Dana

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I don’t understand. I know what you are, but I...you have sex with men, correct?” Ferne explained to Opal what she did. “Ah. I wondered if a man’s wet dream was indeed your kind. All this time, they blamed it on thoughts. It was you. Ha! I love it.” “I have been around for centuries, having men succumb to my wildest dreams. Making men do as I wished, when I wanted. But the last days here, with this new master, I am the happiest I have ever been. I have a purpose for the first time in my life.” Dana thanked her. “Nay, my lord, it is I who thanks you.” She stood up then. “I must leave. It is very taxing, and I should like to rest. Call to me when you need me.” She moved to him and was gone. He could feel her climbing her way to his back, and wondered briefly why she didn’t just go there in the first place. She told him she must enter where a man thinks, then laughed at him when he felt his body heat in embarrassment. The rest of the time was spent on the plan. It would work; they just had to make sure that at some point, Melville went beyond just harassing them to breaking the law. Once that happened, he could be brought in for questioning on other things like the death of the woman, because his DNA would then be in question. Sapphire joined them about the time they were sitting down to breakfast. “I’ve got some news on the new greenhouse. There are several that have gone under in the last years and we can buy all their supplies, and this is a quote, so we can have it to sell it to the next person when we go under. Bastard.” Em asked what sort of things they were doing now. Dana had forgotten how much they’d missed. “The new greenhouse, Dragon’s Breath of Fresh Air, is a project that will help with the gardens. And will employ a lot of people. I mean, fifty of them when not busy, then during planting season, more for growing things. I have everything written down so that you’d not miss a thing.” After explaining that, Sapphire went to their room to get her notes. As she went over them—had it only been a few days?—the women were brought up to date on all the goings on with Mel and his non-father. Dana thought of his plan. He had a feeling that not only would his plan work, but it would make the man a little on the insane side as well. Not having a home or food would make him a little nutty too. Well, nuttier. As the other women went to see their new homes and to start on the plan, Sapphire sat down with him. She looked so beautiful that, unable to help himself, he pulled her into his lap for a deep and wonderfully sexy kiss. Sapphire smiled at him when she lifted her head from his. “I love you so very much.” He told her that he loved her as well. “But you’re keeping me from my work. I have to go out today, as do the others. And you must work on your faerie home.” “That’s it.” He nearly dropped her on the floor when he stood up. “Faerie Home. That’s the name of the piece. I couldn’t get beyond calling it the log project. But I love Faerie Home.” He wanted to go right down and work on it. He had so many ideas for it running through his head that he was nearly to the stairs when he came back and kissed Sapphire again. “You’re the very best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you. Faerie Home. Perfect.”

  Chapter 8

  Ruby walked along the sidewalk, continually getting distracted by the pretties in the shop windows. She so loved new clothes and the feel of silk on her body that she kept forgetting to keep an eye out for the man who was trying to hurt them. Her job today was to be out and about dressed as her sister Em. The green did look good on her, and she loved her hair. When she’d made it all green as her sister did, she didn’t much care for it and had streaked some red in it just for show. Now she was glad that she had. She looked fabulous. Then she saw the man coming from across the street. She was supposed to talk to him, but she had a better plan in mind. Not that she’d use her plan because she didn’t want to get hurt. As Wrinkle, her little puppy, barked, she knew that he’d seen him as well. Wrinkle was a large three headed jackal, and one that she loved a great deal. And while Wrinkle didn’t care for the tiny pink bow in his hair, it was expected, so he tolerated it from her. “Hello.” She nodded to the man. Mr. Melville James wasn’t one to mess with at the moment. “I was just looking for you. You and your sister, you’ve been hiding out from me.” “Have we? I wasn’t aware that I even knew you. May I ask your name?” He told her. “Ah, then we have nothing to say to each other. And you’re not looking for me, but for my sister, Em. I’m Ruby.” “But you’re wearing green and— You said your name is Ruby? Then there are three of you?” “No, just the one, me. What is it you think you want from me? Or from Em for that matter?” He told her he wanted the gems. “I have none now. I mean, once we hide them around the world, then we have none for a while. It’s like draining a pot that’s empty.” “I don’t understand.” So she used the analogy that Rette’s lovely wife had come up with. “Have you ever had the shits? Well, when you’re over that, you’re feeling pretty empty. Drained. That’s what I am. I’ve shitted out all my gems and I won’t have any more until later. Much later. Besides, what good would they do for you? You know that if you saturate the market with them, they’ll be pretty much worthless. Not that they aren’t that way now. No one uses real gems when the perfect man-made ones are so much better. Not to me, but to—” “Shut up.” She closed her mouth but smiled at him. “You talk a great deal, but don’t say anything that I want to hear.” “That much is obvious.” He glared at her but said nothing. “You’re the person that stole Mel away from his mother. She was so ill that day, did you know that? Having a baby while being a diabetic is hard, but harder still when someone comes along and slits your throat. Did you enjoy that? Killing that poor woman?” “Why is everyone so hung up on that? She was a druggie, not a diabetic. Don’t you think I could tell the difference?” She asked him if he thought he could, because to her, he couldn’t. “So you say. But I want you to come along with me. You’ll see I’m not demanding but asking you nicely, and if you talk to Lord Danburn, you can tell him that.” “Let me get this straight. You want me to come along with you quietly and then you’ll tie me up. You didn’t say that but it’s implied, wouldn’t you say?” He looked confused again, but she didn’t care at this point. “You’re going to drain me as much as you can with my gems, sell them off to the highest bidder, then you’ll start all over again when that is all gone. Oh, and I’m to tell Danburn, who I don’t think likes you, that you asked me nicely to come with you. And apparently, you think that’s enough.” “What is wrong with you? You jabber on and on, but you just aren’t saying that much.” He put out his elbow for her to take, like they were going on an outing or a date. “Come on then. We have work to do.” “No, you don’t want to hear what I have to say, that’s what it is. You’re a moron.” He told her there was no need for name calling. “You’re an idiot too. I’m not going with you. I don’t care how nicely you ask me.” “I just don’t understand you people.” She asked him what he didn’t understand. “You want things to go nicely for you, but when a man is nice, you’re all hot and mean. I need you to come along with me. Please. There now, I’ve been nice about it two times, and I think that’s about the last time too.” “Well, good. I’d hate to have to keep repeating myself to you. No, I’m not going with you. No, I’m not going to be your money maker. And hell no, I’m not going to be nice to you.” She looked over the man’s shoulder and saw Opal there. “You might want to try this crap on my sister.” When her sister smiled at Melville, she could see that it didn’t mean that she was happy to see him. Instead, she looked as if she might just murder him where he stood. But when he smiled back, Opal took a step back from him. She didn’t like people nearly as much as Ruby did. “Are you going to be cooperative with me?” She told him more than likely not, but what did he want. “I’m going to have me a sign made for you people. It’ll say, come with me, please, I want to get some gems from you for money. There now, does that explain what I want?” Opal looked at her. “Is he for real?” Ruby told her that he was. She realized that Opal was dressed all in red and it looked good on her. “You look beautiful. I think you should give red a chance. It really does bring out the opal color of your eyes. I wish I could have re
d eyes while out and about. I so love the way people shy away from me.” “They think you’re a demon. And that’s not good either. Remember that one time, oh about fifty years ago, when that maid threw holy water over you? He was screaming about possession and demons? I laughed so hard when you berated him for ruining your—” “I’m standing right here and waiting.” She’d actually forgotten about Melville. “Why don’t you ladies come along with me and you can talk about anything you want. Having rubies and emeralds will be just the thing for me.”

  “I don’t have emeralds. Neither does she.” Ruby started away as Opal did. He grabbed both their arms and started dragging them his way. “What the fuck are you doing?” “I’ve been trying to find a way to use that word too. I love it. So mean sounding, and you can also use it in a good way. Like ‘fuck me.’ Do you think there are other words like that?” Ruby told Opal that she did think there were a lot of them that meant two things, depending how you said them. “Like the word love. Have you noticed how people say that all the time? ‘Love ya.’ I don’t even know what that means. Ya. Is it a shortened version of ‘you’? It’s not even spelled the same. Is it an endearment? If so, why? There are—” “Jesus H. Christ, don’t you two ever shut the fuck up?” He looked at them both, and she could see all the niceties that he was showing were all gone now. “See, I used it too. Now, come with me or I’ll have to get rough with you. And shut that fucking dog up before I have to shoot it too.” Putting her puppy down to the ground, she called his name. In seconds Wrinkle grew to his normal size, and heads were sprouted from his shoulders. Her puppy was now her jackal. “Wrinkle, this man is going to rough us up. Do you have anything to say about that?” He spit fire at his feet, which had Melville jumping back from them. “Good boy. Now, why don’t you chase this nasty man back to his place? But no hurting him. Unless he tries to hurt you. Then you can kill him.” When they were running down the road, she laughed. This was the most fun she’d had in ages. Not to mention how much fun she was having being able to talk to her sister without arguing. Wanting to continue on this vein, she asked Opal to lunch. As they went towards the little restaurant that served the most divine meal called hot dogs, she told Opal that they needed to go out more. “I agree. It’s been too long since we’ve been able to have fun.” They had sat on the deck last night and watched the dragons flying through the sky. It had been so long since any of them had seen such a sight. Dana was a true gem diamond. His was smaller than the others, but still very large. His wings glistened, even in the moonlight, and stars seemed to reflect back at them when he dove around the sky. And when he was in that form, not only were his eyes an icy blue as the coldest ice, but he was also scarier. His dragon would only need to blow his fiery diamonds over someone before he could break them into a million colorful diamonds so that they’d never be found. And the really scariest part was, you would not necessarily die. Yes, you would be broken into tiny shards, but that didn’t kill you if you were an immortal. Opal was very lucky that he’d not hit her the day that he’d sprayed her with his breath. She was one of the creatures that would live through eternity as pieces of diamonds. Perhaps even as someone’s bauble. ~~~ The home was coming along nicely. He’d been working on it for several hours now, and the faeries were forming just the way he’d thought they would in his mind. And being able to cut the gems into thin slices was making it so that the wings that he had envisioned were perfect as well. Wrapping pewter around one of the slices of opal, he looked up when someone cleared their throat. Smiling at Carmine, he asked her what she thought of his art. “It’s very beautiful. Can I touch it?” He told her to be gentle, and when she put her finger to one of the many wings that he’d yet to attach to the small people, she smiled at him. “They’re warm, aren’t they?” “They are. I asked Sapphire about it, and she said it was because I was putting my heart into each piece. I’m having a good time with this. By the way, how did the tea go? I forgot to ask Hanson about it.” She grinned. “That good, huh? I know that Sebastian was excited to be able to go with you.” “He was so charming, my teacher called him. And when he sat at my feet, no one made fun of me or anything. One of them asked me why I’d brought him instead of my mom, and before he could say anything else, Sebastian told him to sit down and to be quiet because he was being rude. I think him talking freaked them out a little.” Dana said it had him the first time he’d heard Sebastian speak. “Yes, his voice is so deep.” “So, no one bothered you anymore after that?” She smiled and then giggled. He loved seeing her so happy. “I’m happy for you. I know that you were upset a little about what was going on.” “Grandma Elissa told me that I should just let it be like the waterfall in the back of their castle. Just let it roll off, because I’m more than they’ll ever be. But I was strong enough not to abuse my power when they hurt my feelings.” She giggled again. “She said she would have turned into her dragon and took them all out. But I did much better than she had. She’d not do that, would she?” “I don’t know, to be honest. When I was very young, I lost both my parents. They’d been cocky, I know that now. They tempted fate every time they showed themselves to humans. And even leaving behind a part of them, a few scales now and then, it wasn’t enough. So one night, whilst I slept in the castle with the servants, my parents decided to go for a long walk as humans. The men who attacked them had wanted them to shift after they were dead, thinking that was the way it worked since they were humans when they died. I guess they thought it would be a big deal for them, and a profitable one, for them to kill the dragons.” She told him she was sorry. “So am I. But when Elissa heard about their deaths, she came to get me and to take me back to their home to grow up. I had a grandmother, but she didn’t want me. Anyway, the very first night I was at her home, the very first night, Elissa went back to the town and burned the men’s houses down, right to the ground. There was no saving them from the heat of one so powerful as she is.” “Wow. She really did it.” He nodded at her, watching her face for her to be upset with the woman. “I loved her before, Uncle Dana, but knowing that she would do something like that for someone that she loves, I love her even more.” “Good. I was afraid you’d be scared of her.” Carmine told him never would she be afraid of her grandma. “Elissa is the best there is and loves with all her heart. You remember that.”

  “I will, I promise.” She wandered around the room and he watched her as he worked. There was more on her mind, and he decided that he’d just let her come to him about it. He wanted to slay.... Well, slay dragons for her, but she’d not allow him to do that. Not when someone as powerful as her could take care of herself. “The men are coming soon. But that’ll be all of them if they don’t find me.” “Do you think they will?” She said that they would. “Then what can we do to figure this out so that no one comes here again for you?” She shrugged, then told him what she thought. “I could kill them and the people that they work for. I don’t think that’ll stop them. People will want to know what happened to them.” He said that was for sure. “I don’t want to go to the lab. I hoped that the last guy would be all there was.” “Yes, honey, but the motion was set before you came here. And I bet that if your mom was here now, she’d tell you that she’s more than sorry that this is happening to you and your sister.” She nodded. “If it makes you feel any better, I can tell you about the time that I was captured.” “What happened? Was there blood and guts?” He looked at her, shocked. “I’m joking. I love saying stuff like that to you guys; you’re so funny when you think I’m serious.” “All right then, that’s enough frightening stuff for one day.” She begged him to tell her about being captured. “This was a very long time ago, you understand, and it was before there were computers or even phones in homes. A few houses had them—I did, but not everyone was as rich as I was. Understand?” “Yes. Dragons can make pretty gems out of tears, and you’re one of the ones that makes diamonds.” He said that was right, but few people knew that, Even back then. “I won’t tell anyone.” “I know that, honey. So anyway, I was
a very wealthy man living in my castle.” She asked him if he still had it. “Yes, it’s in Ireland. I’ll have to take you there someday. But we all have them. Danburn is the only one that I know that actually lives in his. But I digress. I was a wealthy man taking a moonlit stroll with a lovely lady. It was surprising to me that she was in on it. I guess her demur actions belied the fact that she was a money grubbing who—woman that had very few morals.” “She was a whore. I know the word, Uncle Dana.” He was embarrassed, and nearly cut his hand off with the glass cutter when she continued speaking. “I guess women had to do what they could to make ends meet. Even if they had to sleep around to do it.” “Yes, well...I’m not ready for you to know about sex.” She laughed at him. “Laugh if you will, but to me you will always be too young and too our little girl to be having sex. Even after you’re married, you can’t be having sex.” “Like that’s going to work.” He could see a little more of Hanson and Quinn in this kid all the time. “But you were taking a stroll in the moonlight.” “I was, with Bea. As we were turning the corner to head back to my home, these men, ruffians we called them back then, came out of nowhere and attacked. I should have noticed sooner that she wasn’t touched by them, but they hit me with a large club.” She was staring at him with rapt attention. “I was down and out for a few minutes, enough time for them to pick my pockets clean and to take my coin bag with diamonds in it. When I woke, I was very quiet and saw Bea counting out the money and diamonds for them. One for them, and two for her, she was telling them.” “You saw her working with them? What a terrible person. I hope you got her in the end.” He did, but he’d not tell her that part. He thought her bloodthirsty enough. “What happened next?” “She knew what I was. I don’t know how she figured it out, but since she knew what I was, she had me chained up. The iron was cutting into my legs so I shifted a little. Having the diamonds on my skin is why I was able to get away from them.” He put the little faerie in the small opening on the log he was working on. “Once I was free, they scattered to the four winds and I gave chase as my dragon. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made. They saw me; the entire town saw me as a dragon, and I was no longer safe to be there.” “How did they know it was you?” Dana told her that Bea had screamed out his name, just before she died. “You killed her, didn’t you? You had to do it, Uncle Dana. Like the people coming after me, if you don’t, then they think that they’ve won. I don’t want that any more than you did to become their captive.” “No, I don’t want that. But killing someone is very hard on your heart. Especially as young as yours is.” She nodded. “It’s true what they say about killing someone and their blood stains your hands forever. I have plenty of stains on my hands.” She took his hand in hers and looked it over. He was ready to tell her that it was an old saying when she looked him in the eyes. He saw her magic then. Like stars on the dark night, the magic twinkled in her eyes just like that. A twinkle. But a deadly one, he was sure. “What do you see when you look at your hands?” He said that’s not what he meant. “I know that. You were proving a point. So am I. What do you see when you look at your hands? Tell me.” “Years of scars from doing what I could to survive. All of them, all my scars, they have a story to tell as well. How I did it. Who was with me when it happened.” She asked him if he wanted to know what she saw. “I do, very much so.” “I see my Uncle Dana. A man who survived all these scars and the ones on your body that are larger and deeper in your flesh. I see hands of a man that has been helpful too. To a little girl that asks too many questions when he only wants to work. But you want to know what I see that is the most important of all?” He nodded. “I see your hands. I see them because you killed to still be here. You worked hard so as not to be a lazy man. I see all of you because you’re the nicest person I know, and you’d never harm anyone without needing to so that you could survive, to be here with me right now.” He hugged her to him, tightly, and wondered where the child had gotten to be so good at making people feel good about themselves. Kissing her on the top of her head, he pulled her back slightly and told her that he loved her. When she kissed him on the cheek, he felt as if he could take on the world with her beside him and come out not just on top, but as ruler as well. They talked about his project, and she wanted to figure out the price for him. It was fun watching her come up with a reasonable pay per hour for his work. To him it wasn’t work, but something he did to relax himself, to feel good about something that he was working on. “How much do you charge for my heart to be in each piece?” She said that was what made the piece so special, it was him in a nutshell. “Well, I don’t think anyone would care how much I hate to see each piece I do depart from my studio.” “I bet they would. I would. But then, I can see your heart on each piece you have in here. You give a little of yourself to everything you do.” He nodded as he shaved the sapphire for the wings of the next tiny faerie. “She’s going to love this, isn’t she? Aunt Sapphire. She’s going to love this piece so much. As much as I do.” “I hope someone likes it. It’s enough, I hope, to pay off this building and buy more supplies.” He had explained to her that he didn’t dip into his diamonds unless he really had to. Which thankfully, so far, he’d not had to. As the day wore on, they were having so much fun, he realized that they’d not had lunch and it was coming up on dinner, and he’d not heard from Sapphire all day. Reaching out to her, he realized that she was unconscious and that alarmed him more than anything. His mind went into overdrive thinking of all the things that could have happened to her.