Humans are still prone to lynch mobs? How archaic.
“Welcome to Misty Heights. Archaic, Texas is actually the next town over.” She laughed, clearly used to the dated ways of her rural neighbors.
Thank you, Ash.
“Are you hungry? Is there something I can get you, something that might help your injury?”
I have a dragon egg I must protect. I can only do that in dragon form. But I need to be in human form to heal more quickly. I am unsure what the best course of action is at this time.
“You have an egg?” Ashlyn finally stood and approached the railing of the porch, peering more closely at the dragon. Was he perched on top of it like a chicken?
I have a pouch near my heart. Dragon eggs are magical and highly sought and hunted. We’ve found the best way to keep an egg safe is by moving, flying around randomly for the days needed for the baby dragon to develop. So I fly and travel, keeping the egg warm in a pocket all dragons have for eggs, even the males.
“You have a pouch like a kangaroo?”
We don’t carry our children after they are hatched. We keep them warm, and they like a heartbeat. Other than that, we just have to keep them safe from predators.
“You mentioned enemies … What kind of an enemy do dragons have?”
Mostly demons. They eat dragon eggs to absorb the magic within. But other races have been known to attack for the same reason, mostly rogue paranormals who want more power and would do anything to get it, even killing children.
“Demons? Glad I’ve never seen one of those.”
They aren’t protected by the veil. They have their own magic and can appear and disappear from the Underlands whenever they want. Their power comes from evil itself, and they dwell in Hell.
“Guess that answers my questions about religion. I have to be a believer now.”
No one, not even the paranormals, know who created the earth or the heaven and hell realms. They exist, but everyone has a different story on who created it or if anyone has any power over those places. It’s a mystery only death can solve, if even then.
“That makes sense to me. It meshes with what I’ve always felt to be true. There’s something out there bigger than us, but trying to guess who it is, or what it all means, is futile. And a little arrogant.”
Ashlyn was leaning over the railing, totally having a normal conversation with a dragon. It was surreal. She’d become so comfortable with Vichter that, when he stood to his full height—almost as tall as the old oak itself—she fell over on her ass and looked up at him.
Between one breath and the next, the dragon had disappeared.
2
Ashlyn
Standing quickly, afraid she had said or done something wrong, Ashlyn ran down the porch steps, stopping short as she got close to the tree.
Expecting a dragon, she was shocked to see a man step from behind the trunk.
He was very tall, with dark, curly hair, almost black. He wore it long on top, and a piece fell across his cheek in messy disarray. His dark jeans hung low on his hips, and his tight t-shirt showed a flat stomach and tan arms. His eyes were crystal-blue, so bright they appeared to glow. If she hadn’t seen him in dragon form, she’d have known he wasn’t human from the inner light. It was the curse that made her crazy, being able to detect non-humans by their eyes.
He reached out a hand. “Nice to properly meet you, Ashlyn.” His voice matched the dragon voice in her mind.
“Wow. You are really good-looking. As a human. Well, as a dragon too, I guess.” She realized she was babbling and clapped her left hand over her mouth as she held out her right hand.
His hand was soft and warm, and she was almost disappointed by the brief contact he allowed.
“I can’t protect the egg as well in human form. And that’s my first and most important responsibility. Please, for the sake of the child, don’t betray me.”
She looked down at the egg cradled in his hands. It was light-gray, with speckles of rainbow hues. It looked like pretty concrete and was about the size of an overly-large mango. “I was kind of expecting something a little bigger.”
“Dragons grow really fast, but they are born small. They kind of look like gila monsters when they first hatch, though all dragons are different. Just like human children.”
“He’s cute.” She reached out to touch the egg, but Vichter pulled it back, stepping out of her reach.
“Let’s talk first and set some ground rules. There’s a lot you probably don’t know, and I want to make sure we’re on the same page and I can trust you. I know I’m desperate and stuck, but it’s still my duty, above all else, to care for this egg.”
Ashlyn turned and started walking toward the porch. “Sure, come inside. I can at least find a warm, safe place for it.” She looked over her shoulder at Vichter. “Unless you are going to carry it around the whole time.”
“No, I can’t do that in human form. It wouldn’t be safe. But I do need to keep it close at all times.”
“You’re so sweet. You’re gonna make a great father.”
“I hope so. Someday.”
She nodded and held the door open. “Mi casa es su casa.”
They stepped into a large space which was combination washroom and mudroom. There were several shoes lined up by the door, a coat rack, and a big utility sink. A washer and dryer lined one wall with shelves full of cleaning supplies above the machines. Ashlyn paused and pulled down a first aid kit, then she led him into the huge kitchen.
It was open and sunny, decorated in yellows and corals, with gingham and a large wooden spoon and fork crossed and hung over the dining table. The table itself was set into a nook with big dormer windows.
“Have a seat. I’ll give you the tour in a minute. Let’s get you patched up.” Ashlyn set the kit on the table in front of Vichter and disappeared. He was just starting to pull gauze and ointment out of the kit when she returned.
“Maybe this will help?” She set a heating pad, a plastic storage container about the size of a shoebox, and some pillow stuffing on the table. “You know, for the egg?” The stuffing went into the box, making a little nest. She plugged in the heating pad, leaving the box on top. “What do you think? Just for while you’re here.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” He carefully took the egg from his lap and laid it in the box.
“I also have this. Do you think it’ll know the difference?” She held out a little box with buttons. When she pressed one of the buttons, it created a mechanical-sounding heartbeat. “Babies like it. It’s called a white-noise sound machine. It does white-noise, thunder, ocean waves, heartbeats, and classical lullabies.” She placed it next to the box.
“We can try it. It’s better than nothing, for sure. I really appreciate you going to such effort. It eases my mind.” Vichter smiled at Ashlyn, and it was genuine and devastating. She blushed, unable to say anything.
Seating herself in a chair next to him, she pulled his arm closer to her. “I work at the school as a nurse. I don’t have a degree, but I’ve been through lots of classes on first aid and CPR and basic health care. Let’s see what I can do.” She looked at the bloody gashes on his arm. “I didn’t see your wounds up close before, but they didn’t look this bad. These are pretty deep.”
“Yeah, but they’ll heal much faster in human form. Dragons have lots of defensive armor, but once we are damaged, it takes a very long time to heal, and our wings are prone to scarring. It’s always better for us to take human form when we are wounded.”
“Why didn’t you turn yourself human before? Surely, that would be safer than trying to sleep in someone’s back yard as a dragon.”
“Because, like I said, I couldn’t protect the egg as well. And no one should be able to see me. I knew it was possible, but you’re the first I’ve ever met outside the clan.” He looked at her closely, as if he could detect the weirdness she held inside.
“It’s hard to explain. I’m not sure when it started because, for a long time, I
didn’t know what was happening. I could see differences in people or see things other people couldn’t see. I think they call it schizophrenic … but for me, it was real. I didn’t know how they were different, just that they were.
“It was their eyes. I’ve always been drawn to people’s eyes. They’re like windows to me. I know the saying about ‘windows to the soul,’ but these were physical traits … hang on a second.” Ashlyn put down the cotton and antiseptic she was using and left the room. She came back with a sketchbook, opening it to a particular page. Many sets of eyes, both lifelike and ethereal at the same time, stared up from the page. A myriad of colors burst out of the irises, as if lit from behind. To Ashlyn, they were beautiful and haunting at the same time. A representation of her nightmares and dreams.
“Did you draw these?”
“Yes. That’s the way I see them. Some people have normal eyes, colored irises in normal shades, but I noticed people with special eyes. So many vibrant colors in one iris, but they have this intense light behind them shining so brightly, I was prone to stare. The closest thing I’ve found to describe it is stained-glass. As I got older, these people started looking different, not just their eyes, but their essence … like one version of themselves superimposed over another. And it was like the fairy tales from my youth, every magical being I’d ever read about, they existed. Monsters are real. At least for me. Some of the people I’ve told think I’m insane, and the other half think it’s the devil’s work. You know, the devil is about the only monster I haven’t seen, so I tend to discount that idea. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, so I hide out here and mostly don’t deal with people unless I have to. I stay in rural areas because that’s what I’m used to but also because there are fewer of them. Though, I didn’t exactly expect a dragon to be landing in my boondocks.”
“Nothing’s wrong with you. I know exactly what you are.”
“What I am? I’m just a girl. I’ve stared in the mirror many times, and I don’t have special eyes.”
“No, you have special blood. Faerie blood.”
“I’m a fucking faerie??” She didn’t even know where to start with how messed-up … She was not a faerie. Ashlyn blushed at her outburst and closed the book. Using butterfly strips on gashes that should probably be stitched, she went back to work on Vichter’s arm.
“No, you just have some faerie blood. It’s what allows you to see past the veil.”
“The vale? You mentioned that earlier, but I didn’t know what you were talking about.”
“A long time ago, eons back, it became apparent the magical creatures of the world could not live in harmony with humans. There were faults on both sides … jealousy, hunger for power, clan wars … but the faeries, who were the most powerful of the magic creatures, decided they would not give up the world they created, nor would they live among the humans. So they created the veil, a magical boundary that hides our world from yours, like a curtain.”
“Oh, you mean veil! I thought you meant v-a-l-e. V-e-i-l makes more sense.”
He went on. “Over the years, our world has stayed mostly the same, but the human world has changed so much. It’s proven the faeries were right. We didn’t belong here with you, and you didn’t belong there with us. The magical creatures can cross the veil but are unseen by the humans, as long as we don’t purposely show our true forms. Unless, of course, you have faerie blood. And then the magic loses its power over you as you get older and mature into adulthood. I’m surprised your parents didn’t tell you about this.”
“So … my parents were faeries?”
“Probably not. The bloodline probably goes way back, though your ancestors most likely could see through the veil. They probably passed down the knowledge of what it meant and how to deal with it. Your parents would have had the faerie blood and could see the paranormal creatures.”
“My parents died when I was pretty young, before I started seeing these things. My therapists said it was some kind of manifestation from me being abandoned. But it was real, and I knew it. My brother left as soon as I turned eighteen, but if he could see them, he never let on. He was angry after my parents died, and even though he signed on as my guardian, he barely spoke to me. He worked a lot, and my mental problems were an added stress he didn’t want to deal with. He was always angry or silent.”
“Like any other genetic trait, I’m sure it skips some generations or doesn’t manifest the same. But we have humans within our dragon clan, and they all have faerie blood that allows them to see us and other paranormals.”
“Humans live with the dragons?” Ashlyn wrapped the gauze tightly around his bicep, trying to keep the injuries from getting infected.
“The dragons stay in the deepest rainforests in Brazil. We have a community there. It’s not all the dragons in the world, we’re spread all over, but it’s the center of our monarchy. We have a king, the Dynast, who controls and protects our way of life. I’m what they call a Guardian. We have different duties within the clan, based on our strengths and weaknesses. We don’t have a lot of choice in what kind of job we get, we’re kind of born into it.
“We have Healers, Casters, who are strong in magic, Soldiers, Hunters, and Guardians. Guardians are charged with protecting dragon children. Our enemies have found out, over the centuries, that our females and their mates are most vulnerable after they have a child, while it’s still in the egg. Our numbers are now dangerously low because we’ve been attacked for those eggs so many times.”
Finished with doctoring as best she could, Ashlyn stood to gather up the dirty supplies. “Thanks for explaining things. I’m feeling both relieved and a little overwhelmed. I wish I could have known all this stuff earlier in my life. I never had anyone who could tell me the truth.”
“Until me.”
3
Vichter
Vichter rested on the couch as Ashlyn made a late breakfast. He had been shocked that hours had passed since he first saw her this morning. It was now past ten, and he was starving. Ashlyn would have to leave for work soon too.
Vichter was injured, with holes torn into his wing from stray bullets while he was flying. He tried to push through it—as he was on a crucial mission for his Dynast, the king of his dragon clan—but the pain proved too much for him and landed him at this dilapidated farmhouse. He had assumed it was empty when he arrived last night, hoping to heal quickly while he rested. It was important he continue his flight to Brazil, where the entire clan awaited his return. But he’d never expected the beauty that had stepped out this morning, and she now haunted his mind more than he cared to admit.
The warm glow of the sunrise had made her auburn hair look like fire. Form-fitting khakis and a white button-down covered a curvy figure. She was young but womanly. He was more attracted to her than frightened of the fact she could see him, despite the danger it put him in.
Ashlyn gently shook Vichter, though he wasn’t actually asleep. He had the egg on the floor beside him, and she unplugged the heating pad and carried the box into the kitchen, placing it on the counter closest to the table as he followed.
“Wow, Ash! You made all this? It’s a feast!” Sausage and bacon were laid out on the table, along with big, fluffy biscuits, obviously from scratch. She’d made eggs over easy, grits, and hash browns too. The smells made his mouth water.
He sat down and loaded up a plate with everything.
“I really like to cook. It’s nice to cook for someone besides myself. I can’t remember the last time I had someone visit.”
“You don’t have any family?” Talking with his mouth full, Vichter covered it with his hand.
“I have my brother, Stephyn, but I haven’t seen him in five years. I assume he’s out there somewhere, but who knows? I own the house now, and it’s all I really need. I think I mentioned I’m not really a people person.”
“You should be though. You’re so open and friendly. And look at all this food. You’re a born hostess.”
A look of shock crossed
Ashlyn’s face as he went back for seconds. She’d hardly started on her first plate.
“You have quite the appetite.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve eaten. I was trying to hold off stopping until I could get back to Brazil, when this happened, and then I couldn’t exactly hunt in the shape I was in.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to Brazil. I mean, not the dangerous places, but I would love to live near the ocean, where it’s always warm and the traditions are ancient and special. Where the people are interesting and friendly and make you feel like you belong. I’ve always pictured Brazil to be full of legend, folklore, and mythology but also modern and in-touch with the rest of the world.”
“You’re right. And you’re making me homesick,” he said, genuinely moved by her description.
“I’m glad you’re going home. Family is important.”
“It says much about you that you would say that. I agree. I can’t wait to get home, even for a little while.”
“You still have a long way to go.”
“It’s not too bad when I’m flying. A day, maybe two. And I’m used to traveling. It’s my job.”
“So a Guardian protects dragon kids? That’s pretty noble.” Ashlyn looked at him differently now. Gone was the wariness, replaced by awe and wonder.
“I’m no hero. Please don’t think I’m something I’m not. It’s not that big a deal. I mean, it is … I take it very seriously. But it’s no more important than protecting anyone else.”
“I disagree. There’s something good about protecting people who literally can’t protect themselves.”
“Thanks.” Vichter was uncomfortable, embarrassed even, at her praise. She made him look at himself in a new light, and that wasn’t easy.
A Paranormal Easter: 14 Paranormal & Fantasy Romance Novellas Page 15