Chapter 1

The following characters appear in the opening chapters:

Madailein Kavanagh (Maddy)

Chief protagonist, former Earth Witch, Irish, 5’-6’’ tall, 135 pounds, 38DD-24-37, 25 years old, alabaster skin, long, lustrous black hair, violet eyes, some freckles, beautiful, Magic user

Al

Maddy’s Familiar, a large Manx cat, 16 inches long, white with large black spots, stumpy one inch tail, weighs about 16 pounds

The Guardian

Safe keeper of the Books, about 5’-6’’ tall, neither young nor old, very long blond hair, deep blue eyes

Kennith Sweeney

Ley Line Wizard, 6’-0’’ tall, 175 pounds, 28 years old, brown hair and dark eyes, very handsome

Alva

Kennith’s Familiar, a large female cat, gray with black and white stripes, she has a long tail

Mandara

Maddy’s Sword, called the Spirit Eater, enchanted and able to cancel Magic spells, can change sizes with its mistress, speaks in her mind, but doesn’t always obey her

Joshua Molony (Josh)

Minor Wizard, Maddy’s friend and neighbor, 5’-10’’ tall, 165 pounds, 28 years old, dark blond hair cut short, blue eyes, Magic user

David De Tocqueville

Powerful Magic user, 6’-0’’ tall with broad shoulders, 40 years old, dark hair and violet eyes,

Bob

Minor demon, short at 4’-6’’ tall, red skin and horns on his head, gray beard and hair, Seventeenth century clothing, buckles on his shoes

Samuel Barrett

Master Wizard, presided over many of the Wizards meetings, 5’-10’’ tall, 205 pounds, 58 years old, dyed black hair and goatee, dark eyes

Christian Pennson

Young, rash Ley Line Wizard, 5’-9’’ tall, 170 pounds, 25 years old, light brown hair, dark eyes

“So little Dragon Witch, you have removed most of your enemies, at least the human ones. You have also accomplished something that has not occurred in more than 4,000 years,” the Guardian told me standing there in my kitchen.

“And what would that feat be that hasn’t occurred in 4,000 years?” I asked, as she had stopped speaking.

“Why, you are the first Female Dragon to be having young in all of that time,” she told me with a smile. “Are you aware that you are pregnant yet?” she finished.

“Pregnant ... ME!?” I asked in shock.

“I see that you are not aware of that. You probably don’t know what signs to look for, and there is nothing in the Books to help you,” she told me before pausing for a short time, while looking at me intently.

“In fact, you are having twins ... female twins. There will be shock and consternation among the remaining male Dragons over that,” she said with a smile before vanishing.

I only sat there and stared at where she had been for a long time. Al was staring at me also.

“How can I be pregnant and how could she tell?” I finally asked in a weak voice.

“Ken is a male Dragon. You had sex with him. That’s how you got pregnant,” Al told me.

“But we only had sex a couple of times,” I complained.

“It only takes once if you are at the right time of month,” he told me. “Remember when the Magic was so thick that you could hardly move, that is probably when it happened,” he finished.

“What am I going to tell Ken?” I wondered.

“Don’t tell him anything ... yet. It will take the Doctors several more weeks to be able to tell that you are pregnant,” Al advised me. “I wish Alva was as easy to get pregnant as you seemed to be. We have certainly tried often enough,” he complained. I just sat there for a time yet, unable to move or think.

“This is not the way that I had planned my life,” I told him after a time, but he was asleep and didn’t answer. It was nearly two minutes before he stretched and looked over at me.

“Did you say something?” he asked.

“Yes, I said that this isn’t the way that I had planned my life,” I told him again.

“Your life hasn’t been what you had planned ever since the Ley Line Magic rebuilt you,” he told me, “or haven’t you noticed?”

“Yes, I’ve noticed but getting pregnant wasn’t an apparent outcome of all of that,” I told him in a blue funk.

“What outcome did you expect?” Al asked in a grouchy voice.

“You invited him into the house. You seduced him in the parlor, and then took him upstairs to play grownup games. The two of you collected all of the Magic in the Atlanta area, not once but several times. Now you’re upset because the outcome of that was what could be expected,” he finished.

“Good-grief Al, don’t you have any sympathy at all?” I asked.

“If you want sympathy, look in the dictionary. You’ll find it there,” he told me in a grouchy voice.

“What’s got your dander up?” I demanded in an upset voice. Al only looked at me for a while before answering.

“Alva wants kittens and is upset that I haven’t been able to get her pregnant,” he told me and paused for a time.

“She’s looking for a tom cat,” he finally told me

“She would do that?” I asked in surprise.

“Yes.”

“Sorry, Al. I’ve only been thinking about myself. I thought that you and Alva were alright together,” I told him. He came over and jumped up in my lap for some petting then.

I didn’t do any studying that day. Instead, I went to the small parlor where the stereo music system is and listened to some of my favorite music for much of the rest of the day. Al stayed with me. I did make both of us a big lunch and dinner. Kennith arrived after he got off from work. Alva was with him but looked unhappy. Ken wasn’t his usual dapper self either.

“Some of the Ley Line users, especially the younger ones, are really pushing to discover who the Red Dragon was. My alibi may not hold up if they check closely. I’m not sure what will happen when they find out that it was me,” he told me in a worried voice.

“What could they do to you? You have learned a lot of Magic from the book that you bought. You could also possibly turn into your Dragon form, if pushed,” I told him.

“They could probably get me fired,” he returned, still in an upset voice.

“I hadn’t considered that. Wouldn’t your boss think that having a Dragon on the payroll to be an advantage?” I asked.

“He would probably see it as more of a liability,” he answered. “They don’t like unknowns.”

“Well, you could move in here with me. It would make things simpler,” I told him.

“Yes, it would,” he said with a smile. “I would need to move in here eventually, but how are we going to survive without any money?” he asked.

“I have money that I get from my Trust Fund every month. I also make money with the sale of charms and amulets, plus the occasional spell. I have always gotten by. You could help me with those,” I told him.

“How many calls have you gotten since you got back and removed those two Wizards?” he asked.

“None, and that has bothered me,” I told him.

“It’s because the other Ley Line users have put out the word that you are a Dragon and not to be trusted,” he told me.

“How long have you known about that?” I demanded in an angry voice.

“Since this afternoon. I learned it from someone at work,” he told me. This was not good news, and I exhaled heavily.

“Well, it has been one of those days,” I said in an exasperated voice.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“The Guardian was here this morning,” I told him.

“She was here, in this house?” he demanded.

“Yes, here in the kitchen. She congratulated me on two things. The first was removing those two Wizards. The second was for accomplishing something that hadn’t been done in 4,000 years,” I told him and stopped there.

“And just what would that be?” he asked with a grin.

“I’m the first Female Dragon in 4,000 years to be pregnant, and with twins ... twin girls,” I told him. The look on Ken’s face turned to one of absolute shock.

“Pregnant? ... You!”

“Yes, me!” I told him in tears before he pulled me to him, kissed me and held me tight for a long while.

“We should get married,” Ken said after a lengthy pause before something occurred to him.

“Can, or do Dragons get married?” he asked. Now, I was the one surprised, as the thought had never occurred to me.

“I ... I don’t know! Still, we should be able to get married in our human form. As Dragons, we can do pretty much what we want ... at least for now,” I told him.

“Why just for now?”

“I’m not sure what the other, older Dragons will say when they learn that I’m pregnant. I don’t think that the Guardian will keep it a secret,” I told him.

“We should get married quickly then,” he told me and pulled me even tighter against himself and kissed me again. This was when Al interrupted us. He and Alva had been sitting there with us, but they hadn’t said anything.

“When you get married, you will be able to get all of the money from your Trust Fund,” he reminded me. I had totally forgotten about that, while in my blue funk today.

“That’s right!” I said in surprise on being reminded.

“Trust Fund?” Ken asked.

“That’s where I have been getting money to live on. I get a check every month. When I get married, the entire fund is available to me if I want it,” I told him feeling somewhat better.

“How much is in there?” he asked.

“I have no idea. I only get the check in my checking account. There has never been anything indicating how much or how little was in there,” I told him and began to worry.

“Once you’re married though, they have to release it to you, is that it?” he asked.

“I can get all of it or a portion of it. That’s the way I was told that it had been set up,” I told him.

“You know who to contact though, right?”

“Yes, I know who to contact.”

“So, when should we get married?” he asked, still holding me.