The Lost Dragon (The Dragon Hunters Book 1) Read online

  “But Gramps, wouldn’t it have helped him if you said something to me?” Brandon sat up. “If I knew how he felt, maybe things could’ve been different all these years. I could have made it easier for him.”

  Jarel gave a small smile. “That would be tampering with fate. I had to let things unfold in their own time. He had to come to terms with his feelings, and accept them. Today was an awakening for him. He couldn’t deny it to himself, or to you.”

  “But I’m confused now.”

  Jarel raised a questioning eyebrow. “Why are you confused?”

  “Gramps, I’ve got a whole host of problems. Despite him being one of your followers, I have things he can’t possibly understand.”

  “Hmm, you mean your inner demon, your Id.” Jarel gave another smile. “He’s lived with the burden of being in love with a man when society tells him it’s wrong. He’s still going to be a closeted man. He has to deal with trying to maintain the life he’s used to and combine it with the life you’ll bring him. Think about this: you two are going to go back to school and he doesn’t know how you truly feel. He’s got to watch you, remain close to you, but yet he’s so far. Think how he’s felt knowing how he wants you but suspects that you’ve been with someone else. Now, you and I both know you’ve been with someone else, you just dated outside of your school. He’s seen you around, with guys that certainly weren’t your brother. He’s seen you with your uncles, who you look nothing like. Andreas here certainly doesn’t look like he could possibly be in any way related to you. He’s dealing with an inner demon of his own, the demon of insecurity and jealousy.”

  “So what is your advice?” Brandon asked.

  “My advice is to follow directions. Id gave you a very crude road to follow, but he’s not altogether wrong. Go for him, child. He’s been giving you the signs that he’s interested for the longest time, and what he feels now isn’t just some schoolboy crush. Look inside yourself, you feel it too. You just don’t want to admit it.” Jarel stood up. “I taught you boys much better than that. Follow your heart. I’m sure it won’t lead you wrong.”

  Fourteen

  Cassandra decided she loved the back patio. It was there she stood, a light breeze blowing the tree branches above her. She looked up and felt comforted by the pale light of the moon.

  "Mind if I join you?" came the smooth, deep voice of Andreas.

  "Go ahead," she responded without turning in his direction.

  Andreas stepped up to her side at the rail. "The boys are in their room. Father's gone, and I’m feeling rather bored."

  "Today was more than enough excitement for me." Cassandra finally looked at him. "So, how will things move on from here? There's no way to explain today's events to the human world."

  "That's what Vic is for." Andreas glanced at her for a second before gazing off into the distance. "Vic is in charge of cleanup and handling whatever mess that entails. That means getting rid of bodies and memories."

  "That's quite handy." Cassandra turned away. "So what else is next? We know there are renegade werewolves in addition to vampires. What's next, renegade dragons?"

  "There is a capacity for evil in all creatures, including dragons. But let us hope that all dragons have stuck to the laws. Otherwise, only their parents can contain them."

  "Their parents being the Dragon Gods, right?" Cassandra asked.

  Andreas nodded. "Back in my younger days, dragons were normal. Mortals knew we existed, so we were free to roam around but we discovered that the clash of dragons is generally a catastrophe to the world around us. So much so that our parents decreed we were not allowed to fight each other in our true form in the mortal world. This means we cannot hunt each other if we go renegade. They bring in someone else to hunt us or they do it themselves."

  "Have any of your father's children gone renegade?" Cassandra asked.

  "Only one. I had the unfortunate task of hunting him as my first assignment. He was younger than me, but had entered Father's service before me." Andreas sighed. "It was ugly. The fight was brutal and it was the only time I saw my father direct the full force of his wrath on a child." Andreas shifted uncomfortably, clearly ready to change the subject. "Anyway, I appreciate all you did to help the human boy. My nephew is really quite fond of him."

  Cassandra accepted the change in subject. "He's a nice boy, and just as fond of your nephew."

  "How exactly did you help him?" Andreas asked. "He'd lost a lot of blood."

  "Almost all of it, actually. And let's just say I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve."

  Andreas gave a nod and turned away. He grimaced and reached for his stomach, gritting his teeth against a sudden pain.

  "Is something wrong?" Cassandra asked.

  "Ah, no it’s nothing," Andreas lied. "Listen, I've got to step out for a while. Do you mind staying inside where the boys can get to you if necessary?"

  "Yeah, sure." She gave one last look of concern before going inside.

  Father, Andreas called silently.

  Jarel gave a very irritated sigh. You're really too old for this. When is the last time you fed?

  Not since I came to this city, Andreas answered.

  So, roughly, that's about three weeks. You're a complete moron. If you were here, I'd let you starve. Since you're not, your brother will be there shortly. You'd better find a source near you.

  Andreas gritted his teeth. My nephews have been through too much today for me to ask them.

  There is another source right there in the house with you. She's a healer, and she knows full well the ramifications of one of my children not feeding properly.

  Andreas was clearly getting exasperated, and the pain was getting worse. Father, you know full well I won't feed from anyone that is not a relative.

  Jarel didn't answer as Fenrir appeared, an almost amused look on his face.

  "Let's get this over with, brother," he told Andreas. "We have somewhere else to be."

  Fifteen

  Fenrir had to redress in modern attire, as they were bound to run across mortals. This modern age was pretty open, but a guy wearing a chiton in the city of St. Louis would certainly raise some eyebrows. Andreas gave him a pair of black jeans and a black tank top to wear, along with a pair of black steel toe boots. Andreas drove them into the city, to a lesser known nightclub called Crono.

  "Did these idiots really name this club in reference to the king of the Titans?" Andreas muttered.

  "No one said to be an immortal you had to be smart," Fenrir responded.

  "So, we're taking this place out, right?" Andreas asked.

  Fenrir nodded. "But we need information first. You still have to flush Kalos out. We need whatever information we can get on his movements and I need to know just how many of my children are in on this scheme."

  "Won't the werewolves in there know it's you when they see you?"

  Fenrir grit his teeth. "Yes, they will but fortunately, they don't know that I know what they've done. So they won't fear judgment."

  Andreas spared a glance at him. "Yes, they will. When the father of their kind enters their establishment, they'll know something is up. Can't you mask your power?"

  Fenrir rolled his eyes. "Use your brain. They'll know my scent. I'm sure they're aware I'm here already."

  "Then how the hell are we supposed to find anything out?"

  Fenrir actually smiled. "I am the father of all werewolves. I have my ways of extracting what I need from them. Besides, we've got another little surprise waiting. Frankly, the only reason you're even here is to hear for yourself anything we find out. You can pretty much stay back out of the way."

  "That's dull. And I'm sure there's more than vampires and werewolves here. Which means you don't have direct authority over their lives."

  Fenrir nodded in acknowledgment. "In which case, you'll have something to do."

  Andreas parked a block from the club. No need for the car to get damaged. It was a rental, after all. Upon walking the block to the club, outside they
were joined by Deidre.

  "I had a feeling you'd be here," Andreas told her.

  "Of course," she replied. "I'm going to do what Vacker would not during his lifetime. My children will learn obedience, or perish. That is the law of our maker, and I will follow it to the letter."

  They walked to the door, being stopped at the entrance. The guard was a vampire, pale, with short cut black hair and beady little black eyes. Rather small in appearance, not at all like the bulky body guards one would expect. Then again, the strength of a vampire could never be measured by their size.

  "Let me see some I.D."

  Deidre's arm shot forward, clamping around his neck and yanking him forward so that he was inches in front of her face, looking directly into her eyes. "You dare question the identity of your mother?"

  If it had been possible, the vampire would have paled more. "Sorry, go ahead."

  "Imbecile." Deidre shoved him back and led the way into the club. It was dark, as expected, but not filled with smoke like mortal clubs. There were dim lights here and there, and the bar was lit up as well. The group walked in, surveying their surroundings. Plenty of vampires, a few werewolves, and....

  "Humans," Andreas muttered.

  "And they're being fed upon," Fenrir added. "Several are so close to death there's probably nothing we can do for them."

  Deidre actually let out a hiss, one which every vampire in the club clearly heard. Those in the immediate area stopped what they were doing.

  "This should be interesting," Andreas commented.

  Fenrir let out a growl, clearly that of a wolf, that reached the ears of his children just as clearly. There were whispers among them, most trying to figure out a way to escape.

  "There is no escape tonight!" Deidre proclaimed, throwing out her arms. Her power shot out, and doors slammed shut and shutters came down over the windows.

  Andreas walked to the bar. "Give me a vodka and cranberry juice, will you? And make it quick, preferably before she decides she'd like to kill you."

  The bartender made the drink quickly, and nervously. Clearly, he was a vampire too, and the recognition of the mother of them all did not excite him. Andreas gave a shrug and leaned against the bar, taking a sip out of his drink and watching the action.

  Deidre radiated power, a power that all her children had to fear. The only power to surpass it was that of the gods. Then again, few if any of these vampires had ever actually met a god. As far as they could tell, Deidre was a goddess, and a furious one right now.

  "Now, one of you is going to give me the location of your leader, Kalos, or you will all die," she told the group. There was no anger in her voice, though it was clearly in her eyes.

  "And for those that are my children, you will give me any information on your attempt to resurrect Cronus and tell me which of my direct children leads you, or suffer the same fate," Fenrir added.

  Andreas stopped sipping his drink to add on. "Oh yeah, and by the way, the Black Dragon God is already waiting to pass judgment on you the moment you reach Hades. And he guarantees it'll be brutal for any of his creations that reach Hades from here tonight. So you might want to talk quick."

  True to form, none would talk, and the first of the vampires with mud for brains made her attack, dagger in hand. She came at Deidre from above, shooting in from the midst of the crowd of her brothers and sisters, dagger raised to strike. Deidre's hand came up and a stream of flames shot out, blasting the vampire back and engulfing her in flames. Now began the dash to try to force their way out of the exits.

  "Damn, and here I thought I had more time before the fireworks. Oh well, I should at least do this." Andreas broke the glass in his hand directly in the face of the bartender. As the vampire howled in agony, Andreas grabbed him by the head and tossed him over the bar on top of several others. Deidre quickly directed a stream of flames to engulf them as well. Andreas hopped over the bar and grabbed the bottle of vodka to refill his glass.

  "Weak ass drinks. Just because you're a vampire, it doesn't excuse making shittacular drinks." He looked down, seeing a vampire cowering under the bar. "You're just pathetic. Damn, couldn't you at least die with some dignity?" Andreas found a knife used to cut the limes for drinks and jammed it right into the vampire's temple.

  Meanwhile, Deidre had certainly gone to work, incinerating everyone she came across that wasn't human. Fenrir helped with getting rid of his own children, making the room significantly brighter than before. The music was still playing, and Andreas quite frankly was enjoying not having to do any work himself. So he drank while dancing a bit to the music, which he couldn't for the life of him tell who it was. But the beat was just great for a slaughter.

  "Hmm, suppose I should help out a little." He found a bottle of Jack Daniels. "On second thought, I'm looting the place. It's only fitting for me to take the alcohol." He spotted the cash register. "And I've got two teenage boys that like to date, don't currently work, and need an allowance. Yep, I'm taking that with me too."

  Fenrir appeared in front of the bar. "What the hell are you doing? Are you looting the place?"

  "I'm a Spartan. This is what we do. We kill, we take the belongings of value." Andreas picked up an empty bottle. "Duck down, would you?"

  Fenrir dropped down and Andreas threw the bottle, taking down a vampire behind him trying to run for the door. Fenrir rose back up.

  "He looks like the one you should interrogate," Andreas told him.

  Fenrir scowled. "You certainly don't need any more alcohol in your system."

  Andreas snorted. "I'm going to be stuck in one place for several years, limiting myself on missions and raising two teenagers way stronger than I was at their age. I'm going to need a lot of alcohol to survive all this."

  Fenrir rolled his eyes and walked off, picking up the vampire Andreas had clocked with the bottle. Andreas returned to raiding the bar, and the cash register. Once he was finished, Fenrir had one vampire and one werewolf pinned to the wall, literally. Deidre stood with him and the two turned to Andreas.

  "Oh, it’s my turn, right?" Andreas hopped back over the bar, removing a dagger from his boot. "Okay, now we can do this the easy way, where you tell me what I want to know, or the hard way, where I start cutting things off until you tell me what I want to know. Or we can just drain you dry and get all the info we need to know while you die in agony. Regardless, the result is death. The question is, how painful would you like it to be?"

  When neither spoke, Fenrir reached out and punched the werewolf in the ribs. Andreas heard the crack, knowing at least two of them were broken.

  "I hope you didn't puncture his lung," Andreas commented.

  Deidre snorted. "There's blood coming up out of his mouth now. He won't be able to talk."

  "Great, just what I wanted, rogue wolf blood in my veins." Andreas shoved the wolf's head to the side and latched on, roughly piercing the skin to drain the blood. With the blood, came the memories, clearly showing Kalos in this club when it opened, along with another man that Andreas didn't recognize. Andreas pulled back roughly.

  "I've got what I need from him," he told Fenrir.

  "Then they can now be disposed of," Fenrir replied.

  "Great." Deidre incinerated both.

  Andreas went to the bar and broke several bottles of alcohol across the bar and a few more across the floor.

  "So, we're torching the place?" Fenrir asked.

  "Any living humans left?" Andreas asked.

  "I got them out already," Fenrir answered.

  "Then we're torching the place. It'll look like some random fire to the humans." Andreas sucked in a breath, then let it out, flames shooting clearly from his mouth to the alcohol. The blaze started quickly, and the three quickly left the building. As they were leaving, they could already hear the sirens of the human authorities heading to contain the blaze.

  Sixteen

  "So where are we going?" Cassandra asked Andreas as she sat in the passenger's seat of his rental car.

 
"I'm going to be based here permanently, so I need wheels," Andreas answered. "So do the boys."

  "Well, that explains why we're here," Demun said from the backseat.

  Andreas pulled onto a used car lot, Ferguson Auto Center in the Ferguson municipal of St. Louis County. The crew got out and everyone looked to him.

  "Go find something you like, boys," he told them.

  Cassandra remained standing with him as the boys wandered the small lot. There was a decent selection at least, and Andreas had heard they kept pretty decent cars.

  "So why the sudden desire to buy the boys cars?" Cassandra asked.

  "Well, they're old enough, and mature enough. They're dating and I'm not big on the idea of escorting them. I'd rather not know what they do and say on a date. But just to make sure, I figured I should start with used cars. Besides, I made enough money to pay for these cars last night."

  "Don't you already have loads of money?"

  Andreas shrugged. "I don't keep track. I normally only draw enough money to pay for new weapons and clothes, a place to stay, and a rental car. And I figure since I looted the place, I might as well put the money to good use."

  "You looted what place?" Cassandra asked.

  "I took out that club that burned down last night. It was a haven for rogues, all united under Kalos' cause. And I'm Spartan. We take the valuables of those we vanquish. I can't change who I am, and it's just a good idea. No use letting the money and alcohol go to waste."

  Cassandra laughed. "Sorry, I guess I forgot just how old you are. I'm just a little surprised your father doesn't discourage your old habits."

  "I think this habit makes it easier on him. Less money he has to give me."

  The two looked up at the sound of a whistle. They walked over to where Brandon and Demun were standing in front of a car on the corner. It was a hunter green 2000 Mercury Sable. The inside had cream colored leather material, a standard CD player, and there was a sunroof.