Dragon Conjurer 5, page 27
It was also how well they’d taken my commands. Neither dragon acted without a clear order from me, and even without using words, they’d picked up on my intimidation tactics and seamlessly joined in the effort.
We really were more in sync than we’d ever been before.
“Hey, man, you good?” Phoenix jogged over to us when we stepped back out into the dim light of early evening.
“Yeah, thanks. How are you guys?” I glanced around at the mess of destroyed snake monsters and the severed spider limbs that littered the small valley in a fifty-yard radius around the edge of the riverbank.
“We’re good.” The Japanese guy nodded. “Not long after you disappeared, the Jorogumo became very weak.”
“That’s because our fearless leader here found and killed their queen,” Nick boasted.
“The queen?” Doppelganger asked. “You took out a queen Jorogumo? That is very impressive.”
“It was no big deal.” I shrugged. “Just doing my job.”
“It was a huge deal, that monster was fucking enormous.” Nala grinned and poked me playfully in the chest.
I smirked and batted her away, but luckily, Goldie and Beyblade trotted over before my teammates could carry on much more.
“Hey, guys.” I patted the pair of dragons affectionately on their scaly hides. “Great work.”
Goldie sat her enormous backside down on the flat stone and raised her head like a proud golden retriever. Beyblade looked almost smug, and he nudged Nick playfully with the end of his snout. I could have sworn Ky and Thor would have chest bumped if they’d been able to figure out how.
“Want me to call up Silva and let him know we’ll be back soon?” Nick asked as he idly patted Beyblade.
“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “If you guys are all up for it, I figure we can cut some time off our hike and load everything up on my dragons.”
“Sounds good to me,” Nala giggled.
“I’d like to have that race,” Kitsune challenged Nick.
“Oh, you are on!” The blond nymph nodded and braced himself to phase into a nearby tree.
“Hang on a second,” I chuckled. “Radio Silva, first.”
“He can be the official judge of your race,” Steffi suggested.
“That’s a good idea,” Nick agreed, and he pulled the radio from his belt. “Captain Silva, this is Dragon One…”
“Kick his ass, man,” Doppelganger murmured under his breath to Kit while Nick explained the race to the captain.
“No problem.” Kit smirked and dug his toes into the dirt to brace for the start of the race.
“Care to join me in trying to keep up with them?” Phoenix asked Steffi as he lit his astral flame wings and hovered off the ground.
“Somebody’s gotta make sure they don’t cheat,” Steffi agreed with a smile.
“I’ll come, too,” Elisabeth said, and she transformed her body into a peregrine falcon. The French beauty circled overhead as Nick tucked his radio back onto his belt.
“He’s ready and waiting for us,” Nick said smugly. “The first one onto the jet’s ramp wins.”
“Dylan, would you give us a countdown, please?” Kitsune asked.
“Sure thing.” I nodded and glanced at the two racers. “Are you both ready?”
“You know it, dude,” Nick chuckled.
“Hai.” Kitsune nodded and bent his knees slightly in preparation.
“On your marks, get set,” I said and raised my hand before slashing through the air like a starting flag. “Go!”
Thor let out a thundering roar at the same second I dropped my arm, and Nick disappeared into a nearby bush as a cloud of dust puffed up in the air like a cartoon where Kitsune had stood a moment before.
Steffi, Phoenix, and Elisabeth took off after them at a much slower pace, and I chuckled heartily as I patted Thor and watched the group disappear through the trees.
“Who do you think is gonna win?” Nala asked.
“Kitsune,” Doppelganger said definitively. “I have no doubt.”
“I don’t know,” I chuckled. “Nick’s been practicing a lot lately, and he’s gotten stupid fast.”
“Honestly, I think it’s a toss-up.” Ronin smiled.
“No matter who wins, we’ll never hear the end of it.” Wisp shook her head.
“That’s true,” I agreed. “Come on, let’s load these monsters up and get a move on.”
Wisp, Nala, Ronin, Doppelganger, and I helped Goldie and Beyblade scoop up the two unconscious Jorogumo in their talons, and we watched them soar off after the rest of our team.
“Dylan,” Doppelganger asked, and he looked almost unsure for a split second. “May I ride Thor, please?”
“Yeah, sure.” I grinned. “He can carry you and Wisp. Nala, Ronin, and I will go on Ky.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ronin smiled brightly up at my ice dragon.
I helped Wisp and Doppelganger climb onto my storm dragon’s scaly back and made sure they had a good seat. Then I nodded once at Thor, and he took off into the sky.
“Woah!” Wisp cried out with surprise as she clung to Doppelganger.
Doppelganger laughed heartily, and I couldn’t help but smile at the moment of pure enjoyment from the usually too-serious Japanese guy.
“Ladies?” I gestured chivalrously at Ky. “After you.”
“Why, thank you, good sir,” Nala giggled and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss me before she climbed onto my ice dragon’s back.
I wrapped my hands around Ronin’s tiny waist and lifted her to sit in front of Nala, and then I climbed up between them. I held tight to my Japanese girl as my curly-haired lover hugged her arms around me from behind, and I let out a blissful sigh as I found myself in the most delightful sandwich.
“Ready?” I asked.
“Yep!” Nala’s smile was clear in her voice, and Ronin gave me a firm nod.
I silently instructed Ky that we were ready, and he spread his huge blue wings and lifted us effortlessly into the air.
We caught up quickly with Doppelganger and Wisp on Thor, and we all arrived back at the jet sooner than I wanted now that I had two beautiful girls wedging me between them.
We’d easily cut off ten minutes from our travel time, though, and we landed to find Kit and Nick debating who had won their race.
“It was definitely me,” Nick claimed with a laugh.
“No, I hit the platform just before you,” Kitsune argued.
“Silva was the judge,” Steffi pointed out, and she turned to the captain. “Who won?”
“Honestly, I have no damn clue,” Silva laughed. “I swear they both popped out of nowhere at the exact same time. Nearly gave me a damn heart attack.”
“You guys didn’t see the winner, either?” I asked Steffi, Phoenix, and Elisabeth.
“No, we couldn’t even keep up with them,” Phoenix chuckled.
“I think a rematch will be in order,” Elisabeth suggested with a grin.
“Sounds good to me.” Nick smirked.
“A rematch with more witnesses.” Kitsune narrowed his eyes at the nymph, but he was grinning the tiniest bit.
“And maybe some high-speed cameras,” my best friend added.
“Alright, we’ll figure it out later,” I decided. “Come on, guys, let’s get these nasty spider ladies on board before the tranquilizers wear off.”
I gestured above to where Goldie and Beyblade were still hovering at the ready with the Jorogumo clutched in their talons.
“Here ya go.” Silva pushed two large steel cages out from the cargo hold of his jet. “Load ‘em up.”
“Thanks.” I nodded at the captain and waved at Doppelganger and Phoenix to load one of the Jorogumo into a cage.
“Ugh, I still can’t believe I fell for their dirty tricks,” Nick grumbled quietly as he helped me secure the second spider-woman in her cage.
“Don’t beat yourself up, man,” I consoled my friend. “It’s what they do, and Phoenix had the same reaction you did.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that,” Nick agreed.
“I bet Kit and Dop were secretly entranced, too.” I lowered my voice and waggled my eyebrows at my best friend. “We just couldn’t tell because they’re naturally stoic.”
“Good point.” The nymph nodded. “You seemed just fine, though.”
“I have a lot of women to satisfy me,” I snorted. “I wasn’t staring at much of what those spider-girls had to offer, but while we’re on the subject… maybe don’t jump to attention every time you find a pack of beautiful women just suspiciously lingering around in the middle of nowhere. That’s not really dream girl material, that’s--”
“Creepy as fuck,” Nick sighed. “Yeah, I’ll remember.”
“Okay, good,” I chuckled, and when Nick laughed as well, I could see that my teasing had the desired effect.
The blond nymph shook his head and turned his focus to wheeling the steel cage into the cargo hold, and the Jorogumo inside must have woken up from her medically induced sleep because a muffled shriek and slight banging sound emanated from inside the metal box.
“Your girlfriend’s awake,” Kitsune joked as he walked past Nick on his way out of the cargo hold.
“Har, har.” The nymph rolled his eyes.
“Hey, great job tonight,” I held my hand out to the Japanese speedster.
“Thanks.” Kit took my hand and gave it a firm shake. “You, too, you’re an incredible leader, and your team is lucky to have you.”
“Thanks,” I chuckled.
“Come on, fearless leader,” Elisabeth said softly and tugged on my arm. “Let’s go.”
“Great job tonight,” I murmured and leaned down to kiss my shapeshifter.
“You did pretty great yourself,” Elisabeth replied.
“Great, pssh,” Nala scoffed and bounced over to press a kiss to my lips. “Dylan did amazing.”
“As per usual,” Ronin agreed.
“I couldn’t have done any of it without my amazing team.” I looked at each of my teammates and the Japanese cadets. “You guys were all incredible, and you worked together really well.”
“We do make a pretty good team.” Wisp smiled.
“Mhm,” Doppelganger grunted his agreement and lowered himself into a seat.
“Strap in, everyone, we’ll be taking off in a minute,” Silva announced as he strolled toward the cockpit.
We quickly found our seats, and Steffi took the seat between me and the aisle. Everyone was pretty quiet from the events of the long day.
“Awesome job today, Dyl,” Steffi yawned softly and leaned over to kiss me.
“Thanks.” I smiled at my fairy-girl. “You were amazing. The way you and El worked together was really great.”
Steffi’s golden eyes shone with delight as she smiled up at me, and then she nuzzled her cheek against my shoulder, and her entire body relaxed into her seat.
The events of the mission swirled restlessly in my mind, and I struggled to settle in. We’d had not one, but two displaced monsters, and they’d been working together. Sure, they were both Japanese monsters, but neither had belonged in the middle of Tennessee. I wondered for a while how monsters got displaced, and if they had been working together before they ended up in that southern cave.
Was this just the beginning of more displaced monsters?
Would they keep working together like we’d seen in the images we found in SEEKR’s database?
The sound of the queen’s spine-chilling voice came back into my mind. I wasn’t totally surprised that I’d been able to understand her and the other Jorogumo. I’d accepted being able to communicate with more sentient monsters was part of the mutations in my DNA, but why had it been so easy to understand the Jorogumo soldiers? Why did it take a few minutes to be able to pick up on what the queen had been saying?
The usual loud roar of the engines eventually lulled me to sleep, and I fell into a shallow cat nap for the rest of the flight, but then the sudden knock of solid ground beneath the jet’s landing gear shook me awake.
“Time zones are so weird,” Steffi murmured as she stretched beside me. “It’s almost the same time it was when we left Tennessee.”
“That is pretty bizarre,” I chuckled and rubbed a hand across my eyes.
“Welcome home, cadets,” Silva’s voice crackled over the radio as the jet slowed to a complete stop on the tarmac. “I hope you enjoyed your flight, and if you didn’t, well, you know the rest.”
The jet stopped and my team and the Japanese cadets stood from our seats and stretched the stiffness of air travel from our bodies.
“Oh, man, I need dinner,” Nick moaned.
“Let’s unload the Jorogumo first.” Phoenix clapped a hand on the blond guy’s shoulder. “Then we’ll feed the black hole that is your stomach.”
“Yes, please,” my best friend said with an exaggerated pout.
“I am pretty hungry, myself,” Kitsune agreed. “It is difficult keeping up with a metabolism that runs as fast as I do.”
“See?” Nick exclaimed and gestured grandly at the narrow speedster. “This guy gets it!”
“Let’s take care of our business,” I suggested. “And then we can all go up and have a lavish meal in our kitchen. There’s plenty of food for all of us.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Phoenix grinned.
“Your hospitality is most appreciated,” Doppelganger said in his usual reserved tone, but there was a relaxed curve at the corner of his mouth.
The hangar buzzed with excited commotion as several scientists in white lab coats milled around the two steel cages as they were unloaded from the cargo hold.
“Mr. Cooper,” Dr. Hastings called out to me the moment she spotted me stepping off the jet. “What an amazing pair of specimens you and your team have brought for us. Well done.”
“Thanks.” I grinned. “Just doing our jobs.”
“You’ve gone well above and beyond today, Mr. Cooper.” Dr. Hastings’ energy was high as she juggled her attention between the steel cages and me. She called out orders to the scientists, and I listened while she instructed them on how to catalog the new Jorogumo specimens for the basements. “Make sure they are housed in cells where they can see each other, Dr. Morgan. According to my records, they are social creatures.”
“There was a huge nest of them in the cave,” I muttered as I leaned closer to the doctor, and she turned an eager smirk my way.
“Really?” she asked.
“They had a queen.” I nodded.
“A queen?” Dr. Hastings asked, and her voice was filled with interest as she leaned a little closer to me.
“Yeah, I kind of exploded her and the rest of her nest with Thor’s lightning,” I chuckled.
“Oh, dear,” Dr. Hastings actually giggled, but then her attention shot to the cages, and she quickly gave a few orders to the scientists.
There was frazzled energy in her demeanor, and I admired the lively glint in her gray eyes before I cleared my throat and realized I was standing only inches from her side.
“You seem busy,” I said.
“Yes, yes, I’m so sorry, Mr. Cooper,” Dr. Hastings murmured distractedly as she watched her colleagues scribble down notes as they peered into the steel cages. “Get them downstairs, please, Dr. Morgan, and then grab a sample off one of those legs before they wake up and retract them.”
“I can tell you about the nest later,” I suggested.
“I would really enjoy that, Mr. Cooper.” The sexy cougar turned and locked eyes with me as she grazed her hand along my forearm. “I’m terribly sorry, there’s a lot going on right now…”
“Doctor!” A skinny woman in a lab coat scurried up and glanced at me apologetically. “Some cadets have been injured on a mission, they’re about to arrive in hangar bay five. They’ll need you right away.”
“Thank you, Donna, I’ll be right there.” Dr. Hastings turned back to look at me. “Mr. Cooper, Headmaster Burkhard needs you in his office right away, he’s very anxious to speak with you, but I would very much like to speak with you later about the nest and the queen of the Jorogumo. Come visit me in my office at your earliest convenience.”
“Sure, I’d be happy to tell you all about it,” I murmured, and heat flashed across my skin as the sexy blonde’s fingers grazed across the inside of my elbow.
Then Dr. Hastings quickly turned away and started to jog away toward the incoming jet of injured cadets, and I couldn’t help but notice the way her skirt hugged close around her ass.
“You and your team should get to Burkhard’s office,” Dr. Hastings called over her shoulder. “We’ll talk later.”
“What was that all about?” Steffi asked, and she looped her arm around my waist. “Everything okay?”
“She seemed sort of frazzled.” Nala nodded after the doctor.
“Apparently some cadets were injured on their mission,” I explained. “But Dr. Hastings said Headmaster Burkhard wants to see us, like now.”
“Aw, man,” Nick grumbled. “Can’t a hungry guy catch a break?”
“Come on,” Phoenix patted the blond nymph’s shoulder comfortingly as he pulled a bag of trail mix from his pocket. “Here, this should tide you over until we can get through the debriefing.”
“You’re a literal lifesaver, dude.” Nick took the snack gratefully and didn’t waste a second in tearing the package open. “Mmm, it’s got cashews!”
“Hallelujah,” Nala teased as we made our way toward the Headmaster’s office.
“Why do you think Burkhard is so impatient to see us?” Elisabeth asked.
“Maybe because the mission ended up being so much more than we’d expected?” Ronin shrugged.
“Maybe because Dylan totally kicked ass?” Nick said through a mouthful of raisins, cashew, and M&Ms.
“He was indeed a kicker of asses today,” Kitsune chuckled.
“I must agree,” Wisp said. “Dylan, your skills are very impressive, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked so closely with you.”
“We have learned a lot from the Dragon Master,” Doppelganger agreed.
“Thanks, guys.” I grinned at the Japanese cadets whose icy exteriors had softened so much since they had arrived at AIMM. “It’s been great to work with you, too.”
