Magick, to his surprise, ran very strong on Earth, especially at the heart of the Stones. It ignited his blood and his veins flowed with power. He looked down and found himself clad in what the knowledge in his mind told him were blue jeans, a dark green long sleeve t-shirt and covering for his feet, hiking boots; suitable clothing for the place and time.
The song changed, coaxing him to sleep, to rest. There was too much to learn and it would take some time. He was young. His eyes drifted close and his muscles relaxed. Talon lay down on his back in the center of the Stones. He would be perfectly safe. No harm could come to him in the circle of power. So much he needed to know. So much still to do. The knowledge the Stones and Mother Earth had to impart to him numbed his mind. He slept…deeply.
Then knew no more.
Maya didn’t know what to tell the night nurse. She had been shocked when she checked the time, a little after nine. It had taken the rescue squad a lot longer to find them than it should have. During the short ride in the helicopter to the hospital, both medics and the pilot kept insisting they didn’t see the stones and had never heard of anything like she described in the area. They had spoken to the guide, James, to locate her, but he never mentioned anything about a circle of standing stones. He’d given them a rough description of where he had taken her hiking and the GPS signal in her phone did the rest.
The medics had already left. Maya returned her attention to the admittance nurse. “As I’ve said before, I don’t know who he is. I found him in the center of these standing stones, somewhere on Sperrin Mountain. I’ll take responsibility for him until we can find out who he is.”
The nurse raised her penciled eyebrows and replied, “Peter, one of the guys you came in with, said they found you off the hiking trail. He never said anything about any standing stones. I’ve lived in these parts all my life and I’ve never heard of such stones.”
Maya sighed. They’d been going round and round about this.
“Look, the doctor will be out in a minute,” the nurse continued. “I’ll just write him up as an unidentified male. When he wakes, we’ll get the rest of the information. Go ahead and have a seat over there.” She pointed to a row of seats against a wall. “I’ll send the doctor round to you as soon as he’s done.”
“Thank you.” Maya removed her backpack and sat down. She found herself alone and tired in the waiting area. Taking out a package of trail mix, she polished it off along with the bottle of water one of the rescue workers had given her. The entire evening held a surreal feel and she still didn’t understand what had happened, other than being inexplicably drawn to the boy. He wasn’t her responsibility, yet she had found him and promised him she wouldn’t leave. She had a lot of questions she needed answers to; answers she hoped he could provide.
She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and made a call to change her flight reservations and to keep her room at the Inn. It cost her a small fortune. At this point, she’d stay in Ireland for the remainder of her trip. With luck, which seemed overdue, she wouldn’t have to make any further changes. Surely the boy would awaken, regain his memory, and be able to put her mind to rest about what happened on the mountain. What she had seen seemed real. A dragon etched into a glowing stone, just like the boy’s eyes. How did you explain that?
Maya let her head fall back until it touched the wall and then she closed her eyes. Unsure how long she slept, but the odd angle of her head caused her neck to ache, jerking her awake. Rubbing her neck, she glanced at the nurses’ station, in time to see the night nurse speaking to a balding man, then point in her direction. She got up and walked toward him.
“Ms. Trent?” he asked as he held his hand out to shake hers. His white starched doctor’s coat brightened up the dreary colored hallway. “I’m Doctor Donovan. I understand you came in with the unconscious young man.”
“Yes, Doctor. Can you tell me how he’s doing?”
“Unfortunately, he’s still unconscious. We’ve run a few tests and I’m still waiting on the results of some imaging and blood work. There’s no evidence of any external trauma to the head to indicate why he’s unconscious, so we’ll see if there’s anything going on internally. If there’s no change by morning, we’ll run further tests.”
“He came to at least twice when he was with me, but he didn’t remember what happened to him or who he is. So maybe he’ll wake up again.”
“Maybe.” He paused to check his chart. “I see he’s listed as an unidentified male, so I’m assuming you’re not a relative?”
“No, I’m sorry. I was out hiking and found him in the middle of a circle of stones, which I know no one around here seems to have ever heard of. Both times I questioned him he seemed confused and kept saying his head hurt.”
“You sound like you might be an American?” Doctor Donovan said, after Maya nodded he continued. “When he spoke did he sound like he might be a local?”
She paused thoughtful. “Actually he sounded like an American too, although he could be Canadian.”
“Well, if he hasn’t awakened by morning, I’ll call the constable and see if there’s been any missing persons report on anyone fitting his description. They might want to talk to you and hopefully see to it his description is sent to all the agencies handling missing persons.”
“Great,” Maya replied relieved. This boy obviously belonged somewhere. “Someone should be looking for him or if he’s got a passport, his information would be in some database. Hopefully, you can find out who he is.”
“I hope so too,” the doctor agreed.
“May I see him now? I’d like to stay with him for a little while.”
“Well, it’s a mite irregular but under the circumstances, I’ll allow you a few minutes with him.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“If there’s any change we have your hotel information and number here in the paper work and will give you a call.”
Doctor Donovan escorted her to the teenager’s room and left her. The boy appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Someone had pulled his hair back and tied it with a rubber band. It lay as a long thick ponytail draped down the right side of his chest. Attached to his forehead were little white disks, what looked like electrodes, and an IV stuck in the back of his hand. A flicker of light drew Maya’s gaze up above the bed to intricate-looking machines appearing to monitor his heart and brain activities. Maya prayed the green lights and funny looking graph meant everything was fine.
The doctor said she could only stay for a few minutes but he left, and she didn’t think he’d be back so hopefully no one would bother her for a while. Since her nana died in a hospital, she hated the place but she didn’t want to leave the young man alone. She pulled the single chair in the room closer to the bed, put her backpack on the floor and sat down, staring at the boy for a long time. Aside from the slight rise and fall of his chest, he didn’t move.
“Who are you?” she whispered, though she didn’t really expect an answer. She raised her arms above her head to stretch her shoulders. Bringing her hands down, she folded them on the bed and laid her head on her hand. Her eyes closed without thought and immediately she fell into an exhausted sleep.
Talon came to. Awake and aware. He remembered it all. His mother…dead.
The loss of the emotional psychic link to his mother was the final pain, driving him to total unconsciousness. All brethren are linked in some fashion. The love he shared with his parents provided an almost physical link for him to both of them, and they were likewise linked to him. Now one connection simply snuffed out, like a light turned off leaving only darkness. Such a thing could only happen with her death. The knowledge of which on top of what the Stones taught him had been too much for his brain and emotions to process.
For a while, he hadn’t been able to remember his own name. Simply too much knowledge stored into his consciousness at an alarming rate. Part of his mind went blank while he tried to process it all. It might still take years before he could fully access the informati
on the Stones imparted. Some of it he might never be able to use because they were of magicks only a Dark Lord could wield.
Talon turned his head slightly and looked at the woman whose head rested near his hand.
Maya.
Beautiful.
His newfound knowledge told him she had skin the color of leaves on earth when they turned an autumn brown. And her hair, a riot of long curls, rested across her shoulders and captured the many russet and golden colors of fall. While her eyes, if he remembered correctly, were the color of bronze with a touch of gold around the iris. He gently touched the hand lying near his—marveling for a moment at how much paler his appeared next to hers. He did not really have to touch her to know. His need had called her to him. Valour was right. Blood called to blood. She was brethren. One of the Forgotten Ones.
If she could change form she would be a gold or bronze dragon, or maybe even a very unique combination of both. Dragons came in a variety of colors and the color of a dragon determined the strength of its magicks. If she could harness the powers of both, it would make her one of the strongest female dragons for as long as there had been dragons. The Earth magicks had indeed changed the blood as the Stones warned him. Even more interesting, Maya was a Dam, a Dragon Queen. But not his, and meant for a Dark Dragon Lord. His father’s truemate had found him.
Talon’s own mate lived on Terra or earth but her life essence seemed weak. No, not weak exactly, just not matured yet. Perhaps still very young, a mere hatchling. By human standards he was young, too. He would have to wait for her essence to grow stronger and bide his time to find her. The Stones would not help him with this. They deemed it his destiny to find her or not. But he would. In the right time she would call to him, and he would be here to answer.
Meanwhile, he needed to try to understand this lost world his truemate belonged to before he could ask her to be a part of his own. The Stones and Mother Earth had explained much to him, but he still needed to experience things firsthand for himself. They also warned him his father would be here soon. Even as he slept, he felt the blood bond linking them grow stronger the moment his father crossed into earth’s realm.
Talon would need Maya’s help. His father would try to send him back. He would not go. Could not. His dragon sensed loose magick in the world with the scent of a dragon on it where there should be no such creature. But all wrong in some way he didn’t understand. Instinct warned the wrongness was both powerful and dangerous.
The earth magick, far from weak as he’d been told, held immense power for those who could tap into it. His father would know what to do, but he would want Talon on Akgon until the danger passed, and the girl-child of an age to be taken. Talon needed to be here in case of any threat to her. At least if he were here, he would know and be able to do something. On Akgon, he could do nothing to protect her. However, he must not be here when his father arrived. His sire and Dark Lord must not find him. If he could not find him, he could not send him home.
A slight pressure on her hand caused Maya to open her eyes, only to find herself staring into emerald fire. She blinked. Was she even awake? The last few days seemed like a dream. It all started with dreams of a dragon, then finding the young man in the center of stones. Stones no one seemed to know anything about. Glowing stones and a black dragon with green eyes.
Ha, ha, ha. Don’t be afraid.
“Who’s there?”
Maya raised her head and looked at the closed door behind her, but no one stood there. She turned to look at the young man on the bed. His open glowing green eyes stared right back at her.
Don’t be afraid, Maya. I won’t hurt you. I could never harm you. Thank you for helping me. I remember now.
Maya blinked. She could hear him just fine. Only one problem, his mouth didn’t move. Hers did. “What the hell!”
She jumped up, overturning her chair as she backed away from him.
Chapter Four
No insect, animal or bird sounds were ever heard in the center of the stones because all knew better than to venture into the circle of power. Even the wind only danced around its edge. Just before dawn, something changed. For miles around the stones not a creature stirred. They sensed something coming and were careful to give the area an even wider berth than usual. Only heavy fog moved across the mountains as a dragon lord from a time long gone glided slowly through the gateway and landed squarely in the center of the Stones.
Black talons dug into the rich soil and the humming sound emanating from the Stones changed to a fevered pitch, far beyond human hearing.
At long last! the Stones sang. A son of earth has returned! rejoiced Mother Earth. Welcome back!
The great black dragon reared his mighty head, releasing a sound earth had not heard for over a thousand years.
The roar of a Dragon Lord.
A Dark Dragon Lord, one born to power stood on Terra once more. The Stones glowed like never before, bathing their Lord in their elemental, earthly light. Power flowed through his veins, the likes of which he had never felt before. The air hissed and crackled with it. A master of earthly elements: fire, wind, rain, thunder and lightning, he harnessed them all.
The sun had not yet risen when, for the second time in as many days, a fast moving heavy fog developed over clear skies and coated the land. Sporadic flashes of lightning were seen through the fog over Sperrin Mountain, causing more than one hand to raise and make the sign of the cross. When the sound of a roar—people would swear it wasn’t like any thunder they’d ever heard before—echoed across the county, the ones who didn’t cross themselves the first time did so then. Rain and hail, the size of small pebbles, fell as the sky overhead turned blacker. Against the darkened sky, over one spot on Sperrin Mountain, residents in the area could see a light show composed of a myriad of colors. No one thought to investigate the area where the lights seemed to concentrate, and those who tried to take a picture of it found their digital screens blank.
Draakar released his dragon form, knowing he could call it back at will and maintain it, for awhile. His dark image shimmered; any human watching would have thought they stared into a black fluid void because it kept changing shape. But no human eyes bore witness to this. Finally, from the center of the void, the image of a pale naked six-foot-four man solidified and emerged.
Bare feet planted firmly on the earth, shoulder width apart, mimicking a battle stance of old. He raised muscular arms away from his sides, turned his palms upward, and tilted his head back as if paying homage to the sky.
Emerald fire burst forth from his eyes toward the heavens. In response, two bolts of lightning struck each upturned palm while gusting winds blew his pitch-black hair wildly back and forth across the tops of his well defined gluts. Torrid rain fell and pummeled him with their steady rhythm, driving the memories of a past he did not share with earth into his being.
The wild storm lasted for over an hour while, simultaneously, a dozen people awoke at dawn because of strange dreams. From these strange dreams developed their new reality.
Several inexplicable things happened. First, an account opened in a Swiss bank, which suddenly found its coffers increased by several billion dollars. The young bank president himself took care of this special account. He also opened several other accounts in various countries. All of the accounts were under the name Draakar Akgon, owner and President of Akgon Enterprises, a privately held company.
Among other events, the helicopter pilot, who had flown Maya and Talon to the hospital, found himself gainfully employed by Akgon Enterprises. He got up at dawn to make several phone calls on behalf of his new employer before leaving his house.
While all of these things were happening, fifty feet around the perimeter of the Stones the earth began to rumble. The wind and rain stopped as quickly as they started, leaving the Dragon Lord and the earth bone dry, not a trace of water appeared on either. The rumble increased in volume. Trees got sucked downward, as though giant vacuums were under them, and dirt flew up everywhere when fissu
res appeared in the ground. Then the entire circle of stones sunk into the holes, Draakar with them, while a different stone structure of gigantic proportions rose, enclosing both man and stones.
Once the dust cleared, a castle made of stone appeared in the area as part of the mountain side. If asked, people in Sperrin County would say Akgon Castle had stood there for hundreds of years. They would tell you about a very old, a very private family; the Akgons whose roots could be traced back to the first Norse invaders.
Draakar lowered his head and hands to his sides. Blood had called to blood and many had answered. It pleased him to find so many human brethren on Terra still. The dragon’s blood had weakened in most, but stayed strong in some, and he would make use of the strongest. More than a handful of those were the ones he used to set events in motion for his presence. He would need their help in the days to come.
Mother Earth and the Stones guided his powers and told him much, but he still had a lot to learn for himself. It had been a long, long time since he walked upon Terra, or rather earth. Much had changed. Dragons were relegated to the role of creatures from fairytales, and magic deemed a thing of science and technology. He would laugh at the absurdity of it all, but in truth if he did he’d end up crying for all they had lost.
He didn’t understand it, the existence of so much power here and unlike what he had known before. Mother Earth had told him the power lay unused and had simply accumulated through the ages. Something that should not have happened. In the wrong hands, such power could be dangerous. And danger existed on earth thought long gone. He had been right to hesitate in sending Talon here alone.
The power from the borrowed magicks of the Stones he now held would not last. He didn’t know how long he could hold on to it, but he hoped it would be long enough to find his son. Only with a truemate could he hope to access and retain this much magicks. Well, he would find his son first, get him to safety, and then he would search for his mate.
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