My Wild Irish Dragon (22 page)

He had never thought about all she'd be giving up by joining his.

He dug his phone out of his back pocket and dialed his father's number. Oddly enough, his father wasn't number one on his speed dial. Chloe was. And number two was the station.

His family might say he had his priorities screwed up, but he knew…they were exactly the way they should be, and he didn't want to change them.

“Chloe! What brings you here?” Drake laid down his pool cue. He seemed to be the only one at the club at the moment.

“What? I can't visit the club I belong to…and live across the hall from?”

“Of course you can. In fact, I'm glad to see you. I heard you had a helluva time at the Harrison Hall fire.”

“No one injured. I call that a win.”

Drake nodded. “I do too. You made sure a mother and child got out. And apparently no one knew they were there.”

She shrugged. “It's all part of the job.”

A second later, they weren't alone any more. Mother Nature appeared on the other side of the pool table.

“Speaking of jobs…” the all-powerful one said, eyeing Chloe.

“I'm not takin' the job you offered, Goddess, but I had a thought I'd like to share with you.”

Gaia frowned at first, then her expression softened. “Ah! The muse of fire safety. I can see why you'd think of that.”

“Jaysus, can't anyone surprise you?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Not really. So, shall we discuss this here—since you're both firefighting dragons? Or would you prefer a little more privacy?”

Chloe glanced at Drake and thought he might be able to understand and even support her cause. “I can say what I'd like to right here.”

“Would you like me to leave?” Drake asked.

“No,” both women said at once.

Chloe straightened her back and said, “I'd like to propose a modern muse position be created for fire safety because so much about heating and cooking has changed since ancient times. For instance, we now have oil burners, stoves, and ovens using either electricity or gas, all of which can cause huge fires. Even matches are a relatively modern invention.”

Mother Nature wandered around the room, tapping her lower lip. “Go on…”

Chloe took a deep breath. “As I understand it, all Bliss has to do is lean over someone's shoulder and whisper, ‘Maybe you shouldn't send that email…' or in Amber's case, ‘stay calm and contact the air traffic control tower.”

Gaia halted. “That's putting it a little too simply.”

“I know. There are plenty of things I'd need to learn about how it's done, but even if I only knew that children were playing with matches, I could whisper in their parent's ear to check on the kids and see what they're up to…”

One corner of Gaia's lip rose. “So, it sounds like you're volunteering for the job.”

“Uh…no. I didn't say that.” She quickly looked to Drake and whispered, “Did I?”

He smirked. “She has a way of getting people to volunteer…but it's probably not too late to back out if you want to.”

Mother Nature just cocked her head, as if waiting for Chloe to make up her mind.

“I—um…I need to speak to my fiancé about it, and—”

“Didn't you already do that?”

“Well, we started to, but then we got, um…distracted.” Chloe bit her lower lip and her face heated.

Drake laughed. “Give her a break, Goddess. After all, she's just experiencing the natural urges you gave her in the first place.”

“Oh snap, dragon…” Mother Nature snapped her fingers, laughed at her own joke, and returned her attention to Chloe. “I'll give you one more day. The idea is a good one, but this is your last opportunity to serve me and the modern world.”

“Wait! I have a question.”

Gaia rolled her eyes and sighed. “Of course you do. What is it?”

“Well, you usually reward your muses with some sort of dream come true…I've heard.”

“Ah! Here it comes. What's in it for you, fire-girl?”

“I was hoping you could make it so I could have children with my fiancé. It seems to be very important to his family.”

Gaia stumbled back a step. “Your fiancé, the
phoenix
?”

“Well, yes. I know we're not exactly the same species, but couldn't you make it possible?”

“Possible? How? You want me to create a mutation, just to smooth the way with your in-laws? Look, girlie, there's no such thing as a dragnix or a phoegan—and I don't want to make one. Got it?”

Chloe dropped her gaze. “I understand. I was just hoping…”

“Forget it. Not gonna happen.”

“As a goddess, would I be able to change my fiancé's face without surgery so he can visit Boston when he wants to? And then change it back?”

“Yes. Now I'm going to leave before I begin to think you only wanted the job to get the perks.”

“No. I truly want to help. There are advances in fire safety being developed all the time. I could encourage inventors not to give up. Fire extinguishers are good, but they could be better…”

Drake put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. When she turned back Gaia was gone.

“Damn it! I wanted to explain…”

“She already knows. She wouldn't have offered you any job, never mind two, if she didn't think you were worth it.”

Chloe's posture sagged. Now she was
really
confused. She wandered over to a nearby chair and slumped onto it. Drake followed and pulled another chair close to hers. He didn't say anything. Just waited for her to talk if she wanted to.

“How did Bliss wind up doing this? And how come she can have children with you?”

Drake cleared his throat. “It wasn't—well…let me start from the beginning. Bliss was offered the job of Muse of the Internet…”

Chloe's jaw dropped. “The whole Internet?”

“Yup. That's when she flatly refused. She knew it would be too much.”

“Like I know trying to make the world a safe and assertive place is worthwhile, but much more difficult than Gaia realizes.”

“Exactly.” Drake did a double take. “Is that what she offered you at first?”

“Yeah.” Chloe chuckled. “Can you imagine me being all calm and assertive with a bully twice or three times the size of some poor picked-on person? I'd call him a feckin' arsehole and flatten him. Somehow I don't think that's what she had in mind.”

Drake laughed. “Gaia has her heart in the right place, but she doesn't understand how diverse human nature is—even though she created it.”

Chloe picked some lint off her jeans. “So, you never said how you were able to have children…”

“Oh, right. Well, ours is an only child. We'll never have another as far as I know. When Bliss refused the job, and I realized I'd lose her in fifty or sixty years, I offered up my immortality.”

“You what? You mean, you aren't fireproof?”

“No. Well, I wasn't—for a while. I was made human. I had no special skills and had to fight fires knowing I was in mortal danger. I found a whole new respect for my fellow firefighters who put their lives on the line every single day.

“I tried being careful, as much for Bliss as for myself and my brothers, but when I came home with second degree burns because I had fallen through a floor and couldn't shift or fly… Well, Bliss had a change of heart.”

“So, she got in touch with Mother Nature and…” Chloe prompted.

“She offered to compromise with her. She'd become the muse of email for our immortality. She was already pregnant at the time and Gaia assured her that nothing negative would happen to our baby if she took the job right away.”

The door to the club opened slowly. Chloe had more questions, but they would have to wait.

Drake rose and strode to the door. When he opened it wider, Ryan and his father stood on the other side.

“Fierro!” Drake said and stuck out his hand to Ryan. Then he nodded to Ryan's father and said, “Captain Fierro.” They shook hands in turn.

By this time, Chloe was on her feet. “It's okay, Drake. They can come in.”

He raised his brows in question but stood back, allowing the phoenixes—only he didn't know they were phoenixes—entry.

Mr. Fierro senior wandered around the club, admiring the wall of books, the kitchen that had been converted to a bar, running his fingers along the wooden edge of the pool table. Ryan eyed Drake.

Whispering to Chloe, he asked, “Is Drake a…”

“Dragon,” Chloe answered in a normal voice.

Drake raised his hand as if to wave.

“And Ryan and Mister—I mean, Captain Fierro are phoenixes,” she said to Drake.

He straightened and stared at them for a moment. “I, uh… Sorry. I didn't mean to look so shocked. I've just never known any phoenixes. Didn't even realize they existed except in legend.”

Mr. Fierro smirked. “Legends come from
somewhere,
son.” He swept his gaze around the room. “But this place should be legendary, and I've never heard of it.”

“It's relatively new,” Drake said. “There was a bar on Charles Street where we used to congregate. Paranormals, that is. Gaia didn't like it. She thought it was too dangerous for us to be together in a public place.” He snorted. “Like maybe the werewolves would shift and get into a brawl with the vamps or something.”

As he was laughing, Chloe noticed Mr. Fierro's eyes widening. So were Ryan's, for that matter. Maybe they didn't know these other “legends” were as real as they were.

“Uh…werewolves?” Ryan asked.

Chloe nodded. She didn't really know any personally, so she couldn't tell them a lot. Drake realized his mistake and cleared his throat. “I, uh…guess you didn't know there are a lot of paranormals in this city.”

Captain Fierro cocked his head and said, “Do tell.”

Drake bit his lower lip, then took a breath. “The bar was an experiment. A vampire owned it and when he made friends with a werewolf, he decided to try to make a place where the different paranormals could gather in safety. He believed we'd all get along if we just took the time to get to know each other better. We face a lot of the same challenges.”

Mr. Fierro was staring at Chloe. She just shrugged at him.

“Well, that's the history lesson for the day. I guess I should get going…” Drake said.

Then lightning flashed and Gaia stood in the middle of the room. She was wearing a one-shoulder, white toga belted with a green vine. Her hair was long, loose, and white too. Her unlined face made it impossible to pick an age to assign to her looks.

“Yeah, now that you've spilled the beans, dragon, just pick up your pool cue and leave.”

“But it isn't mine,” Drake said.

Mother Nature pointed to the door. “Yes it is. Now get out. I have some things to clear up, thanks to your loose tongue.”

“Sorry, Gaia. I thought they knew.”

“They do now.”

Drake left quickly and Mother Nature circled the three remaining creatures. Two phoenixes and one dragon. Presumably, she'd never met the Fierros and vice versa.

“Chloe,” she said, “would you please make the introductions?”

Her formality made Chloe nervous. Not only did she remember her name and use it, but she'd asked her specifically to do introductions.
Was this a test?

Chloe cleared her throat. “Mother Nature, this is Captain Fierro and his son, Ryan Fierro. They either were or are working for the Boston Fire Department, keeping the city you love safe.”

Then she turned to the men. “Mr. Fierro, Ryan, this is Mother Nature, also known as Gaia or Goddess. She ah…she sort of takes care of the whole planet.”

Gaia reared back and glared at Chloe. “Sort of?”

“I'm sorry. She does! She
does
take care of the whole planet.”

Captain Fierro mumbled something under his breath.

Gaia strode over to him. “Well, you're still standing on it, aren't you?” She poked him in the chest. “Which all creatures seem to take for granted, by the way. Even you firefighters. You know what can happen when people are careless or hateful. Yet, you never stop to think about why the whole place hasn't burned to a crisp yet.”

Chloe opened her mouth to defend them, but Mother Nature held up one hand and spoke over her.

“Yeah, that's right. I make sure you never get too close to the sun—or too far away. That enough rain falls, but not too much. And still you complain. Oh, boo hoo. It's ninety degrees in the middle of summer. Or, oh no. It's zero in the winter… Cry me a river, people. Oh, wait. That's my job.”

Chloe wanted to put a stop to her rant, but she didn't know how without pissing off the powerful goddess. At last, Captain Fierro sputtered and burst out laughing.

Gaia squinted at him in confusion. “What?”

Antonio Fierro, now doubled over, slapped his own knee. “I don't know how you pulled off that lightning bit with your dramatic entrance, but clearly you're not—”

As he spoke, she rose up off the floor and grew larger than life. Then she leaned over him and he shut up. She cocked one eyebrow and he took a step back.

Ryan moved to Chloe's side and wrapped a protective arm around her.

“Um, Mr. Fierro. The Goddess of All doesn't show herself to just anyone. In fact, she rarely interacts with any of us unless there's a driving need. I imagine it would be wise to see why she's here.”

Gaia shrank to her usual size and smiled at Chloe as her feet touched the floor. “Thank you, little dragon. Now, as much as I'd like to stay and chat, there is only enough time to say what I need to say and then I'm off to keep a tornado from getting so large it takes out a whole slew of states instead of a few towns.”

Mr. Fierro felt around for a chair and sat down hard.

Gaia sighed. “That's better. All right. It has come to my attention that your family has been doing things a certain way for centuries and for the most part, it has kept you all safe and sound.”

Mr. Fierro nodded.

“Well, that may have worked for most of you, but it's not working for these two.” She pointed to Ryan and Chloe with her thumb. “I understand you want this one…” she patted Ryan on the head, “to take over as head of the family, even though you'll have to mess up my beautiful design.”