Endangered Ch. 07

Without any more warning, she launched into a relentless series of lightning attacks. This time, she kept hawk-like focus on her task and a savage grip on her treacherous instincts.

She didn't let up for half an hour.

Chris' was wheezing when she finally called it quits after taking his breath from him with a skillfully executed strike targeting his diaphragm.

"How," he panted. "How can you fight for so long? I could keep up in the beginning but you just wore me down again and again."

"Oxygen. You need it, I don't," she replied with a broad smile, releasing her sweaty brown hair from its pony tail and shaking it out in preparation to hit the showers. "You did well to keep up for so long, I admit. However, I run on blood whilst you need oxygen and have to wait for your cells to convert food into energy. You'll only tire a vampire by forcing them to use their reserves to the last, at which point they will become very weak. The best way to do that would be to force them to regenerate, it requires a lot of energy. So there you have it, if you're fighting a vampire, don't draw it out and don't hesitate to get brutal. Rip an arm off or something."

"That's messed up," he watched her run her fingers through her long hair. "Hang on, if you don't need oxygen, why are you sweating?"

"Good observation, Chris. It's interesting actually. Our cells are technically dead by human standards but retain a lot of their function through the parasite that is transferred in our venom and our blood. It takes over the functions of the body at the moment of death using an entirely different biochemistry based on the life force of the blood we consume. The longer a vampire lives, the more potent they become. They've had more time to consume blood and the parasite has multiplied and strengthened for hundreds of years. We still sweat as a cooling method, as using energy creates heat. As you already know, we don't fare to well with heat, fire, and especially sunlight."

"That's sort of cool I guess. It would also be a bit of a giveaway if all you needed to do to spot a vampire was force everyone on a five-mile run and see who didn't shed a drop."

"Yes, there was a time several hundred years ago when some powerful vampires were reckless in their habits. Humans were on the brink of catching onto us. They were dealt with eventually and a dedicated misinformation campaign soon took care of any suspicious humans, leaving behind all the myths and vampire culture you see today. That's the basis for garlic, crosses, and holy water which are entirely ineffectual. Though I admit that too much garlic can taint the flavour of a human's blood.

"I'm sure Annabel would love to hear that. I bet she'd start feeding it to all of us just to tease you," Chris chuckled tiredly.

"I suppose she would," Lillian smiled. It would do the girl no good, the dragon's scent would still intoxicate her. "Okay, Chris, let's get cleaned up so we can get breakfast. You did tire me this morning, I just don't show it until I've got nothing left."

When they got back to the hotel suite, Chris went to the bedroom to change. He quickly spotted Annabel's handiwork cello-taped to the headboard of their bed. She'd printed something that looked like a warning placard. It was complete with a big red crossed ring and WARNING in large type across the top. He didn't recognise the picture inside the red ring from across the room, so he moved closer. It was a stylised vagina.

The fine text read: Warning. Tampering with pussies is illegal. Common-fucking-decency provides for penalty of blue balls until the end of time, or a $3200 fine for tampering with pussy in this bed or disabling pussy-tampering detection devices.

He howled with laughter and Susan popped her head in the door to see what the commotion was about. Chris couldn't spare the breath, so pointed to the sign.

Soon Susan was laughing too which brought Annabel from the kitchen where she'd been preparing breakfast.

"We'll see who's laughing in a few days," she threatened before scampering back to monitor the stove.

"It wasn't very thoughtful, Chris. Be careful with magic, please?" Susan cautioned him when they'd calmed down.

"I know, Mom, it was stupid and dangerous and disrespectful in the extreme. I keep apologising and she says she's forgiven me but that I can't go unpunished. Which is fair, I think."

"Well, I've been asked to support your punishment as a show of solidarity. No nookie for you," She spoke before leaning down to whisper hotly in his ear. "But if it gets too bad you know where to find me."

After gathering for Annabel's delicious French toast and berry compote, the dragon's brood split to their various appointments.

Michelle was about to go back into planning meetings. Allied governments worldwide were allocating resources to the Revelation and it was a huge undertaking. Her goal for the morning was to screen three key candidates and work on updating the dossier given to new recruits. That would be relatively relaxing. The afternoon, however, was going to be high strung. Yesterday she, with Reyla's help, had soothed things over between the Synod and some ruffled higher-ups in the government-military complex regarding Chris' unauthorised activities above Alaska.

Michelle's plan had gone well so far and Reyla even seemed a little impressed. After a little colluding with some of her counterparts in other organisations, Michelle convinced her superiors to push for Chris to answer to the US government for his actions with Reyla having the final word on the execution of any suggested reparation.

This was all very new to everyone. Such an event would previously have been charmed out of existence by a Synod appointed specialist or left in the hands of the local territory authority such as Reyla herself. Also, now that the humans were involved, there had to be some sort of communication whenever an issue arose from a Being-Human clash.

As Michelle left the apartment, Chris, Annabel, and Claire were preparing to hit the Being district's shops in search of larger clothes for Chris. Susan had suggested over breakfast that they enquire about altering his existing wardrobe magically so that was on the list too.

It wasn't a particularly warm morning but felt like it could get hot later. The sky was clear with barely a whisper of a breeze as the trio exited onto the quiet street at the back of the hotel. Their invisible vampire shadow followed closely, but tried to be unobtrusive, preferring to watch the dynamic between the three rather than participate.

Annabel quickly inserted herself against the dragon's side as they began to walk the short distance to the highest concentration of stores.

The young dragoness, bedecked in skin-tight stretchy jeans and a thin turtleneck sweater on top, held back a few steps, unsure if taking his other side would be appropriate. When he noticed, Chris looked back over his shoulder at her and beckoned her closer. The beautiful redhead beamed at him as she pushed in close and felt his large hand settle on her lower back.

Claire couldn't help her heart fluttering, her hand hovering over her belly button as she caught a thick waft of his scent. This is what she'd been missing all these years, a mate. It was extremely satisfying to her dragon instincts to be held so possessively and sense the new life growing inside her.

Annabel was a little surprised to see Chris openly display such affection in public but she realised this was part of his Being. She didn't expect him to ignore the other women in public, that would mean they were ashamed or hiding something. Besides, she thought with pride, one look at the body trying to rip that little t-shirt to pieces would leave no doubt in anyone's mind why he had a woman on each arm.

She smiled, marvelling at the masterful, unobtrusive way the magic surrounding her boyfriend was altering the very way she thought. She could recognise the influence but there was no sense of insidiousness or control associated with the thoughts, they felt genuine and usually delightfully sinful.

The trio did get a few looks from passer-by but they weren't so much disapproving. Surprise, mixed with a hint of envy or admiration seemed common as well as gaping at Chris' sheer size. Soon they arrived at the shop where Chris had purchased Annabel's wonderful black dress from. The little bell on the back of the doorway jingled happily to announce them.

Mary looked up from her sewing machine in the back of the shop. An excited tingle caressed her skin and goosed her arms wonderfully.

She sensed that a powerful aura had just entered her wards. Interestingly, was fluctuating unsteadily, dipping up and down in intensity as she cautiously peeked her head out onto the shop floor.

The witch couldn't help an excited squeak when she saw who was back in her shop again! She rushed forward to greet them.

"Chris, Annabel! I was hoping you'd return but this is a lovely surprise to have you so soon. What can I do for you today?" She paused, cocking her head towards the dragon conspiratorially. "Are you trying to hide your presence from me? If so, it isn't working."

"Not from you specifically, Mary, I'm just trying to practice masking it out in public," Chris said. "I'd like to introduce you to Claire Godran, we're recently mated."

"Hmm," the witch sighed dreamily. "It's nice to meet you Claire and congratulations, I heard some very joyful rumours floating around yesterday morning and I do hope they're true?"

"What have you heard?" The redhead asked, having a sinking suspicion that the chicken had flown the coop.

"Well, that you and your beautiful mother are both pregnant by this hunk of a man of course!" The witch was clearly excited at the prospect of getting a scoop on such a juicy piece of gossip and wasn't afraid to come right out and ask.

"That's a little rude, don't you think, Mary?" Lillian startled everyone as she emerged from invisibility and spoke for the first time in the morning's outing.

"Jesus, Lillian! You're going to give me a heart attack," Mary held a hand over her chest.

Claire glanced up at her mate quickly and decided to come out with the truth. There was no use trying to hide now, once the Being gossip mill started up, you were better to get ahead of things.

"It's okay Lillian," Claire said. "It is true. We were planning on keeping it quiet a bit longer but after Mom and Chris were seen together yesterday, I guess it wasn't hard for people to figure out what was going on."

"Yes hon, I'm afraid the floor of Reyla's court isn't the best place for a discreet encounter," Mary teased Chris. "Honey, you don't have to hold yourself back in my store, it's warded. Whatever goes on here is only barely detectable outside."

"I guess it would be nice to take a break, it's not easy holding it all down inside me, I don't have much practice at it yet," he replied.

As he slowly released his magic back up into its resting state, he could feel the uncomfortable fluctuations ease. It was content to no longer be imprisoned in his belly.

Mary was stunned to feel the radiance of his aura, she'd heard about this effect too but experiencing it first hand was the only way to do it justice. The dragon's warm magic flowed around her, trickling into her veins effortlessly. She sighed, feeling like she could happily float away into this warm embrace forever.

"Mary?" Chris watched the witch's eyelids flutter.

"Mary!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she seemed to come back to herself. "Mmm, that is lovely, Chris. I'm so sorry you have to hide it, I wish you could share your gift with everyone."

"Thank you, perhaps one day I will. Listen, as you can see, I've grown a little since our last visit and not much fits anymore. I wasn't looking forward to buying a completely new wardrobe so Susan suggested I come here and ask if you would be interested in doing adjustments for me? I'd pay, of course," Chris asked politely.

"I'd be delighted to, Chris," Mary had to admit she would have struggled to refuse the dragon anything at that point, especially as his scent was now beginning to seep into her system too. She caught herself falling dangerously close to a state of intoxication and briefly warded herself against his influence. Unfortunately, this negated much of her ability to absorb his aura too. "I would be willing to wave my labour fees given your previous generosity. All I require is a payment for or even a direct trade of energy. I could get onto it right away. How does that sound?"

"It sounds fantastic. Thanks, Mary."

"I'll need to take your measurements, of course." The witch flicked her dark hair over her shoulder and gave Annabel a friendly smirk.

"Of course," Annabel rolled her eyes.

"You'll get used to this soon enough," Claire whispered into Annabel's ear, placing a friendly hand on her hip. "Doesn't it excite you though? Seeing her fawn over him but knowing he's all ours?"

Annabel gave a tiny, hesitant nod of her head and returned the dragoness' friendly smile.

Mary quickly retrieved her tape measure and notebook from the counter and sidled up to Chris with mischief in her eyes. From behind she measured across his shoulders, down his arm, around his neck and chest before scribbling down some figures in her little book. She glided in front of him and pulled herself close to reach around and measure his proportionately narrow hips, brushing her body into him ever so softly.

Finally, she sank to her knees, running a hand down the outside of his powerful, denim clad thigh as if she needed the support. Looking up, she made a show of holding the notebook between her teeth to free both hands. She held one end of the tape low on his ankle. The other slid slowly up the inside of his leg, contacting him occasionally and sending nervous jolts up his body.

Chris couldn't help watching her full, red lips as she blatantly teased him. His primal instinct was to reach down and guide her to something that would really smear that sultry lipstick of hers. It was much stronger than he'd felt the pull before whilst in human form. He was very tempted indeed, knowing with a dragon's confidence that he could pull such a bold move off.

His human side still had a say in it though, and was nervous to feel that gentle sensation of her hand creeping up his thigh. When his member gave a mighty twitch right next to her hand, he lost his nerve. His hand shot forwards to prevent her touch, embarrassed and unwilling to continue her game.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away," Mary blushed, dropping the notebook onto the floor as she looked into his face and saw his discomfort. It was so easy to forget he was so young, so easy to get swept away in his presence.

"It's not your fault, Mary," Chris diffused as he released her hand.

She finished more professionally and darted the two women and the vampire a guilty look as she finished her notes and took stock of his full measurements.

"Damn! You have been eating your oats, haven't you! Hmm, let me think about this. What sort of items do you want modified?"

"Pretty much everything I have here in Denver, it's two suitcases full," Chris answered.

"Okay and how would you like to trade?" she asked.

"We came better prepared this time," Lillian brought forward Chris' little black bag and placed it on the nearby counter. She'd been concealing it along with herself.

Chris revealed three medium sized quartz crystals, the product of his efforts with Susan over the last week or so. They were faintly infused with his purple essence, indicating that they were saturated with energy. The bag still held his treasure trove of dragon gold but he was resolved to hold onto it for big ticket purchases. Besides, it was good to be self-sufficient, using the magical currency of his own creation.

Mary held her hand over each crystal in turn, enjoying the sensation of the rich, vigorous magic. It was vital and eager to leap up into her fingertips, superlative quality.

"Two will be more than sufficient," she sighed, almost reluctant to admit it. "I should be able to resize and make your clothes stain proof. I will return the empty crystals, of course."

"Great. Thanks, Mary. We'll get them sent over to you right away. Perhaps you could work on a set of jeans and a few shirts first thing so I can wear them to this meeting I've got in the afternoon? Oh, can you do shoes too?"

"Yes, that's fine Chris. I'll have you something to wear by midday and I'll throw in some shoe resizes on the house. They aren't my specialty, but I'd hate to send you somewhere else," Mary smiled and picked up her two chosen crystals, placing them delicately on a velvet covered tray she kept just behind the counter.

"Thank you, Mary," Annabel spoke as they turned to leave.

"It was nice to meet you," Clair smiled.

After returning to the hotel and handing over Chris' suitcases to the concierge service for delivery, Annabel dragged them all back out to a beautiful café she'd spotted previously.

They sat enjoying the late morning sunshine for well over an hour in a little back garden that Annabel instantly fell in love with. Claire ordered a fresh juice but Chris and Annabel sampled the café's wonderfully smooth and skillfully brewed coffee. They chatted amiably as the girls took the chance to get better acquainted. Lillian assured them that the café was fully shielded from casual human suspicion. They were free to talk about anything they didn't mind being overheard by any nearby Beings.

Both women were highly passionate in their own ways and clearly driven. Chris could already see Annabel beginning to look up to Claire as a friend from some of her mannerisms he'd observed during high school.

They discussed their plans for the rest of the summer. Claire was happy to take the time to get to know Chris and the new city she would be living in. Besides, she would be settling into a long pregnancy, all too soon, her nesting instincts would kick in. Still, she hoped to find some online courses to enroll in. Eventually, she wanted to return to a position like she'd had at the medical clinic in San Diego before her move. The urge to provide aid to all, Being or human, ran strong in her veins. That would be on hold indefinitely though, she was soon to be a mother.

Chris wanted to continue absorbing as much information and training as he could before the hectic and uncertain times the Revelation was bound to bring. He also recognised the need to provide for his growing family, they couldn't rely on Reyla's generosity and protection indefinitely.

Annabel on the other hand was still keen to find a kitchen job before her classes started in the fall. If she could stay on part time while she attended cooking school, that would be a huge financial boon. Chris tried to persuade her to consider holding off on the job for now. He wanted her to learn more about Beings and magic, especially her link with Bartholomew.

Ever since she'd made that heartfelt plea to her little protector and felt him respond, he'd been very obedient and agreeable. That didn't mean he wasn't still mischievous as hell but he would listen to her and follow instructions. There had also been no more unexplained outbursts of magic, which gave Annabel a lot more confidence to be in public without him causing trouble.

Annabel was torn, she understood the importance of learning more about this new world but she was also passionate about continuing her dream. Going to culinary school and beginning her career as a chef would give her something productive to do. She didn't want to let go of that because she knew it was her calling.

Midday was upon them before they realised it. They collected Chris' first instalment of modified clothes from Mary. He changed in the back room and couldn't help but wonder at the witch's skill to get everything so perfectly sized. The clothes fit like they'd been tailor made, which he supposed they almost were.