Sleeping Dragon (Dragon Echoes Book 1)

by Rinelle Grey

  She wasn’t going to believe any of this, not after she’d seen the evidence with her own eyes. All Lisa could do was refuse to give her any actual proof.

  She glanced back at Verrian, only to see that his eyes looked completely normal. Sure, they were kind of an unusual shade, a dark, almost luminescent blue. But not quite purple. And definitely not shaped like a cat’s as they had been earlier.

  No indication at all that he wasn’t as human as she was.

  Rita turned back to Lisa. She folded her arms, and surveyed her for a few moments, before asking, “If you weren’t riding a dragon, just what were you doing out in the middle of nowhere then?”

  “That’s a very good question,” Lisa said slowly, her brain working feverishly. What possible reason could she come up with for being out here without a car?

  She was really bad at lying. She always had been.

  Her brother’s scathing voice echoed in her head, “If you’re going to lie, don’t make up something outrageous. Keep it as close to the truth as possible. You’re less likely to get caught out that way.”

  Well fat lot of use that was. Anything even close to the truth here would be more outrageous than any story she was going to make up. Except…

  She glanced back at Verrian, and let herself remember what they’d been up to in that cave. It really was rather racy, agreeing to sleep with him without meeting him first. She let a slight blush steal over her cheeks, then turned back to Rita.

  “Well, if you must know, we’d slipped away from a group of friends for a few minutes, just to have a little ‘alone time’, if you know what I mean. And they thought it would be really funny to run off and leave us stranded there.”

  For a moment, she thought she might have pushed things too far. The story, she thought, was entirely believable to anyone who knew her.

  Unfortunately, not to anyone who had actually seen a dragon flying over the plains. There was no fooling Rita at this point, only convincing her that she wasn’t going to get anything more out of them.

  Rita frowned. She had to be figuring out that Lisa wasn’t going to tell her anything. It was her word against theirs. If the story hadn’t been so unbelievable, Lisa was pretty sure that wouldn’t be a problem. As it was…

  “Fine,” Rita said flatly. “You win. But I will find out what is going on.” She paused for a minute, and Lisa held her breath. Why didn’t the woman just leave already?

  Rita flashed her a smile. “Do you need a lift back to town then? Can’t leave you out here with no transport, that would be downright cruel, wouldn’t’ it?”

  Lisa ground her teeth. Was Rita testing their story? No one in their right mind would choose to stay out here over accepting a lift. No one who couldn’t fly that was.

  Refusing would be as good as admitting that she’d made it all up. Not that Rita didn’t already know that, but…

  They were in the middle of nowhere, a long way from any water, and they couldn’t risk flying again. Not when she wasn’t sure how close Rita was. And, she realised reluctantly, she couldn’t risk leading Rita to the dragon’s lair.

  They couldn’t go back there. Not yet. Not until they were sure they weren’t being followed.

  “That would be awesome,” she heard herself saying.

  Verrian poked her from behind. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Lisa?” There was a tone of warning in his voice.

  Rita heard it too, from the interested look she shot Lisa.

  He was going to undo all she’d done.

  Lisa turned to Verrian, her hands on her hips. “Do you have a better idea, since we don’t have a car? Or do you plan to turn into a dragon as soon as Rita’s back is turned and fly us home?”

  Verrian blinked. “Um…” he stammered.

  “Didn’t think so,” Lisa said firmly. Then she turned back to Rita, shaking her head in half pretend, half real amusement. “Men,” she said. “Apparently asking for a lift is even worse than asking for directions.”

  A light of respect lit up Rita’s eyes. She didn’t believe Lisa, but apparently she was impressed with her storytelling ability.

  It was about time someone was.

  “I really don’t think this is a good idea.” Verrian’s voice in her head was softer this time, but no less of a warning.

  Since she didn’t know how to reply to him in kind, she wasn’t even sure if she could, Lisa ignored it.

  “Jump in,” Rita offered, waving to the car.

  Chapter 10

  Verrian stared at the contraption in front of him dubiously.

  He could sense an undercurrent running through Lisa and Rita’s quick, back and forth conversation, and knew there was more to the situation than he could see. His understanding of the human language wasn’t strong enough yet for him to catch the subtleties, and his lack of knowledge about this world hindered him even further.

  The sensible thing, the only real option he had, was to trust Lisa. Taurian had chosen her for him. That had to mean she would not betray him, didn’t it?

  But it felt very wrong to get into the woman’s vehicle and travel with her. He didn’t know her, or trust her. She could take them anywhere.

  He’d seen how fast these vehicles moved along the ground. Faster than he could fly. That was hard to admit, but it was true.

  Not that one little human wasn’t really much of a threat. Not against a dragon. He wasn’t really sure why Taurian and Ultrima had left.

  That thought still made him nervous. What if he was missing something?

  Lisa seemed to have no such concerns. She climbed into the front seat, opening the door behind her and waving at Verrian.

  To refuse now would belie all Lisa’s attempts to convince this woman they were just an ordinary couple who had been the victims of a childish prank.

  So despite his misgivings, he climbed in after her. At least while they were in her presence, they shouldn’t have to deal with Ultrima. That thought should have made him feel better, but instead had the opposite effect.

  That fact that he was encased in a metal box that made strange growling noises just made things worse.

  In the seat in front of him, Lisa held up a small piece of metal attached to a strap of some sort, waited until she had his attention, then connected it to another piece on the seat next to her. The strap crossed her chest, keeping her in place.

  A quick search revealed a similar device in the back seat, and Verrian was able to secure it as she had without hassles.

  The fact that this sort of restraint might be needed made him a touch nervous as the vehicle lurched forwards.

  “So what are you doing back in town anyway?” Rita asked Lisa. “I haven’t seen you around since high school.”

  Lisa shrugged. “Oh, I’m just back for my brother’s engagement party. Just a fly in fly out visit, you know.”

  “So you’ll be heading home soon then?” Rita turned to Lisa and raised an eyebrow.

  Even though he could basically follow their language and understand nuances in their voice Verrian wasn’t even sure they recognised, many of the words were still foreign to him. They had no associated meaning in his language. He had no idea what a school was, or why it was high. And he wasn’t sure why they were talking about flying when neither of them were dragons.

  Lisa gave a fake laugh. “Yeah, no reason for me to hang around here. Nothing exciting ever happens in Mungaloo.”

  Rita gave a laugh at that. “No, nothing exciting at all. Well, except for your hunky man here.” She turned over her shoulder to look at Verrian. “You’re certainly not from around here. I’m sure I’d remember you if you were.” She looked over at Lisa, expecting something.

  An introduction, he was pretty sure. He opened his mouth to introduce himself, when Lisa beat him to it. “Oh, I forgot the introductions. Rita, this is Ryan. Ryan, Rita.”

  The name was close enough to his clan name, Rian, that Verrian didn’t correct her. Obviously giving a dragon name to a human, especially one who seemed
hell bent on finding out his secrets, wasn’t a good plan.

  He needed to play his part in this charade, and be careful not to put his foot in it. Probably best to say as little as possible.

  “Hi, Ryan.” Rita flashed him a smile.

  Verrian kept his reply brief. Less room for mistakes. “Hi Rita.”

  “So, where did you two meet?” Rita asked, her voice deliberately cheerful.

  Verrian didn’t think that telling her Lisa had agreed to wake him from his Mesmer sleep was the answer she was looking for.

  Or rather, maybe it was, but it wasn’t the answer he wanted to give her. He just didn’t know enough about their world to make something else up.

  Luckily, Lisa stepped in. Her voice was deliberately light as she said, “Ryan works with me. He’s…” She glanced back at him, and gave him a cheeky grin. “He’s my PA.”

  He had no idea what she meant.

  Apparently it meant something to Rita because she giggled. Then she glanced back at him and giggled again.

  “Good story,” she said, between her giggles.

  Lisa grinned, obviously pleased with herself about something.

  Verrian wasn’t impressed. He might not understand what they were saying, but he could tell from their attitude that it wasn’t flattering to him. He wasn’t going to sit around and be laughed at.

  He cast around for something he could claim to do in life. Something close to the truth but not. Most importantly, something that would earn him respect.

  His thoughts fell on the music Lisa had played for him earlier. “Actually, I’m a singer,” he said firmly.

  Rita’s eyes narrowed. “Oh yeah?” she challenged. “Sing something then.”

  She was testing him. Trying to catch him in a lie.

  Lisa obviously thought the same thing because she jumped in before Verrian could respond. “He doesn’t sing without accompaniment,” she said quickly.

  Verrian frowned. She didn’t think he could do it either.

  Singing a dragon song would break his cover, that much he could tell. And there was only one human song he’d heard, and even then, only a portion of it.

  But it would have to do.

  Verrian opened his mouth and sang the fragment of the song, manipulating his vocals to create an echo of the music that had accompanied it, even though he couldn’t create the full musical range.

  The vehicle swerved, bumping over a couple of rocks before Rita managed to pull it back onto the dirt track.

  Verrian trailed off, glad her motion had happened at about the point at which he didn’t know any further words.

  Rita glanced over at Lisa, and Verrian didn’t think she missed the look of shock and awe on her face, even though Lisa covered it as quickly as she could.

  “Pretty impressive for a PA,” Rita said dryly. She looked from one to the other, then sighed. “Come on, you guys could just tell me the truth. I won’t tell anyone, honest.”

  Lisa raised an eyebrow. “You expect us to believe that? You’re a reporter.”

  Verrian winced. Her words pretty much admitted they had a secret to keep.

  Well, it wasn’t as if she didn’t already know that.

  Rita scowled, and turned her gaze back to the road in front of them. “Fine,” she said flatly. “But I will find out the truth and get proof of it, eventually. You can’t hide forever.”

  Verrian suspected they’d just made her even more determined. They should probably think up something to say to counter her threat, but his mind went blank as the car pulled off the dirt onto a long black strip. All the bumping, rattling, and vibrating stopped, and the silence was magic to his ears.

  That wasn’t what made him stare though. The large square objects all around them, almost as large as a dragon, caught his attention. He’d never seen a natural formation like them. In fact, their regular shapes indicated that they weren’t natural at all.

  He stared at Lisa, wishing she could use dragon speech. He wanted to ask her what this was, and who, or what, had made them, but it was pointless when she couldn’t answer in kind.

  “Do you want me to drop you at your parents?” Rita asked shortly.

  Lisa hesitated for so long, Verrian’s attention was drawn away from the formations and back to her.

  “Um… Yeah.”

  Verrian could hear the hesitation in Lisa’s voice, although Rita didn’t seem to notice.

  Not a good sign.

  Verrian stared at the reporter. This was all her fault. If it weren’t for her, he would be catching up with his clan right now, safe and secure, instead of here in this human place where nothing made any sense, and he didn’t know who he could trust.

  Chapter 11

  Lisa knew that Rita already knew too much about Verrian. She couldn’t risk asking her to drop them off somewhere like the old ruined house, where they could hide out until she could get in contact with Karla and Taurian.

  That would only make the reporter more suspicious, and she’d probably hang around. Not that Lisa didn’t suspect she’d do that anyway.

  But she also really, really didn’t want to introduce Verrian to her family.

  When she was with Rian clan, and Karla and Taurian, she forgot all about her dysfunctional family. After their initial hesitation, and after the humans’ had helped defend them against their enemy, the dragons had welcomed her as part of the clan. They’d made her feel special. Like she was worthy of being given the task of waking a dragon prince.

  Her parents, well…

  There was a reason she’d moved away to the city as soon as she was old enough to drive.

  The door opened as Rita pulled into the driveway, and her father stepped onto the veranda and frowned at the car. Lisa’s fists clenched already, imagining his voice.

  “Thanks for the lift,” she said quickly to Rita. “No need for you to hang around. I’m sure you have plenty of other places to be.”

  The smile Rita gave her in return was far too knowing for Lisa’s taste. “That’s okay, I’m not in a hurry.” And she proved it by stepping out of the car and waving at Lisa’s father. “Hi Mr Evans. I’m just dropping Lisa home.”

  Her father frowned. “What happened to your car? And where have you been for the last three days? It’d be nice if you let us know when you were leaving and coming home. Your mother doesn’t run an inn, you know.”

  “Come on,” Lisa hissed to Verrian. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Verrian took one look at her, his expression sympathetic, and climbed out of the car at the same time as Lisa.

  “My friends were playing a joke and stranded us in the middle of nowhere,” Lisa said curtly. Might as well use the same story, especially since Rita was still watching. “No need for Mum to put herself out for me. I’m just going to call them and say the joke is over, then I’ll be out of here again.”

  “Some friends if they did something like that,” her father responded instantly. “You need to make some real friends, like Paul has. Or better yet, find yourself a steady man and settle down.”

  He eyed Verrian, and his scowl deepened. “Preferably one with clothes on.”

  Lisa felt her cheeks burn. How did her dad always manage to say the worst thing he could think of? It was like he had no filter on his mouth at all. “If I did that, there’s no way I’d be bringing him back here,” she snapped at her father. Then she turned to Rita. “Show’s over,” she said flatly. “Might as well go find something else to take pictures of because you’re not going to find anything here.”

  Rita’s expression was pitying, making Lisa feel even worse.

  She didn’t want anyone’s pity. She just wanted them to see her for who she was, not as part of her family.

  “If you need a lift anywhere, give me a call,” Rita said quietly before getting into her car and driving off.

  One problem gone. Lisa beckoned to Verrian, who was watching the scene in silence, and took a deep breath, then pushed her way up the stairs and past her father, ignor
ing his comments. She paused long enough in the kitchen to grab two bottles of water out of the fridge, giving her father a chance to throw even more comments at her.

  “You think you can just show up here after disappearing for three days, then leave again, without any explanation?” her father demanded. “What are you up to? Is it drugs? Is this your, what do you call them? Dealer?”

  Lisa heaved a sigh. Her dad was not going to shut up until she told him something. “This is Ryan. He’s a friend. I’m helping his family out with something, which is why I’ve been busy, okay?”

  Her father raised an eyebrow. “Helping his family? What’s in it for you?”

  Lisa bit back a sigh. It wasn’t worth arguing with him. It never was.

  “You shouldn’t speak to your daughter like that.”

  Verrian’s voice was calm, cultured, and it brought tears to Lisa’s eyes. He was so different to her family. So different to anyone she’d ever met.

  And he shouldn’t be standing up for her. Her dad was right. It was rare for her to help anyone unless there was a benefit for her in it. Even waking Verrian, well, she’d done that because she wanted to sleep with a hot dragon prince, not because she wanted to help their cause.

  Her father just stared at Verrian for a few seconds in stunned silence. Then he let lose. “Just who do you think you are to comment on my relationship with my daughter?” he thundered. “Just because you jumped her bones, you think you have a right to tell me what to do? I tell you, I’ll be around long after she’s dumped you and moved on.”

  Lisa squirmed with embarrassment. All through her teenage years, she’d avoided brining anyone home to meet her family for just this reason. Somehow though, it was far worse when it was Verrian.

  She was sure Verrian’s parents would never have spoken to him like that, especially not in front of a girl. He was so perfect. She was sure his parents would have been too.

  As if her day wasn’t bad enough, her brother, Paul, chose that moment to appear at the back door to smirk at her. “In trouble again, little Lisa?” he teased.

  “Shut up,” Lisa snarled. She grabbed Verrian’s hand, and pulled him into her bedroom, slamming the door. Not for the first time, she wished it had a lock. Since it didn’t, she instead jammed a chair under the doorhandle.