Tristan
The fuck! The cab was stuck in traffic for ages, which meant, that we couldn't talk and I had ample time to stew over the major fuck-up Garret's attempt to even approach the shield of St George has been.
He went down like three turns and then collapsed in a fit, that didn't remind of anything related with any human illness. He started to shiver and I swear he started to blur, at first as if seen through a very hot air and then as a fucking glitching pc game. He also seemed to shrink, as if the blurred edges were disappearing then blurring moved more inward... It didn't seem to have anything to do with what the bodily function failure could cause. It was a fucking nightmare and I watched about one minute of it before I grabbed him and dragged him back up to the vestibule.
Then what Stealth said about it luring a victim in turned out to be true, because when Garret entered the vestibule he was fine and now the blurring stopped, but he shook even more violently and was unconscious. I was so close to say fuck it and carry him out this cursed building, but then I remembered that we indeed had a member of our inner circle on the site and texted Madison asking her to bring a first aid kit, from my bag in the office of the Patriarch, so her mother wouldn't notice a bottle of water and all her stuff. We needed to leave.
Madison was our salvation. She brought all I asked her for and when she saw Garret, she immediately suggested the best course of action.
She gave him an adrenalin shot, then another, and when he woke up... she watered and sugared him.
He was still more affected than a soldier who just lost his arm to dragon jaws, but we had to fucking go, because the next shift would be walking past here any minute. And then Garret used her as an excuse not to notice greetings of the soldiers guarding the front door. He could barely walk and his face was still quite pale, but he turned away and leaned on Madison and we were out of there. I automatically sent thanks to St Juda Thaddeus of hopeless causes, and then remembered that we were on the other side now.
Finally we arrived at the mansion. I paid, when Madison helped Garret out of the car and led him up the stairs to the front door. That he let her, meant he was still affected, would he be able to show up to be elected tomorrow? Then he could call in sick and postpone anointment ceremony until we figure this out...
Andrew answered the doors. He insisted on living on his own, but he popped in often with food and other supplies.
"What happened to you?" He asked Garret.
"Work accident." Madison answered when Garret clearly didn't mean to as he stumbled towards the stairs still leaning on her. I hurried to take over and lead him towards his room with the others in tow.
Madison opened the doors and revealed Jade sitting in ome of the black leather armchairs in her light green gown. She stood up, when the doors opened.
Anthony reached for his gun but I stopped him lifting my free hand.
"She's a friend" I said quickly.
"How did you get in here?!" Andrew asked sharply.
Jade gave him a disdainful look and answered.
"Shen Lung has her..."
"Spare me" Garret grunted and hobbled past her to the armchair, where he slumped leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
Jade gaped at uncharacteristically rude soldier and then she noticed.
"What happened to you?" She asked.
This time Garret opened his eyes and waved his hand toward me indicating that I told the tale.
"Would you make us tea?" I asked Andrew.
He was one of us for sure, but he was the least privy to the issue and Jade didn't know him.
I was surprised that Jade knew about Garret's immortality, but told the tale of what happened to Stealth and Garret, the Shield of St George and anointment ceremony, as well as I could.
"Fortunately the Order decided to bury the Shield under ten yards of brick and mortar and dragon magic in Garret's body is diluted, so in the Patriarch's office upstairs, he only gets mild headache. But there's no way he can stick his forehead to this shield during the ceremony without causing sensation and also probably dying." I finished gloomily as Madison was feeling Garret's pulse, forehead, hands, neck and looking more and more worried.
"Actually that's what brings me here." Jade surprised me again. "I think Riley should hear it too though."
"I'll text him I offered."
Garret's continuing indisposition made me increasingly uneasy.
"If the shield of St George is such a powerful weapon... why don't we use it in battle?" Andrew mused.
"Think about it, it can kill any adult dragon within five hundred yards radius or more!" He cast a nervous glance at Jade, before he continued with less enthusiasm "And it's just hanging in a basement under the HQ?"
"I was thinking about it myself." Garret said weakly his voice raspy. "And I think the reason is, nobody knows about this. I've never heard of this and I don't think anybody alive within the Order knows. Talon doesn't seem to know either, Stealth walked right into the trap, I guess... any dragon sent after the HQ of the Order of St George never returned to tell the tale. Where Nettle knew from, I can only guess, but I imagine the... person who told her about it, didn't mind the Order not knowing what they had." He said.
"How are you?" Madison asked with genuine concern.
"I need to lay down." Garret said and went stooping to lay on his bed.
"We're lucky, Riley is on his way and he brings Wes with him." I said and added.
"Want something to eat?" To Jade who accepted the offer and went downstairs to warm her soup in the kitchen.
"I'll let you rest" said Andrew, who was looking at Garret a lot since he found out, he was infused with dragon immortality.
Madison just sat down on the bed beside Garret's head and leaned on the headboard.
I didn't want to leave him alone so I sat at the feet of the bed.
Madison took Garret's limp hand in hers and stroked his forehead and temple with so much attention, that I felt uncomfortably aware of my desire to hold her hand and be stroked by those fingers. I devoured her with my eyes, every caring gesture of her manicured hands, crease between beautiful brows, the tender look in her green eyes. Madison Knight without her armor on was all gentleness and warmth and it made me want her even more. I even felt irrational wish that it was me who was injured, so that I could receive some of that...
"What do we do if he needs a doctor?" She whispered looking up at me. She looked scared.
"We call one." I said, not sure about what to tell the doctor.
"What if he dies? Or cannot be a Patriarch? What will my father do to us, if he finds out, we are weakened?" Madison's hushed voice was getting more and more high pitched and she seemed panicked.
"Hey!" I moved to sit closer to her
"He won't get us. We're not only Garret, most soldiers have our backs. And dragons can be of help to if you ask me. Besides, Garret is not going to die, he's survived worse." I said taking her hand.
Madison looked at me startled but didn't pull her hand away.
"Maybe he cannot get you, you are friends with an adult dragon and a bunch of smaller one's. But I betrayed him, he will never forgive me." She whispered and tears of fear rolled down her cheeks.
My heart broke for her, she feared her father more than she feared dragons and I couldn't fully understand why. He was a dick and didn't like me, but compared to Ward he was lightweight. I suspected her fear had to do with something only women of his family experienced and cold wrath threatened to flood my mind.
"Come now, he won't really hurt you. He might be angry but you're his daughter, and your mom..."
"Mom won't do anything against him! And he could hurt me, or her! Oh my god!" She wept and all my resolve to let her be disappeared. I put my arm around her slim shoulders and hugged her while treacherous words escaped me.
"You're not alone Madison. I will not let your dad or anybody hurt you as long as I live."
Madison froze looking at me with wide eyes and then lowered her head pressing her face to my shoulder. I hugged her gently to me and squeezed her hand as her proximity wrecked havoc in my mind and body. My chest overflowed with stupid happiness, my loins burned with even more stupid hope. I could weep from the feeling of Madison softening against my chest, from the smell of her hair and body. But I couldn't deny myself this small thing I could do for her. Maybe the only thing like this, that she'd ever allow me to do. So I let my heart race in my chest and my entire body tingle with longing as I held her as gently as I could.
After a couple of minutes she made to pull away and I let go of her as despair threatened to suffocate me.
"Thank you." She said and resumed watching over Garret.
I moved to the foot of the bed and resumed watching them. I felt strange resentment towards the shield, an inanimate object that almost killed two of my friends. After being pretty useless for my whole life...
It was dark before Wes and Riley showed on the doorstep. Wes insisted on public transport, because he didn't trust cloaking when millions of people were watching. And there's been an accident in the tube and they waited over an hour to get through.
Riley looked different. Gone was some of his bastardly nonchalance, we looked serious and weary, he too could feel how hard the past months have been I guess.
No one wanted to miss what Jade had to say, so we sat in Garret's room.
Riley sat in the armchair, Wes and Andrew occupied the sofa and Madison stayed on the bed, where she put a duvet over Garret. Jade and Wes took huge mugs of tea with them filling the room with rich scent of infusion. Jade chose to stand up beside the low table.
"I have consulted our elder about the issue. They've never seen it done before. But they know more about dragon magic than anyone and after I described to them the events of that day, they constructed, what they think happened, when Tristan gave Garret transfusion of Riley's blood."
She paused and took a sip from a tall yellow mug with light purple flowers. I had a hard time imagining the former Patriarch drinking from it. What else was he hiding from the Order?
"Dragon's blood is magical, the abilities depend on the dragon, their power, age and state of mind. But outside and away from the dragon it quickly loses the magic and becomes to decompose. Only the dragon can do magic with their blood. What happened was, that you Riley deeply desired to save Garret's life and your blood was just a conduit of power by which your intention entered and altered Garret's body."
Riley pouted.
"I didn't want to make him immortal."
"No, but you wanted him to live, and you're not very versed in using magic intentionally anyways. You wished for him to live and so you willed your life force into him."
Riley looked slightly embarrassed while Wes watched him with sorrowful expression.
"But there's more. Garret have accepted Riley's gift." Jade continued.
"What? He was unconscious." I said frowning.
"This is the only way such thing can be done. On the way to the beyond his soul has been presented with this opportunity and chosen to accept this fate. Dragons can do a lot, but one thing we cannot touch without consent is human soul. Oh well, we can but then it's just destroyed, we cannot force it to remain in a body we've... altered." She finished.
Andrew sat there with an expression somewhere between awe and disgust. Madison seemed mesmerised by Jade. Wes looked at Riley and Riley looked at Garret, who remained unconscious.
It was very possible that he would have accepted Riley's blood even if he couldn't remember much of it. He have already bound his soul to one dragon by this time." I looked at Riley with raw emotion.
"Thank you."
"Don't make it awkward." Riley snorted.
"How could I make it more awkward, when you wanted him, your rival, to live so much, you've almost turned him into a dragon?" I answered, the moment with Madison left me strangely emotional.
"But now it's going to cost him his life or the position of Patriarch of the Order of St George. Maybe this was my intention too?" Riley retorted and I got serious again.
"What do you know about magical objects like that shield?" I asked Jade.
"Not much, that thing is cursed and where I come from Shen Lung is a blessing, always welcome. The power of it suggests, that it was created with use of dragon magic. Why a dragon and a powerful one at that, would partake in creating abomination like that is beyond me." She answered disgusted.
"How is he?" Jade asked Madison.
"Not well, his pulse seems weaker, his limbs are limp, his skin is cold and there's no contact." Madison said.
"Fuck!" That was Wes. "Let me look at him." He approached the bent over Garret, when an alarm got off somewhere in the house.
I picked up my phone to see a text from Mist, who was standing watch on the roof.
"Nettle is here, sending her down."
"It's Nettle." I said and silenced the alarm. It was a precaution, intrusion alarms could only be deactivated by two of us, me, Mist, Nettle, Riley, Andrew and Madison.