Dragon 2 Chapter 32 (Patreon)

I glanced over at Morgana, still captivated by the silver wings spreading out of her back.

She pulled them back and, in a single flap, crossed the distance between her and Nat’alet, colliding with him. Nat’alet’s colossal troll form took the hit, and they both went flying through the other side of the stone structure, collapsing the whole thing in on itself.

Stones slammed into the floor, raining down thuds that rivaled the intensity of thunder.

I paused, wanting to charge forward but being unsure. I was weak from the battle. One of those stones could put me down.

Anxiously, I watched as the dust cleared. Morgana and Nat’alet were in a tussle. She pushed him out into the parking lot, knocking him through walls and personally wrecking the whole mall.

Apparently, no wrecking ball was needed when you had Morgana and a five ton troll.

I shot forward, ignoring the pain that coursed through my body in protest. When Nat’alet was positioned right, I jumped onto his back. My claws and teeth tore at his back, taking huge swaths of flesh from him. I smiled when they didn’t immediately regenerate.

His arms reached back and got ahold of my neck, and he wrenched me back and forth, trying to pull me off.

I sank my claws deeper into the muscles of his back, using his own force to shred it to ribbons.

Morgana shot in again on her wings, smashing into his face and shattering his orbital bone, causing the lumbering changeling to stumble to the side.

But he still managed to get a firm grip on me and yank me off. Not being removed without a fight, I kept my claws dug in, taking a portion of his back with me as he flung me to the side. I smashed into the wreckage of the mall as he wavered on his feet.

“Neither of you are going to walk out of here alive.” His eyes glowed red as he blasted me deeper into the mall with another hit of that red force magic.

To make matters worse, I watched as Morgana’s wings blink out of existence. One moment she was flying around like a superhero, and the next she was stalling in midair, arms flailing in surprise.

Nat’alet smacked her out of the air so hard that she bounced off the pavement and shot towards me.

Watching Morgana's body sail through the air, the world came into sharp focus. I had to catch her. My bruised and battered body felt like it tore in two as I darted to catch her.

Morgana’s body collapsed into my arms. She was broken; blood and burns covered her body as she looked up at me, her eyes bleary and blood seeping from the corners. “I’m all out.” She coughed, her eyes fluttering closed. As I stood there praying, her chest kept rising and falling. Something snapped inside of me.

This god's followers had come for Jadelyn. He hurt Scarlett, and now had taken out Morgana. Nat’alet had to die. There was no other option.

The beast that had ridden with me my entire life seemed to swell, grow from depths I didn’t know existed inside of me, a leviathan emerging from the dark depths inside of me. I laid Morgana’s crumpled body down behind me, turning to face Nat’alet once more.

I pulled on that strength, trying to add more mass, more size to myself. It felt like trying to pull a boot out of muck. It was stuck, almost a suction holding me back.

I ripped hard, pulling that mass into me, empowering myself as much as I could.

My scales rippled silver, then gold, then a flicker of something else before once again turning silver.

Nat’alet paused, his eyes wide with surprise for only a moment before he blasted more of that red force magic at me.

I ducked my head, the crown of horns catching the blast and withstanding it better than before. My claws sank into the pavement. I held my position.

More power, more mass, filled me. I felt like a balloon swelling past its limits. My skin and scales stretched painfully.

With a roar of all the pain and frustration inside of me, I pushed against the force of the red beam. Slowly, I was able to take one step. Then one more.

Nat’alet’s eyes grew even wider, and he tried to put more behind the blast, but he was running low.

I smiled, tossing off the red beam and charging Nat’alet, knocking him back and goring him with my horns.

In the same motion, I reared back, rising on my back legs as my claws whipped him across the face, carving out chunks of flesh.

Nat’alet stumbled, bending over and clutching his face as I towered over him.

It was at that moment that I realized just how large I’d become. Smiling, I stayed focused, hoping Morgana would live for me to show her this new form.

The raw power that filled me felt amazing, and I wasn’t about to waste it letting Nat’alet recover.

I leaned into him, taking him down to the pavement and crushing the asphalt beneath us both. My claws raked across his body once more, tearing him apart before my head reared back as I surveyed my victory.

Nat’alet coughed blood, shock spreading across his face. “It doesn’t matter what you are. We will find a way. Then I’ll skin you and wear you like a prize.” He spat in my face.

My breath came up inside my chest in a confusing flurry of sensation, but it didn’t matter which breath was coming. He would die.

To my surprise, I spat out fire, and ice coiled together. They drilled into Nat’alet, freezing and burning him. The dichotomy didn’t cancel each other out; instead, they ripped him apart on a molecular level as they caused rapid expansion and contraction, destroying everything that he was. He was pulverized into dust.

The chemist nerd in me marveled at the power. It was incredible.

I let out the last fumes of my breath as fog and smoke curled together. As it cleared, I waited to see what would remain of Nat’alet. His upper body was gone, and what remained began to shrink.

Given the previous two times he’d shifted, I was ready and waiting to squash whatever new form he took like a bug.

But instead, he became the same shriveled up icy blue faerie changeling that I’d seen before the battle. But this time, he was missing his head and a good chunk of his chest.

Just to be sure, I snatched what was left of him and tossed it in the air, catching him with my teeth and chewing thoroughly before swallowing.

At that point, I wasn’t taking any chances. Although he tasted like bitter cold coffee that had sat for so long that it had molded. I powered through, my nose wrinkling at the nasty taste.

As I swallowed, the barrier around the mall flickered in warning. It was about to collapse.

My mind snapped back to the present. I darted over to the collapsed mall and dug out the area around the stone tower until I came up with Scarlett. Carefully carrying her out of the rubble, I set her next to Morgana.

I was too big to provide any sort of careful nursing to them, so I tried to shift back. It took a few breaths before I was able to calm myself enough to be successful.

Injuries plagued me, but I ignored them to be with Morgana and Scarlett.

“What a sight to leave on.” Morgana’s voice cracked, drooping eyes looking up and down my naked form.

I didn’t have time for her antics and checked on Scarlett. She had a pulse and was breathing. The beast in me calmed marginally, but was still on high alert. The Scalewrights would get her back on her feet, and I’d have my bouncy kitsune mate again. Although her father might have a few things to say about her current state.

“Just going to ignore me?” Morgana coughed up blood.

“Hush. You aren’t going anywhere. You just need a little blood. We’ll pump you full as soon as we are out of here.” I dismissed Morgana’s injuries.

“Zach, that’s what I’m trying to tell you. It’s not going to work.”

I gave her my full attention, laying Scarlett down to recover. “What do you mean?”

She coughed again, struggling to breathe. “At the risk of you shooting me in the head, there’s something I want to tell you.”

“Shut up. You aren’t dying.”

Morgana’s ears wilted as her face pulled into a frown. “What I did here comes with consequences. I’m something that shouldn’t exist in more ways than you know.”

“The wings.” I said quickly, understanding her and leaning over her.

The small smile she gave me in response was confirmation enough. “I’ve done some horrible things in order to keep my wings. Turns out, they were a little too much for me this time around. Zach.” She grabbed my hand, her grip weak. “Will you hold me? I want to leave this world in your arms.”

I didn’t argue, picking her up and cradling her in my arms. “Can my blood help?”

“No. The damage is done. Celestial magic destroys vampires like nothing else. The only reason I didn’t turn to dust long ago was because I’ve drunk so much of their blood to the point of becoming part celestial. Angel blood is the only thing that has been keeping the damage I once did to myself at bay. Even if I had more, I’d run into the same problem that has been chasing me for hundreds of years. It is only delaying the damage.”

She felt so small in my arms.

Not sure what to say, I simply held her, stroking her hair. We were still for a long while as I did my best to comfort her.

I couldn’t believe it. Morgana had always seemed invincible to me. A brilliant fighter, feared by most. And here she was, crumpled up in my arms.

Everything we’d been through, and this was how it ended? It didn’t seem right.

I looked around, trying to come up with some miracle, some chance to help her.

The barrier that the Winter Queen had erected was slowly falling, but it would take another ten minutes by my best guess before we could leave. I would not get any help from the outside world in time.

“Morgana? Are you sure my blood won’t help?” I looked down when she didn’t reply.

She lay in my arms with a sweet smile on her face that was so unlike the badass drow vampire that it almost made me laugh. But the stillness on her face stopped, the laugh cold, my heart aching.

“Morgana?” I jostled her, but she was still unresponsive. I tried to check her pulse, but I realized that I had no idea if vampires even had one.

Cursing, I brought my wrist up to my mouth, and bit until I drew blood. The pain didn’t matter. If anything, it helped remind me that the moment was real. A moment I wished wasn’t happening.

Blood welled up on my wrist and ran down the side of my hand as I made a fist and let a drop dribble off my knuckle and onto her blue lips.

The blood pooled on her lips, overflowing and pouring down the side of her cheek.

I could feel warm tears leak from my eyes and run down my face. “Morgana.” My voice sounded distant and weak. I could fight a dozen trolls, tell a Faerie Queen to fuck off, and kill a god. But I couldn’t save a woman who loved me?

I knew it. I’d known for a while if I was honest with myself. In her own way, she loved me. It defied her otherwise bold and independent attitude to make a move, but that didn’t change the reality.

She’d been my rock and support in every way since joining the paranormal world. She’d become one of my closest friends. While I hated the thought of risking that to try for something more, now I might still be left with that nothingness, without giving it a chance.

I should have made a move, even if it risked everything.

My hands curled into fists around her form, and I gritted my teeth, wondering if I’d been stupid to come up against Nat’alet. I’d been ready to put my life on the line, but not hers.

I closed my eyes, letting the pain wash over me. But as I sank into the sadness, a small noise caught my attention.

Opening my eyes, I watched as Morgana’s lips moved just the slightest bit, her little blue tongue fluttering out and licking my blood off her lips.

I shifted her and grabbed her jaw tightly, forcing it open and letting more of my blood dribble down my arms into her mouth. Her lips and tongue moved as she savored my blood.

A warm smile spread across my face. It was working.

Time moved slowly as I waited, watching for more signs of life. I promised myself that when she recovered; I was going to tie her to a bed if that’s what it took to have a serious conversation. Things were going to change.

Her nose sniffed, a small moan escaping as she smelled the fresh blood flowing from my wound. Her mouth darted forward, her fangs sinking into my arm.

Sharp pain was followed by bliss, and I had to stumble down to sit as warm pleasure washed over me. I barely had enough cognisance to remember that vampire saliva was a powerful narcotic.

But she was alive and drinking my blood. I could only hope that it would be enough.

I let the warmth sink into me, and I was transported to the feeling of being barefoot on a warm summer, curling my toes in warm loose dirt as the world displayed life all around me.

Smiling, I enjoying the high. So much goodness was in the world; I should really pause and enjoy more of it. The narcotic saliva in my veins helped me see that goodness.

Bliss, pure unadulterated bliss, spread through me as my body relaxed.

My head lolled to the side, and I stared at the site of so much carnage and wreckage, but all that darkness slid off me, as if I was a bright shining star that darkness couldn’t touch.

So. Good.

My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I reveled in the sensation.

Only dimly was I aware that Morgana was still feasting on my wrist.

We stayed like that for a few moments before a sharp pain spread through me. Confused, I was pulled out of the haze, trying to figure out what was happening.

Suddenly, I felt like a fat kid’s juice box as she sucked hard. I realized she was draining me dry.

I pulled as much as I could from my mass to replace the blood, but it wasn’t going to be enough.

Reaching up, I tried to grab her head and pull her away. But my fingers missed her hair; my coordination was completely shot. I tried again, but that time my hand passed well beyond her ponytail as I tried to grab her.

Morgana’s eyes were still closed as she sucked greedily away at my blood.

She was killing me, and she didn’t even realize it.

And despite how hard I wanted to care, my body was still relaxed, sinking back into blissful thoughts.

The feeling of peaceful meadows folded in on itself as darkness bled into the corners and my vision faded.

***

Jared saw the massive pillar of freezing fog collapse just as his phone rang.

“Hello.” He hadn’t recognized the number, but he had more than a few associates that liked to change their phones when contacting him.

“They succeeded. The god is dead.” The voice on the other whispered through their receiver.

Jared smiled. It was always good to have contacts that were willing to provide up-to-date information. “Who killed it?” He wanted to know if Morgana’s partner was as dangerous as she was trying to goad everyone into believing.

“Don’t know. People are saying Morgana killed it. But the Scalewrights swooped in and locked the place down tighter than Fort Knox. Rupert is absolutely furious, something must have happened to his new son-in-law.”

Jared couldn’t keep the grin off his face. After butting heads with her partner, there was a small measure of satisfaction at the news. Now he just needed to get his sword back. “Good work. Keep me updated.” He pocketed his phone and let out a satisfied whistle, turning back to the new hotel he’d booked.

Everything he had wanted had happened, even if it hadn’t turned out exactly like he’d hoped. The Templars would want to hear the news of what had happened. They might even send backup to take out Morgana. It was a great opportunity. She was rarely ever so weak.

If not, he might be able to whip up a few magi to go after her, try to rekindle that spark of aggression between the two factions. If The Church ever wanted to position themselves to make another move, the first thing they needed was to get the magi back firmly on their side against the paranormal.

The stupid paranormal monsters were a menace to society. Case and point, an army of trolls almost got loose in the city. He couldn’t imagine the destruction and loss of life that they would have caused. A weapon like that needed to be contained and controlled by those who stood for something. That, or removed altogether.

He hated paranormals, and he’d even grown up with one.

They didn’t understand what it meant to work for power and ability. While he was sent off to train with the templar, giving blood, sweat and tears for his prowess, his sister was powerful enough to crush him under her boot at only the age of ten. It wasn’t right.

He walked into the hotel he was currently using. It had a wonderful view of the city. He found something comforting about being high up and watching the streets below buzz like an anthill. It separated him from the mundane and let him think analytically about what his next move would be.

As the elevator dinged to his floor and he made his way to his room, he paused.

Something wasn’t right.

Putting a hand on the door handle, he summoned up a quick ball of light. He squeezed it in his hand, ready for whatever was on the other side.

Flinging open the door, he paused halfway to releasing the ball of light.

Sitting in his dark hotel room, lit by the blue light of a computer screen, was his younger sister.

Her hauntingly beautiful face glared at him and the spell he had prepared for her.

His eyes dipped down to her impressive chest, almost on instinct, and he flinched just before his head smashed through the TV stand, spraying wood chips everywhere.

“Do not look at me like that, pig.” Helena spat as she kicked the door closed, suddenly on the other side of the room.

Jared had to wonder why she was more brutal on him than the door. He stared up at her as the cross tucked under his shirt worked to heal the fractured jaw he had just received.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” He denied everything.

“Of course you do. You always look at my chest. Disgusting disgrace of a human. I’m your sister for crying out loud.” The pure hatred she had for him stabbed into him like a dozen knives.

But this wasn’t the first time. And it just wasn’t fair. His half-sister was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen, yet she nearly killed him anytime he looked at her.

There was a flap, and she reappeared on the couch for a moment, her massive white wings spanning the hotel room before they sank into her back.

His father had looked for a long time to find a paranormal to reinvigorate their family’s sorcery. It had finally come from the most unlikely of places. The Church had offered an angel in return for the Nashner family’s service. And Jared had been happily promised, sent to train with the templars as soon as he was of age.

After that, he’d had the displeasure of being raised with a Nephilim.

“What are you doing here?” Jared kept his head down, fuming at having to show any deference to the beautiful bitch.

“The seraphim sensed something here tonight. Something big was here, like a blip on the radar before it disappeared.” She looked out the window at where the pillar of fog had been.

Jared started to nod, but stopped as the pain in his jaw continued. He had to wait a few moments longer before his jaw was healed enough that he could manage to get out a few words. “Morgana Silverwing fought a native american god. Nat’alet. The winter queen was invoked into this world. There was a battle. Morgana is weakened.” Jared spit to the side. “You could take her out. She’s weak.”

Jared knew about the truce, but he also knew that only mattered as long as Morgana had enough strength to be a pain to kill. His sister could easily out power Morgana at the moment.

But the world around him blurred as his sister pulled his face up to hers. “Do not fuck with Morgana Silverwing. Am I understood?”

He snorted. “She’s just a vampire, no matter how special her magic is.”

Helena looked at him, her eyes full of shock. “Do you really not know?”

“Of course I know. She killed Gregor, the head of the templar. But you could take her out right now, no problem.” He found himself back on his ass as he finished. He was thankful she hadn’t hit him again, and that just made him angrier.

“That’s not what really happened, brother. The Church just doesn’t want to look weak.” She sighed, looking out the window before deciding to tell him. “Morgana fought her way not only into Templar headquarters, but into the rift there between our world and the celestial plane.”

“Wait. She went to the celestial plane? That’s impossible.” Jared squawked. “She’s a vampire. Holy light should have killed her instantly.”

“Yes.” Helena’s tone was somber. “She tore her way through the ranks of angels, devouring hundreds and ultimately draining Archangel Ramiel. The stories say she changed, that heaven’s holy light was no longer able to harm her. That is why no matter how many little cherubs she drains for that stupid champaigned blood every year, the church won’t make a move. They are terrified she could barge back into the celestial plane and kill another archangel. They won’t risk it.”

Jared’s face went slack and his mouth opened, but there were no words. She killed an archangel.

“I see you understand the gravity of the situation. With my mixed heritage, I might be unfettered here on earth, but I’m no match for an archangel, nor do I have a reason to fight Morgana.” Her eyes looked at me, pausing on my back before glancing around the room. “Where is your sword?”

Jared hesitated before changing the subject. Helena’s mission was always her top priority. He’d distract her with that. “You said you were looking for something powerful that showed up. It had to have been Morgana, Nat’alet or the Winter Queen. Those were the only big powers here.”

“All of those are known to us. This was something new, something hidden.” Her brow furrowed. “I’ll be staying here to see if it shows itself once again.” She crossed her arms under her chest.

He couldn’t help himself, checking out the reflection of her in the window.

“So, where did you lose your sword?” She turned back, staring him down.

Praying to the heavens above, he braced himself as he told her what had happened, knowing she wasn’t going to like it, and he might need the healing of his cross again before he was done with the story.

AN- Okay, see you guys on Monday for the final chapter!

JK, don't kill me. I'm not that sadistic. Final chapter tomorrow, but you might want to still kill me.