Chapter Seven

 

Serenity and a sense of calm were something fleeting and short lived at best in the DeLeon household. Maia and Ignacio were gifted the rest of that day and the evening to enjoy their moment of peace and contentment. Even the dinner, which had originally been planned as an official engagement dinner for Ignacio and Elena, went just fine, though after the interesting events earlier that afternoon, the dinner had become just a regular dinner.

Thankfully, invitations to friends and colleagues of the family had never been sent out and the dinner had been planned as a private, family sort of deal. Rafael was, if nothing else, a man who thought through every angle. Of course, he would have been a fool to believe that his brother and Elena would do as they were told and go through with the marriage. Then again, he wasn’t exactly privy to the finer details of what had happened to turn an engagement dinner into a standard supper.

The following morning, after a hearty breakfast and his standard workout, Rafael had taken to his office to conduct business as usual. While he handled e-mails and calls with his various associates, he contemplated what he was going to do about Ignacio and Elena. He had kept the girl here, albeit cared for well, for 5 years and her family had already begun to pester him about the wedding date.

He had been able to fend them off with lies of Elena and Ignacio wishing to take time to know one another before officially marrying… but that was only going to hold for so long. Five years was plenty of time, many would say, and the clock was running out. He loathed the thought of calling off the engagement and sending Elena back to her family. It would reflect horribly upon his family, not to mention himself, which Ignacio could not be reined in.

Already, he felt a headache creeping up on him when the intercom box on his desk buzzed and a voice cracked out of it—the security guard who monitored the property.

“Mr. DeLeon, Sir?” The guard began. “Pardon the interruption, but there is a man at the gate asking to speak with you. I don’t see any appointment visits scheduled, but I thought I should check with you anyway.”

“Does this fellow have a name?” Rafael asked. “I’m not expecting anyone.”

“Stroyer, Sir.” The guard answered. “He claims to be a businessman, new to the area, who was told you were the man to meet.”

Rafael’s brow furrowed as he stared at the intercom box on his desk. The name didn’t sound familiar in the slightest, and the premise of this man’s visit didn’t seem quite right either. He thought about it for a moment before responding.

“Who told him to meet me?” Rafael asked, figuring that if the name he was given was legitimate; he would see this stranger for a visit.

“Dr. Alberto Maldonado, Sir.” Came the guard’s answer. “As well as Mr. Luis Zayes.”

Rafael was impressed. The two men named were longtime friends and colleagues of his, whom he held in high regard. If this man had come at their behest, Rafael wasn’t going to turn him away.

“Let him in and call for Manuel to meet this Mr. Stroyer at the door,” Rafael said. “Have him brought to my office and see to it that he is given whatever beverage he requests.”

From the time he gave that command to the moment his office door was opened for Mr. Stroyer to enter through, Rafael had managed to seal a deal with a local railroad company regarding advertisements on some of their train cars. Innovative, but simple as far as Rafael was concerned. When Mr. Stroyer was shown into the office, Rafael stood and greeted him with a pleasant yet fairly blank face.

“Mr. Stroyer, I presume?” Rafael asked, offering his hand to the man in greeting.

“Special Agent James Stroyer with the FBI, actually,” the man said with a cocky smile, shaking Rafael’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. DeLeon.”

Rafael said nothing at first, completely thrown off by the fact that this man was a United States Federal Agent. A million questions flooded through his mind as they shook hands for that brief moment. Why was a US Fed in his home? Why had his friends sent this man to see him? Why had he lied about who he was at the gate? The list kept growing and growing and yet Rafael said not a word. Instead, he remained silent and waited for Agent Stroyer to make the first move. The man seemed happy to oblige.

“I apologize for the ruse at the gate, there, but I was fairly certain you never would have let me in had you known I was a Federal Agent,” Stroyer started, still flashing that cocky smile. “Was I right?”

“Have a seat, Agent Stroyer,” Rafael said, gesturing for him to take the chair on that side of the desk. As he did, Rafael settled into his own chair.

“Thank you,” Stroyer said, never once losing that smile. Something had him giddy and he was doing his best to hold it back. “I suppose you are wondering what I am doing all the way down here in Mex-i-co.”

Rafael narrowed his eyes a bit at the way Stroyer said Mexico, but he let it slide. Clearing his throat, he leaned back a bit in his chair and took up a position of power that he had learned from his father. Good posture, downward-angled chin and a mild look of disdain across his face.

“Considering you lied to gain entry into my home, I’d have to say I’m curious, yes,” Rafael answered.

“As I said, I felt it was the only way you would actually let me in. I apologize,” Stroyer said, though Rafael didn’t believe a word of his apology. “Allow me to start over.”

“I’ve already introduced myself as Special Agent James Stroyer of the FBI, though to be quite honest, I am not here on what they call ‘official’ business,” he explained, even making the air-quotes with his fingers as he said it. “The information I am about to share with you is of official capacity and the choices you make here today will be reflected in future FBI reports.”

Stroyer paused, giving Rafael a moment to absorb what he had just said. In that pause, Rafael scrutinized the man, attempting to read him but coming up short. Something about that cocky smile combined with those deadpan eyes threw Rafael off in a way that made him a little uncomfortable. When Rafael made no motion to speak or even shift in his position, Stroyer took that as cue to keep talking.

“That said.” The Agent cleared his throat. “I’m currently here of my own accord to personally inform you of what your beloved brothers have been up to.”

That did it. Rafael shifted a bit in his seat, his eyes narrowing as he stared the man down. He had information about Ignacio and Mateo? Rafael assumed it was going to be details of what they had been up to in the States, though the fact that this man was an FBI agent got his heart pounding. What had his brothers done? Rafael arched a brow slightly and then nodded, silently urging Stroyer to continue.

“It seems your brother, Ignacio, is it? It seems he can’t quite control his fire…” Stroyer paused again, that smile fading slightly as he watched Rafael’s face.

Rafael tensed, his hand gripping the armrests of his chair for a moment before he mentally shook off the shock of what Stroyer had just said to him. It was obvious Stroyer knew they were dragons, or at least that Ignacio was. Still, Rafael remained silent.

“Your brother caused some serious damage to a major area of the Mojave just northeast of Las Vegas.” Stroyer continued, shifting into a more casual position in his seat. “Disrupted quite a bit of government property by turning a significant portion of the desert into glass. Sheer, solid glass…”

“You mean to tell me you have tracked my brother across the border of your country because he turned some sand to glass?” Rafael asked, scoffing slightly to hide the fact that he was legitimately worried.

“Oh, I doubt we would have tracked him all this way for something as simple as that,” Stroyer said, casually lacing his fingers together in his lap. “But considering he and his little girlfriend also have the deaths of a dozen or more Government Agents and Soldiers on their hands…”

“What?!” Rafael barked. He hadn’t intended to, but this revelation of Stroyer’s forced it right out of him. “What are you talking about? My brother is no killer!”

“Oh, really?” Stroyer asked, a hint of a laugh behind his words. “I have extensive footage that would argue otherwise.”

Stroyer leaned forward, a glimmer of a grin on his lips as he knocked a fingertip against the table to emphasize his words. Rafael tensed, suppressing the urge to punch this man square in the face.

“Your brother and his girlfriend, this Maia Wilson woman, are wanted by quite a number of Government agencies. The FBI was lucky enough to draw the long straw to go after them.” Stroyer continued, his tone getting a tad more serious as the grin faded a bit. “In addition to blowtorching a huge chunk of the desert into glass, your brother and his girlfriend staged a violent escape from Government custody, killing dozens of agents in the process. To make matters worse, they crossed the border and turned this into an international affair.”

Stroyer drew a breath to continue and Rafael felt as though the air had been sucked right out of his chest. So, Ignacio and Maia were fugitives from the United States Government and this man was here to cart them away. Rafael should have probed Ignacio for more detail about the 5 years he’d been gone, rather than solely harp on the engagement to Elena.

“I would be well within my rights as a Federal Agent to take them into custody and haul them back across the border right now,” Stroyer added, sitting back in his seat once more. “Though, I would be getting ahead of myself and we would be forgetting about poor little Mateo.”

Again, Rafael felt his heart seize. Mateo. Mateo had been gone nearly as long as Ignacio… and just like Ignacio, not a soul had heard a single word about him since he had left. Unlike Ignacio, however, Mateo hadn’t popped back up unannounced and generally in one healthy piece. Clearing his throat, careful to moderate his tone, Rafael spoke up and asked a question he knew he didn’t want the answer to.

“What do you know of Mateo?” The words nearly halted in his throat, but he managed to get them out without giving too much of his emotion away.

“Oh, Mateo,” Stroyer said with a laugh, shaking his head as that smile returned. “Mateo was up to his own special brand of fun up in the city of sin. Not only was he pushing drugs in a handful of nightclubs all along the strip… but he was the one running them across the border too!”

Stroyer laughed again, smacking his own knee at the amusement he got out of it. Rafael scowled, both at Stroyer’s actions and the news that his baby brother had turned to running drugs. How cliché could Mateo have gotten? A rich brat from Mexico who goes to Las Vegas to run drugs? Part of Rafael hoped Mateo had at least been running the show… but considering the type of person Mateo was, he doubted it.

“I suppose it’s pretty easy to cart drugs across the border when you can just… fly them right over yourself,” Stroyer quipped, gesturing with his hand as if it was a plane taking off. The smirk on the man’s face annoyed the hell out of Rafael. “But I think you understand that better than I could, hm?”

Rafael sighed, though he never let his eyes leave Stroyer’s face. This entire meeting was a power play and Rafael wasn’t about to lose any ground. Not if he could help it. He took a moment to think, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the Agent across from him.

“Where is he now?” Rafael asked, his voice lowering in tone slightly. “You know so much already, I must assume you already know I have not spoken to my younger brother in nearly 5 years.”

“Very true!” Chimed Stroyer. “You’re more in the dark than anyone around here, I bet!”

“Mateo is safe and sound, don’t you worry,” Stroyer continued, his voice taking on a hint of personal disgust. Something about Mateo obviously upset him. “After a series of… mistakes… on his part, Mateo found himself locked up tight for his crimes. To be honest, we’ve had him most of the time he’s been gone from here…”

That information was quite a bombshell to Rafael. Mateo had been locked up in Federal prison, presumably by people who knew his nature, for nearly 5 years and this was the first time anyone had come knocking at the DeLeon doorstep? Something didn’t seem quite right with that, but perhaps Mateo had been a better brother, and a better dragon, than Rafael would have guessed and had kept his mouth shut about his family. One could hope that was it.

“He’s gotten to be quite a quiet fellow.” Stroyer seemed to muse, looking like he enjoyed the thought of Mateo’s torture. “Though, despite keeping to himself, we’ve learned quite a bit from him.”

“And what might that be?” Rafael asked, before realizing it. He needed to know what they knew. Containing the knowledge of their kind was paramount to remaining safe.

“All you need to know,” Stroyer said, leaning forward once more in his seat, his voice lowering. “Is that I plan to give each and every member of your family a cozy cell of their own right near Mateo. Prime real-estate.”

Rafael had difficulty restraining himself. Thoughts of killing this man and simply disposing of him out at sea flashed through his mind. It would be simple enough, really. But how many knew where this man was? He was a Federal Agent, after all. Killing him, and getting away with it would be no simple and flippant a task.

“I’ll leave it up to you, big daddy,” Stroyer said, standing up from his seat to slip his hands into his pockets. “Come with me, family in tow, without issue and I’ll make sure everyone gets special treatment once we get back home. Fight me on this… and it won’t be pretty. Think it over. I’ll be around.”

The Agent nodded to Rafael with a smile and then turned to head towards the door. When he got there, pulling a hand from his pocket to reach for the handle, he paused and glanced back over his shoulder to make one last comment.

“Oh, and by that, I mean I’ll be making myself at home,” he said. “No sense getting some shabby hotel when this estate is so amazing. I assume you have a cook? I’m famished.”

With that, Stroyer opened the door and left. Once Rafael was alone in his office, he let go of his restrain and let loose a heavy and growling sigh before slamming his fist down against his desk. How could his brothers have been so stupid! They knew better than to do anything so brazen that would get them in trouble like this. Now the entire family was in jeopardy because of it.

After some time spent thinking it over, Rafael decided he needed to speak with Ignacio. He needed to know exactly what had happened with this turning the desert to glass nonsense. Perhaps if he knew everything… he might be able to help fix all of this.

*

Since fairly early that morning, something hadn’t felt right for Maia and Ignacio could tell. She had been fidgety, seemed anxious and her words were clipped and sort of irritated. He figured she was just hungry, considering they hadn’t had breakfast just yet, and offered to go down to the kitchen and get them something to eat.

“I guess…” She answered him with a sigh.

“I’ll grab a few things,” he said, softly. “We can have our own mini buffet.”

They shared a smile between one another and Ignacio leaned down to press a gentle kiss against her forehead. In a pair of slippers, gray pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, Ignacio padded his way down to the kitchen and went about putting together a little bit of breakfast for them both.

He tried to keep it healthy, piling up a few pieces of random fruit like apple and orange slices, grapes, and a small bowl of sliced melon. He also grabbed a few of Lucia’s fresh-baked churro doughnuts while she was kind enough to make him and Maia each a baked egg. He loaded all of it, as well as two tall glasses of juice, onto a wooden serving tray and started off back upstairs.

All in all, he had been gone about 20 minutes or so getting their breakfast together, so he tried to move quickly so he could get back to Maia. She was probably starving by now. When he reached the base of the main stairway, however, the sight he saw stopped him dead in his tracks and he nearly dropped the entire tray right to the floor.

The man who came waltzing down the stairs with a cocky grin had a face that Ignacio would never forget. That was the face that had held him in that Government bunker. This was the face responsible for torturing him, cutting off his hair, and electrocuting Maia. Ignacio’s heart seized in his chest, his grip tightening on the handles of the tray, and he came to a dead stop. Agent Stroyer, sauntering down the stairs, locked eyes with Ignacio and flashed him that grin. Stroyer knew exactly who Ignacio was and the way the man’s eyes drilled into him left no room for discussion on that. Ignacio and Maia had been found.

Ignacio stood his ground there at the bottom of the stairs, watching Stroyer descend ever closer towards him. Ignacio had no idea what to expect in the next few moments, but he tensed and prepared for the worst. He was in his childhood home… he wouldn’t hesitate a single moment to transform and take this Agent down if he had to.

“Mr. DeLeon, long time no see,” Stroyer said.

He then continued to just waltz on by, as if they were old acquaintances passing idly, leaving Ignacio standing there with a deeply shocked and confused look on his face. He chanced a glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of Stroyer as he wandered towards the kitchen like he owned the place. Once he was out of sight, Ignacio took off as fast as he could manage with a tray full of food in his hands. He had to tell Maia.

The look on her face when he opened the door and came rushing in, was priceless. Too bad he was in no mood to enjoy it. He set the tray of food down on the little coffee table and immediately launched into telling her what had just happened. She didn’t even have a chance to say a word.

“He’s here,” Ignacio started. “The Agent, I mean. From that bunk. The guy who cut off my hair and hurt you. He’s here. I think he was just talking to Rafael, but I have no idea what the hell is going on.”

“Whoa, whoa!” Maia said, standing up from the chair she had been sitting in. “What are you even talking about, Ignacio? There is no way…”

Even as she said it, he could tell she didn’t quite believe it. She could read him like a book and it wasn’t like he was trying to hide his thoughts or emotions at the moment. He drew a breath, closed his eyes and tilted his head back before looking at her again, trying to explain it better the second time around.

“The Government Agent who was in charge of… Everything,” he started. “The one who was holding me, who cut off my hair. The one who has been running the show and chasing after us ever since I… well… you know? He’s here. I saw him when I was coming back upstairs. He smiled at me like we were old friends and went towards the kitchen. I think he was up talking to Rafael.”

Maia just looked at him, wide-eyed and in a state of pure shock. Slowly, that look of shock on her face transformed to one of fear and anxiety and she began to pace back and forth across the room. Seeing her like that, knowing that this bastard FBI agent was the cause of her worry, brought up more anger in him than actually seeing the agent here in his home. Maia was his world… and he did not appreciate things upsetting his world.

“If that’s true, then we need to leave, like, right now,” Maia said, never once looking up as she paced. “If that bastard is here, then he’s going to have our asses in a tiny metal box before we can blink. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to spend the rest of my life living in a government prison cell while they poke and prod at you in the next room.”

“Maia, stop,” he said, stepping into her path and gently gripping her shoulders. “You might be right, but I don’t think you are. Not… not totally.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, looking at him for the first time since she started pacing.

“Like I said, I think he was talking to Rafael,” he said. “I also think he might be here alone. He was strutting around like he owned the place and if he had backup here with him I’m sure we would have noticed.”

Maia just stood there, her jaw tightening as she listened to Ignacio explain. Her eyes narrowed slightly as a few thoughts flew threw her mind and she attempted to pin down the one she wanted to voice.

“Why would he be talking to your brother?” She asked, finding it to be the most nagging of her questions.

“I plan to find out,” Ignacio said flatly, squeezing her shoulders in an attempt to reassure her. “I also plan to find out exactly why my brother is letting the man who damn near killed us both, wander around the estate like some guest of honor.”

As he spoke, he grew more and more upset at the situation. Why, exactly, was Rafael letting this man wander around their home so freely? Did he know who this man was and why he was here? If so, did Rafael even give a damn that he was signing his brother’s death warrant by letting this man into their home? He felt a deep, burning anger beginning to boil up within his chest, and his eyes narrowed in anger.

“Rafael had better be blind to the truth of everything that is happening, or I swear…” Ignacio seethed. “I won’t hesitate to rip his throat out if he is knowingly letting that brazen jackass make himself at home here.”

“I’ll help dispose of the body if it comes to that,” Maia said in a flat tone.

Deep down, Ignacio knew she was joking the way she always did in situations like this one, but he also knew that she actually was that devoted to him and that knowledge tempered his rage slightly. He leaned forward, pressing his lips against her forehead and squeezing her shoulders once more before releasing her to step back.

“I’ll be right back. Stay here… have something to eat,” he said, giving her a little smile, though he had a feeling her appetite had gone out the window along with his.

He turned and left then, hoping she would be able to relax enough to enjoy her breakfast while he tended to this issue with Rafael and the Agent now making himself at home in the estate. With every step he took in search of his elder brother, Ignacio could feel the heat of his anger rising. How could Rafael be so callous as to let the man who was hunting them right into their home! Didn’t he give a damn about Ignacio, Maia, or their safety? What about the rest of the family and the Estate grounds?

Ignacio was fuming over it all, conveniently forgetting that he had never actually explained everything in detail to Rafael, and eager to confront his brother. He had expected to find Rafael in his office, but when he threw open the door and stormed in, the room was silent and empty. With a bit of a frustrated snarl, he turned and left to continue his hunt. The fact that the office had been empty seemed to stoke his fire all the more. Those amber eyes glinting as if reflecting the dancing light of fire while going deep and cold all at the same time.

He was about halfway down the main stairway, which lead to the massive Greeting Hall and main foyer, when he caught sight of Rafael coming from the Staff and Kitchen section of the house. Ignacio’s eyes narrowed and locked onto his brother, never once wavering from him even as he started down the stairs at a quicker pace.

“Rafael!” He bellowed.

Rafael stopped in his tracks when he heard his voice hollered out in anger, standing in the middle of the Greeting Hall, and looked up to see his younger brother barreling down the stairs towards him. Instantly, that familiar old anger buried in his chest went from a smoldering ember to a raging inferno and his hands curled into fists at his sides. His eyes narrowed, and a hint of a snarl curled at his lips.

“How dare you!” Rafael barked, his voice sharp and gravelly. “You return to this home, our FATHER’S home, acting like some prodigal son denied his forgiveness… yet you knowingly bring destruction in your wake!”

The distance closed between the two of them as Ignacio reached the base of the stairs. They squared off with one another, much like they often did in their youth, and locked eyes. If there had ever been any doubt of their relation as brothers, seeing them mirroring each other in anger certainly cleared it right up. Ignacio’s jaw tightened, and he drew in a breath, preparing to shred Rafael to pieces.

“From the moment you set foot back on this property you have done nothing but wreak havoc for those who call it home,” Rafael cut him off, continuing to sharply bark his words… even when standing so close to his brother. “You call me selfish, yet you have never done a SINGLE thing your entire life that was not for yourself, and only yourself. You shirk any duty you have been given as a DeLeon, you RUN from your commitments meant to better the entire family and yet you whine and cry as if you have been forgotten and ignored!”

The only reason Rafael stopped was because he needed to take a breath. It was in that moment, looking at his elder brother’s reddening face, which Ignacio took the opportunity to get in his two cents. His brother’s words had fanned his own anger into pure rage and it was all he could do to bite it back.

“I came home seeking HELP!” He snapped, his voice taking on a similar tone to Rafael’s. “Yet, from the moment Maia and I walked through the door, you have offered us nothing but disapproval and judgement… and now you let HIM into our family home? The same man who would have happily killed Maia and I?! You disgust me, you selfish BASTARD!”

“You have only ever seen the world the way you want to, Ignacio,” Rafael snarled, stepping closer to his little brother. “Turn.”

The word sent a ripple down Ignacio’s spine and that raging inferno of anger in his chest consumed him. Without another word spoken, both DeLeon men stepped back from one another and let their true nature take center stage. Their bodies began to change all at once. Skin stretching as their bones grew and thickened, snapping and rearranging themselves as if following design. The process was both quick and fluid, natural and as if it caused neither of them any pain.

They moved back further from one another as they grew, both lurching forward onto their hands and knees as thick, heavy scales blossomed out across their entire bodies. Ignacio’s skin went from a smooth, caramel color to a russet red before deepening to a bloody crimson while Rafael seemed to transform into gold. His scales seemed copper-coated at first, yet as they grew and took over his body, they sharpened to a brilliant golden hue.

Their hands gripped into the marble tile floor of the Greeting Hall, fingers stretching and growing larger as the scales took over until those hands had been replaced by massive claws. Their necks began to grow thicker as well as stretch longer and longer as their faces followed suit. Their shoulders popped, realigning themselves closer together before sprouting away from their bodies to take the form of massive, bat-like wings which slowly settled across their backs as supine tails sprouted from the base of their spines.

All of the commotion they caused had drawn out the rest of the house, though the first to arrive on the scene were Lucia, Manuel, and unfortunately, Agent Stroyer. The 3 of them had been in the kitchen when the fight between the brothers began and both Manuel and Lucia knew what was going to happen. They had hurried from the kitchen and even as the two brothers transformed, they scurried around the massive Greeting Hall scooping up various delicate bits of décor in an attempt to save it. Lucia scooped up a decorative vase and a potted fern while Manuel lifted a few pieces of artwork from the walls. The two of them carted these items away in the hopes of keeping them safe… and by the way they went about it, it seemed they had gone through this routine before.

Stroyer had taken up position leaning against the doorway heading towards the kitchen area, watching the brothers with a look of cocky validation across his face. He had gotten to see this transformation process before… but he’d never gotten to see a dragon duel. Part of him wished he had a bowl of popcorn.

Maia, Elena, and Camilla all seemed to arrive at the same time, coming slowly down the stairs from the second storey when they heard all of the commotion. In quite a poetic turn, Maia and Elena descended together from one side of the large split staircase, while Camilla arrived alone from the other. All three women tensed, seemingly in unison, as they watched the men they loved become the terrifying beasts they truly were. Maia, however, seemed to grow more agitated than the other two… her eyes shifting from her dragon lover to the government agent watching the fray with snark in his eyes.

Their transformations complete, the two brothers lifted their massive heads to face one another. Vibrant, vivid amber eyes locking onto one another again just as they had before… though now they sported the hard, slit-pupiled fierceness of their kind. Without warning, they threw themselves at one another full force, sending the entire house shuddering.

The reactions from the little crowd that had gathered to watch them was varied and rather interesting, to say the least, as two massive dragons battled with strength and claw before them. Elena gripped Maia’s arm reflexively, gasping in both fear and worry as her eyes widened. Maia, strangely enough, felt an odd sense of calm wash over her at Elena’s touch and reached over to place a reassuring hand over Elena’s. The two women stood together, both watching Ignacio with a worried intensity and both praying that he came out on top of this battle.

Camilla, alone and isolated, gripped the railing of the stairs and watched with haughty tension. She made a great effort to hide her emotions and come off as the aloof trophy wife everyone saw her as… but her heart threatened to explode out of her chest and her stomach was doing flips inside of her. The sight of Rafael transforming had always, on those rare occasions she saw it, gotten her somewhat… excited. But to see him going tooth and claw at his own brother sent a strange mixture of feelings through her. To be quite honest, she wasn’t sure how to describe it to herself and so she just stood there, letting those feelings wash over her as she watched her husband battle his little brother. It was so surreal, her life.

Lucia and Manuel had seen this, many times before, and their attention seemed to be upon the broad arched ceiling of the room rather than the two dragons grappling in the center of it. Had anyone else bothered to look, just Agent Stroyer did, they might have noticed a rather impressive collection of raking claw marks etched all along the ceiling. It made sense why so much of the house seemed to have been made of stone instead of wood. Oddly enough, not a single scorch mark could be seen.

The humans did their best to keep out of the way, yet a thing such as a battle between dragons was difficult to turn away from completely. That instinct to flee, to run and find safety as far away as possible, surely fluttered in each and every one of their chests… yet the morbid curiosity and inherent confidence gifted to every human kept them right where they were.

Another shockwave rumbled through the house as Rafael broke the grapple that had locked the two of them together for a moment, slamming one golden claw against the hard marble floor when he shifted his balance. He lashed out, aiming to wrap another set of claws around his brother’s scaly throat and subdued him quickly. Anger had started this battle, but Rafael would be damned if it would be the end of it as well.

Ignacio, who in his younger years would have easily been caught in his brother’s grip, had learned a thing or two in his years away. With an ease that actually surprised Rafael, Ignacio dodged his attempt and threw one of his own. A massive, crimson-red claw roared towards his face with a speed he did not recall Ignacio having. Before he realized it, Rafael felt Ignacio’s claws wrap around his long dragon’s maw, clamping it shut against Rafael’s will.

Rafael snorted, but Ignacio gave no hint of hesitation and Rafael could see that raging anger still burning in his brother’s eyes. With his grip tightening around Rafael’s face, Ignacio slammed his brother down hard against the marble floor, putting every ounce of his dragon weight behind the move. Rafael went down hard, fully not expecting such a move from his younger brother. He quickly realized he was vastly underestimating Ignacio, treating him as if he was the same tender little brat that was so easy to beat up when they were younger. It was painfully obvious that Ignacio had grown in a number of ways in his time away.

Ignacio let out a snarling growl as he slammed his brother’s golden head into the floor. His rage drove him, the heat in his belly burning with such intensity that for a moment he lost sight of himself and gave into it completely. He lunged for his brother’s neck while he had him pinned down, his maw opening with the intent of sinking his long, wickedly sharp teeth into his brother’s scaly neck. It wouldn’t quite kill him, but it would hurt like a bullet wound.

“IGNACIO! NO!” Cried Maia, suddenly.

If anything in the world could pull his mind back into control, it was Maia’s voice. From the first moment he had heard her humming along to her music out in the desert of the Mojave, it had become his anchor in the world. That, of course, and her smile. The sound of it stopped him cold just shy of his brother’s neck, that animalistic look in his amber eyes softening slightly. Unfortunately, that moment of hesitation Maia brought about in Ignacio was enough for Rafael to yank himself free of his brother’s grip and pull his head and neck free from danger. As he did, he swiped hard at Ignacio’s head, intending to shove him into the stone wall of the room while raking a claw across his face.

Ignacio caught the blow, his left eye closing just in time as his brother’s sharp claws as ripped along the side of his face. His scales protected him somewhat, but a dragon’s claws could do serious damage, nevertheless. A hint of blood welled along the wounds where Rafael broke through his brother’s protective scales and hit tender flesh which made Ignacio snarl. The younger brother pushed himself away from the wall and lunged for the elder, grappling him at his scaly shoulders before wrenching him to the side with all of his might.

Rafael went down, and hard. Ignacio slammed him down onto the marble floor and kept him there, holding him down with all of his strength. Rafael found himself caught in a horrible position, with one arm and wing pinned under his own body while his younger brother held the rest of him in an iron grasp. He could move nothing but his tail… and though he could have easily lashed his brother with it… he knew that this battle was over. With a hard snort and a growl of irritation, Rafael forced himself to relax and accept his defeat at the hands of his younger brother.

Ignacio got the message and backed off. The moment he did, both brothers began to transform back into their human forms. As if on cue, likely from years of training, both Lucia and Manuel appeared with bathrobes in hand. It seemed no one had noticed that they had actually slipped away during the actual fighting… and apparently it was to fetch the brothers’ bathrobes for this very moment. Once Ignacio and Rafael had returned to their human forms, they were left standing stark naked in the middle of a well-battered Greeting Hall. Lucia and Manuel handed over the robes and the two men covered themselves… though the tension in the room remained thick enough to cut in half and no one yet dared to speak.

The silence in the room was finally broken when Rafael cleared his throat. He squared his shoulders, looked his younger brother up and down… and then just walked away. He would never admit it, not in this moment nor anytime in the foreseeable future, but he suddenly sensed a newfound respect for his younger brother. Obviously, Ignacio had not only learned to handle himself… but he had learned how to stand up for himself as well. Rafael was impressed, though his bruised ego refused to let any of that show through. So, instead, he gathered up what was left of his pride, and simply walked away.

It was almost as if everyone watching had been holding one collective breath and finally let it loose. Camilla moved down the stairs to meet her husband as he came walking up them. When she reached him, she slipped her arm into his and nuzzled up close beside him. The two left without a single word spoken, nor a glance back. Ignacio stood there in the middle of the Greeting Hall floor and just watched as his brother walked away from him, reaching up to wipe his cut and bloodied cheek with the sleeve of his bathrobe. Thankfully it was black, which gave Lucia less of a heart attack.

Once Rafael had gone, the rest of the room relaxed and began to move about. Both Maia and Elena began to descend the stairs together towards Ignacio, which was a sight that threw the poor man off significantly. Everyone came to a halt once again when the sharp sound of slow clapping cracked through the air around them.

“Now that was magnificent!” Exclaimed Agent Stroyer. “Just amazing, really. You guys should really consider charging people to see that. Very intense.”

He walked out towards the rest of them as he spoke, finally leaving the doorway he had been leaning in while watching the fight. He slipped his hands into his pockets, looking at all of them with that cocky grin coming across his face.

“So! What happens next?” He asked.