Henchgirl (Dakota Kekoa Book 1)

by Rita Stradling

  “Why are we going in this way?” I asked, confused.

  Glacier did not answer, just punched his code into the security pad and we entered through the side entrances of my grandfather’s house.

  The side entrance was only used by staff and was one of two entrances that connected to the first floor. Technically, according to my grandfather’s rules, we were not allowed on the first floor, which was for house-staff use only.

  We walked up the staff stairway and came into the main part of the house through an inner hallway used by the cleaning and security staff to get around without being seen.

  The main area of my grandfather’s house was made up of three enormous rooms; we had entered the hearth room. It was the size of a gymnasium and filled with identical black leather couches that clustered in threes evenly spaced throughout the room. The room connected through huge doorways on one side to the reception area, and on the other side to a dining area that was large enough to hold my entire family.

  Everything in the hearth room’s design was utilitarian and functional; the ceilings were forty-feet high but only to accommodate the scalier forms of his full-dragon guests. The gems from his hoard, displayed in recesses along the walls, were of sufficient quality to be respectable, yet not ostentatious enough to inspire theft; though my grandfather might have to watch his gems around Wyvern’s sticky fingers.

  The only art displayed on the clean metallic walls was a giant portrait of my great-grandfather Pax in dragon form.

  “Hey big guy,” I said, patting the frame as we passed.

  My great-grandfather’s brown scales and eyes gleamed with a reddish light as he smiled at the artist. The gleam in his eye and his calculating and mischievous smile made it easy to believe that this dragon was the one named the ‘King of Trickery.’

  Though he was lesser royalty, his head crest was painted with great detail and his head was bent to clearly display the full crest.

  When I thought about it, my great-grandfather’s head crest had nothing on Wyvern’s; Wyvern’s dragon form had had a very distinct and large bone-crown.

  We walked down the length of the hall to the room’s other aesthetically pleasing feature, though truly it was as functional as everything else. On one side of the hall was a fireplace the size of my room that was always lit. Right now it had a bonfire going.

  My grandfather stood a few feet away from it, silhouetted by the fire.

  I paused, blinking my eyes, taking a second to let my gaze adjust to the light and my senses adjust to my grandfather’s soul. I let the group meet him without me.

  “Bradson, Clara, Dakota, thank you for coming,” my grandfather said formally to Glacier, Clara and me. Thank the Gods his looks had returned to normal and he had digested all of the rage that I had force fed him.

  “Thank you for inviting us to dinner, grandfather,” Clara said.

  “You look very beautiful tonight, Clara. I want to let you know that I invited Ashley, your half-sister, to dine with us tonight.”

  “Great,” I said under my breath as I walked up to meet the group standing around the fire.

  “Is Ashley here?” Clara said, her voice only showing the faintest trace of anxiety.

  “Her and her adopted mother, your aunt Glenda should be arriving any minute,” my grandfather said.

  “Glenda and Ashley?” I said, and then started choking on my own spit. I did not mean to, but I ended up hacking and coughing uncontrollably into my arm.

  My grandfather patted my back.

  Other than coughing my throat out, I felt wonderful standing there next to the fireplace. Being close to a fire for a dracon, was like hooking up to an IV when you’re dangerously dehydrated.

  My grandfather’s arm wrapped around my shoulders as he said, “Glenda keeps asking about training you, Dakota; how does that sound to you?”

  I leaned into his embrace. “Like a fate worse than death,” I said.

  He squeezed my shoulder. “Perhaps…” he said while giving me a meaningful look, “…I can talk her out of it. However, your repeated disobedience is freeing up so much of your time and she is determined to make a lady out of you.”

  Glacier’s soul crackled with amusement.

  “Why is that so funny?” I asked Glacier, indignant.

  To my amazement, Clara started to giggle as well with a hand covering her mouth.

  “Really?” I said. “Really?”

  “This is what I was referring to, father,” A high-pitched voice said from far behind us. “Coddling Dakota is only making her manner rougher and less attractive than it already is.”

  Turning, I saw Glenda and Ashley approaching briskly, but not so fast as to be unladylike. A few people insist that my cousin Ashley was as stunning as my sister Clara, I never saw it. Yes, I’m incredibly biased, but Ashley’s face always seemed too perfect to me, almost sterile, like a doll, nice enough, but uninteresting. The salmon-colored dress she wore showcased her perfect figure while at the same time it was modest and conservative.

  Glenda’s spindly soul wound its way into our little pow-wow. Glenda smiled around at each of us in turn. “Father, Bradson, Clara, Dakota.”

  “Grandfather, Uncle, Clara, Dakota,” Ashley said, preening like knowing her own family members’ names was something special.

  I never understood this formal thing we did in our family. I had known these people since birth; did we all really need to go around saying each other’s names formally?

  “Daughter, Ashley,” grandfather acknowledged with a nod.

  “Glenda, Ashley,” Glacier said.

  “Aunt Glenda, Ashley,” Clara said.

  “Heya Aunt, cuz,” I said with a salute.

  My grandfather gave my shoulder a tighter squeeze and shook his head, though a small smile played at the corner of his mouth.

  Clearing my throat, I said, “I mean, Aunt Glenda, Ashley.”

  “What three beautiful granddaughters I have,” grandfather said, “It is no surprise, though, since you three share the same father, my son Lorien.”

  I blinked furiously and both Clara and Ashley’s gaze skipped to me for a second, but none of us gave any other sign that grandfather had just given me a new father.

  “If questions about your father arises, please just say that Lorien is a highly valued member of our family and is often away on business.”

  Yeah, sure, half my aunts across the island chains were foster-parenting Lorien’s ‘business.’

  All three of us nodded our understanding.

  “Then we will wait for our guests in the reception hall.” My grandfather guided me along with him. The moment we stepped from the flames, I felt the fire’s loss.

  My grandfather dropped his arm from around my back but offered it to me in the old fashioned gentleman way; when I looped my arm through his, he led me ahead of the crowd. “Bobby called to say you had an update for me; did you succeed with Keanu Hale now that you had more access?” he asked.

  “I did have a success, but not with uncoiling him or any of what we talked about last time,” I said, “Actually, I really wanted to talk to you about that assignment… just so much has happened. Can human’s water-ward their souls?”

  He stayed silent as we walked forward slowly.

  I clarified, “I don’t know how to describe it exactly…it was not external like a witch’s wards. It was as if his soul, itself was a water ward. I could not pull any of him into me, and when I tried to enter him I passed out, as if I had actually hit a water ward.”

  “That is very interesting,” my grandfather said.

  I whispered, “And I was remembering what…what happened, when my aspect first manifested, Senator Hale’s soul had felt like a waterfall…”

  “This is something we will definitely have to take into consideration,” my grandfather said, “For now, I will have you back off from manipulating the boy’s emotions. Even from experimenting, passing out in his presence will leave you too vulnerable. I will look into this matt
er. And the update?”

  “We copied Senator Hale’s security recordings at least from his office, maybe his whole house.”

  “The destroyed house,” he said.

  “Yes, but not the destroyed office,” I said, “He may still use his office.”

  “We will find a use for your intelligence, I am sure,” my grandfather said, tapping my hand. “You know that the way I acted last night was not the way I felt,” he said, not a question.

  “I get it,” I said, blinking back the stupid tears that formed in my eyes, “I mean, I did not get it then, but I figured it out since then.”

  “Good,” he said as we stepped into the entrance hall. “We will have to send a very different message tonight.” He gave me a kiss on my forehead. “Go take your place with your sisters.”

  I walked back to where Clara and Ashley stood behind Aunt Glenda who stood behind Uncle Glacier.

  “You both stand behind me,” Ashley said with a cordial smile.

  Which was total bull, the only reason I would ever stand behind Ashley would be to kick her in the butt.

  Ashley sighed when I did not follow Clara, who had obediently stepped behind her. Ashley whispered, “It’s grandfather’s orders.”

  Even though I doubted Ashley was telling the truth, I went and stood behind her with Clara between us. Standing all in a row, I could guess what we looked like. Ashley and Clara could be twins; their similarities to each other overshadowed any similarity I had to Clara. They looked like two tall, voluptuous porcelain dolls, while I was shorter, slighter and much darker. They both looked like New Anglo Mainlanders while my features were much more Mabiian.

  If Lorien stood next to us, no one would believe that he was my father. If Lorien had been my father, I would be entirely of New Anglo Mainlander descent; while I was mostly from New Anglo Mainlander descent, the thought of denying my true father and his heritage made me supremely uncomfortable.

  Ashley whispered back to me, “Can you please try not to embarrass us tonight, Dakota?”

  “Ashley,” Clara said, “That is not very nice.”

  “Don’t worry, Ashley, I’ll make sure to be the life of the party,” I whispered, “I’ll even put in a good word for you with our guests.”

  “Oh, please don’t,” Ashley whispered back, sounding genuinely afraid. It warmed my heart. “It would be better if you just did not talk to our guests at all.”

  “But what if they talk to me?” I asked, trying to sound perplexed, “It would be rude not to respond…”

  I felt a sudden pulse of tension from her soul. Even though she inherited two aspects, Ashley’s soul was only a little denser than the average one-eighth blood dracon. She was really not as special or as powerful as everyone thought she was.

  The bones of my elbow ground together for one excruciating second. I could not help gasping during the throbbing pain, but I clamped my mouth shut after so I would not yell at my stupid cousin.

  She turned, giving me a little smile, “Just do your best to behave Dakota; some of us don’t want to be stuck in Mabi for the rest of our lives.”

  If Clara wasn’t between us, I might have smacked Ashley. As it was, I just gritted out, “When I get home, I am going to find that friendship bracelet you spent eight days on when you were nine and burn it.” I said it despite knowing she did not care. It just freaking hurt when she used her aspect to grind my bones together, and that was the first thing that came into my head.

  “Oh excuse me while I go cry,” Ashley said.

  “I hope you end up marrying a human,” I said then closed my eyes and held out my hand like I was seeing the future. “He will be human and he will be homeless and smell like urine—”

  “Stop talking,” Ashley snapped as the doors were opened by Susan, my grandfather’s butler.

  “Here you are,” Susan said formally as she ushered in Braiden McCormick, his sisters and Wyvern Manderson into the reception area. Susan gave me a little smile as she closed the doors behind the group; I would honestly rather go hang out with her than this crowd.

  Glenda facilitated the greeting and all three, my grandfather, Glacier and Glenda, lowered their heads a little deeper than necessary in greeting them.

  I realized that I had never actually met Braiden McCormick’s sisters, but everyone must have assumed I had, as they did not do any introductions.

  When the group came to greet Ashley, Ashley greeted, “Braiden, Cordelia, Jezebel, Mr. Manderson,” before giving a bow.

  I could not stop my eyes from rolling; why in all the hells was she bowing to them?

  With the same greeting, my sister bowed to the group too. They weren’t bowing to her, why should she bow to them?

  I did not get it and I was not going to bow to anyone. I mean, what could they do? Cry for my head on a platter?

  “Hello,” I said to the group when all their gazes landed on me. I raised a hand in a half wave. “How’s it going?”

  Braiden McCormick smiled wide and said, “We’re all very well, Dakota. How are you?”

  “Honestly, barely standing I’m so tired, but otherwise, good,” I said.

  “Well, let me offer you my arm, then,” Braiden said kindly.

  Wyvern placed a hand on Braiden’s shoulder, “Let me, friend,” he said.

  Braiden smiled wide at Wyvern saying, “Yes, go ahead.”

  Wyvern looked like a million bucks, literally. He was dressed in a suit that was made of smooth lines and the perfect shade of gunmetal. The smooth lines of his suit seemed to complement the sharp angles of his face. He wore a tie and a collared shirt that only added to how absolutely sleek he looked. He offered me his arm.

  “I would, but I think wrinkling that suit is a capital offense in some countries,” I said.

  “I won’t prosecute,” he deadpanned, “This once.”

  I hesitated for another second before I took his arm. Wyvern silently followed my grandfather and led me into the dining room.

  Unlike humans, if dracons were serving dinner, they went straight to dinner. By nature, we were a hungry bunch, and we did not muck about. We walked down a hall that was a direct route to the enormous dining room. However, unlike all the other times that I had dined here for parties and holidays, we were led directly to the dais that had been closed off with what I guessed was a sliding wall.

  It made me wonder if this was how the dining area usually looked. I had never actually dined formally with my grandfather other than big occasions. Usually we would go grab pizza or subs out. I knew that some of my female cousins did go to dinners with guests this way. Clara had been invited to go to formal dinners like this more than once.

  The dining room was as functional and block-like as the rest of the house. Basically, it looked more like a boardroom than a dining area. We walked along the table which was a long and wide slab of black glass held up with metal legs.

  Wyvern and I stopped next to where my grandfather always sat at the head of the table. “We need to talk,” he whispered, “Tonight.” Wyvern pulled out a chair letting go of my arm.

  “I—”

  “Dakota, you are here,” Ashley said in a polite voice, though her smile was tense. She pointed to a chair furthest from the head of the table that I had already passed while walking with Wyvern.

  Across the table, my aunt Glenda shot Ashley a look that she usually reserved for me or Lorelei, filled with furious disapproval.

  Wyvern’s eyes narrowed at Ashley as everyone grew silent.

  I seriously doubted Ashley meant her comment to insult Wyvern by questioning his right to choose my seat; she probably just wanted me away from the people she hoped to impress. Unfortunately for her though, he looked like he was taking offense.

  Wyvern stood straight and stared directly at my cousin. “Dakota sits here,” he said.

  As if this situation wasn’t uncomfortable enough, everyone turned and looked at me.

  Ashley bowed low to Wyvern. “I apologize, Mr. Manderson; you can have whateve
r you want.”

  Well, I wouldn’t go that far. And seriously, what was with all the bowing?

  “If no one objects, I will take Dakota’s seat,” Braiden said, smiling and taking my seat which I noticed had been next to Clara’s.

  My grandfather’s gaze connected with mine as I sat down on his left. Coincidentally, this was actually where I usually sat at events and holidays. It had been my father’s seat too, before he died. Even though I was only eleven when my father died, my grandfather had told me to take his chair, instead of moving another one of my uncle’s into my father’s place. It must have been how tiny and ridiculous I looked in that big blocky chair, that had Glacier’s and Bobby’s souls crackling with amusement rather than resentment at the snub.

  I probably still looked tiny and ridiculous in the giant chair, whereas the chair barely seemed to fit Wyvern. The guy was huge.

  I turned to him, “Not that I am defending Ashley, because she is one of my least favorite people in the world, however, it wasn’t you she was trying to insult. She’s just terrified I’m going to say something to embarrass the family.”

  “Do you do that often?” he asked, with a tiny grin.

  “Apparently,” I said and shrugged. “They don’t usually bring me out to entertain guests.”

  He leaned in, whispering, “Well, I’m entertained.”

  “Tell me what I’m doing and I’ll be sure to stop it,” I whispered back and for some reason I had to fight a smile as I said it.

  It was amazing, Wyvern and I had spent more than five minutes together and I had not wanted to shoot him once.

  As if my grandfather read my thought, a pulse of emotions emitted from him, too many to isolate them from each other. I could tell, though, he was not happy. My grandfather turned away from me and Wyvern to make polite conversation with Cordelia or Jezebel, I still did not know which one was which.

  Seated on Wyvern’s other side, Glacier was also roiling with a tension that I did not want to sense. This was one of those rare occasions that I wanted to wear my dampener even though I was not required to.