for me?” I frown. Why would a dragon be here? We don’t leave the realm…well, they don’t.
“I don’t know, sire, I couldn’t say. He was last spotted there about fifty minutes from the boat you went to and hasn’t been seen since. Would you like me to send you the location?”
“Yes,” I reply distractedly.
“Very good. Good luck, sire, ring me if you need anything else.” I hang up and toss the phone away. A dragon here...now? It’s too big of a coincidence, it has to be for me. I can’t lead them to Dawn, so as much as I hate it, I will have to see what he wants before I find the sleeping council.
I pull back onto the road, rolling down my window and roaring at someone as they honk their horn and flip me off. They soon drive away, speeding no doubt. Sheep.
I restart my journey back to the witches. I will stop after and find the dragon. I just hope it doesn’t take too long and that my mate doesn’t need me in the meantime. I am feeling antsy to meet her in reality now.
I find their location with ease this time, not needing the little phone magician to direct me, thank God. It does take a few hours though, and when I step back onto the ship, I shiver at the feeling that passes over me. Something, or someone, is here. I debate waiting until they leave, but Dawn needs me, so I go inside anyway. Luckily, it leads me to where they are.
I stop when I see them. All three witches turn to face me, but that isn’t what makes my blood cold, it is the men...or more aptly ghosts, standing behind them.
Ghosts are usually sad, mopey bastards left in this world after a tragic death, or when someone still clings to the living, they stay here, stuck between worlds. Over time they seem to fade unless they feed on power, then they can even move objects and that’s how rumours of hauntings come around, some even possess people…but these? These don’t look like any ghosts I have ever seen. Of course I haven’t seen many, they are miserable bastards and keep mostly to their selves, but these men? These ghosts?
They are something different…I can sense their power, their age from here, and when their gazes focus on me, my dragon roars to the forefront of my mind to try and protect me from their unnaturalness. I can feel it now, the witches’ power flowing through them, keeping them here and strong and almost human.
If it wasn’t for the slightly grey pallor of their skin, and the mist seeming to surround them, I wouldn’t even know what they were. Loxley steps forward first. “Dragon, did we not give you what you seek?”
My eyes track the three male ghosts. One is really tall with a long, unkempt brown beard, bright green eyes, an old-style hat on his head, and a leather vest and jeans. He almost looks like a cowboy. The second is smaller and leaner, wearing what looks like a tux and a top hat, his lips curled up in a sneer, his eyes showing such rage and hate. The third? He appears normal, but his eyes…I shiver from the look, the intelligence, and just what I see there, as if I stare too long I might not come back out alive. He is wearing jeans and a shirt, and his brown hair is swept back to reveal a boyish face. He is almost unforgettable and disarming, but I know better.
Chloe is next, watching me closely. “Dragon, you seek something else now, something much more dangerous…”
“He does,” Mercy concludes. I watch the ghosts encircle them.
The cowboy stands with Mercy, the brown-haired, normal one with Chloe, and the sneering one with Loxley.
“We told you one day you would meet our men, but this is sooner than expected, yet you need them, don’t you?” Loxley inquires, her eyes far away as her hand goes out to stroke the man at her side, but he slaps it away and grabs her neck, dragging her closer. She sucks in a breath, wearing a grin on her face as he controls her movements.
“What does he seek, sisters?” Mercy whispers, coming to circle around me, her cowboy trailing after her. The cold gust of wind from him nearly knocks me back, so I snarl and he laughs, stepping away.
“I need the sleeping council’s location,” I declare, wanting to be gone from