Dragon Lost

by Lisa Manifold

  Like every other damn thing since I’d taken the job for that damn box.

  I am glad that you did, I heard him say. I would not have found you had you not shifted. There are too many barriers between our Realms without a point to focus on. I thought you and your mother dead.

  Half right, I thought.

  I am sorry. I liked her, and your father loved her very much. She loved him as well. I was growing to care for her a great deal, and then she disappeared with you. I was still caged, and I chose to put my efforts into trying to help my granddaughter. Your life has been hard, and I am sorry. Her life has been difficult as well. Eilor was not a good person to raise children.

  He has kids?

  He did. A daughter. His insanity contributed to her death. No, do not be sorry. She was evil and cruel, like he is. There is only one end for people such as that.

  “So why is Eilor still alive?”

  He sighed. “I wish I knew. I wish that I’d been free when he was still in the Realms—but that could not be helped.”

  “How did you get free?”

  “Turn around. Let me see you.”

  “What?”

  “Turn. You’re smaller than I, but you are similar in size to Lionel. It’s interesting that we are all shades of blue.”

  “Um… genetics?”

  “Not necessarily. There is something within us that shifts colors for each dragon. Their colors match their personality. Blue is usually associated with a calm, but fierce being. We are not hotheaded like the scarlets, and the greens are the more caring of our kind. We have a golden left—she is like a mother to all. You will see that when you meet the others.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He looked surprised. “You don’t want to come back to the Dragon Realm? To meet your kind? Your sister? Your family?”

  “I told you, your drama is your drama. I want no part of it.”

  “I think you should at least meet others like you. Then you can decide.”

  “Then what?” I took a step toward him. Even though I was taller as a dragon, having to bend down from the ceiling, he didn’t flinch. I guessed he wouldn’t.

  “What am I supposed to do about my life here? Leave my best friend? The one person who’s been my family? I don’t think so.”

  “There might be a way for her to—”

  “No. You said most humans die in your world. I’m not risking my friend who has been my only family for a family I don’t know that showed up like five minutes ago. Sorry. Meet and greets are not worth the risk.”

  “You don’t have to bring her,” he said.

  “Not an option either. So far, you’re failing all the family tests,” I said.

  “That is a shame, Aodan. I think it would be good for you and help you and Margrite in your plans. But you must do what is best for you.”

  “I plan to.”

  “Then shift back. I do not expect to see your clothing torn.”

  What?

  He was an ass.

  I can be. Do it. He crossed his arms.

  Shit. I couldn’t even think in private. Another reason not to—

  Stop stalling.

  Get out of my head!

  I glared at him, and then took a breath, closing my eyes.

  “No. Open your eyes. You need to be able to shift effortlessly. If you are under attack, you must not close your eyes. It allows your enemies too many advantages.”

  “What, you think I’m going to be in a war?”

  “Aren’t you?” His response was swift. “Eilor is not going to want you competent. And if Stefan is involved, your situation is much worse.”

  Oh, for Pete’s sake. I glared and imagined taking off the dragon suit. The tingling hit me, but this time it was fast, like a lightning strike. Then I was me again, and all my clothing was still intact.

  “That’s amazing,” I said, looking at myself.

  “It is easy once you realize it’s natural for you. A skill,” he added.

  “Why can’t Stefan go back there?”

  “You really need to know this right now?”

  “Yes,” I crossed my arms and gave him my best stink eye.

  He threw it right back at me.

  If he wasn’t such a pain in my ass with regard to my plans, I would like him.

  I like you, too.

  “Out of my head!” I yelled. “Don’t you listen?”

  “I am the head of our clan,” he said.

  “I am not in your clan,” I shot back.

  “You are, no matter how you wish to fight or deny. You’re a dragon. That’s not going away. It’s not something you can decide to leave off.” He had the nerve to grin.

  “Then I don’t want to be with your clan, or whatever, right now. I want to manage my life.”

  “As I told you, I don’t think that’s possible.”

  I turned away. “Don’t start twisting shit to make your wish list look better.”

  I heard him walk back and sit down. I didn’t turn.

  “Why do you think Eilor is here? Why do you think he allowed you to think he and I were one?”

  “I don’t know that he knew of you—”

  “He knew. The pendant allows for that. He wants you for some scheme, Aodan.”

  “And you don’t?”

  “I am not Eilor. I want nothing for you but your safety and freedom. Do not equate me with that monster.” His voice deepened to a growl.

  When I looked at him, I could see that he was pissed. His dragon was looming over him, behind his words and his anger.

  It was weird that I could see it.

  “You’re not him, okay? But you both want something of me that doesn’t take into account what I want, and I won’t be controlled by anyone. I had enough of that growing up.”

  His dragon relaxed immediately. “I am sorry. That is not what I’m trying to do. But I know about being a dragon. I know what you will need. You will have a better chance of getting it in our world.”

  “This is my world, this one, right here! I’ve built something for myself, and—”

  “Do you think that Stefan and Eilor will allow you to keep it? Stop, please, before you shout again.” He held up a hand. “Use your skills. You need to approach this logically.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Here we go. Cue the bullshit.

  “Eilor is presumed dead—or was, until today—in the Realms. Now that we know he is back, his plans must become more active. He cannot hide anymore. We will be seeking him out. Somehow, you are vital to his plans. I would guess he felt your dragon also since he showed up at the place you were attempting to steal from.”

  “Don’t judge. And it wasn’t an attempt. I succeeded.”

  “My apologies. Then there is Stefan. He was banished here many hundreds of years ago. Eilor is the kinder of the two. And Stefan is seeking a way back to the Realms. He believes you have that portal. It sounds as though he believes you are Eilor’s creature. Do you feel safe from that?”

  I didn’t answer. Fangorn didn’t seem to care because he continued.

  “Between the pair of them, you will be lucky if you make it away from them alive.”

  “I’m doing fine so far.”

  AODAN! The shout was so loud in my head I put my hands over my ears.

  “What?” I glared at him.

  He stood and immediately went into a protective crouch. He put a finger to his lips and moved closer to me.

  “Respond,” he whispered “That was not me.”

  What the hell? Why was this douche still in my head?

  What do you want?

  I want to talk a trade with you.

  You have nothing I want.

  Oh, but I think I do. Say hello, my dear.

  Aodan!

  I heard her scream, and I roared as I came off the bed, knocking Fangorn away from me.

  He had Margrite.

  17

  “Let her go!” I roared. I could feel the walls shake as I shifted, my dragon on alert. “Let
her go now!”

  I will let her go when you come to me.

  Where are you? I thought.

  “Can you hear this?” I whispered to Fangorn.

  He nodded, but didn’t speak.

  Thanks to Fangorn, I am back where I belong, safe in the Realms. I didn’t even need to open a portal. Much better for escaping detection.

  His gloating made me want to strangle him.

  But we know where you are.

  Do you? The Realms are vast, and there are many Realms. No one has found me yet. No, Aodan, you shall not find me, not until I am ready for you to do so.

  What do you want, asshole?

  You. Come to me, and I will release the human.

  I remembered how he’d spoken of humans. I couldn’t be one-hundred percent sure, but I was pretty sure the shade had come from Eilor.

  If she is harmed, I will kill you.

  He laughed. He actually laughed.

  That is why I want you. You are going to help me get what I want.

  What’s that, asshole?

  Everything.

  Did he really just say that? What. An. Asshole. He was that entitled rich guy who you wanted to steal from on principle only. Because he was rude just standing there.

  So come to the Dragon Realm. Talk to your grandsire. He will help you get here. And meet me when I call you. Or she will die.

  The door in my head slammed shut. It slammed so hard it made my head hurt.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed, sitting down and having trouble because my tail was in the way. I stood back up, and keeping my eyes open, took off the dragon. The inevitable zing, and I was me again.

  “What the hell?” I asked. Sorry, Tina, I thought. I’d been cussing a lot lately. She’d smack my head if she could hear me.

  I thought, though, that she might give me a pass on this one. At least this week. It had been a week that cussing was literally designed for.

  “He has made his move based on his assessment of your weakness.”

  “How did he know? She went out to get a soda, or something. I doubt she left the motel.”

  Fangorn shrugged. “I gave up attempting to understand how Eilor would know so much. He has the pendant, and I am uncertain as to the extent of power and understanding it allows him. But it allows him a great deal. If he was in your head, he has seen how you feel for Margrite.”

  “I’m going to kill him.”

  Fangorn gave a hard chuckle. “As my in-law Iris says, you will need to get in line. There are a number of people in front of you waiting for that chance.”

  “He’s pissed off everyone, hasn’t he?”

  “He is a creature of no morals, no conscience, and no feeling for the cares and concerns of others. To say that he has angered everyone around him is a statement of fact, but does not do the facts justice.”

  Yeah. He was a rich guy who deserved to be stolen from. I didn’t know what I was going to steal from him, but I would take something and make sure it was something that would hurt to lose.

  “What do we do?”

  “We are a we now?” Fangorn looked smug.

  “You know we are. Besides, if it gets you what you want,” I said.

  “What do I want?”

  “For me to go to… wherever it is with you.”

  “To the Dragon Realm. That is where we will find him. It’s where he’s hiding. He was the king for over a thousand years. He knows the hiding places.”

  “Better than you?” I asked.

  “No. But he’s good. Our goal is to find him before your friend comes to serious harm.”

  That was one thing I didn’t want to face, but I didn’t have a choice. “You think she’s going to…” I trailed off. I couldn’t say the words.

  “Not if we move swiftly.” Fangorn looked at me expectantly.

  I turned away, picking up my coat, and adding a few things to the pockets. Damn it. Damn it to hell. This was not what I wanted.

  “All right. All right,” I said. “We do this so that Margrite and I can come back. I don’t want to just take off and then we don’t have anything to come back to.”

  “Very well. What can I do to help in this?” Fangorn’s expression was neutral.

  “I’m going to pack up our things. Then we’re going to the bus station. They have lockers there. We’re going to stow our stuff so it’s not lying around waiting for someone to steal.” After my last shift, I was surprised someone hadn’t called the cops. No sense in staying here.

  “I didn’t think you had an issue with theft.”

  “Not when I’m doing the theft. I prefer not to be the person stolen from,” I rolled my eyes and then went back to packing up the few things we’d pulled out.

  We hadn’t even been here that long. But better that anyone watching thought we were holed up here. It gave us time to get away.

  “We’re going to need to sneak out,” I said. “Can you manage to sneak anywhere?”

  Fangorn made a noise that sounded like a snort, but it had dragon undertones. I could feel the rumble in my feet. He held out a hand for one of the bags. I handed over the large one of Margrite’s and then turned off all the lights but the bathroom light. It needed to look like someone was here. I also turned on the TV, setting the volume on low. I messed up the beds, bunching the pillows around so it might look like someone was in them, if anyone happened to peek in the window.

  But I made sure the dusty curtains were tightly closed. No one could see in, but it would look like we were here.

  When I came back to my bag on the bed, Fangorn was watching me carefully. His scrutiny made me uncomfortable.

  “What?” I asked.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making it look like we’re still here.”

  “This will fool someone?” He looked around, scorn on his face.

  “We’re not dealing with rocket scientists, here. Eilor, and his creepy brother might be smart, but the rest of them? Thinking is not high on the list of skills.”

  “I hope you are correct.” The doubt was apparent in his expression.

  “We don’t have to put on a show. Just a distraction.”

  “Where are we going?” Fangorn whispered as we walked out the door, and I closed it softly behind us.

  “The bus station. Follow me. And tell me if you notice anyone hanging around.”

  “There are many people hanging around.”

  I glared over my shoulder. “Don’t you have some kind of spidey sense, or something like that?”

  “I could answer that if I knew what it was.”

  “Never mind. Stay quiet, and we’ll be out of here soon.”

  I scanned the parking lot as we moved down the stairs. I couldn’t see anything, but there were a lot of bad smells. My sense of smell was maddening now. Everything was so much stinkier. This was not one for the plus side of being a dragon.

  Maybe this other place—the Realm—smelled better. Or at least not as dirty.

  There is dirt no matter where you are.

  This bad?

  I felt his shrug next to me.

  Once we’d left the motel lot, I moved faster, less concerned about making noise. Now we were just two more people on the street.

  “Keep your head down and stay with me,” I said.

  He moved closer, his pace matching mine.

  Within ten minutes, we were at the station. I went to one of the corners of the locker stands and opened up two lockers. “In here,” I gestured at one. The bag he carried would fit perfectly.

  My bag fit in the other locker. After getting the keys, and tucking them carefully into one of my coat’s inner pockets, I turned to see Fangorn watching people moving in the station.

  It was a typical downtown station. A couple of homeless men and one woman who looked like she was homeless as well. She had a small shopping cart piled high with plastic bags. They were full of something, but I couldn’t tell what.

  A few more people were sleeping on benches. I didn’t t
hink they were homeless, and I hoped that they weren’t anyone I needed to worry about. Most were curled up as though they wanted to disappear, so I didn’t have any way to get a look at them.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “Are we done here?”

  “Yes. I’m ready to go when you are.”

  “This is a bit too out in the open. I prefer to use a portal in a more secluded area.”

  “Um,” I said, thinking. “I think I know a place. Come on.” I walked through the back doors of the station to the field beyond. There were a few abandoned buildings back here, and we might get privacy. At least for enough time to summon the light ball thing and get the hell to wherever we needed to go.

  I hoped so. I hoped that Margrite was all right. I hoped I wasn’t making a mistake in trusting Fangorn. He didn’t seem shady, but he had his own fight, his own agenda. People with their own stuff often didn’t put as much importance on the things of others.

  And that worried me.

  What choice did I have? I couldn’t abandon Margrite. I was all she had.

  So off to woo-woo land it was.

  I kept walking, hands in my pockets, thinking about Margrite and hoping like hell that she’d be okay. The whole ‘humans don’t survive in the Realm’ thing was on auto-play and repeat in my head.

  “Will I be able to function?” I whipped around to face Fangorn, who was behind me.

  He pulled himself up, so he didn’t run into me. “I am sorry?”

  “You said that humans don’t usually live over there. Will I be all right? I can’t help Margrite if I’m laid out.”

  Fangorn chuckled.

  “This is not the time for laughing.” I turned and jammed my hands back into my pockets again, walking faster.

  “I am laughing because you are part of over there, as you call it.” He caught up with me easily. “You are part fae and part dragon, in addition to being human. You were born there. Your sister, who shares your origins, thrives there. You will be fine, Aodan.”

  “I hope so. No screwing around. We go and arrange to get Margrite.”

  “We will need to have a plan, Aodan. If you think that Eilor is just going to give her up and let you go on your way, you haven’t grasped the danger he embodies yet.”

  “We can plan. How to kill him, for starters.”