"It's upstairs," I said, "Maybe later," then steered him down another hallway. Finally we got to the theatre and I showed him in. "Wow," he said again. He seemed in awe of everything about the place—I'd known he would be and the show-off in me was glad.
"Got any snacks?" he asked.
"I can check the kitchen for popcorn and stuff."
"I was thinking more like wine. Maybe some strawberries?"
Alarm bells went off in my head. "Um... I'll check. Colin..." I hesitated. I didn't want Colin thinking of this as a typical date—the kind that would end with us in bed and me regretting it all the next day. "I don't think that... I think we should just be friends." I held my breath, waiting for his reaction. Colin didn't have friends who were girls.
"Sure," he said. "That's fine. That's great, actually. Who couldn't use a friend?" I blew out the breath I'd been holding.
"Great," I said. I checked the clock on the wall. It was almost ten. "Look, I have to run and take care of something for my boss. I'll be back in like ten minutes. Make yourself at home. There's a huge movie selection over there," I pointed towards the far wall. "Pick out whatever you'd like and I'll be back."
I ran to Brett's room, happy that I'd invited Colin over after all. We'd been together for six years—since high school—you didn't just give that up overnight. There was no reason we couldn't be friends.
Brett was waiting for me on his bed, the cuffs spread out before him. "Hi," I said. Things had been awkward between us all day. He looked at me but said nothing as I strapped his cuffs around his wrist. His arms were a mass of golden muscles, yet in the cuffs he looked small and helpless.
"So your boyfriend is here?" Brett finally asked gruffly.
“Ex,” I replied
"You'd let someone who hurt you as he did back into your life?"
I hesitated. I didn’t like his derogatory tone. "What I do with my life is none of your business." I felt his eyes stick to me as I walked around his room, checking things. "Besides, I don't have any other friends."
"You have me," Brett said. His voice was hoarse and he stared at me with wide, calculating eyes.
"No, I don't," I snapped. "I don't even have your friendship Brett."
He looked stunned. His eyes softened. "The last few weeks... I've come to appreciate you more than I could have thought possible."
There was a long pause of awkward silence. The air felt heavy around us.
"Yeah, well..." I didn't know what to say. I was flattered by his words, but I was still an outsider in this house. "You have too many secrets. Colin kept secrets too."
Brett opened his mouth to respond then shut it again when nothing good came to his mind. "I'll be back at six," I told him, then shut the door.
In the kitchen I grabbed some wine. Colin had picked out a movie and it was already playing it when I walked in. "You started it?" I asked.
"Yeah. I was bored. Do you mind?"
"Er... no. That's fine. I got us some wine." I didn't know anything about wine, I'd just grabbed the first bottle I saw, but Colin whistled when he saw the year.
"Nice," he said. I smiled, glad I'd selected something appropriate.
We sat sipping wine and watching some old western that I didn't recognize but Colin seemed to really be enjoying. Halfway through I went to refill my glass and realized the bottle was empty. Colin had drunk almost all of it himself. I should have known better, Colin had always been a heavy drinker. I decided it wasn't a good idea to get anymore. I didn't want him spending the night because he was too drunk to drive.
My mind kept returning to what Brett had said. Colin had treated me like crap the entire time we were together. Why would I let him back into my life now that I'd made a fresh start? Was I really so desperate for friends?
It was while I was thinking about this that I felt Colin's hand began creeping up my thigh. I looked at him and pushed it away. "Stop it," I said.
He shrugged and returned to watching the movie. A minute later, his hand was back. Only this time I didn't push it away so easily. He wouldn't let me. "Colin," I said, hoping I sounded forceful. His hand was on my waist now, trying to draw me to him. "Colin stop it. I thought we decided we'd just be friends."
"Yeah," he whispered, forcing himself closer to me. I struggled in his arms. "Friends have benefits."
"No, Colin. I'm not interested in those types of benefits." He pressed his lips against me and they tasted like sour wine. I slapped him, shocked at myself. Colin looked shocked too, then his face grew dark and angry. I jumped off the couch and Colin stood up.
"So you'll bang Brett Elliot but not me? Is that it?"
"What are you talking about? How did you know this is Brett Elliot's place?"
"Your mom told me. I didn't believe her at first, but when I saw this house tonight... You've gotta be fucking him. Why else would he hire you? He must have a thing for fat chicks."
I cursed my mother for opening her big mouth. "Okay, you need to leave." I put a hand on his back to usher him towards the door. He reached out and grabbed my wrist, twisting it back. "Ow," I screamed. Things went from bad to worse, fast. With my wrist locked in his grip Colin forced me back onto the couch and pinned me there.
"Colin stop it!" I screamed. His hands ran over my breasts, feeling like ice picks stabbing at me. His breath was hot and stunk as he kissed me, pushing his body against mine. I felt his erection through his pants and freed my hand just enough to slap him again. He punched me back and I tasted blood in my mouth. It mixed with the tears flowing down my cheeks. "Colin stop it!" I whimpered. "Heeelp!"
Colin ripped my shirt open and had just gotten my pants unzipped when the room suddenly filled with heat. There was a strange loud sound, like a cross between a roar and a hiss, and Colin was knocked off me. A massive- thing stood in the center of the room. It looked like a… a… dragon. It picked Colin's body up—he was thrashing and screaming—and threw him against the wall. I heard a crack and Colin's body went limp.
The dragon turned to me.
Chapter 10
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My mind was playing tricks on me. It had to be. I was having some sort of breakdown. I screamed and knocked the wine bottle off the table. A dragon. In the middle of the room. A real dragon. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but didn't dare. I pinched my skin, thinking maybe I was dreaming, but I didn't wake up.
"Go away!" I shouted, feeling ridiculous. As if it could understand me. Then again, what the hell did I know about dragons? For all I knew they could read and write and line dance. As scared as I was, there was an almost overpowering feeling enveloping my body, drawing me to the creature. It was like some deep cavern within my soul had suddenly opened up and was leading me towards a shining light, only this light breathed fire and was supposed to be tucked away in the realms of fantasy.
The dragon's body filled the room from floor to ceiling. Its skin was a gray green. Scales ran the length of its body, which was massive. I even saw puffs of smoke come out of its nostrils. I'm hallucinating. I had to be. But that new knowledge didn't stop my body from trembling.
Colin's body was on the floor, limp. He wasn't breathing. I remembered the way his fist had felt as it slammed against my face. The way his hands hadn't paused for even a second when he'd ripped my shirt. I looked again at his body, a rag doll lying on the floor, and was surprised to realize I didn't feel a thing. My eyes moved from Colin to the dragon. Whatever this thing in front of me was, it had saved me.
It stepped closer to me, tilting its head to one side like it was examining me, and I backed towards the wall. "It's okay," I said in a soft voice, the kind you'd use talking to a rabid dog. "Good… dragon." The words sounded ridiculous coming out of my mouth, but I didn't have anything better. How to deal with mythological creatures was not something in my repertoire.
It continued walking towards me until I was flush against the wall. Then it reached out one hand... paw... I had no idea what to call the flesh that the three inch nails wer
e attached to... and I realized that there were chains dangling from around its wrists. Heavy, thick chains with matching cuffs that were pulled tight around its wrists.
My first semi-coherent thought was that this dragon had eaten Brett. That was the only logical explanation. Then I realized how completely illogical it actually was. Why would Brett's handcuffs be glued to its wrists if it had eaten him? Wouldn't the chains be in its stomach right now, getting digested? I pushed aside an image of Brett's body being eaten away by this creature's stomach acid.
My brain refused to accept the next obvious solution, that this dragon actually was Brett. But I couldn't stop my eyes from searching the dragon's features. My eyes snapped open wide and I stared at its face. Blue green eyes stared back at me.
Oh my God," I whispered. "Brett?"
It was then that Jeremy burst into the room, a sword in his hand, a gun at his side. He saw Brett and me by the wall, Colin's body dead on the floor, and quickly surmised the situation.
"It's alright," he called to me, taking big, slow steps towards us, the sword out and ready. I was sort of shocked to see how un-shocked Jeremy was about the situation. I mean, a giant dragon was in the room with us and Jeremy was looking at it like it was a pet dog. Brett watched Jeremy with wary eyes. I reached out a protective hand. Whatever Brett was, he had saved me.
"Don't hurt him!" I shouted. "He didn't do anything."
Jeremy scoffed, his eyes darting to Colin's body. "He's killed a man."
I searched for the right words to save Brett from the sharp blade that Jeremy held tight in his hand, and settled on the truth. "That man was attacking me. He... he tried to..." I couldn't finish the thought. Jeremy finally seemed to notice me—really notice me, not just observe my presence in the room. I saw his eyes roll over my body, taking in the blood on my face and my torn shirt.
"Are you alright?" Jeremy asked, his eyes and voice softening. The dragon—I mean Brett—shuffled his feet and let out a monstrous sound that reminded me of a train whistle. Jeremy continued to move closer to us, and now withdrew something from his pocket that looked like a Taser gun.
"What is that?" I asked. "What the hell is going on here anyways?" I felt like I was insane. I desperately wanted answers to the millions of questions swarming my head. The dragon flashed a claw at Jeremy when he got close and I saw Jeremy hesitate before moving in again.
"Don't hurt him!" I shouted. Even as a dragon, I still felt pulled to Brett like a magnet. Actually, the pull was even stronger now than it had been since my arrival. I didn't know whether it was because Brett had just saved me or if I was just enamored with the idea that he was a dragon, but something about him made my body ache for him even now.
"I'm not going to hurt him," Jeremy snapped. "I just have to get him back to his room." Maybe I was being too hard on Jeremy. I'd never liked him, but now, watching the fearlessness he wielded in a dangerous situation, I felt a newfound respect for him.
Then he moved in, shooting Brett not with a Taser as I'd thought, but some sort of needle. "It's a calming agent," he said to me. Brett thrashed his arms around and a stream of fire burned the front row of seats in the theater, then his blue green eyes relaxed. I saw them swim with intoxication. Brett swayed on his feet and Jeremy threw a chain around his neck. Brett protested only mildly before allowing himself to be led away.
I watched Brett shuffle off down the hall with Jeremy. It was amazing to see the enormous creature that only an hour before I would have sworn existed only in fiction, shuffle down the hall towards Brett's room. My mind tried to go dark. This was all too much for me. I wished that I'd never invited Colin over. That I'd never accepted the job with Brett.
This morning, Brett had pulled the shards of glass from my arm with the tender care of a lover. I remembered our brief moment together two weeks ago, when his lips had met mine and my insides yearned for more. If I could go back would I really change any of that?
No.
Jeremy spun around and growled me, "Wait here,"
"Why? I want to help." Even in this state Brett seemed perfectly aware of who I was and what was happening. He didn't seem dangerous anymore, just hurt and alone.
"It's too dangerous," he said. When he saw I wasn't leaving, he said, "Go to the kitchen. I'll meet you there when I'm through."
I started to protest but Jeremy's eyes flashed a dangerous look towards me. Despite my newfound admiration for his courage, I'd never trusted him, and I didn't want to cross him now. Especially when he was still armed. I let him lead Brett away. If Jeremy didn't come to me when he was done I would find him.
I would get some answers.
Chapter 11
Jeremy walked into the kitchen a half hour later, silent, and began making tea. His eyes were tired and I noticed a slight shake in his hands when he offered me a mug. I sipped at the tea, waiting for him to begin. I had too many questions to ask and didn't even know where to start. This whole night had been long and tiring, and all I really wanted was to climb into bed and go to sleep, but I knew I'd never rest until I had some answers. When Jeremy took the seat across from me, I thought we were finally ready to begin. Instead, he sipped his own tea and ignored me. I finally snapped.
"What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. "You said you'd tell me everything."
Jeremy chuckled and a delicate smile ran across his face. "Did I? I don't recall saying that."
My mouth hung open. Blood boiled in my veins. "Maybe you didn't say that exactly, but it was implied. Anyway, I'm not leaving you alone until I get some answers." He didn't look convinced so I let the actress in me take over. A little melodrama might help a situation like this. "I'll follow you everywhere. Day and night. Wherever you go. Whatever you do, I'll be there. Imagine how much fun it will be when you're in the bathroom and I'm standing behind you watching you pee."
Jeremy laughed then. It was such a warm and happy sound I couldn't help but laugh with him.
He set his mug on the table and looked into my eyes. I noticed for the first time that they were deep golden brown with hints of green lurking in the back. They were actually quite beautiful. A twinge of guilt pecked at my neck. All this time I'd suspected Jeremy of conspiring against Brett, but it turns out that he was conspiring with Brett. Maybe even trying to help him.
"None of that will be necessary," Jeremy said. "Though I appreciate the gusto of your threat." The smile hinted at his lips again. "What do you know about dragons?"
"They don't exist," I responded automatically. "Er... well, I mean, that's the, uh, conventional wisdom." I sounded like an idiot. Dragons clearly did exist. I'd just seen one. I was working for one.
"What else?" Jeremy asked. His questions were irritating. He was supposed to be answering questions, not asking them.
"They breathe fire and... are big and mean and scary. I don't know. Just tell me what's going on."
Jeremy hesitated. I think he was searching for a way to begin. "Dragons exist. Brett is one... as am I."
I stared at Jeremy with my mouth hanging open. "You're a dragon?" He nodded. "But... but then why aren't you locked up in some room too? Chained to some wall?"
"Because," Jeremy said, his eyes sparkled for a second before answering, "I have my treasure."
"Your treasure?" He nodded again, smiling, as if this explained everything. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?" I asked, annoyed at his cryptic answers.
Jeremy sighed. "Every dragon has a treasure to hoard. It is what prevents us from losing ourselves to the beast within us. You asked why I am not locked up? Because I can control myself. I can shift at will. Brett has lost that ability. He has yet to find his treasure, and at this point there is little hope. His control is almost completely gone. When it is, he will be put down."
My head was swimming. "Put down? Did you say... do you mean killed?" Jeremy nodded, and I caught a hint of regret in his eyes. "Why? How could you do that?"
"Because," Jeremy said. "Without control, he is dangerous to everyone. In
cluding you."
“How the hell much treasure does a man… er, dragon need to find?” I waved my arms around indicating the opulence of Brett’s estate. I could only begin to imagine the wealth he’s amassed as one of the most esteemed producers in the industry.
“A dragon’s treasure is not the same as a treasure in the traditional sense of the word. It’s not necessarily gold, or money. For me, it’s the land I own that calls to my dragon’s heart." Jeremy quietly explained.
I jumped up from my chair and started pacing the room. "This doesn't make any sense. You know that right? You tell me that dragons are real and they need some sort of treasure to guard or they lose their minds? But how are dragons even real in the first place? I feel like I've lost my mind."
Jeremy shook his head and made little clicking noises that dug into my back like nails. "You need to calm down. Think about this objectively. How can we allow an uncontrolled dragon to live amongst people? He would kill everyone he met." He stood from the table and poured himself some more tea. "Our people go back a millennium. It is part of our heritage. Part of our clan."
My head throbbed with too much new information. "You're saying there's a whole clan of you?"
Jeremy nodded. "In Ireland, where we're from, it's common knowledge. Some say our clan was cursed centuries ago and now its descendants all suffer. Some say it was a gift from the gods to help us defend our villages. Either way, every male descendant for centuries has been born with the power to shift."
"So," I said. "What's gone wrong with Brett? If you guys are used to this sort of thing, I'd think he could find his treasure in no time." Jeremy looked sad as he answered my question.
"The treasure is different for everyone."
"Can't you help him figure it out? I mean, there must be clues."
Jeremy shook his head. "I've tried. Nothing has worked. After what I saw tonight, I now know that Brett does not have much longer."
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