing frost at the man with the weapon. The cone caught the one nearest him as well and froze them both in place. He dropped the veil so the remaining man and his intended victim could see him, and both yelled and retreated to the far corner of the room.
The remaining attacker produced a gun from somewhere and managed to squeeze off an impotent round before Fyre’s tail whipped in a vicious ark and broke his hand. He whimpered and cradled it. The Draksa shook his head slowly. Since Cali wasn’t with him and no one had seen him with her in his true form, there was no need to keep his abilities secret. He hissed, “Tell me who you are. Jimmy first.”
The brown-haired and bearded man was wide-eyed and stammering. “Jimmy. I’m Jimmy.”
Sigh. Fyre managed not to roll his eyes and instead, produced a threatening growl. “We’ve covered that. Tell me more.”
“Uh, I’m with this gang. These guys. The Coypus.”
The stupidity here is overwhelming. “Your group is named after giant rodents?”
“Yeah, ʼcause we’re everywhere, you know?”
“What I know is that you all clearly share only a single ill-working brain among you.” He turned to regard the other man. “If you wish to avoid finding yourself frozen like your friends, now would be a good time to add something useful to the conversation.”
The man whimpered and shook his head. Jimmy blurted, “He’s Johnny. We were a team once. Jimmy and Johnny. But I messed up, I guess. I got caught. Now, I’m out.” He turned to the other man with a question on his face and received a nod. “Yeah, I’m out. The new boss doesn’t give second chances.”
“What happened to the old boss?”
The man laughed. “He’s dead. He tried to refuse the Zatoras and it didn’t work out for him. The rest of us didn’t care. As long as the money flows, it’s all good.” He frowned suddenly and turned to the other man. “Until it’s not. You were going to help them kill me!” Fyre blasted them both with ice to cover them and lock them in place before Jimmy’s punch could reach the head of his former friend.
The Draksa sighed and spoke to the room full of statues. “This is when I could really use fingers. And one of those phones everyone carries.” He moved to a position outside the sightlines of the frozen gangmembers and cast a portal to take him to Cali’s room. Fortunately, she had both fingers and a phone. Now, I simply have to find a way to wake her without getting attacked.
Chapter Eight
At a loud crash, Cali whirled on the four Kilomea in the back corner of the tavern. “That’s the third one so far. Quit breaking things.” One of them looked sheepish and held the pieces of a stew bowl in his hands. She shook her head and stormed over to them. “Listen. You all need to either accept that you have to use wooden or metal bowls or start paying for the ones you break. Make a damn choice.”
The giant she liked best, who had a wide face and soft eyes to balance his oversized muscular body, laughed in his unnaturally deep voice. “Little one, we apologize. You know that each new person we bring with us has to learn on their own. It’s part of the fun.”
She shook her head again. “I feel like Zeb will back me up on this. Any breakage now gets added to your tab. We’re not made of bowls here.” She looked at the floor but apparently, the bowl had been empty when it was broken. Thank heavens for small favors. She kicked a tiny shard into the corner where she’d almost certainly forget to retrieve it later and moved on the next demanding customer.
When she returned to the bar several minutes later with a tray of empties in her hand, Zeb chuckled at her. “You know I don’t care about the broken bowls, right?”
She grinned as she put the glasses on the bar for him to wash. “I know. But they’re so big, they don’t get messed with enough. I feel it’s my responsibility.”
He laughed outright. “Have you checked on the beastie lately?”
Cali shook her head. “No, I’ll go take a look now if you can handle the place.”
Zeb gave her a glare in response and she wandered off to the basement. When she’d left him, Fyre had been snoring on one of the crates, laying on his back like a fat cat. Now, he was curled up tail to nose like a less fat but still equally exhausted feline. She bopped him gently on the nose. “Hey, partner, are you all right?”
An eyelid opened to reveal a slitted pupil. “Yes.” He uncurled and stretched, hopped to the ground, and shimmered as he adopted his Rottweiler illusion. “I simply didn’t think it would look right if I wandered up there without you.”
“Good call. Everyone knows you’re very smart for a dog, but that might be pushing it.” She led him up the stairs and detoured into the dining room as he ambled behind the bar. Zeb disappeared from view, presumably to give the Draksa some welcoming pets and scratches. The two had become almost inseparable when they were in proximity, a situation that made her heart happy.
As if her positive moment needed balancing, fate brought someone to the entrance who guaranteed that the good vibes wouldn’t last for long. Detective Kendra Barton strode inside, careful not to slam the door, and walked to the bar to trade verbal sallies with Zeb. His face displayed wary respect, so Cali wasn’t able to dislike her too much, but the dark-haired woman’s appearances rarely resulted in anything being easier. The way the detective’s eyes tracked her as she delivered drinks and picked up empties suggested that today wouldn’t be any different.
She lingered a little longer in the common area than strictly necessary but finally had no excuses left and made her way to the front of the room. Barton’s small grin showed she was aware of the deliberate delay. “Cali.” The woman’s voice was neutral and professional.
Deliberately, she infused fake joy into her own. “Kendra, how lovely to see you. Can I find you a seat? Perhaps among the Kilomea in the corner?” She’d love to discover how long the representative of the New Orleans Police Department would last under the challenging provocations of the martial-minded giants.
Barton shook her head. “No, I’m good. I only came to chat. Do you have a minute?”
Cali fake-cringed. “Oh, geez, now isn’t a great time.” She gestured at the customers. “I’m really busy and they’re rowdy tonight, and my boss will get mad. Maybe come back in a week or two?”
The detective rolled her eyes and Zeb chuckled. “Be nice, Cali. Technically, she’s a customer, too.” He handed her a soda with lime, the only thing the woman had ever accepted in the tavern, then turned the bar gun and sprayed a stream of liquid out of sight. She heard Fyre’s mouth snap at it and had to laugh.
“Okay, sure. What do you need?”
“I had a weird gang incident crop up on the other side of the river. We had a random call on the tip line from an unlisted number. Anyway, the one person we managed to track from the location and bring in said something about a dragon. I decided this would be the place to ask about it. Do you know anything?”
It took effort but she managed to keep her expression neutral. “I’ve never seen a dragon except on the sign.” That’s technically true. Fyre is a Draksa, not a dragon. And there’s no way to trace that call back to me. “Hopefully, you don’t think one of them came to life or something? Because that would be weird.”
Kendra shook her head. “No, surely not that. But it’s like this tavern is the epicenter for weirdness of late. Do you know there are usually people watching the place?”
Zeb chuckled. “Other than your people, you mean, Detective?”
Barton nodded. “Exactly. Several others.”
The dwarf shrugged. “We can’t control what others do. As long as they follow the rules while they’re inside and don’t mess with our customers when they arrive or leave, they’re welcome to waste their time staring at the door.” He turned to Cali with a grin. “Perhaps we should start an outdoor service? Offer them food and drink?”
She shook her head. “I have more than enough to do, thanks. Maybe you could handle that part yourself.”
The detective looked off to the side for an instant before she turned to the door. It opened to reveal Tanyith, who Cali hadn’t seen for a few days. Clearly, she’s in contact with her people on the outside. It makes sense. Her partner in crime was dressed for a night out in a fashionable suit and tie. He cleans up nice. She watched Barton notice him and saw the small grin she tried to hide. Uh-huh. There’s something there. I’m not sure what, but something.
He looked from the detective to Zeb and then to her, and smiled in confusion. “Did I miss a meeting invitation? Or are you planning a surprise party for me? Really, you shouldn’t have.”
Barton gave him her detective’s stare. “What, are your gang buddies not taking care of you, Shalen?” Cali blinked and realized that she’d never actually heard his surname.
He laughed. “Good detecting. You’ve cracked the case of my last name. So you don’t have to spend any more time, my nickname used to be Shale. I’ve left both names behind, exactly like the Atlantean gang. Now, I’m only Tanyith, except on my driver’s license.”
Cali sighed loudly. “It’s shameless the way you flirt with him, Kendra. Maybe you two should find a room so you can get it out of your system. Not here, of course,” she hurried to add. She turned her head to look at Zeb. “I won’t be able to go into the back rooms tonight because of the image that I just had. Or, maybe, ever.” She made a theatrical shudder.
The other woman put her head in her palm for a minute, then looked up with a sigh. “It is really difficult to do nice things for you people. But a deal is a deal. The ship I gave you the info on has been rescheduled—something about a hurricane, apparently. It’ll be in a week from Wednesday.”
Tanyith frowned. “You’re not messing with us, I hope.”
She shook her head. “I keep my promises, Shalen. All of them. You’d both be wise to remember that.” She waved at Zeb and turned to the door. No one stopped her and soon, she was out of sight.
“Wait one,” Cali said and made a circuit through the customers to ensure that everyone was taken care of. There were drinks to deliver, empties and bowls to clean up, and tabs to collect, and it was almost a half-hour before she was caught up enough to rejoin the men. They were laughing together and Tanyith sipped something out of one of the small glasses Zeb reserved for his cask specials, which were usually fairly potent. Sips are an appropriate choice. You continue to be smarter than you look.
The dwarf nodded at her arrival. “Good timing. We were talking about you.”
She frowned. “What about me?”
“That you’re probably in danger,” Tanyith replied.
She laughed. “Yeah, the ambush kind of gave that one away, genius. Very helpful. Thanks for stopping by. You can go now.”
He gave Zeb a look that she read as exasperation and swiveled to face her directly. “No, I mean bigger danger than that. Our little game with the disguises would never have held for long, and the fact that you’ve had eyes on you in multiple places is telling. The ambush was minor league. I’m honestly surprised they tried it.”
“It didn’t feel minor when the fire tried to cook me.”
She sighed. Yeah, I know, but it’s not like there’s much we can do about it. “What about you? Do you think they’re targeting both of us?”
“I’m less predictable than you are. I move around constantly and I don’t have a job to go to yet, so they probably can’t get a solid bead on me. But with you, they know if they watch the square, the tavern, and your dojo, you’re bound to appear at one of them on any given day.”
She set the tray she’d forgotten she was holding on the bar and climbed onto the seat beside him. Fortunately, the elderly wizards who often held down several chairs across from Zeb and made enough noise for three times their number were absent that evening. “Do you think that my friends or Emalia are in danger?”
Zeb nodded, a serious look on his face. “More than they would be if they had no connection to you, to be sure. You should warn them to skedaddle if they have any suspicions about a person or a situation.”
“Skedaddle? Really?” She shook her head. “Honestly, it’s like you get a year older with every passing month. I thought dwarves were supposed to live longer, not get prematurely senile.”
His tone was amused. “Valerie wouldn’t like to hear you talk that way.”
She looked at his battle ax prominently displayed above the bar. It was a visible threat but never more than that. She’d never seen him hold it in anger and frankly, had a difficult time imagining that he ever had. He merely didn’t seem the type. “Yeah. You’ll hit me with an ax for being a smart-mouth. Sure, Zeb.”
Tanyith laughed. “She’s got you there. You need to cultivate a scarier persona, clearly. Outside these walls, the stories are ominous, but once someone meets you, they kind of fray around the edges.”
In another life, Zeb must have been a monk given how disconnected he seemed from minor—or major—worries. He simply grinned and nodded. “That’s the way I like it. Mysterious.”
