Azaran: The Brotherhood of Ormarr Book One

by James, Jacki

  The dragon huffed at me like she couldn’t believe my stupidity, and I took another step back.

  Zale sighed. “I really didn’t want to have to do it this way. Are you sure you won’t climb up? It’ll be a much more enjoyable ride.”

  “More enjoyable than what?” I asked.

  “I don’t have time for this shit right now,” he said in an exasperated voice. “Let’s go,” he said to the dragon, and for one foolish moment, I thought they were leaving. The dragon flapped her enormous wings and rose into the air. She flew around the parking lot, picking up speed, and then flew right at me.

  “What the fuck?” I screamed as I ducked. She wrapped her huge claws gently around me, and then we were airborne. I wrapped my arms tightly around her leg, and she tucked me tightly up against her, making me feel more secure. We rose even higher, and the ground got farther and farther away. I’d never been afraid of heights, but I’d never been flying with nothing holding me up but a dragon’s paw, or a claw? I had no idea about dragon anatomy. How could I? Dragons weren’t freaking real. Seriously. They. Were. Not. Real. I glanced up, and all I saw was a huge blue chest that led to a long neck that ended in… yep, a dragon’s head. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I wasn’t going crazy. She really was up there. We flew out over the water, and then swooped down toward an opening in the side of a cliff. I cringed as we headed straight for it. It looked so small and this dragon was so big, but she flew in like a pro and came to a stop in a large area inside the cliff. She carefully set me down, but I stumbled a little, unsteady on my feet.

  “You okay, Toby?” Zale asked as he hopped off and came around to me.

  “Yeah, I needed a second for my legs to adjust to the ground,” I said as I got my bearings. I looked around really quick and realized we were in a cave. Of course, we were in a cave. Where else would a dragon take me. “I have no idea what’s going on here.”

  Zale started to reply when a deep voice that sent a shiver through my body said, “That’s not Doctor Evans.” I turned and saw who had to be the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. If you’d asked me up until this moment what my type was, I never would’ve described this man right here. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties. He had sandy blond hair swooped up into a messy bun. I’d never been a fan of the whole man bun movement, but I understood it now. He wore a tight-fitting black t-shirt that clung to his muscular chest like it’d been painted on. He radiated strength, arrogance, and was too perfect to be real.

  “Sorry, Az, Dr. Evans is out of town. This is Doctor Wells. He’s vacationing in town and offered to come help.”

  “Shit, I knew that. I forgot. Sorry, Zale.”

  I stepped forward. “I understand you have an injured family member. If you’ll take me to him, I’ll see if I can help.”

  He shifted his eyes to me, and I felt his gaze as it moved from my head down my body, almost as sure as if I’d have felt an actual touch. “You’re a doctor?” he asked, sounding doubtful. Which I suppose was understandable; I was in a pair of cargo shorts, a graphic tee, and a pair of flip-flops.

  “Yes, from Maine. I’m just here on vacation. Look, when I offered to help I had no idea it would include dragons and being swooped up into the air and taken to a large cave against my will.”

  He quickly turned his head and glared at Zale. “He refused to get on, but he’d already said he’d help.”

  “I did, and I still will, but I’m nearing the end of my patience. If you want my help, take me to the injured person,” I said as something else occurred to me. “It is a person right? Because I don’t know anything about treating dragons.”

  “Yes, it’s a person,” Az growled. “It’s our brother. Let’s go.” He turned and started up the stairs.

  Zale took a deep breath and gave me a weak smile, and I headed up the stairs after Az. We went up multiple flights of stairs and came out into a large living area. The back wall of the room was all windows looking out over the water. I started to comment on the view when I heard a chirping sound and looked down. There was a dog-sized creature in front of me that looked like a baby dragon. I’d never have touched a dog without asking first, and I was sure a dragon was more dangerous than a dog. As I looked at her, though, I needed to touch her. I reached down, and she grabbed my arm and climbed up. I was afraid she’d fall, so I reached up with my other arm and cradled her close. She tucked her head under my neck and rubbed my chin with her head while making a cooing sound. “Aren’t you sweet?” I murmured, and she snuggled closer.

  “What the hell?” I looked up and three men stood there staring at me like I’d grown a second head.

  Az, in particular, appeared stunned. “Sindri, come here,” he said, but she made a little growling noise at him and settled back in.

  “I don’t have time to deal with this. Bring her with you and come with me.” He led me down a hall and into a bedroom where a young man lay on the bed. The little beast I had in my arms hopped off onto the bed, and that was when I noticed the other three in the room. A blue one, a green one, and an adorable little purple one. The purple one was snuggled up in the young man’s arms.

  “What happened?”

  “We aren’t sure. We got home, and he was lying on the ledge over the cliff. It was about a fifteen feet drop. He was unconscious for a few minutes, but he stirred a little bit ago. He has a nasty gash on his right arm that may need stitches. He doesn’t remember what happened, though.”

  “That’s fairly normal with a head injury. How old is he?”

  “Seventeen,” Az answered.

  “Does he play football or have a history of concussion?”

  “No, neither.”

  “Here,” the tall one said, handing me a medical bag. This is Doctor Evans’ bag he leaves here.

  “So he comes up here to treat you guys often, then?”

  “More often than he’d like, I’m sure. I’m Malachite by the way, and that's our brother Eeli,” he said.

  “I’m Doctor Toby Wells. Let’s take a look at you,” I said to the young man. “So you don’t know what happened?”

  “No, sir. The last thing I remember was coming home from school and reading the note Az left telling me they were out.”

  “Okay, I wouldn’t worry about that at all. That’s common after you’ve hit your head.” I opened the bag and found it to be well stocked. I took out a penlight. “Let me check your eyes.” I moved the light around checking for proper tracking and pupil dilation. “Your brother said you hurt your arm.”

  “Yeah, it actually really hurts.”

  “Let me take a look,” I said as he pulled his sleeve up to show me his arm. He had a long, deep gash. “Man, that looks like it hurts.”

  “We cleaned it up as best we could,” Malachite said.

  “No, you did a good job,” I told him. “So, Eeli, this is pretty deep. I’m thinking it needs stitches.”

  “Everything you need to do it should be in the bag,” Az said, his voice still lighting up my body. I’d never experienced anything like it. I looked at him and our eyes locked. He obviously felt it as well, but the grimace on his face told me he was less than thrilled about it. Guess I wasn’t his type any more than he was mine. Well, fuck him and the dragon he rode in on. I’d take care of his brother, and then go back to town. Hell, after today, maybe I’d skip the rest of this vacation and go back to Maine where there weren’t any fucking dragons. “Are there dragons in Maine?” I asked without thinking.

  “What are you talking about?” Az asked.

  “Dragons, you know, big lizard-like creatures that fly and kidnap doctors who are trying to help. Are they in Maine?”

  He glared at me for a minute and said, “Just take care of Eeli and don’t worry about where there are, or aren’t, dragons.”

  “Fine,” I said as I assembled what I needed. I numbed up his arm and used the sterile, sealed needles and dissolving thread to stitch up Eeli’s arm. When I was done, I turned to the brothers. “Okay, so he ha
s a concussion. I have to say, after falling fifteen feet, if all he has is a gash and a concussion, he’s lucky.” I turned to Eeli. “I bet your head and arm hurt enough that you don’t feel all that lucky, though.”

  “Yeah, it hurts pretty bad.”

  “I bet; unfortunately, I can’t give you anything strong to take because of the concussion, but you can take these.” I handed him some over-the-counter painkillers that would be safe for him to take from the bag. I gave his brothers instructions on recovery, and I turned to leave the room. The little red dragon made chittering noises at me. I turned back around and walked over, thinking I’d give her another pet, but when I got close to the bed, she leaped at me so I had no choice but to catch her. “You want to come with me, don’t you? Well, you can’t. We don’t have dragons where I live. You have to stay here with the other dragons,” I cooed to her. She snuggled up against me and sighed. They were cute when they were young. It was the full-grown ones that were scary. I followed the brothers to the kitchen. “Okay, so what happens now?” I asked.

  “Now, sadly, we’ll make you forget you ever saw us. I’m really sorry, Toby. I was worried about Eeli and I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “What do you mean, make me forget?”

  “It’s just a little of the same magic that the dragons bring with them. It won’t hurt at all and you won’t forget anything but us. Then your life will go on the same as always.”

  For some reason I couldn’t explain, the idea of never seeing these brothers again made me incredibly sad. Which made no sense, I’d just met them and I’d barely even spoken to them at all. But still. “Zale, don’t feel bad. You did what you needed to for your brother. What else were you supposed to do?” I said, holding the little red dragon a little tighter. I set her down on the floor and turned to the brothers. “Okay, do it. Whatever you need to do.”

  “Not here. We need to take you somewhere that’ll make sense to you when you forget us. Maybe back to the diner?”

  “So I get one more dragon ride?” I asked.

  “Do you want one?” Zale asked. “You weren’t so sure the first time.”

  “The idea’s grown on me,” I said.

  “Okay, yeah then. One more ride,” Malachite said. “You can ride with me this time.”

  “Don’t bother,” Az grumbled. “It won’t work.”

  “What do you mean, it won’t work?” Zale asked, sounding slightly panicked. “It always works.”

  “Not always,” Az said grimly, glaring at me like I’d committed some horrible crime.

  “What, why won’t it work?” I asked. And if it wouldn’t work, what did that mean? If I told them I wouldn’t tell anyone, would they let me go?

  The little red dragon grabbed at my leg and climbed up my body, perching on my shoulder. She rubbed her face against mine like she sensed my distress and was trying to make me feel better.

  “But the only time you can’t make someone forget is when they’re…” Malachite started, and then looked at me and the dragon who seemed to have adopted me. “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh,” Azaran said.

  Chapter Five

  Azaran

  “Oh, what?” Toby asked, looking from one of us to another. “What aren’t you guys telling me?”

  “It’s just a snag. No big deal. It’s been a long day and I need to do a little research before we make any decisions. But no matter what, you’re safe here with us, Toby. We aren’t going to harm you. We do need to figure a few things out,” I told him.

  “Somehow I think this is more than a snag,” he said, locking eyes with me.

  “It’s maybe a little more than a snag. But I’ll figure it out. We’ll find you a room for tonight and tomorrow morning we’ll work through it. Do you need me to get anything from your hotel room?”

  He tilted his head to one side and stared at me, judging my trustworthiness, and I couldn’t blame him. He was here because I sent for the doctor to come and help Eeli, and then when he showed up I refused to let him leave. I’m sure my credibility was shot. Finally, he nodded his head and sighed. “Okay, yeah, if you don’t mind going to my room and getting my suitcase and toiletries that’d be great.” He reached into his pocket and handed me his room card.

  “I’ll figure it out, Toby. I promise,” I told him. “Come on, Sindri, you’re my ride. You’ll have to leave him so we can get his things so he can stay here.” She looked from me to him like she was judging my credibility as well, but eventually, she hopped down and scurried toward the stairs. As we headed down, I heard Toby talking to Malachite.

  “Why does she have to go? She’s a tiny thing.”

  Malachite laughed and said, “It’ll probably be easier to show you; let’s go watch.” They paraded after me down to where we took off and landed, or the LZ as we called it.

  Once we stood in front of the cave opening, I closed my eyes and focused on Sindri. The red waves of energy that connected us wafted around us and she changed from cute, cuddly, and doglike to a fierce, giant dragon. I heard Toby gasp behind us, and Sindri moved slowly toward him. She lightly nudged him in his stomach with her head until he laid his hand on it.

  “Oh, aren’t you a magnificent dragon,” he said to her, reassuring her he still liked her. I like him she said to me, and the bad part was I was afraid I did, too.

  “Okay, Sindri, let’s go.” I mounted up. She flapped her wings and we took off, out of the cave entrance and flying into the air. I needed this right now. I had no idea what to do. I’d known the second our eyes met that he was mine. I also knew I didn’t want him to be. I already had three people to be responsible for—the last thing I needed was another. Especially one who didn’t choose to be here.

  Sindri had no such problems, though. She'd recognized him for who he was immediately and approved wholeheartedly. I’d watched Toby as he helped Eeli and there was no doubt he was a wonderful doctor. It wasn’t so much what he did—once Eeli had woken up it became clear his injuries weren’t as severe as I’d feared—no, it was the way he’d talked to Eeli. The concern he’d shown for Zale when he’d realized we couldn’t wipe his memory, and the way he’d held Sindri tight for a minute when he’d thought he’d lose his memories of her. Those actions had told me a lot about his character.

  Not to mention he was very nice to look at. He had brown hair, a short beard, kind chocolate brown eyes, and a fit build. I bet he was a runner or played sports like tennis or racket ball. But how good he looked wasn’t the point. He was my monaha senka, my heart song, so naturally, I found him attractive. The point was the idea of having a mate was a nightmare for me; someone else to worry about, someone else to take care off, someone else depending on me. Just the thought was exhausting. But I had no idea what to do about it. We weren’t going to be able to let him return to his normal life unless we were sure he wouldn’t say anything, and how could we know that? We couldn’t keep him here. Not only did he not ask or want to be here, but there was no way he could stay without us bonding.

  I could call my Uncle Kazimir and see what he thought, but he had enough to worry about trying to run the Brotherhood without me calling him with every little problem. I could figure this out.

  But when I’d heard Zale so earnestly explaining to him what would happen when he erased his memories, I had to speak up. Toby didn’t know what a monaha senka even was. How was I supposed to explain to him that fate had determined we were meant to be together forever, and that while we barely knew each other, fate wouldn’t have put us together if we weren’t a perfect pair? Then how did I tell him that even with that being true, I wanted no part of it?

  I ruminated on that the rest of the way to get Toby’s things. Well that and how Eeli had ended up over the cliff. I had checked it out myself and there were no signs anyone else had been present, and I felt sure that if anyone had tried to harm Eeli that Bo would have told Sindri.

  We flew into town cloaked with magic, which allowed me to take my time. I loved flying over Dargum’s Cove.
We’d vacationed there as children with our parents, and my father had shown me the cliffs we now called home. When they were killed, we’d left the desert and moved to the ocean. Zale loved it because he loved the sea, Malachite was thrilled because we were all together, and I loved being where I had good memories of my parents. Eeli liked it here now, but he’d been young when we moved here, so this was really the only home he knew.

  Sindri perked up as soon as we got to town. She immediately urged me to go to The Overlord’s Lair. It was a new age bookstore that had a huge selection of crystals. Sindri was obsessed with prisms. She collected them which had never been much of a problem until The Overlord’s Lair opened. Now she knew where to get them, and we rarely managed to leave town without one.

  Sindri, we need to get Toby his things and get back. We don’t have time to shop, I thought.

  She huffed. But I need one. I really need one.

  It’d been a long day and the last thing I wanted to deal with was a pouting dragon when we got home. Fine, but you can’t take forever. And only one.

  I landed out behind the store and Sindri quickly returned to her tattoo form. We walked into The Overlord’s Lair and Quentin met us with a smile—as always.

  “Azaran, I thought about you the other day when my shipment came in. I got sun catchers and wind chimes that have prisms on them.”

  I felt Sindri’s excitement and I attempted to steal some of it for myself. Quentin was a good guy and never seemed to find my obsession with prisms odd. He didn’t ask what I did with them all and that was good. I don’t think my dragon takes them and puts them in a box would be a reasonable answer to a human. Although, it was a perfectly logical explanation for a dragon.

  “I hung them in the window in the back so they’d catch the afternoon light. Come see,” he said, and we followed him back. He’d arranged them so they hung at the right angle to send little spots of colored light all over the back wall. He took his hand and gently brushed the crystals causing them to swing, and the colored light danced.