Dragon's Quest (Dragon Princes Book 1)

by Cyci Cade

  Liu hesitated for a fleeting moment. “I´m not sure…”

  She interrupted Liu. “She answered your call, didn´t she? She went to meet you. Did you talk to her? What did you talk about?” She increased her tone of voice and circled him inquisitively.

  Liu sifted his thoughts, looking for information and a way to tell her what he had discovered without revealing the strong connection he had with Kate. He named it connection, not to say love and appear ridiculous in front of his mother.

  “I don´t know if she answered my call or if our meeting was just a coincidence. We talked a little, she didn´t recognize me, I´m positive, and she has a scar with a dragon shape on her shoulder.” He fanned his tail nervously.

  “Why did you talk just a little if you spent all day at the lake?” She looked straight into his eyes.

  “She arrived late and then ran away.” He felt cornered; no exit; it was the dead end, he couldn´t see a passage way to escape from that interrogation.

  His mother brooded over his last words and then accused him. “What did you do that caused her to run away?” She scowled at him, she was angry. Maybe she guessed what he had done.

  He lowered his head. Was it serious? Should he tell her about the kiss, private things, and feelings? Yes, because his mother would pester him until she discovered the truth. “I kissed her.” He gazed at her and faced the situation like a brave warrior.

  She shook furiously; her eyes shone and seemed to jump from her skull. “Why? I want one simple answer. I ordered you to encounter her and attempt to discover what had occurred to you, if she could help us to get our freedom. Have you messed up everything for a kiss? I really want to know why,” she shouted.

  He paced back and forth. She couldn´t understand. “I like her; it was stronger than us, and she has the same feelings.”

  “Don´t be a fool. If she liked you why would she run from your passionate arms?” she said sarcastically.

  “She is in my mind and heart. I don´t expect you to understand it, and I won´t stay here arguing with you. I just know how I feel.” He walked outside and took off, sensing his mother’s disappointment. He had never faced her like that before, and he did it for a stranger who he barely knew.

  He put his mother´s thoughts aside, kept only his own. He knew he had to lie, but he had never lied to her before, he wouldn´t start that day. He needed to find another way. Liu felt a great regret; anguish embraced him because he had failed in his task. His mother waited for another answer, a word that would bring hope that one day they would be able to find his father and restore their family; he failed and disappointed her.

  Liu flew with no destination in mind, examining his emotions, trying to figure out what was right and what was wrong. His family´s future was his responsibility, and he could neither forsake who he was and his duties nor Kate, it was out of the question. He had to find a way to reconcile his duties and his wills.

  He landed near the village in silence, changed to human shape, sneaked through the trees, and hid near to Kate´s house. Big mistake, if someone caught him… it didn´t matter anymore, his only interest was the girl. What could give him more satisfaction than staying closer to her?

  A guy left Kate´s house. Liu snarled and crushed a flower head in his hand. What did that man want with his girl? Nothing good, Liu thought, of course. Soon the house lights turned off. Liu slumped on the ground, leaned against a fallen tree trunk, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander away to meet Kate.

  They were in a busy city, buildings surrounded them, people rushed about taking different routes. Kate said something; he stared at her but he couldn´t hear her. She was beautiful, breathtaking, her blonde hair braided, the short dress revealed her well-built and long legs; her lips shone and they had a pink color; her green eyes highlighted by makeup. She wore his mother´s green sapphire necklace.

  Liu was in awe in front of so gorgeous a woman, a real princess. Kate held his hand and smiled. Liu stepped toward her, but the more he walked the more distant she became, her hand slipped from his grip. He shouted, ran toward her, smoke surrounded Kate in the middle of a crowd; then, she disappeared.

  Liu rolled to the other side and kept sleeping. Soon he encountered Kate again. They were in his country; they laughed and strolled around the garden holding hands; he kissed her and this time she didn´t protest or run away. They were happy. They wore formal garments. Her dress was green, sleekly curvaceous silhouette, sleeveless, made of brocade silk with dragon patterns; the back made with a slit, the length of the dress was to the ankle. A suggestive invisible zipper on the right side made it easy to be undressed. His suit had a big dragon embroidered on the left side, standing collar, five buttons down the front, and long sleeves with four buttons at each cuff. The pants made in Western style and straight-legged.

  Kate´s hair shone under the artificial light. Kate´s mouth opened and closed, she said something; for a second time, Liu didn´t hear his girl. He knew it was important. Liu concentrated on her lips, approached nearer but Kate turned into smoke and vanished, just as the first time.

  Liu mumbled a few words and continued to dream. They were swimming in the lake. He reacted when Kate touched his hair, pulling him closer. She grinned; her lips opened slightly and found his. The kiss was urgent, vital, hot, and persuasive. Liu was under her command, ready to accomplish all her desires, dreams, and aspirations. She dug her nails into his back muscles; he moaned. Her wet clothes glued to his bare chest; his body shuddered.

  He squeezed her passionately; his hands ran on her back under the T-shirt. She gave small kisses on his lips, cheek, neck, and collarbone. Delightfully, Liu bit his lips. When he could finally say a word, he whispered in her ear. “What did you want to tell me? I can hear you now.” He caressed his face on hers, waited for the words; for the third time she disappeared in the middle of the smoke.

  Liu screamed, “No! Not again!” Then he noticed that he was next to her house and the sun was rising fast. He stood up, looked at Kate´s house for a brief moment and fled back to his cave.

  Those dreams left him puzzled and worried. Maybe they were only dreams, maybe not. Dreams could carry hidden messages; he learned that from his master. Without shadow of a doubt, their connection was strong, unbreakable, no one or anything was powerful enough to pull them apart. They belonged to each other. It was written.

  Chapter 9

  Fu Chow

  Fu Chow had spent the last seven days locked in his room trying to figure out what had happened to Wei, asking for knowledge and direction to the Great Dragon. He remained seated cross-legged on the floor, closed eyes, with no food or water during those days. His breath was calm, quiet and almost imperceptible. The air entered through his nostrils, filled up his lungs and left his body in a constant rhythm.

  All of a sudden, his eyes opened; little by little his thoughts returned to the small room. His spine, legs and feet ached, becoming stiff; it was difficult to stand up. He held onto the bed to help him to get up. His weakened legs trembled, his stomach made strange noises, but he still had one task before he took care of his body. His joints cracked when he straightened his spine.

  Fu Chow dragged his feet across the room, reached the locker and opened it; he took out a map and a pendulum. He shuffled to the bed and unfolded the world map on the mattress. He sat in front of it, closed his eyes, and held the pendulum loosely over the map.

  He looked for an answer to his question. “Where’s the next place to go?”

  He waited, his hand shook. He wasn´t sure if it was because of the pendulum or his weakness, so he reopened his eyes. The pendulum continued to move, he didn´t have an answer. He concentrated a little more, tried hard several times, no response. His body failed; it was painful to maintain his outstretched arm and hold the pendulum. However, he couldn’t give up or his efforts during the week would be lost.

  Fu Chow controlled his breath; he became aware of the air coming into and out of his lungs. He put aside any kind of irreleva
nt thoughts in his mind with no bearing on that moment. He soon realized that there was another question much more important to him. Where was the other brother?

  He concentrated on that query; the pendulum stopped all of a sudden over one place on the map. Fu Chow grabbed a pen and marked that distant land, then returned to the first query. The pendulum moved fast to begin with and stopped at the same point. His hand let the pendulum fall on the bed, he couldn´t hold it anymore.

  He was undecided about the second response, but there wasn´t time or strength for another try. His route now drawn up, the most waited upon moment had arrived. It was time for the boys to follow their destinies, try the impossible to get the honor back into their lives. The harsh times might come back, but Fu Chow would give his life to help them.

  Fu Chow stood up, shrugged his shoulders backward and forward, and walked out of the bedroom at last. He trudged across the living room and found Wei spread-eagled on the sofa. He slumped on a chair in front of Wei, peering at him for some seconds. Wei snored, his eyes made strange movements. Fu Chow seethed with what he saw, so lazy a dragon sleeping in the middle of the day.

  He cleared his throat once, twice, three times. Wei remained inactive, distant from everything, from reality. Furiously, Fu Chow shouted, “Wei! What are you doing here in your human shape?”

  Wei leaped, stood up, and bowed. “My master, do you need something? I have prepared food, but you remained alone.” Wei lifted his eyes and glimpsed at him.

  “Bring me food,” he ordered. “I need to recover my strength, after that we will talk.” He hoped that Wei had a good explanation to justify his behavior.

  Less than a minute later, Wei returned carrying fruits, roasted beef, and juice. Fu Chow sipped the juice, ate some fruits and the unseasoned beef. It was too much to expect that Wei remembered to season the food after so many years eating it raw.

  Wei narrowed, then widened his eyes; maybe he tried to guess Fu Chow´s thoughts, figure out why his master stayed locked away for one week, what transpired with him and other unanswered questions. Unfortunately, Fu Chow had other plans rather than revealing the truth to Wei. The young dragon should be patient; Fu Chow couldn´t reveal everything or Wei would refuse to help him.

  “For how long have you been in your human shape?” Fu Chow went right to the point that had dissatisfied him most.

  “Since I returned to my original shape. I change to dragon only to hunt.” He shrugged and seemed lost.

  “You aren´t allowed to remain in your human body, you will die. What maintains you is the dragon´s spirit, far apart from it you won’t survive; you’ll age fast and die.” His voice had a somber tone.

  Wei lowered his head; his bottom lip drooped to one side. “Why?” he asked. “I thought I could have a normal life now. I can´t understand this story; sometimes it is so distressing,” he stammered. “I´m tired of all of this. I´m tired of living a life without dreams, aspiration or purpose.”

  Fu Chow laid his hands on the chair´s arms, moaned a little, then got up; he moved his sore body forward toward Wei and hugged him. He felt like a sword had plunged into his soul. He wanted to pull the agony from Wei, but he had limited options.

  “You have a purpose, shortly you´ll figure it out. You are fated to great achievements. I know that things are confusing now, but our time has arrived. We spent a long period in this mountain; it is enough. Be prepared, we´ll leave in a couple of days. You must be strong to face the future. It will be difficult and will demand much energy, but you´ll get your freedom and you´ll return to dream. I promise you.”

  Wei moved away puzzled. “I´m weak, I embarrass you crying and mumbling like a baby.” He hid his face. Wei always did that when he thought that his acts were inappropriate.

  Fu Chow understood Wei´s reactions; his pupil did a good job being a dragon and living separated from people. But everything had changed, and he didn´t know how Wei would act among people and with his brother. They were leaving, and Wei had to recognize his true position in the world as human.

  “Crying isn´t a sign of weakness; on the contrary, its how that you are capable of being moved. You are sensitive, you aren´t only bones, but flesh and heart too. These are qualities that only great men possess,” he mused.

  Wei nodded in agreement without making eye contact, that meant that Fu Chow didn´t convince his pupil. “Where will we go? When will we leave?”

  “We are going to The United States of America. I will let you know when the day arrives.”

  Wei bowed and left, for the first time he didn´t contest Fu Chow´s decision.

  How could he explain his plan? Nothing seemed clear at that moment, some questions couldn´t be either answered or ignored. Sooner or later Wei would find his answers, but first Fu Chow had another job—to find his lost brother.

  Fu Chow returned to his room and placed the contents of the locker on the bed. He chose the necessary equipment to aid the next step of their journey and set it aside. He took the dragon necklace and examined the jewel carefully; the ruby eyes shone, the Great Dragon had come alive again. He slid the chain around his neck; the dragon pendant seemed to hover on his chest; he felt invested with power, the dragon´s power.

  He closed his eyes and let the dragon´s eyes lead him across the world looking for the other dragon. He had to memorize the way; he had to follow the exact route to be successful in his quest.

  The eyes crossed the glacial mountains, deserts, oceans, and forests to reach their goal. That trip took a few minutes, different from the real trip that might last some days. Wei wouldn´t be able to fly for many hours at a time carrying Fu Chow and his bag. The eyes stopped in the place where Wei´s brother was imprisoned. All eyes twinkled when they gazed at each other.

  Fu Chow gasped and fell on the floor breathless, tired. He needed to take Wei far from his brother´s place of captivity and hide him in his human form when they got there. It was too dangerous for him, one because as a human he´d be weakened and vulnerable without his human skills to fight; two, in a dragon shape he was an easy target and could be conquered.

  He had the final details of the rescue; with the dragon´s aid it should be trouble-free. At long last he´d find the other dragon alive; he was able to feel his heart beating fast and hard. He had never believed that the dragon had gone. Deep inside, Fu Chow knew that he´d be capable of bringing the brothers together to their destiny. He wondered if the destiny would give another chance to them, the opportunity he had waited for to mend their mistakes and do the right things.

  Chapter 10

  Kate

  Kate stroked Liu´s face; she pressed her lips briefly on his lips and cheeks; his kisses aroused strong feelings, their bodies´ proximity created a hot sensation; she thought she would melt enfolded in his arms. She needed to tell him something important, but it was difficult to keep her concentration properly while Liu crushed her against his well-built body and his hands explored every inch of her skin.

  He whispered some words in her ear; his lips touched her earlobe causing goose bumps. Kate shrunk. He asked what she had to say. She couldn´t think clearly, she didn´t want to think anything, only enjoy this so intense a moment, full of passion, love, ardor… She had never thought she would be capable of having such deep feelings for someone. She surrendered totally to Liu´s embrace; she wanted more, as if it was impossible to satisfy so huge a desire.

  Kate buried her nails into Liu´s muscles but felt nothing. She slid her hands in the fog and heard Liu´s voice screaming “No!” then turning into smoke and disappearing in front of her.

  Kate yelled, trying to reach him, but Liu had left. She cried and yelled again, “Liu!”

  Kate woke up; tears drenched her face. She panted and realized she was in her room. “It was a dream, a good, beautiful, yet distressing dream,” she mumbled to herself.

  Kate nestled her head on the pillow and thought about the turbulent night with Liu, so true, intense and full of passion. They were together; it was
undeniable. Those dreams were very real; she still had Liu´s taste in her mouth and could feel his arms embracing her.

  She sighed and remembered that bold, handsome, confident, unstoppable man telling her that he´d wait for her. Her stomach lurched as she imagined how to face him after that very real dream. Kate noticed that her cheeks were burning on fire and consequently blushed.

  Her heart beat in her throat, she trailed away with no return. Liu crept toward her and created turmoil in her previously well planned life, she planned to rescue Sam, get married to Phillip, then raise their children far away from that village. Only in her mind because neither Phillip knew about Kate´s plans nor was she so sure about them.

  “Phillip. What will I do? How can I tell you that I fell in love with a stranger? Will you be able to forgive me? I hope so. I didn´t choose this situation, it just happened and I am not strong enough to fight against this stormy love.” She snorted. “Fine. I´ve not even tried. Honestly, I don´t want to try, I should, but I don´t want to. Sorry.” She spoke in a low voice as if she couldn´t face Phillip and say those words looking in his eyes and watching his disappointment, and he wasn´t even there.

  She had to try, Phillip deserved that she at least made a minimum effort to avoid Liu instead of relenting so easily to this love. Kate took a decision, she wouldn´t meet Liu again until she could talk about it with Phillip and put an end to their relationship. That was the right thing to do. She owed it to him, being honest was her best choice to keep his friendship. She loved Phillip, but that feeling didn´t give her the same turbulent sensation she had with Liu, like accelerated heartbeat, sparkles, anxiety and an intense desire to see the person.

  Kate wouldn´t make things so simple for that irresistible guy. What might he assume about her? That she was a silly girl that fell to the first good reciter of Don Juan´s words. No way! He was seductive, encompassing and cheeky.