When It All Goes Wrong

Jacob Reedy had honestly forgotten about the protest that the vampires had planned for that morning, what with the police calling him and explaining that they had found his daughter and she was safe. The family reunion was full of a mix of scolding and kisses and hugs all around, and the incident was fresh in his memory, but he had things to do, people to speak to, and a cause to protest for.

After all, as leader of the vampires, Jacob had a responsibility. The shipment of blood had come on time, and if worst came to worse, the vampires would be well off for a week or two. But they had made a promise to each other to stand before that town hall and protest, and that’s what they were going to do.

“Peace, not war!” Rosemary shouted. The entirety of the vampire crowd in Sedona and a few from outlying areas had joined the protest – those who had been informed, at least. All in all, there were close to fifty vampires there altogether – Rosemary and Jack had been the lead callers to convince people to come and join the protest.

Rosemary was rather proud of the work that they had done. Appraising the situation, she could see all sorts of signs. They tended to lack the usual ferocity of common war protesting signs, but in the vampires’ defense: the war hadn’t even started yet. The signs were all in white and red, a symbol of their own disease.

Okay, actually, most of the signs sucked. But they illustrated the point rather nicely. Why fight with the creatures – they were bigger. Hopefully, Charlie had, at that point, announced the presence of vampires in both the town hall and in the general population, or a few of the signs referencing their state of being would be considered crazy.

In the middle of a chant that was going pretty well, the first sign’s statement of: Freedom we’re for, it’s not nineteen sixty four – Jacob Reedy’s cell phone rang. Knowing it was probably his daughter to come pick her up from the station, which he had agreed to, he answered the phone without even looking at the number, and gave his sign to another eager vampire.

“Hey Dina. Are you ready?”

“I’m sorry, sir, this isn’t your daughter. Your daughter is currently involved in a hostage situation, of sorts.”

“Did that crazy guy kidnap her again?” Jacob’s voice dropped low as he moved away from the crowd. He had seen a gargoyle move away from the window and was sure that there was about to be some form of trouble. He hoped that Rosemary and Jack could handle it.

“No, sir. It was the fairy, this time.”

“I have to ask.” Jacob sighed. “Are you fucking with me?”

“Sir, the fairy took the Glock from the officer and is brandishing it throughout the station. I wish I was.”

“Have you told any of the people in the town hall being held captive that my CHILD is being held CAPTIVE by a fucking blue fairy?” Jacob Reedy had begun to yell, and the entire protest had fallen silent. Oops.

“Well, that changes things a bit.” Charlie could be heard from the steps of the town hall, surveying the situation. “It seems that we’re being taken on all sides. Now, I don’t mind a woman and our group of town leaders as much, but a child being taken hostage?”

There was grumbling from all of the vampires, and Charlie and Jacob both were beginning to see the little remnants of sanity left in the situation float away. Rich followed Charlie in standing on the steps, surprised that both the young dragon and the gargoyle had let them pass.

“Now,” Charlie said, raising his voice for all to hear as he watched Jacob Reedy run off in the direction of his car. All eyes were glued to him, and he could almost feel the tension in the air. He had not been a leader before now, but he was going to do his wife justice. “I’m not asking for war. No one wants war – not the vampires, or the humans, or the creatures of the Veil. Yet, I can’t help but wonder: are you not, creatures, taking advantage of our tendency to not want to fight? So far, the pillars of our community have been held for well over a day inside the building I stand in front of now; another, as of yet unknown woman, is being held captive by a group of centaurs in our nearby and outlying forests, and now, Jacob Reedy’s daughter is being held captive as well.”

“That fairy is rogue.” The gnome negotiator had appeared right next to Charlie’s legs, and he hadn’t even noticed. “That fairy – I’m assuming – is either Broon-dy-kao or Joran-dy-kao. They were two brother fairies who were missing – as I said earlier.”

“Nevertheless, for one who makes claims about the peacefulness of all of the beings that were trapped behind the veil, you’re not making a very good case right now.”

“I must speak to Jaer-al-loh.” The gnome admitted. “Graciel-al-loh, please fetch your father.” The gnome nodded towards the young dragon who immediately took off amidst a fury of “oohs” and “aahs” coming from the vampires. “We will release the woman from her captivity to the centaurs as soon as one of their messengers arrives here. This will account for new captive that we seem to have. We will also –– Rosam-dy-shukri, please follow that man who just left and talk Broon out of this nonsense. He holds much more in his hands than the happiness of a girl.” The gnome almost sounded flustered.

“In any case,” Charlie began, “We shall expect more than one hostage released. That girl being held is but a child in our eyes, and therefore, innocent.”

“Fifteen in our years is also far from adult.” The gnome admitted sullenly. “Fine. Out of the thirteen of you held here, eight may leave. Decide amongst yourselves who will stay and who will go.”

“Why eight?” Charlie asked ponderingly.

“Because I like the number.” The gnome said with a smile.

The dragon returned a few minutes later with a shadow over the town: his father and the leader of the creatures of the veil. Let us stop a moment, and ponder the beauty of the beast before us. Almost flaming red, the dragon was at least two stories high with gorgeous scales along his back that were a cross between jumbo sized arrow heads heavy duty shields, several inches thick and sparking in the sunlight, as if saying, “I dare you” to anyone big enough to try. The dragon, Jaer-al-loh, had a head that could practically eat all of the newly released hostages, with two rows of sparking white teeth, each sharpened to a point that could cut steel without a screech of protest from the metal.

His eyes, though, were the most intriguing. It was almost as if, looking through them, one could find the path to the very gods that bore them onto the earth. A pale red/yellow, amber colored pupil stared back at all who dared look up at this magnificent creature, wisdom beyond years echoing in its depths. The mighty haunches held proud like ancient oak trees, holding up the magnificent body of the dragon, a testament to its strength and dexterity. The claws, thudding with none too soft a noise onto the pavement, were in the very least a length of an average human adult, curved wickedly and yellowed slightly with age.

The father’s son, a smaller version of himself, had almost the same characteristics, but shown in a brilliant blue that reminded each and every human who had ever seen the ocean of its mysterious depths, with its touch of salt on the air and the feeling of freedom that had occurred as they felt the wind rush through their hair. The same colored eyes and scales provided an almost unreal contrast that, when larger in size, would leave anyone, human or other creature, speechless.

“I take it there is a problem?” The dragon thundered, and all of the creatures, human and not so human, cringed under his deep voice. The dragon could very easily rule the entire town without a single word of dissent, with that thunderous voice and the flames almost radiating from its eyes and mouth.

“One of the two missing fairies is holding a human girl captive.”

“A child?” The dragon growled, his eyes glowering towards the gnome, Uraf-no-guirko. The dragon’s eye was at least six times larger than the gnome, registering at maybe over a foot and a half tall. His hat, of course, made up for the other foot and a half of his three foot total height.

“Yes, sir. Well, a teenager.” The gnome’s stony voice never wavered, but the slight murmurs from the crowd indicated their own fear. It seemed that they had not been quite so…close…to a dragon before, because the dragon’s entire body was taking up the majority of the street that everyone and their brother seemed to be occupying. One woman had fainted as the dragon’s long, sharp claw had landed not three feet from her own body and well beind.

“A child, then. Very well.” The dragon grumbled, raising his head up towards the sky, a flame shooting from his nostrils higher than any of the buildings went. Nearby, the power lines that the dragon had stepped on finally snapped because of the tension and shot towards an empty parking lot. Another chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” and “holy shits” erupted from the human population, who kept a safe distance from the live electrical wire as it flopped around uselessly on the pavement.

“Shall we convene a council?” The gnome asked when the commotion died down. The dragon rumbled a moment, then erupted with another flame shower.

“No. I shall deal with this insolence myself. Martial law was declared by us until a decision was reached, remember?”

“Yes, sir. But is that really necessary?” The gnome asked, more by way of regulation than feelings.

“Unfortunately. We absolutely cannot and will not have insolence in such a tense situation. Human!” Jaer-al-loh turned towards the first human he could find. “Where is this hostage situation Uraf speaks of?” Jaer-al-loh was eyeing a woman in her late thirties as furiously as he could, as if the humans were the ones at fault, and not the psychotically infatuated fairy holding the entire police department hostage.

The woman cried out as the dragon’s furious eye turned on her and she shook her head, holding her hands up in defense and stuttering, “I…I don’t know. I’m sure someone else does.”

“The girl is being held at gunpoint by your fairy in the police station five blocks down from here.” Charlie offered as the dragon swung his head around to seek out the person who would answer his question. The dragon eyed Charlie carefully.

“Is that so?” The dragon questioned him, and Charlie nodded, emotionless. He was not about to be frightened by a creature so large it could use his house’s roof as a spot of defecation. “You will show me, then?”

“I am your hostage.” Charlie pointed out, and the dragon thought momentarily before nodding and swinging his head back towards the frightened woman.

“You will show me.” He said decidedly, and tears in her eyes, the woman nodded. The day was not going as she had hoped.

“Okay.” She managed to stutter, and was unsure how to proceed. After standing in silence for a second, completely at a loss for what to do, the large, red, burning creature prompted her.

“Walk. I will fly, and follow you. When we reach the destination, I will instruct you more.” The dragon lifted off and into the air without another word. The lights of the town stores that were left after the second dragon landing of the week flickered off – the dragon had finally sat on the right cables. With nothing else to do, and the entire crowd watching her, the woman strode off in the right direction.

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