Dragon's Heart (7 page)

“Mr.
Akgon,” Dr. Donovan said. “I see you’ve heard. Sorry about that but Talon’s
already gone. I…I released him this morning. He’s fine. Everything is fine.”

M
aya’s mouth stood wide open as she watched the
interaction between the doctor and Draakar. “What?” she finally managed to
blurt out. “I-I thought you didn’t know Talon?”

Dr.
Donovan finally turned to look at her. “Oh, Ms. Trent, I see you’re here. Sorry
for the confusion. The nurse called the inn and left a message for you, too.
I’m sorry you came down here for nothing.”

“What
are you talking about? I’ve….”

Draakar
spoke up, not giving her a chance to say more. “Thank you Doctor. I’m glad to
know everything’s fine. Talon’s already on his way back to school. Please say
hello to your wife for me.”

“I
will.”

The
doctor turned around and left. Maya couldn’t believe her eyes and ears. She
shouldn’t have been at all surprised. The mere sound of his voice caused Maya’s
brain synapses to fire off neurons in all of her pleasure centers. She couldn’t
place his accent but it wasn’t Irish or American like Talon’s. It didn’t
matter. Regardless of his accent, his mere presence caused havoc to her
equilibrium. In the last twenty-four hours she’d seen the improbable and the
impossible. Compared to everything else, this looked like just a drop in the
bucket. She could be Dorothy but instead of landing in Oz, her original
destination, she’d fallen down a rabbit hole with neither Queen nor Wizard in
sight. And forget about following any yellow brick road or even flying off to
Witch Mountain. According to the populace, none of these places existed. Except
in fairytales.

Maya
sighed. “Just take me back to the inn please.”

“All
right. My car should be right outside.” Before she could reach for it, he
picked up her jacket and held for her to put on before grabbing her backpack.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
 

Not
like he’d given her much of a choice other than to leave without him, without
answers. Not happening, besides she didn’t think he’d let her leave anyway.

“Yes.”
Silently she followed him from the hospital room. At the elevator she stepped
on first and plastered her back against the rear wall. Draakar leaned back
beside her. Even with a couple of feet separating them she could still feel the
heat of attraction between them. They rode down to the lobby in charged
silence, neither willing to break it as they stepped outside to the waiting
Rolls and the man standing beside the opened rear passenger door.

“You!”
Maya exclaimed upon seeing the tall handsome man with red hair.
  
“But…didn’t you fly us here in
the helicopter? I thought you didn’t know Talon? Yet, you work for his father?”

Ian
glanced sheepishly at Draakar.

“Ian
works for me,” Draakar answered. He didn’t bother to elaborate. “Maya, this is
Ian McNeil, my right hand. Ian, this is Maya Trent.”
My Queen.
Two pairs of eyes, one a bronze set, the other set blue,
snapped around to look at him. Ian gave a low bow as Draakar guided Maya into
the car.

Queen?
What queen? Maya knew Draakar hadn’t spoken, yet she had heard him. She heard
him in her head. Just like Talon. Draakar had called her his queen. It hurt her
heart to hear him call her that. Why could she hear him in her head, and why
did she feel so much anger and hurt toward him?

Ian
got in and started the car.
 

“Ian,
please stop at the Sperrin Inn, Maya has to pick up her things. She will be
staying with us at the castle,” Draakar instructed.

She
swung her head around to stare at Draakar. “I didn’t agree to that.”

“Ah,
but you’ll still come.” The dividing glass panel between the driver and the
passenger section of the car slid soundlessly closed.

But
Maya heard it click softly into place. “Look. I am not going with you, and
another thing, stop calling me your ‘Queen’ in my mind.
 
I’m not your anything. In fact, stay
out of my head.” She blew out a breath. “I need answers and with Talon gone,
you seem to be the only one capable of giving them to me. So why don’t you just
tell me now what’s going on? Start by explaining what you are, and why am I so
angry with you? Then we can each go our own way.”

“It’s
not that simple and I think you know it.”

“I
don’t know anything!” she exclaimed angrily. “I wish both you and your son
would stop telling me I already know the answers to my questions. If I did, I
sure as hell wouldn’t be sitting here asking them! All I know is what I’ve
already told you.” She sighed in frustration. “I found your son unconscious in
the middle of these stones that no one else, other than a guide, seems to know
about. Stones with dragons etched into them one minute and smooth the next, and
which, by the way, glowed just like your son’s eyes. Just like yours do.”
 

She
took a deep breath. “Still, a lot of this could have been explained away. Not
easily but I’m sure there was some sort of ‘reasonable explanation.’ Then
everything changed when your son did the unexplainable. He up and disappeared.
Yep. Poof.” She waved a hand in the air. “Not a mirror in sight. Just, now ya
see him now ya don’t, disappears. That can’t be explained away. Now, who are
you people? Are you even people? And don’t you dare give me any bull about me
already knowing the answers to my questions.”

During
her tirade, Draakar watched the rise and fall of her breasts and the way her
eyes sparked golden fire the angrier she got. By the claw of the first Dragon
Lord, he wanted this magnificent woman. The brethren would not be in the
predicament they found themselves in if he had simply waited for her birth. Too
late for regrets, and he could not regret his son. He had come for Maya now,
and he would make things right between them.

The
dragon responded to the anger in his mate.
I’ve
missed you. Every day of my existence, I’ve missed you.

He
watched as she stopped talking. She heard him. While he could say anything to
her, he could never lie to her. The dragon would never lie to her. Somewhere
deep inside herself she felt the truth of his thoughts.

His
words echoed through her soul and from the depths of her soul she
responded.
 
Then why did you leave me to be born time and time again without you?

Maya
grimaced and shook her head from side-to-side. “What’s happening to me?
 
Why am I hearing voices in my head, and
why is one coming from inside of me?” She gasped leaning right up against the
interior door. “What have you done to me? This isn’t right.”

The
car pulled up in front of her inn and before Ian could get out of the car to
open the door, like a bat chased by the fires of hell, Maya opened the door and
ran into the building. With Draakar right behind her.

“Maya,
wait.”

She
never even slowed. Instead she increased her pace as she crossed the foyer,
passed the lone desk clerk behind the counter, and headed for the stairs.

Do not run from me. Never run from
me.

One
foot on the stairs, she stopped dead in her tracks at the command in his voice.
Although it was not exactly ‘
his voice’
she’d heard. Something else had spoken in her mind. Something with the power to
make her pause. The same something else inside of her, a part of her, responded
to the command.
 

She
didn’t turn around. She felt Draakar move up beside her. He took her arm above
her elbow. Her already accelerated heart rate cranked up even more at his light
touch. Maya glanced down at his hand loosely wrapped around her jacket-covered
arm.
 
A faint glow surrounded his
hand where he touched her. No wait, the glow appeared to be emanating from them
both. She was too stunned to tell him to unhand her.

He
moved forward and having little choice, she moved too. Together they walked up
the stairs to her room on the second floor. There were six rooms there, but
Draakar stopped at the second door on the left, her room. Maya, keeping her
eyes on him, never saw him reach to open the door. In fact, like at the
hospital she’d swear he never touched the doorknob, but the door opened anyway.
Her mind screamed,
If you cross the threshold with him, your life will be
forever changed
.
 

“You…you
never asked me your third question,” she said. “What is it?”

“Later.
Let’s get your things.”

Maya
faced the truth. She’d lost control, and her life had already changed.
 

It
didn’t take her long to gather what she needed. Two suitcases stood beside the
bed. She’d already packed most of her things for her trip to Paris, which it
seemed was never going to happen now. She didn’t bother to reason with herself
or explain away why she went with Draakar; this had to be done. He’d awakened
something in her back at the hospital; she could feel it. She needed answers
and she would not get them if she didn’t go with him.

She
scoffed at herself. She wanted to go with him. Maya sensed he would not
physically harm her, and she could trust him with her life. Anger lay heavily
within her mind, clouding her judgment, but she needed to understand where the
anger came from, anger and hurt. Why did she feel as though he’d hurt her
heart--this man/creature she’d never seen before in her life? Yet, she left the
inn and got into the car to endure a silent car ride to his castle.

They
hadn’t driven far when Maya realized the scenery seemed familiar, yet nothing
appeared as it should have. “Wait a minute,” she said breaking the silence. “I
recognize this area, and I know this paved road wasn’t here before. I just
walked this way yesterday, and I walked through a forest on a barely
discernable path.”

She
watched Draakar’s chest raise and fall as he inhaled before he spoke. “Yes, you
are correct and yet you are not. This road has existed for well over a thousand
years but it was not visible until much earlier this morning. The paving is
new. No one has walked the road since it was carved out of the mountain.
 
It has remained hidden.”

“
My
God
!” Maya shrieked.

“No, by the will of Mother
Earth.”

“What!”

“I
know there is much you don’t understand and there is much you will have to
learn in a short period of time. Fortunately, you are very strong so you can
learn.
 
Unfortunately, because of
your strength, you might also be able to resist.”

“Resist
what?” She glanced around. “We’re going to the stones, aren’t we?”

“Yes.
All of your answers are there. Trust me, Maya.”

She
stared at him for a long time before turning away from his glowing eyes and
gazed out the window. Maya trusted him not to physically harm her, but she
didn’t trust him with anything else.
 
She couldn’t.
 

She
didn’t dare.

A
sobbing Arthur dropped to his knees in the entryway
and opened his arms wide.

“Daddy!”
the little girl cried as she wrapped slender, honey-kissed with sunlight
colored arms around his neck and squeezed. “Oh, Daddy! I’m so glad you’re here!
I’ve missed you so much!”

“Happy
Birthday, angel.” Tears shone in Alfred’s eyes. “Happy Birthday.”

Behind
him, his second wife patted his back and cried tears of relief, grief and joy.
She looked over the joined heads of father and daughter and mouthed a silent
“thank you” to the dark-skinned, rail-thin woman standing a few feet behind the
little girl. Tammi nodded her scarf-covered head and smiled sadly in return.
She had held on long enough for the child’s father to come. Her daughter would
be all right now. She’d be loved and taken care of. That’s all she could ever
hope for.
 

“Wow!”
Maya exclaimed.

The
car turned at a bend in the road, heavy iron gates directly in front of them
swung wide open at their approach. About a half mile away from the gate, she
could see an enormous castle of time-aged mortar and stone standing sentential
on the top of the mountain, yet at the same time it appeared as very much a
part of the mountainside. It could have stood there for hundreds of years,
something right out of a fairy tale. She just hoped she wouldn’t be the damsel
in distress in some real life Arthurian play to Draakar’s knight errand. Oh
wait. That would be dragon.

“This
is impossible,” she said shaking her head. “This is where the circle of stones
stood. I know it! This was not here yesterday.”

She
twisted around in the seat to glare at Draakar. “I am not budging until you
tell me what the hell is going on,” she stated as calmly as she could
 
while trembling inside.
 
It wouldn’t do to show this man fear.
Never show him fear.

He
spoke into her mind.
You are brethren,
human brethren, but still brethren.

Brethren…brethren, I do not
understand.

Yes you do.

I…

“NO!”
Maya shouted, heart racing. “Not that way. “Talk to
me
!”

He
nodded. “Very well. You are like me. You are part of a race long gone from this
realm and crossed into another world, but your forebears chose to remain on
Earth.”

Dragon…

“Dragon…”
she said aloud what whispered inside her soul.

“Yes,
Maya. You are part creature of legend. We call ourselves brethren. You know my
words are true. That is all I’m going to say for now.”

“But…”

“No
buts. Let’s go inside and get you settled. I have company here already and more
on the way. I promise we will talk and I will tell you everything you want to
know.”

“You
promise?”

“You
have my word as Dragon Lord.”

“As
what…?”

Ian
opened the car door, interrupting them. Draakar exited first and turned to help
Maya out of the car. Both he and Ian went to the trunk to get Maya’s suitcases
while she stood by silently watching them, clutching her matching steel blue
carryon and purse.

The
men turned and headed toward the front doors of the castle; doors almost twice
the size of an average man. Maya looked up at the turrets and battlement, somewhat
surprised to find them empty. No armed bowmen watched down on them from the
top.

Are you coming?

She
jerked and walked toward Draakar who stood in front of the opened door waiting
for her.

“I
promise we will talk,” he said.
 

She
followed him inside but came to an abrupt halt in the foyer. What lay ahead
mesmerized her. The well-lit entryway of the castle made some deluxe great
rooms she’d seen look like closets. She’d had some absurd idea castles should
be dark. That is, until she saw this one.
 
Dozens of sconces that looked like upside down frosted martini glasses
were anchored every few feet along the stone walls, lit by modern electricity,
and completely incongruous to the exterior of the castle. She would not have
been surprised to find fire-lit torches, and burning candles used within, but
was nonetheless pleased to find modern conveniences.

Her
gaze was inexplicably drawn downward to the polished gray marble beneath her
feet. Toward the center of the floor, the marble appeared made up of different colors
forming some sort of pattern, running about fifteen by twenty feet across the
floor. She didn’t have time to study it too closely because Draakar and Ian
didn’t stop walking.
 
They
continued down the long wide foyer, past two closed doors, toward a wide stone
staircase on her left. Her gaze followed the staircase to a balcony overlooking
the foyer.
 
Presumably, the balcony
led to the bedrooms, since the men headed in that direction with her cases.

Draakar
paused and turned around, searching for her. “You can see it better from the
balcony,” he said knowing exactly what she had been staring at and thinking
about. While Ian continued walking, Draakar stopped midway on the balcony to
wait for her. Maya slowly climbed the staircase. When she reached his side, she
stopped and turned to look over the scrolled iron railing at the sight below.

“Oh.
My. God.”

Draakar
smiled. “No. Oh, Mother Earth.”

“Is
that…is that…?”

“Yes
Maya, it is.”

Her
eyes feasted on one of the most beautiful mosaics she had ever seen. Unique,
much like the man standing patiently beside her. Before her a dragon in flight
had been captured forever in marble reflecting a spectrum of colors. The wings
seemed to shimmer as if they beat against air instead of being trapped in
stone. The whole thing looked so real Maya leaned forward and extended her hand
like she could reach out and touch it.
 
Scared she would fall, she quickly pulled her hand back to her side.

“Come,”
Draakar said. “Let’s get you settled and then we will meet the others.”

She
had to tear her gaze away from the image below her. “What others?”

“The
other human brethren who also need to be trained.”

His
matter of fact statement got her attention. “You mean there are
others…like…like me?”

“No.
There is no other like you. But, yes these are other human brethren.”

She
raised her eyebrows and stared at him. “You are so confusing. Why are they not
like me, or am I not like them?”

They
moved away from the balcony and walked through a wide archway, then turned left
through double doors and down a hallway. She didn’t notice Ian had disappeared
into a room until he walked out of the doorway in front of her without her
bags.

“After
you,” Draakar indicated with his head to Maya. “The others are in the library,”
he told Ian. “Please join them and make sure they’ve all settled in. Tell
everyone we will be down shortly.”

Ian
inclined his head slightly. “Yes, Lord.” He turned to Maya and inclined his
head even more. “My Lady, it is a pleasure to serve you.” He turned and walked
away before she could question him, but he was not the one who would give her
answers.

Subdued,
Maya watched Ian go through the doorway and closed the door to the other hall.
She moved passed Draakar, ignoring him for the moment and glanced around the
enormous area. There were only two doors in this section of the castle. They
had crossed the balcony over the foyer and taken the hallway to the left, but
another hall ran straight ahead, and they’d passed another hallway at the top
of the stairs that ran in another direction. From what she had seen so far the
castle had more than one wing, and she’d bet money the second door in the hall
they stood in led to Draakar’s room. But first things first.
 

She
stepped into a sitting room done in neutral colors of cream and bronze. The feel
of the room transported her to another world. Oh, not literally nor did
anything look alien or strange. Everything embodied beauty and refined
elegance, but all of the furnishings seemed like pieces from a time long ago.
Most of all, it felt familiar, like this room was meant for her. Even the
colors were some of her favorites.

Maya
didn’t say anything as she inspected the first room, about the size of a master
bedroom in a normal sized home. It had a small desk with a Tiffany lamp on it
and a dark brown suede high-backed chair in front of it. There were no windows
in here, but a small unlit fireplace lay niched in one corner, and two large
comfortable-looking chairs sat before it with a little table between them. It
created a cozy spot to sit and read or have conversation. On the table rested a
tray with an assortment of cheeses, fruit and crackers with a carafe of water,
reminding her she needed to eat something.
 

She
grabbed a piece of cheese and nibbled on it before going through the double
doors located on the far side of the room, and stepped into a bedroom, done in
the same colors as the sitting room, but with gold trim added to the wallpaper.
A room twice the size of the sitting room and about as large as some
apartments.

A
bed fit for a king or queen sat prominently in its center. She purposely didn’t
allow her gaze to linger there, refusing to think about how it appeared large
enough to cradle both of them in comfort. She finished eating the cheese as she
walked past the bed and peeked into the bathroom, gasping at the elegance of
the claw-foot tub wide enough to fit two, and the separate more modern shower
with its multiple showerheads. While the exterior of the castle looked as
though it had been around for hundreds of years and the interior held
accessories both old and new, it most definitely had modern conveniences in the
bathroom.

Leaving
the bath, she pulled open another set of doors and found a closet about half
the size of a studio apartment. She almost had a heart attack as she walked through
aisle after aisle of clothing. One entire wall held only shoes. Other walls
housed cubbies of various sizes holding every accessory imaginable to go with
the clothes and shoes. She knew everything would fit her perfectly.

When
she returned to the bedroom, she spied both of her suitcases at the foot of the
king size four-poster bed. She rubbed her hand along one of the mahogany posts,
which were carved like dragonheads. As she turned to leave the bedroom, she
noticed a single door tucked in a corner. Opening it revealed an adjoining
bedroom, a mirror image of hers, but done in a more sober masculine style. Just
as she knew her own name, she knew Draakar’s room. Quietly, she shut the door,
but when she tried to find a lock, none existed. Then again, no lock or door
made could bar that man’s entrance. She returned to the sitting room.

Draakar
stood near the door with his legs braced shoulder width apart and his hands
hanging at his sides, but curled into loose fists. He appeared tense to Maya
although his words to her came out calmly enough.

“Are
you ready to listen now?”

“That’s
your third question,” she stated.

“I
know. I’m still waiting for your answer.”

“I…yes,
I am.” She tensed and remained in the doorway to the bedroom facing him.

“Eat
something first. I know you must be hungry.”

She
had been but not anymore. Besides she needed answers. “No, I think I’ll wait.
Go ahead, talk.”

I ask again. Are you ready to
listen?

“No!
Don’t do that. Talk to me like…like normal people do.”

“We
are not people. We are brethren and this
is
normal for our kind.”

“It
isn’t for me.”

Yes, Maya, it is.

The
sound of the first few notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony could be heard
coming from Maya’s hip. They both looked down at the phone case clipped to the
loop of her jeans.

She
unhooked it and looked at the caller ID on the display. She sighed. “Excuse me.
I have to take this.”
 

He
inclined his head and came farther into the room, sitting down on one of the
two chairs near the door, making it clear he planned to stay. She turned around
and placed the phone to her ear then walked back into her temporary bedroom.