Page 27 of Bound By Fire and Magic
Elle gave him a look of gratitude, for the introduction and for letting Zelda focus on her and not the dogs.
Zelda handed the tangle of leashes to him and turned back to Elle. “Someone broke into your mother’s bedroom when she was eighteen. He raped her, Dragon to Dragon.” She gave Elle a moment to absorb that terrible picture. Then she continued. “It is most vicious that way. The beasts can get out of control, even kill each other. The Guard investigated, but they found no evidence to identify the rapist. At least that was the official report. Someone in the Guard phoned us anonymously and told our father to drop it. It had something to do with the Stramaglias.”
Kirin’s head whipped around at the name but he didn’t interrupt.
“These are bad people, I take it,” Elle said.
Zelda hissed, and the way she bared her teeth, Elle could see the Dragon in her. “They’re Obsidian Dragons, the most powerful, and the most vicious. Like the mafia with scales. They have been our family’s enemy from the days on Lucifera. Now they live in the Fringe, where many of the Dragon clans who descended from pirates settled.”
“The Fringe?”
“It’s on the fringe of the Field, south of Homestead. It’s a lawless land. Even the Guard doesn’t mess with their feuds and clashes. Some of our family went after them, determined not to let the Stramaglias take what they wanted. We lost two of our own that night, and so did they. Our father, and the rest of the family, reluctantly backed down. It wasn’t worth losing more of our own over.”
Zelda continued. “No one was to mention the assault or our losses. It was a black mark upon the family honor. Your mother was hurt and angry. She went to a Deuce to find out exactly who raped her. She couldn’t stand not knowing, having no face to aim her hatred at. That Deuce was your father.”
So that’s how they’d connected. “And he saw the perpetrator?”
Zelda nodded, stroking her long, painted nail down the front of her throat. “Loran. Huff was outraged for her and went after Loran. He thought his magick would be strong enough.”
Everything inside Elle tightened into a hard ball. “What happened?” He’d lived, so it couldn’t have been that bad.
“Huff and Loran had a showdown in the Fringe. Huff was badly hurt.”
“The scars on his back.” Those crisscross scars he never wanted to talk about other than a vague explanation of a car accident. “And his limp.”
“It took a lot of magick to heal him. He almost lost that leg.”
The dogs pulled Kirin closer, their noses reaching for their mistress. “Huff got in a good one or two on Loran, I hope,” he said.
Zelda smiled. “He cut off the end of his pecker. Loran is not a happy Dragon.” Her smile faded. “Your mother pledged her allegiance to Huff, her hero. He had done something, even if he had not succeeded. Huff felt we had turned our backs on her. And maybe we had. He considered all Dragons immoral, disloyal, and beastly.”
Maybe he’d worried that Kirin would hurt her the same way. “Thank you for telling me. I’ve wondered for a long time.”
“Tell your father we think of him. In a good way,” she seemed to need to add.
“I will.” Elle didn’t want to say that her father was missing.
Zelda nodded toward Kirin, who handed the restless dogs back to her. “He knows where we live. You are both welcome any time.”
“Thank you.” Emotion rippled through Elle.
As she and Kirin walked to the truck, she turned to him. “We didn’t see her there by accident, did we?”
“She walks those dogs here every day about this time.” His mouth twitched in what might be a smile. “Seems like you have enough mysteries in your life.”
“Isn’t that the truth.” She tried not to let her heart melt. “Could this Loran be responsible for my dad’s disappearance, after all these years?”
“When a Dragon—or anyone really—is faced with that kind of reminder every day that someone got the best of him, he could be harboring a lot of hatred. The question is, why now? If he had it in for Huff, he would have gone after him long ago. I doubt he’s involved. We’ll get my father out, and if he doesn’t have any more information, I’ll investigate the Stramaglias.”
Just like that. No fear, although he obviously knew them to be dangerous. He would go into a den of lions for her father. No; for her.
Damn it. How was she supposed to stay angry at a man like that?
10
After a quick lunch, Elle and Kirin returned to the factory so they’d be ready to charge inside the second Kirin’s Dragon returned. They stood facing the building that now took on ominous meaning. She could feel heavy, angry energy, not in their immediate vicinity but probably inside. No doubt the tulpa knew they were there and was gathering its form.
Elle checked her watch. Twenty minutes until Kirin’s Dragon was due back. She worked up a small orange orb to get the feel of it. The fiery ball, the size of a lemon, hovered above her open hand.
