The Dragon and the Vampire

by A. K. Michaels

  Ronan found himself pouring a large bourbon, he couldn’t even recall getting the glass or bottle into his hands. His attention so riveted on those eyes, seeing them clear as day in his mind. Sipping the bourbon with one hand, he expertly removed his weapons with the other and placed them on top of the bar, before moving to sit in his favorite chair. Savoring the bourbon’s taste as it slipped down his throat he took in the vista in front of him, wondering when Esther would do the spell.

  His phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out, saw Esther’s name, and smiled as he accepted the call. “Hello, Esther,”

  Esther’s calm tone came down the line. “Hello, Ronan, I just wanted to let you know that I’m only going to rest for a few hours and then I’m going to do the spell. I can sense your feeling of urgency in locating the girl, so, if you meet me in my office at five am, we’ll get started. I think it best that only the two of us go to find her. If there are too many of your men, she may get spooked again and I do not wish to have to harm her in any way to catch her. That would be defeating the purpose, so to speak.”

  Ronan’s smile widened as Esther spoke. “Thanks Esther, yeah I am kinda anxious to find her and I agree about it just being us two this time. Hopefully, we can manage to get her to listen to us and bring her back. She should be safe here. With all the staff located in the apartment blocks around us, she’ll have plenty of folks to look out for her. If we get her, then I’ll let everyone know to be on high alert for any hunters. They’ll get more than they bargained for if they come anywhere near here...though I’m not sure what we’ll do about the Witches that seem to be part of the hunting teams...”

  Esther’s voice broke into his meandering thoughts. “I’ll take care of that, Ronan, I’ll put up a shielding spell and an alert spell. Anyone coming our way, well, we’ll be given plenty of warning. I want to anchor the alert spell to you, of course, but also some others, so pick at least another three or four of your best men, then I’ll anchor to all of us. That way even if one somehow misses an alert, there’s not a chance that we all will. Okay, I’m going to rest now, see you at five.”

  Ronan said a quick ‘bye’ then hung up, the smile still playing on his lips as he did so. Hopefully, soon, he would once more see the girl...and those violet eyes.

  He finished the rest of his bourbon in one gulp and pulled his long body from his leather recliner, moving more like a large cat than a Vampire. His very long, muscular, legs carrying him towards his bedroom. Ronan wanted to get some rest before he met with Esther.

  Using his phone to set an alarm for four am to make sure he had plenty of time to get ready in the morning, he placed it next to his side of the bed. He always slept on the right side of his large bed and made his way there as he stripped off his clothes, slipping under the covers in only his underwear and closing his eyes.

  This time sleep came easy, a dreamless sleep that had him waken five minutes before his alarm was due to go off. Ronan deleted the alarm on his phone and rose, going to the kitchen to take out a small packet of blood, placing it on the counter, and then going for a shower. He took his time, letting the hot water roll over his body, as he once more envisioned those violet eyes.

  His breathing quickened and he was shocked to realize the direction his mind was taking him. Ronan could actually see the girl in his apartment, standing in front of the large window in his lounge. Her back to him as she stared out at the city below. Ronan shook his head, clearing it of those thoughts, he didn’t have time to daydream, he had to get ready and go and meet Esther.

  His face was marred by a frown as he dressed, once again, in combat gear and collected his weapons from the bar. Securing them to his body, he continued on into the kitchen. Ronan picked up the packet of blood, felt it wasn’t quite at his preferred temperature, but drank it down anyway, a grimace on his face. Ronan frowned, knowing he needed the sustenance; however, he had been finding it more and more of a strain to feed on donor blood.

  ‘I may just go out with Sam,’ he thought. Go to a club and hook up with a human female. He would make darn sure she had a good time, but would not remember his feeding from her in the morning. It had been a long time since he had done anything like that; however, he thought he may just have to. The tempting allure of warm blood dripping down the back of his throat was getting more enticing as the days wore on.

  Once again he shook his head, threw the now empty packet in the trash and, headed for the door. Checking his weapons as he moved, he circled his head to loosen a small knot at the back of his neck as he opened the door. Ronan made sure he had his phone before closing the door behind him, heading for the stairs instead of the elevator. He took the stairs at a jog, two or three at a time, landing sure footed, before he moved onwards. Within minutes, he was on the third floor where Esther’s office was located and he used his keycard to unlock the security door and pass through into the corridor beyond.

  A soft light glowed from a door at the far end of the corridor: Esther’s office. Ronan checked his watch, saw it was not even a quarter to the hour...Esther was early. Good, Ronan thought, increasing his speed, striding to her office quickly. The door was ajar so he gently pushed it open all the way, to allow his large frame to get through, carrying on straight past Celeste’s desk. Esther’s inner office door was wide open and he could make out some shadows moving around as he drew closer. Flickering candles came into view as he moved into the room. Esther was slumped in her chair, eyes half closed, lips moving, and appeared to be in some kind of trance.

  Ronan stopped dead, not wanting to distract the Witch from whatever she was doing. He hoped that it was the locator spell and even held his breath while he waited. His eyes stayed locked on Esther as she mumbled, the piece of leather held firmly in her hands. He again wondered why the girl would have such a thing, deciding he would ask her...if he got the chance.

  Ronan waited, completely immobile, watching Esther’s face harden in concentration, as she continued to mumble quietly. He glanced at the leather cuff again, noting the heavy metal studding all around and got the fleeting notion it was utilitarian and not a fashion statement. The leather was thick, though pliable, the studs covering a large area of the cuff. He frowned as he tried to imagine what it could possibly be used for but came up empty.

  He nearly jumped when Esther’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Good morning, Ronan, are you ready?”

  Ronan smiled at the old woman. “Yes, though I wondered if we could discuss something first?”

  Esther stood up and walked around her desk, stopping a few feet in front of him. “Of course, what’s on your mind?”

  Ronan lowered his eyes to meet hers. “The hunter Vamp I caught, he was saying some weird shit about one of their Witches taking him to somewhere in the Rockies after they had stolen a load of supplies from a Blood Bank supply truck. Apparently, the Witch did a spell to move them there so he doesn’t know where it is but says it was definitely the Rockies and they took the supplies to the opening of some cavern. I’m not sure if he was telling the truth or not...what do you think?”

  Ronan watched as Esther’s eyes widened and a look of realization dawned on her face, “What?” he asked as she obviously knew something.

  Esther took a deep breath. “The manner in which they traveled is correct, in fact, it’s the way we will be using today. However, it’s what they took there...that’s the important fact. It makes me believe that there may be a Dragon being held there and they’re draining its blood. If that’s the case then we need to find it...”

  Ronan interrupted her with a wave of his hand. “What? Are you serious? You think they’re holding a Dragon in that cavern? Why can it not escape? If it’s the same size as the one we saw then it’s freaking huge and powerful..”

  It was Esther’s turn to interrupt, “Magic, dark magic. From the limited knowledge I have, they hunt them and capture them in human form. However, the blood has to come from the actual Dragon, so they would use the dark magic to elicit a transformatio
n and bind the Dragon in place. I would assume they keep it almost starved and dehydrated to weaken it also...leaving it completely vulnerable, weak, and at their mercy. Ronan, once we have the girl we have to use every resource to find this place and the Dragon I suspect is being held there.”

  Esther’s voice was strong and was almost, but not quite, an order. Ronan rankled at the tone but didn’t retort when he saw the pleading in the old woman’s eyes. He simply nodded his head in agreement and saw her relax slightly at his consent.

  “Okay, we’ll get right on that once we get back. So, Esther, I assume you found where the girl is and can you please explain how we’re getting there?”

  Esther smiled. “Yes, she’s about an hour’s drive from the city, in some woodland, nothing near it. She’s hiding and I can feel her fear, we need to take things slow and I will not harness any dark magic...she’ll feel it and think we are hunters. Another thing, Dragons have some empathic abilities, they do have to concentrate to use it but if she does, she should be able to sense we mean her no harm. Ronan, can you please try and not scowl? You look very frightening when you do that....”

  Ronan frowned. “What? I don’t scowl!”

  Esther actually laughed as she looked up at him. “You’re doing it now, Ronan. Just try and not frown, scowl, growl or snarl. Now, on to how we will get there. I’m going to do a spell and it will take us to very near to where she is...”

  Ronan frowned again as he stopped her. “What? Really? I thought that was all mumbo jumbo nonsense. You can really do that?”

  Esther inclined her head to the side as she smiled up at him. “It’s not mumbo jumbo as you so delicately put it. However, only someone very strong in magic and trained extensively in carrying out the spell, can do it. It’s not something I do very often but it does come in handy at times. So, just stay there and I’ll get started.”

  Ronan wasn’t at all sure about this, being moved around by magic wasn’t quite what he imagined the morning journey to be. His gaze never left Esther, watching as she closed her eyes and moved her hands fluidly in the air directly between them. Her face showed deep concentration as she muttered some unintelligible words. Out the corner of his eye he saw the leather cuff, lying on the edge of the desk, he moved quickly, snaking his hand out to grab it and placing it in his pocket...a second before he felt very strange indeed.

  Ronan had a split second of panic as he felt as if his body was being pulled apart, cell by cell. He only had time to realize what he was feeling before his sight went dark...again for less than a second...then he saw he was standing amidst a group of trees. The grass was thick under his feet and he took a stumbled step backwards before regaining his equilibrium, his eyes darting around to make sure they were safe.

  Esther’s hand touched his arm and he jerked, looking down into her amused face. “It takes a little getting used to. Are you all right to continue?”

  Ronan took a deep breath then nodded. “Yes, I’m fine, was just a little weird is all. So, where is she?”

  Esther pointed off to the right and started walking in that direction. Her next action surprised him greatly. She started to hum a tune and after a minute or so of walking and humming she shouted out.

  “Hello! We’re here to help. I know you are scared but we will not harm you. I also know you have some empathic powers...use them now dear. Use them and see we mean you no harm.”

  Ronan stared wide eyed as Esther continued walking and started to hum again. He wondered what the heck she was playing at...she had just given the girl the chance to escape...again.

  Esther continued to hum as she walked on, her tiny feet making small indentations in the grass as he followed behind. After only another minute or two they broke free of the trees and entered a small area that was grass and wildflowers, surrounded by the trees. The area was only about twenty foot across and Esther walked to the middle and stopped.

  Esther held her hand up and Ronan came to a halt right at her back. “I hope you are sensing that we are not here to hurt you, dearie, we only want to help. We can keep you safe...”

  *****

  Starr jerked upright, getting to her feet so quickly that she gave herself a head rush. Voices and what was that? Humming? Someone was humming and they were close. She moved behind a large tree as the humming stopped and she heard a raised voice. Female, calm, saying they wanted to help her, saying she should use her empathic ability to sense they were being truthful.

  Starr’s heart hammered in her chest, she was so very tired, having flown in circles for hours before finally landing at the edge of the treeline and working her way in, to find somewhere she could lay down and rest. She had only had about an hour of sleep and her body ached from lying on the forest floor. Who were these people and could she trust them?

  Shaking her head, Starr concentrated, screwing up her face as she did so, bringing her empath powers alive. She waited, harnessing a little more, before sending them out in the direction of the voice. Her power flowed outwards, like an invisible strand of smoke that only she could see, further on and then she found them.

  Her body jerked as she realized that the woman was first, a Witch, and second, not alone. She knew that essence, she had felt it before, not once, but twice. It was the huge Vampire that had shouted at her as she flew off the night before. How the hell did he find her and who was the Witch with him?

  She centered her power towards the Witch, trying to sense the dark magic that the hunting party were always shrouded in. Starr blinked in surprise at finding the Witch was not, in fact, harnessing dark magic...strange, she thought. As her power seeped inside the psyche of the woman she got glimpses, like snapshots coming to life. What was most surprising was that she felt no ill will towards her. Starr was pretty sure the Witch was telling the truth.

  Why, then, would the large Vampire be with her? Had he forced her to cooperate? Starr moved her power in the direction of the huge man, who stood behind the Witch. Starr’s eyes were closed as she sensed her power invade him and as his thoughts and feelings came back at her she took a step back, her breath hitching in her throat.

  Starr clearly felt the deep seeded need in the Vampire to find her, to protect her, to help her. Her eyes filled with tears, as her breath left her lungs. Who was this Vampire that wanted to help her? She had no idea. She only knew that for the first time in over ten years...she wasn’t alone.

  She brushed her eyes with the palms of her hands to rid her face of the tears, biting her bottom lip hard, to stop them entirely. Even though she felt these two were there to help her, she had no intention of showing any weakness. Wasn’t gonna happen. Starr stood up straighter before moving towards the two figures. She was still hidden from them by the trees but she knew, without a doubt, that they would know where she was and that she was coming towards them and not running away.

  Starr took one more large breath in before stepping out from the trees, her eyes taking in the two in front of her. The Witch was an old woman, small, barely five foot and she looked even smaller standing in front of the Vampire. Starr’s eyes widened as she took him in, jeez, he must be well over six foot tall and broad, with muscles rippling underneath his combat gear. His thighs were so thick she wondered how the material didn’t rip at the seams. She could only guess at the strength that body contained as her eyes made their way to his face.

  His deep, dark, brown eyes met hers, his face impassive, as he seemed to take all of her in, just as she had done with him. She tried hard not to show any emotion as she stared back at him, she was sure she even managed a nonchalant look as she cocked her head to the side and raised one eyebrow.

  Was this the man that would keep her safe? She damn well hoped so.

  *****

  Ronan stood stock still when his hearing picked up footfalls coming in their direction. He sent his powers out and knew it was the girl. She was coming towards them, slowly, her feet seeming to hesitate a few times before continuing on. His eyes strained, trying to catch a first glimpse o
f her in the dawning light.

  He knew exactly at what point she would exit the treeline and his eyes didn’t waver, even for a second, his senses telling him she was getting closer and closer. There! Her body appeared out from the trees and with his enhanced sight he could make out every last detail of her.

  From her jet black hair, with purple streaks, to her long, lean, legs, encased in dark denim, to her leather jacket...zipped up tight...to those eyes. Those violet eyes that had been haunting him. As his eyes met hers he saw her take all of him in, staying a moment or two on his thighs before heading upwards and locking with his.

  She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. He was certain she was trying not to show any emotion, however, the strained look on her face was clear for his skilled eyes to see. She was scared, dirty, looked half starved, but she desperately didn’t want them to know. He lifted one side of his mouth in a small smile and nodded his head.

  Esther stepped forward and Ronan steeled himself to chase the girl down if she bolted. He was pleased when she stayed in place as Esther moved ever closer.

  “Hello, my name is Esther, this big lug here is Ronan, and we want to help...”

  The girl cut her off quickly. “How? How can you help? Do you have any idea of who and what is after me? Very powerful Witches that use dark magic, that’s who! Your ordinary magic won’t stand a chance against them. So tell me, Esther, how are you gonna help me?”

  Ronan tried to hide the smile that threatened to take over his face. This girl had spunk and he saw Esther flinch at the words that were spat out at her. The old woman recovered quickly though and carried on as if she hadn’t been interrupted.

  “First, I can also wield dark magic, however, I only do so in the direst circumstances, so I am more than a match for those Witches that are in those hunting parties. Second, Ronan here is the Director of the Supernaturals Enforcement Bureau...if he can’t keep you safe...then no-one can. You have to trust us. You are tired, weak and in need of some care, so please let us help.”