Dragon 5 Chapter 23 (Patreon)

“Hello! This is the Bloody Drop.” A hostess sang happily on the other end of the line.

“Give me Deniz.” I growled into the phone.

“Who?” the hostess asked, suddenly far less cheery.

And unfortunately for her, I didn’t have patience at the moment. “Your boss. Give him the phone.” My voice deepened, and my body crackled as I fought to contain the shift starting to ripple through me.

“Look, prick, I don’t know who you think you are—“ The woman started.

“I’m Zach Pendragon. And before you speak another word, I’d recommend running that name past your superior.” I waited.

There was a muffled noise on the other end, followed by silence.

But it was only a moment later that a voice came on the line. “One moment, Mr. Pendragon. We are getting Deniz for you. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?”

I took a deep breath, working to keep my head level. “I am this close to coming over and burning your entire club down. My mates are not to be touched.” Anger just at the thought of my mates being in harm's way had me ready to torch every vampire in the city.

I didn’t have any proof that Deniz was to blame, but he came to the city at the same time everything blew up. And being calm and collected wasn’t much of an option for me at the moment.

Sabrina put a hand on my arm, trying to calm me down. “Breathe. Your mates are not in danger. Agent Tills is very sorry she said that.” Sabrina glared over at Tills.

I knew my eyes had shifted, because when I raised my eyes to look at Sabrina, I could see her succubus form. “Don’t care. This stops now.”

“What is it now, oh king of dragons?” Deniz’s voice came over the phone. “It seems you just can’t get enough of me. I come to this city and you seem to want to talk to me every day. I thought you’d be busier with your harem. Maybe you should take them to bed and let me do my job. You seem to struggle to do much, anyway.”

Deniz needed to thank whatever higher power he believed in, because if he’d said those words to my face, he wouldn’t have a head anymore.

“My mates.” I growled as the phone began to be crushed in my hand. I had to force myself to open my grip a little, relieving the pressure.

“What is wrong with your mates? I have done nothing, and you constantly threaten me.” Deniz sounded exhausted. “Dragons. Always so smart, but so stupid.”

“What do you mean?” I replied.

“I’ve come here to help you. I am Wallachia. We remember what happens to tyrants, those who push the world too far. We know about the dragon killed on the way to the conclave. It wasn’t us. The Gregorians are making moves.” Deniz sounded like he was spitting at the phone at the mention of the other vampire faction..

Frowning at the new information, I took a moment to consider his words. “So you are telling me you came to make peace?”

The ladies in the room with me were only hearing one side of the conversation and watching me closely.

“No, we came to keep the peace. An offshoot of the Gregorians was the ones to lead the local vampires here. They were making too much noise.” He replied.

“Tell me everything you know.” I demanded, realizing he’d been leaving me in the dark. “I am out of patience. I’m currently standing in a home filled with humans that have been bled dry. And there are signs that whoever is behind this has been quietly amassing numbers. Helena, the nephilim, has been taken, and they appear to be working with either an angel or a demon in the city. I need to know what they are targeting.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long while. “Say you are sorry for the threats.” Deniz said quietly. He had what I wanted and was going to use it.

“I’m a dragon and naturally threatening. I cannot help that. But I’m sorry for my temper.” I held back a smirk.

“Best I’m going to get from a stubborn dragon.” Deniz scoffed. “We knew the Gregorians were bringing in more and more fresh blood. We have been keeping a close eye on blood donations, and where that blood goes. The Wallachia monitor many things. We also know that Beelzebub has been called from hell.”

I turned to Sabrina. “Beelzebub?”

She understood my question. “Gluttony. He takes over bodies and burns them out while satisfying his gluttony. Very powerful demon prince.” Sabrina’s eyes were wide with fear. “Is he here?”

I processed her words. He takes over bodies.

I ran back through the previous murders with that information. Helena and Agent Tills had tracked him, likely as he worked his way through bodies towards Philly. And the demon likely knew the supernatural killings would draw Helena’s attention and bring her to the city.

He might be the lure, or he might be something even more dangerous. I wasn’t sure yet.

“We have a belief that Beelzebub might be in the city. Maybe even used to lure Helena here. What are they after?”

“If they are affected by gluttony, they will want the fae.” Deniz said slowly. “Or the dragon king. The Gregorians will try to feed on and turn the fae. That’s the only way they can start a war on this level and come out the other end alive. But I don’t understand why they would align themselves against you.”

Deniz truly sounded tired. I’d called to rip him a new one and found myself feeling sorry for him.

From what I’d learned, vampires used the mana in blood to fuel their magic and their speed. All the blood they drained was compressed within their body to aid healing, and some of the older vampires had been saving up blood in them for millennia, to the point they could do unspeakable things.

At a certain point, people stopped calling them vampires and started calling them bloodlords. Powerful vampires who had a near limitless ability to absorb blood to power themselves.

They were a problem.

“Thank you. Sorry again for all the scorched earth policy.” I had let my anger for vampires get ahead of everything else. Although Deniz was also a bit of a dick.

Deniz grunted and hung up the phone.

His words made sense, and he’d help solve the issue of who might be behind the FBI case deaths.

I hadn’t really given him a chance since I met him the first time.

“Okay. Get everyone important to me and stuff them in my hoard. If the vampires are going to flip Philly upside down by going after the dragons or the fae, I want my mates to be safe.” I put the phone away, knowing Larisa was already on it.

“I’ve texted all the mates and potential mates. They should be heading to your room in the atrium now and will stay there until your honor guard gives the all clear.” Larisa looked up from her phone.

I raised an eyebrow. “Just like that?” I was skeptical they’d obey so readily.

“Scarlett made the protocols and makes us run drills when we aren’t on duty. Your first mate is well chosen. None of us really has bodyguard experience. And any of your mates that don’t follow protocol will have to deal with her. Even Morgana has determined it’s not worth pissing off Scarlett and does the drills, though she usually grumbles through them.” Larisa shrugged and stuffed her phone into her pocket. “So, since I’m with the party, can we go blow something up?”

I smiled. “Wanna blow this building up?” I asked her. The stench bothered me, and I didn’t think there was much left to see. It seemed like it might be therapeutic and take care of the evidence at the same time.

“I thought you tried to keep a low profile. Blowing up a building is about as high profile as you can get. Besides, some nosey neighbor has to have noticed us by now.” Tills pushed on my back and directed me out of the home.

Letting her push me, we went back out of the garage and into her car with the other two trailing behind us.

“What now? The trail has gone cold.” I asked, frustrated at the situation.

Tills leveled a look at me. “A lead will come. You need to be patient. You have your whole paranormal community out looking for these vampires, and Fox has put out an APB on their cars. They’ll turn up soon. Why don’t we get you back to your hoard and let you see that all of your mates are okay?” Tills took on a warm mothering tone.

I must have been in a bad state if Tills was trying to calm me down.

“Let’s go.” I buckled my seatbelt.

Tills pulled out of the drive. “So, why are you such a target?”

“Because I’m a very special dragon.” I scoffed. “I can mate to restore all the flights.”

Tills looked into the mirror at Larisa in the back seat. “What does that mean?”

“He’s a combination of all the dragon colors. So, he’s much more powerful. His parents are sort of the dragon gods.” The white dragon tried to explain it simply.

“Wait, his parents are Tiamat and Bahamut?” Sabrina squeaked. “Oh wow. He’s not just the gold king.”

I winced. “Sorry, didn’t mean to hide that from you. But also trying to keep it under wraps.”

“It’s fine. That explains why your mana is so rich.” Sabrina nodded from the backseat, confirming something she had suspected.

“Yeah, that is part of it. But I also ate half the power of a fae queen.” I added sheepishly. It seemed primitive to gain power through eating, but it was the perfect task for a dragon.

Tills kept her eyes on the road; her driving was far smoother than Morgana’s. “Which of the two queens?”

“A third, one that has been absent for a while. So maybe it isn’t that big of a deal.” I sighed. “My birth is auspicious. My parents were never supposed to have a child together. Apparently, as a result, my life is supposed to disrupt the world.”

Tills continued on out of the neighborhood and gave me a little side eye. “That doesn’t sound like a healthy amount of pressure.”

I laughed. She had no idea. “I’m the dragon king. An entire race of people, my people, look to me for guidance and to restore us to our former power. It sure as shit isn’t a healthy amount of pressure. But it’s what it is.” I shot back.

Tills nodded, reaching over to pat my leg. But as she slowed her patting, she realized what she was doing and briskly put both hands back on the wheel.

“Okay. I’m understanding this all a little more.” Tills tilted her head back to address the girls in the backseat. “You girls have your work cut out for you. If he keeps up this level of pressure, he’s going to snap. I’ve seen it happen to agents before.”

Rather than give her an angry retort, which would do nothing other than confirm her words, I crossed my arms and stared out the window.

Tills kept driving for a while in silence before she broke it. “I’ve seen plenty of people pushed past their stress limits and snap, doing something that they wouldn’t have otherwise done.”

I snorted. “There isn’t much of an option for me. The dragons recognize me as king because of what I am.”

“Then get help.” Tills’ tone wasn’t polite anymore. “And if you can’t figure out how to use these women who orbit around you to help, then I’m calling bullshit on the dragon king title.”

Glancing back at Larisa, I laughed as I saw clear agreement. “You have a terrible poker face.”

The white dragon blew out a breath. “When shit hits the fan, you really don’t use any of us.” She admitted.

“Mine.” I snapped my teeth playfully. “Besides, I’m supposed to be some big bad dragon king.”

Before we could get into it further, Tills’ phone started ringing and ‘Detective Fox’ flashed on her screen.

I picked it up. “Father-in-law. What’s new?” My voice pitched just a little, hoping for good news.

“The car for Susan Garrison was just spotted northbound on I476.” Detective Fox said as I looked up to double check the road sign we were passing.

Grabbing the wheel, I jerked it to the right, ignoring the cursing Tills.

“We are taking this exit.” I told Tills, pulling the car onto I476.

“What the fuck!” Tills cursed as I crossed us into the exit lane a little late.

“Garrison’s car was spotted northbound on I476.” I relayed Fox’s message. 

I smiled, excited about the chase. I had a lead, and the predator in me was ready to hunt.

The agent floored the car as soon as she got onto the huge highway. It had two split five-lane sections.

“Where were they spotted?” I asked the detective, putting him on speaker.

“Near exit thirty-seven about a minute ago. Calling you was the first thing I did.”

I looked for a mile marker, spotting thirty-two. They had a five miles and one minute lead. So around six miles total.

“I have a helicopter getting in the air in a minute. It will be out there in five.” Detective Fox commented.

Squinting over at the speedometer, I watched as it rose over one hundred and kept climbing.

“Don’t you have lights on this?” Larisa sounded excited.

“Do you want to tell the vampires that we are coming for them? And besides, this also isn’t official business. We can’t use them.” The kid in me was annoyed. I’d always wanted to blast the sirens and cruise through traffic.

But Agent Tills just smiled. “But this was my favorite part of Quantico.”

Her old BMW maxed out just under one hundred and ten miles an hour as she roared through the traffic, changing lanes like a madwoman.

I kept track of the time as we moved. Given their lead, we’d need about eight minutes before we were likely to see them.

Tills wove between the cars amid angry honks, cutting people off and causing more than a few cars to swerve as she raced up beside them.

“What do we do when we catch up with them?” Tills asked. “Does your succubus have something for that?”

“Nope! I’ve got this one.” Larisa grinned. “Just get me close enough to see them.”

Sabrina nodded, a small blush dusting her cheeks at being called my succubus. Digging in her bag, she pulled out a needle and etched an enchantment on Tills’ car.

“What are you doing to my car?” Agent tills glanced up into the rear-view mirror, only to immediately have to look down to dart between a few cars.

“Let her do whatever it is she’s doing, and watch the road.” I grumbled, wondering how I ended up with such dangerously driving women. She was safer than Morgana, but dodging traffic at a hundred and ten miles per hour had my blood pumping.

We almost reached where I assumed the car would be when a helicopter came into view just ahead of us. And it was following something.

“That helicopter is going fast.” I commented, realizing that the vampires might have picked up the pace as they noticed the helicopter. “Either of you have something to give us a little more juice?”

“Working on it.” Sabrina had just finished the enchantment. “It would work a lot better if I had time to enchant her tires or engine directly, but I can reduce the weight of the car and reduce your resistance. Keep a good grip on the steering wheel!” She finished and pressed her hand to the enchantment to activate it.

The magic glowed red in the backseat, and Tills’ car pushed over one ten up into the high one twenties.

We got closer, and the car was just up ahead.

“My turn!” Larisa cracked her fingers. “Evokus.” She flicked her wrist, and a spike of ice shot up from the highway, clipping their car and tottering it to one side before it stabilized.

But the car behind them ran headfirst into the spike of ice, crashing and turning the car sideways as a huge pileup started behind us.

“Whoops.” Larisa looked over her shoulder for a second as we drove into a large open space with traffic stopped behind us. “Missed a little, but I’ll get it this time.” She shot again, and this time it worked.

The spike of ice shot up through the hood of the car, and the sudden pressure caused the hood to dip and the back to rise. A moment later, the car flipped end over end down the highway, like someone had just kicked a very large soda can.

“Fuck.” Tills looked back at Larisa as she slammed the brakes, skidding several dozen feet past the car even as the vampires were pulling themselves out of the wreckage.

“Oh, no you don’t.” I unclicked my seatbelt and burst out of the car before it came to a full stop. “Contego.” I threw up a one eighty barrier around their car, forcing them to get past me.

As I moved towards them, I recognized Susan Garrison.

She had black hair and looked years younger, but now seeing her face to face, I wouldn’t mistake Susan Garrison.

Jackpot.

I pulled another one of the twigs out of my bracer and activated the enchantment, locking her down as two more vampires came for me.

They were fast, and they both tried to slip past me.

But a gun went off three times and one jerked back as they all hit center mass.

I didn’t hesitate, stepping forward and ripping its head off.

The other vampire got past me and caught Agent Tills, holding her hostage with its claws on her throat. “Leave us. Don’t even dare speak to cast a spell; she’ll die before you finish.”

“Larisa, get the one I bound.” I handed off the twig to her as I made eye contact with Sabrina in the car and then shifted my focus to the vampire holding Tills by the throat.

He was an ugly fucker. His face was a warped mask of rage, and his torn clothes made him seem desperate and dangerous.

The vampire was taking steps back as he held onto the agent, who had become dead weight in an attempt to slow the vampire. I almost laughed. She was really trying to help, but she did not know just how strong the vampire was. I doubted she was really slowing him.

“Okay, we got what we wanted. You guys can have the agent.” I shrugged, trying to play it cool.

Agent Tills looked at me as if I had betrayed her.

“Oh? Well then, I guess there’s no more need for her.” The vampire chucked Agent Tills over the divider into oncoming traffic and bolted.

AN - I had to ban someone from patreon yesterday and it sucked. Ruined my day, but please don't spam. Also as an aside, I was already going to revisit chapter 19, because someone had reminded me that some of the girls were particularly not bi.