Her fiery red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, held in place by a ballcap that had Perky Beans stitched onto it. I thought that even with the uniform and hat, and without any kind of makeup, she was beautiful. Freckles dotted her face, and to me, that was the most adorable thing about her. Dragonborn didn't have freckles, so I'd never seen a woman with them until I met her. And that was just one out of the millions of the unique things about humans that fascinated me.
After seeing her that first time, I stopped in for a coffee every day, even though I would throw it out shortly after leaving the shop. The Dragonborn didn't really need caffeine, it didn't do anything for us. I never did understand how most humans couldn't seem to function without the hot, dark brew.
But that was why I usually got iced tea instead. Jessica had mentioned one time that she normally didn't serve iced tea in the mornings. But over time, it had become my usual. My routine. She'd come to expect me to stop in every day, and I usually did that as I patrolled my territory, looking for the enemy – the Shongtal.
The Shongtal were shadowy creatures from my home world of Chondelai. Long ago, during the War of the Three Stones, somebody had unleashed them, hoping to use their dark power to carry them to victory. The Shongtal double crossed that King and instead, fled through the Dragon Doors – mystical passageways between Chondelai and the world of man.
The dark, dastardly creatures infested the world of man, inhabiting bodies – “possession” as you will– and feeding on their life force. Over time, they would use up the human's life force, leaving nothing but a withered husk, before moving on to its next victim. The world of man offered these dark beings an endless buffet on which to feed – and it was our job to exterminate them whenever we found them.
It was the mistake of my kind that unleashed this menace upon the world of man. It was now our job – our sacred duty – to try and right that wrong.
Luckily, my territory had mostly been free of the creatures for a little while. I liked to think it was my diligence and skill in eliminating them, but I knew it was a cyclical thing. They'd eventually return and infect my territory like a plague. With the Shongtal, you could never get too comfortable. Never let your guard down. They were always out there, always watching. And because they could masquerade in the skin of humans, they were sometimes difficult to spot – making my job that much harder.
But if you really paid attention, there were always tells. Slight visual cues. Sometimes an odor. Sometimes the way they acted was just off. I'd heard of too many Wardens letting their guard down or not being vigilant enough and getting butchered by these beasts. I'd vowed to never let that happen to me. Ever.
***
“Welcome to Perky Beans, what can I get for you today?” she asked before looking at me.
My voice caught in my throat. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. Once she looked up at me though, she gave me a warm, genuine smile.
“Oh Ozy, it's you,” she beamed. “The usual?”
“Yes, please,” I said softly. “Thank you.”
To her, I was probably just this big, lumbering, giant. A giant that was unusually shy and reserved. Truth be told, only this woman could make me tongue tied, twisted up, and awkward as hell. Nobody else would ever consider me shy. Maybe I’m not the most outgoing person around, but certainly not shy.
Jessica wrote my name on the cup, along with my order – it always made me smile that she remembered it – and passed it along to the other person behind the counter. I paid for my drink and tried to get up the nerve to speak to her for a change. But when she looked at me and smiled, I melted inside. I completely lost the few scraps of courage I'd managed to muster, dropped a five-dollar bill into her tip cup and kept on walking. She smiled and thanked me, and in that moment, I wanted so badly to tell her how her smile never failed to make my days a little bit brighter, but all I could manage was a lopsided, awkward smile.
I sat down at a table in the corner of the coffee house and scoped out the place, surveying the crowd, opening my senses to get a clearer picture. No matter where I was at, I always scanned for the Shongtal. I'd been doing it so long, it had become second nature to me.
There were two girls sitting in the corner whispering and giggling to one another – they were both wearing UCLA sweatshirts and working on homework together. There was the line out the door of people eager to get their coffee and go – the usual for a weekday morning. Everything was perfectly – normal.
I didn't envy them one bit though, poor saps. Sitting in a cubicle, shuffling paperwork, and stuck in the office job rut seemed to drain the life force from the humans faster than any Shongtal I'd ever met. A popular saying among the humans was, “it pays the bills,” but I wondered if any of them had tried to find a different way to do that – a way that wasn't so soul-crushing.
As I scanned the crowd, one man stood out to me in particular – because like me, he also came in every single day. He'd stand at the counter longer than I would though, chatting Jessica up and she usually smiled and laughed at whatever he was saying.
I tried not to listen, tried to ignore their interactions, but I knew from his drink orders being called out that his name was Aaron. He wore a business suit, every day. He was a good-looking man, reasonably fit, and I couldn't help but notice that his suit had been nicely tailored. His hair was cut crisp and short and you could just tell he came from money.
They flirted back and forth endlessly and I couldn't help but see the way Jessica stared at him. I'd have been lying if I said it didn't sting a bit, but what could I do? I couldn’t just go over there and sweep her off her feet. It wasn't like I could explain my job to her or who I really was.
Instead, I was forced to watch their flirty interactions every day as I sat there, drinking my tea, hoping that whatever happened, Jessica found happiness and the love of a good man. There was a piece of me that wanted to be that man, but I knew I couldn't. She deserved more – and better – than I could ever possibly give her.
“Aaron, your drink is ready!” Jessica called out.
He reached for the drink, but in the process, he also picked up a piece of paper that sat on the counter beneath his cup. Being that my senses were extraordinary and if I focused, I could extend them to do something like – eavesdrop on a conversation. It was terrible and I knew I shouldn't do it, but I couldn't help myself. I was – curious.
“What's this?” he asked, looking at her with a used car salesman grin.
“My number,” she whispered, tipping him a wink. “In case you wanted to call me sometime or something.”
Aaron seemed very pleased, as did Jessica. They both smiled at one another in that knowing way. It was the start of a relationship and I felt like a dagger had been stuck in my guts – and then twisted. Aaron was all smiles and light on his feet as he left, coffee and phone number in hand.
There was part of me that wanted to follow him out and beat him down in the alley behind the shop. But I restrained myself, that wasn't my place. Interacting with people, technically speaking, wasn't my place. It was one of those things that just happened so most everybody looked the other way.
I certainly wasn't the first Warden to be infatuated with a human – I'd even heard plenty of stories about Wardens taking human lovers. Lucky for them, those unions hadn't produced offspring, because if they had, things would get very complicated very quickly.
“It's a shame, isn't it?”
Fei slid into the chair across from me, giving me a bit of a start as he pulled me out of my thoughts. It wasn't easy to sneak up on me, but I'd been so caught up in my feelings that I'd let my guard down. A stupid mistake.
“What's a shame?” I asked, clearing my throat.
I casually turned my gaze away from Aaron and focused on Fei, wondering if he'd picked up on my crushing disappointment about Jessica giving Aaron her number.
“That the humans will never know all that we do for them,” he said. “But then, I have to wonder if they did
, if they'd even have the decency to be thankful.”
“Had an encounter, did you?” I asked, sipping my tea.
“I did,” Fei said, his eyes lighting up. “With a group of them, actually. And it would have been nice to have had some help –”
“You can handle it, Fei,” I said, laughing and shaking my head. “I have no doubt about that.”
He shrugged. “I handled it, alright. All by myself. There are four fewer of those creatures running amok now, no thanks to you. It seems as if you'd rather sit here stewing in your – feelings – about that human woman – than out doing your duty.”
“Was it in my territory?” I asked.
“Well, no, it was in mine,” he said.
“Then, it wasn't my duty,” I said. “And unless you called on me to help, how was I to know you needed me? And do not presume to lecture me on my duty, Fei.”
I glared at Fei, the irritation radiating off me like heat from the sun. I was growing annoyed, not just by his attitude toward the humans, but the fact that he was constantly needling me about mine.
“Relax, brother,” Fei said. “I was just giving you some trouble. No hard feelings.”
I was on edge more than normal and I knew I shouldn't let it get to me. My emotions were – conflicted, to say the least. I knew there was no way in hell I should let myself get involved with Jessica. At least Aaron was human – even though he appeared to be something of a schmuck.
“Ozy?” Fei said, waving his hand in front of my face. “Are you okay?”
No, I really wasn't okay. But I wasn't about to explain it to him. I wasn't about to tell him why I was feeling so off and moody.
“I have to get back to work,” I grumbled. “You should too.”
“Hey, I just killed four of those bastards –” he said, a little too loudly and realized that a few people were staring at us. “– in our game.”
They continued to stare and a few of them looked genuinely frightened. I cringed and wanted to kick Fei for his indiscretion. One of the strictest rules of being a Warden was secrecy. The humans could never know who – or what – we were. Could never know we were actually protecting them from evil in their streets. We were to be totally and completely anonymous.
“Hello, people,” Fei scoffed at those people still staring at him “What did you think I was talking about? You think I actually kill things?”
Fei rolled his eyes and rushed out of the coffee shop with me, breaking into laughter once we were out on the street.
“You need to be more careful,” I warned him.
“I played it off well, don't you think?”
I shook my head. “Whatever. It doesn't matter, just be more careful and guard your tongue,” I said. “I have to work in this area and interact with these people, you don't. I don't want anyone noticing me, if I can help it. And I certainly don't want them thinking I'm running around with a serial killer.”
“Interesting. Because that barista inside seemed to notice you,” Fei teased. “She seemed to notice the hell out of you.”
I stopped and turned to him. “Who? What do you mean?”
“The redhead. She was looking you up and down, Ozy,” he said. “Didn't you notice? For somebody who doesn't want to be noticed, you're not doing a very good job of it with that one.”
My heart lurched in my chest as Jessica's face floated into my mind's eye. As much as I wanted what he was saying to be true, I knew I shouldn't want it to be. The largest among them being, that if she were with me, she could very well get hurt. Maybe worse. And if that were to happen – I preferred to not even think about it.
“She's human,” I said as if that answered everything.
“Doesn't mean you can't have a little fun,” Fei said, winking at me. “Just can't let yourself get too involved with them. Nothing too serious. But women these days are freer, they're better able to express their sexuality in ways like never before. It's the nineties, not the Victorian age anymore, brother – maybe she wants to have a lil roll in the hay with my man Ozy –”
“Shut up,” I said. “I'm not going to let myself get involved with the humans. It's too dangerous.”
“Whatever. I was just pointing it out. Perhaps you should avoid that place then. Because people are noticing you, whether you like it or not,” Fei said, shrugging it off.
He had a point. Maybe I should stop going to Perky Beans. Not like I really enjoyed the iced tea any way, I hardly drank it. I was simply trying to blend in, to act normal. And well, I kept going back because that seemed like a normal thing to do based on the fact that I saw many of the same faces day after day.
But I had to admit – if only to myself –I kept going back because of Jessica as well.
“Maybe you're right,” I said. “I'll pick a new coffee shop.”
All things considered, it was probably better for everyone that I did. Jessica and Aaron could start their little life together or whatever it was that humans did. And I could move on with my life. I had a job to do, and spending time with the humans wasn't part of that contract.
I was there to protect them, not get involved with them. I was letting myself get a little too attached and that had to stop.
So, no more Perky Beans for me. No more. If I felt the overwhelming need for coffee or tea – or to sit amongst and observe those I was charged with protecting – I would find someplace else to do it.
It was probably better for everybody.
Chapter Two
Jessica
“Look at you go,” my best friend, Chelsea said and laughed as we shared a glass of wine at her place. “So, you finally went for it with Aaron, huh? What about the other cutie you had your eye on? What's was his name again?”
“Ozy,” I said.
“As in Osborne?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Like biting the heads off live bats?”
“Oh, he's nothing like that,” I giggled, rolling my eyes. “Think tall, dark, handsome, and built like a football player. But he's really quiet. Like he hardly says more than two words to me at a time.”
“Mysterious,” Chelsea said.
“Yeah, I suppose,” I said. “But I don't think he's interested. At least Aaron actually talks to me, ya know? I don't know if I could date a man who didn't talk and just walked around brooding all day.”
“Sometimes it's nice when they keep their mouth shut and get the job done,” Chelsea teased. “If you know what I mean.”
Still laughing, I rolled my eyes at her. “I’m not like that, Chels,” I said. “I don't want to just sleep with a guy because he's hot. I want more than that. I want stimulating conversation and intelligent discussions – along with great sex, of course.”
“Well, if you meet a smart, charming, sexy man who's good in bed, you hold on to him, because that's a keeper,” she said. “But I don't think they actually exist. Or if they do, they're all gay.”
“Whatever,” I said, still grinning. “I'm holding out hope for Aaron at least. He's charming and witty.”
“But is he capable of those deep, stimulating conversations?”
I shrugged. “Don't know yet,” I said. “It's mostly been quips and small talk at the coffee house.”
“Has he called yet?” she asked.
“Actually, yeah. He did,” I said, biting my lip. “He called right before I came over. We're getting together tomorrow night for a dinner and a movie.”
“Well good for you,” Chelsea said. “At least one of us is getting some action. Or at least, has the potential to.”
Chelsea had been my best friend since high school and we'd been through everything together. After high school, our paths separated, but we were as tight as always, our bond, unbreakable.
Unlike me, her parents were paying for everything so she didn't have to work and go to school at the same time. Whereas I had to pick up as many shifts at Perky Beans as I could, just to afford school. And since I couldn't afford rent in Los Angeles, I was currently crashing on her couch.
Chels
ea had been great about wanting me to live with her. But I knew I couldn't do that forever. I was impacting her social life – hard to bring a man around with your best friend asleep in the living room. She never said it – and I knew she never thought it – but I hated feeling like a burden on her. I knew the time would come – and probably soon – when I was going to have to make some tough decisions about my future.
“You'll meet someone, Chelsea,” I said. “You're beautiful, and going to college to be a freaking doctor for God sake. You're just busy right now. Soon, though. I know it.”
While Chelsea was going to UCLA, I was still stuck at community college. At one time, we both wanted to be doctors – surgeons. But at the moment, I was in a program studying to be a nurse. Because I wasn't sure I could afford college at this rate, much less medical school. I was on the slow and steady path, while Chelsea was going full-time, taking as many classes as she could and spending what little free time she had either with me or studying.
“So, what does this Aaron guy do?” Chelsea asked. “Is he a student? Does he have a job? I need details, lady.”
“Well, he's a little older –”
Chelsea side-eyed me. “How much older are we talking here?”
“Not much. Maybe a few years?” I said. “He graduated from college about two years ago. Business major. Works in finance – a boring desk job from the sounds of it.”
“But he makes good money, right?” Chelsea asked.
Shrugging, I said, “I guess so?”
“Maybe you can find yourself a sugar daddy,” Chelsea said with a sigh, as if she thought that would be a good thing.
It was odd to think we were best friends. All things considered, we were two totally different people from vastly different backgrounds. She was fairly well-off, a little spoiled and very much into living the pampered life. She wanted to be a doctor because of the prestige and money that came with the title. Not because she necessarily liked medicine, or even people, for that matter. I, on the other hand, found medicine to be my calling. It was a driving passion in me and every day I wasn't getting closer to that goal, it killed me a little more inside.
Saved by a Dragon Page 69