by Isa Hunt
“Uh, the um, activation part, with my 'sacred mates,' is that um, just a one-time thing that, you know, won't ever happen again?” I blurted out. I wasn't sure why this was the first question coming out of my mouth in front of this old lady and instantly regretted asking it.
Li-wun chuckled knowingly, and a cheeky smile spread across her wizened, heavily-wrinkled face.
“It is quite something, isn't it?” she commented, chuckling. “I had my own group of sacred mates when I was younger, you know. And I had more than you have now – which is not to say that you cannot have more in the future. Indeed, I am sure that when it becomes known that the red dragon queen of the west has returned, more alphas from various shifter packs and clans will come forth and swear their allegiance to you – and become your sacred mates.”
Wow. So there were going to be more guys like Rex, Benoit and Paul? I didn't know if I was excited or terrified. I mean, being with three guys at once had been intense enough; hell, it had been pretty overwhelming, to be honest.
“Just how many sacred mates did you have, empress?” I asked.
“I ruled over a very large territory in China,” she said, “and consequently, I had many alphas of various packs and tribes swear allegiance to me. At one point I had seventeen sacred mates.”
My jaw dropped.
“Seventeen?”
She laughed.
“It is not as many as it sounds. If you look at the history of China's human emperors, many of them had hundreds, sometimes thousands of concubines.”
“Oh . . . wow. But I'm guessing that they didn't, uh, you know, 'activate' all of their concubines at once. Did you um . . . with seventeen mates . . . were you together all at, you know, the same time?” I asked, feeling my blush intensifying.
“Just once,” she said with a naughty smile. “And it was too much! I was very curious about it, though, and had to try it. But of course, you don't always have to use all of your mates simultaneously. The reason you need to do it like that to activate your powers, initially, though, is because of the chi.”
“The chi?”
“In Chinese, we call energy chi. Spiritual energy. Magical energy, almost. It is the energy of the universe. When two people make love physically, they exchange chi in a certain way. But just a single exchange, between one man and one woman, is not enough to awaken any latent powers lying dormant within a dragon shifter – or rather, I should say, a person who has the potential to become a dragon shifter.”
“So more than one man is needed to awaken that ability?” I asked.
“Yes. Men and women have different chi; and dragons, as rulers over all other animals, have an especially potent form of chi. This is why we dragon shifters need the combined chi of many men combined to awaken that power. And this is why your sacred mates must stay your mates; the act of sex, as I said, is on one level an exchange of chi. And when you gain more mastery over your powers and your own chi, you can use your mates, and the act of physical love, to draw chi from them into you, to increase your own strength. The more of them who participate in the act, the more potent the charge of chi you will receive from it.”
Well, this was good news; my experience of taking three guys at once wasn't going to be a once-off thing. In fact, it sounded like it would be a great idea for me to repeat it. Hmm . . . this thought got all sorts of interesting possibilities popping into my mind. Especially since she said that perhaps more alphas would come and swear their allegiance to me.
I didn't want to be greedy, of course. But hey, it didn't hurt to think of the possibilities.
“I see,” was all I said.
All of this was pretty overwhelming, and I think Li-wun could sense this.
“I can imagine that things are . . . difficult . . . for you right now,” she said, her tone gentle and sympathetic. “Here, my servants are bringing the tea. Please, drink. It will help you to relax. There are special herbs in it.”
One of the men set down a tray with traditional Chinese tea crockery on it. He handed each of us a little cup and poured some of the piping hot liquid into it while bowing before us. The aroma of the tea drifted up to my nose, and it was hard to stop myself from grimacing; it smelled really pungent and gross.
Of course, Li-wun had been pretty insistent on me drinking the tea, and I didn't want to offend her, so I lifted the little cup to my lips, forcing a smile as the rank smell assailed my nostrils, and sipped on the hot liquid.
I was surprised to find that it didn't actually taste too bad. It was kinda bland but left a strange, sharp aftertaste after you swallowed it.
“Drink, it is very good for you,” urged Li-wun.
I drank the whole cup quite quickly, and the servant poured me another one. I felt a strange feeling of warmth spreading through my body, relaxing every muscle as it traveled through me.
“I feel . . . I feel better,” I said.
Li-wun nodded.
“It is a special tea, with rare, powerful herbs.”
I drank some more, not bothered by the smell of it any longer, and felt much more relaxed.
“Perhaps you have some questions you would like to ask me,” she said. “Please, go ahead.”
I nodded. There was a ton of stuff I wanted to ask her, but I didn't really know where to begin. I decided to ask her a few questions about herself first.
“Can I ask you a personal question, Li-wun?”
She nodded and smiled.
“How old are you?”
She chuckled softly.
“I am one hundred and twenty-four years old. I was born when China still had a human emperor, many years before the birth of the Republic of China.”
My jaw dropped, and I almost dropped my teacup – which would have been pretty bad, given that it, like everything else in this place, seemed to be a priceless antique.
“One . . . hundred . . . and twenty-four . . . years . . . old . . . ” I stammered.
“I was born in 1893. I will be one hundred and twenty-five if I survive the rest of this year.”
“That's . . . Oh, my God, that's beyond amazing!”
I was astounded. The things that she must have seen, the way the world had changed through her lifetime . . .
“I am very old, and I have been lucky in that I lived a long, eventful life. My only sadness in passing from this world is that it will mean that there will be no more white dragons. I believe that I am the last of them, and my heir died many years ago. If there are any other white dragons – wind dragons – I do not know of their existence. Perhaps there is one more out there, somewhere . . . But I do not think there is.”
“Well, that's really sad,” I said, and I meant it. “I really hope that there is another white dragon out there somewhere. I hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm really new to all of this stuff . . . What exactly is a white dragon, a wind dragon?”
“You know what you are, and what your powers are,” she said to me. “You can produce torrents of fire from within your throat. You red dragons are physically powerful as well, with bulky bodies and strong limbs and jaws. We white dragons are not built for combat like you are. You are familiar with how Chinese dragons are represented in Chinese art though, are you not?”
I nodded; I had seen enough Chinese dragon tattoos and crap like that to have a good idea of how they looked.
“Well, the Chinese dragon in Chinese art is based on the white dragon. We are long, slender and graceful, the light of limb and body. We move with speed and agility through the air; I could easily outrun you in flight, or fly in circles around you while you tried – unsuccessfully, I guarantee you – to catch me. Of course, if you did catch me, it would be game over for me.”
“You have no, uh, no way to fight at all?”
“Well, of course, we are large and stronger than many other animals. But we cannot breathe fire like you red dragons, or blast lightning like the blue dragons. But we can call up the wind, and have tornadoes batter our enemies, or even call up a hurricane, in the c
ase of a very powerful white dragon.”
“You're talking about dragons fighting,” I said, feeling a little worried now. “Is that like, a regular thing? I mean, I know this Artemis guy has, kinda, upset the apple cart, so to speak, but I thought that what he did was, kinda, not the usual thing. From what my um, my sacred mates have told me, it seemed like it was a really unusual thing for him to have done.”
“They are, I suppose, simply used to having lived through a time of peace when they were children. The truth is that wars and conflicts between dragon kings and queens have been happening for centuries. However, few have acted in as devious and murderous a fashion as Artemis – murdering your own sister to take power is pure evil, and such acts have been rare in the history of dragon kind. Also, systematically eliminating all other dragons has not been done, not in the way Artemis is attempting to do. While there have been wicked dragons throughout history, it seems that Artemis is a special kind of evil. Yes . . . a special kind of evil, he is. And do you remember what I was telling you about chi? About the transfer of potent energy from your mates to you? And about how this will make you stronger and more powerful?”
“I do, yeah.”
“This is why Artemis wants your blood. As a male dragon, he cannot obtain chi from mates the way you as a female can. Male dragons are usually smaller and weaker than female ones, and they do not keep harems of mates. However, like any shifter, they can obtain chi – and thus strengthen their own powers – through violent means, specifically taking and ingesting the blood of other shifters. And the more powerful the shifter, the more chi is in their blood. In your blood, even though you are a young dragon queen with few mates, there is a lot of powerful chi. Artemis wants this – needs this – to become more powerful himself. Already he has taken much chi from opponents he has defeated . . . but his greed and lust for power know no bounds. He always wants more . . . and dragon blood, that is his ultimate prize.
This is why I must help you to become the mighty dragon queen you were born to be. This is why I will train you in the ways of the dragon, to prepare you to take on this vile tyrant . . . before he becomes too strong.”
I wasn't sure how I felt about all of this. Was I ready to fight a war? A war against a freakin' dragon king?
I guess there was only one way to find out, really.
“When do we start this training?” I asked.
Li-wun smiled.
“Right now,” she answered.
CHAPTER 7 – REX
I walked around the room, my hands in my pockets, staring at the Chinese artifacts and artworks.
“Fascinating, isn't it?” remarked Benoit as he stared intently at a vase, which had an intricately-painted design featuring a tiger and a dragon on it.
I shrugged; I wasn't really that much into history and all of this museum kinda stuff. I liked technology, modernity; everything slick, hi-tech and futuristic. That was my kinda thing.
“It's a pretty impressive collection of . . . stuff,” I mumbled. “I feel like we're in a freakin' museum rather than someone's house, though.”
“It is a museum, of sorts,” commented Paul. “A living museum. A testament to a long life, the living history of a person born in a very different time to our own.”
Ah Paul, always the thinker. He and Benoit both, like freakin' philosophers or something. I often found it difficult to believe that those two were actually younger than me.
“Well, whatever,” I said with a shrug. “I wouldn't wanna live in a place like this.”
“No, I don't imagine you would,” said Benoit, almost coldly.
“Anyways,” said Paul, sensing the building tension in the air and trying to defuse it, “let's talk about what's going to happen next.”
“Yeah, good idea,” I said. “Especially seeing that it seemed as if someone was ready to run his mouth off.”
Benoit glared at me, anger flashing across his face, but he didn't say anything.
“Hey,” said Paul, staring at me now, “we're all on the same team here, Rex. Let's remember why we came together.”
“Yeah yeah, I know, I know,” I said, idly picking up a small jade carving of a dragon and looking it over. “We have to put her interests first.”
“You say that as if it's a bad thing,” snapped Benoit. “Kelly is our queen, the rightful ruler of all of our kind! You should be grateful to serve her!”
I put the carving down and raised my hands, palms forward, in a gesture of peace.
“Hey hey, just chill out man, I didn't mean anything by that.”
“Your tone suggested otherwise,” growled Benoit.
“Guys!” yelled Paul, his deep, baritone voice rumbling the walls, “stop acting like a pair of freakin' kids! We're all in agreement that we have to put Kelly's interests first, aren't we? And that we're here to serve her, to protect her . . . and give our lives for her, if necessary? Right?”
“Absolutely,” said Benoit. “And I have already shown that I am willing to lay down my life for my queen.”
I sensed that this was yet another dig at me, and hot anger rose up inside me.
“Who was it who came back, and tracked Jake and his thugs down when they had captured Paul and Kelly, huh wolf-boy? Don't act like you're the only one who has put himself at risk, buddy.”
“Stop!” boomed Paul, and this time the roar of his voice was enough to silence both of us.
“Alright, alright,” I muttered.
Paul shot Benoit a stern look.
“And you, Benoit? Are you gonna make any more of these comments?”
Benoit, looking sullen, shook his head and then folded his arms across his chest.
“Good. Now, let's get back on track,” said Paul. “So, Li-wun is going to be training Kelly for the next few days—”
“Not here she won't,” interjected Benoit.
We both turned and looked at him with puzzled expressions on our faces.
“What are you talking about?” asked Paul.
“There was an assassin who tried to take Kelly in an alley nearby. I stopped him, but—”
“What?” I snapped. “And you're only telling us this now?”
“Well, I got her inside safely, and then we went to Li-wun, and then—”
“Relax Rex,” said Paul, “Benoit only just got here, and everything has been kinda rushed up until this point. We've only really had the chance to talk now.”
“I still think he should have said something right away,” I muttered, “but whatever.”
“Go on,” said Paul to Benoit. “There won't be any more interruptions, will there Rex?”
I scowled but shook my head. Benoit shot a quick glare at me but then continued speaking.
“So, like I was saying,” he said, “an assassin tried to take Kelly in a crowded alley outside. He had a syringe full of blue liquid, likely an agent that would have paralyzed her. I shot him, though, before he could get to her, and then we made a quick escape and came straight here.”
“How far away was this?” asked Paul.
“Only a few blocks,” answered Benoit.
“Shit,” I muttered. “That's not good . . . that's not good at all. I mean, this close to Li-wun's hideout? It couldn't have just been a coincidence that in all of this huge city, there happened to be an assassin waiting here, in this neighborhood. It can only mean one thing.”
“Artemis knows Li-wun is here,” said Paul grimly. “Her hideout . . . is no longer a hideout.”
“Maybe the assassin just followed our cars,” suggested Benoit. “After all, it's not as if we were driving the most discreet vehicles. Artemis already would have known about your Ferrari, especially, Paul.”
Paul looked away, seeming a little embarrassed.
“I guess I could have picked something a little less, um, eye-catching,” he muttered.
“Still,” I said, “are we going to take a risk like that and just assume that we were followed, instead of assuming that Artemis has discovered that Li-wun is hidi
ng here? That could lead to disaster if the second assumption is the correct one.”
Both of them nodded in agreement.
“You're right,” admitted Benoit. “We can't take a risk like that.”
“So what do we do?” asked Paul.
“We tell Li-wun, first of all,” I said. “After all, she's going to be in just as much danger as Kelly if Artemis has finally discovered her hideout. Then we make plans to move both of them to a safe place as soon as possible so that Kelly can complete her training under Li-wun without the threat of Artemis looming over her.”
“Agreed,” said Paul. “That's what we're going to have to do. Okay, let's go and tell her right now. Then we'll figure out where to go from there.”
As we all started heading toward the door, however, it opened, and a man stepped in. He was a clean-shaven, extremely pale guy with close-cropped platinum blond hair who looked to be in his thirties. He was dressed in a dark suit that made his skin look even more bone-white. He looked as if he was just under six feet tall, had broad shoulders and was powerfully built. The most noteworthy thing about him, though, was that he was wearing a sword on his hip.
“Who are you?” asked Paul, his tone suspicious. “And why do you have a sword?”
“I am Sergei, Sergei Vasenkov,” he answered, his tone calm and smooth, his voice colored with a Russian accent. “I am the alpha of the Vasenkov Siberian tiger clan, and my grandfather was one of Empress Li-wun's sacred mates. She sent word to me that a new dragon queen has come. I am here to swear my allegiance to her, and to become – if she accepts me – one of her sacred mates. As for the sword, well, let's just say I am very traditional. This sword has been used for hundreds of years by the alphas of my clan. It symbolizes our power and authority, and I will use it when I swear allegiance to my new queen.”
“Well Sergei,” I said, feeling a sting of jealousy and feeling suddenly over-protective of Kelly, “we three are already her sacred mates, buddy, and I don't think she needs any more.”
