The Broken Seal - Chapter 9

One by one, the dragons entered through the front door. The annex was soon filled with them. They separated in two groups. The Fey Long around Mister Drake, the Western dragons around a large Irish woman named Aisling. They were sixteen in total.

Sasha was in the middle with the Librarians.

Mister Drake started the hostilities.
« Another Assembly, Alexandria, we have talked about this. »

Sasha was unabashed.
« Oh, shut up, Qiángdà, you know this is bigger than you. The Assembly has been called to inform the dragons of what's going on. We know how the thieves operate, and we know why. »

Rowan looked like he was out of a victorian novel, with his long hair and romantic looks.
« They want to resurrect Shaitan. »

« Not resurrect, summon. Demons don't die, they're just sent back to the underworld. » The dragon who spoke looked like a Hell’s Angel, so he probably knew what he was talking about.
« Oh, you know what I mean »
« Use the right word, that is important. »

All the dragons started talking amongst themselves.
Sasha turned to Jacob and murmured « We love to digress, so we don’t stay on track very long, and that's a problem. »
She raised her voice « Yes, they want to bring Shaitan back. »

Drake seemed to lead the discussion. « And how are they planning to do that ? »

« With the magic back into this world, a lesser demon called Antinoos was sent here by Shaitan. For those of you who weren’t here last time, Shaitan was the last one of the Seven to be banished back to the Underworld. He loved it here and wants to come back. The magic combined with Shaitan’s blood allowed him to track the seal. He gathered a number of fragments already, even the ones that were lost. »

A dragon looking like a frail young woman spoke in a worried voice. « My lair was visited yesterday. I acquired the fragment through my progenitor. I didn’t know what it was. After last Assembly I collected it and hid it more thoroughly, but they still managed to find it. »
« It was the last piece. »

A look of terror passed on every face.

Drake spoke again. « I’m done with this. I’m leaving and moving my lair. »
Sasha was firm. « No, you're not going anywhere for the moment. We have more important issues. »
Aisling talked for the first time. « Alexandria, there's nothing more important than our lairs. »
« Yes there is. If Shaitan comes back, you can say goodbye to your lairs, your collections. Because who do you think he will go after first ? »

The dragons fell silent.

« You know the price to pay, you know what it takes to break the seal. »

The dragons looked at each other with unease.

« I was there during the war. I know where Shaitan’s seal was placed. So you have a choice. You can either run and hide, and pray that Shaitan doesn’t find you. Or you can come with us and fight. Yes, it will be bloody, and yes, it will be hard. Any of us might die. But if we don’t fight, are we mighty and fierce ? Are we dragons ? »

Rowan stepped to his mother. « I will join you. »

« So will I. » The biker looking dragon joined them. Sasha smiled, put her hand on his cheek and her forehead on his. 

« Cairn, boy of mine. »

Jacob had started to feel jealous of the man until he understood he was the second offspring she had talked about. And he felt very weird about it.

Drake walked to the front door, accompanied by nine dragons, both Fei Long and Western, including Aisling and Ilona.
« I'm getting rid of any fragment of seal still in my possession, and then I'll go into hiding. I'm not getting involved. »
« Leave them in a place where I can find them, so I can keep them hidden. »

Drake paused a second. « The last place we drank together. » 
Sasha nodded. « All right. »

For the first time since the beginning of the Assembly, Jenkins spoke. « Maybe it would be prudent to keep them in the Library ? It is the safest place in this world. »

One of the dragons that was leaving, a tall black man, said. « I will bring my piece here. I don't want to live through another war, but I don't want anything to happen either. »
« Thank you, Katuma. I understand. » Sasha's voice was soft and comprehensive.

Cassandra turned to Jenkins. « Seven pieces of seven seals. That means forty-nine in total. The seven fragments of Shaitan's seal have been stolen, so we have to gather forty-two pieces. »
« Most of them have been lost over the millennia. We'll never be able to find them without the compass and the demons' bloods. »
« Maybe Sasha can help us, once this is over. She seems to remember a lot from that time. »

She was talking to the six remaining dragons when she heard Jacob's remark.
« I'm not sure it's a good idea to have all the pieces in the same place. That's why we had them separated. It would be much easier to reform the seal if there's only one place to rob. »

Ezekiel nodded. « She's actually right. With the compass, it makes it too simple. »

« We'll think about that when this seal has been broken again. Ilona's fragment was the last they needed. Since Shaitan sent Antinoos on earth, that means they have the ritual words, and I'm guessing it won't be hard for them to find a person to sacrifice. »

The seven remaining dragons looked at each other.

« Thank you for your presence. It will be remembered. »
« How will we go to the seal ? You spoke of a magic door ? »

Sasha unfolded a map on the table and everyone gathered around.

« Yes, but we may have a problem. The desert where the seal was has been transformed into a city, and the exact place is now a high school. »

Maya, a curvy black woman put her finger on southern California.
« Right here. For him, it’s both useful, because he can start killing right away, and a problem because it’s very public and may attract too much attention. »

The back door suddenly glowed and both Eve and Jacob seized weapons. 

Flynn Carson, Librarian-in-chief, walked inside the Annex with a smile.