by Leela Ash
“Speaking of that,” Max said. “How is the tunnel system coming along? It’s really important that we have easy access to these things in case we should need them. We can’t just be flying around over Brookside in our Dragon forms in the event of an emergency. We have to be able to get here quickly, as dragons, in case something is going wrong.”
“The tunnels are in progress,” Gavin replied. “I know you have been out of the loop for a couple of weeks, but things are coming along well. We have to be really careful while constructing them. I have been researching a lot about the zoning laws and all the electrical grids and different things the humans keep underground here. It is fairly complicated, but I have faith that, before long, we are going to have everything set up and put in place exactly as it’s meant to be. Then it will be no more cause for concern. We have one makeshift tunnel underway already, as you’ve seen. But other routes are not completely ready yet.”
“That’s perfect. I know we have a few channels made already. But nothing ready that leads here, which is probably the most important place of all. I hope we can start getting to work on that soon.”
“It’s already in progress. I can have the men refuse jobs for the next few days and say we are going on holiday or something. A vacation. That will give them the time to start securing the tunnels for transportation’s sake. How does that sound?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks, Gavin.”
Gavin nodded and sighed subtly. Norris glanced up at his friend, suddenly feeling a little bit concerned for him. He put in a lot of work and was always the go-to for anything of strategic or intellectual concern. It had to be a little bit overwhelming, even if it was his strength. But there was nothing to be done about it. Each of them were overwhelmed in their own right. Gavin was simply the brains of the operation and that had to be how things went, whether he liked it or not. Things would calm down eventually. Hopefully.
“Well,” Max said with a heavy sigh. “I’m going to get out of here for now. I will come back in a few days to check up on things. I have to make sure everything is going well. My daughter is about to start kindergarten. It’s all very overwhelming. I had no idea just how many hoops we would have to go through to get her registered. I’m honestly thinking about homeschooling. I don’t want her to be in the public education system with all of this negative energy of unknown origins floating around.”
“I think homeschooling really would be a good option,” Gavin said, nodding. “Then we could start teaching all of our children, the Golden children as the enemies may call them, the things that will truly matter to them in their lives, considering the complicated times we are living in. We aren’t going to have the academy available to them the way it was to us. We have to bring it to them. This would be a good excuse and opportunity.”
Max nodded thoughtfully and turned away, heading out toward the exit. “I think that might be what we do. All this is starting to make me really nervous. I want to protect my family first and foremost. And protect the magic that keeps us who we are. Shifters. That’s really the most important thing. After protecting our families, of course.”
Gavin and Norris were silent as Max made his way out, each of them lost in their own trains of thought. Norris couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if he were to have a child like Max’s. The sacred children were not fragile by any means, but they were very special. It was important to keep them safe and as far away from danger as possible.
And with all the negativity in the world right now, especially those actively seeking out the Golden children to destroy shifter magic, it almost seemed cruel to be on the lookout for his fated one only to bring another child who would ultimately be endangered into the world. Why couldn’t they be doing something like this on their own planet, where Dragon shifters were understood and respected and encouraged to grow? Why did it have to all happen in hiding like this?
But Norris’ faith in fate was unshakable. He was not going to start questioning it now, just because things were getting a little bit rough. Sure, he missed being at home, and he missed all the luxuries that had been awarded to them as part of the nobility, but he had to follow his intuition and assume everything was happening as it was for the purpose. And an important purpose at that.
Once Max had left, Gavin turned to Norris with a knowing look. “You really can’t stop thinking about that girl, can you?”
North looked down at his hands sheepishly and shrugged. “She isn’t just any girl, Gavin. She is my fated mate. You know that.”
“Yeah, that’s what you’ve been telling me. But did you get to use the device yet? I’m really curious to see if she is going to help us to bring our mission forward.”
“No, I only saw her for about half an hour to drop her off at work. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since. I wish I would have thought to bring the device with me. Then I would be able to throw it in your face that my intuition is better than yours.”
Norris laughed quietly, and Gavin joined him. “You know I only trust facts and statistics and calculations. Feelings are great, but they are just that. It is flawed and fallible to trust a feeling without any logical reason to do so. It really doesn’t make any sense to me,” Gavin said, shaking his head. “We are not computers or machines who are programmed to make the right calculations every single time. You know how it can be. Sometimes, there is just no telling what’s going to happen. Maybe we will fall for the wrong person. Maybe we can be confused and disillusioned and sometimes, even delusional. You never really know. That’s why I just want to know what the machine says about the girl you met.”
“While I understand your perspective perfectly, the machine has been known to be wrong as well,” Norris pointed out quickly. Gavin’s smile returned, and he shrugged halfheartedly. “Yeah, because of mechanical bugs to be worked out. You can’t really go into somebody’s mind and work out mechanical bugs that have caused an idea to take place. Especially, when it happens to be the wrong idea. People defend that. They think it means something even when it doesn’t. They will hold onto the poor excuse for an idea or opinion until they die, because they have in mind to do so. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I guess I’m far too logical for my own good. Maybe that’s why I haven’t found my fated mate yet.”
There was a small twinge of sadness in Gavin’s voice and Norris looked up sharply at his friend.
“Hey, don’t be too hard on yourself. It can be really tough out there to find the right person. And you have been so busy worrying about getting everybody else finding their happy endings that you haven’t even begun to focus on yourself. Once you do, I think you’re going to be the happiest of us all. And you’re going to see just what it feels like to trust your intuition for once as opposed to only thinking about logic and facts. Love doesn’t always make sense.”
Gavin shook his head sadly and looked back down at the mess of machinery in front of them.
“I’m not sure that is ever going to happen. But it’s okay either way. I don’t mind.”
He said the last part quickly as if to convince himself just as much as Norris. “Anyway, how did things go with the girl when you drove her to work? Did you get any more intuitions or feelings?” Gavin laughed. “I may not put much stock in those things, but it doesn’t mean I don’t believe they can happen. I’m more fascinated by them than disbelieving, because I don’t feel that I would ever be in a position to experience something like that. My mind is far too technical.”
“I think it’s going to happen for you one day,” Norris said with a slow nod. “And when it does, you’re going to probably think you’re crazy at first, but you will also end up being really happy.”
“Thanks,” Gavin said quietly, sitting down with a sigh. He cast a furtive look around the bunker. It still had a lot of work to be done, and Norris could practically hear the gears rolling to work as Gavin took it all in and made plans to address the things that needed changes made.
; “You’re welcome. Of course. Anyway, things went okay. She doesn’t seem to like me very much, though.”
Gavin chuckled and shrugged lightly. “That seems to be kind of a common theme. Romance is never easy. You know that already. We watched all of those movies about it, remember? To research how the code of conduct of dating on Earth is?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what to do about it. It feels really important that I convince her of the truth as soon as possible. It’s important. Not only for me, but for shifter magic in general. And maybe, it would improve her life too, to know that she has someone out there who is fated to care for her. Don’t you think so?”
“I never know what is going on in a woman’s head,” Gavin said. “Maybe that is why I focus so much on logic and things that have clear-cut and defined answers. I’m really not cut out for mind games or anything that isn’t really abiding by laws of an intellectual nature. Romance really isn’t my thing. That’s why I really haven’t minded leaving it to you guys. I’m not entirely convinced that I’m never going to find somebody.”
At this point, Gavin’s tone was not self-deprecating or self-pitying, but matter-of-fact. Maybe people like Gavin didn’t find purpose through relationships. Maybe his purpose was to help them along and make sure everything went according to plan. It was impossible to say, so instead of pushing the matter any further, Norris decided to change the train of thought.
“So, the device is working better now?” Norris asked, his eyes scanning over the rows of shelves that were lined with gadgets from his home planet. It was both comforting and distressing to be in this underground space with Gavin. It had been a long time since he had allowed himself to be surrounded so completely by the technologies from the world where he was from. It made him sorely miss being back home, though all at the same time, it filled him with a strange but almost imperceptible sense of resentment.
Why had they banished him? The group hadn’t done anything wrong. By now, it was certain to come to light that everything had been a conspiracy and there had truly not been any crime committed in his name or in the names of any of the other Dragon shifters that had been banished with him. They were all innocent.
So why was it that this was happening to them? Why couldn’t he just go home? Why was it that Gavin was so insistent that Earth really wasn’t all that terrible and they were home now? Norris was royalty. He belonged to his people. Not on some planet so far away from everything that he had been raised to know and love. This was never going to be his home. Never.
“Yes, the device works almost flawlessly at this point. I would hope, anyway. The real test will be if you use it on the woman that you are infatuated with and bring back the results. If it turns out that it is true, and we get positive results from the blood test, then I will know for sure that all the bugs have been worked out of the system.”
“So, it isn’t just that you are worried about my inferior sense of intuition. You also want to make sure your intellect has completely managed to work out all the kinks in the system for the device. I see how it is.”
Gavin’s lips curled at the corners in response to Norris’ teasing. “That may or may not have something to do with it, I will admit. I really need to make sure I haven’t lost my touch. I have been a little bit concerned. It’s hard being so limited in technological resources. A lot of the stuff down here has been preserved the best I can preserve it, but there is really something to be said for the lack of magic on this planet. It is honestly creating quite a bit of interference. I don’t know how much longer I will be able to work with these things without getting them recharged somehow.”
“Interference?” Norris asked, raising his brow in concern. These devices were supposed to help the Dragon shifters stay in touch with their roots so they weren’t completely helpless on Earth. What was going to happen if they stopped working?
“Yes, interference. There is something in the way. Blocking a lot of the transmitters. Many of these devices aren’t working the way they are meant to. It is disheartening,” Gavin said, looking with tenderness at the machines surrounding him. They were both like his toys and his best friends. It was sad to see him so concerned. And if Gavin was concerned, it meant Norris should be concerned too.
“Is there any way to fix that?” Norris asked.
“Not that I can think of, except in putting them back where they belong. I fear it is a sign that the magic keeping the shifter blood lines healthy is waning. We are losing more potentially sacred Lonis than we are gaining, and without that magic in the fabric of the universe, it is really starting to take a toll. Especially, somewhere like Earth. The sun on our planet provides a lot of our strength, but Earth’s sun doesn’t really work the same way…”
“Isn’t a sun just a sun?” Norris asked, though he had a knot in his stomach. He knew there was more to it than that.
“No, there is far more to it than that,” Gavin said, echoing his thought exactly. “There is a reason humans have a hard time believing in magic, even when it is right in front of them. It has a lot to do with the sun and the way things are structured. It will always be different here because the sun carries light with it, but not vision. What is light without sight?”
Norris was quiet as he considered this. It went a bit beyond him. He had been trained in many other ways, but Gavin was the one who understood the nature of magic the best out of all of them. That was probably why he had been put in charge of so many things.
“So, it’s the sun that’s breaking the machines?” Norris asked, suddenly feeling very dumb and childish with his simple questions.
“There is a lot to it, really, and not a lot of solutions. The most feasible is one that is also the least feasible.”
“What?”
Gavin sighed. “I wish there was a way to take them back to Fiora, even if just for a few moments. I think being deprived of the magic of our planet’s atmosphere is having negative effects on the metals the machines are made of. They are…rusting…I guess. For lack of a better term. There is something about this planet that is really destructive to some of the primary elements they are made up of.”
“We need more of the sacred children,” Norris said softly, the urgency of convincing Lisa of her place as his fated mate coming back. He had to help her understand. It was for the good of everyone. And if there was so little magic in the universe that even these simple machines were affected by it, wouldn’t it only be a matter of time before they lost their shifter powers completely? Especially, if the negative energy readings Gavin had been picking up on meant the sun children were being targeted even more aggressively now.
“We need to eliminate the threat of evil that is plaguing them and that made this bunker necessary in the first place,” Gavin countered. “I’m going to start investigating; I have a few points of interest already scouted out. I have a feeling that we are going to find a whole slew of bad guys out there sometime soon. We just have to stay alert. Make sure to keep an eye out. If anything seems strange or suspicious, it probably is.”
“All right, Gavin. You got it.”
Gavin nodded, seemingly relieved by the acknowledgment of his efforts. The poor guy was seriously overworked. Maybe instead of simply taking Lisa out on a date, Norris would take out a bunch of the other Dragon shifters to the new club. Anything that had to do with dragons had to be good, right? Something about this event stirred something within him and made him feel as if there was some sort of mystical element to it, even though the club probably belonged to some oblivious human. Why not include the others in as well? It was going to be fun. It was going to be nice to be able to surprise them with a night out and set everything up so that they could just relax together for once. There had to be a way.
Norris grinned at Gavin with his new plan fresh in his mind, very pleased with himself about the idea of allowing Gavin a chance to relax. Everybody was finding happiness left and right, but Gavin seemed to be the only one left out. Maybe this would help him take his mind off t
hings. And if nothing else, it would be fun to see what it was like to get the guy a little drunk.
“All right, well, I’m going to get out of here,” Norris said, his mind wandering back to Lisa. He had to find a way to get her to see him again. Maybe he had actually laid things on far too thick. Maybe it was bad that he had told her to believe in fate. But truth be told, he didn’t regret it, and if it was a mistake, he knew the universe would help them to sort things out eventually. It would have to.
7.
“You don’t believe in fate, and yet, here you are.”
The silky rumble of Norris’ voice suddenly shocked Lisa’s senses and she turned around, lowering the arm she had been using in an effort to hail a taxi cab. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she gazed out in disbelief at the ridiculously attractive man coming toward her.
“Norris? What are you doing here?”
It seemed a silly question. She was leaving the mall and still didn’t have a car yet. Clearly, he had been shopping. She had been doing the same. Fortunately, she had been paid her first check for her training period and could afford to grab a cab.
“I was just in the neighborhood,” Norris said, smiling broadly at her. He was holding a ridiculously large drink from the movie theater in the mall and smiled at her, showing her its contents. Pure coke syrup. What the hell?
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re here,” Lisa murmured, trying to slow the racing of her heart from the surprise of his pleasant, masculine voice. “Your insurance company still hasn’t given me any transportation to work with. Maybe you should give them a call.”
Norris frowned, then looked at her hand. “That’s not right. I will call them again. You were going to take a cab home?”
“Yes,” Lisa said quietly. “I have no other options. But I had to come here to get a new pair of shoes for work now that I was able to cash my check.”