Soul of the Dragon
by Natalie J. Damschroder
Soul of the Dragon
Copyright © 2012 by Natalie J. Damschroder
Cover copyright © 2012 by Purple Girl Design
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.
This book is dedicated to Dakota, for the original idea when she was three years old.
You inspire me every single day.
Table of Contents
Chapter One 5
Chapter Two 13
Chapter Three 21
Chapter Four 28
Chapter Five 35
Chapter Six 42
Chapter Seven 48
Chapter Eight 58
Chapter Nine 67
Chapter Ten 77
Chapter Eleven 83
Chapter Twelve 86
Chapter Thirteen 93
Chapter Fourteen 100
Chapter Fifteen 107
Chapter Sixteen 112
Chapter Seventeen 119
Chapter Eighteen 129
Chapter Nineteen 135
Chapter Twenty 138
Chapter Twenty-One 141
Chapter Twenty-Two 143
Chapter Twenty-Three 146
Chapter Twenty-Four 149
Chapter Twenty-Five 151
Chapter Twenty-Six 154
Chapter Twenty-Seven 157
Chapter Twenty-Eight 161
Chapter Twenty-Nine 163
Chapter Thirty 166
Chapter Thirty-One 170
Chapter One 174
About the Author 177
Chapter One
Alexa Ranger knew when she was three years old that one day she’d meet a dragon. A gold one.
So when he materialized out of the mist in the deserted back alleys of whatever North Suck-istan war zone she was in, she didn’t scream. Of course, a well-trained spy wouldn’t scream anyway. Not that her training had included dragons. But her dreams had, for years. He’d been so real. So solid and huge and gleaming.
Just like the one in front of her.
“It is time, Alexa.”
She blinked in the dimness, ignoring his words. Instead, she approached slowly, reached out a hand, and pressed it to him. His breath sighed out, almost human in its emotion. Emotion that was echoed in her own sigh.
He was flesh. The scales were soft, pliable, though she knew they protected him like Kevlar protected a cop. They flexed with each breath he drew. His long neck flowed as he swung his head around to look at her. Their eyes met, his gold and as deep as the universe. But she recognized him, this old friend.
“Time for what?” She glanced behind her. It was time to get out of there, was what it was time for. She’d miss her extraction window, lose what she’d come here to obtain, and probably get caught and imprisoned. Not her favorite option. But if he left, she might lose him. Again.
The dragon’s claws scraped on the cobblestones. The sound echoed around them. “There is much to discuss. Much to do. But we must go.”
A thrill surged through her at the thought of riding the beast. But she couldn’t go. “I have work to finish,” she told him, and then, without considering the consequences, she added, “Tell me where to meet you.”
The dragon was ready. He gave her coordinates that she memorized immediately.
“I don’t know when I’ll be there,” she cautioned.
“I shall await you.” Then he crouched and leaped into the air, disappearing so fast he left her to wonder if she’d gone insane.
She had a hard time concentrating on the rest of the mission. Her colleagues kept giving her odd looks, and her boss seemed ready to dump her. With effort, Alexa focused on finishing the job.
Once they’d flown home and debriefed, she spent a final hour struggling with her resignation letter. By the time she set it on Rock Davis’s desk he, and everyone else, had left the offices of GenCom, the private espionage firm she worked for. That was fine with her. Goodbyes would necessitate explanations, and she had none. Just something she’d been waiting for her entire life but could never describe to them in a million years.
Alexa stored what she could of her gear and supplies in her Hummer, moved everything else to storage, and closed her apartment. She pinpointed the coordinates he’d given her as a forested region of Canada. It meant several days of travel, time she chafed at wasting, and time for her to think about how nuts it was to be doing this.
Except she’d touched him.
She remembered being about three years old and watching a hulking, graceful shape descend outside her bedroom window. Remembered opening that window and leaning out to talk to a creature who somehow looked her in the eye, despite standing two stories below.
It could have been imaginary. Adult Alexa could never decide if she’d made up the dragon or dreamed him. He’d been her nighttime companion until she was about twelve, then revisited her in dreams that remained vivid but vague. He’d told her stories of romance and tragedy, curses and destiny.
That was the reason she became a spy. She needed a job that would take her all over the world and give her the skills she needed for the quest he’d told her she would go on one day. Though she loved her job, had been good at it, and had dismissed the dreams as just that and foolish to boot, she’d never stopped looking for the dragon.
The dashboard GPS beeped and she slowed the truck, looking for a place to pull off the deserted road. Apprehension took root in her gut. A short appearance in the middle of the night wasn’t conclusive, but now she’d confront him in daylight. She hoped. If she wasn’t insane.
“I’ll know the truth soon enough,” she muttered, hefting her backpack and turning on the handheld GPS unit she’d brought with her.
A short while later she moved cautiously through the trees, approaching a cave at the far side of a glade. She held her hand near her one weapon, a Taser she hoped would buy her time to melt into the underbrush if this was an ambush. Standing still, she slowly tucked the GPS unit away, her eyes leaping back and forth from the trees to the dark entrance to the cave. She held her breath.
He was here.
Her heart thudded once, twice, in slow motion. The sun setting behind her penetrated deep into the cave and glinted off his scales.
Instead of approaching she called his name, Cyrgyn, with the pronunciation, Keer-jin, he had taught her when she was a child.
“Alexa.”
The voice was rich and deep with a hint of roughness that spoke of flame. It made Alexa think of knights and honor and destiny. And foolishness, but she didn’t care. She stepped into the cave, forgetting her training as she went oblivious to her surroundings. There was only him.
* * *
At last. The dragon closed his eyes as she reached him. It had been days since he showed himself to her, days that convinced him she would n
ot come. The world was so different now, so unbelieving of the fantastic. He’d been her companion in childhood, but much had happened since to change her.
Alexa’s presence brought him hope, but with hope came pain. For three lifetimes they’d failed in their quest. For three lifetimes Alexa had died alone, fighting to save her heartmate. This was their last chance. That knowledge stung Cyrgyn’s heart like a million needles. But that was not the worst of it. Though Alexa knew him, had “dreamed” of him, she had only done so for thirty years. Cyrgyn remembered every moment of her three lifetimes, of their shared history, their victories and failures, their love and loss. Alexa remembered nothing. That, he believed, would be the strongest obstacle to their success.
He swallowed his despair and lowered his snout toward the fire ring in the center of the cave. “The sun sets. You must prepare for night. Tomorrow we will begin.”
Alexa backed up and looked around, surreptitiously swiping her hand under her eye. “I’ve gotta get my gear first. I’ll be right back.”
Before Cyrgyn could stop her, she strode into the clearing. He let out yet another sigh. This Alexa was much more headstrong than before. He reminded himself it was now the twenty-first century. Women ruled their own lives and controlled their own destinies. Though he missed the woman he had loved, he realized Alexa’s strength and determination could contribute only good to their quest. For the first time, he wondered if they might succeed.
Alexa returned, burdened with baggage and wood. She dumped the latter into the fire pit and arranged the rest against the wall of the cave. From a large steel frame she pulled a green bedroll and fluffy pillow, which she tossed onto the stone floor, then left the cave before returning with another armload. Cyrgyn felt a pang that he had not prepared for her comfort, though she obviously could do so on her own. He had tried hard over the last century to change his mindset. He must consider Alexa a full partner in their quest. He could not take on the role of protector this time. For in the past, it had been their downfall.
* * *
Alexa moved about in silence while she prepared her dinner and checked her gear. She knew when she left that she was embarking on the quest she’d dreamed of for so many years, and had packed the way she would for any mission with a large element of the unknown. Most of her supplies, she’d left in the truck. Guns and ammunition. A small crossbow and arrows and a Taser. A multitude of digital phones, each with a different purpose. A laptop with broadband access, which she doubted would work way out here. And myriad smaller, clever gadgets she may or may not have occasion to use.
She pulled a small bag of nuts from her food stores and hunkered down on the pallet, studying Cyrgyn. He looked exactly as she remembered. Massive, powerful, with gentle eyes reflecting a sadness she had never really understood.
When he first came to her, she’d been delighted to have a special friend. She’d talked about her days in preschool, her friend Tommy Steen who liked her toy cars but not her dolls, and her desire for a little brother. The dragon had listened more intently than any person she’d ever known. He’d visited often, and she somehow knew never to mention him to her parents. They’d think it was cute that she had an imaginary friend, and she knew he wasn’t imaginary at all.
Alexa wondered about that now. She clearly remembered sitting on her window seat, leaning out the window. Cyrgyn’s long neck had allowed him to look her nearly in the eye. Had he really been there? She was about to ask when the hiss of soup hitting flame caught her attention. She grabbed the pan with the hem of her shirt wrapped around the handle.
“Do you want any?” she asked Cyrgyn, pulling the pot off its tripod and pouring soup into her metal bowl.
“No, thank you. I have eaten.” He lowered his body to the floor and rested his head on one paw.
“Is there enough game in this forest to keep you alive?” She glanced up in time to see what she would have sworn was a smile.
“It does not bother you that I eat deer and bear?”
“No. Why should it?”
“You have never wanted to know before. You—” He cut himself short. Alexa looked up. They’d never discussed what he ate. Not that she could remember.
“I what? When have I never wanted to know?”
Cyrgyn rose to his forefeet and studied the flickering shadows, looking distinctly uncomfortable. His coiled tail rasped against the rock. “In your dreams. We never—”
“No.” Alexa stood as well. Excitement started to flow through her, just like at the beginning of a mission. “That’s not what you meant. Explain.”
“I—” His eyes met hers, and he seemed to deflate. “I cannot begin with that. There is too much prelude.”
Alexa frowned. “What do you mean? Prelude to what?”
Cyrgyn tilted his head to one side, then the other. “Well…” he started, then stopped and looked up at the ceiling. “Ummmm…”
Alexa tried to hold it in, but the giggle bubbled through her pressed lips. She held her side and laughed harder at the disgruntled expression on the dragon’s face. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But hearing ‘ummm’ come out of your mouth is funny.”
Cyrgyn drew himself haughtily erect and turned his back, almost extinguishing the fire with his tail. “When you are through, we will converse.”
Alexa’s laughter echoed in the hidden ceiling of the cave. “Oh, Cyrgyn, come on.” She reached out a hand and tried to urge him back around. “I said I’m sorry.” When her old friend did rotate his head, she saw real hurt in his eyes and immediately subsided. “I am sorry. I wouldn’t hurt you for anything.”
“I know.” He settled himself back down and gestured toward her bowl. “Eat, now. We have a long journey ahead of us.”
“Where are we going?”
He blinked. “A metaphorical journey. I do not know where it will take us.”
“Will you tell me what we’re doing, and why?” She sipped the soup, then crunched a carrot. “And why me?”
After several long moments, he began, “One thousand years ago, a young man and young woman fell in love. It was a forbidden love, as the man was the son of a lord and the woman was but a peasant. They did not hide their feelings, but went to the lord to beg permission to marry. The woman’s family, though lowborn, had done well with what they had and were respected by every level of society. And their blood was pure, with no inbreeding. The lord granted their request.”
“That was unusual,” Alexa observed, sipping from her canteen. She’d filled it in the creek outside the cave and had never tasted water so sweet and clean. “Didn’t the lord’s family object?”
Cyrgyn nodded. “His mother did. She held great store in nobility marrying nobility. But over time even she was won over.”
“What happened?”
“None knew the peasant girl was betrothed to a powerful mage. He had traded with the girl’s father at her birth: his daughter’s hand in exchange for plentiful harvests the rest of their lives.”
Anger burned in Alexa’s romantic chest. “How dare he? His daughter was worth so little?”
“You must understand, Alexa, that times were difficult. The mage was known to be a good man, fair, using his powers to benefit others. But most were afraid of him, and he seemed destined to live his life alone. The woman’s father had seen many of his friends die of starvation and malnutrition. He did not want the same fate to befall his family.”
Alexa dropped her spoon into her bowl and settled against the wall. “I can guess where this is going. They all defied him, he grew angry and bitter and laid a curse on the couple. Did he condemn the village to famine and disease?”
Cyrgyn bowed his head. “He did not punish the innocent. Only the lord’s son and the woman. He—” Again he seemed to consider. Alexa waited patiently, letting him tell his tale his way. Finally, he shook his head. “The mage turned the man into a mythical creature. He graced him with immortality and doomed him to watching his beloved die. Many times over, until the last.”
A shiver rippled up her spine and goosebumps erupted on her extremities. She understood now why he’d hesitated. Cyrgyn was telling her he was the lord’s son, and she was the peasant girl he was doomed to see die.
Alexa had never thought much about reincarnation. Maybe it existed, maybe it didn’t, but it had nothing to do with her. Ha! The realization that she had lived a thousand years ago and the man—dragon—in front of her was part of a past more vast than she could remember…her mind didn’t quite stretch that far.
But her mind didn’t matter, she thought, wrapping her arms around her knees. The moment she’d laid eyes on this man—this dragon, she corrected again—she knew they were connected more deeply than imagination allowed. And she’d refused to admit it, but she’d followed not a map to this tiny glade, but her heart.
Back to basics. “So, I assume our quest is to resolve the curse and turn you back into a man.”
“Aye. That it is.” He waited, his eyes calm, his body still. He exuded the wisdom of the ages.
“How?”
The big head waved back and forth. “I do not know. We have never come close to success.”
Alexa stood and began to pace. “You’ve used phrases like that before. How many times have we tried?”
“How many lifetimes?”
She nodded and stopped, facing him.
“Three.”
“And how did it end?”
“With your death.”
The shiver was back, this time with a chill in the pit of her stomach. Death didn’t bother her. With her job, she’d reconciled with the notion a long time ago. This was different, though, and her reaction felt strangely like…fear.
“Elaborate, please.” She let impatience overwhelm the fear. She liked speed and efficiency in her briefings. But a creature who’d lived for centuries, biding time between his love’s lives, could not be rushed.
“Alexa, I do not wish—”
The roil of emotion coalesced into irritation that she pushed aside. She understood his pain. But she had to know what she was up against. What they were up against.
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