by Mell Eight
Table of Contents
Dragon Home
Book Details
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Epilogue
About the Author
Dragon
Home
SUPERNATURAL CONSULTANT BOOK 5.2
MELL EIGHT
With Rios happily mated and planning an entire future, Aqua can't help but feel left out. The brother that had always been his chief playmate and best friend is going to leave him behind, which isn't at all acceptable. The obvious answer is to leave first, so Aqua packs a bag to go on an adventure. But this adventure isn't anything like his last one and the chances of him returning home alive dwindle every moment.
Dragon Home
Supernatural Consultant 5.2
By Mell Eight
Published by Less Than Three Press LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.
Edited by Amanda Jean
Cover designed by Aisha Akeju
This book is a work of fiction and all names, characters, places, and incidents are fictional or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.
First Edition June 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Mell Eight
Printed in the United States of America
Digital ISBN 9781684310333
Print ISBN 9781684310029
Chapter One
There was a mermaid in the pool. Aqua growled to himself and stomped past the indoor pool towards the kitchen. There wasn't anything he could do about the mermaid, mostly because he had been living in the pool for months now and didn't appear to be the least bit interested in leaving.
Okay, so the mermaid wasn't actually a mermaid. They lived in saltwater oceans and wouldn't be the least bit interested in a dragon or the confines of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The creature in the pool was a nix named Nixie, with bright green hair and a fish tail that split into legs when he was on dry land. He was also mated with Aqua's brother Rios.
Rios was another problem that made Aqua stomp his feet even harder. It just wasn't fair.
Uncle Willy was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper and eating a bowl of cereal when Aqua stomped into the room. He glanced up at Aqua briefly, then returned to his paper without seeming to have noticed Aqua's mood. Uncle Willy was a very powerful man. He was the territory leader of all of Canada, a responsibility he took far too seriously in Aqua's opinion. He had the look of a man that had been fat, but had recently lost a lot of weight. His skin was still a little too fleshy, although every day there was some improvement. He was immortal, which meant he would eventually heal even the stretch marks and excess skin that being fat for so long had caused. His eyes were hard black in color and his hair was also black.
Rios was washing his own bowl out at the sink. He had grown two inches over the winter, which meant he and Aqua could no longer share clothing and they were also no longer mistaken for twins. Rios looked years older than Aqua now, his face filling out and muscles tightening the fabric of his shirts. Aqua, on the other hand, looked like he was twelve, despite being nearly sixteen years old, and hadn't grown even a centimeter all winter.
Aqua stopped in the middle of the kitchen, and Rios turned and smiled at him, but when Rios spoke, it was to Uncle Willy. "The Auxiliaries are training on sailboats today and have invited Nixie and me to come play. We'll need a ride to Lake St. Clair in ten minutes."
Uncle Willy nodded. "Do you know how long you'll be there?"
"At least until lunch, although if they feed us, we may stay until dinner instead." Rios shrugged and grinned and Aqua had to clench his teeth. That was the grin he remembered, one that Rios used to only use when they were up to some sort of mischief together. It wasn't right that Rios was so excited about the coastguard and some silly boats. He hadn't been so excited before he found Nixie, which meant that Nixie was the problem. Yet the way Rios looked at Nixie, the way they held hands and smiled at each other, meant that if Aqua did something to separate them, Rios might hate him forever. He really didn't want Rios to keep abandoning him like this. Yet getting rid of the problem might only make it all even worse.
Aqua hated feeling so left behind.
"Don't forget you have that essay due," Uncle Willy added pointedly.
Rios grinned again. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied slyly. "See you tonight!"
He hurried off without saying goodbye to Aqua, no doubt going to find his precious Nixie and then get Uncle Willy to transport them magically to the training facility. Which meant Aqua would be spending the day alone again, except for the endless lines of tutors Uncle Willy had hired to get him up to speed on his schoolwork.
"It's not fair," Aqua grumbled, only realizing he had said that aloud when Uncle Willy dipped one corner of his newspaper to look at Aqua. "Well, it's not. He's off having fun with his friends and I'm stuck here with the tutors."
Uncle Willy put down his paper so he could look at Aqua properly. "Aqua, if you want friends, you need to go out and find them. They're not going to come to you."
"But when Rios was here we had each other. Why did he have to leave?" Aqua was whining, but he couldn't help it. The feeling of being abandoned tightened his chest until he couldn't breathe and made his stomach hurt so that he didn't feel like eating.
"Maybe it's your time to leave as well. Pack some clothes, food, and money and see where the wind takes you. Go find friends of your own and maybe you won't feel quite so alone any longer."
Maybe Uncle Willy was right. He should just go. On their last adventure together, Rios had found Nixie and his love of boats. Maybe now it was Aqua's turn to have an adventure and find a nix of his own. He spun around and hurried out of the kitchen, heading upstairs to his bedroom to pack a bag.
It only took a few moments to stuff some shirts, pants, and underwear into a backpack. Aqua hurried back downstairs. Uncle Willy met him at the foot of the stairs. In one hand he held out a wad of cash. Aqua could see both American and Canadian money in the stack.
"For emergencies," Uncle Willy instructed as he passed over the money. "Don't lose it or spend it on something silly." He held out a small brown paper bag for Aqua to also take. "This is some lunch. Eat it on your way." He reached behind him for a paper towel wrapped bagel to give to Aqua too. "And eat your breakfast."
"Thanks, Uncle Willy," Aqua said as he took the bagel. He stuffed the money deep into his bag and tucked his lunch carefully on top.
"Be safe, Aqua," Uncle Willy said firmly. "If you leave Canada, I can't physically come for you if you get in trouble, but I can sneak a transportation spell into most territories. Dane can too, if you have better luck getting in contact with him. Stay out of Texas, though. That territory leader won't welcome you."
Uncle Willy wasn't the hugging type, but he did pat Aqua on the shoulder and give him an encouraging smile. Aqua smiled back before hoisting his bag onto his back and heading out the front door.
It was absolutely freezing outside, with an icy wind blowing around the feet high drifts of snow that covered every surface. It was early spring, but the temperatures wouldn't raise much in this part of Canada for at least another month. He shifted forms smoothly, the transition from human to dragon as effortless as breathing. It was considerably warmer with his scales covering him. Aqua tossed the bagel in his much larger mouth, chewed, and swallowed before jumping into the air. A few pu
mps of his massive wings had him soaring upwards.
Where could he go to find friends anyway? North was way too cold; even his scales would freeze off if he went any further in that direction. He had also spent plenty of time gamboling around at Uncle Willy's houses to the east and west. It had to be south, but where in the south? Aqua had absolutely no idea.
Chapter Two
Aqua's stomach rumbling broke him out of his reverie. He had gone into a sort of trance as he flew, where he didn't have to think and his body knew what to do to keep him aloft without him actually paying attention. He didn't know how many hours he had been flying, but it was long enough that the bagel was gone. Now seemed like as good a time as any to stop for lunch, so Aqua angled his flight slowly downwards.
There weren't any clouds below or above him, just blue sky as far as the eye could see and tan, sandy ground far beneath him. He took his time drifting downwards. The air was very warm and there were nice thermals lifting his wings. He could have flown for miles without flapping his wings once, but another rumble in his stomach said he ought to take a break.
He must be in a desert somewhere, although he couldn't say where exactly. It was rocky, with low scrub that was more brown than green. Aqua couldn't sense any water anywhere nearby. He found a flat place to land and shifted forms.
The sun was hot on his exposed skin. It was such a contrast to the very snowy environment he had just left. Aqua couldn't say it was a nice change, but he liked having something different to look at. He unhooked the backpack from around his arm and set it down, then sat down next to it so he could pull out the paper bag Uncle Willy had given him. There were three sandwiches inside and three water bottles. Aqua took out one of each and stuck the paper bag back in his backpack before unwrapping the sandwich and digging in.
Uncle Willy had made him a turkey sandwich thick with mayo and light on the veggies. It tasted like home, and suddenly Aqua knew that no matter where this adventure might lead, he would return home. Uncle Willy, Rios, and even Nixie would be waiting for him.
He finished his sandwich and water, stuffed his trash in an outside pocket of his backpack, and stood up. Aqua stretched his arms above his head, staring through his fingers at the very blue sky overhead. The desert really was beautiful, but without any water to play with it wasn't really somewhere he wanted to stay. The air was dry as he sighed out a heavy breath and far too hot for the nap he felt like taking with his full stomach weighing him down. He would keep flying for a few more hours, Aqua decided, and find a good place to sleep for the night.
Aqua reached for the magic that allowed him to change forms, felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, and knew no more. His human body fell back down on the hard ground, unconscious.
Chapter Three
"I've done it again," William breathed desperately into the phone. Dane pulled his phone away from his ear to check the caller ID, saw that it was the William he was friends with, and put the phone back to his ear. "I made Aqua run away. What if he hates me for it?"
Had William kicked Aqua out of the house? Dane felt like he was missing some important information.
"Start at the beginning, William," he said gently, aware of the touch of panic in William's voice and not wanting to antagonize him further.
"Ever since we finally got Nixie settled, he and Rios have been running off just about every day. The coastguard auxiliary allows sixteen year olds to train with them as long as they have a parent's consent, and Rios and Nixie were close enough to that age that when I asked, the auxiliary couldn't say no. It's been a struggle to get them to stay home long enough for the tutor to teach them anything, but even that has changed. Nixie came to me completely ignorant. He couldn't read, write, or do basic math, but he's already learned in a few months more than Aqua and Rios knew after ten years. And Rios suddenly started applying himself too. He might actually graduate on time! Can you believe that?"
Given how quickly Dane's kit Platinum was learning, he could believe it. Platinum was an air dragon they had rescued from some scientists doing terrible experiments on him and had mated to Nickel, another of Dane's dragon kits. He would probably test as a genius if he were interested in actually finding out, but he was happy working with Nickel at Dane's consulting firm. Of course, Nickel and Platinum's success had grated on the other kits—he had six more—but at least the other kits had each other. With Rios gone, that left Aqua all alone.
"How badly did Aqua mope?" Dane asked, carefully cutting in on William's ranting.
William let out a heavy sigh. "Badly enough that I started worrying he might drain Nixie's pool out of spite. He was complaining that he didn't have any friends, so I told him to pack a bag and go find himself some."
That was… Dane had to pause to think about that for a long moment. It wasn't a tactic that would have worked on any of his kits, that was for certain. Aqua was a completely different person.
"Did he leave?" Dane asked.
"Went and packed a bag right away. I had to remind him to have breakfast, he was so eager to go. Dane, what if he never comes back? What if I've lost him?"
"Aqua loves you," Dane replied firmly, absolutely certain his words were true. "All kits have to leave the nest some time, but they always remember their home. Nickel and Platinum spend almost as much time with me as they do in their own house. They're going to eat me out of house and home at the rate they're growing."
"That's the same with Rios and Nixie. Rios has grown two inches since you last saw him. Can you believe it?"
"Trust me, I can believe it. Nickel and Platinum were already my two tallest kits, and they've each grown an inch this year. Zinc has grown two inches, so she's almost as tall as Platinum now, and Copper just had another growth spurt too. If it's not the cost of food that cripples me, it will be the cost of keeping them clothed."
"At least your kits stay out of the pool or the river. All the swimming Rios has been doing is starting to fray the seams of his shirts. I can't get him to remember to change into swim trunks before he goes diving with Nixie."
"William, I have an experimental mine in my backyard. There are more holes in the elbows and knees of my kits' clothes than I have ever seen before."
They both laughed for a few moments, commiserating with each other before they sobered again.
"He'll come home, William. I wouldn't worry about that. I would worry about who or what he'll bring with him, though," Dane couldn't help adding cheekily.
"Because retrofitting my indoor pool to give Nixie a comfortable home wasn't difficult enough," William grumbled without any heat. He sighed. "Should I cash in a major investment now so I can afford it?"
"Wait until you see how bad it's going to be," Dane replied in disagreement. "You might need to cash in more than one."
William let out another heavy sigh. "Why did I ever have to have kids anyway?"
Dane laughed, but didn't bother replying. It was because they had fallen in love with the silly kits, of course, and sometimes kits needed to fly free. Aqua would return, and hopefully he would grow up a bit in the process.
Chapter Four
Aqua blinked for a few long seconds before he realized that the reason he couldn't see anything was because there was a dark cloth over his eyes. His head hurt with a sharp pain just above the back of his neck. Had he fallen and hit his head? The last thing he remembered was calling on the magic to change shape so he could continue flying off on his journey to nowhere. Which didn't explain why he was blindfolded and… apparently tied to the chair he was sitting on, since an attempt to lift his hands to his face proved to be impossible.
"So, Spy, now that you're caught, what should we do with you?"
Aqua had no idea who was speaking. It was a guy, but not a voice he recognized.
"Hi?" he asked curiously. "Who are you?"
"The real question is: Who are you? Dragons aren’t welcome in this part of the Nevada desert. Seeing that you're here anyway, you must be spying for the enemy."
; "I made it all the way to Nevada?" Aqua gasped. "No way!"
"Where did you think you were?" the man asked, his voice full of skepticism.
"Saskatchewan," Aqua replied easily. "I caught an air current out this morning. I'm running away from home. My Uncle Willy said I should." He couldn't help grinning at that admission, although he quickly wiped it away when he realized his captors wouldn't get the joke.
"He's obviously just as idiotic as those other dragons," another man said with a sigh.
Aqua had heard that before. "My tutor says that all the time," he explained. "I think it's 'cause I have trouble reading still, but then my brother figured it all out. He's training for the coastguard."
"Do you ever stop talking?" the first man asked sharply.
Aqua frowned at that. He didn't think he was talking more than usual, and Uncle Willy had never complained. Although, the only thing Uncle Willy had ever really complained about was the three or four times he and Rios had flooded one of Uncle Willy's houses. Purely accidentally, of course.
"Who are you anyway?" he asked again, instead of answering.
The man sighed, sounding exasperated. A second later, Aqua felt fingers fumbling with his blindfold. It slipped away from his eyes and he blinked at the sudden light. Once his eyes cleared, he looked around the room he was in.
Aqua was inside what appeared to be a one room wooden house. It looked sturdy, but weathered. There weren't any holes in the walls, but they were a funny shade of gray. The windows were wide open and didn't have any screens in them.
Three people were looking at him. They all looked the same at first glance, but a second glance told him they were probably siblings: two guys and one girl. Their skin was darkly tanned, and they had high cheekbones and dark brown eyes. Their hair varied from shades of red to orange. One of the guys had his sleeves pushed up, and Aqua could see tattoos on his skin in the shape of deep yellow-red stars and lines. All of them were tall, probably the tallest people he had ever seen.