Dragonslayer (Twilight of the Gods Book 3) (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

It was still dark outside when her phone rang, pulling her from a deep sleep and the comfort of Christian’s arms. The call was from the sheriff, telling her he’d been sent a video of a strange animal that he needed her to identify. He’d already sent it to her phone, and, after she disconnected the call, she pulled up the text. Even the feel of Christian’s strong, warm body behind her couldn’t dispel the cold dread that settled over her.

“What is it?” Christian propped himself up on his elbow. “Jacey, what’s wrong?”

The image of a dragon, tiny and slightly out of focus, flew across her screen. The shape of it was unmistakable. The sounds of surprise coming from the people who’d taken the video said they knew exactly what they were looking at. One of them even said it out loud right before the screen went blank.
Dragon
.

“Shit,” Christian said, throwing off the blankets and starting to rise.

“Why isn’t it under glamour?”

He frowned, reaching for his discarded clothes. “It’s not hunting and it doesn’t see us a threat.”

The glamour was a self-defense mechanism. Why hide from something that had no power to hurt you? Prey. The dragon saw them all as prey.

She started to shake. “This is bad. Really bad. I have to go.”

Jacey entered the small brick building at the end of a tree-lined street that held the county sheriff’s office. Administrative buildings had always made her feel a little bit claustrophobic. Stale air and rectangular overhead fluorescent lights. The muffled tap-tap of the keyboards and the mechanical ring of old landline phones. She was directed into a small conference room off the lobby, and she came up short when she saw Anna, the reporter from the
Gazette
, sitting at the end of the table with her laptop open. Carl was the other occupant, dressed in uniform. He’d rolled his chair over so he could see whatever Anna was looking at.

When Jacey closed the door behind her, they both looked up. Carl smiled.

“Good,” he said. “You’re here. Anna tells me you’re staying all the way out in Ragnarok. Did someone open a bed and breakfast out there? That’s quite a drive.”

She put her bag down beside an open chair and shrugged out of her coat. “It’s central to my investigation. Decorah’s actually on the outer edge of the area where we’ve received reports.”

He nodded and slid his chair over, back to where his coffee mug was waiting for him. He tipped his head toward Anna’s computer. “Did you get a chance to look at this already?”

“Only briefly and on my phone.” She walked up behind Anna and looked over her shoulder as she pressed play. If anything, the footage was more damning on a larger screen. At first, the image was tightly focused on a golden eagle, perched high in the twisted branches of a burr oak. After the eagle launched itself from the branch, the image panned out and the dragon entered the frame. Far in the distance and very out of focus at first. You could hear someone murmur in surprise, and the image jerked and then steadied. Five seconds. Only five seconds of tantalizing, not-quite-focused video, but it was enough to see that the wingspan was enormous compared to that of the eagle, and that the long, low glide of the creature before it slipped into the tree line was different from that of a bird. The tail was hardly visible at all, but Jacey imagined that if you zoomed in, you’d be able to see it.

“It’s up to twenty thousand views so far,” Anna commented, pausing the clip at a point where the outline of the dragon was most visible.

“Twenty thousand views isn’t really a lot,” Carl said.

Anna lifted an eyebrow. “Up from one thousand only an hour ago.”

Rather than argue with Anna, probably because he knew he wasn’t going to win, Carl turned to Jacey. “Well, what do you think?”

“I think it looks like a dragon.”

Carl frowned, as if that wasn’t quite the answer he’d expected. “You think it looks like a dragon.”

“It’s not, of course. It can’t possibly be, but it does look like one.” She took a seat. “Did you seriously call me in here to ask if dragons are real?”

Carl laughed, but there was an edge to it. “Of course not. But it’s something and you’re the wildlife biologist, so you tell me.” He pointed at the screen. “What is that?”

“Some kind of hoax.”

Anna crossed her arms over her chest. “A hoax?”

While Anna clearly wasn’t buying it, Carl leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands. “You’re certain of that?”

Damn
. He was already maneuvering to stick her with this if the case went bad.

“Well, no,” she said slowly. “I don’t know much about tampering with video, but I did see one of an eagle snatching a baby from a park the other day. This reminds me very much of that, actually. It’s incredible how realistic they can make these things look.”

“How do we debunk it?”

“Even if your department has an expert on staff…” There was no way they had an expert on staff. She shrugged. “People will question it. We can’t control it. It’s out there. But once people realize there are no dragons flying around over Iowa, it’ll blow over. Have you seen any?”

Carl smiled. “Well, of course not. But I’m not talking about dragons, Ms. Morgan. I want to know if it’s a natural creature that might, for example, snatch a cat or a chicken.”

“That is not a natural animal.” She nodded toward Anna’s computer, feeling a miserable little twist in her stomach when she met Anna’s skeptical gaze. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. Not outside the movies.”

Anna spoke up. “Is it possible that whoever created the video is also involved in the missing animals? The Jensons reported two sheep missing in that same area. My niece told me that some of her friends were talking about going dragon hunting this afternoon.”

Dear God
… “They can’t do that.” Both Anna and Carl looked at Jacey, clearly surprised by the vehemence of her tone. “It’s been hard enough to find evidence at any of the sites without people mucking them up.”

“Maybe they’ll see something you missed,” Anna said, without a trace of warmth.

Carl slapped his thighs and stood up. “You better get out there then. We’ll do our best to discourage people from following. Do you want me to ride along?”

She was relieved by how unenthusiastic he sounded about doing that. When she shook her head, she could almost hear his sigh of relief.

“I’ll come,” Anna said. “I’d like to see you at work, Ms. Morgan. Maybe you can catch me up on what you’ve found so far.”

Anna smiled at her, a predatory, dangerous sort of smile that reminded Jacey very much of the dragon. Jacey entertained a brief fantasy about introducing Anna to the thing. Maybe she’d have better luck handling it. But Jacey wouldn’t. She couldn’t do that to Christian or his clan. She wanted to protect rare species—the dragon, and the Æsir too. And she was well aware that sometimes the best way to protect a thing was to keep it hidden, not expose it to the world.

She forced herself to smile at Anna. “You’re more than welcome to come along. You’ll have to drive separately, though. I’m not coming back here tonight.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Christian stabbed his fingers through his hair and ignored the worried look Fen shot him as they pulled into Aiden’s driveway.

“What the Hel is your problem today?” Fen asked with equal parts concern and exasperation, as they climbed out of the car.

“Nothing.” Except for the fact that he couldn’t seem to shake the image of Jacey sleeping in his arms, trusting and sated, with her flyaway hair sticking up all over the place. Knowing it was the last time he was likely to see her like that made it impossible for him to focus on anything today. But he wasn’t about to share that with anyone, not even with Fen.

“Why do you ask?”

Fen’s brows shot up. “Are you serious? I had to say your name three times to pull you out of whatever daydream you were lost in.”

“I don’t daydream.”

“It’s the girl, isn’t it?” Fen studied his face for a minute and then shook his head. “Shit, Christian, I told you to keep your hands off her.”

Yeah. Everyone had. Since he didn’t need to hear it again, he blocked out most of the lecture, and when Fen paused to draw breath, he cut him off. “I’m worried about the video getting out, but I’m glad Jacey’s out of town so we can take care of this before she gets back.”

“Kill the dragon, you mean.” Fen’s eyes narrowed. “Before Jacey knows what’s going on.”

Fen jogged up the steps to Aiden’s front porch, and Christian followed. Through the glass in the door, he could see Aiden saying goodbye to Grace, so he waited to knock. “She’s already done more than enough. There’s no reason she has to be here. She nearly got herself killed yesterday.”

“She made it.”

“Luck,” Christian said. “It would be disastrous if something happened to her here. It would draw more attention our way.”

Fen leaned his hip against the railing while they waited. “You were in such a hurry yesterday you left your father’s sword behind.”

His father had been strict about such things. The warrior code he’d passed on to his son, sometimes with the flat of his hand. He’d been strict about everything—bloodlines and tradition and duty to the clan. “You’re looking too much into it.”

Fen’s eyes narrowed in speculation. “Yeah? Then tell me the truth, what’s going on with you and Jacey?”

“Nothing. We take care of the dragon and she goes back to her old life.” Or she went out and found a new one. He hoped she did that. She deserved more than what she’d accepted for herself. She kept risking herself for other people, and as far as he could tell there wasn’t anyone else out there to catch her fall.

“And you’re fine with that,” Fen said.

“The alternative being what? Freeze her body like a statue and stick her outside the library?” Christian looked away from Fen’s searching look, out toward the barn and the icy, barren fields beyond that. Miles and miles of nothing. “Of course I’ll let her go. She doesn’t belong here.”

Fen shifted his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets. “You say that like it’s some kind of law. It’s not, you know. There are plenty of half-bloods running around.”

“Not in my line.”

Fen gave him an odd look. “Now that sounds exactly like something your father would have said. Tradition isn’t law. If it were then you’d be married to Rocky right now. I’d be the miserable one and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Just leave it alone,” he warned quietly, but Fen wasn’t going to do that. Christian recognized the expression on his friend’s face, and it belonged more to a mule than a hound.

“I’m just saying it doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve seen you with a lot of women, but I’ve never seen you act like this.”

“Like what?”

“Distracted. Frustrated. Reckless. You’re the one who always stays calm and in control. You don’t hesitate when you have your prey at the end of your blade. You don’t make mistakes that nearly get you killed. You’re almost irritatingly consistent about everything. Until now. So, if there’s more to you and Jacey than just sex—”

Christian gave a sharp laugh. “Then what? I keep her here in the middle of nowhere surrounded by people who won’t accept her because she wasn’t born clan. Ask her to give up everything for this? I’m not that fucking selfish.”

“No,” Fen said softly. “You’ve never been selfish. Have you talked to her?”

“You’re seeing things that aren’t there. I met her last week. Maybe I just needed someone new in my bed.”

“Sounds likely, and yet…” Fen tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “For some reason, I don’t quite believe it. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re scared.”

“You’re about to get a fist in your face.”

“You can try it.” Fen spread his hands. “Go ahead and take a swing if you need to blow off steam. I’ll go easy on you.”

Christian might have done just that if it wouldn’t prove Fen’s point about him being unhinged. “She’s not interested.”

“Not interested in you? I think you’re mistaken about that. She can hardly—”

“She’s not interested in staying. She has plans for her life that don’t include me or staying here in the middle of nowhere.”

The smile faded from Fen’s face. “Shit. I didn’t even think—”

He shouldn’t have said anything. The last thing Christian wanted was more pity. He wanted… Hel, he didn’t know what he wanted anymore. Fen looked like he was thinking about giving him a hug, and before that could happen, Christian said, “Your wife asked me to be your sperm donor.”

He wished the words back as soon as he’d said them. Fen’s mouth snapped closed, and he jerked his gaze away—but not before Christian saw the hurt look on his face.

“She asked you that,” Fen said flatly.

“I don’t think she meant for it to come out.”

Fen laughed, short and hard. “So easy for something like that just to slip out during the course of a normal conversation. What did you say?”

“I said no.” He considered that Raquel might just kill him for bringing this up with Fen. Or turn him into a toad. Or seal his tongue to the roof of his mouth. “You want a baby?”

“No,” Fen said immediately, but then winced. “I don’t know. Maybe. Not now. Sure as Hel not with Kamis living in our spare room. I don’t even think Raquel really wants a baby now, she wants…”

“She wants the possibility,” Christian said, guessing but knowing as soon as he said it that he was right. “I can’t be the father.” Saying it out loud only reinforced his decision. “I can’t do that. I don’t want to.”

He braced himself for Fen’s response. He didn’t like to let people down. It was probably his duty to continue his bloodline, but screw that. Last year had been enough of a strain on his friendship with Fen and Raquel, and going through with this would only make it worse. They were his friends and he wasn’t giving them up to duty. Fen only nodded. “Good.”

“You’re not disappointed?”

Fen flashed him a smile. “That you’re not going to knock up my wife? No. We’re not ready for that. Not yet. Raquel wants to explore our options, but bringing it up now is just a distraction.” He rubbed his face. “I need to get that witch out of my house.”

Christian smiled. “I’m going to assume you’re talking about Kamis. He can stay in Wendy’s old place. The Heggs are only renting it until the addition’s done on their place. It’ll be open next month.”

“I can’t afford that and Kamis can’t—”

“I can find work for Kamis.” Christian shrugged. “I’m not particularly worried about the money. There aren’t a lot of people looking to rent here. Or buy, for that matter. I’d rather someone use it than it sit empty.”

Fen nodded. “Thanks, then. Yes. I’ll take you up on that one. You’re sure?”

“Of course. It’s not like you’re asking me for my firstborn child or anything.”

Fen rolled his eyes at that and clapped Christian on the shoulder as another car pulled into the driveway, bringing three more of the hounds.

“Call me the second the Heggs are out, and we’ll be there.”

Fen left him to greet the hounds, and while he was distracted, Christian left to ready the horses. Checking hooves and lifting saddles helped to clear his mind. The routine was good, soothing. And if his thoughts kept wandering to images of Jacey nude in his bed, her soft skin flushed with color, her eyes shining as she lifted her arms to welcome him, well, it was like any other daydream. The only power it had over him was what he allowed.

By the time they were mounted and ready to move out, he felt close to normal again. Aiden looked up at the sky. White-gray clouds formed a solid roof over their heads.

“The storm is here,” he said, as if it were a personal affront. “I hoped to hold it off longer. It was too strong for me to turn aside.”

Even as the rest of the hunt gathered behind them, the snow began to fall. Dainty flakes floating down from the pale sky. Rane sat on a branch above their heads. When Aiden nodded, she launched herself from the tree to join her sister, already circling overhead. The hunt moved forward, leaving the shelter of Aiden’s yard and riding into the open fields behind his home.

As soon as they were past the pine trees surrounding Aiden’s house, the wind caught them full on. Christian didn’t turn away from it. The cold had never really bothered him, not like it did Jacey, or even Grace, who wore a parka over her armor and a facemask that made her look like a ninja. The bitter wind scoured away the memories clinging to him like cobwebs. Rane and Elin arrowed through the blue sky. The hounds spread out to scout the way ahead. The mounted huntsmen and women following behind. Here he was exactly who he was supposed to be—not vulnerable and uncertain, but strong and blessed by Odin, with a gift for battle that had never failed him.

They passed silently to the lake where Ben had scented the dragon on his morning patrol. He’d said he thought the creature was taunting them by returning so soon, but Christian doubted that was its intention. The dragon was probably as unhappy to share its territory with them as they were to have it there. That was why it had started hunting at the edge of their territory, in a ring right around Ragnarok. From the beginning, it must have known to avoid the heart of their town. It would have sensed the magic of the people there and gone after easier prey first, building its strength before considering a confrontation.

Raquel nudged her horse closer. She smiled uncertainly at him. “Third time’s a charm, right?”

“You would know,” Christian said. “I don’t think the first time really counted. There were only a handful of us there and we weren’t ready for it. We’re prepared now.”

“Prepared might be an overstatement.” Her face pinched in a frown. “We have another spell to try out, since the last one didn’t work so well.”

“It worked. The dragon came. That was your job. We’re the ones who didn’t hold up our part of the bargain.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “The spell summoned the dragon but didn’t anchor it like it was supposed to. The warrior was a complication no one anticipated. And the thing with the portal… Well, maybe we should have seen it coming, but we didn’t.” She hesitated a beat. “Was Jacey spooked?”

“Not as much as she should have been. She doesn’t spook easy.”

“I’ve noticed,” Raquel said. “She’s risking a lot by keeping her silence. It would’ve been the easiest thing in the world for her to pass this problem on to somebody else. She looks like a stiff breeze would blow her over. I didn’t expect her to take on a dragon. Didn’t really expect her to take on you, either.”

She hadn’t really, not for more than a few days. “Raquel…”

“Sorry.” She wrinkled her nose. “I won’t pry.”

“Yeah? You’d be the only one.”

“Well, Æsir aren’t really known for their restraint. Or for keeping their opinions to themselves.”

That was the truth. At least everyone had stopped asking him when he was going to start dating again. They’d sped right through warning him off Jacey to reluctant acceptance. That was almost worse, because it left room for a hope he had no business entertaining.

His clan was his family. They were his friends. The only people who could possibly understand what it was like to live in a world that wasn’t really your home. They were all trapped here together, and most days, that was okay. There was no other group of people he’d rather be trapped with. He loved them and would die for any one of them in a heartbeat. He wanted their happiness above his own. Some days it chafed, but this feeling would pass. He knew it would. Jacey would leave. It would hurt and then things would eventually go back to normal.

They moved at a brisk pace, passing from the empty fields into the low brush, and finally the forest that surrounded the lake and the portal. The woods were warded with something like the spell that protected the town itself. It wouldn’t stop someone who was looking for it from finding it, but it would subtly repel their attention. Keep them from taking a second look, or asking too many questions about the odd patch of forest in the middle of acres of farmland. It was rocky land here, far rockier than the rest of the state, and there were tracts of forest here and there, especially around the rivers. Even if someone did look twice, they likely wouldn’t question it too closely. So far, they’d escaped notice. There was no reason to believe that they wouldn’t continue to do so indefinitely. Provided they didn’t let something like a dragon draw attention their way.