In Love with the Dragon - Chapter 20
"Take care, Qila!" Spike muttered as he held her tightly.
"You, too! I'll be back!" Qila whispered huskily. They shared a long kiss.
Due cleared his throat loudly. They broke the kiss. She stepped back from Spike.
"Let's go?" Qila asked her father.
"Yes," Due nodded. "Spike?"
"I got your back," Spike replied seriously.
"Okay!" Due shifted himself into a werewolf. Even though Qila had known this, she was still startled to see him up close and personal. "Ride on my back!" the wolf growled at her.
She sat on his back, clutching his fur.
"Wrap your arms around my neck, my child," Due purred gently.
"I'm sorry, Dad," she uttered while obeying her father's instruction.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
They zipped out of the property of Spike. In minutes, they found themselves outside the safe-house where Abigor Limrick was hiding. There were wolves roaming around. Each of them whispered things to their leader.
Due shifted back to man form. Qila handed him her shawl wordlessly. He wrapped the flimsy cloth around his muscled hips.
"They said Limrick is not alone. He is guarded by women with the same faces like yours," he informed Qila in a serious manner.
"The same height, the same built?" Qila queried with her brows raised.
Due turned to the wolves and purred softly. "Nah. They are different in height and built."
"How do you know it's me when I entered the safe-house?"
"Through your smell, my child. We will know your scent anywhere."
"I should've known!" Qila smiled. "I'm going in!"
"Take care, Qila!" Due hugged her shortly.
Qila nodded. "I will, Dad!"
She walked through the grassland that surrounded the safe-house. She knocked on the tall gates.
"Who's there?"
"Qila Arrow." She knew that her face and her built was being studied somewhere. She was not breathing while they talked about her between themselves.
"Get the damned gates open!" Qila felt relief when she heard Abigor Limrick's voice.
She was greeted warmly.
"Qila, where have you been? I'm so worried about you!" Abigor hugged her even though she did not respond. "How did you find this place?"
"I looked for you."
"You mean, we are easy to find?"
"No. That's why it took me a long time to find you. I won't miss my graduation, Abigor!"
Abigor narrowed his eyes as he looked her up and down. "You recognized me?"
Qila hung her head to one side. "Of course! Shouldn't I recognize you?"
"Fantastic! The cocci powder worked!"
"The what?"
"Nothing, nothing. Have you eaten? You must be hungry!"
"I'm not hungry." Qila glanced everywhere while Abigor led the way inside.
The safe-house was built like a fort. It had thick flat roof and thick walls, with no windows. Their voices echoed inside. Their shadows were long and thin as they were swallowed in the cave-like interior.
The wakizashi seemed to wave at her as they entered the very wide space. Abigor's private place was screened like a cubicle. Outside was practice area with benches located at strategic points.
Many look-alike Qila Arrows trained here. The gun-shooting was done with a silent gun. The blade-wielding weapons training were done in two's and scattered around.
Qila's only warning was the upward glance of Abigor. Someone with a fake wakizashi attacked her from behind. She whirled away. The flying kick had landed on the old shape of Abigor. They crashed against the floor.
"Master! Master!" the attacker shook Abigor's shoulder.
"Damn you!" he wheezed and coughed out blood. "You almost killed me!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Qila!" he shouted. Everyone turned on him, except the real Qila. She turned to the wall, where her father's wakizashi hanged. "Tie her and bring her to the dungeon!"
"Master, I'm sorry! Master, please!" While the attacker cried, someone torn her prosthetics mask. "Ouch! My skin! My face!" She was being dragged away.
"Are you alright, Abigor?" Qila supported him while he limped.
"Yes." Abigor spoke hoarsely.
Qila helped him sit on an armchair.
"Give me a moment, Qila. We shall perform your graduation," Abigor rasped before he drank from the glass of water that Qila poured for him.
"You take a rest, Abigor. The graduation can wait."
"You don't understand, Qila. You have to kill two men. That's the graduation rite!"
"What are the names of the men?" Qila asked in a firm tone. She could guess who!
"Our former employer, Pendragon, and the underground boss, Seawolf!" There was a fixated gleam in his eyes. Abigor Limrick was obsessed!
"But why? What did they do to you?"
"Our lord No One wants them dead!"
"No One is real?"
"Very real." Abigor coughed again. His hand covered his mouth with a handkerchief. There was blood. It seemed he was terminally ill.
Qila's attention was caught by someone who started vomiting black liquid. The others followed. They were gushing off dark fluid until the floor was full of murky gooey.
"Go, my child! Kill those two men! Use my real wakizashi!" He gritted his bloodied teeth as he shouted the command.
Qila did not need another command. She leaped high and plucked the short sword from the wall. She ran outside with the handle in her hand.
She was attacked left and right by the guards outside. Five against one. Qila had no hope in hell that she would win. She was always in the defensive. She whirled and twirled around but she could not strike once.
"Qila!" She heard the voice of her father.
All the guards attacking her seemed drawn to the man. They were ready to assault using their fake wakizashis.
"Haaik!" All five women shouted while they aggressively struck the half-naked man.
"Dad!" Qila was there in the blink of an eye. She received the two hits on her side ribs while striking at the mask of the three women. With one swipe, she destroyed the three faces of Qila Arrow.
They screamed with pain. Their hands stemming the blood spurting at the wounds.
"Qila, you're hurt!" Due noticed her blood-stained t-shirt.
But Qila did not pay attention to him. She valiantly used the real wakizashi against the two fake swords. She spun it left and right until they bungled their hands. The two replicas fell on the floor. She swiveled against the two women and managed to pull off their prosthetic masks in her hand neatly.
"Aahhh!" They shrieked as they ran for cover.
"You're hurt, Qila!" Due held her by the arm. He pulled up the shirt carefully. "Why--? The wounds are gone!"
"I'm a half-blood, Dad. I'm your daughter!" Qila's cheek touched his chest. "And here is your wakizashi, Dad!" she smiled tiredly.
"Oh, Qila! You're more important to me than the damned wakizashi!" Due cursed while he caught her in his arms.
Qila giggled. "Dad, you're cute when you swear!"
Due tried not to smile but he burst with laughter. He carried her outside the fort-like safe-house. He did not stop until they were far away.
"You bring light into my life, Qila! I'm glad you're here with us!"
"I'm happy I've known you, Dad. Thanks to Spike!"
"Yes. Thanks to Spike!"
Suddenly, there was a lightning before there was an explosion.
"The safe-house exploded!" Due exclaimed. His face had a yellow sheen while he watched the great fire.
Qila felt bereft. For a brief moment in time, she had met a human Abigor Limrick. Alone. Lonely. Desolate. When he was her boss, she thought negatively of his character. Strict. Arrogant. Haughty.
"Poor Abigor!" she murmured with compassion.
"We'll try to salvage all evidences."
"Yes..." Qila was suddenly sleepy. The wakizashi was still gripped by her hand.
Due's men had shifted. They tied Qila to Due's back with the use of her shawl.
"Don't come near the fire. I'll be back," Due instructed his men.
When he reached the Pendragon Mansion, Spike had been walking back and forth at the window of the clinic.
"What happened to her, bro?" Spike was worried. He saw her stained shirt.
"Qila had been wounded but she healed fast," Due informed him with a grin. "Attagirl! Qila saved me although it's not needed! I will heal, too!" He was proud of his daughter's bravery.
"Oh, that's our Qila!" Spike carried the sleeping Qila in his arms. "What about your wakizashi?"
"Ah, Qila uses it better than me. I give the sword to her," Due declared. "Arrivederci, bro! We have unfinished business!"
"Okay, bro! See you later!"
The next morning, the police came to the explosion site. They tried to salvage any evidences but found none. Due and his men had cleared the bodies. He had the computer files.
"We are busy recovering the records. I'll keep you posted," Due kept him up-to-date. "How is Qila?"
"I'm fine, Dad! Love you!" Qila piped in.
"Qila ordered a big breakfast, bro," Spike told Due laughingly.
"What's the meaning of that! A grandchild!" Due was scandalized.
"Of course not! I'm just hungry!" Qila interrupted again.
The two men laughed merrily.
The police also visited the Pendragon property but they did not find anything.
"Mr. Pendragon, did you hear the explosion that happened here last night?" the investigator asked the question a third time.
"None, Investigator. We were sleeping peacefully here last night," Spike lied without batting an eye.
"What happened to your eye, Mr. Pendragon?"
"I had a cataract operation."
"I see. Have a good day, Mr. Pendragon!"
The reporters rushed to the Pendragon Group of Companies. Spike ordered Turner to preside the impromptu press conference.
"Is it true that a drug plant has been invented in your facilities?"
"No. There is no such plant invented," Turned answered to the point.
"Why did you evacuate the five buildings?"
"The buildings are condemned, according to our own firemen."
"Did the employees receive their accurate back pay?"
"No and yes. The younger workers are given their vacation pay for six months. That is, they shall be on vacation while they receive their monthly pay. The older employees have applied for early retirement and free vacation package. Any questions? None? I have work to do. Have a nice day!"
The reporters clamored for more answers but Turner was gone.
Spike and Qila watched the news together.
"We have one more mystery to solve," Spike said while texting Dr. Diomedes. 'Any update?'
'No update, sir. It is just water with some dark coloring. It is a mystery, sir.'
"What do you think, Spike?"
"Well, to humans, it is perplexing. But to us, who knew magic still exists, we think otherwise," Spike replied pensively.
A week later, Due had news for them. He was exhausted and starving when he came one night.
"Soledad, bring us a huge dinner," Spike ordered his former chef.
"Yes, sir!"
"You did not tell Tita Sol that my father came! She thought that it was me!" Qila scolded him while grinning.
"Soledad does not question my orders," Spike answered complacently. "Bro, you look respectable all of a sudden!" he quipped when Due appeared while wearing his clothes. A dark suit, complete with a necktie!
"Really? Do I look alright with these clothes, Qila?" Due always wore jeans and black shirt. "I'd like to be respected from now on!"
"Whatever you wear you are decent, Dad! It is the way you carry yourself!" Qila hugged her father.
Spike raised his brows to Due. Qila did not know that her father was the boss of an underground operation of guns and ammunitions.
Due gave a slight nod. Meaning, he was accepting Spike's offer of legal job.
Spike winked smilingly.
The food arrived. Soledad, together with five female employees, prepared the table. Her eyes widened when she saw the closest friend of her employer but did not speak. Her movements became light and quick.
"You didn't tell us. Where have you been?"
"I've been to the underworld. To Hades," Due spoke while eating. He put a whole roasted chicken on his plate.
"What did you do there?" Spike was puzzled.
"Hades is Mr. No One. I confronted him and he admitted."
"Then?"
"I filed a complaint to Zeus."
Qila was clearly not understanding what they were talking about. She just looked back and forth at who was speaking.
"What was Zeus' reaction?"
Due swallowed first. "He was livid."
"And?"
"Hades is grounded for many years. He cannot go out of the underworld for now!"
"Thank you, Zeus!" Spike said triumphantly.
"Yes, thank you, Zeus!"
"Do you mean to say, Mr. No One is not a person?" Qila asked slowly.
"No." Due gnawed at the chicken leg.
"It's better to forget him, Qila," Spike murmured to her gently. "Now, shall we tell your father our good news?"
Qila blushed enchantingly before she nodded shyly.
"Oh! You're going to tell me that you are pregnant?" Due consumed the whole chicken. He was starting on a large steak.
"Oh, come on, bro!" Spike laughed at his friend. "Can't you give us the honor to impart the news?"
"You can leave me in suspense on whether I have a grandson or granddaughter!" Due grinned winningly.
"It's okay, Spike," Qila whispered soothingly.
"Yes, Qila darling," Spike nuzzled her ear.
Due burped loudly. "I have to go. There are a hundred and one details to do on my job."
"Please use a car, bro. Those are expensive clothes," Spike reminded him.
"Okay. I'm too full to run. Goodnight, Qila! Take care of yourself and my grandchild!"
"Due has a child-like view on many things in life but he is a good man, Qila."
"Yes, I can see it, Spike. You are a good man, too."
"I'll try to be better for you, my darling!"
They shared a long and satisfying kiss.
When Qila was taking a shower before sleep, Spike texted Due.
'Due, would you accept a company that provides security? You will have two first clients: Pendragon Company and the Pendragon Mansion. What do you think?'
Due texted back: 'Great!'
After eight months, Qila gave birth to a twin: a girl and a boy.
"Lala and Alarick," an exhausted Qila suggested to Spike.
"I'm sure, Due will like their names, my darling!" Spike kissed her sweaty brow.
When Due received the news, his eyes moistened. Lala, thank you for a beautiful daughter! We have beautiful grandchildren!
THE END