Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) (44 page)

"Good. Go for it," Tesser said.

"Are there any hairs or physical elements of her at the desk?" Mr. Doyle asked, slipping past Spoon and Abe. They moved back to the doorway, providing some cover.

Tesser turned and snatched a dark hair from the back of her chair. He gave it a whiff, and handed it to the old wizard.
 

Mr. Doyle looked at the hair carefully. "This will do." He reached up to his forehead and took off the thick goggles that had been resting above his eyes. He unscrewed a round lens from the right eye, revealing a small space between that and a second lens beneath. Carefully, he coiled the dark hair up in the tight space, and replaced the outer lens. "Oculus circumspicio. Velox bene facis," he whispered, turning the device on.

A gentle flare of warm light ringed both lenses and gave off an electrical tingle. The British mage slid the goggles back over the top of his head and placed them carefully over his eyes.
Ah, there we are.
Inside the vision provided by the mad scientist goggles, Mr. Doyle could clearly see the presence of Matty in the office. Motes of warm yellow-orange lights appeared on the keys she typed the most, as well as the handset of her office phone. Her seat was glowing like the embers at the base of an old fire, and the edges of her desk where she rested her elbows were alit.

"Yes. I can see her presence. Now, allow the magic to grow, and it'll lead us directly to where she is now."

"Good. Make it work faster," Tesser said.

"It would work faster if your sister wasn't imprisoned somewhere below us, her magic fading. I'm sorry, Tesser, but it's going as fast as it—"

Gunfire from the hallway interrupted the old man. From the open doorway, Spoon and Abe started to return fire, shooting down both directions of the hall.

"There's like, five of them in each direction!" Abe yelled, snapping off a third shot.

"Make them count, young man! Those bullets are rather expensive!" Mr. Doyle said as the faintest of floating lights began to form in the air in front of him.
 
I'll have the path in a moment. She must be very close.

Abe took a deep breath as Spoon loudly emptied his magazine to the left. The younger man knelt, and leaned over, popping his head out. He squeezed the trigger smoothly and ducked back into the room. "Got one!" He was jubilant. "Keep firing, Spoon! We got this!"

"I already shot all of mine already. You want help on your side?"

"We're not all professionals, Spoon," Abe said, somewhat deflated. Another ripping tear of gunfire stitched up the wall near the doorframe, causing Abe to dive into the room. Spoon responded by popping out into the hall and letting off several short bursts of fire.

"Two more down. One left. Wait. One's getting up." Spoon snapped another shot off. "He's down."

Abe leaned out the door and fired his last shot, hitting one of the daemons square in the crotch. The enchanted bullet tore into the artificial person and wrenched it free from this reality, sending it back across the Veil in an explosion of blackness. Abe looked positively ecstatic.

"Nice shot, Abe. Reload. More will come soon," Spoon said as he dropped a magazine and reloaded his weapon. He left the doorframe and picked up a few full magazines from the webbing of the dead and gone daemons.
Fortunate that so many assault weapons use the same standardized ammunition magazine.

"Why not take their gun too?" Abe asked him as he reloaded his revolvers.

"I haven't sighted their guns. I don't trust them," Spoon said back.

"Can you see where she is yet?" Tesser asked desperately.

The orange path was now well lit in the goggles. It streaked out the doorway and down the windowed hall like a long exposure shot of a neon light being moved about. It was mystical, and it led the way to the woman they needed to save. "I have her. Follow me."

"No. Follow me. Tell me where to go," Tesser said.

"That's very intelligent. You are notably more bulletproof than I. Head out, turn left. She's a good distance below us, but we need to find the stairs, or the lift first. I'll know it when I see it."

The four men left Matty's office and started down the hallway, ready to find what they came for. Abe smiled enthusiastically at Mr. Doyle.
 

Careful what you wish for, Abraham.
We are
one step closer to hell on earth, my boy. One step closer.

Chapter Fifty-Three

Alec

"Alec, this will be a very dangerous night. As things stand, I cannot guarantee your safety. I may need more of your assistance," Mr. Host said calmly.

Need my assistance? What the fuck can I do for you?
Alec and his security team leader were walking surrounded by a diamond of Mr. Host's men. They were deep underground in the secure complex near the purple dragon's sedated body. The earth rumbled and shook every few seconds. Alec had no idea what was happening, but he envisioned Tesser ripping the earth apart just a few feet above the hardened concrete.

"What do you need from me?" Alec asked.

"Alec, you are sure to die tonight. I can guarantee you of it. I do not have enough power at the moment to defeat the dragons that are at our doorstep."

I don't want to die. Not here, and not like this.
"Dragons?"
What the fuck is he talking about? And power? What does he mean? Jesus shit, I'm going to die right here in this fucking lab hole in the ground.
Alec's hand was shaking as they passed through another set of vault doors into a different section of the lab complex.

"Dragons, yes. Tesser has summoned more of his kind to combat us. To destroy your company and everything your family has worked to build. To kill you."

"Kill me? What the fuck did I do?"

"Your company has kept a dragon in a coma for ten years, Alec. You are part and parcel to something they feel is a crime. These are savage beasts, Alec. Intelligent, yes, but still very savage. They care only for their own kind and will destroy whatever they must to preserve their wealth and power. I can fight them, start the revolution this world so badly needs but as I said, I need your help. Time is short."

"What kind of help can I offer? You're something supernatural, I know that much. My father told me some things before he died. You've already far more power than I have. Whatever power really is."

Mr. Host nodded, he seemed almost absent for a moment, like his mind was elsewhere, or he was lost in thought talking to someone else. The only sound in the room was the steady beeping from Matty's heart monitor, and the thunderous booms of something loud hitting the earth above. He focused again. "Alec your father summoned me from a very faraway place many years ago. It took him years of study to learn how to properly do it, and after he did he struck a bargain with me, and we worked together to build a better world for both our purposes. A give and take. He gave up a piece of his being to bring us across something called the Veil, and I, in turn, gave up some of my freedom here. Together we were able to subdue the dragon, and you know how much good has come of that single act. When your father was about to die, we drafted a new contract, and you signed it, passing along his portion of responsibility to you, thus allowing for us to remain and continue working together on our goals. But we are bound by that contract. Your father was a shrewd and wise man, conceding only what he absolutely had to, to obtain my loyalty and… shall we call it my skill set."

Alec's stomach turned over.
I don't think I like where this is going.
 

Mr. Host continued, his men oblivious and robotic. They seemed like walking mannequins. "If you were to write a simple addendum to the contract allowing us more power for the fight that we will be entering in just a few minutes, we can survive it. You and I, and most importantly, Fitzgerald Industries. All the work we've accomplished will continue. But I cannot do it without your permission."

"How do I know you won't just kill me and take over if I give you more… power?"
I'm not going to die for this fucking weirdo. Not tonight, not ever.

"Alec, in the contract I am forbidden to harm you. Should harm come to you, or the contract we share, I would be weakened. If you were to die, I would be sent back from where I came and we would lose everything we've fought so hard to achieve together. It is in my best interest to keep you safe and sound."

The group of men rounded a corner and with a swipe of a security card, a pneumatic door hissed open, and they entered a hospital room. Alec immediately recognized the immobile woman in the bed.
Holy shit. That's Matty. I did NOT want to see her like this. Have they got her sedated?
"That's Matty, right? Why is she under like that? Isn't she pregnant? Isn't that baby priceless, and we're running the risk of fucking all that up? Unplug her this second!"

Mr. Host shook his head as a scolding parent might at an insolent child. "No, no, Mr. Fitzgerald, we wouldn't want that. If you had read your genetic reports on her, you'd know she has some… unusual markers. Traits that are potentially dangerous. Ask yourself this; what kind of woman could bear the child of a dragon? No woman I want awake. Trust me in this: she is safe, the baby is safe, and when you write another contract to empower me further, we too will be safe."

"I don't know. I am thinking I might just want to—"

"Alec, your father would want this. His whole empire,
your
whole empire, will crumble to dust tonight if you fail in this very moment. Within the hour in fact."

"I don't think my father really knew—"

"Shut up, Alec. Think of what your father would want. He would want you to continue your work, saving lives."

"I guess." Alec couldn't take his eyes off of Matty's body. She wore an oxygen mask, and there were multiple IV lines running into her, pumping similar looking bags filled with the solution the dragon was kept asleep with.
What am I doing?
Alec sighed painfully. His hand was forced and he knew it. "What do I need to do?"

"Write the following; I give Legion a greater footing to channel his power across the Veil this night. I allow his rage to flourish so that I may survive."

"Rage? You need permission to be angry?"

"Yes, and hopefully you never see why with your own eyes."

"Okay. Give me a piece of paper and a pen."

"Blood is better. That failing, use your shit.
 
Write on the wall." Mr. Host pointed to a sterile white wall in the room. The four guards stepped out of the way in unison, leaving a clear path to the writing surface for Alec.

Scared, Alec walked over to the wall and stood there, unsure of what to do next. After a moment, one of Mr. Host's men drew a large combat knife and handed it to Alec. He took it with trembling hands.

"Write quickly. They are almost in the lower levels."

"All this money spent on security for nothing." Alec looked down at his finger, then back at Matty, then at the knife. His emotions felt detached.
This is the wrong thing to do. What was my father thinking?

"Alec, quickly, or we risk losing everything."

With a very unsure, shaking hand, Alec cut the tip of his finger.
Shit that hurts.
He then put the bloody tip to the white wall and began to write what Mr. Host asked of him. His finger shook from the pain and uncertainty.
God help me. God help us all.

"That's very good, Alec. Now we have a chance to survive this. Make sure to sign the bottom to make it official."

I'm going to puke. Or worse.

Chapter Fifty-Four

The Dragons

On the surface of the world, Tesser's family had things completely under control. Zeud's ability to command fire coupled with her dragon's breath meant laser-precise bursts of heat and flame that struck and incinerated daemon bodies as fast as they appeared. For every ten that shot at her or the other dragons, ten were annihilated by a bolt of her incendiary fire. Over all of this, the cold autumn sky spat snow.