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“Why? They all have the same equipment I do.” Dragons didn’t understand modesty.
There was nothing shameful about the naked form that needed to be wrapped in cloth at
all times.
Kurtis’ gaze slid across Jiang’s body. “It doesn’t mean I want them to see it.”
Jiang obediently covered his body with his magical clothing. Kurtis’ possessive attitude
warmed him even if they couldn’t last.
“Thank you.”
Jiang smiled at Kurtis then opened the door. Aden stood on the other side, his
expression serious.
“What happened?”
“The fenghuangs were spotted downtown by one of our vampire friends. We just got a
call.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Jiang closed the door then returned to stand by Kurtis’ side of the bed. “I’ve got to go.
We have to stop the birds. As much as I hate to do it to them.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I don’t know yet. I guess we’ll work on our plan when we get there.”
Kurtis tossed off his blankets. “I’m going with you.” He walked to his wardrobe and
yanked it open. Grabbing fresh clothes he began to dress.
“No. I don’t want you there. What if you get hurt?” Jiang protested.
“What if you do?”
Jiang scoffed. “I’m a dragon. My scales will protect me from flames. Last time I
checked, pigeons weren’t fireproof.”
The thought of Kurtis putting himself in danger had Jiang’s heart spinning in his chest.
Kurtis crossed his arms. “Fine. I’ll wait here, but if you get killed I won’t ever forgive
you.”
Jiang smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“While you’re gone I’ll try to find Zhou for you.” Kurtis offered. “I can scan the news
reports and see if anyone mentions spotting a dragon.”
Jiang growled. He narrowed his eyes at Kurtis but he didn’t back down. “Fine, read up,
but stay out of danger.”
Kurtis drudged up his best smile. “Of course.”
Why did Jiang think Kurtis was lying through his pretty white teeth?
Chapter Three
Aden looked up as Jiang and Kurtis entered the room. He had the table cleared and a
large map sprawled out before him with red circles marking the spots the birds were
sighted.
“What are you doing?” Jiang asked.
“This is a map of downtown. We’re trying to find the right place to corner them. You
said we needed to trap them, right?”
“How many were spotted?” Jiang asked.
“All four.” Aden concentrated on the paper. “You think one of them is still sane?”
Jiang took a moment to respond. Aden appreciated that the dragon shifter didn’t rush
to give false reassurance. “I don’t know. They stopped talking to us after five hundred
years. When the vampire’s blood began to shatter the spell I could hear some of their
chatter. There are two males and two females. One of the males sounded as if he were
trying to reason with the rest.”
Aden ran a hand through his hair. “I’d hate to trap them all when one of them might
be fine. I guess we’ll have to decide when we see them.”
Carey sat at the table with the others with his head propped on his hand. “What are
their weaknesses?”
“Me,” Jiang answered. “The dragons. They wanted to protect us, but they’ve gone mad.
We need to see if we can call them back from the abyss of insanity.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Aden hoped Jiang’s compassion wouldn’t endanger
them all. He could understand loyalty to people who’d endured the inhumanity of being
petrified, but Aden couldn’t let the phoenixes burn down his home.
“I can create a web of water between these two buildings and lure them inside. The
water should cool their outside temperature and hopefully slow them down enough so
we can talk.”
“And what if they won’t listen?” Kurtis asked. “ One dragon against four crazed birds
on fire didn’t sound like a recipe for success.”
“Then we are out of luck. I can’t contain them for long on my own.”
“I want to help,” Kurtis said.
“You look for Zhou like we discussed,” Jiang said. “I don’t want you anywhere near
the flaming birds.”
For a moment Kurtis opened his mouth and Aden thought the pigeon shifter would
rebuke Jiang but he snapped his lips together, holding back the words Aden could tell he
yearned to say.
“I can help with the trap.” Gallen examined the map. “Instead of a water trap that the
humans might see, I can place a containment spell beneath the convention center arch.
That should hold the fenghuangs long enough to determine their sanity. If they can’t be
reasoned with, I can create a portal and send them back to China. Being on their home
soil could help.”
Jiang nodded. “That’s a good idea. Where do we start?”
“There have been reports of random fires downtown. A lot of the streets have been
closed down due to fire trucks needing the area. We might have to park up the hill and
walk the rest of the way,” Aden said.
“How many people are going?” Jiang asked, his gaze sweeping the crowd.
Aden pointed at himself. “Me, Gallen, Marty, Eaton, and yourself. If there are too
many of us, it will begin to look suspicious. I’m not bringing Carey because there’s
nothing he can do against a phoenix that wouldn’t take enough firepower to get him
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