Shamira had one clawed foot on the back of one dragon, trying to keep it still while she kept her eyes on the enormous above-ground pool that had been constructed nearby. Periodically, a little head, and by “little” she meant the size of a bowling ball, popped up shyly out of the water, looked around, the dove under the surface again. There were a lot of strange people in the barn, as well as two larger dragons and a large number of Lesser Dragons. Shamira had the sinking feeling that she would never have free time again.
The new addition that had hatched turned out to be another male. He was also a Sea Serpent, which was a type of Moon Dragon. Archimedes had identified it quickly based on some old pictures and they had quickly gotten it to the pond while the pool was being built. The Sea Serpents could breathe above and below the surface and could live in both salt and fresh water. And they could apparently get big. Really big.
According to legends, six hundred feet was not unthinkable, and Archimedes claimed that their heads could easily be the size of a double-decker bus. They had no wings and had only a front pair of arms, but their tails were broad and ideal for swimming. Supposedly some Norsemen had once found the skull of such a creature which had given birth to the legend of the Midgard Serpent, a beast that supposedly encircled the world.
‘We’re going to need a bigger pool,’ Shamira thought tiredly as the newcomer poked his head up again, touched her nose, then went swimming. The other dragon, a Thorn-Tail Sun Dragon, kept trying to see what his new little brother looked like, smelled like, and was doing. Shamira began to wonder how her sister managed to corral both nephews.
‘Maybe I should call her,’ she pondered. She had not broken the news to her sibling that she was walking again, much less that she had become a dragon. Samantha was in the final stages of a divorce, and Shamira did not want to distract her.
“How’s he doing?” Clara whispered from nearby.
*I’m not sure. His mind is a jumble of images and everything. He’s confused. I’m not who I’m supposed to be, but he still trusts me. *
“He wants his mommy,” Clara said, feeling a twinge of maternal sympathy.
“Or father,” Archimedes said as he stepped up. “Like many species of birds, dragons shared nesting duties between males and females.”
Shamira glanced down and saw Alessandra talking with two other newcomers at the other end of the pool, both recently arrived members of the Tribunal. One was an elf so amazingly handsome that he made Daniel, the creature that had tortured Shamira, look like a hideous hunchback by comparison. The other man was a lycanthrope, or rather was THE lycanthrope. The bushy-bearded mountain of a man was the most alpha were on the planet, hence his place on the Tribunal. He could reduce other weres to quivering messes just by staring at them, with the present exceptions of Clyde Pritchard and Travis McNeil.
Shmira realized how powerful of a friend the former must be, and how great of a catch as an employee in the latter. Both members of the Tribunal had brought retinues of bodyguards with them which, combined with Alessandra’s group as well as Shane’s household and security detail, made the farm a very crowded place.
“Sorry we’re late,” Kira said as she and Arthur hurried over. “Finding a place to park was a beast. I’ve never seen so many . . . hey, there’s the little guy!” she cooed as the baby Sea Serpent poked its head up and made a happy chortling sound. It worshipped Shamira, but these two pink pale things smelled like her and were a tad less intimidating. It did not help that Kira had been feeding it sardines on and off for the last twenty-four hours since its birth. They had just run back down to their apartment to change before coming back.
The young Thorn-Tail started sniffing around Kira, trying to get at some of the fish. Arthur wound up tossing him a few, making the male half of the couple the dragon’s new favorite person.
Shamira looked around and located Katar, asking him to come over. * Are you sure that you and yours don’t mind looking after the children for a bit? I’d really rather be human for this meeting. *
* Absolutely, * he replied. * The new young — *
* That’s it. I’m going to come up with names for both of them by tomorrow, * Shamira thought irritably.
* As you wish. As I was attempting to communicate, we can help, though none of us are particularly good swimmers. I might recommend contacting the merfolk though. They can communicate as we can and could help acclimate the Sea Serpent to ocean life. They have a representative on the Tribunal as well. *
* Do you have a representative?
Katar looked away, and for a moment Shamira could sense resentment. * No. We have never been powerful enough. *
Shamira was not sure why, but she thought that unfair. * You will. *
Katar and several of the Lesser Dragons looked up at her. They seemed to have a conversation amongst themselves, then a couple jumped into the pool and started playing with the Sea Serpent. * We have come a great distance to help you. Do not toy with us now. *
Shamira shifted back into human form. “I’m not toying.” She let Clara slip a robe over her body as the meeting got underway.
“Well, now that everyone is present and accounted for, we will begin,” the mega-lycanthrope began. He was simply referred to as Alpha, which in his case was not actually pretentious. Renata, who was standing at Shane’s side, looked almost awestruck. The guy gave off serious pheromones. He had an accent that was hard to place, but he probably came from Eastern Europe.
Alessandra stepped forward. “This is a momentous time in our world. The Unveiling is coming closer, a revolution has been thwarted, and the Greater Dragons have begun their return. Even now, Shadow Wing stands among us.”
Everyone looked at Shamira for a moment. She waved somewhat awkwardly at everyone. “Hey.”
The Representative smiled. “The Tribunal wants it to be known that Lord Stapleton and Shamira have their full support during this time of transition.”
‘Huh,’ Shamira thought. ‘Since when do I rate being at the same level as Shane?’ “Has there been any word on Jonas or where that portal leads to?” she asked. “That’s kind of the Christmas present I’m hoping for. Him with a nice red bow on.”
The elvish member of the Tribunal, known only as the Shepherd, cocked an eyebrow, filling Shamira with envy, as well as wondering if that ability was a criteria for getting on the damn Tribunal.
“Do you still see the one known as Jonas as being a threat?” the elf asked with a strong yet lyrical voice.
“He allowed a member of my House to be tortured and participated in the morning star trade,” Shane said. “He betrayed his lord, offended me, offended a member of the Tribunal,” he added, pointing towards Alessandra, “and sought to enslave the Greater Dragons at their birth for some nefarious purpose. If we are to go public, then those like Jonas must be eliminated.”
“His days are numbered,” the Alpha replied. “I will be calling for a Wild Hunt. The weres will run him to ground and finish him.”
There was a lull in conversation. The Wild Hunt was a serious matter, meaning that those who committed to it would not rest until the quarry was captured. And it appeared the Alpha would lead it. The Alpha was actually a werewolf, so the desire to hunt was strong in his blood. Several of Shane’s weres looked at him, waiting for a sign. When he nodded, all of the weres of Shane’s house, with the exception of Travis McNeil and Sebastian, stepped forward.
Renata, Bengaly, Kira, Raul, Monique, Valeska, and Barbara would take up the call. Travis took a position to Shane’s left while Sebastian stood at the right. The bear and the spider would guard their lord, along with their vampire brethren. Clyde Pritchard looked like he was aching to step forward along with many of his men, but a lord could not abandon his land.
The Representative looked solemn as she took the floor again. “The Tribunal acknowledges and blesses this Wild Hunt. The life of the traitor Jonas is forfeit in our eyes.”
“Once they start, they’ll keep picking up more weres as the Hunt goes on,” Clara whispered in Shamira’s ear. I’ve heard that the Hunt can be measured in the thousands by the time it’s done. It just depends on how long until they catch him.”
“Do they even know where to start looking?”
“I’m sure they’ll think of something.”
“Is Shane going to be in trouble keeping the peace?” Shamira asked worriedly. “I mean he’s losing so many –”
“I’ll be fine,” Shane interjected, approaching while the Hunt gathered up more members from the audience. “The Shepherd and the Representative are both here with their entire contingents of bodyguards. And I’ll be creating more vampires soon. Speaking of which, I would like to discuss the matter we were talking about earlier.”
Shamira so very much did not want to discuss attempting to create her own vampires, so she was almost relieved when the Shepherd walked over.
“Might I have a word with Shadow Wing in private?” he directed to Shane.
“Absolutely,” Shane replied with a slight bow. “Though I humbly suggest calling her Shamira, otherwise her attention might wander because she forgets you’re talking to her.”
“Once,” Shamira mumbled. “I only did that once.”
“Lady Shamira,” the Shepherd started, “I feel I owe you an apology of sorts.”
“Apology? I didn’t know you’d pissed me off, and I usually try to keep track of those things. Usually it’s Shane.” She noticed that the corners of the Shepherd’s mouth quirked just a little.