Dragon Nest

Chapter 17

Lillian," muttered Timothy threateningly.

The two stood together, watching the distraught human girl embrace the dragon desperately.

"Calm yourself, Tim," She whispered, barely containing her mirth. "That was fantastic. Did you see her face?"

"Yes," the elemental sighed. "She almost lost her cool for a second there. Don't push her." He held Lillian in awe. Lady Narlakis had a temper, that was a fact, but was generally fair with everyone who didn't piss her off. Lillian went out of her way to do just that, and it made her a bit of a legend.

"Okay, we'll go to the rooms first, then the tattoo, then probably the rooms again," Lillian outlined the schedule. "After they're done with making her a familiar we can show him around the Compound. He can't go outside looking like that, though. Maybe tonight he can go visit the club or something."

"That sounds fine, are you going to be okay with this?" Timothy asked. "Amanda was on him straight away; you should have seen it though, he had her by the neck so fast I barely saw it. He just about killed her but the human started making a fuss and he stopped."

"Interesting." She approached the dragon, giving the witch a nod of acknowledgement. "Christopher, let's go see where you'll be living, then we can get started on making her your familiar."

"Sure, and please call me Chris. It looks like we'll be spending a bit of time together." He released Annabel from their long hug; still holding onto him, she gave the beautiful vampire a surprisingly hateful glare.

"Thank you, Chris. And what's your name?" Lillian offered Annabel a hand to shake.

Annabel didn't accept it. It was childish, but she refused all the same.

At this, Lillian leant down. This human female was pretty enough; perhaps a little skinny by her own standards, but that was the fashion these days wasn't it? She must be his girlfriend, strong minded enough to see past his wings and scales. Good for her. "Listen," she tried for a conspiratorial tone, "I imagine this is quite overwhelming. But you don't have to worry about me. That's more than I can say for some of the others around here. I won't try to steal him from you," she winked as she spoke the last sentence, and Annabel blushed violently.

"Sorry, I'm Annabel," she offered her hand shyly. "It's all just a bit much at the moment."

"Welcome aboard," said Lillian, shaking it, but not before glancing up at the dragon for approval to do so.

***

Lillian guided them through the underground complex, explaining various services and functions. There were about 4500 Beings in the Mid-West territory, most of whom lived in the Denver metropolitan area. Lady Narlakis provided many kinds of support to Beings in her territory, policed their laws, and maintained the Secret. Beings provided something in return to help the community: a tax system of sorts, usually paid by barter of services. Beings had their own economy based in trade using mostly precious metals and stones as currency which also had intrinsic value for magics and spells. Human currency still played its part, because everyone interacted with that world as well, Lillian explained. Chris already knew most of this, but Annabel absorbed it all like a sponge.

Upon arriving at an elevator, Lillian inserted her key card and they stepped inside, travelling upward while she explained that they were now traversing underneath the city block to their hotel suite, inside a hotel for Beings only. They were quite high up when they arrived on their floor, where again a key card was required for entry.

Their suite was quite spacious, one of only two abodes on the entire floor. Elaborately furnished, the dark heartwood accents contrasted nicely with the gentle pastel interiors. There were pieces of tasteful local art throughout, including some clearly made by Beings. All of the windows, which were extensive along one side, were installed with retractable shades currently pulled down, effectively blocking out all sunlight. They could open them if they desired, but Lillian cautioned them to please tell her beforehand; she was a vampire after all.

While Chris and Annabel made themselves comfortable in the master bedroom, Susan took one of the spare rooms. Lillian set up shop in another: while on duty she would live with them. When asked about taking time out from what sounded like exhaustive surveillance duties, Lillian explained that she didn't expect to do so. Frankly, she rarely slept anymore.

Lunch was delivered via room service: burgers for Chris and Annabel and an omelette for Susan. Lillian ordered a 'blood box' – the vampire equivalent of a juice box – a concept Annabel initially found immensely funny until the implications of harvesting human blood sunk in. All four of them sat at the dining room table, Annabel next to Chris, opposite Lillian. While they ate, Susan remained quiet, sizing Lillian up; trying to figure out what hidden games might be in store. Lillian must be powerful, she knew, and highly trusted to be assigned to protect Chris; but what exactly would the vampire be reporting to Lady Narlakis, she wondered.

"So your aspect is the Ether. How does that work?" Lillian asked, sipping her blood while they finished off their fries.

"I don't know," Chris answered honestly. He'd begun to warm to the seemingly-friendly vampire. "I used to dream in the Ether some nights. This is all very new to me." He explained about his father's enchantment. "Yesterday, I fell into the Ether when I had a nap, woke up, and had a walk around in there. I actually ended up scaring the hell out of Mom."

"Very interesting," Lillian mused, "you know, it's a unique aspect among dragons. There hasn't been an Ether dragon before. I imagine you will grow to be quite formidable. Dragons always are, but if you can learn to phase, and to harness the energy of the Ether for magic, you would become very powerful."

Everyone seemed to be obsessed with how powerful he would become. "I just want an uncomplicated life."

Lillian's guffaw echoed in the room and Susan had to smile a little too. "You certainly won't have an uncomplicated life. No one does." Perhaps because he was young, he didn't yet understand the world. She was finding it a little easier to relax around him, especially after her blood meal; perhaps she was just getting accustomed to his scent. The girl, however, still eyed her warily, while the witch silently studied her.

"Well. Let's go get her the tattoo," Lillian announced, once they had all finished eating.

"Me?!" Annabel squeaked. She hated all things 'needle'.

"Is that really necessary?" Chris knew it was, but asked anyway.

"Absolutely," Susan replied out of the blue from the head of the table. "Without it, you won't be legally protected against the actions of other Beings. You'll be a regular human. Nowadays, they tattoo the owner's ID number on each familiar. They used to brand humans, like cattle."

"Yes, and without your master's tattoo I could come gobble you up in the night," was Lillian's light-hearted rejoinder. Chris hissed. "Relax," the vampire eased, "I meant it as a joke. Although it's true, you know."

"Do you really hunt people? Kill them to drink their blood?" Annabel asked.

"Well of course I do, I'm a vampire. Most of us try not to kill our victims. It's greedy, you know; messy, too." Damping down her sharp wit, she continued, "We each have an allotment of humans we are allowed to kill each year; some vampires get off on it, but they usually don't last long. We are allowed as many non-fatal feedings as we need, provided we leave no trace behind, keep the Secret, and all that. Human familiars of other Beings are off-limits, though," she added kindly. "A lot of vampires just keep their own human familiars, or feed from another willing Being."

"That's sick, how can you just treat people like that?" Annabel whined. Chris hugged her across the small gap between their chairs; still, she felt a little nauseous at the idea.

Lillian wasn't at all offended by the girl's accusations. "It's just nature Annabel, it isn't pretty," she explained patiently, meeting the girl's bright eyes. This was a serious subject, the human needed to understand that the Being world wasn't some idealised fantasy. "Vampires aren't even the worst; true demons used to go on absolute bloodbaths before they got stopped. That hasn't happened in several hundred years. And it's been very rare since the Devines put a barrier around our dimension millennia ago, saying it was unfair that demons still influenced our lives, even after the ban." She had embraced her nature long ago. A hungry vampire was a dead vampire, after all.

Susan looked on approvingly, it wasn't the most gentle of lessons in the uglier side, but it would be good for both Annabel and Chris.

Slumping sideways back into Chris's body with a slight sigh, Annabel was rocked. "Demons? Holy s**t ... what, what about God? The Devil? At least tell me you don't go around killing people. I mean you're a good vampire, right?" Magical Beings were one thing but she'd lost faith once she realised that people did all manner of things in the name of their gods.