The doorbell stopped me from launching a full debate about the near-sighted xenophobia of our written dragon history. Balor knew it and was quick to open the big front doors. The teenager on my front steps was terrified by my servant’s lightning-fast movements and he stumbled back with a small cry.
“Thank you. That smells delicious,” I said.
The delivery kid gaped at me until his phone buzzed and broke the spell. “Sorry, that’s my girlfriend. I came here to make your delivery first, I swear.”
“Though she tempted you otherwise?” Balor asked with a wide grin. He chucked the scrawny kid on the shoulder. “What a stand-up thing to do. Unless he’s not really in love with the girl.”
I sensed in a millionth of a second that he was very much in love with his girlfriend and spent much of his time daydreaming about their marriage. It was why he had taken the extra hours as a delivery driver. If only she knew he was doing it to save for a ring, she would stop pestering him about working too much.
“Use the extra tip to buy her some flowers. If she knew your intentions, she would be much more patient,” I told the kid.
“Really?” Balor asked. He took the food and shut the front doors in the gaping kid’s face. “Now you’re giving free advice? You really think that’s the way to make them accept you?”
“He is in love with the girl.”
Balor herded me towards the spacious kitchen. “And you must be out of your mind with hunger. Since when do you care so sincerely about love?”
“It’s not just particular to humans, you know.” I settled on a stool at the large granite kitchen island and reached for my food.
“A few days into your first home and you’re already thinking about the mating call?” Balor snorted and grabbed us two craft beers from the otherwise bare refrigerator.
The mating call was a dragon ritual at least a thousand years older than the claiming of the land custom I was trying to follow. Dragons, since ancient times, believed that each soul had a mate. Throughout the universe, nothing vibrated on precisely the same frequency except soul mates. Once found, the resonating souls created a marriage that ensured the continuing balance of the cosmos.
It was hard to both chew and grit my teeth, so instead, I tried to ignore Balor. The steak I had ordered was overcooked and unsatisfying but I was beginning to wonder if there was something else causing my hunger.
Balor wondered the same thing aloud. “You are ready for the mating call, and many dragons feel it the same year they claim their land.”
“Ready to have my life turned upside down by some female? I don’t think so,” I bit out.
That made my advisor laugh. “I’ve seen plenty of females go all topsy-turvy for you. Only seems fair.” Then he grew more contemplative. “It would explain your listlessness and irritation.”
“Many people find you irritating,” I reminded Balor.
He didn’t mind the jab as his mind raced through the possibilities. “That would mean there has to be another dragon nearby. Perhaps what we thought was old magic from the forest and land itself is another of our kind shielding themselves. What does your intuition say to that?”
I finished my dinner before I responded. “It says to me that I’d rather go into town and face a bar full of reticent humans than hear any more of your conspiracy theories. We are the only dragons here and I am not suffering the mating call.”
Balor cleaned up our dishes but observed me over every move. “They say it’s like a magnetic force, the mating call, pulling you towards your other.”
I snorted. “I feel nothing except a strong pull to drink so I don’t have to listen to your nonsense. Let’s go try that roadside bar we passed on the way into town.”
“Decisive action. At last, you are acting like yourself again!” Balor quickly finished his tidying up and rushed out to bring around the car.
***
I assumed the roadside bar would hold mostly long-distance drivers and drifters, maybe a few regulars but only the kind that concentrated on drinking like it was an occupation. It seemed like the perfect place for two outsiders to stop without drawing too much attention. I made sure to tell Balor my astute theories while we drove. And I ignored the gut-feeling that I could now only describe as magnetic.
Inside JJ’s Bar the feeling intensified. There were peanut shells on the floor, strips of pull-tabs on almost every table, and a general sense of drunkenness that kept the frustration of human life at bay.
Then there was her.
She was tall, maybe 5’ 10” with a mass of curly chestnut hair, and when our glances met, I could see her dark blue eyes were ringed with a strange, alluring golden band. It was hard to look away and even when I did, I could still sense her. Every step she made up and down the bar, every table she visited, and each trip to the short-order kitchen was as apparent to me as if she wore bells.
I could only hope she wouldn’t serve our table and make my attraction obvious to Balor. The last thing I needed was for him to reopen the subject of the mating call in a crowded bar full of humans. A dozen curious eyes were already glued to us and I did not want to appear, or be heard, acting any stranger than we already seemed.
“Ah, here comes the waitress. What’ll you have?” Balor asked.
Her was all I could think.
Chapter Three – Cora
It was impossible not to notice the newcomers. In fact, it seemed like most of the bar paused between gulps to stare. The shorter man entered first with a fierce look. He was a burly as a bull and looked just about as friendly. But it was the taller man that I couldn’t take my eyes off.
At 6’ 3” he had to bend his head slightly not to ring the bell above the bar door. He was impeccably dressed and the fine clothes hung perfectly on his lanky frame. Most men at that height can appear stringy but, as he raised an arm to point to an open table, his muscles strained against his jacket.
Heads turned as he and his bullish companion took their places, but even Liz couldn’t blame it on typical rudeness of Argo Heights regulars. The man had white hair, straight as silk, and it fell in a loose braid down to the middle of his broad back.
“Wow,” Liz whispered to me. “He sure stands out in a crowd.”
We weren’t the only ones whispering about the strangers. Heads were bent close together all around the bar and most eyes were darting back and forth between the newcomers.
I forced myself to tear my eyes away from their table and concentrate on pouring another pitcher of beer. “I wonder what brought them here?” I asked no one in particular.
As I delivered the next round to the rowdy table up front, I found out I wasn’t the only one wondering out loud.
“You think he dyes it that color? Maybe he’s one of them male models or something,” one man chuckled.
“Better not be one of those ultra-rich land developers or he’ll meet the backside of my hand first,” his more drunken friend grumbled. “Cora, honey, what do you say?”
I wanted to say that I was outright shocked the regulars actually knew my name but I bit my lip. The undeniable strangeness of the newcomer was changing their tune about me. Next to a hulking but handsome white-haired man, I was suddenly accepted as one of them. It felt strange to be suddenly on their side and the growing ‘us versus them’ feeling in the bar made me woozy.
“All I can say is, can I get you fellas anything else?” I was glad to grab their empty pitcher so that my shaking hands had something to grip.
“Don’t worry, darling. Those weirdos say anything wrong and we’re here to back you.”
As soon as I turned around, the urge was too much to resist. I found myself heading directly to the newcomer's table even though I was still toting the empty pitcher. It took all my strength to detour to the bar and drop it off. There I felt a strong shiver run up and down my spine. Was he the magnetic pull that had dragged me to Argo Heights?
Liz shot me a worried look from the other end of the bar but I shook my head. I was fine and,
as always, I reminded myself the only thing to do was take the next step. I turned and headed straight for his table.
I caught the burly man asking his friend, “what’ll you have?”
“Bourbon on the rocks. Top shelf,” I said.
The white-haired man looked up sharply. He studied me for a second with icy green eyes that I swore could see right through me. “Yes, thank you,” was all he said.
I couldn’t move, I couldn’t hear, and I couldn’t see anything but him. It must have been at least twenty seconds that I just stood there caught by his gaze because his friend had to clear his throat twice before I shook myself out of the trance.
“You got any ginger beer?” The burly man asked. His gaze bounced between the two of us and then he changed his mind. “Make that a chaser to a whiskey, straight up. You don’t mind, do you, Maalik?”
Maalik. His name resonated in my thoughts as if my head had just expanded to stadium-size. Why did such a strange name strike such a familiar chord?
“I don’t mind if you drink tonight, Balor. I’m sure Argo Heights has a cab if necessary.”
Maalik looked at me again and all I could do was nod. Then, somehow, I broke myself away from those entrancing green eyes and all but ran back to the bar. Liz was kind enough not to tease me about the blazing blush across my cheeks. She seemed to sense the newcomers had thrown me off, so she chatted as if nothing had happened.
Talk of how the surly short-order cook was over-salting the fries and how the second tap was getting sticky and needed changing was just what I needed. Work was a great way to stop my spinning thoughts and get me back to reality. I even managed to deliver their drinks and turn back around without being caught by those magnetic eyes again.
Too bad even the cook was chatting about the strangers. “Holds himself up high like royalty,” he told me. “I’ve seen men like that before, bet he has some military training, special forces or what-not. Good-looking I’m not denying, Cora, but he’s dangerous. Hope none of those drunks out there think braided hair makes him a sissy.”
Back out to the bar and I passed three other theories: visiting foreign dignitary, actor in one of those popular medieval television shows, and fashion designer. The only consensus was the strangers did not belong. That, and the burly man was his bodyguard.
I was about to fall back on breathing exercises to help clear my mind when I heard one last theory that took my breath away:
“Bet he’s the one that bought the old Burton mansion,” the regular at the end of the bar remarked. “Been empty a decade or so but just sold.”
“I remember that place,” Liz chimed in. “Kids used to go there to party in the great hall. You ever go, Danny?”
Danny gave a short nod. “Sure thing. I remember that fireplace was as big as the back of a Cadillac, all covered with fancy stone carvings.”
A wave of dizziness passed over me and I struggled to get my breath back. Was he describing the fireplace I had envisioned earlier? It couldn’t be, but the longer the man called Maalik sat in the bar, the stronger the magnetic pull felt. Being drawn across the country by a man like that seemed like something out of a fairy tale, but the feeling was as certain as my feet on the ground.
I turned to glance at him again, to reassure myself the silly attraction was all in my own head. Maalik was gazing at back at me, his hand pressed to his sternum, right over where I felt as if a rope had been tied around my insides. Somehow, I knew we were connected, and he knew it too.
Chapter Four – Maalik
What was it about that woman? I had been attracted to human females before and flirting with them was considered appropriate amusement for young dragons, almost a rite of passage. The problem was the intense connection I felt to the waitress was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I could not take my eyes off her and some of the human males were beginning to notice.
Worse than that, Balor had noticed and it took all my strength to return my gaze to our small, scratched table. “What were we discussing?” I asked.
“Whether or not you sense anyone with the appropriate skills to help us repair the mansion,” Balor said. He frowned. “What is on your mind?”
I shot him a deadly look, then made the fatal mistake of trying to convince my advisor that nothing was wrong. “Perhaps we came out too soon. The claiming of the land is meant to make me feel connected and grounded but…” I trailed off as I realized the only connection I felt was to the attractive waitress and my eyes darted over to the bar again.
Balor leaned back and his chair creaked. “Perhaps our quarantine – or should I call it our celibacy? - is making you feel other things first.”
“Stop.” I gave the command too loudly and the tables closest to us stopped and turned. I attempted to smile at them but it didn’t seem to go over well.
Balor saw me struggle to avoid staring at the waitress again and he suddenly leaned in close across the table. “You seem to be enthralled. What if there are darker forces at work here?”
I laughed out loud at his suggestion and drew more alarmed looks from our bar-mates. In one breath, I was able to scan the entire block and assure myself there was not another magical creature near. Then I tried to assure Balor but the waitress walked by to the table just behind him and my eyes strayed again.
“Listen to me, servant,” I growled for his ears only. “It is impossible that dark powers would escape my notice. We are surrounded by nothing but humans.”
“As if there has never been one recorded human that acquired magic?” Balor dared to challenge me.
I dropped my voice even lower. “A town like this? No university, no connection to the ancient societies, no obvious source of power? Improbable.”
He finished his ginger beer and stood up. “Improbable is not the same as impossible. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
I watched as Balor made a weak show of heading to the restroom and then turned towards the bar. He was intent on getting a closer look at my waitress and I felt a surge of ownership. I had my eye on her so how dare he even move towards her?
I couldn’t call him back or the humans would once again turn to stare and I couldn’t jump up to join him without frightening most of the average males. She was about to be approached by a red dragon, already bristling from our unfinished argument, and she was completely unaware of the danger. She would only be safe if she came to my side.
Our eyes met and she immediately came out from behind the bar and walked towards me. She forgot her tray and the orders waiting to be delivered and approached with a worried look. “I’m sorry, did you call me?”
“Oh, thanks,” Balor said, rejoining us in a hurry. “We would like to order another round of the same. That was all. Thanks.”
He shooed her away with the utmost gentleness and then sat down to stare at me with a deep crease between his eyes. “You sent her a message, didn’t you.”
“I’m a silver dragon, not a psychic. ESP isn’t one of my powers.” I leaned back and tried to look amused but the truth was he was right and it worried me too.
“Powerful enough to disguise her true nature?” Balor tapped his thick fingers on the table as he tried to drum up what kind of creature could do that without me sensing. “Another dragon?”
“Only a black dragon could accomplish that and one with enough focus for deception has not been born in centuries,” I reminded him.
The door to JJ’s Bar flew open and a new round of customers came in along with a cooling breeze. It seemed to blow our argument and subsequent worries away with it until the band of men came straight up to our table.
“That’s our table. Reserved. Get it?” The man that dared address me was above average in both height and weight. He jerked his thumb as if Balor and I would stand up and scurry away.
Balor’s aura was beginning to blaze but it was the waitress that stepped in and handled the situation. She walked straight up to the towering male and glared up at him. “No reservations here, no preferred seating. You k
now the rules.”
His nostrils flared and he scowled down at her until I had a red flash of ripping his head off but the waitress didn’t flinch. Finally, the man huffed about wanting to sit upfront anyway and the group moved away from our table. She set our drinks down and I noticed her hand was shaking but I could not reach out to comfort her. I couldn’t even meet her gaze without starting the argument with Balor all over again.
Instead, I read her name tag and said, “thank you, Cora.”
After she’d retreated to the bar, Balor heaved a big sigh. “Well, whatever she is, she does not pose a threat to you. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen you defended by a human. What did it feel like?”
I threw a cocktail napkin at him and tried to change the subject. “So, how come I’ve never lost you to the mating call?”
Balor choked on his whiskey and coughed until his face grew red. Or perhaps it was the thought of the mating call that made him blush. Either way it cheered me immensely and I leaned back again and took a long sip of my drink.
“I’ve never experienced it,” he finally admitted.
“Are you sure you didn’t just miss it while you were in the wars?”
“No. No way. From what I’ve heard, the mating call is unavoidable and I’ve seen plenty of soldiers feel it despite the heat of battle.”
I couldn’t help myself; I had to ask. “Feel what?”
Balor shrugged. “I’m not much of a poet but I’ve heard dragons say it’s like a gong started ringing in their chests or a rope tied around their heart. All I know is that once it’s heard, the mates must join and nothing can get in the way.”
Unavoidable, like the way my eyes seemed to find her every few seconds, whether I wanted to look or not.
I shook off the thought and realized what I was seeing. The newcomers that had tried to challenge us for our table had joined the rowdy drinkers upfront and now Cora was trapped in their midst. She was smiling but it was pasted on and looked too tight around the edges of her mouth.
Silver Dragon Page 2