Flames, p.2
Flames, page 2
“Well, her name’s Juliet,” said Naelen. “Not that it matters, because I’m going to do my best not to see her.”
Penny nodded. “It is easier when you’re not in each other’s presence.” Then she looked down at her knees. “But it’s still very hard.”
No one said anything.
Penny looked up. She turned to Naelen and then to me. “Look, I’m pulling for you guys, I really am, but I think you both need to realize that what you’re attempting to do… no one does it.”
“I know,” said Naelen in a tight voice. “Let’s talk about the Order.”
“No one?” I said.
She ran her fingers over the arm of the couch. “Well, I mean, I’ve known gay dragons who meet their mate, and then do end up with a gay lover on the side, because the bond doesn’t completely fulfill them, but it’s still so powerful that they don’t try to live without their mate.”
“I’m not going to be the lover on the side,” I said.
“Of course not,” said Naelen. “Seriously, Penny, the Order?”
“Uh, right.” She took a deep breath. “What do you guys want to know?”
“What are they?” I said.
“The Order of Rasmossen and Wolffe,” she said. “They are basically a traveling magical jail. They lock up very powerful, very destructive magical creatures, and then they are able to siphon that power away from the prisoners and into the members of the Order. That makes them insanely powerful. They’ve got all this stolen magic at their fingertips.”
“Wow,” I said sarcastically. “So, nothing like dealing with something easy for once.”
“Why are you guys trying to tangle with them?” said Penny.
“They have one of the magical objects,” I said. “They want the rest of them. They say that they want to take them away and lock them up for safekeeping, but they sound a little sketchy to us. Maybe it would be better for them to have the objects than it would for Cunningham to have them. Or maybe it would be worse. They compelled our friend Eden to give them the object against her will.”
“Which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in them, if you know what I mean,” said Naelen.
“Well, when I worked with them, there was a woman in charge named Darla Tell,” said Penny. “But she was ultimately corrupted by the power of one particular prisoner that was in the Order, and we had to fight her. She’s currently locked up in Roxbone.” Roxbone was a prison for magical creatures.
“Yeah, Eden said something like that,” said Naelen. “She said that there was a management change.”
“Actually,” I said, “she said that the replacement for Darla Tell had been more of the same, so they’d cleaned house.”
“Hmm,” said Penny. “Well, it could be a completely different group of people in there now. For what it’s worth, I think they mean well, but I don’t think concentrating all the power in one place is a good idea.”
“Too dangerous,” said Naelen. “That was our thought. We don’t think the objects should be with a group of already-powerful beings. Powerful people need to be kept in check by other powerful beings, not given the keys to the kingdom so that they can run roughshod over everyone else.”
“Oh, I agree,” said Penny.
“So, how do we find the Order?” I said.
“Um…” Penny considered. “Well, we didn’t go looking for them before. They came looking for us.”
“Maybe Eden knows where they are,” said Naelen. “We’ll have to check with her.”
“How did you end up beating Darla Tell when she had all that magic?” I asked.
“The blood bond,” said Penny. “I think we used whiteflame. But we barely knew what it was back then. If you guys don’t have something like that—”
“I have that monocle Dasher gave me,” I said.
“Oh, right,” said Penny. “You said you can see magical threads with it?”
“Yeah, and unravel them,” I said. “I can undo any magic that I see.”
“Sounds like that might come in handy,” said Penny.
“She’s leaving out the part where it completely drains her of energy and makes her pass out,” said Naelen.
I wrinkled up my nose. That part did suck. “Unless I drink dragon blood,” I said. “Which is seriously the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted.”
“Oh, sorry about that,” said Penny. “It does sound pretty gross.” A beat. “So, um, is there anything else you guys want to know about the Order?”
“I guess we’re just going to have to go in and feel them out,” I said.
“That’s pretty much what I had to do,” said Penny. “One tip, though, is that they tend to sort of magically inhabit buildings. The inside of the building won’t match the outside. They’ll set up shop and make the interior however they need it due to magic. So, if you happen on a really tiny building, it could still be them.”
“Good to know,” said Naelen. “Other than that…?”
“Yeah, I think we’re out of questions,” I said.
“Okay, well good luck,” said Penny, standing up.
I stood up too.
She gave me a hug. “I really want things to work out between you two,” she whispered to me. Releasing me, she turned to Naelen and hugged him too. “Really, really want it to work out.”
He smiled at her, holding her at arms’ length. “Well, it will.”
She hesitated.
“Something else?” said Naelen.
“It’s only… we had a conversation back in Texas you and me?” Penny said to Naelen. “We were talking about when you fight and when you have to accept your fate?”
“Yeah, I remember,” said Naelen.
“I told you that I didn’t do much accepting at all.”
“Right,” he said. “You said that you fought against everything that you didn’t want in your life. And it’s paid off, Penny.”
“It has,” she said. “My dreams have come true in many ways. But… there have also been consequences. I’ve descended so far into darkness that I wasn’t sure I could get out. And when we were fighting the Green King, I nearly died. I had gotten to the point where I couldn’t fight anymore, and I was making my peace with the fact that I was passing on. I was accepting my fate. And then Lachlan saved me. But if he hadn’t been there, I’d be dead.”
“Thank goodness for having someone you love in your life,” said Naelen. “Thank goodness you fought for him.”
She nodded. “That’s true. But… I guess what I’m saying is that if you go down this path, there will be consequences. Destiny doesn’t let go without a fight, you understand? And sometimes the price you pay is a heavy one.”
CHAPTER THREE
My sister Gina lived and worked at the Magnolia Center, which was a rehab facility in Sea City. Their specialty was getting magical creatures clean from drugs, and they were pricey. They did a lot of business with wealthy dragon clients, and they were the best. I’d never been able to afford the place until Naelen waltzed into my life and offered me a lot of money for my help. I’d taken that money to help Gina.
And it was amazing what this place had done for her. She had completely turned her life around. My sister used to be strung out on dice all the time. (Dice was a magical drug made of dried and powdered dragon flesh. It was sold in pills.) It was the most important thing to her, and she couldn’t hold down a job or pay rent or take care of herself, because everything was always sacrificed in attempt to get more dice. I used to let her crash with me until she started stealing my stuff, and then I’d have to kick her out for a while. Occasionally, she’d make attempts to get clean, but nothing ever stuck.
A few weeks at the Magnolia Center, though, and Gina was singing a completely different tune. Sure, it was a slightly creepy, faux spiritual tune about white and pristine purity or some crazy crap like that. But I didn’t care if she thought she had a white light in her if it made her stop destroying her life. I didn’t personally subscribe to hokey stuff like that, but it was harmless, near as I could tell.
We met her in her new place, which was a room in the Magnolia Center where staff lived. The rooms were pretty ascetic, just a single bed swathed in white sheets and blankets and a white trunk for her belongings. There wasn’t even a mirror in the room. But she did have a balcony that overlooked the bay. (Sea City was located on a peninsula with the ocean on one side and the bay on the other.)
We sat out on the bay drinking water with cucumber slices, which was all they apparently drank in this place. Cucumbers, once peeled, were white, Gina explained, and “the pristine color inspires purity within us.”
Weird sayings or not, the cucumber water was good.
Gina brushed her hand over her scales. “It’s so good to see you, Clarke. It’s been since Christmas. I was getting worried.”
I suddenly felt ashamed. The truth was that I’d been held captive by that psycho Cunningham for four months, and Gina didn’t know that. I hadn’t called her when we’d gotten free or anything. I used to feel like it was me and my sister against the world, but we weren’t as close as we used to be. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ve just been…”
“Busy?” she said. “Yeah, I know how that is. I’ve actually been very busy too. Logan’s not with you?”
I shook my head. “Uh, the thing with Logan—”
“Oh, you don’t have to explain. I know Logan,” she said. “He gets antsy. He’s always got to be on the move.”
“Right,” I said. Maybe it was easier that way.
She smiled brightly at Naelen. “And how are you?”
“Good,” said Naelen.
“Good,” said Gina. She took a sip of her cucumber water.
“Listen, um,” said Naelen, “the reason we’re here is…” He drew in a deep breath, and I could tell he was trying to figure out how to phrase the request.
“Oh, I thought you were just coming to visit,” said Gina.
I felt ashamed again. “We are. I am. I…” Damn it. “Look, the truth is that there’s this evil vampire running around—”
“There’s always an evil vampire, Clarke,” said Gina.
“This one’s particularly bad,” I said. “We have to stop him. Once we cut off his head, I’ll have more time for you again, I swear. We—”
“I’m not upset with you,” said Gina. “Truthfully, my duties here at the Magnolia Center take up quite a bit of time. So, even if you were more available, it’s likely I’d be unavailable. It’s hard to coordinate schedules sometimes.”
“Right,” I said, nodding.
“What can I do for you?” Gina smiled at both of us. “I’d be happy to help in any way I can.”
“We need to know where to buy dice,” I said.
Gina’s eyebrows shot up.
“It’s not… what you think,” I said. “It’s, um, well, I have this monocle.” I took it out to show it to her. “It allows me to see the threads that make up any magic. I can unravel that magic, but it takes a lot out of me, and so I need to either drink dragon blood or eat dragon flesh. Dragon blood is straight-up nasty, but I know that dice comes in handy little capsules, so it’s probably my best option.”
Gina pressed her lips together and then parted them, absorbing this.
“I know you don’t like to think about that part of your life,” I said.
She set down her glass of cucumber water on a small white table and got up. She went to the edge of the balcony and clasped the railing. “You’ve never taken dice, Clarke. You don’t know how it affects a person.”
“Well, I know it’ll make me high,” I said. “But that’s just a chance I’ve got to take.”
She shook her head. “It’s not like a high, not exactly. There’s no slurred speech or hallucinations or anything like that. It’s like swallowing a bolt of courage, and you’re suddenly unafraid of anything. All the things you ever wanted to do but couldn’t, because something held you back? On dice, it’s all possible. And you try to do them. Sometimes you succeed. But mostly… you die. And then you become a drake like me, and the addiction becomes both psychological and physical, because my body craves dragon meat. I can stay alive with other meat, but it’s never the same.”
“I know all this, Gina.”
“You know it, but you don’t truly understand what it’s like,” she said, turning back to look at me, the wind fluttering her hair away from her face.
“Look, I can’t drink dragon blood again,” I said. “I almost vomited, and besides, there’s nowhere to get it except from, well, Naelen, and I can’t just be cutting him and draining his blood all the time.”
She turned to Naelen. “How is it better to get dice from a dealer? That’s just one of your kind killed for profit.”
“Actually, very rarely is dice from a shifter,” said Naelen. “It’s usually from a rogue.”
Of course, hadn’t I just been thinking about how there were less rogues in the world lately?
“A what?” said Gina.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “The dice isn’t from a dragon with a soul.”
“Look,” she said, “it’s been a long time since I was traveling in those circles. I can’t even be sure that the dealers I knew about are still on the street.”
“Well, if it doesn’t pan out, then we’ll try another plan,” I said. “But we’ve got to start somewhere.”
She sighed. “You’re determined, aren’t you?”
I nodded.
She came and sat back down. “Well, there was one guy who was pretty stable. He was my go-to guy, when I couldn’t find it cheaper somewhere else. He always set up shop at the George Washington park on the south side of the city.”
I wrinkled up my nose. “The GW park? That’s the sketchy one.” There were parks in town you didn’t take kids too. The GW park had the worst reputation. They’d found bodies buried there.
“Yes, it’s sketchy because of the drug deals that go down there,” she said. “The guy’s name is Bailey. I don’t know whether that’s a first or last name. It’s all I ever called him.”
* * *
Naelen and I walked across the parking lot toward the George Washington park. It was tucked back away from the main drag of Sea City, Atlantic Avenue, right on the bay. Compared to some of the other parks in town, it was in pretty bad shape. No one had made much attempt with this place in years.
There was a baseball diamond with a falling-down dugout. Flanking it was a swing set, only the swings didn’t have seats anymore, so it was just a metal structure with chains hanging off of it. There was a slide too.
A couple of drakes, both with blue scales, were sitting under the slide talking in animated fast-paced voices.
We stopped in front of them.
They looked up, saw us, and scrambled to their feet.
“We don’t want no trouble with cops,” said one.
“We’re not cops,” I said.
“Maybe you’re not, but that one?” The drake pointed at Naelen. “That one’s a cop.”
“I’m not,” said Naelen. “I’m actually just a man trying to score some dice. You guys know Bailey?”
The two drakes exchanged a look and then took off running.
We watched them go and then turned to survey the rest of the park, which looked empty.
Naelen looked down at his clothing. He was wearing a designer suit, but he’d foregone the tie, which was practically casual for him. “Why do they think I look like a cop?”
“Gee,” I said, “I wonder.”
“No, seriously,” he said. “A cop wouldn’t wear something this expensive.”
I shook my head at him. “You’re horrible, really.” Naelen did have some actual casual clothes, which he usually donned when we were hunting monsters. Lot easier to move in jeans than in dress pants. I should have insisted he wear them. I hadn’t been thinking.
“I don’t see what’s horrible about knowing the cut of a quality suit,” he said.
I spied someone sitting in the dugout, back in the shadows. “Let’s go talk to that guy.”
“Fine,” said Naelen.
We trudged over there.
The person in the dugout was also a drake. He had green scales that curled around his cheekbones and a shock of green coarse hair coming out of the top of his head. His eyes were green too—a bright, glowing green.
“Hi there,” I said. “Do you know Bailey?”
“Who wants to know?” said the drake in a gravelly voice. He looked Naelen up and down. “I’d ask if you were a cop, but even a cop wouldn’t be so stupid as to come down here looking like that.”
“We’re just looking to conduct a simple business transaction,” said Naelen. “There’s no reason to be rude.”
The drake snorted. “A business transaction, hmm?”
“Look, do you know Bailey or not?” I said.
“Sure,” said the drake. “I mean, I’m Bailey.”
“Oh, good,” said Naelen, smoothing the lapel on his suit jacket. “Well, then, we’d like to purchase some dice. We can discuss agreeable compensation if you like, but I understand the market value is about twenty dollars per capsule, and I’m prepared to pay something in that range.”
Bailey’s eyes widened and then he doubled over laughing.
I glared at Naelen. “You know what, maybe you should let me handle this?”
Naelen glared at Bailey. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”
Bailey straightened, gasping for breath. “Oh, brother, I gotta say, you are a trip. Agreeable compensation? Man, I have heard it all now.”
“I want to pay you,” said Naelen. “You give me dice, I give you cash. That better?”
“Louder, please,” said Bailey. “I’m not sure they heard you across the park.”
Naelen flushed, and I wasn’t sure if it was out of embarrassment or anger. Maybe both.
I stepped between him and Bailey, facing Bailey. “This doesn’t have to go on any longer than this. Do you have what we’re looking for or not?”
