Draco, p.5
Draco, page 5
That is likely because the temple was destroyed. You are recalling the information as it was at the time before the war. We only recently discovered its location. Since you have not been there, you have some connection to it. The temple’s druids died with it, so I can’t explain your power.
Can you explain my curse? She held her breath, praying for an answer.
No. The temple would never spell one of its own. What you are experiencing is some kind of dark magic, but we won’t rest until we discover its origin.
Why would you help me?
You can recall knowledge, but you do not understand it. You are one of us, Jemma. The dragons have always protected the druids. You are our family.
She pulled out of the conversation unable to respond. She didn’t have a family and anybody who got close to her ended up dead or in jail. If it was dark magic at work, could she really subject Draco and his family to it?
The static hum died off, and she knew Legion and Draco had ceased their telepathic communication.
Draco put an arm on the back of the couch. “Legion is curious why you agreed to work for Movar. I explained your money issues, but he is concerned it is something else.”
“What else would it be? Obviously, Legion has not been in a position where he can’t pay rent, had his utilities cut off or been unable to buy food. Then when you scratch together a few dollars and get a box of crackers and some tuna, the crackers are stale and the tuna is expired.”
Draco nodded. “You called it a curse.”
“That’s what it feels like.”
“Legion believes it may be something along those lines as well, but the secular knowledge is a surprise. No druid has been born with that gift,” Draco said.
“As soon as Legion mentioned the Temple of Knowledge, I was able to recall its history. It isn’t like he described though. I don’t posses all it’s information. It’s more like recalling someone else’s memory of it.”
Draco’s eyes narrowed. “Reincarnation?”
“Creepy but possible,” she said.
“You haven’t always had this knowledge, but you’ve always suffered from this affliction to some degree. This curse.”
Jemma nodded. “It wasn’t nearly as bad when I was a child, but I don’t remember a time it didn’t affect me. Mom said I was born under a bad moon. Things started to happen to my parents the year before they died.”
“What kinds of things?”
“Minor stuff at first. Mom’s keys went missing almost daily. Dad kept getting flat tires on the drive home. They chalked it up to coincidence and tough luck, but the month before they died, it was much worse.”
“How so?”
Jemma hated recalling those last few weeks. “Mom and dad were fighting. I was having repeated issues at school. Though I didn’t start the altercations, my teacher wrote me up daily. Dad lost his job and mom was demoted. They went for the hike to clear their head and try to work out their differences. They loved each other, but their marriage was falling apart.”
Draco nodded. “I’m sorry Jemma. Since money is your only reason for working for Movar and the Dark Arts Gallery. I am going to make you a better offer. I will transfer fifty thousand dollars to your account so you can bring your bills up to date. You will return Movar’s money and withdraw your contract with him.”
He grabbed his phone, clearly about to transfer the money.
She put her hand on his wrist. “Stop. I will withdraw the contract with Movar, but don’t transfer that kind of money. Trust me, it will go missing. Just transfer enough to pay my rent, in fact. Send it directly to my landlord.”
She heard a faint buzz. Before Legion’s voice echoed in her head. Cole will have it sorted by the end of the week.
“What was that about?” she asked.
“Cole will arrange to have all your expenses, including your apartment, transferred to Rule Industries.”
“I had to have my landlord put the utilities in his name. I pay double for the privilege. Our arrangement may not be legal, so don’t be surprised if he isn’t excited about this arrangement.”
Draco’s eyes narrowed. “He threatens to evict you, but makes you pay double for the simple privilege of heat and water?”
She huffed. “Welcome to my life.”
His eyes flashed. “Your life is about to change.”
She nodded. “I think it already has. Can I see it?”
“What?” Draco said.
“The tablet?”
CHAPTER 8
Draco took her hand and led her through the front room and into the kitchen. The smell of stew and fresh biscuits still lingered in the air and a cherry pie sat on the counter. Mara and Legion had completed the build on their home, but the motherly druid still cooked in the main house most nights. Legion was already working on a community center with a kitchen. One that would accommodate all the dragons and their mates at dinner time.
Centuries had passed since the last time the dragons needed such a venue to accommodate their kin. Their clan and their mates. It was a blessing to be running out of room at the dinner table. Every druid brought into their family made them stronger and one step closer to bringing the temple to the modern world.
He opened the storeroom attached to the kitchen. They had modified it with a filtration system and maintained it at a moderate temperature. One ideal for an ancient artifact. While Draco could use magic to restore most things, the advances of modern technology made this easier. He had built this room himself.
Jemma followed him into the room, walking to the center table that held the stone tablet. Her eyes widened and the quick increase in her heart rate alerted him to her excitement. “It’s beautiful. Can you read the scripture?”
Draco nodded. “Yes, I’m surprised you can’t.”
She touched her temple. “It’s not always there. It feels like a Rolodex that I flip through to garner information. Unfortunately, this one is electronic and apparently, I hit the off switch.”
Draco chuckled. “Your magic is just emerging. It’s quite common for your power to be intermittent.”
She grabbed a pair of white gloves, sitting on the table and put them on. Her finger traced a circle with a line through it. “What does it say?”
Draco narrowed his gaze on the symbol. “We aren’t sure what that is, but it isn’t a word.”
“It’s something else. Not a name. A representation.”
He moved closer to her. His body heating as his thigh rubbed against her side. “Sounds like your secular Rolodex is back on.”
She smiled, and his heart stuttered. Her eyes sparkled with genuine laughter and excitement. He had a feeling it was a rare sight. “Looks like.”
“What do you think it is?”
Jemma pursed her lips. “It’s a black circle. It almost looks like marble, but it’s scratched. It’s hard to describe.”
Draco sucked in a breath. “You’re talking about an onyx circle. We thought the dark’s had the forgotten circle as Devlin mentioned it in front of Tempest. They represent the life and power of the druid who wields them. Mara’s is that of the seer. Her circle has a symbol of an eye. The scratched onyx circle is one of the six needed to restore the temple to our world. We call it the forgotten, as we aren’t sure of its origins.”
She nodded. “Yes, I see them now. They aren’t for the Temple of Knowledge. They are for Adara.”
“You can see the circles? The seeker, the gatekeeper, the daughter...”
“Yes. The circle with a scratched surface is the circle of the mage.”
Draco growled. “What? A mage cannot wield a druid circle. Why would Adara need something connected to mage magic?”
Jemma shook her head. “All I can tell you is the name. I see a table inside an old room. A castle maybe? The table has six cups and six insets on the tabletop. The circles sit within each one. In my vision, if you want to call it that, that circle is no longer scratched.”
“What does the symbol look like?”
“An ancient tree,” she shook her head as if losing the connection. “That’s all I got.”
“The tree of knowledge. How is that connected to a mage? Why would the druids call it a mage circle?”
Jemma leaned her head against the table, looking up at Draco. “Since the Rolodex is having a nap, maybe you could explain the circles and their connection to Adara.”
“The temple was cast to another realm. A parallel plane, in order to protect it. As the druids re-emerge, they must reclaim their onyx circles and return them to the temple. The table you saw is located within.”
“If Mara is a seer and has a circle, then I’m guessing you have retrieved at least one.”
“Two. Freya has also returned her circle to the temple. The seeker, the gatekeeper, the daughter and the mage are the circles we require. Though I have my concerns about the last one.”
Jemma turned back to the tablet. “What does each line say?”
Draco ran his finger over each line as he read. “Born of the dark. The betrayer is saved. When the truth comes to light, the way will be revealed. Only the descendant of the daughter may enter. The truth will set me free and my treasure bestowed.”
“That isn’t exactly a rhyme.”
“The translation isn’t perfect, but we believe Mara was the betrayer. Legion believed she had betrayed him in a former life, but the truth was revealed and the mage was behind the deception. We think we need the druid who wields the onyx circle with the symbol of the daughter to decipher the rest. We didn’t know what the treasure was.”
Jemma chewed on her lip. “I can see why you think that.”
“You think our assumptions are incorrect?”
“I know this knowledge Rolodex isn’t perfect, but this isn’t the seer or the daughter. I think it’s something else, but I don’t understand how the druids were destroyed and why the mage circle is scratched out?”
“Prior to the war, the mages and druids worked together. Many of the mage men married druid females. As more and more druids chose dragon mates, the mages became jealous. They attacked the dragons. With many druid females having mage husbands, the druids attempted to negotiate a peace between us, but that was not to be. In the end, the unmated druids sided with us, as did those with dragon mates. The mages were left with few druid women.”
“They didn’t marry human women?”
“They could. They are born human, so they have the ability to choose. A druid female could also choose a human husband, but a dragon can only mate with a being of magic.”
Her eyes widened. “So, dragons never... you know, unless with a druid?”
Draco arched an eyebrow. “Young dragons are very fond of human women, but we cannot mate with one. That bond is born of magic.”
“Oh... okay. How did the dragons defeat the mages in the war?”
“The druid bomb.”
“The one that killed the adult dragons and most of the druids,” she whispered. The secular knowledge was exhilarating and terrifying.
“Yes.”
She nodded, glancing back at the tablet. She ran a gloved finger over the symbol of the scratched circle. “I wonder what happened to make the druids scratch out the circle. Did a druid betray her brethren? Did a spell go wrong or was it because of the war? Maybe it was scratched out because of the mage betrayal. I’m sure it felt like that to the druids at the time.”
Draco shook his head. “It wasn’t the war. This circle was scratched out prior to the mage’s attack on us. I’m not sure when this betrayal occurred, but it wasn’t during the war.”
“How do we find out more about the circle? I doubt I can find this on the dark web.”
“There is only one person with the knowledge we seek,” Draco said.
Jemma’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Who?”
“Adara.”
“How do we ask her?”
“We don’t. You do,” Draco said.
Her heartbeat stuttered. “What?”
“You are a druid, Jemma. You must call to the temple for the guidance you seek.”
CHAPTER 9
Jemma stepped back. “Call to Adara? As in the temple?”
Draco nodded. “The temple is the source of your power. She will aid you in your search for answers about your affliction and how to retrieve the amulet. She will need this artifact found or she will never return to this realm.”
Jemma pulled off the white gloves and placed them on the table beside the tablet. “What does the amulet have to do with her?”
“If the dark mage is successful in binding the druid’s magic, the temple can never be restored. Binding the druids will make Adara powerless in this world.”
Jemma placed her hands on the table, leaning over the tablet. She had taken Draco’s money and sent an e-transfer to return Movar’s deposit with a quick note explaining she couldn’t take on this acquisition at this time. Besides, she had no desire to see Movar again. The truth about him being a dark dragon hadn’t surprised her, and she had no desire to be in his presence again.
She nibbled her lip. “And this is normal for a druid. To call to the temple, I mean?”
“Yes. Adara will welcome you. In the magical sense, she is your mother,” Draco said.
“Okay. How do I call her?”
Draco took her hand. “Let’s return to the couch. Your consciousness will leave your body while you commune with the temple.”
“So, nothing big, just an out-of-body experience.”
Draco led her outside the viewing room and through the kitchen. The aroma of thick stew had dissipated to be replaced by the smell of cherry pie. The one sitting on the counter. They returned to the couch.
Jemma sat down, placing her hands on her knees. “Do I just say her name?”
“Close your eyes and reach for her with your mind. Your magic will know her. It will reach for its source.”
She closed her eyes, focusing on the power within her. Adara. When nothing happened, she tried again. I am new at this so can you help me out here? I feel like a fish out of water.
Jemma’s consciousness seemed to rise above her body. She opened her eyes, but she was no longer in the living room on Rule land. Blue mist swirled around her before the stone walls solidified.
The room was exactly as she had seen it in her secular Rolodex. Ancient tapestries and paintings of a world gone by, hung on the walls. An altar with a large leather-bound book stood before her. The white bones on the floor seemed out of place with the immaculate setting.
She startled when the candles beside the book ignited and a blue mist swirled in the room until a beautiful woman with long dark hair and grey ropes emerged.
Her eyes widened when she saw Jemma. “How did you enter my sanctuary?” her tone was harsh and far from welcoming.
Jemma swallowed dry air, though she knew her body remained on a couch under Draco’s watchful eye. “I’m sorry. Draco told me to call to you. He said you would help me.”
Adara looked her over with contempt. “He should know better than to send the betrayer to my temple.”
Betrayer? The tablet mentioned a betrayer. Was that her? Had she done something she wasn’t aware of? “I don’t understand. What did I do to offend you? Are you the source of all the shitty things that happen in my life?” she wasn’t able to keep the hurt from her voice. While she tried to stay strong, the last two years had worn her down. She was at her breaking point.
Adara’s eyebrow arched. “You don’t know?”
“That my life is one disaster after another? Sure. I live that nightmare every day.”
“That you have mage blood.” She clasper her hands in front of her robes, appearing to get her anger under control.
Jemma rubbed her forehead, surprised it felt as real there as it did in her world. “I’m a descendant of a mage? Draco thought I was a druid. How did I call you then?”
“You are also a druid. But your descendant was cursed by the druid council. I am surprised your magic was resurrected.”
Jemma flinched, but she couldn’t be surprised. Every druid had been welcomed with open arms, except for her. “Why was I cursed?”
“The druid your magic descends from killed a dragon. She had a mage father and druid mother. Her actions were the catalyst for the war and what came after.”
Jemma huffed. “I’m cursed because of something that happened thousands of years ago. Great. What does this have to do with the pendant?”
Adara step towards Jemma. “Which pendant do you refer?”
“The one obtained with the Tablet of Cireda.”
Adara’s eyes widened. “The pendant still exists?”
“Yes. But only the betrayer can retrieve it. Draco thought that was Mara, but I think we have established that’s me.”
Adara’s eyes moved to the table. “Mara wasn’t a betrayer. She was and is the dragon’s savior. I assumed the forgotten one would be reborn, but I didn’t think the mage magic would survive the resurrection. I understand now. If the dark mage retrieves that pendant, then all is lost.”
“If I can retrieve it, how do I destroy it?”
“It cannot be destroyed. The pendant must be used. It in itself, is a spell. You must use it to bind the mage to his current body. His magic is too powerful to bind. He holds the power of his entire race.”
Jemma nodded. “Will that end my curse?”
Adara’s eyes flickered as her power touched Jemma. There was a slight recognition before she flinched. “Your mage magic will be sacrificed in order to retrieve the pendant. I cannot guarantee you will retain enough druid magic to survive. Do you know where the forgotten circle is?”
Jemma wasn’t sure why she found it offensive that Adara wouldn’t use the circles given name, but her anger spiked. “It’s called the mage circle and without it, you will never be restored to the human realm. You hate me, I get it. Everyone does, but your prejudice over something that happened thousands of years ago will not help you in the human world. If you wish to help the druids re-establish themselves, you may want to consider that not all of them will fit your ideals. Druids are human and have no conception of your ancient morals.” Her voice echoed with that tinny quality. An overtone of a magic lost.
