WickedBeast (15 page)

Then Cord slowly faded out of the human’s visual range, not
wanting to add to the old guy’s terror. In an afterthought, he wrote the words
Go
To Church
in the dust at the man’s front door. That should complete the
impression he wanted to leave.

Appearing in a form the human could understand and draw
comfort from made explaining the event unnecessary. What had happened was
certainly a supernatural episode, so directing the man’s attention to thinking
a supernatural protector had saved him gave him the security he would need to
live the rest of his life as a sane individual.

And who was to say things hadn’t transpired exactly as a
higher power directed? Cord’s philosophy was, if someone needed to think he was
the hand of God to feel safe, he’d be happy to leave them with that impression.

Cord and Legion quickly left the area. This time flying in
tight formation just in case there was anyone who could observe them. Caution
and deception were as much a part of their natures as the need to feed. Anyone
watching the power leave would see one mark streaking in a different direction
from where they would eventually end up. They didn’t give away the women’s
location by using the opposite route. That would be too obvious.

The entire event had been accomplished in silence. Creatures
who wasted time talking were seldom the last ones standing. A simple lesson
that was almost impossible for an ego-driven aggressor to learn. Cold killers
were not handicapped with the need to discuss the job at hand. Also, completing
the operation in the shortest amount of time possible elevated the odds of
success.

Minutes later, normal-looking human forms of Cord and Legion
swung into the truck and calmly pulled on to the road.

“Feel anyone watching?” Cord asked Legion. The earth dragon
had a slightly higher sensitivity to the vibrations being observed created,
even if it were from a distance. The unavoidable boom of a dragon death could
easily have drawn attention. No one in this age would know what they had heard
though.

“Area felt clean,” Legion confirmed.

“Good.” Cord nodded.

“Only reason that one was here is because he’s an idiot.
Nothing will be that easy if the popsicles wake up,” Legion stated mildly.

“I’m more concerned with the humans finding one. I don’t
think they can animate it, but now that we’ve met Minuet, we have to consider
the possibility. Creative bastards that they are, humans always find a way to
bring about the worst possible outcome,” Cord continued. “Manipulating their
perception of events will be impossible on a mass scale. You know the first
person to stumble across a winged demon trapped in ice will have it on the
internet ten seconds later.”

“We’ll be sure no one finds them,” Legion answered in his
usual abbreviated way.

Cord glanced at his big companion and raised a brow. “Good
plan. Now tell me how to guarantee that.”

They were almost back at Kelly’s house. Legion shrugged.
“You already have a plan or you wouldn’t be talking about it. Let’s hear it.”

The earth dragon was a beast of few words, but there was no
lack of thought in the ones he did use. They couldn’t exactly be called
brothers, but they understood each other well. The silent battle had been
accomplished because there was no need to discuss it. The plan of attack was
simple. Doing the job right meant no grandstanding. If a confrontation developed
into a flashy show of strength, the hunter was doing it wrong.

“We need to find Harrison and his witch. We also need
someone to go south and watch the humans just in case an idiot with a camera
phone gets lucky. It wouldn’t be wise to take Minuet anywhere near the popsicle
fields, so you might want to practice your polar bear impression,” Cord
suggested.

Legion didn’t answer as they pulled into Kelly’s driveway.
He slid out of the truck and walked around it to join Cord at the front door.

As Cord pulled the door open, Legion shot him a sly smile.
“Cold means I warm her up.”

Cord had to chuckle at the earth dragon’s logic. He was
right. Cold was an excellent reason to remain in physical contact with his
witch. Lucky bastard.

Kelly and Molly were still on the back patio. The two large
dragons strolled out the kitchen door, looking as if they’d simply been to the
corner store for a few supplies, but the air around them told a different
story.

It was natural for Kelly to stand and reach for him. Her
mouth opened slightly as she pulled the taste of battle across her tongue. It
was black licorice, dark with a hint of sweetness at the end. This must be what
victory tasted like. Then she was in his arms and there was no time to analyze
the air around him.

His mouth was on hers, and though the arm around her waist
appeared casual, there was nothing relaxed about his tongue thrusting into her
mouth in a quick stab of possession. Over as fast as it started, his head
lifted and he smiled down at her.

“You missed me?” he asked. “I told you not to worry.”

“Just because you said it doesn’t make it so,” Kelly told
him forcefully. “But even if you are that bossy, I’m glad you’re back.”

Cord had to touch the roses on her cheeks as she looked up
at him with that expression on her face. The back of his knuckles glided down
her cheek to her chin. Words didn’t really matter. She was taking something
from him as much as he was drinking her touch. That didn’t make sense. Her hand
at his back was fisted in his shirt, and the other on his biceps clutched him
too tightly.

The tension wasn’t leaving her, and Cord frowned slightly.
“Seriously, that was nothing. There was no danger. I should have made sure you
knew that before we left.”

Legion and Molly interrupted with their abbreviated goodbyes
as Legion pretty much dragged Molly to the gate connecting the two backyards.

For an instant Cord was jealous then a short body barreled
into his legs, wrapping herself around his thigh like a little monkey to laugh
up at him. Looking down into Minuet’s shining face as he stood with his arms
around her mother, Cord couldn’t think of one other place he’d rather be. The
heat flooding his system was more than the power they couldn’t help giving him.
He was developing some aberrant need for this new mix of acceptance, concern
and joy.

“I glad you back,” Minuet declared happily.

“I’ll always come back, precious,” he told her with a smile.
“That’s a promise.”

“I knows it. But Mommy like pomises,” she told him
seriously. “She petend not worry.”

“Don’t tell him all my secrets,” Kelly laughed. “We girls
have to stick together.”

“We sticking to Cord,” Minuet stated as her arms and legs
tightened around Cord to show her mother she was sticking.

Kelly draped her arms around Cord’s neck, giving him a quick
hug as she agreed with Minuet. “You’re right. That’s a good idea.”

Cord didn’t know what to say. Minuet had a way of cutting
through adult clutter to the heart of whatever she thought was important. In
doing so, she wrapped her little fingers around whatever this dragon could call
a heart and locked herself to it. Her intentions were transparent, pure as
sunlight.

Cord cleared his throat and smiled at both of them as an arm
circled each. “Tell you what, angel face, I’ll promise Mommy whatever she
wants. Is that all right with you?”

“No. That not right. We only gets what we needs. That rule.
You can pomise be safe. That not selfish,” Minuet reasoned.

“Got it.” He nodded into her serious little face. “Thank you
for keeping track of the rules. I don’t want to get mixed up.”

“I member good,” Minuet continued. “I help you.”

Cord fervently hoped she wasn’t being prophetic. It was his
plan to make sure they never came to a place where he needed her help. If they
didn’t succeed in securing the dragons trapped beneath the ice, she might be
their only hope. However, the possibility existed that the opposite was true.
There was no way of knowing.

There was another reason it was vitally important to make
sure they never had to use her power. It was an unknown, its effect or consequences
unpredictable. Simply being around her had a positive influence on both him and
Legion. What if simply being near her had a positive response on a regular
dragon? Could she wake them without trying? Could she unknowingly feed them by
accessing her power for normal, everyday things, just because she was close to
them?

Right now she was infusing him with massive amounts of power
through her emotions. The pure faith of a child was magic on steroids. There
was no way to test her abilities at this age. Teaching her to kill the frozen
dragons would be an unimaginable horror. He wasn’t sure he was strong enough to
do it. Soon he would show her how to make sure she didn’t harm anything, safety
required it, but teaching her how to be a weapon was a revolting thought. No,
he would be the only beast. If there was a battle to be fought, it was his
battle, never hers.

An overwhelming wave of possession, protection, defense,
washed through him as he looked at these two. They both felt the change in him
and nearly identical frowns appeared on female foreheads.

“What?” they said in unison.

How was he supposed to explain this to them? A dragon was a
greedy creature. He held what was his at all costs, defending with no
conscience, no mercy and no remorse. Taking what he needed by any means. This
was the beast who would never leave them.

“It’s nothing. I’m glad to be back,” he did his best to
reassure them. Minuet accepted that that explanation with no question,
unwrapping herself from his leg to run after Coco, who was barking fiercely at
a rabbit that had been foolish enough to venture near the fence. The rabbit was
long gone but Minuet had to investigate.

Kelly wasn’t so easy. She remained standing in his embrace
as Minuet ran off.

“Now the truth,” she said quietly.

“The truth is, your beast is a nasty bastard who will do
anything to keep you,” Cord answered honestly.

“And the problem is?” She raised a brow.

“You’re comfortable with that?”

Her smile was intimate. “It’s one of the things I like most
about him.”

A purr rumbled in his chest as the air around them changed.
She was flirting with him and completely unconcerned. “I’m not sure you
understand, but I’m losing interest in explaining. Kiss me, witch.”

She slid up on tiptoes, making sure her body rubbed up
against his. His mouth met hers in a deep, demanding kiss. In it he told her
how much he wanted to possess her right now. They broke apart as Minuet and
Coco trotted back across the lawn to them.

“We’ll finish this discussion later,” he promised.

The rest of the day they spent making a game out of
practicing magic. Going for a walk in the woods after lunch, Minuet quickly
perfected her touch with small animals. Cord was amazed at how swiftly she
learned control. Her touch was light. She fine-tuned it with innate ability and
deep empathy. The child had no mean in her. If she even suspected she was
hurting the creature, she’d pull away.

Returning from the walk, Minuet plopped down on the living
room floor to watch
Sesame Street
. Cord and Kelly sat behind her on the
couch. Soon she was absorbed in the show, though her attention was not solely
directed at the TV. Minuet had an ever-growing capacity for knowledge. On the
walk, they had discovered she naturally kept track of every creature within her
range. It was a little bit scary for Kelly. Her baby was not only talented but
she was brilliant as well, absorbing how to do things with all her senses.

What scared Kelly was the weight of the future. Minuet was
different from everyone, even her gifted mother. There would come a day when
she would be lonely. When that day arrived, it would last forever.

Gathering Kelly under his arm, Cord had kissed her forehead
as they walked behind the little wonder, quietly reminding her that the future
was not set. If there were miracles, and her daughter was one of them, there
was always the possibility of others. Probably not exactly like Minuet, but the
world continued to surprise him, and he’d been around a damn long time.

Kelly curled her legs under her on the sofa and leaned into
Cord’s side as he draped an arm around her. Resting in his arms was an
exceedingly addictive habit. His large body surrounded her, creating the
sensation of protection. He was the embodiment of every little-girl fantasy
about knights in shining armor who rescued, protected and spoiled the princess
of his choice. She left off the slaying dragons part. As the princess in her
story, she could alter the fantasy.

Battling the lethargy of just surrendering to all that
wonderful spoiling he was doling out, Kelly decided it was a good time to
discuss a few things anyway.

“What now?” she asked, keeping the question generic in the
hopes that Minuet would not follow the conversation.

“Molly and Legion go south for a while. Just to keep an eye
on a situation we need to maintain under control,” he stated. Being sure he
used sentences that would not alarm Minuet he explained, “The three of us will
find a friend of mine. Have you ever been to Scotland?”

Kelly’s head was on his shoulder as she watched Minuet. “No,
never went up that way. Are you asking or telling? Will Legion and Molly be
okay?”

“Legion is looking forward to the trip,” Cord said. “He
likes the idea of keeping Molly warm while they take care of business. I’d like
to be asking, but that’s a luxury we don’t have. It’s something we have to do.
We need the water dragon to find his lady.” He could feel Kelly smile as he
stumbled over softening the direction into a discussion.

“I hear Scotland can be quite chilly on occasion,” she said
with studied innocence.

“So they say,” Cord agreed. “I’ll be sure to check every
inch of your body to make sure you’re not cold. Regularly. Perhaps I should say
relentlessly.”