Chapter 12

When I started writing this, I had a vague idea of telling a short tale about a Warlock/Lawyer type. I only had the roughest idea of where to go with the story. As I get busy I can’t write—but I can think, and now I have the full story plotted out. It is taking a bit longer than I thought. It should be wrapped by the end of summer, but I also thought that I would be able to release a chapter a week. The best laid plans of mice and men... am I right? Thank you for reading and thank you for commenting. I truly appreciate it. Thank you also, to my editor, Archangel_M, who polishes the turds I send him and puts a bit of shine to them. :)

Hope you enjoy.

-Ahaz

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” –Leonard Bernstein

I have every confidence in Ahaz. ;)

-Archangel_M

“I wanna see the dragons, Martin,” Chloe said.

“You’re not seeing the dragons, Chloe,” I responded.

“Martin, I really want to see the dragons,” she pressed.

“And I really want you to be safe, so you’re not seeing the dragons,” I stated flatly.

“You could need me! How much do you know about dragons?” she asked.

“Enough to know that Gwydion and I are the only ones going to this meeting,” I replied.

“Thought so. You’re gonna need Xandra, Sofia, and me to back you up,” Chloe said, almost lost in thought.

“You are not seeing the dragons, Chloe. I’m putting my foot down on this one,” I said with steel in my voice.

Two hours later Chloe, Xandra, Sofia, Gwydion and I were headed to a Dragon Council meeting.

How does this shit always happen to me? It all started when the plane landed in Jamaica. I swear, when those three ladies get together I might as well just give up.

Five days earlier

You would think that being a Warlock—Hell, THE Warlock—would get me used to heat. Not so. I couldn’t feel a breeze, and the humidity of the Jamaican air was stifling. We had a one-day layover in Jamaica to pick up the girls, and then we were headed to a little villa on an island that few people know about. It was supposed to have been a retirement home for a Venezuelan oil magnate, but then he decided to finance an unsuccessful coup and lost everything. I bought it for pennies on the dollar and finished it up. I also staked him some money to get back into the game. However, instead of oil, he decided the drug trade was more profitable. I got my return on investment just before he got killed by a rival cartel. I have no moral compunctions about taking money from drug lords, but the guys that replaced him didn’t seem to be the businessmen type I prefer to deal with. When they came looking for an investor, I refused them and they got a little primitive. I gave the CIA a heads-up that something was going down with the Mendoza cartel as my rage demons were tearing apart their operations. I had waited until Carlos, the head of the cartel, had sent his family away on vacation before striking. I wondered if that was a smart move or not, but I had done some research and found that his wife was ready to be done with the violence and her husband’s infidelity. One thing you don’t want to deal with is a pissed-off drug queen. Women who make it in that world scare me.

Sofia and Xandra’s flight was due an hour behind us, so we chilled at an open-air bar right outside the airport. Chloe had dressed Gwydion in linen shirt with loafers and loose slacks. With the hat and sunglasses, he looked like a local ... if the locals were 6’ 3’’ and pale as your friendly neighborhood ghost. Chloe herself had donned an oversized hat, oversized sunglasses, a wrap skirt and a loose white blouse. With her darker shading she really did look like a local. The only reason I mentioned their clothes is that they looked so different from how I normally see them.

After we had been sitting for a while, I noticed there was a commotion heading our way. It seemed almost all of the males in the bar were checking something out. There were a few females that were interested too. I caught sight of three statuesque woman walking very determinedly in my direction.

The only word to describe these women would be “Amazons.” They all had to be at least six feet tall and very well-proportioned. These were not your long-legged, celery-eating model types either; all three were very well-endowed in the hips, legs, and chest. The two brunettes were flanking the blonde, who was obviously the leader. I had turned my back to them and ordered another mojito. The whole situation was charged with an energy that I wanted no part of, I was on a Goddamned vacation, for Christ’s sake. No such luck; I felt them behind me, with every other male present hanging on their words.

“Martin Melshembar, the esteemed Draconic Council requests an audience with you five days hence at your villa,” I heard a strong yet feminine voice say. “The Accords of Merlin shall be observed and the Assurance of Safety will be in effect.”

I rotated on my stool and looked the speaker in the eye. She was stunning, no doubt about it. Taking a look around, I realized that the entire bar was entranced with her and her cohorts. I got the feeling that something supernatural was going on, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I was under the impression that this chick was used to being listened to.

“Nope,” I responded and turned back to get my drink. My bartender was so entranced with the woman that he had stopped making my mojito and was just staring. He was so close to done that I took the drink from his hand and opened the small bottle of club soda to finish it off. I tasted it and found it to be pretty good. He still wasn’t getting a tip for this drink if I had to finish it for him, though.

I looked over at Chloe and Gwydion and saw them blinking rapidly as if trying to shake something off. This only confirmed my suspicion that there was a charm of some sort active. I mentally ran through a few processes in my head and got a nice little spell ready for what I knew was going to happen next.

Sure enough I felt a hand grab my shoulder and yank me around. I went with it and charged my fist with a decent amount of Hellfyre energy. As I turned, I used the momentum to sock this bitch in the gut as hard as I could. I may have overdone it a bit, because she went flying almost thirty foot in the air and hit a support post for the bar’s canopy. Before she went airborne I had two bolts of Hellfyre hitting her guards in the face. This shocked them enough to let my soul siphon tendrils hit them, and within seconds I was drawing energy from them and ready to use it. Blondie got up and fired a white hot bar of energy at me. I got a Hellfyre shield up in time to stop it from hitting me, but this was a new wrinkle. This lady must be a Wizard if she was able to channel Magefyre.

All arcane supernaturals have a secondary source of power they can draw from if they are powerful enough. I learned at a young age how to channel the essence of Hell into what’s called Hellfyre. Due to the fact that I have to bring it across the planes, it’s fairly difficult to wield. Hellfyre is directly opposed by Angelfyre, which is energy drawn from the “higher” planes. I’ve heard that a few Paladins have been able to work it, and I have my suspicions about Gwydion. Because very few beings have planar resistances, both Hellfyre and Angelfyre are almost always devastating. Now, Wizards can channel energy directly from the ley lines they use into a mix of all four elements. The resulting weave, called Magefyre, is the weakest of all the secondary energies but is also the easiest to use. Histories are rife with accounts of fledgling Warlocks falling at the hands of Wizards due to the fact that the Warlock could only summon one big hit and the Wizard could keep punching all day, so to speak. Incidentally, Necromancers use something called Soulfyre. I am not sure what powers it, but it is more insidious and powerful than my Hellfyre. Just another reason for me to stay on Chloe’s good side.

The stream of Magefyre was weak but steady. She was probably not that strong of a Wizard, but the fact that she could do it at all was worthy of respect. I decided to end this by drawing a large amount of energy from her cohorts and hitting her with what I call a “meteor swarm” of small Hellfyre bolts.

She wasn’t able to switch from offense to defense quickly enough and at least five small bolts of Hellfyre hit her. She dropped to her knees and stopped channeling, then she lurched towards the door and I saw her start to glow. Making my way across the bar, I went to the door and saw her stumbling down the road. When she got clear of enough people and cars she glowed even brighter, then instantly transformed. Into a mother fucking dragon. The size of a 747 jetliner. She roared and looked back at me with a baleful look in her eye. Then she jumped into the air and flew off toward the west. I was hit from behind as her two guardians ran out and similarly transformed following her. This wasn’t gonna come back to bite me. Right.

After that display everything was pretty much anticlimactic. Gwydion and Chloe shook off whatever shielding effects the dragons had used within a minute, and wanted answers. I recounted the tale, along with my belief that we were going to hear from them again. Gwydion got a gleam in his eye, and I realized there is something about Paladins and dragons that makes the guys in white channel their inner St. George. It took about 5 more minutes for the bar to get back to normal. I sipped my mojto and allowed myself a nice amount of self-pity. All I wanted was a damn break before I went and beat the shit out of that dumbass Luthair. I also admit that I was feeling a little anxious about seeing Sofia and Xandra again. I had admitted to myself a while ago that I was in love with Xandra, but my feelings for Sofie were more complicated. I had never really gotten over her, but Xandra had filled the gap she’d left very well. Was there room for Sofia now? How would it affect my feelings for Xan? I loved them both ... could it really work to have the three of us together?

JEEZ, Boss! I woulda thought you were over this by now. Xandra’s voice popped into my mind. I’m gonna love you no matter what, and Sofia is gonna love you no matter what. Sofia and I are developing a very loving relationship that I’m sure is going to turn into more. Plus SEX! I’ve showed Sofie a few things, and she has got some serious muscles inside that tight little pussy of hers. You’re gonna be begging for mercy!

You know you don’t have to listen to every thought I have, right? I sent back.

Ha! We wanna get laid as soon as we can get to a bed. We need you to get out of your head, so you have only one thing on your mind: US! Speaking of which, get us a ride as we’re about to land. I’ve already arranged for our luggage to be brought to the room, so there will be no waiting at the claim area.

Never one to argue with a horny sex demon, I called the limo service and made sure that the ride was waiting. I sat in the car for a second, but decided I needed to see my women as soon as possible so I went in and stood so I could see them as they deplaned.

Chloe was almost as anxious to see them as I was. Droga’s talk of anchor points made me look at Chloe with a fresh perspective. I was glad that she felt safe with us, and again made a pact with myself to keep her safe.

I didn’t need to see my women to know they were close. I only had to watch the reactions of the crowd around them. Two guys literally stumbled into each other, they were gawking so hard. Xandra appeared in the corridor first, wearing a pair of jean shorts cut off so high that they looked almost like a bikini bottom. Her long legs ended in platform sandals. Her white sleeveless blouse was loose and had a low cut. The movement beneath the blouse left no doubt that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was sporting oversized sunglasses and a lollypop. Right behind her was Sofia, with her short blond hair framing her face. She was wearing a top that looked almost like a sports bra that left her hard abs exposed, along with a wrap that hugged every inch of her tight ass and toned legs. The wrap was pretty much see-through when she walked. Things got even more voyeuristic when they saw us and started running.

They both hit me at the same time and started kissing and babbling excitedly. After a few seconds Xandra was rubbing up on me like she was in heat and Sofie was trying to see how far down my throat she could get her tongue. I had to break it off before we started going at it here in the terminal.

“Ladies, let’s get in the car so we can get to the hotel. Otherwise we will be arrested for lewd acts in public,” I said a bit breathily.

“Yes, we don’t want the handcuffs to be brought out too early,” Xandra whispered in my ear. Sofie giggled and nodded.

“And hi guys! Remember me?” Chloe said with a huge shit-eating grin on her face.

The two sexpots turned and gave Chloe a hug, and then all three started whispering together excitedly.

I tried to eavesdrop, but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. Something about canceling a room?

As we got back to the car, Gwydion seemed distracted by something on his phone. Worried that it might be trouble brewing from the Luthair fiasco, I snuck a glance and learned first hand the perils of snooping. He was looking at a picture of Chloe with her hands above her head holding her hair and wearing only a small pair of bright green panties. The picture was taken in front of a mirror and you could see her nice perky breasts raised high on her chest with her nipples pointing out and a little up. There was no doubt about it: my little apprentice was a good-looking girl. Seeing her naked did nothing for me, though.

Gwydion noticed what I was looking at and turned twelve shades of red and purple as he hurried to hide his phone. I knew for a fact that this guy wasn’t a virgin, but damned if he wasn’t acting like a junior in high school instead of the ultimate ass kicker of the forces of “good.” Chloe was in his head big time.

As we got into the car, I sat back and found both of my girlfriends wrapped around me. I wanted to talk about the dragon issue that we were sure to face soon, but I had trouble forming words with an extra tongue in my mouth. When I opened my eyes I expected Gwydion and Chloe to be laughing at me but they seemed to be too busy playing tonsil hockey with each other to worry about us.

Getting to the hotel, we pulled ourselves out of the car and checked in. Xandra went to the front desk and canceled one of our three rooms. Gwydion blushed again, and Chloe looked like the cat that swallowed the canary.

“It is 3:00 right now. We have dinner reservations for 7:00. We will met in the lobby at 6:45. Now I think we should all get to our rooms and start fucking like rabbits,” Xandra said, with no attempt to modulate her voice. A few of the guests around looked over in shock, but there was an older couple who just looked at us and grinned.