Touched by A Dragon: The Exalted Dragons (Book 2)

by K. T. Stryker

  Their lips slowly parted as they opened their eyes and looked deeply into one another’s souls.

  “Wow,” Gaby said, gasping for breath, trying to recollect herself after what had been the most powerful kiss anyone had ever given her.

  “Wow,” Charles repeated, infatuated by her every move. “Didn’t I tell you? You truly are an exquisite work of art, Gabriella Blake.”

  They hugged for a while, holding each other as they looked up to the heavenly skies. Looking at her wrist watch, Gaby suddenly realized it was almost three o’clock in the morning.

  “Oh my god!” she cried. “I didn’t realize how late it was! I have class early in the morning, and I’m sure you have things to do as well.”

  “Is it that late?” he asked. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to keep you here this late.”

  “Don’t apologize,” she said. “Tonight has been magical. You have no idea.”

  “I’m glad I could offer something,” he said. “You’ve been so tired, I’m sure.”

  They got into the car, and Charles drove her to her house. As she got out, she kissed him again and said, “Don’t forget about our deal.”

  “I won’t,” he said. “I’ll have to keep it. It gives me a great excuse to see you.”

  She smiled shyly, and walked into the house. Everyone was asleep as she made her way towards her room. She showered and changed, and before going to bed she thought she’d see if Haven was there. She knocked on her door and peeked in. Still, there was no sign of Haven.

  Chapter 10

  After that night, Gaby and Charles spent almost every day together. He would pick up her up in the morning, take her for an early breakfast before he classes, and then see her during the hours between her classes and her nightshifts at the library. They would go on endless walks, talking for hours and getting to know everything about one another. They would drive off, sometimes in the middle of the day, up to the secluded hill outside of town, and simply look over the city as they shared a bottle of wine. Gaby had never felt happier. For the first time, she truly felt connected to someone. She felt infinitely safe around him, as she had known him for months, if not for years. He had a particular charm to him that she could not escape. Whenever he looked at her with those deep blue eyes, her heart would melt, her worries would disappear, and nothing in the world could possibly go wrong as long as he was there with her.

  It was a Wednesday evening, and Gaby had just finished her nightshift. There was no sign of Madam Marie so far, ever since that night. But Gaby was in too much of a good mood to worry about it anymore. She collected her things, and walked out the door to find Charles waiting for her with a large flower bouquet, standing right by his car.

  “There you are,” he said, charmingly. “I was wondering when you would finish that bloody shift.” She smiled shyly, took the flowers and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “These are beautiful,” she said, admiring the exotic bunch of flowers. “They’re quite strange though. I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen flowers like these before. Are the seeds imported or something?”

  “Not quite,” he said, opening the car door for her. “You see, these flowers introduce the topic of the day.”

  “Topic of the day?” she repeated in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” he said, “I promised you I would feed you a piece of the puzzle each day, didn’t I?”

  “Yes,” she said, excitingly. “You did. And I’m glad you are keeping your promise.”

  “You have to make me one promise though,” he said.

  “Of course,” she said. “Anything. What must I promise you?”

  “You have to promise me that any questions you have for the evening should be left till the very end,” he said rather firmly. “You have to trust me.”

  “I promise you,” she confirmed. “I trust you.”

  He got into the car, looked at her lovingly as she admired the flowers, and drove off into the night. Gaby was both excited and a little anxious, as she always felt whenever she went out with him. As they Charles drove, Gaby looked into the flowers, realizing they each had a rather peculiar core to them. Trying to understand if what she was seeing was actually real, she noticed that their cores were a bright shimmering blue, almost glowing. She peered deeper into the plant, and held one flower in her hand. Suddenly a beautiful scent blew out of the roses, making its way into her nose. She closed her eyes for a few moments, never having smelt such an enchanting scent before. It made her heart melt like some exotic aphrodisiac, and she took a deep breath, inhaling the flowers and then releasing the scent with long sigh. All the while, Charles had been carefully watching her, feeling almost aroused by her infatuation with the flowers.

  “I see you like the flowers,” said Charles, smiling at her.

  “I do,” she said. “They’re like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Where do you find these?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” he said, looking at her momentarily as he drove out of the town again. They reached the outskirts, just as they did on their first date. He parked the car, and they both got out.

  “Another enchanting dinner at the top of the hill?” she asked, smiling.

  “Not quite,” he replied. “I hope you will enjoy it just as much though.”

  They walked into the woods, hand in hand as they crossed over thick bushes and long weeds. He helped her make her way through the tall grass, sometimes carrying her by the waist so she wouldn’t fall over. He takes her through dense woods until they arrive at a strange cobblestone path, overgrown with weeds. At this point, it seems as though nature had completely taken over. There was no sign of human civilization, no sign of hikers or abandoned belongings. It was completely natural, and Gaby had never felt so enchanted. It looked like a different world, so unknown to the busy human life she had always lived. They follow the path, moving along a thin, blue stream. They kept going until they reached a large clearing.

  Beyond the clearing were strange, stone-made structures. They were scattered all over the area, yet still took the shape of what could pass for a small, village-like community.

  “What are they?” Gaby asked, roaming around, slowly observing each structure, touching them with her fingers, tracing the scribbling on them, what seemed like writing but in a language that she could not understand.

  “These are the remnants of an entire civilization that lived here,” he said, looking at the abandoned ruins with an expression of deep sorrow. Gaby looked at him, noticing his sad eyes, and for the first time truly feeling his severe vulnerability. She walked up to him, held his hand and looked into his eyes.

  “Hey,” she said, her voice soft and caring, “I’m here.”

  “I know you are,” he said. “That makes all the difference to me. But you see, it’s a rather painful story to tell. It hurts me just looking at these ruins. It almost feels like watching the cold bones of a loved one perish into nothingness.”

  “Tell me the story,” she said, still holding his hand. “What happened here?”

  “It used to be different, you know,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I mean, it used to be a beautiful place, vibrant and full of life,” he said. “You see those flowers I gave you?”

  “Yes, what about them?”

  “A long time ago, they grew here with abundance,” he explained. “They filled every corner, and were harnessed with care by the settlers that lived here.”

  “What happened to them?” she asked, “the flowers, the people, everyone. What happened to all that?”

  “I will tell you the story,” he said. “But first, there is something else I want to show you.”

  He held her hand tighter, and kept walking into the dense woods. It kept getting darker and darker, as the heavy trees above covered the light of the moon and stars.

  “Charles?” she asked, a little worried. “Are you sure you’re going the right way? There doesn’t seem to be anything here, and
I can barely even see where I’m going.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “I know exactly where I’m going. I’ve been here so many times. I know this path like the back of my hand.”

  “Okay,” she muttered, hoping they don’t actually get lost.

  They finally reached the end of the dark roads that was covered in heavy trees, and walked out to find a large rocky hill, at the top of which stood what seemed like a stone-made cave.

  “Is that…” she mumbled, “is that a cave up there?”

  “Yes,” he said, “precisely.”

  “So, is this what you wanted to show me?” she asked, looking up at the tall hill, knowing that it was almost impossible to climb over it.

  “Well,” he said, “almost. I want to show you what is inside the cave.”

  “I would love to have a look,” she said, “but I don’t think we’ll ever be able to get up there. How tall is that hill? It looks huge.”

  “It does look huge,” he said, “which is why you won’t be able to climb. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t.”

  He kneeled a little bit, and asked her to get on his back and to wrap her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist.

  “Go ahead,” he said.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, bursting into laughter. “Are you being serious?”

  “I’m being dead serious,” he affirmed. She stared at him for a few moments, and then decided to trust him.

  “I can’t believe I am actually doing this,” she said out loud, but mainly addressing herself.

  She got on top of his back and he quickly started climbing the rocky hill, his strong hands and fingers grasping the protruding rocks and his feet pushing them up with violent force. Gaby was astounded, feeling that his skills were almost supernatural. He climbed the hill with enormous force and speed until they reached the very top. Once they were there, he stood upright as she got down on her feet.

  “What the hell was that?” she asked loudly, almost crying out loud. Her eyes were wide open, her jaw dropping. “That was…that was insane! How did you do that?”

  “It’s a skill people like me have,” he said. “But let me for now show you the cave and tell you a very sad story. After that, you can ask the questions.”

  She followed him inside the cave, trying to stay close behind him. The cave was dark, and so Charles got some stones and made a small fire inside. What she saw inside took her breath away. The walls of the cave were covered in writings and paintings, as well as strange markings that seemed like a beast’s claws. She observed the insides of the cave, carefully studying the markings, tracing the tips of her fingers on each one.

  “Are those…” she mumbled, and then turning to Charles who was standing at a distance looking at her. “Are those paintings of dragons?”

  “That is exactly what they are,” he said.

  There were drawings of humans and dragons, of large fires and flames, of creatures that seemed to lie between the human and the dragon form. There were also writings, but with a language that she also could not understand.

  “Are those writings?” she asked Charles.

  “They are,” he said, “but you probably don’t recognize the language.”

  “I don’t,” she said. “Do you have any idea what language this is?”

  “I do know,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I know what language it is because I speak it.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” she asked in confusion.

  “It’s an ancient language that was extinct centuries ago. It’s not documented in any of your historical textbooks because their speakers worked so hard to keep it concealed.”

  “Then how is it that you can speak it?” she asked.

  “Because I am one of the few who have lived with its natives,” he replied.

  “Very funny, Charles,” she said, laughing at him. “And what exactly is the story of all this.”

  “The story, my darling Gabriella, goes as follows,” he said, moving closer to her. “Many years ago, even decades and centuries ago, there lived a population of beings quite unknown to mankind. They had powers beyond your imagination. They breathed fire, had gigantic wings that enabled them to fly, and took a certain form that humans would naturally fear. Yes, they were dragons. With time, however, a group of hunters arose. They grew larger and stronger, and would do everything in their power to hunt down and murder dragons. To conceal themselves, the dragons would shape shift into human form and blend in different towns and cities. You see that village-like community over there? That’s where the shape shifters settled before they abandoned the area to hide within the human crowds. In this cave resided the dragons, or what’s left of them at least. Now, however, living in a dragon form is not something any of them could risk anymore. It would be too dangerous, and the hunters are out there, waiting for them in the dark corners of these oblivious human cities.”

  Charles turned around, realizing that had just confessed to Gaby secrets of his kind that no one knew. He was a little frightened, until he saw Gaby burst into wild laughter.

  “Why are you laughing?” he asked in confusion.

  “Very funny, Charles,” she said. “Really, well played. I think it’s a fascinating story though, and you are really good at storytelling by the way. You should consider one of our reading groups at the library. The events are always looking for participants.”

  Charles gave a slight awkward laugh, not knowing whether he should be relieved that she didn’t believe him, or upset that he still had to live through the pain alone again.

  “Thanks,” he said, looking down and laughing. They walked back to the car, and drove back into town.

  “Hey!” she suddenly said as they drove nearer to the house. “I was thinking, would you like to go to this bonfire party with me? The university is planning it. There should be lots of food and drinks and music. You’ll love it and I would really like you to come with me.”

  “That sounds lovely,” he said, happy that at the very least that meant spending more time with her. “When is it?”

  “So it’s tomorrow night,” she said, “but I was thinking we could go earlier. We could have a walk on the beach, go swimming and watch the sunset. What do you think?”

  “That sounds lovely,” he said.

  Charles parked in front of her house, walked her to her door and gave her a goodbye hug.

  Chapter 11

  Gaby finished classes early, and called up Charles to see if they were still on for the beach day and the bonfire party afterwards. He confirms, and tells her that he will be picking her up in about an hour. She went home, showered, and put on her swim suit with a very elegant summer dress on top. She also brought extra clothes in case she wanted to change for the bonfire party.

  She was applying sunscreen and applying a little bit of makeup when she heard Charles honk his usual honk outside. She smiled and laughed in excitement, quickly collected her things and ran outside the house. Getting into the car, she gives him a kiss of greeting.

  “Hey,” she said, thrilled to see him.

  “Hey yourself!” he said, also ecstatic to be with her. “How were your classes?”

  “They were fine, nothing special,” she said. “I think I’m doing well in English class again. I don’t want to disappoint my professor again, he’s always expecting so much out of me.”

  “Well, it sounds that you’re excelling, even if you don’t want to admit it,” he teased her.

  They drove off to the other side of town, where the beach was located. He parked the car, and they got out, taking their shoes off and feeling the warm sand on the toes. It had been a while since the town had such good weather, and they both wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.

  “The sun is so amazing, don’t you think?” Gaby said as they placed a blanket on the sand.

  “It is,” he said. “God, I just love warm weather.”

  “I’ve always been a winter person,” she said. “I like the snow usually, b
ut nothing matches warm weather on the beach to be honest.”

  They sat on the blanket, and took out some of the food they brought. Charles also took out a very expensive bottle of wine that he brought for her.

  “Wow!” said Gaby. “I have no idea where you get such fancy wine, but it’s always so amazing.”

  “Nothing less for your company,” he said, smiling at her bright red cheeks.

  They talked for a couple of hours, laughed and made jokes, sometimes even chasing one another throughout the coast and building sandcastles together. Gaby put her toes in the water, feeling the coolness of the waves hit her legs.