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- Herausgeber: Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
The complete Falling for a Dragon series featuring all five ebooks!
Who knew a single drop of blood could change a whole world? For Kate Dena that world is a fantastical new place where adventure and danger await, but she's not alone in facing the evil encroaching on the land. A handsome dragon shifter stands by her side, and together the pair must face the growing darkness and learn her true destiny.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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FALLING FOR A DRAGON BOX SET
Dragon Shifter Romance
MAC FLYNN
CONTENTS
Copyright
Author’s Note
The Dragon's Familiar
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
The Dragon's Maiden
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
The Dragon’s Lover
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
The Dragon's Wife
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
The Dragon's Queen
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Sneak Peek: The Dragon’s Maiden
A Small Favor
When’s the Next Book?
Series by Mac Flynn
About Mac Flynn
COPYRIGHT
Falling for a Dragon Box Set (Dragon Shifter Romance). Copyright © 2023 by Mac Flynn.
Published by Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form or by any or for any use, including recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the author and/or artist. The only except ions shirt excerpts or the cover image in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel or on the cover are either products of the author’s or artist’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author or artist.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for joining me on a journey through my imagination. If you’re looking for romance and adventure with a guaranteed Happily Ever After, then you’ve come to the right place. My books contain paranormal plotting and fantastical action, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them.
* * *
You can keep in touch with me by joining my newsletter or checking out my website for the latest updates.
Check out my website
Sign up for my newsletter
Thank you for giving my book a chance, and Happy Reading!
- Mac Flynn
CHAPTERONE
Who knew a single drop of blood could change a whole world?
I sure didn’t, at least not on that cold, dreary night so long ago. All my thoughts were focused on getting home and stepping out of the high heels I wore to make myself look taller than my middling height. Also, they were great for an impromptu tap dance in the bathrooms. Well, when nobody was looking.
What are you thinking, Kate Dena?
I sighed. There was that inner voice again, scolding me for being silly. I looked back fondly on the days when as a kid that adult voice didn’t haunt my footsteps and scold me into being a, well, an adult.
Speaking of adulting, my thoughts had wandered far too long. I heard a loud familiar honk a block ahead of me. That was the bus parked at my stop, but not for long.
Panic overtook me and I raced forward. The rear brake lights flashed off and the bus pulled away from the curb, oblivious that one passenger still remained on the sidewalk. I stumbled along the broken walk and reached the stop as the bus pulled away from the light down the street. All was lost.
Now look what happened? You should have been faster!
I glared into the growing gloom. “Seriously? How bad can walking home be?”
Me and my big mouth.
It turned out walking home wasn’t bad. It was way worse than that. Still, that was in the future, and at the present time, I had only one choice.
“Feet, get moving,” I commanded myself, and I marched forward with my heels clopping on the sidewalk.
I’d forgotten how many blocks lay between my place of work and home, but I soon found out it was a heck of a lot. The bus trip usually took a little over a half hour, but an hour later found me still far from home and feeling the pain of my choice of footwear. I hurried past a dark opening to an alley but paused and backed up a few steps to stand in the mouth of the monster.
The narrow road could hardly be called paved. Maybe ‘patches of pavement with clots of dirt and trash’ would be more accurate. Rusted trash cans overflowed like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and not a single beam of light intruded on the horrible silence.
I bit my lip. My memory recalled this being a shorter route to home, but I’d be going along a few blocks with which I wasn’t too familiar. Still, that would shave off a lot of time, and my aching feet pleaded with me to find courage.
I took a deep breath and plunged into the darkness. Little did I know that my shortcut would turn out like every other shortcut. It would become the long way home.
My high heels clacked against the bits of pavement that still remained as I skirted stinking puddles and even worse trash heaps. The alley was hardly ten feet wide and brick walls loomed up on either side of me, creating a long tunnel effect. The light at the other end didn’t guarantee an end to my journey. That was another block down and a couple of turns.
I held my breath as I passed through the stench that lingered in the air. A proper description would have been some cross between rotten eggs and gym socks used for a month without washing. I had to pause at the intersection in the middle of the large block and breath in the air that swept through the other outlets.
Noises caught my attention. They came from halfway down the part of the intersecting alley to my left. I pressed my chest against the wall and scooted closer to the corner before I peeked around the brick wall.
Three shadows lurked in the alley. Their bulk and stiff manner of moving told me they were all men. Two of them stood over another who sat on the ground at their feet.
The shaky voice of the man on the ground floated over to me. “P-please let me go!”
One of the men who stood over the quivering fellow shook his head. “Not until you hand over the wallet and the watch.”
My blood ran cold as I realized what I was witnessing. It was a robbery, and the men weren’t asking politely for the money. One of them had a gun, the barrel of which he pointed at their cowering victim.
The meek man on the ground shrank away from the weapon. “P-please! There’s no money in there!”
One of the other men scoffed. “That’s what they all say, isn’t it, Joe?”
Joe scowled at his cohort. “Shut the fuck up! What the fuck are you doing using my name?”
The man with the gun shrank away from Joe. “Sorry, man. I just wasn’t thinking.”
“So, what’s new?” Joe snapped before he whipped his head back to their victim. “Now fork it over!”
Joe grabbed the man’s left arm and tried to pry a fancy glistening gold watch off the smaller man’s wrist. “No!”
I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe I wasn’t. Either way, with my heart pounding in my ears, I frantically searched the ground. My eyes fell on the remains of a bicycle, no doubt scavenged by the local crew of hobos. I grabbed a pair of broken pedals and stepped out into the intersection.
My voice was a little shaky but came out loud and clear. “Leave him alone!”
The men whipped their heads up and their eyes flashed with anger and a little fear. That’s when I lobbed my ‘grenades’ at them. In my usual style, one struck the wall close to the head of the gun-wielding assailant and clattered to the ground. The second throw, however, struck its mark. Sort of.
I had aimed for their heads, but my second throw was too short and struck the weaponless man in the groin. His eyes slightly crossed, and he stumbled to the side until his shoulder hit the brick wall. The man’s companion was understanding as he burst into laughter.
The man I had so wronged glared up at his companion before he wrenched the gun from the other man’s hand. He lifted his shaking hand and pointed the barrel at me, his eyes ablaze with fury. “I’m gonna kill you, you stupid bitch!”
Panic overtook me and I ducked behind the wall. Surely, he didn’t mean it. That’s when a bullet struck the corner and chipped off a piece of brick.
I ran.
My feet pounded against the broken pavement and my arms pumped at my sides. That’s when I heard another shot, but there was no whiz past my face. This one was quick, taken at point-blank range.
“You didn’t have to do that, Joe!”
“I’m not gonna have any witnesses!”
My blood ran cold as a realization struck me. They’d murdered their victim. Now I was next.
Footsteps echoed behind me as the men gave chase. I reached the mouth of the alley and ducked around the corner as another shot struck the bricks close beside me.
I didn’t take heed of where I went, only that I needed to get out of the line of sight as quickly as possible. Another alley presented itself across the street and, according to strict city codes, was slightly misaligned from the one from which I’d just escaped.
I raced across the street and into the alley. A shout came from one of my attackers. “Just let it go, Joe!”
“Not this one!” Joe shouted.
I reached the mouth of the alley and found it to be wider and cleaner than the others. Just my luck that there would be no trash to dive into. There was, however, an apartment building along one side, and a rusted fire escape offered my frantic mind a plan.
I scrambled over a short pile of boxes and managed to grab the bottom rung of the ladder. The ladder was so rusted that it didn’t fall down as designed, but that was good for me. With the adrenaline pumping in my veins, I managed to pull myself up and I scurried to the bottom platform.
There I waited.
I held my breath as the shadows of the men stretched into the alley. Joe still held the gun, and his eyes were full of white-hot fury as he inched forward. “Where the hell did the bitch go?”
His companion grabbed Joe’s arm and gave it a tug. “I don’t know, Joe, but we’d better scram. The cops could be here any time now.”
Joe shrugged off his friend’s hand. “You think anyone’s gonna call them around here?”
They stopped beneath my hiding spot. The gun glistened in the weak light from the lamppost outside the alley. Instinct told me to flee, but there was only one place to go, and that was up.
I eased my head back, but even that slight bit of movement made the rusty grates beneath me squeak. The men whipped their heads back and their searching eyes soon found me. Joe lifted the gun, and that was my cue to run.
I raced up the stairs as another bullet whizzed past me. The clamor beneath me warned me that they were climbing the ladder. I had reached the last platform when one of my heels caught in the grates. A weak cry escaped me as I looked down, and there, two floors below me, stood Joe with the barrel pointed at my head. A horrible grin stretched his face as he squeezed the trigger.
I flung myself against the wall and my foot slipped out of my shoe just as the shot rang out. The bullet struck the upper part of my arm and went straight through. A horrible white-hot pain penetrated my body, and blood began to flow freely. I wrapped my hand around the part of my arm above the bleeding as the men continued their chase.
Instinct screamed at me to continue running, and so I did up the last flight of stairs and onto the flat roof of fine gravel and trash. An ancient wooden door in the center of the roof led inside. I raced over to it and tried the knob. Locked.
I pounded my fists against the wood as tears streamed down my face. “Let me in! Somebody let me in!”
The gravel crunched behind me. I spun around to face the pair as they climbed onto the roof, the gun at the ready for the final shot. Heart pounding, I whipped my head to and fro.
There! A nearby roof! With gasping breath, I dashed across the roof and made it to the short wall that surrounded the area, but I didn’t slow down. Desperation forced me to leap onto the low wall and I used my momentum to propel myself across the gap.
Unfortunately, the cut proved to be a chasm. I fell short of the other roof but managed to grab the edge of its low wall. My momentum meant I slammed into the brick wall and had the breath knocked out of me. The agony in my arm increased two-fold as I hung there, unable to pull myself up.
Some of the blood from my arm dripped off my sleeve and fell to the ground some seventy feet below me. My life fluid dropped into a puddle, and a soft ripple disturbed the water. The wind suddenly picked up beneath my feet and the gusts distorted the colors in the water, creating a strange picture that didn’t match the gap.
A chuckle came from behind me. I twisted my head around and found Joe leering at me with his companion just behind him. There was no mercy in his eyes.
The wind tugged at my feet as I felt my fingers slip, and I slowly slid closer to my doom. The puddle seemed to stretch across the whole width of the alley as the strange colors swirled about creating a new picture that reflected a completely different place.
Joe lifted the barrel of the gun and grinned. “Like shooting fish in a barrel.”
One doom for another. The ground would have more mercy than the man with the gun. I opened my hands and fell to my death. Only it wasn’t death that awaited me. It was just the beginning of my journey.
CHAPTERTWO
I shut my eyes and my body tensed as I prepared for the feel of cold water and hard earth. What I felt, however, was only a whoosh of chilly air and then a touch of a soft wind against my cheeks. I opened my eyes and found myself in a thick mist. The white stuff flew past me in blobs like cream, and I realized it wasn’t mist but clouds, and I was falling through them.
A few openings appeared in the clouds, and I glimpsed thousands of sparkling lights below me. They dotted the landscape of houses large and small, dwarfed by ancient temples, stone ruins, and a castle atop a black stone that towered above all else on its craggy rock that overlooked a large but crowded bay.
This had to be a dream. Or heaven. Either way, I was a thousand feet above those twinkling lights, and falling fast.
What really caught my attention, and my hope, was a small fleet of some half dozen wooden ships with large billowing sails. They weren’t in the bay, however, but high in the air. Still, they were lower than where I was falling and a couple hundred yards away.
I twisted around and looked up. The cloud bank from where I had emerged had a gaping vortex that slowly closed, shutting off my view of the puddle through which I’d dropped.
A bitter wind stampeded past me, and I tumbled head over heels. I managed to right myself, but my mind could imagine the horrible end that awaited me at the end of this cold journey.
Movement from the ships caught my attention, and I glimpsed a throng of people on the deck of the largest vessel. One of the figures leapt onto the side wall of the ship and my eyes widened as a pair of birds’ wings burst out of their back. They flapped hard and took off from the vessel. Hope was kindled within me as they made a straight shot toward my diving position. As they neared, I could make out a black plate of armor on their chest and chain-mail leggings and sleeves.
The man, or whatever he was, flew just slightly above me and extended his hand toward me. As the old saying goes, any salvation in a snowstorm, so I twisted around and stretched out my own hand.
Our fingers entwined with each other, and I felt a strange warm spark flow through my entire body. A brilliant white light radiated out of our connection and flowed over me like a tidal wave of sea foam that twined around each other to create illuminated strands.
The next moment huge white wings burst out of my back, ripping the rear of my shirt and coat to shreds. The sensation was a mixture of pain and pleasure, like eating your favorite ice cream too quickly. My newborn wings enveloped the startled man in a flurry of loose feathers, and he jerked back, breaking our connection. I was left to fall on my own.
I tried to reconnect with him, and in doing so the wind tucked under my wings, slowing my descent as I glided across the uneven rooftops of that metropolis. I could now see small gardens and trees scattered among the mismatched houses and businesses. People hurried along the shadowed streets with lamp in hand to light their way along the dark paths.
I found myself gliding toward a canopy of trees situated near a large church-like building that resembled a miniature cathedral. A small, enclosed courtyard surrounded by a high stone wall held a large tree that stretched up nearly as high as the gabled roof.
As I neared the ground, I noticed more feathers flying loose behind me. I looked over my shoulder and my heart stopped.
The wings were breaking apart.
The loss accelerated, and my altitude took a nosedive along with me. I crashed headfirst into the thick branches of that majestic tree, and my theories about this being a dream or heaven were dashed to pieces along with my body. I tumbled through the branches as the last of my feathers fell away around me. The final landing onto smoothed cobblestones some twelve feet below the last of the branches knocked the air out of me.
I lay there on my back, my bruised body bemoaning my fate. The worst pain came from the gunshot wound in my arm. Blood still poured out, though some had congealed enough with my shirt to make an ugly mess.
Through the branches, I caught a glimpse of the sky. The flying ships had moved closer to my position, and more than one winged man now flew in the sky. They appeared to be growing larger with each passing moment. Maybe the angels were ready to take me now.
The ground vibrated beneath me as footsteps hurried over to where I lay. A shadowy figure leaned over me, and a gentle raspy voice of a man reached my ears. “Don’t try to move too suddenly. I have called for help.”
More forms appeared and the first figure stepped back. His voice urged on the others. “Hurry now. We must get her inside before they come.”
Like a faraway dream, I felt myself lifted onto a stretcher by many hands and borne inside. The hallway down which we traveled was lit by small hanging lamps, and those illuminated the thick stones that made up the walls. I was carried into a small room where I was set down on a soft bed.
A gentle hand brushed over me, touching each spot with a tenderness of a mother. However, I winced when their inspection came to the gun wound. The hands drew away for a moment, and the next I felt the fingers apply a rough gummy mixture to the hole. I winced as a sharp pain shot through me.
“My sincerest apologies,” the man whispered as he finished his work. “Now I will bandage the wound, and you will rest.”
I tried to focus on his face. The only source of light was a lamp on the nightstand beside the bed. The light was cast more on me and left my savior’s face in a gentle shadow. I could see the man wore a habit, and his hood was drawn back to expose his balding head.
He worked quickly, with the expertise of many years of practice, and soon I felt dozens of bandages wrapped about my body. The poultice he had put on my arm soothed the pain, and a warm cloth over my forehead tamped down the chill in my bones from the cold fall.
A commotion in the hall forced the man to turn toward the door just as he finished his work, and another person swept into the room. “Father, they are here!”
I tensed at the panic in the new man’s voice. The ‘father’ leaned down and patted my hand. “I will return in a moment.” He turned to the messenger and used a hand to gesture down at me. “If you must, take her into the catacombs.”
The second man bowed his head as the first hurried away. I heard voices, some irritated and mixed with the soothing tones of the father. Nothing could be made out, but a heavy ring of marching footsteps caught my attention. I tensed as the noises grew louder, but something stopped them.
A long tense moment was punctuated by my quick heartbeat. I tried to sit up, but my aching body gave me a firm ‘no.’ The man left with me bent down and grasped my shoulder to pin me to the bed. The lamplight caught his face and revealed a young man of thirty with short brown hair and a tanned complexion.
There was fear in his eyes as he whispered to me. “Please don’t move, miss. They might hear you.”
I both feared and desired to know who ‘they’ were, but the noises started up again. The marching men moved away until their noises were swallowed by silence. My keeper breathed a sigh of relief, and a few moments later the door opened, and the other man slipped back inside.
The older man dragged a chair over to the bed and nodded at his younger companion. “You may leave us.”
The man nodded and hurried out of the room, being mindful to close the door behind him.
I tried to sit up again, but the stranger set a hand on my arm and smiled down at me. “There is no need to worry. I have sent them away under the ruse that you left us shortly after your fall from the sky.” He released me and leaned back to study my face. “When you are rested, perhaps you might tell me of how you came to fall from the heavens. But,” He eased himself into the chair with a soft groan and dipped his hands into the wide bell sleeves of his habit, “for now rest. I will speak to you in the morning.”
My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and confusion, and my body ached from my hard crash. There was also a faint pain in my back out of where the wings had exploded. All of that and the soft chirp of crickets outside my window caused a wave of exhaustion to flood over me. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift into slumber.
CHAPTERTHREE
The next morning, I awoke with a bitter ache in my bones, but I still felt better than the night before. Sunlight streamed through a narrow window in the wall beside the bed, and I heard the faint chirp of birds outside.
The chair beside the bed was empty and the door was shut, but a tray of food sat on the nightstand. The board boasted an orange, a glass of milk, and buttered toast. I eased myself to a seated position and found my arms to be shaky but with a little more strength than last night. Even my bullet wound felt no worse than a bruised toe.
I made quick work of the orange and milk, and the food and drink revitalized me. The new energy gave me new curiosity, so I swung my legs over the side of the bed and slipped my feet onto the floor. I rested my weight on my legs and found them shaky, but still useful.
With some assistance from the wall behind the head of the bed, I rose to my feet. Voices out in the hall, however, gave me pause, but the footsteps passed the door and faded to nothing. I snatched the piece of toast from the tray and shuffled over to the door, nibbling away at the buttery goodness.
Upon reaching the door I leaned my ear against it and listened. Not a sound came to me. I tried the handle. Unlocked.
I stuck my head out into the hall and found the passage dotted with doors on either side. A few square windows high up in the wall above my head and spaced evenly apart allowed natural light into the passages. The ends of the hall disappeared around corners that turned in the direction I faced.
There wasn’t a soul in sight, so I tiptoed rightward from where a faint sound of voices emanated. That direction meant I soon ended at the corner where it turned left down another wider corridor. This hall was much shorter, lasting only twenty feet before it ended at a pair of large doors. The sounds came from there.
I crept forward and tried to peek through the wood, but they had been built well and not a single knot hole could be found. The sounds had died to a soft murmur.
My curiosity got the better of me, so I stuffed the rest of my bread into my mouth and pushed open the doors. Though they must have weighed a hundred pounds apiece, they swung easily on their well-greased hinges.
The way opened into the nave of the cathedral, and I found myself staring down the center aisle. Wooden benches on either side had each been carved from a single tree. At the opposite end stood the altar decorated in bright purple cloth and with a large candelabra atop the blanket. A huge organ stood to the left of the altar, and its golden pipes ran up the wall and ended a few feet shy of the vaulted ceiling. A few people sat in prayer on the benches but didn’t look up at my intrusion.
I considered my options, and company sounded better than seclusion. Besides, I had questions I wanted to ask that old man. Lots of questions.
I slipped around the left-hand aisle where a few long, narrow tables stood along the walls, and coarse prayer books sat in stacks on their tops. I stopped by a stack and picked one up. The handwritten title on the cover was in an unfamiliar language, and the uneven pages stuck out from the worn covers. I opened the book to find pictures and more words in the foreign script.
“Does an angel need to brush up on her hymns?”
In my surprise, I dropped the book and spun around to find myself staring at the most handsome man I’d ever seen. He sat atop the back of one of the benches with one foot on the smooth arm. The other leg dangled over the side of the pew, and he leaned forward on one bent arm over that leg as he stared at me with a pair of brilliant blue eyes. As I looked into them, they seemed to swirl with an unusual green color, like the brilliant emerald of the sea. He had sandy black hair and a tanned complexion, and on his tempting lips was a crooked smile.
As I stared at him a chuckle escaped those handsome lips. “Have I caught the angel’s lips in my basket?” He hopped down off the top of the pew, and his landing was as soft as a feather.
I shook off my surprise and shrank back from this strange man in this unfamiliar place. At my shirking, his smile wavered a little. He tilted his head to one side and studied me. “I think I’ve frightened you a little, haven’t I?” He crossed one arm over his chest and swept into a low bow. “My sincerest apologies. I didn’t mean to upset the looks of one so ethereal and, might I add,” He lifted his eyes, and a devilish smile graced his lips, “one so beautiful.”
Stranger or not, the sincere compliment brought a blush to my cheeks. The man straightened and grinned at me. “Now that’s a better look for you, my lady. Now if apologies are out of the way, we can get along to the introductions.” He pretended to remove a cap and cup it against his chest. “My name is Ros, local vagabond and troublemaker, according to the good father of this church. And what have the heavens named you, my lady?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and bowed my head a little. “I’m Kate.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Really? What a perfect name for someone as welcome as a summer’s breeze and as beautiful as a field of flowers.”
“Your sweet tongue will not work on the divine,” a voice spoke up, and I looked to my left in the direction of the alter to find the older gentleman from the night before walking toward us with a smile on his face. He joined our group and examined me with his soft brown eyes. “I am very pleased to see you up and about, miss. How are you feeling?”
I set a gentle hand on my injured arm and winced a little but gave him a smile. “I’m much better.” I opened my mouth to continue but hesitated.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Pray, speak, my child. None will think the less of you for your curiosity, for I myself am curious to have my questions answered, as well. However,” He cast a quick look about the nearly-deserted room, “I should very much like for us to speak in more private quarters.”
“And I would very much like to hear those answers,” Ros spoke up as he folded his arms over his chest and grinned at me. “If the lady will permit.”
The good father cast a look of curiosity at the young man. “I thought you too occupied with other matters.”
Ros’ piercing blue eyes looked me over. “Let’s just say my matters may be connected to hers, Father Collins.”
The father studied him for a moment longer before he gestured in the direction from where he had come. “Then if you will follow me.”
I allowed him to lead, while Ros followed behind me. The good father led us through a door to the left of the altar and past the organ, and down a short hall to one of the doors. The room inside turned out to be a small office with a large desk, and behind that desk was a stained-glass window that depicted a shining sun over farmland full of flocks of sheep. The walls were covered by thick bookshelves crafted from aged wood, and everything in the room was hidden by mounds of books and scrolls.
Father Collins moved one of those piles off a thick wood chair and turned the seat to me. I reluctantly accepted the chair as the two men stood between me and the exit. Ros leaned his back against one of the bookshelves near the door while the good father took an uneasy seat against a pile of some of the larger tomes.
He dipped his hands into his sleeves and looked down at me with his gentle smile. “My good lady do not fret over my questions. I only wish to know how you came to fall from the heavens on golden wings that vanished so dramatically.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know where I am.”
Ros crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips. “You’re in the kingdom of the Black Dragon clan, and currently residing in their capital city of Mavros.”
CHAPTERFOUR
I gaped at the pair as my mind tried to process all that he had just told me. “Black dragon? As in, real dragons?”
The priest lifted an eyebrow. “Do you not hail from one of those kingdoms? Or have you truly come from the heavens?”
I shook my head. “I’m not from any kingdom or the heavens. I’m just a girl from the Midwest.” I received a pair of blank expressions from my companions.
The good father shook his head. “I have not heard of this ‘Midwest’ before. Is it far away?”
“It’s in the middle of the US.” Again, the silent reply from the other two was confusing. “You know, the United States?”
Ros lifted an eyebrow. “There is nothing like those near the Five Kingdoms.”
A little bit of panic crept into my mind as I ran a hand through my hair. I stared wide-eyed at the floor. “Where the hell did that puddle drop me?”
The father grabbed onto that. “What puddle, pray tell?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I was being chased by these two murderers and was caught on a roof. I tried to jump to another roof but ended up catching the wall and just hanging there with this weird puddle below me. I,” I wrapped my hand around my bandaged arm and winced. “I couldn’t hold on to the other side and fell. That’s when I dropped out of the sky here and a guy with wings tried to catch me, but the second he grabbed my hand I had these… these-”
“Wings?” the priest suggested.
I nodded. “Yeah. Big bright wings burst out of my back. The guy was so surprised he let me go and I fell through that tree.”
Collins stroked his chin. “How very intriguing. I never expected to hear such a fantastical tale.”
My heart fell. “You don’t believe me?”
He dropped his hand and smiled at me. “Of course, I believe you. Your eyes show the light of truth in them. However,” His good humor faded as he furrowed his brow, “I would like to know more about the wings.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know anything more about them. That’s never happened before, otherwise I wouldn’t have fallen off that building.”
Ros lifted an eyebrow as he examined my clothes, or what remained of them. “You have an unusual fashion, even for a traveler.”
I looked down at myself. I wore a blouse and a pair of dress pants, both stained with blood and tree sap. “Everyone wears this when they go to the office.”
“Which office is that?” he inquired.
I lifted my eyes up to the pair and studied their expressions. There was no sign that they recognized my colloquial use of the word. “You know, the office. In a skyscraper.” That last word really brought up their eyebrows and my heart rate. “Come on, don’t fool around with me like this. I’ve had a hard enough time missing my bus and being chased by murderers.”
“‘Bus?’” the good father repeated.
A horrible realization began to dawn on me, and I climbed to my shaky feet. “I’m not in Kansas anymore, am I?” The blank looks were all the answers I needed.
I staggered backward as the full weight of my reality came crashing down on me. The father caught me, and Ros stepped forward, but I righted myself and shook my head. “This… this can’t be real.” I lifted my eyes and searched their faces. “This is a dream, right? I’m dreaming?”
The good father pursed his lips. “This is not a dream, and you are very much here.”
I stumbled over to the chair and grasped the back in both hands. My thoughts still spun as I stared blankly at the seat. “I’m… I’m in a different world? Or is this just a different time?” I whipped my head up and searched their faces. “When did the Roman Empire fall?”
Ros lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not familiar with that empire.”
I turned my attention to the good father. “What year is it?”
“The year twelve-hundred and sixty-two after the Council of the Sages when a calendar was established among the kingdoms.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Another world…”
“Then you are from the heavens?” Father Collins suggested.
A bitter laugh escaped me before I shook my head. “Far from it, but what I’d like to know is how I got here.”
Collins stroked his chin. “You told us you fell through a pool of water. Was there no concoction within the water to create this portal?”
I stared hard at the seat as I furrowed my brow. “I don’t remember-” My eyes widened as a thought struck me. “My blood! A drop fell into it before I fell, and that’s when the color changed!”
Ros examined me with a curious look. “Your blood allowed you to travel between worlds?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s what happened.”
“Can you do other magic?” he wondered.
I snorted. “I can’t do any magic. There’s no magic in… in my world.” A lump grew in my throat that I tried hard to swallow. Tears welled up in my eyes. “Damn it… now what am I supposed to do?”
The good father set a hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. “You may rest your weary bones here for however long you desire, and perhaps we will be able to find a way to send you home.”
Ros lifted an eyebrow at the good father. “With the palace guards already on her trail?”
The good father frowned at him. “They do not have a proper description of her thus she may elude their grasp for a while yet.”
I blinked at the pair. “Palace guards? Why would they want me?”
Collins turned his smiling face to me. “It is not every day that a woman falls from the sky and wings burst out from her back.”
“But the guy from the ship had wings,” I pointed out as I looked between the pair. “Does that mean he’s like me? Or that I’m like him?”
The robed man stepped back and used a hand to gesture to me. “Can you produce those wings for us right now?”
I twisted my head around and tried to get a look at my back. “I don’t really know how…”
Ros watched me with his beautiful sea-green eyes, and I tried not to squirm under his attention. “Focus your mind on flying and the feel of the wind through your feathers. That should work.”
I nodded and closed my eyes. My thoughts wandered back to when I was falling, and the wings had made their sudden and grand appearance. There had been that tingling sensation of pain and happiness. That had to be how I called the wings forth. I just had to focus on that feeling.
I focused. And focused. And focused.
After a few moments I peeked open one eye and looked over my shoulder. My heart fell as I glimpsed nothing but my ripped shirt. “It’s not working…”
Collins patted my shoulder. “Perhaps another time. For now, you should rest, and I am sure you desire some new clothes.”
I looked down at myself and blushed. “If it isn’t too much trouble.”
He chuckled. “None at all. Let us venture to the linen closet and we will see what size will fit you.”
Ros pushed off from the wall and walked over to offer me a hand and a smile. “In that case, allow me to escort you.”
Father Collins frowned at him. “That is incredibly kind of you, your-”
“-absolutely generous with my time,” Ros finished as he kept his attention on me. “Shall we go, my lady?”
I sensed a tension between the two that I couldn’t understand. Ros’ unflinching hand awaited mine, and the good father didn’t argue the point further, so I set my hand in his.
The moment our skins touched a jolt of electricity shot through me. A strange blueish glow pulsed out of our connection and flowed over my body in waves as I felt a strange suffocating feeling envelope me. My vision, too, became blurry as though I was staring through a thin film.
I staggered forward as Ros slipped his arms under mine to catch me before I fell to the floor. The good father hurried forward to grasp my hand. “What is it, my child?” he asked me, and I let out a horrible gasp as my lungs seemed to take in no air.
Ros’ eyes widened and he stumbled back. His sudden departure made me lose my balance, but the good father caught me and lowered me to my knees on the floor. The world spun around me as Ros’ feet flew past my field of blurry vision.
“A bucket, quick!” I heard him shout.
I was set on the floor as a flurry of activity vibrated the stones beneath me. In a moment a bucket clattered to the floor beside me, and Ros’ strong arms slipped beneath mine. He yanked me to my knees and hung me over the bucket where I could see my pale reflection in deep water.
“Sorry about this, Kate.”
Ros shoved my head down. I gasped and took in much of the water. The pressure on my lungs was immediately lifted and I choked on the sudden relief. A shiver ran through my body, along with exhaustion, and I lost consciousness.
CHAPTERFIVE
I awoke to find myself back in my bed with a towel beneath my wet hair. Father Collins sat beside me with pursed lips and a large tome in his lap.
“How are you feeling?”
I cupped my hand over my forehead and sighed. “Like a train hit me.” I received a blank for my trouble and shook my head. “Not great.”
He set his palm on the cover of the large book. “I thought you might feel as such.”
There was something in his manner and words that caught my curiosity, and I couldn’t help but allow my gaze to fall to the book. “Why?”
A deep sigh escaped his lips. “You are not a mere visitor from another world, but someone vastly important to ours, and your coming was foretold in this book.” He patted the cover lightly with one palm. “In here is the prophecy that spoke of one who would fall from the heavens in a ball of white light and return hope to the hopeless.”
I blinked at him. “You have got to be joking.”
The corners of his lips twitched upward. “Would that I were, but this prophecy has been handed down by my order for many countless centuries. So many, in fact, that we are not quite certain when the words were spoken.” He opened the tome and gently flipped through the pages until he neared the back where he stopped at a page that featured a paragraph of text with a picture I couldn’t quite make out in its upside-down state. The father set a finger on the script that ran across the worn pages in long, elegant handwriting. The text didn’t look like the alphabet I had seen in the prayer book. “According to a priestess with the gift of foresight, she foretold that ‘the darkness would grow long and the days hard and bitter. When the hour is late one shall come from the heavens like a fallen angel and rekindle the light of hope.’” He lifted his eyes and smiled at me. “You seem to fit that description perfectly, Miss Kate.”
I gaped at him a moment before I shook off my stupor and shook my head. “But I’m not somebody special! I’m just somebody who-”
“Dropped into our world through her own blood and found herself the last of what this world refers to as a ‘Familiar.’”
I blinked at him. “I’m familiar with what?”
He chuckled. “Not in that way, and yet in that way.”
“You lost me.”
Father Collins lifted his eyes to the ceiling and stroked his chin. “I would describe it as the ability to ‘mimic’ those with the gifts granted to them by animals. Since many legends of those families stem from such animals granting them license to use their attributes, we, that is, those of us from this world, refer to the members within those fortunate bloodlines as one of the Pactus, or the ‘gifted ones.’”
I shook my head. “I still don’t follow.”
“The gentleman you saw with the wings is of a bloodline who, long ago, was granted the power of flight by a bird god. As a Familiar, you are able to ‘borrow’ that blessing and use wings yourself.” He paused and studied me with a soft smile. “Though it must be admitted that your wings are much more spectacular in their appearance than any I have seen in my long years.”
My eyes widened as understanding dawned on me. “Then… then I can fly?”
Collins nodded. “Among other gifts, though,” He cast a side look at the door and cleared his throat, “one must be careful whom one touches. Is that not correct, Ros?”
The door opened and Ros stepped into the room. His usual good humor had been replaced by a solemn expression as he shut the door behind himself. “I thought it wasn’t the best time to come in yet.”
Something tingled at the back of my mind like I was missing an important point the good father was making. “Is... does this have something to do with what happened to me before I blacked out?”
Ros walked up to the side of the bed and sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for you to start suffocating.”
I blinked at him. “I… I was-” I wrapped a hand around my throat as I thought back to the sensation of burning lungs. “But how? Why?”
Collins gestured to Ros. “Ros here is of a very ancient and unique bloodline where his ancestors were granted the gift of a great dragon.”
I tilted my head to one side and lifted an eyebrow. “So, when I touched you-?”
“You acquired that gift, though only briefly,” Ros confirmed.
I furrowed my brow. “But I didn’t grow wings.”
A ghost of a smile touched Ros’ lips. “My lineage isn’t of the dragon type that can fly. Rather, my family has the ability to swim underwater.”
My eyes widened as understanding dawned on me. “Then I couldn’t breathe because I needed water?”
Ros nodded. “Yes. It was fortunate the good father here had a mop bucket at hand.”
A little bit of color drained from my face. “A… mop bucket?”
“Only slightly used,” the good father assured me.
I lifted up my hands and studied my upturned palms. “So I… can I touch anybody here?”
The good father leaned forward and set his hand in mine. I looked up to find him smiling at me. “There are many of us without the gift, Miss Kate, though I am sure in time you will learn to control your own gift.”
“But how do I tell who’s a Pact one or not?” I asked them.
Collins pursed his lips. “The word is ‘Pactus,’ though I fear you are correct. There is no way to tell one from another unless their gift is being used.”
“What about some gloves?” Ros suggested.
The good father turned his head around and lifted an eyebrow at him while a slight smile touched the corners of his lips. “An excellent idea. I believe you have a fine pair of gloves, which your-”
“Going to give to her without hesitation, as an apology for putting her through that ordeal,” Ros finished for him as he bowed his head. “It would do my gloves an honor to be worn by such an illustrious, and might I add beautiful, woman.”
I cut through the crap and frowned at him. “Did you know that would happen if I touched you?”
Ros’ good humor fled as he folded his arms over his chest. “Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what, if anything, would happen, but I’ll admit I suspected something would occur if you were to touch me.”
I launched both my pillows at him, and both struck him in the face. He stumbled back in both surprise and at the pricking of the goose quills inside the pillow covers. A few of the feathers fell out and clung themselves to Ros’ face, ringing his features in a frame of guilt and slight bemusement.
Father Collins chuckled. “A new fashion among those of the Hadrian Empire?”
Ros pulled the feathers off his face and revealed a smile. “This custom extends beyond the boundaries of all the kingdoms. It’s also something I deserve to wear.”
I dropped my gaze to my upturned hands in my lap and pursed my lips. “I suppose you didn’t really know…”
An eager spark illuminated his brilliant green eyes. “Then you forgive me?”
I lifted an eyebrow but gave him a crooked smile. “I didn’t say that…”
Ros sighed and feigned regret. “Then I must make amends by other means. Namely that I show you about the city.”
Collins cast a look of suspicion at him. “You know the city well enough, but should you really be showing yourself to the public?”
Ros grinned and gave him a wink. “Nothing to it. Nobody would recognize me in these clothes, and I’ll be sure to keep my head down and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.”
“Would that were possible…” the good father muttered as he returned his attention to me. His expression softened and he set a hand atop mine. “But how are you feeling?”
I shifted among the sheets and pressed my hand against my chest. “I’m a little tired and hungry, but other than that I feel fine.”
He dropped his eyes to my clothes. “And you are still in need of new attire. If you feel well enough, we may remedy that by fitting you with some new clothes. I apologize for their plainness, but-”
I held up one hand and smiled at him. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I’ll just be glad to get out of these ragged ones.”
“Then let me fetch a shirt and pants,” Collins offered as he eased himself onto his feet. He cast a side look at Ros. “As for your suggestion to lead her out into the city, might I remind you that she is being sought by all the guards?”
“And all the rats,” Ros added.
Collins frowned at him. “This is no joking matter. She cannot be found by the king.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Why does he want to find me?”
Ros crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “Because the king of Mavros is one of the leading villains in that part of the prophecy about darkness.”
“Nothing is certain,” Collins countered.
Ros scoffed. “Nothing is certain but that he poisoned his own father to take the throne and now holds my-”
“Whatever his crimes, she cannot be captured by anyone,” Collins insisted as he set a hand on Ros’ shoulder. “During your stay here, you must be her protector until that time that we might send her out of the reach of the king. Do you understand?”
Ros pursed his lips but nodded. “I understand.”
Collins smiled and patted his shoulder. “Excellent! You do your house honor.” He turned to face me. “Now, Miss Kate-”
“It’s just Kate,” I assured him.
He bowed his head. “Now, Kate, let us see to your clothes.”
CHAPTERSIX
I let Father Collins lead me out of the room, leaving Ros behind, but I cast a look over my shoulder before the view through the doorway was blocked by the wall. Ros stood in the room with his hands balled into fists at his side, and his eyes staring in frustration at the floor.
“Come along, Kate,” Collins called from a few steps further down the hall.
I scurried to catch up to him as he led me down the leftward portion of the hall toward what I assumed was the back of the church. “Ros isn’t one of the brothers?”
Collins burst into laughter and the noise startled a pair of brothers who stood against the wall. The good father gathered himself and bowed his head to them, where they returned the favor. “Pardon my outburst,” he apologized as he turned his attention to me. His eyes twinkled with mirth. “The thought of one so… spirited as Ros being a brother of any order is quite amusing. To answer your true question, he is a guest among us. Business has brought him here, and I hope he concludes the affair soon.”
“It doesn’t sound good,” I mused.
“You have a kind heart, Kate, but this matter is beyond that which you need worry yourself,” he advised me as we turned the corner.
I found myself staring down a corridor that stretched the full breadth of the church. The wall to our right no longer had doors, but windows stood in their stead. The plain glass looked out on a large courtyard in the center of the church. Brothers in their habits worked away at small, raised garden plots or tended flowers. I couldn’t help but lift my chin and soak in the warmth from the sun.
“Do you not have such natural beauty from where you hail?” Collins wondered as he guided me down the hall.
“We do, but I have to go to a park to enjoy it,” I admitted as we passed one door after another on our left.
Collins stopped us before one of the smaller ones and opened the portal to reveal a room hardly larger than a cupboard. The walls of the rectangular interior were lined with shelves, and on them were all the clothes a monk could ever want. Plain shirts, plain pants, and rough robes were the order of the day. The bottom shelves even had some plain brown shoes of wrapped leather.
Collins slipped inside and took a long look at me before he turned his attention to the shelves. “Rather small, but we have some small brothers who have made spares for themselves.”
“I don’t want to take anything from anyone else,” I countered as I watched him rummage through the neatly folded clothes.
He smiled as he continued his search. “Your kindness is admirable, but the brothers stitch these clothes for both themselves and anyone in need, and you, my daughter,” He paused and cast a quick look at my attire, “are in rather desperate need.”
I blushed and pulled my shirt down in a vain attempt to give myself some decency. “Sorry…”
He turned to me with a few bundles in his arms and shook his head. “There is no need to apologize. Truth be told, I am grateful you have finally arrived. The world is in great need of hope.”
I winced. “I don’t know if you have the right girl. I’m just a simple office worker from a small city.”
He chuckled. “The brightest lights may come from the humblest of beginnings. What matters is not where you came from, but what you do with the gifts you are given to give your light its brilliance. Now then,” He plopped the three bundles into my arms and stooped to take up a pair of shoes. “Let us see about getting your light a little less visible.”
Father Collins led me out of the linen closet and back to my room. I was disappointed to find it was empty. Ros had left, and I wondered if his departure was permanent.
“You needn’t worry about his being gone,” the good father assured me as he set my shoes near the bed and turned to face me with a smile on his lips. “I am sure you will see him very soon.”
I blushed and averted my eyes from his keen gaze. “I-I was just getting used to him being around, that’s all.”
“Indeed,” he mused as he nodded at the clothes in my arms. “Please do not hesitate to ask if you need assistance with those clothes, though I am sure you will find them easy to put on.”
I nodded, and he slipped past me and out of the room, mindful to shut the door behind him. Now that I was alone, I had time to think about what had happened to me. They weren’t all unpleasant thoughts, but my pulse quickened whenever my mind wandered over the prophecy and the king looking for me. The way Collins and Ros had spoken, being found by His Highness wasn’t a good thing.
I set my clothes on the bed and sighed as I slipped out of my old attire. A part of me couldn’t help but compare the action to shedding one life for another as I gently set my old clothes aside for the new ones. Father Collins had a good eye, and I found them to fit perfectly, though the shirt was slightly snug across the chest. Fortunately, my bra had survived the trip and I didn’t have to worry about the tightness.
