IV

My Lazy Ass Sidekick

"The shackles that bind us, the chains that restrain us, are figment of our imagination, a rationalization of our very realities," some retard said that when our kind was discovered centuries ago.

The son of a bitch was never a dragon. We had specific chains that bound our actions, codes that bound our duties and shackles that held our hearts within us. My heart, as it stood, was something that was slowly falling away.

I sneezed unexpectedly as I stood with my back against the wall, a lone cigarette between my teeth. It was past thirty minutes and my lazy ass sidekick still hadn't arrived yet. The very fact that I put up with him was simply a miracle, but then again, he and I did go to school together and I managed to get over the hiccup of our first meeting when-.

A noise in the alleyway behind the Haun building caught my attention; it wasn't too late in the afternoon. Probably a few minutes close to the fifth hour, yet there was clearly action within the building. Something was wrong; no one was suppose to be here at this time. The offices closed at four fifteen, according to the receptionist that I had earlier called.

I shoved my hands into my trench coat's pocket and chewed on my tongue as I walked around the corner, to face almost a dozen, heavily armored goblins. One of which smoked a small cigar.

I tilted my head in greeting, the cigar smoker raised his eyebrows in amusement and motioned for one of the men to attack me.

I shook my head, "I wouldn't advise that,"

"This one has a nice hat boss," said the goblin who drew near, his armor was dark brown, "can I have it?"

I shook my head once again, "I told you, I wouldn't advise that," clenching my fists I took a deep breath, "DRAGON UP!"

I felt my clothes shed way, dissolving with the magic of my transformation, into the very fabrics of my flesh itself. My tail elongated, shifting into the powerfully muscled tail of a magical creature that had evolved to be one of the most powerful and feared predators in the known animal and magical kingdom.

My wings burst through the flesh on my back, coming together in an almost claplike way. My hands and feet morphed into the powerfully muscled and defined physique of my dragonself. I breathed a small puff of smoke from my nostrils, attempting a subtle intimidation.

"I don't want to hurt you," I said slowly, now a foot taller than my five eight frame, "but I will if you do not step aside,"

Cigar goblin chuckled as if something were funny, "Take him down boys,"

I was counting on my frame, my looks and my puff of smoke to intimidate them out of a fight. Without the lazy bum I would be outnumbered, outgunned and probably even outmaneuvered.

"Crap," I muttered beneath my breath, as a handful of goblins rushed toward me with a sudden rage. I whipped my tail forward in a sweeping motion, knocking two goblins aside while the others dove over it and clawed at my legs.

I knocked one off and swatted the other with my claws, but received a glancing blow from a much more masculine goblin who had managed to side-step my tail swipe, rather than leap over it. The clear leader of the group managed a chuckle as one of his men landed unceremoniously in front of him, his legs in the air, he shifted his cigar between his teeth as if he were amused.

The very thought pissed the hell outa me, grabbing one of the goblins by the ankle I knocked another aside with his very body, throwing him violently at the leader. He stepped out the way just in time, but the body of my goblin dodgeball managed to knock the cigar from his mouth. His face twisted into a sour expression as he knocked on the door beside himself, one that I had failed to notice in my scuffle with the eight or so goblins who had run in for the attack.

"Reinforcements?" I sputtered in disbelief, as a dozen more goblins poured from the doorway, I cringed visibly, at this rate, I was going to be stuck fighting them all evening before I got even one answer out of them, unless of course, I got their leader away from them all.

I frowned, blocking a blow from a screaming goblin with my wing, then propelling him backwards when I flexed the muscle. The problem though, was how was I going to get him away from everyone else?

I swept my tail in another swipe, knocking another goblin back into the wall. He slid down with a sick slick sounding slide. I felt a goblin wrap his rough arms around my neck from behind, the little buggers were getting better. Stretching my arm over my shoulder I gripped his skull in my vicelike claws and launched him over my body. He was quickly replaced by two more, and another as they began to stockpile on me.

There was just too many of them for me to handle on my own. Where the hell was that retard? I practically screamed in my mind. A blinding light illuminated the side of the building, knocking the goblins back a couple of feet. The light struck the goblins that had managed to weigh on my back, as well as others who had managed to wrap their grubby arms around my legs and arms.

"About god damn time," I muttered as I stumbled to my feet, bloody from the overwhelming encounter.

My savior, the lazy ass sidekick, walked into the alley, his almost purple shaded hood pulled to his shoulders to reveal a smiling, stubble chin, with sharp eyes, "Come on Long, you knew I had to see about the twins for the last week, from the Jubralsa case?"

I clicked my teeth together uncomfortably as I stretched my now sore back and wings, the goblins had begun a new tactic, throwing pieces of garbage at us in an attempt to distract us from their main attack, "Next time stop sleeping with oracles and get here quicker,"

Nigel Thrall, Wizard Prosecutor and also the partner of Long and Thrall's Detective Agency, smiled once again, "Twins are always fun Long, especially when they're oracles," his eyes twinkled mischievously as he dodged a day old watermelon shell.

I shuddered at the thought, Thrall's promiscuous behavior had gotten him a three year suspension from the Wizard Prosecutors Corp., the other only Justice department that Magical Creatures of only one nature were usually a member of.

Dragons were the police force, and enforcers of the laws. Wizards were the prosecutors, they made sure that scum like these goblin folk, stayed within Lumbarhg Prison. They also made great partners for disgraced, self-exiled detectives, when they weren't sleeping on the job, literally.

"Are you going to clean this mess up?" he said with a raised eyebrow, glancing at the damage that was being done to the alley's tidiness levels.

"Hell no," I snapped back, punching a goblin in the jaw and sending him flying.

"Let's wrap this up quickly shall we?" muttered Thrall, "Sara and Kara are probably going to wonder exactly how far the liquor store is from my studio,"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, but still, Nigel Thrall was one of the best partners a man could ask for.

If he didn't sleep with everything that moved, didn't smell of the pub every time he cast a spell, didn't oversleep when his partner needed him on a vital mission to Draco Isle, or didn't…

Okay, I take that back, Nigel Thrall was not one of the best partners a man could ask for, but the one thing that he never failed in was the one that mattered most; loyalty.

"Just watch my back Thrall," I said, before charging into three goblin, a direct beeline to their leader.

Nigel laughed, "Don't I always,"

"You don't want me to answer that," I muttered.

He laughed again, "True,"