Mixed Blood

Chapter 3

It had been a terrible summer. The hottest one in California history. An average temperature of one-hundred-and-fifteen-degrees Fahrenheit in the day, with a record peak at one hundred and twenty, and barely dropping to the low hundreds at night. Power outages were regular and often devastating, and water restrictions were so tight that even the richest in Hollywood couldn't afford the fines and left their lawns bare and brown.

Wildfires rampaged through the mountains despite both human and ancient efforts to contain and control them. Los Angeles was cast in thick smoke, leading to even the Counsel issuing a health hazard warning to their people. In classic, hoarder behavior, everything from face masks, to bottled water, to toilet paper went flying off the shelves, leading to a state, then a national shortage. Those who got lucky and bought far more than they would ever need, sold the excess at exuberant prices.

Those who could, tried to help. True humanitarian efforts came out of the disasters. Human emergency responders, healthcare workers, and volunteer services did their best to coordinate help to all and any who needed water, a mask, and shelter. The ancient and human governments temporarily tore down any barriers and animosity towards one another and tried to provide for both magical and nonmagical.

Even the dragonkin pitched in to help. Dragonkin with water and earth magic tried to smother the fires or cut off their paths when the former didn't work. Several flew low over the city, casting purifying magic in an attempt to clean the air. It was possible that, with everyone working together, they could have gotten through the summer like any other. But the help the dragonkin could provide was limited, and not available for long.

Quin, the dragon king reigning over the majority of North America, was evacuating his kin. He had been all year, ever since his main compound had been attacked by the Organization back in December, so it wasn't like it came as a total surprise. But there had been public outrage from every breed, even the kin, when Quin recalled them all and relocated east. The cries of the kin were quickly silenced, as their dragon's control was absolute and final. It was rumored that the Sun Dragon's new domain was in the nearly uninhabited forests and swamps of Labrador in Canada, far from any human settlement.

There were still a small number of dragonkin who tried. Those who called themselves the "unbound" came out of hiding and formed a loose coalition free of any dragon reigning over them. It was a true demonstration of what could be possible when all breeds came together for a common cause.

Unfortunately, on top of the verifiable shit storm, there was still more to come. All at once, vampires started dying all over the world. Los Angeles had one of the highest populations of vampires in North America, due to it being on of the main hubs for blood distribution as well as vampiric technological and medical advancements. The majority were "born" vampires, but the sheer number of deaths of "made" vampires was staggering.

The economy plummeted as some companies had to stop offering nightstalker services. They simply did not have the staff. Entire neighborhoods were left abandoned as the vampires fled en masse. A prominent vampire family had been attacked in the middle of the day shortly before the mass death and were fearful that any one of their own families could be next.

The Great Tragedy, as it was being called, left both the human and ancient worlds in shock.

So, when Atticus Shaw got the message that his turn to host the annual shifter summit would be postponed to the following year, he almost jumped for joy. Almost. It would have been unprofessional for him to show just how happy he was to get out of Los Angeles in front of his team of advisors. Though he really did leap into the air when he managed to convince the overbearing and overprotective elders of the Tenebrarum to let Zesstra come with him... alone.