Dragons and Mages: A Limited Edition Anthology

by Pauline Creeden

  When I pulled away and wiped my face clean with a towel, I turned to the lass and awkwardly smiled, feeling a bit naked. “There. What do you think?”

  “I think…” She tilted her chin and narrowed her eyes. “I think you’re one of the handsomest men I’ve ever seen.”

  I wanted to laugh off her comment, but the sincerity on her face said she wasn’t being her normal playful self.

  And for the first time in my life, I actually believed I was handsome.

  At least, I was in her eyes.

  And I loved that feeling.

  Too bad it couldn’t last.

  Chapter 10

  I awoke the next morning with Izzy curled up into my side like we had been dating for a lifetime, only we weren’t dating.

  Sure, we kissed, but that couldn’t happen again. Not until we fixed her. I couldn’t risk my heart for someone who was going to die.

  But I couldn’t let her sleep alone. Even if I couldn’t do much to help, I needed to be there for her if she went into another pain and coughing crisis.

  I watched Izzy softly sleep for quite some time, noticing the shadows of her dark eyelashes beneath her closed eyes, the dip in the bridge of her nose, and her pronounced cheekbones that made her an otherworldly kind of beautiful.

  Eventually, her eyes opened.

  “Good morning.” I smiled.

  She returned the greeting, digging her nose into the crook of my neck, warming it with her breath. Oh, how was I going to resist her when she was irresistible?

  I ran my index finger down her arm, playing with my loose tunic fabric against her skin. Her clothes had long been clean, but she seemed to want to stay in my way-too-big clothes. “While you were sleeping, I thought of something I wanted to try to prevent another crisis like two days ago.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Actually, I need to touch your skin.” When she gave me the go ahead, I sat up and hesitated with my hands. Where would I put them that wouldn’t be intimate while in bed together?

  I had never hesitated before when touching my patients, so why was I hesitating now?

  I scooted up, sitting cross-legged while facing her. I traced my finger down her arm once again until I found her hand, taking it into mine. Closing my eyes, I sifted through her internal sand, searching for any pieces that were stuck together, separating them before they could cause a problem. Soon, her sand flowed almost like water inside her, and I hoped that’s all it took. A rigid regimen of preventative medicine.

  Something I never tried before, but was there promise in this theory for the villagers as well?

  I went to drop her hand when I was done, but she didn’t let it go. She gave me a tug to lay beside her in bed again, but I shook my head and crawled off the mattress. “We need to get going. I can’t waste another day.” Despite my attempt at helping her, we had no idea how long she had left.

  Maybe I was avoiding having to tell her I wouldn’t be kissing her again…unless we cured her.

  And I did want to kiss her. All the more motivation to reverse whatever magical curse she had.

  I tossed her her clothes that I had had hanging on a rack, drying, and left her alone as I changed into my own riding leathers before heading outside to whistle for Luna.

  When I returned to the house, Izzy stood in the middle of my living room with a huge smile on her face. “Look what I did!” she exclaimed. “It’s the first time I stood and walked on my own in a year!”

  My chest filled with pride, and I couldn’t stop myself. I crossed the living room and took her into my arms. I spun her in a circle, like the inner child she always showed me.

  Like the child I never got to be.

  I kissed her cheek in the most platonic way. “You’re getting better.”

  “I feel better.”

  But I knew better. The curse was strong and dark inside her.

  But why was she still alive? The woman we tried to visit two days ago—Daisy—had died not long after being diagnosed. What made Izzy different?

  I draped my heavy cloak over her shoulders and stood with my arms ready to catch her, but she shuffled outside mostly on her own. Only taking my elbow briefly when her legs wobbled.

  “I knew all that physical therapy wasn’t a waste.” She laughed at a joke I didn’t get, but I still enjoyed her happiness.

  Luna didn’t wait out in the courtyard playing with the children today. She wouldn’t leave Izzy’s and my sides, but I didn’t blame her. Last time I had abandoned her. I wondered what she thought of all my time with Izzy? When I lived with Nieva, Luna seemed to slink away from me, putting distance between us, but with Izzy, Luna was always there. In fact, it seemed she grew closer.

  “Do you know where my sister is today?” I asked the guard at the door with Izzy in my arms. Her legs had grown tired, and she had stumbled off Luna’s back.

  “The dungeon,” the guard said, straightening his brown leather belt, that held his sword, which hung over his hips.

  “The dungeon?” I tilted my chin in disbelief, but when the guard nodded, I headed into the castle.

  The guard stopped me before I made it too far away, knowing my name even though I didn’t know his. “Greyson, I need a favor.” He pushed up the sleeve of his red and white checkered tunic, revealing red, infected blisters. “I spilled a pot of boiling water on my arm and all over my torso. My torso is much worse—some of the blisters are turning black. I hate to ask, but would you mind helping me out?”

  Urgency to find my sister consumed me, but healing only took a minute. I slid Izzy down, out of my arms, and placed my palm against the blisters of the guard’s arm. Closing my eyes, I drew my magic and sifted through his sand, finding the small pebbles of illness and sending them away. When I opened my eyes, his arm was healed. I didn’t wait for the normal pleasantries I had to sit through over and over again. Instead, I scooped Izzy back up and led my little group down the sandstone corridor and the lantern-lit steps to where the dungeon was, hearing the guard’s words of thanks called after me.

  “That was impressive,” Izzy said.

  “That was easy,” I replied as we took the final steps to the pre-dungeon room. “Wait here.” I set Izzy down on a bench, but she didn’t release her arms around my neck.

  “Where you go, I go. I’m not afraid.”

  “I wasn’t leaving you out here because I thought you were afraid.” Honestly, it was the last thing on my mind. I was leaving her outside the dungeon walls so she didn’t have to meet the failure of a man who was my father.

  Her grip loosened, but didn’t completely let go. She pointed a dainty arm to the opposite wall. “What are those?” she asked.

  “The flags? They represent the seven kingdoms that make up our world. This kingdom, Mortia is the red and white flag in the center. Then that’s Kista, Onieth, Riverblade…” I continued around the room until I had named all seven flags.

  She tilted her chin and pointed at the blue and yellow flag. “I’ve seen Onieth’s flag before.”

  “Where?” How was she familiar with the flag where Liliana, Luciana, and my father were from?

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I definitely saw it somewhere.”

  I waited patiently for her to remember, but when Ruby’s raised voice filtered out into the hallway, I couldn’t wait anymore. I gave in to Izzy’s wish of coming with me into the dungeon and carried her into the dimly lit room that smelled like sweat and urine.

  She wrinkled her nose, but said nothing.

  “Greyson.” Ruby jumped at my appearance, whether it was from my newly shaven face, haircut, or just that she was caught. She stepped away from my father’s cell. Behind her stood the prince…or king…or whatever Ty was these days. To me, he’d always be the dragon hunter Ruby managed to tame. It took six months before I no longer scowled when I saw him. Sure, he slew his quota of dragons in his day, but he was probably going to be Ruby’s future husband and rightful heir to the throne.

  He had gro
wn up.

  And he treated Ruby right. It took a special kind of man to put up with her indecisiveness…and a bit of whining from time-to-time.

  “What’s going on here?” I slid Izzy down to her feet, still keeping my arm around her and supporting most of her weight.

  Luna laid her head on my shoulder from behind me, but I could tell her eyes glared at my father. She still hadn’t gotten over the events last year when Dad tried to capture her. I lifted my free hand and stroked Luna’s snout to calm her.

  Ruby glanced over her shoulder and shared a look I couldn’t see with Ty, but when she turned back to me, her lips were pressed tightly together and a look of pity covered her face.

  “Ruby?”

  She sighed, but before she spoke, my father cleared his throat. “My daughter here was telling me about a magical disease that’s spreading in her world.”

  Ruby jumped in and the look on her face said she knew she was caught. If she didn’t tell me, dear-ol’-dad would. “That list of names from the paper? Well, they’re all dead,” Ruby hastily explained. Her mouth opened to say more, but she closed it without saying another word.

  “And…?” I prompted.

  “And the disease has spread even further. Two additional hospitals have reported a handful of cases.”

  I nodded. “So, why are you down here?”

  “Because…” Ruby glanced over at my father. “Because one of the victims claims he has had amnesia for the past fifteen years. He doesn’t remember anything about his childhood.”

  My father lifted his hands, dirty palms out to us. “Don’t look at me! I had nothing to do with it. People lose their memories at times from non-magical causes.”

  “But isn’t it suspicious that all the victims have showed up at hospitals within an hour of Arcola?” Ruby asked. “Half-an-hour of where you met my mom? Of where I grew up?”

  “Ruby, there’s no sense in arguing,” I said. “Take me to the victim, and I can try to cure him. If he’s sick from magic, he’ll still not have his memory. If it’s a non-magical cause, he’ll at least remember who he is for his final days.”

  “Who’s coming?” Ruby glanced over her shoulder at Ty. “I’m sure the hospital will appreciate fewer visitors rather than our whole little army.”

  “Fine,” Ty said, throwing up his hands in surrender. “I’ll stay out of your adventure again, but some day, Rubes, I’m going to have an adventure of my own.”

  “As long as it isn’t dragon hunting,” I said, and Ruby chuckled.

  Luna laid her head tightly against me as Izzy held just as snug. “Looks like you get all three of us again.”

  “The three amigos,” Ruby smiled as she laid her hand on my other shoulder, the one that was Luna-free, but before she could shimmer us away, my father interrupted.

  “I can make this easy,” he said. “Get me out of here, and I’ll take you to your mother.”

  I pulled out of Ruby’s grip. “You know where my mother is?”

  He smiled—an evil, sly smile. “Not exactly, but I guarantee I can help you.”

  “Help me now!” My hands fisted, and I might have squeezed Izzy a bit too tightly, as I heard her give off a quiet whimper. I immediately forced my muscles to relax.

  “Unless you get me out of here, my lips are sealed,” he said.

  “Well, I guess we’re on our own then,” Ruby shot back. “Cause you’re not going anywhere.”

  And she wasn’t wrong. I turned away from dear-ol’-Dad and gave Ruby a nod, having her take us back to the other realm without another thought of my “father.”

  Chapter 11

  Another fancy hospital in the other realm. With all their technology, medicine, and so-called “intellect,” yet they still had people dying…Every. Single. Day.

  What a morbid thought.

  At least, in my realm, there were no false hopes of curing an ailment. No painful tests and tortuous procedures only to be told you were going to die. What a terrible way to live out your final days.

  Today, the receptionist easily directed us to the sixth floor where a Frederick Barnes was a patient. Getting past the nursing desk was another issue. Due to the fragile state of Frederick’s health, along with the family’s request for privacy, we ended up standing dumbfounded at the desk, staring into one intimidating ogre-of-a-nurse’s expression.

  “We need to speak with Frederick,” Ruby pleaded.

  “Frederick has a strict guest list. Have you been authorized by his wife?”

  “Yes,” Ruby said, but the nurse just arched an eyebrow as she shuffled through a few papers on a clipboard.

  “What’s your name?” the nurse asked. “I should have you on my list.”

  Ruby leaned in, chewing on the corner of her mouth, but the nurse kept the list of names shielded from view.

  “What’s your name?” The nurse repeated. “Only approved people are allowed to visit Frederick.”

  Ruby looked at me and blew out a breath. “Ruby Campbell.”

  “Nope. You’re not on the list.” A satisfied smile tugged on the nurse’s lips, as if her sole purpose served as gatekeeper. “I’m sorry, but you can’t go visit.”

  Ruby took a step back with sagging shoulders.

  Surprisingly, Izzy spoke up. “Could you ask Frederick himself? I’m sure he’d want to see Ruby.” She smiled and did that adorable—yet manipulative—eye bat she had clearly used on me multiple times.

  The nurse’s eyes switched back and forth between us, but then nodded and sighed before heading down the hallway and leaving us at the nursing station with a male nurse whose muscles bulged out from his scrub top, making me feel inadequate in ways I never felt before.

  Maybe it was because Izzy was here in another familiar hospital setting, but she wasn’t paying attention to Muscle Man. Instead, she intently watched Ogre Nurse head down the hallway and disappear into the fourth doorway on the left.

  Izzy leaned into my ear and whispered. “Now we know what room he’s in. Best be gone before she comes back. After her shift, we can try again.”

  We slinked away, finding an empty family conference room outside the unit. “That was brilliant,” I said, making room for an invisible Luna by moving some chairs.

  “I wouldn’t say it was brilliant just yet,” Izzy cautioned. “We still have to sneak past the other nurses, but I’ve spent enough time at hospitals like this to know how it’s done. If you look like you know what you’re doing, nobody will interfere.”

  “We don’t even need to do that,” I said. “And we don’t have to wait.” I turned to where I could sense the chill emanating off Luna. Even without the chill and the bit of frost or flurries she produced, I always knew where she was. It was like we were connected. Though, she did manage to surprise me sometimes—like when she broke Izzy out of the hospital. But again, as angry as I had been, turns out it was in my—and Izzy’s—best interests. “Luna, care to escort us?”

  She shimmered into view. Nothing like a big-ol’-blue dragon being squished into a little private room.

  “All we need to do is keep skin-to-scale contact with Luna and her invisibility magic, then we can walk straight down that hallway right into Frederick’s room.”

  “Grey, impressive.” Ruby gave me an approving nod. “I hadn’t thought of that. And nice haircut by the way.” Ruby winked at me with a big smile. “You clean up nicely.”

  Izzy lifted her hand and stroked my smooth cheek. “He does, doesn’t he?” She laughed. “But seriously now, Luna can make us all disappear?” A giddy excitement in her voice. “I can imagine how much trouble you got into as a child.”

  “Nah. By the time I got Luna at sixteen, most of my troublemaking days were behind me. My father got that all out of my system early on. Ruby, on the other hand, has had Luke her whole life. I bet she got into lots of trouble.”

  Ruby laughed. “Not so much. For most of my life, Luke was stuck in this world while I was in the other, though when I was really little, I used to blame l
ots of things on my imaginary friend Luke. Luke and I caused more trouble when I was in college, but that seems to be out of both of our systems now. Turns out Luke wants to make a little nest of his own. He’s off hatching a few eggs right now.”

  “Baby dragons?” Izzy clapped. “Can I have one?”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” both Ruby and I said in unison.

  “How does it work?” Izzy asked.

  “A dragon picks you,” I said, running a hand down Luna’s scaly back.

  “So, you’re Luna’s pet?” Izzy asked with a charming smile.

  “No,” I narrowed my eyes at her, but Ruby was nodding and mouthed the word, yes.

  Izzy laughed. “So, if you’re her pet, do you know any commands? ‘Sit, Greyson, sit.’”

  I glared at her, but she kept going.

  “‘Roll, over?’ ‘Play dead?’”

  Now Ruby was laughing. “Oh, Grey. I like her. You had it a lot easier than me. When Luke first met Ty, he hated him. At least Luna picked you out a good one.”

  “Picked me out a good one? A good what?”

  “A life-partner,” Ruby said with a laugh. “All dragon relations are lifelong and all. Luna wouldn’t like her so much if she wasn’t planning on having Izzy around for the long-haul.”

  My stomach twisted. Lifelong. Whose life? “Luna didn’t pick me anything.”

  Ruby rubbed her hand on my freshly cut hair. “Oh, Grey. You’re so clueless.”

  I would have argued more, but I didn’t want to hurt Izzy’s feelings. I knew what Ruby was getting at, even if I wouldn’t allow myself to believe Izzy and I could have a happily-ever-after. “Someone’s coming. All hands on Luna.”

  As soon as all three of us put a hand on Luna, we all disappeared.

  Being in the dragon realm wasn’t like anything easily described. We were both in the same place we had been, yet not. It was like we were ghosts. We could communicate with each other, but not with the outside world. And the outside world, didn’t look real. More like everything had a color that indicated its place and no longer had a definitive shape. Ruby had described it to me that it was like looking through military heat-detecting glasses, not that I knew what that meant and I doubted she had ever had the experience either.