Page 10 of I Am the Night

As soon as the mixture of our blood slides down my throat I see the bonds between us form, like silver chords attaching each of us, and I'm suddenly much more aware of them, their feelings, their presence, their magic. It's heady, to feel this deeply intimate connection.

"Very well," Amora says. "I will give you a fortnight to discover who killed my daughter and bring them to me. If you do not, I will destroy this world and you with it. If you do, I will spare this world."

Two weeks. That's not enough time, but it will have to do. "I will need the cooperation of the other dragons to accomplish this in such a short time. And I will need full authority to do whatever must be done."

"As you wish," she says, gesturing for the Dragon Council to approach. "You, my beloveds, are under the temporary authority of the Maiden Fate, who is tasked with finding my daughter's killer. Give her your rings, and afford her every liberty and cooperation. I expect you will not disappoint me in this," she says, giving each of them, as well as me, a pointed glare.

They look none too happy at this proclamation and grumble under their breaths, but they do not argue.

The Earth Dragon steps forward first, tugging the ring off her finger and handing it to me.

Each of them follow suit, silently relinquishing their authority to someone they clearly consider a lesser being. Or at least they did before they found out who I really am.

Still, dragons are not easily humbled. They will obey their mother, but they don't have to like it.

Once I've slipped all their rings onto my fingers, I pause, studying them, wondering what use they are, other than implied authority.

As if sensing my question, Amora shows me her ring. "These symbols on the sides of the ring, if you channel your magic and trace them into the air, will summon the dragon whose ring you are using."

Wow. This is better than text messaging, at least in terms of access. Though I don't particularly want to summon pissed off dragons to me at any given moment.

Racul's face is a study in frustrated anger. "Do not abuse this temporary privilege," he growls.

I smile charmingly at him. "My only goal is solving this murder and saving the world. I'm sure we both want the same thing in this, do we not?"

He glances away, unwilling to answer directly.

Amora begins to float upward, slowly shifting into her dragon form. "I will have eyes on you all. Do not disappoint."

And then she flies through the tear in the sky and disappears.

I look to the dragons, a bit flabbergasted by the shift in power dynamic. But we don't have a lot of time, so I need to start getting answers.

"First question for all of you," I say, skipping the small talk. "What, besides another dragon, can kill one of you?"

Racul glances at her siblings and then scowls at me. "There is nothing else that can kill a dragon."

"So it was one of you," I challenge.

"No." His answer is curt.

"I'm sure you can see how this creates a problem. You do want to save the world don't you?"

From the corner of my eye, I see Callia appear, her silver eyes glowing like the horn on her head, her skin and hair as black as ink. The unicorn woman shifts to my side and whispers in my ear. "They are lying to you. There is one other thing that can kill a dragon." She turns to face me, the horn on her head glowing a bright—nearly blinding—silver. "Me."

The Vision

The night is darkening round me,

The wild winds coldly blow ;

But a tyrant spell has bound me,

And I cannot, cannot go.

~Emily Bronte, The Night is Darkening Around Me

The dragonseach transform and fly away, leaving me stunned and deflated as my magic drains from me. Callia is still here, her eyes now locked on the tear in the sky the Mother of Dragons just disappeared into. I leave her to her thoughts and turn to the brothers, who stand beside me like sentinels.

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