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Hallowed Darkness

Roy plopped down onto his friend's sofa and sighed. His car had sprung another oil leak, and he was sure he'd have to send that old junker to the scrapyard soon. It was an old as hell Celica, a family hand me down after his parents bought a newer car, and it was living well beyond the time someone would normally keep a car because of one single reason: Jonathan.

Jonathan was a dragon, and he lived by himself in a four bedroom house. His parents were very well off, and they let him have the house after buying another bigger one in Florida. The great thing about the house was that it had an extra large garage that was able to fit five cars.

Jonathan was a part-time mechanic that ran a little shop in his garage. Fixing cars was his passion, but he had another that took up the other half of his time. The dragon liked to practice magic. In fact, the first thing he would do every time he greeted Roy was pull a quarter out of his ear. When Jonathan wasn't in his garage, he was up by Hollywood, usually showing his skills at Citywalk or some other outdoor mall.

Roy thought about Jonathan while he was sitting on his couch in his home. He always envied the dragon for his wings. Roy was a human, but he loved flying. He loved the sky so much that he had gotten his pilot's license, but he always wished he could just leap up into the air whenever he wanted to like Jonathan could.

The dragon was fixing up his car right now, but he felt sort of guilty about it. They were sort of a couple, he thought, and the dragon had insisted on fixing his car for free because of their relationship. Roy sighed again as he felt he should've given the dragon something for his time. They had gone on a bunch of dates and had been together for a several months, but they only had fun in bed a handful of times, and he didn't want to feel like he was just using his boyfriend since he didn't feel extremely comfortable with having an important other in his life. He didn't even feel close enough to ask the dragon if he could move in with him yet. He wanted to, but he was too afraid to ask. It was stupid, he knew, but there was just some doubt. He simply didn't know if the dragon liked him enough back yet.

He stared out the window in the living room while leaning on the arm of the couch. The clouds were starting to darken and the sun was gone. A storm was supposed to be coming, but down in southern California, the news always liked to exaggerate a little rain in the forecast.

Roy heard a door open, and then he saw Jonathan come in from the garage. He was a handsome green dragon, lithe and slender, but just an inch taller than himself. He sported a pair of horns that looked like they were carved from oak wood, though they were half covered by his thick black hair. His hair was tall on his head, but it shortened as it withdrew into a line that followed down his spine until it tapered off at the tip of his tail. Regular dragons didn't have any hair, but Jonathan claimed he had a bit of eastern blood in him. The hair on his back was more like fur than hair, and Roy liked running his hand down the line of short hairs when they hugged and he was shirtless. Of course, the only time that happened was when they were undressing for, well, sex.

Jonathan was wearing a pair of jeans and a dirty grey shirt that probably used to be white. He rubbed his clawed hands along the shirt and looked at them, but then he noticed they actually got dirtier so he went to the kitchen to wash them.

When he finished washing them, he stepped back into the living room and stood next to the couch. "Hey," the green dragon said, "I managed to fix the oil leak."

Roy smiled at him. "Thanks, Jon. I owe you one."

The dragon waved his hand at his boyfriend. "Nah, it's alright. I'd make enough money from my magic act even without my parents supplementing my income."

"Man, I just feel bad, like I'm freeloading off you."

"Don't, please. Just the fact that you told me you feel bad about it is enough to make me feel like you're not freeloading."

Roy got up from the couch. "Well, alright. I guess I'll get going then, yeah?"

"Oh, well it's going to rain anytime now though, isn't it?"

"Yeah, looks like the clouds are ready."

"You sure you should be driving home in this weather? You know how traffic gets in LA when it rains."

The human grinned. "It's bad rain or shine." He glanced out the window before adding, "But you're right. It'll be a parking lot out there if it rains. I can try and make it before it starts, maybe."

"Well, if you're sure, then alright."

They went into the garage. The garage door was open, and the driveway was dark and grey though there were no rain spots yet. There were two unoccupied spaces at the moment, and Roy's Celica was parked next to a Civic and a Mustang. The Civic was colored what Roy considered to be called vomit green, and he'd noticed that was a color hybrids often came in. It was a sickly green, he thought, nothing at all like the natural and earthy green shade of his boyfriend's scales. At the end of the garage was Jonathan's pick-up, a white Ford F-350 Super Duty, and it was an absolute behemoth that was a tank compared to the cars in the garage. If Jonathan had a normal car instead, Roy swore he could've been able to fit a whole extra car inside the garage.

Roy went over to his car and started grasping the door handle, but Jonathan spoke before he pulled it open. "Hey," the dragon said, "are you sure you want to go right now? I fixed her up, but that doesn't mean she won't spring another leak. It'd be bad to break down when it's raining, don't you think?"

"Umm, I don't want to impose."

"You won't." Jonathan walked up to the human and took hold of his shoulder. He slid the side of his closed muzzle along Roy's cheek and added, "Please. I'd like it if you stayed with me."

"O-okay. I'll stay. I'd give you a hug but your clothes are, you know."

The dragon chuckled. "Thanks."

Roy gave him a smooch on his mouth. "Nothing wrong with a kiss, though."

There was pattering outside, and they both looked out to see the rain drops. The driveway darkened with wetness, and Jonathan let out a small laugh. "Looks like you wouldn't have made it anyway."

A weak smile crept onto Roy's face. "Yeah."

"Come on inside, I'll make you some hot chocolate and we can watch some movies."

Roy's smile widened. "That sounds great."

The human plopped back down onto the couch while Jonathan went upstairs to change his dirty shirt. He came back down a few minutes later to see the human flipping through the channels of his television. He went into the kitchen and started making the hot chocolate, but he found the rain splattering against his living room window almost hypnotic to watch.

Roy had put down the remote to watch the news, and they both listened to the weatherman, or rather weatherlady, talk about the coming storm. Roy watched the female fox standing downtown warning about how the rain cells were unexpectedly growing stronger, but he just shrugged. "They'll call a drizzle a storm here in Socal."

Jonathan finished stirring their cups and responded, "Yeah, but it sure makes home feel a lot cozier."

"True that."

After a few minutes passed, Roy finished flipping through the channels and settled with a showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas, rather fitting since it was the day before Halloween. Jonathan finished making the hot chocolate and sat down onto the couch right next to his boyfriend after putting the cups down on the glass table in front of the sofa.

"Here you go," the dragon said.

Roy took the cup off the table. "Thanks," he said, and then he took a sip of the melted sweet. "Mm, it's good."

Jonathan smiled and leaned closer to him. "Thank you." He took a sip out of his cup and chuckled when he watched the television. "They show this every Halloween."

"Yeah," Roy replied. "It's like Independence Day or that Snoopy special on Christmas."

The dragon nodded, and then they watched the movie. The rain increased in intensity as time went on, but they drowned it out by upping the volume. There were no commercial breaks, luckily, but when the movie was over they turned the volume back down and realized how strong the rain storm really was.

"Well damn," Roy said, "sounds like it's a legit storm after all. Still no thunder though."

His boyfriend chuckled. "Yeah. Want to snuggle under my bed and watch more movies? It's starting to get awfully cold downstairs."

Roy looked out the window and saw only dark grey and water splashing on the glass. He was feeling cold too and wouldn't mind settling down for the evening. "Alright," he said, "mind if I use your shower?"

The dragon frowned and drooped his head down a little. Even though they were officially together, he always felt that the human still had a certain level of discomfort with him despite all the laughs and good times they had shared together. And the sex too. Roy had never been very social: he remembered the first time they met he had offered a handshake, and the human had started shaking like he had never returned one before. His grasp had been as limp as a dead twig, and he had never known him to be a touchy person since then. He supposed that it came from his parents since he had told him how they usually never hugged or even touched him. He guessed that Roy still had some residual anxiety about becoming intimate with someone. He was getting better, though the man had been deprived as a child, almost as if his parents had learned parenting from a traditional Asian family, and it was obvious. He was uncomfortable with initiating physical contact, but once they were close he craved it like nothing else, that was obvious by how clingy he was after sex. Jonathan felt like he should help push him to be more comfortable in general, though. "Roy," he replied, "we've been together for almost half a year. I'm saddened by the fact that you think you still have to ask for something like that."

The human scratched his hair with one hand and shook his other disarmingly. "I, uhh, sorry, you know, I thought it would be more polite if I asked first."

Jonathan had to smile. His boyfriend was just too damn cute when he was flustered like that. "It's fine, you don't have to ask to use anything, alright?"

"A-alright."

"You can shower upstairs. I'll use the one downstairs. As much as I'd like us to shower together, I'm actually pretty dirty, what with the oil and grease all over my arms and legs." He blinked one eye and added, "So, you know, it wouldn't be prudent to touch each other until we get into bed, okay?"

"Okay."

Jonathan escorted his boyfriend to the master bedroom upstairs before he went back down and warmed up his shower. He tossed his clean shirt onto the bathroom table after reaching back to open the two zippers that let his shirt slide over and through his wings, and then he reached for the rear buttons on his jeans that held the top waist band together above his tail. Once they were unbuttoned, they spread and allowed the jeans to start drooping down his back side. He unbuttoned and unzipped the front, and the pants fell with ease. He bundled the jeans against his chest and walked naked to the room across the downstairs bathroom so he could toss it into his washing machine.

When he stepped back into the bathroom, he could already see the steam start to fog the bathroom's mirror, so then he turned down the water heat and went under the water.

The green dragon purred as he let the warm water wash away the cold of winter. He let his body soak under the water for a while, taking great pleasure just from feeling the stream flow over him. He grabbed the soap and rubbed it over the black spots on his scales before letting the water cleanse his dirtiness.

When he was done with the soap, he rubbed his hands all around his body to make sure the water would touch every part of his body. He paused a bit when they wandered to his crotch. He felt his loins stir a bit from the heat and the touch, and he thought about how he would've liked to be upstairs showering with Roy. He probably wouldn't have been able to resist the human's smooth wet body, and he would've taken him against the shower wall. He imagined him fucking the human with the steam heating them even more, and before long his cock emerged halfway out of its sheath. He reached over it and gave the limp member a short pump while fondling his balls, but then he tore himself out of his fantasy and stopped.

"No," he whispered to himself, "I'll save it for tonight. We'll watch a couple more movies, and then I'm sure he'll be up for it."

Jonathan continued cleaning himself, taking particular care with his wings, and then he reached for the shampoo bottle. He'd opened that one from a bulk package he'd bought earlier only a week ago and it was already half empty: one of the negatives of all his back hair.

He squirted out a handful of shampoo and ruffled it into his head hair before letting his hands glide down his back. It wasn't as bad as having an entire coat of fur, at least, though he always considered Roy lucky to only have one major piece of hair he really had to worry about. On the other hand, he imagined what an awful time one of his best friends, Leon, a lion, would have cleaning his fur.

Leon's parents weren't the most creative in the baby naming department, and he was happy his own parents hadn't named him something obvious like Drake. The lion owned a gun shop by Chinatown, and he was the only other magician in Los Angeles.

Jonathan thought about his magic act. He never revealed how he performed his tricks to anyone, not even to Roy. That's because he didn't really know how the stage magicians used illusions. He didn't need to. He was a real magician.

The magical world kept itself hidden away from the "real" world, and he kept his magic to himself. The magical community knew what regular folks liked to do with things they didn't understand, as evident by the witch burnings of old, and they stayed out of their affairs. Lucky for him, he could use his skill to make a little money.

Leon was a much more powerful mage than he was. He knew the lion was a former member of the Order, an old organization that kept peace and law amongst the magical creatures of the world, but the Order had disbanded a decade ago. Law was kept by local vigilantes, many former members of the Order, but there had been no unifying force of organized rule-keeping.

Leon hadn't just been a member. He had been one of the Highguards, charged with keeping the supernatural from meddling with mortal affairs for the entire North American continent, and it was a job that he hadn't wavered on even after the dissolution of the Order. It was an easy job, usually, since everyone had feared crossing the magical divide because of mortals' "shoot first, ask questions later" attitude along with the possibility of attracting the attention of the Order.

That's why Leon had the time to help mentor Jonathan when he had discovered his power years ago. The old wizard helped foster his ability, and he taught him how to use his power for good. Magic could be used for dark purposes, and the most common reason the lion was called out was to cull a maleficent sorcerer that thought he could use his power to dominate life.

Making money with it was a neutral thing, Jonathan was sure, and the lion never berated him for doing it. It wasn't a bad thing unless he forced people to give them their money, something he could never have even thought of doing, not even if he were penniless and starving on the streets.

He sighed and squeezed out another handful of shampoo that was enough to cover the rest of his back, and then he let his tail flex in front of him to apply one last bit of shampoo. After he was done, he turned his back to the stream of water and let it rinse out the grime, leaving his hair and furs feeling clean and smooth.

After he finished, he turned off the shower and sighed again. He didn't know whether he should tell Roy about everything or not if they ever became mates, and he wasn't entirely sure how the human would react. He was a rational, logical person, more so than most people he talked with, so he was sure he wouldn't flip out or anything, but it was hard to tell what he would do. He also could've just kept the whole thing secret like he was doing now, but it hurt him knowing he wasn't being open and honest.

He took a towel and dried himself off. After he was done, he wrapped it around his body, just below his wings, and went upstairs, the tip of his tail sticking out from under the towel. When he stepped back into the master bedroom, he saw Roy sitting on the edge of his bed, his hair slick and wet, and a towel was wrapped all around his bare naked body.

"Hey sexy," Jonathan said as he walked closer to his bed.

"Hey draggy," Roy replied with a smile.

The green dragon sat down next to him and curled a wing around him. He brushed the human's hair with a clawed hand as they stared at each other's eyes.

Then Jonathan dashed his head forward so that the tip of his muzzle met with the human's lips. Roy jerked in surprise, but he quickly settled down and let a rumble of pleasure escape his throat as the dragon's tongue explored his mouth.

The rain continued to make a pattering sound against the bedroom window. Jonathan opened an eye and saw that Roy had already closed the shutters and unfurled the curtains, so he went back to showing his boyfriend how much he adored him.

Roy returned the dragon's kiss by letting his tongue play around with his. In the months that he had been with him, he had felt the touch of another more than he had his entire life. It had been jarringly uncomfortable at first, but now he loved feeling his boyfriend. He didn't go out of his way looking for it, but whenever the dragon gave it to him, he always found it difficult to let him go afterwards.

Roy wanted to ask now, but it was difficult. He didn't have to confidence to ask if he would let him move in with him. He would've been overjoyed if the dragon said yes, but if he rejected, he was sure his heart would be crushed, and he would never be able to recover from such despair.

Yet, Jonathan wanted it too. He wanted to ask him the very same question: whether he would like to move in with him or not. But he knew the human would've felt uncomfortable if he pushed the question. He had decided to let it come with time, but it had been so long already.

He'd keep nudging him though. He was sure it would come naturally eventually, but for now he'd be content with just having him.

The dragon lifted away his head and pulled his wing back. The human let out a meek whimper, but Jonathan placed his palm over the human's chest to settle him down. "Do you feel up for it tonight?" he asked.

"Mm," Roy answered with a nod.

Jonathan pushed gently on his chest, and the human let himself fall onto his back and lie on the bed. The dragon fell after him, and then he used his hand to feel the human's chest. He adored feeling his silky smooth skin, and he knew Roy loved to feel his scales. They were perfect for each other.

The dragon slipped his hand under the towel wrapped around his boyfriend's middle and found the folded crease that kept it taut. He tugged on it and pulled on one side of the fold so that he could slowly unwrap it like a present. The towel opened up, revealing the human's toned though not heavily muscular stomach, and Jonathan paused to give his boyfriend a belly rub. If he pressed a little harder, he could feel the faint outlines of Roy's abs, an interesting thing he noticed muscular humans possessed. His belly was covered in large scale plates so dragons couldn't have any, and naturally he found them curious to look at. Roy, however, didn't have his noticeable unless he sucked his breath in, but it wasn't a big deal to him. Roy could've been as fat as his rich father and he still wouldn't have cared. He loved him for him, not his body. Though he did appreciate certain parts of it, he would admit.

After enjoying feeling his stomach for a while, Jonathan went back to opening the towel so that he could reach a very particular part of his boyfriend's body that he really appreciated. He had already seen it grow under the towel while he was rubbing the human's stomach, and he felt a similar prison encasing his own hardening erection as lust started to intoxicate him.

One last tug was all it took to release the human's fully erect cock from its cover. It pointed straight up like a spire on his otherwise smooth and flat body, thick and rather long for a human. Jonathan didn't touch it, however, and instead slid his hand around it to reach for his balls. He took both of them into his palm, and then he gave the entire sack a light squeeze, causing Roy to squirm a bit.

When Jonathan let go of his precious jewels, Roy put his hand onto the dragon's chest, his fingers sliding down into the crevice between his boyfriend's pair of massive pec scales. He was incredibly jealous of them since no matter how much he worked out, his chest could never be as hard as his was. Really though, he was jealous about many parts of the dragon's body, not the least of which was his wings. "My turn," he pleaded, "please?"

"Unf," the dragon replied, giving him one more squeeze around his balls before letting the human unwrap him like he had done to him.

He felt Roy's hands caress his chest plate, his fingers digging into the folds made by the scales, and then he saw him reach for his towel. The human was much faster, much more eager, and the towel was off within seconds, exposing his ridged dragon cock. It was longer than the human's, but not as thick. The tip was tapered and though there was a small head on top, it was nothing compared to the fat mushroom head on the human's shaft.

Roy didn't skimp out on feeling his boyfriend's exotic length, and he let himself give it a few pumps before moving down to also fondle the dragon's balls. Jonathan had quite a pair: they were much larger than Roy's, though the human had wondered what the point of having such powerful scales protecting his body was when a good swift kick to those massive balls would take him down just as well as any mammal. Jonathan had told him that western dragons usually didn't have their balls hanging out in a scrotum for exactly that reason, but it was yet another aspect of his eastern blood that made itself apparent on his body.

Despite the practical issue with them, Roy loved to handle the dragon's hefty balls. The sack around them was made of skin that was as soft as his. They were heavy and so definitively male that he couldn't help but play with them, though he also returned a somewhat heavier squeeze that also caused the dragon to jerk lightly.

When he let go, the dragon flipped over on top of him without any warning. He was suddenly face to face with his lover, and he felt Jonathan wiggle his hips to align his parts correctly. Not long after, Roy felt the dragon's considerably heavy balls resting on top of his, and his longer ridged cock rubbed against his thicker human one.

Their throbbing lengths leaked a little bit of pre as the dragon started rocking back and forth, making their lengths rub against each other. They frotted for a while, and Jonathan would sometime move lower or higher to mix things up. His shaft would slide between the human's balls and tease his taint, and then he would bring his hips up so that his boyfriend's fat cock could poke around his potent stones.

The dragon would occasionally flick his tongue over Roy's nipples, another curious mammalian oddity that he enjoyed toying with. Touching the little nubs pleasured his human boyfriend, and he never forgot to give them the attention they deserved. They were fully hard, both from arousal and the cold from the winter storm, but the latter problem was quickly being remedied by the heat they were making.

After spending quite a while of grinding their crotches together, Jonathan gave Roy a quick kiss on the cheek and rolled off the bed. "Let me lube myself up," he said.

"Mm," the human replied.

The green dragon strode over to his desk drawer and pulled out a tube of lube. He squirted out a handful and spread it all over his rigid length, the cool lubricant making him shudder in anticipation. Once he was satisfied with the slickness of his member, he turned back to the bed and saw Roy had already moved into position. He was half standing on the edge of the bed and half lying down with his chest on the towel he had just escaped from, and his rump was raised in the air, presenting itself.

Jonathan didn't make him wait long. He moved over behind the human and gripped the side of his hips before leaning down and putting his muzzle next to his right ear. "Ready?"

Roy nodded, his head sliding along a pillow. "Be gentle. It's been a while."

"I know. I will."

The dragon pressed his hips forward and let the bottom side of his cock slip and slide against the cleft of Roy's ass. He let the lube spread all around his hole before pointing his tip into his boyfriend's hesitant hole. The tight lips allowed his thin tip through without heavy resistance, much thanks to the lube, and he managed to push a third of his length in, right where his first ridge formed, before he heard the human start to whine and wince.

Jonathan stopped forcing his way in and asked, "Are you okay?"

Roy was gripping on his pillow, his eyes shut. "It hurts. But I'm alright. I know I can take you."

"You're too tense. Relax."

"I know. It's just, I don't know. I have a bit on my mind right now."

"I understand. Tell me when you're ready to continue, okay?"

Roy wanted to ask him tonight. They had already been together for so long, and he felt like he should've done it before. He gathered what little confidence he had, but he couldn't say it now. He'd ask after they were done sharing their passion for each other.

"I'm ready."

Jonathan grunted and resumed his forward movement, his cock sliding deeper into the warm tight chasm of his boyfriend. The first ridge passed through his sphincter, and then it went on to brush against his prostrate, eliciting the first sharp gasp of the night from the human. It would be the first of many.

The dragon's cock ridges were deeper on the underside of his long shaft, and he had found that they stimulated his partner's special spot much better in this position. He tried to shift his weight so that each of his five ridges would dig into the little area that pleasured the human the most, though he had to pause before pushing the last one in since Roy had started wincing in pain again.

Regardless, Jonathan eventually managed to get his entire length inside his boyfriend, and he took a moment to celebrate the event. It was cold outside, raining and storming, and the cold seeped into the house, but their bodies warded it away, both of them starting to have small beads of sweat dabble out of their head hair. The green dragon could feel the pulses of life through the connection between them, and he could even feel the human's balls throb along with his as his heavy pair hung low enough to press behind them.

Soon, those heavy dragon nuts were swinging like pendulums, slow and rhythmic at first like the ones in a grandfather clock, but then faster and more erratic. They slapped the human's set whenever the dragon hilted into his partner. The sounds of their bodies and balls slapping together, however, were drowned out by their moans of pleasure.

Roy wriggled his hips and bucked back as his boyfriend fucked him. The dragon was thrusting faster and harder, his mind letting instinct take over more control as his lover grew more comfortable with taking his long hard cock. The human had let go of his worries and his inhibitions after the dragon had hilted inside of him, and the pain was gone after reaching that state of relaxation. There was nothing but pleasure, and he knew he couldn't last long after his boyfriend had reached a certain rate of thrusting.

The dragon could easily make him reach his peak without laying a hand on his twitching cock, much thanks to the ridges on his shaft that dug deep into his prostrate every single time he thrust in or out. That didn't mean he didn't give it any attention, however. He stopped his fucking and reached to stimulate his partner's front side. But instead of using his hands, Jonathan curled his tail around his waist, and then he coiled the thin end of it around the human's fat cock, making sure the end of it dug into the sensitive spot beneath its flare.

Roy hadn't felt this technique before, and he was utterly unprepared for pleasure that hit him when the dragon resumed his fucking. Jonathan's tail was coiled tightly around the human's cock like a miniature snake was constricting it lightly, and it followed his movement as he thrust back and forth. As he pushed into Roy, his tail would slide up along his cock and sometimes slip over his flare, and then it would slide back down when he pulled out of his lover's delicious ass.

The human couldn't hold back for longer than a minute under such ministrations. Jonathan felt Roy's body grow tense, and he felt his balls pull closer to his body since his swinging pair was starting to actually flop over and entirely surround the smaller ones of his love.

"Jon!" the human screamed as he came, his cum spurting onto the towel beneath the romantic pair. The fluid darkened the sheet as it was soaked into its fibers, saving the bed from an inconvenient wash.

The dragon felt Roy's anal walls clamp down around his cock and try to milk him of his seed. They succeeded. He roared with little restraint and let his slightly cum-stained tail slip off his boyfriend's cock while he stretched his wings out as far as he could. His claws dug into the human's sides, but he was careful not to puncture the easily damaged skin. His heavy balls tensed up as they jettisoned their contents, and then his cock twitched as a thick flow of cum traveled through into his lover's bowels.

He came much more than the human had, a boon granted by his massive dragon balls, and filled Roy to the brim with his warm seed. Some squirted out after there was too much inside, and it dribbled down his dangling nuts, staining both their sacks with his musky white seed.

After his ass was filled, Roy's legs gave out and the rest of his body fell onto the bed, causing the dragon's still dribbling cock to slide out and over onto the lower part of his back. The human grasped onto his pillow while he drooled with pleasure and his softening cock dumped whatever leftover seed he had into the towel.

Jonathan grabbed his sides and heaved him up onto the bed so that his knees weren't on the floor, a relatively easy task for a dragon. He didn't look very muscular, but his muscles were much denser than most other species' were. He crawled up the bed over him after, and then he let himself gently drop onto Roy's back, wriggling a bit to rub his large belly scales all over his soft supple skin. The human's skin felt so smooth and good, but he was always afraid of accidentally hurting his boyfriend with his claws or teeth.

Afterwards, he lifted the human's body up slightly so that he could slip his wings underneath. Then he wrapped his arms under him around his body before falling down onto him again. He clutched the human protectively, and then he rolled onto his side, making both of them face the curtained windows.

Roy loved the feeling of being inside Jonathan's wings. He knew he could fall asleep laying like that, the warmth of their bodies just as good as a blanket. But before he did, he needed to say it. "Hey," he whispered.

Jonathan dunked his head between his boyfriend's neck and shoulders. "Yes?"

"I-I wanted to ask you something."

The dragon perked his ears. Was he finally going to ask him? "Anything."

"Well, I was wondering, umm, do you think that, uhh, would you mind if I moved in with you?"

Jonathan couldn't smile any wider if he tried. "You don't know how long I've wanted you to."

"You wanted me to?"

"Since our first month together."

Roy was shocked, and he cursed himself for being so afraid. "I-I'm so sorry. You never asked, so I thought you didn't want us to be...close."

"No, it's okay. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable, so I wanted you to ask me on your own time." He let out a chuckle. "Hey, you know how I have three empty bedrooms in this house?"

"Yeah?"

He squeezed his boyfriend tighter, arm and wings. "I'm still going to have three empty rooms."

"Wha-oh!" Roy smiled too, though neither could see each other's faces. With his lover's approval, he was now more confident. He had never said it first, but he would tonight. "Hey Jon?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Somehow, the dragon's mouth found a way to curl even more. Roy had said it before, sure, but he had always said it in response to him saying it. It made him beyond happy to hear those words come unsolicited. "I love you too, you sweet, sexy, shy man."

The rain continued to drum against the window, and the winds had picked up. The howls of air outside didn't bother the two lovers now, and they were both ready to call each other more than just boyfriends. They were mates now.

---

Jonathan woke up the next morning first. The rain was hitting his window even harder now, and the gusts of wind sounded like they were growing stronger. But that didn't really matter to him. What mattered was the person he was holding under his arms and wings. Roy was still sleeping soundly, naked but warm, and Jonathan wanted to stay with him like that forever.

But nature refused to allow such a luxury, and he had to get up to go to the bathroom. He heard Roy whine when he left him, but he glanced back and saw that he hadn't awakened him so he went along with his business.

He decided he needed to take a shower while he was at it since his nether regions were covered with dried cum from last night. He regretted not toweling it off before they fell asleep, but his mind hadn't been thinking about such mundane things. He had kicked the towels off the bed before they went to bed, however, and he picked them up. Before heading downstairs, he put another clean one onto the bed next to Roy in case he woke up while he was showering. The dragon also took a moment to stare at his rump and appreciate the job he did last night before leaving.

After he tossed the cum-stained towels into the washing machine where his dirty clothes from yesterday still were, he went back to the bathroom he used last evening and showered there so he wouldn't wake up his mate.

"My mate," he thought aloud with a smile before stepping into the stream of warm water. The dragon couldn't be any happier.

Without Jonathan's warm body sheltering him from the cold, Roy eventually woke up with a yawn and looked around to find his mate missing. He was alarmed at first, but then he heard the sound of water running through the house's pipes despite the heavy rain outside and relaxed.

He turned his body over and unknowingly rolled onto the fresh towel that Jonathan had set out onto the bed before he went downstairs. Evidently, he knew exactly how the human would've rotated because the towel went right under his lower back, his rump, and his upper legs; exactly where a particularly sticky substance would've leaked out onto the bed if not for the towel.

Roy was too sleepy to let the awkward change in texture of the bed bother him, though he did smile when he felt the leftover product of last night's sex dribble out of his insides. He was elated that the dragon had accepted him even more fully into his life, and he reflexively took his mate's pillow and hugged it against his face so he could smell the dragon's lingering odor.

"Gods," he said to the pillow, "I love you so damn much. I know I've always kept a certain distance from you, but that's going to change from now on."

Roy started imagining them walking together on the streets, limbs all around each other. He was not going to be afraid of showing his affection in public now, and other people could go screw themselves if they thought them strange.

He was startled out of thoughts when the heavy rain pattering on the window became more of a rattle. The rattles became louder, and he sat up. He got off the bed and toweled himself off, rubbing between his legs to get most of the cum out, and then he pulled part of the curtains away. He opened the window's shutters and then saw that small bits of hail were assailing the glass.

He closed the shutters right after, sat on the edge of the bed, and got a little excited. It wasn't everyday that hail fell in Southern California. He went to the bathroom to relieve his bladder, and then he sat back down onto the bed and turned on the television in the bedroom to see what they had to say about it.

The television was on channel two, but his favorite news channel was nine so he flipped through them. All of the channels between them had headlines with breaking news about the storm, though oddly channel five was off the air.

On channel nine, there was a fox, a vixen, the main weatherlady for the channel. Except she wasn't in a studio or outside, she was in a car and talking into a microphone. "Meteorologists are scrambling to figure out why the storm is becoming stronger," she said. "There's no discernible reason why, but there are now reports of hail starting to fall in certain areas. Everyone is advised to stay indoors. Even we're headed back to the studio folks, even the roads are becoming too dangerous to drive on. It's advised that everyone stay home and not drive to work today unless absolutely necessary."

Before she could say anything else, Roy felt the bed start to shake. Then he saw the whole room start to shake. One end of the room seemed to lift up, and then it fell back down, making him nearly fall off the bed. The earthquake lasted only a few seconds, but it scared him nonetheless. He ran downstairs, still stark naked, to make sure that Jonathan was safe.

The dragon had felt the quake and turned off the water immediately. He knew it was more dangerous to try and get out and find shelter than to stay where he was, so he just rode out the short shake. It startled him a little, but he knew he could keep himself safe even with his relatively weak magical powers. His house had been warded magically to detect burglars, but there was also a ward for earthquake stability since he couldn't place all his faith in the workers that built his house. The engineering theory was sound, he was sure, but he couldn't trust a group of construction workers to adhere to the earthquake code. Besides, Leon had taught him a little bit of runic enchantment techniques, and he had found the task to be much easier than evocation so he was sure the ward he drew himself would keep his home safer than any precision engineering would.

It didn't really matter much anyway, the quake was too short and weak to have even knocked over a bowling pin. Jonathan rushed out of the shower just in case it would start up again. He tacked on a towel and opened the door, but then he felt it twist without his will. The door pushed open towards the dragon, and then he saw Roy was standing there.

The human leapt towards him and hugged him. "Oh my god," he said, "I was so afraid you might've slipped and drowned."

Jonathan hugged his mate back to comfort him. "I'm okay. Don't worry."

"I was scared."

"It's Socal, you know earthquakes should be expected here."

"Yeah."

The lights went out.

"Shit," Jonathan said, "I don't have gas for the generator. Used my last can to send someone off after fixing their fuel leak. I'll go fill up a few cans."

Roy tightened his embrace. "What? You can't go outside right now, it's dangerous!"

"We'd be better off if we had power in case an aftershock hits. Don't worry, I'll just go to the gas station around the end of the street." The Chevron near his home always charged rip-off prices, but even he didn't want to drive far in this weather. "You stay home, alright?"

"No, I'll go with you."

"You need to watch the house. I don't want a TV to fall over and start a fire."

"Alright, fine."

Roy let go of his mate, and then the dragon ran upstairs to put on his clothes and grab his truck's keys. When Jonathan came back down, he was wearing a black shirt with jeans. He went into the garage and pulled the red tag that let him manually open the garage door, but then he paused when he saw the small ice shards pelting the driveway.

"Alright," he yelled back to Roy, who was standing by the door into the house, "I'll make this quick."

"Be safe," Roy called back.

Jonathan nodded and jumped into his truck. The damn thing was so big that he didn't even have to tuck his wings in very much. He turned on the engine, filling the garage with the roar of his Ford, and then he backed out onto the street. Roy could barely see the truck's headlights after it had gone just a few feet away from the driveway, and it was gone entirely within seconds.

Roy left the garage door open since he would be back in just a few minutes. He closed the door into the house and went back into the living room where he sat for a minute as he listened to the hail slam harder against the house. The clouds outside were darker than he had ever seen them before, and he was not entirely sure it was morning yet.

He waited cautiously, ready to spring in case an aftershock hit. There was nothing for another minute, but then he jumped as he heard someone pound on the door to the garage. Jonathan couldn't have come back that quickly, could he?

Despite his doubts, he went over to the door. He was sure he hadn't locked it, but he opened it just in case he had.

It wasn't Jonathan knocking on the door.

In fact, Roy wasn't sure what it was.

The face was half rotten, but it was some sort of canine, he might've guessed. He didn't take the time to think, however, and slammed the door right back into place before jumping back away from it.

The thing's eyes had been glowing green, and it scared the shit out of him. He might've pissed on the floor if he hadn't gone to the bathroom when he woke up. Today was Halloween, the rational part of his mind was telling him, but he knew that thing behind the door wasn't a trick-or-treater. Not with that face, not with those eyes, not in this weather.

The pounding on the door resumed. He scurried away from it, terrified. Jonathan had showed him his pistol before, and that was the first thing he ran upstairs to find.

The Glock 19 was in the drawer he usually kept it in, and he took it along with the two extra magazines. He ran back into the bedroom and put on his clothes before trying to dial 911, but the phone was dead.

He heard glass shatter downstairs.

He ran back down with the pistol at the ready. There was still pounding on the garage door, but when he turned around to look at the sliding glass door to the backyard, he saw a pile of more things bashing at it, their claws and paws having already broken through a few holes.

"Holy shit," he screamed, "they're fucking zombies! Holy shit shit shit, what the hell is going on?"

More of the glass broke.

Roy's survival instinct took over. Fight or flight. He had a pretty powerful weapon in his hand, so he fought.

He shot an entire magazine at the ones trying to pry through the back door, and they fell into a heap. The human sighed in relief: the things were killable.

But past the darkness and the hail, more came. More smashed against the glass, their eyes glowering towards him, and they reached for him, only distance and failing glass separating them from their prey.

Roy didn't know how many of them there were. He knew he only had two magazines left. There might've been more in the garage. He had to get out via the front door before it was too late.

He put in a new magazine and pulled back the slide to reload the Glock, and then he ran for the front door.

Jonathan was filling up the fourth gas can at the Chevron when he felt his burglar ward being triggered. Someone was trying to get into his house, and Roy was alone. He stopped adding fuel and tossed the can into the back of his truck before driving back.

Roy opened the front door with the pistol pointed forward expecting danger. He was right. There were at least eight of the dead living creatures lumbering up the walkway to the front door, and Roy made sure to aim and give every single one of them a headshot.

There were more that emerged from the darkness. They used to be people, but now they were shadows, shadows obscured by the weather. Roy stepped out of the shelter of the house and tried to run past them, but there were too many of them. He emptied the rest of his magazine to try and make a hole for him to flee through, but it wasn't enough. He reloaded with the last magazine and managed to blast the last ones within his sight.

He ran another twenty feet forward before he was stopped by another line of them.

There were five or six of the things in front of him, and he pressed down on the trigger to fire at the closest one. Nothing. A weak click. He was out. They kept hulking towards him, and he knew he was screwed. He tried to make his legs move, but they were frozen by fear. The rain and hail kept falling and distorted the green glows from their eye sockets, but there was only darkness everywhere else. There was nowhere to run.

And then a beam of light flashed at the corpse on the edge, briefly illuminating its rotting skin and torn clothing. There was a roar and then a great white block rolled over them, smashing body parts everywhere. Roy dropped the pistol, his heart stunned half by fear and half by surprise. A rather familiar white truck had dove in and saved him, but his brain was acting like a frozen computer trying to process things it couldn't immediately comprehend.

The passenger door opened and he saw Jonathan yelling at him, the green dragon flailing his hands at him to hurry. There was loud music with rapidly thrumming violins and choirs playing from the truck, and Roy was just completely stunned. "Get in!" he heard the dragon call through the blaring music.

Roy's brain rebooted at the sound of him, some of the fear ebbing away from the sight and voice of someone he cared about being alive. He ran for the truck and jumped up, into the seat since the truck was that tall, and he shut the door the same moment Jonathan slammed on the gas pedal.

Roy's hand went straight for the volume knob to turn off the music, and he saw the truck's display system show the song's name. "Archangel," he said, "by Two Steps From Hell? Holy shit Jon you know how to make a save."

"We're not out of this yet," the dragon replied.

The human's other hand was clutching his heart as if it were trying to keep it from breaking out of its ribcage. "What the hell were those things? Looked like they were completely rabid, and I think some of them, were, well, rotting."

Jonathan didn't take his eyes of the road, but he didn't leave his terrified boyfriend in the dark either. "Shit," he said, "this wasn't how I wanted to introduce you to my life."

Roy pressed the lock button on the truck's door, and the false sense of safety allowed him to relax a little. "What do you mean your life?"

"I thought you were being robbed by looters or something, but then I felt the cold at the gas station. It was evil, and I hadn't felt it since I was in the house or the truck."

"What are you talking about?"

Roy's face turned to the windshield when he saw them collide with another pile of the zombies. They didn't faze the truck, however, and Jonathan kept on driving: the windshield wipers didn't do a great job at wiping off the blood, but a little bit of wiper fluid cleared it right up.

"Roy," the dragon said, "I love you. You love me. Do you trust me?"

The human tore his eyes off the windshield and looked at his mate, but the dragon didn't do the same. "I do."

"Then listen to me. Magic is real. I'm not a street magician. I'm a real one. Those quarters I pull out of your ear? They're all real conjured metal. No tricks, no illusions. Real. And these things, they're the work of necromancy."

If anyone else was telling him these things, Roy would've labeled him crazy and moved on. But the dragon wasn't just anyone. He couldn't deny what he had just seen either. "I-I have to believe you," he said after a while.

"But you don't want to."

"No."

"I understand. It can be a scary world out there if you've never known about it."

"I, bah, where are we going?"

"To a friend. You remember Leon, right? At the gun store?"

"Yeah."

"He's a powerful wizard. He'll know what's going on."

"Okay," Roy said. His brain was trying to logically connect everything, but everything was leading him to one conclusion. Jonathan was right. Magic did exist. No other explanation could fit. His feelings told him so too. He had to trust him. He still loved him. "I'll just," he continued, "sit here and think."

"Mm," Jonathan replied, his eyes never wandering off the road.

---

The rain hadn't hardened to ice yet in Chinatown, and that definitely made visibility better and driving easier. Jonathan knew Leon had a tendency to sleep in his shop instead of going home, and he hoped to God that the lion had stayed this particular night.

The lion had told him that it was like breathing fresh air. Apparently, his home was so flooded with magical energy that it was almost choking to live in. Nevertheless, it was the place to go when he needed to perform complex rituals and spells. He didn't know exactly where his house was, so they would've been a bit screwed if he wasn't in his shop.

The sky became even darker, though it was still lighter than night would've been. Jonathan was sure that would change. He noticed that there were no other zombies attacking other homes, and he encountered none on the freeway. When he approached Leon's store, however, he managed to ram into a couple more when they appeared out of thin air.

He didn't lay off the gas. More and more piles of bodies, fur, scale, and rot built up in front of his truck, but it kept on going through them like a bulldozer. Before long, his headlights illuminated the front of Leon's gun shop, and he could see the lion standing in front of his store fending off the zombies with an AR-15.

The lion was visibly surprised to see the truck, but he was well conditioned enough to not reflexively shoot at the new potential threat. Jonathan held a hand in front of him, his palm facing up, and said, "It's me."

The words drifted through the windshield and reformed in the lion's ears, the voice clear like it had been spoken through a headset. Leon nodded and shot around the truck, taking down the remaining army of undead.

With the truck's help, the immediate area was secured and Jonathan opened his window. He unlocked the doors and yelled, "Get in!"

Leon dashed for the back door of the F-350. He tossed his AR-15 in, but before he got in he saw Roy and yelled back, "Do you guys need guns?"

Jonathan nodded. "I've got one, he needs one."

"Thirty seconds," the lion called back, and then he shut the door and ran into his store.

There was another short earthquake, but neither Jonathan nor Roy felt much of it in the truck. Less than thirty seconds later, the lion ran back out with an AK-47 and a box presumably full of magazines and ammo. He tossed them into the rear seat and jumped in, shutting the door with haste.

"Thanks for the save," Leon said. "I could've held out for days if I didn't need to sleep, but anyway, we need to get to my house."

Jonathan nodded. "Where is it?"

"By Cal State LA, gas it now before they regroup."

The dragon obeyed, and the truck was away. "That's by the ten and seven-ten, right?"

"Aye. Who's the human?"

"You don't remember him? I took him to your shop a couple months ago."

"Ah, vaguely now, yes." The lion looked at Roy from the middle of the back seat. "Don't remember your name though."

"Roy."

The lion looked back at the dragon and raised a brow even though the dragon was focused on the road. "He's a regular mortal. What's he doing here?"

"He's my mate."

"Ah. I see."

"Do you know what's going on?"

"Necromancy."

Jonathan let out a quiet laugh. "Besides the obvious?"

"Powerful necromancy."

"Who?"

"I'm guessing Noiyel. He's the only evil wizard we ever lost track of."

"The guy that abandoned the Order twenty years ago? I thought he died from his own black magic experiments?"

"That's the official record, yes. But his death was highly suspicious, in my opinion. The other Highguards were just happy to be done with him."

"Couldn't it possibly be a new upstart that found a knack for necromancy within the past ten years?"

"No. This weather. This darkness. The power outage. The earthquake. The sheer number of undead. All of this points to a calculated application of power. Lots of power. Look outside. You haven't seen any more of them, have you?"

The dragon slightly nodded his head. "There were some at my house."

"Makes sense. I think they're targeting wells of magic. There's likely to be more at my house."

"Sounds like this Noiyel person is trying to get rid of the only people that can stop him," Roy said.

The lion turned his head to the human and gave him a nod of approval. "You're right. Once he builds enough of an army, then he'll be ready to take on the rest of the mortal world. Time is short. Take a look at this."

The lion muttered a few words, and then he waved his paw in front of the windshield. The color gained a hue of green, and then there were dark purple lines in the sky.

Jonathan glanced at the stream and ribbons of magical leylines. "Power lines," he said. "Definitely black magic."

Leon nodded. "I think it's a feedback system. The more zombies he raises, the more powerful he becomes. The lines point towards Downtown LA. I checked this morning when visibility was still okay, and I'm sure he's set up shop on the tallest building there."

"The U.S.BankTower?"

"Yeah."

"How do we stop him?"

"I don't suppose you could fly us up?"

The dragon shook his head. "I can barely glide with Roy. You're probably much heavier than he is."

"Yeah. The skyscraper is likely swarmed with undead, and even if we fought our way through the elevator wouldn't be working. We'd have to fight our way through seventy flights of stairs."

"That'd be suicide."

"And we'd get turned into them as an added benefit." Leon sighed and wished Sue weren't all the way in Chicago.

"Hey," Roy said. "I'm a pilot. Maybe I could fly a plane up there?" He almost immediately felt stupid for making the suggestion. He only wanted to be helpful, but there was no damn way he could fly in this hurricane wind and hail.

To the human's surprise, the lion raised a brow as if it were possible. "Helicopter?"

"Umm, yeah. Or Cessna. I can do both."

The lion moved his eyes a little, and it was obvious there were cogs spinning in his head as an idea started to form. "Yes. Yes. It'll work. To my house first, I need materials. Do you have a helicopter?"

"I can check one out from the flight school at El MonteAirport."

"Checkout? No need, we'll just take it. There'll be no one at the airport anyway."

---

Leon was large, buff, and regal like most lions were. He held an air of experience and confidence around him, and Roy couldn't help but feel safer in his presence.

It was a good thing because there was another mob of zombies at the lion's home. They were attracted to magic, and there was a lot more of it around Leon's house. From what they could judge, there were at least five times as many as there had been at the gun shop.

It didn't matter. The massive pickup bulldozed through them without complaint. Blood and body parts flew around everywhere, and the truck was unstoppable.

Until it hit a not so dead dragon.

The truck hit the zombie dragon right on the grill, but the creature was unharmed. It had been a he when he was alive, and he was at least one and a half times the size of Jonathan. It seemed like it had only been recently deceased since there was a lot less rot and decay on its body than most of the other zombies. Roy guessed that it might've been alive less than a day ago, and the poor sap had walked outside and got mauled and turned by the other zombies. If it weren't for the unnatural green glow of its eyes, he wouldn't have even guessed it was dead.

Jonathan reversed the truck before the undead dragon could smash his hood, and he pulled back quite a bit far from the lion's home.

"What do we do now?" Jonathan asked.

Leon tossed the AK-47 over to Roy and picked up his own AR-15. "Aim for the head. That's how they're being controlled." He watched the human load the AK-47 and was satisfied with how he was handling the rifle. Jonathan had taught him how to shoot, and he was actually pretty good with guns. "Keep it on semi-auto," Leon added. "Easier to aim. One shot, one kill."

The dragon faced him, his eyes accusatory. "Semi? You got an un-neutered assault rifle into California?"

Leon smiled and kissed his AR-15. "I've got a few kept hidden. I'm not going to be fighting with a ten ammo capacity and reload with a bullet button."

"But you don't even need to reload."

The large cat shrugged his shoulders. He could summon more bullets and had taught Jonathan how to as well, but it was still a sort of principle matter. "Well, it's useful if you're entirely mentally exhausted."

"I guess."

The lion blew onto the barrel of his rifle. The flowing air caused purple etches to appear over the barrel: runic enchantments. "Let's move."

Jonathan nodded. "My gun's in the back under the seat. Watch my back while I get it out."

Everyone jumped out of the truck at the same time, Roy taking the passenger side while Leon took the driver side and guarded Jonathan. The dragon swiftly opened the secret compartment under the rear seat and pulled out his baby, a Steyr AUG A3. It was mounted with a 2x scope, and inside the box he kept it in there were four magazines and two barrels, a short and long one. He blew onto the barrel of his rifle to engage the runes on his gun like Leon had, and then he backed out into the open.

The lion had already shot down at least six of the zombies. He turned around when Jonathan said he was done and whistled when he saw the dragon's rifle. "Steyr. Imported. Nice. And you asked me how I got around the assault rifle ban?"

"In case of zombie apocalypse."

"That why you own such a badass truck too? Seriously, look at this thing. Barely a dent on the front."

"Built Ford tough."

The lion let out a short laugh. "You should be a car salesman."

"No thanks, I already exploit people's ignorance."

Leon let out a haughtier laugh. "See, you've got experience."

Jonathan frowned at him. "We can banter after you get your stuff."

"Agreed."

They went around and regrouped with Roy. The human had taken down ten, and he had gone back into the ammo box to put a magazine into each of his pant's pockets.

They pushed on to Leon's house while tearing apart anything that got within their sight. Roy had to reload once, and he noticed the other two were shooting way more than their magazines were supposed to be able to hold. The drawings on their rifles also flashed with each shot, and he surmised they were enhancing the bullets somehow. He was far too busy to ask about it though. The zombies here were moving faster than the ones that had broken into Jonathan's house, and he had to keep his focus so that he wouldn't waste any bullets.

They pushed back to the undead dragon blocking the way to Leon's house. He snarled at them, almost as if he was challenging them, and then he unfurled his partially torn wings. The dead dragon charged at them, and they shot back, all rifles pointed at the beast's head.

The bullets seemed to just bounce off its scaly skin. They slowed it down, but they weren't killing it again. Jonathan decided to fully depress his AUG's trigger so that it would spray fully automatic, but he couldn't summon bullets fast enough to replenish his magazine. The rifle clicked empty after a few seconds, but none of the enhanced bullets penetrated the undead dragon's thick scaly skin.

"Shit," Leon said. "I don't think a spell would work either, you dragons just have to be naturally resistant to magic."

"Can't you yell out Thundercats ho or something?" Roy asked. The only thing keeping him from fleeing was that neither of the other two seemed like they were going anywhere else.

Leon let out a short but loud laugh and looked at Jonathan. "I like him."

"Too bad, he's mine. I might be able to stop this guy," Jonathan said, "cover me."

Roy and Leon closed the gap between them to lay down suppressing fire while Jonathan ran back into his truck. The dragon zombie was slowed by the gunfire, but it was still managing to gain forward movement. They had to pull back as the thing lumbered towards them.

"Whatever you're doing, hurry it up!" Leon yelled.

"Got it, move!" Jonathan yelled back.

The human and the lion parted ways, though they didn't let up on the bullets. They didn't have time to look at what Jonathan was doing, but they heard him fire a single shot, and then they saw the undead dragon slump to the ground.

Leon looked at him to see what he had done, and he noticed that the barrel of his AUG appeared distinctly longer than it had been before, and the runes on it were different. "The twenty-four inch barrel?"

Jonathan grinned. "Yep. Don't have a sniper rifle, but this is close enough. The extra eight inches let me draw even more runes on it. This one adds pure penetrative power, and it seems it was enough to pierce that thing's scales."

"Headshot too. Good accuracy. Forgot you could swap barrels with those so easily."

"Yeah, but it shouldn't have required such a powerful shot to pierce dragon scale. Even my runed SMG barrel should be able to cut through, let alone my usual one."

"This is powerful necromancy. Doesn't just bring them back from the dead, makes them stronger too." Leon took a second to look at the runes painted over the barrel of the rifle and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you've got talent in enchantments, Jon. The runes are perfect, and it looks like an expert poured energy into them. I daresay this thing shoots harder than my BFG-50."

"Gee, thanks. That thing's legal here or not?"

The lion grinned. "With point five DTC's, yeah. Left mine at the shop though, felt like we were going to fight more mobs than tough single targets. Anyway, we've got to move. I'll go in my house and grab all the stuff I'll need, keep the truck clear and safe."

"Right, go. Roy, stay in the car and watch for anymore of them."

"Alright," the human replied. He got back in the passenger seat, reloaded with a fresh magazine, and pointed his rifle out the door, his hands quaking with fear and adrenaline. He wasn't sure he could've fought the bloody things off if it weren't the safe feeling he got from being near his mate and the lion, but he knew there was more at stake now than just their lives.

Jonathan was telling the truth about magic. That meant the weather wasn't going to get better. The zombies wouldn't stop rising. Not unless they succeeded in killing that Noiyel guy, or whoever was making this happen. He wouldn't fail his mate or the rest of the world.

There were only a few zombies left, and Jonathan took care of all of them. He handled his bullpup like a pro, and he even toyed with the last ones by using his scope to target their heads. Sometimes he had to shoot twice to kill them since if he missed their brains, his shots would just pass clean through. His AUG's regular barrel was enchanted to boost penetration and impact explosiveness equally, and the precision barrel he had on now would've been much more damaging to the zombies if he could ammo larger than the standard 5.56 NATO rounds. It was unfortunate that he wasn't a shotgun fan, but that would've been overkill too.

Within minutes, the lion ran back out carrying a large ornate purple box. Jonathan made sure no undead would jump him on the short run back to the truck, and then he helped load the box into the back seat.

"We good to go?" Jonathan asked.

Leon jumped into the back and nodded. "Yeah. To the airport."

Jonathan got back in the driver's seat and drove. The sky became lighter the further away from Los Angeles they got, and the rain grew lighter. Once they were on the 10 freeway, they relaxed a little.

"You guys should've grown some plants on your lawn," Roy said.

Jonathan chuckled and added, "And put some lawnmowers too, right?"

"Dude," Leon said, "the front of your truck looks like it could be a sponsor for Dragon Age Three."

Jonathan peered over the hood and noted the blood splatters against the white paint. "Yeah, I suppose so. Guess what's driving it too, right?"

"A goofy male green dragon mated to a male human, that's what!"

"Am I supposed to be offended by that?"

"No, not at all. Just saying it's a rather unusual pair."

Jonathan smirked. "Not as unusual as you might think." He redirected his attention to his mate. "Hey, can you get the airport information on your phone?"

Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "I've got no signal. Do you have a radio scanner?"

Jonathan nodded. "Yeah, in the passenger compartment."

Roy opened it and looked inside. He found the scanner and took it out. He extended the radio antenna all the way and turned it on, tuning it to 118.75. He listened, but there was only static. He waited a few seconds and heard a faint echo that gained clarity with time.

"Notice to airmen," the radio said, "El MonteAirport closed until further notice. Los AngelesAirRouteTrafficControlCenter and Socal TRACON are not in service. Los Angeles Class Bravo uncontrolled, enter at own risk. Hazardous weather information on HIWAS..."

Roy turned it off. "Looks like we're doing this off the record."

"No one will be the wiser," Leon said.

"I'm starting to see how the secret doesn't get out."

The lion chuckled. "We're good at our jobs."

When they got to the airport, all the gates were closed. Roy's flight school was locked and empty, but that didn't stop Leon from using a spell to unlock the door.

Roy grabbed the key to the Robinson R44, and then they scurried out to the helipad. The light helicopter had been tethered down with heavy duty chains in anticipation of the storm, but Roy was sure they wouldn't have held under the winds the heart of Los Angeles was experiencing.

"How is this going to work?" the human asked.

Leon had carried his box along with his AR-15. He put the rifle in the back seat of the helicopter, and then he set the box down and opened it. "I'll handle it. Wind stabilization enchantment, light enhancement, water shield for the hail and rain, and stealth enchantment. Whoever is on the BankTower won't hear us coming."

"Okay," Roy replied.

Jonathan set himself into the co-pilot seat and set his AUG onto his lap. He kept the long barrel on in case they faced something Leon's AR-15 couldn't handle. He tried to offer Leon his assistance, but the runic inscriptions he was using was on a whole different level than the ones he knew, so he sat inside the helicopter and waited for the others to do their thing.

While Roy performed his pre-flight inspection, Leon had started drawing runes onto the hull of the helicopter. The box had all the special paint he needed for the physical manifestation of the enchantments he needed, his mind knew all the runes necessary for the mental inscription of power, and his will imparted the spiritual power needed to charge the whole thing.

After thirty minutes, both were done with their tasks. They got in the helicopter, and Roy handed the other two the headsets he had borrowed from the flight school. He started up the helicopter and didn't even bother trying to raise the control tower or the traffic advisory frequency: nobody else could be sane enough to be flying in this kind of weather.

It was strange for him to fly straight into the heart of Los Angeles without talking to Socal Approach, but that didn't ruin his sense of overwhelming freedom. It was quickly destroyed once the unnatural darkness enveloped them again, but the helicopter's lights were able to pierce into the shadow thanks to Leon's enchantments.

The winds buffeted them, but they didn't bully them into retreat. They pressed on through the murky darkness until they finally reached the skyscrapers of Downtown. The lights were powerful, but they couldn't illuminate the entire city. Roy had to navigate through the skyscrapers since no one was sure exactly where the BankTower was, but they eventually managed to find the tallest building west of the Mississippi.

The winds there were incredibly strong, and Roy had to keep all his focus on controlling the helicopter. He increased their altitude until they were over the Tower, and then he flew forward until they passed over the imaginary cylinder formed by the circumference of the Tower.

There, at the heart of the storm, the wind and hail was gone. The darkness remained, but they could see a single man on top standing on a pentacle engraved in the helipad of the BankTower. The symbol glowed purple, and it was the reason why they could see him. It showed the cloaked man with his hands raised towards the sky, and both Leon and Jonathan could feel the dark magic energy swirling to him.

Leon wasted no time. He wiggled out of the helicopter and jumped out, his fall cushioned by a spell, and then he stood facing an old enemy he had long thought was dead.

"Highguard," the cloaked human said, "the Order is disbanded. You cannot stop me here."

"Noiyel," Leon replied, "what is this? Why did you fake your death twenty years ago?"

"So my true plan could come to fruition, old friend."

"Don't call me friend. You were lost to me the moment you dabbled in black magic." The lion spat onto the floor. "Necromancy. Look at how low you've fallen."

"Low? I will be higher than all. I have prepared for this day for over a decade. This storm was built twenty years ago, unleashed now at the height of supernatural power. It is Halloween, after all."

"What do you mean? You could've done this in any of the past twenty Halloweens."

"Not any. This year is special. This year there are many people who believe it is the end of days. That fear and trepidation fuels my strength even more, enough to start my cascading plan of obtaining godhood."

"Godhood? By draining the power of the dead? Why are you even doing this?"

"The Order was flawed. It has fallen. Chaos reigns. When chaos exists, only the strongest rule. I will be the strongest."

"Not all of the Order is gone."

Leon didn't give the necromancer a chance to respond. He hurled a ball of pure force at the hooded mage, but the spell dissipated around his protective circle.

Noiyel laughed, his bellowing echoing through his circle. "I shall have to remedy that."

The necromancer raised an arm, and then he swung it down at the lion wizard. A bolt of lightning struck in from the storm and hit the lion, but he was prepared with a shield of his own. He retaliated with a classic: a great ball of fire.

The fireball smashed into an invisible sphere around the necromancer and left him unharmed. Noiyel laughed, his throat crackling. "Is that it? You will not stop me, Highguard. I've planned twenty years for this. This perfect storm of fear and terror is a product of two decades' worth of work. Even the Order was convinced in the asinine mortal theory of global warming."

Leon leered at him. "You think far too highly of yourself. My fire already revealed the weaknesses in your shield. You are not a god yet."

Noiyel barked at him. "There are weaknesses, yes. Fool, don't you think I've planned for that? You alone are not strong enough to exploit them and crack through. I know you are the only Highguard on the west coast, and I am the reason why it has been impossible to create a gate to the entire state of California. You will not be able to call for help."

The necromancer slashed his arm down again, and another bolt of lightning struck the lion. It missed, however, since Leon dodged as soon as he saw the man's arm swing. They continued this dance for several minutes, but then the necromancer stopped his assault.

Leon hadn't even broken a sweat. He hadn't used any of his mental energy to deflect the lightning attacks, and he was so well physically conditioned that he could've dodged for hours. "You're slow," he said mockingly.

"You're terribly imperceptive," Noiyel replied. He held his hand out, and the lion raised his to defend against another attack. But he didn't attack. Instead, he curled his hand into a fist and said one word. "Seal."

Leon commanded his legs to move, but they did not respond. The floor glowed, and he looked down to see that he had fallen into a trap. The necromancer had been playing with him. He thought he was effortlessly dodging his weak attacks, but it turned out he was actually searing a symbol into the ground of the roof. It was an old symbol, but he knew what it meant. Restrain. He wouldn't be able to escape the next attack.

"You've been a thorn at my side for a long time," Noiyel said. "Only the best curse for such an old friend."

The lion squinted at his enemy as he heard him spout out words that meant "die" in a multitude of languages. He willed power into his paralyzed arms while Noiyel was focused with his death curse. Though he could not move them, Leon could still gather magic with his mind and channel it through his body. A pair of flashing lights appeared on the tip of his paws, the signal for help.

The Robinson R44 still hovered far above the roof of the tower, silent and negligible. Jonathan saw the flash and the symbol that had imprisoned Leon, and he moved to jump out. Before he could leap out of the chopper, a hand grabbed onto his arm and stopped him.

"Do we have a chance?" Roy asked.

"None if I don't help," Jonathan replied. "I won't sugar-coat it. We might fail. We might both die. I want you to fly away, Roy. Don't stop until you reach the east coast, and then fly until you find a deserted island. The mainlands will not be safe for anyone."

Roy clutched his arm harder. "I won't leave you. I'll ram this helicopter into him if it'll help."

Jonathan shook his head. "Remember the zombie dragon? My truck has more mass than this plane. It wouldn't do anything. You'd just get yourself killed." He put a hand over his mate's grip on his arm. There were two dark streaks of liquid under his eyes that stained his cheek scales. "Please. Be safe."

Roy's eyes were becoming blurred with tears, but he let his mate go and forced himself to fly out of the storm.

Jonathan dove sharply to the rooftop, his arms clutching his enhanced rifle, and aimed for a spot behind the necromancer. The man was pouring all his attention into his curse and noticed neither Leon, who was gathering magic around his paws, nor Jonathan's descent.

The dragon pulled upward to soften his landing, and Leon was ready to unleash his attack. Leon saw him get to his feet just in time: the languages Noiyel was muttering were beginning to sound very modern.

He released his attack, and beams of blazing light sparked and dazzled over the necromancer's shield. It crackled and popped, but it held against the barrage.

The backside of the barrier didn't do as well.

Jonathan had pulled his trigger the same time his mentor let loose his magical bombardment. The pure penetrative power added by his enchantment drove against the necromancer's barrier, cracking it with each shot. The dragon didn't let up and shoved all his power into continually reloading his magazine with fresh bullets, and he held the trigger all the way down to fire fully automatic.

The time that light and color flew around the necromancer lasted only ten seconds. Several bullets had pierced into his body, though it was not clear to either the dragon or the lion because his thick cloak covered whatever wounds he had sustained.

Noiyel's circle faded, though the carving remained. He coughed, and then he turned around to see the person that had killed him. Before he drew his last breath, he muttered one last word to the dragon. "Die."

A cold air passed between them, and then the necromancer dropped dead.

Jonathan dropped his AUG when he felt what he could only describe as the absence of heat, of life. He skipped over to the lion before he felt his toes go numb. The sealing symbol beneath the lion had faded as well, the benign carving of it the only evidence it had existed at all.

With the necromancer defeated, Leon saw the magical power lines that he had created throughout the city begin the crumble. But there was so much of it, and it didn't dissipate like a normal magical anomaly would have without its power source; not like the circle of power or the sealing symbol. Instead, the circle that Noiyel's body laid in gathered energy and shone brighter than it had when he was alive, and the leylines of magic started collapsing into a singularity forming above the necromancer's body. It grew quickly and disintegrated his body, but it stopped shortly after. Instead of enlarging, it simply became denser, its core filling itself with raw magic that had been channeled to be dispersed over two decades.

While the singularity drew in the chaotic fields of magic around the city, it also withdrew the terrible weather it had created. Yet as the winds dissipated from the outside, it increased inside the previously calm circle above the BankTower. Leon anticipated this and cast a barrier around Jonathan and himself that protected them from the searing gales. The winds became stronger and stronger, and before long it drew in something Jonathan was not gladdened to see.

The singularity acted almost like a dark hole, drawing in wind and magic. The wind didn't become so strong that it devastated the buildings around Downtown, but it did become strong enough to overpower Leon's enchantments on Roy's helicopter.

"Protect him!" Jonathan shouted, feeling his strength fading.

"I can't," Leon shouted back. "It's taking all my will to keep us from being drawn in already!"

The dragon acted on instinct. He drew out his wings and flew up to the flailing helicopter, and he saw the blades break as he approached it. He could feel fatigue draw up from his legs, and he drew up the side of the helicopter before the numbness could spread to his arms and wings. Once he opened the pilot's door, he saw Roy inside wailing, his hands uselessly moving the controls around.

Roy regained enough sense at the sight of his mate, just barely enough to unbuckle his seatbelt. The dragon took him into his arms, and then they dived down towards the rooftop of the skyscraper together. Fifty feet before the floor of the roof, Jonathan felt the emptiness crawl into his arms and the root of his wings, so he flipped himself backward and held the human under his arms with the last of his strength, his tough draconic body protecting him from the solid concrete beneath them.

"What are you doing?" Roy shouted.

"Saving you," the dragon replied.

They hit the rooftop, and Jonathan cushioned the entire blow for his mate.

Meanwhile, the helicopter disintegrated as it touched the ball of energy. The singularity brightened as it finished collecting all the magical force that had been dumped over the city. The clouds started breaking apart, and then it shot a beam of pure magic energy into the sky, the ray passing into the far reaches of space before fading entirely from the rooftop of the skyscraper.

The sun began to return. To Leon, it shone all the brighter from the darkness it replaced.

Roy was not comforted by the return of the natural warmth of the sun. He rolled a little bit off Jonathan after they crashed, and he crawled back over to check on him. Jonathan's wings had been battered, and several parts were bleeding. One of his brown horns had been broken. He had skidded quite a length on his back, and what parts of the back of his shirt that Roy could see had been torn to shreds. He put his palm on the dragon's chest and felt a beat, but Jonathan didn't react to his touch.

"Jon, wake up," the human said, his voice desperate and pleading. "Please, wake up."

Leon gathered his wits after the spectacular explosion and walked towards his fallen comrade.

Roy heard his footsteps and glanced at the lion. His golden mane shone beautifully under the shafts of sunlight that burned through the dissipating clouds, and he couldn't help but imagine him looking a bit like Aslan. "What happened to him? I know he's tough enough to take a fall like that."

Leon leaned down and felt the dragon's head. "He was hit by a powerful death curse meant for me. Made by pure malice and hate. It will kill him."

"Can't you counter it?"

The lion stood back up. "I know of only one counter-curse that can save him."

Roy furrowed his eyebrows at him. "What are you waiting for?"

"There is a price."

"Anything."

Leon told him what was needed.

"Do it."

"Give me your arm."

Roy let the lion take hold of his left arm.

"This will hurt."

"I don't care."

Leon nodded, and then he raised one sharp claw. He dug it into Roy's wrist and dragged it a bit, drawing more than a little bit of blood. The red stream flowed onto Jonathan's muzzle and stained his scales. Roy screamed as the pain of the incision tore through him, and he fainted shortly after.

---

When Jonathan woke up, he felt the comfort of his bed and the warmth of his bed sheets. He was shirtless, but his jeans were still on, the bottom of them slightly torn. He also felt another source of warmth from a body next to his, and he smiled knowing who it was. He twisted around and saw his mate sleeping soundly. The window blinds were open, and the sun shone through the sky.

Roy opened his eyes when he felt his mate stir. "Jon," he muttered.

"Roy."

The human smiled and threw his arms around the dragon. "Jon!"

Jonathan was a little surprised, but he didn't flinch away from the hug. "What happened?"

"You were knocked out by a death curse. Leon saved you."

"Everything is fine now?"

"Yes. Everything is fine. Thank the gods the elevator worked, otherwise we would've had to drag you down seventy stories."

Jonathan let his chest rumble, and then he nudged his mate's arms away so he could sit up. Once he did, he saw the bandages wrapped around Roy's wrist and pointed at them. "How did that happen?"

Roy rubbed his opposing hand around the bandage and almost seemed proud of it. "Leon did it. It was the only way to dispel the curse. We're bonded now, more than even mates. He said that we'll feel pain the further we're away from each other, but it was the only way to save you. If we're ever on opposite sides of the world, we'll die."

Jonathan's eyes widened. "You didn't have to do that."

"I wasn't going to let you die."

"You sacrificed your freedom. I know you've wanted to be an airline pilot your entire life but now-"

Roy pulled him back into a hug, his eyes tearing up from joy while his hands dug into his dragon's messy back fur. "Jon, I don't care about that. I can settle with a regular job and just fly small planes. I love you more than anything else."

His mate's body soothed his aches, but the dragon still felt tired even though he guessed he had already rested for quite a while. "Sleep with me?" he asked.

Roy wiped off his tears. "Every day."