“What is this other dragon then? What kind are they?” I wasn’t ready for the outburst from Set. It was loud and nasty.
“Not they…one. It isn’t even a true dragon.” He stomped forward until he stood before me with his finger pointed at my face. “It is an abomination! A monstrosity of wickedness conjured from the deepest parts of the universe. It lives to consume. It lives to destroy the very existence of all life. True dragons shun it because of its sinister nature. IT…Is…Evil!”
I was so absorbed in Set’s story that it wasn’t until Brooke nudged me with a drink in her hand that I heard her mocking laughter. Set scowled deeply at her.
“You laugh, Dimidius, but it would devour you as well. It doesn’t respect our kind, it won’t give your half breed brethren a second’s thought.”
“Oh, Set. The arrogance of the True Breeds are only overshadowed by their notion that they are the most powerful creatures in the universe, which I believe has been disproven more than once.” Brooke’s tone clearly indicated that she believed Set’s kind were far inferior to her. “The Gray is no threat to us. Only the True Breed fear it because it can kill, and I’ll use your words, your kind without a thought.”
Set stepped up to her until the only space between them was the breadth of a hair. “You think you have power, Half Breed?” Set clenched his teeth. “Care to try?”
Somehow Brooke was able to get her finger on his chest. “I’m not afraid of True Breeds, Set.” Then she stepped back and put on her most innocent and charming smile that had won her the hearts of many boys over the years. “The Gray Mage protects me.”
Again, the fear that leaped into Set’s eyes at the mention of the Gray Mage overshadowed any anger or hatred that had been there before.
“She causes this much fear in Set?”
“She is the Dragon Master.” Brooke said. “She rules…”
“Cares.” Mrs. Wasabi interjected.
Brooke nodded at the correction. “She cares for all the dragons and those defenseless against the tyranny of oppressors.”
“She protects us and cares for us.” Gabe said. “We aren’t that many, maybe a dozen in a hundred years’ time. Most True Breeds don’t bother with humans, but there are a few who enjoy their company. But when we are born, most human parents can’t understand or deal with the difficulties of raising us. Only people like the Wasabi’s, who are specially trained, can. It is very difficult.”
“But why do you fear her, Set? If she is a friend to the dragons, shouldn’t you be thankful?”
Brooke laughed. “True Breeds aren’t thankful for anything. They are selfish and mean. They fear her because she is more powerful than them. Their egos can’t allow them to understand the good work she does. And only SHE can control the Gray Dragon.”
Set hissed. “You are a fool.” And left by way of the front door making sure to slam it hard.
Brooke had her superior smile on, a familiar look when she knows she has gotten the better of someone; Gabe had a sad smile, and Mr. and Mrs. Wasabi appeared unaffected. Clearly, there were other things going on, much of it I didn’t understand between the Dimidius and the True Breeds, but the ace card was clearly the Gray Mage.
“So, how did the dragons get here? Did the Gray Mage bring them?”
Mr. Wasabi nodded. “Their planet was being invaded by a rival god and his army. The Gray Mage defeated them, but their planet was wrecked. She brought the survivors here.”
“God? God is real?”
“Yes. All gods are real, JJ. They are just very powerful beings.” Brooke smirked. “There is more going on in the universe than just the formation of planets and galaxies. War between Gods are happening all over. I can’t explain it, for I don’t know all of it. But the Gray Mage is the calm in the chaos. She leads our war against the Observers.” Brooke’s blue eyes burned with admiration.
“Who are the Observers? Are they the ones that are so dangerous?”
I looked to the others for answers.
Mr. Wasabi nodded his head. “They want to kill the Gray Mage. They believe she is a threat to the entire universe.” Hatred dripped with every word spoken about the Observers from him. “The Two…believe the Gray Mage intends to destroy the existence of all the gods, when in truth the Gray Mage only wants to restore balance back to the universe.”
“The Two?” I asked.
“An evil, ruthless pair that were supposed friends of the Gray Mage, until they betrayed her on the battle field and destroyed her home.” He explained. “Now they wage a war to rid the universe of her presence and enslave the dragons and dragon kind so they may sow their evil across the universe.”
The entire universe? How can a conflict engulf the entire universe? “How is this possible? They work with the other gods?”
“It’s unclear. Their combined power is very formidable. They join with rouge gods to hunt Set and Gabe’s kind. Now they are trying to destroy the eggs of any dragon on this planet.”
“Then the things that attacked us in the green house?” My gaze fell upon Gabe. “The alleyway on New Year’s Eve and now the ice cream shop?”
“Were minions of The Two.” Gabe nodded. “They are coming for this egg. They will do everything they can to destroy it. As for the alley,” he looked at me with a deep concern I’ve only seen from my dad. “We could have lost you. You shouldn’t have been able to move once you walked into the alley, and certainly not have seen the Doppelganger. If Cerasina hadn’t been already tracking those two Deev we couldn’t have gotten to you. You were very foolish.”
Gabe’s disapproving look was crushing me. I didn’t want to disappoint him or have him think badly of me. “I was just trying to find you.” I mumbled.
“And you almost died.” Mr. Wasabi said.
“Was that the claw marks I saw on the side of the wall? I remember seeing something up there when I ran from the alley.”
Brooke nodded. “Yes. She is young, but a great tracker. I like her a lot more than some of the other dragons.” Brooke gave a sidelong glance to the front door.
Suddenly, everything seemed to crash down on me. The figure I saw that night on the road was a part of it too. The whirlwind must have been Cerasina tracking them and I just happened to be near Brooke’s home. For the first time, I started to doubt myself for agreeing to this cause. Originally, I agreed to do it just to be with Gabe, but now as the enormity of the circumstance filtered through my feelings, I felt I was getting into something way over my head.
“And the trips to Japan?”
“Meeting with other caretakers like us.” Mr. Wasabi said.
I lowered my eyes. What am I doing?
Seeing my distress, Gabe got up and knelt in front of me.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. I’d give my life for you as well.”
Staring into those golden eyes made my heart beat harder in my chest. “I’ll do whatever I can.”
He smiled.
New Suspicions
It wasn’t long after my history lesson that I laid in bed across from Brooke staring at the ceiling.
Mr. Wasabi had concluded his story with a warm hug. Brooke had pushed me upstairs with the intention of going to bed since the big hockey game was tomorrow. While she grabbed my hand and pulled me upstairs, my eyes never left Gabe’s. I knew right then that I couldn’t ever be without him.
Brooke brushed her long blue hair in the mirror. My head rolled over to look at her. Even without the story, she had always been so beautiful and perfect. Now to think that she had actual dragon blood in her made her even more beautiful and perfect. I wondered if all the really attractive men and women were Dimidius. What about all the really fantastic actors, politicians, singers, and athletes? Were they half dragons too?
“What’s it like?” I mused. “Being this way?”
Even from the side, Brooke’s smile filled her whole face. “It’s fantastic. I’m not going to lie to you, JJ. I don’t pity humans, nor do I have a disdain for them as the
True Breeds do. But being this different is really awesome. I never get sick, I’m not afraid to go out at night or anywhere by myself. The dark isn’t a scary place. I am really lucky.” She turned to face me. “I’ve heard that some Dimidius have a really hard time accepting their true nature. They feel so different that they can’t accept who they are.”
A sarcastic grin came to my face. “I can’t understand that. You are perfect. You have everything that anyone could possibly want. Looks, intelligence, health. What is the draw back to that?”
A sardonic smile came to her face. “Never having a family. Watching the person you love die. Right now there may not be any drawback, I can’t really say. I’m just as old as you. But those that are like Gabe have watched many of their friends die.”
She got up and came and sat down next to me. Her demeanor was a solemn as I have ever seen.
“Are the stories true? The tales of dragons.” I asked.
A small smile appeared. “For the most part. There is a bad history between True Breeds and humans. Even some with us. But most have been blown way out of proportion. Hollywood isn’t even close. But there is some truth.” Her face turned solemn again. “Remember when I told you that I was sorry for you about Gabe?”
“Yes. I didn’t understand why you would say such a thing.”
“It’s because, he meant what he said tonight. He will protect you with his life.” She leaned forward. “Do you understand what that means?”
I thought I did, but with the earnest look in her eye, I wasn’t sure anymore. I shook my head.
“It means, he will never leave you, JJ. Gold’s are the most passionate of the dragons too. True Breed Gold Dragons take only one mate for life. They have been known to die when their mate dies unexpectedly. This trait has carried over into the Dimidius. Some of the greatest love poetry and sonnets are written about Gold Dimidius who have inspired those writers.” She placed her hand on the side of my face. “And what about me? I’ve reached the age where my body will now age much more slowly, but you will continue to age normally.” She now took my face in both her hands. “I will have to watch my best friend, someone I love very dearly, grow old and eventually die.”
A deep blue tear ran down the side of her face. I reached up and wiped it away.
“Not for a very long time, Brooke.” My smile told her that it will be okay.
She smiled. “I hope so.” She went and turned off the light and crawled in bed with me next to the wall. She draped her arm over me and held me tight. It was very comfortable and I felt very secure until, in typical Brooke fashion, she ruined the moment.
“Wanna make out, before Gabe ruins you?” She whispered.
I chuckled. “Not even if I was a Dimidius too.” And elbowed her in the gut. As she sucked in air to laugh I found myself wishing that I was one too.
The next morning came too early. During the night, Brooke had pushed me out of her bed and onto the floor. I went and climbed into her cold bed and fitfully fell asleep. My dreams moved in and out of the realm of the fantastic. They cycled between the cloudy encounter with the strange beast in the alley to Christian’s eyes turning completely red and devouring me whole.
“Wake up, sleepy head!” Brooke punched me in the arm.
“Ow!” I woke immediately and rubbed my arm. Brooke was in her towel, her blue hair hanging wet around her shoulders. “You pushed me out of the bed, you know.” My feet swung over the bed and yawned.
“Should have given me some love.” She said off handedly rubbing her hair dry.
“Ha, ha. You don’t even like girls.” I grabbed the towel she had left for me on her mirror chair.
“Who says?”
“Me. I’m the only girl who is your friend.” And laughed.
“Psh. You wish. I left the water running for you.” She flung off her towel and dressed. “Hurry up before the hot water runs out. Breakfast is almost ready too.” She rushed out of the room.
I made my way down the hallway to the shower. Steam filled the bathroom. It was hard to see in the mist, and while I began to undress, the water stopped and a gentle cough made me spin around.
“I think I’ll be going.” Gabe emerged from the shower with a towel around his waist and his muscles rippling with droplets of water.
My face flushed immediately and wrapped the towel around me, but I couldn’t pull my eyes away from his body. Goosebumps sprang to life all over me.
“Ah…ah.” I stammered.
He smiled as he gently passed me, despite my mind racing erotically about him taking me right here on the countertop. Gabe opened the bathroom door and Brooke’s laughter rose from down stairs. He nodded in understanding while he closed the door behind him.
Standing there, my heart raced, by body tingled like it never had before, and my mind was racing in so many different directions that it paralyzed my body. Gulping in the warm wet air, beads of water ran down my body and all I could do was imagine they were his fingertips.
“Hurry it up!” Brooke’s voice thundered from the other side of the door. Breaking me out of my trance, I climbed into the shower, my body still tingling, and didn’t care that the cold water froze me. Once done, I dressed quickly, wanting to get some breakfast in. Brooke still had her mischievous smile on until she took a good look at the clothes I was wearing.
“Hey. Those are my clothes. Wear your own.” She complained.
A wave of my hand dismissed her statement. “Mine are dirty. So I borrowed yours.” And sat down.
Mrs. Wasabi placed some eggs, bacon, and couple of pieces of toast in front of me. Normally, this would have been too much breakfast, but Mrs. Wasabi’s cooking was too good to pass up. Brooke and I were the only ones at the table.
“Juice?” Mrs. Wasabi asked.
“Please.” The bacon melted in my mouth. “Where is everyone?”
“Why, didn’t you get enough of Gabe?” She snickered. “Did he fill the right spots?”
I looked confused at her. “What? I haven’t seen him today. That’s why I asked.”
She eyed me. “You didn’t see him when you went to take your shower?”
Again, the confused looked. “No.” I tried my best to keep the color from coming to my face and it must have succeeded because Brooke stopped teasing me, but then again it could have been the gentle cough from the kitchen too.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Mrs. Wasabi returned with my juice.
Brooke’s face lit up. “Hell ya!”
“Brooke.”
“Sorry, Mother.” She leaned forward. “Hell ya.” She whispered.
I smiled. “What about Set. Won’t he have the advantage?”
She looked hurt. “Do you doubt my skill? You think I’d let a True Breed get the better of me?”
“No. Of course not. Just asking.” My head swiveled around.
“You better not.” Brooke corrected me. “He’s gone. So stop looking and focus on me.”
My attention returned to her. “Of course, Master.”
She giggled. “I like that. Master Brooke.”
“You are insufferable.”
Mrs. Wasabi brought more juice, I drank it down in record time and headed out the door as Mr. Wasabi called to us to take us to school.
We turned onto the road that lead to the first check point off of Broadway. It was clear that someone, most likely the Counsel of Twelve of each class, had been hard at work. The South Bunker, was decorated with the school colors of maroon and blue. Great big letters adorned the top of the bunker spelling out Valkyrie Pride. Ribbons, tape, and various other items in the school colors were also hung in various positions around the school grounds. Some of the elementary pictures were hung as well. Each picture represented one of the hockey players and their number. Everyone knew that the third grade class was heavy on girls and Brooke’s picture outnumbered anyone else on the team. It also helped she had been spending time in their class all semester. An observation that Brooke’s noticed.
“I am
a superstar.” She informed us from the front seat.
While we pulled up to the bunker, Jen and Steve were manning the post.
“Hi guys!” Brooke called. “Did you see all my pictures?!”
“How could we miss them? Third graders have been filing out all morning to put up their pictures of their favorite hockey player.” Steve grumbled.
“Don’t encourage her.” I complained.
Jen laughed. “Then just wait. It gets worse.”
Brooke beamed. “Oooh, do tell?!”
She shook her head. “Just wait.”
“It’s pathetic.” Steve moaned. “There are other people on the team you know.”
“Yeah, but none of them are as beautiful as me.” Brooke flipped her blue hair back.
“This place will not be the same without you two.” Jen started to cry.
“Yes it will. You’ll take good care of it for us.” Surprised at the outburst of tears.
Jen was one of the junior mentors for the lower grades, she shadowed with me last year and we became good friends. I will miss her too.
She nodded, sniffling back tears. “Hello Mr. Wasabi.”
“Hello, dear. May we move on?”
Steve waved us through. “Good luck tonight!”
“Luck is already with us.” Brooke assured him.
We followed the road around to the front of the school. Cars were backed up as the underclassmen were being dropped off.
“Drop us here, Dad.” Brooke told him as she started to open the door.
“JJ. Your Dad will drop the jeep off tonight. If you want to go home before the game, I can come and get you.”
“No. I’ll text my Dad and tell him to bring a change of clothes.” I got out of the car with a strange feeling rumbling in my stomach as I thought about it.
“Come on, JJ.” Brooke leaned in. “Love you, Dad.”
“You too, Blue.”
We rushed off toward the school.
You would have thought the circus was in town with all the outfits. One of the things I loved most about our school was its pride. Colored faces and shirts were proudly displayed on students and lots of costumes of Valkyries were around too. Some of the guys dress ups might have been a little overboard, but everyone knew that if it wasn’t done with taste, Mr. Resler would be sending them home. You’d also miss the game and that was paramount to death.
Dragon Amour (Dragon-Half Breed Book 1) Page 18