Des Gets a Letter From Icer.

[Tera Destre]

Muttering Des rolled over and stretched a hand out in search of the warm body that was always wrapped around her as she slept. Unable to find it one eye slowly opened and was met by semi-darkness so she opened the other then sat up in the tangled sheets of the large bed.

Lifting the rumpled sheets to her nose she inhaled deeply dragging her husband’s scent into her lungs, bringing back memories of the night before when she had returned home to find a late dinner and him waiting for her. "Maybe I won't try so hard to get Matt and Kheldar to give me a raise for working at the Outback."

Working more than one job just might have extra benefits, she thought to herself, and after the sinfully sweet and erotic pampering she had received from her beloved French Pirate she might just take on a third! Who knew what other delights he would have in store for her if she did!

Clenching them in one hand to cover her nude body she sat up and wormed her way backward until she was seated upright leaning back against the headboard before yelling at the closed door. “Since you ain’t my husband I suggest you get your mangey, low down, stinking hide away from that there door and let me go back to sleep before I get one of my husband’s pistols and shoot your no good carcass!”

It was not wise to awaken the cowgirl without a mug of coffee in hand unless you had passion in mind, something the man that held the one and only key to her heart had seemed to instinctively know. She could smell coffee from a mile off and the person that had been pounding on the stateroom door was coffeeless.

Within seconds of her words ending she heard the a rustling noise at the door. Angry now she calmly reached beneath the mattress of the bed on her side and pulled out one of her daggers. It was trained on the door where an average person’s heart would be before a person could blink.

Heedless of the need for covering herself she rose up on her knees in the middle of the bed taking aim and ready to defend herself but the door didn’t open. Instead a glimmer of something white lay on the floor just inside the door.

Disgusted she expertly hurled the dagger at the wooden door where it embedded itself deep into the wood as she clambered out of the bed and retrieved what she could now see was a letter addressed to her. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes so that she could read she moved to the window and held back the curtain that Jean had thoughtfully closed before leaving the cabin.

The letter was from Icer and was short, to the point, and managed to send a cold chill down her spine. She was cursing beneath her breath by the time she finished reading it. Balling it up in one hand she stood there looking out at the horizon as she tried to decide what to do next.

She had to tell Jean that was for certain. Others were already making their own plans but she knew they would never be enough. They were all amateurs when it came to this situation. They were probably all going to end up dead she figured.

She had an option but should she take it? Was she fool enough to risk it being known? Was it really even a risk when it came right down to it? She read the papers and kept up with the news so she knew what was going on around town. She had powerful friends. Friends that some people didn’t even realize were her friends. Was it too soon in the game to play that card? Should she keep holding it in check?

Icer and her boyfriend were in trouble though. She figured she could help them if she pulled that Ace now instead of waiting. The letter said within the next few days. But how long was a few days? If only she knew exactly how long she had then she could make a good decision. She could make the right decision on when.

The letter even mentioned a new player on Travanix’s side, some woman. She hadn’t been mentioned by name but Des would recognize her face having been there when she walked in.

To top this all off all of Tanzin’s weapons that he had had on him were now sitting on her and Jean’s dresser because after hearing about him and Grem she had gotten him drunk and taken them all away from him before having the male dragon, Aurthur, carry him up to bed the night before.

“I am so very tired of all of this fighting! I need to find Jean and talk to him about all of this. I’m not going to get myself any more involved and call on this person for help without him knowing about it first.”