Chapter 7 #2
“It was used more often in the olden days,” Leo said. “Back when there was honor. Or so I’ve been told ad nauseam by my parents.”
“I swore it to her grandfather,” Cyntag said. “Brom Winston.”
“Brom?” Leo said. “Isn’t he the dude who predicted the island would sink? He was like Noah, told everyone to build boats and saved a bunch of our ancestors. And he was only ten years old or something. Dude’s a legend.”
Cyntag nodded. “Yes, that dude is Brom Winston.”
Her grandfather, Brom Winston? Then the rest of what they were saying hit her.
The island sank. Our ancestors. Ruby staggered, because she couldn’t deny it any longer.
Mon’s fairy tales… weren’t tales. They were indeed meant to prepare her, in the same lame-ass way the Hunter/Prey game he’d engineered was.
Though both men clearly weren’t comfortable around Cyntag, she sensed their deference to him. Or maybe a fearful respect. Either way, the subject of Brom calmed the edge in Jack’s body language.
Cyntag stepped up to her, forcing Jack to move back. “Ruby has to go away for a while. I suggest you take a few days off until we figure out what’s going on. There might be some dangerous visitors looking for her.”
She shook her head. “What? No, I’ve got projects, commitments…
” The words died in her throat. Visitors as in demons.
This was real. Crazy, insane, but real. The demon killed that man and that poor little creature, and it definitely would have killed her were it not for Cyntag.
It might hurt these people. Cyntag met her gaze, nodding as he saw understanding dawn.
He’d been real, too, with scales and fangs and deep blue eyes.
An honest-to-God Dragon. She turned to Jack. “Take a vacay.”
Jack said, “I can protect you, Miz Ruby.” He nodded to Cyntag. “I mean, you don’t even know this guy, do you? Seems like your protector and teacher should be someone you know. Someone you’re comfortable with.”
Cyntag walked right up to Jack. “You exude some decent power, kid.” A compliment, yet she knew the word “kid” was meant to establish a hierarchy. “But have you been trained to fight?”
“Enough to fend off the occasional punk-ass trying to assert his dominance.” Jack glanced at Ruby. “If you’ll pardon my French.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine.”
Cyntag seemed to be assessing Jack. “But you’ve never Breathed Dragon.”
“No, sir. But I could.” His shoulders widened. “I sure could if I had to.”
“What’s Breathing Dragon?” Ruby asked.
“Later,” Cyntag said.
That didn’t sound good, but she didn’t need to know more crazy stuff at the moment.
He met Jack’s gaze again. “Ever tangled with a Deuce-made entity or demon?”
“Couple of times. Had a feud with a Douche neighbor.” Jack glanced at Leo. “Sorry, Deuce. Nothing that would kill me but a real pain in the ass. Literally.” He patted his butt, then blanched as he looked at Ruby. “If you’ll—”
She held out her hand. “I can handle curse words. Like holy shit, how the hell did I get myself into this crazy-assed situation?” She gave him a forced smile.
Cyntag’s mouth quirked, but he maintained his serious expression as he turned to Jack. “I appreciate your dedication and loyalty, but you’re still in school, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I’m in my last year, and then I’m joining the Guard.”
If that was meant to impress Cyntag, it didn’t seem to. “You go to the Dragon Academy?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Finish your schooling before you start throwing yourself in battle. If you stick your snout into this, I’ll have them pull your ass from the program.”
Jack’s jaw tensed, obviously taking the threat seriously. “Yes, sir.”
Cyntag gave him a nod. “Let’s clear out, Ruby.”
“Nevin,” she called to her partner, who lingered a short distance away with a worried expression that turned even more apprehensive when he looked at Cyntag.
“We’re closing the Yard for a few days.” He wouldn’t mind that part.
“And no, I didn’t kill my uncle. But whoever did might come here. I don’t want to take any chances.”
Nevin walked closer. “Wait a minute. Are you saying it was… murder? Have you talked to the police?”
“I can’t tell you everything right now.” Or ever, but she’d have time to come up with some plausible story. Well, she hoped she did. “And we can’t tell the police. Just go home and be safe.”
“But—”
“Go, please.”
When he left, Cyntag raised a raven eyebrow. “He accused you of killing Moncrief?”
“I did,” Leo said. “Well, not accused exactly,” he added quickly. “Questioned.”
“I was a little mad when I left to see Mon.” Why hadn’t Mon told her all of this? On top of everything else, she felt like an idiot.
Cyntag rested his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “This does not involve you. Leave.”
Leo nodded, then wandered over to Jack. When they paused, concern on their faces, Cyntag added, “I’ve got her. I reached Vega, and I’m older than dirt.”
This cryptic assurance did, in fact, assure them, and they turned and left.
“Ready to talk now, Ruby?” Was Cyntag just a tad bit smug or did he always look so sure of himself? “In a reasonable manner without weapons and accusations? And in private?”
No, she wasn’t ready to talk and be reasonable, especially not in private. She wanted to run screaming into the night. Only she couldn’t, and it was daytime besides. “Fine.”
“At my dojo. It’s considered a safe zone.”
“No, in my office. That’s my safe zone.” She led the way, arms crossed tight over her chest. Let him follow.
“You know you can’t stay here.”
“I’ve got records to grab, so I can let the customers who are coming in over the next few days know… what do I tell them? ‘Can’t work on your vintage soda cooler because someone’s trying to kill me. Hope you can be patient.’”
“I wouldn’t tell them that.”
“I was kidding!”
Cyntag glanced at his watch. “You have a little time to grab the things you need. But not much.”
He settled a hand on her back and guided her onward.
Oddly, it didn’t bother her too much. She stepped into the cool, dark office.
No one had been in to turn on the lights.
She didn’t bother to do so either, finding the dimness more comfortable.
This time they were in her territory, and she was in control.
He set a gun on the desk and walked over to the window to peer out.
She patted her back. Nothing. “How’d you do that?”
“One of the skills you learn at the Guard is to quickly disarm anyone who’s potentially dangerous.”
Did that mean he saw her as dangerous? Remembering their encounter earlier, she decided probably not. “You mean the National Guard?”
“No. Our Guard is the police force that governs Crescents. They report to a council called the Concilium, comprised of members of all three classes of Crescents.” He sighed. “You have so much to learn.”
Oh, yeah, she heard the unspoken… And so little time to do so.
* * *
Cyn surveyed the yard outside again, seeing the three men he’d just met talking and glancing toward the office, no doubt discussing him.
Two of them were young Crescents, full of the piss and fire he hadn’t possessed in decades.
Crescents aged slowly, but one benefit of taking Dragon power was that it slowed the process even more.
Cyn turned back to find Ruby pulling folders out of a filing cabinet drawer. “Do the three guys out there work here?”
“You’re interrogating me.”
He lifted a shoulder. “It’s my nature. I need to know who’s in your life.”
“Was that supposed to be an apology?”
“I don’t apologize.”
She stared at him, and he could tell by the spark in her eyes that she was considering defying him, or maybe making him wait for an answer to assert some sense of control. Fine, let her have it. It might be the last time she felt in control for quite some time.
Her muscles relaxed, and the defiant spark dimmed. “Jack Aster works here after school and weekends.”
And he had a crush on Ruby.
Cyn glanced out the window. “He’s close to storming in. Wave at him, let him know you’re fine.”
She narrowed her eyes again, most likely at the order, but gave Jack the universal OK sign. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head at Cyn. “Happy?”
“Yes. I don’t want to have to kill him.”
“You’re kidding, I hope.”
“What about the other two?”
She paused, probably realizing he hadn’t answered her question. “Nevin is my business partner. He didn’t have that”—she wiggled her fingers in front of her eyes—”flicker. Leo said he wasn’t one of us.”
“He’s a Mundane, a regular human. And Leo’s the one who was manhandling you?” Cyn’s Dragon had bristled at the sight of the man’s arm around her waist, the rough way he was carrying her.
“I don’t know what that was about. Leo came in looking for a part yesterday, the first time I’ve seen him in eight years.”
“That seems odd, him showing up the day your uncle is murdered. He’s a Deuce, but not powerful enough to make a star orb. That’s the kind of orb that killed your uncle.”
She swallowed hard, staring out the window at Leo probably. “How can you tell what he is?”
“Deuces’ eyes swirl like fog.”
Her face paled as she shifted her gaze from the Yard to Cyn.
“Your eyes had embers, and so did mine when I saw them in the mirror. Dragon eyes are like embers. No.” She shook her head hard, making her hair float out like a cloud.
“Magick being real, I’m just beginning to grasp.
Big ole lizards with talons and wings and scales, well, I saw that. But that I’m one, no friggin’ way.”
“What about the protected—or, rather, kidnapped as he portrayed it—Garnet in Moncrief’s stories? Didn’t she turn into a Dragon?” Surely he would have accurately portrayed Ruby.
“The Dragon Prince put a spell on her that made her go Dragon. When they fought, they became savage beasts, with drool dripping out of their mouths. And they smelled like dirty socks. But in reality she was a Deuce.”