Page 191 of Smoke and Lure

No, physically, a youngling Drakh could crush him.

However, the man was evil to the core, and his egocentric machinations were the biggest bully on the field, a threat to mankind.

I see you.Then the Mckenna began to pound, and pound, and pound until the thick, manmade resistant glass began to crack under his dragon's four powerful feet.

When the deep cracks spidered out, ready to shatter, Aodh shifted.

“ErrrAhhhhhh,” he grunted, drew his fist back, then drove it hard into the glass, breaking it.

As thick chunks of glass rained down into the dome, so did Aodh.Dropping down through the space, he landed right before his enemy.The impact brought him low, knees bent, but Aodh slowly rose to his feet until he was standing over the man.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I did what I had to do,” he whined and shuffled back.

Aodh stalked, followed.

In his peripheral vision, he saw the movement of guns being drawn by Muskrand’s security detail, but the arrival of ten Drahk dropping in and fanning out before them put a halt to any foolish action.

“Don’t even think about it!”Liekki roared.

“They needed a leader.I saved them from death.”Muskrand shuffled back more until his hips were pressed against the heavy commander's table.

Growling, Aodh blew smoke into the man’s face.“You broke their trust.Treated the ones who needed your help the most like nothing.”

Muskrand coughed, choking on the smoke.Wheezing, he began, “Look.Look.You want more power?We can team together and—”

Reaching out in a flash, Aodh grabbed the man by the throat and squeezed.“You have me mistaken.I don’t lie with fleas.You are the worst kind of parasite.You latch on to people in their weakest moment and suck out everything vital and true inside of them.You’re a sickness, Everette, a disease worse than the XD87867 because you promised hope and stripped them of human dignity.”

“But they elected me.”

“As the Speaker of the House before the catastrophes.You just got left when the President and Vice President fled to join the other world leaders in their underground paradise in Greenland.You were worthless to them as you are to those in the district,” Aodh sniped.

Everette gasped, his blotchy skin flaring as red as a tomato.“I won’t stand for—”

Aodh punched him, cutting off his words.

The man slammed back into the table, his nose shattered, gushing blood.Everette scrambled back over the tabletop with one hand clutching his nose and the other held out before him.“Fine.Fine.You win.I’ll stay out of your fucking territories!”

A harsh chuckle came out of Aodh as he stalked down the length of the table as the man attempted to get away.

“You coming into any of the preternatural territories is the least of my concerns, Everette.”He had shot out his hand and grabbed a fistful of the other man’s hair and dragged him forward.When he had the human at eye level, Aodh continued, “The problem is that you thought you had the right to play with genetics, alter DNA, and release those hounds outside your walls, when you should have turned them on yourself.”

“Then just kill me.Get it over—”

Aodh backhanded him even as he kept a tight grip on Muskrand’s hair.

Four teeth flew out of Everette’s mouth and skittered across the table.The blood from his mouth joined the stream from his nose, feeding the red river down his chin and neck.

“You don’t seem to understand you're done talking.Finished giving orders of any kind.”Flames flaring in his eyes reflected in Everette’s watery gaze.Aodh’s scales now illuminated with so deep a rage, his skin glowed garnet.

He continued, vehemently, ”You see, one of your wild mutants came into Drahk territory and touched my mate.No one.Touches.A.Dragon’s.Heart!”

Aodh beat a fist against his own chest.

Everette started to tremble and cry.

Aodh wasn’t swayed, as he pronounced the preternatural council’s verdict.“The council easily voted and ruled that you would die.ButI’vedecided it’s going to be painful.”

---