Wanderers 4: A Tough Act to Follow (The Wanderers) Read online

  Looking away from the jaws, Rafe put his right hand against the scales that covered the dragon’s chest. His fingers moved back and forth, wiping away the thin layer of frost. In a few seconds, he found what he was looking for.

  “Here,” Rafe said. “This is one of the entry wounds.”

  I looked over his shoulder and saw an x-shaped wound about two inches across. “Yep, that looks right. Do you see the others?”

  His hand moved again and stopped a couple of inches away from the first wound.

  “Hmmm, here’s another.” His hand moved again and stopped almost immediately. He turned to look at me.

  I met his gaze and saw puzzlement on his face. “What?”

  “I didn’t know you’d gotten so good. You were how far away?”

  I thought back to the battle. After Rafe had been attacked by the dragon, everything got frenzied. “Well, about twenty yards for the first two shots, but it was about a hundred feet up and climbing when I fired off my last bolt.”

  Rafe’s right eyebrow rose and his lips pursed.

  “What?” I asked.

  “To put three bolts into an area less than a hand’s breath apart in the middle of a battle with all the adrenaline pumping through your veins…I don’t think I could have made these shots.”

  I gave a half-hearted shrug of my shoulder. “So, I got lucky.”

  He studied me for a few moments. “Yes, I guess that would explain it.”

  Rafe reached down and drew his tantō blade from its boot sheath. I felt the small snap of energy as he reversed the spell that kept it in its tantō shape. In a moment, it elongated and thickened, morphing into its original katana form.

  “This may get messy,” Rafe said. “You want to give me a little room?”

  “Shouldn’t I retrieve them? After all, they’re my bolts.”

  “But it’s my sword,” Rafe said with a half grin. “Don’t worry, after I’ve cut through to the bolts, you can retrieve them.”

  I wrinkled my nose. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d had to retrieve one of my broadheads. I studied the dragon’s chest and wondered how deep the magical broadheads had penetrated.

  Rafe set the tip of his sword against the first wound and pushed. The blade sank into the frozen flesh to its hilt. He pulled it out and stared at the enlarged wound.

  “You didn’t hit the bolt?” I asked.

  “No, I felt resistance, but I’m sure that was a rib. I hadn’t thought your crossbow could sink a shaft that deep after penetrating dragon scales.”

  “They penetrate shields, maybe their magic works on dragon scales too,” I suggested. We’d found out early that the strange metal of these broadheads could penetrate even Rafe’s shield. It wasn’t a metal he’d ever come across before, but the Amazons that he’d taken them from had resources that Rafe didn’t.

  “Perhaps,” Rafe agreed. “All right, nothing to be done for it. It’ll just take a little more work to reach them.”

  Turning back to the dragon’s chest, Rafe sank his sword into another of the wounds and then moved the blade through dragon flesh in a straight line to his first entry point. Turning the blade, he connected the third wound to the first two and then completed the triangle, ending back up where he had started. He traced the triangle once more with his blade and then pulled the blade free. He shook it once and the few bits of flesh and frozen blood that had clung to its spelled steel flew free.

  “Hold this,” Rafe said and I took the offered ivory handle.

  Getting a grip on the edge of the cuts with his gloved hands, Rafe gave a slow pull and a triangular piece of meat slid from the dragon’s chest. He dropped it to the concrete, leaned in, and studied the cavity.

  “So much for no one knowing we were here,” I said, eyeing the large hole.

  “Couldn’t be helped,” Rafe said. “Damn, look at this.”

  I stepped closer and Rafe moved aside to let me peer into the dragon’s chest. A white rib, as big around as my thigh, gleamed at the bottom of the cavity. It took me a moment to figure out what Rafe had wanted me to see, but then I saw three separate x-shaped cuts in the rib. The three cuts overlapped.

  I turned to face Rafe. He had a stupid grin on his face. “What’s that mean?” I asked, referring to both his grin and the overlapping marks of my bolts.

  “Remember that blessing Joe gave you?”

  I nodded. The morning of the fight in the Garden of the Gods, Joe Leatherneck had placed a hand on my hand and said a brief prayer in his native language. I’d felt energy release, indicating that he’d cast some type of spell. Rafe had told me then that it was a shaman’s blessing.

  “You remember I also told you that when a powerful shaman such as Joe blessed someone you couldn’t tell what form the blessing would take?”

  “Yeah, I remember. What’s that got to do with my shots?”

  “One of the forms I’ve seen his blessing take is to affect the receivers luck. I think that’s what he did for you. I think his blessing has made it impossible for you to miss what you aim at.”

  “You don’t think I could have just been that good?” I asked, not really believing I could have put those three shots that close together if I’d been standing at the dragon’s feet.

  Rafe grinned again. “You might be good, but those bolts are converging. How much would you bet me that we find the three of them stacked on top of each other?”

  I glanced back toward the cavity and shook my head. “No bet. So, Joe made me into William Tell? How long will his blessing last?”

  “That, I can’t say. It might already have faded or it might last for years. You can’t tell with luck magic,” Rafe said.

  Still studying the cavity, I said, “So how deep do you think those bolts went?”

  “I’d guess they all reached the damn thing’s heart.”

  I snapped around. “Seriously? That’s got to be five or six feet inside this monster’s chest.”

  “Yeah, a lot deeper than I had expected. So unless you want to start hacking away at its chest, I’m going to have to try something else.”

  I looked at the blade I held. It was about thirty odd inches long. To cut deep enough to reach the dragon’s heart I’d have to be buried inside its flesh. I’m not usually squeamish, but the thought of cutting a hole deep enough for me to crawl in and reach my bolts was turning my stomach.

  “I think I’d prefer some other method, if that’s okay with you.”

  Rafe nodded. “I think I can make it a little less messy. Step back and give me room to work.”

  I complied, moving a few feet behind Rafe as I watched to see what he’d do. He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows, baring both forearms. I’d only seen him do that once before. He snapped his forearms together and I felt a surge of power. A tattoo glowed red beneath the flesh of his arms and a wave of incredible energy pulsed out. The wave struck the dragon. It split flesh and bone back away from its path. A few seconds passed before Rafe darkened the tat.

  Where the thirty-inch deep cavity had been was now an enormous spit that went from the floor up to the top of the dragon’s chest. The opening was wide enough to walk through.

  Rafe pushed his sleeves down and held out his hand. I handed him his sword.

  “Your turn,” Rafe said.

  I looked at the cleft in the dragon’s chest and frowned. I swallowed sudden bile. “Damn.”

  Rafe gave me a light pat on my back. “You can do it.”

  I wrinkled up my face and swallowed again. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want to.”

  “Just think of it as a giant cow,” Rafe said.

  “You aren’t helping.”

  He gave me a nudge and I reluctantly stepped forward. Looking down, I saw that the concrete floor was also cracked, but at least it wasn’t so wide that I couldn’t walk over it. I took another step and was inside the dragon’s flesh. The broken ends of ribs appeared white in the dark red flesh of its muscles. The cleft narrowed after the foot thick ribs. What had to
be a lung’s spongy tissue spread out to either side of my shoulders and I had to turn sideways to keep from rubbing against them.

  Past the lung’s alveoli, I could see a smooth wall of muscle. A wooden shaft was imbedded in the wall of the heart. The fletchings must have torn from the shaft as it sank into the dragon. I reached for the shaft, finding that my leather jacket scraped against the bloody alveoli as I did. At least everything was frozen. I gripped the shaft and pulled it free. The broadhead slid out with little resistance. I transferred the bolt to my left hand and studied the wound. I could see the split shaft of another bolt. I pushed forward, my jacket rubbing against lung tissue on both sides. I got my fingers around the damaged shaft. When I made a fist, my gloved hand pushed into frozen tissue, which resisted moving, but I latched onto the shaft and dragged it free. Again, I transferred the bolt to my left hand and looked back into the wound.

  The last shaft was barely visible in the heart muscle. I grimaced when I understood that I’d have to slide deeper into the cleft. I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath. Holding it, I pushed forward. The frozen lung tissue grated unpleasantly against my breasts and back. My fingers felt for the bolt, but I still couldn’t reach it. I turned my face back toward the opening and I saw Rafe watching me carefully.

  Damn, there was no way I was coming this far only to fail to recover the last bolt. Especially not with my mentor watching.

  I exhaled, which gave me a little more space. Damn it, if I got stuck in here I’d never hear the end of it from Rafe. I hyperventilated for a few seconds, oxygenating my blood. Then I exhaled and pushed forward. My leathers were spelled against physical damage, magics, and fire, but my face wasn’t. Sharp edges of frozen tissue cut my cheeks and nose, but I finally got my fingers on the broken shaft of my third bolt. At first, it resisted my tug, but then it came free. I pulled back and found that I was caught on something.

  Damn it, I swore to myself.

  I’ve never considered myself claustrophobic, but with a dragon’s lung pressing tightly against me front and rear, my face nearly buried in its frozen tissue, I could feel the desire to fight free rising within me. I stomped down on the panic that I knew swam just beneath the surface of my consciousness. I began to see stars floating in my vision and knew I had to breathe soon.

  Getting a grip on my emotions, I triggered my shield tat, forming it around my head like a second skin. I pushed it outwards against the frozen flesh and created enough space to get a breath. But I was embedded so tightly in the dragon’s lung that I couldn’t expand either my diaphragm or my chest. I let my shield flow across me until it covered my entire body and then pushed it out again. It was more difficult than I expected, but the frozen tissue moved back nearly an inch and I had room to take a small breath.

  As oxygen flooded back into my lungs, the panic faded away. I inched myself back away from the dragon’s heart, then stopped. I raised the broken bolt in my right hand and looked at the wall of heart muscle just at my fingertips. A wicked grin slid across my face.

  Taking a good grip on the broad head, I sliced across the heart muscle in quick movements as far as I could. Then I jabbed the broad head into the edge of my cut and pulled a couple of pounds of meat free.

  Once more, I moved back toward the opening. When I reached the point where the cleft widened enough for me to walk easily, I shifted the third bolt to my left hand with the first two and got a firm grip on the heart muscle.

  I stepped out of the dragon’s chest and held up my trophy.

  “What’s that for?” Rafe asked with a curious smile.

  “Breakfast.”

  That was when red lights began flashing at several points on the ceiling.

  Chapter 3

  Raphael

  “Uh-oh,” Tess said as her wide grin faded like a snowflake on a hot summer day.

  “Not to worry,” I said. It’s probably not even part of their security system. Maybe they have a test planned and that’s just a warning to let everyone know they’re starting.”

  “You think?” Tess asked.

  “Sure, I doubt if they–” I heard the squeal of tires on concrete. I glanced toward the front of the huge hangar and shook my head. “Hell, I should know better than to make predictions.”

  “What’s our exit strategy?” Tess asked as she shoved the hunk of frozen dragon heart into a pocket.

  “I’d like to keep from getting our pictures spread around again. I’ve made a career out of staying anonymous and there was far and away too much of my face, not to mention yours, spread across the news after our showdown with Rowle. I’ll glamour us and then we’ll try sneaking out before too many people show up,” I said while deciding on what glamour would be the least obvious in the hangar.

  “And if they spot us?”

  “My glamour has never failed me with mundanes. A talented witch could spot my glamour, sure, but mundanes…never.”

  I had almost turned away when something caught my eye. I turned back to Tess. “Did you just roll your eyes at me?”

  “Who? Me? Certainly not.”

  I stared at her for a couple of seconds, wondering if I’d been mistaken or if my apprentice was shucking me…again.

  I was considering trying to feel her thoughts. It’s easy when we’re meshed; the difficult part is hiding them from each other. Then there was a clang of metal as the personnel door slammed back. I heard the pad of many boots.

  I shoved Tess back against the cavity I’d made in the dragon and cast a glamour that would make the great wound look like unblemished scales.

  I felt the sudden mental exclamation of disgust as Tess found herself back inside the dragon’s chest. She made a low moan and in that moment dropped her guard enough for me to read her thoughts. She had rolled her eyes at me.

  *Someone is going to get hers later,* I transmitted over our link.

  *So, I rolled my eyes. You had it coming.*

  *We’ll see,* I said turning to face the Security Police that were spreading out at the front of the hangar. There was a good half dozen of them and they looked like they’d come loaded for bear. Fortunately, for us, we were not bears.

  I felt Tess’s hands on my shoulders as she pulled me down so she could see too. Sheesh, she could have seen just fine through our link.

  *It’s not the same,* she argued.

  It was my turn to roll my eyes. She felt the sensation through our link and thumped my ear lobe with a finger.

  *Quit that. Don’t distract me.*

  *Please, I know you don’t distract that easily.*

  As if to prove her point, one of her hands left my shoulder and a second later came up between my legs to cup my crotch. I tensed.

  *Are you trying to get us seen?*

  *See, you don’t distract. At least not unless I start to do more…*

  I was tempted to turn her over my knee. Instead, I turned my full attention back on the approaching airmen. They carried Colt A4s at the ready and were maintaining a semicircle centered on the personnel door we’d entered earlier. That was troubling. They weren’t running around like responders to an alarm. Rather they appeared to be following some preconceived plan. Surely, they hadn’t been expecting someone to attempt to steal their dragon.

  *What now, Boss?* Tess asked and I could feel the humor in her words.

  *Well, I had expected them to move closer. They’re just outside the range of my sleep tat and I don’t want to knock out just a few. It would just upset the rest of them.*

  *So we’re just going to hang out here until they leave?*

  The revulsion she felt at hiding in the dragon’s chest was obvious.

  *No, give me a minute and we’ll move.*

  The personnel door opened and a pair of officers escorting a woman entered.

  *Uh-oh, I guess someone has brought in a witch,* I said as I studied the deep green aura around the woman.

  Tess’s hair brushed against my right ear as she strained to see over my shoulder.

  *That shou
ldn’t be a problem, or is it?*

  *Depends on if she’s any good.*

  The woman took that moment to raise a hand and point directly at our hiding spot.

  *Damn, all right, Plan B it is,* I said.

  *What’s Plan B?*

  In response, I raised my left fist and activated my lightning tat. The pattern glowed gold beneath the skin of my fist and I felt a bolt of lightning answer my summons. It struck somewhere above us and the night reverberated with thunder.

  I waited for the emergency lighting to fail.

  And waited.

  *Ah, Rafe, what was that supposed to do?*

  *It was supposed to knock out all of the electricity in the hangar. They must have something to protect against that.*

  *Like lightning rods?*

  *Yes, damnit, or maybe surge suppressors.*

  The lightning strike had done something. It had made the SPs flinch and back up a few steps while the witch began casting a spell.

  “Ah, screw it. Shields up, let’s go,” I said stepping out of the crevice while activating my own shield.

  I maintained the glamour, as we moved, but since it was showing the underside scales of the dragon’s chest, as soon as we moved past its forelegs, my glamour was no camouflage at all. On second thought, I should have just bent light around us.

  I spotted what looked like a fire sensor suspended from the steel rafters. Triggering a tat, I sent a cone of fire toward the sensor. The sound of six safeties being flicked off reached my enhanced hearing. I couldn’t really blame them. The flyboys were showing a lot of restraint by not shooting at the source of the fire–me.

  There came a roar as half a hundred nozzles began to spew foam into the great hangar. It sprayed down, coating every surface in a couple of seconds and showed no sign of letting up.

  “What’d you do that for?” Tess hissed.

  “Distraction,” I said. I nodded my head toward the airmen at the front of the hangar. The SPs were backing up, even while their movement was impeded by more and more foam. The two officers, being closer to the door, were trying to decide who should get out first. The witch had completed a shield spell and was watching from near the front door. She was the only one of our guest not covered in foam. Like our shields, hers shed the foam as soon as it hit.