by Dena Christy
"You're going to run out." Rickman crossed his arms over his chest and didn't move.
"There are over three hundred bottles in the wine cellar. Now do as you are commanded and bring me more." Andor closed his eyes.
The tiny buzz was wearing off with all this talking. He would have to start all over again if Rickman didn't do as he was bid.
Rickman's breath huffed out as his footsteps made his displeasure known. A grin tugged at the corner of Andor's mouth when he got his way.
After a moment he had to open his eyes, since all he could see in his mind was Lyssa. Any satisfaction he had felt at getting Rickman to obey him melted away. Was she going to haunt him until the madness that would come with the this month’s full moon finally took him?
He was stupid for not taking her to the clearing before he told her. He could have changed into his true form and she would have had no choice but to believe him. That option had been risky, which was why he hadn't chosen it. There was a possibility that seeing him in his dragon form would have been too much for her mind to comprehend. Seeing him like that could have done untold damage.
He sat up and swung his legs around to put them on the floor. Rickman better bring that wine soon. He didn't want to think about her, he didn't want to see her in his mind’s eye and long for her again. If this kept up he would do something foolish, like beg her to come back to him. That course of action wouldn't work any better than the one he'd already taken. He needed to face up to the reality that Lyssa was never going to love and accept him for what he was. He was going to go completely mad on the third night of the Hunter's Moon and Rickman would have no choice but to destroy him. His only hope was that his minion would be strong enough to do it.
Where was Rickman with that wine? With a growl of frustration Andor stood and he strode out of his study, disgusted that his head didn't swim even the tiniest bit. He would have to drink three times the amount wine to get what he wanted, which was the fog of forgetfulness. He was not going to be able to accomplish that if Rickman did not do his part.
He walked through he kitchen, and there was an open bottle of wine on the kitchen counter but no sign of his minion. Andor cocked his head for a moment, and the distinct rumble of a male voice came to him. The voice did not belong to Rickman.
He went in the direction of the voice, and the closer he got to the corridor leading to his brothers’ sleeping chamber, the more he recognized the voice. Iszak had awoken, and it could not have come at a better time. His brother would have the strength to kill him before the madness over took him completely.
His brother stood by the basement door with Rickman's throat grasped in his hand and he was holding him aloft. Andor sighed as he made his way down the hall toward him. Rickman had his faults, but he was the only minion they had, so the less he was manhandled the better.
"Iszak, put him down." Andor came abreast of his brother, and Iszak looked at him with a tiny spark of relief. Andor was sure that Iszak was just as confused upon waking as he had been. The time and place they were in was much different from when and where they'd gone to sleep.
"He is an intruder and will not answer my questions." His brother turned a fierce scowl upon Rickman, whose bulging eyes rolled toward Andor. The plea in them was clear.
"Choking..." It was all Rickman managed to get out.
"He is not an intruder, he is our minion." Andor reached out and gripped his brother's wrist and pushed down on it. Iszak lowered Rickman to the floor and let him go. Rickman collapsed, clutching his neck and gasping for air.
Iszak looked down at him, his brows drawn together in a scowl and a slight curl of his lips.
"Are you certain he is a minion? He did not show me the proper respect he should have when he opened the door for me. And his hair is blue. What manner of minion has blue hair?”
"Yes he has blue hair, and metal in his face, but he is our minion and the only one we have, so it would be best if he was not strangled in the hall." Andor went over to Rickman and grasped him by the arms so he could lift him to his feet. He removed Rickman's hands from his throat to inspect the damage inflicted by his brother. Rickman would be bruised, but it appeared that was the only injury he had received. "You will live."
"He tried to kill me and that's all you're going to say?" There was such a look of impotent outrage on Rickman's face that Andor's heart softened toward him for a moment. Despite the blue hair, the metal in his face and his irreverent attitude, he was a good minion. He would take good care of his brothers once he was gone.
"I am sure Iszak is sorry for your ill treatment. Feel free to increase your wages in compensation. You may retire to your room and rest if you need to. I will fetch my own wine." Andor turned to stride back down the way he'd come. He was certain that Rickman would recover, and it was best if he stayed out of Iszak’s way until his brother was more acclimatized to his present circumstances. "Iszak, come with me. We have much to discuss and only a short time to do so."
"So you're going to give up on Lyssa? What was the point of going through all this if you are just going to give up now?"
Andor paused on his way down the hall, but did not turn to acknowledge Rickman's words. "Don't make me regret saving you Rickman. You may go to your room now. We won't be needing you for the rest of the evening."
Andor walked down the rest of the corridor and his brother's footsteps followed behind him. Andor went through the kitchen and swept up the bottle of wine. He did not bother grabbing glasses. If his brother wanted to drink he would have to get his own bottle.
Andor went back to his spot in his study and took a long pull on the wine bottle.
"Who is Lyssa?" It was the first thing out of his brother's mouth, and dashed any hope that Andor had that they would get through the evening without discussing her. Damn Rickman for bringing her up in his brother's hearing. He should have let Iszak choke him into unconsciousness so he would not have had the opportunity to let his brother know about her.
"She was the woman that I thought was going to be my mate and lift my curse, but it is not to be." Andor drank deeply of the wine, hoping this would be the end of it. He wanted to forget about her, and talking about her with his brother would not accomplish that.
"I am not sure I understand. You found the woman who was your mate, and she is not here now? Why?" A frown drew Iszak's brows together, and Andor sighed. He would not get through the evening without explaining.
"I will tell you about Lyssa this one time, and afterward I never want to hear mention of her name again. She lived here with me for a time, I fell in love with her and thought she loved me. I told her about my true nature and she was unable to accept it and I let her go." It was a rather abbreviated version, but it was all his brother was going to get.
"You mean she did not want to spend her life living with a dragon? Did you not tell her that you could shower her with treasure and would protect her and your children? What more could a woman want?"
Andor sighed. His brother was going to have a lot to learn about the time that they had landed themselves in.
"I did not get that far with her. She was unable to believe that I was a dragon, and now thinks I am insane." A look of confusion came over Iszak's face, and Andor guessed at the source of it. "We have woken in a different time, brother. We are now in the twenty-first century and people do not believe in things they cannot see for themselves. For the people in this time, there is no magic, no dragons and anyone who believes in such things is labeled as a mad man. You will have your work cut out for you in finding a mate. I wish you the best of luck. As for me, I am going to drink wine until the Hunter's Moon crests the sky. I want your promise that you will kill me before the madness fully takes hold."
Andor drank more wine, and finished off the rest of the bottle. He put it down on the floor to join the other five bottles. Why had he sent Rickman off to his room? Now he would have to fetch more wine himself, but his bones were so weary that he did not want to move off the sofa. Talking
about Lyssa with his brother only served to depress him.
"I am not sure I understand. You have found the woman who is your mate, and you are going to let her go without a fight? What is wrong with you? If she does not believe you are a dragon, you show her that you are. You do not curl up and drink wine until the madness overwhelms you."
Andor gave a shake of his head. It was not as simple as his brother believed. "She is afraid of me. I will not be able to get her to go anywhere secluded enough to show her my true nature, and I cannot do it in front of her home for fear of being seen."
"Why not?"
"There are dragon hunters in this time. Apparently living in a time where all dragons are currently slumbering has not prevented them from propagating. I cannot risk putting Lyssa in danger by allowing my true nature being known to the world. I will not have her hurt. It is over for me, Iszak. I hope that your quest to find a mate is much better than mine."
"I never thought that you were a coward. Has this time done something to weaken you? I refuse to believe that the mighty dragon I once knew has been reduced to a sniveling, drunken man. If she is your mate, you need to fight for her and do whatever it takes to get her to see that she belongs with you."
If he was the dragon his brother remembered, his words would have stirred a deep anger inside him. Perhaps this time had changed him, because he could not even bring himself to care what his brother thought.
"I am not going to talk about her again. I have made my decision, and hope that you will respect it. I want your word that you will make sure to destroy me once the madness takes hold. I do not want to hurt her or anyone else." Andor fought to keep a calm look on his face. He was not ready to die, but what choice did he have? If he lived through the Hunter's Moon, he would be a creature of madness, a beast who lived only to kill. He would not become that, no matter how much he wanted to live. Lyssa's love could have saved him, but that way was blocked to him now. He would not hurt her further by going to her. He would respect her wish to be left alone.
A deep anger suffused his brother's face, and for a moment Andor thought he would continue to argue with him. After a moment his brother sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face.
"Damn you. I will destroy you if it becomes necessary, but I live in hope that you will see sense before that time comes." Iszak stood and left the room.
It was for the best, since Andor needed to concentrate on forgetting Lyssa and he could not do it with his brother there insisting that he try to get her back. Lyssa's love was lost to him.
18
Lyssa rubbed a hand over her tired eyes, and she looked at the street sign coming up on her left. She made the turn and pulled up in front of the shop run by the fortune teller she'd seen at the fair.
She shut off the engine and stared straight ahead. What was she doing? She'd been up most of the night, reading that damn book and something about it rang true. But how could it be true? Dragons didn't really exist, did they?
She didn't know what was true or false any more, but Andor was not the only one who'd talked about dragons in her recent past. The fortune teller not only predicted that Kevin would cause problems, she'd said that she saw a dragon in her future. Lyssa had originally thought she meant that in the sense of something new for her collection, but what if the fortune teller had meant something else?
She gripped the steering wheel tight. Was she prepared for this? She didn't know what the fortune teller was going to say, but she knew once she'd gotten over the shock of what Andor had told her, there was an emptiness inside her that only he could fill. This was nothing like her break up with Kevin.
When she'd left Kevin, all she'd felt was relief that he was out of her life, but with Andor there was an ache inside her that would not go away. If there was a chance, no matter how fantastical, that Andor was telling the truth, she owed it to him to believe.
With her mind made up she got out of the car, and walked down the street. The fortune teller's shop was hidden down a short alley, and Lyssa was glad it was daytime. It would be pitch dark down here at night.
She walked in the shop, and there was a subtle scent of incense in the air as the bells over the door tinkled.
"I'll be right with you." A voice called out from the back room. It sounded like the fortune teller, but her voice lacked the accent she'd had at the fair.
Lyssa looked around the shop while she waited. There were various crystals, tarot cards and rune stones on display. Her eye was caught by at tiny dragon carved from soap stone, and her hand itched to reach out and touch it. She turned away, and curled her hand into a fist at her side.
"How can I help you?"
Lyssa turned and the fortune teller stood at the counter, looking quite different from how she'd appeared at the fair. Her dark curly hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and instead of the colorful clothes she wore a white sweater and a pair of jeans. Recognition flared in her eyes, and she smiled at Lyssa. "I didn't expect to see you again. You struck me as someone who doesn't put much stock in having her fortune read. How can I help you?"
Lyssa licked her lips, not quite knowing where to start. This was a mistake. If she told this woman everything, she'd think she was crazy. Kind of like she thought Andor was crazy.
"I don't know why I'm here. I'm sorry I wasted your time." Lyssa turned away and went to the door. Her hand rested on the knob but she could not force herself to turn it.
"I think you know why you are here, you just cannot bring yourself to say it. My clients don't come to me because they want to know what's in their future. They come because they are seeking guidance, and a direction to take their lives." The woman's footsteps sounded behind Lyssa and she put her hand on her shoulder. Lyssa stood still and she let her hand drop from the door knob. She had a feeling that if she left now, she would regret it. "It's almost time for me to close for lunch. I'll just flip the sign and we can go in the back, have a cup of tea and talk. And I promise that I won't try to read your tea leaves. We'll talk and you can tell me what brought you here today. My name is Ella."
Lyssa stepped away from the door and Ella flipped the sign to closed. She led Lyssa into the back room and put the kettle on. There was an old sofa, with a coffee table in front of it and there was a table in the center of the room with two chairs opposite of each other. Lyssa was sure that was where Ella did her readings for clients. She didn't want to go through another reading. She sat on the sofa.
Ella switched on a kettle and came over to perch on the arm of the sofa.
"Something seems to be troubling you..." Ella paused, and Lyssa realized that she hadn't given her her name.
"Lyssa."
"Do you want to tell me what it the matter?”
"I came here because of something your said during my reading, and I wanted to know what you meant. Part of what you said was true, and I'm wondering about the other part."
"What part? I'm afraid that I give a lot of readings and you will have to give me a moment to refresh my memory." The kettle shut off and Ella got up to make two cups of tea. When she finished she brought the steaming mugs over and put them on the table.
"You wanted to know what I meant from your reading? I think I remember what I told you now. Are you here to ask about the man who was going to cause you trouble?" Ella picked up one of the mugs and took a sip as she looked at Lyssa over the rim.
"No. That part was true, he did cause trouble but he's been dealt with. I wanted to ask you what you meant about seeing a dragon in my future."
"What do you think I meant?" Ella didn't offer anything more than that, and Lyssa thought this was going to be a frustrating conversation if she was going to answer her questions with more questions. "I'm not trying to deflect what you're saying back to you, but most readings are interpretations of what I see in the cards or in your case, the runes. I can only tell you what I see. It is up to you to interpret what the meaning is."
"At first I thought you'd seen my necklace and it meant that I was going to col
lect more dragons. Now I'm not so sure." Lyssa leaned forward to take the mug still sitting on the table. Was she really going to talk about this?
"And now what do you think?" There was such kindness in Ella's face that Lyssa could see why she had a loyal clientele. She was easy to talk to, to pour one’s heart out to.
"At the fair I met a man. He helped me with the man that was causing me trouble, and we've grown close. I've fallen in love with him, but it's not going to work between us. He told me something about himself that I'm having difficulty believing." How could she tell a perfect stranger that her boyfriend thought he was a dragon? She took a quick sip from her mug and put her cup back down. "This was a mistake. Thanks so much for your time, but I'd better go."
Ella reached out and put her hand on Lyssa's arm. "He told you he was a dragon, didn't he?"
Lyssa's body went cold and the hair raised up on her arm. "How did you know that?”
Ella gave a little laugh. "It wasn't a psychic visions, I only managed to put the pieces together based on what you've told me. I'm guessing that you didn't react well to his news."
"How could I? It was the craziest thing I'd ever heard. There are no such things as dragons." There couldn't be any such thing, despite what the book that Rickman had given her had said.
"Was there anything about this man, other than his claiming to be a dragon, that struck you as crazy? Does he seem generally unstable?"
"No, he's probably the most down to earth and solid person I've ever met. That's why what he told me was such a shock. He never struck me as the type of person would would have delusions." Lyssa leaned forward to pick the mug, wrapping her now cold fingers around it, seeking its warmth. Just reliving what had happened that night was making her cold inside.