4. RESTRAINT

RESTRAINT

“A re you seeing this, dear?” Esme’s voice rose up to a twitter as she spoke to Chione.

There was a momentary silence as Valerius imagined Esme showing Chione something on the web or television, and then his Councillor murmured, “Oh, my, how did that happen? I thought… they should not be there!”

“It looks like they went to play with the children and… well, Human’s First are everywhere . Sort of like cockroaches, you know,” Esme answered her.

Valerius, who was changing on one of his eyrie perches in his tower, frowned. Esme and Chione were seated on the ground floor of the tower by the fire, sipping glasses of wine. He hadn’t invited Illarion. According to his servants, Illarion had collapsed on his bed, though the Green Dragon King had pretended not to be tired after his fast, long flight, he clearly had been.

So who could the two women be talking about? He expected them to be discussing strategy about how to deal with an awake Illarion, not to mention the other Dragon Shifters that were to start arriving the next day. But no, they appeared to be looking at the news and seeing something involving Humans First. What were the Human’s First doing now? Didn’t he have enough trouble with Illarion here and Mei to follow close on his heels in the morrow to deal with those idiots?

“I don’t think we should tell him. He’s already so wound up with Illarion being here,” Esme murmured, casting her voice so low that he almost didn’t hear it, but he was quite tuned into them. “And it’s not like they could really do anything after all.”

Chione didn’t answer. He glanced over the side of his perch quickly enough to see his Councillor nod her head instead. He flattened his lips. They were supposed to be plotting on his behalf, not against him. For he was sure who the “he” in that sentence was.

Iolaire and Caden have done something, Raziel grumbled. It was already curled in a ball, half asleep after the wonderful afternoon with Caden and the straining not to kill Illarion. That last bit had definitely exhausted his Spirit.

No, surely not. I told them to go home. They would not disobey such a rational command , Valerius retorted. But a seed of unease was planted. What else would Esme and Chione be adverse to telling him if it was not about Caden and Iolaire? It must be something else. Because even if they did not go straight home, the likelihood of them running into Human’s First is--

They have done something, Raziel stated. They are young and invite trouble.

Unnerved, Valerius launched himself off of the platform to the next to the next and next before landing in what Chione called his “hero’s pose” with one knee bent and one leg stretched out behind him. The two women clapped, though both of them were just as limber. He weighed being annoyed or amused and decided to bow.

Let them make of that what they will.

“Valerius, you look refreshed. Would you like some wine?” Chione asked, quickly hiding an iPad behind her back.

“What were the two of you watching?” Valerius asked evenly as he stood there, unmoving.

“Oh, nothing!” Chione lied airily.

He lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”

Esme quickly poured him a glass of wine and, smiling winningly, thrust it towards him. “Please join us, Valerius. There is nothing worse than drinking alone.”

“You are drinking with Chione,” he pointed out. “That is hardly alone.”

Esme blinked innocently. “Yes, but it feels ever so much better the more people there are joining in.”

He, however, avoided the glass of wine and went to grab his own iPad off the side table. He heard a slight groan from Chione as he tapped on his browser. It did not take long for him to find what they had been looking at. Every channel was showing it.

“They are all right, Valerius,” Chione said weakly.

“It’s not like they can be hurt by those idiots,” Esme offered.

She began drinking her wine and his own. He wasn’t sure if the drinking belied her words or if she was just thirsty after her long flight across the Atlantic. Valerius ignored both of them as he watched the screen. He went rigid.

“…not fifteen minutes ago, the White Dragon Shifter alighted in the park and began to cavort with the children there, but their time of peace was soon over as they were approached by a group of Humans First protestors armed with bats, knives and who knows what else!” the female newscaster said breathlessly. Her eyes shone with excitement as she added with baited breath, “One wonders if there will be violence!”

One did not have to wonder if the newscaster hoped there would be. It was clear she did. He dropped the iPad and was pivoting towards the balcony, ready to shift and take off to the park to rescue his foolish— beloved —young man. But Chione caught his arm. He shot a look at her that would have probably killed another in her place.

“Chione,” he growled.

“You can’t go. No matter how much you want to. You must not go,” Chione told him, her eyes full of pleading.

“She’s right, you know. The Black Dragon King cannot fly into that park and torch those odious Humans First people,” Esme agreed, her hands tightening on the glasses of wine. “Even if warranted.”

“Why not?” he barked, even though he already knew on some level why not.

“They cannot hurt Iolaire,” Chione repeated a statement from earlier. “I’ve sent Simi and the Claw down there to observe and act if it is necessary. The police are also present. The biggest Werewolves they have are already infiltrating the park. Again, not that Iolaire needs their help. They cannot harm the White Dragon Shifter.”

“Not their body, no. But their soul…” Valerius’ lips flattened.

Shouldn’t he want Caden and Iolaire to learn the lesson that not everyone was good? That not everyone should be trusted? That humans, especially, were a group of reactionary monkeys still on many levels?

“If you go down there to save the day, Valerius, you not only risk more violence against Shifters, you raise Humans First profile,” Chione explained carefully. “That will only give the group more influence, not less.”

“But they are threatening Iolaire!” he roared.

“They are insects thinking that their buzzing is going to threaten a mountain,” Esme laughed. “Iolaire’s hide is as thick as ours. They proved that by resisting your attack, Valerius, the day they arrived.”

That was true. If anyone could have truly hurt Caden and Iolaire, it would have been him and Raziel.

What do you think? Valerius asked Raziel as his gaze dipped to the iPad.

The scene now showed the White Dragon Shifter completely surrounded by the howling mob of Humans First. With a start, he recognized Tilly seated on Iolaire’s back. Beside her were two other children. The other two looked scared, but Tilly appeared furious. She was staring at the mob with her hands clenched over her thighs and her eyes practically sparking fire.

Now she would make a great Dragon Shifter, Raziel rumbled in amusement.

She would. But she’s human, Raziel. She can easily break. All the more reason for us to go there and assert our dominance, Valerius argued.

No, Raziel said after a long moment.

No? Valerius couldn’t hide his shock. He had fully expected his red-blooded Spirit to want to fly down there and bring order. But ? —

Iolaire can protect them. We would undermine them if we went there. They must learn to assert their own dominance in their own way. We would crush their spirit if we constantly interfered, Raziel explained.

And as soon as Raziel said it, Valerius understood that his Spirit was right. But they are so young and inexperienced!

Yes, as we once were.

I do not recall us ever being so innocent, Valerius muttered.

Perhaps not. But we had to begin somewhere. This is their beginning, Raziel answered.

“I see that you are not going to fly down and attempt to save the day. What happened? Did our words reach you or oh my! Not Raziel! I believe the world must be ending if Raziel is advising restraint.” Esme offered him yet a third glass of wine. Evidently, she was intent on drinking both of the other glasses herself.

“You are correct. Raziel believes that Iolaire must handle this by themselves,” Valerius growled. He grabbed the glass of wine and took it over on the couch before settling down with the iPad. He would watch every moment of this. If things went south, he would go down there.

“Here, let me put it on the big screen,” Chione said and turned on the large screen that was almost invisible against the far wall.

She had on a different channel. This one had a handsome African-American reporter dressed in a smart suit with horn-rimmed glasses. His voice was low and melodic. It was the kind of voice that calmed everyone down.

He was saying, “… Humans First have surrounded the White Dragon Shifter and the three children it was playing with. Though Humans First have demanded the children be released, the children themselves have something very different to say about it.”

The camera then cut to Tilly shouting at the chanting Humans First members, “You’re all just a bunch of racist (BLEEP)! Go away! We don’t want to go with you! We’re staying with Iolaire! So get bent!”

Chione let out a burbling laugh. “Now she’s got some spunk, doesn’t she? Though her parents are probably going to say something to her about her choice of words.”

“Quite feisty.” Esme nodded. “Do you know her, dear?”

“No, not at all,” Chione lied, this time much more convincingly than she had to him. “I just imagined what her parents would think.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Esme murmured.

Valerius agreed with Chione that Tilly’s parents would not be amused hearing their daughter swear on television. But, then again, they might be more concerned that both of their children were staring down an angry mob and he wasn’t doing anything about it.

The camera cut back to the soothing anchor and framed High Reach behind him. “One wonders what Dragon King Valerius is going to do. I have to say that I expected him out here before now. But, so far, no sign of the Black Dragon Shifter.”

Valerius’ hands clenched into fists. The iPad shattered in his hands. He tossed the remnants on the floor with a clatter, prepared to get up again and go to Caden.

“I need to go?—”

“Valerius!” Chione cried. “Give Iolaire a chance to handle this. If they don’t, then you can go down.”

“What if something happens before then?” But he stopped himself.

“It won’t. Don’t you see how Iolaire is shielding the children with their wings? Nothing can hurt them,” Chione said.

He took in Iolaire’s behavior. It was true. The children were very safe where they were. And Iolaire could simply fly away if necessary. But still, he said, “If something happens, I will root out every member of Humans First and roast them alive.”

Esme blinked and said to her wine, “I would pay to see that.”

“They are causing you some pain, too, Esme?” Chione asked. “I thought that they were more of an American issue.”

“It is actually worse across the pond than here in some ways,” Esme admitted after a moment with an airy wave that was belied by the large swallow of wine. “They try to paint their rancid hatred towards Shifters as concern for jobs and culture , but it's speciesism pure and simple. It’s easier to talk about Shifter versus human than it is to discuss the change of the world overall. There are inequities, but many are ones that existed even before we revealed ourselves to the world. Though we speak of businesses as people, they are sociopaths. They simply do not care for the havoc they cause when they pay too little, lay people off, or simply work them to death. Other problems… are simply the changes that Shifters being out has wrought.”

“You mean how people will hire a Raven Shifter as their lawyer instead of a human one?” Chione asked.

“Now that we no longer have to hide our immortality, we can prosper even more greatly than before,” Esme explained. “More and more wealth is retained by Shifters. Positions of rank and authority are held by a majority of Shifters. Setting aside roles just for humans has been called the worst sort of affirmative action, which instead of helping humanity, many claim undermines humans’ rights to lead in any industry or politics. It makes them seem lesser .” Esme threw up her arms, nearly making it rain wine. “But if we don’t set those places aside, less and less humans are represented in important roles, and people think that’s because they can’t be there.”

“Studies clearly show that when Shifters and humans work together businesses are more vibrant, communities are better run, and many, many other positive effects,” Chione offered. “Humanity has much to offer."

“Sometimes I agree with you and those studies, dear. But then I see this .” Esme pointed towards the screen, which now showed the Humans First members chanting some anti-Shifter screed. It had the words “parasites” and “hosts” often thrown in.

“They have strengths where we are weak. For example, they think quickly and in the moment, whereas we often are thinking too many steps ahead and are paralyzed with indecision, or even think that there is plenty of time to come to one even when there is not,” Chione argued.

“I’ll give you that. The humans in my cabinet are always eager to be doing something ,” Esme muttered. “I don’t see you praising humanity today, Valerius. What do you think?”

“Sometimes I would like to live on the top of a mountain where no one could bother me,” Valerius growled. “But that is not an option any longer for me as the two people in this very room convinced me that the only way to make peace in the world is if I ruled it.”

That had them quieting down and looking, what he thought anyway, was a little guilty into their glasses of wine.

The news anchor was back. “Despite threats and cajoling, the children still remain firmly with Iolaire. The White Dragon Shifter has made no threatening moves towards anyone, though the crowd appears to be growing more uneasy every moment. Where is Black Dragon King Valerius?”

Valerius’ hands clenched again. Luckily, there were no more iPads within reach to crush into splinters. “You see! They all want me to come! They expect me to come!”

“Yes, they do, but why do they?” Chione challenged, hands on her hips.

“Because Iolaire?—”

“Needs help against board-wielding idiots? No, that is not why. It is because it is Humans First. Jasper Hawes has tried to make everything between you and him, when he doesn’t represent humanity! He represents this ugly sliver of it,” Chione argued. “If Iolaire was in danger, I would go there myself and do something. But they are not. So I must counsel you to stay , Valerius. I know that this is not what you want to do, but--”

“Since I have come to rule, there has been little of what I like to do open to me!” he shouted at her.

He regretted it slightly the moment he did. She was not responsible for what was happening with Iolaire and Caden now. He could leave and go there no matter what she said. He was staying here because he agreed with her.

But this is agony.

Yet at that moment, Iolaire appeared serene. Their blue eyes searched the crowd for something. What did they see in the Humans First faces other than hate? Caden would recognize the fury for what it was, but would the Spirit? Iolaire seemed so terribly innocent, more innocent than Caden even. Would seeing this ugliness hurt it?

Raziel snorted. Iolaire is strong. Do not think it is a delicate flower!

The newscaster went on, “It is unclear what Humans First wants. All the children are now shouting at them to go away and other… ah, colorful epithets. They clearly do not need saving.”

They cut to Tilly and her friends on Iolaire’s back who were all now shouting at the protesters, shaking their fists in the air, blowing them raspberries and making other rude gestures. Valerius was certain he would be hearing all about this from Caden and Tilly’s parents.

The newscaster continued, “As the newest of the Dragon Shifters with a more delicate touch than the others such as the Green Dragon King Illarion or the Red Dragon Queen Mei—with her notorious fiery temper—not to mention our very own Black Dragon King Valerius, perhaps Humans First thinks it can push Iolaire around!”

“They think they can push a Dragon around? They must have all taken a few hits to the head,” Esme muttered. “But it does show how delusional these Humans First people are to believe that they could go up against one of us. Even the newest, smallest of us.”

“Iolaire is not violent. Not to say they can’t defend themselves, obviously, but violence is not their way.” Chione was rubbing her hands together in front of her.

But both of them went stiff as one of the protestors decided that they had waited long enough for the children to be “returned” from the back of the hated Shifter. He rushed forward with a two-by-four raised above his head. The camera zoomed in on the end of the piece of wood and there were rusted nails sticking out. They would do nothing against Dragon hide, yet still, Valerius’ heart was in his throat that board neared Iolaire. He saw the police surging forward at the edge of the crowd, but they couldn’t get to the man who was about to attack the White Dragon Shifter in time.

Caden, Iolaire, be careful!

That will not even tickle, Raziel muttered, head on its massive crossed arms.

They are not fighters!

Iolaire is a mighty Dragon and those are foolish humans. All will be well. Raziel seemed to be channeling Chione at that moment.

Esme gave out a hoot of delight as Iolaire grasped the edge of that upraised board in their teeth and neatly yanked it out of the man’s hands. The man, startled, was raised up a few feet in the air until he wisely let go and tumbled onto his ass, stunned. Iolaire tossed the board over onto the grass away from anyone. They then turned back to the man whose mouth was open in an “O” of terror as Iolaire leaned down and nudged him gently to his feet. He stumbled backwards, letting out yells of fear until he realized that he wasn’t being harmed. Well, except for the layer of frost over his clothes. Tilly and the other children laughed and pointed at him, rolling about. Soon, some of the crowd—those not in Humans’ First, or at least those without weapons—laughed, too. The protestor’s cheeks flared red. Iolaire preened which had people taking pictures and crowding through the rowdy protestors to get nearer to the White Dragon.

Chione hit his arm. Her face was wreathed in smiles. “See! See, Valerius! Iolaire is doing just fine.”

“You sound as if you do not quite believe it yourself, Chione,” he pointed out.

“Well, I am protective of them too,” she admitted sheepishly.

Caden and Iolaire had handled this well. In fact, they gently cleared a way for the Werewolf police to get to the man who had attacked them. The Humans First protestor was none too gently handcuffed and read his rights before being hauled away. Another massive Werewolf, though retaining his human form, stepped between the front of the crowd and Iolaire.

This Shifter stood well over six feet. He was over half as wide with muscles that were barely contained by his uniform. Valerius recognized him. It was Police Chief Thorin Winterloss. Not only did he run the police, but was the Alpha of one of the most powerful Werewolf packs in America, the Blood Moon Pack. He was an imposing figure, exuding authority, and menace, when he had a mind to. Now, he was showing both.

“You will all disperse ! The park is now closed! Every person who remains in this park after the next five minutes will be arrested!” Thorin barked, his voice booming even over the cries of the crowd. His hard blue eyes crested over the reporters, too. “That goes for the press as well. Now go!”

The ones that had come simply to see the White Dragon Shifter immediately turned to go, though there were plenty of “nooooooos” and “c’mon, let us stay, we didn’t do anything!” But Thorin looped his thumbs into his gun belt and stared at anyone who dared oppose his orders. None survived that stare for long. Even the Humans First people left, with plenty of mutterings under their breath. The press, of course, were the last to start leaving.

“Why are you not having the Humans First protestors arrested?” Esme asked curiously.

“Because we can learn more about Humans First if we simply tag them, log them and have them followed,” Valerius grunted.

“Oh, good show, dear boy,” Esme said with an appreciative nod. “Though back in the old days, I would have employed some good hangings. Not all of them obviously. But some.”

Valerius snorted. “Yes, Esme, you had many heads on pikes as I remember.”

“One must keep order,” she answered lightly.

Soon, there were only Iolaire, Tilly, her friends and the Werewolves in the park. A news crew that had been retreating slowed their movements as the newscaster urged them to zoom in on Iolaire and Thorin.

“Quick! Quick! Get this shot! The police chief and Iolaire are speaking!” the newscaster hissed.

The police chief was indeed talking to Iolaire and the camera picked up the sound.

“While I recognize that all people have the right to be in public places in Reach, Iolaire,” Thorin was saying, “You might want to consider limiting your appearances to planned events. At least, give us notice of where you intend to go so that we can prepare the area. You cause quite the stir.”

Iolaire hooted sadly.

Thorin’s expression surprisingly softened. “Yes, I can imagine this is hard when all you want to do is be with people. But things are tense right now and?—”

Thorin did not get another word out as there was the unmistakable thunderous flap of wings. Another Dragon Shifter had arrived in Reach. And they were alone with Caden and Iolaire. Valerius ran to the balcony and shifted. Raziel did not object. Instead, his Spirit had billowing fire leaving their mouth as they took off into the air.