Endangered Ch. 10

"He was rapidly overloading the enchantments protecting the Compound," the territory leader rounded on the culprits. "You and your royal strumpet are one thing, I suppose I should thank you for the energy you've donated this last month. But he, he cannot throw around his magic like that, not around my delicate arcane mechanisms!"

"Reyla, I'm sorry. We didn't know," Annabel apologised, genuine remorse clear in her expression. "We were just trying to make Chris practice some practical defensive magic."

"And how did that go?" the elf inquired, her perfect snowy eyebrow rising. "Not well, I think."

"No," Chris sighed. "I don't understand, you saw my Ether orb magic. Why can't I hold a simple barrier?"

"So, you finally confront the limitations of your magic," Reyla nodded thoughtfully. "Your mastery of the Ether is not in question, but intention has never been a good match for such spells, the untrained mind is much too fickle. Runes are the best for shields, enchanted items second."

"I taught Bartholomew the runes for shielding," Immi admitted a little sheepishly.

"Ah, so you do have some sense in that head of yours. Then use it, sprite. You should have anticipated he would not easily make a barrier spell. Only the most disciplined learn to split their mind...But, I did not rush down here to give a lecture. Once again you've ruined my sleep, dragon. I'm going back to bed."

"But... split the mind?" he puzzled. "What does that even mean?"

The elf smiled ruefully at the large young man, her ears flicking in amusement.

"Ask me again in a thousand years, you might be ready to start learning then. For now, if you want defensive spells, make a few trinkets, some enchanted armour. If you're industrious, you could consider protecting your new human friends, too."

"I hadn't even thought about that option," he admitted, brightening as his brain raced to new possibilities. "Thank you, Reyla."

"You're welcome, dragon. But, I ban you from this level. Your mates may continue to practice here, but you must find somewhere suitably desolate for one such as yourself." She cocked her head meaningfully on the last words, managing to look decidedly avian.

"I... Yes."

"Thank you, Reyla," Annabel added. "We're sorry."

"All is well, disaster averted. Chris, I will see you later this morning, no? Good day."

With a grace practised over thousands of years, she swivelled and glided away.

"Well that didn't go as planned," huffed Immi as they moved aside to let the security crew out. "Now he's banned."

"It's okay. I learned something valuable, and Reyla gave me a great idea," he said. "Why don't we go up to the gym for a while?"

"Squats?" Immi asked over Annabel's shoulder.

"Squats and cardio," his First agreed, hitching her blue, winged limpet higher on her back as she led the way up the corridor. "Every day is an ass day, isn't that right, Immi?"

"Yeah!"

Chris shook his head, ogling their exquisitely proportioned rumps stacked one on top of each other in the clingy fabric of workout pants. That specific arrangement set his imagination wandering and his cock hardening.

It was still very early, so they snuck in forty minutes of workout before Chris had to leave for his appointment with Petra. Michelle showed up halfway through but was strangely taciturn, managing to stay on the opposite side of the massive facility to him with uncanny accuracy. It was like she was trying to ignore that they'd made love. To be honest, it hurt him a little.

He didn't bother showering when he was done. The mature dragoness loved it when he came to her streaked with sweat and extra musky. As he pinned her to the wall and lovingly ravaged her, Immi and Annabel showered and prepared for their day at the culinary academy.

The budding chef consulted her diary for her meal plan. She began ordering ingredients on the benchtop and assembled the top of the line food processor Chris had given her as a gift three weeks ago. It was her pride and joy, along with her Japanese knives.

Into the blender went onion, tomato, fresh coriander, garlic, and chilli. Immi showed up and was put to work making fresh tortillas. Susan emerged and showered as she began heating the fragrant puree and opening a can of refried beans. That turned into two cans, better safe than sorry with Chris.

The fresh tortillas smelled delicious as they browned in a skillet under the sprite's vigilant watch. The aroma of frying chorizo and egg soon joined them. It was all coming to a frenzied climax of activity, a rush to have the components of her carefully planned meal prepared on time.

As Annabel worked to bring everything together to a perfect moment, Chris did the same. Petra groaned in bliss, her loose platinum hair sweaty and clinging to her heaving breasts as he spurted deep within her. With arms wrapped up around his neck, she gripped an empty quartz crystal in each hand, doing her best to relax and let his magic flow through her. She was his vessel, the chalice for his magic, and she loved it. With a smile of pure joy, she thumped her head back into the wall and keened. He roared with her, seeding her over-filled loins again and again.

"That's the five-minute mark." Annabel's head cocked to the sound of the dragons' passion. "Start grating that cheese please, Immi."

"Okay, Mistress," the sprite chirped happily.

As the busy pair began plating out breakfast into shallow bowls, the dragon's brood assembled. Susan skirted around them to put on a large pot of coffee. Slipping a little stiffly into a chair at the dining room table, Michelle began catching up on the emails she'd ignored whilst in Brazil. Lillian was absent, her meeting on the west coast was keeping her longer than expected. The messages she'd sent Chris on Maginet suggested that their reunion this evening was something to look forward to.

Finally, Chris and Petra arrived, rosy-cheeked and still damp from their brief shared shower. Claire and all her red-haired beauty brought up the rear.

"It's like they're running on clockwork," Annabel smiled.

"More like cock-work," Immi giggled as she ran across the benchtop, sprinkling cheese, avocado, and a dollop of sour cream into each bowl.

"I'll show you cock-work, you little minx." He strode into the kitchen and swept his miniature mate into a heated kiss. Standing on the kitchen bench in her tiny apron, Immi was just the perfect height for it.

"That's exactly what she wants, you big dummy. Now, unhand my assistant," Annabel laughed at their antics.

"What do you have for me to devour this morning, Dee? It smells amazing."

"It's huevos rancheros," Immi supplied. "Could you please take that big stack of tortillas to the table, Master?"

"The coffee, too, please honey-bun," Susan piped from the dining room.

Chris was more than happy to help in any way he could and carefully brought the desired items to the table before returning to help with the warm bowls of spicy goodness. It amazed him every time he saw Annabel at work, and he loved to support her passion for cooking in any way he could. It wasn't just for the fulfilment of his bottomless tummy either.

His First took genuine enjoyment from making an excellent meal and learning new dishes, new ways to cook. Annabel was simply incredible, and he lavished her passion with praise, appliances, and extravagant ingredients. He didn't care that half his paycheck from the BIA seemed to disappear into their stomachs, it was absolutely worth it.

As the plates arrived, they didn't stand on ceremony. They knew Annabel would join them as soon as she was ready and she didn't want them waiting for her while things got cold.

"Mmhhhmm!" he groaned as he scooped his first piece of soft, warm flatbread into the hot soup-salsa and dug in. "Oh, my God. Annabel, I think this is my new favourite breakfast. Heck, you could have this for lunch and dinner, too."

"Thank you, Annabel, this is amazing," Claire agreed as she combined egg, salsa, chorizo, and sour cream in a dainty forkful.

A chorus of agreement and praise ran around the table. The chef took a happy bow, and her blue assistant did a little jig before they high-fived and sat down with the others.

"Tell us all about your trip, Michelle," Susan prompted. "Was it terrifying? I think I would have fainted if I'd seen one of those bodies let alone if it got up and tried to kill me!"

***

Chris rose from his desk as the elevator chimed, his magical senses releasing an answering ping off her presence. Reyla swept out, her human guise in place. Keen eyes brushed over the faces that turned to note her appearance on the top floor of the BIA office. Her grey gaze found him with raptor-like efficiency. She honed in, flanked by two burly shifters.

Her elegance never ceased to amaze him, and the dark overcoat she wore over her refined blue gown did nothing to hide it. With perfect dark brown skin, flowing silvery white hair, and her patented elfin glide, she was a creature of beauty obviously out of place in the pack of humanity. This facade belonged on a catwalk and just seemed unsuitable anywhere else.

A few of the newer BIA recruits looked around nervously, seeking reassurances from the more experienced members that the presence of the somewhat legendary Lady Narlakis was anticipated, or at least didn't herald their imminent doom.

"So this is where you work?" she drawled, clearly unimpressed with his spartan little cubicle. "A bit beneath your station, don't you think?"

Her bodyguards waited patiently in the background, giving the elf and dragon a little space.

"It's okay," he shrugged. "I don't really do that much here. If there's no work to do, I'll go train or just hide in the Ether, pretending to be busy."

"I see. And what's this?" The elf snatched up the sheet of paper he'd been scribbling on. "Interesting. Yes, it might work if you knew anything at all about runecraft. A promising start though."

"You wouldn't be interested in helping me, would you?" he asked. "I'm thinking I'll have to make at least twenty, one could be yours, if you helped?"

"I could be persuaded," she smiled, giving him back the sketch. It depicted a series of gems inlaid in narrow bands of rune etched metal. The fixtures holding each individual stone had small loops on each side, through which a chain ran. Five such gemstones were attached to the chains, one on top of the other to create a spell. He'd gotten the idea from the incredible mythril curtain the goblins had installed to protect his mate's grotto. "I hope you know an amenable dwarf, such fine metalwork will not be easy. I'm not sure how the clan-smiths would like working for a dragon."

"That again. I don't get it," Chris confessed.

"Beings have very long memories, that is all. Dark and light elves still don't get along almost three thousand years later, not that we were ever particularly friendly. Sprites and fairies, werewolves and centaurs, everyone holds a grudge of some sort."

"Wait, there are centaurs?"

"Not any more, they were wiped out," she explained with a flourish of her long-fingered hands. "When does this meeting begin? I have to adjudicate a dispute over the bulk purchase of some of the crystals you've flooded the market with."

"Oh." He didn't know what to say about that. The energy crystals were flying out the door of Eddard's Apothecary and fetching a decent price while doing so. Previously, Reyla had mentioned that it was promoting magic and trade in the territory, he hadn't given thought to possible downsides.

"Reyla, Chris, everyone," Michelle said as she stuck her head out of her corner office. "Please come into the briefing room, we're all set up."

They navigated the cubicles side by side, the graceful elf and the enormous dragon. Michelle's team formed up behind as they passed, Pamela bringing up the rear on her crutches.

Her wound was healing well. Susan had taken a few drops of his blood that morning and used it to make a potent restorative draught for her as soon as she'd gotten to work. Combined with his multiple treatments of saliva during their luxurious days at the Otero family mansion, she hadn't even needed a cast. Chris was amazed, her leg had been ruined. Another week or so and she'd be back to her usual capable, prickly self, according to Dr Chang.

The large briefing room was once again underutilised, only eight chairs taken once the head of the surveillance department, Carlos Rameca, joined them.

Finally, the big video conference screen flickered on, and the President himself looked out at them.

"Well then, let's get this underway," Robert Falconer began. "Thank you all for your hard work, especially the team that went down to that hell hole and took care of it for us. You've earned us a lot of points back with the Brazilians. I'd also like to personally thank you, Lady Narlakis. This office is the first in the country to be established and operational thanks to your stewardship."

"You're welcome." Reyla inclined her head.

"On to business then," Michelle nudged. "Mr President, you've read the action report I sent you. Did you get a chance to view some of the footage?"

"I did, Agent Hamund, it's sobering stuff. I wouldn't like to think about that sort of thing happening in a major population centre. Good thing you brought young Christopher along with you."

"Yes, we are fortunate to have him on our side, but what do you think of my proposal? The extra manpower and assets could be vital if we're going to be policing more than just our own country."

Chris wondered what Michelle had hatched. He glanced at Lisa and Kat, seated stiffly across the table. He got a little shrug from Lisa, this was new to her too apparently. Kat, on the other hand, didn't meet his eyes at all, glancing pointedly at the stark white of the drop-ceiling. Uh oh.

"The Joint Chiefs are already ahead of you on that. They've had their special forces teams upskilling to deal with Beings for months. I agree though, your input on their projects could be valuable. They might not like you stepping on their toes, but they're big boys. I'll see that you get a seat at the table."

"And the other thing? I've got good intel that we are leaking like a sieve. Certain individuals and corporations are risking this entire thing. For what? A quick dollar? If this gets to the public, we lose the narrative and all the credibility that goes with it. We have to at least try to push the Revelation forward."

"I agree." Reyla startled Chris when she spoke in Michelle's support, as if he hadn't already been surprised enough by her bold suggestion. "Not only are you risking your ability to manage your own population, but you'll also make it clear to Beings everywhere that you can't or don't intend to hold your own people accountable. I personally, find it offensive that so little was done to punish Riker Pharmaceutical for their blatantly criminal behaviour. If there are more such incidents, the Being population will find out. They will call for war."

Chris looked straight ahead, his pulse rising rapidly. He was in a room with trained spies, soldiers, and law enforcement and he had a dirty little Mediterranean secret to keep. He dared not even glance at Michelle.

"I wish it were as simple as just bringing the date forward, ladies, I really do." The president took off his reading glasses and rocked back in his chair. "But we all know that wouldn't magically solve our problems. Sorry, no pun intended. Huh, my daughter would fine me for that one. What I meant is that we simply aren't ready, and our allies around the world are dragging the chain. I can raise the issue at the upcoming summit at the United Nations, but it won't get traction. Half of my own government will oppose it anyway."

"Then you must loosen our leashes, Mr President," Reyla advised with a sly little smile. "Beings are no use to you hamstrung as we are now. We could help take care of all sorts of little problems for you, if you let us."

"It would reflect very poorly if I unleashed Beings on anyone who gets in the way," he contemplated carefully. "I certainly won't give you licence to use the memory charm."

"Ung," Reyla let out a little grunt of disgust. "A pity you have such an irrational dislike for such a useful spell. You spend huge sums on incarcerating criminals that could easily be reconditioned to a docile, skilled workforce. But, that is beside the point. We have other, less distasteful cards we can play. Our young dragon here can devour entire buildings and launch them out of orbit. I'm sure there are more subtle ways we can come up with to discourage your privateering corporate wrongdoers."

Chris was really starting to suspect the two women were colluding now. Clever girls.

"I agree," Michelle said, adding her support before the President could think to object. "It amounts to intimidation, but there are plenty of ways we could magically convey the message to back off. Who's going to say boo, they'll sound crazy if they try to convince people they're being harassed by a dragon or a vampire."

"Alright, you've convinced me," the President surrendered. "I get it. If they don't play by the rules, we won't either. I don't want to know any further details, but please be circumspect about it. What do we know about the cause of the incident in Brazil?"

"Chris?" Michelle prompted, starting him from imagined ways to terrorise greedy executives for approving kidnapping and murder. A perfect sphere missing from the engine block in their cars was his best idea so far.

"Well, it was Radek," he recovered. "I thought that was obvious."

"According to agent Hamund's report, you somehow 'smelled or tasted his corrupt magic,' is that correct?" the President asked, a slightly salted eyebrow rising. "No one saw the man on the scene, and evidence suggests that the handprint wasn't human at all. How do we really know he was responsible?"

"He was there," Chris rumbled, doing his best to remain respectful. "I did smell him, or his magic at least."

"I'm not trying to insinuate you're wrong, Christopher." Robert's expression softened. "Just that we need to be sure. You'll forgive me if sense of smell isn't what I usually get presented with as evidence of wrongdoing."

Sam shifted nervously beside him, she knew the leader of the nation's scrutiny was not aimed at her but the young man beside her. It was intimidating nonetheless.

"I would trust the dragon on this," Reyla spoke in his support. "Chris has faced Radek before, and a dragon's senses are very keen. I have reviewed the footage also, and I believe we may be dealing with some sort of very ancient... entity. The magic was truly heinous, I have never seen its like."

Chris' eyes narrowed, she definitely knew something. He'd suspected for a while, but the way she walked on eggshells around the issue now just confirmed it. The elf must have sensed his ire because her long, ears gave a telling little twitch and her grey eyes shot to him guiltily for a microsecond.

"Well, that's not what I wanted to hear," the President sighed.

"I don't think this was an isolated occurrence either," Michelle said. "I've reanalysed some of the incidents that our systems picked up in Central America. There have been several cases of multiple murders or disappearances of entire households or farmsteads. In all cases, the bodies were found in an advanced state of decay or burned. At the time, they looked mundane, but after what I saw in Brazil, I now suspect they could be Radek's work, simply allowed to run its course for a few more days before they were discovered."

"Shit, he's working his way down the continent," Robert said.

"Exactly."

"Why?"

There was a pause, people began glancing at each other until more and more pairs of eyes settled on Chris.