Dragon's Heart

by LaVerne Thompson

  He looked down at his nakedness. No sooner had the thought entered his head, with his new knowledge, he covered his body with dark colored clothing, befitting a Dark Lord. In a blink all black material covered him, from the silk shirt molding itself to his large frame, the slacks hugging thighs built for strength, to the calfskin ankle boots enclosing his size fourteen feet.

  Draakar glanced around the dimly lit unfurnished area surrounding him. It resembled a huge cavern holding muted light. The light source was not immediately obvious, but it emanated from the Stones now a part of the walls.

  Each stone made up a portion of the walls, which rose some twenty feet high. Most of the stones depicted scenes of dragons in all of their varied, vibrant colors and glowed with life. One part of the wall however, appeared pitch black. Unlike the rest of the room, no light reflected off it. Instead, it looked as if it absorbed light.

  Draakar walked through this wall. He found what he expected on the other side, a long wide hallway made of rock rose steadily at an incline. In pitch darkness, Draakar had no trouble finding his way. He could see perfectly with his dragon’s sight. After some time, the hallway came to an abrupt end in front of another wall, without pause, he walked straight though it.

  Beyond it, awaiting him were the rooms of his castle. He entered his personal library first. The bright light in the room provided by modern electricity didn’t even cause him to blink. The entire castle was wired. Modern magic. Nor did he pause to savor the museum quality works of art filling just about every room. Some of the objects d’ art were so rare museums would kill for just a glimpse. These things had been hidden from mankind but all were his by right. Mother Earth had collected and protected them until a child of power could return and claim them. He had. Draakar didn’t stop to examine his claim; he had too much to do. He opened the library doors and followed the hallway to the front of the castle.

  By tomorrow night, Draakar would have his home on earth full of human brethren. Already one traveled the newly created private road now leading to his castle standing above the Stones.

  None would be able to find this road who did not carry brethren blood or who Draakar did not want on it. Potent wards surrounded the place of power. Draakar opened the heavy double oak doors, the entrance to his castle, and stepped into a misty morning. The heavy fog of yesterday and earlier had gone. A light mist now lay over the mountains, giving them an ethereal look. Draakar did not feel the chill in the air, but this weather required outerwear of some kind. Immediately, a supple black leather coat draped his body from shoulders to ankles.

  Before Draakar’s foot reached the last step, a man stepped out of the black Rolls Royce 101EX, which awaited him in the driveway. Ian McNeil stood beside the passenger door. He would be Draakar’s First among the first awakened brethren, his right hand in this realm. Also his driver until others came.

  The blood ran strongly in Ian. He had immediately answered Draakar’s call. If the man were on Akgon he would be able to release his dragon form—a red, judging by the color of his hair—but the earth magicks here suppressed the change and were stronger than Ian’s ability to control them. To strong in fact for most brethren to weld, except the Dragon Lord.

  “Welcome home, Lord,” Ian said. “At last we meet.”

  Ian opened the car door and tried to move out of the way, but Draakar would not let him step aside. He clasped him by the upper arm and Ian returned the salute. An old greeting amongst warrior equals. Ian understood and smiled.

  “No, not Lord,” Draakar said before he released him. “Not here. Just call me Draakar.”

  Ian’s smile widened. “That’s kind of a mouthful. How about Draak?”

  “Draak...mmm…” He smiled. He hadn’t smiled for a long time. He relaxed a little. “I think I like it. Thank you for coming. I’m ready.” His smile changed to a frown. “Now let us go collect my son.”

  Draakar climbed into the car, not once allowing the disturbing knowledge the Stones had reveled to him to show in his expression, but he worried. A hint of dragon’s blood salted the air where there should not have been. And not his son’s. Just as there should not have been this much power still on Terra, the scent should not be here. Dragons had been gone, dead or turned human for over a thousand years on Terra. Fully awakened dragons should be impossible. The Stones had provided no answers. Some things even they did not know or refused to share. Some things they left to Fate. But no mistake here, the Dark Lord’s senses picked up the stench of twisted and corrupted magicks.

  A silver dragon.

  While a dark dragon provided balance, a silver dragon thrived on chaos and destruction. Draakar shuddered to think of a silver dragon alive and harnessing this much earth magicks.

  “Lor…I mean, Draak. Are you okay?”

  He realized Ian spoke to him and met the concerned look of his First in the rearview mirror. Apparently, Ian had noticed his tension after all. “I’m fine, Ian.”

  Ian glanced at him for a moment more before returning his attention to the road. “Everything has been arranged,” Ian continued. “By the time we get back to the castle the other four people who were within easy distance should be there; the others should arrive in a day or two.”

  “Good. For now I will keep the numbers small and start training some of the strongest first.” Draakar did a mental count of the human brethren he’d called to him. “That should be a total of six, not including you.” If destructive loose magicks were being used by a silver dragon, he would need them all to counter what could result. He had no doubt a dragon roamed earth. It could only be the betrayer, whose name the brethren did not speak. Only his crime, the ultimate insult.

  It seemed he had not died after all. His mother had not killed him as they had all believed. The betrayer presented a danger to both brethren and human alike. As Dark Lord he had a duty to protect and carry out judgment against the betrayer, and as his father’s and mother’s son, a legacy to see the betrayer dead.

  As the Rolls passed smoothly down the mountain, his thoughts turned to his son. The sooner Talon returned to Akgon the better. It would be years before his mate reached an age to join him there. Draakar understood the time conundrum and realized their mistake. By earth standards, Talon was a mere boy and his mate even younger.

  Mates.

  Something else Draakar didn’t want to think about yet. He did love Sierran, though not his truemate, and mourned her passing. Talon remained all he had now.

  No. Not quite true. Another existed. The Stones told him his mate was here but why hadn’t she felt his presence or called to him? The moment he returned to Terra, she should have been drawn to him. As a fully matured female, her dragon’s blood would run strong.

  So why couldn’t he fully sense her? He had only brief, vague hints of her. Maybe he didn’t really want to find her, at least not yet. Sierran’s passing still rested fresh in his memories.

  Ian’s voice snapped Draakar out of his thoughts.

  “We’re almost there, Draak.”

  Talon sat up in bed and pulled the electrodes off his forehead, but the machines continued to function as though he were still attached. Next he pulled the IV out of his arm, all the while never taking his eyes off Maya.

  “I’m sorry. That was clumsy of me. Verbalizing is not something I do very often, but I better get used to it though. Please, don’t be afraid. You know I won’t hurt you.”

  Maya still hadn’t moved any closer. She stayed with her back pressed against the wall and her hand on the doorknob. “How…how did you do that? Who are you?”

  “My name is Talon Akgon. Again, I’m sorry. We don’t have much time. My father is already here and will find me soon if you don’t help me.”

  “Help you? What’s going on here? I repeat, and I’m tired of repeating myself. Who and what are you?”

  “I told you who I am and I-I think you already know what I am. What you are?”

  Maya felt less scared and more than a little angry at his response. “W
hat am I?” she said, pointing to her chest. “What kind of crap is this?”

  “Maya, please. I’m begging you. I need your help. I can not be here when my father gets here or else he’ll send me home.”

  She frowned. “Are…are you afraid of your father? Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “No, I’m not afraid of my father, and no I’m not in any kind of trouble. He sent me here, but he didn’t realize about the time difference or that she would be even younger than I.”

  “Whoa, hold on. You’re not making any sense. What time difference and who’s ‘she’?”

  “I….”

  Maya held up her hand. “Wait, let’s start over. Your name’s Talon Akgon. Are you from around here?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “What kind of answer is that?”

  “The only one I have time to give right now. Listen, my father is on his way. I want you to take my hand.” Her eyes opened wide and she felt her eyebrows stretch toward her forehead. Talon smiled and watched her intently. “Just hold my hand, and ask yourself if you trust me,” he continued, while lifting his hand off the bed.

  “Trust you! I don’t even know you.”

  “Please, Maya. You’re my only hope.”

  Some primal instinct, or stupidity, caused Maya to pick up the over turned chair and walk over to stand beside the bed. Gingerly, she took Talon’s outstretched hand. She did trust him.

  “I’m going to link to you. Between the two of us, we will be able to block my father from finding me.”

  “What’d you mean link?” Maya asked. Too late, Talon had already grasped her hand, and a golden glow immediately surrounded where their skin touched. She felt no pain, was only a little startled by the heat radiating from his skin. When she tried to jerk her hand away, he released her.

  “It’s all right, Maya. It’s done.”

  “Done!” Maya shook her head. “What’s done? I didn’t know when it began.”

  “A connection between us. It’s kind of difficult for me to explain, but with this connection to you, I’m able to tap into some of your earth-bound essence to mask my own. You now have a link to me. You’ll always be able to have a sense of my well-being and me of you. You’ll be able to let my father know I’m fine.”

  “What have you done?”

  “I’m sorry. The link itself is painless, but…” His forehead crinkled, he looked like he didn’t want to tell her the rest of it but continued talking. “If I’m harmed you’ll know. This was the only thing I could think of to block my father from finding me. We are now linked. When my father searches for me, he will only sense you.”

  Maya could only stare at him wild-eyed. She should have been running for her life, but her legs wouldn’t move. Maybe because of a major break down in the command centers between her brain and her feet.

  Talon had no such immobility and got off the bed. One minute he had on a hospital gown and the next he wore the same clothes Maya had found him in up on the mountain. She gasped and her brain unlocked from its frozen state, prompting her feet to take a step back.

  “How…how’d you do that?” she cried. “What are you?”

  Talon shook his head at her and looked a little sad. “You know what I am. Your blood knows. I have to go now but we will meet again. Thank you for all that you have done for me, and know my mother did not mean you any harm. She did what she did for the brethren, our race; they both did. I know that now.”

  Maya could only gape at him, too stunned to say anything. Every word out of his mouth sounded like gibberish. Yet some part of her, a small part, paid attention to his words. He stepped closer to her and gently kissed her cheek. “Do not be afraid, Maya. Welcome to the family. Forgive him…he’s here.”

  With those both joyous and ominous words left hanging in the air, he shimmered and disappeared, leaving Maya with her mouth wide open. Yep, I am losing it! She sat on the bed because her knees would no longer support her body.

  The automatic doors at the hospital entrance slid smoothly open. The man who stepped through them glanced neither left nor right. All eyes swung in his direction and remained fixated on him. He didn’t walk but glided smoothly across the tiled floor with sensuous grace. A compelling aura surrounded the man, making him the center of attention. The air around him seemed to vibrate with electrical currents. His presence screamed wealth, power, danger and for anyone with an additional X-chromosome, raw, primal, unadulterated sex.

  He never stopped at the information desk, already knowing his destination. He didn’t even break stride when the elevator doors opened before him and he stepped on. He didn’t press a button, but the elevator started and stopped on the necessary floor.

  Draakar stepped off the elevator and for the first time halted his stride. In truth, too stunned to move. All of his senses registered the presence he’d yearned for, for well over a thousand years. Something he had all but given up hope of ever being able to have. Then another’s thoughts slammed into his head, with such force his eyes blinked twice from the impact.

  At last—it’s about damn time!

  My Queen!

  Don’t my Queen me! Queens die! I am so pissed at you I could rip out your heart and fry it! Literally!

  “What the hell!” Maya shouted aloud. She sat on the bed with her head in her hands. “Oh my God! I am losing my mind! Who or what the hell was that? Get the hell outta my head.”

  Maya sensed the presence closer to her now, the same presence in her head. She felt rather than heard the door open. Her world narrowing down to small increments of motion, she lowered her arms to her sides and raised her head.

  The creature she beheld standing framed in the doorway commanded a mixture of awe, anger and fascination. No doubt in her mind, a human did not stand before her. Like father like son. Besides, no mere man could have such an impact on all five senses and then some. She felt saturated in the pheromones rolling off him in waves.

  About six-four and wearing a long leather coat covering what she knew would be solidly packed muscle, with a structure of unbelievable beauty for a face, yet holding not a hint of femininity, stared back at her. His thick straight midnight-black hair hung over his shoulder and past his waist, but his entire demeanor screamed prime male. He assessed her as silently and deeply as she assessed and appreciated him.

  Dark eyebrows like wings graced a perfect forehead, while long dark lashes framed eyes flashing emerald fire within their depths. A nose no surgeon could ever duplicate, made for looking imperially at others, followed by a slightly squared jaw in no way weak. His lips—Maya refused to even think about. No, nothing feminine about this man.

  No human man entered the room, a dark angel maybe. Or a dragon.

  The certainty popped into her head and would not leave.

  While the son’s beauty would make an artist long to paint, he was still a boy. Here before her stood something entirely different. On some level Maya acknowledged all of this, but the emotion of an inexplicable rage took the strongest precedent, and buried under the rage, hurt from the pain of his betrayal.

  Betrayal? It made no sense. She did not know this man, this creature. And yet, some part of her recognized him. Recognized what they could mean to each other, and part of her knew he had betrayed her.

  The dragon of her dreams stood before her. A man she should fear, but instead anger rose to the surface. A safer better emotion than fear or hurt, and one she could harness.

  She blinked then frowned. Now why exactly was she angry?

  Chapter Five

  Arthur Ferguson held his wife’s hand in a near death grip as he walked with her up to the front door of the rowhouse in the upper northwest section of Washington, DC. The front yards on this street were well maintained and expensive cars lined the road. Like his ex-wife, the neighborhood appeared classy and pricey. Arthur only observed this in passing, his excitement at this visit upper most in his thoughts. He and his wife only stayed in their hotel room long enough to change clothes. Arthur coul
dn’t wait to see the daughter he hadn’t seen in two years. Living in another country kept them apart.

  Distance didn’t stop him from keeping in touch though. He’d kept in regular contact with her through e-mails, texting, and even social networks, and he dutifully sent her mother a check each month for her care, but she’d been eight the last time he saw her in person.

  Thankfully, despite the way they parted, his ex-wife allowed him to contact their daughter during the entire time he lived abroad. At least he had the chance to maintain a relationship with his child. If his ex hadn’t agreed, with him out of the country it would have been difficult to force the issue, but in truth, their tenacious daughter had insisted upon it rather than any of her mother’s doing. In the last few months, things had changed drastically. Tammi, her mother, had cancer and she didn’t have much time left. She wanted him to have full custody of their daughter before she died. She did not want her gangster brother anywhere near their child. Neither did Arthur. For once in their lives they were in complete agreement.

  Arthur knocked on the front door and it quickly opened. His eyes traveled downward until they stared into silvery gray eyes, the identical color as his own.

  Draakar stepped into the hospital room toward his past and his future. Ready or not, it sat in front of him and he would face it as he had faced everything else in his life, like the Lord of the Brethren.

  The door shut silently behind him, closing without him touching it. His woman didn’t flinch. The sight of her had his blood humming through his veins. No doubt existed in his mind or heart she was meant for him. She had spoken to him in his mind, or rather her dragon self recognized him and spoke to his. He wondered if she realized what happened.