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  “Why just you?”

  It was a question that had bothered me for as long as I could remember.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “As for how old I am, I can remember some bits of things in the past but not everything. It’s almost like looking back on a dream. It seemed so vivid while it was happening, but once you wake up you try to grasp it, and it slips through your memory. I should have documented my life. It would have been interesting.” I thought of Kale, and his record keeping. What was he recording at this very moment? I wondered.

  “It’s entirely possible that I was made by mistake,” I went on. “I remember people being sick. I’ve asked other vampires about it. Talking about that kind of stuff makes them nervous. I was told that there was a lot of feeding going on during the Black Plague. Since people were dropping dead everywhere vampires gorged on the dying. A vampire’s sense of smell is better than that of any other creature. We can smell disease. During the Plague vampires thought of it as a civic duty to put the suffering out of their misery. My theory is that a vampire fed off of me, but didn’t finish me off, and I changed.”

  I glanced at her. She thought about what I’d said, then fired another question. “So there’s a virus transmitted by a bite. Then you change. What happens during the transformation? How long does it take?”

  “I’ve never done one myself and I don’t remember my own. Generally you have to have the permission from The Quatre.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “It’s a committee of four people that makes decisions for us supernaturals. I’ve seen one transformation. It looked like a horrible case of the flu: high fever, sweats, skin losing all color, hair turning white. It took about a week.” I braked as we entered the city limits.

  “A week.” She thought it over. “And The Quatre has to give you permission.”

  “Not necessarily, but if they decide that they don’t like your decisions they will do whatever they like to you, stopping at nothing. They’re supposed to do what is best for us. The main thing is to keep our secret from humans. The Quatre makes the rules, and, if we follow them, humans should never know we’re here.” I took a deep breath. The Quatre made the rules and doled out the punishments. I reflected on that as I slowed to a crawl in the narrow streets leading to the store.

  “What are the rules?” she asked.

  “We don’t allow humans to know us for what we really are. Vampires and incarnates can only mate with our own kind.”

  “Vampires can’t mate with incarnates?” she asked.

  “Not according to the rules,” I replied. “The idea is that incarnates must be protected against the primal instincts of vampires. It’s assumed that we can’t control our appetites.” I grinned at her. She lowered her head and blushed. I went on: “For the incarnates it’s easier to mate with their own kind. That way they don’t have to hide what they are. Another rule is that vampires must get permission to change someone, and we aren’t allowed to change incarnates. It’s the Quatre’s way of keeping the vampire population under control. If folks started dropping like flies from blood loss, people would soon catch on.”

  “And what happens if you break the rules?” she asked, rubbing the tattooed letters on her fingers.

  “It depends on their mood,” I said. “They might kill you and everyone they suspect of any involvement…or they might let you go.”

  “You said it’s four people. Who are they?”

  “There’s a vampire, a shaman, and two incarnates.”

  She looked relieved. “That doesn’t sound too bad. What do the two incarnates…what are their…shifts? That’s what you call them, right? The thing they change into?”

  “One is a werewolf like Jason. The other is a fairy.”

  I pulled into the store’s parking lot.

  “A fairy. That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  I parked, killed the engine, and handed her the keys. I could tell from her face that she was thinking of storybook fairies.

  “You don’t understand about fairies,” I said. “They are not the cute pixies you read about in children’s books. They are ruthless, deceitful, and power hungry. They will stop at nothing to get something. They would destroy the whole world if that is what it took for them to get what they want.”

  I surveyed the area before getting out of the car. I knew I wouldn’t see any evidence of the Quatre, but it was best to be cautious. Finally I got out and hurried toward the store entrance, Ash jogging to keep up. She looked nervous. Was my paranoia contagious?

  As we entered the store Jessica waved at us to come back to the apartment. She looked frightened, which scared me all the more. She gripped a thin book, and gestured for us to take seats at the kitchen counter. Her mind was sealed. Though she acted cool, I could tell she was terrified.

  She slid the book across the counter, and I picked it up and examined it. It was old, and its pages were brittle. “What is this?” I asked as I read the gold lettering on the cover. “Drache,” it read. Somehow I understood the German word.

  Jessica stared at the book, then at me. “It’s all you need to know about dragons, Verloren. After today you won’t see me again.”

  “Why?” Ash demanded. “What’s going on?”

  “Ash, please don’t try to pry in my mind. I’ll tell you what I know. Anyone who knows you’re a dragon will either be killed, or they will betray you.” She turned to me. “Give me your cell phone, Verloren.”

  I dug it out and handed it to her. She broke it in half on the counter top then threw it into the trash can.

  “They track everyone,” she reminded me. “Most likely they’re already on their way here. They’ve heard everything you’ve said. You must understand: Kale and the Quatre hoped that dragons had become extinct thousands of years ago. Apparently that is not the case. There is a prophecy that dragons will return and rule the world.” She was only addressing Ash now. “You are a dawning of a new age. The Quatre doesn’t know what that means, and, like most people, they fear what they don’t know. The Quatre will do anything to keep control, even if that means killing you and every other dragon they find. They’ve been doing that for several years. You’re not the first dragon who’s appeared, and you might not be the last, but they will do everything they can to destroy you.” She looked at the book I was holding.

  “Sara…” I muttered.

  “Yes,” said Jessica, “Sara. She will do anything to get to you, Ashley. You are a rarity. If the Quatre does not want you killed, she’ll want the essence of you. She’s sort of like…a collector.”

  “We have to leave,” Ash whispered, “don’t we?”

  ”Yes,” Jessica answered. “All I can tell you to do is run. There won’t be any reasoning with them. We must face the probability that Jason never got back here because he…they…” Jessica choked back a sob, then clamped her mouth shut, as she tried to get back her self-control.

  Ash sat, stunned.

  I took her hands in mine and kissed them. “I swear with all my life, I will do everything in my power to protect you,” I said. “I won’t let them harm you.” I stood and looked at Jessica. “Help her,” I said. “Get some clothes for both of us. Take whatever we have from the store—hair dye, disguises…anything that will help us stay undercover. Load it into her car. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  I could tell Ash wanted to question me, but I didn’t give her the opportunity. I went back to the store, grabbed the cash from the register, then slowed to human speed as I hurried across the lot to Chris’s store. I opened the door to the smell of fresh blood, and knew it had already started. I heard a weak voice.

  “Help! Help! Back here!” Chris lay in pool of blood, his torso shredded. What was left of his intestines covered him, and spilled onto the floor.

  “Fuck! What happened?” I knelt down beside him. I didn’t want to touch him.

  He handed me a folded piece of paper. He was in shock, but he managed a whisper: “They said you would come in for sup
plies. They left this…” He coughed and gripped what was left of his chest.

  I took the blood-spattered paper. “Who?”

  His eyes were huge, and his aura was fading. “Two guys came in…and attacked me.”

  “Chris, I’m so sorry.” Suddenly I understood why humans got upset when their pets die. I’d grown fond of Chris, and I’d often wished I could be as carefree and ignorant as him. I’d never asked to know the things that I knew. I rose to my feet and put the letter in my pocket. “Chris, you know that you are dying, right?”

  “Yeah,” he rasped, smiling weakly. “And it really sucks. So just do it and get it over with.” That’s what I liked about him. He just knew.

  I took my gun from my holster and the silencer from my pocket. “Here I’m using the gift you gave me to kill you.” I pointed it directly between his eyes. “Good-bye Chris. I hope we meet again in your next life.” I pulled the trigger. I heard the muffled sound, then silence. Somewhere in the world an infant was taking its first breath. The thought brought a brief smile, then the anger hit.

  I couldn’t let myself dwell on it. I left him where he was, and looked for ammo that would fit my gun. I grabbed all I could, and stuffed it in a backpack. I forced the register open, took all the cash, and packed it in with the ammo. I took one last look at my friend’s body, and walked out.

  On the other side of the lot Ash and Jessica were loading the car. I passed them, and went into the apartment where I had a safe. I’d never trusted banks after the Depression. There in the safe I had ten thousand dollars. I’d stashed money in other locations, but there wouldn’t be time for that. I added the ten grand to the cash in the backpack, then went back out to the store. Jessica and Ash were waiting. Ash looked scared, while Jessica acted indifferent.

  As I approached them I pulled out the bloody letter that Chris had given me.

  “It’s already begun,” I said. I opened the letter and read it aloud to them.

  Dear Lost One,

  Your presence and that of the Dragon is requested by the Quatre. Two weeks from today please go to the Glenbrook Mall at 11 am. Proceed to the overlook above the food court. You will receive further instructions there. If you do not follow this directive you know what the consequences will be. Just ask Chris and Jason.

  “It’s not signed,” I said. I looked at the girls. I could hear Ash’s thoughts. They were a scream of chaos and panic. Jessica knew what it meant, and was accepting her fate.

  “Jessica, we have to leave now. We’re going to the Country Inn over on Cross Creek. If you need to get a hold of us–”

  “I won’t need to, Verloren,” she said, cutting me off. “I can’t sit here waiting for whatever they’ve got planned for me. You have to take me out before you leave.” She gave Ash and me a twisted smile. “Besides, you’ll need the feeding.”

  “Jessica I can’t…”

  “Don’t argue,” she snapped. “Just do it and get out of here.” She closed her eyes and turned her head away from me, showing her neck.

  Ash stared, drawn by morbid curiosity, then she stepped back. She wrapped her arms around herself and bowed her head. She instinctively understood our need for privacy.

  I bent to hug Jessica, then whispered: “You were right. I do love her.”

  “I know you do. I know exactly how much you love her.” Her aura beamed bright, blinding me. “Verloren, you need to know some things before I go. I confess: I knew what she was. I thought she was too old and would have to remain human. I hoped you two could be together if that happened.”

  I stepped back. Jessica smiled.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “There’s so much you need to know, and only one way to tell you. When you take my blood I’ll let you in.”

  “I won’t take your soul,” I promised. Numbness invaded my body.

  I took a deep breath and focused. “Goodbye, old friend,” I whispered. “Good luck in the next life. I hope I get to see you again.”

  I kept my head down, but Ash was still in my line of vision. She stared, fascinated by the sad horror of it. I bit into Jessica’s neck as gently as I could. I closed my eyes. A tidal wave of thoughts hit my mind. She gave me all she knew about the dragons. It would have filled several books, yet the whole process took only minutes.

  Jessica carried me back to a time when vampires and incarnates lived in giant underground communities away from the human population. It had been an age of religious intolerance and persecution when humans had tortured and killed anyone who was different. Our separate communities were the only reason we survived. The dragons had ruled our peaceful communities, but eventually they began dying faster than other dragons were born. They were old souls, and soon they would pass from this world, going extinct.

  But recently the born knowing had learned that dragons had not died; they’d gone into hibernation. Each dragon possesses one element, either earth, wind, fire, or water. A dragon could manipulate that element at will. Moving the element brought a burst of energy, and when that energy was spent, the dragon would replace it with sexual energy with a monogamous lover.

  Though she was dying, Jessica felt my body twitch, and let go a soft chuckle. I showed her how Ash had come on to me so strongly, and Jessica’s thoughts explained that this behavior would be the norm from now on. Ash would crave it just like I craved blood, though she wouldn’t need it to survive or change. She would only require it in order to build up the elemental energy.

  Jessica showed me what she had been keeping from me: hidden thoughts in my own mind that even Ash hadn’t discovered. These were things I’d forgotten, but Jessica saw every thought and memory I’d ever had. As she showed me these thoughts, she also revealed them to Ash.

  Jessica’s body grew limp. She left me as myself, yet I was different. The memory she left me with was so clear I felt as if I were living it. It was a future memory, if such a thing is possible. In it I turned and found Ash sleeping on her stomach. She looked different but I knew that it was her. Her skin was darker. As I stroked her long hair I noticed my hand was no longer pale white. It had color. I was becoming a human. As Ash awoke she smiled at me. I was suddenly aware that her eyes were brown. She rose to kiss me.

  I got another image of Ash wrapped in a sheet holding her swollen belly. She was with child. Then I saw Kale hunched over Ash as he fed from her. Fury burned through me as I attacked him, but my strength was no match for his. He threw me against a wall, and as I lay dazed on the floor, he drank from me.

  In another scene I woke up in a mountain cave. I walked to the cavern entrance, and had to shield my eyes from the sun. My arm was white. My hands started to shake as I remembered what I had become.

  Jessica stopped the images, and spoke with her thoughts: You were one of the born knowing and Ash was the last dragon. You were soul mates. She was the only dragon to ever become pregnant in her human form. When Kale discovered she was with child he killed her. The pictures that you see are either premonitions or memories. They might be from the future, but the future is not set in stone.

  I gripped Jessica harder, careful not to crush her frail human bones. Shock flooded my body and my stomach sank. If I hadn’t been holding onto her I would’ve fallen. I’d never guessed. It was the reason that only I could see auras, that only I knew what people were. It wasn’t a freak accident or a random gift. I was the forbidden one, yet they allowed me to be.

  Kale was one of the oldest vampires, Jessica told me with her thoughts. He’d worked closely with the born knowing. They’d decided that when the last dragon died they would create a new kind of government. Kale would be one of its leaders, maybe the top man. He worried that Ash would give birth to another dragon. Impatient for his turn in power, he killed her and hid her body. Kale let you live out of morbid curiosity. That is why the Quatre let you go that last time. Kale couldn’t bring himself to kill his creation. He’s been experimenting with hybrids ever since. Use caution if you meet him again. There are legen
ds that immortality comes from drinking the dragon’s blood, and if you consume their hearts you will gain their elemental power. I think he might want one of each—earth, wind, fire and water—so he will be master all of the elements.

  Jessica’s mind was starting to fade, yet her thoughts sped up. She wanted to get me the last of the information. Your name was Varin Holstein. As you mourned for Ash you contemplated suicide, but as a vampire you thought your soul would die too. You thought you might not see her ever again. You’ve stayed alive all this time, waiting endlessly, in the hope that she would come back. Over time your conscious mind forgot about her. Kale turned you in 1348. He’s kept an eye on you ever since.

  I strained to get her last thoughts. Her name was Abriana. She was, and is your soul mate. You’ve found her.

  Jessica’s heart stopped. I opened my eyes. Ash grasped a shelf to steady herself. She stared at me, panting.

  I gently laid Jessica on the floor. So much information so fast. My body was shaking.

  “Soul mates,” Ash breathed. “Another life.”

  I reached out to her, my hand trembling. We embraced. She sobbed as I held her. The fierce pulling ripped through my body. “It won’t happen again,” I promised.

  So if the picture I’d seen was of Kale in the past, but I’d thought it was the future, what did that say about every other premonition I’d had?

  “We have to go now,” I said.

  Ash nodded through her tears. We gathered what we needed and left.

  Chapter 13

  NATURAL INSTINCTS

  We left the store and headed to The Country Inn. Chris, Jason, Jessica…all three were gone. We rode silently, trying to absorb their deaths, and Jessica’s revelations.

  At the Inn I stopped in the unloading zone, grabbed a pen and paper from my backpack, and scrolled a short message. I handed that to Ash along with a large stack of bills.

  When she saw the bills her eyes grew huge. “Holy Cow! That is a lot of money.”