Dragon Song

by Denna Holm

  “I … I…”

  “Sit down,” he said again, and this time Faith felt the power in his voice. She almost walked over to the couch to sit beside her terrified mother.

  “What do you want?” her mom asked, her sight locked on Xavier now. “You’re not one of those animals, so what are you?”

  “When will your mate be home?”

  Faith glanced at the clock, seeing it was almost four. “He’ll be home in about an hour,” she replied for her mom.

  “Faith!” her mom said, sounding angry.

  “Come on, Mark, I’ll help you bring in wood for the fire,” Leif said.

  “Okay,” her brother replied, staring between Xavier and their mother.

  “Do you guys want something to drink?” Faith asked, swallowing nervously.

  “No, thank you,” Xavier said, walking over to look out the window. Aeson shook his head, then took a seat as far away from Faith’s mom as he could get.

  “You’re one of those dragons, aren’t you?” Faith’s mom snarled. “Why are you here? If you hurt one of my kids, I’ll make sure you suffer for it. My husband knows some powerful people.”

  “Mom, please be quiet. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Aeson would never hurt me. He wouldn’t hurt you either. They just want to get his uncle back.”

  “I don’t know his uncle. I want them to leave, Faith, now, before your dad gets home.”

  “The people Dad work for are holding his uncle prisoner. They need to let him go.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Holding who prisoner?”

  Faith could tell her mom was lying. “I overheard you guys talking this morning. Don’t try to pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about. How else would you know what Aeson is? The military is holding his uncle prisoner, and Dad is helping them. It’s not right what they’re doing.”

  “Faith, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stopped, looking away, her face growing even more pale as she leaned in to whisper, “We could get into a lot of trouble here. Your father could get thrown in prison. You need to ask these people to leave.” She glanced toward Aeson. “Especially him.”

  Feeling a little sick over her mom’s racist attitude, Faith moved over to sit in a chair close to Aeson, shaking her head as she rubbed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Aeson.”

  Nobody said much over the next hour. The only movement had been Leif and Mark bringing wood in and stacking it next to the fireplace. Faith went into the kitchen to turn off the oven, knowing dinner probably wasn’t going to happen. Xavier hadn’t moved from his place by the window, but she knew he would if her mom tried to stand.

  Faith brought in several bottles of water and handed one to Aeson and Leif. She didn’t bother with Xavier.

  “You want to see my model planes?” Mark finally asked Leif and Aeson.

  “Mark, leave it,” Faith said.

  “I would like that,” Leif said, winking at Faith.

  Aeson stayed in his seat as Mark led the werewolf into his bedroom.

  Faith’s mom only glared, though it was obvious to everyone that she didn’t like it.

  About fifteen minutes later, Faith heard the engine of her dad’s diesel truck pull into the driveway. She stood, as did Aeson, and waited nervously for him to enter.

  “What’s going on here?” her dad said when he stepped in the door. He was wearing his normal work clothes, black slacks, a white dress shirt and jacket. After taking in everyone, he glanced toward Faith’s mom, raising his eyebrows. “Annie?”

  “I told you this was going to be trouble, Tom,” her mom hissed. “This is your fault. You brought one of those things into our house!” She nodded toward Aeson.

  Her dad frowned, appearing more worried about Xavier than Aeson, his sight staying locked on the big vampire, who’d turned to face him, his cold green eyes studying her dad.

  “Just settle down, Annie. I didn’t bring anyone home.”

  “Oh, yeah, then what is that? It has horns starting to grow, just like that thing you showed me in a picture. And they have fangs. I want all these things out of my house. Now!”

  “Mom, knock it off!” Faith said, horrified. “You’re embarrassing me!”

  Her dad walked over and took a seat beside her mom. “Okay, I think everyone here needs to just chill out. You too, Annie. Let’s sit down and talk about this.” He glanced toward Aeson, swallowing hard before he shifted his gaze to Xavier. Standing again, he held out his hand. “Name’s Tom Wilson. This is my wife, Annie. My daughter, Faith.” He glanced around. “Where’s Mark?”

  “Right here,” Mark said, leading Leif back into the living room. It looked crowded with those two intimidating men standing in it. “Hi, Dad. This is Leif. He’s a real werewolf.”

  The color drained from her dad’s face as he dropped his hand to his side and flopped back on the couch. Faith had a feeling he wasn’t all that shocked by the news, though he looked a little scared now.

  “Xavier is a real vampire,” Mark said, grinning. “Can you believe it? He even drank some of Faith’s blood.”

  “What?” her dad said, both her parents looking a little green, her dad starting to sweat. “Why are you here?” he asked, then glanced toward Faith, as if to assure himself she was okay.

  Xavier walked closer, staring down at him. “You and your people are holding one of the serpent shifters prisoner. You will take us there tonight so we can free him.”

  “I can’t do that. I’m not even allowed to be in his presence right now. They’re keeping him in a special cell about five stories below ground, and it’s heavily guarded. Even if I take you there, there’s simply no way to get to him. I’m sorry.”

  “How could you, Dad?” Faith said.

  “How could I what, Faith?” her dad replied, sounding exasperated. “I didn’t lock him up.”

  “So that makes it okay? You’re still working for them.”

  Her dad sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I didn’t say that. I know it’s not right, but a part of me can’t help but be excited over this find.” He glanced toward Aeson, biting at his lower lip. “I just do what I’m told.”

  “Then you know we have to try to set him free, right?”

  “No,” her mom said. “Those animals are dangerous. They all need to be locked up … or killed.” She glared at Aeson.

  “Shut up, Annie,” her dad growled, taking her hand and squeezing hard.

  “I won’t just sit back while you guys experiment on him,” Faith said. “How would you feel if they took me or Mark and threw us in a cage, poked us with needles, put a collar on us that burned our skin? Just because they’re different from us doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings or feel pain. It doesn’t mean his family isn’t missing him.” She could barely breathe while she waited for her dad to reply. Faith had always been raised to treat everyone with respect. What her dad said next would be important.

  “Oh, Faith, I’ve never thought it was right. It’s just that I don’t have any real say in what’s done with him. They haven’t even let me talk to…” He stopped and glanced toward Aeson. “…your uncle?”

  Aeson nodded, his jaws clenched.

  “They haven’t let me near him yet, but I’ve watched all the videos. Yes, there are a few differences between us, like the horns, wings and fangs, but we also have a lot in common. I know he has thoughts and feelings. I know he feels pain. He’s not the animal they make him out to be.”

  “But you said he was an animal,” her mom said, her tone hostile. “You said he was dangerous, that he could breathe fire.”

  Her dad sighed. “You took what I said and twisted it, Annie. I said he could change into an animal. I never meant it in a derogatory way. Yes, he has the potential to be dangerous, but so do we. I don’t personally think he means us harm.” He glanced toward Aeson again. “If they did, we would have heard more about them before now. From everything I’ve seen and learned, I think they’re just trying to survive, just like
everyone else.”

  “And yet, you would have stood by and done nothing to help him,” Xavier said. “Even worse, you would have added to his pain. What is the military hoping to gain from these experiments?”

  Faith’s dad wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, glancing over at Leif. “I’m an infectious disease specialist. I was told they only wanted to make sure no diseases could be passed from a dragon shifter to a human. I don’t think that’s what they’re really after though.” He stared up at Xavier, licking his lips nervously. “Do you?”

  “No,” Xavier replied, not elaborating. He’d already told them what he thought was happening, how the military wanted to turn regular humans into shapeshifters. “How many guards will there be around the serpent tonight?”

  “I have no idea. But it’s not just the guards you have to worry about. Like I said, he’s being held five floors below ground, and you can’t gain access without a special card, one I don’t have access to. I can maybe get you inside the ground floor, but that’s it.”

  “Let me worry about that,” Xavier said. “You just need to get us inside.”

  “Tom, you can’t do this,” her mom said. “They’ll kill you.” And they all knew she wasn’t talking about the dragons or Xavier. The military would kill him, and probably his whole family. Faith bit her lip, glancing toward Xavier. Would the vampire let it happen? She couldn’t tell by just looking at him. He appeared completely detached from everyone and everything, yet she sensed there was more to Xavier than met the eye. A lot more.

  CHAPTER 13

  Faith’s sire appeared to understand it would be useless to fight against the Hunter and his tracker. He didn’t even try to hold back information, or at least not as far as Aeson could tell. It made him curious how much he already knew about Laizahlian Hunters, or other shifters in general. He hadn’t acted particularly shocked when he realized who they were.

  Faith’s dam obviously hated them, though he couldn’t understand the depth of her hostility. Serpents would never intentionally hurt a human. They would only do so in self-defense. He couldn’t speak for the rest of the shifter communities, but he didn’t personally believe any of them meant humans harm.

  “So what do we do from here?” Tom asked, appearing defeated.

  “While we are waiting for the sun to set, tell me more about your work?” Xavier asked, surprising Aeson. Beyond the obvious, freeing their people from captivity, why would the Hunter care what humans were doing?

  “What do you want to know?” Tom asked, his shoulders slumping even more.

  “Have you managed to separate the shifter gene?”

  Tom hesitated. “It’s complicated. There is actually very little difference between normal humans and a shifter. Once I constructed the DNA library, I could isolate the gene from the entire genome.”

  “Have you successfully cloned the shifter gene?” Xavier asked.

  If possible, Faith’s sire lost even more color in his face, making him almost white. “No, but I think I’m close. How do you know about this?” Tom asked. When Xavier didn’t reply, he sighed. “Shit,” he said, scrubbing at his face with both hands.

  “Tom?” Faith’s dam said. “What’s going on?”

  “I could be thrown in prison for life if I talk about this. Hell, they probably wouldn’t even bother. They’ll just line me up against the wall and execute me.” He looked up at Xavier, his expression haunted. “Please don’t do this. I don’t like what they’re doing to the dragon shifter any more than you do, but I don’t know how to stop them.” He glanced toward Aeson, shaking his head. “I got in over my head here. When the government first approached me, I thought they were simply interested in infectious diseases, specifically those transmitted from animals to people. I had no idea they wanted—” He stopped, scrubbing his face again. “Look, these guys running the show are powerful people. They aren’t going to just let me walk away when you’re done here. They’ll make my whole family suffer. Make us disappear. Permanently.”

  “They wanted what?” Xavier asked, his tone without pity. “Why did you stop?”

  “They want me to transplant the shifter gene into a human baby. I’ve been dragging my feet, but I think they’re getting wise to it.” He shook his head, glancing toward his mate. “I can’t do that to a little innocent baby. But it isn’t gonna matter what I will or won’t do. They have plenty of scientists in there besides me who won’t be bothered by a conscience. When the time comes, one of them will do it.”

  “Not if we stop them,” Xavier said. “But it won’t do them any good. A shifter is born, not made. They’ll just end up killing the fetus.”

  “I didn’t think it would work myself. They’ve been experimenting with animals and humans for years, and the results were never good. Just regular animals, you understand, not shifters.”

  “Explain,” Xavier said, his tone still cold.

  Faith’s sire looked like he might want to be sick, but he didn’t argue. “I’ve only been brought in recently, you understand. I didn’t take part in this, but I’ve seen the tapes. It’s why I’m so against experimenting on another baby.” He glanced toward his mate, who looked slightly horrified. “They’ve been inserting animal DNA into fetuses still in the womb.” His face got a haunted look. “My God, the results were horrible. I can’t even explain. Most didn’t survive. The others shouldn’t have. There were terrible deformities, severe mental instability.”

  “Why do they think it will work with a shifter gene?” Leif asked.

  “Because you guys are already part human. What they did before was an attempt to mix pure animal to human. I know what’s happening is unconscionable, but a part of me can’t help but be fascinated. I still don’t totally understand how you manage to change your whole structure from a person to an animal.” He glanced again to Aeson. “Or a dragon. I’ve seen the videos of other shifters changing, but it happens so fast, like magic. It’s a spark of energy that I don’t quite understand. Where does it come from? How is it activated? I don’t want to be a part of what our government is doing, not the mistreatment of shifters, or the experiments on human fetuses, but I would still love to learn more about you.”

  “How many shifters are they holding prisoner in this facility?” Xavier asked.

  “Only the dragon. They keep them separated, you understand, scattered out all over the country.”

  “What have you done to my uncle?” Aeson asked. “How badly is he hurt?”

  “I haven’t done anything to him. Like I said, they don’t allow me personal contact yet. I only deal with blood and tissue samples that were taken by others. I think everyone there is afraid of him.”

  “Why do you think that, Dad?” Faith asked.

  “Just the way they talk in hushed whispers about him. I suspect he killed a few of their soldiers . . . back before they realized he could breathe fire as a human. I heard a couple people whisper once about how he used the spikes on his wings for defense. They keep him bound in silver now, and they keep him locked in a clear cage, the glass unbreakable.” Tom looked over at Xavier. “Even if you manage to get to him, I don’t think you’ll be able to free him.”

  Aeson knew the silver around his uncle’s neck, if tight enough, would keep him from flexing the muscles needed to activate the flame. It would also keep him from shifting forms.

  *

  Several stressful hours later, the sun finally went down, and darkness claimed the land. Aeson got up and went to look out the window, surprised to find his wrist and ankle almost totally healed.

  “Your alpha and sire are on their way,” Xavier said softly. “We’ll leave as soon as they arrive.”

  Aeson nodded. “You’re going to allow me to go with you.”

  “Yes, but you will remain outside with the human father’s family. Once your uncle is freed, you, your sire, and the alpha can return to your home.”

  Aeson nodded, knowing he would only get in their way. He had no experience fighting trained soldie
rs.

  Nobody said much over the next half hour. Aeson knew his sire had arrived when he heard the heavy thump on the roof. A few minutes later the door opened, and his sire and the alpha entered, their eyes narrowing as they searched the room for sign of threat, smoke curling from the alpha’s nostrils as he prepped his flame.

  At nearly seven feet tall, the two male serpents were both magnificent to behold, their shoulders as broad as the Hunter’s. Aeson’s sire had the same turquoise eyes as him, and the fully formed horns of both males curled forward from their foreheads, the tips coming to a sharp point in front of them. Both wore leather pants, which they’d obviously carried with them, though they left their muscular chests bare, the tops of massive, leather-like wings visible above their shoulders. The alpha, a fearsome male who ruled their clan with an iron fist, narrowed his bright blue eyes toward Aeson.

  Yep, he was in big trouble. Aeson couldn’t wait to get home. Not.

  “Tom,” Faith’s dam hissed, shaking violently as she took in the formidable males who’d just entered her home. “Do something!”

  “Quiet,” Xavier said. Though his tone remained soft, the power that went with the one-word command had the female snapping her mouth shut. Good. Aeson didn’t think he cared for Faith’s dam.

  “Treyton, it is good to see you again,” Xavier said, offering his arm to the alpha in a warrior’s greeting.

  “You as well, Xavier,” the alpha replied, gripping his forearm. “You should have come straight to the clan when you arrived. It has been many years since you last visited us.”

  “Yes, I’m sorry it could not have been under better circumstances. We felt it best to begin our search immediately for Aeson. As one new to shifting forms, we knew he could not have flown far.”

  Xavier turned to Aeson’s sire next. “Adlai, you look well. How is your mate?”

  His sire nodded back. “Maeve is worried sick about her only son.” He cast a quick glance toward Aeson, as though to make sure he wasn’t hurt. “What can you tell us about my brother, Hunter?”