Chapter Thirteen
THIRTEEN
MABEL
“So, we’re all screwed.” Aisling’s expression was more pissed than resigned.
I sat on the floor of Hunter’s bedroom while I rolled out, the laptop in front of me, watching Jim take a place next to Aisling for the video call.
“And lest anyone be concerned, Drake and I told Jim what happened two days ago at Hunter’s place,” she continued.
“Yeah, not to say I’m surprised, because Lattsa seems way too intense, and Desi is .
.. well, Desi, am I right?” Jim added, scrunching up its face.
“But still, it blows that Desi got the blood moon back. I mean, he’s not going to go after dragons when he and my mom have it to squash the Court of Divine Blood, but once they’ve done that .
.. naw, it’s just not a good idea for him to have the amulet. Or person the amulet is in.”
“There are a few things I could say,” I told the women on the screen.
It was just those of us who’d been present at the loss of Dawn, so I assumed things were being kept hush-hush from others, even while the men were having their own video call.
“But I’m too new to the dragon world to say them, so I’ll simply go with Hunter feels horrible that everything went down at his place. ”
“Why?” Ysolde asked, leaning back when her son leaped the length of the couch, zipping right past her. He landed on the floor with a whomp.
“Oh no, Anduin! Is he OK?” Aisling asked, leaning forward to peer at the screen.
“There are pillows on the floor, as well as two tumbling mats,” Ysolde answered, glancing at her son when he popped up at the end of the couch, giggling wildly.
“He’s pretending to be a stuntman. Mabel, please tell us about Hunter.
None of the wyverns blame him for what happened, but I’m sure you, as a sane person, know that. ”
“Not that we’re saying Hunter isn’t sane,” May added quickly. “He seems very nice, if a bit ...”
“Intense,” Aisling said, nodding. “But then, he wouldn’t be a wyvern—or master of a tribe—if he wasn’t.
And, of course, everyone is devastated by the loss of their swords and dragon hunter–ness.
Drake said all along that it was really only Hunter and Archer who kept Xavier and Deus from harming more dragons than they did, which is why it’s so horrible that they are now basically .
.. I hate to use the word, but impotent comes to mind. ”
“What do you mean, impotent?” I asked, feeling a little riled that Aisling could think Hunter was a lame duck now that he didn’t have his sword. “He’s still a dragon, just like all of your mates. There’s nothing weak about him.”
“Lord, no! I’m so sorry, Mabel, I didn’t mean to slight Hunter. I mean that since the swords are gone, and thus the runes on the swords that made them dragon hunters are also gone, Deus and his gang of bullies will likely run amok without Hunter and Archer keeping them at bay.”
I was still a bit outraged, but managed to beat back my pettiness. “Again, they’re still both dragons, just like the wyverns. I don’t want to say you guys got a bit too comfortable counting on Hunter and his brother to take care of Deus, but it sure seems that way to me.”
The ladies were silent for a few seconds.
“I’d like to dispute that statement, but I think the men are all realizing something along those lines,” Ysolde said with reluctance.
“I do want to reiterate that no one, not one single wyvern or tribe master, believes Hunter and Archer aren’t valuable members of Team Weyr.
No one blames them, and no one thinks they are weak because they don’t have their swords anymore. ”
The other women murmured their agreement, and I let go of the hostility that rose at the idea of the dragons viewing Hunter as anything but the badass that he is.
“What was it you were going to say before I put my foot in it, Mabel?” Aisling asked.
I took pity on her, since it was clear she regretted the unintentional slur on Hunter’s fine character.
“I asked Hunter this morning how dragon hunters get their swords, since it seemed to me that we could have new ones made for them. He said it wasn’t possible, that no new élan vitals have been created in several hundred years.
Evidently the beings who could make them on the birth of a new dragon hunter have more or less gone extinct. ”
“Well, that blows,” May said, her expression troubled. “So there’s no way to make them new swords?”
“No, but Hunter said there might be a way around it. It seems that any élan vital will work for a dragon hunter. It doesn’t have to be the one created for him or her.
The esprits might kick up a fuss and have to be replaced if they don’t like the new owner, but that’s a minor issue compared to the big one of making the twins dragon hunters again. ”
“Oooh, that sounds intriguing,” Allie said. She appeared to be curled up next to a window, which revealed a winter wonderland behind her, complete with falling snow. “But are there a bunch of these ownerless dragon hunter swords lying around?”
“Not according to Hunter.” I studied the faces on the screen for a moment before adding, “But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.
We just have to locate them. Thaisa is a scholar, and she is going to dive into a bunch of records to see just what dragon hunters have fallen over the last few hundred years, and what happened to their swords after they were gone.
Hopefully, we can find two unused ones.”
“Is this chat open to anyone? I sure hope not, because there are so many annoying people who just insist on meddling in things they really shouldn’t.
” A video square appeared filled with Sally smiling at everyone.
“May, darlin’, such a pleasure to see you again.
How is the deliciously thighed Gabriel?”
May rolled her eyes and gave Sally a sour look. “He is as gorgeous as ever, not that we appreciate you being fixated on his thighs.”
“They are worthy of much admiration,” Sally said with a wink.
“They are, but he’d prefer if that admiration came from me, only. At the risk of sounding rude—”
“Too late,” Jim said, leaning back against Aisling, who absently fondled its fuzzy ears.
“—why are you here?” May finished. “That is, did Aisling invite you?”
“Not me, although I’m always happy to have Sally join us,” Aisling said with a weak attempt at a smile.
“You really gotta take an acting class or something if you expect to say things like that and have people believe you,” Jim told her.
She glared at it for a few seconds before looking back at the screen. “Is there something we can help you with, Sally?”
“Me? I’m not in need of help at all. I just thought I’d pass on a little word I heard on the breeze before I head off to look at penguins in Antarctica.
” Sally did her best to look innocent, but I doubt if anyone there was fooled.
I certainly wasn’t. “Namely, I heard a rumor from a very reliable source—my former other half, Terrin—that a certain powerful amulet was stolen from the rugged, if slightly naughty, Hunter.”
“Naughty?” I asked, riled up all over again.
“What is this, pick-on-Hunter day? For the record, Sally, Hunter is anything but naughty. He’s fierce, and deadly, and incredibly devoted to his tribe and the other dragons.
The good ones, not the ones trying to do him in.
And we need to talk to you about that, but I’m waiting for Hunter before we tackle that subject. ”
“Naughty doesn’t mean the same thing to Sally as it does to the rest of us,” May said, looking pointedly at the camera. “She uses it as a term for anything she shouldn’t do as Sovereign, but does anyway because she enjoys a light touch of sadism now and again.”
“It’s not so much sadism as bringing a little spice to people’s lives,” Sally corrected, her smile broadening at May. “After all the good works Terrin and I did, you can’t deny me a little fun now and again, can you?”
“Yes, the blood moon was stolen yesterday,” I interrupted, sensing she was happy to go on and on unless stopped.
“And can I just say that it would have been nice if you told me (a) Hunter needed me to help him get Dawn out of Xibalba, and (b) that Dawn was the very amulet everyone in the Otherworld was looking for.”
“Pish.” Sally waved away my comment. “If I’d told you to steal his sword because he’d need it to bargain with that tricky broker and free you before he—the broker—gets so deep into it that you’d be sucked down with him, would you have done so? No, you would not. This way everyone is happy.”
“Are you saying you know about Papi?” I glanced at the door, wondering if I should text Hunter.
I didn’t want to disturb him, but if Sally was responsible for his sword being destroyed and Dawn taken, then he’d want to know.
“And you wanted me to steal his sword? Did you arrange it with Papi? Are you working with him?”
“Darlin’, I know a great many people, your Papi included,” Sally replied with a hint of a wink.
“And it was simply not good for you to be tied to that broker any longer. Not with the drui rising behind Lattsa, and of course, there are the Sons of Horus. Terrin is becoming quite concerned about them, and worrywart that he is, he’s so often right about these things, don’t you agree? ”
My gaze shifted from face to face on the screen. Everyone looked as confused as I felt.
“You ... you arranged for my debt to Papi be wiped out?” I asked, not sure if she was spinning a tale, or speaking the truth.
Sally ignored the question, leaning forward slightly. “I can tell you’re all worried, what with the kidnapping of Dawn, but I want you to ask yourself one thing.”
No one spoke, although everyone looked like they wanted to.
“What?” I asked after several seconds of silence. “What do you want us to ask?”