Dragon Soul

Chapter 4-2

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked,” she whispered. The genuine compassion threw me off guard and encouraged me to go on. To tell her a story I hadn’t told anyone before.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know. After Mother passed, I moved in with Father. My step-mother was apprehensive about it in the beginning, and I can’t blame her. I was a living reminder that Father cheated on her. That he loved someone else.” Bitterly, I kicked a trash can and cursed. Why did I do that?

"Even so, that can't have been easy," she said softly, placing a soothing hand on my arm. Damn, this girl was going to end up getting to me far more than I wanted her to.

"Anyway, your turn," I chirped, with a complete sense of falseness. I wasn't happy in the slightest about it all, but I wasn't going to ruin our date by being a miserable git. That wasn't fair to Zara. "What was it like as a half dragon?"

"Tiring. Kind of. It was fine when I was a child. I didn't even know I was different until I was seven. I'd never shifted in front of anyone but my parents until then. In hindsight, it was weird, but I didn't realise that then."

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing."

"Or a curse," she replied. Clearly hurt by the past.

Taking a chance, I put my arm around her and pulled her close. She didn't protest, and I felt a bit braver, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head.

A giddy boy in a sweet shop giving free samples couldn't have outdone me for how excited I was when she didn't pull away. Maybe next time, I'd feel brave enough to kiss her on the lips.

Maybe she'd bite me if I did that. Maybe I'd like it. Only one way to find out.

"When I was seven, a bully was having a go at my best friend. And I snapped. I got angry, and shifted. Which was when I discovered..." she trailed off.

"Discovered?" I prompted after a few moments silence.

What on earth could she say? Was she secretly pink with bright orange sparkles? Or maybe her fire was so hot it'd melt concrete. I was dying to know, at the same time as not wanting to push her further than she was ready to go. If I had my way, then I'd be spending a lot more time with her. Time where we could discover all of each other's secrets.

I shouldn't ever say that out loud. It made me sound really creepy. Like stalker level creepy. Maybe not the best way for me to make friends.

"I discovered I was different from the other dragons. They weren't kind about it."

"I'm sorry," I said, at a loss for what to say. Children could be cruel. I knew that better than most. And I hated that she did too.

"No need. I'm over it."

Yeah. Right. I could hear the haunted note in her voice. She was definitely not over it. In fact, if she was, then I would flap my non-existent wings and fly to Africa.

I'd bring Zara back a present. Obviously. And one for Ayra and the baby. It wouldn't be fair of me to leave them out.

"Doesn't matter if you're over it," I responded. "If you decide you're not, then I'm here for you."

She was silent for a moment, almost making me regret my words. They'd sounded so serious, even to me.

"Next question," I muttered.

"What's your favourite kind of sandwich?"

I c****d an eyebrow and stared at her curiously. That was a very mundane question to ask. Something you’d only ask if you were really interested in the other person. I coughed my gleeful smile and turned to her. “Meatball marinara. What’s your favourite—“ I halted my question and realised we hadn’t actually specified how intimate or wild our questions could be. Or what if she wanted to pass one up? “Should we need some rules first”

Zara’s eyes glimmered and a playfulness curled her lips up. “Rules? Isn’t life much more fun without them?”

I studied her carefully, wondering how serious she was. But from the rebellious aura she had, I guessed, pretty serious. “Bold,” I grinned, sharing her sentiment.

“Exciting.”

“Daring.”

“Thrilling.”

“Daring.”

“You already said that.”

“I ran out of synonyms,” I defended myself, giving her a gentle shove. “I didn’t realise I would be attending a language quiz tonight.”

She chuckled, her laugh dancing through the street. A old couple looked back at us and pulled up their noses.

I glared right back at them, lowering my fangs as I did. With an undignified “oh!” from the posh woman, the couple quickly passed us by. Suited them right. They should just keep their judgement for themselves.

“You didn’t ask me a proper question, Marcus.”

“You’re right, I didn’t. What’s your favourite colour?”

“Is that really what you want to ask me?”

“Oi, you asked about my favourite sandwich.”

My companion laughed and brushed her hand through her long, dark hair. “Touché. Blue, I like blue.”

“Figures,” I muttered, shaking my head in amusement. All those damn dragons seemed to love blue.

“My turn. Let’s do a proper one. How does a vampire know a dragon like Tate?”

I tripped over the curb and barely managed to grab hold of a street lantern to steady myself. “What?”

“You heard me. How does the esteemed daughter of Elder Orrin know a vampire well enough to invite him to her blessing?”

I gulped, mentally kicking myself. This was why I shouldn’t be going out with dragons. Or telling them I was a vampire. Stupid, stupid, stupid Marc.

“Uummm... childhood friend?” I tried, wondering just how well Zara knew Ayra. Errrr. Tate.

“I was friends with Tate her whole childhood and I didn’t see a sign of you. Try again.”

“You were?” I asked, surprised. Devon hadn’t mentioned that when I inquired about her.

“Not that that’s any of your business, but yes.”

“What happened?”

“Hey, it was your turn to answer questions.”

I grumbled and scratched my jaw. How honest could I be here? “I met Tate... through a close friend of mine.” That wasn’t a lie.

“Who?”

“Uh-uh, that’s another question. It’s my turn again.”

Zara shot me a stink eye, but nodded. “Proceed.”

“So... You used to be good friends with Tate? What happened?” If I was going to keep Ayra and Tate’s secret safe, I needed to know just how well she knew Devon and Tate.

“We were both outcasts. She couldn’t shift and I... had my issues. It was nice not being on my own. But then she met her mate.”

“Devon.”

“Exactly. And as you may know, his family holds a lot of weight in our community. And Devon certainly didn’t break tradition. He helped Tate fit in and well, we stopped hanging out. No big deal.”

“That doesn’t sound like not a big deal,” I replied kindly, sympathising with her. Nobody deserved to grow up like an outcast, it was a horrible childhood.

“I was happy for her, at least she had a...” she stopped in her tracks and shook her words away. “Doesn’t matter. Do you fancy a drink?” She stopped in front of a renovated gothic chapel and pointed at the neon cocktail sign.

“Ummm...” I stared at the establishment and even though it was a bar now, the religious connotations surely still encompasses the building. But I hadn’t actually tried passing a church, not after hearing the horror stories from my older brother about vampires going up in flames the moment they passed the threshold. Was today really a good time to figure out if he was right? It sure would be an eventful ending to a date, but I’d rather stick around a little longer and enjoy Zara’s company.

She must’ve taken my silence wrong and her face flushed. “I’m sorry, I just thought... never mind. Maybe just straight home, huh?” she asked, the chirpiness of her voice overtaken by a bitterness it could’ve only gotten from repetitious rejection.

“No, no, let me explain.”

“No need, Marcus. I have been on this first date many times before. Let’s just call it a night.”

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back towards me. “No, lets not call it a night,” I growled softly, the idea of letting her go unappealing. She stared at me with a confused expression. I searched for an answer in her eyes, but they were deep and guarded. A mystery I wanted to solve.

Her breath clashed against my skin and I suddenly realised just how close I pulled her to me. But she didn’t seem to mind, in fact, she seemed quite surprised and intrigued by the sudden contact. I contemplated kissing her, but the moment didn’t seem right. I didn’t want to kiss her just to prove a point. I wanted to kiss her for entirely different reasons.

I rested my head against her forehead. “I can’t cross the threshold of a religious house.”

“Oh... But it’s a bar?”

“Yeah, but it used to be a chapel... maybe their God or whatever is still lurking about. He might just smite me.”

Zara laughed, surely reading the discomfort on my face. “The only god that’s worshipped in here is the God of Alcohol.”

“Well, I do know him... He and I go way back,” I pondered, staring at the bar. It looked quite harmless and I did always want to know whether we could or couldn’t enter a church.

“What happens if you go into a religious place?” Zara inquired.

“Not sure... I might go up in flames. Or be struck by lightning. Or maybe just turn into dust?”

“Wait, you don’t know for sure?”

I stared at the flickering cocktail sign and wondered just how much I wanted to impress Zara. Was I really going to try and enter a church, even if it wasn’t in service anymore? Ayra would kick my ass if she knew I was even contemplating it.

“We can go someplace else,” Zara proposed, tugging me away from the bar.

“No, let’s go in.”

“But what if—“

“Rules are stupid, right? Living life on the edge.”

Zara clacked her tongue. “Yes, but not when it comes to death. You shouldn’t gamble with that just for a drink. There are tons of places which serve alcohol.”

“Oh, screw it. I always wanted to see the inside of a chapel.”

The doors swung open and a drunk couple tumbled out, giggling and kissing. The stale scent of beer and smoke followed the pair and I made up my mind. If there was even something like a Christian god, he surely wouldn’t be keeping watch in a place like this.

I caught the door before it fell shut and looked inside the dimly lit chapel. This was as close as I ever got to entering a church or a holy place, but nothing about it seemed even remotely sacrilegious. I balled my fists in my pocket, hiding just how terrified I was. If I went up in flames, Ayra would summon me from my ashes just so she could kick my ass.

But that was the fun part. So many things could go wrong and maybe, maybe I secretly hoped they would. That would spice up my boring life, at least. I didn’t have body swapping or a mate or an egg to keep my life interesting. Maybe this would give me a proper thrill.

With adrenaline flooding my veins and excitement clouding my mind, I lifted my foot. Slowly, surely, I hovered it out in front of me. Four inches, three inches, two inches...

“Are you sure?” Zara’s concerned tone halted me for a moment, but I shrugged it off. I wanted to see this chapel-bar and I would. I didn’t believe in a god anyway.

One inch.