Etel wasn’t like other dragons. He looked a bit like a firedrake with his pure black scales, but he wasn’t specialized like the rest of his generation. In fact, he lacked most dragon magic skills leaving him to act more as a mage with scales and fire. Alal called him a discord dragon.
He used his magic to quicken his pace.
He saw smoke rising on the horizon and hoped his little brother hadn’t done anything he’d regret.
There was no way to know what spell the imp had put on Ezzu all those centuries ago. Nearly two millenniums now, wasn’t it? Etel had never liked her, but Ezzu thought she was amusing. His human side did, at any rate. His dragon side was more sensible.
At least, it had been. The damned imp had to leave her mark.
Without knowing what the spell was, there was little Etel could do on his own. Mage magic and fae magic weren’t compatible. Imps were a type of fae. Thankfully, he knew how to get help, though it would cost him.
What I do for family…
As he approached Wrath’s property, Etel saw Kurt’s small air dragon taunting Wrath’s ferocious firedrake. Fire elementals chased Kurt while he used the air to put them out almost as fast as they appeared.
Etel landed a short distance down the driveway and changed into human form.
The thing people didn’t think about with portals is that everything in the universe is moving all the time. The Earth moves within the solar system which moves within the galaxy, which moves within its own cluster, and so on. Even making a portal ten feet in front of you is nearly impossible. What Etel needed to do was create a landing zone—a magical symbol on the Earth that would attract a portal and help a fae travel there.
He would also have to use magic to summon said fae.
He began drawing an eight-pointed star of Inanna in the dirt of the drive, but then the fighting dragons just had to move in his direction. It’s not like they could be polite and fight elsewhere.
“Get him the fuck away from me,” Etel yelled at Kurt.
Kurt growled. “I’m trying,” he said in Sumerian.
Etel cast a quick spell, destroying the elementals and then another that cooled Wrath to red, making him more manageable.
Wrath roared at Etel, and Etel walked forward.
“Try me, Sparky,” Etel growled.
Magic built in the air, Etel didn’t know what Wrath was preparing to do but he wouldn’t have it. Etel send a wave of energy that knocked Wrath tumbling backwards. Then, he cast a concealment spell. Wrath would be able to see through it, but at least it would be difficult for him to focus on Etel.
It wasn’t a serious fight. If it were, Etel would do more to help Kurt. It seemed that even in his current crazed state, Wrath could show restraint. Rather than trying to kill Kurt, Wrath was trying to get him out of the way. He wouldn’t show as much restraint if Etel changed back into dragon form and challenged him.
Again, Etel tried to draw the start of Inanna, but a gust of wind from Kurt wiped it away.
~
“What’s Etel doing?” Jess asked, looking at the monitor.
She’d expected Etel to come in and magically save the day. Maybe he still would. She hadn’t counted on him needing to draw pictures in the dirt while two dragons fought around him.
“Do you think he’s trying to do something that will hurt Poppy?” Lily asked.
“No,” Jess said. “Etel is one of the strongest dragons. If he wanted to hurt Wrath, he wouldn’t be in human form drawing pictures. It’s magic. Wrath needs magic to get over the curse. We need to distract Wrath so Etel can finish what he’s doing.”
“You can’t go out there,” Lily said.
“I’m not stupid,” Jess said. Then she had an idea. “You have a speaker system and a siren.”
“The sirens have been going off for a while now,” Iris said her eyes fixed on the screen showing Etel.
“No, a siren. Faith. Shut off the alarm and let her sing through the speaker system,” Jess clarified.
“Right. I’ll text someone on the other side of the bunker,” Iris said.
Jess watched Wrath on the screen. He’d gone from white to red. She didn’t know if that was better or worse. He didn’t seem intent on hurting Kurt. He treated him more like a pest. His eyes kept going back to the door to the bunker Jess was in.
She hoped the human side of him was taking control and could stop the rampage before anyone got hurt.
Faith’s voice came over the speakers. She was singing “Baby Mine” from Dumbo. It was beautiful. The men in the command center got up and wandered to the speaker in the room, reaching for it.
The dragons weren’t as affected, but it was certainly a distraction. They landed, still eyeing each other warily. More importantly, Etel was able to resume drawing in the dirt. A star, a circle, and then he...was he biting his hand?
Yep, he was biting his hand. He squeezed blood into the circle. She saw him saying a few words, but she wasn’t a lip reader. It was probably in some ancient language.
A moment later, a man with long flowing hair appeared in the circle and he looked annoyed.
Chapter 22
Wrath woke up inside a raging dragon. It was a nightmare.
What is it? Why are you doing this, Wrath asked his dragon.
Can’t be bound to her. Must kill her to break the bond, his dragon replied.
It’s a curse. Zahra did it. Dragons bind themselves to people all the time. They’re not all true mates. What difference does it make if we’re bound to one? Only, if you kill her, you might kill us.
We are strong. We will live. I have to kill the woman. I will stop this
