Dragon 1 Chapter 5

“Hold on for a second. I didn’t even touch Simon. Why would we fight to the death?”

“You stood up to him, and now his pride is hurt. Elves are very old-fashioned; they hold on to their honor as if it were worth more weight than dragon’s gold.” Morgana explained. “I should know. I’ve seen just what they look like when their masks are peeled off, away from the public eye.”

I looked at Jadelyn for confirmation. She’d calmed down, her eyes once again a chilly blue. “She’s right. They will almost certainly come to request a duel, but they’ll likely use it as leverage to get you to join their ranks in order to dismiss it. The elves and others will try to get you to join them once they hear that you went toe to toe with Chad.”

I sat there, taking it all in. In just a short span of time, everything had changed. And I’d thought getting into med school was difficult enough.

Now they were telling me that I might need to fight in a duel to the death with an elf who just kicked my ass? I wasn’t sure this life seemed so desirable after all.

“A werewolf didn’t shake you, but the idea of a duel does?” Jadelyn looked at me with barely concealed pity.

I thought about that. But paranormal wasn’t a new concept to me, just the reality of it was. And werewolves were somewhat predictable in their attacks. It was brute strength, and that I at least understood. Duels to the death really upped the stakes, and I had no idea how that elf had moved me across the room or what I could have done to stop it.

“I’m not exactly a killer. I’m training to take the Hippocratic oath and save people, not cause death.” Snark was my go to defense mechanism.

Based on the frowns that crossed their faces, neither of the women liked that answer. “Well, you better buck up. Because it will happen. Morg, can you delay it a bit?”

“I’ll do what I can, but the start of next week is probably the best I can do. Simon is a petty fool, but he’s no idiot. He’ll know fighting this poor little newbie as soon as he can will be to his advantage.” Morgana gave me an appraising look. “Which means we need to teach you a few things, quickly.”

Jadelyn stood up, still holding onto the neutral mask that she’d slammed into place when she’d seen Simon. “I’ll leave you two to it and go spread word that there’s a new lost one under your care Morg.”

Jadelyn didn’t look me in the eye as she finished talking. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Was she embarrassed?

Not wanting to end things on an awkward note, I said. “See you in class.”

She looked over her shoulder and gave me a polite smile. “Of course.” Turning, she held her head high as she walked out of the bar, patrons’ eyes following her, and she left.

Now it was just Morgana and me at the table. “She’s a good girl in a very difficult situation.”

“What Simon said was true?” I asked, wanting to hear a less biased opinion.

“Jaded, but true. Her father really does use her like a chess piece. Her latest use is to try to bring the new Philly pack under his thumb. They aren’t aligned with any of the big three yet, and the pack looks like it’ll be a big one. They’d help tip the scales more in his favor.”

Sounded far more political than I wanted to entangle myself in. “Politics.” I snorted.

“Don’t count yourself out. Before I stopped the fight, I could see you gearing up to battle Simon. If you don’t mind, I think we should push to see if you can’t do it again. It might help give clues as to what you are.”

“Here?” I asked, looking around at the bar, my eyes lingering on the busted up table I’d smashed into.

“No, don’t damage any more of my furniture. I have a room in the back.” She got up and sauntered through the nightclub, seeming to assume I’d follow her. The patrons all seemed to grow quiet in respect as she passed.

I watched the interactions for a moment. The deference she was given and the way Simon had backed off told me that I might have made a very powerful ally. Now I just needed to not screw it up.

Following behind Morgana, we walked down through the bottom level I’d spotted when we entered. A dance floor spread across the area. It was likely lit by black lights at night, with lights flashing, but at the moment, it was empty.

As we walked deeper and deeper, my brow began to furrow. I didn’t get a good look at the building, but I knew the city. Buildings weren’t usually that deep. I turned, looking back over my shoulder, confirming that the distance didn’t quite add up.

The first bar area and maybe even the dance floor area I could have believed, but as we passed an area for strippers with a main stage and a well of seats, I finally decided to ask the question on my mind.

“Are we underground?”

“Not quite. To answer what you are probably guessing, Bumps in the Night is bigger on the inside than the outside. Also, that’s not for strippers. I’m not so distasteful; it’s for a burlesque show.”

“Bigger on the inside?” Fancy strippers, got it.

“Yes. But since we are going to try and pull out a little of your own magic, I’ll give you another incentive. You show me yours…” Morgana paused to give me a suggestive look over her shoulder. “And I’ll show you mine.”

I swallowed a sudden lump that formed in my throat. When Morgana wanted to, she could turn the sexual energy up to eleven in a heartbeat.

Seeing my reaction, she broke into a chuckle. “Sorry, you’re too fun to tease.”

That heat that I felt between us dissipated as I realized she wasn’t actually interested in me. My libido had shut off when a bit of guilt over her teasing had spread on her face. She had no intention of following through with it.

“You do it well. Just let me get my bearings around here a little more.” I caught a bit of her scent as I walked beside her, and it felt like it was committed to memory. Lavender hiding a bitter copper note. I’d just scented her, and instinctively I knew that I’d be able to track her if need be. I stored that away. Maybe it was a clue that would help me figure out what kind of paranormal I was.

“Here it is.” Morgana flung open another pair of double doors. Behind it was a room that was largely empty. In the back was a training mat currently occupied by another pair. “Sarah, Tom, can we get the room? This is Zach, a new lost one that I’ve claimed temporary rights to.”

Looking them over, I recognized both as vampires. I felt a moment of satisfaction at starting to understand the world around me. As I locked eyes with them, they were both looking me over like they were trying to memorize my face. “Understood.” They both bowed and left through another door.

Morgana noticed I was eying the door. “Oh, do be careful. You can get a little lost in my home.”

“Why do I get the feeling you have a bit of everything in here?” I asked, starting to be certain Morgana wasn’t just a simple bar owner. The clans were talked about as powerful, but somehow she was still able to stand and enforce neutral ground. Simon had left without even arguing with her. I realized there was a lot more to her.

“Starting to understand a few things?” Morgana smiled. “Good. Now let’s try to pull a few of your own secrets out.” She paused, looking me in the eye. “I’m not going to go easy on you, so be prepared.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she shot forward with a right hook to the side of my head. I barely saw her blur forward.

My head snapped to the side, but I stood my ground.

“Strong and durable. But that’s common enough.” She moved with incredible grace, grace I might have appreciated more if the world didn’t turn upside down, as she used her hip as a lever to uproot me and toss me flat on my back on the mat.

Morgana swung her legs around me and straddled my chest. “Is the poor little boy lost?” She taunted.

Her taunt worked, and I felt my anger rise up, the primal part of me revolting at being pinned and taunted. I latched onto her hips and kicked to my feet, still holding her hips as I slammed her to the mat at an awkward angle, a snapping noise coming from her neck. My entire body froze at the sound, and the anger dissipated as I tried to reconcile what I’d just done.

But bones crackled further, and Morgana laughed. “The look on your face. But now we are getting somewhere.” Her legs on my torso became a vice, and she grabbed the mat, twisting in impossible ways to lift me off the floor and slam me down. She did it far less dangerously than I had, but it was enough to daze me so she could escape my grasp.

I rubbed my head and stood back up. My fighting instincts rose up in me, like my beast was uncoiling. “You can heal.” I said, belatedly understanding what had happened.

“Knowing what your opponent can do is maybe even more important than knowing what you can do.” She teased and closed back in.

Knowing there was no need to hold back, I threw a punch with the full force of my supernatural strength.

Morgana caught it in the palm of her hand and twisted it to throw me, but this time, I was a little more prepared. I kicked out my own leg, catching her and sending us both into a tumble, one that she rolled out of with predatory grace. “Playing dirty, are we? Sometimes you need to ask for a girl's consent.”

I ignored the teasing, realizing that flirting was in her nature and a tactic she used to distract. Instead, I waited for her to make her next move.

Rolling to my feet as she came in again with a flurry of jabs. I only managed to get some part of my arm in the way for about half of them, in a move I was telling myself was a block, but I knew that was a generous label for it.

I realized that she was slowly speeding up and hitting harder with each punch. She was testing what I could take.

Sweat pounded down my forehead as I worked to block more and push back at her, but each hit to my side or my chest was like waves pounding down a coastline.

She was wearing me out, and the primordial part of me became angry. The beast could feel myself about to lose, and that was not sitting well with him. I felt a heat in my chest once more, and I decided to let it loose.

Morgana seemed to notice the moment I was about to unleash. There was a flash of something in her eyes, and she jumped back just in time as I let loose a stream of fire that roared to life, growing as it left my mouth.

In front of me, all I could see was the beautiful orange and gold of a bright hot flame. It was like staring into a bonfire at night; everything else was washed out of my vision.

Then it all disappeared, collapsing into something on the other side. As the flames vanished, Morgana was left on the other side, holding a pitch black orb that sucked in the flames and everything else, including the light, around it.

The little black ball disappeared, and Morgana gave me a smile wide enough to show her fangs all the way to her gums. “Amazing.”

Even as I wanted to agree, it felt like all the strength was sapped out of me with that blast of fire. I sagged, and she was there in a moment.

“Absolutely incredible!” She had an excitement on her face that was infectious. “Fire breathing? Completely natural fire breathing. Not some sort of spell mimicry. That’s rare; I can only think of a small list of things that can perform such a feat.”

I perked up at that information. “Hey, narrowing it down is huge progress.”

Her smile was still incredibly wide, but I could tell there was more. “Jadelyn and Simon are going to be so pissed that they didn’t get off on the right foot with you.”

“Why’s that?” I asked, feeling a little of my strength return as she helped me into a chair.

“Look at you. You need food.” She frowned. “It took that much out of you?” There was confusion written on her face, as if she was suddenly doubting her assessment.

I paused, not sure how much I should reveal. But she had taken me on to help me, so I decided to trust her. “I… before yesterday, I was pretty normal. I just had this sort of primal instinct, like a beast inside of me. And I guess from time to time I had slightly above average senses. It wasn’t until last night that things changed. After the fight with Chad, I ate three pizzas and grew three inches, the strength, the fire… it’s all brand new to me.”

Morgana studied my face, looking for deception, but she found none. I knew I was telling the truth. “Do you have parents we can ask for more details?”

I looked away. I hated seeing somebody’s face when I told them the next part. “No, my parents died when I was less than a year old. And the couple that took me in died a few years back.” I gave a tentative look back, and sure enough, Morgana’s was the same as everyone else's. I hated that pity.

“Too often.” Was all she said with a shake of her head. “It sounds like whatever you are is only now coming out. Which means we need to get as much food into you as we can.”

Turning away from me, she grabbed a cord I hadn’t noticed in the corner and pulled it. Not more than a few seconds later, a vampire sped into the room. “I’ll need a table and chairs brought here. And get the kitchen making as much food as they can and keep bringing it here.”

He gave me a look out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, Lady.” He disappeared with the same speed that he had appeared.

“My people might be able to rush things around, but good food can’t be rushed. I hope you can wait a few minutes.”

Another two vampires sped into the room carrying the table and chairs, only to disappear and reappear again with glasses and silverware setting the table up.

“Really, you have amazing service.” I joked.

But she gushed in return. “I know. I do love my employees. Place comes with fantastic perks as well.”

I raised an eyebrow, wondering just what those perks were, but she didn’t elaborate. “So, the list of what you think I might be?”

“Well, there are a number of things that breathe fire. But that was real fire, and not the magical mimicry that so many of them have. It also wasn’t hell fire, so not a demon. Then you said you felt like there was a beast inside of you, so we can rule out an elemental.” She ticked off her fingers as she went through her assessment. “Do you like spicy food? Don’t mind if something’s hot?”

I frowned. There wasn’t a particular inclination towards those, but then I remembered drinking the coffee this morning that Maddie thought was boiling hot. “I think I’m still changing, but this morning my piping hot coffee went down without a problem.”

It wasn’t much to go on, but Morgana didn’t seem to care. “Then I think it’s likely you are a salamander, phoenix or a dragon.”

“Those sound intense.” I tried to pair each of those up with what I felt dwelled inside of me, and phoenix didn’t feel like it fit at all. “I don’t think I’m a phoenix, it doesn’t feel right.”

That only made Morgana grin wider. “Interesting. Well then, this means you need a crash course in what made the para world turn. Magic or the energy that makes it work, mana.”

I nodded, listening with rapt attention.

“We all need energy, but it’s not the same as what humans need. Why can I drink blood that has been processed? Why do werewolves go for a run during the full moon? It all comes down to mana and how different paras are able to absorb it and use it in their bodies. Mana is what makes our paranormal halves run; it’s what gives us each our abilities.”

“How do you get mana?”

“It varies depending on the para, and among each group it’s often more ritual than science. The vamps have made great progress in studying it, but we still don’t know everything. What we do know is that there are a limited number of creatures that produce mana, rather than consume it.” She gave me a level look that told me what she was about to say was very important. “Mana has been on the decline for decades, for as long as vampires have been able to measure it. We think it began in the 1700’s when the mass hunt occurred in Europe.”

“What types of para produce mana?” I asked.

“A phoenix does at every rebirth, and a salamander does if it nests in fire. But what vampires have found to be the largest producers of mana so far, is the heartbeat of a dragon. You haven’t been in a fire lately? Or died?”

I paused, feeling the weight of the world on me for a moment. “No. Neither of those.” So the question remained, how was I powering up. That only left something else, like a heartbeat.

She smirked. “We have more testing to do, so you could still be something else, something new. But given that you seem to be recovering from your mana exhaustion from just sitting here, I’d guess that you might indeed be a dragon.” Her eyes lit up at just the thought.

I let that sink in, and then I laughed. Nearly doubled over, losing it a bit at the ridiculousness of that moment. I’d been Pendragon all my life, and that had definitely led to some teasing. And now, I could possibly be a dragon? It was too rich.

“What’s so funny?” I’d clearly not given her the reaction she was expecting.

“My name. My last name.” I clarified. “Pendragon.”

Morgana’s eyes went as wide as saucers, and all the sultry humor that surrounded her evaporated in an instant.

“Food.” A waiter came in with a platter of four dishes and laid them out. He looked at Morgana’s expression and nearly dropped the plates, trying to set them on the table. “Lady?”

“Get me a book from my library. Gaelic text, green binding, with a rosary knot on the spine.”

“At once.” He vanished only for the platter to clatter to the floor after him.

Her reaction was now catching me off guard. She knew something, or at least suspected something. Her breathing had become heavy. “What is it?”

“Absolutely nothing. I just need to refresh myself on an old text.” I didn’t buy that for a moment, but I could tell she wasn’t going to say anymore, at least not till she got that book. Instead, I focused on eating my food and figuring out the mystery later.