open, spilling the contents across the floor.
With a wave of her hand, Grams put everything back in its proper place.
A handy talent. One look at the side mirror and I groaned. The squad car was still
on our butts. “Hold on!” I yelled, steering the motor home across three lanes of traffic.
Horns honked, tires squealed, and bang, bang, bang. Cars crashed right and left.
“Sorry,” I called and zoomed onto the freeway.
Fabian grumbled, “You trying to get us killed?”
“How’d you guess?” Red and blue lights flashed in my side mirror. That police
officer was one persistent bugger. “Can one of you ladies do something about him?”
Serafina gestured. The police car suddenly had four flat tires. It skidded wildly
and hit the retaining wall.
90 | GAIL KOGER
“We just got lucky,” Fabian said, pointing to a caravan of motor homes ahead. The
rear trailer had a banner for the Renaissance Festival.
Grams smiled. “The ideal place to confront Rossi.”
“A little hocus-pocus, and we blend in with all the other medieval characters.” I
maneuvered the motor home into the center of the caravan and checked the side mirror
again.
“Shit.” A motorcycle cop was checking license plates.
One second the cop was riding a Harley-Davidson, the next he was on a tricycle.
“Thanks, Grams.”
The big-screen television suddenly turned on. Rossi stared out at us with a sneer.
“Did you think I wouldn’t find you?”
Xero yipped in fear and jumped on my lap.
Grams and Serafina turned to face the sorcerer and said in unison, “We challenge
you to Sepulcrum.”
He scowled. “I don’t have time for games. Give me the medallion, the slayer, and
the hunter. Refuse, and I unleash the Hasai.”
My jaw dropped. “Aren’t those demonic dragons?”
Fabian nodded. “They are, and fire-breathers to boot.”
“Fuck.” Rossi needed a bad case of jock itch to go with his STDs. I chanted, “Viri
dyde mistral.”
“You’ve got a mean streak,” Fabian said.
“Inherited it from my grandmother.”
Rafael twitched, did a little two-step, and dug at his crotch. “Surrender them, or
thousands will die.”
“Accept the challenge, or are you too much of a coward to face us like a man?”
Serafina spat at the TV screen.
CATCHING DRAGOS | 91
Rossi hissed. He literally hissed like a feral cat. “You will regret this.” The screen
went black.
“It’ll take him a day to raise the Hasai,” Grams advised.
Serafina added, “Which gives us time to prepare.”
Dread knotted my stomach. “How do we fight these fire-breathing dragons?”
A sword appeared in Fabian’s hand. “With this sword.”
“Oh, my God! That’s Excalibur! You’re the one who stole it from the King Arthur
exhibit in New York.”
“I did.” Fabian stroked the blade like a lover.
Then it hit me. I would soon be going toe-to-toe with the dragons.
Sensing my distress, Fabian took my hand. “Relax. After we complete the bond,
you’ll kick the dragons’ asses.”
“Things were so much easier when I was just the Judge.”
“We will defeat Rossi,” Fabian promised.
Xero pledged, “Me eat Hasai.”
“Okay.” I patted her head. Why did I feel like I was stuck in some kind of fractured
fairy tale?
A huge billboard sign declared: RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL NEXT RIGHT.
What better place was there to confront an evil sorcerer and fire-breathing
dragons? I followed the convoy.
92 | GAIL KOGER
Chapter Twelve
The Renaissance Festival’s sixteenth-century village marketplace buzzed with
activity. Workers were setting up the performers’ tents and food booths. Several men in
chain mail practiced sword fighting.
Lucky for us, the event didn’t open until next week. Coming up with a rational
explanation for fire-breathing dragons would be a bitch.
I drove the motor home down a rutted road and parked behind the jousting arena.
“Do I have time for a shower?”
“Please. The stench is unbearable.” Grams plucked Xero from my lap.
“Who you?”
“I’m your grandmother.”
Xero sniffed Grams and wagged her tail. “You family.”
“Yes, I am.”
Serafina huffed. “So am I.” She reached over to pet Xero and snatched her hand
back when my sweetie snapped at her.
“No like you.”
“Smart demon,” Fabian muttered.
I growled, “She’s not a demon.”
“Mariah, she’s a Zanskin,” Grams said, flashing me a mental picture of a ten-foot-
tall furry white demon with some dangerous-looking horns.
“Xero doesn’t look anything like that,” I protested.
“Most Zanskin resemble small fluffy dogs until threatened, then they transform
into vicious fighters.”
CATCHING DRAGOS | 93
“Oh, but she’s just a baby.”
Grams beamed proudly. “Who has bonded with you and Fabian. She’s your
familiar.”
“A slayer team hasn’t had a familiar in over a hundred years. The demons won’t
know what hit them,” Fabian said happily.
A familiar? Whoa. It was starting to sink in that my days as the Judge were over.
My dad was going to be pissed. Things were changing so fast it made my head spin. I
needed some alone time to work everything out. “I’m going to take a shower.”
A worried frown creased Fabian’s forehead. “It’ll be okay, tesoro.”
Would it? I shut the bathroom door and leaned against it. Dragons? Never in a
million years did I think I would be going up against them. I could deal with cheating
husbands, thieves, and drug lords and not break a sweat. But this? Scared the crap out
of me.
Peeling off my stiff and crunchy costume, I climbed into the shower and turned
the water on. I held my face up to the spray, letting it wash away the blood and demon
guts. It was pure bliss.
The water rose to my ankles. I looked down and grimaced. The entrails were
blocking the drain. “Dicitur moss.” Poof. They were gone.
The bathroom door opened and Fabian stepped in. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.” Some mind-blowing sex was just what I needed.
In record time, Fabian stripped.
I eyed his muscular chest and flat abdomen. I wanted to lick every inch of Fabian’s
yummy twelve-pack. His erect penis jutted over heavy testicles. Mr. Happy was ready
to play.
Fabian’s gaze lingered on my breasts.
Yep. They were among my best assets. I could always count on the girls
distracting my prey long enough for me to zap ‘em.
94 | GAIL KOGER
“Which quarry did this?” Fabian touched the long jagged scar on my hip.
“A tiger.” I laughed at his you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me expression. “A drug
kingpin sicced his pet Bengal on me.”
Horror filled Fabian’s eyes. “You’re the one that took down Herrera the Butcher?”
“That’s me. He’s doing life in a rather nasty Brazilian prison.”
“How did you get into Herrera’s compound?’ He placed a kiss on the thick red
flesh.
“As a dominatrix. He liked being whipped.” I cradled Fabian’s bristled jaw with
the palm of my hand. “You into bondage, sugar?”
“Only if I get to tie you up.” Fabian settled his lips over mine, and with slow
exquisite care he kissed me.
Xero asked curiously, “What you doing?”
“Ah. Well. We’re kissing.”
“What kissing?”
Fabian sighed. “It’s how humans show affection.”
“What ‘fection?”
“Ask your grandmother,” Fabian growled.
“Me ask.”
“The kid is definitely putting a damper on our sex life.”
“A little training will fix that.” Fabian’s hands skimmed over my body, exploring
my curves and lighting a fire in my belly.
Serafina’s melodic voice rang in our heads. “Fuck her already.”
“No bloody way.” He grabbed the soap, squirted some on the sponge, and started
scrubbing my chest.
Wow. What happened to my mind-blowing sex? No way I was missing out. I
picked up the bottle of soap and squeezed. A thick stream of antibacterial goo shot out,
covering his abdomen.
CATCHING DRAGOS | 95
“What are you doing?” Fabian’s tone definitely wasn’t lover-like.
I stroked the liquid across his penis. “Making sure you don’t have demon cooties.”
He bared his teeth. “I don’t.”
My hand slid up his cock, then down.
Fabian’s pupils dilated.
“You were in close, intimate contact with Heather.” My hand slid sinuously up his
thickening flesh, then down.
“Just kissed her.”
“Better to be safe than sorry. Right?” I pumped my fist faster and faster.
Fabian’s eyes rolled back in his head. “Yesss.”
His penis pulsed in my hand. I loved the expressions of hunger, anticipation, and
love flitting across my mate’s face. Up. Down.
A hoarse, throaty cry broke from Fabian. “No cooties!”
“You sure? Those suckers are persistent.” I tightened my grip as an unbearable
ache built inside my body. Up. Down.
Fabian’s body arched and shook violently. “I’m. Good. Now. “