“I didn’t know it was yours?” Miriam asked with a trace of insolence.
He growled and straightened to tower over her, sudden fury twisting his face in a dark and ugly way. He strode back and forth muttering under his breath. Miriam glimpsed his hands and realized in horror his fingers had morphed into claws. Okay, maybe she should tone down the resistance.
He whirled to face her, reining in his anger and replacing it with a cunning look that gave Miriam chills. “You have not yet heard the primary reason for my visit. Your little discovery only validates my course. Rather than punish you, this is all to my advantage. You are the advantage, just as I calculated.” he said. “There is something I need and something you want. A bargain, you could say. Although, you really have no choice.” One gray eyebrow quirked in renewed warning. “You’re lucky I’m feeling generous.”
Miriam shrank at the cold calculation in his tone. She recognized a master manipulator and doubted she’d ever outfox such a predatory mind. At least not yet. She kept her eyes on those claws. “Bargain?”
“I have a dragon in need of containment in Portland. Even more so now, with the magic in her scales.”
He’d said it, the words. Dragon. Magic. Miriam’s heart thudded. She’d been right all along. “Wh—what do you want from me?” She pushed the words from her throat and edged further into the surreal.
“The point is, what you clearly want from me. I will refrain from eliminating you, and in return, you will build a special cage in your basement, according to my exact specifications, as well as perform other incidental duties.”
Cage? For the dragon. A partner in crime. What planet was she on? Miriam took a deep breath. “So…who are you, exactly?”
He barked out a startled laugh. “Did I forget my manners, human? You are graced with the presence of Marcus of the Diamond House. Council Leader.”
Council? A secret society of dragons? Miriam’s head was going to explode.
“Do not fear,” Marcus said, his voice an oily, unsuccessful attempt to reassure. His eyes glinted with a dangerous light, and cementing the deal, a diamond, snake-like shadow appeared on his neck. “Give me what I need, and you shall have what you seek.”
Madman, criminal, faker, wizard, or dragon? Miriam had no idea. She only knew she was powerless to resist him.
“Tell me more,” she said, as if they really negotiated. His sneer of triumph told her there was little choice, but no matter. Her desire for the scales outweighed her fear.
For now.
a
The bedside clock told her it was two in the morning. Miriam lay awake, too stressed for sleep, reviewing over and over, with varying degrees of horror, her bizarre visitor and the deal she had made. It was not as if she’d had any choice, really. He’d indicated death or worse awaited her if she didn’t cooperate. Through necessity, and maybe greed, she’d made a deal with the devil himself, a devil with inhuman powers.
There, in the dark, alone where no one could see her, Miriam gave in to trembling. She buried her face in the pillow, her stomach in knots, a sheen of perspiration soaking the linen. Still, the images rose, relentless.
“I know what you seek,” he had said to her. “I will give you what you need to trap and hold such a creature, allowing you access to your desire.”
He meant the powder. The magic in the blue scales. He wanted—no, demanded—she cage a dragon in her basement in return for more scales. He didn’t go into details but had plenty to say about her basement. She had asked for a timeline. Like, permanently, a few weeks, days, or what? He’d scowled and shook his head. Okay, open-ended, then. No guarantee about any fucking thing.
After barking a series of instructions, he stalked outside, paused, turned to her, and shouted, “What’s your name?”
“Miriam.”
And with that, he disappeared into the evening shadows.
Miriam pounded the pillow and flipped to her back with a frustrated groan. She spread her hands over her belly and did some deep chi breathing while she tried to corral her unruly nerves. She’d made a deal, right? She lived by such contracts, even though her unfortunate new associate frightened the hell out of her. Clearly, Marcus was up to no good, and what little she understood sounded like big conflict with something called the Council. But he was powerful, magically so, and she would be a fool—a dead fool—to refuse him.
Magic! Magic and dragons and who knew what else— all real! She mulled it over. So incredible. However much he scared the shit out of her, Miriam knew she was in the middle of something she couldn’t possibly want to end. Not yet, anyway. She had to know more, see more. Have more. She didn’t trust him, not one little bit, but the train she’d jumped on wasn’t stopping.
Besides, as long as she had access to the scales, then nothing else mattered, and that’s what she kept telling herself until the alarm went off at 5 a.m.
a
Her side of the deal was well under way by early morning. Trucks loaded with materials appeared, along with several workers, who nodded politely and went about their business. Marcus showed up briefly around noon, making sure his contribution of twelve-inch-wide, black metal bars made it to the house. The bars held odd carvings engraved over the dark surface. He called the material Blackwood, and said he’d be back later to do the “spells,” whatever that meant. He’d seemed different, somewhat shrill and less focused, almost confused at times. He’d stood by the pile of Blackwood with a blank look on his narrow face, then left without another word.
Miriam kept watch on the work in the basement, anxious to ensure the workers didn’t damage the foundation to her house. Marcus came downstairs once, muttered, “Taking too long,” and the speed of movement doubled. The massive project took shape very fast. The sounds of drilling and jack hammering into the concrete floor made her question her sanity, not for the first time.
Even so, misgivings or not, a bubble of excitement rose when she stroked the silky, youthful skin of her hand. Utter madness, she thought, yet her lips quirked in the knowledge that she, too, contributed to the insanity. She allowed a rueful twinge and hoped the young girl would not be hurt in the process. But, then again, Miriam was merely doing as ordered under threat of death, right?
Yet, the truth was, she was already crafting a plan of action to get her hands on the scales as soon as the dragon was under lock and key, the mechanics of which seemed daunting. Marcus, of course, had offered no details, so on that part, she felt justified in helping herself without him. Or at least coming up with her own plan to cash in on the magic.
She could barely absorb the incredible fact that dragons actually existed. Where were the rest of them? So many tantalizing questions. She wondered how the girl moved from human form to dragon and back again. Was that something that could be forced? Would she be willing to use force if that was true? She shook off the deeper questions for later.
Keeping the biggest secret on the planet and wresting billions of dollars of profit from it was now her one and only mission in life. Do or die, as they say, and she did not intend to die. The sounds of construction echoed all over the house. Marcus had assured her the special box being constructed in the basement would be sufficient for their purposes and protect against fire. Excellent, because burning down the house due to a fire-breathing dragon in the basement would be very hard to explain to an insurance adjuster.
Chapter Ten
Dragon Ride
Abbie decided she’d drive them back to Portland. She didn’t trust the crazy Dracas’ driving. After hearing Orla’s story, and realizing none of them had ever done more than play around in a simulator, she grabbed the keys before the others could. Fianna sat up front, with Guin in the back seat.
Orla remained on guard at the cabin. She wasn’t pleased at being left behind, but someone had to stay, so they’d flipped a coin. She watched with an envious look as Abbie climbed behind the wheel.
“Take good care of my girls,” she said, and leaned in the window to kiss Abbie’s
cheek. She waved at Guin and stuck her tongue out at Fianna.
“Nice,” Fianna said. “So mature.” She stuck her tongue out, too, making Orla laugh.
Abbie shifted the car into gear and they headed out. The road appeared after a while and Abbie swung onto asphalt. She eyed Fianna, the fall shadows flitting through the car window across her beautiful face. What a group, Abbie thought with a swell of unfamiliar gratitude. And they were hers. The decision to move to Portland had probably saved her life. She couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
“Hey, ladies?” Abbie said. “I’ve got a question.”
“Go for it,” Guin said.
“Are dragons gay? I mean…um…are there lesbian dragons? And, ah, all of that?” Her face was heating up. She was so lame. “You know what I mean?” She hoped they understood her.
A choking sound came from the back. Abbie glanced at Fianna, whose lips tilted in a knowing smile. She said, “You’re asking about sexual preference?” The heat in her eyes implied Abbie already knew her sexual preferences. Abbie’s sister-self chimed in with a sultry response, and Abbie almost ran the car off the road.
“Whoa! Jeezus, Fianna.” She corrected with a swerve, laughing and aroused. “So, come on, you know what I’m asking. What’s the gender story up there in dragon land?”
“I suppose you could call us gender-stable,” Guin offered.
“Women with women and men with men? Any issues?”
“No. I’ve studied gender issues in your society. I believe you would term our culture pansexual,” said Guin.
“Cool,” said Abbie. “Just one more reason to love y’all.” She waggled her eyebrows with fake lechery to the amusement of her passengers. The giggles made her feel happy. On top of everything else amazing, dragons rocked with a sense of humor.
“Just to clarify,” Fianna interjected. “There’s casual sex and then there’s mating. Mating is a serious chemical and spiritual bond between a shape-shifter pair of either sex.”
“Oh, wow.” Abbie took this in. She glanced at Fianna and caught her eyes for an electric second. Mating? Sounded like what animals did. So many…distracting thoughts.
Fianna reached over and laid her hand on Abbie’s knee. “I want to share everything with you about our culture.” Her hand moved up an inch up and she pressed with her fingers.
Abbie’s heart did a flip, the special one only Fianna inspired. The rest of her questions disappeared with the feel of Fianna’s warm hand on her thigh.
After a few minutes of comfortable, but charged silence, Abbie debated asking about the relationship between the three of them. They slept together, they were physically affectionate and knew each other well. They seemed such a happy, high-functioning little unit. She imagined Fianna having sex with the other two and her grip tightened on the steering as heat flashed between her legs. Distracted from the road again, she swerved and hit road markers with a loud bump, bump. “Oops, sorry.”
Fianna’s head fell back, and she closed her eyes with a little frown. Abbie saw with a pang the shadows of exhaustion on her face and decided to wait on more conversation. Let Fianna rest.
Still, Abbie kept sneaking glances. Fianna exuded such a seductive, tantalizing vibe. So beautiful and mysterious; glowing with confident power, steady and strong. And magic. An authentic, magical, shape-shifting, superwoman. How could Abbie resist her? Plus, her sister-self went ape-shit with happiness whenever Fianna was near.
Fianna opened her eyes and caught Abbie staring. Currents zinged between them. She yanked her attention to the road, and concentrated on finding the turn. Out of the side of her eye, she saw Fianna’s smile and knew she carried her own goofy grin.
By the time they got to Portland three hours later, it was late afternoon. Abbie slowed the car and parked four blocks from her house. “Better this way,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to see you, especially my roommate. Janet’s weird.” Her throat tightened. She hated goodbyes. This was the worst one ever.
“Come here, Abbie,” Fianna said. They reached for each other across the square console and held on as tight as they could in such an awkward position. “Don’t worry,” Fianna whispered against her cheek. “We’re coming back, I swear. Pack what you need and we’ll see you in a few hours.”
Abbie buried her face in Fianna’s shapely shoulder and inhaled her sweet, smoky scent. “So, you’re taking me to Dracan when we go back?” She lifted her head to look into Fianna’s green eyes, remembering the molten gold of her sister-self.
“Are you ready?” Fianna asked softly.
“Maybe.”
Fianna gave a quick check around the neighborhood, then satisfied they had the requisite privacy, kissed Abbie with hungry lips. “Soon.”
Abbie leaned over the back seat for a hug with Guin, then climbed out of the car, breathless and flushed. She turned to wave with a surprisingly cheeky grin. “See you tonight,” she said, and walked down the block without a single look back.
a
Fianna frowned as she pulled away from the curb. “What was that all about?” she muttered.
“What, Fi? The big grin on her face?”
“Yeah. The sneaky thief smile. She looked too cheerful.”
Fianna drove a few blocks, then noticed her hands when she made a sharp turn. “My ring!” She screeched the car over to the curb, causing the vehicle behind her to weave and honk. “The silver ring is gone! Oh, not this again.” Fianna stared at her empty ring finger in shock. “Sneaky little dracling. No wonder she was grinning.”
“Wasn’t it magically woven into your finger?”
“That’s what Nareen said when she gave it to me.” Fianna shook her head, incredulous. “I can’t imagine how she got it off.” Neither questioned that Abbie stole it. “The ring stays on me, even when I shift.”
Guin laughed. “By the gods, Fianna, she’s put one over on us again. Remember her blowing past the protection spells of the cabin? Exploding the box with the Fire Agate in it and never even noticing? Stealing an amethyst from under our noses at our poker table? Now she’s lifted your ring, which is under the tightest protection spell we know, right off your finger, in full view of both of us. This is an extraordinary power. I’m not sure Dracan will survive her.”
Fianna’s head fell back. “I’m not sure I’m going to survive her. We need the ring for the spell. Even with both of us, we might not be able to catch the energy trace without its help. We need to move fast. Blast her!”
“The young female is crafty beyond her years,” Fianna’s sister-self cackled with dragonly enjoyment, interrupting Fianna’s temper tantrum.
“We quite approve.” Guin’s sister-self chimed in her agreement.
“Oh, thanks for that,” Fianna responded, peeved. “Do you have finding spells to offer now that my ring is gone? Or do I have to go back and upset Abbie when I show up on her doorstep?”
Dragon snorts sounded in their heads. “Have you no faith in our combined powers? The ring is useful but not essential.”
Chastised and reassured by their sister-selves, Fianna drove on, deciding to stay the course and deal with Abbie and her theft later. Guin read the map easier without the distraction of Orla’s driving and the sisters-Draca kept them headed in the right direction, tracking signals only they could hear. Together they managed to navigate to the southwest hills of Portland. Fianna stopped at the bottom of a huge hill with a winding, tree-lined road leading up to the million-dollar homes nestled under the thick foliage of Forest Park.
The sister-selves urged them forward, so Fianna followed the confident commands voiced in her head and drove slowly for five bucolic miles, until the road curved to the entrance of a long, landscaped driveway. A sharp order to stop sounded and Fianna pulled off the street. At least five acres of densely wooded country property were encased within tall, iron fencing. A call box was set into a twelve-foot-high black entrance gate, which Fianna ignored. She rolled into a wooded area on the right, hiding them from the road.
Ever so faintly, an energy signal familiar to them, wafted through the ether to their reaching senses. A delicate dance on a breeze; it lasted only a few seconds, but it was long enough.
The knowledge electrified the Draca. “Go, go, go!” They had to get closer. Had to get through the gate.
“I have an idea,” Guin said. “Remember that mean trick Orla used when she was twelve? The one where she summoned up a charge in her fingers and shocked people as a joke?”
Fianna snorted. “How could I forget?”
“I’m going to try to short circuit the gate,” Guin said. “Orla taught me how to do it. One time we burst a classroom light.” She edged out of the car and padded through the wooded shadows to the call box. A flash of smoke, and Guin was back in the car fast. “Let’s go.”
They rolled through the entrance and Fianna stopped under a grove of trees, well away from the sprawling home. “I don’t think they can see us from here,” Fianna said.
“What a place,” Guin murmured. Ahead, partly visible through the trees, lay a custom, three-story home with a wraparound deck on the second floor.
In the distance, the echo of hammers and construction work floated through the woods. Collectively, they understood the increased need for caution.
“More people complicates things,” Guin said. “I have a weird feeling about this.”
They all did. Yet…ahead lay the promise of answers. Why did they sense Abbie here? The question thrummed with a new, ominous twinge.
“It’s definitely Abbie.” Fianna stated the obvious to the collective.
“We told you,” said the sisters-Draca in a smug tone.
“Let’s not forget the mission objective,” Fianna said, thinking fast. “We’re trying to find the woman connected to Abbie’s shift in the park. Our task is to locate only, report to the Council, then get back to Abbie. Once she’s safely at the cabin, if we’re ordered to, we can return here, steal any evidence, and erase the human’s memories.” Fianna made it sound so easy.
Fianna the Gold Page 12
