Sometimes I forget just how good a dragon-kin’s hearing is. “I assume because she knows who she can trust there, and Tommy has probably the largest network of non-Avalon contacts I’ve ever seen. From what Arthur said, Avalon sounds like it’s in some sort of free fall. That might be why My Liege has finally decided to launch their attack.”
“Hera, Baldr, Nergal, and anyone else involved. That’s a lot of power to go up against Avalon. I never thought I’d see Hera or her cronies go after humans like this. Not in the modern age, anyway. She has little care for humanity, but any pretense of keeping Avalon a secret is going to vanish if people keep using magic to kill humans in broad daylight.”
“Maybe that’s the point? Maybe they want to out us all, to make humans fear us. Humans fight back; whoever is involved in My Liege slaughters them and declares themselves rulers of Avalon.”
“That’s not a nice thought.”
“No, it isn’t. But it’s one that needs considering.” Selene took my hand in hers and kissed me on the mouth. “Go to Tommy. I’ll go find Remy and meet you there.”
“You sure? He might be out in the forest.”
“And if that’s the case, I’ll be able to track him quicker than you. Remy has a distinctive odor.”
Dragon-kins have considerably better senses than my own. I was about to ask if I had a distinctive odor when I changed my mind—there are some things I just didn’t need to know.
I left the house, taking the keys to my Jaguar F-Type R in British racing green. It was a dark, sleek car that was probably about as sexy as a car could ever manage. The five-liter, almost six-hundred-brake-horsepower engine sounded beautiful and went like a rocket with a second rocket strapped to the side for added speed. Some people would say it was ostentatious, or too James Bond, but it made me smile, so I honestly didn’t care.
I entered the garage and set the automatic outer door to open while I slid onto the comfortable leather driver’s seat. I pushed the starter button, and the noise of the engine instantly made me smile. It was probably going to be an awful day, so any little pieces of joy would be welcomed. I took the car out into the driveway and drove sedately down to the edge of my property before pushing the accelerator, grinning from ear to ear the entire journey to Tommy’s company, Enhanced Security.
Technically, Tommy’s building was two buildings that were joined together by a walkway above the staff parking area. The smaller of the two buildings was three stories high and was the main entrance to the larger, twenty-five-story building behind it.
I entered the smaller of the two buildings and was immediately taken aback by the amount of extra security in place. Normally there would be a dozen or so guards patrolling the building, but I counted twelve just in the reception area itself. Behind the massive reception were six glass lifts that contained thermal imaging and a few special tricks so that the security could see who, and more importantly what, was about to head up to the main building.
At the reception desk I was greeted by a young man with a neatly trimmed, bright-purple goatee and short, dark hair. “Matias,” I said with a smile. “The color is new.”
“The color won’t come off,” he said with the returned smile of someone who had spoken about their facial hair a lot more than they were used to. “Was meant to be washable. Now I have a purple chin. Wanna guess how happy the boss was with my beard?”
“He pointed and laughed.”
“That’s exactly what he did, yes.”
“Why don’t you just shave it?”
“Because it’s my beard, and it’s a part of me. I’ll dye it black before I shave it. I cannot have a naked chin.”
I had to admire his dedication to his beard, even if he was being mocked for it. “Talk to human resources; tell them Tommy picked on you.”
The large security guard standing beside Matias stifled a laugh.
“That’s why I don’t do that,” Matias said. “I’m a water elemental. I’ve been placed here to give me a chance to deal with all kinds of people. What kind of employee would I be if I couldn’t take a bit of gentle ribbing from my boss? I’m a hundred and nine years old; I know he’s just trying to wind me up and get a reaction. It’s not like he’s being cruel or unpleasant. I sort of expected some mockery. I mean, my beard is bright purple.”
“Even so, don’t let him keep having a go. If he says anything again, you need to show him who’s boss.”
“He really shouldn’t,” Tommy said as he left the lift and walked toward me. “I’m a werewolf, remember? I can hear you.”
“You were mean to your employee,” I said, mocking him a little.
“I pointed and laughed at his bright-purple chin. It was funny.”
I looked over at Matias. “He’s got a point. It is funny.”
Matias nodded. “I know.”
Tommy looked serious for a moment. “You honestly upset that I mocked you?”
Matias shook his head.
“You sure? Because if you are, I’ll apologize right here. My employees have the right to dye their hair any color they damn well choose. This isn’t the military.”
“I promise I’m fine,” Matias assured Tommy while passing me a small wooden bead bracelet. There were magical runes written into the property’s very skeleton, which meant the second I stepped into either building, and for my entire time inside, I lost all connection to my magic. It’s an odd sensation to lose access to my magic, and feels a lot like when I wear a sorcerer’s band, a small bracelet that stops the user from accessing their abilities or blows them up if they try to remove it. The bracelet that Tommy passed out to his employees was essentially the exact opposite of a sorcerer’s band.
The bracelet’s beads had been carved with runes that bypassed the security and allowed the wearer to access their abilities, be that magical or otherwise. They were custom-made for each person who worked here full-time, and I was fortunate enough to have had one made especially for me. Everyone who worked for Tommy wore a bracelet, even the humans. Tommy said that it was so everyone felt a connection to one another; no one was singled out as different, but I knew that it was so anyone attacking the place wouldn’t be able to weed out the humans from the rest of the staff. It was a way to keep everyone safe. And I knew that the security of his employees was always Tommy’s first concern.
“Why is it everywhere you go, you cause trouble, Nate?” Tommy asked me.
“Practice,” I told him with a smile.
Tommy glared at me before turning back to Matias. “If I ever say something that upsets you, please tell me. Nate has no sense of keeping his opinions to himself, but I at least like to think I don’t upset people on purpose.”
I chuckled, and Tommy walked with me toward the glass lifts at the far end of the lobby. “Glad you came,” he told me as the lift doors opened and we both stepped inside.
“It’s been a weird day.”
“In what way?”
“I’ll explain when we get upstairs. Who else is there?”
“Olivia, Zamek, Diana, Irkalla, and Nabu.”
“Mordred?”
Tommy paused. “He’s on his way to Scotland. Elaine’s there.”
“Even without Mordred, that’s some serious power. Olivia mentioned Mordred was there when one of these people killed themselves?”