When he agrees to assist her in finding the relic, their search propels them into a world of vampires, werewolves and demons. As his attraction to her grows and he fights to survive the paranormal entities, Tirvu gives him glimpses of a past life where he once lived as a dragon shifter; a life he doesn’t remember.
They have seven days to find the Moonstone while battling the paranormal entities attacking them from all sides. Will they be able to recover it and save Tirvu’s world?
1
“I’m sorry, Eric, but we’re going to have to let you go.”
Eric Thomas’ shoulders sagged, and he exhaled a long, slow breath. Rubbing his hand over his face to hide the smile that threatened to appear, he realized his hands still trembled, just as they’d been doing for weeks.
He gazed out the window at the company parking lot, biting his lower lip and hoping he hid the grin that threatened to spread across his face.
After a moment, he met the gaze of his boss, Joseph Burtman. To anyone else, getting fired from an eighty-thousand-a-year job would be a huge disappointment that brought on high-octane stress.
For him, it was the opposite.
“I understand,” he said as the tension in his neck eased further, and he reached up to quickly massage the muscles. He hadn’t been able to turn his head to the left for a few months now, and the news of his firing seemed to be easing the area better than any muscle relaxant he’d been given.
“You were doing great up until a couple of months ago, Eric. What happened?”
As a computer programmer for Richards Industries, a tech company located just outside Roanoke, Virginia, his work had been stable and productive the first six months he’d been employed at the firm. In fact, his manager had called his performance ‘stellar’ in his six-month review.
That had been before the nightmares had started. Since then, he’d been off his game as he struggled with insomnia and dreams so intense and disturbing, he often woke up screaming, his heart thundering, and every tendon in his body taut as he fought creatures that didn’t exist. While awake, he found it hard to concentrate on anything besides the visions in his sleep. However, trying to describe the raw fear he experienced during his few slumbering hours a night wasn’t something he was comfortable doing with anyone. Hell, he’d even been reluctant to discuss it with his therapist, who still couldn’t tell him if he was crazy or not.
“I … I don’t know, Joseph.”
And he truly didn’t. Besides the bloody images he saw while sleeping, he also couldn’t explain the woman with the white hair, pale skin, and bright sapphire eyes who also haunted his dreams. Beautiful in an ethereal way, she both terrified and intrigued him as she beckoned him to follow her, but she never said to where. However, he’d pieced together that she was somehow tied to the horror because once she left his visions, then the bad shit started.
“Are you still seeing the therapist?”
Eric rubbed his palm over his face and shifted in his seat. He’d been through so much damn therapy, he wanted to put his head through a wall.
Dr. Gardner was the best therapist in the Roanoke area according to Joseph. He treated many of the employees at Richards Industries, mainly for stress and depression, from what Eric had heard around the water cooler. The company only employed the finest programmers, and getting hired was a great accomplishment. However, they also expected nothing but the best from their employees, and turnover weighed in on the high side. The jobs at the tech firm were demanding, requiring long hours and some weekends. It wasn’t unusual to put in a fifteen-hour day. The competition among the ranks tended to be pretty cutthroat, and he’d learned very quickly after taking the job that most of his coworkers wouldn’t think twice about putting a proverbial knife in his back in order to get ahead.
Even so, he didn’t feel depressed. In fact, he felt completely normal, except for the nightmares and the daytime stress the lack of sleep brought on, not to mention the inability to concentrate. Dr. Gardner agreed that he didn’t suffer from depression, but thought maybe the dreams had come as a result of some unsolved issues in his life, or even represented the environment of Richards Industries. Eric had given that some thought because he could see how nightmares of dragons, blood, and killing might resemble his workplace. Competition in the company was fierce, and most of the employees were back-biting cutthroats, but comparing them to mythical creatures didn’t jive for him.
The dreams were too real, too vivid, as was the white-haired, blue-eyed woman. When she came to him, he saw every detail of her pretty features, such as her high cheekbones, her full mouth, and the scowl she wore, almost as if she was frustrated with him when he didn’t follow her. He’d also noticed the angry scar that ran down the right side of her face that looked as if she’d been clawed by something.
The intensity of her piercing gaze caused chills to run down his spine and sweat to break out over his body. He’d never been afraid of a woman before, but this one had him trembling every time she visited his dreams.
After five months of therapy, they still hadn’t found any reason for the crazy, nerve-wracking dreams, so he’d quit going. If the therapist couldn’t say if he was crazy or not and couldn’t help him figure out why the dreams haunted him so frequently by now, Eric wouldn’t waste any more money.
“Not any longer,” he said, meeting his boss’ gaze. “It didn’t seem to be helping.”
“What about other medications? Have you seen your doctor?”
He nodded, but didn’t offer any further information. The ten-minute visit to his primary care physician had garnered him blood panels claiming all his bodily systems were in perfect working order and a prescription of Ambien, pills to help him sleep. He’d taken it on a Friday night and woken up the next afternoon in the backseat of his car wearing only his boxers with no idea how he’d gotten there. He’d researched the drug online and found his experience somewhat mild compared to others’. Some people claimed that they had woken on a neighbor’s lawn, and one man said he broke into someone’s house, ended up in jail, and had no recollection of any of it. That had been the last time he’d taken the pill.
“Well,” Joseph said, getting to his feet. “I’m really sorry about this Eric. We had high hopes for you.”
He also stood, and wished he felt some sort of regret or remorse, but he couldn’t drum up any. He’d been so twisted up and stressed about losing his job because of the nightmares, it had only made his anxiety worse. With the firing, he felt liberated.
“Thank you for the chance to work at Richards Industries, and I’m sorry I let you down,” he answered, shaking Joseph’s hand.
On some level, there was a bit of disappointment in himself, but he didn’t really feel bad about leaving. He’d given enough of his time to the company. Now, he needed to get his mind straightened out. He had no idea how to do that, but with Richards Industries out of his life, he could concentrate on what his next steps would be.
“I hope you find out whatever it is that had you so frazzled. Take care of yourself, Eric.”
He nodded and turned to leave the office.
“Make sure you check out with Human Resources. Usually, they are the ones to let someone go, but I like you, Eric, and I’m concerned for you. I wanted to talk to you in person.”
“I appreciate that, and I’ll head down there after I clean out my desk.”
Joseph gave him a sad smile. “It’s already been done. Your things are in H.R.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. Others in his position would most likely find the invasion of privacy rude or intrusive, but he appreciated it. At this point, the less time he had to spend in the building, the happier he became. “If anything, Richards Industries has always been efficient.”
“Very true. Take care.”
He shut the door behind him, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone in his working pod. Frankly, he’d never really liked many of them, anyway.
After signing paperwork in H.R. and grabbing his things, h
e walked out into the bright fall sunlight. The air held just a touch of the cool winter approaching, and the sun warmed his skin. He had the urge to skip across the parking lot as a happy child would do, but refrained. Instead, he kept his steps quick and steady as he headed for his car.
Slipping his sunglasses from his box of possessions gathered from his desk, he couldn’t fight the smile that curled his lips any longer.
I’m free.
Well, free of one stressor in his life. Now, he just needed to figure out what to do about the other one, the one that was making him question his own sanity.
He clicked the key fob to the gray BMW and slid inside, setting his box on the passenger seat. He stared out the front window and wondered what his next step should be. Where did he go from here?
Home would probably be a good place to begin.
He started the car and drove toward his small apartment complex about twenty minutes away, listening to some R&B. With each mile he put between him and his former job, the better he felt. He rolled his shoulders as the knot in his gut began to unfurl and his eyelids grew heavy with relaxation.
Thankfully, traffic flowed well, and he made it to his home in record time. As he unlocked the door to his apartment, an idea began to take form.
Since getting his job at Richards Industries, he really hadn’t spent much money, his car being his only large purchase. He lived well below his means and threw the rest in the bank account. With no family to support, he’d be able to go without a job for six months easily.
He walked in and threw his keys on the kitchen counter. The quiet, sparsely furnished one-bedroom apartment had met his needs for the past year while all his focus had been on his job. Now that he’d been fired, he looked around with a critical eye.
All the furniture was second-hand; things he’d picked up through Craigslist. There certainly wasn’t anything wrong with it, but he now realized it was as if he’d purchased it with the idea of being able to easily discard it. With something more expensive that he could certainly afford, he wouldn’t have been able to do so.
The apartment complex sat in a fairly safe part of town, one that he’d chosen at random due to its close proximity to the freeway. He spent so little time at home, he didn’t know any of his neighbors, and when he did socialize, it had been with people from work. He’d participated in drinks with them simply to keep his ear to the ground and to find out who sat on the top of his co-workers shit list. They had always been willing to bring another worker to their knees and climb on their backs to get ahead, but that seemed to be the norm at the big tech companies across the world.
He caught his reflection in the bathroom hallway as he made his way to his bedroom and stopped.
Standing at six-foot-two, he kept his physique muscular by taking his lunch hour at the gym almost daily. His eyes held a deep onyx color, and he wore his curly hair short. What was going on with him?
He walked into the room and leaned his hands on the sink as he continued to study his reflection. Why was he so relieved to have his life completely upended? He had to be losing his mind.
A little over an hour ago, he’d had a great-paying job with a good future, yet, he hadn’t been able to handle the stress of Richards Industries combined with the nightmares.
Maybe it was time just do a lot of nothing. Maybe if he just took some time to relax, he’d be able to get his head on straight, get some much-needed sleep, and in a few months, figure out his next step.
The past twelve months had taken a lot out of him, and maybe his dreams had simply been telling him that it was time to rest, to do what he wanted when he wanted.
“So, what do you want to do?” he asked his reflection as he unbuttoned his shirt. “You’re not depressed, and the jury’s still out on whether you’re losing your mind. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find that sanity that’s been lacking lately. You don’t have anywhere to be, no one to answer to. So, tell me, my brother, what are you going to do?”
Saint’s Grove.
The soft voice whispered in his ear and caressed the back of his neck as if a breeze had just blown through the bathroom, sending a chill down his spine.
He gasped and turned, gripping the doorframe as he glanced at the living room to his right and then at the bedroom to his left, fully expecting to see someone there in the apartment with him.
His heart thundered in his chest while the rest of his body seemed paralyzed. He listened closely for more voices, but after a few moments, none came. Unaware he’d been holding his breath, he exhaled heavily.
Perhaps he was losing his mind, now that he seemed to be hearing voices.
“This shit has to stop,” he muttered as he turned back to the mirror and grasped the edge of the sink again as he studied his reflection.
For some reason, it was almost as if someone were on the other side of the mirror, staring back at him. He opened the medicine cabinet, feeling foolish that he’d even had to verify he was alone in the bathroom. After closing the panel, he sat down on the edge of the tub and placed his head in his hands and shut his eyes as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Saint’s Grove. Now, that may not be a bad idea.
Since moving to Roanoke a year ago, he’d explored the area quite a bit during the little off time he’d had. About six months ago, he’d taken a car ride up through the Blue Ridge Mountains and had found a quiet little town named Saint’s Grove. It had looked like something out of a movie with its Victorian buildings, the shops lining the town square, the friendly people. The town had been steeped in urban legends—everything from a pack of werewolves living in the forests to witches living among the residents. While there, he’d always been able to find someone more than willing to share them at the Mountaintop Bar and Grill, especially if he bought them a beer.
Maybe he just needed to take a visit to the small town nestled up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, relax, and spend some time there. Maybe a vacation was all that he required to get his brain functioning on all cylinders.
He stood and moved back in front of the mirror. The feeling of unease had passed, and he took a deep breath. Yeah, he just needed to get out of town for a few days. A change of environment would be good for him, and he’d always wanted to spend more time in the small, mountaintop town.
“Okay,” he said to his reflection. “Saint’s Grove, it is. Let’s go pack.”
As he strode into his bedroom and pulled out his suitcase, satisfaction he’d made a good choice filled him. It was a step in getting him out of this constant stress.
Yeah, he probably just needed a vacation. He’d head up to Saint’s Grove, spend some time in town, and maybe even do a little camping, even though he’d never been. Growing up a city boy in Chicago, the opportunity had never presented itself.
Afterward, when he’d grown tired of fresh air, trees, and friendly people, he’d come back to Roanoke, and with his credentials, he’d have no trouble finding another job.
2
“Did you finally contact him?”
Tirvu pressed on the thin barrier that separated her worldly dimension from Eorricris, or Eric, as he called himself in his current lifetime. The film moved, as if made of a clear, rubbery substance, but no matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to break through. It was the barricade that kept her world separated from all the other dimensions in the universe.
“No,” she murmured as she looked at Eric.
Sometimes, she wondered if he could see her, especially in times like this when he stared at himself in the mirror. When he leaned in to study his own reflection, she saw every detail of his dark and handsome face, his lips close enough to kiss, the longing to reach out and caress his cheek overwhelming.
“However, I do believe on some level of his consciousness, he hears me.”
“I hope so,” the Grand Dragon said. “This war must end, and he’s the only one who can make it so.”
She turned to him, fisting her hands at her sides and gritting her te
eth. After centuries of attempting to communicate with the one male who could save her race, she didn’t need to be reminded of her failure and the unending fighting it had produced among the races in her realm.
In his human form, the Grand Dragon of the Forest stood almost seven feet tall, his pale skin a pearl color, similar to hers. His long, white hair hung to his wide shoulders, his blue eyes shaded in worry. He wore a simple black loincloth covering his sex to allow for easy shifting into his dragon form.
The Grand Dragon placed his hand on her shoulder, his sharp features softening. No matter how hard she tried to hide her fury, it must have been evident on her face.
“I appreciate your heroic efforts on and off the battlefield, Tirvu. Please forgive me if it doesn’t seem as though I do.”
She bowed her head and turned back to the barrier, the vision of Eric now gone.
They stood in the Grand Dragon’s home, a castle made of crystals and marble, and the only place in their realm where they had access to the film separating their world from the others.
“Tirvu, do you think he’ll be in place by the time the Event begins?”
She turned back to her leader. “I do not know, my lord. I’ve done all I can to entice him up to the small town in the human world, Saint’s Grove. With great effort, I have entered his dreams and tried to show him what is at stake if we are not able to reach him. I have shown him the war. I don’t know what else I can do.”
The fighting had been raging for just over three hundred years, since the time the Moonstone had disappeared. Her people believed the rock housed the heart of their creators, Bighor and Cormun. When it had gone missing, the two factions—the Protectors of the Sky and the Protectors of the Forest—that had lived peacefully for eons had turned on each other, each one blaming the other for the lost relic.
However, she’d been there when it had vanished, and she knew the truth. No matter how many times she’d told the story, it fell on deaf ears. If someone would listen, the fighting would stop. However, most in her realm wanted action, not words.
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