Slowly, he released her mouth and stared down into her eyes. He brushed his lips against hers. “Did I kiss you like that?”
“No… yes… I don’t remember. You were stingy with kisses.”
“Then it wasn’t me. I love kissing you,” he said, and did it again. Beth accepted him eagerly, opening for him. But it was he who controlled it, and he who ended it long before she was ready, smiling against her lips. “I could fly with you forever. Sunk deep inside your body, pleasuring you over and over… would you like that?”
“A flying fuck?” she said on a shaky laugh.
“It’s the best kind.”
She tangled her fingers in the short hairs at the back of his neck, and reached up for his mouth. “Then what are you waiting for?”
His arms tightened. For the first time his cock moved deliberately, sliding against her, thrusting until it found the hot dampness of her pussy, and there he stilled it once more. His forehead touched hers.
“For truth and love,” he said with the ghost of a laugh. “Or at least true lust. Look down. You’ve conquered your fear of flying.”
It was true she had been far too caught up with lust and longing to pay any attention to her surroundings, but as she looked down now, she felt a rush not of fear, but of wild excitement, like being swung round by her father when she was a child, only with a far more spectacular view.
In the pale, orange light of the new dawn, she could see a whole range of hills and valleys stretching out below. The air rushed past her, catching her breath while the warmth of his body invaded hers, making her secure.
She smiled. “So I have.”
His wings stilled, taking them into a swooping dive. She clung to him, not because she was afraid, just because she liked it.
“And here is my home, the Kingdom of the Dragul.”
Chapter Four
She didn’t see it at first. It looked just like some misshapen hills in strange formations, but then they seemed to come into focus and she realized she was looking at a village, a city, of huge, spacious houses roofed with shrubs or grass, of gardens filled with bright-colored flowers, and walking among them, lots of beings like Aurel, tall and winged and graceful. Other figures, wings spread in flight, dotted the more distant sky.
Beth drank it all in, the strangeness of the community lay-out, the sheer numbers of Aurel’s people -- too many for one mutant human species… And the last of her doubts melted away.
“My God,” she whispered. “You really aren’t mutants, are you?” She dragged her eyes back to him with fresh wonder.
He said, “Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters. It’s… astounding!” She drew in her breath. “Who are your people, Aurel, where did they come from?”
His lip curled slightly. And for the first time in her presence, he spoke with his mouth, intoning the words in a deep, impressive voice that carried through the wind as clearly as a bell. “In the beginning, when the world was young and magical, the Dragul ruled with justice and wisdom. The many species of the Earth honored them for their power, their tolerance and their oneness with all Creation. For the Dragul lived not off the lives of other creatures, but on energy -- on fast flowing streams, rushing air, warm, pumping blood. Nothing died to give them life, and they alone of the Earth’s dwellers did not die.
“But when men came to dominance, the magic faded, the Dragul were feared, hunted and dishonored. And so they took themselves below the Earth, depriving men of their magic and their wisdom. While men strived for power through violence and science, the Dragul lived peacefully below, taking their nourishment from underground streams and energies, adapting to life without sun and learning constantly about the workings of the Earth.
“Only when men began to destroy the world itself were the Dragul disturbed. Huge explosions disrupted their home and humans began to retreat into the Earth’s depths to hide and to fight.
“Some of the Dragul grew curious about the world above once more, and one tribe, led by the great King Vasil, emerged from below the mountains and found the land deserted. While war raged and poisoned darkness blocked out the sun, Vasil’s Dragul built their own kingdom among the dark hills and glens, and they healed the land…”
She wanted to touch his lips, feel them moving as he spoke, but suddenly she was overwhelmed again. His voice was the voice that spoke so beguilingly in her head, but now his tone was awesome, authoritative, like a highly respected teacher, or parent.
She said, “You sound like a book.”
His eyes came back to her. “I am a book. Several books. That was from The Shortened and Abridged Overview of the History of the Dragul.”
“Snappy title.”
Unexpectedly, the laughter came back to his eyes. The awesome moment appeared to be over.
“You will be good for my people,” he observed. He banked his wings, making her stomach lurch as they descended. She couldn’t help clinging to him, but the gut-wrenching fear seemed to have vanished. Though she might have closed her eyes as the land rushed up to meet them, it was done more from habit. For some reason she trusted the alien being who held her.
He brought her in to land in the middle of the settlement -- a light, easy landing that encouraged her to open her eyes.
Under her feet the ground was spongy. It seemed to be a sort of wide grassy road, or square. Certainly, Dragul passed up and down it, swerving to give them space, but bowing quaintly to them as they passed. Their eyes flickered over Beth, alight with curiosity and astonishment -- no doubt mirroring her own -- but they never stopped to speak.
Most of them wore similar garments to Aurel’s, some in bright or dark colors, other in skin tones. No one else wore black.
Beth felt a little snap, as the cord binding her to Aurel was broken. Weirdly, she felt bereft, even after he took her hand.
“Come.”
He led her across the grassy square toward the enormous building at the head of it. It was made of stone, with beautifully carved ornamentation -- a lot of dragons, other less mythical animals and Celtic-type interweaving circles.
The front was huge, but as she grew closer, she saw that the building couldn’t be very deep since it backed into the hill behind.
“Where are we going?” she asked at last.
“To introduce you to the king.”
She glanced up at him. “It crossed my mind that you were the king -- Keeper of the Law and all that.”
He shrugged. “Different jobs. Vasil is king.”
“The same Vasil you spoke of before? Then you really never die?”
“I wouldn’t say never. For centuries it has been a matter of choice. Vasil is young and powerful. He has no reason to die.”
“Do you?” she asked curiously. She wasn’t quite sure where the question came from, but it earned her a rare, all too brief glimpse into his mind as his control slipped. He retrieved it almost instantaneously, but she was left with an impression of grief and loss, and a woman.
For the first time, she thought of him as part of a family. A son, a husband, a father. He had implied Rad was not his son, but that didn’t mean he had no other children. She had no idea what social and sexual customs prevailed here, but they weren’t necessarily monogamous. She had to learn not to be so influenced by her parents’ exclusive relationship that she was blind to alternatives.
And dear God what had she been thinking of to flirt with this Dragul? To kiss him, and even to invite him to have sex with her! Her whole body flushed with new embarrassment. What had got into her? And how would she face Aurel’s mate?
“We are going to meet the king,” Aurel repeated gently, “not my family.”
“Will you stop doing that?” she exclaimed.
He laughed aloud as they passed inside the building into a huge, open hall that stretched high into several glass domes, allowing light to spill down from several angles. The floor was stone, with some brightly woven carpets scattered throughout. There were polished wooden tables an
d chairs covered in colorful, embroidered cushions, tall, vivid vases full of flowers, elegantly carved statues -- again dragons and animals were prominent -- and in the centre of the room, a stone fountain gurgling and rushing.
It was beautiful, yet totally empty, save for the one Dragul hurrying toward them, his wings flapping slightly as he ran.
“No matter,” said Aurel casually. “We’ll go in anyway.”
“What?” Beth looked from the flapping Dragul to Aurel. “Did he say something?”
“He said the king isn’t up yet.”
“Why couldn’t I hear him?”
“He was talking to me.”
“You’re going to beard the king in his bed?” Beth asked, trotting to keep up with Aurel’s strides across the hall. The unhappy Dragul trotted too, apparently trying to remonstrate further, for Aurel suddenly looked at him directly, and at once, he stopped. Beth couldn’t hear what Aurel said to him, but it made the other Dragul drop his eyes submissively and stand back.
Aurel swept on, leading her by the hand, past the fountain and on through the open archway at the back of the hall. Now they were in a lower hallway, with rougher cut walls, leading to a stone spiral staircase with a beautifully curved and ornamented banister. The steps were covered in a thick red carpet. Without pause, Aurel led her up the steps. All the light here was from open flame torches.
“Are we inside the hill?” Beth asked, awed.
“Yes.”
The room at the top of the stairs was full of natural light. The sun shone directly in the huge window, dazzling Beth, reminding her of the apartment she’d grown up in, surrounded by glass at the top of a rare, surviving tower block. She had liked the windows, the light and the sky. She just never went near enough them to look down at the ground…
“Wasting the day, Vasil?” Aurel said jovially inside her head, and belatedly, Beth became aware of the room’s other occupant. Seated on a stool by something that resembled a very strangely shaped harp, a dark young man appeared to be mending a string.
He didn’t look up as he said with his mouth, “Good morning to you too, Aurel.” A moment later, the string fastened to his satisfaction, he glanced up directly at Beth. “And to you. You are welcome in the Dragul Kingdom.”
Like Aurel he was ridiculously handsome, but his beauty was very different, dark, brooding.
Aurel said nothing. Yet Beth had the impression he was slightly piqued that the king was already aware of his prize visitor.
The king rose to his feet, clad in a plain, dark red garment, and came toward them.
“Vasil, King of the Dragul,” Aurel said casually. He leaned back against the wall and folded his arms. “Vasil, Beth, a scientist from the famous City of the Damned -- daughter, if I’m not mistaken, of the so-called vampire Max, who first broke up the cloud.”
Beth swung back to him in surprise. How do you know that?
Aurel smiled amiably, but there was no time for more, because the king had taken her hand and was bowing over it like in the ancient films she’d seen as a child in her Uncle David’s house. Wildly, she wondered if she were meant to curtsey or something, and the very thought of trying brought back the hysterical laughter.
“It’s not necessary,” said the king, again speaking with his mouth. His dark eyes held tolerant amusement. He turned to Aurel. “So, you rejected Plan A in favour of Plan B, which is…?”
“To show our guest the Kingdom, and let her see our right to existence here.”
Beth protested, “I don’t deny your right to existence here! If I deny anything, it’s that you cannot co-exist with other species. If we manage it in the City, I don’t see why you can’t!”
“The world is bigger than your city,” Vasil said regretfully. “And understand, we speak from experience.”
“So do I!”
Behind her, she felt Aurel’s breath of laughter. In the king’s eyes, amusement began to replace surprise. “I respect your experience,” he said gravely.
“In a superior Dragul sort of a way?”
The king’s gaze flew to Aurel, and Beth, who felt slightly ashamed of acting like a defiant teenager, said more placatingly, “Look, I don’t mean to be rude. I really do respect everyone’s right to live in their own way -- I came with an open mind, but I hope you have the same.”
Vasil smiled slightly. He said to Aurel, “How did you know?”
“I sensed it. And I watched her.”
The king’s gaze returned to her as he inclined his head. “Respect, and open-mindedness, is mutual.”
“Thank you,” said Beth weakly, feeling a little as if the wind had been taken out of her sails.
“Spend the day with us. Aurel can show you and tell you everything about the Dragul. And in the evening, I hope you will join us here for my birthday celebration. Understand that Aurel will return you to your people whenever you wish.”
* * *
“How do you know about my father?”
Though many questions were bursting from her, this one spilled out first as they left the palace. He no longer held her hand.
“I watch beyond the boundaries of the Kingdom when I think it necessary.” He glanced at her, then added ruefully, “And when I simply want to. I have a restless spirit for a Dragul.”
Something in her leapt to meet that confidence. She too had a restless spirit -- always seeking, never satisfied. Who had told her that? An old lover as he’d left her for someone more predictable. She had been hurt, not sorry…
Hastily reining in her wandering thoughts, she said curiously, “And during one of your travels you met my father?” How curious he never mentioned a being like you… or any being living out here!
“Not exactly met,” Aurel said cautiously. “I watched the activity from a distance as they repaired the space elevator. I saw the man, the vampire, who went up in it and made the first hole in the cloud. I admire human ingenuity… though all too often it concentrates on destruction. Like yours, the vampire’s mind was open to telepathy. I learned enough to know his name, his home and his motives.”
Beth nodded slowly. They were back in the grassy square. Aurel began to stride across it, veering left toward another grassy street. How did it stay like that? Why wasn’t it mud? She opened her mouth to ask, then forced herself to stick to the point.
“But how did you connect me with my father? Did you read that from my mind?”
“Don’t be so hostile. I’m very honorable when it comes to prying. Everyone deserves some privacy. And between you and me, the less one pries, the more bearable a person is.”
She regarded him quizzically. “What a cynical old Dragul you are. You’re right of course. Beneath this amiable exterior lies a heart of corrupt and twisted evil. Where are we going?”
“To the beginning. Which happens to be my house.”
Her heart gave an unexpected lurch. Catching it, his eyes gleamed.
“Calm the fluttering of that corrupt and twisted heart, human. My mind is on education, not seduction, although I confess the latter would be a lot more fun. At least for me. My house is also the Place of Laws. An office and -- a library, I believe you would call it.”
Though not as big as Vasil’s palace, Aurel’s home appeared to be the second largest house in the settlement. They entered into a hall which, unlike the palace reception area, was teeming with activity. It was filled with wooden desks, at which sat busy young Dragul of both sexes. Others sat talking together.
To her surprise, they all rose and bowed. Accepting it with casual impatience, Aurel waved a seating motion with his hand and led her through the throng of curious eyes to an office beyond. Here, a sleek male Dragul, more mature in appearance than either Aurel or the king, rose to greet them.
It seemed he spoke too, for Aurel said impatiently, “Speak aloud, Avram, in courtesy to our guest. Beth, this is Avram, Assistant Keeper of the Laws. Avram, Beth, from the City. She has come to learn about our people, and I think some written words might help.”
In any case, Aurel brushed him off with a brisk, “No thanks. We’ll go down. Call if you need me.”
“I don’t envision that I shall,” said Avram.
“I know you don’t,” said Aurel sardonically, lifting the gossamer curtain that covered the archway beyond.
“Are you on horn-locking terms with everyone here?” Beth asked as Aurel led her down a bare, stone staircase.
“Avram? He thinks he should have my position because he’s older and better at it.”
“Is he?”
“He’s certainly older.”
“Then why did you get it? You’re not exactly bosom pals with the king either, are you?”
He cast her a quick, appraising glance. “You picked that up, did you? I got the position because it’s always been in my family, as the kingship has always been in Vasil’s. Even we respect tradition.”
“Even we? What do you mean by that?”
“It’s all down here…”
* * *
Some time later, she sat at a desk surrounded by beautifully colored and decorated scrolls made of some paper-like material. Aurel leaned over her shoulder, a little too close for comfort. But at least she understood a lot more about him.
Turning her eyes up to him, she said, “Your father chose to die rather than live any longer under the ground?”
“It was boring,” Aurel said briefly. “All very well to live in peace on our own, but not in dullness so all-consuming that our people chose to die rather than exist there any longer. We can live with very little air or food as you understand it, but some of us needed the sky, the freedom of above, to spread our wings, even if the world was torn by war and damaged by poison. So… we sought to come above. We found this place, and the king, the elders, refused to go. Vasil and I led… a rebellion, if you like.”
Dragul Dawn Page 4
