The door opened, and Carol Martin walked in with a detective. She gave me a rather unpleasant look, she really reacted badly to sirens, which really sucked in that moment.

  “Aria Jones,” she said in a matter of fact voice, “Seems you have bad taste in clients.”

  I shrugged, “There was no public data indicating he was a criminal, or even under investigation.”

  She sneered.

  The detective cleared his voice, “I’m Detective Leo Deskin. Your identification checked out, and you didn’t resist arrest, I just have a few questions for you before we return your weapons release you. Your partner is talking to mine right now as well, and it won’t take long.”

  “Shoot,” I said with a flirty smile. Not that my goal was to flirt with the detective that was checking me out, more to annoy Carol than anything else.

  The detective laughed, “Don’t bait Carol, or tease me.”

  I grinned unrepentantly, “So… questions?”

  He asked, “Did you see or hear anything today that might be of interest?”

  I shook my head, “He had us outside the office, which was sound proofed with his wards. He was careful not to expose us to anything illegal, he knew we’d bail on him if he did, and contact the police. What I can give you is cam footage of his first three meetings. Nothing that was discussed, but if you don’t have the surveillance already, I can at least show you who he was meeting with. Hannah and I will also make sure to file the reports quickly, law enforcement does have access to all our reports and footage.”

  Carol frowned, “You’re applying to be government sub-contractors?”

  Her voice was both dismissively doubtful and worried at the same time.

  I nodded, “We are.”

  Detective Deskin looked amused at the disgusted look on Carol’s face.

  “Well that certainly makes things easier. I’ll review your reports tomorrow, and call if I have any other questions?”

  I nodded, and said, “Or you could drop by?”

  I knew it was stupid to flirt with him again, but I guess I hadn’t fully grown up after all. My new attitude had a whole lot less bite, but at the same time I was enjoying Carol’s annoyance a little too much.

  He shook his head, “What did I say about baiting Carol?”

  I laughed, “Sorry. Calling works of course, and if I make you uncomfortable you can speak to Lisa.”

  He nodded, “How did you know we were legit, and not a rival crime syndicate? If the office was sound proofed, you wouldn’t have heard us identify ourselves. Officers on scene said you surrendered rather quickly.”

  “We had no proof he was doing anything illegal, and he had a protection contract, but I didn’t get a good vibe from them as the day went on. It was a reasonable gamble, given what I sensed from the TAC team. They felt like law enforcement, not a hit squad.”

  I froze like a mouse in a field, about to be snatched by a hawk’s claws, as I felt a very strong aura and loud song pass overhead. It’d felt cool and controlled, and sounded like a tornado, wind chimes, a gentle breeze, and howling wind at the same time. There was only one thing it could be, even if I’d never heard or felt a being with such a song or magic before.

  What the fuck was an air dragon doing in Corpus Christi? I was also doubly glad I still had the necklace on now. My split-second freeze seemed to have gone right over both their heads.

  He nodded, “We’re done here, I think. We already have enough on Justin to put him away for a long time, but it never hurts to be thorough.”

  I opened my mouth for the obvious sally, and then closed it. A naughty play on the word thorough was just too easy, and Carol looked like she was going to explode already. My job was done here. I was also relieved my worries were groundless, even if I’d kind of expected it to go this way though. Once they’d checked out our ID and knew we didn’t work directly for the asshole at any rate.

  I held out my hands when he walked over, and he undid my cuffs.

  He said, “Sign out at the desk sergeant, he has your weapons.”

  I nodded, “Thanks detective, Ms. Martin.”

  We got our stuff, and we got out of there. There had to be a better way to vet our clients, and we discussed various ideas on our way back to the office. We’d just have to do our best, until we could access police and government resources. Even that wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be a lot better than what we could do in the moment.

  It could’ve been worse, at least we’d been paid in advance.

  As for the dragon, Lisa forbade me from using my magic at all, while he was in town. A little research on the net told us it was the air dragon Galen. He was one of the few dragons that didn’t have an official city to his name, or a specific territory. He was a wanderer of sorts, a vagabond dragon celebrity, and we thought that the chances were good that he wasn’t there looking for me, and we believed he wouldn’t stay long.

  Time would tell.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Lisa said, “I have news,” as she snuggled into my side later that night. We were both covered in a sheen of sweat, and I loved the deep feeling of satiated bliss and the combination of our scents. I loved the feeling of her warm sweat soaked skin against mine, and the taste of her as I kissed her neck.

  “What’s that?” I said softly, between kisses.

  She giggled, “What’s what?”

  I snickered, and I stopped molesting the love of my life for a moment.

  She said, “I heard back from my contact on the council. Annaliese has been declared an ancient vampire independent of council rule. All covens have been warned to ignore me or my presence in their cities unless attacked.”

  I smiled, “That is good news, now if the dragons would just ignore me.”

  She nodded, “I’ll have to stay hidden, they know I’m with you, but it’s good to know I’m no longer hunted by my own kind, it’s been centuries.”

  I kissed her neck again, and then up to her lips. The kiss we shared made me melt inside, and my body conformed and slid against her own. I felt so warm inside, and the liquid heat at her taste, scent, touch, and her beautiful song made me want to sing. My life wasn’t perfect, but so many parts of it were because of her, and I felt warm and safe.

  “I love you.”

  She smiled, “I love you too.”

  I wondered if I could ever find peace. The problem was dragons didn’t have a government, they were all independent, and did whatever the hell they wanted. They only agreed half-breeds had to die, because the other races bred much faster than dragons, and they’d almost been overwhelmed and destroyed by their own half children long ago.

  I’d had the idea once to just give an oath not to have children. My mother had been the only truly guilty party in this mess, my father had been a victim, and I was an innocent in the whole affair. I’d thought maybe they’d let me live if I could convince them I wouldn’t be passing the power on, or making more half-breeds, or quarter breeds I supposed, but Theo had told me that wouldn’t work.

  Logically, it was a sound argument, but I’d never convince them all. I just needed to suck it up.

  “I love your sexy body,” I nipped her lip, and I started to kiss my way down. I really did love the taste of our mixed sweat on her warm smooth silky skin, was that a fetish? I moaned softly, as I took one of her nipples between my moist lips, and suckled gently on it, only to bite down firmly a moment later.

  Lisa gasped, arched her back, and opened her legs as I ran my fingertips down her body and between her thighs. We were both sated already, this wasn’t about sex, this was about expressing the deep, boundless, and vulnerable love I felt for my insane vampire. I took my time as I worshipped my lover’s body from head to toe. She was breathing heavily and more than ready for it, by the time I circled back up from her lovely legs and stuck my head between her sexy toned thighs.

  Between monitoring her song, and the way she reacted to my every touch, it was almost instinctively easy to shower her with pleasure and bring her to a spectacular finish.

  After, she curled up against my side, and she found sleep.

  I watched her, and I adored her as she slept for quite a long while before I grabbed my kindle that night. I had no idea what I’d do without her in my life, and hoped I’d never find out…

  “Can you hear me okay?”

  I replied without thinking, “Like I was on your lap.”

  I bit my lip at the short silence, and then heard Tony clear his throat, as well as heard certain parts of his song swell. What the hell was wrong with me? No flirting with the male employees, bad siren. Anyway, I was in my office, it was the next afternoon, and we were testing out the new comms enchanted earrings. The enchantment he used was more sophisticated than the ones Brent had provided. I could choose to speak privately to one person, or two, or to everyone that had one, just by my intent.

  That’s actually what led to my indiscretion, Tony really was good at enchanting, and powerful shy geeky mages seemed to be my weakness for whatever reason, when it came to men. In short, the new magical toy made me a little wet.

  Nothing good could come of pursuing it though. Oh, sure, a bunch of amazingly hot threesomes, friends with benefits sex galore, perhaps for months, but in the end, he’d be addicted to me and have to quit for his peace of mind.

  It wouldn’t be worth it, or so I told myself.

  “Great job Tony, it really sounds like you’re right next to me.”

  Another brief pause.

  “Thanks Aria.”

  I wished just once, that I could hear him say my real name. I was starting to wonder which of us wanted which more, and it helped that Lisa would tell me no if I asked. I was pretty sure she would. Mostly. My crazy vampire did spoil me on occasion, especially when it came to my sexual needs.

  “Anything else going on I should know about?”

  He replied, “Umm, the waiting list for wards keeps getting bigger, as it is Jeris is booked up for the next month and a half. Nothing new for you and Hannah yet.”

  I figured, he’d already said as much in the meeting earlier today. On the good side, it looked like Galen already moved on, there’d been no dragon sighting in the city for almost six hours at that point, since he was spotted flying west away from the city. Apparently, he only stopped for a night. I wouldn’t count on it though, not until he’d been spotted in another city.

  “Are you working on anything else?”

  He said, “Just the office manager stuff. I have a few ideas, but nothing that’s ready.”

  I almost asked him what, just to extend the conversation, but I didn’t want to pester him.

  “Alright, great. Thanks Tony. How often do we need to have you charge the enchantment?”

  I’d feel a lot better now that the system was up, once Cerise and Jeris checked in tonight anyway, to pick up theirs.

  Tony said, “You’re welcome, they’ll automatically charge when you’re in the office.”

  Oh, I just got a little wetter. It seemed like I was still changing, besides getting turned on by a certain mage and his cool toys I mean. I’d been far more relaxed and not as bitchy for a while now, since I was getting fed a proper amount of energy, but past that I seemed to be getting more sensual as time went on. Or I supposed sluttier would also be a fair assessment.

  Maybe.

  Even before I’d been fed right, I’d been lusting after Brent back then, and others. Maybe I was just more self-aware and less self-absorbed.

  Oh hell, I think he was touching himself again. I needed to get out of the office, the guy was killing me…

  Anticipating wasn’t easy, the flurry of sword strikes I could barely track rang against the steel, silver, and iron of my own sword. Her foot snapped out and I barely dodged.

  We were sparring, and I wasn’t allowed to use any magic or song. The sad thing was it was my idea, I didn’t want to lose my purely physical fighting edge and she was pushing me hard. I was fast, very fast, and strong, but Lisa was faster. I’d never be able to take her in a straight physical fight without using song confusion, or magic. Even then it wouldn’t be easy, so I was glad the sweet violent woman was on my side.

  Slap!

  I felt the flat of her blade nail my arm, and almost lost my sword.

  She stopped with a grin, “Try to feel the air, you never got caught doing that in Dallas, did you? We’ve been extra careful to keep our cover, and I wonder if we aren’t unnecessarily crippling your abilities in some areas.”

  I frowned, “No I didn’t get caught, and I did a tiny amount of water magic in Brent’s office on accident one day, when he was just four feet away and he didn’t feel a thing. The problem is I don’t know where that line is. Is it even the same for every mage, or are some more sensitive than others? I’m also assuming any magic at all would be felt by a dragon. My new magical senses are extremely sensitive, I’ve been assuming mages are the same way but that’s probably wrong.”

  She tilted her head, “Well, Galen left town already, and we’re also in a workout room with containment wards. So, we should be fine to do it right here as long as you don’t overwhelm the wards. As for the mage issue, we can drop in on Harold and Brent, both of them should be able to answer those questions.”

  I pulled out my phone, and I sent a text to Harold to see if he was available.

  She frowned, “We could do that later? It should be safe here.”

  I nodded, “But what if it isn’t out there? I don’t want to get into the habit of using it subconsciously while fighting if it’s going to be an issue. I’m already close to that I think, I stopped myself a few times from trying to feel your sword through the air just now.”

  Lisa nodded, “Risking your life in a fight to stay alive in the long run is a pain in the ass.”

  I chuckled, “You’re telling me?”

  It was a risk, but it was also a rush. I’d been fighting for years and winning against stronger opponents, by being sneaky and using the few siren tricks I knew how to use. It was probably insane, but if I could safely use all my advantages, I didn’t think this job would be nearly as fun and exciting for me without the risk.

  My phone rang, and I picked up.

  “Hey Harold.”

  Harold replied, “Melody, how’s it going down there?”

  I shivered at the tone of his voice, in a good way. Damn, I really did miss him.

  “Good, how’s the woman?”

  He snickered, “She’s fine. What do you need?”

  I took a moment to explain our conversation to him, then I put him on speakerphone, so Lisa could hear his answer.

  He replied, “It’s not a simple question. A mage isn’t as sensitive as a dragon would be, but they can feel magic around them. There’s also the matter of how many enchantments he or she is currently wearing. If they have powerful enchantments on it would definitely drown out lower end stuff, like you feeling water vapor in the air, or even manipulating it on a very small scale. But if they had no enchantments, which is unlikely, they might feel it. I imagine Brent missed your water bottle accident because he’s probably dripping with protective enchantments, most mages are.

  “There are also active detection spells, if a mage has one active, they would feel even the smallest leak off of you, however that’s very unlikely in a fight. A detection spell has to be maintained, which means the mage wouldn’t be able to cast offensive spells while using it. There are no easy answers with magic, you might get away with feeling the water vapor around you in fights for years, decades even, and then one day you’ll get busted. Honestly, I’d say it’s a small risk, and worth it, but it could bite you in the ass one day.”

  Lisa said, “I agree. It lets you anticipate better, and beyond that will track other unseen threats, like a hidden man with a gun.”

  The gun part maybe, being aimed at me, but no man could hide from me. Except a fire dragon maybe, I’d hear their song otherwise.

  I nodded, “Alright, does a mage have to be inside the effect, or the reach of the water magic to feel it? I’m thinking I can control it well enough that I can force it to avoid any mages.”

  Harold grunted, “How could you do that, the other races use magical enchantments and such, you’d feel that too wouldn’t you?”

  I replied, “Their song of course, I can will my magic to avoid any mage songs.”

  Harold laughed in delight, “Of course. To answer your question, they would have to be directly in your magic field to feel it with their mage senses, but if they were using a detection spell that wouldn’t be the case. Which, as I already pointed out, wouldn’t be an issue during a fight.”

  “Alright, so the consensus seems to be to use it in fights, and route it around mages, but not when there are dragons around. Speaking of which, Galen was in town for a day, and we have no idea why. Coincidence? Or is he hunting me?”

  Harold grunted, “If he was, he obviously didn’t find you. Air dragons are the best hunters, at least on dry land.”

  That made sense to me, especially after my fun magic time in the water. I’d felt everything in the water, so much clearer than I did just from water vapor in the air. I imagine the opposite is true for an air dragon, that would literally feel everything in the air within the reach of his or her magic. My father’s necklace definitely saved my ass yesterday.

  Harold continued, “I can see if I can find out anything. Wouldn’t your father have contacted you if he was hunting?”

  I sighed, “Probably, if he knew, and wasn’t being watched. He’s rather paranoid about contact and may have simply trusted in his necklace to take care of it.”

  Lisa nodded, “I agree that we can’t read into his non-contact. He’s paranoid, which should inform our own behavior. We may only get one shot at hiding.”

  I frowned, “What do you mean?”

  Lisa said, “Well, could anyone you’ve ever met hide from you?”

  I thought about that, “Not without staying behind wards twenty-four seven, otherwise I could scry anyone I’ve ever met, or anywhere I’ve ever been. But every dragon elemental type is different, so I don’t know if that holds true across the board. But I get your point, if we ran into a water dragon and managed to escape, they’d be right on our asses no matter where we went.”