Dragon Oracle Urban Fantasy Boxed Set (Dragon Oracle Complete Series: Books 1 - 9)

by Jada Fisher

  “Your family values the arts, huh?” I asked, gesturing to the long line of paintings as Bron stopped at a door.

  “That’s one way to put it.” He opened the door and gestured me inside. “After you?”

  “Sure,” I murmured, walking past him with my guard on high.

  It was a study alright, if one could call the mini-library something as banal as a study. There was a massive, intimidating desk of dark wood and a high-backed chair with red cushioning. I was beginning to think that the theme of the house was crimson with how often it was repeated already.

  What looked like some sort of top of the line computer sat on the flat surface, with a thick stack of tea-stained parchments beside it. Bookshelves lined all of the walls, some of the tomes looked aged and weathered and some of them looked brand new. It was beautiful, but I didn’t have much time to admire it, as Bron had already closed the door and started talking.

  “So how much do you know of the underworld?”

  “Considering I don’t know what that is beyond maybe a movie franchise, I would say nothing.”

  His eyes widened. “Truly, you know nothing?”

  “Nothing. Didn’t you say you already considered that as a possibility and apologize for it?”

  “True, but I assumed that was very unlikely bordering on impossible. How have you survived so far? From what I have read, seer abilities are not usually…conducive to blending in with mortal life.”

  “You can say that again.” I was tempted to sit in what looked like a very cushy chair, but I just wasn’t willing to lower my guard enough. “But please, enough postulating and more explaining.”

  “Right. Of course.” He took a deep breath and looked as if he was gathering his thoughts. “First thing first, I suppose. Your world is nothing like you know it. Yes, humans are the dominant species and have their own civilizations, but they are not the only sentient creatures that walk the planet.

  “Once, long ago, my kind—and other species—were facing a cataclysm in our own realm.”

  “Wait, there are realms? Do you mean like dimensions?”

  “Yes. Separate worlds that are similar, and yet different. Different rules, different creatures, you name it, there’s a variation of it.”

  “Let me guess. Long, long ago, somehow your people created trans-dimensional travel to hop across said realms to save your skins?”

  “Yes.”

  I sighed. “Of course that’s what happened. So what kind of people are you?”

  “Um, I don’t think there is one word for it in your language.”

  “Get creative.”

  “Well, we are shapeshifters.”

  “That was easy enough—”

  “But also, what you call dragons.”

  I paused at that, eyes going wide. Suddenly, a whole lot of my visions and dreams were making sense. “Wait, dragons? As in scaled, winged, fire-breathing dragons?”

  “Yes. For the most part.” He clocked my still aghast expression and quickly tried to explain more. “I mean, there are variations. Some breathe ice. Some aren’t winged. There are wyverns, drakes, and the like.”

  “But you don’t look like a dragon,” I sputtered.

  “Yes. That is where the shapeshifting part comes in. We have our human form, and our dragon one. We can switch pretty much at will, and sometimes choose a sort of half-state. That one is harder to control, however.”

  I needed something to support me, so I sagged against the desk. “You mentioned other creatures existed. Did they come over with you?”

  “Of course, but in smaller numbers. What you would call elves, although they have practically gone extinct. Other shapeshifters. Dwarves. Nymphs.”

  “But if all of those are real, how does no one know about it? Why aren’t you all ruling the world as the superior species?”

  “You just found out about us. What makes you think we’re superior?”

  “Um, you can freaking fly and shoot fire out of your mouth! That sounds pretty physically superior if you ask me.”

  “Solid point. When we first arrived here, and humans were just a fledgling species interbreeding with Neanderthals, we did indeed rule. We were worshipped as gods and great spirits, ruling over our territories with either benevolence or a ruthless grip. There was no in between.”

  “So, what happened?” I breathed. I couldn’t believe that I was just buying this hook, line, and sinker, but it all made so much sense. Between the visions, the whispers, and what I had observed so far, something inexplicable was going on.

  “Just nature,” Bron said with a shrug. “Our kind does not reproduce well, and often, pregnancies do not take. I don’t know if it’s because your world is so different from ours, or if it is just a curse our people must bear, but sometimes, our people would go five or six years without a single birth.

  “But humans…humans could pop out a baby every single day. It was uncanny, really. Soon your numbers were practically insurmountable. Sure, we could have waged a war, and we probably would have won, but your world would have been reduced to ash and our numbers would never be able to recover.

  “So, we hid. We took on your forms and entered your society. We hold positions of power everywhere, of varying efficacy. Most of our influence is subtle, but here, this is our city, held by dragons for generations, and I suppose therein lies the crux of our issue.”

  I stood there, mind reeling. I felt like my entire world had been shaken up and turned upside-down. But he was still talking. “I’m guessing this next part is where you explain why there were people who tried to kill you in an alley?”

  “Well, that could be any number of reasons.”

  I gave in. I didn’t care if it was rude or not, my legs were shaking too much to support me so I slid my butt onto the desk and sat on it. It was as sturdy as it looked, not giving even the slightest of wobbles. I could certainly appreciate that considering I was no feather. “By all means, please enlighten me, because at no point in my life have there ever been ‘multiple reasons’ for someone to jump down from a roof with swords and try to kill me.”

  “I’m not entirely sure they were trying to kill me,” Bron said nonchalantly, affixing me with an amused smile. What was there to be amused about?! I couldn’t quite figure him out and it made me more nervous than I was already. “Most likely, they were just trying to take me. You see, I am the grandson of the arch dragon that runs this city, and should he pass on, I will take over in his stead. Kidnapping me could prove to be a valuable boon for someone.”

  I opened my mouth to say something about how casually he discussed kidnapping, but he was already moving on. “Or it could have been our enemy, hoping that absconding with the heir would give them some sort of political sway over my grandfather. I know that it wouldn’t, but they don’t.

  “Or it could have been someone from our side trying to snuff me out and put their offspring in line for succession. It’s hard to say exactly, and I couldn’t exactly stick around to examine them.”

  “Wait, sides? Succession? What, is there some sort of royalty sub-plot thing going on, on top of the shapeshifter thing you just unloaded onto me?”

  The corner of his mouth went up higher and I got the distinct impression he thought I was funny. Which was frustrating because I wasn’t trying to be funny. “You have a knack for words. But yes, there is some sort of royalty sub-plot going on. However, it’s not as simple as, ‘I am the next in line for power and other people want my position.’

  “You see, your city is being torn apart. As much as we try to stay one unified force, over time, our numbers have split into two. There’s my family’s side, which is content to influence from the shadows and mostly concern themselves with issues of the underworld. We let humans be and don’t directly interfere with any of their comings or goings. We keep ourselves shrouded in secrecy and revealing our presence is a grave crime.

  “But the other side? Quite the opposite. Although they are smaller in number, they are tenacious in a
chieving their goals. They want to return to the old times, when our kind ruled and your kind were our servants. There have also been rumors that they want to open portals to other realms and spread our numbers even further.

  “This is something my family cannot abide. We are not conquerors, despite what the legends may say. We do not need to fling ourselves across the unknown universe to find fulfillment. We have much to do here if we wish to improve our stations.”

  I stared at him, logging everything he said and envisioning about a thousand different scenarios that could have led them to this point. After several moments, he shifted uncomfortably. “Say something, please. You are making me nervous.”

  “Say something?” I asked, voice practically squeaking. “You want me to just say something like you told me an interesting fan theory about a movie? You literally just told me that, not only are dragons and shapeshifters real, but also that there’s this super intense fissure growing between you guys that just happens to be taking place right in the city where I happen to live. Oh, and also there are a bunch of different dimensions and who knows what else is in them!”

  “Right. I’m terribly sorry. That is an awful lot to put on you at once.” He looked a bit upset before clapping his hands together, nearly startling me off the desk. “I know! Have lunch with me. Nothing clears the mind quite like a delicious meal and I’m feeling a bit hungry myself.”

  “No, that’s fine. I’ll just…”

  He stood and gestured to the door. “Please, I insist. I would be rather remiss in my hosting duties if I allowed you to leave unfed.”

  “What, are you going to force me?”

  His face fell at that and a blush tinged his perfect cheekbones. “Of course not, and I did not mean to sound forceful if I did. Again, I apologize for manhandling you as I did in the market. I realize now that it was not my place. I am sure that you can understand my reasoning, however. I very much needed to talk to you before…”

  I didn’t miss his trailing off and looked to him sharply. “Before what?”

  “Well, before anyone else found you, of course.”

  The hairs stood at the back of my neck and my throat tightened. “Why would that be an issue?”

  He was looking guilty again, like he hadn’t quite considered the ramifications of his words. “Right, apologies. There is no way you would know, but you see, seers have a rare type of magic that has been lost to my people for nearly an age. The last one of your kind to walk the earth must have been nearly a hundred years ago, long before I was born.”

  “Uh-huh? How does this all correlate?” I felt like I was being a bit slow, but there were too many pieces that had been just dumped into my mental space and I was busy fitting all of them together.

  “Well, it’s just that if someone else were to find out that you existed, especially someone from the other faction, they would want you. They might even go to extreme lengths to take you.”

  “Oh…” I murmured. “I…I didn’t know.”

  “It’s alright! There’s no way you could know. Please, allow me to discuss it further with you over lunch. It is the very least I could do; and once you are informed, you can choose your path as you see fit. I just hate to think of you leaving these doors without knowing everything about the situation.”

  “Thanks, Bron. I appreciate that.” I took a deep breath, trying to sort myself out. I was guessing that I would need a good, solid sleep on it before the world seemed anywhere remotely close to normal again. “Lunch sounds nice.”

  “Perfect! Let’s go see what I can rustle up out of the kitchen.”

  I smirked at that, feeling the tiniest bit of my old humor come back. “What, you don’t have a servant to do that for you?”

  “I mean, we do have a chef on premises, but I would rather not bother him for this.”

  “Right. Of course you do.” Rich people were amazing.

  Or…rich dragons, rather. Suddenly, that whole stereotype of them hoarding gold made a lot of sense. They had just changed from coins to credit. A smart transition for the modern world.

  My inner dialogue about shapeshifting financials faded as Bron led me back through the hall and down the stairs. This time, we exited the foyer through a set of double-doors in the corner and walked down yet another corridor.

  This one was a bit more rustic than the others. Instead of white, gold, and crimson, the walls were simply a polished wood. On one side of the hall, stained glass windows showed the outside every few feet, creating beautiful murals of refracted light against the opposite partition. Apparently, hundreds of years of power came with some very interesting tastes in architecture.

  We reached the kitchen after about three minutes of strolling through ornate rooms, and once we did, I was absolutely gobsmacked.

  It was the antithesis of everything we had seen before. Instead of ancient or gothic architecture, it was a study in chrome. Everything looked high-tech and way above what the apartment complex where Mickey and I lived could ever afford. Looking to the fridge, I saw it had one of those little insets in the door that dispensed water and ice, both cubed and crushed, but that was only half of the buttons there. What the hell else could you want a fridge to do?

  “Have a seat at the island. I’ll see what we’re working with. I think Carvello went shopping recently, so we should have plenty of supplies.”

  “Who’s Carvello?”

  “Oh, just our errand-maid. She’s incredibly efficient, so I doubt you’ll ever see her. We pay her for forty hours a week, but she tends to get most of her tasks done in thirty.”

  “You guys pay your servants?”

  He gave me an odd look as he opened the fridge. “Of course. What kind of people do you think we are?”

  “Dragons, apparently,” I shot back. “I wasn’t sure if there was an underworld sort of minimum wage.”

  He snorted. “Please, your world’s minimum wage is pathetic. There is no way we would mistreat our workers.” He paused. “Can you pretend I said that with about fifteen percent less condescension?”

  I shrugged. “Hey, you’re right. I hate working for a company that pays minimum wage, but it’s all I can get right now. There’s nothing quite so demoralizing as having corporate say, ‘I’d like to pay you less, but it’s literally illegal’.” I realized what I was saying and snorted.

  “Something funny?”

  “Yeah, I just found out that dragons and shapeshifters and possibly magic exists, and I’m discussing economics.”

  “True, but I figured your brain might have wanted to skip to something more familiar so I wasn’t going to say anything.” His voice was muffled by the fridge door between us, but I could still make out his words.

  “How does a roast beef sandwich sound? I know how to make those.”

  “You put meat on bread. I would hope you knew how to do that.”

  “Not all of us can be a panini expert like you.”

  “Yeah, well, not all of us can have servants to wait on us hand and foot our whole lives.”

  “Touché,” he said, pulling ingredients out of the fridge. It was all things that I was familiar with, but the super fancy versions. The bread wasn’t your standard sliced fare, but rather some sort of artisanal loaf that looked like it had been painted into literal perfection. And the meat he pulled out wasn’t from the deli-counter, but rather an actual roast that needed to be carved. The mustard came in some sort of overly ornate glass jar and I was almost disappointed that I hated the yellow spread.

  So, on and on it went until Bron had enough ingredients on the counter to fill my entire week’s grocery budget. I watched as he chattered away about how he had learned to make sandwiches and the first time he had attempted grilled cheese. He was so happy, despite the dubious circumstances that had brought me into his home and how I had reacted to his grand news. Was that a dragon thing, or just a him thing? I had no way of knowing. It wasn’t like I could go around and take a poll of all the dragons I knew.

  Because that
would be exactly one of them at this point. Unless the butler and security guards were dragons, but I didn’t think I was to the point where I could accept that the help were mythological creatures too.

  After enough time passed for me to have made about five paninis and melts, he finished the two meals. Mine was a simple mix of meat, cheese, and lettuce, while his was piled high with spinach, tomato, onions, and goodness knew what else. At least it smelled pleasant, although I was sure it tasted terrible with all that mustard and relish I saw him slather onto the bread.

  “Bon appétit!” he said, smiling at me over his food before digging into it.

  I would say one thing—the boy could eat. I never thought of myself as a shy, or a slow eater before, but I was only a bite or so in when Bron was already halfway done with his sandwich.

  It was weird, it probably should have made him less attractive to see him scarf down his food like an actual animal, but it kinda made him seem more human. Less ethereally beautiful and not of this Earth.

  “Do you not like it?” he asked around a mouthful of food.

  “Oh, no. It’s good.” I took another bite and chewed dramatically.

  “That’s right! I forgot your species has fewer teeth. I don’t know how you get anything done with all that extra mastication you have to do.”

  “I sincerely doubt that a couple extra molars make you that much more efficie—” He shoved the last chunk of sandwich into his mouth, giving only a few chews before swallowing. “Okay. Maybe they do. I personally like to savor my food.”

  “That’s no problem. I’m certainly enjoying your company.” I blushed at that. I hadn’t really done much of anything, so I was sure that he was just being polite. His face sobered and I felt the mood quickly shift. “I am serious about you needing protection, though. I’m going to do my best to keep you shielded and secret, but if you ever feel threatened, know that you can come here.”

  “Really? That’s it? You just wanted to offer protection, and now you’re going to just let me go?”