Chase joined me. "You okay?" he asked softly.
I nodded. "Yes. I'm just wondering if I have the strength needed for this."
He glanced back at the others. "What are you talking about?"
Leaning against the windowsill, I gave him a sideways look. "First, the fact that we have a demon spy here in Seattle and he's got Fae working for him is bad enough. It means Rozurial was right: the demons are infiltrating and looking for other ways to aid their invasion. But there's also the fact that Raksasas are terribly dangerous. They originated in Persia, and they have powerful magic at their disposal."
"Worse than Bad Ass Luke?"
I met his gaze. "Far worse. Trust me, Bad Ass Luke was dangerous, but Raksasas… Raksasas are cunning and brilliant and charming."
"Bad news, then." He glanced back at the others. "And they all know this?"
"Oh yes. We all know how dangerous these demons are. But now… we're—I'm—offered the horn of the Black Unicorn? Only a spellcaster can wield it. A mage or wizard or… witch. I'll have to assume control of it, and I do mean assume control—it's not like driving a car. These artifacts have minds of their own. My sisters won't be able to touch it. And it will be up to me to see that it doesn't fall in the wrong hands." Yet one more responsibility I didn't want to shoulder, but that I'd have to.
"What is this creature? Hell, I figured if you existed, unicorns probably would, too, but…"
"A lot of Otherworlders claim that the horn is a myth. They even say the Black Beast himself is a myth, perpetuated by the Dahns unicorns to increase their mystique, since the first Black Unicorn supposedly fathered the Dahns lineage. But my father believed in the legends, and so did my teachers. And apparently," I said, looking over at Feddrah-Dahns, "it turns out legend is based in reality."
"The Black Beast? Is he a demon, then?"
I smiled gently. "No, he's not a demon." Looking out into the growing night, I could feel the spring beckon even through the fog that rose to roll across our front yard. Magic sparkled in the mists. Earthside weather carried elemental forces with it from land to sea to mountaintop. Sometimes I missed our home so much that it hurt, and other times—like now—the realms seemed so connected that I felt like I could close my eyes, and when I opened them, I'd be back in Y'Elestrial.
Chase waited patiently, watching out the window as he stood next to me. I glanced at his face. His eyes were half closed, as if he could sense the magic that permeated the air.
After a moment, I slowly let out the breath I'd been holding. "The Black Beast, or Black Unicorn, is one of the most powerful beings to ever walk the paths of Otherworld. He's a giant, towering over all other unicorns. His horn is crystal, and within it swirl threads of gold and silver. The horn is reputed to wield heavy elemental magic. The magic isn't evil, but shadowed and sparkling with the magic of Darkynwyrd."
"Darkynwyrd?"
"Darkynwyrd, the Wild Forest, filled with oak moss and spiderwebs and bogs and quicksand. The Black Unicorn left the valleys thousands of years ago and retreated to Darkynwyrd, where he and his descendants live deep within the misty woodland."
A smile playing on his lips, Chase winked at me. "Sounds like a fairy tale. How could Feddrah-Dahns get hold of his horn? Wouldn't that kill a unicorn, to lose his horn?"
He actually sounded interested. Too often, I had the feeling Chase asked questions because he had to, not because he really wanted to know the answers.
"Not always, although most unicorns, when they lose their horns, eventually diminish and die. Or they go mad and become so dangerous that the Elemental Lords have to send out assassins to kill them."
I frowned, trying to remember the rest of the story. "The Black Unicorn is an exception. He sheds his horn once every thousand years and grows a new one. There are three of the shed horns that supposedly still exist, but nobody's ever known who has them or where they might be. The horn of the Black Unicorn is worth… well, if it were an Earthside artifact, figure in the neighborhood of several million dollars."
Chase whistled. "I see. So this is a actually worth a king's ransom. How can its powers help you?"
"I'm not sure, but apparently, I'm going to find out." As the doorbell rang, I excused myself. "I'll get it."
A peek out the peephole sent a warm flush through me. Smoky. Uh-oh. I hadn't seen him in almost three weeks. As I opened the door, the scent of leather and musk filled my nose, sending me reeling as my knees buckled.
"Camille," he said, his voice a low rumble. He reached down and caught me up in his arms before I hit the floor. Embarrassed—I never swooned like that—I squirmed out of his embrace and stepped back, pulse racing.
Smoky was six four, every inch of his lean frame taut and muscled. His ankle-length hair wasn't in its usual braid, but the silver locks flowed around him, a mane that mirrored the pale splendor of his skin. In dragon form, he was a vision in white, almost opalescent. In human form, he was simply beautiful.
I gazed at him, starting at his feet and working my way up. His ankle-length white trench hung open to reveal skintight white jeans that left me trembling. An engraved silver belt cinched his waist, and a pale blue button-down shirt opened to show the V of his neck. As I looked into his face, the only indication of his age was the timeless brilliance of his eyes, pale glaciers from the Northlands, and the faint five o'clock shadow that left his chin slightly rugged.
"What are you doing here?" The heady perfume that swirled around him sucked me under again. He was running pheromones so strong that I could almost taste him on the tip of my tongue. And I wanted to taste more.
"I've come for you," he said.
Oh hell. I owed Smoky a week as his playmate—a bargain that had bought us much-needed help, but so far had brought me nothing but headaches. Caught between wanting to go and knowing that there was a unicorn in our living room who was promising me a king's ransom in help, I shifted from one foot to the other.
"Can we put this off for a week or two?" I asked. If he said no, I'd go. My word was my bond. Dragons and Elemental Lords and Hags of Fate didn't offer absolution on debts, and if I reneged, he'd have the right to carry me off. Or kill me. I had my doubts if he'd fry me up for dinner, but I didn't want to take any chances that he'd blame Trillian and crispy-critter my Svartan lover.
Smoky gave me a slow smile, the corner of his lip twitching ever so slightly as he pushed his way into the house. Walking me backwards until I bumped into the closet door behind me, he braced himself, hands flat against the wall to either side of my shoulders. Leaning down, he whispered in my ear. "You made a binding oath with me. Trust me, you will fulfill it." His eyes flickered. "Are you afraid of me, my Witchling?"
"Afraid of you? Get real. You're a dragon. Of course I'm… nervous… even if I do think you're hunky-dory." If I tried to deny my fear, he'd see right through me.
"Good. You should be nervous," he said, whispering. The energy crackled through his body, a wave of sparks that flared to catch me in their riptide. I tensed, and he laughed. "Yes, I can see that you are. Don't try to hide your fear, Camille. I care about you, far more than most of your kind. But you should never, ever forget what I am."
If I'd been nervous before, I was absolutely terrified now. I trusted Smoky as much as I'd ever trust any dragon. And the thought of spending a week doing his bidding still promised to be a romp in the meadow. I'd struck the bargain because we needed his help, but I was beginning to realize that dragon actually meant dragon. Not Fae. Not human. Not Supe. But honest-to-gods ancient beast who could crisp me in seconds and swallow me whole if he got angry, and who lived by an entirely different set of rules than I did.
"I… it's just…" I stuttered, then stopped to collect myself. "Listen, we're in the middle of something important to do with Shadow Wing. I really need to finish talking to Feddrah-Dahns, a unicorn who's offering us help."
Smoky stood back, crossed his arms, and laughed. "Ah… well, you luck out then. I'm actually here to talk to you about something else. But don't fret," he said, his voice caressing me. "You don't have to wait for me long."
What? He was here for something else? I smacked his arm. Gently. "You let me think that you were here for me? I sounded like an idiot!"
"It's not your conversation I have a hankering for. And you certainly don't seem averse to the idea," he said with a snicker. "However, today is for another matter. Introduce me to your unicorn friend."
As I turned to flounce away, Smoky reached out and gently grabbed my wrist. He could snap my hand like a toothpick if he wanted, but his restraint was entirely invisible—the chain forged from the authority with which he held me, rather than his strength. "I know you want me. I can make you melt, Camille."
My breath caught somewhere half between my chest and my toes, I swallowed the knot working its way up into my chest. He was toying with me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. "I know. Trust me, I know." Whether or not it was time to pay up, I wanted to take him up to my bed right then and there, and fuck him until there was nothing left but embers.
Smoky pulled me close, and his lips grazed mine. His skin was soft and supple, yet demanding even in the lightest of pressure. My body sang with the feel of him pressed against me, his length, hard and rigid and searching. My breasts ached for the touch of his hands.
But he abruptly straightened and let go of my arm.
"As I said, we'll have our time." His voice was once again aloof, but as I met his gaze, I saw the hunger raging behind his cool demeanor.
Shaken, horny as hell, and about to jump out of my skin, I led him into the living room. Delilah gave him a wave, then slowly lowered her hand as she glanced at me. Menolly blinked. Since Menolly never blinked except when she wanted to make a point, it was obvious that she sensed the tension.
Chase was the only one who seemed oblivious. "Hey, Dragon Dude. How's it going?" He didn't exactly trust Smoky, but he'd gotten a lot more comfortable around Cryptos and Supes since he'd started dating Delilah.
Smoky gave him a brief nod, but his gaze slid past the detective to land on the unicorn. "Camille, introduce me to your new friend."
Hoping to hell that dragons and unicorns got along—it was hard to keep up on all the blood feuds between Cryptos—I cleared my throat. "Feddrah-Dahns, meet Smoky. Smoky, this is His Majesty, Feddrah-Dahns, Crown Prince of the Dahns unicorn herd."
I wasn't sure if the unicorn could recognize Smoky's dragon nature, but Feddrah-Dahns answered that question in short order.
"Was it your mother or your father who was the silver dragon?" he asked.
"He's a white dragon—" I started to say, but Smoky cut me off.
"Very perceptive, Your Majesty," he said, inclining his head. "Few have been able to pinpoint my heritage so well. My mother was a silver dragon, my father a white."
Well, that was news. We'd assumed that Smoky was one hundred percent white dragon. That he had silver dragon blood explained a lot about his magical abilities. It also left open a host of other possibilities, all of which were just a little too scary to think about. Silver dragons were far more powerful than white dragons. Silver dragons had ties to all things who walked the night, including the gods of death.
Menolly slowly lowered herself to the floor. "You're half silver dragon? So that's how you knew how to summon the Autumn Lord."
Smoky blinked at her. "Correct, dear vampyr. Unfortunately, I'm all out of prizes today." He grinned, and Menolly actually laughed.
That was one thing I liked about Smoky, he wasn't malicious. At least as far as we were concerned. His jokes and taunts were sprinkled with a dash of whimsy. His rebukes, however, were another thing. Warning. F-5 dragon storm ahead. Ignore at your own peril.
Smoky turned back to Feddrah-Dahns. "Camille tells me you offer help against the demon lord." A statement. Not a question.
Feddrah-Dahns shifted from one side to the other. "Correct. There are many among the Cryptozoid Alliance in Otherworld who fear the impending demonic war. Neither they nor the alliance doubt the veracity of what's happening. The elves keep contact with us, and we keep contact with others in the valleys and forests."
Which brought up the question, just how many other Cryptos were thinking along the same lines? Could we have allies we didn't yet know about?
"What aid are you offering?" Smoky stared at the unicorn, his gaze cool and expectant. I had the uneasy feeling that if Feddrah-Dahns refused to tell him, we'd end up with a battle in the house, after which we'd all be so much burnt toast.
But Feddrah-Dahns answered without further prompting. "The horn of the Black Unicorn. We brought it Earthside, but it was stolen. My emissary recovered it, but now he's missing, and two of the three thieves are still after him."
Smoky glanced at me, then back at the unicorn. "You're actually willing to give Camille the horn of the Black Beast?"
Feddrah-Dahns bobbed his head. "What choice do we have? These girls aren't capable of fighting off a demon lord without help. They may have their allies, but against an army of demons led by Shadow Wing? Under no sense of the imagination can they win without outside help."
"Good point," Smoky said as he sat down, crossing his legs and leaning back. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair. "Out of curiosity, to what emissary did you entrust the horn?"