An hour passed, and then another. The party continued, making her wish she were there having fun instead of flicking off ants or some other bug she couldn’t see as it crawled over her. A raccoon approached, then skittered off when it spotted her.
Kade’s call jerked her out of her lethargy. She rose, following it while keeping an eye out for sounds and shadows. She called back, two lonely whip-poor-wills in the night.
Horny, indeed.
That Kade was calling meant someone was near, or approaching. Her Dragon vibrated, ready to Catalyze. She put her hand to her waist as she walked, feeling its heat as it moved against her skin. Kade wasn’t far, and within minutes, she came up beside him. At the same moment, she heard the crack of a twig nearby. Then a high-pitched whistle, clearly a Fringe call. She didn’t know what it meant.
Kade wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her close. Her backside bumped into him. In the near distance, a flashlight blinked through the trees. His hand tightened on her, but otherwise he gave away nothing.
The Violet she used to be clawed at her as insistently as her Dragon did. Kade must have sensed it because he put his cheek next to hers and shook his head.
The man—given his heavy footfalls—cut a zigzag path toward the property line. He gave another whistle, and she thought it might be a check-in signal: All clear.
Then he turned toward them, slashing the light back and forth. In a brief illumination of his face, she thought it might be Paul Slade. He was no doubt doing a security check, having heard about the murders. If he found them, he’d attack.
Kade held out his hand, palm up. What looked like a clear orb formed on his palm and quickly grew larger. It wobbled, like one of those oversized bubbles that big wands made when you put them in a dish of soapy water.
She could now see Paul’s face in the glow of his flashlight. The orb was nearly as tall as they were. Kade pulled her close against the front of his body and brought the bubble over and around them. His hand splayed across her collarbone.
He whispered very softly in her ear, “Stay still. Quiet. He can’t see us but he can hear us.”
She wasn’t familiar with Deuce magick and had never seen an orb like this. The bubble felt cold, which was an odd contrast to the warm, muggy night.
Paul slashed the light closer and closer to the edge of the bubble and then finally across it. The light didn’t penetrate, bouncing off the edge of it. He did pause, looking in their direction for a moment. Then he released another whistle and moved on.
She and Kade remained in their insulated cocoon that muffled the sounds somewhat. When Paul’s flashlight was only a twinkle, Kade said, “I’m going to extinguish the orb.”
“I’ve never heard of an orb like this.”
“It’s a mirror orb. From the outside, the person sees only a reflection of the surroundings. If they look close enough, they could figure it out, but it’s not likely in the dark.”
The orb shattered with a soft zzzt, like a popped bubble. Before she could even wonder if she should return to her post, they heard another sound: flesh hitting flesh. Hard.
They ran, Violet loosening her clothing as she did so. The sight of two Dragons fighting sent her into Catalyzation. Now her night vision was crisp, clear, and tinted wine-red. Paul Slade and a Carnelian Dragon she didn’t recognize slashed at each other. She smelled blood. The Carnelian’s eyes flared as she saw them. Violet felt feminine energy.
Paul’s Dragon took advantage of her momentary distraction and started to limp away. The female pulled out one of her scales and, with her clawed hand, threw it at him. Even though he ducked, it followed his movement and hit him in the chest, exploding in a flash of white.
No way. No friggin’ way could a Carnelian do that.
Paul hit the ground, and the Carnelian came at her. Kade intercepted, bringing his dagger down with its arc of magick electricity. It cut into the Carnelian’s back but didn’t slow her momentum. Her fangs grazed Violet’s shoulder before the Carnelian let out a scream and jerked back.
A white light roughly the size of a bowling ball shot up to float above them, shedding light across the area for Kade, who couldn’t see in the dark like a Dragon could.
The Carnelian’s vertical irises widened on Violet as she took a defensive posture. “You.”
“Who are you?” Violet asked.
The Carnelian pulled another scale and sent it flying at her. Like a mini-missile, it changed its course when Violet ducked to the side. She’d never fought a Diamond Dragon, only knew the legend about their scales.
The legend was true. Hell of a way to find out.
Kade tried to deflect the scale, but the damned thing was too fast. He sent a cloud of magick at it, his arms outstretched as though to ward off the hit. Blue arcs of electricity shimmered over his body, incredibly beautiful and dangerous all at once.
With Kade’s focus on the scale, the Carnelian came up behind him. Before Violet could warn him, he was body-slammed into a nearby tree. Then she came at Violet. She met her halfway, slamming her armor-plated body into the bitch, who wasn’t expecting that. The Carnelian fell to the ground but was on her feet and coming at her again.
“Why are you doing this?” Violet screamed. “Why are you starting a war?”
The bitch smiled. Her narrow tongue darted out to lick her lips. “Oh, Violet, it’s too late to play the little peacemaker now.”
