Chapter 5
“The Dragon Lord returns,” declared Noah, without looking up. He sat in his office pouring over chaotic piles of paper.
Wary of the trickle of activity in the inn’s foyer, Dane hurriedly shut the door behind him. The sun was rising and guests were filtering down for breakfast. “Enough of this rubbish, Noah,” he snapped. “We have a serious issue here.”
Noah glanced at Dane over the rim of his spectacles. “I’d say… You look like shit. Haven’t found a meal yet?”
“I didn’t come here to get this shit from you,” Dane said through clenched teeth.
“You need to feed, Dane,” said Noah. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been shagging your meal.”
Dane growled.
“You’ll learn your lesson soon enough, Djgarr,” said Noah, looking back down. The sound of his dragon name made Dane flinch. He resented the fact that this filthy man knew so much about him, the Dragon Lord.
Dane strode to Noah’s broad oak desk at the back of the room and leaned over. “This is more important than my feed,” he said.
“I don’t see how,” said Noah, glaring up at Dane. Black eyes flashed at Dane’s silver ones. “You’re growing weaker by the day. And for what? A murderess? Now I don’t know much about dragons mating with humans… that part was new, but-”
“The man she killed was a harvester,” said Dane softly.
Noah froze then continued shuffling papers.
“A harvester, Noah,” repeated Dane.
“Are you quite sure?” said Noah.
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
“Athens said he told her that just before she slit him open,” said Dane.
“And you believe her,” said Noah, leaning back into his leather chair. “A killer. Most likely a liar as well…”
“She wasn’t lying,” stated Dane. He stood upright and paced in front of Noah’s desk. “I could tell.”
“You really did bond with her, didn’t you?” said Noah, stroking his trim beard.
Dane stopped pacing and closed his eyes. “Yes,” he sighed. “And there’s something else.” Noah’s gaze pierced Dane as he continued, “Athens found her brother and his child dead. But with their hearts still beating. Their lungs were collapsed.”
“She was avenging her family’s death?” said Noah. Dane detected admiration in his voice. “That explains the darkness.”
“Noah,” said Dane, snapping his fingers. “You’re missing an important piece. They were consumed by a dragon. There’s no other explana-”
“I think we’ve established that, Dane,” said Noah, sharply. “There’s a dragon out there, feeding and growing stronger while you are here starving yourself into mortality.” Dane opened his mouth to speak but Noah interrupted him. “You do know that this woman has taken quite a bit of life out of you already,” he said. “You need to consume a life force. Take another, if you must.”
Dane silently regarded his harvester. His solution was simple, but for the first time in months, Dane’s hunger for human life, and the immortality it brought, had waned. More importantly, he would lose Athens.
“Why did you choose her?” asked Dane. A subtle twitch under Noah’s left eye told Dane that the question held more importance than he originally thought.
“I told you, her aura was…”
“Dark,” said Dane, “Hardly a right fit for me.”
“What are you implying?”
“And isn’t it a coincidence that the feed you pick is tainted with harvester’s blood?” asked Dane, ignoring Noah’s question. “After six months of not finding a suitable soul, you come up with… her.”
“Her aura was golden when I found her,” said Noah.
“Like hell it was!” roared Dane.
“Are you doubting my suitability as harvester, Djgarr?” said Noah, his voice rising with each word.
Dane considered this. He had been asleep for centuries, now faced with a world he knew little of. The inn granted Dane access to feed that would never be missed, feed that Noah chose from among lone travellers whose whereabouts could be made untraceable. The realization that he needed Noah made him queasy. Still, doubt nagged him and he cursed himself for allowing his dragon instinct to wane. “I’m doubting your loyalty, harvester,” said Dane.
“Tell me, Dane,” said Noah softly, “what colour is her aura now that you’ve… given her yourself?”
“Fuck you, Noah,” snapped Dane.
A smirk crossed Noah’s face. “She’s golden, isn’t she? That’s why you can’t take your hands off her.”
“I still don’t trust you.”
“You don’t really have a choice.”
The mess on Noah’s desk was a clear reflection of the turmoil in Dane’s own mind. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late when he finally figured it all out. “What about this harvester?” said Dane. “More importantly… What about the dragon he served?”
“Well if the harvester’s dead now, as you say…” Noah’s voice trailed off.
“We have a pissed off dragon nearby,” said Dane.
“Correct,” said Noah. “And you haven’t sensed him yet… not a good sign, I’d say.”
Dane pressed his fingers to his temples and avoided Noah’s intense stare. Perhaps he had sensed the dragon… A distant memory shimmered in the outskirts of Dane’s mind but remained out of his reach.
“Tell me,” interrupted Noah, “when was the last time you had a transformation?”
Dane sighed. “About a week ago,” he said.
“A whole week?”
“A partial.”
Noah’s eyes were wide as he pulled off his glasses to glare at Dane. “You had a partial transformation a week ago? And you haven’t fed… Are you quite mad?”
The old man’s gaze pierced Dane who remained silent.
Noah said, “If you’ve bonded with this woman as you say, you bloody well better find a way to feed on someone. Even as the Dragon Lord, you can’t bloody well fight another dragon in your human form.” Noah’s hands shook as he replaced his glasses and sat down.
“Find me someone,” said Dane. “I’ll be back tonight.”
“I already found you someone,” said Noah, holding out a sheet of paper. He stiffened as Dane opened the door. “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.
“Out,” said Dane, slamming the door behind him.