by Charley Case
“This is going to suck,” he said.
“I thought you didn't feel the cold? Stephanie and I will be freezing our tits off, but you should be fine.”
“Oh, the cold isn’t going to suck, the bad visibility means I won’t be able to throw Fragar much.” He glanced her way. “You’re going to have a hell of a time using the Ivar.”
Mila shook her head. “I’ll just fire randomly. Bound to hit something.”
Finn's jaw dropped, and she laughed.
“I’m kidding. Come on, I wouldn't do that.” She stepped up to him and grabbed him by the collar, her face sincere. “You be careful. You’re not invincible. I need you to come home with us.”
Finn leaned down, putting his forehead on hers, and looked into her eyes. “I’ll do my best, darlin’.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I suppose that’s all any of us can do.”
Mila tilted her head up and kissed him. They lingered like that for a few intimate moments before Stephanie cleared her throat while looking at the ceiling.
Finn laughed. “Okay, I get it. Sorry. You ready for this?”
Stephanie looked at Mila and smiled. “Yeah. Mila helped give me a pretty good foundation on how the world works. I know my mom has to be stopped, and that the darkness inside her drives her to insanity, but if it’s at all possible, even a slim chance, can we show mercy to her?” Her wet gaze searched them both.
Finn’s heart broke upon hearing her say that. He didn't see any way mercy was an option, but if there was a way to spare more lives, he would do his best. He had no idea what would happen to her afterward, but he guessed that wasn't really his problem.
“Like I told Mila, I’ll do my best.” He peered at both of them. “Let’s do this.”
Finn put a hand on Stephanie’s right shoulder, and Mila did the same with her left. Stephanie pulled the clicker out of her pocket and put her finger over the button.
“Here we go,” she said, clicking the button once.
Finn's phone rang, and he pulled it out with his free hand. Seeing the caller ID, he shouted. “Wait!”
Stephanie jumped a little but took her finger off the button.
“Preston? Hermin and Garret said your entire compound was destroyed.”
“It was.” Preston’s smooth baritone was hoarse. “Luckily, we saw her coming on the long-distance surveillance. Most of my people got to the bunkers. Everything above ground is gone, just scraped the ground, but the bunkers held together. I’m assuming you’re going after her?”
“We were just about to leave.”
“Good. I have my G.A.E.L. teams standing by at an off-site facility. I need to know where to send them.”
“We’re not sure yet, just that it will be in town somewhere. I suggest you send your teams this way, and when I know where we are, I can get you a location.”
Preston rumbled with pleasure. “That’s a plan I can get behind. I’m sending them that way. They’re at least twenty minutes out, depending on where you end up. Will that be too long?”
“Is there another option?”
“Well, that all depends on if she’s using that thing that messes with magic. If it’s off, they can teleport directly to you.”
“I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for the back up on this one.”
“Hell, I still owe you for the last two.” Preston gave a tired chuckle. “Be safe. That weapon is unimaginable.”
The sound of multiple helicopters flying low roared over their building, making Finn jog to one of the broken out windows and glance up. He could just make out the dim silhouettes of a wave of Black Hawks flying past, followed by another wave, then a third.
“Are those your copters?” Finn asked into the phone when the engine roar abated.
“Not mine, and we haven't seen anything about the military dispatching people, as far as they know there's just some freak blizzard that hit Denver out of nowhere.”
Finn’s face hardened. “It must be her people.”
“What direction were they headed?”
“Towards downtown, and at the rate they were moving, I would guess they’ll be there in the next minute or two.” Finn pulled back from the window and joining Stephanie and Mila.
“Okay. Get to it. The G.A.E.L. teams are en route. Good luck.”
Finn hung up and put his phone in his pocket. “We should probably wait for them to land. I don't really fancy popping into a moving helicopter, or worse just outside of one.”
The women nodded, and Finn pulled the Chews from his pocket, cracking the new box open, and offering some to Stephanie. “Chew while we wait?”
“Uh, sure. I’ve never seen these.” She held out her hand, and he shook a few into her palm. “Are these, like, candy only old people know about, like Sugar Daddies and Black Jack Gum?”
Mila started laughing. “I call it manther food.”
Finn cursed, and Mila doubled over with laughter.
“You two are weird,” Stephanie said, cautiously biting into the tiny candy bar. “Hey, these are pretty good. I bet they would be awesome with coffee.”
Mila stopped laughing and stared at her.
“Oh, look at that!” Finn shouted triumphantly. “I knew I liked her!”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Penny’s eyes opened as she returned to consciousness. She found herself cradled in some kind of silk hammock that was pressing her into two firm, yet soft, heavy objects, each about the same size as she was if she were to curl into a ball. A few blinks and a head shake later, her vision cleared just enough to tell that the things she was pressed into were breasts. Danica's breasts to be precise. Penny didn't know they were Danica's because she knew what Danica’s breasts looked like up close, but because they smelled like Danica.
To a dragon, everything was about smell. Even now, with the overpowering smell of Danica all around, Penny caught the scent of the fresh glacial water of Grand Lake just outside the house and knew that Finn had panicked once again and sent her and Danica off to “be safe” or some other sappy bullshit.
Penny tried to free herself from the makeshift baby sling Danica had put her in, but she was too weak for the second time that day, and it didn't help that Danica's boobs weighed as much Penny did. And that was individual weight; together? Forget about it.
“Excuse me, hot-tits? Hello? I don't suppose you could let me out of the fucking baby sling, could you? Danica! Down here! Your boob is killing me!” (Chi chi! Shir suqee!)
Danica moved at the sound of Penny's voice and pulled the sling open, exposing Penny’s thin smile. Seeing her opportunity, she shot out of the sling at the first chance, ending up on Danica's somewhat precarious shoulder. Luckily for Penny, Danica was wearing a thick white sweater that was comfortable to hold onto. Unfortunately, Penny forgot that the sweater draped off of one shoulder, and it happened to be the one she chose.
Not wanting to scratch her friend—no matter how mad she was at her for agreeing to take her away from the fight—Penny flapped her wings, sending a burst of magic to them. She glided to the back of the couch. The dragon took a second to catch her breath, using what little magic she had left. They must have been close to the device Hellena for it to have taken so much out of her.
Penny stretched her back and wings, standing up on her hind legs and reaching for the sky in a huge stretch that ended with her whipping her neck, just the way Finn hated and cracking each vertebra all the way up.
Right before that damned machine had turned on and knocked her out cold, Penny had caught snippets of the conversation Finn was trying to hide from Mila and the others. Hellena’s part of the discussion was difficult to make out, but she had heard one thing that made all the pieces fall into place.
Gjallarhorn.
Penny almost slapped herself in the forehead out of shame when she had heard that. Penny saw the whole plan that crazy bitch had worked out in less than ten seconds, each thing leading to the next, and arriving at the Dark Star having a machine that warps magic
al fields so that the Gjallarhorn thinks she’s a dwarven royal.
The plan was so simple, but it had an elegance to it that Penny had to admire. Penny chuckled. She had to admit, she had been giving that idiot way too much credit. Penny had been convinced it was some plan to wake up Peabrains by the thousands and use the resulting confusion to assert dominance.
Nope, it wasn't anything that involved. Turns out, the Dark Star just needed to figure out how to blow a stupid horn at people.
“Is there anything to eat here? I need to replenish my magic.” (Shir?) Penny said, turning to see Danica staring at her with a blank look. Penny sighed. “I’ll check. Don't worry about it. I’m pretty sure the flight to the cupboards won’t kill me. Fifty-fifty.” (chi shir.)
Penny launched off the couch and had a moment of panic when she fell out of the air, but she ended up on the far counter and able to stand on her hind legs to open and search the cupboards. The first one had half a bag of pretzels—that would do in a pinch—but Penny wasn't a fan. She went to the second cupboard and hit gold. Two boxes of Pop-Tarts, a S’mores and a Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon, her two favorites.
She hopped and knocked the S’mores box off the shelf and onto the counter, where she tore into it and slashed the Mylar wrapper open with a talon before pulling the pastry goodness to her mouth and taking a bite.
As soon as her saliva hit the sugary goodness, it broke the food down into magical energy. Penny felt a rush of power, filling her depleted reserves quickly, considering how processed Pop-Tarts were. The more natural the food, the more magic it contained, but Penny wasn't a fruit and veggie kind of girl. She liked processed junk and grilled meats. In all honesty, if someone gave her a salad and provided a paper napkin along with it, she would eat the napkin before the salad.
In two minutes, Penny ate the entire box of S’mores Pop-Tarts and was finishing off her first Brown Sugar Cinnamon when Danica approached her.
“Are you okay? You seem extra ravenous.” She leaned a hip on the counter. “I know we don't talk much, I mean we literally can't talk, but I hope you know I brought you here because I wanted you to be safe. It was scary seeing you out like that. We all trust and rely on you so much…” she trailed off, biting at her thumbnail. “Well, I don't know what we would do without you.”
Penny stopped eating, glanced at Danica, and gave her a small smile. She liked Danica. She was smart and strong-willed and stood by her friends even when it cost her an arm. That’s bad-ass, and Penny appreciated Danica for all that, but what she really liked most about the elf was how freaking cute she could be. They had lived together for months, shared meals together, fought bad guys together, but she was still shy about expressing her feelings in a genuine, vulnerable way.
“Girl, you need to own your shit! You are amazing. I mean, first off, you’re a fucking doctor. Kudos. Second, you look like a motherfucking supermodel, and you know it, but you don't act like it. Do you have any idea how hard that is to find? Third, you’re dating the goofiest guy I have ever seen, and you’re doing it because you like him as a person and don't give a flying fuck what other people think about it. I know you feel awkward around me because we can't really talk, and I know that’s how you prefer to bond with people, but I need you.
“Look, I’ll tell you a secret that no one else knows, not even Finn. You, Mila, and Finn… you three are the only people in the universe I’m willing to give my life for, and that puts me closer to my goal than I ever thought I would get. Now, that may not sound like a big deal to you, since it seems like every last one of you crazy bastards has a friend you would do that for, but I’m not like you. I’m a dragon. Dragons aren’t the most friendly species, not to mention it’s kinda part of our DNA to be greedy, selfish bastards. So, I realize you have no clue what I’m saying right now, and since I don't have a whole lot of options, I’m going to go against brand and give your stupid face a hug.” (Squee shee shir! Chi shee chi, shir.) Penny dropped the Pop-Tart and leaped onto the front of Danica's sweater, making the elf flinch, but also to instinctively catch her.
Penny scurried up until her neck was on the side of Danica's, and put her little arms around her neck and gave a firm squeeze. Penny had to hold the hug longer than she wanted to because it took Danica a few seconds to realize Penny wasn't attacking her. Once she understood, Penny felt her melt and hug her back.
“Penny, thank you. I’ve never seen you hug anyone before.” Danica enjoyed the hug for a few more seconds before letting Penny lean back and look her in the eye. “I really wish I could understand you.”
Penny gave her a half-smile and pointed a talon at herself, then held up two claws in a V shape.
Danica cocked her head, then comprehension dawned. “You too?”
Penny chuckled at Danica's excitement and nodded.
She hopped down to the counter and grabbed another package of processed pastries, then she flapped to the long wooden dining table by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the frozen lake. Now that the Dark Star had left, and the spell she had put over the town to keep it empty was gone, the lake was covered in tents and portable sheds for ice fishing.
Penny needed to get back to the fight and to do that, she would need to cut off her magic. There was an ability her kind had that would work, but it was really a last-ditch effort kind of thing. If her kind ever found themselves hunted, then they could hide their magical presence, sealing it away. This had a few effects. The major one was that magic no longer affected them, which meant tracking spells couldn't find them. Magical attacks couldn't touch them; basically, they became a blank spot in the universe, and magic couldn't interact with them at all. But this had a secondary effect. The faerie dragon couldn't use their magic either. Just like magic was sealed out, it was also sealed in.
Faerie dragons are small, and not very tough without magic to back them up. Having her powers sealed away like that would mean that a good, solid stomp would end her. But she would be fine in the magical twisting area of effect.
She needed to be there. Finn would have figured it out as well, and he would try and solve it in a Finn way. He was going to destroy the device, and that would be worse than letting Hellena blow the damn horn. The magical feedback loop that would be created by destroying and releasing all that warped magic at the same time would blast a crater in the continent so big you could see it from the moon.
Penny couldn't let that happen.
She turned and motioned for Danica to join her. The elf pushed off the counter, bringing the last package of Pop-Tarts with her.
Penny mimicked using a phone, and Danica handed hers over before sitting down.
Danica narrowed her eyes as she opened the package and took a bite out of the pastry. “What’s up?”
Penny opened the phone and selected a notepad app. She set the phone down so Danica could read it, then she started to type. Penny hated using words. They took so long to get out. She preferred magical speech. So many ideas could be compressed into a few sounds and gestures.
After what felt like forever, Penny showed Danica the phone, and waited while she read through the whole thing.
Danica sat back in her chair and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. “You can actually block all incoming and outgoing magic?”
Penny nodded.
“And, you’re saying that you can teach me how to teleport, but you can't do it yourself?”
Again Penny nodded, and typed out “Not enough power. Don't channel magic, just store.”
Danica seemed to understand this concept pretty well as she nodded along.
“Okay, and you’re a hundred percent positive if you don't go back, Finn will smash this machine and blow up the entire state?”
Penny nodded.
Danica blew out a breath and collapsed onto the tabletop, her head on its side so she was looking at Penny. “Fine. I believe you. Do it.”
Penny walked over and patted her affectionately on the top of her head, before laying her left hand on D
anica's temple and focusing her power.
Like what she did with Finn, when she took his emotions, she was doing with Danica. Except that instead of taking something away, like with Finn, this time, Penny was putting something in Danica's head. The knowledge of a spell Penny had never been able to do but learned anyway—just in case.
Turns out this was the case. And it had become a ‘just-in’ scenario.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Stephanie clicked the button a third time. Finn blinked, and the condo vanished in a flash of red and black swirling colors. Finn blinked again and the swirling reds and blacks resolved into a path-strewn park. They found themselves standing on a lawn with only a thin covering of snow, next to a row of shrubs strung with white decoration lights hanging in their snow-dusted branches.
Finn directed them to crouch and use the hedges as cover while he surveyed the area. He recognized it as Capitol City Park, a strip of meticulously cared for land that was bookended by the Denver courthouse, and the Colorado capital building. Several monuments dotted the park, along with a geometric pattern of walkways and fountains. Most of those features were overshadowed, however, by the chaos all around them.
Finn’s mouth dried as he saw the power on display, both magical and mundane. He counted over a dozen Black Hawks parked haphazardly across the lawn, their engines off, but still radiating heat waves, along with thirty or more black motorcycles and SUVs. Soldiers were standing in groups, some armed to the teeth with automatic rifles and body armor, along with several that appeared to have only sidearms, but had the look of attack mages. Most magical races were present at a glance, all the more easy to spot since they tended to gather with others of their ilk.
In the center of it all, and only twenty or so feet away from them, was a two-foot cube made of black metal panels covered in red, glowing runes. A generator had been wired up to it with thick, black, electrical cables. It was apparent the machine had not been switched on yet. Its display screen, attached to the side of the cube, was powered down.
