Wildfire Phoenix by Zoe Chant

Chapter 31

“Joe,” Edith said, her forehead furrowing. “Are you sure this is what we’re supposed to be doing?”

“Absolutely.” Joe didn’t look up from arranging plates of food across the gingham picnic cloth. “This is critically important. Have a sandwich.”

“I have to say, as visions go, this is one is unusually enjoyable,” Wystan said. He was attempting to coax Estelle into taking a bottle, though she seemed more interested in watching Beth play tag with Fenrir and Callum along the lake shore. “Though I don’t expect it will stay that way for long.”

Neither did Blaise. She searched the horizon for any hint of incoming catastrophe, but drew a blank. Thunder Mountain rose serenely over the lake, reflected in the tranquil waters. Even though the peak was hidden by thin wisps of cloud, she still flinched, hastily dropping her gaze.

Still, her own discomfort aside, it seemed to be a peaceful summer afternoon. The kind of day when, in happier times—which felt like years ago—the whole squad might have gathered with their families for an impromptu picnic by the lake near Wystan and Candice’s ranch.

Which, indeed, was what they seemed to be doing.

“A motherloving demon had better show up in the next five minutes,” Buck growled, glaring at the lake as though daring it to make a move. He’d refused to sit down. “Some of us have work to do.”

“No, you don’t.” Rose handed him a cookie. “For goodness sake, stop hovering like a carrion crow, Buck. Look, even Ash is managing to relax. If this is the calm before the storm, we might as well make the most of it.”

Blaise narrowed her eyes at Joe. “I still think you invented this so-called vision as an excuse to get us all together for a party.”

Joe gave her a wounded look. “Would I do a thing like that?”

“Yes,” the rest of the squad chorused in unison.

“All right, I probably would,” Joe admitted. “If I’d thought of it. But I swear, this was a genuine vision. Sea dragon’s honor.”

“It’s true,” Seren put in. She sat cross-legged on the grass, her sheathed sword at her right hand. “He’s not faking. He saw it last night, when he was bringing me a glass of warm milk. Dropped it all over our bed.”

“Last night?” Rory cocked an eyebrow at Joe. “Why didn’t you tell us until today?”

Joe shrugged, now busy unpacking cans of soft drinks from his rucksack. “Didn’t want to wake everyone up, bro. Besides, I needed time to get everything ready.”

Diana surveyed the impressive feast. “Not that I’m complaining, but don’t you think you’ve overdone it, Joe? Even with shifter appetites, this is way too much food.”

“Speak for yourself,” Darcy murmured, taking another slice of cake.

“I wasn’t referring to the food.” Joe checked his watch. “Any minute now…”

“Fenrir, get Beth!” Buck barked without warning. He dropped his cookie, his hand flashing to his shoulder holster. In the blink of an eye, his gun was out, leveled at the lake. “Callum, down!”

Blaise whirled to see what had alarmed him, and instead got a faceful of feathers as Rory reared up in front of her, wings spread. An instant later, Darcy cannoned into her back, knocking her down. The hellhound snarled, jaws dripping fire, standing over her protectively.

“Oops,” Joe said, sounding rather muffled. “On second thought, maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to make this a surprise.”

Blaise peered between Rory’s mismatched legs. Fenrir had tackled Beth, shielding her under his huge, furry bulk. Buck had his gun trained on a thickening plume of bubbles boiling up from the hidden depths of the lake.

And Callum… was just standing there, head tilted, looking utterly bemused.

“It’s all right,” he said, staring at the approaching bubbles. “No danger. It’s—”

Branching horns broke the surface of the water. Seren’s sword flashed out. She just managed to slap the gun out of Buck’s hand before he pulled the trigger.

“My apologies,” she said. “But I cannot allow you to draw on my Empress.”

Buck gave her an incredulous look, shaking stinging fingers. “Your motherloving what?”

Seren sheathed her sword. Turning, she sank to one knee, bowing her head. “Superintendent, may I present Her Imperial Majesty the Pearl Empress, Queen of Atlantis, Ruler of all the Shifters of the Sea.”

“Hi, Mom,” Joe added.

The dragon’s vast shadow engulfed them all—and then disappeared. A tall, beautiful black woman sloshed out of the lake, holding up her patterned silk dress.

“Oh, do get up,” she said to the kneeling Seren. “You know I despise all that protocol. Anyway, we’re all family here.”

“Neridia!” Rose came forward to hug her old friend, beaming. “Joe didn’t tell us you were coming.”

Neridia shot Joe a fond but exasperated glance. “He does have a bad habit of keeping secrets.”

Joe mournfully contemplated the crushed remnants of his picnic. “Yeah, I really should have learned better by now.”

Rory shifted back to human form. He tugged his T-shirt straight, looking a little sheepish. “It’s good to see you, Neridia. If unexpected. Is John with you too?”

“Of course.” Neridia smiled as the lake water behind her boiled again. “I could hardly travel without my Champion, could I?”

Callum twitched as though he’d just received an electric shock. His jaw dropped open.

“Wh-what?” he stammered. “How—?”

Another dragon head erupted from the depths, lake water streaming down gleaming indigo scales. Perched on its broad forehead, a man spread his arms wide, beaming down at them all.

“Surprise!” he yelled, and then broke into a fit of coughing.

Behind him, a white-haired man let out a deep, aggravated sigh. Leaning forward, he pounded his companion on the back. “Idiot. How many times do we have to tell you to hold your breath through the Sea Gate?”

“Thanks, Hughnicorn,” the first man gasped. “Never could get the hang of these things.”

“Dad?” Callum and Wystan exclaimed in perfect unison.

“Here in the flesh!” Chase plucked a strand of sea weed out of his damp, wild hair, his nose wrinkling. “The somewhat soggy flesh. Let me tell you, as a means of transport, sea dragons leave much to be desired.”

Underneath Chase, the sea dragon let out a pointed bass rumble.

“No offense, John.” Chase patted the dragon’s neck. “I can’t fault your speed. But you have to admit, you’re sadly lacking in terms of in-swim entertainment. Not to mention drinks. Except for inadvertent sea water, of course.”

Wystan could not have looked more astounded if the Loch Ness Monster had emerged to deliver a singing telegram. “Joe, you invited my father here? And Callum’s?”

“No, bro.” Joe’s grin was even wider than Chase’s. Behind him, the indigo sea dragon clambered out of the water, revealing yet more figures clinging to its long, sinuous back. “I invited everyone.”

* * *

“But why do they all need to be here?” Blaise asked Joe, not for the first time.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” the sea dragon said around a mouthful of cake. “I just report the future. I don’t make it.”

Blaise surveyed the scene. “And you saw… this?”

Joe squinted around as though comparing their current surroundings to his vision. After a moment, he shrugged, apparently satisfied. “Yep. Pretty much.”

It was definitely a party now, even if no one knew why. Laughter and happy chatter rang across the lake shore. The summer sun had soon dried off the unexpected guests, and Rose had managed to resurrect enough of the scattered picnic to supply everyone with drinks and food.

Near the rippling water, Seren was standing with her arms out while John adjusted intricate steel plates to cover her pregnant belly. Apparently, Joe really had commissioned a set of maternity armor. Light sparkled from the sapphire set into the hilt of John’s enormous two-handed sword, scabbarded across his back.

A little way off, Neridia and Griff’s mother Hayley were cooing over Estelle, who’d finally gone to sleep in her grandfather’s arms. Blaise had never seen sardonic, short-tempered Hugh look so… soft. His healer’s hands cradled Estelle with infinite care, his blue eyes as bright as the summer sky. Wystan and Candice were taking advantage of the unexpected babysitters to enjoy a peaceful lunch together, side by side on the grass. So far, Candice had managed to pack away a truly impressive amount of cheese, and showed no signs of slowing down.

Chase and Beth galloped up and down the lake shore, the little pegasus whinnying with delight as she snatched at her grandfather’s streaming black tail. Connie sat on a boulder nearby, watching her mate’s antics with a fond smile as she chatted with Callum and Diana.

Fenrir had seemed a little shy at first, hanging back from all the family groups as though unsure whether he was welcome—but then Rory and Edith had dragged him over to meet Griff, and any lingering awkwardness quickly vanished. Darcy, meanwhile, had hit it off with Wystan’s mom, wyvern shifter Ivy. They were still deep in conversation, heads together. From the way Darcy had pulled down her T-shirt to show off her bite scar, Blaise guessed they were talking hellhounds—a common topic of interest, since Ivy’s sister Hope had also been turned by her own mate.

It was bizarre to see the entirety of her father’s old firefighting team gathered together somewhere that wasn’t her mom’s pub. Blaise kept finding herself glancing around, half-expecting to find the familiar walls of the Full Moon rather than the open skies of Montana. It all felt like a dream; the all too rare kind that you never wanted to end.

Even red dragon Dai and his mate Virginia had come, though they didn’t have children in the squad. They were over with Ash and Rose, who were introducing them to Buck. He still had a glassy-eyed, somewhat shell-shocked look, but he seemed to be managing to make polite conversation. Possibly too polite. Blaise hadn’t heard a single ‘motherloving’ pass his lips since everyone had arrived.

“I think you broke Buck,” she muttered to Joe.

Joe considered their boss. “He does look like he’s crashed, doesn’t he? Still, at least he isn’t running screaming over the horizon. I have to admit, he was the main reason I kept this a secret. I was pretty sure he’d blow a fuse if he found out I’d invited a load more shifters over to Thunder Mountain. Easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”

“And you seriously have no idea why you saw this?”

“I saw it because it needed to happen.” Joe’s turquoise eyes met hers, and she saw the worry lurking under the sparkling surface. “And as for why… well, I do have one nagging suspicion. And believe me, this is one occasion where I’d really, really like to be completely wrong.”

Blaise looked at the smiling groups and made the connection too. “Powerful shifters. In mated pairs.”

“And thus immune to demonic possession,” Joe finished for her, pitching his voice low. “My mom and dad figured it out instantly when I called them last night. They were making arrangements to pick everyone up and get them here before I’d even finished describing my vision.”

A cold that had nothing to do with her animal spread through Blaise’s stomach. “So that’s why Alpha Team dropped everything and rushed over like this. Uncegila’s about to make her move.”

Griff must have overheard, because he broke off from his conversation with Rory, head turning in her direction. With a murmured word to his son, the older griffin shifter came over.

“If she is, we’re ready for her, lass,” Griff said in his warm, rich Scottish accent. His golden gaze—so like Rory’s—went to Joe. “Though I hope you’re right about the timing, lad. We can’t stay for longer than a day. It’s sheer good luck we all happened to be off duty when your folks sounded the alarm.”

“Luck, or fate.” Joe spread his hands, helplessly. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, or when. All I know is that Alpha Team have to be here when it does.”

By the lake, Beth suddenly stopped chasing her grandfather, her auburn ears pricking up. At the same time, Callum jerked round, staring in the direction of Thunder Mountain.

Blaise’s heart missed a beat. She looked round too, but saw nothing amiss. The peak still gazed down at them all, remote and untroubled.

“Problem, Cal?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he said, forehead furrowing. “Diana, you’d better get Beth. We’re about to have visitors.”

“Oh dear.” Neridia looked at John—seven feet tall, blue-haired, and arrayed in full battle armor. “Some of us aren’t exactly dressed for company.”

Seren had already grabbed for the picnic blanket, whipping it out from under the remaining plates. She draped the cloth around her shoulders so that it concealed her jeweled armor. John chose the simpler approach of shifting into dragon form, coiling his huge bulk so that he took up as little space as possible.

Beth was too young to have fully mastered the mythic shifter trick of concealing her animal form from mundane eyes. Diana just managed to coax her back to human when a battered SUV appeared at the top of the track that led down to the lake. It bounced toward them, jolting over the rutted path at unwise speed.

“Oh, monkey balls,” Buck breathed. He broke into a run, waving at the approaching vehicle. “Tanner! Over here!”

Blaise had recognized the B-squad boss’s truck too. She pounded after Buck, the rest of A-squad close on her heels.

It wasn’t Tanner driving, though. As the SUV slewed to a halt in a cloud of dust, she saw Tanner’s husband Rohelio at the wheel, his usually cheerful face twisted with worry. Tanner himself was slumped in the passenger seat, wrapped in a sheet, white as a ghost.

“Chief!” Rohelio leaned out the window, keeping the truck’s engine still running. “Gracias a Dios. Sorry to barge in like this, but I didn’t have time to grab my phone. Tell my idiot man to let me take him to hospital, okay?”

“’S just a scratch,” Tanner mumbled. He had a corner of the sheet pressed to the side of his neck, red slowly spreading across the white fabric. “No time for this. Can’t let the crew down. I’m fine, chief. Can still go to work tomorrow.”

Rohelio shot his husband an exasperated glare. “You aren’t going anywhere except the ER, mi amor. You need rabies shots, right away.”

“Rabies?” Buck looked at the B-squad firefighter sharply. “He get bit by something, Ro?”

“It was the damndest thing, chief. We were in our cabin, ah,” Rohelio hesitated, flushing a little. “Well, minding our own business, when this squirrel hurtles in through the open window and lands right on Tanner’s back. At least, I think it was a squirrel. Weird-looking critter. Definitely sick with something.”

Blaise swore under her breath, and heard Joe echo the expletive in sea dragon language. Wystan had already hurried round to the far side of the vehicle, opening the door and boosting himself up so he could inspect Tanner’s injury. At Rohelio’s words, he hesitated. Instead of reaching for the bandage, he pried Tanner’s drooping eyelids up with his thumbs.

*Is he possessed, Wys?*Rory sent, broadcasting the message telepathically so that Rohelio and Tanner wouldn’t hear.

*Impossible to say,*Wystan replied in the same manner, peering into Tanner’s unfocussed eyes. *There’s no sign of the red glow that we’ve seen before. But then again, the horned serpents sometimes seem to be able to conceal their presence when they take over a host, at least for a little while.*

*He is himself.*

Blaise started at the calm, familiar mental voice. She hadn’t realized her father had been listening in on the telepathic conversation, or that he’d followed the squad.

*I can see into his soul,*Ash continued, his penetrating eyes focused on Tanner. *There is no foreign presence there. If a serpent did attempt to possess him, it seems to have failed.*

Buck, oblivious to the mental communication, was still talking to Rohelio. “I take it you got the motherlover off him.”

Rohelio nodded. “Grabbed it by the tail and slung it back outside. Think I must have killed it, ‘cause it was limp as a sock. But by then, it had already sunk its teeth into Tanner. He went into some kinda fit, his whole body shaking like he had his fingers stuck in an electrical socket.”

“Couldn’t control my own body.” Tanner’s voice was a hoarse rasp. “Like someone had pushed me out, and all I could do was watch.”

“I didn’t know what to do.” Rohelio’s hands clenched on the steering wheel, white-knuckled. “I grabbed him, trying to hold him still. Told him that I was there with him and he was going to be okay. Then he… was sick, or something. Spewed out this black stuff, like smoke.”

Blaise exchanged a meaningful glance with Rory. True mates, she mouthed, and he nodded.

“By that time, I was completely spooked,” Rohelio continued. “Picked him up and booked it out of there, yelling for help. But no one came.”

“That’s when I came round,” Tanner put in. He waved a feeble hand at Rohelio. “Tried to tell him I was fine, but he insisted on bundling me into the truck. Wouldn’t even let me go back for a shirt.”

“You’re lucky we still had our pants on,” Rohelio retorted. “And that my keys were in my pocket.”

Up until that moment, Blaise hadn’t registered that he was shirtless too. Being a shifter tended to give you a somewhat casual attitude to public nudity.

“Lot of fuss over nothing,” Tanner grumbled, though he was still looking rather woozy. “I don’t want to go to hospital, chief.”

“Tough, because you are,” Buck snapped. “I don’t want to see you back here until you’ve had a full course of shots, understand? As of this moment, you’re on paid leave. You too, Rohelio. Now get him out of here.”

Rohelio didn’t wait to be told twice. The truck roared away, leaving a thick plume of dust in its wake.

“He said no one came to help,” Rory said, his voice grim. “But apart from us, most of the crew are still on base.”

Blaise had been doing the math, too. “There should have been at least half a dozen people in earshot.”

“Guys.” Joe stared upward. His jaw clenched. “Look.”

Blaise looked up too, just in time for a shadow to fall across her face. A moment ago, the sky had been perfectly clear. Now, clouds were forming, spreading out from the peak of Thunder Mountain.

“Everyone, back to base.” Buck’s tone was perfectly calm. Blaise had heard him sound like that before, but not when nothing was on fire. “Right now.”