Endangered Ch. 05

It was in his nature though, to scheme, plot, and sow discord; his guilty pleasure was to enjoy his victim's distress. Unfortunately it sometimes mussed his plans.

Perhaps he should have given the humans real magic dampening charms instead of artistic, worthless trinkets.

"No matter," he sighed to himself, straightening his ruffled suit and stepping back into the observation room over the dead body of one of the humans. The building was quiet now, his minions having completed their gruesome job perfectly.

The dragon didn't even matter, really, a small sideshow of his own greediness. A patsy of opportunity who might have been a very tasty morsel. There were others who could fill his shoes.

It was time to stir up human outrage and watch the world fall into chaos. In a few short months, the universe would align for him to complete his mission. With luck, any Beings with half a chance of stopping him would be dead or in hiding by then.

He would come back for the dragon, though; perhaps it would be more fun this way. Yes, his escape would only make the hunting more enjoyable, the taste of his soul more delectable.

Reaching into his pocket, Radek fished out a flash drive and plugged it into the machine in the observation room. Humans had truly come so far in the past century, he marvelled at their technology, beginning to rival the power of magic... it was perfect. He copied what he needed, wiped everything else. Placing his hand on the computer, he sent a bolt of corruption through the network. The humans would never know what really happened here, but assume their plot had been discovered by vengeful Beings.

Soon enough they would strike first, fearing losing the initiative. They would hit hard, with as much power as they could to throw the Beings into disarray. At least that was the plan, his plan.

He always had a plan.

***

Chris felt a few seconds of disconcerting, bodiless nothingness as they sped through the Ether at nigh unimaginable speeds.

Their trip didn't end as smoothly as he'd envisioned. Instead of standing in the courtroom, he found himself rocketing into the Norm up near the ceiling, real air buffeting his wings. There was a scream from below as he plunged uncontrollably across the huge chamber; streaking low across the rows of seats, he quickly realized he was going to crash.

With a final flap, he twisted onto his back in mid-air, folding his wings in and tucking his chin down into Michelle's chest, he hurtled onto the marble floor with a crunch and skidded along his reinforced, scaly spine, narrowly avoiding a pew.

He ended up bowling into the small group of startled Beings at the center of the room, knocking them flying like so many pins, their legs slowing him a little until he came to an abrupt stop against the bottom step of Reyla's throne's alter. The back of his head hit the step and he was knocked out instantly.

Michelle, dazed but ultimately unhurt, heard the commotion around her, shouting and cursing as people picked themselves back up or moved to see if the dragon was okay. She didn't have her glasses, and panicked slightly. She could still see okayish at short distances, but she had deep fears about being lost, trapped, or attacked without her glasses while she couldn't see well.

First to reach the scene was a huge, very angry woman. Michelle was unceremoniously dragged up by the scruff of her neck, the taller, voluptuous beauty sneering viciously as her black, knife-like claws dug into Michelle's soft skin and held her in place. Stoically, Michelle only let out a tiny, involuntary whimper.

"This is the human who arrested him," Lillian spat, her fangs flashing dangerously as blood trickled down and began seeping into Michelle's t-shirt.

"Really?" Reyla asked, still disbelieving. She'd found Lillian's account of events astonishing.

Annabel meanwhile rushed over and didn't stop shaking the dragon until he responded several second later with a groan and a weak push to make her stop. Unperturbed, she flung her arms around him, draping herself across his chest.

"Babe, I was so worried," she cried directly in his ear.

"It's okay, Dee. I'll be fine," Chris managed, lifting his hands to wrap up around her lower back and hug her. "I missed you." He kissed the side of her head, taking a deep breath of her comforting, familiar smell.

"What happened?" Susan asked form behind them. "How did you get here?"

Chris pushed them up into a sitting position, almost losing consciousness again to the sense of vertigo. Reaching around to feel the painful bump at the back of his head, he was just happy he hadn't busted his scull wide open. He felt very dizzy and his vision was unfocused.

"He teleported," Reyla answered for him, impressed that he'd managed to pull it off without any training. He could certainly be forgiven his hard arrival.

"Reyla," Chris twisted to look up at the drow, "do you have some way to contact the Synod? I need to talk to them right now."

"Why, Chris? We need to figure out where you were and organize with the local Beings to get this mess cleaned up. We have to protect the Secret."

"The Secret is done, Reyla, it's gone." He collapsed back onto the floor and stared up at the ceiling as his words sunk into everyone present.

***

The next minutes were a confused bustle as Reyla made phone calls and ordered an emergency teleconference between the thirteen Synod members and whichever territorial leaders could be contacted on such short notice. There was an atmosphere of shocked disbelief among Reyla's staff as Tosh and several others battled to set up large screens and the cameras which would transmit via Maginet. Most others hovered, lending a hand if they could but waiting to hear the dragon's full story.

Susan and Annabel fussed over Chris, sneaking reassuring, tender kisses with the groggy dragon while he was too befuddled and sore to resist them. However, he was quickly regaining his strength and soon noticed the absence of his human witness.

"Don't get up, Chris, that was a nasty knock on the head," Susan protested as he made to stand.

"I'll be fine, Mom, where's Michelle?"

"Who?"

Michelle was easy to spot once he was up, wincing as Lillian held her immobile by the neck, a threat of death if she attempted to move.

"Jesus, Lillian, let her go. She's bleeding."

Chris started over towards her, quickly closing the gap and becoming angry as he saw how large the stain on Michelle's black shirt had spread.

Lillian didn't move; she was furious. This was the human who'd arrested him. She was probably involved in the attack in Scotland as well. Deep inside, so deep Lillian didn't recognise it consciously, her vampire raged that she and Chris had been separated, his supposedly hated scent no longer teasing her nostrils. She would take her revenge on this woman for stealing what was hers.

Lillian's irises were dark and her eyes heavily shadowed, her bountiful chest rose and fell heavily with excitement, breaths she didn't really need to take while her fangs extended down into her plush bottom lip. Chris could tell he was dealing with the vampire not the woman, as likely to kill Michelle as to release her.

Her black clawed finger suddenly twitched on Michelle's neck and Chris's purple hand blurred around Lillian's milky throat.

"I said release her!" bellowed the dragon in her face, his talons curling into such a vice-like grip that the vampire was forced to checked herself.

"Fine," she hissed, dropping the human abruptly and wrenching herself from his grasp, tearing her skin on his talons on purpose. Michelle would have fallen to the floor but Chris's hand was already there to steady her as the vampire sped off.

Lillian slunk to her favorite lurking spot, the shadows behind the third column along the west side of the hall. She was very confused, felt betrayed he'd treated her like that when she was only seeking revenge on his behalf. Yet at the same time, the brutal strength she'd felt and the sting of shallow, healing wounds on her neck spoke to the most base, violent parts of her nature, the parts she herself disliked the most. As she calmed, Lillian grasped just how close to the edge she'd been since that morning at the airport when he'd been hauled off. It scared her how much influence he already seemed to have over her.

"Sorry about that, Michelle," Chris apologized. "Let me see your neck. Ouch. That was my bodyguard, Lillian. You'll have to forgive her, I think she must be quite upset you arrested me."

Michelle's neck was throbbing and bruised, still trickling blood from the five claw marks. "Tough shit," she croaked, muscles aching as she spoke. "What's your plan now anyway? Going to gloat that you were right?"

"Maybe later, first I'm going to heal you."

Chris leaned in and had his tongue on her neck before she could protest. She struggled against his arm cradling her in such an intimate pose for a moment but ended up letting out a little moan as his saliva cooled and healed her skin. She actually offered the other side of her throat to him of her own accord, reaching up to feel the unmarred skin on the side where he'd just finished.

Her blood was fresh and clean, and his dragon definitely enjoyed her taste and smell as he finished up. It kind of disturbed Chris; he hadn't really thought about it, but now he'd lapped up a stranger's blood and found it quite tasty.

Michelle didn't care how strange or intimate it might seem anymore. The relief was exquisite and she marvelled at her own first-hand experience with magic.

"You healed me? Just like that? What else can you do? How did we get here... we went right through walls! Where are we?!"

It all flooded out as he pulled away and held her by the shoulders.

"We were in a place called the Ether, I'll explain it later but now we're in Denver."

Chris was relieved she was okay, that she seemed to be recovering and wasn't too shaken from her run in with Lillian. He'd been acting on instinct when they'd jaunted through the Ether, only guessing and hoping that she would survive the experience with his help.

"Alright come over here and meet my mother, try not to arrest her this time. Susan, Annabel, this is Michelle. She works for the NSA."

"Hello," Annabel said, making it sound quite unfriendly. Watching him nuzzle her neck hadn't exactly ingratiated Michelle to her, that and the way he still had a hand on her back.

"Hello, Michelle," Susan said more warmly. "I'm not his biological mother, by the way... I'm a witch not a dragon. Good thinking, Chris, but she could take that mask off, I'll make more neutralizing potion if I have to."

Susan couldn't help but grin; it wouldn't be a chore at all.

"Yes, hello, it's nice to ah... meet you in person." Michelle awkwardly removed the crumpled, slightly bloody dust mask and inhaled cool, fresh air again. Finally.

"What happened, Chris?" Annabel asked. "Why did you bring her here?"

"Well," Chris started, taking Annabel's hand in a warm grip. "I'm not exactly sure but it seems someone has tried to start a war between Beings and humans using me as some sort of fall guy. Human governments know about Beings, Dee. There are a lot of bodies back where we just came from. Michelle is the only person who can tell the right people that it wasn't us, that we don't want a fight."

"A fight may be inevitable at this point, dragon," Reyla spoke up, moving her piercing gaze towards the new woman, intimidating her. "Do not attempt to resist our questioning, human. You've managed to kick a hornet's nest far greater in scope than your precious governments can comprehend. The Synod will use any means necessary to extract what we need from you."

A chill crept up Michelle's spine as she tried to hold the impossibly beautiful dark elf's gaze. There was ancient wisdom in those haughty grey eyes. Something else too, cruelty, and the cold scaring of one who'd performed untold unspeakable acts, and would gladly perform them again. She recognized that look, she couldn't hold the contact.

The dragon's warm, reassuring hand felt the shiver run up her back and dispelled it with a few gentle strokes as his enemy of barely a few hours ago looked up at him for support.

"I won't let anything happen to you, Michelle, this isn't your fault. But you do need to tell us everything you know. We have to steer this away from total chaos and you're the only one who can help me do that."

***

The Synod, thirteen members representing the wisdom and knowledge of most of the being races, were not impressed with Chris's story.

First they tried to blame him for revealing himself under Michelle's questioning, stating it was irrelevant that she already knew about the existence of Beings. John Guthrie was the only friendly face, although he was very business-like given the situation.

Eventually they grasped the idea that this character named Radek had been coaching the US government through the NSA, revealing enough for them to start following and abducting Beings, Amassing a decent amount of information, and letting the military as well as other countries in on the Secret.

It was then that the questions got serious and the talks of damage control started.

Michelle watched, seeing that they were mostly no different from her own leaders, scared and confused when confronted with such a huge affront to their way of life. She believed now that Radek must have planned a confrontation from the start, that he had informed the NSA just enough to make them leap into action, but at the same time, taint their view of Beings towards their worst aspects.

They questioned Chris thoroughly about everything that had happened, especially his confrontation with Radek, whom it was agreed must never have sworn the oath to protect the Secret. If he had, such a huge breach would have been felt through the enchantment and they would have stopped him.

That left the question of who and what he was unanswered, but it seemed to Michelle's expert eye that some of the Synod members were suspiciously tight lipped on the subject.

Soon enough, they plonked Michelle in a stool and shoved a camera in her face to begin questioning her. She couldn't help but notice the irony of her situation. Stubborn non-cooperation would be counterproductive and ultimately futile but she was unwilling to give them everything.

"Please, Michelle, tell them the whole thing. We need to figure this out before it gets any more out of control," Chris pleaded.

"I can understand that, Chris, it's obvious after what Radek said, but I won't offer up names when I have no guarantee what's going to happen to them. I could be signing their death sentences." She turned back to the Synod before continuing. "Our main allies around the world know about you, and we've figured out where most of your territorial hubs are. The military has already implemented contingencies in case you attack, although I honestly don't know what they involve."

"What do you hope to gain? What do the humans want from us?" asked a tiny woman with large dragonfly-like wings.

"We want the truth," Michelle stated. "Your Secret is too huge to deny any longer. From what I've heard, we don't want a war, but we won't back down from a global revelation. You've mistreated humans horrifically for millennia and now that we know, it can't continue. Thankfully our leaders have recognized that it's outside of their capabilities to wipe you all out systematically without suffering horrific losses in return."

"How long ago did this Radek contact you? How long have you known?" the fairy continued.

"I've known for six months, most people involved have known for just over four."

There was uproar amongst the Synod and assembled Beings.

"What?" Michelle asked, turning to Chris, who could only shrug apologetically.

"Memory alteration or removal becomes increasingly difficult as time progresses," Susan came to the rescue. "As the memory becomes engrained and reinforced with more thoughts, it's dangerous to change them. There would almost certainly be irreparable damage from removing memories over four months old."

"So, you can't do it? You can't just wipe everyone's memory?"

"It might be kinder to simply kill them," Reyla drawled; it seemed the idea was on her mind as well as several of the Synod's.

"I won't let-"

"This has gone on long enough," interrupted a haughty, blond elf suddenly. He'd previously had the appearance of paying little attention to the goings on. "How can we determine how to proceed if this human is holding back vital information? Lady Narlakis, enter her mind and take everything, she needs to have her memories erased or be killed eventually."

"No! Please, Chris! Don't let them!" Michelle's dread infested her voice as she reached for the dragon's hand, clinging to it. Although she might have liked to present a stronger face to the Synod, she would rather die than have her mind destroyed.

"No one's touching her mind," Chris growled back at the computer screens, surprising himself with the dragon's anger. "She's the only one who can convince the humans I didn't slaughter all the people back in Harrisburg while I was captive; the only one who can convince them Radek isn't their friend. What do you think they'll do when they find all those bodies? They'll assume we know, and think we're going to attack."

"She dies or her memories are erased, that's the law," sneered the elf. "Either way, we need whatever secrets are locked in her little head. It's not going to matter once everyone involved with this incident has theirs wiped as well."

A murmur of agreement went around several of the faces on the screens. John Guthrie shrugged apologetically to Chris, but there might have been a knowing twinkle in his eye.

"Are you people stupid?" Chris asked, shocking pretty much everyone with his disrespect. "You can't wipe the memories of military and government officials around the world, especially if it's as difficult as you say after so much time. Do you think that will go unnoticed? You can't simply kill them either, and you don't know who else they've told by now."

"Listen, boy-"

"You listen! What about the safeguards Michelle told you about? For all you know they have missiles targeted for every territory hub in the world or evidence set to leak onto the internet if these people suddenly forget all about Beings. What about Radek, what's to stop him from telling them we're about to launch a global attack? He clearly wants a confrontation between us, he said so himself. Don't you see? He's set it up so that we can't just make this all disappear. You're all worried about maintaining the Secret, but this woman is our best chance at stopping outright war!"

When he finished his rant there was silence for several moments as he glared at the obtuse elf.

"There is another way," John Guthrie spoke, after an appropriately somber moment of acting as if was considering all the options. The young dragon had probably just made some lifelong enemies, but damn, had he put the Synod in their place. "It would satisfy our laws and allow her to keep her life and memories intact so long as she agreed to take a truth syrup and answer our questions. Then she could try to calm the situation with the humans but still be under oath not to reveal the Secret, if that even applies."

"How?" asked Chris.

"Why, if she agrees to become your familiar, of course."

"Hunh," Reyla grunted, shaking her head in resignation and sending her jewelled, alabaster ponytail into disarray. "Dragons."

***

Ten minutes later, Chris murmured the last of his vows, reaching out to envelope her sad, barely willing presence in whatever comfort he could offer.