Page 22 of Lahaina Noon (Modern Legends of Dragons & Shadows #1)

Chapter 22

B ridget sat on a stool at the back of the large rec room at Cloud Warrior Gaming, listening to the noise of seven teenage boys plus a few men, who might as well have been teenagers. Gabe and his friends were battling Vaughn’s developers in the newest unreleased edition of Cloud Warrior. Gabe would be the king of his friends for a while with this coup. She hoped it didn’t go to his head.

“Pepperoni, madame?” a slice appeared in front of her, Vaughn smiling as he offered it.

She took the slice and gave a stiff head nod. “Thank you, kind sir.” she sniffed. They both grinned at their silliness and turned to watch the kids. “They are having an absolute blast,” she said, “You may not get them out of here.”

Vaughn nodded and replied thoughtfully, “That’s a good thing though. That means the game is doing what we intended and bringing people together, bringing them into the realm we’ve created. They are living inside of that world, working to defend it. ”

Bridget tilted her head. “Hmm, hadn’t thought of it like that before. Still, I have to ask,” she looked at him, “Cloud Warriors, they’re dragons and dragon riders. A little on the nose don’t you think?”

He smirked, “Hiding in plain sight.”

She laughed, “So are all of your employees dragons, or wielders?

He shook his head, “No, not all, although a good number of my employees worldwide are, most of the staff are just really talented people with great imagination.” He nodded at Liam and Siobhan, “Obviously you know about them. You met Killian, Marco too. Jackson and Della over there are dragons. You haven’t met her yet, but Betsy in HR is a dragon, and Henry in accounting is a wielder. There’s a few more in the design department.”

Bridget thought about it a moment, then looked at Vaughn. “A dragon named Betsy?”

Vaughn invited Bridget back to his office to grab some papers he claimed he needed. She figured it was really to get a break from the noise. They quietly sat in some small chairs by the window, enjoying the sun shining and the warmth it gave in the cool air-conditioned space. You just had to have AC in Texas in the summer, non-negotiable. Even though it was still a few weeks away, the temperature outside was nearing cremation levels.

He watched her sitting quietly. He knew she must have more questions but hadn’t asked.

She must have sensed he was willing to talk though, because she sat up straighter and her expression turned serious. “I was wondering, can I ask you more about dragons? ”

He waved a hand in a go-ahead signal, stretching his legs and basking more in the sun.

“The colors,” she started, “Do they signify anything? I know your scales seem to be black and gold. Liam’s were green. What other colors are there? Do they mean anything? Do you have any additional powers, senses, abilities? Can you fly in any form? Do you have live births or lay eggs?” she said the last with a blush on her face.

Vaughn roared in laughter. “Well, my dear blushing maiden, I will answer all of your questions, but let me start with the last. Neither. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m all male.” He leaned over the table and growled like he was stalking her. He blew a cloud of smoke and warmth across her neck and placed his mouth right next to her throat.

She swallowed carefully, suddenly reminded that he could quickly turn into a vicious beast if needed.

He sniffed her neck and licked up the smooth column of her throat to her ear.

Bridget let her breath out in a whoosh and Vaughn sat back down. Smiling and looking pleased with himself. She let out a shaky laugh and crossed her legs at the sudden dampness she had there. Okay, kinda scary, but dear lord that was sexy. He knew it too. She looked him in the eye and only raised an eyebrow. “Are you, must have slipped my mind.”

He rumbled low in his chest, and she worried she was going to leave a damp spot on the chair. “Well, my darling, I will be sure to remind you at the first opportunity. Unfortunately for me, all of this glass and a horde of teenagers down the hall does not lend itself to the things I want to do to you. ”

She swallowed hard.

He pointed to himself and whispered, “ Sex God.” He winked and continued, “ As to your questions, let’s see. Colors, yes, there are multiple colors and as you guessed, they do mean different things. They’re generally associated with the powers of the Wielders they most closely affiliate with. Liam, for example, is a green and Siobhan’s power follows the family line which is warding and protection, and of course plants. They take after their mother. Marco is red, they are the warrior daredevils of the species. Reds and their wielders have a thing for speed and danger. As you’d expect, fire is their element.

“What else, silver dragons and their wielders are mostly skilled in spell work. They can weave amazing illusions and redirect light, almost like a mirror. They are tricky. Killian is silver. Oh, and the browns, as you might have guessed, are affiliated with earth and stone, they tend to be shy and quiet. And finally, the blues with water, storms, rivers, oceans and such. The myths did get a few things right.” He shrugged.

“Black?” Bridget said.

He looked around like he wasn’t going to answer at first. He sighed. “Black dragons are affiliated with raw magic. Not much is known about their abilities.”

Bridget looked at him in confusion. “But you’re a black dragon. Aren’t you?”

He nodded.

“Then how is there not much known?”

He stared at her then said, “I’m the only one. I keep that information close to my chest. ”

Bridget pondered that. Obviously, there was more to this story, but she didn’t want to push him yet. “What about the rest of my questions, sir?” she asked with mock primness.

He smiled, knowing she was purposely changing the subject, and he was grateful. “Other abilities, yes, many dragons can do similar magic to the Wielders, but they are usually stronger at it unless the dragon is very old. We can all do partial transformation. We can all breathe fire, except for the blues. They do steam and are very sensitive about it, don’t ask,” he added.

“We can carry one or more people when we’re in our dragon forms. When a wielder and a dragon are touching, it amplifies both of their powers. They can develop a psychic bond, too, which comes in handy. Another thing the myths got right. The bond exists with mates… life partners. Which brings me to that other question. We reproduce with humans usually so we can keep the human form in our bloodline. Women carry the baby the normal nine months, there is nothing at birth that would give us away. Dragons don’t usually mate with each other. They’re too territorial and grumpy.” He smiled. He was only kidding a little.

“Yoohoo! Bridge!” she heard coming down the hall. It was Jorrie. “Are you decent? Do I need to cover my eyes?”

Vaughn rolled his eyes. “We’re in my office,” he called out, “We’re naked and in the throes of wild passion on my desk. Enter at your own risk.”

“Hot damn!” Jorrie laughed. She entered the office with her hand over her eyes, the other outstretched to keep her from running into anything .

Bridget shook her head, laughing. “It’s okay, Jorrie, you can look.”

Jorrie dropped her hand and looked around. She whistled and said, “Swanky! Nice digs, Drake.” She walked around looking at the view and pictures.

Bridget could tell something was bothering her. “What’s up, Jorrie? What’s on your mind.”

Jorrie sighed.

She was obviously reluctant to bring it up but it would come out soon.

“It’s Payne,” she finally said.

“Where? What hurts?” Bridget asked, confused.

“No,” Jorrie laughed without humor, “Not pain like I’m in pain, Payne, as in Melissa. You remember Major Payne?” Jorrie hesitated. “I can’t work there anymore. There’s no way I can keep working for that bitch and not say something or maybe make her disappear.” She looked up at Bridget. “Every time I think about that swamp hag, I start plotting her murder.” She stared at the floor, twisting her hands. “So, I was wondering if you would write me a reference so I can start looking for another job?”

Vaughn sat back and steepled his fingers. Bridget had reassured her friend she would help, but he wanted to help her as well. He liked the spunky lady, and she was Bridget’s best friend. He suddenly had an idea. “Jorrie!” He jumped up. “What do you do there?”

She looked at him curiously, “I’m the foreign accounts liaison. I speak five languages, in addition to English, so I usually coordinate activities with our partners overseas.”

Vaughn snapped his fingers and ran around his desk. He turned on his laptop and began furiously typing. Jorrie and Bridget exchanged a look.

“Vaughn?” Bridget inquired.

He held up a finger indicating they should hold on. After a few minutes he printed out some pages and waved them over. “Jorrie, as the owner and CEO of Drake Enterprises, I would like to congratulate you on your offer of employment as Director of Foreign Relations. I will need you to work closely with our new division’s VP, one Ms. Bridget Ridgeway, as we are launching a new global VR operation. I trust the benefits and pay would be to your satisfaction?” He sat on the edge of his desk, grinning at them.

Jorrie looked at Vaughn and stared down at the pages in her hand. She read through them, and he saw several emotions cross her face. She finally settled on anger.

What ? He was confused. Why was she mad? He thought she would be perfect for the role, it would give her the chance to be with Bridget, and she knew about the shadow situation for which she’d already proven she had valuable insight. She was a sharp lady, and he valued people like her, independent thinkers who didn’t back down from roadblocks. He looked at Bridget and saw she was watching Jorrie, too. She also saw the anger on her face.

“Jorrie!” Bridget stepped in front of her, “Slow your roll firecracker. It’s not what you think. Vaughn doesn’t do pity. He offered you this because he knows you are sharp. He values independent thinkers who don’t back down. Plus, he thought you would be perfect for the role. We can be together, and you can really help us with our fight against the shadows. I promise Jorrie, he’s not trying to demean you. This is a good thing.”

A strange look crossed Bridget’s face. She turned and stared at Vaughn. Where the hell did that come from, she thought. How did I know all that? She saw that Vaughn’s face had gone pale, and he was staring at her like she had turned purple. She was suddenly a little nauseous and sat down quickly.

He jumped up, “Bridget, are you okay?” Concern was etched into every feature.

She waved him back, “Yeah, yeah, fine, just a little dizzy all of a sudden. My head feels weird.”

Vaughn dropped his hands like he’d been shocked. “I’ll, uh, go get you some water,” he stammered and rushed out of the room.

Jorrie watched him go, “I don’t know what just happened there, but something sure as hell spooked that man.”

Bridget couldn’t help but agree.