Page 8 of Bite Me

Always be yourself, unless you can be a dragon, then be a dragon.

Was that supposed to be inspirational?

Duty Calls

Ky raced through the water, moving faster than the dolphins, sharks, mermaids, and orcas he loved to play with. He’d stay deep in the ocean all day if he could.

Today, duty called.

His brothers needed his help and he would be there for them. Always.

One of these days he was going to talk the other Wyverns into holding an AllWyr in New Zealand, or on Skype.

Dragons were slow to adopt new technology. They’d only recently talked Match into getting an iPhone. Which was a giant step up from carrier pigeon. How the hell the dude was the alpha among alphas and a total luddite was beyond Ky.

Maybe Ky would stop and flirt with the mermaids on the way back. Those dirty girls were some of his favorite trysts. They didn’t have the hang-ups like commitment and marriage the humans were so into.

Mermaids just want have fun.

That’s what life was all about. Fun, fucking, and fighting demon dragons. What more could a dragon warrior ask for?

Kiki, the Maori woman who had been his father’s last companion, was constantly on his back to settle down, make dragon babies.

Not likely, if he could help it.

Ky slowed as he cornered the Cape of Good Hope to let the great whites chase him and nip at his tail. The little buggers were like puppies running after a car.

He played with them for a moment and then continued on his trek.

After he left them behind, a pull like a current--not on his body, but on his soul -tugged him off course. He needed to go north, up the coast of Africa and Europe to get to Amsterdam, where Cage was waiting for his help. But, the open Atlantic called to him to cross. Everything in him said to get to the States as fast as he could.

He’d felt something like it before, when they’d been hunting for the First Dragon’s relic. The yearning inside opened an emptiness like he’d never felt, or successfully ignored.

For a flash of a second, he considered telling Cage he couldn’t come to his aid. He didn’t need Ky. He had the entire Gold Wyr at his disposal with all their special ops and spy gadgets. They gold dragons would do anything for Cage, they’re beloved leader and badass dragon warrior.

Ky had never failed to assist a brother dragon Wyvern, and never would. Whatever was in America, he would investigate after the emergency AllWyr. After all, they still hadn’t found that relic. But Cage’s call for help came first.

He didn’t even make it halfway up the coast of Africa before half a dozen African mermaids surrounded him, blocking his path.

“Ky Puru, you must come quickly.” A frantic voice rang through the water, clear as whale song, and as scared as a Galapagos damsel being hunted to extinction.

Mami Wata weren’t generally so flighty, which set off his alarms. He slowed to talk to them and would send some other blues to help with whatever they needed. “Can’t today,ataahua.Trouble in dragon paradise. Gotta get to the north right quick.”

Another Mami Wata touched his arm. “Demons. You must fight the demons. We are defenseless against them.”

Ky circled to a stop. Demons. In his waters.

Aukati.He’d kill the fuckers.

He had a duty to his brothers, but his purpose on this earth above all others was to defend those who couldn’t defend themselves against the plague of demons.

Cage would have to wait. Ky had some demons to kill.

“Show me.”

The Mami Wata led him to a series of underwater caves, the entrance marked with their carvings and mirrors. This was their shelter, their home. Chunks of the cave entrance had been torn from rock walls. Debris and carnage from the battle showed him that the mermaids had in fact fought back.

What kind of demons could survive in water? He and merfolk around the oceans had never worried about thetaurekarekain their realm before.

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