Everyone sat in the room in silence. Jesse and Clarissa had filled in everyone on what happened between himself and Origin. No one had said anything. Even as Jesse looked around now, it didn’t look like anyone had any bright ideas. Honestly, he was getting tired of silences.
“So what are we doing?” asked Seaver.
“We can’t go forward with anything until Jesse gets training on controlling his powers and his anger,” responded Clarissa.
“Who can teach him something like that?”
“What about the other dragons?”
“The odds that they are in the city are small, and even if they were in the city, they must have a reason for not moving or doing anything. Origin told me that they were busy with other things. So I doubt they would rush to help me,” said Jesse.
Again everyone in the room got quiet and collectively looked at the ground. Their options were thin and only looking thinner.
“We can’t wait around forever. Everyday Azrael gets . . .” started Jesse.
“. . . Azrael hasn’t made a harmful move towards the people of this city in two years. If he had a move to make, he would have by now,” interrupted Clarissa.
“What’s to say tomorrow won’t be the day he makes his move?” asked Rose.
“Look, we aren’t going to push Jesse into rushing this,” snapped Rydar, who had been quiet this whole time. Softly she looked up at Jesse and said, “Baby, you are the only hope we have to kill that man and save these people. However we can’t rush this and risk losing you. We need to take time to get you trained and rested so we have the best chance of winning this. I won’t lose you because someone, anyone, decides that we need to move before we are one hundred percent sure that you will it out alive.”
Jesse stared at her and sighed. He knew she was right, but the idea of waiting was more than he could handle.
“I need to go for a walk.”
He walked over to the elevator and stepped inside.
“Ground floor.”
Quietly the doors closed and left Jesse alone.
“That’s not a good idea either.”
Jesse rolled his eyes as he heard Origin behind him.
”So you can teleport around the building, that explains a lot.”
”It‘s a gift.”
“So why is this a bad idea?”
”If you don‘t remember, Azrael is looking for you.”
”Don‘t think I know how to keep my head down?”
“Yes, but you are a dragon. You still carry the traits. Like your blank left eye, or the bone fragments running across the top of it. Or maybe even the scars around your left eye. Trust me, you aren’t exactly hidden.”
Another truth that Jesse didn’t want to admit. He stuck out like a giant dragon thumb.
“Did you have a plan?”
“Here.”
Origin made a white sweater appear out of no where and threw it to Jesse.
“That should cover you until you can buy more clothes.”
“But I don’t . . “
He was cut off by Origin tossing him a big clip filled with money.
“You just have an answer for everything don’t you.”
“Actually I do. By the way, here put these on before you go.”
He created a pair of what looked like black spandex pants out of thin air and threw them to Jesse.
“How do you do that? And what are these?”
“I’ll teach you later. These are pants that adjust to your body and won’t tear when you shift into a Draco-human. They are also destruction proof, not burning or cutting, but if you go full dragon you will tear them.”
“Why would I need those, my clothes never tear on me.”
“At some point in time they will. And unlike other animals, our genitalia doesn’t go inside of us when we shift. I doubt you would want the women seeing your dangling dragon bits.”
“How about you never use that phrase again and we can move on from there.”
“Works for me.”
Just like that Origin had vanished and Jesse was left alone in the elevator. He looked around to make sure there weren’t any camera’s in the elevator before putting the pants on over his boxers. After putting on his pants again, he picked up the sweater Origin gave him and looked it over. There were little silver spikes running along the hood. He couldn’t help but wonder if Origin thought he was being cute. He put the sweater on and pulled the hood over his head, hiding his eyes. The elevator doors opened and showed a long hallway leading out to the new world. Even from a distance, Jesse could see the depression of the city. There was a gray hue over the city, maybe not literally, but he could feel the sadness from the citizens.
As he starred out past the doors, he heard the elevator land behind him and the doors opened. Rydar slowly walked up behind him and set her hand on his back.
“Are you going to be okay baby?”
“Tell me something. Was Jak the only one?”
Rydar was shocked and pulled back at the question. Her emotions became clouded and hard to interpret.
“Please be honest with me,” begged Jesse, still looking at the city.
“No,” whispered Rydar.
Jesse felt like someone had just grabbed his heart and was trying to pull it out. The lights dimmed and Jesse heard the power to the elevator shut off. Rydar reached up but Jesse stepped forward.
“You knew I was alive. Why would you do it?”
“I was confused. I didn’t know if you were going to make it out or not. I just . . .”
“You were getting even with me.”
Even Jesse was shocked at that statement. They hadn’t talked about his past infidelity in a long time and Rydar had said she’d forgiven him for it, but now he wasn’t sure. The emotions coming off of her made him feel even worse about his questioning
“Did you love him?”
Rydar stayed quiet.
”Do you love me?”
Still silence.
“Until you figure that out, maybe you should just worry about yourself.”
With that Jesse reached up and scratched through his butterfly tattoo.
Even in his depressed state of mind, Jesse was still in awe of how amazing this part of the city looked. The buildings were tall and very well built. Although most of them were just condos, there were a few that looked like rich businesses. From the looks of it though, there were no grocery stores, no clothing stores, not even a fast food restaurant. How did these people get food, clothes, anything for that matter.
“Excuse me,” asked Jesse, stopping a large man, with a large mustache, “But, um where are the shops here?”
“A new rescue huh? Haha, glad to see they’re still saving lives out there.” The man had a thick southern accent. It reminded Jesse way too much of his mother’s family.
“Right. Ya, I was just dropped off today and . . .”
The man held up his hand, “Say no more. They save your life but they forget to give you a map of this place. The shops are down in Center town, upper side. Here’s a map.”
He dug in the satchel hanging off his shoulder and pulled out a small rectangular device that reminded Jesse of a smart phone.
“Just push this center button here to activate it. Say your destination and it will show you how to get there. You can either choose to see an city overview, street view, or you can get a 3d map,” the man pushed a button on the side and a 3D image popped up over the device. He turned off the image and handed the device to Jesse.
“Thank you. How much . . .”
“No need to thank me. Just look for Gus’ shop when you find yourself in need of quality merchandise.”
“I can assume you’re Gus than?”
“That’s right. Gus P. Sulivan. Please to meet you.”
Jesse reached up to shake the man’s hand, only to find his hand dissappear in the mans.
“Ladon Nemesis, nice to meet you. So what kind of merchandise do you sell?”
He didn‘t even know where that name come from. Some part of him liked that name, but he couldn‘t remember why.
“Well you’ll just have to come by to know that. Sorry but I gotta run, my daughter’s running the shop, and the crowds will be coming soon.”
With that Gus nodded his head and hurried through the crowds and away from Jesse. Jesse held up the device he had given him and pushed the center button. The screen flashed then a flashing dot appeared in the middle; the words ‘Speak destination’ flashing above it. He thought about it for a second, then looked down at his clothes.
“Clothing shop.”
Immediately the screen changed to an overview of the city and five purple dots appeared in the same area. At least he figured out where the shops were, and it wasn’t too far away. He picked one at random and waited. A few seconds later a red line traced through the city to a green triangle that he assumed was himself. He scanned the path a few times before putting the device into his pockets.
Jesse continued to admire the amazing buildings around him as he walked. They stood high over head, most of them being sky scrapers, and were made of fine materials. Of course, Azrael would only surround himself with luxury style buildings, like the god he thinks he is. Even the walkways had well trimmed grass on both sides, lushes trees on all corners and perfectly made of cement. The people were dressed in high fashion clothes. Not high fashion as in hundred dollar t-shirts, more like five hundred dollar, tailored dress shirts and formal jackets. The woman wore top quality dress, most the hung down to their ankles, others that were a little less covering. Most of them looked like snoody, rich types that just looked down their noses at everyone. They irritated Jesse just with their presence.
As Jesse wondered how he would know when he entered the next section of the city, he got his answer. There was a tall wall with a doorway carved into it, leading to the next section. The sign on top of the doorway read ‘Center town’. Following through the doorway, Jesse was shocked to see a very different look on this part of the city.
This part of the city had buildings only slightly taller than two story homes. They were made of concrete blocks with shingle roofs. Most of the buildings were connected by wall with a few being lucky enough to stand alone and a few alleyways here and there. It reminded Jesse of pictures and video games about the middle ages. As he stepped out of the door, he found himself stepping down onto dirt. Obviously the budget had ran short on funds for this part of the city. He could only imagine the kind of state the lower part of this city was in.
He checked the map, then set off on his journey again. Soon, he found himself in a crowded street, struggling to avoid people. Three times he had to pull himself away to avoid having his pockets picked. He was beginning to grow angry and found himself growling audibly. Quickly, he pulled away from the crowd and hid away in an alley. The map said that he was still four blocks away from the shops district. A thought crossed his mind as he was putting the map away. He pulled it back out and turned on the 3D image. Something about it didn’t seem right. He found the spot where he started walking, then found where he was now. According to the map he had made it a third of the way across the state in just a matter of hours. There was no way that was right. This place should be thousands of times bigger than that. Thinking about it, he looked around, and found a ladder attached to one of the buildings. He climbed onto the roof and looked around. It was exactly as he thought. If he focused hard enough, he was able to see from one side of the city to the other. That shouldn’t be possible with a city the size of a state. He looked down at the crowded street, then the open path of the roof tops. Most of them had flat spots, and he was sure if he ran quick enough he wouldn’t have to worry about slipping off the tile. If the city wasn’t as big as he thought he should be able to reach the shop district faster up here. He took off quickly and ran across the first few roof tops. It wasn’t as hard to stay balanced as he thought, and no one seemed to care that he was up there. As long as he watched out for the guards he would be fine.
He continued across rooftops until nightfall. Finally he stopped and panted heavily. The place the map had taken him too was shut down. That was when Jesse realized that Gus had given him an outdated map. He had to ask around a bit before figuring out how to update the damned device. Once it was updated, it turned out that the shop district was moved to the lower side of Center Town. So he still had a long way to go. However, he was way to winded to keep going. Looking around he realized that he had reached what looked like a tattoo shop. Outside was a skinny white female who was being cornered by three large men. She had long blonde hair and beautiful grayish eyes. She was trying to be tough, but the men were ignoring her. The men around her pushed back against the building and circled around her. The fear was pungent in the air and was apparent on her face. It didn’t stop the men from continuing to approach her.
“Come on sweety, one free tattoo. I’ll make it worth your while,” said the lead man grabbing at his crotch.
The woman turned away from him and looked up at Jesse. Her eyes begged for help but her mouth wouldn’t move, out of an obvious fear.
“Don’t ignore me you little slit.”
He reached out and grabbed her around the throat.
Swiftly Jesse leapt off the roof and landed in the shadows. He pulled up his hood and slowly walked toward the group. It wasn’t until he was a few feet away that he was noticed. One of the men looked up at him, then tapped on the man harassing the woman, and nodded at him. The man turned back and looked Jesse and down.
“Make sure she don’t go no where,” he said to his friend. He turned fully around and starred daggers at Jesse, “Can I help you with something?”
“You can back away from the girl and let her go on her way.”
“Fuck off puta,” said the man turning back to the girl.
Jesse clenched his jaw and squeezed his hands into fists. He felt his body starting to shift into his draco-human form. Taking a few deep breaths he laughed to himself and stepped forward again.
“Leave. The Girl. Alone,” he demanded.
Again the man turned around only this time, he pulled out two large knives.
“Didn’t I tell you to leave?”
Maybe Jesse should get a weapon. If he shifted right now, he runs the risk of being exposed to guards.
“Hey!”
Crap, he had gotten lost in his head and forgot where he was. He looked up and reassessed the situation around him. He was out numbered, without a weapon, and had no way to get help. Looking around the group though, he made eye contact with the girl. For a second he saw something flash in her eyes and she changed forms. It was only for a second, but Jesse could swear he saw it.
“Don’t fuckin’ ignore me!” yelled the man.
He ran forward and stabbed at Jesse. With reflexes he didn’t know he had, Jesse turned away from the knife and headbutted the man. He felt the man’s bones in his nose snap underneath his forehead. They both reeled back from the hit but Jesse was able to regain his focus quickly. He struck quickly and hit the man twice in the face then kneed him in the gut. The man dropped his knives then hit the floor. His two friends looked at Jesse then at the man on the ground. Jesse met their eyes and slowly knelt down to pick up the knives. As soon as he grabbed one, both men rushed at him. The girl grabbed one of them and held him back but the other one was able to knock him to the ground. He was able to roll the guy off him and get back to his feet in time to see the other man punch the girl hard in the face. She crumbled to the floor in a heap and didn’t move.
“No!” shouted Jesse charging forward.
He hit the man at full speed and slammed him into the wall. Pure furry was raging inside Jesse and he saw nothing but red. Viciously and repeatedly he slammed his fists against the man’s face. Blood was covering both Jesse’s hands and the man’s face was a mess. He went to swing again, but the other man caught Jesse’s arm. Quickly he spun around jumped on this man. They both fell to the ground and Jesse attacked him as well. Instead of punching him, Jesse grabbed the mans head and rammed it into the ground. Only stopping when his arms felt numb.
Still sitting on top of the man, Jesse stopped moving. He slowed his breathing and slowly realized what he had just done. Suddenly he was filed with urgency and jumped up. The sound of stomping feet reminded Jesse of the threat of the guards in the city. Quickly he got up and ran over to the girl; she was still passed out. He scooped her up and took off into the darkness of the closest alley. As he held the girl closely he caught the scent off the blood coming off her lip. Like a man possessed he leaned down and licked it off. The taste was incredible, like tea with tons of sugar and a hint of vanilla. All at once he saw images of a house and the path to get there. He looked up and recognized where he was and how to get to the place he saw. Looking around carefully, he took off running again, dodging guards and trying to stay off streets. Soon he was standing in front of the house. He forced the door open and went inside. He set the girl down on the couch and walked to her bathroom.
He turned on her faucet and washed the blood off his hands, or at least tried to. There was so much of it, he wasn’t sure how much was his and how much were the other guys. It was obvious that at some point he had cut open his knuckles. Yet, even after washing off the blood, his hands were still stained red. He stared at his hands, then looked up at himself in the mirror. His eye had shifted, as had his teeth and ears. Looking under his eye patch, he had grown a new iris. However it was gold with a thin slit in the middle, it was like dragon eyes in the books that Jesse had read as a child. He pulled his eye open more, only for it to fade away. He leaned in closer to the mirror, and realized that the rest of his face had reverted back to its normal form.
“Interesting,” said Jesse to himself.
Baby are you okay?
It took Jesse a second to realize that it was Rydar.
So do you have an answer for me?
Once again, Jesse found himself alone. Alone as he had been his entire life.
The girl in the living room made a noise and Jesse walked back to the room.
“Are you okay?” asked Jesse softly, trying not to scare her.
She looked around, obviously still fuzzy about what was going on. He waited for her to look at him before walking over and kneeling in front of her.
“Does it hurt?” asked Jesse pointing at the bruise forming on her cheek.
“No, I’ve been hit harder,” she said rubbing it, “I assume you’re the guy who stepped in to help me.”
“Ya, but I’m sure you could have handled it on your own,” said Jesse laughing.
“Sure, um how did you find my house?” she asked.
Her fear and panic must be wearing off because she was starting to look more apprehensive by his presence.
“I’m a were-human, I followed your scent,” he lied.
“Oh, well thank you for taking me home.”
“No problem.”
They stood together in awkward silence for a few seconds. Neither really sure what to say to the other.
“I should probably get going.”
“No. It’s still dark outside. You know that is illegal to be moving around after dark.”
Jesse starred at her in awe as she got up and walked to the kitchen. He wasn’t sure what to say next.
“Actually I’m new in town. I’m still fuzzy on the rules here.”
The girl gave him a questioning look from beside the refrigerator.
“New in town?”
All Jesse could down was look at her and shrug.
“Okay? Either way, it’s a city rule. It wasn’t explained, but Azrael forbids anyone from roaming the streets at night. It’s punishable by death."
Very interesting. That was something Jesse would have to look into when he had the time.
“Well I can sneak my way . . .”
“Nope,” she interrupted. She opened the fridge and pulled out two beers, “I can trust you right?”
“Well I did just save your life. Why would I do that if I was going to hurt you?”
“True. Well then tonight, you’ll just have to spend the night with me. It coudn’t hurt to make a new friend. Especially with you being new in town, right?”
She raised her eyebrow at him.
Jesse laughed and shook his head. He buried his hands into his sweater pocket and leaned against the wall. This girl obviously wasn’t buying his story, but she obviously wasn’t going to push the issue. She was looking into playing the game of cat and mouse with him. Well, game on.
“Are new people not common in this city?” asked Jesse, walking over and taking a beer from her.
“People are common. Well humans are, but non-humans are another story. Most of them aren’t forthcoming either.”
“Let’s just say I’m bold.”
Jesse took a swig of his beer and walked over to the table in the dining room. He pulled out a chair but leaned up against the table. He rest his foot against the chair and motioned for the girl to sit down.
“So bold non-human, I didn’t catch your name.”
She swung her leg over his and sat down on the chair, resting her beer on his knee.
“That’s because I didn’t tell you it.”
“So you do have secrets.”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
Again their was silence in the room. This time though, both of them were waiting for the other to make the next move. Both had a smile on their face and refused to break eye contact. Jesse took another drink of his beer and set it down on the table.
“So what secret do you have?”
She hesitated but didn’t look away.
“It’s definitely not my name.”
“Then what is your name?”
“Paige. Paige Lyn.”
She held up her beer and waited. Jesse took a drink of his then tapped hers with the bottom of his.
“Ladon.”
“Ladon what?”
“Ladon Nemesis.”
That was where the name came from. He pulled two names from Greek mythology. Ladon, the dragon who guarded the tree with the golden apples in that garden of Hesperides. And Nemesis, the god of vengeance. Jesse found them fitting names though. He himself was a dragon that was out for vengeance against Azrael.
“Powerful name. But I’m guessing that you can back it up too.”
Again she took a drink.
“Intuitive.”
Jesse finished his beer and set it down.
“So what’s next?” he asked, putting his hands back in his pocket.
“Next, you tell me why you’re really new in town? I believe the question, but your reason is bull,” she said with a smile.
“Those are secrets that should stay secret.”
“Even from the girl you are about to spend the night with?”
Her response was faster then Jesse thought it would be. She had put herself one step ahead of him. Clever girl.
“How much do you know about Azrael?” asked Jesse
The game stopped with that question. Paige became serious and quickly finished her beer.
“He’s a bastard. The man is Satan walking the earth.”
“Why such hatred?”
Paige stayed quiet and turned away from Jesse. There was an obvious pain in her eyes. Abruptly his left eye started burning and images flashed in his mind.
He saw Paige running with a baby in her arms, pulled by a man. There were guards behind them, shouting and waving weapons. They turned down another street and were met with another group of guards. Quickly the man turned and ran to the closest building. He kicked the door open and pushed Paige inside. She turned but he closed the door and shouted at her to run. Guards swarmed him and savagely beat him. Paige ran through the house and out the back door. But in a flash a black figure was standing in front of her. The figure leaned down and was revealed by the light to be Azrael. He grabbed the baby from her with one hand and used the other to backhand her. His face was lit with joy as he leaned down, his fangs barred. But before he could do anything else, a bolt of electricity shot inches from his face. Azrael looked off in the direction of the bolt, then stood up and left with the baby. Paige tried to get up but it was too late. He was gone.
“Azrael put me in prison for five years,” said Jesse, now looking at the floor, “He ripped me from my family and locked me away. For those five years, I saw hell. Everyday was a new torture and every night a new nightmare. He even went as far as to beat my closest friend and use her as bait to me. I was able to escape only a few days ago.”
For a long time Jesse just starred at the ground. Remembering all the things, all the pain, he went through in that place made his skin crawl. His life had been in constant hell, especially in that chair.
“Your bleeding.”
“What?”
Jesse looked up at Paige and she nodded at his hands. His hands were balled into fists and were dripping blood. He hadn’t even realized he had clenched his hands. Now his nails were deep in his skin and his hands were shaking. Slowly, he relaxed them and opened his hands.
“Sorry,” he said as he walked to the sink.
He rinsed the blood off and balled up paper towels in his hands.
“Why did he put you in prison?”
“Huh?”
“Azrael. Why did he put you in prison? Most non-humans he kills.”
It was a good question. One Jesse hadn’t actually thought about.
“I’m not sure really. Maybe he just wanted to see if he could break me. See if he could torture me into being his slave.”
Paige starred at him, a perplexed look on her face.
“What kinda non-human are you?”
There was the question Jesse had hoped to avoid. If he told her, she could tell someone else and Azrael would be able to track him down. No, after what he did to her, she would never tell Azrael anything. Unless he used her child as leverage.
“It’s best if you don’t know. Keep you out of danger.”
“You already told me you escaped from his prison. So I already know enough to put me in danger. Might as well go all the way.”
Damn, she was right.
“I’m a Draco-human. Half dragon half human.”
“Like a were-dragon?”
“Kinda but not really. You see werewolves and others are dominated by their animalistic side and their animal and human sides share the same brain. With me, it’s like have a dragon inside of me. It has a mind of it’s own but has trusted me with it’s power and does really get in my way.”
“Hm, sounds complicated.”
“So far I haven’t had any issues so I think I’m good.”
“Well thats. . . .”
She was interrupted by a loud roar coming from outside, followed by someone screaming.
“What the hell was that?” asked Jesse.
“Oh god, it’s the Beasts.”
She leapt to her feet and into the living room. She bolted the door and pulled a large sliding metal door over the front. For the first time Jesse noticed that there were no windows down here.
“Come on,” she yelled as she ran up the stairs.
Jesse followed her quickly and ran inside a room with her.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Beasts. They sneak into the city at night through a crack in the wall by Wanting every night. They are powerful creatures that even scare the guards. No one has seen them but we’ve all seen their carnage. That’s the other reason why people don’t go out at night.”
“Why doesn’t Azrael do something?”
“He doesn’t care about us. As long as they stay away from him and his high society. He won’t even try to fix the hole.”
“But what about the people out there?” asked Jesse, hearing another scream outside.
“Oh shit.”
She ran out of the room and back into the hallway. Jesse followed her and was surprised to see her walking towards a ladder at the far end of the hallway. At the top was a room with one window. She picked up a rope ladder from floor and slung it out the window.
“This is all we can do,” she said.
But not all Jesse could do. He pulled his hood up and stepped onto the windowsill.
“What are you doing?” snapped Paige grabbing his arm.
“I can’t let those people die while I have to power to help them.”
He shifted into a Draco-human and extended his wings.
“I will protect these people,” he said as he leapt off.
Paige shouted at him, but the wind rushing past Jesse’s ears drowned her out. He landed on the ground and took off running. The damn wings were useless. He couldn’t get them to flap or even move. They just extended then descended. Hopefully he could learn how to change that.
Another scream arose from the street next to him. He turned down the next alley and bolted through it. He came to the end and pressed himself against he wall. Peaking out, he saw a man running frantically towards him. He grabbed the mans arm when he was close enough and swung him into the alleyway.
“Go right and keep running. You’ll find a house with a rope ladder that will keep you safe,” ordered Jesse before shoving the man down the alley. The man nodded his head and too off running again. Jesse watched him leave then turned again to look down the street. At first he didn’t see anything, but then it turned the corner.