Page 17

Mulan had rented a van to pick up her family at the airport. I was on my morning walk when she left early to retrieve them from their red-eye flight from Boston. Conn was not in the seat beside her. Things were tense between the two of them because Mulan was tense. No matter what arrangements we made to help her, Mulan remained churned up about their arrival.

The large rental van got parked in her single-car driveway where it completely hid the cute little two-seater ride she and Conn enjoyed. I’d offered her my car to pick them up because it had room for them all to sit if they fastened some of their luggage on top of it. The shocked face she’d made at my suggestion had made me laugh.

Like my daughter, the Wu Shaman hated my car. True, it didn’t match my house at all, but it got me around when I needed to go somewhere. I felt no need to prove my value by owning fancy electronics or the latest version of some vehicle. I had better things to spend money on—like the teacher who was coming to help me keep everyone out of my head.

Besides, Henry had stashed his limo-sized vehicle in the limo-sized garage made for such a machine. He’d offered topick up her family but Mulan had declined his offer. She didn’t want her relatives to think she had money to spend on such things. She also didn’t care if they knew the truth of what she’d accomplished alone in America through sheer grit. But I sure did. I wanted to educate them about a great many things.

I shook my head as I wandered over to the grove of trees where my sacred space was coming to life. A tent still shielded my firepit, but the greenhouse was on the verge of being completed. Gale had ordered a kit. It arrived yesterday and someone had assembled the frame already. They’d probably finish it today.

To get all the plants and blessed dirt I needed, a shopping trip to the Black Cat Nursery was necessary. I’d also need to make a trip to a big box store for gardening gloves, pots, and all the implements. I had no idea if Jack still had my original gardening stuff but it wasn’t worth the headache of asking for it.

On my way out of my sacred space, a giant shadow darkened the sky above my head to where I couldn’t see daylight around me. I exited the trees to stare at the enormous creature. Black scales covered him and large black wings possessed a red-feathered symbol. His shaggy mane, a deep shade of red, made my unkempt locks seem tame in comparison.

The creature landed near me and folded his wings against his back. The dragon was as big as Mulan’s cottage and stood nearly as tall. His large dragon mage head bowed to me. “Greetings, Aran of The Dagda.”

Goddess, I hadn’t seen a dragon mage in ages. “Greetings, dragon mage. How did ya get by my wards?”

He shook his red hair out of his eyes to better stare at me. “Is that what tingled when I landed? I thought my phone was buzzing against my scales. I can’t use the phone when I’m in dragon form. I have to carry it in a bag.”

“Ya’re trespassing, dragon. What’s yer purpose in coming here?”

Ignoring my question, his colossal head turned toward the house. “Are ya entertaining angels in there?”

I stiffened at his amazing instincts. There would be no fooling him. “The only angel I know has come and gone. There are a couple of guardians in residence. Ya might be feeling them.”

He turned back to gawk down at me. “I thought Henare of the Fir Bolg was joking about the Ancient Ones vacationing here. Ya must be special to them, Aran of The Dagda. Those ya call guardians are very reclusive. They are like my dragon sire who watches over my kind from beyond the veil.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are ya descended from the first dragons who existed on this planet? One guardian told me a story about how dragons were here first.”

“Aye, lass. I’m one of those. To my eternal regret, I slept through centuries of dragons dying out and ignored all the many millennia of creatures who came after us. I woke only after humans had taken over the Earth. Yer kind was so primitive back then that I thought ya were only good for food. Fortunately for ya, I don’t think that way anymore.”

“What’s yer name, dragon?”

“Zenos.”

My eyes went wide. Could it be the same Zenos I’d studied about in school? Rumor had it he’d been Merlin’s pupil—or teacher. The stories I read were still unclear.

“Why are ya here, Zenos of the One?”

“Henry said a daughter of The Dagda needed a teacher. Since I owed him a few favors, here I am to pay back one of them.”

I stared open-mouthed at him. Sothis dragonwas the teacher Henry had gone on and on about hiring for me. Nothing could have surprised me more.

“By the Ancients, ya’re easy to read, woman. Now I see why the demon called me for help.”

The dragon chuckled as flames erupted all around him. When they died down, a very large male with long red hair remained. He was even larger than The Dagda who I’d never seen take a form less than seven feet tall. Zenos dressed in clothing from the Middle Ages that had been made to look as contemporary as possible. He presented quite a romantic picture. Saying he was good-looking didn’t cover it. He was regal and raw all at once.

I lifted a hand and pointed at him. “I read about ya in school, Zenos. Ya’re a dragon mage.”

“Aye. I needed something productive to fill the eons so I learned magic. I’m quite good at it too. Truly, lass, I’m quite good at a lot of things. If ya weren’t pining for that watcher ya drew to ya, I’d be tempted to show ya more of those things. My mate passed a century ago and I’ve yet to find her equal.”

I ran both my hands through my hair. First, it was Murray flirting and now this dragon mage hinted at wanting to bed her. Was there some sign on my forehead that announced I was sleeping alone these days? Every time I thought life couldn’t get any stranger my life proved me wrong.

“I was heading back to the house for breakfast. Are ya hungry, Zenos? I’m sure Henry and Gale would be happy to feed ya.”

“Yes, I’m famished,” Zenos declared. “Flying takes tons of energy and requires a lot of fuel.”

“Will ya be staying long with us?” I asked.