Dragons Prefer Blondes (24 page)

I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Steady,” Mira whispered into my ear.

Jene looked at me with pity. “From what I understand, the Guardian was seriously injured that night while fighting the warriors with my sister. Is it not logical that her memories might be confused?”

There were whispers around the room.

I glanced around and realized there were actually people there who believed her. This was ridiculous. Before I could say anything, Arath pointed to me.

“Guardian, what do you have to say?”

So glad you asked, Demon King.
“She is right about one thing; I was seriously injured that night. By her sister, who wasn’t so innocently standing by while the men around her attacked. She was the first to turn on me. You have already heard the eyewitness accounts of that evening. The only reason I rushed in when I did was because Sharlot was about to inject one of the women with a drug. I was worried she might kill them before help arrived. And it was Sharlot who said they caught the humans to sell to the Manteros.”

Jene moved toward me. “You lie.”

“I do a lot of things, some of them not very nice, but I don’t lie.”
Dragon bitch.
“Since her death we’ve had no more incidents, so I’m inclined to believe that the kidnappings, while they might have been for trade, were done solely by your sister and her men.”

Jene’s claws came out, and Ginjin reached out a hand to keep her from swiping at me. “No.”

She turned on him, her eyes flashing red. “I knew you would try to protect your Guardian whore!” she shrieked.

Now there were more than murmurs from those present; the room positively erupted.

Whore?
That did it. My crossbow was in my hand before I even had a chance to think about it.

Jene shook an accusing finger at me. “She wants my mate for her own. Ask her. They discussed it. I heard them. She wants the power of Xerxes for her own. She wants to marry my mate. I will fight you to the death.” She shook a fist at the council. “For the honor of my sister and my family, I will fight the Guardian.”

“No.” Arath was the one who barked this time. “There are no battles at council meetings. This is the law.” His voice boomed.

“Arath speaks the truth.” Marcus, one of my mother’s closest friends and a longtime member of the council, stood on the other side of the demon king. “We are on the side of peace.” His words were softer, but just as effective.

“Fine.” I held the crossbow at my side. “I won’t fight her here. A portal to Xerxes, please?” I asked Arath.

“Alex!” My mother’s stern voice finally chimed in.

“What, Mother? The dragon wants justice, and I’m willing to give it to her. Her horrible sister tortured humans. I caught her in the act. Everyone in this room knows that. She’s not fighting for honor. She just wants to kill me. She can’t stand the fact that Ginjin asked me to marry him so that he wouldn’t have to deal with her.”

There was a collective gasp.

Jene spewed hatred. “You lie.”

I rolled my eyes. “You keep saying that, but you need only turn to the dragon warrior and ask him. Whatever you heard of our conversation, it wasn’t the whole thing. You certainly didn’t hear the end when I told him to stuff his proposal up his ass. I don’t do stinky, lying, cheating, scum-of-the-universe dragons.”

There was snickering behind me, but the dragons, all except Ginjin, instantly went scaly.

“Stop!” Arath roared. Everyone paused as magic zinged around the room. I wasn’t sure who was sending the good vibes out, but the dragons went back to human form, and the room took a deep breath.

Everything was quiet for more than a minute.

“This cannot be settled here,” I said finally. “I’m ready to give them the justice they deserve.” I wanted to channel my anger into battle mode. “Since we can’t fight here”—quite frankly, I didn’t want to, since my strength was ebbing away as we spoke—“I say we take it to Xerxes.”

“Dragon warrior, you are the leader of your people. What say you?” Arath looked to Ginjin.

The guy was not a happy camper. He looked from Jene to me and then back again. “The Guardian speaks the truth. There is no need for a battle.”

“No! I will not allow you to dishonor my family this way!” Jene screamed. “I deserve the right to battle the woman who murdered my sister.”

For once the dragon warrior looked defeated. He was stuck in the middle of a very difficult situation. If he allowed her to fight me, the council would have his head. Everyone in the room knew the truth. But if he didn’t, there would be questions on Xerxes about his ability to rule and his intentions toward his own kind. It also wouldn’t look so great if he couldn’t manage the woman in his life—though I wasn’t sure anyone could manage Jene.

“I have fought to the death for lesser reasons.” The words came out of my mouth before I even thought about it. “Arath, please open a portal to Xerxes.”

“
Gorstat!”
He said the word, and a portal opened in the middle of the room. “The Guardian will go first, her sisters and myself. Margunth will follow with Ginjin and Jene.”

We landed in the middle of a desert area. Not unusual on Xerxes.

Mira and Gilly were furious with me.

“The council was handling the situation. Why didn’t you just keep your mouth shut?” Gilly chided.

“Because these idiots won’t stop causing trouble until I end this.” I circled my neck. “Just please stay out of the way. No matter what happens, don’t get involved.”

“Arath, do something,” Gilly ordered him.

He shook his head. “I will not. Your sister speaks the truth. The dragons are a proud and stubborn race, and honor means everything to a warrior.”

Even if the warrior is an evil bitch whore.
I was kind of glad I hadn’t said that last bit out loud, as Ginjin and Margunth landed in front of me with Jene.

“So how do you want to do this?”

Jene’s father pulled a sword from a case and handed it to her. That meant I wouldn’t be able to use my crossbow, and my bowie knife would be no match for that sword, no matter how good I was. I had the plasma guns with me, but those weren’t exactly allowed in this sort of situation. Well, technically there were no rules, but matching weapons made it a fairer fight.

Great.
I could handle a sword just fine, but my injured shoulder would make it difficult if I had to bring it above my head.
Wouldn’t be the first time you popped a few stitches.

Gilly handed me her favorite rapier. It was lighter than the one she normally carried, and I knew Arath had it made specifically for her. I wished I’d had some time to practice with it, but I’d make do. Guardians were taught to use whatever they had at their disposal, and though it wouldn’t be as easy as shooting her in the eye with a crossbow, it would work.

Everyone made a circle around us, leaving Jene and me in the middle. I had no idea if she could even handle a sword, but in my many years of training, I’d learned the number one rule: never underestimate your opponent.

The dragon roared, and fire shot from her mouth. My body temperature lowered.

“Hey, none of that dragon stuff.” Mira stepped forward from the circle that had formed. “If any weapon can be used, my sister can pull out her big guns.” She pointed to the plasmas still resting in my holster.

I saw my mother join her. I had a feeling she was probably just as angry with me as Gilly and Mira. Someday when I learned how to control my mouth, life would be much easier.

“Don’t worry, Mira, a little fire doesn’t scare me.” I stood in position, waiting for Jene to advance. She eyed me for a moment, and then the battle began. For what seemed like hours, but was probably more like five minutes, there was no sound except the clanging of metal. I’d drawn blood twice. Once across her chest, just missing her dark heart, the other on her right hand. So far, she’d stayed in human form, but the angrier she became, the bigger the chance that she’d go flamey.

Jene was a worthy opponent, though her anger made her sloppy at times. Of course, that didn’t keep her from catching me with a quick stab to my right shoulder, which wasn’t fully healed. I’d had to fight with my left hand, which wasn’t quite as strong, but I held my own.

I moved more quickly, making her twist and turn, and my strategy worked. She tired faster, and it wasn’t long before I found my moment. I lost myself in the battle, only tracking move for move. When the sword slid into her gut, she roared. Claws came out and knocked me back onto my shoulder. I didn’t scream, but I wanted to in the worst possible way.

The dragon charged at me with her weapon, shooting fire from her mouth as she did. Blood poured from her belly, but still she fought.

“Alex,” Mira screamed. I could see she and Gilly grabbing their weapons.

I made myself stand up, even though there was no breath in my lungs. I cooled my body, the flames didn’t even come close to touching me, and I somersaulted toward the dragon. As I popped up, I aimed for her heart. The scales made it tough, but I pushed hard. Her claws dug into my shoulder, and I felt the poison seeping in. Seemed like the red bitch had all kinds of tricks, but she wouldn’t be using them on anyone else.

Shoving with all my might, I pushed her away from me. She had to be half-dead, but she didn’t want to give up. It looked like she was getting ready to charge again, but all of a sudden she just did a face plant. A bit anticlimactic, if you ask me.

The dragons that had come with her drew their weapons.

“Justice is done!” Ginjin stood between me and the crowd of angry, scaly beings. “Sheath your weapons.” They just looked at him. “Now,” he snarled.

Reluctantly, they did as he asked.

“Jene has her justice.” He bit the words out, and his eyes flashed red at me. “This is ended.”

He shoved me toward Arath and Gilly. Mom touched the watch at her wrist and then took my hand. Gilly and Mira stood beside her. I hoped one of them would catch me before the dizziness took over and I died.

CHAPTER 26

As we stepped into the bluish haze of the portal out of sight from the others, Mira threw me over her shoulder. Seconds later we landed in the control room.

“What the—? She’s injured.” Jake took me from Mira, squeezing my bleeding shoulder against his chest so hard I almost cried out. Damn thing would hurt like hell when the healers sewed me up—again.

“That was fun,” Mira said behind me. “Let’s get you downstairs.”

Jake didn’t have to be told twice. He rushed so fast he nearly banged my head against the doorframe.

On the elevator he pushed the button for G3. I wanted to tell him I was okay, but whatever toxins had been in her claws had taken over. My breath became shallow, and my heart slowed.

“Which ones?” Jake waved to the two sides of the hall. On the right was a fully equipped medical facility with an operating theater, X-ray machines, sonogram machines, and a whole lot of stuff that I had no idea how it worked. There was also a pharmacy full of drugs so we never lacked for antibiotics, or in desperate times, adrenaline that could be shot straight into the heart to get it going. I can’t say that’s my favorite, though it’s happened to me a few times.

On the other side were several rooms where the healers worked. These were about as far from the sterile atmosphere of the hospital as one could get. Most of the healers were mages who had been trained since birth. They used a combination of magic and herbs to heal wounds and rid our bodies of toxins.

“Better get her in to the healers to deal with whatever toxin that bitch clawed her with.” Mira shouted orders to the healers as she shoved the doors open. “It may be the same sort of thing the gryphons use. Put her down on the table.”

Jake did what she asked. From there I could see his face, which was etched with worry.

“Ugh,” was all I could bite out. My throat was as paralyzed as the rest of me. My eyeballs had even frozen, which was more than freaking me out.

Mira threw herbs together along with the other healers. Someone shot something into my arm.

“Don’t you dare die.” Jake seemed angry. “Dammit. Don’t you dare.” He kept saying it over and over again.

“Jake, we’re going to need a surgeon. Go find Dr. Posten,” Mira ordered him, I think more to get him out of the way than anything.

The man didn’t move.

“Jake, now! She’s losing blood. Once we stop the poison, we’re going to need him. Go!”

He growled but did what she asked.

“That man has it bad for you.” Mira shoved a tube of something down my throat that burned and made me cough. Air rushed into my lungs, and I had to turn my head to keep from puking on her. One of the healers must have known what would happen, because they had a small bucket waiting for me.

She took a deep breath. “Thank God.” Shaking her head, she poked a needle in my arm. I’m only slightly exaggerating when I say the thing was about six inches long. Luckily, I couldn’t feel anything. “That was too damn close. Another twenty seconds, and you might have actually bit the big one, Sis.”

Jake chose that moment to walk in, and I knew he’d heard her. I watched as his face changed from panic to concern to something I couldn’t define.

I was definitely going to get reamed for almost getting killed again.

I tried to talk, but my vocal cords were raw. “Argh.”

Mira pushed my hair away from my face. “This is going to take a while to work.” She held up the empty tube. “Don’t try to talk. You aren’t going to be able to move your extremities for a few hours. It’s not a cure so much as a block. It keeps the poison from spreading further, binds it, and then eats it up. But that takes time.”

At least I could move my eyeballs now, and I saw Dr. Posten as he pushed through the door.

“Poison looks neuro. We’ve destabilized it, but”—Mira tried to sound calm—“I’m not sure how much damage she sustained before we stopped it. At least she’s breathing.” That my sister was slightly panicked and trying to hide it suddenly made me very nervous.

Dr. Posten pulled some funny lighted magnifying glasses onto his face as he leaned over me. Taking a small scalpel, he took a tiny sample of tissue and put it on a slide. He shook his head. “Young lady, I seem to remember telling you not to reinjure this shoulder.”