Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) (30 page)

"Can you drive still?" Tesser snarled into the distance as the black SUV escaped far down the street, turning a corner with squealing tires.

"Jesus, man. Hell yeah.
 
Want to ride with me? Let's go get the fucking daemons!" Spoon said, clearly having no idea what he was asking for.

"Follow me. You drive. I'll fly," Tesser said as he pulled open the driver's side door of the truck for Spooner.

"What?" Spoon asked Tesser as he got into the vehicle painfully.

"Mr. Doyle might not be the mage he once was, but I am most certainly the dragon I have
always
been." Tesser shut the door and turned to Mr. Doyle. He shouted to the crying old man, "I'm going after Abe."

"What do I tell the police?!" Mr. Doyle shouted back, wiping tears from his eyes. He looked out the window and up at the massive form of Ellen the hamadryad. She was an animate tree, standing in the middle of the street, and there were police cruisers approaching them rapidly.

"Tell them the past has come back tonight. Tell them the truth. No more do I hide," Tesser said loudly as he started to run.

Tesser's feet fell one in front of the other as Spoon floored the truck behind him. He felt the wind in his hair as he picked up more speed down the street, starting to nearly outpace the truck. He lifted his arms high, and let his mask fall free. As his hands came down, massive golden wings sprang from his back, and his arms and legs burst out of what remained of his clothing. His tailbone sprouted the massive growth that would balance him in dragon form, and his face and neck changed, metamorphosed.

One massive downward buffet of his wings later, Tesser, in all his draconic majesty and terror, took to the night sky of Boston, Massachusetts.
This is as it should be. As it once was. The wind in my face and beneath my wings. Let their world unravel. Let it adjust. Let the magic come back. Let them quake in their buildings now instead of their caves so long ago.

Let them see the fires of dragonkind again.

Spoon watched as the incredible beast's launch flipped over half a dozen cars and shattered all the windows for fifty yards in both directions on the street. He felt the SUV strain against the wind.

"Ho-ly shit."

The city of Boston then witnessed the return of Tesser the Third, the Dragon of Life. Everything on Earth would change forever.

Again.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Spoon

Watching the man Spoon knew as Tesser run so fast that he couldn't keep up in a SUV was one thing. Watching that man transform right before his eyes into a full-on creature of legend and myth was another. Tesser's tiny human body shifted shapes, expanding and growing as fast and easily as Spoon might slide on a work shirt, except Tesser was sliding into the gargantuan form of a dragon. It happened effortlessly.

The dragon's wings extended from one side of the street to the other, leaving just a scant amount of space between his wingtips and the rows of massive homes. From the tip of his nose (just above a mouth filled with dagger teeth the size of butcher knives and machetes) to the end of his massive tail, Tesser's body was almost half the length of a football field. When he plunged his wings down and launched his body into the air, the incredible force of downward air pressure flipped over a dozen vehicles like they were made of papier-mâché. More car alarms bleated in panic as vehicles were tossed about like toys. Watching him take flight gave Spoon a strange joy he'd never experienced before. An exultation.
This is better than hearing your voice on the radio, or winning a lottery when you least expected it. I think.
 

Tesser's gargantuan form slid into the night sky above the buildings and trees as easy as a fish swam in water, impossibly graceful. The whole scene playing out felt surreal. But it was so very real.

Spoon swapped his eyes between Tesser flying fast above and the black SUV that was pulling away, filled with the strange attackers and the dying man whom the dragon above was trying to rescue. The Sergeant couldn't help but look quickly to the doorsteps on each side of the street at the people standing, their jaws dropped, hands held high holding their camera phones skyward at the majesty of the beast. The onlookers hit the pavement hard and fast when the lead vehicle started to open fire back at the dragon. Rounds sparked and skipped off the ground and Spoon heard and felt as a couple of them spanked into the grille and bumper of the truck.

I hope the engine doesn't get hit.

After this, the image of Tesser as a naked man in an alley dispensing justice to common thugs would be long forgotten.

I cannot believe this shit is happening.
Spoon kept the pedal floored in the brand new truck. He saw a Remington 870 shotgun in a dash mount, and quickly flicked the catch that'd free the weapon if he needed it. He put both hands back on the wheel and let his adrenaline drown out the pain of the gunshot wound in his hip. The wound burnt but nothing was broken, and the pain was already manageable. He just had to keep looking up at the giant fucking dragon to distract himself.
This is beyond words.
 

He cornered twice, fast, onto streets with traffic that wasn't always moving in a friendly direction. Vehicles that had just pulled over to let the first wild truck spitting out gunfire were nearly hit head on by Spoon's. He was a tenth of a second away from a head-on collision for miles. The situation was exacerbated by the distraction of the enormous dragon flying a hundred feet above.

"Get the fuck out of the way! Move!" Spoon screamed out the window, his hand waving the traffic over.
My left nut for a flashing blue light right now.
Somehow, as they pulled onto a wider street, Tesser heard Spoon. The incredible dragon angled its wings and swooped low so it was soaring just above the reach of the orange streetlamps. The dragon's tail lashed to and fro, dangerously close to the roofs of the cars below. To further ruin the nights of thousands of Bostonians, Tesser let slip a proper dragon's roar.

It was earsplitting, glass shattering, and bowel loosening. Spoon had a grin from ear to ear and felt like a modern day medieval warrior. An honest and true champion of all that was righteous and good. And he wasn't far from the truth. He grabbed at his pants pocket to get his phone, and realized it was in the trunk of his unmarked cruiser.
Fuck. I need to call the station to let them know where I'm going and what vehicle I'm in or I'm gonna get lit up bad.
Spoon did a sudden brake stand next to a handful of pedestrians filming the dragon's flight. His brake pads squealed in protest but the SUV stopped quickly.

"Boston Police! I need a phone fast!" Spoon screamed out at the dumbstruck citizens. Thankfully, one of them turned and simply handed his phone to Spoon without a second thought.
Fuck yeah.
Spoon dialed 911 as he punched the accelerator on the Yukon. This time it was the tires that squealed as he laid rubber down. A male 911 operator answered, and Spoon validated his police credentials quickly. Tesser had relaxed his roar, and Spoon could hear.

"What can I help you with, Detective Spooner?" The operator asked.

"I'm in pursuit of an unknown number of heavily armed suspects fleeing in a black Yukon, plates unknown. They've kidnapped a man in his mid-twenties named Abe. Last name unknown. I'm also in a black Yukon. We just turned onto Tremont, heading towards Park. We are at high speed, and there's a giant fucking dragon flying above us."

"Is that a kind of helicopter?" The operator asked.

"No, a golden-winged dragon. Mythical creature? They live in dungeons? About two hundred feet long, I think. Can't miss it," Spoon said quickly, swerving around a pair of college students standing in the middle of the chaotic street.

"A dragon?" The operator asked as if he thought Spoon was drunk or high.

"Yes. I am dead serious. By now, your lines should be lighting up with reports of it. The real deal. Big angry motherfucking dragon, but get this: he's the good guy. The people in the SUV are the bad guys."

"I ah… Jesus shit, we just lit up like a Christmas tree in here," the operator exclaimed. Spoon imagined the operator looking around at all the other call center staff. "Good God, I think you're right."

"Don't say I didn't tell you so. Get the word out. I'm in pursuit. Again, the guys in the lead SUV are the bad guys, and the dragon is a good guy. Don't shoot the dragon. Don't shoot the pursuing SUV, that's me. He isn't the bad guy and I don't think the BPD have a gun that's gonna do shit to him anyway."

"Yeah, okay. I'll uh, let the responding officers know…" the 911 operator was clearly drifting, in a level of disbelief over what was being said on his call, as well as his fellow operators’ calls.
 

"Tell the officers. Now, thanks. Bye!" Spoon said quickly before hanging up. Normally he'd stay on the line, but he knew the operator would be distracted. Plus, he had his hands full already.
 

Spoon punched the accelerator and watched as Tesser's wings swept back, launching him forward and nearly over the top of the fleeing vehicle. Spoon wanted to see how a dragon did a high-speed traffic stop.

As it turned out, he was uniquely suited for the job.

Tesser's massive front arms ended in claw tipped hands big enough simply grab the roof of the SUV and lift it off the ground. The motor of the truck started to rev out of control with no weight to power, but the chattering of point blank automatic weapons firing from inside the truck quickly drowned out the noise. Spoon watched as a hundred holes opened up in the roof of the truck, punching a hundred hot bullets upwards towards Tesser's face. Tesser didn’t even react as he planted his back legs down, his rear claws ripping apart the pavement to stop his flight. Like a gargantuan cat with a toy, Tesser peeled back the roof of the truck as Spoon slammed on his brakes. The tires gave out another squeal but it was still quieter than the sound of the Yukon's roof being ripped away.

Roof gone, the occupants of the truck were at Tesser's mercy. The dragon's enormous hand ate a blistering amount of fresh gunfire from the shooters inside, but he ignored it. With the tips of two insanely large black claws, Tesser plucked one of the attackers out as If he were no more than a chocolate from a box, and flung him. The man kept silent as he sailed end over end, his gun escaping from his grip. His flight ended powerfully against the dome of the Massachusetts State House. On impact, he burst into nothingness, his empty clothing sliding down the well-lit curve of the ornamental roof.

Tesser sat the truck on the ground and pulled the other man out, this time far less gingerly. He windmill slammed the driver into the pavement of Park Street, plunging his talons into the surface so deeply Spoon thought he'd never get them out. Then Tesser spoke. Roared.

The dragon had the man pinned flat on his back, and leaned over him, looming. With a wide reptilian mouth he rumbled out the question, "WHERE IS MATTY!?" Tesser's breath came out so powerfully roadside trash flew away and more car alarms went off. A window nearby broke from the strain. Spoon had the truck in park and was running towards the dragon, his hip doing its own version of a scream. He held the borrowed shotgun at his shoulder.

"She's mine now. So is the child in her womb, dragon!" Spoon heard the pinned man say savagely. When the sergeant rounded the massive dragon's hindquarters he saw that the man under Tesser's hand was actually the person who had worn the suit earlier.
Wait. That doesn't make sense. I saw Tesser punch that man's head practically clean off; then, I shot the cocksucker. I watched him die. He's dead on the street a mile or more away, how can he be here now?

"THE CHILD IS NOT YOURS! WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE IS MY MATTY!?" Again the roar sent trash and debris everywhere. More windows broke. People were starting to stand from where they'd dove for cover, trying to understand what was happening. Some were elated, others crying. No one knew how much this moment was changing the world, but they were all entranced with it. Spoon was circling Tesser more, attempting to get a better look at the dragon's face.

"You've tried me before dragon. You failed then, and you'll fail now. Nothing has changed. Your fragile woman, your unborn child, and your pathetic world, will all fall to me. Human greed and ignorance has opened the doors for my kind, and across the Veil we march. Soon, there will be too many of us for you to fight. There are too few of you left now that magic is dying away." The suited man taunted Tesser, despite the level of danger he was in. Clearly, these weren't the words of the sane.

Tesser leaned his massive form over even more, his snout just a few inches from the face of his captive. He lowered his voice to a gravelly rumble that made Spoon's hair stand on end. "Your kind have fought to cross the Veil since time began, and my kind and our allies have pushed you back time and again. You're right: nothing has changed."

"Magic is gone. Kaula is ours, and all her soul is slowly being drained away, sent to the other side as fuel for our young," the man whispered. His eyes rolled upwards and he took on a look of intoxication. It was as if he'd just been shot full of the most powerful heroin ever, and it had only then met up with his mind. But all he'd done was taunted the dragon.