Elam (9 page)

“No. No. No.” He sat down, not on the chair as he’d been aiming for, but in the cereal and broken pottery that was on the floor. The longer he sat there, the harder his mind worked. There was no way he was seeing what he was seeing. And if he was, then he’d done it. Latching onto that thought, he reasoned through each thing he was seeing.

The window was fixed. The glass that he’d sort of half-assed cleaned up was gone. The dirty dishes were done, stacked neatly on the counter. Even the cereal he’d nearly eaten hadn’t been there before. It was as if he’d had a cleaning crew come in and clean up after him.

“I took it to town last night. Got it fixed, and I...and I did some shopping too.” That would explain away the now fixed window, he thought, and the food all lined up in a neat row on the counter. Bags neatly folded, the receipt right there where he could see it. “Yes. I traveled all night and that’s why I’m so fit this morning. I ate in town and came back exhausted and slept well.”

He kept telling himself that was what he’d done. Traveled and got things fixed. Grocery shopped and filled his cabinets. The water he’d used for his shower would have also been refilled. And he’d bet his sewage tanks were not just emptied, but clean as well. It was what he would do, make sure he was ready for a long stay. He’d hated going to the lake and carting water up from it to fill his empty water tanks.

Standing up, he wasn’t surprised to see that he’d cut himself. A long open wound on his leg bled while he gathered his kit and cleaned it up.

He continued to find things. Things that he’d left undone in favor of the dragon hunting. Small things and large tasks too. The laundry was done, pressed, and put in the drawers. The pull-out sofa that he’d been using as a bed was now a seat again, the pillows on it fluffed up and in each corner. He put a bandage on his wound and nodded to himself. Yes, he’d been very busy, it seemed.

“I was just exhausted, that’s all. It’s why I have little to no memory of the events. I did all this so that I could hunt all day. Spend my time finding the dragon I saw yesterday.” It bothered him slightly that he was talking to himself. Not only asking questions, but answering them as well. He decided that while it might seem insane to most, he was quite happy with the conversations that he was having. No one would give him the answers he wanted but himself, he thought with a grin.

Instead of going out, however, he elected to stay at the camp site. There were things he needed to do anyway, he reasoned, and what better time to get on them than when he was fully rested. The windows needed washing. The carpets swept up. All things he knew had to be done, and today was as good a day as any.

Ralph was on the top of his camper, sweeping off the debris and leaves, when he saw a movement. Lying down, not making a sound, he watched the man walk up to his temporary home and knock on the door.

He had no idea who he was. His size made Ralph think of body builders, ones that got on programs and won awards. Even his hands were large, like he could hold a basketball with it and not have any strains on his fingers. Ralph lay there watching the man, as still as one of the trees in the yard surrounding him.

“I only came to talk to you. My name is Asher, Asher Benson.” Asher neither looked up nor stepped back from the door when he spoke. “I own the land over there, my brothers and I. I wish to ask you if you know anything of a man who shot at one of my sisters-in-law the other day. And my brother.”

Ralph said nothing, but his mind was working. Brother? He’d shot at his brother? And what woman did he speak of? The only one that he’d taken aim at was the woman in white, the one that he’d seen long ago. Then he thought of his dream last night. The woman and the man. He skirted around the memories of them again, as he’d been doing all morning, and listened to Asher when he spoke again.

“There is a rumor that there is a dragon slayer about. One that cowardly hides behind his guns and shoots at mythical creatures.” They weren’t mythical at all. He’d seen one. But the man spoke as if it were a joke. As if no one believed in dragons. “He’s going to hurt someone, this man, if he continues to shoot at innocent people he thinks are dragons.”

“They’re as real as you.” The man looked up at him, and Ralph remembered then that he was supposed to be hiding from him. As he made his way down the ladder, the man moved to where he was going to alight and waited for him. “I’ve seen them. A blue one the other day in the caves beyond.”

“The caves up there?” He pointed in the wrong direction, and Ralph corrected him. He could have kicked himself, because he’d just given himself away. For all he knew this man was a hunter too. Ralph had just given him his trade secret. “Those caves belong to my land. You are trespassing on private property. Did you know that?”

“I only shot in that direction. I wasn’t on the land.” He felt good about his reasoning until the man grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up as if he weighed no more than a twig. “What are you doing? Put me down.”

“You shot at my brother, you idiot. What is wrong with you that you can’t tell the difference between a man and a dragon? A creature that does not exist?” Ralph felt his head tighten from lack of air and struggled harder. But he was getting weaker, even as the man shook him hard then tossed him to the ground. “You come near my land and my family again and I will come back here and show you what real wrath feels like when I tear you apart.”

“I know what I saw. And I saw a dragon. A great blue one. There was a man there at first. He talked to someone behind him or something. But he was a man. Then he shook himself and turned into this dragon.” The man in front of him growled. “I tell you the truth. If that was your brother, then you should check him out. The fucker is a dragon.”

The sky darkened overhead. When the man didn’t look to see whatever it was, Ralph looked up. And when he fell on his back, the sight he was seeing making him giddy, he looked at the man to tell him to see it too. But he was gone, not a trace of him as Ralph stood up again to see.

As he rounded the corner of the camper, thinking of the direction that the dragons had taken, the man was standing there with three other men, each of them the same size as the one he’d talked to at first.

“You here to hurt me?” The man to Asher’s right laughed. “What is it? I’ve done nothing wrong. I know what I saw.”

“So you say. And what is it you saw? Dragons? What do you think people are going to say to you when you tell them you saw dragons?” The other man looked up, then back at him. “There are no such things as dragons.”

“I know what I saw.” Asher looked at the two men with him, then back at him. There was a hardness about him now, like he was done being nice. If he ever was. Ralph took a step back when Asher crossed his arms over his massive chest and glared at him.

“You come near our land, or shoot in the direction of it, then I will come back here. Do you hear me?” Ralph nodded and said he’d be more careful. “You’d be better off giving up on this folly of yours. It’s only going to get you killed.”

“So
you
say.” Ralph watched the three of them, wondering what sort of steroids they took to be that big. He thought their muscles had muscles, and he was slightly jealous of them. When the third man laughed again, Ralph asked him what he thought was so funny.

“The vampire that you slept with last night, she left you a note.” Ralph backed up so quickly when the man reached for him that he nearly fell on his ass. “I have no plans of touching you. I’m only reaching for the paper. I wasn’t going to hurt you. Yet.”

It was the
yet
that terrified him. The threat of it had his balls tightening again. When he handed him the note, the pretty lavender paper with a scent on it that made his dick harden, Ralph held it in his hand and saw it shake slightly.

“She’s not real. It was...the two of them, it was a dream.” Asher said it didn’t appear to be to him, not since he was holding proof of it in his hand. “No, you don’t understand. I was fit today. I’d slept so well and I feel so good. There was work to be done here, things that I’d been putting off. I had the window fixed on my own. Drove into town last night and had it repaired while I had a nice meal and did some shopping.”

“No, you didn’t. You didn’t move this thing. Nothing has moved in months.” Even as the man pointed to the lack of tire marks, Ralph was shaking his head. “You haven’t left here since you parked it, I think. And you did have a vampire bite you. And the male, he’s not a vampire, but her watcher I guess. You’ve been fucked. If I were you, I’d take some precautions that it doesn’t happen again.”

“How? How do I keep her from coming to me again? They just appeared in my house here. And then when we started it, this sex, I was suddenly naked and in my bed.” None of them said anything, and he felt like he wanted to cry. “I don’t know what to do.”

No one seemed to have an answer to that either. He noticed that not a one of them would look him in the eye after his confession. It hurt him. Even though he didn’t know these men until today, it hurt him to think that they were ashamed of his actions too. Asher was the only one that talked to him just before they left.

“She’s an old one, this vampire lover of yours, and when she comes back I don’t think she’s going to be too happy that you were with us.” Ralph had asked him why. “Because we smell like faerie. And witch. And everyone knows that vamps don’t get along well with either of those.”

Long after they left him standing there, holding the letter like he was afraid it was going to soil him somehow, he thought of the man’s final words to him. Ralph had to do something or he was going to be killed. He knew it.

Chapter 8

Gideon loved to work with his sisters. Both of them, even large into their breeding, were keeping up with their studies, and he thought perhaps one of them, if not both, were going to need someone with a great deal more experience than he had very soon now. As a dragon, he’d not been able to play with the kind of magic that they had, but he knew how to move and to fall. He looked up when he saw Ariannona come out of the house across from them. She looked better, pale still, but better than she did when they’d brought her home yesterday.

“Come work with us.” Gideon looked at Lindsey when she invited the other woman to come into the yard. “I think we’ve worn poor Gideon out. Besides, maybe you can show us some things that he can’t.”

“He’s doing well.” Gideon bowed to her when she came onto the field with them. He smiled at her when she stood in front of him. “You’re holding back. Because of the children?”

“No. I’m holding back because of them.” He nodded to his left, and Ariannona turned to look at his brothers. “I fear them more than I do getting these women a bump on the bottom or two.”

“I see. But you know that the earth can help them with that as well, don’t you?” He shook his head, not understanding. “Watch. You can do this too, all of you can. Nothing will harm them here, not if they’re on solid ground. It’s part of what the land gives you. Mostly them, but all of you.”

Ariannona charged Essie. He tensed, waiting for one or all of the men beside him to attack her, but when she hit Essie, her feet sailing through the air like she was part kite, Essie fell back but never hit the ground.

No one moved as Essie put her feet down and stood. Ariannona stayed where she’d landed, her body hard with whatever came next. Asher came to her, and Gideon was sure she was going to hear about it, but all he did was put out his hand to help her stand. Essie and Lindsey both laughed.

“How did you do that?” Essie hugged Ariannona twice before she continued with her questions. “How did you keep me from falling?”

“I didn’t. You’re part of the world around you. And it knows everything about you, what you’re doing here. What you’re doing for not just the earth and the creatures in it, but the world around it. The dragons especially. It is, rightly, keeping you safe. Even from your own folly.” Ariannona looked at him. “Should someone charge you, as I did with them, you’d not fall either. The land protects what it considers her own. And with you being a dragon of the lineage that you are, it will protect your kind above all others, save the women.”

Almost as if she had summoned them, a swarm of dragons came from the tree line, and it might have been scary if they had all not been about the size of his hand. Gideon and his brothers, all of them, circled the women. Something could have startled them into rushing them, and they were going to be prepared.

The little dragons moved between them to get to the women. Ariannona stood beside him, her body seemingly relaxed, yet ready. When Elam came to them, just leaving the house, he too looked like he had just been woken from his slumber and had not a care in the world. Whatever had bothered the dragons didn’t seem to worry anyone but him. Gideon wondered at that when he heard Lindsey laughing behind him.

“They found us.” He could see that now. They were all over Lindsey and Essie. Lindsey laughed again. “They said that it wasn’t until the witch told them where to go that they knew they’d be safe.” Everyone looked at Ariannona.

“That would be Izic, not me. He has been putting the word out that there is a safe haven for them. I had hoped that more and more of them would come because of the slayer.” Ariannona nodded toward the dragons. “They’re fully grown, and the last of their kind. Several decades ago someone came into the field where they lived and clear-cut the trees, leaving them not just without a place to live and to survive, but it also took out large groups of their families. Izic knew that they’d been struggling to live, so I had him to go find them. It’s harder than you think to find a swarm of dragons.”

Gideon didn’t understand why they didn’t just go and hunt him down, this slayer of dragons. There were enough places around here to hunt and to feed yourself. Why his family? Why the dragons that meant no one any harm? People apparently had been hunting them for years—centuries really—and he knew that. It didn’t make it any better, and he didn’t understand why anyone would want to kill dragons.

Gain. Fame. You name it, there have been people looking to kill dragons for as long as we’ve been on this earth.
He looked over at Onimia when he spoke through their link
. There have been slayers, many of them since before my parents were born. And I think there will be some even after this man leaves this earth.

Why not go out, find him, and burn him to a crispy fritter? You know, ash is hard to do testing on. Or we could find a nice deep hole to put him in. Drive that stupid noisy thing of his over the cliff and...no, that won’t work. Pollution and all. We could sell it? I like that idea much better. Why not go all out, kill him, and make a profit too?
Onimia was staring at him now, and he had to hold back a laugh. There was a small green dragon hanging on his ear lobe at the moment.
I tell you what, you go to the skies, find him, and I’ll tie him up and you can take him out.

Because, you dolt, we are no better than them if we do that.
Gideon hurt, he was trying so hard not to laugh now. The dragon was looking like he was making a home for himself on Onimia’s head by moving his hair around to suit some idea he had of furniture.
How would that look it if someone came here looking for this man…his wife, children? Do you think they’d be happy to know that we killed him?

No, but it’s also not all right that he kills our own. And you heard what Ariannona said the other day…his family has been slayers for centuries. Perhaps if we took care of the problem now, we’d not have to worry about it in the future.
Onimia only huffed at him.

To be honest, he was just joking. Not about taking care of the man—no, not that—but about burying his body in the mountains. Not that he’d do that either. He was just tired, that was it. Tired of it all.

There was so much tension of late that he was beginning to feel like they would never be able to be happy. Gideon looked over at Lindsey as she rubbed her belly. It was a sight to behold, he thought, to see someone that you loved swollen with a child. There was a true sign that something good could come from the worst kind of evil shit.

Cleaning up, making sure the dragons were well, it was time to get back to work.

As he made his way to the castle with the rest of them, he thought of what they were doing, and why. It was going to be grand, he thought, to have it the way it had been. Not just the castle itself, but the land around it as well. Recently trees had been planted and a kitchen garden had been placed; herbs were sprouting up even now.

Even some of the decorations added to the ancient feel of the place…a fountain that they’d gotten, and a row of fencing that was made of steel and stone. There was even a little garden that had a few gnomes in it, just for fun. Not many, but a few of them were being put aside to fill in the spaces around the keep as soon as it was finished. He looked at Akassa, Simeon’s dragon, when he pulled a great stone from the fallen ones.

“We need a party.” He’d not meant to say it aloud, but now that he had, he could see that it had merit. “Not on the scale we could have when the castle is ready, but something fun. We’ve been working so hard.” Asher asked him what sort of party. Before he could think of what he meant, Shane spoke.

“Pizza or burgers on the grill. Potato salad like Mom used to make. I know that it’s a bit early for it, but cucumber and tomato salad too. And fresh slices of tomatoes and lettuce still warm from the sun.” Everyone stopped working and was staring at Shane as he continued. “Burgers…not steaks, just plain burgers. Cheese that Elbert makes…you know, the peppery kind that is hot enough to make you drink a gallon of tea, but so good you just can’t stop eating it.”

“And remember that coconut cake that Mom would make for us? The one that she told us she slaved over for days, and we all knew that it only took the same time as a regular cake?” Keion laughed. “I loved her cakes. We had them so seldom, but man were they good.”

“She did that so you’d appreciate them more. Supply and demand, she called it.” His dad, who had been planting saplings with Essie, joined them. “And her corn cakes. Oh my, it’s been so long since I tasted her corn cakes. She’d get them just right, the crisp on the edges that I loved. And butter. Oh, how I miss that butter she made.”

“You should do it.” Gideon looked at Ariannona when she spoke. “I mean, the dragons, they would love to help you with that. The new ones, they have been working with humans without their knowledge for a long time. Instead of stealing from them—you know, bits of blankets, scraps of food—they’d do things in return for the items that they’d need. I know that a few of them that arrived today have been working in a dairy for years.”

“Oh, I love that idea. You think they could help with the churning? Butter in them little papers, it just ain’t the same as a crock of homemade butter.” His dad rubbed his hands together, and Gideon thought of all the times their dad had done that when he had a plan. “We should do it. Been a long time since we just had us a little party for no reason. I’m thinking that Elbert can whip up some of those things for us. And then there is the picnic tables. We have to have picnic tables to eat under the trees.”

Asher began moving stone, then the rest of them followed. But the planning never stopped. Assignments were made to each person. Ariannona was going to ask the dragons what they could do. Keion was to find one of the bigger dragons and ask him to help fell a couple of trees for tables. They’d make them sturdy so they could use them for years. Even as he was sweating, feeling the heat of the day and the strain on his back, Gideon felt better for it.

“You did a good thing.” He looked at Asher and asked him what he meant. “Getting us thinking about something else besides slayers and death. There has been a great deal of that lately.”

“I was really just being selfish, Asher. I really did want to have some fun.” Asher said that was fine too, that he’d shared his need with the rest of them, and it was apparent that they all had been thinking the same thing. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Nay, Gideon, thank you. You’re a good brother and my friend as well. There are few families that can say that about each other and mean it.” Gideon nodded and bent to pick up one of the stones. As soon as it was free of the dirt, he looked down at where it had been.

~~~

Elam wanted to go to the barn and bring back the backhoe that had been delivered only a few days ago. Of course when the truck had arrived to bring it to them, he’d thought it was something different. Grown trees, the invoice had said. Even a fool could see that they had no such use for grown trees, living where they did. But when it was unloaded, the magic hiding it from the world, the men left, telling them if they had any trouble with the trees getting ill to call them and they’d come out. Sure, we’ll do that, Asher had told them.

“Be careful. You’ve not an idea what might be under that.” His dad, like the rest of them, was excited. This was a find that they’d not expected to see, not this close to the top of the grounds.

Elam had moved back from the sight when it was apparent that there were just too many of them digging around the jewel that had been sticking up from the ground. Then when they saw that it was attached to something, the digging became a lot gentler, the big shovels thrown aside for smaller ones and hands.

“Holy shit, it’s a crown.” The reverence in Casdon’s voice had him looking at the large hole that they’d been able to dig around it. Yes, it was a crown. A large one at that. He wondered if it was Casdon’s father’s or mother’s. “Look at it. Do you think that...? Do you think we’re going to find...?”

His father. That was what he’d been trying hard not to say. His father was here, his body under this wreckage since before any of them had been born. To find him, to find the dragon king, was going to be hard on all of them.

“They can help.” Everyone turned when Ariannona spoke quietly. “The dragons, they can help. They want to help. Several of them, they knew your father, and they can help where you can’t.”

“How? What can they do?” Asher wasn’t being a dick, he sounded genuinely curious. “I was going to have Essie move the earth, but to be honest, I’m afraid to do that. We really have no idea what we have here.”

After Ariannona spoke quietly to Izic, he took off. When he returned after a few minutes, ten little dragons were with him, and most of them sat on the earth close to where the crown had been found. One dragon that had landed on Ariannona’s shoulder nodded to Izic. They would do it. Ariannona spoke to Asher and the rest of them.

“This is Drumple. He’s what you might call their leader. King, I guess.” Asher nodded as the small green dragon left her shoulder and landed on the dirt in front of them. “He said that it would be his honor to help you. But he asks that he might speak to you first.”

“Yes. Where does he want to talk to me?” Ariannona shook her head at Asher and smiled. “Why am I getting the feeling that this is more on a personal level than I want to know?”

“Nay, not personal, not really. He knows that you’re his king. He also knows that for many years he did the equivalent of your job for his people. Keeping them safe, together, and blessing marriages. All things, he knows, that you would do. He wishes only to speak to you, as in just having a conversation.” Asher asked her if he thought himself in trouble. “More than that, Asher; he thinks you might wish to kill him. So he would like to speak to you, talk to you before you end his life, so that he can go to his other world as a happy dragon having spoken to a great king again.”