Darkfire Kiss (32 page)

“
This is stupid
,” Sloane protested in old-speak, but the other pair ignored him.

“
You still love Kay
,” Erik said softly.
“How will killing me fix that?”

“You showed her what I am! You ruined everything!”
Brandt struck Erik again and again, and Erik tasted his own blood.

“
And what exactly will this deed teach your son?
” Erik asked.

Brandt paused then, panting as he hovered beside Erik. Erik could feel his consternation and concern.
“What have you told him? Is it your fault that he’s turned against me?”

“I only sense his mood. I am not responsible for it.”

“
Liar!
” Brandt would have launched himself again at Erik, but Sloane caught at his tail. Brandt flailed at his cousin, but Sloane was stern.

“You solve nothing with this. Your anger stands in the way of a solution.”

Brandt’s eyes blazed.
“There can be no solution, when we are led so poorly that we are all revealed.”

“
That can’t be changed
,” Sloane interjected.
“But perhaps it can be used to further our mission.”

“What do you mean?”
Both Brandt and Erik turned to the Apothecary, who was looking down. Erik saw the clouds parting far below and became aware of great turmoil in the city beneath them.

“
Aren’t we supposed to safeguard humans as one of the treasures of the earth?
” Sloane asked.
“Listen. There are greater issues here than our broken oaths.”

The sound of screams rose clearly to the
Pyr
, whose hearing ensured that they were aware of all the humans in pain.

“
You were wrong
,” Brandt said, his gaze still simmering.

“I believed it necessary to break my word in order to warn you.”
Erik extended his talon to Brandt.
“We can argue, or we can make a difference.”

“
We can achieve more together than apart
,” Sloane said, and Brandt exhaled a stream of smoke.

He was still angry, but his frustration was tempered. The younger
Pyr
glanced downward.
“Will you help me with my son?”

Erik smiled.
“You had only to ask.”
They grasped claws, in tentative accord once again.

Then the trio dove down toward the city. Erik was shocked by the sight of the gates of the Thames Barrier opening. It couldn’t have been the choice of anyone running it, because the river was so high. It took only a glimpse to realize that the water would flood the city.

Erik heard the song of Magnus and knew that the
Slayer
had caused this somehow. “We have to force it back!” he shouted as he pointed. The three
Pyr
dove toward the Thames Barrier, descending out of the sky like three plumed arrows.

One was black and pewter, like the moon’s light; one was as orange and gold as the sun; and the third was the magical, changeable hue of tourmalines.

Together, they would halt the tide.

“Dragons, dragons, all the world is wild for dragons today,” Juliane said. “Here’s a report from a bystander, with video shot from a cell phone. It shows three dragons, forcing shut the Thames Barrier. The barrier had been closed against high water, keeping London from flooding, but an apparent malfunction caused it to open just moments ago. As you can see in this footage, these dragons appeared out of nowhere to save the city from flooding. This is incredible.”

“I have a remote link to some staff from the barrier control,” Doug said into Melissa’s ear. “You can’t get there fast enough, but I want you to do the interview. Okay?”

Melissa wondered why Doug had made such a choice. Usually the anchor did these kinds of interviews, but she wasn’t going to argue about more airtime. She heard Doug tell the cameraman to get the smoke billowing from the subway station behind her for the shot, and she listened to the anchor filling the gap.

“We have with us a gentleman, whom we’re going to call Larry, who is speaking with us in confidence about incidents inside the Thames Barrier control room,” Juliane said. “Melissa Smith will be talking to Larry. Melissa?”

“Thanks, Juliane. Larry, can you tell us why you’re speaking anonymously?”

“It’s on account of what I saw,” he said, his voice sounding odd as it went through a mixer to disguise his identity. “I don’t want anyone saying I’m crazy. I could lose my job.”

“And what did you see, Larry?”

“Two dragons. They were there in the control room. One of the guys noticed that it was those same two, the two that were fighting in that YouTube video. The opal one and the green one. We thought that opal one was trying to kill the green one, and we tried to help.” Larry gave a self-deprecating laugh. “But we had it backward. The green one opened the barrier. He was trying to kill all of us, everyone in the city, and the opal one was trying to kill him instead. Nearly did it, too. Then the green one, well…”

“What did the green one do, Larry?”

“He, uh, turned into a salamander and disappeared. The opal one wasn’t very happy, but he kind of shimmered blue, and then he was gone, too. If it weren’t for everything smashed, we might have thought we were seeing things. As it was, the barrier was open, putting the whole city at risk.”

So Rafferty was still alive, still fighting Magnus, and the fight had moved to another venue. Melissa wondered where, but she kept on the track of the interview.

“But bystanders say that three dragons closed the barrier,” she said to Larry.

“Yeah. Three different ones. One was black, one was orange, and the other was kind of purple and green. We saw them, too.” Larry exhaled. “I tell you, it’s like something out of a movie.”

“And the barrier is closed again? The city is safe?”

“Yes. It’s designed to stay put if there’s a power failure, but that green dragon opened it before shorting it out. That meant we couldn’t close it again. Anyway, all’s well that ends well, right?” Larry exhaled heavily. “I think I need a pint.”

Melissa laughed. “I think you deserve one, Larry. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.” She turned to the camera again. “It appears, Juliane, that the aftershocks of the earthquake have stopped here in Hampstead and things are returning to normal. Although emergency crews are still extinguishing fires and providing care to the injured, it seems that we are over the worst of it. The river has been restrained again, and we hope that this is the end of traumatic events in London today. Melissa Smith, reporting from London.”

“Thank you, Melissa,” Juliane said crisply. “May I say it’s good to have you back on the team again.”

The warm words took Melissa by surprise, and she hoped she hid her sudden tears. “Thank you, Juliane. It’s good to be back.”

“We take you now to another story we’ve been following, again at the impetus of Melissa Smith. Yesterday we told you about allegations regarding Magnus Montmorency and his possible link to illegal arms dealing. We showed you some of the evidence gathered by Melissa against Mr. Montmorency, and our crime reporter, Trevor Mulholland, has been following this story. Trevor, I understand that police have searched the Washington, DC–area home of Mr. Montmorency, with a warrant.”

“That’s true, Juliane, although they’re not saying what evidence has been found. They have issued an All Points Bulletin for Mr. Montmorency, who is considered armed and dangerous, and my contact within the police noted that Interpol was involved. This indicates that they have some reason to believe that Mr. Montmorency has left the country. Certainly no one in his neighborhood is admitting to having seen him recently….”

Rafferty found himself in a cave he knew well. Again, the nausea nearly overwhelmed him, but he had no time to indulge his weakness. Donovan was fighting with Jorge on the far side of the cave, although he appeared to be losing against the
Slayer
’s violent assault. The Sleeper yawned on his stone platform in the middle. He stretched, sighed, and closed his eyes again.

A green salamander was scampering toward the Sleeper.

Rafferty wasn’t certain of Magnus’s plan, but he couldn’t let the old
Slayer
touch his nephew. Magnus was unsteady on his feet, bleeding openly from several wounds, and his tail was broken off. He staggered, but he made a definite course toward the Sleeper.

Rafferty himself was in human form and weakened, as well. He wasn’t sure he had the power to shift form again, much less to move through space. He had to solve this immediately. He couldn’t afford to be tricked by Magnus again. He seized a stone and lunged after the salamander, then smashed the rock down on the small reptile.

Magnus screamed so vehemently that Jorge and Donovan froze to stare. Jorge’s eyes glittered with anticipation, but Rafferty didn’t look away from the broken salamander. Magnus writhed, his bones broken so that he couldn’t scurry away.

“So close,” he whispered, his voice no more than a hissing whisper. “So close.”

Rafferty smashed his body again, and this time when he lifted the stone, Magnus didn’t move.

“Four elements,” Donovan said, reminding Rafferty of the ritual required to ensure that any
Pyr
stayed dead. Magnus had to be exposed to all four elements within a half day of his demise. There was water on the stone floor of the cave, and his guts were sufficiently mingled with both that exposure was certain. There was air in the chamber. Rafferty raised a finger, uncertain he could supply the last element. Donovan decked Jorge, then turned to breathe fire in a long unbroken stream. The flames blackened the green of the small salamander.

Jorge grinned, watching Donovan. Rafferty didn’t have time to wonder why.

He had to be sure that his old foe was dead.

When the flames faded, Magnus began to cycle between forms. He was a dead salamander one second, then a broken and bleeding man, then a shattered dragon. He cycled more and more rapidly, switching so quickly that he blurred before Rafferty’s eyes. In all forms, he was faded and broken, his blood running black.

The dragon form was his last, stretched limply across the cavern. Lifeless, finally. Rafferty held his breath and waited for some trickery.

Instead, his own challenge coin rolled across the floor of the cave. It spun before him, then fell on its side with a clatter, the gold shining in the darkness.

Rafferty bent down and picked up the coin, running his thumb across the face that had been turned up. His challenge coin was a gold English coin from the mid-fifteenth century, known as an “angel.” On one side was the image of the sun with rays and a cross. The side that had been facing upward showed St. George spearing the dragon.

Rafferty kissed the coin, knowing his challenge was over, knowing the demon had been slain.

“Lunch is on,” Jorge said with satisfaction, and fell on Magnus’s corpse. Before Rafferty could speak or intervene, Jorge ripped out the throat of the fallen
Slayer
and began to eat.

He cast a glittering glance at Rafferty and then at Donovan. “Don’t even think of disturbing me or I’ll add to the meal.”

“But why?” Donovan asked in horror.

“Magnus is the last source of the Elixir,” Jorge declared, then sucked the innards from Magnus’s chest. He ate with gusto, the black blood flowing over his chin, and Rafferty couldn’t stand to watch.

If Jorge had more Elixir, he’d be more powerful. What they had to do was escape from the cave with the Sleeper, while they could. Rafferty was so tired that he could hardly think straight. How could he carry the Sleeper to safety?

The Sleeper, in that moment, sat up and rubbed his eyes, casting a disinterested glance at Jorge. When he glanced toward Rafferty, he smiled sleepily. Rafferty took his hand, urging him on, but the Sleeper had trouble standing on his own feet.

“
Use your powers
,” Rafferty said to Donovan in old-speak.

Donovan nodded agreement, then held Rafferty’s gaze. Rafferty understood that Donovan expected him to use his own powers.

To distract Jorge.

Donovan came and lifted the Sleeper from Rafferty’s side. That
Pyr
smiled, his expression dreamy, and collapsed on Donovan’s shoulder. He dozed again, clearly reluctant to awaken after so long.

Donovan carried the Sleeper into the tunnel that led to the cottage Rafferty had given him centuries before. Jorge ate greedily, glancing after Donovan with one eye. Rafferty held his ground, as if content to watch the
Slayer.

Rafferty knew Donovan would defend Alex and Nick and the Sleeper, as well as ensure his own survival.

Rafferty would wait to ensure that Jorge didn’t pursue them.

There was a brilliant shimmer of blue as Donovan shifted shape; then he was gone. Jorge snarled, hauling his kill so that he blocked the exit. “You’re not going anywhere,” Jorge said.

Rafferty smiled and leaned on the stone slab, apparently at ease.

Jorge paused, uncertain. He chewed. He looked around. He seemed to sense a trick but couldn’t figure it out.

Then he returned to his meal, his eyes glittering.

Rafferty heard Donovan flee toward the cottage. Then he heard Donovan begin to sing to the elements he could command as Warrior.

Just as Rafferty had instructed him. Those elements responded so quickly, that they might have anticipated the summons. Rafferty felt the earth begin to jump in time to Donovan’s song. He saw the water on the floor of the cavern dance with the rhythm.

Jorge halted his feast to look around.