WickedBeast (14 page)

The dragon had to be extremely weak and hopefully he was
deep in the uninhabited expanse of sun and sand. Left alone, eventually he
would find a human and feed then they would probably lose track of him. At this
point there was no way the starving dragon could understand how he had been
reanimated. He wouldn’t be looking for a power source as unimaginable as the
one who had called him back to life.

It didn’t matter, the creature had to be destroyed before he
learned too much about the present. Cord and Legion would be hunting tomorrow.
It was uncomfortable to leave the women so soon, but the risk of allowing an
uncontrolled dragon to appear was much greater.

This brought him to the real problem. An issue he’d known
was coming, but before discovering elemental witches walked the world again
he’d had no way of addressing.

Dragons had not gone down easily in that last great
conflict. Most of them had been gathered in two spots, fighting a pitched
battle they’d been deceived into thinking was their biggest problem. In
reality, irreplaceable blood had been sacrificed to draw them as a group to the
two poles of the Earth.

The capture had been accomplished, freezing them instantly
then burying them deep beneath what should have been endless icecaps. In that
time, no one could have imagined humans would stumble onto a new method to
ensure their own destruction by the evil that almost enslaved them once.

If the world lost the icecaps, it didn’t matter how many
bullets, bombs or flame throwers they had. None of those would kill a dragon.
Most wouldn’t even slow one down.

Ice-cold eyes gazed out over the peach-tinted world.
Aristocratic nostrils flared as he drew in the information he needed. A slight
movement drew his eye to Molly’s backyard. There stood Legion, hands on hips,
gazing to the west. Slowly the big earth dragon’s head turned to look up at the
second-floor window Cord stood in.

The two elemental dragons nodded with the slightest dip of
chins. The job was clear. They would wait ’til the women were awake, but that’s
all the time their friend in the desert would have.

Cord clothed himself with a thought and slipped silently
down the stairs to the kitchen. Fine coffee was a pleasure he had no intention
of abandoning. Without little Miss Miracle around to monitor his actions, he
appropriated some from an importer he knew in Miami, keeping the magic low and
lean. He only required a small bag.

He had an hour, or he hoped two, before Kelly and Minuet
came down the stairs. Enough time to study the pressing problem and see how bad
it was. A few more small acquisitions and he had copies of the latest research
available on melting ice shelves in the South Pole. The information was
disturbing. There was little time, much less than he’d hoped.

Legion opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen.
Cord glanced up but didn’t acknowledge him any more than that. Legion pulled a
chair around and sat down. He spent a few minutes reading the information
spread out on the table, and hissed in silent frustration.

“We need Harrison and his witch.” The earth dragon’s voice
was barely more than a whisper, but the low rumble held distinct menace.

“I know. It’s fucking worse than I expected,” Cord agreed.

“They really are amazing,” Legion continued. “How do the
shit-for-brains keep coming up with excellent ways to destroy their entire
race? Even if there weren’t danger in the ice, melting icecaps will change the
world as they know it.”

“They have no fucking idea they’ve been here before. The
brink of extinction seems to be their favorite place.”

Legion shrugged, his usually impassive face twisted into a
scowl as he glanced toward the west. “Not our job to tell them. Our pal has
found a human already, can you feel the change?”

“Wonder why he hasn’t gone silent.” Cord sat back and sipped
his coffee.

“Probably thinks he’s the only one.” Legion held out his
hand and a cup of coffee appeared in it. The coffee was pale with added cream
and its sweet aroma told Cord there was perhaps a cup of sugar in it.

“There’s someone besides the idiot. Did you feel the birds
last week?”

Legion nodded and glanced at Cord. “Wizard power was all
over them.”

“How the hell long have you been here?” Cord wanted to know
as he looked at the earth dragon with a raise brow.

Legion shifted and took a deep swallow of his sweet coffee.
“Long enough to get tired of waiting for your ass to show up.”

“What the fuck were you waiting for? You should’ve called
me.”

Legion smiled. “Was about to, but things sort of took care
of themselves.” Legion stood and strolled to the back door. “Meet you in a
couple hours. Dust off the blade.” Then he was gone.

Cord frowned at the closed door. He didn’t want to tell
Kelly where he had to go this morning, but she would know without asking
anyway. He needed to stop concentrating on that concern before his two ladies
came downstairs. He didn’t want their home filled with the bitter aroma of
death first thing in the morning.

He disposed of the materials he’d been reading and took his
coffee into the living room. A wave of his hand removed all signs of the
candlelit evening he’d shared with his Wind Witch. He sat on the couch and
commanded the TV to show him Barney.

Half an hour later he was frowning fiercely. Now he
understood Kelly’s laughter last night. But a promise had been made, and as
soon as little feet hit the floor upstairs, Barney would appear on the couch.
It was going to be a long morning, well, hour at least.

Not long after, he heard the race of little feet rushing to
her mother’s room. Cord carefully put down his coffee cup. There was no way the
big purple paws could hold it. Being an expert at assuming a new identity
didn’t mean it was exactly easy. In this case, it was the voice he was most
worried about.

Shortly his two ladies came down the stairs so he stood. He
hadn’t added the tail until it was necessary to stand.

Minuet came around the corner and froze. Big eyes examined
him from head to tail then she squealed, leaping from a standstill in a very
good imitation of a little kangaroo. Barney caught her with the appropriate
laugh. Kelly stood in the doorway and tried very hard to pretend she was only
laughing because Minuet was so delighted.

Minuet adored her breakfast with Barney. The only really
difficult thing was that Barney sucked at stealthily patting Kelly’s ass.
Kissing her good morning was out of the question, but there was an expected
bonus to the situation. Kelly seemed to think his being willing to be Barney
for Minuet was amazing.

Every time she touched him, he got a shot of near sexual
power. The strength of her approval wasn’t sexual at all, but that was the only
equivalent he had to compare it with. Minuet insisted on eating breakfast in
his lap. Her laughing joy was just as potent as her mother’s approval. Being
Barney got him huge points. A handy thing to remember.

Breakfast was cleaned up and Minuet sent upstairs to change
out of her pajamas when Legion and Molly came in the back door. Barney had
disappeared as soon as Minuet’s feet met the stairs.

Kelly greeted them with a smile as she looked her friend
over critically. “I don’t see any broken bones.”

“Why would you be expecting any? I was very gentle with
him.” Molly intentionally misdirected the concern.

Legion grunted, but there was a smile on his face as he
glanced down at his Earth Witch. “Don’t be fooled, she’s very good at healing a
body when she’s done with it.”

“As long as you’re still useful,” Cord grinned.

“Yeah, the important parts work.” Legion boldly slid his
hand down to pat Molly’s bottom.

Molly grabbed his hand and pulled it up to her waist as she
elbowed his ribs. “Get over yourself, Rot Wood,” she snapped. “How long will
you to be gone?”

“Not that long,” Cord said casually as he turned to Kelly.
Pulling her into his embrace, he looked into her eyes seriously for a moment.
“It’ll be all right. Call me if you need me.”

Her arms circled his neck as she strained up on tiptoes.
“Kiss me then come back to me.”

Her request was more than it should have been to him. Her
natural ease in displaying their intimate relationship in front of her friend
and Legion made him proud. There was no hesitation, no shy attempt to deny his
connection to her this morning.

His kiss was quick but fierce, claiming her, eating her and
pulling away before it became too hard to do that. “Trust me on both those,” he
told her softly.

Legion was having a little more trouble letting go of his
woman, but the two of them had to be out the door before Minuet came downstairs
asking questions. In case anyone was watching, they climbed into Cord’s truck.

Driving ’til they reached a deserted section of road on the
way up the mountain, Cord pulled over and parked it out of sight.

“He is about two hundred miles away,” Legion said casually
as he glanced at the sky. “Better do angel of mercy. How’s your shiny sword
looking these days?”

Cord nodded. “Saintly. I’ll come from the south. Go be the
wrath of God.”

Legion nodded. “Meet you at the body.”

Both of them faded from the light range visible to the human
eye and took off in opposite directions.

Chapter Nine

Minuet was mildly disappointed when she came down the stairs
and Barney was gone. Molly thoroughly enjoyed the three-year-old’s description
of breakfast with Barney. Kelly acted as if she were laughing too.

Minuet dashed out to the backyard to play with Coco. Molly
and Kelly followed her more slowly.

“So what do you think?” Kelly asked Molly. She didn’t have
to explain what she was asking. They were both living in a different world than
they had been yesterday.

“We’re in big trouble,” Molly repeated herself from the day
before. “But I guess it could be worse. They could like looking like lizards.”

Both women chuckled as they settled into the patio chairs
and watched the dog and child. The silence that was comfortable filled with
tension. So many things they needed to discuss, new discoveries, new fears.
Whatever it meant to be elemental witches bound them together. It was clear
that their friendship had been influenced by a deep recognition. But that
wasn’t the tension the two women shared.

Sitting, watching the child while knowing the males who
shared their beds had gone to face death put them in the company of every
warrior’s woman since the beginning of time.

Molly reached over and took Kelly’s hand for a brief
squeeze. “We shouldn’t worry. They’ll smell it on us when they get back and be
all conceited about it.”

“I know, but how do you quit?” Kelly wanted to know.

Molly shrugged. “I was hoping you knew.”

“You know this threat in the west isn’t their main concern,
right?” Kelly asked.

“Yeah, have you asked what the real problem is?”

Kelly shook her head. “I figured he would tell me when he
was ready. At this point, I’m taking things one at a time.”

“Me too,” Molly admitted. “You practice the craft
yesterday?”

“Yes, it’s amazing. Did he teach you anything new?” Kelly
wanted to know.

“Several things, but they had nothing to do with the craft.”
Molly glanced at Kelly and laughed softly.

Kelly looked down and smiled, folding her hands in her lap.
“I know what you mean. They can be so inventive.”

Molly’s eyes were twinkling as she looked at her
conservative friend. “I never appreciated education this way in the past.”

“Has he demanded you quit your job yet?” Kelly asked.

“Like the third thing out of his mouth,” Molly declared with
no small amount of disgust. “They seem to like ordering people around.”

This time Kelly laughed. “I almost feel sorry for Legion.”

“Don’t waste pity on him. He can take care of himself,”
Molly declared.

* * * * *

Roughly two hundred miles to the west, Cord stood surveying
the dilapidated shack. He was behind an outcropping of boulders that littered
the bleak terrain around him. Terror flowed out of the one-room structure.
Inside, the dragon had a victim. He was feeding on the endless supply of fear.
It had probably transformed into a demonic shape, threatening the human and
demonstrating his power by inflicting pain.

It was time. Cord allowed the change to flow over him,
moving his form to the edge of the human light spectrum. In this guise, he
appeared to glow. He added white wings and flowing white clothing to ensure the
human’s interpretation. Then he dropped shields. A thundering roar erupted from
his adversary in the cabin as he felt the arrival of another dragon.

Cord flashed to the front of the cabin. The door burst open
and a large, demotic form charged out. The beast had been feeding most of the
night and now had a respectable power reserve. At eight feet tall, the dragon
had put on a massive human-shaped body with blood-red skin. Black horns curled
up from his forehead to create a ram’s head configuration. There were more
horns spiking down his back and across his shoulders. Black leather pants ended
at his knees to reveal lower extremities with cloven hooves.

Yep, exactly as expected, this one was using proven methods
to feed. It wasn’t even that creative, and Cord was not impressed.

In the open doorway, a cowering old man crouched on the
floor. Cord adopted a benevolent smile and raised the flaming sword in his
hand, as if to engage horned dude. Stupid dragon was focused solely on his
shiny white form and didn’t sense the threat behind him. He was in mid-bellow
when his head simply separated from his body and rolled a few feet away,
freezing a shocked expression on grotesque features. A moment later the red
form disintegrated.

Legion remained out of the human’s sight spectrum as Cord
calmly walked up to the sobbing man. Offering his hand in the standard human
expectation of how a being who looked like him should act, he helped the man
and to his feet. Placing his palm on the old guy’s forehead, Cord manipulated a
few facts and slowed his heart rate. The guy was in pretty good shape and
didn’t need too much help to avoid a heart attack.