Touched by a Dragon

by Sarah J. Stone

  When daylight approached, he wasn’t surprised to find the dark sedan rolling up into her driveway. They thought they could get in and see her before first light, when no one would catch them, but they were wrong. He waited as they knocked on her door. Perhaps she wouldn’t even come out, but then she turned on her outside light, and he saw the door creaking open.

  “Damn, Kara,” he muttered under his breath.

  “We’d like to come in and have a word with you,” the Brant man was saying to her.

  “What is this about?” she asked.

  “It’s about you thinking you can run some little con and take land that I’ve been working on procuring for quite some time now.”

  “I don’t think we have anything to say one another. If you need to know anything, you can speak with Aaron at the Council office.

  “No, I don’t think so. We’ve already done that and come up empty handed.”

  “Well, you won’t get any further here with me,” she told him, attempting to close the door in their face.

  One of the men stuck his foot out, blocking her from shutting them out as the other advanced upon her, pushing their way inside.

  “What are you doing?” she yelled at them. “Get out of my house!”

  If they persisted, she’d be left with no choice but to shift, and that would be bad inside the house and worse because she’d hurt them badly or kill them altogether. With a man like Brant, there would be far too much to explain to too many people. Thomas was already running across the short stretch of grass that stood between him and her house, reaching the front porch just as he heard her scream on the inside.

  “You listen here, little girl. You don’t know who you are fucking with. I came here to settle this like a gentleman, by offering you a decent price and giving your neighbors time to move off your property. Of course, I should have known better. You obviously have no business sense, or you’d not be letting a bunch of people live in perfectly rentable houses for free. Surely, you’ve known this property was yours for some time, and you couldn’t be bothered to even get it properly deeded to yourself.”

  “Get out of my house! What are you doing? Let me go!” she screamed.

  Thomas heard a loud pop, followed by a howl of pain from Kara. He saw red as he reached for the front door and practically ripped it from his hinges on his way in. The two men were holding her on either side, a bright red hand-print displayed angrily on her right cheek.

  “You heard her; let her go!” Thomas snarled at them.

  “You’d do well to mind your own business and move along, buddy,” Brant growled at him.

  “She is my business, and you’d do well to take your filthy paws off her!” he shouted back.

  “Who is going to make me? It seems there are three of us and only one of you. I think you’re just a bit outnumbered, lover boy. Not only will we make sure the little doll here sees things our way before we leave, but we’ll be damn sure we leave her with a smile of delight, if you get my drift.”

  Thoughts swirled in tangled masses inside Thomas’ head. He had absolutely no control over himself other than a single thought that repeatedly told him not to shift. He listened to it for a moment, instead barreling head first into Brant and knocking him to one side. The two bodyguards let go of Kara, and he saw his chance.

  “Run, Kara!” he yelled at her, simultaneously grabbing Brant by the feet and dragging him out the front door. He felt like he had all the strength of his dragon form but without changing into it as pure adrenaline took over and surged through him. From one corner of his eye, he could see Kara shift and take flight just out of their view.

  Suddenly, everything went grey for a moment as something hard struck him. He blinked back the pain long enough to catch sight of the baseball bat the man held descending again toward his head. These people weren’t holding back. They meant business and wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted.

  Even if Kara went for help, there was no way he could hold off the two of them as they continued to pummel him. Brant got a kick in here and there as Thomas rolled near him. The voice in his head that had told him not to shift was taken over by self-preservation, and he found himself changing. Suddenly, the men stopped hitting him, instead taking a step back with horrified looks as they tried to understand what was happening in front of their eyes.

  “Holy shit,” one of them said.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Brant said in disbelief. Then, a small smile curved up his lips as he seemed to register exactly what was at stake here for the inhabitants. Thomas knew in that instant that not only would they stop tonight, but they’d come back again and again until they got what they wanted by any means necessary.

  Everything went hazy again, but this time, out of pure rage, he attacked, tearing them each apart with his bare claws. Their screams filled the air, and a part of him knew that he should stop, but he couldn’t control his anger. He had never felt so engorged with hatred as he did in that moment, and he was dimly aware of a voice calling out to him from behind as he finished the last of them off and dropped his still carcass onto the ground.

  “Thomas, it’s over. Stop, Thomas,” a voice called out.

  He turned to see Kara standing there along with the McCord brothers. His bloodshot eyes peered down at her, seeing her through what seemed like a grey and red haze.

  “Thomas?” Owen said. “Snap out of it. Come back to us, buddy.”

  Thomas turned toward him, a bit of smoke coming from his nostrils. He was dimly aware of the smell of fire around him and turned back to realize that he had scorched Brant without even realizing it. He had murdered three humans in the blink of an eye. Rather than respond to the three people standing there trying to talk to him, he turned and took to the air, flying out into the darkness until he was above the water and then continuing until he was sitting on Sheep Island, far north of home.

  Shifting back to human form, he sat holding his head in his hands. His body quivered as he began sobbing quietly into them. He was still lost in his own tears when he heard a heavy thud on the ground beside him. Looking up, he saw Josh’s dragon just before he shifted and sat down next to him.

  “How did you find me?” Thomas asked.

  “Please. You always come here when you are upset, since we were kids even.”

  Thomas gave him a weak smile, trying not to break down again. He felt dead inside. How could he have let himself become so enraged?

  “I killed them, Josh. I killed all of them.”

  “I know, buddy. I saw. Kara got to a phone and called me and the McCords, but you were gone by the time I got there. I had gone back down to Dublin with Barb. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you when you needed it.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. Aaron sent me there alone. Surely, he knew I couldn’t outmatch the three of them without shifting?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe he just didn’t think they would go that far. What happened?”

  “I did what he told me. I went there to watch over Kara, but she refused my help. So, I hid my car down the street and then went back to sit at the edge of the lawn next door, in the shadows where she couldn’t see me. I sat there all night and was about to leave, when they showed up. I can’t imagine what might have happened if I had not stayed a few minutes longer.”

  “She’s a dragon, Thomas. She would have defended herself.”

  “She wasn’t. They hit her, and she didn’t shift.”

  “She would have if it had gotten to the point where she felt seriously threatened.”

  “Perhaps. I should have just let it be, let her shift, and fly out away from them.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “I heard him slap her, heard her cry out. I just lost it. I went barging in, thinking I could just intimidate them. I grabbed Brant, figuring he was the biggest but too soft to put up any real fight. I dragged him out to the yard and told her to run. I saw her shift just out of their sight and figured she would bring help, but then they took out a basebal
l bat.”

  “Put it to good use, too, from the looks of it,” Josh said, nodding toward the bump on Thomas’ temple. He couldn’t see it, but he could feel it there and his head throbbed from the pain.

  “Yeah. I don’t know. First, they hit her, and then they insinuated they would do far worse to her. I just lost it. I couldn’t think straight. I just started ripping them apart.”

  “You were just protecting her like you were sent there to do.”

  “I could have done that without going that far.”

  “Maybe, but you would have risked exposure, and they would have come back. Did you intend to sit in her yard forever to protect her from future visits?”

  “If I had to,” Thomas replied.

  Josh looked at him for a moment, realization hitting him. He shook his head and looked out at the darkness. “You know, Thomas. I was really glad that Owen paved the way for me to be with Barb. It would have been a tough choice for me to choose between her and my career.”

  “Would you have made the right choice?”

  “I don’t know. What’s the right choice? Perhaps if I had known it was still forbidden, I wouldn’t have even pursued anything with her, and I never would have known just how wonderful things could be for us. So, like I said, I’m glad Owen paved the way for me to explore that possibility.”

  “I don’t have that luxury, Josh. It’s her or my seat on the Council. I worked hard to get that seat.”

  “Yes, you did, but think about the reason you did it. Was it really that it meant so much to you, or was it because we knew we needed you there to bring Aiden down once and for all? I know you remember what he did to our cousin. What she endured at his hands. Maybe that is why you lost your senses when the men threatened a similar fate for Kara. Old wounds have a weird way of cropping up unexpectedly and, coupled with whatever feelings you have for her, it’s understandable.”

  “I don’t know, Josh. I don’t know if I can live with what kind of monster I turned into for that short period of time.”

  “You’re going to have to, buddy. It happened, and you are just going to have to come to terms with it. Now, come on. We have to get you home. I promised Aaron I would bring you back in.”

  “Am I to be arrested?”

  “I don’t know. He just told me to get you home and get you in front of him.”

  “I guess I will go face the consequences then.”

  “Yep. Let’s go.”

  The two of them shifted, gliding back through the cool night air toward headquarters. When they arrived, they were met by two guards who handed them fresh clothes to put on before leading them into Aaron’s private chambers. A sense of dread filled Thomas as he entered the heavy doors and found himself looking at Aaron who was sitting quietly beside Kara, trying to comfort her.

  Chapter 13

  “Kara, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” he began, but Aaron held his hand up to silence him.

  “Cassi is downstairs in our infirmary. The men you killed paid her a visit before they came to Kara’s house. They went to the restaurant to look for her there first. One of her early staff members found her on the floor when they came in to help her open up.”

  “Oh, God. How badly is she hurt?” Thomas asked.

  “When they found out Kara wasn’t there, they held her down, while one of them rifled through her filing cabinet in the back to find an address. She would have walked away from that with only a cracked rib, but the shock of being attacked gave her a heart attack. My doctors have her stabilized, but she’s not in good shape.”

  “I see,” Thomas replied, making his way over to Kara and squatting down beside her to take her hand, no longer caring how it affected him. He might well end up confined in a hole down in the cellar before all was said and done anyway.

  “Don’t touch me!” she barked at him. “This is your fault. All of it! You should have never come to Cassi for help. You should have found some other way!”

  “Kara, I didn’t know it would turn out like this. I’m so sorry. This is not how I would have wanted things to be for any of us.”

  “Right, and when things didn’t go according to your plan, you ran away – just tucked tail and ran like a coward. You left me so that you didn’t have to give anything up for me.”

  “You’re right. You are completely right. I did that. I never thought about how it might affect you, only me. It was selfish.”

  “It’s too late now. Just leave me alone and let me tend to Cassi. She needs me. You obviously don’t.”

  Kara stood up and walked away. Aaron nodded toward a young woman standing by an interior door, and she opened it, escorting Kara away. Thomas could only assume she was taking her to the trauma ward where Cassi was being treated. He turned back to Aaron and looked at him through hollow eyes.

  “You’ve had a very bad day, my friend. I know that.”

  “You’ve no idea,” Thomas told him.

  “I might understand more than you realize. It’s not easy to take another life. It is a dragon rite of passage, but it drains the human emotions that are left behind, while you try to cope with what you have done. I know how it feels at the end of the day.”

  “Am I to be arrested for my crimes?”

  “Crimes? I’d hardly call protecting the woman I sent you to protect a crime, Thomas. You did your job, nothing more.”

  “I tore them apart, Aaron. I was so angry that I just kept ripping at them until they were destroyed. I even torched the land baron without realizing it.”

  “It’s understandable. Even more so now that I’ve realized there is more to your relationship with Kara than I had realized. I should have never sent you. You were too close to the situation.”

  “Well, it is done now. If you won’t charge me, perhaps the outside authorities will when they come to look for their missing Americans.”

  “When they look for their missing Americans, they will find them far away from here. I’ve already seen to it that no traces of their visit to our village are evident.”

  “You intend to cover up the deaths of three people?”

  “I’ve no choice, Thomas. I’m not about to punish you for what you did. As far as I’m concerned, it was justifiable homicide. As for outside authorities, you know the last thing we need is them snooping around our village, and how do we explain the condition of their bodies? They, along with their luxury car, are already safely on the bottom of the deepest depths of the ocean where no one will be looking for them.”

  “It doesn’t feel right.”

  “I’m sure it doesn’t, but it is just the way it is. You’ll come to terms with it. It’s all we can do now.”

  “Okay. I will just have to learn to live with it. Listen, Aaron, I appreciate everything you have done for me and for my family. It’s been a pleasure to serve on your council, but I think the time has come for me to tender my resignation.”

  “What? Don’t be ridiculous. I won’t allow it!”

  “I’m afraid I’ve made up my mind. I want to be with Kara, and I can’t do that if I’m a member of the Council. Even if she wants nothing to do with me now, I can’t live with myself, knowing that I chose my position over her. I should have made that decision up front.”

  “It’s admirable, Thomas, but I am not going to accept your resignation. You are one of my top team members, and I refuse to let something like matters of the heart interfere with having you by my side. I will find a way to make it right with the Council. As I’ve said before, it’s high time we changed some things around here. It might mean cutting some people loose, if they can’t come to terms with the changes, but I’m willing to do that if needed.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother, Aaron. You’re better off without me. You saw what a complete hothead I turned into tonight. I don’t want to drag anyone down with my irrational thinking.”

  “That’s absurd, Thomas. Anyone in your position would have done the same. No one will fault you for it.”

  “Kara faults me.”
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  “No. She doesn’t. She is angry with you because you left her, not because of what you did to save her.”

  “She blames me for what happened to Cassi.”

  “She’ll come around. She’s just lashing out. Give her a bit of time to come to terms with it, and she’ll be just fine.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “Trust me, she will. Women only get that angry with the men they care about,” he laughed.

  “I guess we will see,” Thomas replied.

  “Yes, we shall,” Aaron told him. “Now, let’s get you downstairs and get that knot on your noggin looked at, while I have the doctor out here anyway.”

  “No, I’m fine. It’s okay.”

  “No, it isn’t. Don’t worry. Kara isn’t anywhere near where you’ll be. We’ll give her a little time to cool off before you try to smooth things over.”

  “If you say so,” Thomas replied glumly.

  “I do, and I’m the dragon leader. I’m always right, eh?” Aaron said with a wink. “Now, let’s get this done so I can get back home to my own family, or I’m going to have an angry woman on my case, too.

  “Very well,” Thomas replied.

  Aaron led him through the same doors that Kara had been taken through and down a long hallway that slanted downward. It was an area Thomas had never been in before, and he began to realize that there was a complete hospital set up down there. It wasn’t huge, but it had all the necessities, it seemed, of a much larger facility. Aaron led him to a small room and told him to have a seat before stepping back out. He returned in a few minutes with the doctor in tow.

  “Thomas, I’m going to leave you with the doctor and head home. He’ll make sure you are let out when you’re done.”

  “Thank you, Aaron. We will talk tomorrow, I’m sure.”

  “Certainly will,” Aaron replied, tapping on the door with his hand as he walked away.

  “Hello, Thomas. I haven’t seen you in quite a long time,” the doctor said.

  “Dr. Cicero! I almost didn’t recognize you. It has been a while,” Thomas replied.

  Dr. Cicero had been his family doctor for years, but the last time Thomas had seen him was when he broke his arm as a teen. His accelerated dragon healing had kicked in so quick that it had healed unevenly, and Dr. Cicero had to break and reset it. He still remembered the pain of both breaks to this day.