The Dragon & The Phoenix Chapter 6

Copper followed me out of the ally to the front of the building. Two fire trucks and a cop car came to a screaming halt outside the front door as everyone stood around looking at me. One of the cops approached me as two fire men went inside to turn off the system and keep my bar from flooding. “Are you the owner of this establishment?” I nodded as Copper stood uncomfortably close listening. The fire men came back up and spoke to the officer in charge.

“Well Miss, it seems as though someone just pulled the fire alarm for a joke. You id everyone in here tonight?” I looked at the officer squarely knowing what he was getting at, “Yes Sir, my new bounce asked a kid to leave when they tried to use a fake id.” “And who is your new bouncer?” I turned and pointed to Copper, “He is. Best in the business and came highly recommended by my business partner.” Copper stood taller letting his six-foot four frame speak for itself. “Did you keep the id?” Copper shook his head, “No I just told the kid to leave and not come back.” The officer asked a few more questions, filled out a report and had me sign it. Copper watched me as I thanked the office and walked back inside the bar to asses the damage. My insurance is gonna be killer after this.

I opened a locked cupboard and pulled out a bottle of scotch and just started drinking. Fuck it, with the sun almost up there’s nothing I can do right now. I looked up after taking a long drink out of the bottle to see Copper watching me. I sighed as I swallowed, “Why are you still here?” He looked at me like I slapped him, “Well I’m new to the city and I’m just wondering why you would tell the officer that I was the bouncer for this place?” He looked around at the puddles of water and still dripping sprinklers. Everything was soaked, and the water damage was extensive. I took another mouthful, replace the cork back in the bottle and put it back in its place. “You were standing there, and I needed a story. Seemed like a good one at the time. So, why are you still here?” I reached over the top of the bar and grabbed the phone book to call the clean up company before the water damage got too extensive.

Foot steps stopped right behind me, I looked up to see Copper standing over me. I rolled my eyes and moved away from him. I managed to find a dry towel under the counter and I tossed it at him, “Here, dry yourself before you get sick. Do you need me to call you a cab?” He ran the towel over his hair, making his curls fluffy. “No, I can get home just fine on my own. Why did you tell me to come with you if you just want to get rid of me?”

I looked at him in shock, “You’re serious right now?! You just incinerated members of the Pack, my family! How were you gonna explain standing in the back ally with burning bodies to the cops? I can’t have questions right now, so if you will excuse me I have phone calls to make to clean this place up, and info to track down my sister.” I walked into the kitchen hoping he would take the hint and just leave. Leaving messages with my contacts to get back to me about Morgan’s whereabouts, and having the cleaning company come by to start work, I was spent. I peered into the bar, Copper had left leaving the towel on the counter. I sighed leaning against the door. I hope he was ok.

Morgan was gone, the Pack was gone. I found myself once again alone, and now Christian was back. Could things get any worse right now?

Copper found himself on the street just as the sun peaked over the tops of the buildings. Turning his face to the sun, he breathed in the morning air. What a hell of a night. Looking up and down the street, Copper didn’t notice anyone watching so he spread his huge golden wings and lifted himself into the air above the bar and perched on the ledge watching for movement below. Smoke from the ashes lifted into the morning air, the back door opened, Carolyn peered out looking for a safe path to the pile of dust. Moving out quickly, Copper watched her gather up some of the ash into a bottle and move back inside away from the morning light. There must be tunnels she takes to get home in the morning.

He breathed in deeply in the direction Carolyn had just gone. There was her scent, scotch and wild flowers. Copper lifted himself into the air following the scent, something wasn’t right, he knew she was in trouble. Be good to her, that’s what the little one said. Copper lifted himself high into the air keeping in the rays of morning light. No one would notice him that way and he needed to find this woman. Christian, why did that name sound familiar to him?

Her scent lead him to a particularly large high rise, so Copper blinked revealing serpent shaped eyes. His vision in dragon form could see for miles, came in handy when looking in windows from a distance. He made himself comfortable on the building roof across the street watching for signs of movement. All he could do was wait.

I got off the elevator to our suite. Even though it only took minuets to get from the bar to the high rise, it felt like an eternity with out Morgan. I am so tired. I’m going to eat and go to sleep. I’ll give that bastard one thing, attacking us right before dawn was smart. I opened the door just enough to reach in and grab the remote for the curtains to close them before I came inside and burned to a crisp. Hitting the button, I heard the motors draw shut and block out the morning sun.

I stepped inside and sighed as I placed the remote back on the shelf. I pulled off my boots and tossed them in the corner as I made my way down the hall to the shower. As I passed Morgan’s bedroom, I stopped outside the door and peered in. Everything was perfect, her bed was always made, everything was in its place. She sure was a creature of habit. I put my fist threw the wall in rage, when I tried taking it out again, I discovered I was stuck. Damn it Damn it Damn it!! I yanked a few times before I felt well muscled arms wrap around my neck in a choke hold!! How the hell was some one here and I didn’t know?!!

The arms hauled me out of the wall and down the hall as I struggled to get free. One of the hands let the back of my head go while the other remained around my neck. Suddenly, I felt the worst pain between my ribs, piercing my lung. I gasped in shock as I was thrown into the now closed glass window, hearing it shatter around me.

“I thought you were a hunter? I was told you were the best. I guess the years have made you soft, or was it the girl that made you soft? Well, no matter this will be slow and painful.” I looked up to see Jar Head. How in the hell did he get in here?! I reached up to where the blade he stabbed me with was still sticking out of my back, I pulled it out watching a pool of blood hit the floor with a splat.

“You have no idea the hell you have brought down on your own head.” I spit the words out with a mouth full of blood. I could already feel my hands heal from the glass shards, but my knife wound refused to heal. I tried to stand the room started to spin around me. He just smiled as a breeze came threw the broken window causing the curtain to move and the morning light to skim across the floor. I scrambled away from the light. I fell into the chair knocking it over like one of the drunks from the bar, “Don’t worry, you won’t die here. Christian wants to talk first.” He grabbed me by my hair and threw me into the near by wall almost putting me threw it. The curtain moved again, a large breeze entered the room blowing over papers, then silence.

As Copper’s golden clawed hand wrapped around the Jar Heads neck he pulled him into the morning light lifting him high into the air. He had about three seconds to bear his fangs at Copper before turning to dust and his ashes falling to the street below.

Copper returned to the broken window. As he stepped inside he considered the dark corner where Carolyn was left on the floor. She lay motionless, blood seemed to be pouring out and it wasn’t stopping. He spied the knife on the floor, the smell of vervain on the blade was gut wrenching. Explained the open wound and amount of blood loss. Copper lifted Carolyn’s head in one hand, with the other, he took one of his claws, and cut off Carolyn’s corset, more blood fell to the floor.

Copper lifted her into his arms wrapping his huge leather wings around the her and rushed her down the hall to, what he hoped was Carolyn’s room. He placed her on the bed and watched as her head rolled to one side lifeless, beaded with sweat and barely breathing. He gathered pillows and placed them under Carolyn’s side as he rolled her over to get a better look at the wound. The blood wasn’t stopping and if he didn’t work fast she would die.

Breathing out gently, Copper’s super heated breath started to cauterize the wound stopping the bleeding, but the blood poising was still gonna be hard to deal with. He pulled her into his arms, smoothing her hair out of her face. Carolyn looked like a fair porcelain doll, he wiped her forehead with the bed sheet trying to figure out how to help her.

Carolyn’s breath was shallow and rasping. Copper bit his own wrist and placed the open wound to her mouth and hoped for the best. Carolyn started to drink slowly at first, then her eyes shot open, grabbed Coppers wrist and drank more freely, biting as hard as she could. Copper tried pulling away in shock as her eyes went from green to gold, he felt like she was going to tear his arm off. He managed to get himself free and when he looked back Carolyn wasn’t on the bed. He looked up to see her in the corner of the ceiling like a spider staring at him. He blinked again, and she was gone down the hall standing in the Livingroom near the sun.

Copper reached her quickly to shield her with his wings, so she wouldn’t turn into a pile of ash, only to realize she was not standing there anymore. Every time he blinked she was in a new spot. Watching her was like watching light move! He lost track of her for a second, only to have her jump him from behind sinking her fangs deep into his neck. Copper grabbed her by the back of the head, throwing her into a near by wall, Carolyn fell to the floor unconscious.

Copper watched her for a few seconds before he approached, picking her up and taking her back to her room. What the hell was that?! He carried her back to her bed, tucked her into the other side that didn’t have blood all over it and hoped that she would just sleep this off.

He watched her from the doorway before returning to the front room to fix the window and grab some sleep himself before sundown.

********

“Morgan….Morgaaannnn….” Morgan’s head rolled to one side at the sound of a voice she remembered from her nightmares. She knew that voice, soft yet terrifying. She opened her eyes, adjusting to the dim light in the room. She felt like she had the worst hang over in the world, Morgan realized then, that her wrists were bound with chains that hung from the ceiling.

She pulled at one of the chains with no efforts of freeing herself, “You can try all you like my girl, you are not leaving here.” Christian walked into the light, not much had changed about him in the last eighty years. He had cut his dark hair to a more modern one, his look was more of a business man with his dark suit and open collar on his white shirt. His blue eyes glowed as he stood half in the shadows watching Morgan hang like a delicate piece of art work. Christian smiled at his prize, “Mistress isn’t stupid enough to come after me. She knows you’re here.”

Christian smiled at her as he moved to stand next to her chains, “Oh yes she is. You are her favorite, she’ll come and this time nether one of you will leave here alive.” He ran his hand over her slender waist. Morgan tried to move away from his touch, but he reached out and grabbed her with both hands pulling her into his space. “You will never leave me again.” Christian picked her up and kissed her reveling in the fact that she couldn’t get away from him. Morgan wanted to vomit at his touch. He leaned back to look at his prize, running his thumb across her chin Christian smiled at his cleaver plan that was slowly coming together.

Christian dropped her watching her swing slightly on the chain that held her in place. Still looking at Morgan, Christian spoke to someone lurking in the shadows, “Feed her just enough. We wouldn’t want my girl getting too weak now.” He smirked at his own words as the Jar Head from the bar appeared holding a blood bag. “Marcus hasn’t come back yet.” He stuck a straw in the bag and held it in place for Morgan to take. Christian watched with delight as she struggled to eat, “No matter, your brother will return soon enough and when he brings my other prize, the real fun will start.” He put his hands in his pants pockets as he smiled at the thought of Carolyn joining them. He would get his revenge, and Carolyn would return to him, or Morgan would die.

Christian smiled at the thought of having both women as he turned back into the shadows to enact the next faze of his plan.