The Glow of the Dragon's Heart: A Paranormal Fantasy Romance Prequel

by Willa Hart

  “This might sound insane at first, but if you just hear me out, you’ll come to understand the truth. You might even think I’m pulling your leg, but I’m not. I swear to you. Still with me?”

  I might have nodded, but a strange, effervescent fear in my tummy distracted me.

  “At the office, you saw some things,” he said bluntly as he leaned forward again. “I know you did, no need to pretend otherwise. You saw things you couldn’t explain and then talked yourself into believing you imagined them. I want you to describe what you saw.”

  I felt like a deer in the headlights or a kid caught stealing candy, and my face must have shown it.

  “You’re not in trouble, Favor. It’ll just be easier for both of us if I fill in what you already know in your heart.”

  I licked my lips and opened my mouth, my entire body quaking.

  “I didn’t—“

  He shook his head. “Nope. No lies. What did you see?”

  I had no idea what he wanted to tell me, but there was no way it would be crazier than what I thought I’d seen. But I’d vowed not to lie to him, so I swallowed hard and grasped the edge of the table for strength.

  “I saw…I thought I saw Rufus grow about a foot in height. When you two were arguing, I looked away for half a second, and when I looked back, he seemed taller.”

  Max didn’t seem the least bit put off by this account. He nodded and asked what else I’d seen.

  “His eyes,” I started, then stopped. This was where it would get awkward. A trick of light could easily make someone seem bigger than they really were, but changing eye color? No way.

  “What about his eyes?”

  “They turned…green. I’m pretty sure they’re brown, but for just a second, they looked neon green.”

  Again, he seemed totally unfazed. “Anything else?”

  I looked down at my fingernails trying to dig their way into the Formica-topped table. I might have nodded again.

  “Did he have vertical pupils?” Max asked.

  I gasped and met his gaze. His perfectly normal, brown-eyed gaze. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe I’d fallen back to sleep and this was all a dream Aunt Shirley would have to eventually wake me from. Part of me hoped that was the case, but a bigger part of me wanted to know the truth.

  “I saw yours too,” I whispered. “Only yours were orange.”

  Instead of laughing and telling me this was all a big joke, he sighed with satisfaction and leaned back in his chair.

  “You’re sharp, kid. That’s why I think you’re ready to know that you didn’t imagine anything. Your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you. You saw what you saw. And let me guess…it all reminded you of that dream Shirl has been guiding you out of every night, right?”

  My jaw fell all the way to the floor and my eyes popped out of their sockets. Or they would have, if it was physically possible without suffering great bodily harm. How did he know? What did he know?

  “Favor,” he said, reaching across the table to take my hand in both of his. “What you saw in all three cases were dragons.”

  Silence hung between us. I searched his face for any sign he was teasing me, but he looked as deadly serious as a doctor delivering bad news.

  “Dragons,” I mumbled, wanting to make sure I’d heard him correctly.

  “Dragons. Humans share this world with dragons, though most of them don’t know it. Rufus is a dragon. The yellow-eyed flying lizard in your dream is a dragon.” He squeezed my hand slightly. “I’m a dragon.”

  I was a little slow on the uptake. I was still trying to figure out how he knew the monster in my dream had yellow eyes when his confession finally filtered through the static. I’d never been left speechless in my life, but I truly had no idea how to reply.

  Maybe he was off his meds. Or sleepwalking. I no longer thought I was dreaming. The entire conversation felt so real and oddly validating. He was proving me right, even though the idea of dragons had never crystalized in my brain.

  “Still with me, kid?”

  I nodded, this time more firmly, but I still couldn’t form words.

  “My human appearance is probably confusing to you,” he continued, releasing my hand and sitting back again. “You see, we’re able to shift from human form to dragon form. That’s what allows us to live among the human population. But you saw a little of my true nature when I was arguing with Rufus. It happens sometimes when we get riled, but it rarely comes to violence anymore.”

  His fingers absentmindedly fluttered around his eye, where his shiner was fading to a sickly yellow. Obviously it sometimes turned to violence.

  “I know you think you were saving me from Rufus, and I really appreciate the thought, but you couldn’t have done much to stop Rufus as a human, much less as a dragon. As the casique of my weir, I needed to remind Rufus who was boss.”

  He’d just said some words that meant nothing to me, which jogged my larynx into working again. “Casseek? Where?”

  Max smiled. “A weir is basically a clan. A regional group of dragons loosely tied together by blood and marriage. The casique is essentially the leader of the weir. Not like a king or president, but more like the head elder. I’ve been the casique of mine, which spans most of the west coast, for a very long time, and while there are always young bucks who want to try to get a leg up on me, I’m not that old yet.”

  “H-how old are you?” I squeaked.

  “Older than I look,” Max said with a coy wink. “Let’s just leave it at that for now.”

  All of this was hands-down the craziest thing I’d ever heard. But at the same time as I wondered if I should call the men in the white coats, I felt a great weight lifting off me.

  “I know you really want to know more about your parents,” he said, sending my pulse into the stratosphere. “You should know that your father was very special to me. He was what’s called a ‘dragon keeper,’ and I’m proud to say he was mine for a long time. In fact, he introduced me to his aunt, Shirley, and I’ll be forever grateful to him for that.”

  Needless to say, this wasn’t the kind of information about my dad I’d expected. I must have frowned or had a puzzled expression, because Max was quick to explain.

  “Keepers are special humans who are sort of like our handlers, for lack of a better term.”

  “Like a personal assistant?” I’d always remembered my father as being a respected man, but I couldn’t have explained why. Personal assistant didn’t seem like that big of a deal.

  “Not even remotely. They’re more like a conduit between the human world and dragon society. You ever see one of those Mafia movies where there’s always a consigliere? An advisor at the don’s side, giving him a fresh perspective outside the usual hierarchy?”

  “Sure.”

  “It’s like that, but also more. Keepers have a calming influence on us, which is no easy task when you’re talking about a hot-headed dragon. Pun intended.”

  I was still too shocked to roll my eyes, but I thought about it.

  “Keepers are also extremely loyal and protective of their dragons. And that, young lady, is almost certainly why you rushed in to stand between me and a big lug like Rufus.”

  It took a minute for his implication to sink in. “Are you… Are you saying that I’m one of these keeper people? That I’m your keeper?”

  Max shrugged. “That’s where it starts to get complicated. Keepers aren’t fated to any one dragon. Free will is involved, although most pairings are based on instinct. Without a dragon, keepers are just ordinary people, as you’ve been your entire life. But when paired with a dragon, not only can keepers do amazing things, they also have the power to calm us and amplify our natural powers to heights we couldn’t achieve on our own. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”

  He watched me process this new, insane information, then added, “But to answer your question, I don’t know if you’re my keeper. I haven’t had a keeper since your father, so it’s possible. But you’re untrained, and until this moment had n
o idea — on a conscious level, anyway — dragons even existed. You’ve got a lot to learn before you decide if this is the path for you. Once you realize your full potential, we’ll both have a better idea if we’re suited for each other. In the meantime, I’ll teach you everything I can.”

  If Zoe had been there, she would have already texted 9-1-1 under the table asking them to send a SWAT team, but for some reason, I wasn’t the least bit worried. Surprised and confused, sure, but Max would never hurt me. I knew that deep in my gut, just as a little kid knows Mommy will always make the boo-boo feel better with a kiss.

  More importantly, I knew he wasn’t making up any of this. Just as I’d known he’d lied about that weird blob of acrylic with the rock embedded in it. I couldn’t explain it, but I was like a lie detector machine tuned into Uncle Max’s frequency.

  Maybe that made me as nuts as he was. Maybe we were sharing a delusion. Maybe there was a gas leak in the house. Whatever the cause, the result was that I believed every word he’d said. It was crazy and illogical and totally nutballs, but it also made sense. That was the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around.

  “I think,” I started slowly, “I should get some water.”

  Max chuckled as I shuffled to the fridge in a daze and shoved my glass in the water dispenser. I stared blankly into the glittering stream, wondering what I was supposed to say.

  “I wish your dad could see you, Favor. He’d be so proud.”

  Hot wetness burned my eyes at that, but I blinked the tears away before they could fall. I took the world’s tiniest sip of water, then set the glass on the counter and faced him again.

  “Listen,” he said as he stood, “I know this is a lot to take in, maybe even too much, considering the hour. You need some time to digest all of it. By morning, you’ll have a million questions, and you can ask me any of them tomorrow at the office. For now, you should head back to bed and get a good night’s sleep.”

  I snorted. “As if.”

  Chapter Seven

  I yawned loudly while I waited for Uncle Max to open the door to his offices. He glanced over at me, a curious expression in his warm brown eyes, but said nothing. He’d done the same thing about ten times that morning and I wasn’t sure why.

  After sleeping deeper than I had in months, maybe years, my brain just didn’t seem to want to wake up. Even after chugging three cups of Aunt Shirley’s “it’ll put hair on your chest” coffee, I felt about as alive as a zombie.

  Flicking on the horrid fluorescents as he walked in, Max waited until the door whooshed close behind me before speaking. “How are you this morning?”

  I shrugged and flopped into my chair at the desk I’d picked the day before. “Fine. Not quite fully caffeinated yet, I guess, but this triple macchiato should do the trick.” I sipped on the bitter liquid and sighed with happiness.

  “No, I mean about our talk last night.”

  I lifted the cup to my lips again, about ready to ask what he was talking about, when a memory swam up through the fuzzy depths of my subconscious. I froze, a perfect statue of a girl drinking her coffee. From the corner of my eye, I could see my reflection in the two-way mirror, and that girl looked gobsmacked.

  “W-what? That wasn’t a dream?”

  My dreams had been off the charts since my move to California. I’d just assumed the vague recollection of Max telling me he was a dragon — an honest-to-goodness, fire-breathing, flying lizard — was a yet another of my wacky dreams.

  Max gave me a sympathetic smile. “Not a dream, kid.”

  In the clutches of slumber, anything seemed possible, but sunlight always chased away those funny thoughts, the snatches of childhood memories, and imagined transformations. Not anymore. I gaped at my uncle, every word of our conversation flooding into my consciousness, along with memories of flashing orange eyes.

  “I…” I set the cup down before I spilled it, unable to do anything more.

  “Let me guess, you want more proof.”

  Proof. What kind of proof? I was too afraid to ask. Besides, I already knew, I just didn’t want to admit it.

  “O-okay,” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off him.

  Before I could so much as blink, my old, half-a-hippie uncle…changed. He was already a tall, broad-shouldered man, but he grew even taller and broader. Despite my shock, I couldn’t help being grateful he’d worn loose clothes or he’d have torn right through them. Then his paunch shrank and his skin took on a rough, scaly texture. His wrinkles smoothed as his face lengthened into a semi-animal shape, but it was his eyes that surprised me the most. Along with the rest of him, they grew larger, but the pupils narrowed and stretched into black, vertical slits, surrounded by bright orange irises.

  My heart stumbled over itself and my stomach lurched. Thank God I was already sitting, or I would have toppled right over. He wasn’t a full dragon, not like the one in my nightmares, but he definitely was no longer fully human either.

  The weirdest part of it all was that I wasn’t scared in the slightest. Shocked, sure, but not afraid. The final piece of a lifelong puzzle had just snapped into place.

  Just as quickly as he’d changed, he shrank back into his usual self, stumbling a little in the process. He slumped against the nearest desk, clutching it for support. Pain wracked his bruised and battered body. I had no idea how I knew it, I simply did.

  “Max!” I cried, rushing to wrap an arm around him for support.

  Weakness and exhaustion radiated off his body like heat. I grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it to him just as his knees buckled out from under him. He landed with an “Oomph!”

  “What happened to you, Max?” I asked as I kneeled in front of him so I could see his face. The bruising had faded to a sickly yellow, but I had no idea what was going on with the rest of his body.

  “I’m fine,” he lied, mustering a pained, pathetic smile. “Just age. No big deal.”

  “Cut the crap, old man. I hate to break it to you, but I know when you’re lying, so you might as well just spill it. Whatever it is, it can’t possibly be freakier than you getting all lizardy on me.”

  He groaned and dropped his face into his hands. “Damn it, Favor. One does not become the casique of one of the world’s most powerful weirs without learning how to lie effectively. What gave me away?”

  He was talking without panting, so I figured he wasn’t in imminent danger of dying. I smiled and dropped my ass to the floor, keeping one hand on his knee for comfort — my comfort, not his.

  “No idea. All I can tell you is there’s no point in even trying to lie to me, because I can read it on you like a Times Square billboard. Take that ugly blob of Lucite you hid from me. Don’t look so surprised. I know you didn’t win it at a carnival.”

  His eyes popped open as he gawked at me. “Can you read my mind?”

  “Praise the baby Jesus, no,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I just sort of sense when you’re not being truthful.”

  This time his eyes narrowed as he sized me up. “You may be more powerful than I ever suspected.”

  I wanted to say, “Hellz to the yeah, I’m mother-effin’ Wonder Woman!” but the situation was far too serious for such silliness. My strong Uncle Max, who’d just proven to me he was a freaking dragon, had collapsed and I needed to know why.

  “Whatever. I want to know what’s going on with you. Who hurt you?”

  He stared at me until I fidgeted under his appraisal. Finally, he took pity and relaxed into his chair.

  “Well, since I can’t get away with a fairy tale…”

  “Damn straight,” I said, leaning back on my hands and kicking my legs out in front of me.

  “Forgive me, but it’s too long of a story for one day, so I’m going to give you the Cliff Notes version for now.”

  “Cliff Notes?”

  “Yeah, you know, the little study guides that summarize literature so you don’t have to read the whole book?”

  I scowled at him. “Sounds like cheating to me. An
d stop trying to get me off track.”

  “Fine, but I’m warning you, this will sound like a fairy tale. Once upon a time…”

  He grinned at me, but I didn’t react. I just gave him a cold, deadly serious glare that got him talking.

  “Sheesh, tough crowd. Okay, so the short version is that a very long time ago, an evil mage—“

  “Wait, what’s a mage?” I interrupted.

  It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Keep up, Favor. A mage is basically a magician.”

  “Like David Blaine?”

  “More like Merlin. Anyway, this mage—“

  “What’s his name?”

  Max huffed in frustration, which tickled me more than it should have. “Vazha, okay? Can I continue now?”

  I waved a hand, giving him permission. He just shook his head.

  “Now where was I? Oh right, Vazha. As I mentioned, he was pure evil. He plagued the dragon world, doing everything in his considerable power to destroy us all. No one knows why, if there even was a reason lurking somewhere in his demented brain. Through his black magic, he somehow managed to recruit a small army of dragons and dragon keepers. I’m proud to say that we eventually defeated him, reducing him to a tiny pile of smoldering embers at the end.”

  “Cool! I wish I could have seen that.”

  Max grew deadly serious and a dark pain flashed across his face. “No, Favor. You don’t. Trust me on that.”

  I did. The shiver that skittered up my spine was proof.

  “We all hoped Vazha’s followers would be released from his spell once he was destroyed, but apparently the magic was too strong. The dragons who remained loyal to him became known as the jadokari and their keepers are called melots. They vowed to continue the mage’s work, even though their numbers were few and their magic weak. It was still strong enough to hurt us.”

  Max pressed his lips together as he recalled some distant memory. It took a minute for him to collect himself enough to continue, but when he did, I could tell he was lost in time.