Firestorm Forever: A Dragonfire Novel (25 page)

Reed had been exposed to earth when he hit the ground right after his death, to air as they flew, to fire as they cremated his remains. Kristofer and Arach seized his body just before it splashed into the sea and flew high again, repeating the exercise. Three times they turned their flames upon him, until finally only ash fell to touch the ocean’s surface.

Drake bowed his head and asked the Great Wyvern for mercy for his lost comrade.

Then he got to his feet with a grimace and braced himself to be carried back to the city by Theo and his team. No doubt Sloane would arrive as soon as he could.

Drake thought it encouraging that the
Slayers
hadn’t collected Reed’s body, or even to have appeared to be interested in doing so.

That they’d taken their own injured dragon hinted to him that there wasn’t a new source of the Elixir, that they were compelled to harvest it from those fallen
Slayers
who had consumed it during their lives.

Drake would take encouragement where he could.

He wasn’t a superstitious
Pyr
, but he was beginning to think that his second firestorm was challenged because of his own choices. He feared that the Great Wyvern had found him unworthy, and that Veronica would be the one to pay the price.

Which meant only that Drake had to change, and do so as quickly as possible.

Chapter Nine

Sloane arrived at Niall’s apartment the next afternoon, knowing that his disgruntled attitude showed and not caring much about it. Niall gave him a quick survey, said nothing, then led the way to Drake. The apartment stunk of
Slayer
and Elixir, filthy dark smells that turned Sloane’s stomach. That could explain Niall’s quiet manner, and Sloane supposed the residue had been carried on the
Pyr
who had fought Jorge and his minions.

Still it was revolting.

First things first. Sloane didn’t doubt that Niall would have questions, once the business of being the Apothecary of the
Pyr
was done.

Drake was in bad shape, but as stoic as Sloane would have expected. He commanded the grim
Pyr
to shift shape, then cleaned and stitched the gaping wounds in Drake’s wings. He sang the song of the Apothecary softly but with vigor, watching as the traditional chant had its effect. Drake was breathing steadily, and his eyes were narrowed slightly against the pain, but he was already at greater ease.

“If the wounds had been deeper, you’d have lost them,” Sloane noted.

“I shall have to thank Jorge for the courtesy when next we meet.”

Sloane smiled at Drake’s dry humor. It was a good sign. “You’ll probably have a lot to talk about then anyway.”

Drake exhaled a puff of smoke but said nothing more.

“You’re not the only one who has issues with that
Slayer
,” Sloane admitted as he treated the wounds with an unguent that he had formulated for the
Pyr
. He couldn’t push the destruction in his lab out of his mind. That he’d had to walk away from Sam just when things had looked promising again didn’t help his mood. “I wouldn’t mind ripping his wings off myself, but I’d finish the job.”

“It is the way of the viper to torment his victim with possibilities,” Drake said.

“Good to know that was his plan,” Sloane replied shortly. “Although right now, they’re more like impossibilities.”

“Why? What happened?” Niall asked. He was standing in the doorway, watching. “What else did Jorge do?”

Theo was pacing, obviously trying to resist the urge to fret like a mother hen and losing the battle. Drake spared him the occasional glance. Sloane resisted the urge to snap at him to be still. He knew the other
Pyr
was just worried, or maybe felt responsible. He also knew his own frustration was coloring his reactions.

“Jorge pretty much destroyed my research, and my hope of finding a cure for the Seattle virus.” Sloane shook his head. “I should have seen it coming, but he manipulated me easily. Maybe I deserve to fail for that.”

“How?” Niall asked.

Sloane heard his voice rise. “He sent those
Slayers
to attack Erik because he knew that if Erik was wounded but alive, I’d go to heal him. That meant my lab was empty, defended by dragonsmoke—but that’s no more of a barrier to him than the alarm system. He knew he wasn’t going to be interrupted.” He shook his head with disgust.

Drake’s eyes opened. “Jorge had a vial of blood tonight that he said was infected and stolen from the Apothecary of the
Pyr
.”

Sloane raised a hand and spoke with some bitterness. “That would be me.”

“He threatened to spill it over the humans gathered to watch the dragonfight,” Theo supplied.

“It would be consistent with what he did in Seattle,” Niall said.

“Yeah, well, it also ensures that I can’t stop him,” Sloane said with frustration. “Even if I come up with an antidote, I can’t test it without having a sample of the virus in my lab.” He flung out his hands. “Everything I’ve done is trashed.”

No one had anything to say to that.

Theo, Kristofer, and Arach had sustained minor injuries that didn’t really need his attention, but since Sloane was there, he took care of them anyway.

“Cup of tea?” Rox offered with a smile. “I’ve got some chai that will put a smile on anyone’s face.”

Sloane nodded agreement, smiling a little because he knew where Rox got her chai.

From him.

He sat in their small kitchen and sipped the tea, filling his nostrils with the scent of his own gardens.

Niall sat opposite him, concern in his expression.
“You’re never grumpy,”
he said in old-speak.

Sloane gave him a look.

Niall laughed at that, then sipped his own tea.
“Want to talk about it?”

“I just did,”
Sloane cleared his throat, then spoke aloud, seeing Rox hovering in the doorway and not wanting to be rude. It wasn’t as if Niall had any secrets from his mate. “The only thing I seem to be getting accomplished is cleaning up after Jorge. I never wanted to be
Slayer
staff, that’s for sure.”

“What about your research? Had you made any progress?”

“Some, but it doesn’t matter now.” Sloane shrugged, his exasperation impossible to hide. “There’s nowhere to get any more of the virus, at least not legally. I can’t help the sense that Jorge is trying to provoke me into doing something stupid.”

“Or he just wanted the virus for some scheme of his own,” Drake said from the doorway. That
Pyr
claimed a chair at the table, grimacing as he sat down.

“You should rest for a few days,” Sloane said.

“I will rest when I am dead,” Drake replied, but there was no heat in his tone. “My mate has been stolen,
again
, and it is impossible to know when Jorge will tease us again. I must be vigilant.”

Sloane and Theo exchanged a glance and he knew the younger
Pyr
would defend Drake’s back.

“I must tell you exactly what Jorge did this night,” Drake said and recounted the taunt with the vial of blood.

Sloane muttered a curse under his breath. “So, it was used to torment you.”

Drake gave him a solemn look. “I would not be surprised if he had a second purpose in mind. He did not intend to spill it last night, just to compel me to choose.”

“He must have another plan,” Theo said.

“And it involves making things worse,” Sloane agreed. “Thank the Great Wyvern that he didn’t pull the stopper and break the seal, because he might have spilled it inadvertently.”

“I do not believe he would risk using his advantage too soon,” Drake said softly.

“Then when?” Theo asked, but none of them had an answer.

“So, what are we going to do?” Sloane asked with undisguised frustration. “There’s no telling where Jorge has gone.”

“If he doesn’t want to be found, he’ll disguise his scent and Veronica’s,” Theo contributed.

“I’ll try to dreamwalk to her,” Niall said, obviously anticipating Drake’s request. “But it might not work.”

“Jorge might have let you find her before,” Theo said and Niall nodded reluctant agreement.

“I despise that we must wait for his move,” Drake murmured, and a familiar glitter lit his eyes. “There must be a way to change the course of events.”

“Well, I’m going to head home and clean up my lab,” Sloane said. “Try to stay out of fights for a while, so I can get some work done.”

Drake surveyed the kitchen. “I must speak to the boy,” he said softly.

“He’s safe,” Theo said. “I checked with the
Pyr
guarding him.”

“At least rest until tomorrow,” Sloane said, doubting that Drake would do any such thing.

“If he’s been left alone this long, then Jorge has no interest in him,” Niall said.

“And why should he?” Drake murmured. “He has won this round, and the boy is not
Pyr
.”

“It’s not over yet,” Theo said with false cheer. “The Dragon’s Tail doesn’t turn for almost another year.”

Sloane dropped his gaze to his steaming cup as the kitchen fell silent. He guessed that he wasn’t the only one with doubts about their collective future. He’d never known of a mate being lost like this, and he couldn’t help thinking it was a very bad sign.

What if Jorge
did
eliminate them all within the year?

“It’s so strange to have all these replicas of Boris Vassily appear at once,” Niall said. “It’s like Jorge has a photocopier someplace, one that makes
Slayers
.”

Sloane looked up from his tea. “Clones,” he said suddenly. “What if they’re clones?”

The other
Pyr
glanced at each other, then back at him. “How would we find out?”

“I don’t know,” Sloane said. “Maybe by dissecting one. Or two.”

“Good luck,” Theo said. “Didn’t you see that video? They’ve all had the Elixir so the survivors ate the dead one to get more.”

“Still, we might manage it,” Drake mused. “It would be worth a try, as doing so might weaken Jorge further.”

“One of them did disappear,” Sloane said. “Maybe we could find him.”

A ripple of excitement passed through the room.

“We can talk to Erik about it, spread the word,” Niall said. “We don’t know when they’re going to pop up, but when they do, we can try to keep a corpse.”

“We just have to get one to Sloane,” Theo said.

“I’d better order a chest freezer, just in case,” Sloane said, feeling a new optimism. “And do some research.” He didn’t know much about cloning, although he remembered the story of Dolly the sheep.

If a sheep could be cloned, why not a
Slayer
? It was horrifyingly plausible.

It was also possible that cloned
Slayers
might share a common weakness.

“So, let’s review the count,” Niall said. He pulled out a sheet of paper. “Two attacked Erik in Chicago, and one had its wings torn off before they disappeared. He was later eaten by the others, according to Veronica and that video.”

“Three others attacked Veronica’s home,” Drake contributed.

 
“And the one who lost an arm has vanished from the feast,” Sloane added. “We saw that in the video, too, although he could be anywhere.”

“That makes four survivors,” concluded Kristofer.

“We fought three last night,” Theo confirmed.

“And they all had both arms,” Drake concluded.

Niall tapped his pen on the paper. “I wonder about the other one. Do you think they’ve split ranks?” No one had an answer to that, although Sloane liked to think it was the case.

“They could have eaten him, too,” Kristofer noted.

“They’ve had the Elixir,” Theo agreed. “But that would also help him to heal. How quickly do you think his arm could grow back?”

“Not instantly,” Sloane said. “A major injury like that would take
some
time. I’ll guess he’s hidden somewhere, healing, or eaten.” The others nodded agreement.

“I wonder how many more clones Jorge has in the works,” Kristofer said.

“If Erik’s dream is right, we’ll find out on the next eclipse, when the blood moon ripens the eggs,” Theo concluded. “Whatever that means.”

That it was the obvious conclusion didn’t make it any more palatable. If nothing else, it renewed Sloane’s sense of urgency. “I need to get home,” he said. “If any of you can think of a way to get me the corpse of one of these clones or a sample of the Seattle virus, it might provide a clue. In the meantime, I need to restore my lab.”

But it was the prospect of paying a visit to Sam that made him want to hurry back to California.

* * *

For once, Timmy didn’t want to watch a movie with Dashiell or play a game. He watched the video of the dragons at Seaview Hospital repeatedly and compulsively. The video image was grainy and the quality was poor. The camera shook a lot and it had been filmed at night in the rain. Still, it held the answers to so many questions.

First, there was his mom. And she was okay, just like Drake said. Scared and unhappy, but alive. That was good.