Chapter 17

The following characters reappear from previous stories:

Chu Hua

Dragon offspring, now a Dragon, Frank’s Wife, 5’-0’’ (1.52 meters) tall, a very sweet but plain looking woman, still somewhat thin even at 30 some years of age with medium length black hair, she is a powerful White Dragon

Franklin (Frank)

Dragon Security employee, Chu Hua’s husband, 5’-9’’ (1.75 meters) tall, 170 pounds (77 kg), 44 years old, black hair, brown eyes, a very strong Talent, he is a Gold Dragon

Stewart

Dragon Security employee, Eve’s husband, 5-11’’ (1.80 meters) tall, 190 pounds (86 kg), 51 years old, brown hair, violet eyes, very strong Talent, he is a Light Red Dragon

Eve

Stewart’s wife, 5’-4’’ (1.62 meters) tall, still a bit thin, small breasts, 36 years old, short brown hair, no Talent initially, but she now has a medium Talent thanks to the Spirit of Ley Line Magic

Yuryi has the Narrative Again

It was late before we were up the following morning. I was in the bathroom shaving. I have done this so many times over the centuries that I could do it blindfolded, or in my sleep, especially with modern razors and shaving cream. While shaving, I started thinking about Yvonne and last night. She was in the bedroom doing all of the things that make her so beautiful and desirable.

“That beautiful woman knows me better than I know myself,” I was thinking, and that was when I remembered that I had thought the same thing about Gretchen when we had first been married, and I’d had a problem. That was when it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Yvonne had, in fact, inherited Gretchen’s Spirit when it left Her body!

I nearly killed myself with that safety razor from the shock of that revelation. When I opened my eyes, I found that I was bleeding from a neck wound. A quick spell from my past quickly closed and sealed the cut. It took me longer than usual to finish shaving.

On returning to our room, I took Yvonne in my arms and kissed her for a long, long time. We finally needed to come up for air.

“What brought that on? We didn’t do enough last night?” she wondered.

“You were completely right last night. While shaving, I realized why. You inherited Gretchen’s Spirit when it left her body. That is how you knew what the problem was,” I told her, holding her to me still. She seemed a bit surprised by this revelation.

“You’re sure?” she asked.

“Positive,” I told her and continued to hold her for a time.

“We should go down and eat. Our hostess will think we don’t enjoy her company,” she told me after a time.

Down in the kitchen, Yvonne made us breakfast and I helped. That is, she did once Deirdre showed us where everything was kept. No one else’s kitchen is the same as yours. I was sure that if I were to go into the kitchen at my house to do something, the cooks would be scandalized and would drive me out, unless it was just for a cup of coffee.

Yvonne made ham and eggs. I poured the orange juice and made the toast. Maddy had blackberry jam to put on the toast. Later there was coffee and tea. Maddy came in as we were finishing.

“Did you sleep well last night?” she asked.

“Yes,” Yvonne answered, “but we had a lot to discuss before going to sleep.”

“We have noticed that those who stop here on the way to be married, often have long discussions. Don’t worry, after you have been married for a while and have children, there will less to discuss as you will know each other better,” she told us with a smile.

We were just finishing our tea and coffee when her two older daughters and one of their husbands arrived.

“Dallas and Doreen are here to discuss the two of you being married with Yvonne. Doreen’s husband, Keith, is here to take you, Yuryi, to our building to get one of our SUVs for you to drive and to return your rental,” Maddy told us.

Dallas and Doreen soon took Yvonne into the small parlor to discuss marriage plans, and Keith sat down with me. The Queen left to see about something but didn’t mention what. I was sure it wasn’t any of my business.

“What make of SUV do you usually drive? We have several different models,” Keith told me.

“I can drive anything, but I have a Suburban at the house for when we need to move a number of people,” I told him.

“That’s fine, we have a several of them. After we pick one up, we’ll return the rental. What company did you rent it from?” he asked.

“There was only one rental agency at PDK. They were supposed to have a large SUV for us, but all they had is the one that we got,” I told him.

“PDK? You didn’t come in at Hartsfield?” he asked, surprised.

“No, we arrived on a private charter,” I told him to another surprised look.

“Really? They are expensive. The Queens and the other wives took one to DC, when we were up there, and then we flew back with them. You came all of the way from Duluth?” he asked.

“Yes, I can probably write it off as a business expense,” I told him.

“Yes, we heard about some of your other ’business expenses’ last night. Let’s go outside and move to the Dragon Security building. We’ll need my wife to pass us through the Nesting Ward,” he reminded me.

Once through the Ward, I was ready to head for the rental, but Keith stopped me.

“We’ll pick that up when we get back. Take my hand, and I’ll transfer us to the building. It’s much faster,” he told me. A few seconds later, we were standing in the parking lot of a five story building. There were only a few vehicles parked in the large parking lot around it.

“It would seem that you have an excessive amount of parking space,” I said.

“It came with the building. Most of the previous owners’ employees drove in. Most of us just transfer. We keep a few vehicles here for when we need to go somewhere we haven’t been to previously,” he told me before changing the subject.

“Come in and see how we operate,” he told me, and we moved to the entrance of the building. I, in the meantime, was checking out the various wards around the property and the building. They were strong enough that one would need to be a Dragon or a near-Dragon to pass through them. One in particular was a big surprise.

I waited until he had shown me most of the building, and how they operated, to say anything.

“We could never do this in Duluth. There just isn’t sufficient Magic available,” I told him before asking about the ward.

“The ward that you have around the property, where did it come from? I don’t remember seeing anything quite like it before?” I asked.

“Oh, you mean Doreen’s Ward. My wife created it, and that was what it was originally called. There were a couple of changes made to it along the way, and now it’s called the ‘Spherical Defensive Ward’,” Keith told me.

“Really? It’s quite impressive,” I told him.

“Yeah, she started with the idea of the Nesting Ward but changed it so males or anyone else could cast it. Of course, you need to be a Dragon or near-Dragon to be powerful enough to cast it, but guys can use it and pass through it unlike the Nesting Ward,” he explained.

“Could I learn it?” I asked, as it would be very useful.

“Sure, I’ll teach it to you after we finish with the rental,” he told me, as we moved toward the Suburban.

“You drive, and I’ll supply the directions. That way, you will know the route if you ever need to drive it again,” he explained. The trip back wasn’t bad, and I already knew part of it. Keith showed me the back roads to take to reach their houses. He was better than Google maps, as he knew all of the back roads and which ones were best.

We stopped at Maddy’s parking area, and I got in the rental and followed him to the rental agency’s office near the town where they lived. I parked in front of the office. We had stopped for gas on the way.

“I need to turn in this rental,” I told the person behind the counter and handed them the paperwork for the vehicle.

“Was everything satisfactory?” she asked.

“It was a bit too small was all,” I told her before we went out to inspect the vehicle

“You haven’t put many miles on it,” she commented after checking the mileage.

“No, like I said, it was a bit small. I prefer a larger vehicle,” I told her and pointed to the Suburban.

“Oh!” was all she said. Keith drove us back to Maddy’s house after I finished the paperwork.

On reaching the parking area at Maddy’s property, we waited for someone to arrive and pass us through the Nesting Ward. We didn’t have long to wait. A young woman soon appeared. She was one of Jorani’s daughters but which one? They are triplets and all three of them look exactly alike, at least to someone who didn’t know them well, like me. Keith had a question for her before any of us moved.

“Is Doreen still here?” he asked the young woman.

“No, all of the wives went shopping,” she told him.

“I may as well head to work then,” he said and vanished.

“Are you ready to enter?” she asked following that.

“Yes,” I answered, and she moved through the Nesting Ward as easily as if it wasn’t there. Taking my hand, she passed both of us through the ward.

“Which daughter are you?” I asked before adding, “You three all look the same.” She smiled. I was sure that she and her sisters had probably been asked that question many times.

“I am Maly. My name means Blossom in Khmer. Also, we don’t all look the same. Use your Dragon vision to look at me,” she told me.

Calling up just my Dragon vision, I could see that she was surrounded by a blue glow. That wasn’t all that I saw, however. What I saw was the huge Talent that she had and enough Magic to blast half of the city of Atlanta into ruins with just a thought. This was definitely a young woman that you did not want to upset.

“There is a blue glow around you,” I said, on returning my eyesight to normal.

“Yes, I’m blue. Botum is white, and Daeva is red. That is how you can tell us apart,” she told me, as we moved toward the house, but she had more to say.

“Deirdre doesn’t have a glow. She has other talents instead. She can tell who has arrived as soon as they appear. She can also see the future ... sometimes,” she told me.

The front door opened automatically for us, but I had to wonder if it would do that for me alone or for Yvonne? That was something to investigate but later.

As it turned out, Yvonne wasn’t here. Apparently, she had been included with the ‘wives’ who had gone shopping. I retrieved the medical book that Maddy had given me and began reading it in the small parlor to await Yvonne.

Later, I was brought back to the present by the arrival of the ‘wives’ from their shopping trip. They were all laughing about something. I looked at my watch and was surprised. Apparently, I had been reading for three and a half hours. Again, time goes fast when you are having fun, and this book was very, very interesting. I had already learned things that would have shocked my mother who was considered a great healer. Yvonne joined me when she saw me sitting in the small parlor.

“Did you have a good trip?” I asked.

“Yes, Dallas and Doreen convinced me that I needed a new outfit to be married in. Lord, they know all of the stores in at least three towns or areas. We needed to visit a number of stores to find something that I liked and they agreed with,” she told me.

“They drove to three separate towns?” I asked.

“Drove! Certainly not. They can transfer faster than you can blink. It was a whirlwind trip,” she told me, as if she was exhausted.

“And how is all of this being paid for?” I wondered out loud.