The Pearls

by Michelle Farrell

  “Those are your parents dear. You are a perfect blend of them.” She smiled and turned to Gabe as he was walking in the room.

  “Good, you gave her the photos, I was hoping you would. How have you been Mary? You need anything?” Gabe asked concern for this woman was written all over.

  “I have been good schatzi, I have been busy canning and such, old woman things that would just bore you all to death. Please I want to hear how you all have found each other. That is a much more interesting subject. Are you all hungry? I can cook lunch while you tell me.”

  They all nodded and followed her to the kitchen. Mary immediately went the cupboards and started pulling stuff out. She had quite a stock pile a food. They were all quiet and just watched her work. The kitchen was large and you could tell this is where she spent most of her time. Once she had all she needed and started to slow down they all took turns telling their sides of their pasts.

  “Mary we want you to come with us to Ireland.” Kaiden told her

  “But your world, I am not supposed to know about.” She stammered

  “I know this, but you are an exception. You have kept Gabe safe and taught him his heritage. There was a Dragon who trusted you and we are going to extend that trust. You will be safe at our home. You will have free reign at the home. I want us all to be a family and you are Gabe’s family.” Kaiden told her

  “If that is what Gabe wants then I will come. I am not ready to let this boy go. I would like to see him happy and become a grandmother.” She smiled at Justine. Justine was in Gabe’s arms and the look Mary gave them was full of hope.

  “Then it is settled. The only question now is when. Do we all go together or do we find the other’s first?” Kaiden said in wonder.

  “Right now let’s eat and then we can come up with a plan.” Gabe said. He missed Mary’s cooking and was drooling over his plate.

  Mateo sat in his office stressed out and wringing his hands, Tia and John were sitting across from him. They had just come in from the back and what they showed him had him completely in fear and wonder. When Mateo was younger his grandfather had told him tales of all kinds of mythical creatures. He always assumed they were fairy tales.

  Mateo needed to contact Gabe. He just knew Gabe would have answers and would know what to do. The boy was young but was older beyond his years.

  “So what’d you think? It’s pretty wicked isn’t it? We figured out about a month ago that we could do this. I think it is awesome.” Tia beamed with pride

  “Tia we have to keep this a secret, we only showed Mateo because he knows a kid with eyes like ours. We cannot do that again.” John admonished her

  “I know I know” she grumbled

  “I need to call Gabe. I don’t know what to do with this. You both leave soon and I just don’t think it is wise for you to go. If people find out they will hunt you down and kill you or worse capture you. You are not normal. Would you like to sit in a lab and have them poke and prod you Tia? Would you like to become a lab rat?” Mateo was confused and furious at once

  Mateo knew he had gotten to Tia when she opened her mouth and quickly closed it. He had to try Gabe again. He picked up the phone and dialed the number, hoping and praying the boy miraculously came home in the last week.

  Lunch was finished and plates were clean. Gabe made and plate and took it down to the safe room for Blake. He didn’t trust the man but he couldn’t be cold hearted either.

  Mary had ushered the others into the living room to sit. She wanted to talk and wanted to hear more about them.

  “Kaiden, can you tell me more about your home?” Mary asked

  “Sure thing, is there anything specific you would like to know?”

  “I would like to know how safe-.” Her words were cut off by the phone ringing. “Excuse me please.” Mary got up to answer the phone.

  “Hallo?” there was a pause “Oh Mateo I have good news, Gabriel just got home this afternoon. Let me get him for you.”

  She went down the hall and disappeared. A few seconds later Gabe appeared at the phone.

  “Mateo good to hear from you!” he beamed and listened “You what? You have some people there you want me to meet?” another pause “Bring them right over please.” He listened some more “Yes yes, I will be here, I need to meet them. See you soon.” Gabe turned to face the others and smiled.

  “What was that about my love?” Justine asked

  “Seems we are going to have company soon and seems they are quite unique according to Mateo.”

  “Oh?” Kaiden asked

  “Like how unique Gabe? Like us unique or like Blake unique?” Zoe asked her fear spiking.

  “I am not sure, Mateo was just really freaked out, and adamant that I meet them. If they are dangerous, well they are coming to my home. This is my territory and I will kill them if they are coming to hurt us.” Gabe said

  They were all quiet for a while contemplating who was about to come to the house. They had about three hours until they would be there. Gabe got up and went to his room. He came back with a large chest. He set the chest down and went back to get another. The first chest was black with silver clamps. The second chest that he brought out was grey with black clamps.

  “Justine this is from your parents. It has family photos and journals. Everything they wanted to keep secret and hidden. They left it with my parents before they ever went into hiding.” Gabe scooted the grey chest over to her.

  “This black one is mine, it is full of everything my parents left me. I would like Kaiden to look through it. Zoe you may also look through this too.” Gabe said. He slid the chest to Kaiden and slid himself over to Justine.

  Mary was back and forth between them and the kitchen. Eventually she joined Gabe and Justine. They all sat there pouring over all the information they were reading. Zoe was amazed at all this information. Gabe’s parents truly were the historians he said they were. They seemed to have catalogued everything. There were listings of all the Dragons in their Sect. There was also a complete list of all the children born, including half-bloods and full-bloods. Some of the names had deaths listed and cause and others were blank. The ones that were blank all seemed to be in the last twenty four years when all the killing started.

  Zoe was overwhelmed. She put down the death journal and picked another. This one was full of all the myths associated with Dragons that haven’t been proven. There were writings of magic use and other things. She put that Journal down and grabbed another. This one was all about the beginning of the murders. This journal told the story of what happened before all hell broke loose.

  She set this one aside and wanted them all to read this. She glanced over at Justine and noticed the joy in her face. Gabe was gently rubbing her back and pointing at things. Mary was just watching them interact.

  The three hours passed before they even realized anything. They heard the car and the crunch of the gravel. Gabe and Mary got up to go outside and Justine, Zoe and Kaiden quickly put everything back in the chests. Zoe left out the one journal and put it on the side table. They scooted the chest under the windows and went to join Gabe and Mary outside.

  They all made it outside as the car was cresting the small hill. Justine went to Gabe and took his hand in hers. Kaiden and Zoe stood to the side and held each other. Mary stood near Gabe shot gun in hand. The car parked and three people got out. There was a tall man who walked with the grace of a trained fighter. Then there were two teenagers with him. A small girl with long curly hair the color of sand stood next to a taller boy with brown hair. She was on the small side but very fit, the boy was also very fit and muscular. They both had a golden skin tone and looked ready for a fight. The girl had light brown eyes with sand colored flecks, the boy had hazel colored eyes with sand colored fleck. All of them except Mary felt the pull of the two full-bloods that stood before them.

  Chapter 26

  “Mateo good to see you after so long and you brought some interesting friends with you.” Gabe smiled and hugged the
tall man. “I also have some new friends that I would like you to meet. This is Justine, the woman I left to find.” He smiled down at Justine and placed a kiss on her head. “This is Kaiden and Zoe, Zoe and Justine are long time friends.”

  “It is very nice to meet you all and I can see you all have some similarities to Gabriel here. This is Tia and John. They also have the similarities that I speak of.” Mateo gestured to Tia and John and waved them over.

  Kaiden had an idea and quickly turned into Zoe and whispered “Tia and John do you know what you are?”

  Their heads shot up in Kaiden’s direction and they both got huge grins on their faces and nodded up and down.

  Kaiden nodded and whispered again “Have you turned? Have you shown anyone?”

  Gabe was listening intently and was watching them. When they both nodded their heads yes, Gabe quickly ushered them all inside.

  “So Mateo you got quite a scare from these two I hear?” Gabe asked him and Mateo just looked at him in curiosity.

  “How did you know?” Mateo asked in wonder

  “Mateo they have shown you something that could get you killed. They have put your life in great danger. So if I tell you, then I am putting you in more danger. I am not sure I want that.” Gabe said

  “Mateo, sir, I am Kaiden, may I ask you a few questions while Gabe here contemplates what he tells you?”

  “Sure you can ask me anything. I am a very private man so just to warn you anything to personal I will have a hard time sharing.” Mateo told Kaiden

  Tia and John sat on one couch completely overwhelmed. They did not know that what they showed Mateo earlier would put him in danger. They were just seeking answers and thought he might know something because he talked about Gabe a lot with them.

  Justine and Zoe sat on the other couch watching the two Dragons. They were astonished that these teenagers had already turned. A little jealousy crept into Justine, Zoe was pretty much just shocked to silence. They also feared that they may have been seen and therefore followed. Both girls kept their senses on high alert.

  Gabe sat in a chair with his hands on his head in thought. While Mateo sat across him,and Kaiden was standing between them. It was like Kaiden was a teacher and all of them were facing him while he gave a speech.

  “Mateo are you married?” Kaiden started the questions

  “No”

  “How long have you lived in this area?”

  “About fifteen years”

  “Have you seen anyone else with similarities like ours that you mentioned?”

  “No Gabe was the first that I ever noticed a difference in.”

  “Do you have children?”

  “No”

  “Would you move if we asked? If your life depended on it?”

  “If I was in danger, yes I would. But I can tell you, I am quite the fighter, I do know how to protect myself.”

  “Well then could I hire you?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “If we tell you the truth, you will always be in danger. I would like to be honest with you Sir, so I am offering you a job and then we will be able to be share the truth with you. This job however requires you to be able to keep a very large secret. It requires trust and dependability and the chance to use the fighting skills you know. I understand you are a great instructor and we are going to need one. I will offer you a large salary and take care of all your expenses.” Kaiden told him.

  Everyone looked to Kaiden in surprise.

  “Kaiden are you sure you want to do this?” Gabe asked

  “Do you trust this man Gabe? Would you fight with him and defend him?”

  “Without a doubt, he is the best trainer I have had.”

  “And are we not going to need a good trainer?”

  “We are. I am just confused, you are so different from what I expected.” Gabe said

  “Thank you, I will take that as a compliment.” Kaiden said. “Now Mateo would you like to train a lot of people like us? And would you like to be in on our secret?”

  “I know your secret son. I am just confused by it. They showed me what they can do.” Mateo confessed

  “Sir would you like two million dollars a year to train potential fighters?” Kaiden asked

  “That’s a lot of money son.” Mateo said

  “Do you need more to accept my offer?”

  “No son, I will take the job. I love to instruct and well there isn’t much of a market for it here.”

  “Good glad to have you. Now on to the serious stuff, Tia and John did you know what you were before you turned?” Kaiden looked at them waiting for an answer. Kaiden was radiating power. He knew that these kids were loose cannons and they could be a potential threat to Zoe.

  “No we did not. We just knew we could fight and no one could beat us. We were and are very fast and we hear everything around us. Those senses are now heightened and we can both feel that you guys are what we are. But you and your girlfriend feel a bit different than they do.” John said

  “Yes we are but we have not turned yet, it is not safe to turn here in the US or basically anywhere. Have you ever seen anyone with red fleck in their eyes, or felt the pull as we call, it is will be a little fainter that what you feel now? Well let me ask you this, you feel us four do you feel another?”

  “Yes there is someone below us. The feel of him is fainter but there is someone there. But no we have never seen red flecks in someone eyes.” Tia said

  “Yes we have what is a half-blood down stairs. You see there is something of a war going on. There is a Blood Dragon named Aldrich who wishes to be King. He has killed all our parents and all of our families. He has sent his half-blood children, which are in the hundreds, to hunt all of us down. There were three of them that came to a cabin we were staying in, to kill me and Justine, and take Zoe. You see, Zoe and I are Pearl Dragons. By heritage we are the King and Queen. We do not wish to rule over you, but your Dragon, as well as theirs, is designed to listen to an order. I will never order you to do something that I know is against your wishes. However I will, and she probably will too, we will order you to do something if that something puts the rest of us in danger. Anyway Aldrich wants Zoe, because he caught her father twenty two years ago, days before Zoe was born. He is holding him hostage. A Pearl Dragon is the only Dragon that can turn another full or half-blood with a bite. Soul mates, which you two are, and full-blood can turn with each other. As I know you figured out. Couldn’t resist the bite instinct could you?”

  Tia ducked her head with a smile on her face and John sat there beaming. A goofy grin plastered on his face.

  “So wait, you are our King and Queen?” Tia asked

  Zoe and Kaiden nodded

  “And you’re telling me my parents were murdered? That John’s parents were murdered? And you have one of them mother fuckers down stairs?” She stood and her anger was very obvious. John stood to join her and they went to move.

  “STOP!” Kaiden boomed loud and Tia and John froze mid stride. “You will not hurt him, we have him tied up and taken care of. He is the only one that knows the location of his father. We have made a deal with him and we fully intend to keep it until his father is dead and Zoe’s father is freed.” Kaiden said, he was getting frustrated with these two. They were so young.

  “Now before I tell you anymore I would like to know about you two. Where did you come from? And what are your full names? I have a contact that can help us track down your information.”

  “You just pulled some King shit on us didn’t you? We didn’t want to stop but we couldn’t help it. I thought you said you didn’t want to order us around.” Tia was furious and John looked just as mad.

  “I told you I will not order you to do something that is against your will. Meaning I wouldn’t order John to go make babies with random women, I would not order you to go fight alone. I do not want to order anyone around I want us all to be a family, friends at the least. I want everyone to get along. You two are young and you are letting your emoti
ons guide you instead of sitting back and seeing the bigger picture.” Kaiden told them

  They settled down and were silent. Mateo was watching and listening, Zoe stood and walked to Kaiden. She wanted to calm him down. She could feel his frustration. Mary went to get some drinks and Gabe moved to sit next to Justine. The air was thick with animosity and Zoe did not like it.

  “Tia and John I am Zoe and I am very happy to meet you. There are four more sets of Dragons that we need to find. Kaiden and I are the Pearl, Justine and Gabe are the Onyx, you two are the Fury. That leaves Water, Earth, Blood, and Fire to find. We know the name of the female Blood Dragon. We are looking for her first I think. Her name is Vivi and she is the younger sister of the man downstairs. Please trust me when I tell you that I don’t like him being here as much as you do. But we need him. I need him. I need him to get my father back. You see, up until a couple days ago Justine and I had no clue what we were.” Zoe tells them her whole story and they listen intently. Zoe is trying to show patience and let them warm up to them. She figured out quickly that dealing with a Fury is truly exhausting.

  Justine and Gabe share their stories and as Kaiden starts his Mary asks them if she should make dinner. They all shake their heads and she goes to the kitchen to cook. Zoe excuses herself to go to the restroom and checks on Blake at the same time.

  The safe room is actually a small bedroom. There is a bed a toilet and sink and some shelves with food. Blake is chained to an anchor bolted to the middle of the floor. He has enough room to get between the toilet and the bed. He doesn’t have the headphones in and Zoe gets nervous for a moment, she steps inside and closes the door. Then she realizes why he doesn’t have them in. The room must be sound proof. She quickly opens the door and steps back out she tells him dinner will be soon as she leaves.

  Once she is upstairs the smell of the food cooking assaults her nose and she is instantly hungry again. She takes a seat next to Kaiden as he is finishing his story.