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“Like what?” Delaney said, intrigued.
“May I?” Dani said, hopping off the kitchen counter and joining Delaney on the bed to sit facing her with her back against the footboard. She shook her head. “And get used to the taciturn-stubbornness of dragons—oh, and their tendency to want to get all noble and shit.”
Delaney couldn’t help but laugh. Dani was down to earth, Delaney suspected fun to be around, and seemed to have a wealth of information. “What do you mean they have to give up something if they choose to take a mate?”
“The Phantom Fire is a holdover from the Age of Dragons. It has existed from further back than anyone can remember. Falkor is the only member left of the original twelve. Until recently, when a member found his eternal flame, he had to choose between her and his duty. If he chose her, his immortality was stripped away, and he had to promise the brotherhood his firstborn son.”
“That’s monstrous,” cried Delaney.
“Yes and no. I kind of understand as dragons have kept this world safe on more than one occasion, and it is the Phantom Fire who act as guardians and peacekeepers. But when Falkor took Kessily to mate, the others were unwilling to lose him and so broke with tradition. You’ve joined us at a time of great change and danger.”
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“Probably as much as anyone. The shifters of the world have a Ruling Council, who like most are not all in it for altruistic reasons. A long time ago they formed their own elite group of shifters known as the Shadow League to act as their ‘enforcement arm,’ as well as their bully boys. Over the years, the Shadow League began to see themselves as more deserving of power and began to take it.”
“What’s any of that got to do with me?”
“It doesn’t directly. You came to everyone’s notice when Whistler hired you, not only to build his new manufacturing plant, but to do so here in the Winds. Somehow Whistler learned of the Shadow League’s and the Phantom Fire’s existence.”
“Is Whistler a shifter?”
“That’s an open question, but right now the feeling is no. I think Whistler is looking for power, and controlling the Phantom Fire would give him that. And if he can’t control them, he wants them gone.”
“Who is Abraham?”
“He’s the puppet master behind the Shadow League. They say he’s an ancient dragon—even older than Falkor. Warrick believes he, like Whistler, is looking for power and wants to subjugate humans to shifters with dragons being at the top of the pecking order.”
“So that part, at least, of what Whistler told me was true. That mankind—not to sound too grandiose—is in danger.”
“Mankind has always been in danger, mostly from themselves. But yes, there is a growing faction amongst shifters who think they should be the ruling power, not humans. The League has some kind of Island of Dr. Moreau laboratory up in Reykjavik getting up to all kinds of nastiness.”
“What do they want with Norle?”
“Interesting stuff. While the League has its lab in Iceland, the Resistance has been amassing troops and research up in Alaska. Those in Alaska believe the use of Norle could be the end of dragons—not only as a weapon but as some kind of extinction agent. They aren’t sure yet, but they know Abraham is desperate to get his hands on it and destroy it.”
“So, he and Whistler aren’t buddies.”
“I wouldn’t think so, although I could see them joining forces to defeat the Phantom Fire before turning on each other. I think both have greatly discounted the Resistance and their part in whatever is coming.”
“The prophecy or the tablet?” asked Delaney.
“The stories of a prophecy that could be used to destroy the Phantom Fire have been around as long as the brotherhood itself. It’s only recently that anyone began to believe it was a tangible thing that had been written down and that whatever it was written down on had power of its own. The brotherhood has joined with the Resistance to figure out how much truth there is in the legend.”
“Whistler is desperate to get his hands on it and thinks I can help him.”
“Stands to reason. You’ve unearthed several artifacts and places of power. I think you saw them as places of intellectual interest but had no basis to think they were anything more than that.”
“But why would Whistler want to kill me before I find it?”
Dani shook her head. “It isn’t Whistler who sent that creature. Warrick is convinced it was Abraham. The last thing he wants is something that would allow a human to control the Phantom Fire.”
Delaney was quiet for a moment, thinking. “What was that thing that attacked me? It kind of looked like a dragon, but not.”
“It’s a kind of mutant hybrid out of Reykjavik. At one point the League was holding Warrick, trying to get him to become a breeder or extract DNA from him to use for cloning material. The Resistance has learned they have had limited success. The resultant creatures are unstable and require careful monitoring, or they die an excruciating death.”
“Do you think the prisoner is dead?”
Dani nodded. “I think the reason they wanted to question him now was that they believe he’s already starting to fall apart genetically, and a kind of decomposition process has started. You should know the Phantom Fire won’t let him die a horrific death; they’ll put him out of his misery.”
