Chapter 7 #2
“Yeah, it’s that Vega son of a bitch, all right,” the blue Dragon said. Ryan, Kade guessed.
But who was he talking to? Kade felt a bristling presence seconds before he jumped to the side and faced down a Carnelian Dragon.
“You got no right to be here. We have nothing illegal going on,” the red Dragon snarled.
The Sapphire’s vertical irises widened, and he seemed to smile. “He doesn’t have his official un-ee-form on.”
Red smiled. “Which makes you fair game. Especially since you’re sneaking around our sister’s place.”
Jessup, then.
Just as Kade started to explain why he was there, a third Dragon burst from around the corner of the house.
“Let’s get ‘em,” the Citrine said, looking way too happy to do so as he whipped his deadly tail.
“You did see the sign, didn’t you? Trespassers will be fed to the gators.
Or to the Dragons.” He let out a long laugh.
Three on one. Bring it on. Two things hit Kade at once. He couldn’t hurt them; they were Violet’s kin, after all. And he couldn’t tell these bozos that the reason he was investigating was because she’d gone to the Guard.
Hell.
They, on the other hand, would kill him in a flash. Two other things hit him—Dragons. His dagger flew from his hand as he dropped to the ground. He heard it hit the dirt a few yards away. All he could see were vividly colored scales and claws and fangs.
He threw his hands up, sending a flash of magick that kicked them back a few feet.
Damn, but he wanted to pull out the fatal Lightning so bad his fingers tingled.
Adrenaline throbbed through his body, narrowing his vision.
Being attacked sent him into kill mode, and he had to fight to stop it.
Wiping these morons wouldn’t solve the case.
More deaths sure wouldn’t keep Violet safe.
He thrust out his hand, and the dagger flew into it.
He readied the taser, rubbing his other fingers together.
Was there enough juice to take out all of them?
He had to touch their forehead, and that wasn’t going to be easy with them out for his blood.
They moved in on him, again forming a deadly circle.
“Violet knows I’m here,” Kade said, slicing the blade through the air between them as he kept turning. Blue sparks arced off the tip, leaving a trail that acted like a barrier. Sparks crackled over his skin as he pulled the power from within.
Jessup snorted. “Yeah, right. ‘Cause she’s into Vegas. Especially Deuce Vegas.”
“I am here on official business. You think six murders in ten days isn’t going to snag the Guard’s attention?”
Kade kept turning in a slow circle, but at any given moment, one of the three was in his blind spot.
The Citrine, probably a cousin, jabbed his sinuous tail at Kade, who barely evaded the sharp point.
The thing was like a yellow jacket stinger, painful when it touched, deadly when it sank in and injected poison.
While he was distracted, Jessup lunged at him fangs first. Kade used his magick to Change one hand, preternaturally extending his fingers and clamping them around Jessup’s mouth.
With the other, he managed to press the tips of his fingers to Jessup’s temple.
After a scream and a jerk, Jessup landed on the ground, naked and human.
Kade was already facing the Citrine, who tried to grab him from behind.
He sent a shard of Lightning at the Dragon’s shoulder, singeing the scales.
Ryan grabbed at Kade, fangs scratching through his shirt and across his back.
Though Kade managed to slip out of his grasp, the Citrine sandwiched him from the other side before he could fully extricate himself.
The force crushed Kade between them, sending the air gushing from his lungs.
As fangs came at him, he dropped and rolled out from between them.
A foot stomped down on him, grinding his chest into the dirt.
“You all right, Jessup?” Ryan asked.
Jessup shook his head as he pushed up to his elbows. “Holy dragonfire, what the hell?” He aimed a murderous look at Kade. “Squash him like a cockroach.”
“It’s against Crescent law to assault an officer,” Kade ground out, trying to get his hands free from where they were pinned beneath him. His dagger lay a few feet away, but without a hand to call it, it did him no good.
“The Guard don’t care about what goes on in the Fringe,” Ryan said from above him. “Lots of people die here, and the Guard is happy to file the paperwork and have fewer of us to deal with.”
That was truer than Kade cared to admit. “They care when one of their officers is hurt or killed. And when it threatens to expose the Hidden.” He managed to free one hand and clamp it around the foot holding him down, sending a jolt of magick through his fingers.
The foot lifted, and a growl filled the air. Kade jumped to his feet, his back stiff and sore. He swiped up his dagger and held them at bay.