Dragon Story

I had known Mourn for a long time when it all happened. I suppose there were warnings, little things, that, when paid attention to, should have clued me into what was about to happen. But, like the half mortal I am, I paid no heed.

Mourn was sidhe, a real life elf, cast from the court for reasons even he would not divulge. He was tall, and handsome, almost too handsome, a white marble statue with long platinum hair that enjoyed coffee on cold mornings with me, whether I was finishing up my homework from the weekend or fending off a hangover.

This morning I was hung over, nursing my large coffee and trying to down a croissant when he waltzed in, smiling as his startling green eyes swept over me.

\"And good day to you, Angela, though it appears that you are not having one so far.\"
I half-heartedly pushed my knee length red hair out of my face and made a face. \"Piss off.\"

He sat down, still smiling. I caught a few jealous glances from the women in the coffee shop. I smirked. He was all mine to enjoy, something he didn\'t seem to mind.

\"I have found someone for you.\"

I raised my head, eyes wide, disbelieving what he had just said. We had been together for years, ever since I had move to California. \"Come again?\"

\"And you have, with my skill and all.\" I managed to blush as he smiled again. \"That is not what I meant, however. I have found someone who might help you control your...abilities.\"

\"Magic blows up in my face, Mourn.\"

He shook his head. \"Wiccan magic. Wiccan magic has only been around for the last hundred years or so. No, something much older. I want you to meet him. He is good at what he does.\" He snorted. I was suddenly reminded of how old he was, even though I didn\'t have an exact number. \"You are not fully human, Angela.\"

I groaned, managing a bite of my croissant. \"I sure as hell feel like it.\"

Mourn shook his head. \"Meet with him, please. Even just once. He has much to teach you.\"

He wouldn\'t leave me alone about it, I knew. The last thing I needed was him harassing me about something else in life. Wanting my body was bad enough; he wouldn\'t let me sleep over this. \"You are persistent, I will give you that.\"

\"So you will go?\"

\"Give me the damn address, I\'ll go see him later.\"

Mourn grabbed my wrist, pulling me from the seat. He was strong, often forgetting that he was much stronger than a human. He levered me out of my seat and nearly tipped the table. I almost threw up on his nice, shiny shoes.

\"Will you stop that? Don\'t you know how bloody strong you are?\"

He gave me a strange smile. \"Of course I know.\" His arms flexed, hands tightening, and I gasped. His grip was amazing. It truly was.

\"You aren\'t even trying, are you?\"

\"No, I am not.\"

\"Then let me go.\"

\"So you will meet him?\"

\"Yeah, might as well.\"

The walk was a short one, just down the street in the opposite direction of my apartment. My head was a bit clearer as we walked up the small porch to the door. There was no doorbell, so Mourn had to knock. The sound echoed through my head, and my nausea came flooding back. I tasted bile, and weaved a bit. Mourn grabbed my arm, gently straightening me, as the door opened.

I was in utter shock. The man was just as beautiful as Mourn, in a different way. Jet black hair fell in thick unbound waves to his ankles, framing a triangular face and the bluest eyes I had ever seen. Up until now, Mourn had been the only other male I met with hair longer than mine.

\"She is still hung over.\"

The man frowned at Mourn. \"Come in. I have some stuff that will help you.\"

I nodded, not trusting my voice, and followed Mourn in. He had let me go again, gliding into the room as if it were his house. I had seen Mourn\'s apartment, so I knew this wasn\'t his place. It was spotless, this house. Mourn\'s place looked like a, excuse the cliché, tornado had hit it.

We sat down at the small kitchen table, and the beautiful man set a mug with steaming hot water in front of me. He placed one of those teaspoon thingies in it that held loose tea. It smelled awful.

He smiled at me, also sitting down. \"It isn\'t as bad as it smells.\"

I tried a sip. It was awful, but not as bad as it could have been. My stomach seemed to like it, though, as it settled down a bit.

The man smiled at me again, and I couldn\'t help but smile back. He was soft, as if life had never touched him, totally unlike Mourn. You knew Mourn had been there, done that, and that nothing could faze him. Not this man. He seemed...innocent.

\"I am sure Mourn has not told you much, if anything about me. I am Liam.\" His hand drifted over mine, as if he wanted to hold it, but he held back. \"You are unique.\"
I didn\'t know how to take that, so I sipped the tea, if it could be called that, and said nothing. \"If you want to touch me, you are welcome to.\" I knew enough about magic to know that touch enhanced things. Maybe I wouldn\'t have to tell him anything. If he was good enough.

His hand descended onto mine, and he frowned, an expression which seemed out of place on him. \"You are powerful, but in what, I do not know.\"

I couldn\'t suppress my sigh. No one seemed to know what I was. \"I am sorry, Angela. I wish I could help you.\" He squeezed my hand, then froze. \"But, perhaps I can. Hold on a second.\" He stood from the table, and disappeared into a back room. He returned a minute later, something in his hand.

\"Please, take this.\"

It was a small locket, round, with the most intricate knot worked into it. Mourn frowned, but said nothing. I took it gingerly. Liam sat back down, sweeping his hair to one side. \"It is the most I can do for you.\"

\"It is okay, Liam, nobody seems to know anything about me.\"

\"You have some of the court in you, though I know not which, and something else. Something I can\'t place, but something I know well.\" He smiled at Mourn. \"You have a treasure in her, my friend.\" Liam squeezed my hand as he said it. \"Not to label you as a thing, Angela.\"


Nothing happened until a few nights later, when I was walking home from where my date had dumped me. He had been a bastard, and dropped me off in what he hoped was the middle of nowhere when I told him to shove it. Luckily, it was only a few blocks to my house. Don\'t even ask how I wound up with him.

\"I know I should just stick to Mourn, but hell.\" I didn\'t want to fall for him anymore than I had. I felt it would be dangerous, too dangerous. He might be beautiful, but there was that current of restlessness to him. I didn\'t want him to ultimately hurt me.

A rushing sound filled my ears, and I turned, too late, as a large serpentine thing slammed into me. I landed on my back, and had to bite back a scream. It was large, and dark, and a dragon. A real life fucking dragon. It pinned me with its front claws, strangely careful to not hurt me, and reared, screaming. How my neighbors managed to not hear it, I would never know.

I screamed back, partly in fear, partly because I couldn\'t let it just stand on me and eat me, but mostly because my gut told me to. The creature shook its head as if confused, so I screamed again, using my gut to project my voice. The dragon let me go, backing up a bit as he, (she, it?) did. I began to back up slowly, not wanting it to pounce on me again. My head was still throbbing from where it had hit the ground. I hoped I would be fine; I had hit the ground pretty hard.

The dragon was joined by a second, and I cursed. they chittered to one another in a high pitched voice, then looked at me. They separated and began to follow my slow retreat, flanking me. Shit. I turned and ran for my apartment complex. That high pitched chittering sounded again, and one of them slammed into my back. My head cracked against the pavement, and the world went gray. When everything stopped spinning, I craned my neck up to see one of them peering down at me, head cocked to one side, as if I was an interesting bug. Great.

The one looking at me hissed and faced something that was behind us. The two chittered at one another and the one who wasn\'t on my back reared up and lunged at something. I heard a thump as it hit whatever it was that was behind us. A shrill scream cut the air, and the load on my back lightened. I rolled over to see that the second dragon had also taken off, huge wings flapping, as it followed a third dragon into the night.

Mourn\'s face filled my vision as he came to stand over me, offering one hand to help me get up. I smiled weakly and took the offered hand, levering myself to my feet. The world swam, and I found myself clutching Mourn to stay upright. Mourn was being a sport about it, helping to support me. Liam limped over to where we stood in the middle of the street. I was betting it was him that had been tackled by the second dragon.

\"Are you okay?\"

I swallowed, my eyes fluttering shut. I was betting I had a concussion. \"I think that last tackle was too much.\"

Liam\'s beautiful face nodded, touching my temple lightly. \"You need to get to a hospital.\"

\"My car is in the parking lot.\" I fumbled for my keys and cursed as I remembered that my date had picked me up. \"My car keys are in my apartment though.\"
\"Can you walk?\" Mourn asked me.

\"I have to, don\'t I?\"

\"I could always carry you.\"

He had a point, but...\"I\'ll try walking first.\" I pushed away, and wavered on my feet. Mourn grabbed my upper arm, then looped one arm around my shoulders, helping me to stand, but giving me the illusion of walking by myself. I didn\'t push him away. I needed it more than I liked to admit.

Mourn unlocked the door to my apartment with one hand, swinging the door open wide. He led me in, letting me go as he did. Liam shut the door, and the sound was too loud, echoing in my already ringing ears. I winced.

\"Your keys, Angela.\"

\"Right.\" I fumbled next to the door where I hung up my keys. I just wound up knocking them down to the floor. Mourn stopped me from fetching them, bending over to get them himself. He tossed the keys to Liam and once more looped his arm around my shoulder. Liam jingled the keys and opened the door, walking out, us in tow.

I pulled on Mourn\'s arm so that we were in the lead and stumbled towards my battered red Honda. Liam unlocked the doors for us as he slid behind the wheel. I got into the backseat. Strangely, Mourn did too. I stretched out as much as Mourn\'s presence and my long frame allowed and rested my head on his shoulder. My head was spinning, and I wanted to puke. Yup, I had a concussion. A bad one, from the feel of it.