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He chuckled. "Yeah, the CIA coined the term 'conspiracy theory' in the sixties to dismiss people without having to answer their claims. It's proven very effective."
She raised her eyebrow. "Seriously?"
"Don't you dismiss any so-called 'conspiracy theories' without needing much evidence -- if you need any at all?"
She opened her mouth to disagree, but then realized that she had in fact done so. She frowned.
"I rest my case." He smiled.
"So, Area 51 is the first active portal you found?"
He nodded. "We were never able to open it though because we couldn't figure out how it worked. It uses a power source we don't fully understand. Mostly it was mothballed until the early 90s when it powered up without warning."
"We captured the people who came through, and they were wearing what looked like medieval garb. One of them had the strangest ears you've ever seen."
"How so?"
"Pointed, like an elf from lore." He replied. "He eventually died in custody, but we couldn't figure out from what and none of his compatriots would say. The autopsy was inconclusive and turned up several irregularities too. Anyway, one of them eventually cracked and told us how the portal worked. Apparently, it runs on some sort of 'death magic' which requires something to die -- like a cow -- to power it."
The hair at the back of Selene's neck stood on end. "That sounds... ominous."
"Yeah, they didn't want to use the power either." He said grimly. "The one who told us eventually agreed to open the portal for us if we would allow his friends to go home. He volunteered to remain behind so our men could return."
"Your men?"
He nodded. "In late '94, we sent a dozen of our best scientists and agents through the portal, along with all the people we had captured except the mage."
"What'd they find?" Selene asked, leaning forward in her seat.
"We don't know?" He replied grimly. "The moment the portal had closed, the mage went berserk. He killed some of our best men using powers out of a fantasy story. He was killed in the firefight, so there was no way to reopen the portal."
"Wait, so you've had a dozen agents stranded on another world since 1994?"
"Half were scientists, but essentially correct." He nodded. "This man we just captured is the first person in almost three decades who might be able to open the portal."
"And get your men back." She nodded.
"Exactly." He said, but something about the way he said it made her feel like the men weren't his primary concern.
"So what now?" She asked.
"Now we return to base and see if we can get this mage to cooperate."
She nodded, but had an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. If these portals really did use some kind of 'death magic' which required killing an animal... That didn't sit right with her. Something about it just seemed wrong. She wasn't a vegetarian and enjoyed a good steak, but something about using power gained from killing something made her skin crawl.
Then she realized that she was actually considering what kind of creepy magic was used to open a portal to another world.
Her life certainly had changed a lot in the last few days, and especially the last few hours.
* * *
Alana wanted to crawl under the nearest rock. Her husband had so easily forgiven her that it didn't feel real. She'd hid something incredibly important from him and he hadn't gotten mad or angry; nor had he shouted or yelled. She almost wished he had. The disappointed look on his face when he discovered that she hadn't trusted him had hurt.
Badly.
She looked around to see everyone sitting around the dinner fire chatting away. The coals were smoldering in the iron firepan suspended above the deck. Her mood might as well have been the coals slowly turning to ash. Rachel and her fellow wives had done a lot to cheer her up -- and she was grateful -- but she still felt awful when she thought about it.
*Alana, what's wrong?* Ethan asked telepathically. *You've been out of sorts since we pulled anchor.*
She swallowed. *I'm sorry.*
*Because you didn't tell me that you're a princess?*
*I'm not a--* she started to reply, then caught the twinkle in his eye. *You're really not mad?*
*No, I'm not mad.* He replied with a reassuring smile. *Though, I am confused why you didn't tell me. Especially if it was such a big deal.*
*My adoptive parents had some tutors from the wood elven kingdom come through on a regular basis to teach me. The few who learned my real name suddenly treated me differently.*
*How so?*
*It was like they suddenly thought I was made of glass.* She sighed. *Suddenly I wasn't their pupil anymore and they treated me like a... a...*
*Like a princess?* He teased with a toothy grin.
She went slightly pink as she nodded, though also couldn't help but smile.
*Hang on.* Ethan then turned to look at Beth, then Taloni, then back at her. *We seriously need to figure out how to get a group chat going.*
*Group chat?*
*Yeah, so we can each say something once and the rest will hear it.* He frowned slightly and made a thoughtful sound. *Beth and Taloni both just asked what we were talking about, and I didn't want to repeat it out loud for everyone to hear, so I had to give them each a short version.*
The wood elf's face fell. *A 'group chat' would be nice, but I'd miss being able to talk just the two of us.*
*I don't see why we can't do both.* He replied. *Both a group chat and one-on-one, because I can't carry on a conversation with three people at once.*
She smiled. *If we can keep the one-on-one, then I'm all for it.*
*Any idea how to start?*
She shook her head.
He tapped his claw on the deck as he made a thoughtful sound. *I bet Rachel could help us come up with something.*
*Yeah.* Alana said wistfully casting a furtive glance at the stunning redhead. As usual, Rachel did more listening than talking when they were just chatting around the fire. She had a contented smile on her face, though occasionally cast a furtive glance at Ethan.
*Penny for your thoughts?* Ethan's own thoughts interrupted hers.
She realized she'd been staring and felt her cheeks grow warm. *Nothing.*
She felt him check their bond and then he raised an eyebrow. *You're not attracted to Rachel, are you?*
She froze.
* * *
Ethan had to resist the urge to chuckle as his wife went all stiff. She might as well have screamed 'yes' in answer to his question.
*I... Uh, I mean...* She said turning a rather interesting shade of magenta.
*Relax, it's fine.* He thought to her smiling. *I don't mind at all, I was just asking.*
Her jaw dropped. *You... you don't mind?*
*Not a bit.* He shrugged. *Actually, I think it's kind of sweet.*
She just stared at him.
He stared back as comprehension dawned on him. *You didn't tell me this because you were worried about how I would react to this too.*
She looked down and nodded.
That's when he realized that everyone was staring at them. He supposed he didn't blame them. They had been making all the common conversational gestures and reactions while facing each other, only there were no words.
Anthiel seemed quite amused. "Ah, young love."
Everyone chuckled and his teen wives managed a nervous giggle. He noticed that Rachel seemed a bit out of sorts though. Her expression was conflicted, though she was hiding it well. He made a mental note to ask her about it later.
*So, about your attraction to Rachel...* He said, resuming his telepathic conversation with his lovely wood elven wife, this time trying to be less obvious about it.
*Am I that obvious?* She replied nervously.
*Only to me, because I can check what you're feeling through our bond.* He cocked his head as he realized something. *Normally I would've known this a lot sooner because I would've felt it automatically over our bond. Come to think of it, I haven't felt anything from you without looking for days now.*
She hung her head so her lovely chocolate brown hair was partially concealing her face.
*Did you change something?* He asked.
She nodded, though most of her face was still concealed. *I changed my mental defenses so you would only feel my emotions if you looked at them. I didn't want you to know that I was attracted to Rachel because I thought it would hurt you.*
*I don't mind that you're attracted to Rachel.* He replied. *If another man ever tried to touch you, I'd rip his arms off.* He said suppressing a growl.
She winced.
*But.* He hastily added. *But, I don't mind if you're attracted to another woman, especially one of my wives.*
*Rachel isn't one of your other wives though.*
*Right, I knew that.* Ethan said, though her statement had momentarily caught him off guard. He wasn't sure when or how, but he'd started thinking of Rachel in a not-dissimilar way to his other wives, except for the sexual aspect of course.
Hmm.
Curious.
*I don't mind if you like her; I really don't.* He repeated. *I'm sorry that you felt like you needed to hide this from me.*
*I didn't want you to be mad, or think I was replacing you, or... I'm just really happy and didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.*
*You haven't.* He reassured her, then something occurred to him. "You changed your mental defenses before the fight at Havorleth's lair, didn't you?*
*Yes. Why?*
He frowned. *I thought it was a little weird that I didn't sense anything from you when Kendra knocked you out. At the time, I thought she must've taken you unawares, but later you said she hit you with some kind of knockout fumes on a cloth.*
*Yeah.* She nodded.
*So, you were awake and startled for a moment or two before you were knocked out?*
She nodded again, then comprehension dawned on her face. *You would've known.* She breathed.
He nodded.
*Oh God; if I hadn't changed my mental defenses, then you would've felt... You would've known something was wrong and she wouldn't have been able to surprise...* Suddenly she looked aghast and covered her mouth with her hand. *I put you in danger.*
*It's probably best if you don't block me out like that again.* He said kindly, but somberly.
*I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry.* She said.
He saw some tears starting to collect at the corners of her eyes as her hand went protectively to cover her stomach.
"Alana and I are beat." He announced aloud, subtly moving to hide her face from view as he got up and helped her up. She didn't need an audience right now. "We're turning in."
Everyone bid them goodnight, though the wood elf's mood didn't escape the notice of the ever watchful and insightful redhead. She raised her eyebrow at him.
*Could you tell Rachel that I'll explain in the morning.* He thought to Beth, who was sitting next to the mage.
*She says she's looking forward to it.* The blonde replied a few moments later. *Do you want Taloni and I to come too, or do you need some time?*
*Yes I want you to join us, but give us a couple minutes first.*
*Yes Dominus.*
He relayed the same instruction to Taloni as he helped his distraught wife to the captain's cabin door. Once inside with the door shut, she turned and wrapped her arms around him, clinging tightly to his chest as if she never wanted to let go. He wrapped his arms around her too and -- despite her being upset -- greatly enjoyed the simple pleasure of holding this wonderful woman in his arms.
She held onto him for over a minute, softly crying into his shoulder.
"I didn't mean to put you in danger." She finally said as she wiped tears from her eyes.
He kissed her forehead tenderly. "I know you didn't mean to. I know you'd never do anything to hurt me, or our baby, and I'm not mad."
She half-smiled through her tears.
"I love you Alana." He brushed her cheek affectionately with the back of his hand. "I always have, I always will. Nothing will ever change that. Ever."
She sighed softly and leaned in for another hug. "I love you too, and I'll never keep anything from you ever again."
"I'm okay with that." He said as he held her, thanking his lucky stars for whoever or whatever had brought her into his life.
* * *
Kendra couldn't help but think she was being stupid. She'd hurried back to her airship when the dragon had struck anchor, after a curious visit from some Dryads. She'd abandoned her usual practice of following low on the horizon because they had quite the lead by the time she'd set sail.
She deployed all her sails and made up the distance, but was now about level with their airship; not a good idea if you wanted to avoid being spotted. Still, it was getting darker and she'd already adjusted the color of her sails to match the twilight sky. She didn't think she'd be spotted.
Or at least, she hoped she wouldn't.
There was no way her airship could outrun a dragon if he came after her. It just wasn't possible. And while she had saved one of his wives and the ship's navigator, which might've bought her some goodwill, she wasn't willing to chance it.
She pulled out her enchanted spyglass and looked at the dragon's airship again. In the fading light, she could just barely see into the captain's cabin through the enormous glass-block window that covered almost the entire rear of the airship's main level, where the captain's cabin was located. She pushed a drop of mana into the spyglass to activate the light amplification spell so the spyglass would draw more light from its surroundings so she could see better in the dark.
That was better.
The dragon and the wood elf were standing the captain's cabin holding each other. The wood elf looked somewhat distraught and the dragon held her like a man comforting his wife.
It was strange to see.
A dragon comforting an elf like he actually cared? Then again, he had threatened to tear Kendra limb from limb if she ever hurt the elf. Maybe he did care? Certainly she would've given almost anything to have a man hold her like that.
As she watched, the door opened and the little Fey teen and a young blonde woman walked in.
Kendra's jaw dropped.
It was the blonde who'd been stiff as a board when the dragon had dropped her off the night they left Arcanum. She had looked dead with all the blood, yet there she was, living and breathing. She thought she'd caught a glimpse of her just before the airship set sail, but hadn't been sure. Now she was.
What in Illuminar's name was going on?
She watched as the two women surrounded the wood elf and enclosed her in a group hug with the elf at the center. They were clearly all comforting her about something. What's more, she could tell that they all truly and deeply cared for the elf.
Kendra put down the spyglass as she felt her eyes moisten and her throat get tight. She blinked a few times trying to clear her eyes, but they were being stubborn.
She well remembered the hug that the Fey had given her. It had been so wonderful that she'd teared up thinking about it later. Now she was watching a group hug that she didn't doubt for a moment was every bit as heartfelt and meaningful as the Fey's hug.
How?
How did a dragon -- adragon of all beings -- manage to get what she'd secretly dreamed of her entire life? And he got it not once, not twice, but thrice. She could no longer deny what was before her very eyes.
The dragon loved those women.
Those women loved the dragon.
No spell, no enchantment, no dark potion or incantation could create real love. Passion, yes. Lust certainly. Infatuation definitely... but not love; not real love. It couldn't be done. She was pretty sure even the Book of Light said it couldn't be done, calling it a 'fool's errand' to try, though the associated emotions could be simulated with magic.
She wasn't seeing a simulation right now though. She was seeing real, true, genuine, heartfelt and caring love.
This dragon had it.
How?
How did a dragon find love?
She had no answer, so she raised her spyglass again. The hug had broken and they were all climbing onto the bed. She thought it was a bit small for all four of them, but failed to take into account how closely they were all sleeping together. The dragon had the wood elf wrapped in his arms, then he tenderly spread his wings and rested one on each of the other two women, holding them too and pulling them closer to him.
She had to put down the spyglass again.
Now her tears really did start to trickle down her cheek.
He was so caring and loving in the way he spread his wings over them. It was at once caring and protective; gentle and affectionate; possessive and loving. She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, wanting to kick herself for getting so emotional.
"Get a hold of yourself Kendra." She said rubbing her eyes again.
It took her quite a while to get control of herself again. When she did, she found a sense of disbelief washing over her again. How had a dragon found love with three women?
It just didn't seem possible.
Without meaning too, she pulled the spyglass up and looked at them again.
The women seemed to be asleep, but looked like they were restless. As she watched, they all seemed to sit up in their sleep and pull their dresses off. She was so surprised that she didn't think to look away until they'd already lain back down and snuggled back up to the dragon and each other...
All completely naked.
The dragon spread his wings again and seemed to tuck them in even closer. Three women and a dragon lay completely naked on the bed and seemed perfectly content. For one brief moment, Kendra felt like she would've given anything to join them on that that bed.
Then she came to her senses and shuddered.
She'd sooner spend the night with a necromancer than a dragon.
* * *
Selene would've preferred going another round with the dragon to spending her night with this necromancer. More accurately, spending it interrogating him. Something about him made her skin crawl.
"Problem?" Smithbond asked as they looked through the two-way mirror into the containment cell which the necromancer was currently occupying. He was sitting with his arms in a straightjacket and appeared to be blinking trying to clear his vision. She wasn't surprised with the cocktail of drugs they'd shot into him to keep him calm.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." She said.
"Don't worry about it kid, it's just your imagination." Smithbond replied, in a passable imitation of Han Solo in Star Wars episode four.
"Yeah, I'd rather face the trash compactor on the Death Star than this fellow." She jerked her thumb towards him. "Something about him just isn't right."
"It's the eyes." Smithbond said.
Selene looked, and noticed his eyes were entirely black with no pupil color whatsoever.
She shuddered.
"They say the eyes are the windows to the soul." Smithbond continued. "What does it say if your eyes are entirely black?"
"You're kidding right?" Selene gave him a look.
He shrugged. "Like I said, you weren't around when we had that fellow open the portal. His eyes turned black before he died, right after he pulled magic from the cows we slaughtered."
"A portal powered by death magic." She shook her head. "Doesn't that seem like something best left alone?"
"Yes. But since the government won't leave it alone, I can either run the program and see that it's done right, or hand it over to unknown men who will do God-knows-what with it. Which would you pick?"
"Fair point." She looked back through the two-way mirror. "I guess we should get started."
"After you." He indicated the door.
She hesitated. "You're really going to let me -- a brand new agent with less than a week on the job -- be involved in an interrogation this important?"
He shrugged. "If you fail, you'll just disappear and no one will ever see or hear from you again." He said cheerfully, then pulled a piece of wrapped gum out of his pocked and offered it to her. "Gum?"
