Let me take a moment to explain a bit more about me and Xochil. Xochil’s body has everything a normal human has. even a working beating heart, though it is my dragon core. Dragons have a heart, our biological center, and our core, our mystical center. Our mystical core can only be destroyed when our biological heart is destroyed.
Since it’s my core in Xochil’s body, her body is no longer human, or no longer as human as her body originally was. She was a Nephilim, the child created from the union of a human woman and an angelic father. Whether the angel was righteous or fallen, it really doesn’t matter biologically. Add a dragon to the mix and it can make things interesting, and… problematic.
For starters, dragons are always fertile. That translates to any form I take. Luna’s attack left her barren. That could be repaired with magic… but being around other wolves in heat is not…feasible.
It does mean that Xochil’s body is always in heat. Jeriel helps keep the ‘procreation’ urge at bay, which keeps the dragon/Nephilim pheromones under control. Non-humans can smell it, though Chaz and Alec have never told me what it smelled like. That might actually be a blessing, come to think of it.
Being a dual-entity as we are, things get a bit complicated. I share my consciousness and memories with this shell, and she shares her senses with me. The senses are heightened by the draconic presence in the body, and, as we just found out, without my conscience to process those senses, it can be confusing to Xochil.. my ‘Host’ of sorts. I’d never encountered anything that could cause a break in those connections.
Things went bad, quickly. I could not share my memories and a part of my consciousness with her after the attack, which made me feel helpless. I’m a dragon, dammit. We don’t do ‘helpless’.
The interesting part of having this highly developed brain is that most of the time it’s all active, like a severe case of A.D.D. Tonight, my mind needed a break, so I found myself in a dream. I really dislike dreaming. The past should stay where it is.
It was late afternoon, and I was working on preparing a new pelt for the tent. I was a child, young in years. My shell was young.. about six or seven. I was still barely a hatchling… and hadn’t been flying but a couple of seasons at this point. We lived on the outskirts of the oasis, away from the others. We were different, and rumors were constantly being whispered about us.
Although it was not that uncommon for a male to visit our tent from time to time, the man that showed up this day was different. His robes were a blinding white, and his skin even appeared to glow with this same brightness. His glow faded a bit as Mother called me to her. I adjusted my wraps to look presentable.
“Child, meet Samael… that is the name you are now going by, correct?” she asked.
The man chuckled softly. “Samael is acceptable, yes. Have you given the little one a name of the land?”
Mother shook her head. “Without a name of the land, the other children cannot tease her.” She then looked down at me. “This is the one who taught us how to look like the other people.”
“So he was the one who taught us how to hide. I am grateful.” I said softly, trying to be respectful.
Samael smiled and nodded, then looked back to Mother. “Have you heard of Lyllethia’s whereabouts, perchance?” he asked.
“I heard some other angels saying that they had heard of her to the northeast, but that is all I know.”
He sighed. “I see. I will head that way then. Every day without her makes my being ache.” He stared off for a moment. “As payment for your knowledge, I will bestow upon you some. The Holy Legion has a plan in the works to flood this entire basin.”
“We’ve had floods before, to the south… though no one speaks of it.” Mother remarked.
“Not this bad. They’re just now preparing three different rivers to change their paths, and have it coincide with a sea storm and a massive tidal wave. They say it would keep this basin under water for about 3 weeks, maybe longer. They are trying another cleansing on your kind. “
“Do they have a plan on keeping the people alive?” she asked.
“They’ve marked one bloodline in this region to survive. A young man named Nukhu and his family.”
“But that man is not of sound mind.” she laughed.
“He is loyal, and adamant about the original teachings. The Holy Legion is grooming him as we speak. By season’s end, the Legion will be guarding the skies, preventing the escape, So I suggest you leave as soon as you’re able.”
I looked up at him and asked, “Why do you tell us this, why help us?”
“Those who help me reunite with my love are more valuable to me than all the riches of the world. And I make sure to guard my riches when I can.” Those words faded away as I felt the dream end, finally.
---V---
“Wow… now this is a rare sight.” I heard a man say as I slid back into awakeness. Sniffing the air revealed the scent of linen and leather, but no smell of flesh. I opened my dual-lidded eyes only to blink them shut at the sight of massive amounts of arcane energy...holy energy. An angel… fuck. Instinct drew my 40 foot body into a defensive form. Smoke rolled from my nostrils as I prepared to roar at this being, only to realize that I knew this one.
“Hello, Jerome,” I snarled down at him. He was just shy of 6 feet tall, wearing a white suit and black leather loafers. He was a little portly, with his 6 inch flat top, faded to the temples, expertly styled His black-pupiled eyes were clear and bright. His skin was like polished mahogany. He smirked as he crossed his arms.
“I tried to visit you in the hospital, but your little elf and a human detective wouldn’t let me in the room.”
“That ordeal really messed me up, Jerome. They were salt-etched rounds, and he smelled of myrrh.”
He scratched his chin. “Cihuacoatl, I can assure you that whoever did this, they were not sent from any churches in Asheville. The Choirs do know you’re here… but you and the silver beast are two of the few that they leave alone.”
“Comforting thought there, that’s for sure.” I sighed, flying up to the roof, where my clothes were. It’s a shame I can’t take my clothing between forms. Thankfully I only slip my clothes when I shift, unlike the shifters, who shred their clothes.
Jerome flew to the roof as I resumed my human shape. I grabbed my panties and started getting dressed. “Even if the Church is not involved, you do know how risky it is for me to interfere…,” he said, staring into the rising sun.
“I know… and I don’t want to do that fighting in Asheville, either. I’ve watched this city grow up, and It does feel like home.”
“I understand.” He knelt, feeling the texture of the shingles as he traced a large gash through one. Damn, I guess I need to have the roof redone now. He chuckled aloud for some reason, then looked at me. “So are you ready to share what you did to the biker gang that ran this place?”
I was facing him, hooking my bra when he asked. I spun it around, working it into place. “Nope, because unlike me, you cannot lie. If I tell you and someone tells you to talk… you’ll be an angel.” I grabbed my jeans.
“There’s always the confessional…” he mused aloud as I just stared at him.
“Confessional, really? How big of a fool do you take me for, Jerome?”
He just nodded, looking down for a moment. “Can’t blame me for trying.” I sighed, rolling my eyes. Good one there, buddy. But.. that was an idea.
“Confessional then,” I said, sitting back down on the same roof I spent the previous evening on. He sat beside me.
“I must make this legitimate… Do you have something to confess, my child?”
“I do…” and after uttering those words, I heard everything around us go silent. This was Angelic power. I’ve never felt this flavor of magic before, but my senses were alert as I looked at it, examined it, and learned it.
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“Please begin. Only mine and the Creator’s ears can hear us now.”
“Okay. You remember the Welsh dragon I met as a child?” I started.
“The silver beat I mentioned earlier? I do. You spoke of your feelings for him when we talked in my living days.”
“Then, as you know, he resides near my mountain home, and is the leader of a werewolf pack that runs around there.”
“A dragon running a shifter pack? really?” Jerome was surprised
I nodded. “When he arrived, their leader had been killed, and they were chaotic… almost revealing themselves quite a few times. Razorback got the pack in order, and they started to thrive.”
“Until?” Jerome asked, trying to nudge the story along.
“Until Razorback found out that there was a sect of Hell’s Angels hunting the werewolves. Razorback enlisted my help, and while Razorback was helping his wolves defend their home, Chaz, Alec and I attacked their base. Chaz and I fed well that day. I allowed a couple to escape, to warn the others to get out of town. Razorback and the others wiped out the rest, and I went to the state Hell’s Angel’s chapter and requested the deed to the bar. They offered no resistance, even apologizing for the problems their members caused us. They have a strict “Leave non-humans alone” policy, and only made the request to retrieve their dead and their bikes. I wasn’t unreasonable at all. After applying for a new deed in my name, I had Tony’s drug unit go through the place. ‘Whatever you find that’s illegal you deal with’.. et cetera. Afterwards, I started hiring people to renovate the place, and dug out an exit from the third floor.”
“So that’s it?” he asked as I remembered that I was still wanting to get dressed,
“Yep you can drop the spell now,” My ears popped at the pressure change and the sounds of nature returning. I’m no mage, ut that spell was remarkably simple. It could come in handy.
I felt his eyes on me as he spoke again. Those weren’t the eyes of a priest, or the eyes of an angel. “You know, it amazes me how comfortable you are in your natural form. Back then I get, but in this day and age, it’s almost unheard of.”
I turned away from him, giving him a sexy sight of my butt as I slid my jeans over my hips and reached for my shirt. “Yeah, just wait til I tell your congregation that you were hitting on a naturist…” I chuckled as he faded from sight. I stood there for a moment, staring at where he’d been. “Still don’t understand how he got recruited…” I mused, throwing my shirt on and climbing down, heading for a shower.
Within the hour Chaz and I were pulling into the Flayre Dance club parking lot. If I had to go anywhere during the day that I couldn’t walk to, either Alec or Chaz would take me. I had a license and could drive… I even have my own car. I just never saw the point when I could fly. Chaz, though, drove everywhere. Today we were in his 71 Ford Mach 1 Mustang. It was black, shiny, and could outrun most of the cars on the road. He loved this car. He turned to me.
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked.
“I gave my word that I would not let Asheville turn into a cesspool like Charlotte or Atlanta.”
“But hell, Jac... that was over 140 years ago. You don’t owe them anything.”
I shook my head and got out of the car. I was in a denim blue scoop-neck t shirt with the “Queen of Spades” logo on the sleeves. Alec has these done up when I had the sign done for the bar. The colored ones were more comfortable than the black, which did go with just about everything. A pair of blue low-rise jeans and a brown pair of hiking boots finished the look, with me adding a blue denim jacket to hide my gun.
Against the humans I fought them with their own weapons. Most of the time the Sig stayed loaded with Federal HST hollow points. Good stopping power. I had a couple of magazines loaded with different rounds, but those were for unique situations. There’s a family up in south-central Virginia that has been supplying me with steel and silver rounds for as long as I have been carrying. Steel is pretty common, and I could probably buy my fae defense off the shelf, but I’ve been dealing with the Gallos for 30 years or better. You go with what you know works.
Today I had the Sig tucked into a blue JM4 Magnetic Quick Click and Carry holster, attached to my belt. I have several, dyed different colors to match my outfits… must be a female thing. I tried several other holsters before the JM4, but they were too bulky and were harder to conceal. This was the first one I found that I really liked. It wasn’t too bulky, could disappear under a shirt, and left-hand accessibility was a must. .
The dance club was set in an old warehouse, so it looked unimpressive from the outside. We parked near the front doors, in an old asphalt parking lot that time had nearly completely reduced to gravel. They were technically open at 11 A.M., but there were only a couple cars scattered about, most likely staff. Chaz beat me to the door, opening it like a good bodyguard. When he carried, he never took any steps to hide it, with the exception of maybe putting a jacket on, which just showed that he had a gun under the jacket. Chaz was the type who honestly couldn’t care less about it. Looking at his back as he stood there showed me that he wasn’t armed today… But I knew him and I knew. Anyone else didn’t.
We went inside, with the smell of booze and sweat slapping me in the face. The setup reminded me more of a strip joint than a dance club. It had been, but had been shut down. The Serpents saw it as a way to legitimize, so they did… with my help of course.
The entrance led to a small room with a display case with various merchandise in it, with a stool and a cash register behind it. Straight from the entrance was a set of double doors leading into the club. Tito, their daytime bouncer, met us as soon as we entered, my eyes quickly adjusting to the darker, more subdued lighting. Chaz simply took his sunglasses off..
Tito Zavala was exactly as tall as I was, but was cut and chiseled into a fine body. If I chased after humans, he would have been in my bed a year ago. He kept his hair in a military cut, and his pencil thin mustache was trimmed close to his face. The things I’d do to this man…
Tito served 4 years in the Marine Corps with his best friend’s husband. When his mother became ill, he transitioned to the Reserves, so he could take care of her.
“Jacquelene…” he said almost purring… that latino accent heavy and thick. “Good to see you. Mira and Stef said that they miss you and you need to come over for dinner some time.”
“Me? Only met them once, in passing really. How have they been?” I didn't think I made that kind of impression. What did he tell them?
“They’re good. Mira’s got this online web series thing going. She can tell you all about it if you take them up on her offer.”
“They’re trying to hook us up, aren’t they?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips.
He shrugged, giving me a half-smile. “Anyways… I heard the Rodriguez girl has sanctuary with you again.”
“So you knew I was trying to pull her out?” I asked, fighting the growl that was creeping into my voice.”
“Si’, Madrecita. I was asked to take her to your bar, but my mother.. she fell and broke her hip. I spent two days in the hospital with her.”
“You gave me your word you would help protect her…” I was losing the battle with the growl.. quickly.
“Calm down zmej. They’re close with their family… I get that. Don’t project…” Wow, this was bad… Chaz was trying to calm me down.
“Raziel knew I wanted her. He knows that I have the power to pull anyone out of here I wish!” I finally growled. I haven’t been in the building for 5 minutes and I’m already pissed. This was not going to bode well.
“Raze knew, Madrecita. He was totally down with that. Hell, the day he got locked up he was headed to your place with Emily, he was taking her, since I couldn’t. He also said he needed to talk to you… then Simon showed up.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know his last name. He’s Ralphie’s cousin from Miami. They’re saying that he planted Raze’s car and called the cops. After he was cuffed and hauled off, he and Ralphie took control.” He sighed.
“You were topped by two cabrónes? What the fuck?”
Tito just shook his head. “Raze had been filtering out all the heavy shit after you threatened to kill him. He was trying to clean things up. Ralphie was his main slinger and was pissed that his cash flow had been chopped to hell. Raze didn’t want to go up against you Madrecita. Hell… none of us did. We met a couple of survivors from that biker gang. When we see two big burly guys literally pissing themselves at the mere mention of your name, we decided to make sure to stay on your good side.”
“Are the two cabrónes here?” I asked.
“Who, Ralphie and Simon?” He then shook his head. “They’re in Spartanburg setting up some high end runs.”
“There’s no way I’m going to let that shit come into this city. Did he have something to do with me being shot a few weeks back?”
“What the fuck? Someone tried to cap you?”
I nodded. “I took two in the back and a sawed-off in the face “
“Well… whoever did it didn’t know you were like Chaz. Damn, Madrecita, you’re like a Timex.. taking a lickin’ and you keep on tickin’...” We both chuckled. “You know who did it?”
“I wish I did. I need to end them, quickly,” I growled.
He nodded in agreement. “ I’ll get some of the chicas to ask around.”
“By the way, I’ll be needing another employee or two soon… a server and a cook.”
“I went to culinary school, Jacquelline, Take me. I’d much rather be cooking than in this cuchitril…”
I might take you up on that, Try you out and see if I can get you working for me.” I winked at him and turned to the door.
“Promise?” I heard him yell as Chaz opened the door.
We left, quickly making it back to the car. I had to get away from Tito before I broke my own rule and bedded a human male… again
“Jeriel will be back in a couple of days, you horny lizard. Try to keep those pheromones in check until then, would you?” Chaz said as he rolled the window down.
“Shut it, you damned handle-head,” I growled as he started the car. He turned left onto Deaverview road, settling into traffic as my temper broiled. I know Asheville PD didn’t like me stepping on their toes… and most of the human conflicts resolved themselves. I won’t let this bastard challenge me though. My dragon was craving blood, and the hell with the human law enforcement. “Send Chief Calahan an invite,” I said, staring out the window. “We need to go hunting.”
“Is it my birthday already?” Chaz said, chuckling. He pulled his phone from his jacket and placed it to his ear. A moment later he hung up. “No answer,” he grumbled.
As we passed Deaver Park Circle, I watched a newer Lincoln Navigator turn behind us. Looking in the rearview mirror, I watched an Ak-47 poke itself out of the passenger window, “We have a shooter!” I yelled as I pulled the seat recline lever, laying the seat back so I could roll over. The Sig was in my hand, and I slammed against the door as he downshifted and punched it, whipping around a truck in front of him.
A bullet hit the door mirror beside me as Chaz blew through a stop light, damn near taking the car sideways as we turned onto North Bear Creek. As their next shot took out the back glass, I took aim and fired twice into their windshield. They swerved violently, then shot back. I ducked down as 3 rounds zipped over my head, punching through the glass behind me.
“I’m taking the repairs out of that motherfucker’s soul,” Chaz growled as the Navigator dropped back a couple of car lengths. I landed 3 more shots in their grill, but didn’t have time to celebrate. The shooter hit one of our tires. “Hold on!” Chaz yelled, as the Mach 1 spun out. The Navigator plowed into my side, and I soon found myself in Chaz’ lap.
The wreck pushed us onto US 23. I forced the Chaz’ door open, firing twice into the SUV as my feet hit the ground. I black-haired man rolled from the passenger side, snuggling the AK against his shoulder. Before he could fire, however, we were swarmed by blue lights and 6 police cars. Instead of firing at them or running, he placed his gun on the ground and placed his hands behind his head.
“Well you get to have your meeting with the Chief now,” Chaz laughed, as we all were cuffed.