by James, Jacki
A soft touch and quiet murmurs pulled me from the dream.
“Shh, Azaran, baby, it’s just a dream. Shh.” I opened my eyes to find a very concerned Toby with his arms wrapped around me. I tried to speak, to tell him it wasn’t just a dream, it was a memory, but I couldn’t get a sound to come out around the lump in my throat. I realized I’d been crying in my sleep. I wanted to pull back. To tell him I was fine, but instead, I let him pull me tighter into his embrace, and for the first time since my parents’ deaths, I didn’t feel alone. I pulled in a few deep breaths and willed my heart rate to slow. I reminded myself that the events in the dream took place years ago, and everyone I loved was here in this house and they were safe.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “How long have we been asleep?”
He placed a soft kiss on my head and tightened his embrace. “Just a couple hours. Do you want to talk about the dream?” he asked, and I realized I did. I’d never told anyone about the dreams that haunted me. I’d had them almost nightly right after my parents died, but over time, they’d become less frequent, only appearing a few times a month. Just often enough to remind me that someone had murdered my parents, and we still didn’t know who. I told him about the dream and about the night my parents died. He didn’t say a word the entire time, only giving me reassuring touches or murmurs when appropriate.
When I finished my tale, I looked at him to find tears in his eyes. Tears for me; what a compassionate soul fate had sent me. His patients were lucky to have him.
“How old were you when this all happened?”
“I had just turned eighteen. The boys and I stayed with my father’s brother, our Uncle Kazimir, for the first year since our grandfather was head of the Brotherhood and he was too busy to take on four boys. My uncle and my father were very different men and held different views on training and how we should be raised. My parents believed we were men first and dragon riders second. My uncle didn’t see the value of a traditional education or interaction with the human world. He wanted our society to be more insular. As the boys got older, and especially when Malachite and Kesia fully bonded and could help me, we came here to Dargum’s Cove. We’d vacationed here when we were children and my parents loved the cliffs. I purchased the land, moved here, built the house, and here we are.”
“You were so young to have so much responsibility, but your brothers have grown into fine young men. I do have questions, but if you’d rather they wait until tomorrow, that’s fine. You must be starving.”
“I am, and I’m sure the boys are all wanting to see for themselves you’re okay. I know Sindri told them, but as a general rule, dragons don’t give much detail.”
“So you can actually talk to the dragons?” he asked.
“Only to Sindri, but she talks to the others, and they’ll share with their person. We have a telepathic link with our dragon’s that forms once we’ve fully bonded.”
“Okay, well, that answers one of my questions. Now let’s go get some food and you can answer the rest.”
Chapter Twelve
Toby
I walked up the stairs with Azaran and I was a little nervous. I’d spent the last few days with Eeli, Zale, and Malachite, hanging out and getting to know them. They were great guys and basically, I’d just thrown a tantrum because Azaran hurt my feelings, tried to run away even though I told them I’d stay, and then came back and slept with their brother. So yeah, I wasn’t sure what kind of reception I’d get. But when we walked into the kitchen, it was like the last few hours had never happened.
“Hey, Doc, Az, we were putting together some sandwiches. You guys want one?” Malachite asked.
“Sounds great, I’m starving,” I said.
“There’re cold cuts, banana pepper rings, and black olives if you want any. There’s also an olive oil dressing I like on mine if you want,” Zale added.
“Toby has some questions about… well, things. You know, how our world works. We planned to talk over dinner if you want to join us,” Azaran said, but as usual, his if you want to, sounded more like a command than an offer.
“Sure,” Eeli said, happy to be included. He was such a great kid. He stressed himself out wanting to be perfect, but hopefully, he’d outgrow that.
We all took our plates to the table and sat down. I debated where to start when Eeli beat me to it. “So,” he said. “Are you and Azaran really mates?”
I glanced at Azaran to see what he wanted to say. He rolled his eyes and smiled. “Yes, Eeli, we’re mates. We haven’t figured out what we want to do about that yet. That’s what we want to talk through. Toby has a life in Maine. He can’t just leave his life behind to come here without understanding how things work.”
“A week ago I had no idea dragons existed. So this is a lot to take in. I’m hoping to understand things better.”
“Okay, well, we all like you and hope you stay,” Zale said. “So hit us with your questions.”
I looked at Azaran. “First, when you told me about your parents' death’s you mentioned dark wraiths. What’re those?”
“Well, they’re almost like our dragons. But as I told you, our dragons are magic. The best way I can describe it is by using conventional witchcraft as an example. Do you know much about witchcraft at all?”
“Not much,” I admitted. “But probably enough to understand what you’re talking about.”
“So witchcraft in and of itself isn’t good or evil. It just is. There are witches who are good and witches who are evil. But the magic itself is the same. It’s the intent behind the spell that makes the difference.”
“Okay, that makes sense.”
“Well, dragons are the same. Dragons aren’t good or evil. Dragons are magic. It’s the rider who’s good or evil. But the energy the rider possesses affects their dragon. A dragon whose rider is evil will be corrupted and lose the essence of what makes them a dragon. When that happens, they become dark wraiths. You’ve seen our dragons in their smaller wyrmling form. They’re fun and playful and a joy to be around. Dark wraiths lose that spark that our dragons have that allows them to have fun. If they were people, I’d say it steals their humanity, but they aren’t people. They’re dragons, and when a dragon loses its soul and becomes a wraith, it becomes a very dangerous creature.”
“And the people who killed your parents rode on dark wraiths?”
“I didn’t see them, but that’s what my father said.”
“Okay, I may have more questions about that later. Now you mentioned the Brotherhood, what’s that?”
“Good heavens, Azaran, didn’t you tell him anything? I mean what were you two doing all this time?” Eeli asked.
My face warmed, and Azaran gave Eeli a seriously look, and it was Eeli’s turn to blush.
“Oh, ooh,” he said, and we couldn’t help but laugh.
“Now, the Brotherhood,” I said, trying to bring us back on track.
“The Brotherhood has been around forever in one form or another,” Azaran said. “Zale, you go ahead; you tell it best.
Zale grinned and launched into the tale. “The story goes that one of our ancestors generations ago was a great sorcerer. People told stories of his great bravery, kindness, and magic. A huge dragon had attacked one of the King’s villages, and the king had no idea what to do. When he heard of this great sorcerer, he sent for him to kill the dragon. The sorcerer took six members of his order and set off on the mission, ready to kill the horrible beast. But when they found the dragon hiding in a cave in the forest, the beast was crying. He felt sorry for the dragon and asked him what was wrong. The dragon told him he was lonely. He came from another realm and was stuck here. He missed his family, and he only went to the village hoping to make friends, but they were scared of him and tried to kill him. Our sorcerer believed the dragon and helped him find his way home. There were dragons in his home realm who wanted to come here, but to prevent what happened with the first dragon, they struck a bargain that the dragons would only come here if they had a huma
n companion to keep them from becoming lonely. The chosen humans would be descendants of those men and would be born with a tattoo of a dragon. A dragon from the realm would be sent here to live with that human as their companion. The men formed the Brotherhood and split up into smaller groups all over the world. We’ve had dragons as companions ever since.
“Wow, so do you think that’s really how it happened?” I asked.
“Who knows.” Azaran shrugged. “Remember what I told you when you asked me if fated mates were like in the romance novels? All legends have some basis in fact. I’m guessing the story isn’t exactly like that, but it has elements of truth to it.”
I thought about that for a minute and nodded. “Makes sense. So how does the Brotherhood work now?”
“Now there’s a governing group called the Council, it consists of one member from each of the six founding families. There are clusters, mostly family groups like ours, spread throughout the world. Each cluster sends a representative to the council meetings. The leader of the Brotherhood has always been an Ormarr and is called the Chieftain. Our grandfather was Chieftain until he died four years ago. Our father was next in line, but because he wasn’t alive, it passed to my uncle.”
“So you would’ve been head of the order?” I asked.
“Still will most likely. My uncle has no children. So unless he has a son late in life, when he dies, it’ll come to me,” Azaran said like it was no big deal that he may someday be the one in charge of a secret group of dragon riding warriors.
“The Brotherhood is a well-kept secret,” Malachite said. “Trusted members of the world’s governments are aware of our existence and call on our help when they need it. We don’t get involved in politics or wars, ever. Our mission is to help the world as a whole, not any particular government.”
“So like the President knows you exist?”
“Some Presidents have known, but not all. Just because a person was elected to office doesn’t automatically make them trustworthy enough to be privy to our secrets.”
“I can understand that. So if your mission is to help the world, where do the dark wraiths come in?”
“From the beginning of the Brotherhood, there have been discussions about what our role should be in this world,” Azaran said. “You’ve seen our dragons in warrior form. If a few banded together intent on power, they’d be almost unstoppable. Some thought that was what we should aim for. Domination. Not everyone who believed that had bad intentions in the beginning. Some thought if we were in charge, we could enforce peace, make the world a better place. But those who wanted power for power’s sake soon took over that movement, and it became clear their mission wasn’t the same as the rest of the Brotherhood. They broke off and formed their own organization called The Order of Amsel. Most of our missions now have something to do with them. They’ve grown in number and without us to stop them, they’d take over.”
“And they’re the ones who murdered your parents?”
Azaran nodded grimly. “But it was an organized attack. My father was a great fighter and his dragon was stunning and fierce. This wasn’t some rogue band of wraith riders who happened upon my family and attacked. It was a precise, strategic strike. We don’t know who ordered it, but I will find out and when I do, I’ll make them pay.”
“We all will,” Zale added. There was a fierce determination mixed with a deep sadness in the young man’s eyes that made my heart hurt for him.
“You don’t have jobs. How do you support yourselves?”
“We do have jobs. We save the world. Weren’t you listening?” Malachite teased.
I laughed and said, “Yes, I was listening, you goof. But who pays you to save the world? I’m pretty sure the power company won’t take saved the world this month as payment to keep the lights on.”
“We inherited enough money to live on from our parents, and we do take jobs that pay sometimes. We’ve rescued famous people's children and things like that. But mostly, we have dragons. They possess a weird knack for finding things of value. Take Sindri for example. She loves prisms, but you know what else other than glass can act as a prism? A diamond. She can sniff out a diamond mine from miles away.”
“Once again, all legends having a basis in reality, right? So does that mean there’s a dragon’s hoard somewhere in these caves?”
“Well,” Azaran said laughing. “Of sorts. Ask Kesia to show you her collection of snow globes someday, or get Itsaso to show you her knives.”
This whole conversation the dragons had been playing in the room next to us, basically ignoring us, but when we started talking about their treasure, they perked up and paid attention. I noticed Sindri watching me. “Sindri,” I gushed. “You gave me one of your treasures!” She ran to me, hopped up into my lap and rubbed her head against my chin. “Oh, I love you, too, girl. That was very sweet of you.” She gave a little chirp of agreement and ran back off to play. I watched for a minute as she joined back in the game of tag they appeared to be playing and then laughed. “It’s hard to imagine those sweet little creatures are actually giant, fierce dragons.” I realized they hadn’t mentioned the cute little purple dragon’s favorite thing. “What about Bo?” Eeli sighed as if exasperated and shook his head.
“Candy wrappers. She collects flipping candy wrappers. She eats the candy and keeps the trash.”
“No, pipsqueak,” Malachite said. “We’ve talked about this. She collects shiny things. It may always be candy wrappers, but it may not. She’s still young and hasn’t seen what the world offers, yet. Once she has, she may find other shinies she likes better.”
“The big question is, how would I fit? I’m a doctor, guys. I love being a doctor. I’m guessing you guys get yourselves banged up enough to keep me fairly busy, but that won’t be enough for me.”
“You could open a clinic in town. Doctor Evans is the only doctor in town, maybe you could even join his practice.”
“But as far as here with us,” Malachite motioned to the brothers, “you already fit with us.”
Azaran took my hand and smiled. “Okay, that’s enough questions for now. I think we gave you enough to process.” He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Let’s go back to bed.” And just like that, the heat was back and I couldn’t wait to get downstairs.
Chapter Thirteen
Azaran
I woke up the next morning with Toby in my arms. There was a part of me that was still a little freaked out about the whole mate thing, which was really kind of funny since I’d known about mates my whole life, and Toby had learned about them yesterday. He seemed perfectly fine. He let out these soft little puffs of air when he slept that were so damned adorable, and I tightened my arms around him. I might be freaking out, but I wasn’t letting him go.
I lay there for a few more minutes before I decided to get up and get my day started. I gently rolled him to the side so I could move, and he made little grumbling noises and settled back to sleep. I left the room with a smile on my face and went up to the kitchen. The guys were already there and halfway through breakfast. “Oh, good, you’re up,” Zale said, handing me a plate of food. “We were about to come and get you. We have a job.”
Normally I was thrilled when we had a job. It’s what we trained for, what we were born for. But not today. Today I wanted to eat and crawl back into bed with Toby. “What’s the job?” I asked, spreading butter on my toast. I wondered if Toby wanted some breakfast. I could take a plate down to him.
Malachite chuckled and said, “Don’t tell me having a mate’s already made you go soft. You’re usually excited about new jobs.”
“Yeah, whatever. Your day will come and when it does, I’m so going to say I told you so,” I said, pointing my butter knife at each of them. “All of you, just wait.”
“We’re headed into the mountains,” Zale said, reading from the report he had on his tablet. “Our target is a guy named Nick Wilson. He’s an accountant out of Spokane. He stumbled on some suspicious accounts for one of his emplo
yer's clients. He asked about them and was told it was none of his business. He didn’t feel right about it, so he dug a little deeper. Appears Mr. York’s business was a front for some very illegal activity; trafficking, in particular. Of what kind you ask. Of every kind. If you could move it and make money doing so, he did it. Drugs, stolen goods, and yes, people. Our boy, Nick, went to local law enforcement. Charges were brought, arrests made, and now Nick has a price on his head. They had him under protection, but they found one officer guarding him dead, and both Nick and the other officer have disappeared. Rumor is, the cop that’s with him is a good guy. On the up and up. They contacted us because they believe the officer, Paul Barrett, may have taken Nick and fled to keep him safe. It looks like the partner sold them out. Our contact thinks Officer Barrett killed his partner to protect Nick and has gone radio silent because he doesn’t know who to trust. Barrett’s a former Navy Seal, survival trained, and has a cabin in the mountains in Oregon. That’s where we’re going.”
“So what’s our objective? Get in and bring him to our contact?”
“Nope, actually, our job is to get a message to Paul Barrett. We’re to tell him that they’re aware of the leak, and he’s to contact Inferno ASAP. He will know what that means. We can stay with Nick while Paul makes contact and are authorized by the council to reveal ourselves to Paul Barrett, if necessary, to render aid and facilitate him making contact. No memory erasure after required for Barrett only.”
“Okay, sounds like Mr. Wilson is in good hands, then.”