Releasing the Dragon: Myths and Legends, Book One (9 page)

As my eyes readjusted to the dim lighting I
saw an exotic tattoo of dragon scales covering the bodies of the
man and woman where the glow had been. As they moved from the bed I
could see that each of them had a complete tattoo that created one
flowing piece of artwork when they held each other as they had when
it was formed. Their sense of joy in that moment filled their faces
with a happiness I could scarcely imagine.

I felt eyes on me from the side and turned my
head to see Dragon looking at me with a longing so deep my heart
ached to see it. I wanted to comfort him, help him find what his
soul was crying out for. I reached my hand up and placed it on his
cheek. He covered my hand with his and closed his eyes. When he
opened his eyes again, his gaze was peaceful as if somehow my touch
had helped. When Solomon's voice came from the shadows to narrate,
Dragon titled his head to the stage and we turned to watch the
stage transform for the second act.

"Soon after the Dragon King claimed his mate
a prince was born to the royal couple. When the young prince was on
the verge of manhood, vampire hordes arrived from the south
decimating whole villages, running rampant as they gave in to
bloodlust. Darkness held unspeakable horrors, and only daylight
kept the monsters at bay. The Great War savaged the lands as good
and evil fought for supremacy."

When the vampires came on stage attacking
everyone in sight I was shocked by how authentic they appeared. The
dancers moved so quickly they almost blurred at times. When the
vampires lifted their mouths from their victims it looked as though
blood actually dripped from their fangs. The scenes of massacre and
devastation left me feeling cold and frightened. The heart pounding
music only added to the sensations. I was thankful when Dragon
reached over to wrap his arm around my bare shoulders in
comfort.

At first, the victims on stage were clearly
human. But as the vampire attacks became more brutal their prey
changed shape from man to beast. The transformations looked so real
I had to applaud Solomon's ability to create spectacular illusions.
One minute a man stood fighting and the next a snarling wolf lunged
in his place. The shapeshifters in beast form held their own
fighting with tooth and claw against the bloodthirsty vampires.
Battle after battle raged, each one ending when the sun forced the
vampires to flee in search of darkness.

A series of short battles showed that every
night the vampires attacked different shapeshifter clans moving
from prey animals to predators leaving the dragons for last. The
dragons were the most fearsome fighters among the shapeshifters,
ravaging their enemies, leaving destruction in their wake. But even
their ferocity wasn't enough. In a moment that seemed to last
forever, the Master vampire ripped the Dragon King's head from his
body and held it high in the air for all to see. The dragons could
hardly breathe through their grief. If not for sunrise, the entire
dragon clan would have been obliterated while still in shock from
the loss of their monarch.

Watching the battle scenes play out I
couldn't help but think of the timing and planning that had to have
gone into a production of this magnitude. The choreography and
musical score alone were phenomenal. But the special effects, or
magic, were mind-blowing. The backgrounds came to life as if
someone had pulled a real life battle scene through time and
dropped it on the stage below. I couldn't wait for a chance to work
with Solomon.

Yet even as I sat in awe of Solomon's
brilliance, the tragedy of the story gripped me, pulled me into its
sorrow. When I saw the death of the Dragon King and the
grief-stricken faces of his clansmen I couldn't stop the tears from
sliding down my face. As I wept for the fallen king, Dragon reached
over and wiped the tears away with a soft cloth. The sadness in his
own heart was evident by his solemn expression.

Solomon spoke again as act three began to
unfold. "With the death of his father, the Dragon Prince was
crowned as Dragon King. The young Dragon King had seen enough to
know the vampires could not be defeated by one clan alone. He
called upon the other clan leaders and together they drove their
enemies back."

Onstage a man who looked like a younger
version of his father rallied his troops and prepared for war. When
the two sides clashed in battle the overwhelming numbers of the
shapeshifters forced the vampires into hiding. The shapeshifters
hunted the vampires relentlessly, finding them during the day when
they were most vulnerable. Trapped by the sun the vampires had
nowhere to run when the dragons unleashed their angry fire on
them.

Solomon began to narrate again with the
dancers on stage acting out the scenes as he described them. "Just
when it seemed victory was within their grasp the unthinkable
happened. The shapeshifters were betrayed by one of their own. With
the help of a traitorous wolf shifter, a sorcerer working for the
Master vampire cast a spell over the unsuspecting Dragon King. The
magic wove its way into his soul and forced his dragon to sleep.
The spell then reached out to every shapeshifter who was loyal to
the Dragon King. Without their beasts the shapeshifters could
barely withstand the vampire attacks when they came.

Instead of killing the weakened
shapeshifters, the vampires changed them into bloodsucking fiends
like themselves. Acts of cruelty meant to demoralize the ruined
shapeshifters, making them even easier prey. But rage burned
through the newly turned vampires giving them unexpected strength
and speed. What the vampires thought would be the end of the
shapeshifter clans turned out to be their only hope for survival.
When all but a few vampires had been slaughtered, the hordes
finally retreated to the south, back to the lands they had left
behind."

In the final scene the shapeshifters mourned
the loss of their beasts rather than celebrating their victory over
the vampires. The theater morphed back into the emerald forest from
the beginning of the play. As one sorrowful shapeshifter after
another was highlighted by moonlight Solomon's voice came from deep
within the trees.

"The Great War ended with many shapeshifters
unable to return to their homes; having to find shelter underground
or in caves rather than risk exposure to the sun. With his people
condemned to the night, unable to feel the beasts trapped within
their souls, the Dragon King rose as a beacon of hope, guiding them
through the darkness. And through the ages, the Dragon King has
been a fierce protector earning the love and loyalty of all those
who follow him."

A lone figure stood above all the rest, not
the regal king his father had been, but a savage warrior forged in
battle, shielding his people from harm.

The show ended as that last heart wrenching
scene dissolved and the elegant theater slowly came back into
being. The audience broke into thunderous applause and stood to
show our appreciation for the cast. Solomon came from behind the
curtains and approached center stage. He looked directly at Dragon
and fisted his hand over his heart then bowed deeply in our
direction. The rest of the cast members joined him shortly after
that taking their bows, accepting flowers and blowing kisses to
their adoring fans.

When I turned to face Dragon I was struck by
how much he resembled that final image of the young Dragon King. He
stood there surveying the crowd below and there was nothing
civilized about him. In his determined gaze I saw strength and
power with an edge of darkness that said he would ruthlessly cut
down anyone who dared harm the people he loves and protects. In
that moment he truly was the man from my dreams, the barbarian king
that ruled my fantasies.

Dragon turned towards me with unnamed
emotions playing across his face, burning in his eyes. I reached
out to brush my hand along his jaw, searching his eyes, trying to
understand what he was feeling. He stepped towards me, close enough
that the heat of him radiated through the thin material of my gown.
The desire I always felt for him flamed to life, sent liquid heat
rushing through my body, pooling between my legs where I wanted to
feel his hard flesh thrusting into me.

His eyes widened and his nostrils flared as
if he were scenting my desire in the air. As I stood there aching,
needing, waiting to see if another interruption would come, I saw
him lose control, saw the moment when his body won the battle with
his mind. His hand came up under my hair, his fingers spread over
the back of my head. His other arm wrapped around my waist and he
pulled me against his muscular chest, the rigid length of his
arousal.

His mouth came down on mine and he devoured
me with his kiss. His lips demanding, tongue penetrating, the taste
of him intoxicating. My hands gripped his shoulders, pulled him
closer. My sensitive nipples rubbed against his chest, the friction
sending bolts of lightning straight to my core. I couldn't get
enough of him - the man was so much better than the dreams.

He backed me into the shadows trapping me
against a wall and reached down to yank my gown up, bunching it
around my waist. My hands moved to his buckle and I quickly worked
to undo his pants. He tore my panties away before pulling me up,
holding me with my legs wrapped around his hips. My wet center slid
along his red hot shaft as he started moving with urgent need. Our
ravenous mouths were fused together, swallowing my cries of passion
as soft flesh over hardened steel plowed through my feminine folds,
stroked my swollen clitoris with every thrust of his hips.

Need seared through me, scorched my nerve
endings and sent my heart into a frantic rhythm. I broke the kiss
gasping for breath and his mouth moved to my neck, kissing,
licking, sucking. Sharp teeth grazed my neck before he lifted his
head to look me in the eyes - hunger blazed in his own. His hard
length was still sliding over my needy flesh, building the
intensity, escalating our passion. When spasms of pleasure seized
my body he plunged his thick arousal deep into my moist heat. I
cried out, unable to contain the pleasure as the orgasm tore
through me and he drove himself into me hard and fast.

His eyes bore into mine, the dark chocolate
melting as his frenzied thrusts brought him closer to release.
Without breaking eye contact he turned, laying me across the table
and brought my legs up over his arms. The new position allowed him
to go deeper, his erection hitting the end of my wet channel,
causing a whole new wave of ecstasy to build. When it crashed over
me, Dragon roared and convulsed, pouring himself into me like
molten lava while my body shook with the aftershocks of my
release.

He collapsed, resting his torso on top of me
without allowing his weight to crush me and released my legs
letting them fall along his sides. For several moments, we lay
there gasping for breath. When he could breathe normally again, he
rested himself with his forearms on either side of my head and
placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, then another on my lips. He
spoke then, softly, with his lips brushing mine, "Would you care to
join me in my apartment for dessert?"

I started laughing, I just couldn't help
myself. He joined in and when we both regained our composure I
smiled up at him. "I think that is the best idea I've heard all
year."

He gave me one last tender kiss, more of a
caress with his lips, before separating our bodies and helping me
up from the table. We straightened our clothes and I excused myself
to use the ladies room. When I returned, he was asking Raphael to
have dessert delivered to his apartment before we get there.
Raphael hurried off to see that it was done. Being with the man in
charge definitely had its perks.

"Shall we?" Dragon gestured towards the
curtain with one hand and placed the other on my lower back. The
warmth of his hand was comforting as we walked through the crowd,
members of the audience lingering to drink wine and share their
thoughts on the show. I kept thinking one of them must have heard
us with all the noise we were making. But no one made any comments
as Dragon led us deftly through the throng of people gathered in
the entrance hall. Thankful for that small miracle, I wondered what
other adventures the night might hold.

We found our way to an exterior door that
opened onto a torch-lit path. Once we were outside in the cool
night air I felt like I could breathe easier. I took a moment to
look at the stars and appreciate the beauty of the midnight sky.
Dragon wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed the top of
my head. The way he held me felt so natural, as if he'd done so
many times before. I knew the dreams were responsible for the
feeling, but why did he seem to feel the same? Surely he hadn't
dreamt of me every night for the last several years.

"It's a beautiful night, if you'd like we can
take the path that runs along the beach," he said.

"I'd like that; I've been looking forward to
seeing a beach that borders something other than a lake." He took
my hand and we started walking down the path. The green moat that
surrounds the property glowed brightly beside us.

"What did you think of the show?" he
asked.

"Solomon is truly gifted. Someday I'd like to
know how he pulls off his special effects. I don't know how he
makes the scenes seem so lifelike. I felt the terror and grief of
the characters as if we were actually there, living through the
battles being fought right along with them," I gushed. I was
thoroughly impressed with Solomon's work. "Then there was the story
itself, it was so moving. My heart broke for the young Dragon King.
I remember reading a very similar story in the legends outside of
The Wolf's Claw. The Legend of the Nightshifters I think?"