Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (10 page)

Dragon nodded. "Yes, tonight’s show was an
excerpt from that legend. There's an extended version of the story
in the compendium I suggested the other night."

"Oh yes, thank you for that tip by the way.
I've already purchased the book and planned to read it from cover
to cover. Now I think I'll start with that story. I have so many
questions that weren't really answered during Solomon's show."

"I'm sure I could answer your questions. That
particular story is one I am very familiar with," Dragon offered as
we crossed a bridge to the other side of the moat.

"Okay. If I remember correctly, in this
legend the shapeshifters are called nightshifters because they are
the only shapeshifters to ever be changed into vampires. Why is
that? Does the book explain that further?"

We'd reached the beach and Dragon gestured to
a bench that was situated at the edge of the sand facing the Gulf.
The rhythmic sound of the waves was peaceful and soothing. We sat
beside each other and he explained, "In that legend, vampirism is
caused by a virus found in the blood of psychic demons. The virus
is easily passed to humans, but shapeshifters are only half human.
Their other half is a mixture of animal and magic, both of which
prevent the shapeshifter from contracting the disease. Once the
spell was cast there was nothing left to protect the human
halves."

"So essentially, the cursed shapeshifters
were humans without any supernatural powers at all." Dragon nodded
and I asked, "Then why would the vampires take the risk of
converting them into vampires. Solomon's explanation of
demoralization doesn't seem like enough. I mean look what happened.
The nightshifters were only able to defeat the vampires because the
vampires gave them the power to do so."

"It was done to be cruel and to demoralize
the nightshifters, it just didn't work out the way the vampires
planned. You see vampires are psychic like the demons whose blood
infects them. With their psychic abilities they can usually control
the vampires they sire, especially in the beginning. Imagine how
the Dragon King would have felt with the Master vampire pulling his
strings." Dragon seemed to shake himself before he continued.
"Luckily for him and his people their minds were too hard for the
vampires to crack."

"I can see how that idea might appeal to a
vampire and I suppose the Master expected the nightshifters to be
like any other humans he had changed over in the past. Now tell me
how the virus works. In so many vampire legends their blood can be
used for healing. How is that possible if it contains a contagious
virus?"

Dragon pulled me closer to him while angling
his body so that I could lean back against his chest. He ran his
fingers through my hair while he talked. "The virus gives the host
all the powers of the demon and the demons healed at phenomenal
rates, some could even regenerate limbs. But the virus is also a
virus. Even human bodies are designed to fight off viruses.
Therefore, small doses of the virus will heal a body before its
natural defenses kick in and eradicate the virus. That is why so
many legends say a person must be drained of blood before they can
be changed over. Without a full supply of blood in the body the
immune system is too weak to fight off the virus, and once the
virus takes hold of a body it can never be removed, healthy immune
system or not."

I chuckled and twisted around to look at him.
"Your explanations are almost scientific and it seems like you've
spent a lot of time thinking about all of this."

He smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"I'm surrounded by myths and legends every day of my life. They're
a popular topic for conversation and debate here at the resort. As
the person in charge, I need to have my facts straight when those
debates get out of control and I have to wade in and settle the
dispute." I must have given him a disbelieving look because he
insisted, "Just wait until you see a fight break out in the casino
because a couple of guests are arguing over whether vampires can
survive on bagged blood or if it has to come right from the
source."

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "And does it
need to come right from the source?"

His expression turned dark and I wasn't sure
why my question seemed to disturb him so greatly. "The essence of a
person, their life force, is contained in their blood. It's that
life force that vampires truly need to survive, and unfortunately
it dies almost immediately after it leaves the body. Bagged blood
would keep a vampire alive, but without the life force from fresh
blood vampires would basically go insane. The demons that infected
the original vampires were cruel creatures that enjoyed toying with
their victims. They invaded their minds and projected horror after
horror until their victims believed they were actually living
through their own personal Hells. Vampires who forego fresh blood
even for short periods become more and more like the demons who
created them. They lose that part of themselves that would normally
stop them from crossing certain lines. Some vampires choose to do
this because it makes their psychic abilities stronger but in my
opinion, they trade their souls for that power."

"I guess that would explain why a lot of
vampire legends portray them as evil." I stood up and reached my
hand out to him. He took it and rose gracefully from the bench
beside me. "I seem to remember you having dessert sent to your
apartment. Why don't we go see what kind of goodies we have to
choose from?"

He kissed my hand then said, "As you wish my
lady." The chivalrous comment made me smile. It appeared I wasn't
the only one affected by the magnificent performance we'd just
finished watching.

We walked along the path in comfortable
silence; each of us lost in our own thoughts. Moonlight softly lit
the majestic beauty of the waves rolling on shore. A light wind
carrying the scent of saltwater tangled my hair. Shortly after
crossing another bridge we reached the staff apartment building and
took the elevator to the top floor. The elevator opened into a
foyer with only one door. Dragon placed his palm on the security
panel and let us into his home.

I was hesitant to go any further until he
inclined his head letting me know I was welcome to explore his
domain. His apartment had a large living area with several small
seating arrangements, a fireplace, and a wide screen TV mounted on
the wall. Beyond a wall of glass doors I could see an open terrace
with more seating and a beautiful garden. The kitchen was similar
to mine only on a much larger scale. There were two small bathrooms
neither of which had a bathtub or shower stall. Adjacent to the
kitchen was a large formal dining area with a long table lined with
more chairs than I cared to count. Browns and reds dominated the
masculine decor. On the walls there were paintings of dragons and
castles reminding me of Solomon's show. Everything from the thick
furniture to the paintings on the walls made me think of medieval
castles but somehow still looked modern with a rustic flare.

Having finished my exploration of the first
floor Dragon said, "There are a few bedrooms with private bathrooms
and an office upstairs. I don't really need all of this space, but
sometimes I like to entertain guests in a more private setting than
the casino can offer." He took off his tie and jacket as he spoke
tossing them over a chair before undoing the cuffs of his sleeves.
He left a couple buttons at the top of his shirt open. It was a
very sexy look for him. I tried to focus on what he was saying
instead of imagining what he would look like when the rest of his
clothing came off.

"It's wonderful, but I can see how it might
seem excessive with you living here alone."

"The dessert cart should be outside on the
terrace. I enjoy sitting out there in the evening when my schedule
permits." He took my hand and led me through the glass doors. I
walked to the railing to take in the spectacular view of the
beaches below. "I wasn't sure what you would like so I had several
choices delivered." He was standing next to a room service cart
lifting silver dish covers to see what we had to choose from. As I
joined him he uncovered chocolate covered strawberries.

"Oh, those look delectable, but I better see
what the other choices are before I decide." There were brownies
artfully drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce, cheesecake with
raspberry sauce and tiramisu. "I think I would like to try the
tiramisu, it always has been one of my favorite desserts."

"The tiramisu is excellent, but given the
choice, cheesecake will win every time with me. Would you like
something to drink with that? We have wine and sodas to choose
from."

"I will take a glass of wine please," I
replied.

He poured the wine and we carried our plates
and glasses to a table and chairs near the railing. He pushed a
button on a remote and soft jazz music began playing. I took the
first bite of my tiramisu savoring the taste of coffee and liqueur
on my tongue. The tiramisu was very good, and judging by the way he
devoured the cheesecake it wasn't bad either.

When we finished our desserts, I decided to
bring up an uncomfortable topic that occurred to me during our walk
here. "I don't mean to ruin the mood but there's something that we
need to discuss." He set his wineglass down and looked at me
expectantly. "On the balcony we were both so caught up in the
moment; not thinking about the consequences of our actions. I
wanted you to know, I don't usually have unprotected sex in public
places, but I am on birth control. So we shouldn't have to worry
about any surprises on that front. I'm also sure you don't have to
worry about catching any diseases from me. But, since we didn't use
a condom, I wanted to know if you could say the same."

With a kind smile he said, "I assure you, I
do not carry any diseases that you could catch from being intimate
with me. And you shouldn't worry about ruining the mood or how I
might react to your concerns. If something is bothering you I want
to know about it. I don't want there to be any secrets between us.
And don't be too hard on yourself for acting out of character.
Neither of us has been fully in control of our bodies since the
first time our eyes met in Mystique." He leaned back in his chair
and sipped his wine.

I squirmed in my seat a little. "About that;
I know what you must have seen and I have no excuse for my
behavior. I just..."

He cut me off with a slicing motion of his
hand. "You don't have to explain yourself. Mystique has that effect
on everyone and some of our guests feel right at home there. But I
watched you after you came up the stairs, and by the way you tore
out of there, I knew you wouldn't have ever let yourself get into
that situation had you been in charge of your body."

"What is it about that place?"

"Sex demon pheromones of course," he said
with a straight face and I burst out laughing.

"Well that explains it," I said still
laughing. "Are there any myths or legends that can explain this
crazy connection between the two of us?"

His lips curved into that sinful grin that
made me want to wrap my naked body around his. "Maybe we're
mates?"

"Do you mean soul mates?" I asked
curiously.

He shook his head and sat forward leaning
towards me with his elbows resting on the table. "In many legends,
shapeshifters believe that every man and every woman has a perfect
partner; a man or woman he or she is destined to be with. It goes
much deeper than the commonly accepted idea of having a soul mate.
When their bodies reach maturity, they will be drawn to each other
by an undeniable force. Once they meet, they will crave each other
with desire so overwhelming it cannot go unfulfilled. The sexual
fever they go through is often referred to as the mating frenzy.
When they give in to the frenzy and become intimate, a bond is
formed that can never be broken. Shapeshifters believe that if a
man is lucky enough to find his fated woman, he should treasure her
above all else. What if you are that woman for me? What if I have
been searching for you for centuries, waiting for the day when we
would meet and I could finally know the joy of being bonded to my
mate?"

"That seems like a plausible explanation to
me but how would we know for sure?" I didn't mind playing along
with the fantasy. After all we both live and work in a resort
dedicated to myths and legends.

"When shapeshifters find their mates they
know it instinctually. The knowledge burns in their souls. As a
human you would feel the mating frenzy but you wouldn't know what
it meant unless you'd grown up around shapeshifters."

"Is the attraction purely physical? Is there
any way to deny the mating frenzy? What if one of them wanted to
say no and couldn't? Wouldn't that be similar to giving someone a
roofie, or date rape?"

"Do you feel like I raped you tonight
Serafina? Could you have said no if you had wanted to?" He was
serious now and it felt like he really wanted to know, not like we
were talking about a hypothetical fantasy situation.

"No, I do not believe you raped me even
though there wasn't a chance in hell I could have said no," I told
him honestly, "I could have been married or even a nun and I still
would have let you take me on that balcony, but even admitting
that, it wasn't rape. What we shared tonight felt too right to ever
be considered rape whether either of us had a choice or not."

"What if it felt so right because the fates
have bound our souls together? Mating does start with a purely
physical attraction, just like many other relationships. But once
the mates are bonded the emotional attachment usually grows very
quickly."

"Well, if this is what mating feels like then
I'm all for it, but I think I feel cheated," I teased and his brows
drew together. "When the Dragon King and his bride mated they were
marked with a magical tattoo. I thought it was amazing how their
love for each other manifested physically."