Dragon's Heart (11 page)

     
Everyone looked
down at the previously empty space in front of them. Only now green satin
oval-shaped silken tablemats filled the space, on top of which sat spotless
black china plates, solid silver cutlery, empty water glasses as well as both
red and white wine glasses.

     
“Oh my!”
Cassandra exclaimed.
 

     
“Yes. Exactly
that,” the businessman, Robert Durham, said. Daakar had introduced him as the
Akgon banker.

     
Now ladies and gentlemen, if you want to
eat, Mother Earth will provide. She provides all for us. She is the source of
all. Call to her. Tell her of your need, and she will provide.

     
“I…I don’t
understand,” Maya said. “How? How do we call to her?”

     
Let your dragon guide you to her. The dragon
links us to her. Trust your dragon, Maya. Call to Mother Earth.

    
Maya closed her eyes and blood
flushed to her skin, not unlike when exposed to the heat of the sun but burning
from within. She felt…energy. Yes, a good word for what infused her. Pure
energy gathered in her core. She gasped. Her mind and body filled, became
weighted by it. It came from…the ground. Rose up from the earth and consumed
her.
Mother, Mother Earth, provider of us
all. I have need.
Maya thought of one of her favorite dishes, a cold bottle
of sparkling water, and her white wine glass half way full of her favorite
Riesling. She opened her eyes and looked at the feast created before her.

     
Draakar watched
them all, but his gaze constantly kept returning to Maya.
Mine
, his soul sang,
Mine
.
 

     
The brilliant
golden glow surrounding her lit up the room. Maya completed the simple task of
power he set for them first. Steam rose to the painted ceiling from the plate
of hot penne pasta with prawns in a white wine sauce in front of her. She even
remembered the garnish. Fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese sat on the
top. Her white wine glass was halfway full of…his senses indicated a Riesling
from the North Western section of America, and a bottle of Perrier stood beside
the water glass now full of ice. Excellent! As Draakar expected, strong in
power. The task showed she also paid attention to the details. He looked around
at the others.
 

All had varying degrees of success, Ian’s meal being the next
most complete. Ian grinned at him. “I created one of my favorite dishes, fish
and chips, along with a frosty mug of ale.” He raised his mug of dark liquid,
blew on the foam before taking a big sip.

“I think you forgot something though,” Draakar said.

Ian
looked at his plate again then smacked his palm over his forehead. “Aarrg. I
forgot the vinegar for dipping.”

Draakar
smiled at his first. Ian generated a bright red glow from his use of power, but
not anywhere near the strength of Maya’s. Interestingly, Cassandra and Paul
were both bronze dragons and equally strong. Both had medium rare steaks and
baked potatoes without toppings of any kind on their plates, and their water
glasses were each half full.
 
James
had a cheeseburger on his plate, no condiments, and all of his glasses were
empty. He had a green glow, marking him a green dragon.

Robert,
his banker, though, would need a little work. His bun-less hotdog lay buried
underneath green peppers and mustard with sauerkraut beside all of his empty
glasses.
 
Despite this display, of
them all, Robert, with the exception of Maya, had the potential to control the
greatest power. He accessed the magicks of a golden dragon but not stronger
than Talon’s power.

These
five would be both his and Maya’s vanguards. Along with the two coming
tomorrow, who should be a blue and a brown dragon, would make up their elite
Firsts. They were among the strongest of the Earth brethren. After training, he
hoped, they would also be the salvation of both Earth and Akgon.

    
Everyone looked down
at their food and around at their tablemates. Each face wore varying degrees of
smiles and all were pleased with what they had accomplished.

     
Excellent. You have all done well. For now,
let us enjoy what Mother Earth has provided for us. Just concentrate again for
anything else you want or to complete your meal, then eat.

     
Maya looked at
the empty spot in front of Draakar. “What about you?” she asked.
 
“Aren’t you going to have anything?”

     
He looked at
her through narrowed eyes. “I like what you are having. Why don’t you provide
that for me?”

  
Draakar watched the play of
emotions cross her features, should she or shouldn’t she, over doing something
directly for him versus further testing her powers. Testing her powers won. The
energy rush brethren experienced when using their magicks proved a powerful
lure. Maya repeated exactly what she created for her own plate on his.

     
“Oh my! I did
it!” She clapped her hands and everyone around her grinned. Even Cassandra smiled
at her exuberance.

     
“Please,
everyone, eat,” Draakar said grinning at Maya. “We will continue your lessons
after dinner.”

Maya
took a few bites then put her fork down. “Draakar, why do I get the feeling
you’re holding something back from us? I know you need help to save your realm,
but what is it exactly you expect us to do?”

“I
was wondering when you would ask,” Draakar replied with a smile. “Tonight, I
will show you how to use more of your powers. How to focus and control them.
They are second nature to you, and the more you use them the easier magicks
will come.
 
Tomorrow when the last
two have arrived I will tell you all what is going on and what is expected of
you.”

M
aya pushed the door to her bedroom open. She had been
the first to turn in. It had been a long night and an even longer day. A lot to
absorb in a short period of time.
 
Already she could feel the changes in her body. An awareness and
acceptance of newfound knowledge and memories crowded her mind. Memories
imprinted in her blood before her birth and shared by all brethren. Her legacy.
So much to learn; too much for her brain to process at once. It had to slowly
be revealed but it would be there when she needed it.

The
brethren race had an unbelievable past. They had already been driven from their
home world once. Now they could lose it again, and what of her own world,
Earth?
 
Draakar hadn’t said exactly
what he needed them to do. Maya had already pledged to help save their world in
anyway she could, as well as her own. Anyway except what instinct warned her
Draakar wanted. She would not allow him to use her that way. She would not
become some sort of concubine in his harem.

Her
body tingled. She raised her hands above her head to stretch. Her dragon blood
hummed with her magicks. She opened her soul to the energy pulsing through her
veins all around her, rising up from the Earth surrounding her like a warm
blanket. How could she not have felt this before?
She is me and I am her.
Maya smiled. The voice inside belonged to
her.
She is the dragon
.
 

She
tested her newfound powers by using her mind to dim the lights in her room,
giggling when it worked. Heading for the bathroom she decided to take a shower
before bed. She hadn’t had a chance to shower this morning, not with Draakar
breathing down her shoulder while at the inn. He always managed to be right
beside her. She barely had time to wash up and change her shirt. Still, instead
of feeling grimy by now, she felt refreshed. Her magicks might be at work there
but she would enjoy the feel of water striking against her skin. She found it
invigorating.

     
Mmm, did you know dragons love water? There
are many waterfalls on Akgon.

     
A stunned Maya straightened
up.
Do you mind? Get out of my head!

     
I can’t.

 
Then let
me help you!

     
Suddenly,
blessed silence, but she could feel Draakar’s reaction to the mild shock she
sent to him through their link. Maya wasn’t sure how she did it, only the
result. Whether she wanted them to be or not, they were linked and he had the
power to slip into her thoughts. At least, for a while, she had got him out of
her head. She hadn’t hurt him, not really. Just gave him something else to
think about. Before she shut him out, she sensed his amusement more than
anything else.

Draakar
rubbed the side of his cheek and smiled, not surprised by what Maya had
done—sending the physical equivalent of a slap across his face or in this
case a love tap. He wanted to join her in the shower. Then again, he could.
Payback time.
 

Time
to show her not only did their telepathic link work both ways, but what else it
could do. By the time he stepped into the shower room mirroring Maya’s, his
clothing had vanished. Naked, he placed his head under one of the multiple
showerheads and his hands flat against the warm wet tiles. The water fell hot
and steaming against his sensitized skin, but the sensation did not cause blood
to pool in one spot within his body between his thighs. One woman did that. He
closed glowing eyes reflected off the polished tiles and projected his image to
the woman on the other side of the wall.
 

His mate.

Maya
had just put shampoo in her hair and turned to look around. She could have
sworn something or someone stood behind her, but she remained alone in the
shower. Nothing but the wet tiled walls. Shrugging slender bare shoulders, she
allowed the dual showerheads to beat a soothing rhythm against her skin. “Must
just be this place,” she mumbled to herself. Shutting her eyes, she placed her
head under the falling water, and saw him.
  

On
some shared psychic plane, he stood right in front of her, live, up close and
personal. Behind closed eyes, she worshipped a body sculpted like a painting of
Thor, the Norse god of thunder, she’d once seen. Except where Thor flashed
golden lightning, Draakar raged all dark storms. “Oh Mama!” she whispered
reverently, frozen in place. Did the sound of thunder rumble from the vicinity
of her heart?

He
stood in his shower facing away from her. His wet hair glistened, covering his
back like an onyx-colored curtain, ending at the top of the most perfectly
defined ass that ever walked on this realm or any other. The man might have
long thick beautiful hair but absolutely nothing feminine existed about it or
the rest of him. Male strength and power radiated off him in waves. His long
legs were spread apart and flawlessly shaped, and his thighs…Lord have mercy,
they were formed for riding.

Maya
felt torn between wanting him to turn around and mortified he would and find
her standing there, gawking at him. No, not gawking; outright drooling with her
mouth wide open, tongue hanging out, and saliva dripping from her chin to mix
with the other moisture running between her legs.

His
biceps flexed and his hands pushed against the wall as he lifted to rotate his
head. Her eyes snapped open and the vision, no, not a vision disappeared but
Maya could swear she heard the echo of rich male laughter mixed with thunder,
or a playful roar. She quickly finished her shower, not once closing her eyes
again.

She
put on the robe she’d left on the vanity bench then towel dried her wet
hair.
 
Normally, she slept only in
boxer panties but as long as she stayed in this house, she’d wear pajamas to
bed. Her suitcase lay on the quilt and she opened it, not quite ready to wear
any of the gorgeous clothes in the closet, and pulled out her own t-shirt and
clean underwear. It might seem stupid, but she felt better knowing something
stood between her skin and his, no matter how flimsy the something. His
physical presence in the room with her appeared to be irrelevant. The laws of
physics did not apply to him.

A
lot had happened to her in a day. Maya lay in bed thinking about everything she
had learned tonight and unconsciously sent her mind reaching outward through
the castle. She touched each of her fellow brethren, just briefly. They were
all as wide-awake as she, thinking about everything they too had learned. Both
excited and in awe of Draakar and—of her. She immediately pulled back
from their thoughts, refusing to think about why they would feel that way.

Why should they not be in awe of
you?
Draakar sent, once again stealing into her thoughts.
You are very powerful. Your power is second
only to my own.

You are so full of yourself, Dark
One. I promised to help, but I will not be their queen. I will not be your
queen.

We shall see.

She
sensed again he’d been blocking something from her all night, even stronger
now.
What else have you not told us?

Changing the subject?

Not at all. There is nothing to
see, but there is something more you are not telling us…something that may not
be clear in our shared memories. I know you said the brethren on Akgon are in
danger, but you also alluded to a threat here on Earth.
 

There is a threat here on Earth but
it is not the same threat. At least, I do not believe they are related.
Tomorrow, after the last two I have summoned arrive, I will explain everything.

She
rolled onto her side and stared at the heavy beige curtains over the window.
Everything?

Everything you all should know.
When you, Maya, are ready to hear the rest of what I have to say to you alone,
then I will tell you everything.

You owe me no explanation, Dark
One. There is nothing you can say I don’t already know.

You only think you do.

You have a son. He has a mother.
That is all I need to know.

Maya
didn’t bother giving Draakar a chance to respond. Oh, he tried but she wouldn’t
let him back in. Finally, Maya fell into sleep, albeit a restless one. She
dreamed. She dreamed of a dragon, so dark, no light reflected off its hide. She
watched as it attacked another dragon. A silver dragon which seemed to absorb
all light around it until it remained the only source of light, and the dark
dragon got lost in the brilliance of the light. Maya came awake abruptly,
breathing heavily and automatically reached out through their link for Draakar.

Maya, what it is?

Nothing. It...just nothing. A bad
dream.

What did you dream about?

Dragons…not surprising considering.

She
could hear his low chuckle as though his head lay right next to hers on the
pillow.
Not at all surprising.

What color dragons did you dream
about?

Why?

I merely wondered if you dreamt of
me.

Conceited, aren’t you?
She smiled
even though he couldn’t see her.

But of course, now stop stalling.
You said you dreamed of dragons…plural. Were they the same color or different
colors?

There were just two, a dragon so
dark it was devoid of all color and one of such pure light it appeared silver.

And what happened?

The silver dragon sucked up all the
light until the dark dragon simply disappeared into the remaining darkness.
What does this mean?

It was just a dream Maya.

Do not lie to me, Dark One! I am no
fool. You are the dark dragon. I do not know the silver one, but it was a male
and he hates you. It is a portent of things to come.

The problem with the future is that
until it comes to pass we do not know what it is.

You play with words?

No. I merely speak the truth.

If it comes to power, I will fight
by your side. If you are to be destroyed it will be by my hand. Now let me
rest, Dark One. I still have much to learn.

She
felt Draakar’s grin into the silence of the night.
Goodnight, Maya, be at peace.

Not quite yet.

By
the Claw she had such strength and had blocked him easily. Either that or she
was extremely pissed, probably a combination of both. He sighed. He had his
work cut out for him. Another long day awaited him tomorrow. At least the
balance on Akgon would hold for a while, even without him there, but eventually
he would have to return with Maya. He meant what he’d said. He would never
leave her again.

The
powers he now drew on were fueled by Mother Earth, but they were
temporary.
 
She
could not sustain him alone, but being near Maya also helped
draw forth some of his own powers. Hopefully, his borrowed powers would last
long enough for him to do what he must to protect Earth. Still, he had to mate
with Maya in order to have full access to his own magicks. She held the key to
open up all of his powers, and only if she came to him willingly. Their joining
must be based on one all-powerful factor—love. He snorted. Fat chance of
anything happening between them anytime soon, even if he was already halfway in
love with her. How could he not be? His truemate, created for him alone. He
needed her. All brethren needed her.