TDWP: The Lady and Her Dragons Ch. 9
Introducing Doug to the girls had been a sweet experience for Andrea. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about everything, but it was nice to see him and experience his wonder at being in their home. He greeted the twins with dignity, then, when they invited him to game with them, hunkered in for the challenge.
Lily helped Andrea bring in refreshments; a simple collection of drinks, chips, dips and sweets that might have caused an eyeroll from Miranda. However, they made a happy addition to the evening. The girls would be staying up to wait for their mom, and while they did so, they would have good, fun adult company.
It was enjoyable enough that Andrea was able to set aside that momentary worry from before and simply be. Thus, awareness that something was really wrong, snuck up on her and took her by surprise.
-TDWP-
The crash of shattered glass startled all of them.
"Stay here," Andrea commanded, leaping off the couch. She grabbed her phone and tossed it to Lily. "Wait two minutes. If you don't hear from me, call Miranda. If she's not there, call Serena."
"Not Emily?"
"Emily is at Serena's."
"Gotcha."
"What about the cops," Doug said.
Andrea flicked a glance at Lily, "We don't know if we can use them yet. Lily, you remember our talk about the closet?"
"Yes..."
"If you don't hear from me in four minutes, take the girls and Doug up to the closet and show them around," Andrea said calmly. "Lock the door behind you."
"Let me come with you," Doug offered, starting to stand up. "It might be nothing, but two people are better than one." He put his hand in his pocket and then drew it out, "Plus, I have a phone too."
Lily nodded sharply at Andrea, who simply didn't respond, but rather ran out the door and down the stairs. Doug followed, slower, but steady.
The met at the bottom of the stairs. She spotted the problem area right away.
She did not turn on the light, but could see by the combined light from the hallway and moonlight that a stone lay in the middle of the floor in the parlor. Glass was scattered all over. "Cara is going to be so pissed," Andrea commented. She started to walk around the object, and moved towards the window to examine the break. "Who would do this?"
"Don't touch it," Doug said. He stayed in the hallway, trying to decide whether he should risk opening the door or not.
"I won't." Andrea said. She found the shattered window, mostly by the cold air that was filtering through and into the house. She started to look out the window, but hadn't quite gotten to it.
They were both startled by a shout from somewhere across the street. "Send us the girls and no one gets hurt."
-TDWP-
Oddly, Andrea had been afraid, but as soon as those words slid across her consciousness, she forgot to be. Whatever was on her face must have held the answer she did not give, because Doug instinctively stepped back and away from her. "Andy?"
She smiled and it wasn't a nice smile. "Don't worry Doug. They can't get in." She did not add the mental, 'not yet.' It wouldn't have done her friend any good. She just carried on, "Whoever they are. Would you go upstairs and tell Lily to make that call? She knows what to do."
"Andy. I don't want to leave you alone."
These days Andrea never really felt alone, but she understood what Doug was trying to convey. She looked at the broken window, and then at her friend who chose now to be heroic. Her smile warmed. "Okay, so we both go up."
-TDWP-
"Serena said to hold tight," Lily reported as she and the girls met them in the hall.
Andrea briefly explained what they saw and started to say what had been shouted, but Caroline said, "We heard." She gave a delicate shiver.
"No one is touching you or Cassidy on my watch," Andrea growled softly. Doug did a slight double take, but everyone else drew comfort from the firmness of the young woman's reply. "Okay, no sense dawdling. You know how Miranda gets when that happens."
Lily said, "She's not even here."
"She'd know." Andrea and the twins chorused.
Everyone started towards the master bedroom. It was strangely quiet, as they neither hurried nor slowed. When they arrived, they single-filed into the room.
"Okay, everyone," Andrea said. "We don't know how long this will be. Now is the time to go, if you gotta. Caroline first, then Cassidy, then Lily, then Doug, then Me." The journalist jerked her head at Lily and Doug, "I'm just going to be looking down there to see if I can see anything."
"Why haven't we called the police again?" Doug asked, still feeling confused about many things; not the least of which was why he docilely got in line at Andrea's command.
"Because it's a Dragon thing," Cassidy said impatiently. Doug offered half-hearted laugh as if she'd made a joke. She stared at him for a moment like he was a clueless adult. He looked at Lily, who was not paying attention to that conversation, but rather to the woman who was standing at the side of the window, carefully looking through the curtains.
"Andy. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking, I'm the Lady of the House, Lily. You know what that means."
Lily started to reply, but closed her mouth. She did know what it meant and suddenly all those jokes about being a minion took on a much more serious cast. Not that, once committed, she hadn't been entirely serious. They studied together, shared knowledge. They both poured over Nigel's notebook, then they split parts of the library. Andrea, naturally, took history and Dragon-lore. Lily looked for topics that seemed ... minion-y. If they encountered something they thought the other would enjoy, they shared it. Both of them at least skimmed the easier books on magic. But it had only really been a little while, hardly any time really, to try to adjust to these new ideas. It was overwhelming from the beginning, and Doug knew nothing of this at all.
Andrea continued, "Just... whoever it is, they're out there. I can't see them from here, but I know it. I can't just do nothing."
"If I said I disagree?"
"Wouldn't stop me."
"What are you planning on?"
Andrea shrugged. "Stalling."
"Andy..."
"Lily..."
It was as if they were having a speedy mind reading conversation where one of them said something along the lines of, "You'll be staying here." And the other was replying, "Make me," along with thoughts of, "Don't do this" and thoughts of, "But I gotta." And there was swirl of emotion that Doug was trying to keep up with, that only got more complicated when Andrea turned and stared hard at him.
"Do you still carry?" Doug was one of those gay men who thought going without protection was lack of foresight. He had a concealed carry license and he used it. He was a mild man, but he had always been who he was and knew that not everyone carried kindness as a light in the heart like Andrea.
He spoke firmly, with the knowledge of his limitations. "I am not getting into a gun battle with unknown quantities of people."
"But do you have it?"
It was Andrea's expression, he thought. It was like he was compelled to answer. "Yes."
"Good. Doug you'll be staying with Caroline and Cassidy."
"What? What about...?"
"You heard me and you heard them. You're our last line of real defense. And I am trusting the twins with you because I know you will do your best to keep them safe if I can't."
Her trust settled like an imperfect weight upon him. Absolution, but at the possible cost of loss. Just as Caroline exited the bathroom and Cassidy was about to enter, he said, "Shit." He looked at the twins. "Sorry."
"We've heard worse." Cassidy shrugged and said, then she went in for her turn.
-TDWP-
In the privacy of the bathroom, Andrea faced her choices. She could panic now and let it out in a swarm of quick tears. Or she could try and reach out for her mate. One thing she knew was that if Lily got a hold of Serena, the phone option was not available.
She concentrated and switched to the vision that allowed her to see the mark of her bond with Miranda. She touched the mark lightly, felt a thrum of energy at her fingertips and strove to work past panic into feeling her Dragon. It seemed like it took forever to center enough, but once she was able, she imagined extending her hand, mentally following that thread to find her mate.
She was overwhelmed with a vision of fire, a sensation of flying, of hurting and the urgent desire crush her enemies and break them. She saw dark shadows, heard howling and baying and heard gunfire. She bit back a shout of outrage and fear, clasping her hands to her mouth so it wouldn't carry into the other room. If the necessity of protecting the girls weren't so imperative she would have gone after Miranda. The urge to protect her was massively strong, almost overwhelmingly so. Andrea crouched down abruptly, dropping her hands to the floor, fists clenching and unclenching.
She needed to be able to think clearly. She needed Miranda. She needed to protect the girls. Andrea was a fighter, tenacious and driven once she began. She'd been one since very young. What she wanted to do was go out swinging, but she knew she needed to finish what she started and she was intelligent enough not to let that first primal impulse take over. One thing was obvious. She needed to tell Miranda about what was going on, but the Dragon was caught up in a fight of her own and it worried Andrea that she might be distracting her.
Miranda, however, would want to know they were trapped in the townhouse and if Andrea didn't tell her, then she would demand to know why her mate had failed to share something so very important. The young woman shuddered to think what that would feel like; worse than the Runway failures for sure.
Forcing a false calm within, Andrea tried again. This time, having found Miranda, she envisioned sending a message to her. She remembered the events as she knew them so far and estimated, as if she could by any stretch, some of what she thought might be going on. Then uttered one simple word to the greatest multi-tasker she'd ever known. "Help!" The rebound signal shivered along her spine, took her fear and doubled it down, until she felt like she couldn't quite breathe, and then punched away from her until she felt a wiry, thin calm layer over the stronger emotions.
She waited, holding very still. Miranda would reply. She would. Andrea could wait and as she waited, she felt a tingle in her left ear, as if the ever-growing Bond tendril on that side were moving, buzzing like a wasp in her ear. She knew the phone was probably about to ring, but she wasn't there to answer it.
She felt a pulse of awareness, just the first hint of a signal from Miranda, and then was lost in another vision. It was quick, potent, and very specific. She could see the book in their library. Knew the page and understood what Miranda wanted them to do. Then it was over.
She drew in another breath and applied one of the messages that had grown oh so easy to send. She blew a kiss. "I love you."
Then, she became aware of the pounding on the door. "Andy, it's Cruella! She's on the phone for you and wants to talk to you right now."
"Coming!"
-TDWP-
Cruella had been unable to sleep. She was awaiting a phone call, one that would be delivered at a specific time. She had been looking forward to it all day and it had made the Christmas Eve parties she'd visited palatable.
She had started out comfortably enough, once she arrived home at midnight. She had expected to wait only an hour or so more and had planned accordingly. Andrea had said that Miranda was notorious for leaving parties early, which was a touch scandalous to Cruella, since half the time parties didn't get interesting until everyone had really felt the effects of the local punch. Not that the Dragon hadn't had her share of boring soirees and event banquets and the like. But the amazing thing about winter events, once Halloween started everything off, was how fun things became, which made certain points of fall and winter, despite its frigidity, some of her favorite times of the year.
Once she began to read, however, an agitation began in her; one that caused her to fling the book away with a roar. Then pause, mystified. "Wait. I liked that book."
She cocked her head, sensing, and felt no mere disturbance, but a deep and powerful rumble along the lines of her bond with Miranda. She probed the bond and was immediately caught up in it. Anger. Pain. Vengeance. The taste of blood. The burn to fight. The need to defend. She hissed in immediate response and if her tail had been visible it would have been lashing.
Instead, she paced. Needing an activity so she could think. Miranda lusting was to always be hoped for, but battle lust was not something she had been expecting for the night. And where was Andy? Once aware of her Dragon's stronger vibe, she latched onto the awareness of their Lady. The sensations of worry, fear, and the need to do something dangerous filtered across their growing bond. They might not yet be fully mated, but she felt them both strongly.
She wanted, instantly, to be there with them, but it was currently an impossibility. That would change with time. Cruella had already thought ahead to what she would want and need to do; what they would want... and need... She had already spoken to Horace and Jasper, who in turn had contacted a pair of mages and contractors they thought capable enough to meet the demand, but nothing had been started yet. It required actual remodeling for the kind of room she sought to create. It required telling Miranda about her grand plan, and she hadn't had a chance to do that yet, as the notion of a cross-continental portal had been an evolving idea for her. She knew it was possible, but very expensive and extravagant. She knew other families had similar, quiet arrangements. Hers had simply not needed one until now. There was something quaint and soothing about crossing the ocean in more traditional ways.
As she could not be with them, it was required that she make other arrangements. The first thing to do, however, was make a call.
A stranger answered Andrea's phone. Her voice was more than hopeful, slightly desperate, "Miranda?"
"Sorry to disappoint, this is Cruella. Who might you be?"
There was an inhalation. "Lily. I'm Lily, Cruella. Andy told me about you."
"Tell me what is happening, Lily."
"There are things out there. They demanded the twins. Miranda isn't here."
"Is Andy there?"
"Yes. She is. Well, not in this room. She's in the bathroom. We figured do it while we can."
"How practical."
"That's Andy."
"I want to speak with her. Now please."
"Right. Right. Of course. Please hold on."
Cruella heard the sound of movement and then pounding on the door and muffled shouting.
"Cruella?" Andrea finally answered.
The Dragon clicked her tongue softly, then purred out her lover's name. "Andy. What are you planning? I can feel it all the way over here."
She heard the click of a door being shut, then the sound of a sob. "Miranda sent me a picture, a vision of a spell. I'm going to do that. She's fighting, and I can't go to her. And there are wolves at the door. Werewolves and other things. Well, across the street. They've come for the twins. But they mean no good. I know it."
Cruella listened as Andy explained that help was on the way, and her plan to stall for as long as she could, and then, when Andrea finally took a breath, she said, "Andy, my Andy. My Lady." It was the first time their connection had been verbally acknowledged, and Andrea felt it through her entire body. The mark forming on her face, opposite of Miranda's, flared and grew as the connection strengthened. "Will you trust me? Will you accept my help?"
"I already trust you, Cruella. You are... We are..."
"Yes, I am." Cruella purred, her voice dark and seductive as the primitive Dragon part of her psyche responded to the intoxicating combination of battle lust from Miranda and fear mixed with absolute trust from Andrea. "And yes, we are."
"Mmm." Unconsciously being swallowed up in the pull of their growing bond, Andy struggled to keep her mind focused on the problems at hand.
The Dragon's voice remained low and beguiling as she continued. "And you, who were the most excellent assistant of our Miranda, shall do exactly as I tell you, though you as a Dragon Lady, have the right of final choice. Are we agreed?"
"So formal..." Andrea whispered, leaning against the wall as she wrenched her mind away from what that tone was doing to her body.
"It must be so, my love. For what I intend."
"Yes. Yes, we are agreed."
"Good. This is what you shall do." And Cruella gave Andrea a new plan.
-TDWP-
Andrea dragged the small table over to where they intended to work and opened the text. She followed the vision Miranda had sent her exactly, flipping pages as quickly as she could until she found the right one. "Okay, since you refuse to leave and because you draw better than me, you get to paint this. I don't know how much time it will take, but Miranda said... well, she didn't say it, so much as show it to me... to use this one."
"I won't leave because I can't abandon you. Not again. Not now. And we do have time. You said the shields were solid. Either they are, or they aren't. If they are, then this will pay off big for us. If they aren't, we'd still be in trouble and Serena is still a long way away. Now hold that page and let me do this." Lily hoped Miranda would forgive the red paint that had dribbled onto the basement floor, as she made a very wide circle of it around Andrea, but the bright paint was all she had to work with and she was moving as fast as she could.
Andrea stared at her friend, then said, "Wait. Why are you wearing sunglasses."
"You like them? I made 'em so I could see, like you do. Beginner's spell. You know. To see if I could do it. Followed the directions in that one mechanics book you showed me. Which, by the way is not about cars at all. But then you knew that."
"Well, yeah. I just didn't realize you'd made glasses."
"Artists, poets and musicians are the shamans of our times, or haven't you read all those articles I shared with you about creativity and meaning and creating magic in our lives? Of course, I wasn't thinking it was quite so literal. Perhaps I should have taken up that advice from my friend who was into wicca and looked up spells while I was at it, but it seemed so ... well... silly at the time and not at all what I expected magic to look like. Until I read that book you gave me, which was exactly what it is supposed to look like. And now, all the sudden the wicca stuff doesn't seem quite so silly. Maybe a little not my type of magic, but next time I'm wearing the glasses when I go to the bookstore. It'll be nice to be able to tell what works and what doesn't." The whole time she was talking, Lily was glancing at the book over Andrea's shoulder then painting, drawing symbols into the circle she'd made around her friend.
"You're babbling."
"I know. I'm scared. There were a lot more things out there than I expected when we looked out the window. I should have told you then I could see it, but you were trying to be so brave. And so I felt like I had to be too, because you know, best friend-minion. And I'm trying to get these symbols right. Okay, now step out, without messing any of these up and blow dry here. Now that we know how large it's gonna be, I'm going to start on the middle. Blow dry everything. We don't want any accidental smudges or it won't work, Andy."
"That would be bad."
-TDWP-
"Why are we doing this again?"
"To buy time, ultimately speaking. It'll look like we're setting a real quick stage or something and maybe make them pause. Or, you could just say, because Cruella told me to. Or, if you're asking about this particular spell. Power booster, and individual shield. It says so, right here." Andrea pointed at another page in the book. "Cruella says we can use it."
"You've been practicing, right?" Lily asked, as she and Andrea began to follow the directions in creating the new object.
"Yeah, but only really tiny, baby spells. I never thought I'd have to know anything big this soon. So," Andrea reminded her. "Yes, defensive and offensive, spells but they're a bit like, 'how to float a pencil.'"
"That was a good episode."
"Yeah, it was."
"You are a mighty weakling and newbie. I get that," Lily resumed their conversation. "Thus the power booster. I get her point. I want you... us... to survive."
"Oh, right. Me too."
"Especially since one of us is crazy and wants to go 'do something.'"
"Want to and have to are very different things, Lily. Besides, think of all the times I did crazy things for you."
"How the minion tide does turn. We could make a soap opera out of that."
Andrea goggled, then turned on the dryer where Lily pointed. She committed to try to help as much as she could, while the young artist worked very, very quickly, but inside she made a mental note to plot something appropriate later in response. Right now they had magic to do.
"Okay," said Lily. "You read the first incantation. I'll start on the next row."
"Right." Andrea hefted the book in her hand and began carefully reading the words as written, following the accent, imagining the greater intent of 'work. Please. Work.' She gasped and stepped back when the first row of symbols sparked and glowed before the magic hid itself again.
She looked at Lily, who looked back at her. They both mouthed, "Wow." They looked back at the magical circle. "Well, now we know why Cruella said to do that one after we did this one. I think you may need to close your eyes, Andy."
"And you won't?"
Lily tapped her glasses. "Sunglasses."
Andy tapped Lily's glasses. "Magic."
"Right. We'll both close our eyes."
-TDWP-
They hauled ass through the house, carrying the square paint board between them towards the front entryway. Andrea said, as she felt the first flutter of panic really settle in, "You know, maybe this isn't such a great idea. They might have bullets."
"Point. Want to stay indoors?"
"Definitely."
Lily quickly pulled back the locks and slightly opened the door. She shouted out, "The Lady of the House wants to speak to you! We invoke the rules of Parlay!"
"Did you just invoke a pirate rule?"
"I thought you read the manual. It's cross-cultural. Began with the Elves, who invoked it with something unpronounceable, and it evolved into the word Parlay. It's a safe discussion pre or post battle. Sometimes mid-battle, depending on how tired everyone is. But you know, we could just go out there and let them shoot at us to get it out of their system."
"I did read the manual. But unlike some of us, I sometimes have to reread things to retain them. And no, I think that would be a bad idea."
"One would think Parlaying would have stuck out."
"I was more interested in, um," Now she blushed. "Other stuff."
"Oh." Lily offered a cheeky grin. "Yeah, Nigel makes some very interesting notes. Very re-readable."
"I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to include them."
"Oh yeah he did. I bet he gets a kick out of your reactions like everyone else does."
"What?"
"Why do you think I keep you and Doug around?"
A whooping noise disturbed their conversation, just as it was getting interesting. They both stopped talking. Then there was a shout, "There is no Lady of the House! The Queen of the House away and occupied. Show yourselves and send the girls out."
The door was still slightly open and Lily glanced at Andrea. She had already done the stare at the mark and want to touch it thing. Andrea nodded, indicating that Lily should do the speaking. "The Lady of the House begs to disagree and won't come out until at least minimum Parlay is in force."
"Minimum Parlay?" Andrea inquired.
"A few minutes of no weapons or assaulting or trying to captures. The only problem is that minimum Parlay gets broken so easily."
"I really need to read that manual more closely."
"Yeah," Lily agreed.
The speaker outside replied, their voice a growl. "Minimum Parlay granted. Five minutes."
It was enough. Lily swung the door open, Andrea grabbed one end of the paintboard and she grabbed the other, and they were out and down the stairs with surprising quickness. They dropped the board to the snowy ground, face up towards Andrea. The young woman stepped on it still facing toward her friend. "Thanks, Lily." She jerked her head at the house. "You better go in now."
Lily looked as if she were going to say something, but for some reason held her peace. "Don't get killed."
"Well, I'll admit that that's not currently part of the plan, sooo... do my best?"
-TDWP-
Andrea finally turned, facing out towards those who intended to assail the townhouse. She let her hands just be at her sides, empty. She peered into the darkness, with the vision that allowed her to see those she was talking to. "I am the Lady of House Priestly. Why are you here?"
She saw one individual, a cat-like person, step forward as close as it could; which was just at the edge of the public sidewalk. It paced back and forth staring at her, shock evident in its gaze and the suddenly agitated swish of its tail. Finally, it said, "Show us your mark."
"I think you see it clearly enough, but fine, I'll turn a little so you can see more." Andrea turned a little to side, where the white-blue dragon form showed up distinctly on her cheek.
The were-cat hissed a breath. Then turned. She waved, claws out, "Clan Bastis will not participate in this. We were told that House Priestly has no Lady! It is against our Clan Law to attack a bonded pair. We go."
Andrea blinked as she repositioned herself. Maybe this would be easier than she thought.
Another creature made a prodigious leap forward, towards the were-cat. "You are bound in contract!"
"Only by fee, not by blood. Keep the money. This will not bide. The tide has already turned. If you can not see it, you are a fool." The were-cat turned back to Andrea. "Clan Bastis sends its respects to House Priestly. We will send an envoy at a later time."
"We look forward to it." The cat-person's nod seemed to indicate that she'd given the right answer and she watched with some relief as several beings seemed to detach themselves from the group.
The relief was short-lived.
The creature that had tried to stop the were-cat spoke. "House Alcantra demands the release of one Caroline Priestly and one Cassidy Priestly into their care. They will be kept well and offered no harm, so long as House Priestly cooperates at the Dragons' Ball."
"On what grounds, and on whose authority?" Andrea demanded, deciding that she might as well try to find out what the hell was going on.
"House Priestly seeks to rise above itself," The creature growled. "House Alcantra is charged with seeing to it that House Priestly knows its place at the Ball. If those who charged House Alcantra are pleased, the children will be returned."
"Doesn't actually answer the question of who is doing the charging. Nor does it pose any authority to do so. I must therefore reject any claim of right or demand," Andrea replied back, even though she understood the basics. The kidnapping or exchange of children by Houses was an ancient way of enforcing or building cooperation. It was sometimes friendly. Sometimes not. The kidnapping part had fallen out of style in modern times, for the most part, but apparently someone or someones wanted to re-animate the corpse. "The children will be attending the Ball with their family. They have no need of being elsewhere."
"If you will not give them freely, we will come and take them."
"You mean attempt." Andrea indicated the space around her. "This House is protected and you will find you cannot just walk in and grab that which isn't yours. More, the Queen of the House is not known for her kindnesses to those who seek to take that which is hers. I have seen it for myself." Andrea shivered obviously and grimaced, trying to seal in the point. "You should go now, while you still may."
"Stand aside, Lady." The spokesman demanded, going so far as to speak her title with disdain. "This is beyond your purview."
"You're not taking my kits anywhere." Andy sneered, her fists clenched in protective fury. She'd let Caroline and Cassidy be used as political pawns over her dead body, and as many of theirs as she could take with her. "You step one foot, claw or paw onto this property and I'll rip you apart with my bare hands and feed you to the dog!"
The were laughed outright, a hyena kind of chortle that sparked the creatures behind him to join. Their cacophony of bad cheer set Andrea's teeth on edge, but started a spark of something in her eyes. "On your heads be it," she ground out, a dangerous spark in her eyes.
"You are so fearsome," the speaker of the group raised his hands in mock horror. The wind lifted behind him and ruffled his hair and caused the tree limbs to creak. "Whatever shall we do when a little slip like you fights. Oh. I know. We're going to chew you up and spit you out, Lady." He raised his hand, and though it was early, he dropped it. "Parlay is over!" Then he pointed. "Get her!"
It was like watching a dark sea tide rise, only it yapped, growled, hissed and screamed. Andrea forced herself not to take a step back and to keep her eyes open. She drew in a deep breath, raised her hand in a fist pointed towards those enemies of the House that were approaching. She began incanting in a whisper, chanting a very specific set of words in a very specific order. They had been given to her, shared with her in such an erotic way that she was never likely to forget them. Words began to weave in her mind, strange and compelling. It was as if there was an echo. She wanted desperately to close her eyes, to follow that echo. The voice sounded so familiar. She noted that it sounded so odd to hear it coming out of her mouth, duo-toned and strange. But she didn't stop, couldn't stop and wouldn't stop.
House Alcantra had hurt her mate, had threatened their children, had violated the peace that was their home. The Lady seethed, unaware of the flames that were sparking in her eyes, trembling along her skin.
The creatures began flinging themselves, in great leaps and bounds, intending to break through the wards by numbers, if not by strength. She watched, without seeing, as several bounced off the shields and several others simply vanished in a bright burst of energy. If she had been able to think past the chant, she might have considered the loyalty that allowed such creatures to throw themselves against the House shields with such fervor, but she was caught up in a new vision.
The words, increasing in speed, in power, were shared. She saw Cruella, standing in a room lit by torches, in the middle of a sacred circle. She was naked, chanting as Andrea was chanting, saying the same words. Her eyes were open and Andrea stared into blazing amber.
The vision released her, but not the incantation. It wove around her tongue, threaded and pierced it. She felt as if her tongue had split, felt the words beginning to split with it. The army of creatures had not stopped their assault and she felt a pulse of rage at their temerity. She snarled the incantation; it reverberated through her, both viciously cold and frighteningly hot. Her body shook with it. Cruella's voice blended with hers, could be heard in the cold December air. She felt as if she were being pulled, up and out, but Andrea knew she was standing and still pointing. The incantation was almost finished, powered by rage and fear and need and want and trust. It rose and rose, carrying her. She felt the place where the words were supposed to stop, could hear it nearing the close, but her mouth refused, the words refused. They changed, altered. Both of the marks upon her were moving like live things, acting in independent cadence, dancing in powerful riot.
Flames began licking around her fist, wrapping around it. She felt the warmth, but not the burn. The burn was in her heart, in her mind. She would protect her Dragons. She would scorch those who came to harm them. Determination made her sweat, the sweat sizzled on the board she stood upon, spilled onto the symbols. They lit up.
She lit up. Her Dragons felt the power of it scream through them; not pausing them, but rushing through and amplifying whatever it was that they were doing. A ball of flame in the distance leaped over the skyline, exploding in terrible ferocity from Miranda's jaws.
Cruella was pulled forward and out; a ghost in Dragon form. She screamed a Dragon's scream in the air around her. Found herself in a place she had seen before, but never been. She saw her Andy, no longer merely standing, but risen inches above the platform. The symbols under her feet were like spotlights.
Cruella circled the young woman, growling with pleasure at her, wishing she could touch what she could see. The growl changed as she arrived behind her Lady. It filled with ire as she saw those cretins who were assaulting the House. No one else was around, which might have been odd, but she did not spend any time on the thought.
A billow of flame engulfed Andrea, covered her, towered over her. She felt a Dragon behind her back and knew hellfire was in her eyes. She raised her hands and finally let go of that fist and stared at the flames that her body had become. She laughed, a touch maniacally, without smiling at all. The fire wrapped around her, begged to be used. She granted the wish and flung her hands out from the wrists. The flame propelled forward, forming two balls that rolled in the air and gathered speed.
The Dragon behind her roared. The trees shook with the force of it, the air rumbled as if thunder had just rolled through. Power quaked through everything that could feel.
The army faltered, slowed in its shock. Cruella didn't bother with the niceties. No threats. No promise of pain. She leaped, Dragon unseen, but felt. Forceful wind pushed the gathering back. And then a gout of flame spilled from her mouth. She was not limited by any magical field, any barrier. She was not trying to break in where she did not belong. She could not scratch, nor bite, nor fight the way her blood sang urged her, but she could manifest fire. The flame covered a multitude, just as Andrea's strikes careened into them too. The screams began.
Andrea moved, like a fire elemental, using the flames that Cruella had granted her, like whips. She scourged them, flogged and punished them. They tried to flee one way, and encountered balls of flame that came from out of nowhere. They tried to flee another, and were made aware that a new Dragon, one they hadn't planned on, had arrived. Her silver plate sparkled over shoulders and arms, breasts, wings and legs, while the yellow of her nature, covered everything else. She screamed at them before diving in, jaws wide, talons spread.
Then, to their horror, they realized she was not the only Dragon to arrive. She had brought friends. "Begone or die!" Serena trumpeted. "Our Queen comes and she comes to destroy!"
She wasn't lying. The screams of others being chased in the distance, could be heard by those with ears capable of hearing it. The howl of a Dragon being torn could also be heard and it was terrible. The representative Dragon of House Alcantra was learning about teeth.
That would have been bad enough, but there was a whistle of sound, both weirdly familiar and not. It wasn't until the rain of arrows dropped down from seeming nowhere that the truth was understood.
The army assembled by House Alcantra, which had been frenzied in their attempt to break past Miranda's shields broke. Groups split apart, screaming and yelping and running away as fast and as far as they could. They were chased, by Dragon and Elves, driven away.
Andrea pivoted, flames wrapped around her hand like chains. Her eyes were wide and expression fierce and and hungry. She saw the Dragon, her Cruella Dragon fly back to her, felt her draw close. Dragon circled her, once and then twice.
Andrea opened her hands and the flame flickered. Cruella blew and the flame extinguished. Andrea looked at her suddenly normal fingers and skin. She reached, hovering her hand over where she could sense the Dragon. "Thank you, Cruella. I love you. I release you."
The intangible form of her Dragon curled itself around her body before disappearing, and Andrea felt the loss like a punch. She closed her eyes against abrupt tears, dashed them away with her hands and turned to look at the damage. She stepped off the board. The carnage was astonishing. She started to go to take a better look.
But felt a tug on her arm. "No, Lady Andy. It would be best if you stayed within the wards."
The weary brunette looked at Roy, saw his pointed ears, and had no real response. So she tried to explain instead. "I did this. I should..."
"We will take care of it, my Lady." He pointed up. "Your mate comes. The healers will meet you."
Andrea looked towards where he pointed. Her eyes widened in amazement. In the sky was the perfect form of a Dragon, white and gold and bloodied. She hissed in outrage, wanting the fire back that instant. She watched as Miranda began to descend, changing form in mid air, becoming more human in appearance with each beat of her wings. When she landed, she still had wings, though they were not as long or wide. She had a long, extraordinary tail, with an arrow-like spike at the end. Shining scales covered portions of her body, bikini shaped around a perfect form. The wings folded back, like a coat settling. Miranda walked regally through the chaos in the street, an assessing gaze on her face.
Andrea watched her, anxious for her mate to pass the threshold.
She caught the flash of something out of the corner of her eye, spotted a creature who she thought had been either dead or unconscious. It growled and threw itself at the Dragon.
"Oh I don't think so!"
Andrea realized she'd never quite know how Lily managed to be right there, right at that time, as she had thought her friend was in the house. But the whang of metal slamming on the face of a stranger never sounded so good. The force of her home-run like swing flung the were-being into the clawed hand of a just landing Nigel, who caught it instinctively, looked at it curiously for a moment, then carelessly tossed it over his massive shoulder back the way he had come. As the body flew over the treetops and into the darkness, Lily turned away and nodded at Miranda casually, if a little breathlessly. Andrea beamed at her friend, who held the bloody shovel and leaned on it like a staff. "Lily." she said, very sincerely, "You are an excellent minion."
Lily grinned back. "Thank you."
Miranda shook her head, smiling despite the roughness of her emotions. She turned her attention to her mate. Andrea was unable to wait any longer. She rushed forward, needing to touch her lover. Throwing herself into Miranda's arms, heedless of any watchers, Andrea hugged her tightly, her entire body trembling in the aftermath of the night's events. Pulling away at the feel of Miranda's flinch, she looked her Dragon over with a critical eye, taking in every wound and laceration with ever increasing fury.
"It is over for now, Andrea." Miranda soothed her. "Those left will be taken care of at a later time, but they will be taken care of."
"They wanted our girls, Miranda." Andrea spat out angrily. "They came here, attacked our home, and tried to take our children, to try to force you to do their bidding."
"I know, and rest assured, these actions will require retribution and restitution." The Dragon said grimly. "However, we must be prepared. For now, let us get through the Ball, as that is what this seems to be about, then we will focus on retaliation."
"They were working for someone else."
"What?" Miranda stopped. That was information that she hadn't gathered yet.
"The House that attacked us," Andrea indicated the carnage around them, "were working for someone else. I only came out here to talk, to stall them until Serena could get there, but then they told me that they wanted the girls, and why, and that you were being 'taken care of', and I just lost it." Suddenly, fatigue drained every last bit of strength Andrea had left, and it was only Miranda's quick reflexes that kept her off the ground. Andrea continued talking, her words slurring as if she were drunk or in shock. "Cruella felt us, called me. She helped. Gave me a spell that brought her here, at least a lil' bit." Miranda picked up her mate and carried her quickly into the house, a worried Lily at her side. "But the spell kept going, even after it was s'posed to end. She was right there, M'anda. So beautiful. I can still feel her."
Roy's promise of the healers was now far from Andrea's mind as the fog of weariness, the drop from the adrenaline of the evening, pushed her into a deepening lassitude. She heard, in the distance, "Andrea, you need to eat something, just a little bit. Then you can rest." She opened her eyes, saw Miranda's concerned gaze. "Drink this."
Andrea had no strength to argue, felt cool tangy liquid slide past her lips. She swallowed. Then drank more. Tried for clarity, lost it. She wanted too many things at once and had no energy at all for it. She reached for an important detail. Found it. "Closet. Bullets."
That was as good as the message was going to get. Once Andrea's eyes closed, she couldn't open them again.
Miranda, clutched her mate to her chest, looked to Lily for clarification.
"Doug! and the Girls. I'll go get them? Doug has a gun. He's guarding the girls. Andy told him to."
"I see. I would like to see them."
"Right. Let me go get them. The healers are here?"
"They may enter."
"Right." Lily turned and Miranda heard the young woman ordering people about. An elf glanced into the room curiously, then step in. They waved at someone not yet in view.
"You have done very well, Miranda."
The dragon's breath caught in her chest and she blinked back the threat of tears. "Deklyn."
The elf grimaced at the sight before them, and stepped closer, lifting their hands. "May we?"
"Please."
-TDWP-
Lily knocked on the surprisingly solid door of the closet, using the agreed on signal of three. She waited anxiously, then it creaked open. Caroline looked up at the artist, her eyes wide. Lily smiled. "It's fine." She opened her arms, took the young girl in a quick hug. "How are you guys."
Caroline looked back a little and said, "We're okay. Doug is... well... we did not know."
She stepped out the way, and Lily's eyes widened.
Doug stared out, eyes wide. He clutched a pillow with one hand and he pointed at the twins, one at a time, and enunciating very clearly, said, "They are Dragons. Really, real dragons."
"Dragon Kits," corrected Caroline automatically.
"We asked who he was. He said he was Andy's minion!" Cassidy defended.
Lily pressed a hand to her eyes, then dropped it and burst out in helpless laughter. She moved toward Cassidy and took her in a hug as well, quick and reassuring. "Well, he most definitely is now." Then she reached down to her friend. "Come on Doug. Time to meet Miranda."
Doug stared up wordlessly at Lily, but felt the calm emanating from her. He took her hand.
"I gotta warn you, she's got her wings on and very little tolerance for nonsense right now. Think you can handle that?"
Doug drew himself up. He glanced at the girls. "Well, given what I've seen tonight. It's icing on the cake and it doesn't change a thing."
"What do you mean?"
"She is Miranda."
"Too right. Come on girls. Your mom wants to see you."
-TDWP-
As if the idea of Dragons weren't enough, Doug squealed, half in glee and half in terror, when he saw his first elf. They were stepping out of the room where Miranda guarded her mate.
Lily actually stopped one, resting her hand on their arm. "Are they?"
"They still need to rest and recuperate. The Lady sleeps. Miranda will soon."
"Well the bedroom's intact. She'll probably want to go up there once she sees the kits. Thanks."
The elf nodded, accepting Lily's apparent authority. The young woman pushed Doug forward a little, because he was gaping. "Come on, everyone. I think they'll be around later?"
The half question led to a nod of response. Lily chivied her friend and the girls forward, until they arrived at where they needed to be.
"Miranda?" Lily's voice was gentle, but enough.
Caroline and Cassidy ran to their mom as soon as she started turning her head toward them. She wrapped her arm and tail around them, holding all of them close, including Andrea. She sniffed them, pulled back and gazed at them to check them. Nodded.
Then she looked at Doug and Lily. Her expression firmed. "We have yet to speak Douglas. But thank you."
Doug peeped a response, nodding reflexively. He was smiling, but overwhelmed and slightly weirded. He felt Lily's hand on his arm. "Come on. I think they need some time. Let's go see if we can meet some elf boys. Or Dragons."
"You're taking this awfully calmly," Doug managed.
"I've read the manual."
"There's a manual?"
"Yep."
"Thank God." He let Lily drag him out of the presence of his idol. "Can I read it?"
"I'd say it's required reading, Doug. That is, if you think you're ready."
"Don't know if I'm ready, but I think..." The accountant smiled in wonder, finally finding his center, "I think this may be the most amazing Christmas Eve ever."
Lily smiled back. "Well, I won't call it the best, but yeah. It's been amazing."
