Chapter Eight
While the suggestion that her fate of becoming the Dragon Queen was something to be “won,” like a ribbon or a trophy made her a little sick, it was well worth saying it just to remind the Dragon King that he was not quite in the guaranteed position as he thought he was. He had competition.
The look on his face told Eva her message had the effect she’d hoped it would, but she didn’t waste time gloating. Instead, she asked, “So, where are we going?”
“Nowhere just yet,” came a foreign reply.
Eva recognized it instantly.
Her power surged through her arms and into her hands even as she turned. The world blurred all around her, an unimportant outskirt, an inconsequential backdrop to the display of her magic as she prepared to battle.
Unnatural abilities raced down their own neural highways in her mind as if some cosmic traffic controller were waving them by, directing them into place, making sure they were good and ready. It took a split second for her cylinders to fire – and then she was facing the Entity.
But so was Calidum.
She wasn’t surprised to find that the Dragon King had reacted just as quickly as she had, not only spinning in place, but managing to step between her and the dangerous stranger. What did surprise her however was that even more power than she possessed seemed to be pulsing around his tall form. That power was like white fire and liquid nitrogen, freezing and boiling and so rampantly potent, it made her gasp with every wave that struck her.
Eva was half Nomad, half Legendary.... How could he feel more powerful than her?
But this question was an asterisked footnote on a page filled with bold capital lettering and tons of exclamation marks, because the fucking root of all evil had just suddenly appeared and called them out.
He was dressed in black clothing that appeared perfectly tailored, not a speck of dust anywhere on the expensive material, not a wayward wrinkle to suggest travel or regular living. And yet for the first time since Eva had met the Entity, he looked utterly and completely human. He was even handsome. Tall, lean, well proportioned. Black hair, strong jaw, Roman nose. He appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be the latest addition in a growing body of beautiful people in that one quadrant of the boardwalk on Pier 39.
The only thing setting him apart from them was his eyes.
The humans milling around them would not see what she saw, of course. To them, everyone looked as human as beautiful people can look. Calidum’s eyes would probably appear dark brown or blue or whatever color he wanted them to be. Only Eva saw the fire in them. And the same would hold for the Entity. To the humans, he would be human, with round pupils and irises some normal, if vivid, color. But to Eva, his eyes were black from corner to corner, as if someone had split open their membranes and poured ink into them.
It was clear Calidum wasn’t going to wait to allow the Entity to make the first move in this confrontation. He was at once attempting to transport them away from the pier, human onlookers be damned. She could feel his magic wrap around her in the split second before the unspoken transport spell was released. But his magic didn’t take, and he and Eva remained where they were.
Eva could see his back straighten and tense, the muscles under his jacket flexing in fear and battle preparation. Eva tried the transport next. And like Calidum, she wasted no time with words. But also like Calidum, she failed.
They remained standing together on one end of the Pier, people looking on, the Entity staring them down.
“I’m sorry I can’t stay and chat,” said the Entity. “Get to know the new queen and what not.” He nodded at Evangeline and winked. “But there will be time for that later. I really just came by to give you my deep and honest thanks, Evangeline. You’ve made this the best day of my exceedingly long existence.” His smile broadened as he bent at the waist, bowing graciously.
Then he straightened. “Oh,” he added as if he’d forgotten this bit. “There’s this too. A thank you gift from Amunet.” He lowered his head to gaze at them through narrowed black eyes, and his smile disappeared. The wood beneath Eva’s feet began to tremble.
A terrible cracking sound rang out from the other end of the pier, so loud that it could be felt as well as heard, a cross between a crack of thunder and a gunshot. But the sound reverberated through the boards below, and Evangeline was struck with sudden and certain knowledge. She knew what the sound was.
It was followed by a second, just as terrible and slightly louder. Screams went up around them, a human echo to disaster. The boardwalk bucked under Eva’s footing, and she fell sideways. Instinctively, she steadied herself by rising slightly off the floor, just an inch or two, which was normally unnoticeable by humans but gained her the advantage of space.
Once again, it appeared the Dragon King had the same idea. Except, he was also working magic as he rose. The words he whispered were fast and ancient, and the Entity laughed an evil laugh where he still stood, unfazed by the Pier’s movement.
“Have fun, kids,” he said just before he vanished. No one saw him disappear. In fact Eva probably needn’t have bothered with the low hovering because no one was paying attention to their side of the pier any longer. Instead, they were running. They were sliding and grasping whatever solid fixture was nearest to them.
The pier was moving. The entire thing.
“He’s cut it off and sent it into the bay!” she cried out. The enormous cracking sound had been the wooden planks of the boardwalk coming loose and snapping apart. From the distance of the sound, it had probably broken off somewhere around the neck of the pier, right in front of the California Welcome Center and the Crab House.
“Transport to Alcatraz,” Calidum commanded her. “I’ll handle this.”
Eva didn’t have the time to stare at him incredulously. Instead, she said, “My ass,” and took to flight. Even in the midst of crisis, a human spying her out-and-out flying could lead to unwanted questions after all – or the rumor of angels. Either way, it was better to be safe than sorry, so she allowed invisibility to cascade over her as she rose, shielding her body from sight.
Where are you going, Eva? came the cool but clearly angry question in her head.
Her reply was just as cool and just as angry: To help.
She tried to put him out of her mind as she stared down at the strange destruction taking place below her on the pier. There were two levels to this portion of the pier, and stores and restaurants ran the length of both levels. At the center of the Bay End, the San Francisco Carousel continued to turn, but now its music was off-key, and the children and adults on the animals were sliding off, a few of them screaming or calling to their children.
The performer on the adjoining stage to the Carousel was a man Eva recognized straightaway. He was a fixture on the pier and had been for forty years. Frisco Fred was his name. Nowhere near as dexterous or jumpy as he had been in his youth, Fred still managed to bring magic to every moment of his show with quick thinking and a witty sense of humor, and the audience forgave the occasional bowling pin or flaming baton drop – because he always had a joke to accompany each mistake.
But now, Frisco Fred gazed nervous and confused at the bucking wood beneath the stage, and the benches, which were coming undone from their fastenings to slide haphazardly on the wooden planks. He hurried from the stage and began directing people with quick instructions. “Over here! Hang on to this!” he would tell them. “This is an earthquake! Move away from the sides! The second story walk can collapse! Make sure you’re out of its way and just hang on right here!”
The experience that came with age was clear in his commands and the calm manner with which he gave them. He directed citizens to brace themselves on the solid poles that went completely through the boardwalk as part of its construction or to hold on to more secure doorways or foundations. Everyone did what he instructed, scrambling to take hold of anything stable.
There was something about his voice, Frisco Fred. It made people want to do what he was telling them to do. And as Eva watched and listened, she realized that an earthquake was exactly what people would think this was. She didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her before. It was fortuitous that such an excuse was so readily available.
Even so – people could die. A lot of them. The pier was packed. And because it was a Saturday, many of the attendees were children. No doubt the Entity had chosen this day for just that reason. This was some kind of diversion; that was her instinct. The Entity wanted them busy. The shitty thing was, it worked. There were a lot of things the Thirteen Kings and their ilk could ignore, but clear and present danger to innocents was not one of them.