Without the third witch, they would be handicapped. Bringing another witch into their group to create a triad was the last consideration, but no one thought that was a particularly good idea. Circe, Hecate, and Vesta had created a bond among them that was more valuable than the time they’d spent working with the stone circle. It was irreplaceable even if Circe had lost many of her powers.
Finally, Hecate sighed and ran her hand over her head. “I agree that going to San Diego is the best option for us all. I know none of us wants to leave our space, but I don’t see any other viable options.”
Vesta remained silent for several minutes, glancing from Hecate to Circe. Of all of them, she was the most connected to the land. Leaving the desert environment would be hard for her. She lowered her eyes and let out a soft moan. “Okay,” she said with a strained voice. “I’ll go. We’ll need to pack up all our gear tonight if you plan to leave in the morning. We’d best get started.”
The three women stood, clasped hands in a circle, and chanted a binding spell that reaffirmed their connection. When they finished, they joined the naked dragon shifters, sprawled out asleep around the smoldering remains of the fire, and began packing their things.
In the morning, the dragons woke early, stretching and scratching. The witches jumped from their beds and packed the last of their herbs and magical implements. The stone circle would need to have a special spell cast over it to keep it protected from outsiders who might be attracted to the energy. They might come back to use it again, and they didn’t want to allow it to be tainted or used improperly.
When the stone circle was closed, the dragons joined them at the top of the mesa. Circe attached her saddle to Xavier’s back, and the other women got a lesson in dragon riding. Neither Hecate nor Vesta seemed particularly thrilled about clinging to the back of a two-ton flying lizard, but there were no other options. The dragons who would carry them agreed to fly straight and carefully across the desert to the coast.
The witches finally packed their things on their backs, climbed onto the dragons, and took to the sky. Circe spent the first fifteen minutes in flight craning her neck to check on Hecate and Vesta. When she was satisfied they were safe enough, she focused on the path ahead. They were going to San Diego to start a new life.
She hoped that her friends, Cassie and Rafe, had accomplished their mission—liberating a dome from Pyramid Corporation and the Anu. Those children had to be freed. Xavier’s original attitude about the imprisoned children pricked at her mind. She winced inwardly and closed her eyes for a moment.
Inside her mind, she felt a smooth questioning from Xavier. She kept her memories to herself. Xavier was a different man now than he was before they left San Diego. He wouldn’t revert to his old attitude.
Circe watched the land fly by below her as they crossed into the city of Phoenix. Familiar landmarks flew by, ravaged by the bombings. Then her breath caught in her throat. She could see a towering monster walking down the center of the street. The zombie master led a horde of several hundred zombies through the city. Circe gritted her teeth as the sight of Pyramid Corp trucks came into view.
She reached out her mind to Xavier and felt a wave of agreement back from him. He let out a series of whistling growls to the other dragons, who growled in agreement. The five dragons swooped down over the city, blasting their ammunition over the horde of undead. The zombies instantly ignited from the combination of dragon elemental attacks. Before they were able to reach the head of the line, where the zombie master stood as tall as a three-story building with its long thin limbs, Anu ships burst through the sky and blasted at them with lasers.
The dragons tilted out of the way. Hecate and Vesta screamed as they clung to the dragons’ backs. Circe knew that holding on to a dragon’s back during an air fight was not an easy thing. She’d been through it herself several times but never weighted down with all the gear Vesta and Hecate were carrying.
Her heart leapt in her throat as she searched the sky for them. She couldn’t make out where they were as Xavier spun in the air, blasting his fire at one of the oncoming Anu ships. These were manned ships—small fighter-jet-type craft, long and bullet shaped, with incredible maneuverability.
Xavier’s fire attack fell on empty air as the ship spun out of the way. Circe fed Xavier as much energy as she could muster, but her attention was divided. Her eyes darted around her, searching the three hundred and sixty degrees of space and sky. When Xavier spun upside down, it became even more difficult to decipher which direction was up or down, left or right.
She couldn’t find the other two witches against the backdrop of overwhelming blue. She couldn’t hear them scream. Another ship dove in to shoot Xavier with a laser beam. It grazed the tip of his wing before he was able to contract it and flip out of the way. He screeched and spun to blast the ship with a full belly of fire.
This time the ship was singed and slowly ignited as it tried to correct. No matter how maneuverable an aircraft might be, it could never beat a dragon in agility. Xavier caught it off balance and blasted it again, sending the craft spiraling to the ground in flames.
When Xavier righted himself and flew straight and upright, Circe could see the other dragons were having air fights of their own. Xavier dove to assist the other dragons. Enrique had Vesta on his back and was in the midst of a standoff with a jet. Xavier swooped in behind the jet and blasted it from behind. It shot up at ninety degrees and tried to twirl around midair to shoot Xavier with its laser. By the time it had him in its sights, it had caught fire. The craft went tumbling out of the sky.
The third ship chased the water dragon that held Hecate. Of all the dragons, the water dragon could do the least to defend itself. Without an oil fire created by the other dragons, water was ineffective in an air battle with spacecraft. It flew nimbly over rooftops, clearly trying its hardest to protect its passenger.
Xavier and the other dragons dove after it, ganging up on the ship. They burst out their elemental attacks at the same time. Fire, oil, and air mixed with Xavier’s acid fire and shot at the ship. The first shots missed. This pilot was more expert than the last.
It spun up and around the distracted water dragon and blasted its lasers at him and Hecate. She screamed as the laser seared the dragon’s chest. It had been a grazing blow, but he was hurt. Hecate could do little to help him as she clung to him as tightly as she could.
The water dragon flew toward the ground as the other dragons came in for a second attack. Xavier cut off its path as the ship followed the injured dragon and blasted it with his acid fire. It hit directly at the center of the ship’s body. It burst upward and away from him, trying to escape. The other dragons came in with their attack, fire and oil igniting on the ship’s surface. When the air dragon fanned the flames, the ship exploded in midair.
Pieces of ship hurled across the sky. Circe protected her face from the flying bits of metal and glass that rained over her as Xavier twirled around and righted himself.
The company of dragons gathered and swooped down to the injured shifter, who’d landed on the rooftop of a stucco building, half a mile from downtown. He lay naked in human form on the tarred flat roof, his belly badly burned and bleeding. Circe knelt beside him, running her healing energy into his wound.
The other witches were skilled with healing, but Circe’s metamorphosis had made her a master. She unbuckled her harness and slipped from Xavier’s back before running to help Hecate and was quickly joined by Vesta. The three women ran healing energy into the dragon shifter’s body until the wound slowly began to close.
When the water dragon was healed, they all gathered together. “We didn’t even touch that zombie master,” Xavier said, disgusted.
“Pyramid Corp and the Anu are protecting them,” said Circe.
“What are they?” asked Enrique.
“We don’t really know what they are except that they lead the zombies. We’ve been seeing them in major zombie hubs lately. A week ago, we noticed that the zomb
ies were on the move. They are moving into rural areas like they never have before. Then, a few days later, we saw one of those things leading a horde of a thousand zombies through Sacramento,” Circe answered.
“Those aren’t Anu,” said Hecate.
“No. We don’t know exactly what they are or where they come from. But we can tell they are leading the zombies. We learned from a dryad that the Anu purposefully mutated us with the radiation pulses,” said Xavier.
“It wasn’t an accident?” asked Enrique.
“No. They feed on our fear. I guess they have been here a really long time in one form or another. They hybridized us hundreds of thousands of years ago and have been working with Pyramid Corp for many thousands of years,” said Xavier.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Enrique. “You’re saying the Anu created us?”
“They hybridized ancient prehumans into the form we are today, yes. That is what the dryad who taught us to heal you told us.”
“I can’t believe it,” said Enrique. Everyone else stood around Xavier in shock as he told them.
“We can talk about this later once we get back to San Diego. Maybe Cassie has more information to fill in the blanks. For now, I think we should get out of Phoenix before they send more ships. Once we regroup, we can make a battle plan,” said Circe.
“Agreed,” said Xavier, though Circe could feel he wanted to attack the zombie master again. The dragons all shifted. Circe harnessed up her saddle, and the dragons took flight.
Chapter 34
Circe, the witches, and the dragons flew across the deserts and into Death Valley before they crossed into the San Diego region of Southern California. Circe felt a deep sense of anticipation about seeing Cassie again and finding out how the plans to liberate the dome had gone for them. She hoped more than anything that had gone well. There was no telling what they would find at the San Diego compound.
Xavier’s mind rolled with similar thoughts. He hoped his people would be pleased to see him and would forgive him for being gone for so long. He worried that his second in command, Spencer, had made poor choices during Xavier’s absence. The green field of the farmland came into view, and the gables of the Victorian farmhouse poked into the deep-blue sky. Circe felt Xavier's heart leap with joy
The people below looked up at the group approaching, and a cry of alarm rose from the crowd. It wasn’t every day that a group of five dragons descended over the farm. As they landed, the people screamed in terror before Circe slid from Xavier’s back and tried to calm everyone down. She saw a young woman bounding down from the porch of the farmhouse. Cassie.
Cassie ran to Circe and swept her up in her arms, holding her in a deep embrace. Circe hugged her back fiercely, so glad to see her again, so glad to see her safe. As the dragon shifters changed to human form, the crowd calmed and began to disperse. A group of citizens gathered around Xavier, asking him questions about the other dragons who had come with him and where he had been.
“What happened with the dome, Cassie?” asked Circe, holding Cassie by the shoulders. Cassie’s mouth curled up in a wide grin. She winked and put her hand on her jutted hip.
“What do you think happened? We totally owned those Pyramid Corp scum. We rescued a hundred kids. Since you’ve been gone, Rafe and Spencer have been working to help create additional houses for everyone.” Cassie pointed to the edge of the row of tents where many of the inhabitants lived and to a collection of recently installed mobile homes. “We brought all those over from a mobile-home park and outfitted them with electricity and running water. Now the pregnant girls all have houses to live in. Even a couple of the families with young kids got new houses.”
“Looks like you guys have been busy,” said Xavier, walking behind Circe. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. A few of the citizens of the San Diego compound had already produced clothing for the naked shifters. Xavier had wrapped a sheet around his waist, leaving him bare chested. His tan skin glistened in the bright San Diego afternoon sunlight. Circe smiled up at him, watching his face as he looked around.
“We didn’t know if you were ever coming back,” said Cassie. She shrugged and turned her head toward the back door of the farmhouse to watch Rafe stride toward them. Rafe’s wolfish looks, black hair, and amber eyes contrasted with Xavier’s blond hair and blue eyes. Both men were tall with broad shoulders and square jaws. They faced each other, and Rafe shot out his hand and offered it to Xavier.
Xavier accepted and shook it heartily. A smile crept over Xavier’s face as he looked around at the compound. “It looks like you’ve been busy here. So, you were able to get those kids out of the Pyramid Corporation dome? What has the Anu situation been like since you brought those kids here?”
As if in answer to Xavier’s question, an Anu drone shrieked through the sky, shooting lasers across the field toward them. Cassie shot forward, raising her arms high into the sky. She let loose a blast of the powerful energy she harnessed. The Anu ship tumbled end over end, spiraling toward the edge of the field, where it crashed and exploded. The ball of flame erupted when the crash hit.
All the dragon shifters’ eyes went to Cassie, looking at her in amazement. Circe nodded her head in acknowledgment of Cassie’s amazing gift.
“That’s pretty much a constant occurrence around here nowadays,” said Cassie, squeezing her lips to the side of her face. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “What can you do? I’m totally sleep deprived, but nobody’s died yet. So, hey. It’s all working out great.”
“Why don’t you all come inside? We’ll talk about what’s been going on here and the current state of affairs at the compound,” said Rafe. It was obvious to Circe that Rafe had taken on the full responsibility of the welfare of the compound. Leadership in this new world of constant danger and the struggle to survive were heavy burdens for anyone.
Circe, the other witches, Xavier, and the dragons followed Cassie and Rafe into the house. They sat around the big oak table in the dining room. Dina, the girl who had always served in Xavier’s house, brought them tea and cookies. There wasn’t enough room for everyone at the table, but three of the dragon shifters stood, allowing Cassie and all three witches to sit. The broad-shouldered, muscular dragon shifters stood against the wall, drinking their tea from little china cups painted with pink roses and twining green leaves.
Rafe began, “One of the girls from the dome has already given birth. Several more will follow in the coming month. In total, we’ll have five hybrid Anu babies here at the compound. With all of the attacks, people are worried. The shifters aren’t so comfortable living with an enemy baby. The baby looks exactly like a human baby. A fox shifter who used to be a nurse practitioner in a maternity ward tells me that the baby seems completely normal in every way. There would be no way of knowing that it was an Anu hybrid just by looking at it. But everyone knows the girls were impregnated in the domes. People are scared and talking about leaving.”
“This was exactly what I was worried about,” said Xavier with a heavy sigh.
“You had absolutely no idea that there were girls in the domes impregnated with hybrid babies. There’s no way that you could’ve ever known that,” said Cassie with exasperation in her voice. She stared at Xavier with an irritated look on her face, her brows drawn together and her mouth slightly open.
“Cassie, I don’t mean to offend you, and you are right. I didn’t know there were pregnant girls in there. I just knew that if anybody messed with the domes or with the Anu, it was going to affect us. I knew it would affect my people and disturb the delicate balance that we had been able to achieve.” Circe threaded her fingers through Xavier’s as he spoke, willing him her strength and empathy.
“The question isn’t what anyone knew or didn’t know,” Rafe started. “All that is in the past now.” He raised his eyebrows at Cassie and pursed his lips. She rolled her eyes and looked down at the table. Rafe went on, “What’s important now is that we find a way to settle people’s minds. We ha
ve enough resources here to take care of everyone. But with the threat of constant bombardment from the Anu drones and the worry about the hybrid babies, we’re on the verge of mass chaos. People are talking about leaving, and if they leave, there’s no way of protecting them from the drone strikes. Cassie is working night and day to keep the compound safe. She literally gets no more than two hours of sleep at a time. She can’t go on like this.” Cassie looked up at him with a pout and then smiled, winking.
“We’ve brought down drones,” said Xavier. “Just today, we defeated three of them over Phoenix. We took out an entire horde of zombies and some Pyramid Corp soldiers at the same time. But we’ve come to realize that the zombies are moving at the direction of a leader. Circe and I have seen these things three times now. They are as tall as a three-story building, with long limbs and little pinheads. Have you seen these things?”
“No, we haven’t seen anything like that,” said Cassie, her expression turning serious.
“We have no idea where they have come from,” said Circe. “They can’t possibly be human mutants. But they definitely aren’t Anu.”
Cassie scratched her chin and closed her eyes as if remembering something. When she looked back at Circe, she had a look of revelation in her eyes. “When I astral traveled to the Anu ships in space, I saw that they had hybridized hundreds of different races. The zombie masters might be hybrids from another planet. What do you think?”
“That does make sense. But that would mean that the Anu would have had to plan to use them as zombie masters before they even created the zombies. I can’t even conceive of a consciousness so conniving.” Circe clinched her fists as he thought of how the Anu had manipulated her world.