by Kayla Wolf
“You are saving the world,” he said after they'd talked for a while, gazing at her. “You are saving humanity.”
“Trying to,” she said, an unusual smile crossing her face. “If they'll let me.”
His head buzzing with wine and difficult thoughts, Alexander began the walk back to the building where he could transform and begin the flight home to Lisa. (Home? he thought – then dismissed the idea.) This was only the beginning of the search. He'd met three women – all of them clever, kind, strong, interesting to speak with. How many more were there to meet before he would find his soulmate? There were just – so many humans in the world. This city alone was almost overwhelming – but there were hundreds more across the world, thousands even, each of them containing millions of human beings, all of them bright and brilliant and engaging and complex and —
He stopped for a minute, leaning against a wall to steady his breathing, his mind racing. How had he spent so long ignoring the existence of these people? How could he have been so ignorant, so blind to what they had done, the society they had built, the profound impact they had had on the very nature of the planet itself? Stuck in his mountain home, arrogant and dull-headed, letting the years drift by ... no wonder Helena was so furious with him all the time. And no wonder – a stab of grief – no wonder they were stagnating.
No wonder they were dying out.
When he got home, Lisa was asleep in the enormous bed they had found in the house, but she smiled drowsily and sat up when the bedroom door creaked under his hand.
“Well? How'd it go?”
“So well,” he said, a grin splitting across his face. Lisa sat up straighter, her eyes widening in the dark – and was that a flash of disappointment on her face?
“You found her?”
“No. Maybe. I'm not sure, it's impossible to tell. But they were all so interesting! Lisa, those women were amazing! Did you know Yasmin spends every single day saving other people's lives? She goes to a huge building where the sick and injured are sent, and she helps them! She is just a regular human being with a short life and she does that! And Mira – she hasn't slept properly in a decade because she is so stressed about trying to save the planet from other people! Did you know about Global Warming? I didn't! And Jane, an actress, Jane transforms herself into other people to tell stories! And hundreds of people come to sit and watch her! Just like on Netflix!”
Lisa was laughing, and he broke off, concerned.
“You really are kind of a space alien, huh?”
“I am not from space.” His eyes widened. “Are there people from space?”
“Not that we know of.” She rubbed her eyes, smiling tiredly. “You don't know about – plays? Science? You guys don't get newspapers or anything?”
“I know so little,” he said, wondrously, fully comprehending – for perhaps the first time – how deep his ignorance was. “Lisa, I am so excited to – to go on more dates, to learn more things about the world!”
“But – the soulmate issue?”
He hesitated. If he was honest, he'd stopped thinking about whether the women he'd met were his soulmate halfway through each conversation with them. Especially Mira. If she was his soulmate, he was going to have to do a great deal of studying before their marriage. It wouldn't be fair for her to have a husband who couldn't understand her work.
“I am not sure,” he said thoughtfully. “But I think – I think we are on the right track.”
She smiled. “You've got four more dates tomorrow, buddy. Better get some rest. Lots to learn, huh?”
Chapter 20 – Lisa
Lisa tried not to think much about how nice it was to fall asleep together in the same bed. Really, she did. But the low, sonorous rumble of Alexander's voice as he chattered on into the small hours of the morning about the women he'd met on his dates was so pleasant – and the warmth of his body reaching her through the sheets... even though he kept a very respectful distance from her (the bed was certainly big enough to allow plenty of space for modesty) she was still intensely, acutely aware of him. If only they hadn't had sex... her imagination just had too damn much material to work with.
But it seemed like the dates were going well – even if Alexander was taking an unexpectedly keen interest in what the women he was meeting had to say. She was a little nonplussed, honestly. She was always coaching her clients to take as much of an interest in the people they were dating as they could – to focus on who they were, what they did, what they wanted in life, rather than shallow things like appearances – and Alexander was a star pupil. But nothing he said about any of the women he'd met indicated that he was viewing them as anything other than fascinating new friends to talk to. No mention of what they'd been wearing, if they'd been attractive, if there had been a spark... but she didn't want to push the romance angle too hard. He was meeting these women, talking to them, finding out whether there was a connection. She just had to trust that he'd know once he met the destiny woman.
(And ignore the fact that she felt an acute sense of relief, deep down in her chest, that he was speaking so platonically about the women he had met.)
The next morning, she made them breakfast, warning Alexander that if he wanted to eat an elk instead he could keep it to himself. He stayed obediently in human form and even lit a little fire so they could toast some bread to eat with jam. It was a strange little breakfast, but it felt oddly charming to cook something as simple as toast in such an old-fashioned way. Alexander was carrying on about his sister and how fascinated she'd be by everything he was learning.
“Why didn't she come with you?”
He sighed, a shadow crossing that handsome face. “She wanted to. I told her not to. I had the foolish idea in my head that only I could fulfil my destiny – that I wouldn't find my soulmate with anyone's help.”
Lisa chuckled, turning her bread over. “I guess that alley fight would've gone differently if there'd been two of you.”
“Mmm. Helena knows how to fight in both her forms, not just one.”
That was interesting. “There are dragon martial arts?”
“We all learn how to fight, yes.” He tilted his head at her. “Did you think only human beings need to learn the art of self-defense?”
“No, I just figured – you've got teeth and talons, you seem pretty dangerous as it is. We've got no natural weapons at all.” She waved a manicured hand. “I mean, I could sharpen my nails, I guess, but...”
“Your strength is in numbers,” Alexander said simply. “My form may be a natural weapon, but I would perish if I attempted to face even a few hundred humans. And there are many more of you than that.”
“Well, let's not go to war, how about that?”
He smiled at her. “Expert diplomacy. Who am I meeting today?”
“Right. Business.” Lisa grabbed her laptop and showed him the profiles on the women she'd set him up with today. It was fascinating to notice the change in his demeanor – where previously he'd eyed the computers with thinly veiled hostility, now he leaned close, watching the movements of her mouse, asking questions about how the machine knew what she wanted from it, even having a go himself of manipulating the cursor.
“We'll make a modern man of you yet, Alexander,” she laughed as he raised his arms in triumph after successfully double-clicking on a link.
And so the rest of the week took shape. Lisa stayed in the house, keeping things in order and very grateful for the extensive battery life of her computer and her spare batteries, and Alexander flew in and out of New York on dates with as many clients as she could set him up with. There was a fair bit of management to do – she was aware that she was neglecting a few of her male clients, but hopefully, they'd assume that that had to do with the email she'd sent out explaining that her office was undergoing emergency repairs. She'd added that all in-person consultations would have to be either done online or rescheduled – a couple of them had taken her up on her offer of Skype consultations (at a reduced rate, of course) but mostl
y her week was free to focus on the Alexander project.
And honestly, it was so refreshing to get out of the city on this unconventional little working holiday. She loved New York – honestly, who didn't? – but she hadn't realized how deeply she'd missed the fresh air until she spent some time in it. This part of upstate New York was absolutely gorgeous – she spent hours while Alexander was away wandering through the trees, discovering little clearings and streams as she wandered. Once, she stumbled upon a herd of deer grazing – murmured a little apology, as they scattered, both for disturbing them and for the one Alexander had taken from them. Maybe it was time she went vegetarian, she thought idly as she returned to the house.
And when Alexander got back, he'd rattle on at her about the fascinating women he'd met and the stories they'd told him about their various lives. It was kind of wonderful, hearing about humanity through the eyes of someone who knew so little about it – almost like rediscovering her own people. One of her clients was a chef, and Alexander talked her ear off about the fascinating ways humans had discovered of making the simple act of eating so complicated and wonderful. After a date with a social worker, it was a thoughtful rumination on the serious problems inherent in such a populous society, the ways in which institutions and governments let their people down. After a date with a human resources manager (which she'd expected to be a bit of a dull spot, honestly, at least in regards to the woman's career) he was absolutely fascinated by the concept of a corporation that needed to hire people to deal with hiring people.
As they went, she also sent her customary follow-up email to the women Alexander had been out with. It wasn't as though they were expecting responses like 'he's definitely my soulmate, and I now realize my true destiny is to save a race of dragon people,' but – well, it would've been nice. Perhaps there'd be a hint in the feedback. And at any rate, it would be useful for Lisa to know what her clients did and didn't like about Alexander, for future reference. But honestly – what wasn't to like?
Well, the feedback she got from the dates was very positive, as could be expected, and none of the women was against the idea of a second date, but several women said that he seemed a little too preoccupied with something or someone else to be getting into any kind of relationship.
Lisa looked at Alexander, frowning. What, or who, was it that occupied him while going on these dates?
Alexander met her eye. “I'm reading about video games,” he warned her, gesturing with the tablet in his hands. “Soon I will understand every human reference. Watch out.”
She grinned at him, feeling oddly proud and fond of how far he'd come. These women had no idea what they were missing.
Chapter 21 – Alexander
He had met a lot of women so far – this had to be date number eight or nine at least. But this was the first one in this particular wine bar. It was in a different section of town where the streets seemed cleaner, and the shopfronts seemed more minimalistic and strange, and from what he was beginning to learn about human society, that meant that this was where the richer humans lived. And sure enough, when he ordered his customary red wine, the bartender raised one well-shaped eyebrow and enquired coldly as to which grape he meant.
“Surprise me,” he responded archly, and she poured him a glass. It didn't taste very different to the wines he'd been poured without having to specify a type of grape (humans were ridiculous), but he nodded appreciatively anyway – before turning to find a small woman standing at his elbow.
“You must be Alexander.”
She was looking at him with the appraising eye of either a businesswoman or a shark, and he immediately felt like something was wrong with his clothes. Lisa had warned him about this effect. This must have been Jacqui. Lisa had been hesitant even to set him up with her – but he'd insisted on meeting as many people as possible. Her reluctance had set a tinge of excitement up in him, actually. The prophecy specified that his soulmate would be found 'when he least expected it.' And someone that Lisa was frightened of (or was she frightened for him, he wondered?) would certainly be an unexpected soulmate, right?
“She was right, you're gorgeous.” That gaze like a sharpened blade. “What's the catch?”
“You're Jacqui?”
“Obviously.”
“Lisa has told me a great deal about you. She holds you in great esteem.”
“And I her.”
“Good.”
He escorted her to a table, where she gently mocked him for pulling out her chair for her – nevertheless, he got the strange sense that she'd have mocked him more harshly for not offering to do so. Then she ordered a whole bottle of vodka. The bartender who'd sneered at Alexander's order didn't even blink – just nodded and returned with a bottle covered in frost and two small glasses.
“They know me here,” Jacqui said, flicking her wrist to dismiss the bartender. “I'm celebrating!”
“Oh?”
“Can't tell you what, I'm afraid, but rest assured a lot of people are making a truly unethical amount of money.” Her eyes gleamed. “Now, tell me about yourself.”
He tried. Honestly, he did his best. But he hardly got a few sentences into his carefully rehearsed story before she was rolling her eyes. It was something he and Lisa had carefully scripted – enough real details that it felt authentic, but nothing strange or fantastical could be alluded to (obviously.)
“That's all garbage, sweetie. I can hear it in your voice.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don't take it personally, I sniff out liars for a living. Among other things. But don't bullshit me and we'll get on fine. You don't want to tell me about your past. That's okay with me. Tell me something else. How'd you meet Lisa?”
Well, that was safer ground, at least. He explained something of the situation Lisa had found him in, quietly replacing the shifters with muggers and reducing the scale of his injuries, and (of course) skipped over the part where they'd had sex in Lisa's apartment before the whole situation really got complicated. She listened with a quiet intensity that somehow frightened him into rambling a little more than he'd wanted to. And he kept sipping on the vodka she was pouring them both – it was strong and biting, but there was something pleasant about the warmth that it sent radiating through his body. It loosened his tongue, too. And though Jacqui was keeping pace with him, you'd hardly know it.
Finally, he stumbled to a halt, hardly sure of what he was saying any more. Jacqui's bright eyes were gleaming thoughtfully in the low light.
“Interesting.”
“What's interesting?”
“Nothing, dear. Just worked something out.”
“And what's that?”
“Don't worry your pretty head about it. Let's have more drinks.”
When they left the bar, Alexander could hardly walk. Jacqui, by contrast, was the picture of elegance in her high-heeled shoes, even discretely steadying him as he stumbled against the wall of the building.
“Give my best to Lisa, would you?”
“Yes. Of course. Thank you, Jacqui. For listening to me. I am worried that I spoke too much and you too little.” Why was it difficult to talk? He'd never had this much trouble moving his mouth – not since the first time he'd shifted into his human form.
“Oh, I find you fascinating, don't worry.” She smiled at him. “If you'd like some advice? You already know what you want. Go get it.”
The flight home was strange. For some reason, he kept veering left and right where he meant to stay true, and for the first time in his life, his unerring sense of direction from altitude seemed faulty. He actually landed outside a completely unrelated house first, realizing his mistake only when he saw lights and multiple people inside. He winged his swift way back up into the sky, a little unsteady and deeply concerned. He hadn't thought that the effects of alcohol carried over when he shifted. Why on earth did humans do this to themselves? Was it really that enjoyable to impair one's faculties? (It kind of was, he had to admit, dipping and swerving a little in the
air.)
Lisa was waiting up for him, sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed in her socks with her laptop in front of her, a handful of candles lighting the room. She smiled when she saw him in the doorway, closed the computer and rose to meet him, and though later he'd blame the alcohol for what he did next, at that moment he had never felt more clear in his life.
He touched her upturned face, almost reverently. He saw her expression begin to shift and change, moving from her simple pleasure to see him to something more guarded – but there was desire there, too, and his heart beat harder as he bent to kiss her as he should have done days ago, when they'd been looking at the profiles of a whole range of perfectly wonderful, interesting, excellent, exciting women, none of whom made him feel even a thousandth of what he felt for Lisa, here, in the run-down old bedroom of an abandoned house in her pajamas.
She kissed him back, and it felt like his heart was going to explode – he'd almost expected her to push him away, to chide him gently as she had a few days previous, but instead, she was drawing him to her, hungrily, the desperation in her movements mirroring his own. It finally felt like he could breathe again. Without even realizing it he had gathered her to him, lifted her slight body off the ground and her legs wrapped around his waist, and at that moment he wanted to take off, to fly her straight home to his lair in the mountains and stay there with her for a hundred years, a thousand. Let the snow come and bury them together, freeze them there, let his quest or his destiny or his responsibilities be damned – all he cared about was the feeling of her body against his, the glow of her eyes in the candlelight, the feeling of her lips against his throat. He'd swung her around to press her against the door, and she'd somehow gotten her feet back on the ground and her hands on the buttons of his shirt, torn it off with far less discretion than she'd shown the last time they'd done this. The last time, back in that tiny apartment, when he'd been so consumed with guilt at not telling her the whole truth that he'd almost stopped her half a dozen times.
