Dragon Storm

  “And you weren’t,” I said sadly, feeling responsible for the situation for some insane reason.

  “On the contrary, I am very lucky. I have found a mate despite having lost the only woman I thought I desired. I was wrong.”

  I leaned down to kiss his nose. “I was wrong about dragons, too, so we’re even. But what are we going to do now?”

  He tugged me down onto his chest again. “It will take immense power to defeat Bael as he is now.”

  “We don’t have immense power,” I pointed out.

  “No, not even joined can we take him down. We are going to need help.”

  “The other dragons?”

  He was silent for a long time before his arm tightened around me. “Something like that.”

  And annoyingly, that was all he’d say on the matter. I tried to get him to spill what he was planning, but he just said he had to think things through, and he’d tell me when he came to a decision.

  “Overbearing, cavalier dragon,” I said with a snort as I marched into the bathroom to take a shower. “So much for having a mate to share things with!”

  “I will share my thoughts with you when I can get them in proper order,” he said, putting his hands behind his head and staring up at the ceiling.

  I looked back at him lying on the bed, so sexy that we’d left scorch marks on the sheets, and told myself I was crazy to tie myself to a dragon.

  Sometimes, crazy is a very good thing.

  Nineteen

  It was almost night when Constantine greeted the redheaded man who opened the door. I couldn’t remember if he was Pal or Istvan, but whoever he was, he bowed when Constantine said, “We have come for Gary.”

  “It is good to see you alive,” was all the redhead said before standing back and gesturing for us to enter Aisling’s house. “There was no trouble?”

  “Oh, there was plenty of trouble. There was a hell of a lot of trouble. There was trouble coming out of our ears.” I took a deep breath and entered the hall.

  “It went as I expected,” Constantine said, taking my hand. “Are the others still here?”

  “Yes. In the sitting room.” Pal or Istvan—I really should figure out which one was which—gestured toward the double doors.

  One of them opened before we could reach it. Gary barreled out on his truck, now denuded of knives. “Connie! Bee! I thought you’d never get back. Jim says that dragons have a thing about needing personal time with their mates when they get stolen, so I’m not going to feel hurt because you’re wearing different clothes, although that means you must have at the very least stopped to get Bee’s luggage instead of coming here to reassure me that you’re alive and well, and in fact, judging by the looks on your faces, you probably blew the grounsils first before you came to fetch me.”

  I shook my head briefly. “We what now?”

  “Blew the grounsils.” Gary pursed his lips, and turned his truck to reenter the sitting room. “You know, polishing the porpoise.”

  “Feeding the kitty,” Jim said with a nod and a wink at Gary when we followed the latter into the room. “Filling the cream donut. Stuffing the worm into—”

  “And that is enough out of you, demon. Silence until I tell you that you can speak again,” Aisling said, glaring at her demon.

  I looked at Constantine.

  One side of his mouth quirked. “I will explain to him how it is with a wyvern and his mate. He will learn not to have hurt feelings when we go off to fill the cream donut.”

  I pinched his arm.

  “What happened? Are you two all right?” Aisling greeted us with worried looks. “Did you get rid of Bael?” She turned back to Drake, who was approaching us from the other side of the room. “I told you we should have stayed! I’m a Guardian. I could have helped them deal with Bael.”

  “They have not said they needed your help,” Drake pointed out while at the same time giving us both piercing looks.

  “Is everything all right?” Ysolde asked, joining them. She, too, looked worried.

  “No,” Constantine said in his usual frank manner. “Asmodeus is dead. Bael has his ring. I was unable to kill him on my own. He is too powerful, and we will need to seek the assistance of the First Dragon to rid ourselves of him. Bee is now my mate, but that is a good thing. We have decided to form our own sept and are thinking of indigo as a color. I also thought of naming ourselves the spirit dragons, but since Bee is not a spirit, it would not be appropriate. We will make Gary an honorary indigo dragon.”

  “Wooties!” Gary shouted, driving a triumphant circle around Constantine’s feet. “I’ll be the best dragon you ever had!”

  “A mate?” Aisling looked startled, then happy. “How exciting, a new mate. But…”

  “We thought you decided you weren’t a mate,” Ysolde finished for her. “What changed your mind?”

  “It was me,” Constantine said, not even trying to look humble. “She couldn’t resist me. And my ass—she particularly likes that.”

  “You big bullfrog,” I said, elbowing him in the side. “Don’t make me regret agreeing to be your mate the very same day I accept the job.”

  He grinned at me, and my innards all seemed to melt in a happy puddle.

  “A new sept.” Kostya frowned, sliding a glance at his brother. “That will have to be voted upon by the others before it can be accepted, but I do not like the idea of a sept led by a spirit.”

  “Pfft,” I said, irritated by his reaction. How dare Kostya try to rain on Constantine’s parade? “He’s as solid as you are. The only difference is that he’s not alive anymore. So what’s the problem with him heading up his own sept? You guys don’t have a law that says he has to be alive, do you?”

  “Bee,” Constantine said sternly. “You do not have to champion me to the weyr. Not that I don’t appreciate the fact that you want to—I do, very much so. But it is not necessary. Besides, if there is any chastising to be done, I wish to have the fun of doing it.”

  “Consider us chastised, then,” Drake said, taking Aisling’s arm and helping her to a chair. I thought it was a bit funny the way he treated her like she was made of glass, since she was, from everything I’d heard, one badass lady, but I gathered dragons were an overprotective bunch, and that was how they responded to pregnant women.

  I slid a look sideways at Constantine.

  He raised an eyebrow in response.

  “You’re dead.”

  “I am.”

  “Can you… uh… is all of you dead?”

  He raised the other eyebrow.

  I sighed and said softly, “Can you make babies if you’re a spirit? Don’t look at me as if I’m crazy—I’ve never met a spirit before. I know there’s lots of things you can do, like eat, and other things you need to do, like shave and brush your teeth, but I didn’t know if you had… you know… sperm.”

  His gaze turned into liquid gold. “With a mortal? No. But you are my mate. That fact may well transcend mortal realities. We shall have to find out together whether or not we can have children.”

  I leaned in close to him and said softly, “Well, if it turns out I can get pregnant and you treat me like I can’t sit down by myself when I clearly can, I will punch you in the gooch.”

  “I will remember that should the day arise.”

  “You do that.”

  “This is not a formal sarkany,” Drake said when he had Aisling seated to his satisfaction. He gestured toward the other couches and chairs. “But it is evident by what Constantine has said that we have much to discuss. Perhaps we can have a recap of what happened after we left?”

  Constantine gave it to them, almost word-for-word. Kostya muttered something under his breath about just handing over the ring without a protest, but Aoife shot him a squinty-eyed look that left him silent.

  “So your plan is to ask for intervention of the First Dragon?” Drake asked, glancing at Baltic. As usual, the latter wore an expression that gave nothing away. “I am not convinced that is the right pat
h. If the dragonkin band together—”

  “He will destroy us,” Constantine said tiredly. “You do not realize just how powerful he is now. He destroyed Asmodeus with one swing of the mage sword. That leaves him in control of Abaddon as well as much of the Otherworld.”

  “Just because he says he’s the Venediger doesn’t mean he really is, right?” Aoife asked.

  The others shook their heads. “Claiming the position by defeating the prior occupant and stating the intention to hold the position is valid. Unfortunately, until we can remove him from the position, he is in effect the Venediger,” Drake said.

  “And that’s bad because…?” Aoife looked confused.

  “It means Bael will be able to rule the Otherworld in Europe,” Kostya answered her.

  “Well, that’s just Jim Dandy fine,” I said, sighing and leaning into Constantine. We were seated on a loveseat, and despite the grim situation, I felt a certain amount of happiness just having him so close to me. “Nothing like having a deranged serial-killer demon lord ruling over you. We are in so much trouble.”

  “Looks like we’ll have to get your father in,” Aisling told Baltic. The latter made a face.

  To my surprise, Ysolde made one as well. “He’s such a pain in the patootie.” She must have noticed everyone looking at her because she added with a little apologetic gesture, “Sorry, didn’t realize I said that in my out-loud voice.”

  “How do you summon the First Dragon?” I asked Constantine, a bit nervous because I’d never been in the presence of a demigod. “Are you going to do it right now? Should I leave?”

  “We will need the dragon heart,” he answered.

  The other dragons instantly looked away.

  “Is it an actual heart?” I asked, trying not to look appalled.

  “No. The dragon heart is made of shards. Those are what the First Dragon used to create the original four septs. Each wyvern holds a shard. The one I held is now in the possession of the silver wyvern.” He frowned and glanced around the room. “Why is Gabriel not here?”

  “It takes a while to get from Australia to France,” Aisling told him. “Gabriel, being a dragon, hates portals, and May said they had some sept business to wrap up, so they’ll be here tomorrow.”

  “You all have shards. If we bring them together, it will be enough to summon the First Dragon.”

  To a man, the three wvyerns pursed their lips and looked unwilling to help. It took a solid half hour of arguing, wheedling, and downright demands by the women involved (myself included) to get them to agree to it.

  I figured the ceremony of bringing the First Dragon to us would be something that took place late at night, in a secluded wood, or some other such dramatic setting. As it was, all that happened was Drake left to go to another room, returning with a wooden box. Kostya reached a hand into his inner pocket and withdrew a leather pouch. And Baltic gestured at Ysolde, who pulled on a chain around her neck, tugging up a small glass vial that hung next to a silver pendant.

  “You had them with you all along?” I asked, all shades of incredulous. “You made us go through all that, and you guys had them on you? What the hell, people? What the serious hell?”

  “Abaddon,” Gary corrected, receiving a paws-up from Jim.

  I gave him a look that had him backing his truck away from me.

  Constantine took the shards from each of the wyverns, held them in his hands, and said simply, “Father of all dragons who ever was, who are, and who will be, we summon you.”

  The air in front of Constantine shimmered a little, like it was made of water, then did an odd ripple that resolved itself into the shape of a man.

  I say man, but really, it wasn’t a man. Oh, he looked perfectly normal. He had two arms, and legs, and hands and eyes, and everything that a normal man has… but there was something about his eyes that wasn’t quite normal. For one, the color of his irises was kind of an old gold that appeared to be splattered with red and black and silver. His pupils were slightly elongated, not quite like a cat’s, but not round like they should be. And then there was the air of something… other… that surrounded him.

  Even the look of surprise on his face when he saw Constantine was slightly off.

  “Constantine. Was I mistaken in thinking you died some five centuries ago?”

  “No. I was resurrected by Ysolde.” Constantine gestured behind the First Dragon, who kept his eyes firmly on his grandson.

  “Ah, you are a spirit.” His gaze shifted to me for a few moments. I felt myself blushing, although I couldn’t think of why I’d do such a thing. “And you have a mate. How interesting.”

  Not good, or yay for you, just interesting. I started to think that the First Dragon was a bit of a jerk.

  “Ysolde is here?” The First Dragon turned around slowly, smiling at Ysolde, who summoned up a welcoming smile of her own. “My child, you look as charming as ever. Baltic is here, too, I see.”

  “Yes,” Baltic said ungraciously. He looked sour and annoyed as hell to see his demigod parent. I wanted to hug him at that moment. “I’m here. For the record, I was against Constantine calling you.”

  “It’s nice to see you, too,” the First Dragon said with a little quirk to his lips that had my irritation easing a smidgen. He glanced around at the others. Drake and Kostya both made low bows to him, murmuring something about it being an honor to see him.

  “Why have you summoned me?” the First Dragon asked.

  “It’s Kashi,” Constantine said abruptly.

  The expression on the First Dragon’s face went from mild amusement to absolutely nothing. In fact, it felt like everything in the world was holding its breath, waiting for a reaction.

  “That name has no meaning,” the First Dragon said slowly, turning back to face us.

  “Bael, then. He has tried to destroy the dragonkin for the last two years, but only recently was released from where he’d been held in the Akasha. And now he is gathering power, more power than he ever had before, and he intends on wiping us out.”

  The First Dragon’s eyelids drooped.

  Constantine took a deep breath. “I tried to eliminate him in the past and failed. And now he is too strong, and will grow stronger with each passing day. We need your help in destroying him.”

  “What call does a demon lord have on me?” the First Dragon asked in a very neutral voice.

  “He is your son,” Baltic said.

  “He is not.” The First Dragon’s gaze slid to Baltic for a few moments. “Do not think because you are a favored child that I will involve myself in your business. I did so in the past because I wished to see your line continue. Nothing more.”

  “Should I point out that you haven’t even asked how Alduin is doing?” Ysolde asked with a touch of asperity.

  The corners of his mouth twitched. “Do you truly believe that I am unaware of him? And of you?”

  Ysolde flapped her hands around vaguely. “Touché. He’s well, by the way. As we all are, all the dragons, now that the curse that your other son placed on us has been lifted by Constantine and Bee.”

  “Baltic,” the First Dragon said wearily. “Your mate—”

  “I know,” Baltic interrupted, holding up his hand. “She never has displayed reverence for that which deserves it, but that does not lessen her charms.”

  “I love you, too,” Ysolde told him, kissing his cheek. “Even if your dad is a pain in the—” She stopped and smiled brightly at the First Dragon.

  The First Dragon came close to rolling his eyes, I swear he did, but evidently demigods have a standard to maintain, and he managed to simply lift a hand in a graceful gesture of refusal. “This fight you speak of is not mine.” His gaze dropped onto Constantine. “Nor is it yours alone, Constantine of Norka. It is not the fight of the dragonkin—you have work to do, yes, but others must do what you cannot. Only one who is mortal-born can defeat a demon lord. So it is, and so it has always been.”

  “Who?” I couldn’t help but ask, driven to it b
y frustration. The man was a friggin’ god, for cripes sake! Why wouldn’t he just step in and stomp his former son to smithereens? “What mortal? And how is he or she supposed to defeat Bael to begin with? Constantine’s tried, and if he couldn’t do it, I don’t understand how a mortal is supposed to do it.”

  “And that will be your failing if you do not correct it,” the First Dragon told me. He started to fade, just like he was made up of millions of tiny light particles that began to go out. “Seek a warrior, one who can undo that which gives Bael strength. Only then will you restore the weyr.”

  “What on earth does that mean?” I asked, wanting to shake the annoying man, but he continued to fade, his odd, inhuman eyes on Constantine the last thing visible before they just blinked out of existence.

  “What an annoying, deliberately obtuse man,” Ysolde said, biting the ends off of the words. “Now I remember why we never get in contact with him. ‘And that will be your failing if you do not correct it.’ Seriously, Bee, he used to say the same sorts of cryptic things to me, and it drove me nuts! I was forever trying to figure them out, and to this day, I still don’t know what half of the things he told me really mean.”

  “I think I irritated him,” I said somewhat apologetically. I was new to the dragon world, after all. “I should have been a bit more polite, but after all we’ve gone through…” I took a deep breath and stopped from saying more.

  “We have work to do,” Constantine said slowly, clearly mulling over the First Dragon’s comments. “A warrior who can undo that which gives Bael strength. A mage, do you think?” he asked Baltic.

  The latter shook his head after a moment’s thought. “Bael considers himself a mage of sorts. And he was born a black dragon.”

  “As were we all,” Kostya said with a wry twist of his lips.

  “Really? I thought you were a green dragon?” I asked Drake.

  “I am. But my father was a black dragon. My green dragon ancestors claimed me as their own, however.”