Dragon Blood

Chapter 34

He started getting to his feet, but the shifter grabbed his good shoulder. "You stay here." The way he said it invited no argument. "You're already injured, and I need a human commander I can trust."

"My sister was sent to cover the same area." Maddox hissed back, struggling against Rawlings's grip. "Landon has already made her life hell, I'm not going to let him be the reason she gets killed."

"Shit," Ian gasped, standing as well. "Rhia."

"What does she look like?" Rawlings demanded.

"About this tall," Ian raised his hand about level to his forehead. "Paramedic, green eyes, red hair... like, so red you wonder just how natural it is."

"Alright," Rawlings met Maddox's eyes. "I am going to do what I can for your sister. I'm taking the faeling with me. I need you to gather your people and convince them to stop shooting. Lead bullets aren't going to do anything. They need iron. The purer, the better. Cast iron, wrought iron... anything will help. See if you can your captain to back off."

"Fine. Keep in mind that Landon is a trigger-happy asshole." Maddox growled. "He will not even blink before shooting you or any other Ancient in his path. Take him down if you have to, I'll back you as best I can."

Rawlings nodded and looked at Ian. "You good?"

Good was... a word. "Yeah." He blew out a breath.

Rawlings pointed towards the side door that took them back out to the mall without getting near the main doors. They met up with a small team of other shifters taking shelter behind a pillar and trying to keep a group of humans calm and quiet. A leopard was pacing the hall, testing the line to see where the demons would start advancing before backing up.

"Hey doc," Rawlings called and pushed Ian unceremoniously towards a female. "Backup. We're heading west. The human captain needs to be silenced. You two," he pointed to two younger males. "Stay here, keep an eye on our friends and try to keep these people calm. Let's move, people."

The female patted Ian's back and gave him a reassuring smile as they fell into a jog behind the rest of the group. "Just stay close." She said reassuringly. "Are you licensed for any kind of magic?"

"I have a calming spell I'm pretty good at."

Her smile widened. "Good. We're not going to have the luxury of being gentle with any kind of healing. If you're able to act as a pseudo-sedative, we might be able to get more people out alive. How many can you put under at once?"

"Three, maybe four if they're in close range. The further I have to cast, the less effective it becomes."

The team slowed as they approached the place where the hall split. A squad of L.A.P.D. officers were bunkered down behind overturned benches. "Captain Landon," Rawlings called out tentatively. "My name is Rawlings, I'm with the-"

Ian recognized the human as he turned, pointed his gun at the Ancients, and fired wildly. The team medic dragged Ian down and into the cover of a large concrete planter. "Fucking unnatural things," Landon spat. His voice was cracked and unsteady. "We should put you down. All of you!"

"Landon, we are not your enemy!" Rawlings tried again. His answer was another stray bullet that cracked the linoleum flooring.

"Any way you can cast on him?" the medic asked, carefully looking over the lip of the pot.

Before Ian could answer, the Macy's store at the end of the hall exploded. The shockwave sent the police flying down in the hall along with hundreds of pounds of debris. Demonic screaming filled the air followed by a roar that shook the entire building. Countless more demons varying in sizes shot out of the clouds of dust and smoke, trying to escape the harmful rays of the sun.