Page 65 of Dragon Her Heels

My first attempt to shunt the funnel upwards only worked to strengthen the winds. Snarling curses, I changed strategies; if the funnel was coming like it or not, I’d send it the one place it couldn’t harm anyone or anything of importance: my new neighbor’s residence.

Did the Destroyer of Georgia really need his castle?

If I had to choose between the hateful old biddy or the dragon’s castle, I would pick the woman each and every time.

Castles could be replaced. However awful, however many times she poisoned me attempting to make pie, I couldn’t bring back the dead. All I could do, like everyone else, was grieve.

On second thought, I’d shed a single tear before throwing a party, but I only wanted to throw the party after she passed of natural causes outside of my field of influence and responsibility.

If I could prevent the tragedy from happening on my doorstep, I would.

At first, the funnel resisted me, but then it snaked farther from its screaming clouds, angling towards the lake rather than descending to wreak havoc among my neighbors. I shook from the strain, and closing my eyes, I sought to guide the tornado towards the node, which recovered within the castle’s basement.

As it had when I’d sheltered my home from the storm, the node stirred, and its presence slithered over me. Its tendrils joined my weave in roping the wind and directing it where I needed it to go for the sake of everyone around me.

The rumble of the oncoming train grew into a shrieking wail, deafening in its intensity.

In the darkness, from somewhere close, another presence stirred. Warmth seeped into my skin, creating steam when the cold deluge fell upon me. Like the castle’s node, a crawling sensation crept over my arms into my fingers before abandoning me to leap into the vortex above.

I opened my eyes.

A golden glow, like the sun at noon and equally warm, infused the storm. The light illuminated the developing twister, revealing the moment it touched the lake and danced across the water towards the castle.

I became aware of my precious baby alligators becoming victims of the storm, and snarling a curse, I slashed my right hand through the air, formed a net, and captured as many of them as I could. My left remained held high, securing the twister so it would not revert to its original course.

Bubbles formed and drifted through the wind, and within each one, I detected a spark of precious life, spared from being flung back to the Earth, dashed to death in the violence of their descent.

Aware I held each little life by the merest of threads, I took care with lowering my right hand, directing the ensorcelled wildlife back to the water and cocooning them from the storm’s fury.

I panted, struggling to make certain I caught every spark of life and rescuing them from death while the twister spun its way to the castle.

The moment the spinning column of wind slammed into the stone, the node surged, shattering the weave I used to contain the storm’s fury.

Much like the dragon had in Georgia, the hungering power devoured the energy, gulping down the funnel and stealing away even the lightning from the sky. The clouds shattered, and a wall of magic slammed over me, cresting and breaking like a wave descending onto a sandy shore.

Zenzi squealed, braced, and stood firm.

Somehow, I stayed on her back.

The bubbles holding my babies popped, releasing them back into the water, and they scattered for safety, not that anywhere was safe when nature came calling. I braced for the worst, closed my eyes to better concentrate, and checked for the blank spaces indicating recent and freshly lost life.

Somehow, I’d spared them all from demise, and I released a relieved sigh.

After I could breathe without gasping, I reopened my eyes to take in the destruction on the street, pleased it was mostly cosmetic, although Susie Marie and several other of my neighbors would need to replace or repair their roofs.

A roof was a small price to pay, and if they couldn’t afford the construction work, I’d help them—or twist the Devil’s arm until I somehow convinced him to reach into his coffers to help my neighborhood recover.

At the end of the day, it was his fault the storm had come calling.

I patted Zenzi’s neck. “Sorry about that, sweetheart. You’ll get extra treats and warm mash tonight as a reward.” As the last thing I needed was Donna Leanne suspecting she owed me anything, I turned her in the direction of home. Water flowed around the protective barrier protecting my property from flooding, and I sighed. “Looks like we’re going to have to jump back in.”

The horse bobbed her head, backed up, and pawed the ground before surging forward, gathering herself, and leaping from the start of the turbulent waters. I took care to keep my hold with my legs and move with her, grunting when she hit the ground, stumbled a step, and recovered.

As the mare likely suffered from my lack of saddle, I apologized for my clumsy riding, praised her again, and aimed her to the safety of the garage. She settled into a trot, wasting no time escaping the rain, which tapered off. The clouds continued to disperse, brightening the evening sky and revealing the fading sunset.

I swung off her back the instant she stopped inside, taking care to pat her neck, give her nose a kiss, and promise I’d take good care of her.

Isaac waited, and he’d located my bathroom and held out one of my towels. “The dragons are trying to convince Ashley that you aren’t actually a goddess right now. I don’t think it’s working. I called Lucifer. He’s in your kitchen with Darlene. The Destroyer of Georgia is perched on his castle, and he’s roaring over a tornado daring to touch his parapets. That he is not even eighteen inches long right now is making his complaining rather amusing.”