by JD Monroe
While Erevan had grown up surrounded by his own kind, he had also been accustomed to this world from a young age. All the shifters traced their roots to Ascavar, another realm that was connected to this one by mysterious portals called Gates. The Gates were protected, so there was little traffic between worlds. However, certain nations in Ascavar permitted their young to venture into the human world for a sort of trial period. They called it the khalle t’aradan, or the Wandering. It was a time for young dragons to explore and decide if they wanted to return to their homeland, or if they wished to stay here. Part of the Wandering was accepting the laws of the realm and submitting to the authority of the Skywatch. And these two clearly hadn’t grasped that flying and throwing lightning in populated areas was certainly against those laws.
It took only a few minutes to reach the apartment complex, where they parked in a visitor spot close to Varghev’s apartment. “I’ll get the girl and come to you,” Ruana said. “Be careful.”
“Hmph,” he grunted. As if some teenaged spark-thrower was going to challenge him. Erevan walked up the flight of stairs to the second floor, scanning the numbers for 1801. As he passed 1811, then 1809, the smoky smell of magic intensified. By the time he reached 1801, the scent was almost on his tongue.
He banged on the black door. Feet pounded across the floor. There was a pause, then a murmured, “vazredakh,” as Varghev cursed.
“Varghev, open the door,” Erevan said in Kadirai. “It’s Erevan Skyblaze from the Skywatch.”
The young man who opened the door was small and wiry for a Kadirai. His head drooped, his gaze fixed on the floor. As if he’d realized he was wearing his guilt like a heavy cloak, Varghev’s head popped up. “Yes?” he replied in Kadirai, pasting a fake smile across his face.
“Did you enjoy your flight last night?” Erevan asked. Varghev’s smile faltered. “You’re not fooling me. Don’t waste my time.”
“I didn’t—"
Erevan pushed past him and walked into the apartment. It was sparsely decorated with the generic furniture that came with a pre-furnished apartment. Wanderers came into the human world with little more than a bag of clothing, a few personal items, and wild dreams about what pleasures and possibilities lay here. Most of them were disappointed, but they all had the same wide-eyed wonder that Varghev had when he first walked through the Gate.
“Sir, I didn’t mean to,” Varghev said. “I just…please don’t send me back.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here to decide,” Erevan said sharply. Varghev’s brown eyes went wide as he paced across the front hallway. Unless Varghev had a dead body in the closet, this would be no more than a stern talking-to, but the younger dragon didn’t need to know that.
He let the younger man pace until the door flew open again. Ruana had a young woman in tow, her eyes puffy and swollen. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she staggered after Ruana. “What did you tell them?” the girl spluttered in Kadirai. He wasn’t sure if the choice of language was habit or a failed attempt to conceal the conversation from Ruana and Erevan.
“Sit,” Erevan barked in Kadirai, pointing to the leather couch. Both of the younger dragons snapped to attention and hurried to the couch, staring up at him. There was a warm brush against his arm as Ruana joined him. “Were you flying over Applewood Community Park last night?”
They looked at each other. “I mean, I wasn’t—" Varghev started.
“We already know you were,” Ruana snapped. “Don’t waste our time by lying.”
Kalera nodded. “There were a bunch of big fields,” she said. “We didn’t think anyone would see with all the woods.”
Erevan pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know the rules. Or at least, I thought you did, because both of you signed documents saying you understood. One of those rules is that you never change within the city limits, let alone fly in populated areas. And even if you’re stupid enough to forget those rules, you certainly don’t channel lightning anywhere near a residential area.”
Varghev’s cheeks flushed and he dropped his head. “I didn’t think anyone would see.”
“There are at least fourteen fast food restaurants in a mile radius of that park. It’s not exactly secluded,” Ruana said.
“It’s so hard being like this all the time,” Kalera said, flinging up her hands. “I used to be able to change whenever I wanted. It’s like being a prisoner.”
“Prison? You chose to come here, an-kadi,” Ruana said, loading the childish nickname with disdain. “You come here, you follow our rules.”
“It’s not fair,” Varghev said. “We have to cover up who we are because of them?” The disdainful note on the word them sent a shiver of irritation through Erevan. That was a common attitude from those who had just arrived from Ascavar. Back in Ascavar, humans were considered inferior to the Kadirai, so it was a rude awakening for many of their Wanderers. In an instant, they went from a position of unquestioned power and elevated status to being forced to blend in with the lowly humans.
“Little dragon, you’re welcome to go back to Ascavar whenever you wish,” Erevan said, injecting a sharper note into his voice. Varghev’s lips clamped together as his eyes widened. “Until then, you follow my rules. Do you understand?”
“But…” Kalera looked up, then froze with her mouth open. “Yes, I understand.”
“And you?” Ruana said.
Varghev nodded. “I understand.”
“If you’re confused about where you may fly, contact us,” Erevan said, softening. Despite his frustration, he sympathized. It was maddening to feel the itch of wings beneath his skin, to gaze at an open sky that was denied. “We can—" He paused as another text vibrated his phone. He pulled it out to see a message from Lilya.
Lilya: Looks like you can pay me back sooner than I thought. Need you over at Hideaway. Some of your scaly friends showed their ass last night. Thosrin is ready to take it to the queen. Think you can calm her down?
Erevan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He pointed at Varghev. “Don’t make us come out here again.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Erevan and Ruana left the apartment, a second text from Lilya arrived, this one with a picture of a smashed plasma screen and an assortment of broken liquor bottles at Thosrin’s club, Hideaway. Lilya’s caption read what a waste of good Scotch. Thosrin, the club’s owner, was the queen of the local Edra community, and she would demand an answer if the Kadirai were responsible for the destruction.
Erevan officially regretted getting out of bed that morning. If it wasn’t idiot Wanderers, it was drunken dragons.
They hadn’t even gotten back to the car when his phone rang. Surely Lilya wasn’t so impatient that she would call after two texts. He pulled it out to see the home office number. “This is Erevan,” he said.
“It’s Elfeli, sir,” she said. The young woman handled communications with Wanderers and kept the office running with brutal efficiency. “I got a call from someone about Thea Leska.” Before he could ask, she continued, “Ashflight Wanderer. She’s been here about eight years and lives in the Asheville area.”
“And?”
“She’s missing,” Elfeli said. “Her human friend called, so I need you to look into it.”
“I’m on it.”
Exactly twenty-one hours and thirty-seven minutes had passed since Natalie had last seen Thea, heading to the ladies’ locker room to clean up for an evening out. Now Natalie was kicking herself. Had Thea said where she was going? She’d been focused on setting up a new membership and barely looked up when Thea passed, unaware it was the last time she’d see her. Twenty-one hours and thirty-seven minutes was a long stretch of time for the worst to happen.
After calling Erevan, she tried to pass the time by working from home. Her goal had been to set up a landing page for members to order their new Steelforged Fitness branded apparel, but she’d been staring at the same catalog of templates for an hour without seeing them. The handgun was locked up safely, but she’
d brought the box out to the coffee table where she could get it if she needed. There was something reassuring about the hard lines of black metal within reach.
Her phone rang, startling her from her glazed inattention.
It was an unknown number. “Hello?”
“Hello?” His voice was deep, with a faint rasp like sandpaper on stone. “Is this Natalie?”
“Yes,” she said cautiously. “Who’s this?”
“This is Erevan Sulkas. You called about your friend. Eh…Thea Leska? You spoke to my colleague.”
Her stomach lurched into her throat and grabbed hold. “Yes. Look, I need to know what’s going on. I don’t know why she wanted me to call you first, but—"
“I don’t need an explanation on the phone,” he interrupted. “I will meet you at your house in thirty minutes.”
“No, I need you to—”
“Sooner is better, is it not? Thirty minutes.”
He hung up. Her face blazed with indignation at his brusque manner. What the hell was with Thea’s people?
Natalie surveyed the living room. She and Thea both liked things neat, though they were both prone to flurries of last minute cleaning if guests were coming. It was sheer instinct to grab a broom to sweep the hardwood floors before Erevan arrived. But halfway down the hall, she froze.
Her mother wasn’t around anymore to scold her, but she could hear her honey-sweet drawl with perfect clarity. “Natalie, don’t you dare let a strange man in your house while you’re there alone,” she would scold if she could. With Thea missing, she didn’t want to take any chances. The gun was a nice start, but she’d prefer not to find herself in a situation to need it.
Natalie grabbed her phone again and scrolled until she reached Perry. Of her few friends in Asheville, Perry was the most intimidating and the best potential protector. She wasn’t as close to him as Thea, but they often went out for lunch. She was also his official date for children’s movies so he wouldn’t attract too much attention as a grown man at a Disney princess movie. Would he think she was being a total weirdo? Her nerves jangled as the phone rang three times. His voice was breathless when he answered. “Hey! What did you find out?”
“Uh, long story,” she said. “Can you come over? A friend of Thea’s is supposed to come meet me and help find her. A cousin, or something. It’s really weird. He’s on his way now.”
“What? He? Did you call the cops?”
“Not yet,” she said. “But I will.”
“Shit,” Perry said. “Yeah, I’ll come. Don’t let anyone in until I get there.”
While she waited for Perry to arrive, Natalie began pacing again. “Where are you?” she murmured. Moving around kept her distracted, but her fear lingered like a storm cloud casting a gray pall over a summer afternoon. She could pace and straighten the kitchen and adjust the thermostat twelve times, but Thea was still gone. And maybe there was a perfectly normal explanation, but maybe there wasn’t.
Standing there in the doorway of her empty room brought the reality of it crashing back in. Natalie’s chest tightened. Flashes of Thea in an accident, Thea tied up somewhere, or Thea dead on the side of the road blasted through her brain. She squeezed her eyes shut. Hadn’t she lost enough in her lifetime?
With a deep breath, Natalie took a step into Thea’s room and tried to survey it with fresh eyes. The bedroom was neat and bright, with white décor and pale wood furniture. A small writing desk stood in one corner with a cup of pens and a basket of craft supplies. Seeing the rainbow array of pens struck Natalie with inspiration.
There it was.
After seeing it on Pinterest last year, Thea had become obsessed with bullet journaling. Her current journal, a smooth purple-covered book, sat in the middle of her writing desk. She spent part of each day making notes and documenting her day in the journal. Maybe she’d left a clue about where she went last night.
Natalie tiptoed toward the desk, as if she was afraid of startling the purple notebook. Her hand hovered over the embossed cover.
Screw it.
If Thea got mad at the invasion of privacy, Natalie would tell her not to disappear without notice again. She grabbed the journal and thumbed through it. The first third was filled with Thea’s neat handwriting in a rainbow of colors. The corners and margins were decorated with neat, geometric designs and colorful tape.
Most of the daily entries were written in English but scattered throughout the pages were strings of the same angular symbols from the other notebook. Natalie frowned. The others she might have assumed were just decorations, some of the geometric doodles Thea sometimes copied from YouTube videos. But the way these were aligned with the other text…it looked like language.
She shook her head and found the page for yesterday marked with a magnetic clip. It was all fairly mundane: a list of meals with a note to try her lunch recipe with chicken thighs instead of breasts, a personal best time at running a mile, and a note to call the accountant about quarterly taxes. At the bottom was a block of the strange angular symbols.
Holding the book closer to her face, Natalie peered at the symbols, as if proximity was the barrier to her comprehension. She’d always had her questions about Thea, but this had crossed the line from maybe she’s got a rough family history to who the hell knows?
Someone banged on the front door hard enough to rattle the house. Natalie yelped and dropped the journal, spilling the cup of pens onto the desk in a clatter. “Crap,” she muttered. She grabbed the journal and hurried to the front door. Perry’s pickup truck was parked at the front curb. She yanked the door open. “Come in.”
Perry was still sweaty and flushed from whatever class he’d been teaching. His ponytail stuck up comically at the back of his head. He gave her a strange look. “Nat, what’s going on? Who’s this guy?”
“I know it’s weird,” she said. “When we moved in together, Thea told me if something ever happened to her, like if she got hurt and couldn’t answer questions or something, that I should call this number.”
“But if she’s missing…”
“I know,” Natalie said. “But she said…”
“Yeah, well she’s not here, is she?” Perry said hotly. His harsh tone made her uneasy. “I think you need to call the cops. This is getting scary.”
Natalie nodded. What if something had already happened to Thea in the time since she’d called Erevan? What if she’d missed the window where someone could help her friend? “Let’s talk to this guy, and then I will.”
Perry positioned himself at the front window, surveying the front yard like a silent sentinel. Only a few minutes had passed when she heard the muffled thump of a car door closing. Perry jolted, rattling the blinds. “He’s here. Hmm. Big guy.” He turned to give her a stern look. “You got a gun?”
“Yes, but I’m not going to lead with that.”
“Hmm,” Perry said again. “Keep it close.” The doorbell rang, and Perry intercepted her path, pulling the door open to reveal a tall man on the front porch. The sun at his back cast him in deep shadow. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Natalie Thomas,” he said. “I spoke to her on the phone. Is she here?”
Natalie hurried up to stand next to Perry. “Hi, I’m…" she trailed off. Damn, he was a looker. He looked like he spent equal amounts of time soaking up Caribbean sunshine and putting bodybuilders to shame by warming up with their max weights. Dark stubble dusted his strong jaw. She gulped and said, “I’m Natalie.”
“You got some ID?” Perry said.
“I’m not a cop, but if you want to see my driver’s license, I’ll show you,” the man said. He put out his hand. “Erevan Sulkas.”
Perry took it reluctantly and shook it. “Perry.”
“And you’re Natalie?” Erevan asked. She nodded. “Can I come in?”
She stepped back, tapping Perry on the shoulder. He was puffed up, still staring at Erevan. Erevan was relaxed, clearly unbothered by the tension in Perry’s massive frame. Finally, he step
ped back enough to let Erevan in.
Erevan surveyed the living room. His dark brown eyes flitted about as he did a slow turn.
Natalie took a tentative step toward him. “Her room is—"
As if she hadn’t spoken, Erevan sauntered down the hallway. He skipped the guest room and walked into Thea’s room like he’d been there before.
“Thea said you’re her cousin. Is that right?” Natalie asked, hurrying after him. Perry’s footfalls were heavy behind her as he followed.
“Distant cousin,” he said. Running his hand across Thea’s comforter, he raised his head like he was trying to smell the air. What a weirdo. He opened the nightstand drawer.
“Wait,” Natalie said. Erevan took the leather-bound book from the drawer. “That’s Thea’s.”
“That’s why I’m looking at it,” he said. Natalie stepped toward him to take it, but the sharp expression on his face stopped her in her tracks. He tilted his head. “Why don’t you go into the other room while I look this over?”
“You got it,” Perry said. He turned around and retreated to the living room.
What the hell?
“You too. I’ll let you know what I find.” Erevan’s dark eyes narrowed.
Queasy warmth bubbled in her belly and she shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “What’s going on? Who are you really?”
Erevan recoiled a little, his brows arching in confusion as if he couldn’t believe she’d refused to follow his instructions. “What has she told you?”
“About what?” He shrugged and thumbed through the pages without answering. “What language is that, anyway?”
“Tell me what you know about her last few days,” Erevan said. He had an impressive way of ignoring her questions. “Did she mention going anywhere?”
Natalie shook her head. “She’s been working at the gym like normal. Last night she told me she was going out, but she didn’t say where.”
