Dragon 2 Chapter 28 (Patreon)

I felt awkward walking into a room with Jadelyn’s parents in just a robe; them knowing full well what we’d been doing. The way the wind brushed my balls was a constant reminder that I had to be careful or I might end up flashing my new in-laws.

“They’re back.” Scarlett announced to the room, entering first. Her tails playfully swatted the air behind her.

“Welcome back.” Rupert said from a loveseat. Claire was sitting beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. The Fox parents were on another loveseat; I got the feeling from how comfortable they were that those were each of their preferred seats.

Morgana was on her lonesome, sitting in a large, red leather chair that could have been a throne. That left a couch open in the sitting area, so I headed that way.

I settled in, only for Scarlett and Jadelyn to come sit next to me like bookends and keep me from sprawling out. While I liked having them nearby, I’d been planning to sprawl out on the couch. I was more than a little tired and could use some sleep before heading off to battle.

“Do you need food?” Ruby asked.

“Yes, he does. Half a dozen steaks for him, and I’d love one too.” Jadelyn said on my behalf. “So, how is operation troll extermination going?”

“We aren’t calling it that.” Her father sighed. “The Summer Queen and the magi have upheld their end, but we haven’t been able to locate the missing swamp trolls.”

I wondered where Kelly was in her progress. “Has Kelly and her pack started looking?”

“Kelly?” Rupert frowned.

“Brent’s daughter.” Jadelyn filled in for him.

Before Rupert could comment further, I had my phone in hand and was texting her. Clearly, she hadn’t gotten in touch with the council.

After a short back and forth, I called her, putting her on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Hey Kelly, you are on speaker with the Scalewrights, Foxs, and Morgana. We have a problem.”

“The trolls? Yeah, you mentioned something before you zoomed out of the stadium, but you didn’t say much.” She sounded tired.

“I seem to remember it as you kicking me out.” I teased, but pivoted quickly to the time sensitive task. “So we need to find a big gathering of swamp trolls, and we need to find them tonight. I can’t think of a better group for the job than a pack that probably needs to get some energy out.”

She seemed to agree, because she perked right up just as I heard something heavy crash to the floor in the background. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll get the pack going. Any chance I can get paid for this?”

I looked to Rupert to see if he’d ante up, but it was Morgana that spoke first. “Kelly, I think I can come up with something for you. If you find them, that is.”

“Can do. Make it worth my time, Morgana.” There was shouting in the background before Kelly hung up.

“Well, then let’s see if we can’t get you two fed and find some clothes that’ll fit Zach.” Claire offered. “He might even want to keep a few things in your room, Jadelyn.”

She did a double take. “What?”

“I assume that’s where he’ll be staying if he comes over, or I guess would he trade off with Scarlett’s room?” Claire tapped her chin in thought as Jadelyn stared wide-eyed. “Don’t be so shocked. You two are together now. I’m not going to make you sleep in separate rooms.”

Rupert huffed loudly.

“Maybe we should just put that aside for now.” I tried to play peacekeeper. No use stepping on Rupert’s toes, and we hadn’t figured out what we wanted yet.

“Yes, later. For now, we celebrate your union.” Morgana raised a glass, helping wrap the conversation.

***

Things had settled down at the Scalewright manor by the time Kelly called me back. I was hopeful as I answered the call..

“Zach, I think we found them.” She said as soon as I answered, a bit out of breath.

“Where are they?” Morgana’s pointy ears picked up what she said across the room.

“Where, Kelly?” I put her on speaker so everyone could hear.

“An abandoned mall just outside of town. It reeks of swamp trolls. None of us went inside, but we could hear a hell of a lot of them thumping around inside.” She rattled off an address.

I turned to look at Detective Fox, who was hurriedly jotting down the address and putting it into his tablet. “We’ll have people out there within minutes to verify. Kelly, do not engage. There are likely over two hundred swamp trolls in that mall.”

“Got it. I’m not about to jump at the chance to tango with that many trolls.” I could practically hear her roll her eyes. “My pack will circle up and keep an eye out until you get here.”

The house immediately descended into a flurry of activity as everyone got ready to leave at the same time. Rupert and Detective Fox sent a barrage of calls out to the council and their subordinates to coordinate.

It was actually fascinating to watch just how many people they had working for them. You think of the rich and powerful as fat cats leaning back, admiring their empire, but this made it clear just how much work it took to keep it all together.

“You ready?” Morgana asked, coming and leaning over the back of the couch.

“Ready as I’m going to be.” I pulled at the nice shirt and jeans that the Scalewrights had wrangled up for me, feeling bad that the clothes weren’t going to last the night.

I had never gone through so many clothes before. I’d have to let the girls go on another shopping spree with me at the rate I was tearing them with my shifts.

Scarlett came back into the room decked out in leather pants and a biker jacket, complete with knives strapped along her thigh and peeking out from inside her jacket.

“Odd. You look like you are ready for a fight.” I commented dryly.

“I’m coming with.” She crossed her arms, daring me to revoke that privilege.

Really, compared to Morgana or me, she wasn’t a heavy hitter. But she was still a highly skilled fighter. And stealth could have its value; her illusions could serve a number of roles in battle.

“Fine. But against Nat’alet you stay back.” I wasn’t about to see her get hurt in a collision of that size.

“Deal.” Her ears bounced as she nodded happily.

My eyes raked over Jadelyn. “You aren’t about to try to get in on this, are you?”

“Nope.” Jadelyn crossed her arms. “I know what my strengths are, and fighting isn’t one of them. And Scarlett would never let me get that close to trouble; she treats me like a glass sculpture.”

“Damn right!” Scarlett agreed, pulling out and inspecting the sharpness on one of her knives.

“I’ll stay with the council and help coordinate things in the command center. I’ve got your back if something goes wrong.” Jadelyn nodded.

Detective Fox came back into the room, straightening the collar of his ugly beige detective jacket. “Come on. We have confirmation the trolls are there.”

We all got up and headed out.

A caravan of black SUVs pulled up, and everyone piled in. I found myself smushed in the middle of the backseat, with Morgana and Jadelyn on either side of me while Scarlett sat in my lap, her tails fluffing me.

“Zach.” Jadelyn looked down at her feet as she started to talk to me. “You’ll come back, right?”

“He will.” Morgana interjected. “I promise.” The way she said it to Jadelyn seemed to carry more meaning than I expected.

“On your word then.” Jadelyn breathed a sigh of relief. “I trust you both, but I can’t help but worry.”

I wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her back. “This isn’t without its risks, but you know that. We’ll be careful. It will take a hell of a lot to take me down and keep me from you.”

She leaned into me, fragile and vulnerable. For the first time, the danger I was in put an extra pressure on me. It wasn’t just my life that hung in the balance. The ripples that my death would cause were evident, and just the thought of it was heartbreaking in its own right.

My hand wandered down to her hips and pulled her tightly against me, squeezing her with all the reassurance I could muster as we drove.

Morgana, Scarlett and I shared a loaded look. We all knew the stakes of this battle, and we weren’t about to lose it.

When the car finally rolled to a stop, we all hoped out, and I checked out our surroundings.

We were down a side street at a mall that had once likely been a little hideaway. The area had a bit of privacy from the surrounding large pines.

Windows were boarded up, and the exterior was tagged with spray paint. The place looked like no one had been there for ages; the turned over dumpsters were empty.

The only thing that gave away the swamp troll's presence was the swampy stench that lingered in the air. It was like being downwind from a sewer plant. “This is horrible. No wonder Kelly’s pack was able to find it so quickly.” I choked on the air.

Hundreds of people had been waiting when we’d arrived, filling the parking lot. I recognized Kelly’s pack among them, and then there were also a number of elves ready to fight. The paranormal groups were rather separate, but if they could come together, they’d be a hard army to take down.

“Imagine what it’s like for us wolves with our sense of smell. Most of the pack is going to be nose blind for the rest of the week.” Kelly greeted us, clearly overhearing what I’d said. “We saw two trolls come out and poke around, but otherwise there’s been no activity.”

The squeal of tires sounded as pickups poured into the parking lot, each of them sporting a large stone slab in the bed, propped up and leaning against the cab.

Sir Benifolt was driving one of the pickups and pulled up next to us. “We have the magic circle ready. It won’t be perfect, but making it mobile was the hard part.”

I let my eyes shift and stared at the stone slabs; each of them radiated powerful magic. “What do we need to do with those?”

“Get them in a circle around the mall.” Sir Benifolt said, but it looked like the plan had already been communicated. The other pickups spread out around the parking lot, getting into position.

Sabrina slid out of Sir Benifolt’s pickup and came up to me as her mentor pulled his truck forward, getting it into position. “Here. I thought you could use this.” She handed me the enchanted broken broom handle. It looked like it had now been sealed in some sort of wax, or maybe polyurethane, to preserve the enchantment better.

“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure if I was going to use it, but I liked the idea of Scarlett having it. It would help her more than it would help me. I’d get it to her later; I wasn’t about to hand it off in front of Sabrina.

So I tucked it into the back of my jeans for later. “So, how does this big spell work?”

“The stones are acting as resonators, and the Winter Queen has a similar setup in the Faerie Realm. She won’t actually be here, but these stones and the ones with her are in sync, so she can cast something and affect the world here. It is sort of a variant on translocation, along with illusion and convocation. Really, it’s quite brilliant.” She was geeking out, clearly in her element, as she talked with large hand gestures and excited squeals. I nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm.

“So, these just copy what the Winter Queen is doing at her set and create it here?”

“Basically.” She pushed up her glasses, and I wondered if she really needed those. They looked almost too thin to be for her vision. Maybe they were part of her cover. It seemed like as a succubus and a wizard. If she needed her sight fixed, she could have found somebody to do it.

“But it won’t just mirror her spells; it will also mirror the section of the Faerie Realm, meaning that it's going to get down right frosty here.” She continued with a smile.

“Good for dealing with swamp trolls.” I realized. “Maybe we can do this without killing all of them.”

She smiled. “That sounds like a noble goal, given that they didn’t really do anything wrong. But it will also cut off the space inside, creating a barrier inside the region.”

Morgana, who had been listening at my side the entire time, spoke up. “So, no support once this starts. But that also means he isn’t escaping anywhere.” There was a vicious grin on her face. I almost felt bad for the god who would be trapped in a space with her and me with no escape.

At that moment, half a dozen trolls ambled out of the mall entrance. They must have sensed something going on outside. I’d expected them to look at least somewhat human, but there was nothing recognizable about them. They were pure troll.

“How much longer do you need to set up?” I shouted to Sir Benifolt.

“Ten minutes.” He said, eyeing the trolls as they sniffed around. Their beady black eyes tracked our group in the parking lot.

Guns were being checked and loaded around us as Sirens and elves alike propped guns over the hoods of cars and checked their equipment. We were ready for a hell of a fight.

But I knew guns wouldn’t stop a swamp troll; they would only delay them. And that was if you got them in the right spots. If you hit center mass on a troll, the bullets were worthless.

I watched the trolls as they studied us. There was a tense moment of standoff, as everyone held their breath to see if the trolls would make a move.

While we waited to see what would happen, I noticed that one of them was smaller than the rest. At this distance, it didn’t register immediately, but when the first spark of red light gathered in that troll’s hands, I was already running forward.

I coated my arms in scales under my sleeves as I braced against the blast. My forward momentum ground to a halt as I took the force on my crossed arms.

Not wanting to shift in front of everyone, I reverted my arms back to normal after the blast.

After I took the hit, I ducked down. Gunfire erupted behind me, and I watched more than one hit the trolls in the torso.

“Aim for the ankles!” I shouted over the gunfire, and I watched as they adjusted their shots. The gunfire began tearing out the meat of the trolls’ ankles and calves until a red barrier snapped into place to cover them.

The gunfire stopped as the shooters realized the bullets weren’t getting through the barrier.

Kelly howled and two dozen wolves leapt forward, taking the chance to move into the fight while the gunfire ceased. I knew they could handle the trolls, but I wanted a piece of that shaman.

I charged with the wolves. As we streamed around the barrier, the trolls were getting back onto their feet, wobbling as their legs stitched back together.

A wolf, one I had a feeling was Kelly, leapt up on a troll and knocked him out of the way as three more dog-piled onto it with her. Just like that, the wolves used their numbers to take down and keep down the trolls. I could see why they had been used in the past to help guide the swamp troll migration.

Red flashed, and I saw a wolf soar through the air, letting out a yelp. I pivoted to the shaman.

If he was the warlock from before, he looked different now. I had no hope of picking him out from any other trolls. Their swampy green skin and those expressionless black eyes gave nothing away.

The shaman struck out with a glowing red palm, but I caught his forearm and spun away, carrying him up and over my shoulder before hammering him back down onto the concrete. Two werewolves were on him in a heartbeat.

Their claws raked across the shaman’s body, tearing muscle and ligament free and preventing him from doing anything but healing to stay alive.

We had vastly outnumbered this small band of trolls, but as I looked through the mall entrance, I could see dozens of hulking forms lurking in the darkness. Something about it made it hard for me to judge how far away they were.

“Kelly. Hold the ground outside the mall. Spread out your pack in case they come out another entrance.”

“What about you?” Kelly asked in her hybrid form, looking up with a bloody muzzle.

But before I could respond, a wolf shifter growled at me. “Don’t order around our alpha.”

Kelly’s claw hooked his face and forced his head around to look at her. “Don’t get in a dick measuring contest with him. I’m sure if he really wanted to, he could flatten you with that giant golden rod of his.” She not so subtly reminded him of what I was.

I ignored them both, not wanting to waste time. “We are going to push inward.” I noticed Morgana and Scarlett had caught up with me. “We need your pack to protect the magi, so they can finish summoning the Winter Queen. Get out once that has been done.”

Kelly grumbled something under her breath before looking at me again. “You got it.” She started barking orders and jerking her head as she worked to get her pack to do as I had asked.

I handed off Sabrina’s blasting rod to Scarlett, and she looked at it with a raised brow. I answered the unspoken question. “It sprays mist that freezes things. Sabrina made it.”

Scarlett shifted it back and forth in her hands, giving me an odd look. “That’s the one that is actually a succubus?”

“And a friend.” I realized Scarlett was hesitant to use it.

“Right.” She said it slowly, tucking it into her leather jacket. “Because it’s entirely possible to just be a friend with a succubus.”

Morgana snorted. “Maybe she could actually give him a run for his horniness.”

“Hey.” I protested, trying to peer through the mall entrance for a better look, but there were no lights on inside and those forms didn’t seem any closer. “Enough. No time to deal with my sex life. We have a god to kill.”

Crouching low, I led the two into the abandoned mall, hating that I couldn’t make out anything in the dark.

AN - Just wrapped up Dragon 2 with 33 chapters. You guys were closer than I normally like and wanted to point out a few things changed back in chapter 24-26 that might cause confusion going forward. The Summer Queen recognized the magic used to turn the magi into trolls and said that it takes 24-48 hours for the magic to 'set'. Otherwise, there was some light editing to add some additional urgency to the coming conflict.