Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (19 page)

Through the bond I felt Dragon's emotions
combined with mine, heightening the experience to a level I'd never
imagined possible. Every lick of his tongue, every slide of his
hard shaft over my throbbing clitoris set my nerve endings on fire.
But with that I felt his enjoyment, the pleasure he took from
knowing he was driving me wild. I was being pulled in so many
directions I was sure that at any moment my body would fly
apart.

Dragon laid back and planted his feet on the
mattress as he thrust into me with powerful strokes. The deeper
penetration felt so good that I cried out, convulsing with orgasm.
I fell forward bracing myself on his chest as the spasms shook my
core and caught the scent of wood smoke in the air. My eyes locked
with Dragon's and I saw glowing flames staring back at me. But
unlike in my dream, there was still human awareness in their
depths. My hips moved up and down meeting his thrusts with renewed
intensity. I watched the flames get brighter as our breathing grew
more ragged. This time when I tumbled over the edge Dragon
followed, roaring and crushing me to his chest while the waves of
pleasure rippled up my spine.

When his powerful body stopped shuddering
beneath me, he rolled us to the side and I saw that his eyes had
returned to their usual chocolate brown. Breathlessly I asked, "Did
you feel your dragon just before we climaxed?"

He kissed me tenderly before answering. "Yes,
I felt my dragon. He was right there below the surface, not quite
awake but not quite asleep either. I'm not sure what it will take
to break the curse but any strong emotion concerning you seems to
help. Between the dream last night and making love to you this
morning I feel whole again for the first time in centuries. I'm
actually looking forward to my future, a future with you by my
side." Through the bond I felt what he didn't say because I wasn't
ready to hear it. No matter how happy I was for Dragon or with him,
I wasn't ready to accept the depth of his feelings for me. I kissed
him on the tip of his nose then rested my head against his
chest.

After a few moments I told him I had to start
getting ready for work and invited him to take a shower with me. By
the time we were finished I barely had time to make it to The
Catacombs on time. I grabbed a breakfast burrito in the cafeteria
and ate it on the way.

When I arrived at The Catacombs Scarlett was
on stage talking with someone who stood behind the curtain. She
noticed I was there and came down the stairs to meet me.

Without preamble Scarlett said, "Solomon has
requested that you report to The Gateway this morning. Do you know
how to get there?"

I was speechless for a moment. "Um, yes, I
remember the way. Are you sure he asked for me?"

Scarlett looked down her nose at me and
replied, "I'm quite sure he asked for you. From now on Solomon will
be your direct supervisor. He will make up your schedule and
provide your costumes." Then she turned and walked away without
saying another word.

What the hell?
Scarlett had always
been a little abrasive because of her commanding personality, but
she'd never been hostile towards me before. I wondered what could
have possibly brought on the change of attitude, but decided it was
her problem, not mine. At least she wouldn't be acting as my direct
supervisor any more.

I found Solomon backstage at The Gateway and
he asked me to join him in his office so that we could go over what
would be expected of me. He sprawled in a chair and I sat on a sofa
across from him. He looked even younger than he had the first time
I met him. It seemed absurd that this gothic teenager could be in
charge of the entire entertainment division for a five star
resort.

"Before we get started I will answer the
question that I know you've been asking yourself since Scarlett
sent you over here." He paused for effect and I realized he had a
faint English accent that I hadn't noticed the first time we met.
"No. Dragon did not have anything to do with my decision to
transfer you to my team. He wouldn't do that even though we both
know Scarlett is the last person who should be your boss given
their history. It's not really my story to tell, but the two of
them had a thing a few centuries ago and she's never quite gotten
over it. When she discovers you're his mate, let's just say she
will be less than pleased." Scarlett's behavior suddenly made more
sense and going by Solomon's tight smile I should watch my back
around her.

"Would you tell me why you did choose me? I
was under the impression dancers normally had to work here for
several years before they were given the opportunity to work with
you."

"That's not entirely true. Many dancers are
given small background parts in my shows shortly after joining our
team. It's the lead roles that are usually reserved for veteran
dancers. Has Dragon informed you of the last minute wedding we have
to plan for this weekend?" When I nodded he continued. "Based on
the recordings I watched of the dance auditions and my knowledge of
our existing dance staff I am offering you the lead role in the
show I'm putting together for the wedding reception."

I tried to speak and couldn't find any words
adequate to express my gratitude. Solomon sat up and leaned forward
taking on an expression that transformed him from fun-loving teen
to shrewd businessman. "I made this decision based on your talent
and my belief that you will outshine any other dancer at my
disposal. To reach that potential you need to believe in yourself
as much as I believe in you. Let go of whatever happened in the
past to make you think you are somehow worth less than you
deserve."

"How did you know something happened to make
me doubt myself?" I was fighting back tears as the memories poured
over me. The director holding me face down bent over his desk while
he yanked my skirt up; me kicking and screaming, trying to get
loose while he worked to undo his pants. The only thing that saved
me was a loud knock at the door. He told the dance instructor on
the other side that I had come on to him. Then he'd blacklisted me
from every local production by telling everyone who would listen I
was too difficult to work with and not talented enough to make it
worth their trouble. And it was all because I refused to sleep with
him. I tried to tell myself it was all lies but the things he said
had been so cruel.

"I've seen it before. It's the only reason
for someone with your talent to lack the confidence that should
come naturally with your gift. Whatever happened, it's not worth
another second of your time. Put it behind you and embrace your
future." He handed me a tissue and I realized some of the tears had
escaped despite my efforts to hold them back.

"Thank you for the pep talk, I think I needed
to hear that." I dabbed at the corners of my eyes trying not to
smudge my makeup too much.

"No problem, that's what friends are for. And
you and I are going to be good friends, just wait and see. Now," he
clapped his hands together, "let me explain to you how I make my
backgrounds appear so realistic." At my questioning look he said,
"You need to know this before you can be onstage when I'm working
my magic. That's why I couldn't hire you for The Gateway until you
discovered that all of us are not quite human."

He rose from the chair and pulled a key ring
out of his pocket. Only this key ring did not hold keys, it was
filled with thin rectangular stones. Each stone had a hole in one
end to thread the ring through and a symbol etched on the other
end. "I'm going to show you what happened after Dragon's father was
killed in his final battle. I chose this scene because it will help
you understand the depth of my magic."

Solomon selected a stone from the ring and
rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger while he whispered words
in a language I'd never heard before. After a moment his desk
disappeared and a small room lit only by firelight took its place.
The walls were made of rough stone and the dirt floor was covered
in straw. There were three people in the room and I recognized all
of them. Claire sat on the floor staring into a fireplace murmuring
something too quiet for me to hear. Rook was standing in front of
Dragon as if he was blocking the exit.

There was a rustle of leaves outside the door
and then Solomon strode into the room. If his stricken expression
wasn't enough for me to know something was terribly wrong, the
anger and grief pouring off of him spoke volumes. "The Dragon King
has fallen," he told the others grimly. Claire had already known of
course, because of their mating bond. She continued staring into
the fire but with the confirmation tears streamed silently down her
face. Her heartache threatened to overwhelm me. Dragon was
screaming at Rook and trying to get past him. "Why did you make me
stay here, maybe I could have saved him. If nothing else I could
make sure the bastard who did this doesn't live to see another
day." His rage was growing by the minute, blinding him to
everything else.

"You've been down that road before and it
ended with your death. You are too emotional to take on Travali
right now. You need to wait until your head clears and confront him
on your terms, not on his. You will get your chance at him, but
tonight is not the night." Rook radiated calm resolve trying to
help Dragon work through his anger and sorrow.

The scene froze and Solomon asked me to step
forward and touch Dragon. I wiped away the fresh tears the emotions
in the vision had evoked and did as he asked. I skimmed my fingers
along Dragon's beard and was surprised by how real the coarse
whiskers felt. Solomon instructed me to go to the fireplace and put
my hand near the fire. It was warm and I knew that if I touched the
fire it would burn me. He let the scene dissolve and I stared at
him in stunned silence.

He fell back into the chair and held his head
in his hands. When he looked up at me his eyes were haunted. "The
scenes I create are echoes of the past. The more connected I am to
the scene the more tangible it will be, and the more you will feel
the emotions of its participants. Since I have a strong emotional
attachment to that scene I can easily pull it into our reality.
That's the reason I chose this scene for my demonstration. I wanted
you to understand that the scenes can be very solid and you could
actually be hurt by them. For instance that fire could have burned
you. In some scenes there are sharp objects like swords and knives,
or we've even had guns fired onstage before. You also have to be
careful not to get caught up in the emotions conjured in some of my
scenes. All of these things need to be taken into consideration
when you're on my stage."

"I understand what you're trying to tell me,
and I will take your warnings to heart." I looked down for a
moment. I was still trying to shake off the feelings I'd felt
during the vision. After a moment I looked back up at Solomon. His
color was returning to normal and his eyes were brightening. "Does
the magic always take this much out of you?"

He shook his head. "It wasn't the magic that
got to me. It was the memories."

"Would you explain what happened on that
night, I don't think I have enough information to fully understand
everything I saw." I went back over to sit on the sofa.

"Rook came to me at the beginning of the
battle and told me to get the Dragon Queen to safety. He said he
would bring Dragon and meet me at a cottage outside of dragon
territory. Once he told me he'd seen the way the battle ended I
knew I needed to follow his instructions. Claire and I were waiting
in the cottage when Rook came in carrying an unconscious Dragon
over his shoulder. He set Dragon down and asked me to go watch the
battle from a distance. He said I would know when it was time for
me to return. After I saw the Dragon King fall I realized what Rook
must have seen the first time around. Dragon must have gone after
Travali in a fit of rage and gotten himself killed.

Rook is not allowed to turn back the clock to
save any lives except for Dragon's and his mate's. He could turn
back time if he thought something bad might happen, but once the
fatal blow is struck, he cannot intervene. So when he saw Dragon
and his father fall in battle he took steps to save Dragon, but he
had to leave his father to his fate. He also decided to make sure
Claire and I were safe since there was a chance the vampires would
come after us once the Dragon King was out of the way.

Back then, when the magic was high, Rook
could go back in time for years if he wanted to. He never did of
course because he can only go back, he can't return to his original
time. He told me he basically falls back into his own body wherever
he was at that particular point in time. That way there are never
two of him occupying the same timeline. When he goes back, the
timeline he leaves behind is erased and no one but him even knows
it existed. With the current level of magic in this world he can
only go back about thirteen minutes without passing out for several
days."

"It must be very difficult for Rook to have
the power to save lives but not be able to use it." I could imagine
that would cause a lot of guilt to build up over the years and
these people have been around for centuries.

"Sometimes it really tears him up, but if he
defied his Elders and broke their rules, he'd be stripped of his
powers and sent to a world that would make the human version of
Hell seem like a walk in the park."

"
With great power comes great
responsibility
." I quoted wisely.

"Quoting lines from Spiderman?" Solomon
chuckled. "Oh, you and Claire are going to get along famously. She
loves comic book heroes and Star Wars."

"Her and I will have a lot to talk about
then." I smiled brightly. "So I'm curious, how do you fit into this
world, if you don't mind me asking?"