A Dragon's Mark

by Dahlia Rose

  “My camera, I’m a photographer so I need my camera,” she said. “I put it down to help you out of nowhere.”

  She ran back to doorway of Chihuly Gardens and again he hurried her along. “My name is Caye…Caye Deveaux.”

  He inclined his head and picked up his pace until she was almost running to meet his stride. “I am Aki.”

  “Aki, is that it?” she sounded breathless as they moved. “Shoot, I can break a heel trying to keep up with you and I love these boots.”

  “Aki, Dragon warrior from the realm of Paladin,” he replied. “Those shoes are not really dependable, a good pair of hiking boots is what you need. Where are your keys?”

  “Um, here, I guess you’re driving,” Caye said. “I must be crazy going with you and what the hell does Dragon-warrior-from-wherever mean? Oh, and I keep a taser and mace in my purse, so don’t try anything. And I’m a brown belt so I’ll kick your ass if you even look at me funny. I’m just going because the screaming thingy seems worse than you.”

  “Duly noted and it is,” he said and got her settled in the passenger seat. He even belted her in before chuckling, “Brown belt.”

  “So you never answered, what exactly are you?” she asked.

  Aki started the car and pulled out of the parking spot. “I’m a Dragon in my human form.”

  “Okay, I’m doomed. You’re crazy,” Caye said and began to roll the window down. “I’m going to start screaming like a banshee in five seconds. You’re going to let me out and I’ll call my dad to come get me. Keep the fucking car, it’s not as important as my life.”

  “Listen, I’m serious, there is no need for the screaming. We do not harm humans but work to protect your realm,” Aki explained. “We need to go to your home and collect some things before you travel with me.”

  “I don’t get a choice? That’s kidnapping,” Caye said in outrage.

  “No, it’s survival, that thing you heard that sounded really pissed, we protect humans from them. Right now your scent, as well as mine, has to be all over the place,” Aki explained. ‘”Hence, you must come with me so I can protect you. What’s your address?”

  “Oh shit, what have I gotten myself into?” she murmured.

  “Address?” Aki prodded.

  She rattled it off to him and then said, “There’s my dad, he has to come too. He lives with me, well I live with him. Since my mom died I was worried about him being depressed…”

  He held up his hand. “Your father comes too.”

  He’d been in Seattle long enough to know his way around. Aki knew Caye had gotten more than she bargained for when she helped him, now it was up to him to make sure she survived it. There was no way he was going to lose another woman to the Shen. He would burn them all to ashes before that happened again.

  Chapter Two

  “So, dad, I’ve got this friend, well, not a friend, I just pulled him out of a break in time,” Caye rehearsed as she walked up to the front door of the house.

  It was an older ranch-style house, but it was the best home in the world. She grew up there with June and Bradley Deveaux as her parents. Played with the kid that lived in the cul-de-sac. Lusted after Calvin Richards, the neighborhood bad boy who drove a cool car, and had many a sleepover in the back bedroom that had been hers. Now she was back in that same familiar place but this time she felt as if she had to look after her father. Her mother died from cancer six months earlier and she watched her father go from a big, robust man to one who sat in quiet solitude looking at the television. A retired cop whose plan was to go marlin fishing in Florida had been reduced to tinkering on occasion in the garage. He was mired in his own grief and nothing was shaking him loose. She missed her mom dearly but it was like she was watching her second parent die and this was not acceptable.

  “Hey dad, wanna go on an adventure?” she said way too perkily. She felt his eyes on her and turned to ask. “What?”

  “I’d like to ask what you’re doing?” Aki said politely.

  Man, he is gorgeous, she thought. So tall she barely reached his very broad chest. And lean legs clad in soft leather that you could tell were muscular. He wore a dark tunic-like shirt that reminded of her an Asian style garment. It was buttoned up to his neck with gold buttons. The long braid of dark hair was another aspect of him that inspired her curiosity, especially when she saw the glint of steel at the end when he wound it around his neck. His face was lean and his arms muscular. His mouth was definitely kissable even though she wouldn’t dream of it now. He was covered in dirt and grime and smelled a tad foul. Obviously he had been in a fight for his life but it made him even sexier. This strange man that she pulled out of nowhere definitely could inspire some fantasies.

  “I’m trying to explain you to my dad,” she snapped. “How do I explain to a man who spent twenty-five years as a cop that I helped pull you out of nowhere? Bet you five bucks he asks if I’m high or took some kind of drug.”

  “Let me explain it, but we’ll have to do it quickly. The Shen will be along soon and then any explanation will be a moot point.”

  “My dad is fragile, we lost my mom to cancer six months ago,” Caye explained. “I don’t know if he can take any more surprises.”

  “We’ll break it to him gently,” Aki promised.

  She nodded and unlocked the front door. When they stepped in she heard the familiar sound of a shotgun being cocked and flipped the light switch by the living room door on. Her father stood at the far end of the room with a shotgun pointed directly at Aki’s chest. He was wearing night vision goggles and had his nine-millimeter Glock holstered at his waist.

  “I see he is broken with his grief,” Aki grinned.

  “Dad, what are you doing?” Caye gasped.

  “I heard you talking outside, saw this guy looking like dirty scum next to you. I assessed you were in trouble and this was a robbery and took appropriate measures,” her father said briskly. “Step away from my daughter and turn around. Get on your knees, hands behind your head. You picked the wrong house tonight.”

  “Dad, he is doing nothing of the sort, this is Aki, a friend,” Caye explained.

  ‘Uh-huh, sure. This is drugs or Stockholm syndrome honey, he’s obviously brainwashed you.” Her father assessed her. “Step away baby, we’ll get you help.”

  Caye stamped her foot in frustration. “First, I’ve been gone for three hours, it takes more time for that to work. Second, I don’t do drugs nor was I roofied, GSBed, Special Ked or any other thing you can think of.”

  “How do I know that?” her father asked warily.

  “Jeez dad, do you want me to pee in a cup?” she asked and then pointed. “Don’t even dare say yes and pull out a drug testing kit. Has Sam been bringing you stuff again?”

  “Cops take care of cops,” he replied.

  “Put the gun down dad or I swear I’m moving out and…”

  “You should, don’t know why you moved home anyway. I’m perfectly fine…”

  “You’re grieving…”

  “So are you, but did I move into your condo? No, I didn’t.”

  Aki clapped his hands. “As fun as this is to watch, and it really is, we must be going.”

  Her dad pulled the goggles down around his neck and stared at Aki. “Go where exactly?”

  “Okay, I’ll condense this quickly so we can leave,” Aki said. “Caye pulled me out of a time portal from another realm. It’s called Paladin, I’m from there. I’m also a dragon shifter which means a dragon shares my body. The Shen, they are another kind of dragon, an abomination actually, are our enemies. They eat and use humans, I’ll explain more on that later. Right now they are coming here because they followed my scent and Caye’s so now we’re going to where I have a safe house.”

  Her father’s mouth opened and closed and Caye watched him for signs of a heart attack. Yep, I know how you feel, she thought. Yet here she was standing with a guy who wasn’t from Seattle or anywhere on earth for that matter.

  “What are the bot
h of you on?” her father asked, outraged.

  “Move closer to your father,” Aki ordered. She saw him pull a sword from what seemed to be an invisible place in his back. “Caye’s father, move toward the back door and get into the yard area. They’re coming, shoot at anything that is not me and looks serpentine.”

  It seemed her father took him seriously enough to grab the box of shotgun shells on the table and start for the back door. Aki began to whisper words almost furiously as he practically shoved her to follow her dad while keeping an eye on the front door as he moved backwards. She heard the loud inhuman shriek again and knew this was real. By the time they hit the back door she heard her father exclaim, “What the fuck!” The shotgun blast echoed and made her jump in fright. Outside, she saw things that could never be real, things you only saw in movies. They came over the stone wall that her father built by hand so Mr. Carter would stop leering at them in the summer when they wore shorts and bikini tops. They were black, slimy, and definitely gross, and they hissed like angry snakes and set their eyes on the kill, which was the three of them.

  “Take the gun from my waist, Caye,” her father ordered. “Extra clips in my back pocket.”

  She did as she was told as the serpent-things circled them. Her dad had made sure she was weapons trained from an early age. When they attacked, Aki moved with such lithe grace and vengeful beauty she wanted to stop and stare as he sliced through their attackers. Her father shot and she did too, hitting their skin and watching pieces of black flesh explode as bullets struck them. She expected the neighbors to call the police because of all the noise, but no lights went on and not even a dog barked. The thought, What the fuck is going on? flashed through her mind. She fired with accuracy, she was child of a cop, hell yeah.

  “What are these things?” her father shouted.

  “I told you they’re the abomination, the Shen,” Aki answered. Caye noticed even when he yelled his voice was calm.

  Eventually the Shen stopped coming and the bodies littered the ground. They all stood panting and breathing hard with exertion. Caye looked around as the serpent things returned to being human. Aki wiped the blade of his sword on his pants and came over to them.

  “You weren’t shitting about this were you?” her father asked.

  “No Caye’s father, I was not,” Aki answered.

  “My name is Bradley,” he replied.

  Aki inclined his head. “Very well, Bradley, it was my honor to fight beside you.”

  “Yeah, yeah, same here,” Bradley waved his hand and looked around.

  “Now what do we do? We can’t leave bodies littering our backyard,” Caye said.

  “Someone will take care of it. Right now we have to get to where I live when I’m in town,” Aki explained and began to take off his tunic. “Don’t worry, none of your neighbors can see this. I cloaked your home in magic. It will remain until another takes care of this mess.”

  “Is that what you were doing when you were whispering that stuff?” Caye asked.

  Aki nodded impatiently. “Yes, now we must leave.”

  “Okay, how are we doing that, buddy boy?” Bradley asked. “Why are you taking off your pants? Cover your eyes, sweetheart.”

  Her father made a move to cover her eyes and Caye pushed his hand away. “Dad, I’m not ten. I have seen naked men before.”

  “Tell me their names and they’ll be dead naked men.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Geez.”

  Aki shook his head. “You are both quite amusing but to answer your question, we fly.” He threw his sheath and sword to her father who caught it easily. “Carry this for me please, and bring your guns, they are very useful even though I don’t like them. In my dragon form you can ride on my neck. Hold on tight though, we don’t need you to fall, do we?”

  “Please, if you can change into a dragon my ass is as smooth as a baby’s bottom and not hairy,” her father said.

  “Ewww dad, please!” she chastised him.

  “I’m just saying…”

  He turned his back and took away her view of his very impressive genitals. But nothing could prepare her for what she was seeing happen before her eyes. Aki crossed his hands in front of him and bent his head to his chest. She watched his body start to glow and the light emanated outward, getting brighter.

  “Holy shit,” her father gasped. At least he had words. She had none.

  His mass got bigger, it didn’t seem to be painful because he never made a sound or cried out in pain. Television made it seem like it was this big painful thing, but that wasn’t reality. What she was seeing wasn’t technically supposed to be possible, but here she was watching a man turn into a dragon. They kept stepping back as he took up the space in their yard. Luckily they were on a corner lot and the back yard was huge, if not his dragon body would have taken out the wall. He was a wonderful burnt orange color that reminded her of tiger lilies and fall leaves. It was her favorite time of year color, and the gold scales that ran from the underside of his head to the tip of his tail only enhanced the dragon that now stood in front of her instead of the man. His eyes were yellow with a tint of emerald green. He laid his head down on the grass patiently and watched her and her father.

  “Would you look at that.” Her father nudged her. “Are you seeing this, Caye Bear?”

  She slapped his hand away. “Yes dad, and please don’t call me that in front of him.”

  “I think he wants us to get up on his back,” her father said, and slung the shotgun and sword strap over his shoulder before moving toward Aki.

  “What are you doing?” Caye grabbed his arm.

  Her father looked at her. “He said he needed to take us somewhere safe and this is our transportation. I’m not passing up a chance to ride on a dragon, and seeing what the hell else is out there, are you?”

  “Hell no,” she said and ran after her father.

  He helped her up and then settled in behind her. They each found handholds, making sure they were secure.

  “Okay Aki, we’re ready,” Caye called, and her breath was taken when he shot into the air.

  Her father’s laugh of sheer joy made her grin like a kid as Aki leveled out in the sky. She could see his wings catch the air and the moonlight glisten off his scales. He moved gracefully, gliding mostly and using the mass of his wings every so often. She could feel her father laughing behind her and she thanked Aki silently for that. It had been too long since she saw him smile, let alone laugh. Maybe in a way this was her mom showing them both the magic that was still out there. This could be the thing to help him heal.

  They were over the water and Caye dared to look down and saw the last ferries heading toward the different islands. His direction was taking them to Bainbridge Island and flew over the small quaint towns and further into the lush dense hills. Suddenly, a clearing appeared beneath them and Aki descended from the sky. He landed on the soft grass and lay his head on the ground so they could slide off. Caye watched her father step back and then start to whoop and cheer like a kid given his first red wagon.

  “That was out of this world cool!” he yelled and began to dance around.

  While her father carried on his own little party she watched Aki return to human with the same interest as when he changed into a dragon. He was definitely a fine specimen of a man. Caye felt her mouth go dry when he was human again and he walked past her naked and flashed her a smile. His eyes were green and desire flashed through her quickly. She was stunned by the attraction. He came back in a robe and knowing he was naked beneath it did things to her libido. Whoa, lady parts calm down, she silently chastised her body. Yes it’s been two years since I’ve done the deed with a guy, but damn, have some decorum and stop looking at him like a steak.

  “What is your father doing?” he asked while standing beside her.

  They watched together for a moment while her father shimmied and almost looked like he was having a standing seizure before she answered. “That’s his version of dancing.”

&
nbsp; “Really, that’s what it is,” Aki murmured.

  Bradley came over and slapped him on the shoulder. “Tell me everything.”

  “Dad, can we go inside before you start harassing him for information,” Caye said. “Don’t let him interrogate you, Aki.”

  Aki led the way into the house that was immaculately furnished and made her well-owned furniture at their own home feel like it was thrift shop bought. The stunning colors of oranges and greens suited him perfectly. She could see this being a dragon’s lair.

  “I don’t mind the questions but I do need to get cleaned up and eat a meal,” Aki said. “There are extra clothes for both men and women in each bedroom. Make yourselves at home and when I return we shall eat and talk.”

  “Point me to your kitchen,” her father said.

  “It’s that way, Bradley,” Aki said and pointed.

  “You go do your thing and we’ll start dinner. How does steak and fully loaded potatoes sound?” he asked.

  Aki inclined his head. “Very good, thank you.”

  Bradley walked toward the kitchen whistling. Caye put her hand on his bathrobe-clad arm as he turned to walk away. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

  “I think your father is quite capable of taking care of himself, but you can always come wash my back and keep an eye on me,” his voice was so solemn that she couldn’t tell if he was teasing or completely serious.

  “I’ll think about it,” she said and gave him a wink. “Don’t tempt me dragon, you may not want the results.”

  “Maybe I do,” he said and by the time she turned back around he was already heading up the stairs.

  She looked outside to the dark sky and could see the clouds rolling in for another round of rain. She started out taking pictures in the glass garden and now she was on the island with a dragon and her father was cooking in its kitchen. The door to the paranormal had just opened up to her in a big way. The man who literally came from another realm was upstairs taking a shower and she wanted to share it with him. Hell, I’m a slut, she thought and went to find her father. But she couldn’t turn back now even if she wanted to. The door was open, she could do nothing but walk through.