by Lela Grayce
“I can look at someone and within a second know immediately what they are,” I said. “Not even your shifter sniffer can be that accurate. On the street, secrets keep you alive and the most guarded one is what you are.”
“So, your job with the Faceless is to meet and then radar whomever they want you to, why?” Brutus could be dense sometimes.
“Can’t pull the wool over someone who’s holding all the cards. Eyes wide open.”
“And in the cross hairs,” Kreed mumbled.
“It explains the penthouse and the beefy security. You're the Faceless’ ace, which is why you’re well protected.”
“And kept secret. Very few people know of my ability. There’s rumors obviously, but until now it’s always been just that. The cat’s out of the bag now, I suppose.”
“Kreed said you met the new boss last night.” Brutus watched me intently, waiting for my reaction.
Clenching my jaw, I fought the weird assortment of emotions that rose. Anger was prominent and followed closely by shame, then abhorrence, and at the bottom just a teeny tiny bit of want. For a moment it had felt good to have the dragon’s lips on my neck drinking from my vein. I never was one for romanticizing vampires but for the first time I could understand the appeal.
“Yeah, I did.” My voice barely shook. By the frown on Brutus’s face, I could tell he’d picked up on it. “He was the first dragon I’d ever had the misfortune to come into contact with.”
“Pray it’s your last,” Kreed said hollowly.
“Hopefully, he’ll forget about me and move onto his next conquest.” I waved my hand flippantly.
“That’s not the way they think,” Kreed again interjected.
If coffee wasn’t life, I’d throw it in his face. “And you would know Mr. I’m-a-once-upon-a-time-prince. What makes you so all knowing?”
“Because I work for them,” he snarled. Actually snarled.
I flinched involuntarily at his raised voice, which he noticed because he notices everything. Without another word, he stood from the barstool, rounded the counter, and left the room. Three seconds later a door slammed behind him hard enough to shake the floor.
“What does he mean?” I asked Brutus, the only one of the duo who didn’t speak in riddles. He had always been straight with me or so I hoped.
“There’s history and things that you do not know or could possibly understand.”
I sighed knowing it was pointless to push him further. Answers were not forthcoming at least today. “I want to understand. This involves me. He and his father could be my people. Do you know how long I’ve searched for what I am and where I belong? Every Mutt in this city, hell this world, wonders the same thing I do. Who are we?”
“The thing I don’t understand is why you and others like you are searching for something that’s right in front of you. You don’t belong with them because you already belong together.”
“You don’t understand you’re a full-blood. You’ve never been looked down on or been spit on for being what you are.”
“Haven’t I? I guarded the thing that the Uther prizes above everything. I nearly died protecting it and my own kind, my own kin, turned their back on me for doing my job and surviving the ordeal. It would have been better if I died that day but the kindness of two Zavarians healed me. I got a second chance and I intend to make things right for everyone.”
“Brutus, what is he?” I asked.
“He’s complicated.” I thought he’d end it right there but after a moment he continued. “He had a great life back on his world. A prince, adored by his people and next in line to become king. Then on the eve of the ceremony that would signal his passage from adolescence into manhood, the dragons invaded. They hit hard when no one was expecting them but the Zavarians rallied and beat the horde back. They had the numbers where the dragons did not. The Zavarians nearly won but the dragons are deviant and evil. They sent assassins into the Zavarian camps during the night, when it was supposed to be a time of truce and they slaughtered every woman they could find. Kreed’s mother and the girl he loved were killed. The species as a whole was crippled.
“Blinded by rage and grief, the men attacked the dragons without any order and they died by the droves. The society fell overnight becoming close to extinction. Ruvean surrendered, wanting to save the last of his people so he joined with the dragons. A living treasure. A relic. A king who nearly beat the dragons is now locked away in a mansion withering away while his people die slowly.”
“And Kreed?” I prompted. He was the prince after all.
“Kreed made a vow long ago with the other princes of his land that they would find a way, no matter what, to bring the dragons to their knees. There were once seven princes, and now only he remains. Kreed carries the lives of his people and the memory of his people. He’s taken it upon himself to destroy the dragons, so he works for them. A mercenary for hire doing the dirty deeds that they aren’t bothered to do themselves, just biding his time.”
“Last night… a wall exploded and… I saw Kreed drinking the blood of the dead.”
Brutus’ brown eyes bored into mine like he was trying to tell me something that I was too dense or not caffeinated enough to pick up.
“Nik, he’d do anything to see every dragon destroyed. He’d even go as far as to dive into something dark, unnatural, and to some evil. He walks a path he thinks he must, but in the end, it will destroy him. His people are healers. They celebrate life and desire others to experience it to the fullest. There is a darker, fouler way to gain the power he needs. Zavarians heal the sick and injured becoming stronger themselves but death is the ultimate illness isn’t it? It stops life completely. To heal that, would take such power that no Zavarian has ever attempted it.”
“He drinks the blood of the dead so he can heal them?”
“He hasn’t succeeded yet. Once he does find a way, not even death can kill him. Hard to kill a being who’s unkillable.”
“He’d be the ultimate assassin.”
“Poetic in a way, isn’t it?”
No shit.
The talk with Brutus five days ago had been enlightening and horrifying. Kreed stayed in the penthouse while Brutus went home to take care of Kreed’s father. I thought it was weird, like shouldn’t that be the son’s job, but that was a human custom and they obviously weren’t. Kreed and I tiptoed around each other, neither staying in the room long enough with the other to strike up a conversation. I was still pissed at him, but I begrudgingly understood him better. Wish the same could be said in reverse.
At night, I would lie in bed wondering what it must have been like to wake and find that every vulnerable person that was your responsibility to protect were killed in the night. The weight on Kreed’s shoulders must be immense. I didn’t know Ruvaen very well, but I could tell he was a proud man who cared deeply for his people. To surrender to their enemies must’ve killed him. The well-being of the many, outweighs the comfort of the few. Ruvaen was a brave man but I could tell that Kreed did not agree with that logic.
Funny how two people from very different backgrounds could find common ground at all. The universe was a strange place.
Zazu interrupted my musings with a rumbling purr and a headbutt. He had been extra clingy lately, which would normally be annoying, but Kreed tended to steer clear of me when my pet was nearby. Thank the goddess for small blessings.
A week had gone by and cabin fever was setting in. Lyndee had texted and said that she and Syd had to cut their trip short due to the items they were selling were sold quicker than expected. I was excited and sad that they had to cut the trip short. Traveling anywhere outside of your Pendragon’s territory was extremely difficult and next to impossible. So, when the opportunity came, they jumped, and I let them because I’m a good friend. Though I was a bit envious.
“I think I might attempt to pull my hair out next, Zazu. Would probably feel better than having to endure another half episode of this whiny bitch’s monologue.” I pressed th
e power button on the remote and the TV blinked off. Reality TV was something I secretly enjoyed but in very small doses. People were just stupid no matter what decade they were born in.
I stood and tossed the remote onto the couch cushions and stretched my cramped muscles. It had been fun lazing around for the first couple days, then it just got downright boring. I’d texted Gavin but hadn’t gotten any useful information on anything that involved me or the new dragon boss. It had been quiet, which I took as a sign that the intentional run in with the dragon was behind me. His interest in me had fled when his goons lost me that night and now I was holed up in an impenetrable penthouse. He couldn’t get at me, so his attention was best suited somewhere else.
I wished I could remember the name of the drug I had been using that made it so easy to live in denial. Ignorance was bliss and I planned to bliss the F out for as long as I could.
Which meant: pizza and wings.
I hadn’t been able to go out for groceries and the kitchen staples were dwindling thanks to Kreed and his bottomless-pit-friend. There wasn’t even any cereal left.
I made my way to the hall where the keypad was. I tapped it and began my dinner order wondering if I should ask Kreed if he wanted anything, then decided against it. Payback for the eaten cereal.
Our building had a sort of room service type deal. You could order from anywhere in the city for delivery but you had to order through your penthouses device so security would know and deliver it once it arrived. Pretty snazzy actually.
“What're you doing?” Kreed asked, stepping into the hall on silent feet. My heart lurched. I handled my surprise gracefully, at least to me.
“Ordered dinner,” I replied coolly.
“What!? Cancel it. Now!”
“Excuse me? Food is scarce up here and I’m hungry for pizza and wings.”
“There could be people watching the building.” Kreed crowded into my personal space. “Easy to gain access to it when someone orders something.”
“Dude, it’s just pizza.” I poked his chest. “Besides, all orders go through security and are then delivered by them. All the pizza place knows is this building ordered something and all other information is classified.”
“It’s too risky,” he said, stepping around me to get to the keypad.
I stepped sideways so I could block the pad from him.
“Listen cranky. No one’s going to attempt anything. It’s been nearly a week and no sign of anyone after me. People order food to this building all the time there’s no way anyone will know it’s been ordered by me.”
“There’s always a way.” He stepped even closer while I stepped back, still blocking him from getting at the wall device.
“And you would know,” I countered, tilting my head up so I could see his face.
“Yes, I would,” he hissed, his eyes blazing with irritation.
“You aren’t my Dad, so you can’t boss me around. I ordered pizza and by God I’m gonna eat it and there's nothing you can do.”
Before I could blink, I was suddenly hanging upside down. It took me a second to realize that I was on Kreed’s shoulder. “You mother… ahh! You hit me.
“I smacked your cute, little ass. And I’ll do it again if you continue to make stupid decisions.”
“My life. My decisions. If I want pizza, then I’m gonna eat pizza.” Wait. He said my ass was cute?
Kreed tossed me off his shoulder and I landed on my bed on my back.
I sat up just in time to see Kreed shutting my door. I scrambled but the knob clicked. Grasping the knob, I turned it but it didn’t budge. “You locked the door! How dare you! Open this door now!” My fists pounded the wood, hopefully hard enough to leave an indent. But who was I kidding?
“Not until the danger you invited has passed.”
“It's just a damn pizza!” I banged on the door again.
“Did you forget what happened seven days ago? There were several times that you came this close to dying. I was nearly too late.”
“Why do you care?” I whispered.
“Because as soon as you put yourself at risk to save my life, I owed you. I woke up confused but with this overwhelming urge to protect someone I had never met before. Brutus was content to leave you be. I forced him to bring me here to meet you, to see for myself that you were safe. It’s ingrained into me. I cannot leave while you are vulnerable.”
“I was perfectly safe before you all came into my life.” I leaned my head on the door frame.
“That may be but now you are in the cross hairs of a wild dragon. Who knows how many other dangerous beings. The danger has been kept from you and now that your eyes are open to the truth, you still refuse to be cautious.”
“I am being cautious. I’ve stayed inside for the past week and since there has been nothing questionable happening in the city, I decided to order a pizza. You aren’t protecting me, you’re treating me like a child, which I’m not. I’m a grown ass woman.”
“You’re not a child,” he said, but it was muffled by the door and I could barely make it out.
“You’ve locked me in my room,” I reminded him.
We both fell silent neither willing to budge. I sighed before pressing my back against the door and slid down until I was sitting on the floor. I heard light scuffling on the other side of the door but other than that silence.
How has my life come to this? Being locked in my own room by a hot guy. And not in a fun way, either. Didn’t look like I was getting out of this situation anytime soon and while the fire of rage was still simmering inside, so was empathy. The story Brutus’ had told about Kreed’s past made me understand why he was overbearing on the protective front. He failed to protect those he cared about then he entered into my life. A chance at redemption perhaps?
“Brutus told me what happened when the dragon’s invaded your world,” I began, then paused, waiting for a response or any indication that Kreed was still behind the door. Everything remained quiet. “Not much is known about the other worlds that the races came from. Hell, I didn’t know that dragons conquered them and enslaved them. I thought the races agreed to this but I realize now that that was stupid.”
“You’ve never been told any differently and the races have been forbidden to speak of their past with the Mutt generations.”
So he hadn’t walked away. “Forbidden?” I asked.
“Dragons are ruthless but not ignorant. They know that their subjects outnumber them, so they rule with power and fear. Show that you are powerful, and no one will defy you. It’s an old strategy but effective nonetheless.”
“Brutus said that you lost your mother when the dragons invaded. I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”
Kreed didn’t say anything. Silence hung in the air for so long that I thought maybe he wouldn’t comment. “My mother was the light of our race.” Kreed’s voice barely above a murmur. “Gifted and loved by everyone. She was my father’s whole world and when she was killed a part of him died with her. He hasn't been the same since.”
“I don’t understand why they would do something like that. Dragons are greedy even our earthly lore boasts of it.”
“There’s more to them that not many know and even more would be killed if they ever discovered it.”
“How do you know so much about them?”
“I’ve spent the majority of my life learning their secrets and devising a way to end their rule. I’ve barely cracked the surface.”
“That night, in the alley after the explosion, did you drink the blood of those dead men?”
After another lengthy pause, he spoke a single word, “Yes.”
“That’s pretty gross,” which was putting it lightly.
He chuckled softly which made me grin. He wasn’t half bad with a locked door between us. I wished he could be this decent face to face.
“If my people knew what I was doing, I’d be disgraced and dethroned. To drink the blood of those who’ve recently passed is an abomination. Only the foul
est of creatures would stoop to such measures.”
“Brutus said it makes you strong, somehow.”
“Do you two talk about anything else but me?”
I could hear the smile in his voice. “I cannot confirm or deny that question. It goes against the code.”
“What code?”
“The friendship code. It’s classified.”
“You are so strange,” he murmured.
“At least I’m not boring,” I quipped, realizing that my anger had dissipated and now I felt guilty for being rash with my food ordering. “I should have asked to order pizza. This is all so new and I just wanted a bit of normal.”
“Normal is a stupid concept. Nothing is normal, it's impacted by change too often to have any sort of steady routine, but I also could’ve handled the situation better, been more open. This is new for me, too.”
“Will you let me out?” I asked hopefully.
“I will once the pizza arrives, and I make sure it’s safe.”
It took a sick sort of person to tamper with pizza. It should be against the law because pizza was sacred. So was my life and judging by Kreed’s reaction, I should take this threat seriously.
We remained there for several minutes in silence lost in our own thoughts. Too much had happened in the past week. I needed to deal. I wasn’t sure how. Crying seemed over done, and though I joked about drugs, I’d never do them. I was a total wimp when it came to pain.
Well… the only option is to think and reevaluate where I was in life.
A year ago, I had come to the end of a hard personal war, fought tirelessly and was victorious. It was probably my most prized achievement. I was lucky to have survived and in the aftermath of moving on and getting my life back in order, I ended up not doing that at all. What had I accomplished in that time? Nothing.
My friends and family had moved on, even my ex had while I remained stagnant, unable to move forward. But why? There had been opportunities to make something of myself. I felt like I had time to discover them all with my new lease on life but that hadn’t been the case. Sickness had crept back in. I had handled it poorly. Then a Zavarian angel had happened by and I was cured. Again.
