Firestorm Forever: A Dragonfire Novel (17 page)

“That’s the challenge, isn’t it?” Lorenzo smiled and Cassie knew that her
Pyr
had found a challenge to sink his teeth into.

She suspected it was one he would win, too.

“What can I do to help?” Just as Cassie had suspected, Lorenzo had a plan.

* * *

There was a ripple in the air of Ronnie’s prison the next evening. It felt like a static charge had swept through the building, as if rubbing her hands together in its aftermath would be enough to make a spark.

What was going on?

She rose from bed cautiously and listened at the door. There was that thunder again, and the sound of footsteps. It was a man and he was in a hurry.

The lock sounded in the door and Ronnie had a heartbeat to wish she’d seized that chamber pot. She could have thwacked the new arrival with it.

Then she saw that it was two of the triplets. There was consternation in their manner, but she didn’t have much chance to observe it. She was blindfolded and her hands bound behind her back, then she was spun in place. When she was dizzy, she was marched into the corridor, her captors holding her wrists.

Their skin was cold enough to make her shiver.

Reptilian.

She did shudder and one of them chuckled at her apparent fear.

“Where are we going?” she demanded, trying to sound brave.

“To meet the boss,” one said.

“It’s supper time,” the other added. Ronnie couldn’t help but think of the feast she’d witnessed the previous night and she inadvertently caught her breath.

When they laughed, she knew they’d let her see that on purpose.

They wanted her to be afraid. It made sense to be afraid.

Ronnie lifted her chin. But it didn’t make sense to show her fear. She thought of Mark and she thought of Drake, she thought of all the service people who had been tortured and imprisoned, and she resolved to do her best to be strong.

She couldn’t have been more surprised when her bonds were removed and she was left alone in a comfortable room. A man stood opposite her, watching her with a smile playing across his lips. There was electricity in this room, because the lights were on and a pair of refrigerators were humming on the far wall. There was a compact kitchen beyond the fridges, and in fact, it looked as if she were in a small and elegant apartment, outfitted with every amenity.

Except that it had no windows.

The man in front of her was tall and might have been considered handsome if not for the assessment in his eyes. She knew with one look that he liked hurting others, but she held his gaze to disguise her fear. He had blond hair cut very short and blue eyes and looked as if he worked out a lot. He’d be a powerful opponent. Was he a dragon shifter?

There was no upside to being coy. “Are you another one?” she asked warily.

“You could say I’m the only one,” he replied, gesturing to a plush chair. “I
will
be the only one in a year.”

Ronnie took a seat as he indicated, but didn’t sink back into the chair. She perched on the edge, watching him.

“I shouldn’t offer you a drink, although that might be appropriate otherwise,” he mused. “What can I get you? Herbal tea? Milk? Sparkling water?”

“Tea would be great,” she said tersely.

He snapped his fingers and one of the triplets appeared from behind the drapes, hastening to fill a kettle. Her host sat down opposite her, his gaze watchful. “I am Jorge,” he said, his voice soft with menace.

“No surname?”

He smiled a little more. “My reputation is such that I no longer need one.”

“Like Jack the Ripper.”

He chuckled. “Something like that. Do you play board games, Ronnie?”

Ronnie was unable to hide her astonishment. “Board games?”

“Snakes and Ladders. Checkers. Monopoly.” Jorge’s eyes glinted. “You have a son. I was certain you would understand my meaning.”

“I don’t understand why you would want to play board games.”

“Because they are an excellent time filler, and we have nine months to wait.” Jorge leaned back. “I could hope for the sparkle of excellent conversation. I could yearn for many wild sexual encounters. But you are the mate of a
Pyr
, a cursedly principled lot, and so I suspect I will have to content myself with competition at board games.” He widened his eyes slightly, and Ronnie bit back an unexpected and unwelcome urge to laugh.

Was he trying to undermine her resistance?

“I thought you were
Pyr
.”

“No. I’m
Slayer
, as are my companions here.”

“You bleed black instead of red,” Ronnie said, guessing that wasn’t the only difference between the triplets and Drake.

“How very observant.” He opened the cabinet doors on the end table and lifted out a box. “Snakes and Ladders?”

Ronnie nodded, thinking it was both a consistent choice and an incongruous activity. The decor of this apartment looked like something out of
Architectural Digest
, every detail in place, and kids’ board games really didn’t seem to belong.

Jorge unfolded the board with care.

“Why?” Ronnie asked. He glanced up without understanding. “Why do you bleed black?”

“There’s a physiological difference between us. One of the most obvious manifestations is the color of our blood.”

“What are the others?”

“Perspective,” Jorge said, then handed her the dice. “We have a fundamentally different view of the world.”

Ronnie didn’t take the dice. “How so?”

“The
Pyr
believe that humans are one of the treasures of the earth, which they are charged to defend.
Slayers
believe that humans are the pestilence that threatens the treasure of the earth itself, and must therefore be exterminated.” Jorge smiled and there was dragon in his expression.

“You’re going to kill me?”

“Not yet. You’re more useful alive, at least for now.” He smiled. “Give it nine months.”

He’d kill her after this son was born.

What if she wasn’t even pregnant?

Ronnie guessed he’d kill her sooner, then.

Jorge held out the dice again, and Ronnie took them, feeling numb and not knowing what else to do.

His thumb changed to a golden dragon talon before her very eyes. She gasped and drew her hand back, unable to keep from doing anything else, and Jorge chuckled, clearly pleased that he’d provoked the reaction he desired.

It was easy to believe he could become a dragon when his eyes glittered as they did then, and even easier to remember the fate of the fifth red and gold dragon shifter. Ronnie seized the dice and rolled, wondering whether it would be smarter to win or lose their game.

* * *

Sara gave one last push, just as her OB/GYN directed, and felt her son slip into the world. She fell back against the pillow, panting from her efforts, and Quinn pressed a kiss to her temple. Just like the other three times, he’d stayed with her, holding her hand and whispering reassurance.

Quinn was the Smith of the
Pyr
and was always protective when she drew close to the end of a pregnancy, but there had been something particularly intense about him this fall. He hadn’t confided in her, probably because he hadn’t wanted to worry her, but Sara was ready to know the truth. She had no doubt that it had something to do with the end of the Dragon’s Tail Wars, which the
Pyr
’s prophecy declared would be resolved over the next year. She had no doubt which side she wanted to win, and to her relief, the
Slayers
seemed to already be out of the picture.

Quinn had probably just been worrying.

There was a fluster of activity, then the baby gave a cough and a cry. The attending staff in the delivery room cheered. Sara smiled without opening her eyes.

“Congratulations. Another perfect boy!” Dr. Mulholland said and Sara almost laughed that her doctor was surprised.
Pyr
only had sons, but Sara wasn’t going to tell her doctor her partner’s secret. “And just as healthy as the others. Blue eyes like his dad and his brothers. You are going to have a handsome bunch of teenagers one of these days.” Sara opened her eyes to watch the doctor pass the swaddled boy to Quinn and saw Quinn’s proud smile. “Soon you’ll have delivered more babies than me, Sara.”

Sara laughed despite herself. “No threats like that, please.”

Dr. Mulholland gave her a twinkling glance, only now pulling down her mask. “You know what causes it. I’ve told you before that it can be managed.”

“But Quinn was the fifth son in his family.”

“Ah, so I’ll see you again in the new year.” The older woman smiled and shook her head. “You’ve had no complications and you’re young, Sara. If you want to try for another, I’ll be right here with you.” She shrugged. “It might be nice for you to have daughter to keep all these sons in line.”

“One more, either way, then we’re done,” Sara said and Quinn nodded. The doctor gave her a thumbs-up and left them to admire their new arrival. The other boys were with their closest neighbors, whose sons were their playmates. That couple had no idea how thick and deep the dragonsmoke barrier was around their home. Quinn had been breathing it for weeks.

“Are you going to tell me his name now?” Quinn teased in a murmur. “I know you chose it a while ago.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you now?” she replied. “You don’t fool me. Was there a firestorm with this full moon?”

Quinn sobered. “It was an eclipse. A blood moon.”

“I suppose if any kind of moon is going to fill the maternity wards, it should be a blood moon,” Sara said, then dropped her voice so low that only Quinn would be able to hear her. The staff were cleaning up and making themselves scarce, obviously intending to give the new parents a little privacy. “Was there a firestorm?”

Quinn nodded once and whispered in her ear. “It was Drake’s.”

“Oh good. I like Drake.”

Quinn’s gaze searched hers. “Have you received a prophecy about it?”

Sara shook her head. As the seer of the
Pyr
, she often did receive prophecies about firestorms, but not this time. That was why she hadn’t been sure there had even been a firestorm. “I’ve been a little busy the past day or so.” Quinn’s smile was fleeting. “Why? Is something wrong?”

Quinn flicked a glance at the staff, then whispered in her ear again. “Three
Slayers
attacked and abducted Drake’s mate.”

Sara was outraged. “But there are no
Slayers
left, only Jorge.”

Quinn shook his head and bent low over their new son. “There are suddenly more, all of whom look exactly like Boris Vassily.”

Sara caught her breath.

“Two
Slayers
also attacked Erik in Chicago.”

“Five new
Slayers
,” Sara whispered. “Where did they come from?”

“No one knows.” Quinn was grim. “Fortunately Donovan and Delaney were there to help. Donovan had a bad feeling and suggested to Delaney that they be in Chicago for the eclipse.”

“I’m glad he did. Is Erik going to be okay?” Sara was relieved when Quinn nodded, then remembered. “Erik and Boris had a blood feud. He killed Boris years ago.”

“And somehow that
Slayer
is back.” Quinn was grim. “I don’t understand it, but something’s happening. We should all be together.”

Sara felt a moment’s panic. “The boys are okay?”

“Yes, I just phoned. All is well, but I’d like us to be together, and with the other
Pyr
.”

They’d talked about this possibility as the end of the Dragon’s Tail Wars loomed on the calendar and Sara was glad they’d already made a tentative plan. She wasn’t glad that they had to use it. She looked at her new son and her heart squeezed. She’d been so sure that the
Pyr
were just finishing up the Dragon’s Tail Wars, that Jorge would be killed by one of the others and their futures would be secure. Now she feared anew for Quinn and the boys.

“What happens to them if you lose?” she whispered, fighting against her urge to seize her new son and hold him tightly. “Will they just be like other boys?” Sara was asking whether they would fail to become dragon shifters at all, since the developed at puberty for the sons of the
Pyr
. She couldn’t say the alternatives aloud. That her boys might be compelled to become
Slayers
or that they might die along with Quinn were horrific prospects.

Quinn bent and put his lips against her ear. “It won’t matter,” he murmured so quietly that no one else can hear. “Garrett is the oldest of the young
Pyr
and he’s only six.”

Sara felt sick and panicky. Her boys wouldn’t even grow up if the
Pyr
lost?
Slayers
would hunt them down and slaughter them, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Not without Quinn.

“California?” she mouthed and Quinn nodded.

“I’ve got a feeling that it’s time,” he said and she knew that the appearance of these new
Slayers
had changed everything for him.

“Portents are my department,” Sara teased. She closed her hand over his when he didn’t smile. “You should have told me.”