Kissed by Fire (25 page)

“So, Halfling, you debase yourself to a
mortal. Allow yourself to be treated as a brainless farm animal.
Typical.” The low grumbling voice was familiar.

“Hello, Drago.” My voice was just ever so
slightly tart. It wouldn’t pay to piss off the king of dragons, but
I wasn’t about to let him insult my boyfriend. Lover. Whatever. “Is
this the sort of hospitality I can expect from your kind?”

He was in human form, but I swear he suddenly
grew bigger. “Pardon?”

“I am your guest, here at your behest, and
yet you insult me.” Oh, look at me with the big words.

“Insult I may have given, but it was not
meant for you, Morgan Bailey.”

“And yet your very inference that I am less
than your equal is an insult. Not to mention, any insult to Inigo
is an insult to me. Remember, it was a mere human who saved your
asses.” He could stick that in his pipe and smoke it.

Drago inclined his head, his bearing regal.
“The point is well taken, Morgan Bailey. I beg pardon for the
insult to you and your ... friend.”

“Thank you. Apology accepted.” I turned to
Inigo. “You should go now. You can pick me up later.” I so did not
want to tempt fate, despite Drago’s promise that Inigo would be
safe.

“There is no need,” Drago spoke up. “He is
perfectly safe here.”

I raised both brows at that. “From what I
hear you have a penchant for murdering Halflings.”

Drago snorted at that, a little wisp of smoke
escaping his nostrils. “It has been many human generations since we
ceased such barbaric practices. Even without my promised safe
passage, he would never come to harm among us.”

I believed him. Or, to be more accurate, the
Fire inside me believed him. It knew he told the truth the way I
knew when a vampire was near. I tried really hard not to freak out
then and there. Instead I turned to the matter at hand. “Now, may I
ask why I have been invited to your Conclave?”

“Of course.” Drago smiled and took my arm,
eliciting a tiny grumble from Inigo.

I shot Inigo an annoyed look over my shoulder
and he quieted. Inigo jealous was a weird concept.

“First, let me introduce you to my other
guests.” Drago drew me further down the wall to where two human men
stood. I knew them both immediately. “These are the liaisons
between my people and yours. Dexter Jones and Trevor Daly.
Gentlemen, this is Morgan Bailey.”

They nodded politely and I followed suit,
though I was somewhat surprised to see Dex. I guess that meant
they’d arrested Alister, but apparently we were keeping our cards
close to our chests. I wasn’t sure why, if we were all friends, but
then I’d never been too good with political bullshit so what did I
know.

I stepped away from Drago to shake hands
first with my brother, then with Kabita’s brother. As we shook, Dex
whispered, “Dad got wind of the investigation and disappeared.”

“Shit.”

“No kidding,” he sounded tired.

“So, you’re in charge?”

“Yeah. Not that I wanted this.”

I squeezed his hand. “That’s why you’ll be so
good at it.”

“Hope you’re right.”

“And you, of course, know our dear friend.”
Drago turned me slightly to face the large oak that grew up from
the center of the Wall. A woman wrapped in a white cloak stepped
from the shadows.

“Sandra!”

She smiled her winsome smile. “Hello, Morgan.
Lovely to see you again. I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Yeah, great. Now will someone please be so
kind as to tell me why I’m here?” I’d never had much patience and
mine was rapidly running thin.

“We invited you here,” Drago said, “to honor
you, Morgan.”

I turned to him, surprised. “Honor me?
Why?”

“Two reasons. First and foremost by your
faith and your action, you have saved our people from genocide at
the hands of a madman.”

I wasn’t sure about the madman part. Alister
Jones had seemed frightfully sane. “And second?”

“Second,” his mouth curled into a smile and
his campfire/s’mores scent curled around me as he placed his right
palm over my heart. The heat was intense and before I could stop
it, the Fire inside me rushed out, across his hand and up his
arm.

“We honor you, Morgan Bailey,” his voice
boomed across the valley, “as Fire Bringer.”

Hundreds of dragons launched themselves into
the air, fire gushing from their mouths. The shrieks and cries were
deafening, but I could only stand and stare as the fire within me
engulfed the king of the dragons.

***

“You OK?” Trevor plopped down beside me,
dangling his long legs over the Wall.

“I just saw a man burn to death. By my hand.
So, no. Not OK.”

“He’s a dragon, Morgan. He’s not just any
dragon, he’s the Drago. He didn’t burn.”

I glared at him. “Like that’s supposed to
make me feel any better? It creeps me out even more.”

Which was true. The Fire that had come from
inside me to engulf Drago had left him completely unharmed. In
fact, he’d seemed to enjoy it. Which hadn’t pleased Inigo terribly
much, not that I could blame him. It hadn’t exactly pleased me,
either.

Apparently tradition indicated that a Fire
Bringer was property of the Drago. And not just any property.
Sexual property. Like that was going to happen. I didn’t care if he
did smell like a frigging s’more.

Trevor took my hand. It felt good to have a
brother. “Hey, at least things are looking up. With Dex the head of
MI8, the edict against Witches has been rescinded.”

I brightened at that. “They’re giving Ben his
job back?”

He laughed. “Ben Landry is now a very rich
man. Alison left him everything.”

“Awesome.” I was really glad things were
turning out well for Ben. Though losing Alison wasn’t something
he’d ever get over.

“He pretty much told MI8 where to stick it.
He’s opening up his own consulting firm and charging triple for his
services. Dex is furious, but Ben’s the best there is so he’s going
to have to grin and bear it, thanks to Alister.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Daly. Might I have a word
with Morgan?” Sandra’s musical voice broke into my thoughts.

“Of course, Ms. Fuentes.” He stood and gave
my shoulder a squeeze. I was definitely starting to get used to
this whole big brother thing.

Sandra took his place in a flurry of robes.
She should have looked ridiculous, but instead she looked
wonderfully ethereal. I had a feeling she’d spent a lot of time
living between two worlds.

“So, you and the Halfling, hmm?”

I clenched my fist, anger coursing through
me. How dare everyone treat him like some kind of freak. “His name
is Inigo.”

“Yes, of course. I do apologize. I meant no
offense.” She drew her knees up under her chin and let out a sigh.
“That’s simply what the dragons call them. I forget sometimes that
humans are more sensitive about such things.”

“What? About insults?”

She gave me a surprised look. “It’s not an
insult, Morgan.”

I gave her a look of sheer disbelief.
“Halflings are under order of execution. Or they were, anyway. How
can it be anything but an insult?”

Her eyes grew wide. “Execution? Oh, my dear
girl. That may have been true centuries ago, but not for a long
time now. Halfling children are treasured just as dearly as dragon
children. They are no less; they are equal.”

“But Inigo’s family, they had to protect him
... ” Except that the truth was the dragons had never known about
him. What if his family had been wrong?

She shook her head. “Old superstitions. You
can’t blame them. How would they know? Humans and dragons haven’t
mixed in over a millennia.”

“So, he’s been hiding the last four hundred
years for nothing?”

She shrugged. I burst out laughing. It was
all so ridiculous. All this wasted time hiding. An entire family
giving up their lives to protect their own. For nothing. Inigo
hadn’t needed protecting. He would have been a cherished member of
his clan.

“Gods. That’s bat shit crazy.”

“Indeed. But I think everything will turn out
all right in the end. Things have a way of working out the way
they’re supposed to.”

I didn’t know that I had her faith. But I
hoped for Inigo’s sake she was right. I wanted him to have some
peace about his past. About his family. He deserved that.

“I’m not Drago’s property,” I blurted.

“You mean the Fire Bringer thing?” She looked
surprised. “Of course not. That’s just another one of the Old Ways.
Fire Bringer is an honorary title now. Very revered by the Clans,
but nothing more.”

“What is it?” It was obviously a major honor
from the way the dragons were acting, but I didn’t have a clue. I’d
just gone along with it, bowing and thanking everyone.

“Put your hand in mine. Palm up.” She held
her hand, so I did as she asked. “Now watch,” she said softly.

As I watched, the center of my palm began to
glow orange, then flames danced just above, swirling into a
circular pattern. I could feel the Fire inside me being pulled up
through my hand ever so gently, but it was as though someone else
controlled it.

“This is the Fire that now lives inside you.”
Her voice was low, rhythmic.

I felt my eyelids grow heavy and my eyes lose
focus as I stared into the swirling flames dancing above the palm
of my hand. Sandra’s voice was hypnotic, pulling me deeper and
deeper.

“Millennia ago,” she continued, “the tribes
of man first met with the Clans. Surprised by their wit and
intelligence, the Clans swore never to harm the tribes of man. To
cement their new friendship, the Drago of the Clans gifted one of
the humans with the ability to channel Fire.

“This human was called Fire Bringer by the
Clans, though her people called her a Fire Mage. She became the
Drago’s lover and the intermediary between the Clans and the tribes
of man. Her presence could soothe even the raging anger of a
dragon.”

Somewhere in a distant corner of my brain, I
remembered Eddie telling me about the Fire Mages. “Atlantis,” I
whispered.

“Yes.” Sandra’s voice stayed low and even.
“The first Fire Bringer was of Atlantis and every Fire Bringer
thereafter was one of her descendents. But the Fire Bringers began
mating with ordinary humans and each generation grew less powerful
until one day, there were no more Fire Bringers. Thus was born the
first Rogue.”

I frowned. Drago had told me a little of the
Rogues. My mind tried to grab hold and connect the dots, but the
flames above my palm brightened and swirled and I was dragged under
again.

“Without a Fire Bringer, the Clans could not
ease the troubled mind of the Rogue, not even with the help of a
Dragon Child. And so thousands of humans died.

“Over the centuries with the ability to
create Fire Bingers lost, dragons have gone Rogue in greater and
greater numbers. And without the Dragon Hunters, the Drago has been
forced to kill his own time and again. The only chance for survival
of the race was to find another Fire Bringer. You, Morgan, are the
last human able to channel fire. And so you are the Fire
Bringer.”

She sat back and released my hand. Suddenly I
could think again.

“So, I’m some kind of peace maker?”

“For dragons, yes. Now that you’ve infused
the Drago with your Fire, the effect will trickle down to all the
Clans. Hopefully, it will prevent future Rogues. At least for a
while. In the human world, it is only a weapon.”

Yeah, I had that figured out already. Crap.
Could my life get any more complicated?

“So, he doesn’t expect me to, uh, you know
... ”

She laughed. “I think his wife might have
something to say about that.”

I blinked. “He’s married? Then why does he
keep doing that scent thing?”

She raised a brow. “Well, he
is
the
Drago. It’s a power display.”

“Men,” I huffed. She just laughed.

We were quiet for a minute, our eyes on the
dark valley. A few dragons still wheeled against the night sky, the
occasional spat of fire giving away their presence.

“It’s weird, though. Inigo and Drago smell a
lot alike.”

Both brows went up this time. “Are you sure?
The human sense of smell isn’t as keen as a dragon’s.”

I didn’t bother to tell her that I was a
little more than an ordinary human, Fire Bringer business aside.
“I’m sure.”

“Oh, dear,” she sighed. “That can only mean
one thing.”

I glanced over at her. I knew exactly what
she was thinking. “Should we tell them?”

We both turned to look at Inigo, still in
dragon form, and Drago in his human form. They were doing the male
staring contest thing. The testosterone could have killed an
elephant at forty paces.

“Oh, hell, no!” we both said at the same
time. Then we laughed.

Sometimes it was better to let the boys
figure things out for themselves.

“You know, Alister Jones is still out there,
free to do this all over again,” she said quietly.

Freaking fantastic. “I know. Dex told
me.”

She gave me a long look. Finally she spoke
and her words sent chills racing through me.

"So, Fire Bringer, what are you going to do
about it?”

* * *