“Although I don’t have your sense of smell, it stinks in that place. You must hate it. But it’s a good spot. There’s no one around, no neighbors. So if something goes to hell, or your weirdo family gets feisty, puts on a magic show, I think we’re fine.”
“I don’t think there’s going to be a magic show,” I said, swinging my legs out of bed.
I could hear her shrug, the rasp of material loud in my ears. “No one would have expected you to have a tail either, so let’s try to keep an open mind, okay?”
“What are you going to do? And do you have a bag I can use?”
“I found a place that I can hide out and still see everything. If something goes wrong, I’m going to run to you and try to drag you out of there. It may not be a pretty sight if you’re in dragon form, but,” she shrugged again. “We’ll do what we need to. What do you need the bag for?”
“Not very inspiring. I need the bag to store my clothes.”
“When is it ever? It’s a stacked deck most of the time, A. You know that. A tail doesn’t change things.”
“Why are you obsessed with the tail?” I asked, my temper close to spilling over.
She made a sound that almost sounded like a giggle. “I don’t know. I’m not trying to mess with you, just the thought of a tail is funny.”
“Says the person who doesn’t have to deal with it.”
“It could turn out to be a good thing. You just don’t have your dragon-fu in order,” she said.
“Whatever. I’ll be ready in a bit.” I went to the bathroom and closed the door firmly.
Why did being a dragon have to be so lacking in dignity? I remembered the fall on my face when I was trying to walk on all fours. And now my friend was laughing over my tail. Weren’t dragons supposed to be fierce, and dignified and shit?
I didn’t see any of that happening here.
As I stared at myself in the mirror, a thought occurred to me. Maybe it was up to me to change my dragon narrative, find my dragon-fu, as Margrite said.
Okay. This I could handle. When shit was my responsibility, I found a way to get it done. I couldn’t control the fact that I was a dragon, or the dual personalities of my grandfather, but I could control how I put myself out there.
Just like I’d always done. Only now, as Margrite said, it would involve a tail.
So be it. I’d be the same badass with skills that I always was.
With a tail.
I grinned at myself in the mirror. I was Aodan, and that meant something, no matter what form I was in.
Too bad I couldn’t wear my kick-ass coat as a dragon. But I didn’t need it. I had amazing scales.
Happier, I got ready, splashing water on my face, and brushing my teeth. The years of nagging from Tina weren’t forgotten even though I’d lived without her for the past five years.
Thanks, Mom, I thought.
When I took a last look at myself, inspecting myself for any visible cracks, any signs of weakness, I didn’t see any. And while I was confident in who I was, and what I could do—I was also honest when I was weak.
I didn’t see it. In fact, when I winked at me in the mirror, I saw a flash of bright green.
The dragon was with me.
It felt good.
“Let’s go own this shit,” I said, and I walked out of the bathroom.
Time to get serious.
Margrite didn’t say anything. She could sense the change in me. It’s one of the many things I loved about her. We’d been friends for so long there wasn’t always a need for words.
Didn’t stop her, or me, I thought. But we didn’t need to. We were friends, and family.
The only one I had.
I pulled on my red coat, ready to go meet my only other known family.
Hopefully, he wasn’t the jerk he’d been lately.
13
We took our time heading into the warehouse. Margrite made a circuit around the building. She reminded me of a wary alley cat, prowling cautiously, ready to take a bite out of anyone who got in her way.
When she got back to me, she nodded.
“Didn’t see anything. There have been cars here recently. I saw tire tracks on the other side of the building.”
“How can you tell?”
“It rained two days ago. These are in the dirt, dry.”
I wondered where she picked up this information. It wasn’t like we lived in the woods.
Then I decided it didn’t matter at the moment.
“Okay, let’s go in, and get set up where you want it. Then I’ll call him.”
She nodded again and led the way. We stepped quietly, like we were breaking in.
Margrite moved purposefully, stopping at a place a distance from where I’d done my practicing the day before.
“You go out there. It’s not far for me if I have to get to you,” she pointed. “Here’s the bag.” She handed over one of her messenger bags.
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t pack any clothes. You didn’t mention that.”
“That’s fine. I don’t need you to. I put my clothes in it,” I grabbed the collar of my coat, shaking at her. “I’m not ruining this for a dragon, even one as handsome as me.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You need to get naked?”
“How did you think I shifted?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t think about it. You made me turn around, remember?” She clamped her mouth shut and looked away.
“Well, I did. I don’t care about my clothes other than the coat, but it’s a pain to have to keep packing new stuff. Better to plan to get naked if I know I’m going to shift.”
“Makes sense,” she said, still not looking at me.
I took the bag and moved out to the open warehouse floor. “No pictures,” I called out.
I heard her make a noise that sounded a lot like a snort, but she didn’t speak.
Taking my time, I carefully removed my clothes, and put them in the bag. It felt… I don’t know. Vulnerable? Knowing that someone was watching?
I’d need to get used to it. Like I told Margrite, the dragon wasn’t going anywhere. She was my best friend. If we were going to stick together, she’d have to get used to seeing me naked. Just like I’d have to get used to taking off my clothes. I wasn’t sure that I was ever going to feel casual about that.
Neither one of us was there yet.
The drill I’d used several times seemed the best bet. I closed my eyes and imagined myself as the dragon. I could feel the tingle before it happened—it was like my body was waiting for it.
Like the dragon wanted to come out.
It made sense. I’d felt like I was ready to go since I’d seen the flash of green in the mirror back at the motel. This shit was going to stop. I’d find out what I needed to, and then I’d be able to decide if my grandfather was worth the effort. He’d been a hinting pain in my butt up till this point.
“I’m going to call him,” I said to Margrite. My dragon voice rumbled through the empty space.
She didn’t respond, but that was all right. I knew she heard me.
I think the entire block heard me, I thought with a grin.
Good. Hear me and be concerned. Is it an earthquake? Is the building falling down? No, it’s just Aodan the dragon.
I had to make this a skill like my other skills.
I’m here, I thought. I sent my thought out to the edges of my mind.
There was silence.
Then, Good. I am coming to you.
I felt my heart speed up, and the adrenaline began to surge through me. It was more intense as a dragon. This was like what it felt to complete a job, that point where you have the thing, whatever the thing is, and you now have to get out of the place without getting caught.
I was concerned for what might come next, but it was a rush all the same.
Would he come in dragon form?
A light burst in front of me—it was like the light in the warehouse when I stole the box—and it got big
ger and bigger.
I just knew a guy would step out. Would he kick a woman again? Was this the same guy I’d seen?
Oh shit. That guy seemed mad and nasty. Was he connected to me—to all this—in some way?
As the light got bigger, I saw the form of a man, and then as expected, a man stepped out and the light winked out.
I let out a breath, and a puff of flame shot out about two feet in front of me. The fact that the things I’d seen in the warehouse were probably really connected to me scared the living daylights out of me.
The man was tall, and very dignified. If I saw him on the street, I’d want to steal from him for his attitude alone. It was dismissive and condescending. I could feel it, without him saying a word.
It was in the fall of his clothes—like some kind of renaissance faire look, with a robe, and then another robe over top of it. Lots of gold thread. The robes were various shades of red, and he had a large gold chain with a pendant that hit about middle of his chest.
The pendant was interesting. It looked alive, like there was smoke and something living moving around in it. Like his robes, the pendant was reddish, but the shade kept shifting.
It was mesmerizing.
“Aodan,” he said, holding out his hands and coming toward me.
He didn’t seem bothered at all that I was in dragon form.
“You are magnificent,” he added, stopping right in front of me, hands still out.
I looked down at his outstretched hands and didn’t move. I wasn’t taking his hands.
“You do not greet me as a friend?” He asked. His tone didn’t change, but I felt the shift in him. He wasn’t pleased.
Having him in my head for a while made it easier to feel what was going on with him. I wondered if he could sense the same thing in me, and I steeled myself to show nothing.
“I’m not sure,” I rumbled.
“It’s good to hear you,” he smiled, his irritation apparently vanishing.
I didn’t trust it.
“I wondered what you would sound like.”
“What did you expect?”
“You sound like your father,” he smiled.
I was reminded of a crocodile. I was the dragon here, at the moment anyway, and everything about this guy told me to be careful, to be on my watch.
He was dangerous.
“I wouldn’t know,” I said.
“I realize that. He died shortly after you were born.”
Aodan! The shout in my head made me blink.
You don’t want talk with words? I asked.
What do you mean? How can we speak with words? We are not together.
Oh, for god’s sake, I thought. Enough with the games and bullshit. You’re right here in front of me.
What? I am not with you, Aodan! Who is with you?
I wasn’t imagining the anger, and the fear, in the voice in my head.
Shit.
A dark-haired guy dressed in red robes, with this necklace and this crazy, moving pendant—
Get out of there.
His voice was deeper, more dangerous.
Why? What the hell is going on? Who are you? Who is with me?
I am your grandfather, Fangorn—
Did he just say Fangorn?
Yes, I did. The man with you is—well, I don’t want to speak his name, I don’t want to alert him—but he is not your friend, and he will not do anything to help you.
Who is he?
“Aodan?”
Shit. I’d forgotten necklace guy.
“I’m sorry. I’m—I’m thinking about my father. Tell me about him,” I said.
Was I imagining the look of irritation that crossed his face? It was gone so fast I couldn’t be sure.
“He was strong, and very brave. He lived in the human world for hundreds of years before he met your mother.”
“What was she like? Was she a dragon too?”
He frowned. “No. She was a mere human. But somehow, she and your father fell in love.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Humans are weak, not set for the rigors of the Fae Realm. Lionel, that’s your father, he knew that. But he brought her back, anyway.”
“What happened?” I asked, wanting to stall him. I couldn’t hear the man in my head. I knew it. I knew something wasn’t right with this guy, from the moment he’d walked out of the light thing.
I wasn’t sure that he was the guy I’d seen in Caleb’s warehouse, but that wasn’t a good thing, and if this guy was connected to that at all, it was something I needed to get the hell away from.
But there was no way to signal to Margrite right now. Not with this guy practically in my lap. He was eying me with great enthusiasm. Not in any kind of pervy way, but in a way that reminded me of a collector.
He wanted me, but he wanted the dragon me. I don’t know how I knew, but I did.
Shit.
You there? I asked.
I am. I am coming to you.
No! Not with this guy here!
I will not let him have you, he said.
What does he want?
Everything, he answered.
I could hear the depth of anger and sorrow in that one word.
Not yet, I said.
No, Aodan. I will not lose you. Not just as I have found you.
I couldn’t hear anything else for a minute because Necklace was talking. Now I understood why there was a sense of Jekyll and Hyde. Because it wasn’t my grandfather switching personalities. It was two people. This guy was one. He was Hyde.
“Your father and mother came back to the Fae Realm, to my—my former Realm, the Dragon Realm. Yes, there is a Realm that is just for the dragons,” he said with a smile.
“Who are you?” I burst out. I hated that no one used names. And that I hadn’t asked before now.
“I am the… King of the Dragon Realm. I am Eilor,” he said. He smiled, and I understood why Fangorn had warned me. All the danger that he’d tried to convey came through in that one smile from Eilor.
Not to mention, Eilor had the strong smell of crazy. It oozed from him. He hid it well, but I’d seen his type. And how was he the king of a realm he called his former realm? Something wasn’t adding up. Well, that’s not true. It added up to something crazy.
“What happened after that?”
“Your mother was close to birth. She was ill, because humans are not always healthy in the Realms of the fae, and then she gave birth to you both.”
To us… both? What?
“What do you mean?”
“Are you unfamiliar with the idea of birth? It’s not a difficult concept,” he snapped. “Once you were born, your father tried to take you away. I believe he meant to kill you,” he added. “Dragons are fiercely protective of their territory.”
This didn’t make any sense. He wanted to kill me? I knew that all my foster parents had thought my dad was a deadbeat wastrel, but this was taking it a bit far.
My head spun.
Aodan, do not listen to him. We’re coming to you.
Who is we? I thought.
“Your mother tried to protect you, but in the process, she was killed. By your father,” Eilor added with relish. “Had it not been for me, you and your sister would have died at the hands of that monster.”
Sister? My father was a monster?
I had a sister?
I shook my head. “This doesn’t make sense,” I said slowly.
“I know that it may not at the moment, but it will. You have been fed the lies of the Human Realm, and whatever your mother might have told you. Where is she?”
He didn’t know what happened to her.
“You didn’t keep track of her? Or me?” I asked.
“No. I have been searching for you. Only when you activated one of the portals was I able to locate you.”
“What do you mean, one of the portals? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, please, Eilor, share with the class. Let us all kn
ow what you’re talking about. I’d very much like to know where the portal is,” another voice said.
I whipped my head around at the same time Eilor did. He had his hands up, and I could feel the energy gathering in him.
Maybe it was a reaction to the danger, but I could feel a similar energy in me as well.
That and relief that the man walking toward us came from the other side of the warehouse, the side that Margrite was not hidden on.
I wondered what she was thinking of this, and I hoped like hell she had the sense to stay put.
This man was tall, and dark-haired as well. He had the same sense of danger that I felt from Eilor, but his was harder. With a sharper edge. He was dressed all in black, dark jeans and a leather jacket.
And behind him was Caleb, the amazing shit-bag weasel.
“What are you doing here?” Eilor asked the guy.
He had stones, I’d give him that. He wasn’t afraid of this guy even though the guy made everything in me scream Kill him and get out!
“Is that any way to greet your brother, the one you have not seen for many years?” The man held out both hands in an opening, welcoming gesture.
Eilor was a cool customer, and I got the impression from the way he carried himself that he wasn’t surprised or caught off guard very often. But he sure was now.
“What are you doing here?”
“Where else would I be, brother? I couldn’t stay in my Realm, now could I? I’d been banished, and you didn’t lift a finger to help me. Why would you when you had the Dragon Realm at your disposal? And what do we have here?” The man’s sharp gaze slid over to me.
I felt like someone was leaning over me, that sensation you get when someone’s breathing down your neck, trying to intimidate you.
It was working. This guy was scary as hell. I watched him watching me, and I felt a shiver of fear ripple through me.
Then I remembered—I’m a dragon. One wrong move, and I can breathe the breath of death all over their asses.
“How did you get one here?” The man asked Eilor.
“Stefan, go away. Or at least, leave this building. I will oblige you and your questions once I have concluded my business here, but you are in the way!” Eilor apparently wasn’t afraid of his brother.
The intense gaze of Stefan transferred from me back to his brother. Caleb was still staring at me like he’d seen a ghost.
Dragon Lost Page 13
