Chapter 14 #2
“Good call. Why don’t I show you to the fourth floor first, that way we can make some tea, stare out the window, and hope we don’t have to abuse the two dragons with us. I haven’t had much exposure to dragons so far, but I’m confident they’re all master whiners.”
“You’re not wrong, but I recommend against telling that to their faces. These two are at least trying to make a good impression upon you, our new landlady. Others? They’ll just reduce you to ash and bone for a snack before going about their day.”
“Three dragons is three dragons too many.” I eyed the dragons in question. “And apologies to you and your dragon friends, but I saw the footage of what your tiny friend did to three cities. My sense of self-preservation is still intact, and I don’t wish to become your snack.”
The dragons hooted and bobbed their heads.
I bowed my head. “They think I’m funny, Isaac.”
“That’s because you are funny. Let’s get upstairs and watch the storm, that way, if any of our neighbors get into a tight spot, you can ride to the rescue.”
* * *
Two hours into our vigil, my nightmare came to life, and it began as a rumble similar to that of an oncoming train.
In the gloom, I spotted the clouds spinning and swirling, gaining structure.
The infantile funnel, if it continued to grow as it did, would strike near Donna Leanne’s house.
However much the woman drove me to the brink of madness, I would never forgive myself if I could have done something to prevent her death but hadn’t.
Spitting curses, I bolted for the staircase, dove down the steps, and sprinted through the house, dodging chickens on the way to the garage.
I slammed my hand onto the door opener on my way in, angled for the closest horse, which proved to be Zenzi, vaulted onto her back, clucked my tongue, and whacked her with both legs to indicate we needed to move like we meant it.
The devilish horse squealed, headed for the opening door, and surged out into the driving rain and screaming wind.
Rather than waste time on the gate, I clamped my legs to her side, pointed her at the wall, and prayed Zenzi could clear over five feet on soaked cobbles in darkness deeper than the middle of the night.
The mare accepted the challenge, gathered herself, and jumped.
On the other side, rather than land on grass and street, flood waters swirled, coming up to Zenzi’s knees.
Water sprayed up, and I urged her forward, my eyes locked on the strengthening wind wall overhead.
Once halfway down the street, where leaves sliced through the air along with rogue branches, I lifted both hands, sought out the storm’s surging energies, and attempted to weave it into any pattern other than the one it strained to create, one of destruction and nature’s fury.
My first attempt to shunt the funnel upwards only worked to strengthen the winds. Snarling curses, I changed strategies; if the funnel was coming like it or not, I’d send it the one place it couldn’t harm anyone or anything of importance: my new neighbor’s residence.
Did the Destroyer of Georgia really need his castle?
If I had to choose between the hateful old biddy or the dragon’s castle, I would pick the woman each and every time.
Castles could be replaced. However awful, however many times she poisoned me attempting to make pie, I couldn’t bring back the dead. All I could do, like everyone else, was grieve.
On second thought, I’d shed a single tear before throwing a party, but I only wanted to throw the party after she passed of natural causes outside of my field of influence and responsibility.
If I could prevent the tragedy from happening on my doorstep, I would.
At first, the funnel resisted me, but then it snaked farther from its screaming clouds, angling towards the lake rather than descending to wreak havoc among my neighbors.
I shook from the strain, and closing my eyes, I sought to guide the tornado towards the node, which recovered within the castle’s basement.
As it had when I’d sheltered my home from the storm, the node stirred, and its presence slithered over me. Its tendrils joined my weave in roping the wind and directing it where I needed it to go for the sake of everyone around me.
The rumble of the oncoming train grew into a shrieking wail, deafening in its intensity.
In the darkness, from somewhere close, another presence stirred. Warmth seeped into my skin, creating steam when the cold deluge fell upon me. Like the castle’s node, a crawling sensation crept over my arms into my fingers before abandoning me to leap into the vortex above.
I opened my eyes.
A golden glow, like the sun at noon and equally warm, infused the storm. The light illuminated the developing twister, revealing the moment it touched the lake and danced across the water towards the castle.
I became aware of my precious baby alligators becoming victims of the storm, and snarling a curse, I slashed my right hand through the air, formed a net, and captured as many of them as I could. My left remained held high, securing the twister so it would not revert to its original course.
Bubbles formed and drifted through the wind, and within each one, I detected a spark of precious life, spared from being flung back to the Earth, dashed to death in the violence of their descent.
Aware I held each little life by the merest of threads, I took care with lowering my right hand, directing the ensorcelled wildlife back to the water and cocooning them from the storm’s fury.
I panted, struggling to make certain I caught every spark of life and rescuing them from death while the twister spun its way to the castle.
The moment the spinning column of wind slammed into the stone, the node surged, shattering the weave I used to contain the storm’s fury.
Much like the dragon had in Georgia, the hungering power devoured the energy, gulping down the funnel and stealing away even the lightning from the sky. The clouds shattered, and a wall of magic slammed over me, cresting and breaking like a wave descending onto a sandy shore.
Zenzi squealed, braced, and stood firm.
Somehow, I stayed on her back.
The bubbles holding my babies popped, releasing them back into the water, and they scattered for safety, not that anywhere was safe when nature came calling. I braced for the worst, closed my eyes to better concentrate, and checked for the blank spaces indicating recent and freshly lost life.
Somehow, I’d spared them all from demise, and I released a relieved sigh.
After I could breathe without gasping, I reopened my eyes to take in the destruction on the street, pleased it was mostly cosmetic, although Susie Marie and several other of my neighbors would need to replace or repair their roofs.
A roof was a small price to pay, and if they couldn’t afford the construction work, I’d help them—or twist the Devil’s arm until I somehow convinced him to reach into his coffers to help my neighborhood recover.
At the end of the day, it was his fault the storm had come calling.
I patted Zenzi’s neck. “Sorry about that, sweetheart. You’ll get extra treats and warm mash tonight as a reward.
” As the last thing I needed was Donna Leanne suspecting she owed me anything, I turned her in the direction of home.
Water flowed around the protective barrier protecting my property from flooding, and I sighed.
“Looks like we’re going to have to jump back in. ”
The horse bobbed her head, backed up, and pawed the ground before surging forward, gathering herself, and leaping from the start of the turbulent waters. I took care to keep my hold with my legs and move with her, grunting when she hit the ground, stumbled a step, and recovered.
As the mare likely suffered from my lack of saddle, I apologized for my clumsy riding, praised her again, and aimed her to the safety of the garage.
She settled into a trot, wasting no time escaping the rain, which tapered off.
The clouds continued to disperse, brightening the evening sky and revealing the fading sunset.
I swung off her back the instant she stopped inside, taking care to pat her neck, give her nose a kiss, and promise I’d take good care of her.
Isaac waited, and he’d located my bathroom and held out one of my towels.
“The dragons are trying to convince Ashley that you aren’t actually a goddess right now.
I don’t think it’s working. I called Lucifer.
He’s in your kitchen with Darlene. The Destroyer of Georgia is perched on his castle, and he’s roaring over a tornado daring to touch his parapets.
That he is not even eighteen inches long right now is making his complaining rather amusing. ”
I worried, as last I checked, Darlene had kidnapped the tall, dark, and handsome and was dealing with him in hell. “And Yuless?”
“I’m sure he’s fine. At least Darlene isn’t tormenting him right now.”
I worried. “Did my expression betray my concerns?”
“No, Darlene is who she is, and she had him in her clutches, so he was clearly being tormented. How? That, I’m not sure.
But he has escaped for now, so I’m sure he’s fine.
” When I didn’t budge, Isaac dumped the towel on my head and went to work drying my hair off.
“Lucifer bewitched your entry so it will remain clean, and he did the garage, too. Good deeds should not be punished, and if he’d already replaced your barn, your animals wouldn’t be living in your house right now. ”
As Isaac would help me out of my clothes if I let him, I took over, giving a quick rub of my hair before returning to Zenzi and doing my best to get as much rain out of her coat as possible before giving up, placing my hand on her shoulder, and scraping together enough magic to warm and dry her off.
“All right. I’ll go deal with Lucifer. Try to convince Ashley I’m just a hedge witch, please.
I was just a particularly desperate hedge witch is all. ”
“If you say so. I’ll do what I can, but I doubt it’ll work.”
I could solve four of the problems in my home with ease at least. “You’re an incubus. Distract her. Pick any suite you like and turn it into your den of debauchery, just keep the noise down. There is not enough alcohol in this place for me to cope with anyone calling me a goddess.”
He laughed, shot me a salute, and headed off. “Good luck with the Lord of Hell. He’s in a mood right now, and his wife isn’t much better.”
“The warning is appreciated. Should I ask how bad it can be?”
“It can be bad, but at least they like you.”
“That’s something at least,” I conceded, pausing long enough to give Zenzi another kiss on her nose before setting her loose to tend to Moon and settle in for the night.
With a little luck, the Devil would have mercy on me, decide to be the adult of the house for a while, and send me to bed while he handled the rest of the day.
Hopefully, Donna Leanne would never learn of what had transpired above her home and the Destroyer of Georgia would forgive me for using his castle as a target.