The Island Of Dragons: A Paranormal Shifter Romance Read online

  Once I’d done a quick headcount of all the kids in line, I began leading them off the platform and over to the community center, still holding little-miss-turtle-spinner on my hip. She’d covered her face with her bright red pigtails and was now crying into my shoulder.

  A short while later, once all the kids were in the stone-walled community center, I had a seat at one of the many tables in the large, open main room, exhaling in a rush. My respite didn’t last long, however. I was quickly encircled by the kids, who were begging for their lollipops in high-pitched, piteous, pleading voices. Not one to make kids suffer so terribly, I dashed over to a shelf where I’d stashed a little woven basket containing the cellophane-wrapped, paper-stick lollipops earlier that morning.

  I’d just finished passing them out when Melissa came flying into the center, slammed the heavy stone door behind her, and rested with her back against it, panting. “Mind if I take refuge in here with you guys?”

  I said I didn’t mind at all. “The more the merrier.”

  She eyed a few nearby kids, who were wandering around, now very contentedly sucking on their lollipops. “Do I get candy, too? If I don’t, I can’t promise that I won’t throw a tantrum.”

  Soon she and I were sitting at a table with lollipops of our own, watching the kids, who didn’t seem to be troubled at all, despite the fact that the great booms of the golem’s boulder-feet could be faintly felt, even through the stone floor. The fact that we could feel his approaching footfalls even slightly said a lot about his strength and power, considering that he was probably still a half-mile or so away.

  After a few licks of her pineapple-flavored treat and declaring it good, Melissa scooted her chair a little closer to mine and spoke in a low voice. “All the men are in dragon form right now trying to get that damn golem to turn back to the lake... but they’re having a harder and harder time each time that this happens. Think about how much time has passed since the alarm sirens first went off. Normally, they have him heading for the hills by now. But I think he’s getting bolder... stronger. And he’s learning how to bat away some of our dragons in the air and move past them.

  “With every day that passes, it seems like he’s becoming more and more intent on making it to our village and killing us all.” After glancing at the kids to make sure no one was listening, Melissa scooted her chair even a bit closer to me and continued. “Warren’s gotta do something, Ellie. All of us can’t live like this, with the threat of attack every single day. And sooner or later, that golem thing is gonna get hip to how to really effectively beat back our dragons, and he’s gonna be able to just charge right through them to the village. I think his days of simply turning back around eventually are numbered. He’s gotta be attacked. Warren’s gotta figure out a way to go from defense to offense and take this big stone monster dude out for good.”

  Sighing, I surveyed a few kids strolling around in their ballet shoes nearby, then responded to Melissa in a near-whisper. “You think Warren doesn’t realize that, Mel? You think he hasn’t been wracking his brains trying to think of a way to take out the golem? He has, and not just at council meetings. He’s been thinking about it just about every second of every single day. But he’s worried about his men. If they try to attack the golem at the lake... if any of them were to actually go in the lake, or be dragged in or something, they could be turned into those Gray Form things. He’s also worried about his men being hurt or killed in a fight with the golem. His men are incredibly strong dragons, yes, but this golem thing is huge, Mel. You haven’t seen it, I have. And it’s just massive. It could probably crush a dragon with one of its stone fists. So... yeah. Warren knows he has to figure something out soon, but he’s being cautious. He’s been playing defense just to find out how the golem works, so to speak. But he will think of a better plan soon... maybe even at tonight’s council meeting.”

  Before Melissa could respond, the little boy who’d been doing wild handsprings outside came up to me and tugged on one of my t-shirt sleeves. “Um, excuse me, Miss O’ Brien. Excuse me.”

  I asked him what was up, and he held out the soggy stick of his lollipop. I’d made the sticks out of tightly-rolled tubes of plain white paper.

  “Um, excuse me, Miss O’ Brien, but the end part of this candy doesn’t taste as good as the top part of this candy did.”

  I responded while trying not to giggle or smile. “Well, Davy, that’s because the ‘end part’ of your candy is actually paper. It’s not meant for eating.”

  Davy suddenly broke into a wide grin. “Gotcha! I pulled your leg, Miss O’Brien. I knew the stick was paper. Bye!”

  He sprinted away, shrieking with delight, and at the same time, I realized that the faint booms of the golem’s footfalls were now even fainter, just barely even able to be felt. Warren and his men had made him turn back to the lake once again.

  Melissa and I laughed at Davy’s antics, thoroughly amused.

  Then, Melissa smiled with her gaze on him, but her dark eyes seemed to hold a little trace of pain even as she did so. “You know, I know that kid’s a firecracker, but it’s kids like him that make me really, really hope I can have one of my own someday. Just one. That’s all I ask for. Just one little firecracker to share with Dan.”

  In the several decades that everyone had been on the island, all of the women had struggled with fertility issues, but Melissa had been one of the few who hadn’t been able to get pregnant even once. Melody was in the same boat. Even during the recent baby boom since the Forms had been killed, neither of them had any success.

  I told Melissa that I was pulling for her, and she said thanks and then asked if I had any baby dreams of my own.

  “And I mean, specifically, any baby dreams with a certain village chief.”

  Though the thought had crossed my mind, I scoffed, pretending that it hadn’t. “No. I mean... well, Warren and I have only been together a little over a month. I think it’s probably far too soon to be thinking any thoughts about a family.”

  Melissa gave me a little eye roll. “Not considering the way the two of you look at each other.”

  “And, besides... I might like to get married first. And in order to get to that stage, I’m sure Warren and I need to spend a little more time as a couple together. Which....” I trailed off with a faint sigh. “Which is obviously not going to happen until this damn golem is destroyed.”

  Finished with her lollipop, Melissa tossed the stick on the table and sat back in her chair. “Look. That will happen fairly soon. I know I may have made it seem earlier like I don’t have faith in Warren as our leader, but I do. I just said what I did because I’m just as frustrated as everyone else, and just as frustrated as he is, too, I’m sure. And just as frustrated as I’m sure you are also.”

  I set my unfinished lime lollipop back on its cellophane wrapper, thinking. “Yeah... I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated. And I wish there was just something I could do to help. Not that there’s probably anything I can do against the golem, but just something.”

  Melissa shrugged, expression sympathetic. “I know. But like you said, there’s probably nothing you can do.”

  The alarm sirens had stopped, and soon all the kids’ moms came to pick them up, thanking me for getting all the kids to safety. Melissa and I had a late lunch with Melody, and then I went back to my guest castle to work on the following day’s dance class lesson plans.

  Despite the fact that Warren and I were very much in love, I hadn’t moved into his massive chief’s castle, though not because he hadn’t asked me to. I supposed I was just a bit funny and old-fashioned about moving in with a man before marriage, even though I knew that was kind of odd of me since clearly I’d had no reservations about sharing a bed with a man before marriage. But I felt how I did anyway. I just didn’t want to move in together yet. Warren jokingly said that he expected no less from a woman who’d insisted on being called by her full, formal name for over a week after meeting the man she was to fall in love with.


  I missed him terribly. He’d been gone dealing with the golem and other lake-related problems for a full twenty-four hours. When he showed up at my front door to escort me to the council meeting that evening, I just about devoured him with my eyes. Even sleep-deprived, unshaven, and wearing jeans and a white t-shirt streaked with mud, he was still almost indescribably handsome. The dark stubble on his face didn’t detract from the angle of his strong jaw, and even though they were a bit bloodshot, his coal-gray eyes still held a steely glint that made my heart do a flip. And muddy or no, his white t-shirt still set off his golden tan and highlighted every muscle in his chest well enough that all I could think about was throwing myself into his arms.

  But it seemed I was going to have to wait to do that.

  After giving me a very brief kiss, Warren looked at me with a serious, tense expression. “I need to talk to you right away, before the meeting. This golem has got to be stopped immediately, obviously. And I think you’re the only one who can do it.”

  *

  I stared at Warren, uncomprehending. “What? How can I stop the golem? What could you possibly—”

  “Here. Let’s sit for just a quick minute.”

  He led me through the foyer to the living room and sat us both down on the couch. Outside, beyond the open windows, the sun was just beginning to set, filling the living room with warm, golden-orange light. The day had been especially breezy, which meant that my stone-walled castle was filled with the tangy, clean scent of sea salt. It crossed my mind that it would be a nice evening to relax in Warren’s arms and begin a marathon lovemaking session, which I was sorely in need of. Being that he’d had to be away quite often, it had been a little while since we’d been able to make love. When I’d told Melissa earlier that day that I was frustrated, I hadn’t only been talking about the golem situation.

  However, Warren’s serious expression, added to the fact that the council meeting was soon to begin, told me that any physical intimacy was going to have to wait for another evening. Not to mention that I was intensely curious, to say the least, to find out how Warren thought I could stop the golem.

  Sitting next to me, holding my hands, he got right into it. “I accused you of being a spy when you first came to this island, and now I need you to really be one.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I need you to be a secret agent of sorts in regards to Dalton. I need you to befriend him, and find out anything you can about the golem, and about this island itself. Because even though he’s been tight-lipped, or maybe because he’s been so tight-lipped, I just get the feeling that Dalton knows way more about this island and the golem than he’s letting on. Way more. I still feel that because he knew about the existence of this island, knew precisely how to get here, he must be some sort of a spy or agent for the scientists that created this place. But he’s not going to talk to me. He might you, though. And if he does, if he tells you about the golem, about any specific weak spots maybe, that might give us what we need to take him out. So, in this way, you can stop the golem. All we need is information, but we can’t wait very long for it. It’s become clear that this golem needs to be taken out soon. Every single day we play defense, he gets bolder and bolder, and comes nearer and nearer the village. So, will you do this, Ellie? Will you agree to become a spy and try to get some information out of Dalton? I can’t have my men torture information out of him, as some have suggested. I’m not that kind of a leader.”

  I didn’t even need to think about it.

  “Of course I’ll become a spy. This island—this village—has become my home now, Warren, and I’ll do anything I can to help protect it.”

  ***

  Two weeks earlier, to Warren’s elation, I’d come to the conclusion that I wanted to stay on the island indefinitely. Probably forever. Shortly after that, to my horror, I realized that my friends from back home were probably thinking I was dead, being that I hadn’t had any way to contact anyone after I’d fallen from the cruise ship. Cell phones on the island only worked to call and text other people on the island. And honestly, not only had I not had any way to contact anyone, but I had to admit with more than a touch of guilt and shame that my friends hadn’t even crossed my mind since I’d arrived on the island.

  Once I’d realized that they were probably worried sick, Warren had taken me through his portal to Central Park in New York City, and I’d called Brianna, one of my closest friends, who’d let out some sort of a strangled half-yell when she heard my voice. She and everyone else had thought I’d been kidnapped at one of the ports or something, or maybe even while on the ship. She and a few of my friends even thought it was possible I might have fallen the night the ship tilted, though they thought I’d probably been asleep in my cabin at that time. After a day, when they’d realized I was missing, they’d notified the authorities, who’d done an exhaustive search of the ship. I could not have possibly felt any worse. My only consolation was that because of the funny passage of time on the island, to my friends, I’d only been missing for five days, not a whole month. Not that that was much of a consolation, though. I was going to feel guilty for the rest of my life, and rightly so, I was sure.

  Hating to lie, but knowing that I had to, as the truth was literally unbelievable, I told Brianna that I was so very sorry but I’d had some sort of nervous breakdown and had decided to start a new life at one of the ports in Hawaii. I’d recovered from my breakdown quickly, had found a job, and was doing great. Brianna seemed dubious, but by the end of the call, I had her convinced. She promised she’d tell my two cousins, who were my only surviving family members, that I was fine, and I promised to call every so often with updates, which I really was going to do. After the call, Warren whisked me back through his portal to the island, where I promptly passed out and slept for twelve hours. Apparently, portal-traveling took some sort of major physical toll on non-shifters, though it was only temporary.

  Brianna hadn’t mentioned that anyone had noticed Dalton missing from the ship, and I knew exactly why. During one of his first days on the island, he’d told Hugh that he’d stowed away and hadn’t even paid for a cruise ticket. He hadn’t wanted to cheat the cruise line, he’d said, but the cruise had been sold out and he’d needed to make this particular cruise in order to get to the exact location where he needed to open the wormhole to get to the island. He’d politely declined to tell Hugh anything else. When vigorously questioned by Warren later, he’d also politely declined to say any more. He just maintained that he was a scientist who’d heard tales of the island and wanted to see it for himself; that was it.

  Back in the present, bathed in the golden-orange light in the living room of my castle, Warren looked incredibly relieved that I’d agreed to be a “secret agent” and try to get more info out of Dalton. I wished that he’d asked me earlier, weeks earlier even, although I knew he hadn’t really wanted me to get too close to Dalton before, though not because he thought Dalton would sweep me off my feet or anything, but just because he didn’t know what his motives were.

  Warren thanked me with a kiss that left me wanting more, much more, then took me by the hand and pulled me up from the couch, and we went off to the council meeting together. On the way, Warren held one of my fairly small hands in one of his large, strong hands, and the mere feel of his touch made me wonder if it was at all possible that we might have some alone time together after the meeting, even though I knew this was selfish. Warren had been working hard, and he was tired. He needed a shower and a few hours of sleep first thing after the meeting, I was sure. But nonetheless, it was becoming clear to me just how used to our lovemaking I’d gotten and just how badly I needed more of it, and soon.

  The council lodge was a low, circular stone building in the “town” part of the village, behind the long row of castles adjacent to the ocean. The entrance of the lodge faced the towering back of Warren’s massive three-story castle, and the rear of the lodge ran up against the dense jungle land that bordered the village. Inside
was one good-sized, stone-walled circular room with a few windows and at least a dozen jewel-colored velvet tapestries decorating the walls. They gave the interior of the lodge a medieval feel, which was somewhat of an unusual feel, given that we were on a tropical island. Though somehow, that medieval feel kind of just fit anyway. After all, it brought to mind royalty, and Warren was the “king” of the village for all practical purposes.

  Once all the council members had arrived, he took a seat at the head of a long hardwood table; I sat on his left and Joshua, who was Melody’s husband and Warren’s right-hand man, sat on Warren’s right. Next to Josh sat Melody, and next to her sat Melissa and Dan. On the other side of the table sat two older couples I didn’t know very well. The men were Thomas and Mark, and their wives were Nadine and Cynthia.

  I’d initially been surprised that Hugh and his wife Sadie weren’t council members, just being that Hugh seemed so completely trusted by Warren, and being that he seemed to do so much for him in terms of helping Warren organize the village guard patrols and things like that. But one day Hugh had told me that he was better suited to be a follower and a support rather than a leader. “And I don’t think there’s any shame in admitting that,” he’d said. “Some people are just better at following orders rather than giving them. You see, there can be a certain different strength to it, a strength on a level of being a leader, even. It’s the kind of strength I have, anyway. I’ve always known who I am, and I’ve never fought it.”

  I’d grown to like Hugh more and more, and he’d really become like a father to me. He’d become like the gruff-yet-gentle-underneath-it-all father that I’d never had but had always wanted. My own father had always been distant, to the point that I barely even saw him growing up. He was always at work, though I’d never even been entirely certain what he did. Something with computers.

  Warren called the council meeting to order, then got right to business, telling everyone about his plan to have me get information from Dalton, and that I’d agreed to it.