Dragons Wild

Fifty

It was clear that Valerie’s path was taking her back to the complex where her and Griffen’s apartments lay. So, Mai and Griffen felt a bit more at ease hanging back some and giving her some space. As they approached the complex, the first thing Griffen noticed was that Valerie had left the gate open wide, maybe with a few new dings in it from being slammed much too hard, he thought. The door to Valerie’s apartment was half-open, and the crashing from inside left no doubt that she was still in.

Griffen and Mai exchanged another glance, and she took a step back to lean against the nearest wall. He nodded, and proceeded forward alone. At the door he pushed his head in slightly and knocked lightly. Valerie was bent over and digging for something in her closet.

“Val?”

She swung around, half-surprised, but mostly just still very angry. The shotgun in her hand finally came clear of whatever obstructions she had been clearing from the closet. It swung around with her.

“Jesus!”

Griffen yelled and ducked back out the door, but no gunshot rang out. He tentatively stuck his head back in the door, but Valerie was already coming out, pushing past him and heading toward the gate again.

New Orleans may be laid back in some respects, but a very pissed off woman holding a very large shotgun stalking through the streets was bound to attract attention.

Mai stepped between Valerie and the gate, standing straight and radiating outward calm. Valerie stopped in front of her, eyes narrowing. Griffen made a fast decision and stepped next to his sister, grabbing her hand tightly in his. The muzzle of the gun was pointed more or less safely at a patch of empty ground for the moment.

“Val, you have to stop and think,” he said.

“Too busy. I’ll save that for later, Big Brother.”

Her voice was oddly detached, and not like his sister at all. Griffen half wondered if it was some sort of backlash from the glamour breaking. He also fought the urge to glance at Mai, wondering if she had triggered this somehow. He quickly dismissed that idea, though; she was the one standing between Valerie and the gate after all.

“Valerie, this isn’t the way. Killing isn’t going to solve a damn thing,” he said.

“How about kneecapping?” she said.

“Little harsh for the crime, don’t you think?”

“No! No, I don’t!”

She whirled to face Griffen fully, and in a gesture of her anger hurled the gun away from her. It hit and chipped a brick under the impact. Thankfully it again did not go off. Though maybe, just maybe, the barrel was slightly bent now. She yelled into his face.

“How can you say that Griffen! That bastard completely invaded my mind, my personality! What punishment could ever be equal to that!?”

“Probably none can, so any you try is just going to leave you unfulfilled and unsatisfied,” Griffen said.

“Yeah, well, I’m feeling pretty damn hollow right now! So I won’t be any worse off.”

“You would be and you know it. Not only inside, but think of the trouble. Forget that this scumbag has family, dangerous family. You could wind up in jail, Sis. If you were lucky, it would be for one night for toting that damned gun around. If you succeeded, a damn sight longer.”

“So what am I supposed to do!?”

“Act like a dragon,” Mai said, and stepped forward.

Both McCandles looked at her. She took a step past them and found herself a seat in the open courtyard. With a passing glance at each other, brother and sister followed. Griffen gently but firmly took Valerie’s arm and helped her sit. She glared at him for a moment, but was grateful for the seat. Adrenaline and rage had made her muscles tense and unsteady.

“You do not slay a dragon by killing it,” Mai said. “Especially not one like Nathaniel who has many relatives who would avenge him. You are a dragon, you have the time, the ability, and the cunning to wait and plot. You find when he is most vulnerable and take from him what he took from you.”

“Take what?” Valerie said softly.

“Power.”

Griffen looked at his sister carefully, mind racing. Pieces clicked into place, and he found himself nodding without realizing it.

“We forget sometimes,” he said. “Being a dragon is more than just how we act or what we can do. It’s what we are. I’ve never seen you this upset, and that’s because Nathaniel attacked something that every dragon seems to deeply love. In their bone and blood.”

“Power,” Valerie said softly, and nodded.

“So you wait. You plot. You think! And when the time comes, you will make Nathaniel feel every inch what you are feeling now,” Mai said.

“Yeah. That I can do.”

Valerie’s eye gleamed, but it was a gleam Griffen knew and was happy to see. She was still pissed, but her spark was back. Silently he hoped Nathaniel had the good sense to never, ever come within a thousand miles of Valerie again. For his own sake.

“And in the process you are living your life, building your own power back, growing and learning. So that when the time comes you will already have moved so far beyond this that he is nothing but a tiny flea to you. A flea you will squash anyway, because you are a dragon, and we do not tolerate vermin.”

Mai’s eyes burned, too, as she spoke, and that was an entirely different spark. One that Griffen wasn’t sure he was comfortable with at all. He wondered just how long Mai had been waiting for her own retribution, and just how safe it would be to be near the two female dragons, as allies.

He decided to change the subject.

“Now, where the hell did you get a shotgun?!” he said.

“Oh, umm…Gris-gris gave it to me. Just in case.”

Valerie flushed a bit, and it was such a change in her that Griffen was almost happy enough to drop the whole thing right there. Almost.

“We live in the French Quarter, behind security gates, and under protection. And you need a shotgun in your closet that you couldn’t even get out quickly?”

“Hey, I didn’t say the idea was great, but it was a present,” she said.

“And just where were you marching off to with it?”

“He pointed out his condo to me one time when we were out walking,” she said. “I figured I’d start there.”

“Sis…”

“Leave your sister alone, Griffen. In fact, I think it is time you let her alone for the night. She needs to decompress,” Mai said.

“What about you?” he said.

“If she doesn’t mind, I will stay with Valerie. We will have girl talk and ice cream and single malt scotch. Important healing things. No men allowed.”

“Hey, that doesn’t sound half-bad,” Valerie said.

“Okay, okay, I can take a hint. Hell, it’s not like I ever got dinner. Val, you sure you’re okay?”

“No, but I will be.”

Griffen nodded and left. Mai watched him go, but Valerie was looking down at her hands. When the gate had shut, Mai let out a long sigh.

“Men. They have no understanding of closure.”

“Huh?” Valerie blinked, surprised by the change of tone.

“Come. We shall pay Nathaniel a little visit.”

“What about all that crap you just said about power and waiting?”

“I meant every word. That does not mean you let the little shit slip away scot-free thinking he is safe. Leave the silly gun. It won’t come to violence. But you deserve more resolution than ice cream.”

Valerie looked at Mai closely, and slowly smiled. She nodded and stood, heading into her apartment to grab a coat. And maybe to run a comb through her hair. Never let them see you less than perfect. Mai grinned, and whispered to herself a bit breathlessly.

“Besides, if there is one thing all dragons crave besides power, it’s drama!”