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Jayce was teasing, but there was a slightly harsh edge to it. He’d never been totally comfortable with Kingston’s excessive wealth. Although maybe that would change a bit if said wealth managed to help us save the world.
“Yeah, and unicorn blood and kitten’s whiskers,” Kingston replied with an evil grin. “We test our weapons out on adorable puppies and trap rainbows for nefarious deeds.”
“All right, boys, behave. Or I’ll make you kiss and make up later.”
They both shot worried looks in my direction, and I laughed. It was an empty threat. I knew they didn’t have any interest in each other sexually, although they had no problem getting up close and personal when I was the focus of their combined attention.
And I fucking loved being that focal point.
We finally made it across the lawn, and I could feel my body tensing as we neared the back of the house, impatient to get to work. We needed to move fast—we didn’t have much time.
“What do you have in here that will help us?” I asked.
“I’m not entirely sure. There’s an entire segment of our research department that I dedicated to the study of the supernatural after I was turned into a dragon. My father, uh, doesn’t exactly know about their work, but I kept them on even after I was sent to FU. I called my team from the plane, and I’ll have to talk to them and see what they can do. You guys can sit in on the meeting if you want to.”
“Yeah. We absolutely want to,” I said. We all piled out of the car and gazed up at the intimidating house. “Let’s get to it.”
He didn’t have to take us far. A trio of men met us just inside the door.
They all appeared to be in their late fifties, and although their appearances were extremely different, they all shared a similar intense sort of energy.
The tall, skinny one with the black hair and slightly skewed mustache was Franz. The short, chubby one with white hair sticking out everywhere except for the very top of his head was Buford. The last one, a muscular redhead who was barely gray at the temples and looked as if he had once been a movie star, was Gerard.
“We’re pleased to see you,” Franz said with a slight bow at Kingston after introductions had been done. “Have you seen the news?”
“The reception was pretty poor where we were,” Kingston said casually, failing to mention that “where we were” was the underworld. “Haven’t seen much. What’s going on?”
Franz and Buford shared a look, then Franz gestured for us to follow him. He led us downstairs to the basement and into a soundproofed room. Twelve movie-theater type chairs sat in a row in front of a huge TV. Franz turned it on to the news and we all sat to watch.
“Yet another inexplicable attack in downtown Baltimore this morning,” a reporter said, holding her microphone up to her mouth and gazing seriously into the camera. “Witnesses describe a man dressed as a lizard with blades attached to his hands attacking a woman before disappearing down a dark alley. Sir, you witnessed the attack?”
The camera moved to a man who looked like he was just now coming down from a party he’d started in nineteen eighty-seven.
“It weren’t no man dressed as a lizard, it was a bleep dragon.” He waved his hands wildly. “A motherbleeping dragon! The man, he turned—he was right there—he turned into a dragon right in front of my eyes, I swear on God he did.”
The reporter had a smile frozen on her face, her eyes slightly glazed over, probably wondering if she was watching her career go down the toilet. She blinked once, then shook her head and turned back to face the camera.
“Well, there you have it, Baltimore. Whether it’s crazy people in costume wielding knives or actual bleeping dragons, something dangerous is happening out here. Stay safe, keep your pepper spray loaded, and watch out for… giant lizards.”
The soundproofed room was silent as Franz changed the channel. A politician I vaguely recognized was standing at a podium waving his finger and lecturing.
“And they’ll tell you it’s monsters. We all know it isn’t monsters. This is a direct result of the war on drugs. The more we push the drugs u
nderground, the more power we give the black market. It’s time to make a change. I’m co-sponsoring a bill that would legislate treatment of addictions as a matter of medical and mental health. It would decriminalize the use of drugs and make the distribution of drugs a capital offense. Call your representatives. Make them vote on it before this ‘monster madness’ kills someone you love.”
Franz changed the channel again and again. News reports from the UK, Canada, China, and Australia all showed the same thing. Fallen activity was up, and the humans knew that something big was happening. Most people chalked it up to drugs or meme culture. Those who were closest to the truth were dismissed as crazy, but we couldn’t bet on that being the case for long. Eventually Franz turned the TV off.
“As you can see, sir, the world has gone mad since your sudden disappearance.”
“Yes, I see that.” Kingston frowned deeply and stroked his chin. “The fallen army is preparing a large-scale attack. There’s a natural portal in the underworld which connects to earth directly. We need to figure out where it opens. Do you have any ideas?”
None of the men batted an eye at anything Kingston said. They were obviously pretty well-versed in this stuff, which made sense, if they’d been hired after he had turned into a dragon—he must’ve sought out the best paranormal researchers on earth. And given his deep, deep pockets, he could afford the very best.
“We’ve been mapping out places of concentrated magic for several years,” Buford said. “Though we have not differentiated between natural and supernatural causes. Unfortunately, we believe our research drew the attention of the same organization that captured you. The Custodians. We were able to cover our tracks, but we now know that our methods are visible to them.”
Kingston growled and shook his head. “We’ll have to risk it. Increase security and work quickly. The sooner we know where Gavriel is coming in, the sooner we can give the Custodians something to go on.”
Franz and Buford exchanged a glance. “You’re sure that’s the best option, Mr. Reed? Getting the Custodians involved?”
