“What did you learn from reading Aiden’s mind?”
“Do you really want to know that?”
“Yes.”
“I learned that he had no soul. No one was safe from him if they crossed him or stood in his way. He fell in love with you as a boy and could only dream of ways to claim you for his own. It is why he had you called to the school that day and made sure I was called afterward. He deliberately pushed you when he saw me arrive, to provoke me.”
“Just to take you to jail and make me feel bad?”
“No, to execute me for attacking him so that you would be free, and he could force you into marriage with him.”
“That’s absurd. I could never even have given him an heir, and he knew that.”
“Men like Aiden don’t care about such things. His motivation was lust, pure and simple. He would have discarded you when he tired of you and found someone to carry on his name. It was just a matter of having what he couldn’t for him.”
“That’s revolting,” Pene replied.
“Yes, it was revolting. I cleaned it up for you. Between what he said to me in that dungeon, and what I could read in his thoughts, I wanted to kill him.”
“I never even asked who let you out of there. I was so glad to have you back. All these years, and I’ve never asked.”
“The same person who came to warn you to get far away, my love.”
“Donnelly? Really?”
“Yes. On the way back from my so called trial, he led me down into the dungeon, acting as if he was appalled by my actions. He sent the guards away, telling them he had a bit of business he wanted to take care of, the implication being he wanted to beat me without witnesses.”
“How did he get by with that with Aiden?”
“Once we were alone, he put me in the cell, but didn’t lock the door. He told me to shift, though my dragon was far too big for the cell. It bowed out the bars and made the unlocked door look as if it had merely popped open from the force. Then I shifted back, punched him and ran down a side hallway toward a hidden tunnel he told me would take me out and away from there.”
“And you got away from there?”
“Yes. He said that Aiden would expect me to take flight. Instead, the McCord brothers met me in the woods nearby and got me far away from the village where I waited for night to take flight.”
“Why do you think Donnelly did that? Wasn’t he supposed to be Aiden’s right hand man all these years?”
“Donnelly helped Aiden kill the McCord patriarch and Tomlin so that Aiden could take his place. He felt guilty. All those years afterward he felt guilty. He eventually told the McCords. That is what led to their being exiled.”
“But, it wasn’t them that killed him.”
“No. Aaron Donnelly killed him. The son of the very man that had kept all his secrets these many years.”
“But why? Because he could see him for what he was. When his father took ill, it was then that he told the McCords the truth about what happened to his father. He had to go away because of it and take his family with him for their safety. He died with them in exile. Aaron Donnelly paid the revenge for everyone Aiden harmed.”
“We missed all of that.”
“Yes, we did. I have to say that I’m glad we did, despite the circumstances.”
“I suppose you are right. It wasn’t so bad running away together, was it?”
“Not one little bit,” he told her.
“I’d got through it all again just to be with you.”
“I know. I feel the same way.”
Making their way home, they went directly upstairs and climbed into bed, pulling the covers up around them and falling into the most peaceful sleep. All thoughts of Aiden or the crimes he had committed against the village were put to rest, and they let the relief wash over them like the night that fell outside their door.
CHAPTER 23
“I trust you will be taking over the school now that you are back?” Aaron Donnelly asked them a few days later.
Neither had understood why they were being summoned to the dragon council’s chambers, and they felt deeply uncomfortable about it. The last time Kergot had been before the council, it had not turned out so well. Looking around, he could see that many of the members that had done Aiden’s bidding were no longer present.
“I don’t know what we had planned upon our return. The school appears to have been closed for many years now in our absence.”
“Yes, Aiden had insisted it stay closed and the children have home or church tutors instead. It has been bad for them and greatly affected their ability to develop proper social skills.
“We are but two people. I don’t think we can teach the entire village. It has grown considerably.”
“I don’t expect you to teach the masses. I’d like for you to become the administrators of the school. You’ll be afforded a proper budget that affords for the necessary teachers, upgrades, and supplies needed to get it back up to speed.”
“That is not a small number,” Kergot cautioned.
“Yes, I know it is not, but we have the finances to manage it. We have to, for the sake of our children.”
“Very well then, we accept the challenge, I guess,” Kergot said, turning to Penelope to see if she was in agreement. She nodded and tightened her grip on his hand.
“Very well. I’ll have a team from the council and accounting offices sit down with you once you’ve had a chance to go in and take a proper inventory and access your needs. Just contact Thomas Higgins to set up a date when you are ready.”
“We will do that.”
“The sooner, the better,” Aaron added.
“Of course,” Kergot told him.
They were dismissed by the council and given the keys by a young lady in the outer corridor. Rather than waste any time, they went directly over to the building and unlocked it, stepping inside tentatively as the doors creaked open in front of them.
“Wow, would you look at this place?” Kergot remarked, taking in how dirty and dusty it had become over the years.
“We’re going to need a large budget just to hire cleaners to get this place scrubbed up again,” Penelope groaned.
“Certainly will. There’s a layer of dust in here thicker than your hair,” he laughed.
“No telling what is crawling about either. Might as well call someone to fumigate it first,” she added, nodding at a few disgusting creatures scurrying down the hallway nearby.
They continued to walk through and give all the classrooms and offices a once over. Some things would need updating, but nothing serious. The bulk of finances would be spent on supplies and books it seemed. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. They could work on hiring teachers while books were on order and updates were being done, perhaps start at the normal time come fall.
“I think we’ve seen all we need to here. Let’s go home and do some research on current textbooks and see how many of our old teachers might be available to come back before we worry with hiring new ones,” Penelope said.
“My thoughts exactly,” he replied.
“I know,” she laughed.
Though his was the only mind she could read, and even that wasn’t always, it did amuse her sometimes that she could do so. She wondered what it was like to have the full gift of his abilities. What he must go through with knowing everyone’s dark secrets or even such innocent things as just thoughts they rather keep to themselves.
“No, you don’t really,” he remarked, smiling at her.
“What am I thinking now?” she teased.
“You are thinking that you can’t wait to get me back home and have your way with me.”
“Not even close.”
“I know, but it sounded better than telling you that you are thinking about a slice of Cassi’s pie.”
“Funny. Now, how about that pie? I’ll need fuel for all this thinking we’ve got to do back at home.”
“Pie it is then. We’ll stop off on the way back.”
“Perfect.”
Ten minutes later, they were sitting in the diner across from Cassi and a young lady she introduced to them as Kara, who worked for her.
“So, you are planning on opening the school again? That will be brilliant. Everyone is going to be so pleased,” she told them as they sat eating warm slices of blueberry pie with a scoop of ice cream on the side.
“Everyone but the students,” Kergot laughed.
“I wouldn’t bet on it. They’ve grown tired of being taught at home by their parents or members of their parish. Most of them will be thrilled to get into a school and have a real school experience again. Plus, the ones that have graduated since it closed have had such a hard time proving their educational background if they chose to go to college. It’s been a real nightmare for them.”
“I’m glad to see this village is getting back on track. Oh, I see that Owen McCord has a baby now. A little girl.”
“Ah, yes. Dawn. She is a spectacular, little thing. Some people have an issue with her being half human, but hopefully the people around here will get past that, begin to recognize some of our old ways for what they are–obsolete. It will be nice to not be so far behind the times anymore.”
“I just hope we don’t let anyone down. It’s a lot to get a school up and running from nothing again.”
“Yes, but Aaron couldn’t have asked two better people to do it. That school ran like a top before, and it will again. All of the students there received a top notch education until they were shut out and forced into their own homes to learn.”
“I guess time will tell what we can make of the situation,” Penelope told her.
“I suppose it will. I have very good feelings about it,” Cassi replied. “Now, if you will excuse me. I need to go make the rounds through my guests.”
“Of course.”
Kergot watched as she made her way toward a booth where a young man sat chatting with Kara. Cassi sat down across from him and spoke to him in whispers and then walked away, leaving him alone with Kara again.
“Who is that?” Penelope asked. Didn’t I see him in the council chambers earlier?”
“Yes. That is Thomas Higgins. He will be the one that works on our budget with us.”
“Ah, okay. I wonder what he and Cassi were whispering about?” she said.
“I’m not sure. I couldn’t quite make out the thoughts. They were jumbled from both of them. There is something afoot, but I don’t know exactly what it is.”
“Interesting. Are you ready to go?” Penelope asked him.
“Yes, I think I’m all full of pie and happiness now.”
“Good. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”
“It will be child’s play after the years on the docks.”
“I imagine it will be,” she said thoughtfully.
She admired how hard he had worked to make sure they were well cared for while they were in France. There was simply not a woman in the world as lucky as her. Not a doubt was in her mind that she had not met the man of her dreams the day he had saved her and taken her to his cave to take care of her.
“Let’s go home and make some lists, my love.”
Pene gathered her handbag and slipped out of the booth in which they sat. She had not a care in the world as they walked back home and settled in around their dining room table with tablets in hand and note paper in front of them.
“Let the games begin!” Kergot chirped.
“Lock and load,” Penelope laughed.
CHAPTER 24
Time moved forward as they busied themselves with getting the school back up to par, opening the doors right on schedule in the fall. Many of their former teachers returned, along with some of the younger village residents that had trained to teach in their absence. With only a couple of slots short, they managed to fill those in by picking up a few classes between the two of them.
It kept them busy, but it was very much a labor of love. Pene felt so much more alive surrounded by so many children, their numbers increasing as the years passed as families returned to the village upon learning that Aiden was no longer in power, and new families began to grow.
Among those children was the peculiar, little girl known as Dawn McCord, daughter of none other than Owen McCord and his wife, Amy. Outspoken and hyperactive, she bounced from one thing to another, always inquisitive and always vocal with her thoughts. Pene found herself wondering what gifts her human genes had granted her, but Dawn was too young for the classes she was teaching, and she was never still long enough to really get a feel for her.
One thing that she could not help but note was that she was in constant company with Liam Donnelly, the young son of the dragon leader. Everywhere, Dawn went, he was right by her side and seemingly content to live in her rather vibrant shadow. Though it was something Penelope had only observed from afar, she found it quite fascinating in a way she couldn’t explain.
“She’s something else, isn’t she?” one of the other teachers observed as she stepped up beside Penelope and saw her watching the young girl.
“Yes. She is. Extraordinarily pretty too.”
“Yes and just as intelligent as she is adorable. She is wise beyond her years and has a gift for putting everyone around her at ease. It’s quite uncanny.”
“I’m sure it is,” Penelope replied absently, their conversation soon interrupted by another instructor arriving to announce the arrival of the dragon leader.
“Aaron is here? Why?” Penelope asked.
“I don’t know. He has requested to see you and Kergot,” she replied.
“I guess we best not keep him waiting then,” Penelope said. “Have you already notified Kergot?”
“No, not yet.”
“Don’t worry with it. I’ll get him.”
Penelope headed toward the front office, calling to Kergot with her mind to join her there. He was across campus in the new addition they had recently built to house a music room. The new instructor had started today and was already having problems with a student. Because of Kergot’s unique gift, he had a way of getting to the bottom of things a lot quicker than most could, though no one was aware of why that was but her.
He let her know he was on his way, along with some sort of jumbled frustration she couldn’t quite make out, but she was used to getting that from time to time when he was in the middle of dealing with someone who was just as confused in his own thoughts as he was in his actions.
“What is happening, Aaron?” Penelope asked she stepped into the room.
“Is Kergot on his way?” he asked her.
“Yes. He will be along any moment.”
“I’m right here,” Kergot replied from behind her, walking into the middle of the room where they were standing.
“Good. I need to talk to both of you. We have a problem.”
“What is that?”
“It’s recently been discovered that some of the accounting is askew. I have someone looking into it, but in the meantime, we all have to tighten our belts. While I fully support the school and anything you need, the number of children we educate drives your costs to be a huge part of our budget.”
“So, what are you saying? Are you shutting us down again?” Penelope replied, her voice full of disdain.
“No. Not if I can help it. What I need though is all the help you can give me to cut costs wherever you can.”
“Why did you come here to ask this directly? You could have just sent one of the budget officers,” Penelope asked.
“It seems that our budget issues might be related to some creative accounting, theft. I need to keep it very quiet while we look into it. I don’t want to tip off the person or persons involved before we have proof of their wrongdoing.”
“Ah, so the budget cut to the school right now is unofficial,” Kergot replied.
“Exactly. Once we know what we are dealing with, then we can take the appropriate measures to deal with it.”
“Fair enough. We’ll do what we can, but most of
the money for the year has already been spent. I’m not sure there is much we can do.”
“I understand. Just any help you can give will be appreciated.”
“You can count on us doing all we can, Aaron.”
Aaron nodded and started to walk away, but paused, turning back to them once again as if he wanted to say something. There was a puzzled look on his face as if he was trying to decide how to best word what he wanted to say next.
“My son, Liam. He is a quiet boy. I am afraid I find him a bit hard to reach at times.”
“There are plenty of children his age that are quiet. I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Aaron,” Penelope replied kindly, unsure of where he was going with this.
“The little girl he likes to play with. Hell, the little girl he spends every moment he can with, Dawn McCord. I trust you know her?”
“Yes. We’ve met Dawn.”
“She’s a bit odd, isn’t she? I mean her father is a bit odd too, but Dawn is unlike any child I know in this village.”
“I would say that is a correct assessment of her,” Kergot remarked, seeming to tense a little. Penelope had a feeling that he was already reading a thought she couldn’t, and it wasn’t setting well with him.
“I know her parents, and they are good people, but they have chosen to defy the tradition of keeping dragon shifter bloodlines pure, and so their offspring is half human. I understand that this sort of thing can sometimes create . . . um, anomalies.”
“What are you driving at?” Kergot asked, noticeably uncomfortable now, at least to Penelope’s sensitivities.
“I guess I’m asking if you think that she is a danger to him in some way,” he asked.
“No, I don’t think she is a danger at all,” Kergot told him.
Aaron nodded, his brow still furrowed as if he wasn’t quite accepting it as a correct assessment of the situation. He looked toward Penelope as if for a second opinion, so she gave him one.
“Half humans are a special breed all their own. Dawn is a bright and loving child, and the person she adores most in this world, perhaps beside her parents, is your son. They are inseparable, and I fear that to try to do so would do harm you cannot fathom and for all the wrong reasons.”
Awakening The Dragon (Exiled Dragons Book 9) Page 11