The Pearl of the Dragon [The Triplet Mermen Trilogy]

by Casper Graham

  Baltic nodded. “That’s right. What are your other plans?”

  Caspian shrugged. “Aside from our magical ward, we really can’t do much of anything else. Just stay alert. Our water magic can both defend and attack. We can also use it to create a prison of pitch-black darkness similar to my ball of fire.”

  Drake clasped Caspian on the shoulder. “Balt and I will be careful. You need to watch out, too.”

  “I know. Thanks, guys, but don’t worry too much about me. I’ll be fine.”

  “Please remember that you aren’t invincible,” Baltic responded before heading toward the yoga studio and opening the door. “Anyway, I’m going to get ready for my first class now. I heard my students’ voices outside. They’re still a few feet away from our house, but the volume of their chattering must be really loud. I hope the neighbors won’t complain about them. Again.”

  Caspian snickered at Baltic. “You better remind them, baby bro.”

  Baltic gave him the middle-finger salute. “I will. Also, what will it take for you to stop addressing me as your baby brother?”

  Caspian stuck his tongue out at Baltic. Drake simply rolled both eyes at him and Baltic.

  “Balt, don’t get pissed off at Cas. The more annoyed you become, the more he will enjoy teasing you.”

  Caspian scoffed at Drake. “Don’t ruin my fun.”

  Drake ignored Caspian and made his way to the fortune-telling room across the hall from Baltic’s yoga studio. “I have no idea what you’re referring to. Have a great day, guys.”

  Caspian was about to retort when Drake shut the door in his face. He swiveled around, wanting to rant at Baltic, but his youngest brother winked at him before closing the door to the yoga studio, as well. He gritted his teeth in irritation.

  “You both suck!”

  Caspian stomped toward the stockroom where he stored all his potions and dried herbs, pretending he didn’t hear Baltic and Drake’s amused cackling from within their respective rooms. His stockroom was located right next to Drake’s fortune-telling room on one side of the first floor of the house while Baltic’s yoga studio took up all the space on the other side of the house. Baltic needed more space than him and Drake combined because his youngest brother had plenty of students doing yoga from morning until the late afternoon.

  Caspian entered the stockroom and stared at the shelves. He had tons of potions ready for his hordes of customers, but he was going to create more of them. He couldn’t utilize his magic to create his potions because some of those things would be damaged if they were tainted by magic. He would have to perform the tasks manually. He didn’t mind, though. Making potions helped to calm him down. Moreover, selling potions could be rather profitable. It was a win-win situation for him.

  For the next three hours or so, he kept himself busy inside the room. It was a painstaking process because there were too many types of supernatural beings. All of them needed varying potions. He prided himself as one of the best potion-makers in the world. He had plenty of repeat customers who were satisfied with his potions. He was halfway done with the potions he planned to brew that morning when he heard the knocking on his door. A couple of seconds later, Gavin stepped inside.

  “Hey, babe.”

  Caspian beamed at his mate. “Gav!”

  He rushed toward Gavin and embraced the man tightly. He melted against his mate when Gavin wrapped both arms around him, as well.

  “What are you up to?”

  “Potion-making, of course.”

  Gavin pulled away a little and smiled at him. “Still busy?”

  Caspian nodded in response. “It’s almost lunchtime, though. Besides, I’m exhausted. I’ll continue in the afternoon.”

  “Great. We can get the food ready together. Then, we will wait for Baltic and Drake. We can eat and chat at the same time. I have news for all three of you.”

  Caspian studied his mate’s face for a moment. “That bad, huh?”

  Gavin sighed. “Indeed. The only silver lining is no one has been reported dead over the last few hours, but the problem seems to be more widespread than we thought.”

  “Meaning?”

  Gavin hesitated for a few seconds. “Later, babe. Drake and Baltic will want to hear the news, too. I don’t feel like repeating myself twice.”

  Caspian grabbed Gavin’s hand before they headed toward the staircases near to the backyard at the end of the hallway. “Okay. What do you feel like eating today?”

  “Comfort food, please.”

  Caspian chuckled. “Lasagna all right?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Perfect. I’ll bake us an apple pie, as well. We can have that for dessert.”

  Gavin scrunched up his face in confusion. “Do we have enough time to prepare so many things?”

  Caspian smirked at his mate. “Magic, stud.”

  Gavin laughed before face-palming himself. “Right.”

  After that, the two of them climbed up the stairs. In all honesty, Caspian was impatient and anxious to hear the news from Gavin, but he didn’t want to force the issue with his mate. He was the oldest of the triplets. He was used to being in charge. Things were different now, though. He was mated to Gavin. He had to learn how to get along with his mate and compromise on certain things. He should be able to achieve all those. Easy. No problem at all.

  Chapter 3

  Gavin decided to put off the conversation about the shadow people until lunch was over. He thought he would inform the triplets regarding the details he’d managed to obtain from the other council members. Then, Baltic and Drake could pass them on to their respective mates. Hence, he was slightly taken aback when a portal of fire appeared in the living room a few minutes after the dishes were cleared. Edwin stepped out from within a second later. Then, Jefferson shimmered and appeared next to Edwin. He turned toward Baltic and Drake, who simply shrugged at him in bewilderment.

  “Don’t look at my brothers, stud.” Caspian spoke up before approaching and tugging him toward the couch. “I’m the one who sent them text messages to stop by after lunch. You might as well tell everyone at the same time. Ed and Jeff will hound your ass later anyway.”

  He could understand Caspian’s point of view. He also knew his mate was right. He slung one arm around Caspian’s shoulders and sighed in contentment when his mate melted against him as they leaned against the back of the couch. Edwin and Drake were in the same position next to them while Baltic and Jefferson were snuggling close on the other couch. He couldn’t help being more touchy-feely with Caspian, though. His mate had filled him in about being attacked by a shadow person while they were preparing lunch earlier. He needed to be close to Caspian to reassure himself that his mate was alive and well.

  Edwin cleared his throat and tapped Gavin’s arm to get his attention. “So, what’s going on?”

  Gavin inhaled deeply and expelled the breath as slow as he could while he tried to form the right words. “I had an emergency meeting with the council very early this morning. It was a bit of a shock to receive multiple text messages from all four other council members at the same time. Cas was also attacked by a shadow person, but my mate managed to trap him or her within a ball of fire. I sent it over to Sombertooth through my portal of water about an hour ago. He will take care of it.”

  The council was made up of Zestus, who was the pegasus shifter in charge of all supernatural beings related to the element of air, Tarragon, who was the fairy in charge of all supernatural beings related to the element of spirit, Sombertooth, who was the hellhound shifter in charge of all supernatural beings related to the element of fire, Oveda, who was the dwarf in charge of all supernatural beings related to the element of earth, and himself, who was the dragon shifter in charge of all supernatural beings related to the element of water. It was a council that had been created several thousand years ago to deal with all supernatural related matters, especially for the protection and survival of all supernatural beings.

  Jefferson nodded. “Is it rela
ted to those unexpected assaults by the shadow people I’ve had to deal with multiple times since half past seven this morning? In my years as a healer, I’ve never had to deal with so many patients in the morning. Supernatural beings tend to heal rapidly no matter how horrible the wounds may be.”

  Gavin glanced at Jefferson in trepidation. “Yeah. That’s true. Any fatal cases the council and I should be aware of?”

  Jefferson shook his head. “Well, it depends on what you define as ‘fatal,’ I guess.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Jefferson seemed lost in thought for a few seconds before responding. “A coven of vampires complained about their storage of refrigerated blood being destroyed, weakening them and leaving them vulnerable to any kind of attacks. I had to use my special potions as blood substitute for several of them. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than allowing their thirst to spike. You can imagine the chaos if several vampires descended upon the unsuspecting mortals. There will be a bloodbath of epic proportions. My potions helped them to sate their overwhelming desire for blood enough to ensure they didn’t lose control earlier. They definitely appeared thirsty and desperate when they stopped by my place. I told them to replenish their blood supply as soon as possible.”

  Gavin stared at Jefferson in silence for a moment before speaking up. “What about the other patients?”

  “There were a few different groups of shifters, too, but they had one common issue. They couldn’t breathe during the assaults by the shadow people.”

  “What shifters?” Gavin inquired because he needed as many details as possible. “Also, how did they manage to survive?”

  “Leopards, bears, and snakes. I also had to treat six selkies, one wendigo, two nymphs, and the twelve leprechauns. I’m sure I’m not the only healer feeling overwhelmed by the sudden increase in the number of patients I have to deal with.”

  Baltic chuckled. “At least no one is dead so far.”

  Drake snorted. “There may be chaos among the supernatural groups if the shadow people continue to do what they’ve done. That’s dangerous enough.”

  Gavin turned toward Caspian. He was surprised his mate hadn’t uttered a single word yet. He found Caspian deep in thought. “Baby, what’s inside your head? Share with us.”

  Caspian smiled at him, but the merman didn’t answer immediately. He waited patiently for Caspian’s response, which came soon enough.

  “Is it possible that is exactly what the shadow people are aiming for?”

  Baltic rolled his eyes. “Come on, Cas. Be serious.”

  “I am. Shadow people have always been weird, but they’re also one of the most powerful group since they have a collective consciousness. Every shadow person is aware of what the others are doing at any given moment. An assault from one shadow person is, more or less, an attack from the whole group of shadow people. They’re all guilty.”

  Drake gasped. “You’re right about their goal. This case reminds me of those dolphin shifters back when. Ugh. Dolphins can be such a pain in the ass. They look cute and sweet, but they don’t bother with any limitations when they want to play pranks on anyone.”

  Edwin laughed. “You don’t like the dolphin shifters, Dray?”

  Drake shrugged. “I don’t dislike them. I simply prefer to have minimal interactions with them.”

  “Wait. I’m curious about the dolphins,” Jefferson said while snickering in amusement. “Tell us about them.”

  Caspian heaved out a sigh of resignation before explaining. “This occurred two decades after we were born. There was this ship in the sea during one frightful stormy night. It wasn’t uncommon for the seawater to rage on for a while. As water creatures, we’re used to it. Anyway, the teenage dolphin shifters thought it would be so much fun to rock the ship with their magic. One of the male passengers fell into the sea.”

  “And?” Gavin prodded, feeling curious now.

  Drake took over from Caspian. “Our great-grandmother rescued him and dragged his unconscious form to the shore. That was how that cursed cartoon about a mermaid came about.”

  Edwin appeared confused for a moment. “But merpeople have sharp fins along their forearms and down the center on their backs. That mermaid in the cartoon looks nearly human even in her original form.”

  Baltic shrugged. “Beats us. We don’t get it either. Maybe it’s their artistic license or some shit like that.”

  Everyone in the living room guffawed almost simultaneously. It took them a while to calm down.

  “I still don’t see why Drake thinks the shadow people are similar to some naughty water creatures,” Jefferson interjected, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion. “Where’s the correlation?”

  Caspian nodded. “I think I understand what Dray was trying to convey. Dolphins are harmless for the most part, but they go overboard from time to time. We need the full background story first, though. Balt, do you want to tell the story?”

  “Yeah. This event happened about two years before I turned into a siren.” Jefferson wrapped his arm tighter around Baltic and kissed the merman’s forehead in a gesture of love and support. “Thanks, Jeff. Anyway, there was this shark shifter, Saul, in our community who was excellent in creating potions. By the way, he was also Caspian’s mentor. One day, for some unfathomable reason, his potions began to have strange side effects. Everyone was affected in different ways. To make a long story short, we managed to catch the dolphin shifters responsible for messing with the magical potions. They were punished with a five-year long community services for various merfolk communities. There hasn’t been any similar incidents after that.”

  “Until now,” Drake corrected, gritting his teeth in an obvious irritation.

  Edwin grinned at Drake and rubbed the merman’s arm tenderly. “I think I get it now. The dolphin shifters were all fun and games, but their pranks resulted in chaos within the merfolk community. The shadow people are more dangerous, but they seem to have the same tactic. They want to rile up the supernatural beings. We have to find out why.”

  Drake gave Edwin a brilliant smile. “You got it.”

  Caspian nodded. “I agree with Edwin and Dray.”

  Gavin decided it was time to end the impromptu meeting. “Keep an eye out for the plausible culprits and the current or potential victims, please. Inform me or any of the other council members. We need to work together.”

  The others approved. After that, Gavin pulled Caspian away from the other two pairs of mated couples toward the dining room. Gavin gazed at him in confusion.

  “What is it, Gav?”

  “I know you have many more potions to brew, so I won’t take up too much of your time. I know we’re doing things backward, but I’m wondering if you want to go out on a date tonight.”

  Caspian chuckled. “Of course. That’s a fantastic idea. Where are we going?”

  Gavin winked at his mate. “It’s a secret. Just wear something casual.”

  “T-shirt and jeans?”

  “Yeah. Those will be fine. I’ll pick you up later at six?”

  “I’ll be waiting, stud.”

  “Awesome. Prepare to spend the night with me.”

  Caspian’s cheeks reddened a little. “Naturally. From now on, I’m not going to sleep on my own. You’re my mate. It will be weird for us to live in separate houses. We have to discuss our living arrangement.”

  “We can talk about it tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  “Great.” Gavin then leaned forward to kiss Caspian briefly on the lips. He ran his fingers down Caspian’s smooth right cheek while beaming at his mate. “I love you. I’ll have to leave now and finish up the preparation for our date tonight. Don’t overexert yourself with the potions.”

  “I won’t. I love you, too.”

  Gavin pressed his lips against Caspian’s for another kiss before breaking away and bidding farewell to his best friends and their respective mates. Then, he gave Caspian one last grin before stepping into his portal of water. He had quite a few
things to get ready. He was determined to make his first date with Caspian the most memorable one ever.

  * * * *

  Caspian didn’t have any expectations about his first date with Gavin. He was aware they were doing things backward. Not that he was bothered about the reverse order of their mating process. He could feel how much Gavin cared for him. That was all that mattered to him. He had just exited through the front door when Gavin arrived on time to fetch him to wherever they were supposed to go for their date in a car. He snickered in amusement. He thought they would be traveling via a portal of water. Gavin alighted and ran toward him before offering him a hand. He was touched by the gesture and reached out for Gavin’s hand. They walked hand in hand toward the vehicle.

  “Will it be corny if I tell you how beautiful you look, babe?”

  Caspian blushed, but he shook his head. “Not at all. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “You…you look amazing, stud.”

  Gavin preened, much to Caspian’s amusement. “I do my best.”

  Caspian got inside the car after Gavin opened the door for him. Once Gavin had closed the door and entered the car through the driver’s side, Caspian stared in awe at the interior of the vehicle.

  "I love your car.”

  “Our car,” Gavin corrected him, and he stared at his mate in surprise. “We’re bonded for eternity, babe. Everything I own belongs to you, as well. I’ll be taking care of you from this point onward, and I hope you will do the same with me.”

  Caspian nodded. “Of course. Anyway, where are we going?”

  Gavin smirked. “It’s a secret. You won’t know anything about it until we’ve arrived at our destination.”

  “Fine. I’ll be patient for a little bit longer.”

  Gavin grinned before starting the engine and driving away from the curb. “I think you’re going to love where I’m taking you for our first date.”

  “You’re making me even more curious now.”

  “Good.” The two of them laughed out loud at the same time. “Everything has been arranged by an old friend of mine.”