Stones of Dracontias Read online

  Why haven’t you screamed or run away in terror?

  “Did you just speak in my mind?” He shook his head, then smacked his forehead. Twice.

  That’s quite unnecessary. Your brain functions as it should. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with you telepathically.

  “This isn’t happening. Dragons aren’t telepaths.” He glanced around his apartment. No broken glass. How in the hell had the dragon gotten in there? “I’m dreaming. That must be it.”

  I thought you would be more intelligent than this. Thus far, you’ve proven to be quite a disappointment. And why are you not screaming? Do I not frighten you?

  Without thinking, Armstrong lowered his hands and took three steps into the living room. “Are you the cute gold dragon I’ve seen on TV?”

  A huge head rose, the crown skimming the ceiling. Two rows of sharp, white teeth glistened, forked tongue hissed and eyes dilated.

  I am the Bloodstone Dragon, and you will show me the proper respect. Dragons are not cute, Knight.

  “How do you know my name?”

  Why have you not run? Do you possess no sense of self-preservation?

  “Do you want me to be afraid of you? Did you come here to scare me?”

  You’re a strange human. I don’t pretend to understand why you don’t react the way a normal human would.

  “If I did, we wouldn’t be having this nice conversation. To answer your question, I’m not afraid of you. You’re big and have those scary ass teeth, and I should’ve beat feet to get the hell out of here.” He shrugged. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I know you won’t hurt me.”

  The dragon lowered its head again, settling its face on the floor, its tail curled around what looked to be back legs.

  Armstrong smiled and moved three steps closer. The dragon was trying to not break the cheap furniture he had in his home by making itself as small as possible. He wondered how long the dragon had been there, waiting for him to notice its presence and run away screaming.

  “Are you male or female, Bloodstone Dragon?”

  For the first time, serpent eyes took in the most obvious symbol of his gender. If the dragon had been a woman, gazing at him the way it was, he would cover himself again because the dragon didn’t seem impressed.

  Female, like the human you saved in the alley.

  “Wait, you were there? I didn’t see you.”

  You also didn’t see me until I made myself known. You aren’t very observant.

  He was plenty observant, that’s how he’d known what the two assholes had in mind. A sexy woman had come up to him, asking Armstrong to buy her a drink. Five minutes of flirting were all it had taken for him to lose track of the men and their quarry. A few minutes more and the men would’ve raped the girl. Luckily, his big head had stepped in and reminded his little head that he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the young woman.

  Returning to the mess he’d made on the floor, Armstrong retrieved the soda and scooped up the ice and hand towel. Dragon or not, he was thirsty and still needed to ice down his bruised knuckles. If she’d seen the fight, then she would understand.

  He plopped onto the couch, the dragon’s head, even lowered, came nearly to the armrest.

  The men wanted to hurt the female. I could smell her fear and their lust. The scent of both lingers, as does the sound of your fists beating them into bloody submission. I didn’t think I would find a diata. I’m glad I did.

  “Diata? What does that mean?”

  Brave as a dragon. You even roared when you saw the first man.

  “Did I?”

  He hadn’t known. Armstrong had seen only red when he’d come through the side door of the bar. The one guy was right there, so close to violating the girl that all he wanted to do was knock his goddamn teeth down his throat. He’d settled for introducing his heavy work boot to the man’s drunk face.

  Yes, you sounded quite feral. Like a baby dragon. Diata indeed.

  “Why are you here?”

  My sister told me to find a human friend. Instead, I found a diata.

  The dragon’s voice had a soothing effect, the longer she spoke in his mind. The few aches from the fight ebbed, and his fists no longer hurt. They tingled, but nothing more than that wispy sensation. Armstrong thought he saw red vapors rise from where the dragon laid on his floor.

  “Is this a dream?”

  No, Knight. I’m real. The next time I visit, however, I will seek permission before entering your home.

  Armstrong was so tired, he could hardly keep his eyes open.

  Sleep, diata, and let my magic take care of your wounds.

  “Armstrong Knight. That’s my name. But I like the way diata sounds in my mind. You have a very nice voice, Bloodstone Dragon.”

  He swore she laughed in his mind.

  You’ve never known the touch of a dragon’s magic. I should’ve taken that into consideration before I used my healing powers. The first few times tend to produce a drugging effect, especially the first.

  Heavy eyelids fluttered shut, grape soda and melting ice forgotten. But not the dragon. He could hear nothing, but Armstrong knew she was still there.

  “What’s your name?”

  I told you. I’m the Bloodstone Dragon.

  “That’s a title. What’s your real name? Do dragons have real names?”

  She didn’t answer, but she did shift on the floor.

  With effort, Armstrong forced his eyes to part. She was gone. With a bolt, he sat up. Armstrong wanted to leap from the couch, run to the window and see where the dragon had gone. Instead, the magic that floated around Armstrong urged him into restful compliance.

  Pulling his legs onto the couch, he reclined, feeling safe, courageous and strong. For the first time since deciding to apply for the Secret Service, Armstrong Knight didn’t fear the federal agency would pass over a black man because of his race. If they did, it would be their loss, not his.

  He fell asleep, certain he’d heard a voice in his head say, Kya.

  CHAPTER TWO

  WHY KYA CHOSE this human, she didn’t know. Armstrong Knight wasn’t at all what she’d expected. In the alley, when he’d defended the woman, outraged on her behalf, she thought him diata. Yet later, in his dwelling, the man didn’t have the good sense to flee when he found an apex predator in his home. Not that dragons preyed on humans, but that fact missed the point. A weaker creature should know when to tread with caution while in the presence of a superior being.

  Did his human parents not warn him of the dangers of speaking to strangers? Kya had once heard a human mother scold her small child for doing the same thing Knight had done last night. He should’ve sought safety by running away. The fact he had not, choosing to converse with her, had served to remind Kya the naked man was still the diata she’d seen earlier.

  Brave, even in the face of a dragon. Her father would think the human demented, which he may still prove to be. Yet Kya, as she approached the roof of Knight’s building, didn’t know what to make of the man.

  Arms waving in the air, he whistled and jumped up and down. Did the human think her hearing and vision impaired? Why was he shining a light? Dragons could see fine in the dark.

  Monitoring her rate of descent, Kya took extra care to not land too hard and displace Knight from the roof. Her father wouldn’t be pleased if she killed a human, even if accidentally. Her back legs reached the ground first, sturdy and wide. Claws and weight crushed a layer of gravel, but it held her, so she touched her front legs to the roof and let it bear the full of Kya’s weight.

  The light she’d seen moments ago swung back and forth, moving from one part of her body to the next.

  “Jesus, you’re gold all over. I mean, gold, gold.” The light flashed brightly in her eyes, and Kya hissed at the man. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t get a good look at you last night. I knew you were the cute gold dragon, but I had no idea how gold you really are. Not a yellow-orange gold but metallic gold. Beautiful. May I touch you?” Kni
ght reached out his hand to do just that, but another hiss from Kya had him yanking his hand back. “Okay. Too soon for touching. Got it.”

  Again, Kya wondered why this human wasn’t afraid of her. She also questioned why she found herself thinking about him these past two days when she was supposed to hunt for a worthy human from which she could learn. Despite Ledisi’s directive, she hadn’t yet shifted and walked among the humans. Well, except for that first night. She’d had to shift to enter Knight’s dwelling. Magic had done the rest, unlocking his front door and letting her inside.

  He could never know her secret, so she’d found the only location in his home that could accommodate a creature of her size. The fit, while tight, was large enough for her to manage if she didn’t move her tail or head too much.

  Knight walked away from Kya and to a silver foldable chair. He sat, pulled out a can from a bag beside his chair, opened it and drank.

  “Grape soda. I would offer you a can, but I guess dragons don’t drink stuff like this.” When he finished his drink, he crushed the empty can between his hands and then tossed it into the same brown paper bag. “When I woke up, the other day, I thought I dreamed it all.” He raised the back of his hands to Kya. “Until I saw these. Healed and perfect. I know I didn’t dream that fight or my bruised knuckles. Thank you, by the way. I would’ve been okay healing the old-fashioned way, but I appreciate your kindness.”

  He appreciated her kindness? His sincere words had Kya stepping closer, head low as to not tower over the human more than she already was. Then again, his lack of fear was clear as was Knight’s interest in seeing all of her.

  Kya lifted her head high the way dragons were supposed to present themselves and stopped mere feet in front of him. Apparently, the nonverbal invitation was all the man required.

  Knight jumped from his chair, his light back in his hand and on.

  “Thank you. I know it’s rude to gawk, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime. And, umm, it’s only fair. You saw me naked.”

  I didn’t ask to see you in a state of undress.

  “True, but you get what you get when you enter a man’s apartment with no notice.”

  Fair enough, Knight. Gaze until you grow tired of looking at the same color.

  Squatting, he shined the light on her tail and then onto her back legs.

  “You got some green mixed in. Stomach, feet, tail. Faint but there.”

  While dragons ranged in color from gold to green, her father, the Aragonite Star Dragon, was the only true gold dragon. Even Kya, who most resembled her father of all his offspring, had also inherited the green of her mother’s scales, the same color of ferns that grew on Buto.

  “I’m glad you returned.” Knight pushed to his feet, so tiny in comparison to Kya. “It’s strange. I wanted to call you.” He laughed. “Dragons don’t use telephones. I was working when I heard you in my head again. I almost fell off the scaffold.” Another laugh, tinged with nervousness. “I work construction. I’m not afraid of heights, so I’m always on the top platform.”

  After taking in his fill of Kya, while speaking of things she didn’t understand, Knight returned to his chair and sat.

  “You’re quiet tonight.”

  You speak enough for the both of us.

  “The Knights have the gift of gab, Kya.”

  She’d forgotten she’d told him her name. Against the rules. Kya would have to be more cautious when dealing with humans, particularly this human who, despite his gregarious nature and lack of self-preservation, possessed a keen mind.

  “That’s a nice name. You can call me Armstrong. Knight seems a little formal after you’ve seen a man naked.” He found another can in his paper bag, opened it and sipped. “Or diata. I like that, too.”

  Kya bent her knees and settled her long body on the gravel. Armstrong enjoyed the sound of his voice. Kya needed to learn more about humans. Why not from this strange but kind man?

  I need a guide, Armstrong, in the ways of human thought and behavior. Will you be my guide?

  “A cross-cultural exchange, you mean?” He appeared interested, his elbows on his knees and back leaned forward.

  Not an exchange. I cannot share dragon life with outsiders.

  “That’s pretty one-sided.”

  True. But it’s how we’ve survived and will continue to survive. I will, however, grant you one wish and two questions in exchange for your service as my human guide.

  The man’s teeth were quite white when he smiled at her. She’d chosen well, this Armstrong Knight of Washington, DC. He possessed a dragon’s soul and a protective heart. The human wouldn’t take advantage of the unorthodox offer she’d made him. Dragons didn’t grant wishes beyond that of their healing stone magic.

  “Two questions and a wish?”

  Yes.

  “Must I do all three tonight?”

  You do not. But it’s only fair I offer a token of goodwill tonight if you agree to the exchange.

  “You’ve already given me a token of goodwill. You’re not only here, but you’ve permitted me to look you over with my flashlight. If you were a human female and I stared at you like I did, I would’ve been slapped. Dragons heal and leave. Until two days ago, I had no idea dragons spoke at all. So you see, Kya, there’s already been a cross-cultural exchange between us.”

  Which was why she was supposed to learn from humans by pretending to be one of them. She upbraided herself for not taking her father’s teachings to heart and practice. Kya needed to listen more and question less. Was it too late to begin anew with Armstrong as a human female?

  Kya had no skill in pretending to be what she wasn’t. The physical shift was easy enough to make but being a human entailed more than looking like one. She was out of her depth and didn’t feel confident she could convince a man as smart as Armstrong to befriend and trust an unusual human woman.

  Her strength was in being a dragon, but an ignorant dragon in the body of a human would yield little. Besides, Kya rather liked the way Armstrong looked upon her natural form. Not with fear but with curiosity and respect. He saw her, Kya, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit she enjoyed the human’s interest.

  “If I asked your age, would that count as one of my questions?”

  Why does my age matter?

  “It doesn’t. I’m twenty-five. My birthday is March twenty-ninth. I have an older brother, Isaiah, and two younger sisters, Clarice and Janet. My father died when I was thirteen. It was hard not having him around, but Isaiah stepped in and stepped up.”

  Kya didn’t know how to respond to anything Armstrong had shared, especially about the death of his father. He’d stated that fact of his life with the same flat voice as he uttered the others. Yet, his scent betrayed his calm exterior.

  Sadness. Grief.

  Kya had never known either emotion. Dragons were long-lived, although not immortal. They grew old and died. Nothing could kill them as far as she knew. Unlike humans, they didn’t get sick, not even what humans called the “common cold.”

  I’m the youngest dragon.

  “In your family?”

  I’m the youngest dragon of all dragons. We don’t age as humans do.

  She thought, trying to calculate her age in terms of human years. If she told him her hatch year, she didn’t think her response would adequately answer his question. She grasped the underlining meaning of his query. What he wanted to know was her age in relation to his own.

  He’d seen her with her parents and siblings, smaller and weaker, and he’d assumed, correctly, she was younger than the others. What he didn’t know was how much younger.

  What is the age when a human is considered a young adult?

  “Eighteen. We can vote at that age but not drink.”

  Then I’m eighteen.

  “You’re so young. My mother would call you a baby, although I’m sure you were born before her.”

  When Father isn’t around, Mother permits me to tuck my head in her neck and breathe in her scent. I’m too
old for such cossetting, I know, but I cherish those moments more than I should.

  “Siblings?”

  One brother and six sisters.

  With each shared fact of family and home, Armstrong moved closer to Kya until he laid on his back in front of her nose. He smelled of a spice scent but no fear for how close he was to a dragon’s mouth and fangs. The human really was quite unusual.

  “If I touch you, will you run away like you did when I asked you your name?”

  Dragons do not run away. It was simply time for my departure.

  “Yeah, riiiight, whatever you say, Bloodstone Dragon.”

  Mock me at your peril, Armstrong Knight. Is that your one wish, to touch a dragon?

  He shook his head. “Without trying, I can name five hospitals with centers dedicated to children with cancer. Do you know what cancer is?”

  I do, but knowledge of diseases that afflict humans isn’t necessary for dragons to heal them. If the human is worthy of our gift, we grant it freely. Is that your wish?

  “Yeah, is it too much to ask?”

  How many children?

  “I don’t know. I don’t expect you to heal every kid with cancer. I don’t even know how long that would take or how long you’ll be here. But some kids are worse off than others and will die if something can’t be done to help them. Trust me, Kya, very little can be done to help them. Children would be worthy of your healing magic, I would think.”

  You want nothing for yourself?

  “I just asked for something for me. For however long you’re here, will you heal as many children with cancer as you can? That’s my wish.”

  A strange human indeed. Kya was prepared to grant Armstrong most anything, although she’d imagined his request would reflect what she’d come to think of as the shallow and selfish nature of a human’s heart. Perhaps Ledisi was correct. Kya shouldn’t judge the many by the actions of the few.

  After tonight, she had less than four days before her sister would return for her and they’d fly home to Buto. Armstrong’s wish, while admirable, would challenge Kya. She’d never healed a human without the watchful eye and guiding magic of one of her parents or a sibling. What she’d done for Armstrong, two nights ago, was her first independent act of healing.