Chapter 10

The following characters appear in this chapter:

Jorani Sweeney

Dragon Queen, Craig’s wife, 5’-2’’ tall, 107 pounds, 34C-22-34, 31 years old, long black hair, brown eyes, still very good looking, she is a Turquoise Dragon

Deirdre Kavanagh

Maddy’s youngest daughter, 5’-1’’ tall, 98 pounds, 12 years old, long, lustrous black hair, violet eyes, alabaster skin, some freckles, very strong Talent

Crystal

Deirdre’s Familiar, a young white Manx cat, about thirteen pounds with a short one inch long stubby tail

Nicolae Maier

Manager of the Charleston office, male Dragon, 5’-10’’ tall, 170 pounds, appears to be 32 years old, dark brown hair, violet eyes, a very strong Talent, he is a Brown Dragon

Sara Hankel-Maier

Nicolae’s Wife, Female Dragon, 5’-4’’ tall, 132 pounds, 34D-23-34, 24 years old, long brown hair, sparkling green eyes, she is a Gold Dragon

Kennith Sweeney

Ley Line Wizard, male Dragon, Maddy’s husband, 6’-0’’ tall, 175 pounds, 52 years old, brown hair and dark eyes, still very handsome, he is a Red Dragon

Doreen still has the Narrative

We were all up again before dawn. Thankfully, it was nearly winter and the sun came up later than in the summer. It still made for a short night for us.

Myles, Franklin, Keith, and I moved the still sleeping prisoners to the strip mall parking lot, while Viv and Chu made breakfast for us. At the strip mall, we lined the four men up while still asleep and cast a partial Freeze spell on them before casting the glamours we were using around ourselves. They were the same ones that we had used last night. All but mine, as I used an Invisibility spell. Keith and Franklin were Major Demons, and Myles was still using the image of the younger man that he had used. We were soon ready.

“On three, I will cancel the Sleep spell on them,” Myles told us. “One ... two ... three,” he counted and canceled the sleep spell. The prisoners quickly came awake and looked around in shock on seeing where they were.

“I am sending you back to Chicago to give Tony the bad news.

“First: the news that you failed and the drone was blown up,” he started.

“Second: that we captured you and know all about those who assisted him in this operation, and that we will be visiting each of them.

“Third: that he is responsible for paying for the drone.

“Fourth: that the two homeless men that he got the information from were actually minor Demons and lied to him before stealing his money.

“Lastly: be sure to tell him that I will be in Chicago sometime for a reckoning with him. He will never know when I will appear, and he can’t hide, as I have helpers who can easily find him,” Myles told them while looking to his left and then right where Keith and Franklin stood in their glamours as Major Demons. They were still staring at the four of them with their Dragon eyes making them uncomfortable.

“The partial Freeze spell on you will expire in five minutes. Leave Tennessee immediately and return to Chicago,” he added before the four of us vanished and returned to his home. Arriving there, we canceled the spells and glamours that we had been using before entering the house and enjoying the fine breakfast that Chu and Vivian had prepared for us. Since it was still early when we finished eating, we all returned to bed to sleep for a few more hours before getting up to return to Atlanta as we had planned.

Later, Myles was like an old woman in his attention to details as we got ready to leave, going around and checking and double checking that everything was turned off or locked, and that all of his wards were working at full strength. I really couldn’t blame him. He has a lot of very nice furniture and other things in his house, and he wasn’t sure how long they would be away.

It was after 12:30 before everything was set to his satisfaction, and we started out for Atlanta. He did make one more final check of the Defensive Shell after we had passed through it.

We were a three-car convoy now with Keith and me in the lead, then Myles and Viv followed by Chu and Franklin. We were soon on I-75 and then back in Georgia. Keith and I had been listening to the big news and talk station in Atlanta on the way back and were worried about a big double tractor-trailer crash in the Marietta area as we neared Atlanta.

“Should we take Hwy 41, as the traffic reporter is recommending?” Keith asked as we neared the area.

“Traffic doesn’t look very backed up. It seems to be flowing fairly well. Let’s stay on I-75 and see how we do. I don’t think it’s a good idea to get Myles confused by going through Marietta,” I told him. As luck would have it, we sailed right through the area where the accident had been with only a little slowing of our speed. We weren’t so lucky on I-285 the Perimeter Highway, which still had construction slowdowns and an accident. On reaching our building off of I-85 north of Atlanta some time later, we had a problem.

“Chu and Franklin want to leave the vehicle at our building. They need to get home to take care of their children,” Keith told me. He had been on the phone with them.

“Okay, that’s fine,” I told him before calling Myles.

“We’ll be stopping at Dragon Security to check on things, and so Franklin can leave the vehicle there,” I told Myles on the cell phone as we neared the building.

After passing through the Defensive Shell around the building, we all got out of our vehicles to stretch. Myles was impressed by the size of our building, but we only remained there a short time, and he didn’t have time to go through it. Keith did run in to check that everything was okay.

“Thank you for going with us,” I told Chu and Franklin. They had already transferred their things to the Timeless Zone and were ready to transfer home following that. I also called Mom while Keith was inside.

“Mom, we’re at Dragon Security. We’ll be there shortly,” I told her to alert her to our pending arrival. We left shortly after that and arrived at Mom’s house some forty minutes later. It’s only twenty or so miles, but with the traffic and the red lights, it normally takes that long. Transferring is so much easier and quicker. Also, there are no carbon emissions or smog from it. It also doesn’t require any infrastructure either like roads, bridges, or red lights.

Myles has the Narrative Again

We eventually turned off of the latest road that we were on and onto a parking area. It was large enough for maybe four vehicles. When Doreen and Keith opened the doors of their vehicle, Viv and I exited ours. I had already detected the Defensive Shell around the property, and as we moved towards it, we all sensed the Nesting Ward snap into existence at the presence of two male Dragons. Doreen was smiling while Viv looked a bit confused.

“That was the Nesting Ward,” I told her.

“Oh!” was her only comment. Doreen had already helped Keith through it as we reached the outer edge of the ward.

“See if you can pass through the Ward,” Doreen told Viv. She moved up to the ward and just continued through it. It hit me then that she was definitely pregnant.

“You’ll need to lead Myles through the Ward,” Doreen reminded her on seeing her move through it. Viv returned for me, took my hand, and we both passed through the Nesting Ward.

“We can transfer you to the house,” Doreen told us once we were inside the Ward.

“Are we in a hurry?” Viv asked. “I’d like to walk there and look at the area and all of those oak trees,” she added.

We all walked across some grass and then followed the driveway on reaching it. It gave us a chance to see the house and the rest of the lawn. There were flower beds around the house, which appeared to be a very old design and was all brick. I later learned that the exterior walls were solid brick and quite thick.

As we approached the house, the front door opened automatically as Doreen and Keith neared it, and she held it open so we could enter. On seeing the inside of the house, I knew that I had been correct. It was a very old design, but similar to others that I had seen and been in while in the custom furniture business.

When we entered the large parlor, there were two women sitting in there plus a young girl. One of the women was older, and the second was a good deal younger. She was also obviously of Asian descent. I therefore presumed that she was the Queen of the East, and the older woman was Madailein Kavanagh, the Queen of the West. I had no idea who the young girl was.

“Mother, Jorani, this is Myles Graham and Vivian from Cleveland, Tennessee,” Doreen told the two Queens before turning to Viv and me.

“Myles, Viv, this is our Mother, Madailein Kavanagh and Jorani Sweeney, our Sister-in-law. They are the Dragon Queens of the West and the East, respectively,” Doreen told us but had more to say.

“Oh yes, Mother, they have a complete set of the books. They appear to be the same as Nicolae’s set and our reproductions,” she informed the Queens, who appeared to be a bit startled.

“So Myles, tell us about yourself and how you acquired the Books,” the Queen of the West told me. I gave her a quick rundown of my life and how I acquired the Books.

“Really!” she asked. “You actually found them in a used bookstore? That’s hard to believe, and paying only twenty-five dollars for the entire set is just unbelievable. Those books are worth millions of dollars at least,” the Queen told us.

“Yes, they are, if one can READ them, which most people can’t,” I pointed out. “Plus, how many people would expect to find them in a used bookstore?” I asked.

“Not many. How long have you been a Dragon now?” she asked next.

“I’ve been a Dragon for a bit over five years now. The books and the Magic they contained have helped me in my second career as the ‘Fixer’. I solve problems and make them go away.” I told her.

“I see, and were you doing this before you obtained the Books?” she asked.

“Yes, I started some time before selling my furniture business and retiring,” I told her.

“Were you in retail sales?” she asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t make myself clear. I was in the custom furniture business. We, that is my company, made custom furniture in our shop. I was in the business for four decades,” I told her.

“You should see his house, Mother. He has real antique looking furniture that he built!” Doreen told her Mother in an enthusiastic voice. Her Mother smiled.

“Alright,” she said and asked, “how did you and Vivian get together?”

“I was on a job in Chicago a couple of months ago as the ‘Fixer’ and had eliminated a worthless worm. That’s where I met Vivian,” I said, and related the story of how we met and what we had done there. Viv blushed big time while I related a part of the story.

“We believe that Vivian is pregnant. She passed through the Nesting Ward by herself when we arrived here, and then led Myles through it,” Doreen told her Mother.

A strange thing happened then. A ghostly figure appeared in the room behind the two Dragon Queens. It was smiling.

“Yes, the young Female Dragon is pregnant and with twin daughters,” the ghostly figure stated in a knowing voice and smiled at Vivian who was also surprised to see them and hear this.

“These are the Queens in the Jewel, the previous Queens of the West. If they say you are pregnant, you definitely are. We’ll need to get Vivian an appointment with our OB/GYN, Dr. Graham. I’ll see about that tomorrow,” Madailein Kavanagh, the present Queen of the West, told us before the ghostly figure of the Old Queens disappeared.

“Have the two of you considered being married?” the Queen asked next.

“Yes, we have, your Majesty,” Viv answered before I could.

“Fine, when you are ready, my Daughters will take you to the county building to get a marriage license. Do you want a church wedding?” she asked. I looked over at Viv, and she looked at me for a short time.

“What do you think, Daddy?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“Whatever you want, Viv, is fine with me,” I told her.

“I don’t think a church wedding is necessary. My family wasn’t very big on religion. My Mother took me to church a couple of times, but my stepfather never attended church,” Viv told them.

“That’s alright. You can be married by one of the judges at the county building,” the Queen told us. Following that, both Queens rose from the sofa where they had been sitting and had more to say.

“You can call me Maddy most of the time, and can call Jorani by her given name also. It’s gotten late with all of the explanations, and we need to get the two of you settled in a room for now,” she told us and looking around noticed the young girl who had been quiet so far.