“What happened to Morris?” Mary asked.
“Crushed under a falling dragon,” Roy answered.
Mary blinked at him. “Crushed by a dragon?”
He nodded. “The previous owner of this mansion. There arerge caverns under the house where Walter Zhao could drop his mor and stretch out his wings. He couldn’t fly down there, but he could be what he was.” At Mary’s incredulous stare, he continued. “There aren’t a lot of dragons left.”
“What… what happened to this one?”
Roy scowled. “Walter was a slippery one. He tried to do something I’m not at liberty to talk about, under a Hidden Races Council edict. Trust me when I say it was evil on a level that makes Hitler look like a schoolyard bully. Caught us all off guard… except for the witch-”
“Ok, who is this witch you keep talking about?” Mary said in frustration.
“I’ll not speak her name as that might draw her attention,” Roy snapped.
Mary gave Roy an evaluating look. “Superstitious?
“Cautious,” he grumbled. “Listen, if you want more information about the witch, speak with Henry. She raised him from a baby after all.”
Mary’s eyebrows went up in surprise.
“He’s the only one with any affection for her. Anyway, she knew he was up to this big evil, or rather she caught him in the act of it and prevented him frompleting it. The dragon responded by trying to kill her.”
“So… she killed him instead.”
“No, Sigrid chased him into the sky, outflew him, outfoxed him, and knocked him out of the sky. Hended on the Detective who was about to start shooting. Then Sigrid drove her spear through Walter’s brain for what he’d done to Meixiu.”
Mary was shaking her head. “Wait, wait. Sigrid chased him into the sky?”
Roy looked back at her. “Yes, she’s a Valkyrie. She has the loveliest wings!” He sighed as he saw Mary’s confusion. “Listen, I’m sorry to dump all these new concepts on you all at once, but I want to bepletely honest with you, so you know that we’re the good guys, or at least we try to be. I was hoping to sit down to talk to you about something else.”
She considered the man before her. As fantastic as it sounded, she believed his story about Harmon and Morrison. With the beings, she was meeting tonight and her experience with Roy in that alley, her gut was telling her she could trust him. “Now’s a good time for me,” she said.
“Good! Ok, well, it’s like this. How set are you on being a police officer?” he asked.
Her brows came down in a frown. “Why are you asking?” she asked, her tone automatically defensive.
“I was hoping you might considering to work at VRL. If you can control your temper that is.” He had a little smile on his face when he said it, so she wouldn’t be offended.N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.
“I had reason to be angry, at the time,” she growled.
“No, you thought you had a reason, but you weren’t ready to listen. I’m d we had the chance to talk tonight,” Roy suggested.
She held his eye, but he just waited, and she finally nodded. Then her look turned cautious once more. “What would I be doing?”
“We’ll see what your skills make you suited for, but I think you’ll find working for VRL to be far more rewarding than the NYPD. We’re security for an investment house and for the most part that’s a pretty cushy job. But I run my pack as amando team. We protect the employees of VRL, and sometimes we’re called upon to defend thepany from external threats of a non-Human nature. This may entail protection details or even ck ops missions if the threat proves to be dangerously hostile and requires intervention. I think you could be a definite asset to the team.”
“How do you get away with running ck ops missions in New York City?” she asked, curious.
“We train hard, and they’re all seasoned professionals. It’s not just a lot of machismo bullshit. It’s about teamwork and intelligence gathering. Henry has been a positive influence for thatst part.”
Mary looked at Roy’s earnest expression and thought about her recent issues with the NYPD. She frowned. “I still have to deal with the hearing. I’m not sure if they intend to press charges against me.”
“Join VRL, and you’ll have Mahati’sw firm support you through any legal difficulties you have with the police, at no cost to you,” Roy suggested.
Mary smiled at Roy. “Are you sure you’re not in sales?”
He just chuckled at that. He watched the woman consider her options, but he was pretty sure she was in. His pack was down one member with the loss of Billy, but Mary would be a definite improvement. Just to hedge his bets he gave her one of his most charming smiles.
Her amused snort wasn’t the expected reaction, but it didn’t look like he’d harmed his sales pitch.
-=-
Cam followed Henry out the back door and saw he was sitting in the gazebo. She walked to it, climbed the stairs and Henry turned his head to look at her. She saw shame on his face.
“Henry? What’s wrong?” She pulled up an ottoman and sat close to him.
He sighed. “I- I was so fucking jealous just then, and that made me feel colossally stupid. I’m a fucking Satyr. I stick my dick anywhere its wee, and when it’s not, I flush the area with pheromones tomakeit wee. I’m attracted to so many women, that’s not something anyone can build a solid rtionship on. Besides, Marisa is a Subus, and my new friend Nate is an Incubus. Of course, they’re meant to be together!”
“Firstly, let me address the race card you just threw down. Ulysses was an Incubus, and I’m a Subus, but our rtionship didn’t work. Beingplimentary races doesn’t have anything to do with making it work. There’s a much moreplex level of chemistry involved. The key ingredient in any sessful rtionship is empathy. A willingness to put yourself in someone else’s position to understand how they may feel. Ulysses failed miserably at that and instead tried topete with me.” She saw Henry understood, so she moved on.
“As for your being a Satyr, that doesn’t make you less attractive as a mate! And I’m not saying that as a Subus but as someone not locked into Human preconceptions of rtionships. Your adopted parent did an amazing job of raising you as a Human, but she did you such a disservice by teaching you their biases too. You arenotHuman. As long as it doesn’t jeopardize the security of the Hidden Races, you don’t have to follow Human social norms when it conflicts with your true nature. Youcanhave multiple concurrent rtionships if the other parties ept that from the start. Subi are emotionally wired for this as well.”
Cam gave Henry a sad smile. “You need to let go of those ipatible life concepts. They’re just going to make you miserable. Jealousyisa stupid emotion. It only hurts you and the ones you care for.”
Henry nodded to Cam. “Is this the tough love speech?”
She smiled in return. “Exactly that.” She stood and reached down a hand. “Come on; we need to finish indoctrinating your friends into this brave new world of magic.”
He groaned but epted her hand to stand next to her. They walked back to the back door, and as it opened, they heard a scream. Henry rushed forward and saw Mahati standing in the doorway to the dining room with Michelle at her back. Both were looking into the room with shocked and worried expressions. Henry eased past to see Dayshia gasping for breath next to the table; her chair knocked over.
“I thought you said you were ok with spiders,” he asked gently to the frightened woman.
“I said I love spiders, but you said nothing about snake people!” Dayshia snapped.
“She can see me?!?” Mahati eximed, her surprise emphasizing her ent. Michelle was wearing a surprised but oddly pleased smile on her face.
Sandy and Tish stared at the petite beauty in the doorway with new appreciation.
“Dayshia’s eyes are extraordinary! They can see through mors to the truth below,” Henry said.
Mahati stormed into the room to confront Henry. “That’s all well and good, but she needs to be able to see mors! The Hidden Races Security Division won’t take lightly to someone who reacts like that!”
Henry looked to Dayshia who was struggling to cope with the fact that a tall snake person was standing so close. He sighed and considered his new friend. It was time to thinkwayoutside the box. This was chaos magic, after all.
He turned to take her hands in his. “You know what I looked like before you changed. I’d like you to try to see me like that now.”
She blinked at him. “What? What are you talking about?” she muttered.
He gave her a small grin. “Your eye’s abilities are controlled by magic. Chaotic magic at that. How it changes people and what abilities it gives them is unknowable until you experiment. If you can see through the magic that even fools technology, maybe your eyes can see in different ways. Like maybe you can see into the different spectrums such as infrared? Maybe, if you tried, you could see mors too. Give it a try. From the few experiences I’ve had with magic, the trick seems to be asserting your will with a firmly defined intent. In your mind, tell your eyes you want to see me as you remember seeing me. Push with your will.”
Dayshia still looked unconvinced, but she closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them again, her mouth dropped open in surprise and she jolted back.
“What’s wrong?” Henry asked.
“You’re glowing red and smoke ising from your mouth!” she gasped then turned her eyes to thewyer. “You’re not glowing at all. I mean, not from your snake parts.” A shiver ran down her spine.
Henry rxed and smiled. “That confirms your ability to see in other ranges. You’re seeing infrared.”
Dayshia blinked her lovely eyes at him. “What- what do I do?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“You were likely thinking about what I just said about seeing in infrared. You need to see me as Henry when you met in Sandy’s condo. You have to hold the image in your mind. Try again. Use your will. See what you want to see,” he coached her gently.