Soul of the Sorcerer - Part Three: Daughter of the Dragon (26 page)

Bethany returned with Allen a full day earlier than anticipated, this was because of some good news;

“Cooperation between the Empire, Kalana and the wizard schools has been going well, your Highness” the young ambassador said at the start of his report to Lloyd, who was a little irritated that his friend had started to revert to previous form when addressing him.

“A circle of stones has already been built to the south east of the Empire’s wall, with work progressing on the one for Seadawn next” Allen continued.

“So you used the new stones at the Empire to travel directly to Earth?” Lloyd asked.

“Yes, but I do also bring news of a great meeting; his Majesty King Hegan has arranged to meet the Emperor, the Clan Kings and the Masters of both wizard schools at the Isle of Retreat in three weeks time.  He has requested that yourself and the Dragon King attend to add some weight to the proceedings.

Lloyd thought about this before replying, “Yes I think it will be a good idea, I don’t want my brother to think I have abandoned him. It looks like you have become quite the ambassador Allen, son of Frank.”

Allen blushed at Lloyd using his formal title, “Sorry Lloyd, I’ve been calling you your Highness again haven't I?”

“Yes, but it’s good to have you here ready for the stag do, we just need to get some clothes for you as the others have gone a bit over the top!”

Finally, it was the night of the stag and Paul Watson, standing in front of the Two Stags, surveyed the
stag gang, a
s he had decided to call them,
in
order of terror. At the top of his terror list was the large man called Ingemar, he was dressed in a tailored white suit with a soft pink coloured shirt underneath and expensive white leather shoes; Paul could almost hear the soundtrack from the movie Saturday Night Fever playing in his head.

Next was Bethany; he had debated whether she should be top of the list, but her threat level dropped when she jumped out of the taxi wearing a skin tight silvery green mini-dress and green high heels. Her hair was pinned so that it flowed over one shoulder, reaching nearly down to her waist. In the time since he had first met her, he could have sworn she was getting taller with more tone in her muscles. His eyes, however, lingered a little too long, causing a glare from her boyfriend Allen, who was next on the list. Paul had only met him briefly, but even dressed in a plain white shirt and blue jeans, this man looked like he could kill any who might have designs on his striking girlfriend.

Next was the man called Darrion; Doctor Amy Brook’s husband. Paul understood that he was a master magician, so in theory more threat than Bethany, but he was a relatively quiet man with eyes that often reflected some sadness held deep within. He was dressed in black jeans and a blue shirt.

Next in threat level was the man Kenelm; in his silver tailored suit, he looked like a man who had stepped straight out of an aftershave advert. There was a confidence about him, a confidence that other men would feel threatened by, a confidence that women would find very attractive.

Finally, of equal terror on the list were Lloyd, Danny Pope and Reese Woodgate. Yes, he knew Lloyd was a Sorcerer, which according to Bethany, was the most powerful type of wizard. But Paul just saw his old school friends; they were the least dressed of the group wearing black jeans and various t-shirts. Lloyd’s t-shirt had a symbol of a superhero on it, Danny wore one with the name of his favourite band and Reese had just a plain black one on.

“Oh you’re ere then!” A voice screeched out behind Paul from the doorway of the pub; he turned to find Reese’s girlfriend Jenny Clark standing there. Jenny could be described as the closest thing to a mashup between a punk rocker and an emo you would ever see.

She was quite tall and very skinny, with a bright purple Mohican which was a couple of inches high. She wore heavy dark makeup and had a multitude of facial piercings and tattoos on her arms and shoulders. These could be seen because she wore a black string vest over her black bra. She also wore black tight drainpipe jeans and a pair of red converse shoes. “Alright babe?” Reese said before going up to the girl and giving her the kind of kiss that should be kept in private.

The one thing that they would all find out about Jenny Clark before too long, was that she sure as hell knew how to party!

The Two Stags was a very small public house, with just a single room served by a dark wooden bar on the right hand side. On the left were some bays with a table, the stag gang decided to fill the first bay, which did take moving some tables and chairs and almost filling the first half of the pub.

Initially things had started out slowly; as there is often awkwardness when two sets of friends meet for the first time, especially, in this case, when they are from two different worlds as well. It was only by the third pint that tongues began to loosen, and it was Kenelm who had initiated conversation with tales of his womanising.

“I tell you now my friends, Darrion and myself had many a pleasurable time in some of the quieter towns and villages in Kalana, back in the early days of King Hextar’s reign.”

“Well you had some pleasurable times; I was back then, still just the burnt fool that got sympathy from the women, which you then took away from me!” Darrion protested, but with a smile. He referred to the time before his terrible burns were healed by the Mae; the burns caused by King Joran’s talisman around the baby Lloyd’s neck. His face clouded over momentarily as he remembered the time when he had tried to stab Lloyd causing him to be transmigrated to Earth.

“What about you friend Ingemar, I bet you have a few party tales?” Kenelm asked the giant man. Ingemar laughed a big hearty laugh before responding.

“Before I married Daria I spent a week in the old Empire, long before it was destroyed by the first Daemen war. The world still felt young back then and for a man with my looks and wealth, there was not a pleasure of the female kind I did not enjoy!”

“I really don't know what you lot are talking about?” Jenny Clark interrupted; it was at this stage they realised that Reese had not informed his girlfriend of the supernatural heritage, of half of the stag gang. With alcohol flowing through their veins there was not even a moment’s hesitation to tell the girl everything. At first, however, all she did was just laugh, “Don’t be stupid, how can he be a dragon!” she said hitting Ingemar with a friendly punch.

Another round of drinks though and she didn’t care any longer, “Come on Dragon Man, come help me with a round of Jaeger Bombs!” she said, pulling on Ingemar’s left arm to get him out of his chair. At the bar she waved to get the landlords attention. The bar, being a Friday night, was quite busy and the landlord, a man in his forties, with hair shaved close to his head, had not heard her...”BARKEEP PLEASE!” Ingemar’s loud deep voice got nearly every person in the room’s attention and you could have almost heard a pin drop.

“A round of Jaegers, are you sure!” the man said, listening to the level of noise coming from their table. “Yes please” Jenny responded. The landlord, against his better judgement, lined up some tall glasses containing some energy drink and a shot glass of jaeger. Jenny and Ingemar each carried a tray back to the two round tables they had placed next to each other and divided out the drinks.

“CHEERS!” the cry went up from the stag gang, as they all downed the drink and headed for the door towards the next pub.

About halfway down the high street a black convertible sports car pulled alongside the group.

“Hey hot stuff, you and your broody friend there fancy taking a couple of cougars out for something to eat?”

Kenelm, whom the voice had addressed, whistled in admiration when his eyes finally focussed, through the haze of alcohol, on the stunning Doctor Susan Johnson at the wheel of the vehicle. Next to her sat Amy, both of them were dressed to kill.

“Thought we had better rescue you two before you get into too much trouble.” Amy said to Darrion and the stupefied monk.

“Wife, you never cease to amaze me and you are gorgeous!” Darrion said jumping into the back of the vehicle and leaning across to kiss his wife on the lips.

Kenelm then climbed in and squeezed into the rear seat beside his old friend.

“No kiss Kenelm?” Susan asked with an enigmatic smile.

Lloyd, watching from the pavement with the others, could have sworn he saw the monk blush before pecking Susan on the cheek.

“Have fun you lot! Ingemar you may want to pop home and see your wife; Themisia and Edala are babysitting...just so you know!” Amy said. Of course, what this message really meant was get home now or face the consequences.

About thirty minutes ago, before the alcohol had hit his system, Lloyd would have kind of hoped that there might have been a similar message from his wife to be. But now, three pints and a jaeger bomb in; on his last night of proverbial freedom, there was much more drinking to be had!

“My friends, it has been a pleasure to meet you, but as the good Doctor says, I do need to go home and check on my wife” Ingemar said.

“You going to walk all the way back to the village? That will take you an hour!” Jenny said; Ingemar, however, winked at her and ran into the nearest alley, before scaling the side of the building nearly as deftly as his daughter Edala would have done.

“Feck me!” was all that Jenny Clark could manage to say as a glimmer of street lighting reflected off of the dragons body and great wings as he flew overhead. “I need another drink” she added after Ingemar had vanished. The remainder of the stag gang then swaggered arm in arm down the high street towards the Royal Crown.

Themisia and Edala sat at the kitchen table in Amy’s kitchen; before them lay the empty cartons from a devoured Chinese meal, a well appreciated treat from Amy. Themisia currently had the baby Louise cradled in her arms, a bottle of milk being hungrily devoured.

“Edala, you say that like me, you age more slowly than the humans, was this even from birth?” the ebony girl asked.

“It seems to be different for us all, I actually grew normally until about the age of twelve, but my sister Justina said she did not slow until the age of twenty.”

“It was similar for me, but I do not know if this is the dragon blood you speak of within me, or my Daemon blood.”

Edala smiled fondly at the girl, in many ways, because they were both with child, she now very much thought of Themisia as a sister.

“You are good with her” she said smiling at her youngest sibling in the ebony girl’s arms. As if in agreement Louise made three loud sucking sounds on the teat of the bottle. Themisia giggled.

“I am no better than you with her” she said and suddenly became very thoughtful, “Will you make a pact with me?”

“To do what?” Edala responded with a smile.

“That if anything happens to either of us, that we will each look after the others baby, love it as our own, but always tell it about how wonderful its Mother was?” Themisia asked, her eyes actually filling with tears.

“I can promise this my sister” Edala said leaning forward to kiss the girl on the cheek, her own eyes filling with tears. When she sat back Edala had a thoughtful look on her face.

“Are you looking forward to having the child? It’s just that, with...you know; the fact that it was conceived unwillingly, I thought you might hate the very sight of it.”

Themisia looked down at little Louise in her arms and smiled softly; when she looked back up at Edala to respond, her eyes were still wet with tears.

“I am apprehensive of what the future holds for me, but you must understand, until recently, all of my life I have been told one thing and one thing alone...I am just a vessel, and the child that comes from me and, whoever the father, will be special”. At this moment an empty sucking sound indicated that Louise had finished her bottle and Themisia lifted the baby up onto her shoulder for winding.

“Although the father of my child we do not know, I must believe that which I have always been told, otherwise my whole life and existence has been pointless!”

Edala really did not know how to respond to this as it showed the level of brainwashing the Daemon girl had suffered, no doubt since her own birth. Still that was something Edala could work on, it would not take much to convince Themisia that she may meet someone who would love her and then through this love create another child.

Luckily she was spared trying to think of something to say because a large thump against the garden door suddenly made them jump; fortunately it was only her father.

“Sorry about that I misjudged my transformation!” he said with a slight drunken grin.

“Boadaiska is next door father! We are keeping Louise in with us tonight”

As if on cue a huge burp erupted from the baby, head looking over Themisia’s shoulder towards her father.

“HA!” Ingemar laughed, before closing the door and making his way next door.

Edala looked at Themisia and raised her eyebrows, “Lord Creator help Lloyd Brook if he is in a sorry state tomorrow!”