Free Dragon Deception by Mell Eight

them about my day during dinner." And Valerie might learn that her angry and antagonistic ways wouldn't have any effect on him for a very good reason. Working with a partner who was surly all the time would get very old very quickly. "So, six o'clock? I'll come to your place to pick you up?"
    "Will it get you to shut up and focus on the case?" she asked sharply. At Mercury's nod, she sighed. "Fine. Six o'clock. Now tell me about the trap."
    Mercury pulled forward a picture of the paint from the scene and tapped it with one finger. "The evidence points to the fact that the paint was added sometime after the fires were out, but before the police were actually able to secure the scene. When I attempted to get a closer look at the paint, a spell was activated."
    "When you tried to disturb the evidence, you mean," Valerie said pointedly.
    "Yeah, okay, no touching strange paint decorating a wall from now on," Mercury agreed. "Anyway, the spell must have been keyed to a dragon. It immediately encircled my hand, making it impossible to move away from the wall, which gave the second part of the layered spell the time it needed to coalesce."
    "And the second spell was trying to force you to change shape?" she asked.
    Mercury nodded. "That's how I know it was keyed to a dragon. Werewolves and other shape shifters utilize a different form of magic than dragons to change their shape. Their bones, muscles, and everything else inside their body move around, elongating, or shortening depending on what new shape is needed. Dragons simply are one form or they are another. It's difficult to explain, but it's like both forms exist simultaneously and we consciously decide which one we want to wear in any given moment. That's how our magic works and the spell was designed to call to that magic and force me to change shape."
    "And if you had changed shape?"
    "Well, I would have destroyed the scene entirely and probably accidentally squished a few people since my claws would still have been stuck in place. I wouldn't have been able to get myself out of the way. So I called for backup."
    "We have to have a talk about bringing outsiders into potentially confidential crime scenes," Valerie grumped. "You'll get us both fired."
    "But it worked," Mercury shrugged. That was all that mattered to him.
    "So, you called your partner and a child and they were able to save you?" she asked, quickly changing the subject as her frown grew. She had apparently learned that starting an argument with him wasn't going to work.
    "Dane put up a block between me and the spell and Lumie was able to get my hand free. The part of the spell that was trying to force me to change shape needed me to stay in one spot for it to work, so it faded away."
    "So it won't have any negative effect on the FBSI witch we're taking to the scene in an hour?" she asked.
    Mercury didn't know the answer to that. "She won't be affected by the spell that attacked me, but I have no way of knowing whether there's another spell keyed to a witch in the paint."
    "She should be strong enough to tell," Valerie replied.
    "Okay. So what do we need next?" Mercury looked over the many different papers strewn across the conference table, wondering if the answer was hidden somewhere inside. This was his first field investigation, so he didn't know how these things worked.
    "We need to know who actually set the fire, which means I have to get that idiot O'Simmons off his ass and into gear. He's still insisting that there hasn't been any evidence of dogfighting inside his jurisdiction. I'm wondering how many reports did actually come across his desk that he ignored for political reasons. O'Simmons' boss holds an elected position and I'm certain he appreciates not having major crimes or scandals marring his reelection."
    "Yikes." There were so many potential layers to the problem that he had never considered. He had thought O'Simmons was just a bad cop, not that he was corrupt.
    "I've got the FBI on that, since