Waking the Dragon

by Rinelle Grey

  A strange irregularity in one of the scales, about half a dozen in from the edge, caught her eye. It wasn't as perfect as it appeared. One of the profiles was marred by what looked like a dent. The afternoon sun glinted off the sand that had collected in the area. Karla gingerly stepped across several other ‘scales’ to look at it.

  She reached into the pocket of her cargo pants for her brush, but it was empty. Of course it was, she’d left her tools behind in England. Crouching down, Karla gently blew the sand away.

  As the edges of the indentation were revealed, Karla caught her breath. The depression certainly wasn’t natural. In fact, it exactly matched the shape of the small sun medallion.

  The man had been telling the truth.

  Feeling like she had just stepped onto the set of an Indiana Jones movie, Karla pulled the medallion out of her pocket and compared it to the indent. They looked like a perfect fit.

  There was only one way to be sure. Karla turned the medallion upside down and fitted it into the rock.

  She wasn’t sure what she expected. A lifetime of adventure stories told her that something should grind, and a trapdoor should appear out of nowhere. But nothing happened.

  She chided herself for the sinking disappointment that hit her.

  This wasn’t a movie. This was real life. And in real life, there were no ancient civilisations hidden in the middle of the Australian outback.

  This had to have been made recently. The rock wasn’t even weathered, proving it couldn’t be as old as the man had claimed.

  She moved to pull the medallion out to check again when she noticed some play in it. A little experimentation showed that it had movement to the left. Holding her breath, Karla twisted it.

  For a moment, nothing happened. Karla was almost ready to chide herself for getting her hopes up when the rocks under her began to shake. Leaving the medallion where it was, Karla stumbled back, her heart pounding in her chest.

  This couldn’t be happening. Maybe she was dreaming.

  But the tremors in the ground below her, the sudden silence from the ever present cicada calls couldn’t be figments of her imagination. She’d never had a dream this detailed, this nuanced. It had to be real.

  As was the hole opening up in the middle of the scales as the overlapping rocks slid under each other. Karla braced herself for a wave of stale air to rush out, but instead it was cool and refreshing. A slightly sweet smell, a little like sawdust, wafted out.

  What was down there? She peered into the hole, but all she could see was the start of a stone staircase, the colour matching the surrounding sand, leading down. Part way down, darkness enveloped the staircase, and she couldn’t even see the end.

  She needed to go back to the ute for a torch.

  After staring at the staircase one last time, she stood up and brushed the sand off her knees. As she walked back to the ute, she couldn’t help glancing back at the hole.

  This was unbelievable. Inconceivable.

  Her mind kept searching for ways to make sense of the situation. Maybe it was an abandoned movie set? Yet, why had she never seen the movie? Maybe it was the secret hideout of some eccentric millionaire? Yes, she could totally see that.

  That didn't explain the insistence of the strange man with the golden eyes. Unless he’d built it. Somehow, she could just see him here. Once she got back to town, she should check the land records and see who owned this area.

  While she was here though, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look down there.

  A shiver ran down her spine. Normally, she wouldn’t think twice about heading down into an ancient building alone, but this one was a little different. After the way those stairs had appeared out of nowhere, she wouldn’t be in the least surprised to be facing booby traps, punji pits, or hell, even a few mummies or ghosts at this point.

  Karla shook her head. Those thoughts were just ridiculous. The mechanism that had opened those stairs was spectacular, but it was just that, a brilliant piece of mechanical engineering. Nothing to be scared of. It probably wasn’t even that old, not when it worked so smoothly.

  Back at the ute, she grabbed the torch, and headed back to the stairs, pausing for a moment to take a couple of photos with her phone. Her friends were never going to believe this story. Pity she couldn’t post them on Facebook now, but there wasn’t even a single bar of reception out here.

  She tucked the phone into her pocket and ventured down the stairs, testing each one as she went. But each was sound and she reached the bottom without anything exciting happening.

  Shining the torch around the small room, she expected to see dusty boxes, maybe a table or a desk or something. Something ordinary. But the walls were smooth and bare, as was most of the room. Except for the raised stone dais in the middle.

  Her breath caught in her throat. On top of the stone, a man lay perfectly still.

  Her gaze swept down to his toned chest and perfect tan. The only thing covering his body was a skin-tight pair of leather shorts that left little to the imagination.

  She’d never seen anyone so beautiful. He was young, not much older than she was, and his finely chiselled features were flawless. His jaw length, pitch black hair fell away from his face, giving her the perfect view. For some reason, he reminded her of the man in the store earlier, even though his hair was darker and his jawline more angular. His eyes were closed, but she had the feeling that when they opened, they would be golden too.

  Who was he? What was he doing here?

  Was he alive? Was he real?

  Karla felt drawn forwards, shining the torch over his body. Nothing moved. She couldn’t even see his chest rising and falling from a breath.

  He couldn’t be alive.

  But she couldn’t see a sign of anything that might preserve a body this perfectly. It just wasn’t possible.

  She reached out a hand, hesitating, but she couldn’t resist. She laid it gently on his chest.

  It was warm.

  Chapter 3

  Coming out of the Mesmer trance was never easy. Taurian had done it enough times in the last few months to know. But the warm hand resting on his chest helped him focus on the present. He could feel the woman’s life force flowing through him, strengthening and connecting with his own life force.

  The next stage of the ritual had begun.

  Except for one problem. Even in his half stupor, he registered immediately that the woman was a human. Not a dragon. Concern dragged him roughly out of his warm cocoon. Something was wrong. It had to be. His older brothers and sisters should have been woken before him, and they would have ensured that a suitable dragon was there to awaken him.

  Forcing his eyes open, he stared up at the woman who had her hand on his bare chest. He felt an intimate connection to her through the touch, almost as though he knew her. But her looks were a complete surprise.

  The soft blonde hair swinging around her face felt right, even though the colouring was more reminiscent of a dragon than the humans who lived here. The blue eyes that were wide with surprise fitted as well. But the clothes she wore were strange. The shirt was an unbelievable white, and the pants she wore were baggy and green.

  Something was very wrong. That a human was here instead of a dragon was strange enough, that she was so different to the humans in the area was impossible. He’d never seen a human with light skin and blonde hair before. He had heard of them of course. Heard that long before he was born, the dragons had come from a land where the people resembled them far more closely.

  Her presence here didn’t alleviate his concerns at all.

  The stories he’d been told of those other humans, how they had tried over and over to kill his people, had always made his hair stand on end. The dragons had fled here to escape from them and lived in peace for hundreds of years.

  Until now. If those humans were here, did that mean the dragons were all in danger? Was that why his brothers and sisters were not here to wake him? He needed to do something, and fast.

  But
first, he needed some energy. Which meant he needed to mate. And the only woman around was this one. The one that could be his enemy.

  Taurian struggled to raise himself on one elbow for a closer look at the woman, but though the injuries he had sustained in the last battle were fully healed, the energy the healing had taken from his body needed to be replenished. An awkward half roll was all he could manage.

  The woman yanked her hand off his chest and took several steps back, breaking the connection. Taurian bit back a growl of frustration at losing her warmth and energy. He knew nothing about her, had no idea if he could trust her or not, but he needed her. Already, his body ached to complete the ritual.

  She looked harmless enough. He could see no weapons or other threats. And she was alone. Once the ritual was complete, she would be no threat to him. He just needed to finish it.

  She babbled something incomprehensible, although Taurian almost thought he would know what she was saying if he concentrated enough. He frowned, his nervous apprehension growing. What had happened while he had been asleep? How had so much changed in such a short space of time?

  There were so many things he needed to know and the woman was his one source of information. Friend or foe, he needed the connection back. He tried to push himself up again, but lacked the energy.

  Giving up, he tried something different. He reached out his hand towards the woman, hoping she would understand the gesture. Hoping she would care.

  Still saying words he couldn’t understand, she took a step towards him. Then another. Her fingers reached out towards his hand and he held his breath.

  Her touch was like silk sliding across his skin and he sighed in relief as her warmth spread through him.

  “…should call the police, or maybe the ambulance. Or something. You need help.”

  Most of the words she used he had no meaning for, but at least one he could understand. “Yes, I need help. But you are here now, and you will help me.”

  She gave him a strange look. Had he got the accent wrong? Or was she surprised that he expected her to help him?

  “So you do speak English. Why didn’t you reply before then? Who are you and what are you doing here? Don’t you know they’re going to be digging a big hole here any day now? This whole place will be destroyed.”

  Her reply startled Taurian out of his concerns over who she was. “Destroyed?” he repeated. “This land is claimed by the Rian clan, and no one has dared challenge us in centuries. Who dares to now?”

  There was that strange look again. Had she never heard of his clan? If she wasn’t here for the dragons, then why was she here?

  “It doesn’t matter who owns the land. If a mining company finds resources under the soil, they have the right to mine them.”

  Mine? Company? Again, he didn’t understand the words, but it didn’t matter. There were other, more pressing needs. “Rian clan. Where are they?”

  “Who are you?”

  He’d been holding her hand long enough now, he’d gained some strength. He pushed himself into a sitting position. She tried to step back, to pull her hand away from his, but this time he was ready for her and used all the strength he had gained to hold on. He couldn’t risk losing his lifeline to her energy.

  “I am Taurian, Prince of Rian clan.”

  “You’re crazy.” Instead of being awed by his pronouncement and immediately realising the deference that was owed to him, the woman had the insolence to pull her hand out of his with a jerk.

  Taurian was so surprised, he didn’t have time to react and stop her.

  She backed right up to the stairs, holding up her hands as though she could ward him off. “I don’t know what you’re doing here, or why your eyes look like that, or how you convinced that other guy to lure me here with that medallion, but you’re all crazy and I want no part of this.”

  If she knew who he was, she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. Her fear seemed completely genuine, and if he didn’t do something fast, she’d be up the stairs and gone. And he desperately needed her help.

  Taurian pushed himself to standing, stumbling slightly as his feet hit the floor. He grasped the side of the dais for a minute. He couldn’t afford to stumble or look weak. Not now. Not when he was in such a vulnerable position.

  Then the woman’s words sunk in. “Another man? What did he look like?” he asked sharply. From her words, he guessed that a dragon had sent her, not another human. But why? If it were his clan, they would come themselves. If it weren’t…

  Was it a trick? A rival dragon would be gravely injured if they passed through the protections around his chamber, but a human would not. Had the Trima clan sent a human to wake him so that they could lure him out?

  She folded her arms and glared at him. “Stop pretending to be innocent in all this. I’ve heard of these sorts of setups before. You just wanted to get me out here alone, didn’t you? Well it’s not going to work. My dad will be looking for me if I’m not home in an hour. And you don’t want to face my dad when he’s angry.”

  Her eyes bored into him and he felt the full weight of her disapproval.

  No, he probably didn’t want to face her dad when he was angry. Running afoul of a father defending his young was never a good idea. She was angry enough herself. And the last thing he needed right now was another enemy.

  But once the Mesmer ritual was begun, it could not be stopped. They needed to remain in close proximity until it was complete, or they could both die. He needed to get her on his side and quickly. But how?

  He needed to appeal to her protective nature.

  Hopefully she had one.

  “Please.” The word grated. A Rian prince didn’t need to say please to anyone. But Taurian would do whatever he had to do to protect his people. He tried not to let the thought that he might not have any people left enter his mind. “Please, I didn’t mean to upset you. Something has gone wrong.” He needed to keep it simple and find out more before he committed. “I don’t know what is going on, but I mean you no harm. I need your help to find my people.”

  Her frown didn’t lift. “You can tell your story to the police. I’ll send them here as soon as I get home.”

  “No, you can’t leave.”

  She frowned. He’d said the wrong thing again. He went over the strange words she had used. “Police? What are they? Are they your… warriors?” It was the closest word he could find, but he knew it wasn’t quite right. She would think him stupid for not understanding. He felt his face heat.

  A frown creased her forehead, and she took a step towards him. “You really don’t understand, do you?” Her voice was lower, gentler.

  Taurian didn’t even really care that his plan was succeeding. He had intended to show a little carefully controlled weakness, just enough to get her onside, not embarrass himself by being completely incompetent. He didn’t need her help that much. He straightened himself up and took a step towards her, intending to brush past her and prove his strength, but as soon as his hands left the dais, he stumbled and fell to his knees.

  She rushed to him, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Are you okay? We need to get you to a hospital.”

  Even though he couldn’t quite pinpoint the meaning of the word, her hands on him helped him see enough to know a hospital was the last place he needed to be. Too many people, too much risk.

  He reached out and took her hand. “No, I’ll be fine. I just need to be near you for a few minutes, then I’ll be stronger. I can’t go to a… hospital…” his voice stumbled on the unfamiliar word. Not understanding it made it harder to pronounce. “I just need to be near you.”

  He winced. He could tell from the shift in her energy that he was being creepy again. She didn’t understand about the energy, and he suspected that trying to explain would just frighten her more.

  Already, he could feel her energy beginning to retreat. If she left now, he might never get her back.

  So he dipped into his reserve and used a trickle of the energy he had
regained. He stared into her eyes, his own clouding slightly as he transformed, just a little, into his dragon form. His lack of energy affected his precision, and he couldn’t pick which parts to transform. He felt the scales appear around his eyes, and he pulled back as he felt his fingernails shift into claws.

  She stumbled back, falling onto her behind in the dirt, staring up at him, her eyes wide.

  “What was that?”

  Her surprise was real, he could smell it. She had no idea who he really was. Even if she was one of the other humans or had been recruited to work for the Trima clan, they had hidden the details from her.

  There was no choice, he was going to have to admit the truth and hope he could trust her. It couldn’t be any worse than what she was already thinking.

  “I’m a dragon.”

  Chapter 4

  Karla stared at the man in front of her. What he was claiming was impossible. And yet, nothing else explained what had just happened.

  There was no denying it, she had definitely seen scales around his eyes. Golden scales.

  There had to be an explanation. A reasonable one. There had to be. Maybe it was some sort of weird skin condition. Or some sort of movie magic. But even as she thought it, she knew it couldn’t be. But a few scales did not a dragon make. He was still human, like she was. Mostly.

  “You don’t look like a dragon.”

  He rocked back on his heels and smiled at her. “Dragons don’t have wings and scales all the time. This is my human form. I don’t have the energy to fully shift into dragon form right now, and even if I did, it would be a little cramped if I tried inside this cave.”

  He sounded so normal. So not crazy.

  Karla couldn’t reconcile his completely ordinary appearance with the crazy things he was saying. Then again, he had looked anything but ordinary a few moments ago.

  Not that he exactly looked ordinary, she had to admit. If he wasn’t crazy maybe it made sense – wouldn’t dragons look hot in human form?