Master of Smoke

Warlock with power and memories he could control much easier than he had Smoke’s.
    Unfortunately, the cat was still a threat. There was no way to know what the elemental had learned while imprisoned in Warlock’s mind. He had to die.
    And this time, Warlock was going to take care of the job himself.
    Rising from the stag’s body, the Dire Wolf flicked the blood from his axe and opened a gate back to Mortal Earth.
    Eva thoroughly enjoyed watching her parents’ gape as, suitcases in hand, they stepped through David’s dimensional gate onto the cobblestoned streets of Avalon.
    “Jeez, it’s like somebody made Disney World into a bedroom community.” Bill Roman turned in a slow, delighted circle.
    Eva laughed. “You know, I said the same thing. This place is really amazing, isn’t it?”
    Charlotte elbowed Bill and gestured with her overnight bag. “Look at that castle, Bill. It’s gorgeous.” She turned to Eva. “They built all this with magic?”
    Eva nodded, having repeated the spiel that Belle had given her the day before. “Belle said it takes a lot of power to conjure such enormous buildings. I gather it’s a sort of rite of passage. Build one of those, and you’re considered a real witch.”
    “That’s amazing. Which one of them is yours?” Bill turned to David, whose stock had gone up considerably with her father.
    He frowned, his gaze sliding to Eva. “I haven’t built a house here. When I’m in Avalon, I usually stay with the Pendragons, generally in house cat form.”
    Charlotte’s dark eyes widened with sudden realization. “You’re Eva’s cat, T’Challa! Your hair is the same color, right down to the stripes.”
    David laughed, a low, pleasant rumble that made Eva smile. “Yes, I had changed form during a dream, but because of my memory loss, I didn’t know how to turn back.”
    Charlotte frowned. “Why’d you run out the door? Eva was really upset about that.”
    His expression turned grim. “That was a miscalculation. I felt I was putting her in danger from the other werewolves, especially given that I couldn’t defend her in cat form. I thought if I left, the werewolves would come after me and leave her alone. What I didn’t realize was that they were watching the house.”
    “And they damned near ate both of us,” Eva said, grimacing. “Luckily, he turned into a furry Hulk and saved my fanny.”
    Her father blinked and stared at David, his graying brows on the rise. “How the hell did you do that?”
    David shrugged. “Magic.”
    Bill snorted. “Yeah, I figured that part out.”
    “Actually, I have never assumed that form before, but Eva was in danger, so ...” He spread his big hands.
    Bill gave him a long, considering look, then nodded in satisfaction. He opened his mouth to say something else, but a huge shadow glided across the ground. Automatically, they all looked up.
    “Shit!” Bill half ducked, and dragged Charlotte behind him. “It’s a freaking dragon!”
    “It’s only Kel,” David told him, watching the great beast spiral lazily overhead. “He’s one of the Knights of the Round Table.”
    Charlotte frowned. “There was no Arthurian knight named Kel.”
    “He’s a recent addition. Besides, the Arthurian legends are largely wrong.”
    “Just like the stuff about vampires and werewolves.” Eva watched the dragon spread his wings and come in for a landing in a tower over the trees.
    “If the dragon’s a knight, he must be able to turn into a human,” Bill said thoughtfully.
    David nodded approval of his deduction. “Exactly. But unlike the rest of us, being human isn’t his natural state. He really is a dragon. He uses magic to assume human form.”
    Bill exchanged a look with his wife. “Like I said, Disney World.”
    While they’d been sightseeing, David had led them to the Pendragon house. Now they climbed the brick stairs as Charlotte and Bill gazed around with interest.
    Arthur answered the door before they even had time to knock, a smile of welcome on his bearded face. “Gwen said you were coming up the walk. Come on in.” Today he was dressed in blue jeans, running shoes, and a T-shirt with a sketch of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The lettering over the armless, legless knight read, “It’s only a flesh wound!”
    Bill grinned at the shirt and affected an English accent. “ ‘Listen, strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive