Simeon

by Kathi S. Barton

  “I shouldn’t like being compared to the king, but I thank you for it. I know all languages. I can speak to any creature, shifter or not. In this, I can find out information that others might not be able to.” He smiled at her, and it made her feel off. “You’re very beautiful as a dragon. I haven’t seen any in a great many years. There are many here?”

  “Yes. Several hundred at last count. They’re not all large ones…in fact, most are about the same size as I am, but the larger ones are beautiful too.” She wondered if he was making fun of her, but he only smiled again. “I can see your armor now. Before I could only see what a beautiful woman you were, but I can see it now.”

  “It’s here because of the threat, and here I sit on a mountain top, waiting like some faint-hearted woman who knows not enough to get in out of the rain.” Simeon laughed then. “You think to make fun of me?”

  “No. I was thinking of you being faint of heart. I don’t believe there is a person living that would be stupid enough to think that of you.” Bryn didn’t understand these men. They were nice. She sat, but far from them so they’d not touch her. Touching seemed to be a big part of their family when together. “You’ve been around longer than any of us. Longer than even my parents, I’m thinking.”

  “Longer than the king and queen from before.” She stood up and looked at the walls that were sheltering them. Using her magic, she lit the way to the deeper part and asked them to follow her. They were perhaps thirty feet back when she showed them the walls there. “This is where I stayed when my parents were murdered. My sisters are there…my brother, Paul, as well.”

  The drawings on the wall had been done in her blood for the most part. There were bits of her family’s as well. Their blood had mixed with hers when she’d found them, still abed. She remembered the day that she’d come here, the grief and pain that she’d poured onto these walls.

  “My parents were still in their bed clothing. They’d been dead for only a few hours, their bodies still warm under the covers. My brother had been out of his bed, his body cut to ribbons, so he might have fought back, I think. He lost.... They removed his head and laid it beside him, as if he were looking up at me.” Bryn touched the crude drawing of her little brother as she continued. “My sister, Beth and Rose, were abed too, but their bodies were mutilated as well. Beth had been killed with my brother’s blade, a small one that he could handle. Rose had been.... They raped her. A child, and they raped her.”

  “Why?” She’d forgotten that they were with her, her grief so profound. “Why did they kill your family? I thought that they were under protection when you were away.”

  “They were. They were supposed to be, but the man that I worked for, a minor king who thought to expand his lands, decided that having me in his bed was going to be my next assignment. He knew then it was against the laws of my kind, but that mattered little to him. So, I left him there with his parts hanging out and injured.” Simeon laughed again, and she smiled at him. “I wasn’t too gentle with him in my telling him no. I think that is what spurred him to be so cruel to my family.”

  “No, I would imagine you weren’t. So, it was him, that man, who killed them?” She nodded, looking at the drawings again. “I’m assuming that, as rights of war, you took care of him.”

  “I killed his household, as a matter of fact. Himself I have not yet found and killed.” She turned from the memory and looked at them both. “I gave his family as much mercy as he’d given mine. They were all dead, the entire palace, within moments of me finding my family. Then I went back to my home only after his household were all dead, and buried my family in the gardens that my father so loved. There was no marker for them, for that I was sorry. But I think now, should I have done that, their graves might have been damaged. Then the house was burnt to the ground. After that...after that, I guess you could say that I gained more power. I shut my heart off to anyone. The pain I felt then, it’s lessened very little. I cannot love you. Not as you would like.”

  “And how is it you think we want you to love us?” She asked Simeon what he meant. “Do you think that we want more from you than you’re willing to give? That we’ll make demands on you and your body that you wouldn’t want? To me, that would be called raping you. No less than what happened to your sister. No, we want whatever you wish to give us. Share with us, no matter the subject, anything that you wish.”

  “That isn’t how it works.” He asked her how it worked. “I don’t know, but you can’t expect me to believe that you want nothing from me. I’m a woman, you’re men. You will demand that I comply.”

  “If you think that we want you in our bed, then you’re right, we do. Also, against the tree, the wall, even the ground if you were to consent. But we don’t want you to give yourself to us because you think that is all we want. I want to talk to you. Be with you, around you. I’d like to wake up and know that we’re going to be spending a great part of the day together. Those are the things I want. Do I expect them? Demand that you give them to us? No. I don’t expect you to do anything unless you wish it.” Simeon stood up, and she watched him walk toward her. Standing her ground, she didn’t move, but itched to pull her sword and show him she wasn’t going to be intimidated. “You’re a very beautiful woman, sexy and strong, but you’re also a woman who knows her own mind, her own heart. And that, more than anything, is what I want to get to know.”

  With a quick light kiss to her mouth, he left her there and moved out of the mouth of the cave. Looking at Akassa, she could see that he’d be no help at all. He was laughing quietly when he stood up.

  “As much as I’d like to kiss you as well, I don’t think you’ll let it go a second time. But he’s right. We are family now, no matter what brought us together. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier with the outcome.” She was still standing there when he left her as well.

  For some reason, she didn’t think they’d be far. After all, they did think to protect her. Bryn thought of all the things that she had on her person that would help her to care for them, and stomped to the front of the cave. Perhaps if she couldn’t tell them to leave her alone, she could frighten them so that they would. But as soon as she came out of the opening, she stopped in her tracks. A dragon had come.

  “Ada? I thought you dead.” She hugged the great dragon, and felt her tears fall in knowing that she still lived. “Where is Dawood? I didn’t think the two of you ever parted ways.”

  “He has died, mistress. He would so have loved to have seen you again.” Bryn told her how sorry she was. “He was killed by the slayers. He saved my life when the iron was meant for me. But these people, they have made us a nice home here and have kept us safe. You are mated to these men? It is a grand thing to have such people love you.”

  Bryn glanced at the two men, wondering if they had perhaps asked her to say that. But Simeon thanked Ada and flushed with embarrassment. She knew then that the compliment was unexpected.

  The two of them spoke for a while, Ada catching her up on things that she had missed and telling her of the others that were now there. A great many of the dragons that she thought had been killed had come to the magical land, and were being well cared for.

  “Have you seen the new castle?” She told Ada that she had not. “You should see it. They’ve done a nice job of it. And the dragons, all of us, are pleased to be asked to help with the magic that the mountain needs. The former king and queen held so many things in its belly for the castle when it was rebuilt. It is like looking at the original one, only this one is bigger. And I think stronger for the lives that it now holds. The king Anthony, he did a wonderful job of making sure that we were all able to come here and live.”

  “I’ve brought the last book, but it seems to be without its own bit of mystery as well. It needs magic of some sort to make it work.” Ada asked her if the book was plain. “Yes. You know it?”

  “Aye, I have heard of it. We all have. It’s the book of dragons. It can only be read by the one true king. I know very li
ttle about the actual book, but it is said to have all the names in it that were ever born, and then the names of those that died. Also, and I don’t know this for sure, but it is said to have the diary of the king in it.” Bryn asked Simeon and Akassa if they had heard that too, but neither of them had. “It would have been written well before they were born. Even the queen put her hand to it. But if the pages are blank, then I’m not sure how to read it. It would be a grand story, don’t you think? I suppose you could ask them.”

  “Ask who?” When Ada didn’t answer, she looked at the two men. “Who can I ask? The king and queen are dead, correct?”

  “Oh yes, they’re dead. But then, so were both our parents.” She was confused by Simeon’s words. “My father arrived here before we came to live here. I guess he was here all along, and talked with Elbert when he came. But then magic brought him to where we could all touch and see him. Then a few months ago, my mother came to see us. Lelani loved her very much, and was at her graveside when Mom appeared. Then.... Well, I can see this is very confusing for you. But trust me, the king and queen are here too. Just not solid. They won’t be either. Something about their death.”

  “They died violently. Your parents, they died in their rest? Or perhaps of sickness?” Simeon told her that it was age and sickness. “But they’re here, the king and queen are here where you can speak to them?”

  “Yes, but not all the time. They need to rest when they use their magic to appear.” Akassa laughed. “Why do I get the feeling that they’re lucky that they’re dead, that you have it in your head to murder them again? I’m thinking that they pissed you off a little?”

  “They put me on this path without all the facts. I should like to speak to them about it. Also, why they picked me over everyone else, more suited to you two. As I stand here, I think of even more questions that I should like answers to.” In fact, the longer she stood there, the angrier she got. Akassa stepped in front of her before she could go find them. “I need to speak to them.”

  “You do, and so do I, but there are people down there at my home that are risking everything to keep you safe. If you could just wait a bit more, at least until things are settled, then I’ll take you to them myself.” She asked him if he had questions as well. “Yes. Like why did they let you be harmed while working for them?”

  The more she was around these people, the more confused she got. Why on earth would they care if she was hurt or not? And for that matter, why did they risk their lives to save her? She’d not asked them to do that. What would they wish in return for this supposed help she was getting from them? It bore thinking harder about.

  ~~~

  Jacob sat quietly on the porch, but he felt his temper rising up with every word that came out of the man in front of him. He was flat out lying, and that wasn’t sitting well with Jacob. There wasn’t anything he hated more than a liar. Well, except somebody that hurt their wife and children. They were the worst as far as anything went. When the boys all came out and stood behind Asher, it was as if the man had come to realize that he might be biting off a bit more than he could chew up. Then the girls came out.

  “I see you have company.” Asher didn’t bother looking, but said that they were his family. The man smiled a smile that didn’t even come close to being friendly. It was like one of the dragons when they were upset. Showing a lot of teeth. “Family? My goodness, they’re a large group. What are their names? Perhaps I’d like to meet them.”

  “No.” Asher was pretty good at saying that single word and making it work. And when the man, he thought he said his name was Harrison, only stared at him, Asher smiled. “They’re my family. That’s about all you need to know.”

  “All right. Not very hospitable, are you? But I guess I can understand that. However, as I said, I was looking for Brynhilde. She was said to have come here. My son, you see, he hired her to do some work, and she’s not been around to talk to him about it.” Asher said nothing. “She’s for hire, did you know that? It’s in her blood to do as she is told. I’m sure she’s told you that.”

  “I know all about her. And as for her being hired out, not anymore.” Harrison puffed his chest out, like he had something powerful to say, and Asher cut him off. “Do you want to die? I mean, right here, right now? I can arrange that for you should you want it. The next words out of that lying mouth of yours had better be apologizing to me for insulting my sister-in-law.”

  Jacob wasn’t sure if the man was madder than a hornet or just shocked. The look on his face now was something of both the feelings. But Asher, he just crossed his arms over his chest and waited. To ask a man when he wanted to die, Jacob thought that might need some considering.

  “Sister-in-law? No, that’s not right. She’s not.... When did this come about?” Asher was good at staring a man down, and he did it to this one like it was his job. Jacob had to admit, he was right proud of his boy right then. “I demand that you bring her here right now so that I can bring her to my home.”

  Asher stood up, and when he did, the dragons on the porch shifted and his brothers took a step forward. Harrison took several steps back, and nearly fell over the man with him…his son, Jacob thought. He didn’t have a clue who he’d been talking to, apparently.

  “I’m Asher Benson, king of the dragons. What I do on my land is law. The dragons here are at my command, and you will live longer should you remember that.” Old Harrison took several more steps back, bumping his fanny into his car. “My sister-in-law, Brynhilde, is now, and will forever be, under my protection. She has been claimed by the former king, and is thus now mine to do with as I see fit. If you come here again, I can assure you that she will gladly cut you apart without my permission, but I will gladly give it to her. Do I make myself clear? Or do I need to show you the force of my hand? Either way, it’ll be fine by me.”

  “You’re making a big mistake, dragon king. When I return, and you can bet that I will, she will be going with me when I leave you here in a puddle of your own blood. You and your family.” Kiaran moved forward, the spew of hot flames burning the ground between Harrison’s feet. “And leash your pets, dragon king, or they’ll be the next thing on my list. You’ll learn soon enough that to fuck with me is going to be the last thing you’ll ever do.”

  After the man was gone, his car out of sight, Asher moved back up to the porch. He fell more than sat in the chair that was in front of him, and put his head on his hands. He was shaking hard by the time Jacob joined him, and he asked him if he was all right. Asher looked at him, and Jacob realized he’d been laughing, not crying.

  “He shit himself.” Jacob asked who had. “The son. He just dirtied his pants when Kiaran used his flame. I nearly fell over it was so funny. Can you imagine going home with that smell? And his father acting all brave and stuff when his kid had crapped his pants. I tell you, it was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a good long while. What do you think they’ll do for an encore?”

  “Well, I never.” They all stood up as soon as Jacob’s lady wife came out of the house. “To be having fun at someone’s fearful expense. Asher, you should be.... You should be…. Oh dear heavens, did he actually do that?”

  “Yes, ma’am, he did. Just as surely as I’m sitting here.” Asher stood up and hugged his mom. “You would have beaten me within an inch of my life had I done anything like that, and I think I would have deserved it. But he is going to be trouble. Not that I’m worried about him, but he will be bothersome.”

  They were joined a few minutes later by the rest of the family, and the tale of what had happened was repeated. Even Bryn, who was a little standoffish, laughed a bit. Especially when the rest of them were having such a good time with it. Then they sat back down to finish their dinner, and Jacob could see that they were a little more relaxed around her then.

  “They know that you’re here. You have any idea how they would know that?” Bryn looked at Elam when he asked her. “I mean, they knew not only that you were here, but that we were dragons too. At least,
I can only assume that they knew about us being dragons. He didn’t seem surprised about that until his kid crapped his pants.”

  “I didn’t tell them if that’s what you’re implying.” He said that he wasn’t, and smiled at her. “You’re a strange bunch. Have you been told that before? You aren’t at all like you’re supposed to be.”

  “I believe that it’s been mentioned before, and while I’m not sure you meant it as a compliment, I’m going to take it as one. But as for you telling anyone anything, I don’t believe you would. I would stake my life on it. However, it still bears thinking about, that he knew you’d be here. Why, do you think? I mean, even if he knew of the dragons, that wouldn’t have led him to think that you’d be here too. Especially since you were supposed to kill us for him.”

  “I cannot kill the dragons, nor the king. And as you are all one person, dragon to man, I cannot kill any of you. Not even before this started.” Casdon asked her why. “Because a dragon holds all magic; white and black, earth and air. Without them, or even without their magic, there would be nothing left of this world. The magic that they have, it sustains the earth and all her powers. It is told that all of the magics of the world were created by the dragons. A creature so strong and good that they even created Mother Earth so that they’d have someone to watch over them.”

  When she lifted her hand up, the world appeared. Jacob was in such awe of it, he nearly forgot to listen to her speaking. Bryn showed them how the cycle of the earth revolved. Not just the living, but the dead ones as well.

  “Each time a dragon is killed or simply dies, there is a bit of their magic that goes back into the earth, even if their bodies are cut apart, the magic is still given. And when the dragon is killed by other means, such as man, then more of the magic goes into all the earth, not just the ground but all of the earth, to try and teach the inhabitants that killing such a creature is wrong.” The view changed, and it became a world filled with lush trees, large plants, and animals. Among it were the houses of people, cave dwellers, and skyscrapers. Then it seemed to move, at dizzying speed, to where they were now, their little glen with the castle. “The magic holds them to this place. A place where they are not misunderstood nor killed for their properties, as well as magic. If they were all to die, even the smallest one, then all the earth would become a fighting ground for everything.”