Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (16 page)

If I needed any proof that my dreams were
more than fantasies conjured in the depths of my mind, this was it.
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror examining the marks on my
back and arms. One night of dream sex and the dragon had painted my
skin to match his own. Now instead of a pencil sketch, I could see
black scales with a hint of red through the claw marks. The colors
were dull and looked faded but they were there. And to top it off,
the dragon eye on my back had a satisfied glint to it, like the
beast knew exactly what he'd done.

It had been so easy to surrender to the
dragon; his every touch demanded it and I gave in willingly,
completely. But then it had always been easy in my dream world.
I've trusted the mysterious man in my dreams since the first time
he came to me. Over the years I had grown to love him. We'd spent
countless hours talking, laughing and making love. Why should it be
any different now that I've met him in reality? From what I'd seen
so far, Dragon was very much like the man I'd dreamed of. I wasn't
sure if I was ready to move in with him, but I knew I was ready to
see Dragon again.

Once I was dressed I headed out to find
Claire. I was eager to see Dragon, but decided it couldn't hurt to
hear what the resident psychic had to say first.

Claire's Fortunes was located near the front
of the resort between The Gateway and Lilith's Lounge. I walked
into the waiting area and took in my surroundings. The room was
dimly lit with dark scarves draped over the lamps. Twinkling lights
crisscrossed the ceiling and glowing candles burned on every
tabletop. In the corner I saw what had to be the world’s largest
lava lamp; it went from floor to ceiling with orange bubbles
floating in blue liquid. Moon and star themed throws and pillows
were scattered here and there on the furniture. A dark shaggy rug
covered the floor and a shimmering bead curtain blocked the doorway
to the next room. Shaking my head I thought; whoever was in charge
of decorating this resort never missed a chance to exploit a
cliché.

A woman came through the bead curtain and
exclaimed, "Serafina! Oh, I'm so happy to finally meet you! I've
waited so long!" She reached out and hugged me like a long lost
friend.

When she pulled back I saw that she was about
my height and dressed in typical fortune teller garb. Her long dark
hair fell in loose curls around her face and shoulders. She wore a
frilly calf length skirt, high heeled lace-up boots and a peasant
blouse that sat off her slender shoulders. Large hoop earrings,
several noisy bracelets and a colorful scarf tied over her hair
completed the outfit. When I met her gaze there was delight in her
eyes.

"Why would you be waiting to meet me? How do
you even know who I am?" I asked.

"I am psychic my dear," she said with a wink,
"and it's not every day I get to meet my son's mate."

Whoa, hold on! The woman in front of me
looked to be in her early thirties, about the same age as Dragon. I
remembered him telling me that my body is frozen at my current age
now that we're mated. I wondered what that meant for the
shapeshifters. Did they all stop aging in their early thirties? I
took a closer look at her face, trying to see a family resemblance,
and there it was, chocolate brown eyes framed by long thick
lashes.

She must have sensed my shock because she
hooked her arm around mine and said, "Come, let's sit down and I'll
tell you all about it."

She led me through the bead curtain into a
smaller room with a table and a hutch style cabinet. The table was
covered with a deep blue velvet tablecloth and held a deck of tarot
cards, rectangular stones with strange symbols etched on them, and
a crystal ball that had mist swirling inside of it. The cabinet
shelves were cluttered with trinkets and knick-knacks that fortune
tellers might use for divination or communing with spirits. I had
no idea what most of it was but I recognized a Ouija board and a
chart for reading tea leaves.

"I suppose I should have introduced myself
before accosting you - My name is Claire, and it is my pleasure to
finally meet you." She offered me a kind smile before disappearing
through another doorway. After a moment she came back carrying two
large mugs. She placed them on the table and we took our seats. I
peered inside the cup and was surprised to see hot chocolate with
marshmallows - my favorite.

"I think I was just a little startled before.
It's hard to believe you could be Dragon's mother. You barely look
old enough to be his sister." I told her after sipping my hot
chocolate. It was wonderful, rich and creamy, and just the right
temperature.

"Perfectly understandable; you've had a lot
to take in since your arrival here at the resort. You seem to be
holding up very well under the circumstances." She paused to sip
from her mug and closed her eyes, obviously savoring the creamy
goodness before she continued.

"As shapeshifters, we age at a normal human
rate until we reach our sixteenth birthday. After that we continue
to age at an exceptionally slow rate until one day our bodies just
stop getting any older. Typically, all shapeshifters over a century
old look about the same age. However, many of our people were
changed into vampires before their bodies were finished aging.
Which means they are froze at whatever age they appeared to be at
that time," Claire explained.

We continued sipping our hot chocolate as we
talked. "It's so strange to think of people living for hundreds of
years. Do you ever feel like you've been there, done that, and
there's nothing left to try?"

She chuckled. "I suppose there have been
times when I've felt like that. But knowing without a doubt that
something new is always around the corner is one advantage of being
psychic. Take you for example. The first time I saw you in a vision
was the same night my son was cursed. That was over four hundred
years ago - a long time to wait, but worth it in the end."

How could she see visions of me hundreds of
years before I was born? "Why are you so sure I'll be worth your
wait? What makes me so special?"

She leaned forward and became very serious.
"I have many visions every day of my life. Most of them are about
trivial events that probably only matter to one or two people.
Occasionally though, I have visions that cause golden tear drops to
fall from my eyes." I must have looked disbelieving because she
said, "No really, I actually cry tears of gold. Anyway, these
visions knock me unconscious for hours or even days at a time and
are referred to as golden prophecies. My golden prophecies have the
potential to change the world.

When I see golden prophecies I mumble words
that sound like poetry. These poems help me make sense of the
visions once I wake up. You see, the images in my mind are not
always in the correct order of how events will play out. But the
poems, they usually tell the story exactly as it will happen."
Claire paused to gather herself. It was obvious she was struggling
with her emotions.

"The night Donovan was cursed I murmured this
poem for hours while the images flooded my mind:

Night and day waging war, bitter enemies
evermore.

Fierce and loyal, the day is strong.

Broken oaths, so much goes wrong.

Magic speaks to all hearts bound.

Trapped in slumber until she's found.

When two are joined the spell will break.

One by one their souls awake.

Hate takes over, vengeance sworn.

And from the flames new life is born."

She pulled a folded piece of paper from
underneath the tarot cards and handed it to me. The poem she had
just recited was written on the paper in elegant script. I read it
several times while Claire sat quietly waiting.

"Rook mentioned the prophecy yesterday. Now I
understand why people think Dragon's mate is the one who will free
his dragon."

Claire reached out and patted my hand.
"That's you dear, you are the key to everything. I wish I could
have sent for you sooner but I had to wait until all the pieces
were in place. Now that you're here the prophecy will be
fulfilled."

She smiled brightly and continued, "In the
poem, the shapeshifters are the day and the vampires are the night.
When the clans united, the day was very strong until the wolf
betrayed us. With his help, all the shapeshifters who followed
Donovan - their hearts bound to him - were cursed. The spell will
be broken when two are joined. Since the spell is primarily focused
on Donovan and you are his mate, the two who must be joined are you
and my son. When your mating bond is completed, when you truly
commit to each other, the spell will break and his dragon will be
set free. When that happens, all of us will finally be whole
again." There was hope in her voice, but under that I could hear
her pain. It broke my heart when I thought about how much the
nightshifters must have suffered over the years. The thought that
my relationship with Dragon might impact so many lives scared me a
little. I wasn't comfortable with that much responsibility.

I thought about the poem and her explanations
then asked, "You said the poems normally tell the order in which
events will take place, correct?" She nodded. "Then what is
supposed to happen after the beasts wake up? What does 'Hate takes
over, vengeance sworn, and from the flames new life is born'
mean?"

"This prophecy is known as the Phoenix
Prophecy because many people have taken the last line to mean
someone or something will be reborn through flames - possibly that
the awakening of the beasts is a type of rebirth. It is unclear
what that part of the poem actually refers to. I have my suspicions
based on the images I saw the night I first cried this prophecy,
but I have always kept them to myself. I learned a long time ago
that not all of my visions should be shared with the masses. Most
futures are not set in stone, and if my suspicions are correct,
this is one future that many supernatural races would stop at
nothing to erase. When the time comes, Donovan will be there and he
will do what needs to be done," she said cryptically.

"That sounds like he'll have to do something
he doesn't want to do. How do you know he will do it?"

"If you asked him today, he would tell you he
would rather die than do what he will have to do. But I know my son
and I have seen the choices he will be given. He will do what he
must and the scales will finally be tipped in our favor." A
predatory spark in her eyes told me her enemies would be sorry when
that happened.

"Have you told him any of this?" I wondered
what Dragon thought of this prophecy business.

"When Donovan first heard the prophecy he
became obsessed with finding his mate. He blamed himself for the
curse and the prophecy gave him a way to end it. Travali took
advantage of his distraction and nearly won the war. Eventually
Donovan gave up his search and chose to believe the Phoenix
Prophecy was nothing more than wishful thinking on my part. He
threw all of his energy into helping our people learn how to live
in the dark and keeping them safe. He has never been interested in
what the rest of the prophecy might mean because he has convinced
himself it's not a real prophecy."

She pulled a thick gold bracelet from her arm
and handed it to me. "It was fashioned using the gold I cried
during the Phoenix Prophecy."

The bracelet was divided into four sections,
each one carved with a detailed scene that seemed to visualize the
Phoenix Prophecy poem. The first scene had a vampire, a dragon,
several smaller beasts and a truly evil looking wolf. Turning the
bracelet a little I saw grief stricken human faces with fangs. The
next scene reminded me of Solomon's play when the Dragon King and
his mate had been marked. It had a man and woman joined together in
passion with their mating marks on display. Off to the side there
were shapeshifters in human and beast forms celebrating under a
full moon. When I got to the last scene on the bracelet I wasn't
sure what to make of it. The man and woman were surrounded by fire
but the flames were in the shapes of animals.

When I looked up from the bracelet Claire
said, "I want you to have that bracelet and I will not take no for
an answer." The stern look she gave me brooked no arguments.

"I know that look," I said laughing lightly.
"I've seen it on my mother's face many times. It means arguing
would be pointless so I may as well go along with your wishes." I
smiled thinking how strange it was to see that expression on a face
that looked barely older than mine. "Thank you for the generous
gift."

I put the bracelet on my arm and felt a
strange sense of peace settle over me. It meant a lot to me that
Dragon's mother accepted me so completely. I hoped I would be able
to live up to her expectations.

She sat back in her chair relaxing as she
said, "Now, do you still want to know what it's like to live with
shapeshifters?"

That startled a laugh out of me. "I don't
think I will ever get used to that. You had my favorite drink ready
when I got here, a copy of that poem printed for me to read, and
you already know what I came here for." I just shook my head.
"Yesterday Dragon actually growled when Rook suggested that we
should hide the mating marks and he became very angry when I
mentioned dancing with other men while I work. I want to learn more
about shapeshifters before someone gets hurt because of my
ignorance."

"The best advice I can give you is to treat
all shapeshifters like wild animals. If an animal is hungry it will
eat. If it craves carnal pleasure it will mate. And if it feels
threatened it will attack. No matter how tame a shapeshifter seems
on the outside, in his soul there is a wild animal. The human half
of an adult shapeshifter can usually keep the animal under control,
but that takes practice. If the beast is allowed to come out and
play often enough it is easier to control. I fear what will happen
when the curse is lifted and hundreds of angry beasts awaken.
Nightshifters have not practiced controlling their beasts for a
very long time. We probably won't fare much better than children
when the spell is first broken.