Chapter 4

The following new characters appear in this chapter:

O’Brien, Neal

Homicide Detective, 5’-10’’ tall, 175 pounds, 34 years old, dark brown hair, blue eyes

Hernandez, John

Gang Task-force Detective, 5’-9’’ tall, 170 pounds, 33 years old, black hair, brown eyes

We awoke in the morning after a very restful night of sleep. Vivian was still curled up near me, but she had turned over during the night, as had I. We had a lot to do today, but I hesitated to wake her not knowing what she might want or need. The decision was taken out of my hands when she awoke a few minutes later by herself.

“Good morning, Daddy!” she said on sitting up. She seemed quite happy and content this morning.

“We should get up. There is quite a bit to do today, including showing you the rest of the house,” I told her before we both moved out of the bed and into the bath to take care of our morning preparations and then dress for work around the house.

Vivian made breakfast while I checked on the trash. We did have trash pick up, but it was expensive since we lived out in the country and weren’t close to any of the subdivisions where they normally picked up the trash. There wasn’t much this week since I had been away, and we didn’t have any material to be recycled. I just transferred the container to the end of the driveway where I had a marked location for it.

Following breakfast and the dishes, we needed to get down to the business of the day.

“You need to see the rest of the house, so you know where everything is kept, and then you need to start the study of Magic. I have a number of books on Magic in addition to the books on how to become a Dragon. You will need to learn Gaelic to study the advanced books,” I told her.

“Alright, let’s look at the rest of the house first to get that out of the way. Where should I do the studying?” she asked.

“The den is probably the best place. It’s quiet in there, and you won’t be disturbed by anyone who should visit. Some of my neighbors may drop in on noting that I have returned,” I told her. We started with the den then, so she knew where it was and what was available there. I have a large desk in there, along with built-in bookshelves, a sofa and several comfortable chairs along with my computer setup. The lighting is very good for reading or studying.

From there, we returned to the second floor so she could see the other furnished bedrooms, and from there to the attic and the two rooms there, which were mostly empty. We finished in the basement. Part of it is a daylight area along the back of the house where I have my shop. She was surprised to see the shop that I have in that portion.

“You still build furniture!” she said in surprise on seeing the machinery and tools plus the several pieces that I had underway.

“It’s a habit that’s hard to break, and it gives me something to do with my time when I’m not engaged elsewhere,” I told her. “There isn’t any pressure here to finish a piece by a deadline, so it’s very enjoyable and relaxing. I work when I have the time and the inclination,” I finished.

Following the tour of the shop, I took her to the portion of the basement near the front of the house that was underground where I kept things that I didn’t want others to see or know about. I canceled the ward around the area before we entered. There were a number of enclosed and locked bookcases where I kept most of my books on Magic and other books and things that I had accumulated over the years. The books for learning to be a Dragon are not kept with the others. They are kept in a special large steel safe that has my strongest Dragon Wards around it. It is also bolted to the concrete floor and has some traps for any fool who would try to remove the books from the safe, or the safe from the basement. I explained all of this to Viv after we entered the underground part of the basement.

“You really have a lot of books,” she said on seeing the number of bookcases there. “Did you make all of them?” she asked following that.

“Yes, they are fairly simple to make, and I could build them cheaper than I could buy them, plus they all match,” I told her with a grin, but she was looking at the safe now with a frown.

“This all seems so elaborate. Do you really think that someone would try to steal these books?” she asked after seeing everything.

“Definitely, if they were to become aware that I have them,” I informed her. “You don’t realize, my dear, just how valuable these books are. Even if the thief couldn’t become a Dragon, as he or she didn’t have the correct genes, the amount and strength of the Magic that they could learn, if they have a sufficiently strong Talent, would enable them to commit many crimes and to avoid the police or other investigators,” I assured her.

“And if someone who wanted to become a ‘bad’ Dragon got a hold of the books?” she asked.

“It would require several other Dragons to remove him, possibly even the intervention of the Queen,” I told her.

“You have mentioned this Dragon Queen several times since we met. Who is she and where is she?” she asked.

“Madailein Kavanagh is the Dragon Queen. She lives east of Atlanta. According to the stories about her, she was chosen to be Queen by the Ghost of the last Queen when she managed to enter the Nest inside Stone Mountain. She was pregnant at the time with her twin Daughters and was able to pass through the ward of the Nesting spell around the entrance to the mountain. She was the first Dragon ... Female Dragon to do so in some three and a half thousand years or so. Male Dragons cannot pass through the ward of the Nesting Spell,” I told her.

“Just what is this Nesting Spell?” she demanded.

“I don’t know ... none of the males do, and only Females, and Pregnant Females at that, can cast it and easily pass through it. They can, if they wish, lead others through it. Otherwise, their Husbands or male children could never get through it or to their homes, which are the main places where it is used now besides the Nest,” I informed her. Viv seemed surprised by this.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“Because there are so few Female Dragons, but many male Dragons or near Dragons. There are also still many of the old original Dragons in existence. They are all over four thousand years old. Their offspring are the new Dragons and near Dragons,” I told her.

“Near Dragons?” she asked again, confused.

“A near Dragon is one who has the potential to be a Dragon but lacks sufficient knowledge of Magic to obtain their Dragon Form without the assistance of a real Dragon,” I told her before adding “like you, but you have the advantage of being a Female, and you will learn sufficient Magic to be able to take your place as a Female Dragon.” Vivian wasn’t sure what to say to that.

“However,” I added, “you must first learn the Basics of Magic before you can begin to study to become a Dragon. You will also need to learn some Gaelic, at least modern Gaelic, before you will be able to read any of the more advanced books of Magic, as they are all written in Gaelic and often in very old dialects of Gaelic,” I told her before dropping the ward on one of the bookcases and opening the doors. Reaching inside, I retrieved two books of Basic Magic written in English and a book of beginning Gaelic. I handed them to Viv before closing the doors of the bookcase and bringing the ward back up around it.

“You can start on these. They will introduce you to how Magic is done, and also start you learning Gaelic,” I told her. “They are written to teach normal or regular Magic but also apply to the Ley Line Magic that we use and to Dragon Magic,” I added. Viv had a confused look on her face.

“This seems so complicated, yet you perform Magic with what appears to be little or no thought,” she said.

“Ah, my dear, Magic is in many ways like cabinet making. I can build a piece of furniture, fancy furniture, just as easily as I do Magic. Those working for me, especially the young men just starting would marvel at how easily I could produce parts that fit together with little or no need for adjustment. This ability came from years, decades, of work making furniture. I had learned the basics as a youth, and practiced the art for over forty years. I had learned from my mistakes how to do things correctly.

“The same is true in most respects of Magic. There is a difference, however, between woodwork and Magic. In woodwork or metal work, one can remake or repair a part that isn’t correct, but in Magic, it must be done perfectly each and every time, or you will wind up with something other than what you intended. Magic can be and is very dangerous unless done perfectly every time,” I told her before going on to how I had learned Magic.

“I started doing minor Magic as a young child and slowly learned the basics of Magic by trial and error over many years. When I was able to acquire some books on real Magic, it was easy for me to apply what I already knew to the advanced knowledge in them. It will be the same for you, only you will be able to gain the knowledge much quicker than I did, as you will have access to the books and can learn the Magic as quickly as you can absorb what they contain,” I told her, as we left the area in the back of the basement where the books and other things were kept. I purposely hadn’t recast the ward that protected the area, as I intended to do some reading from a book that I had recently acquired. On moving past the area where the ward had been previously, Viv sat her books down on some boxes near there and cast the ward around the area. I looked at her in shock.

“How could you do that?” I asked in amazement.

“I’ve watched and listened to you do that a number of times. I just did what you have done,” she said in a quiet voice.

“That’s amazing. That spell usually requires many months or even years of study to cast it successfully, and you have done it with just a few days by watching me,” I told her still shocked that she could do that. “You will be very powerful with more study,” I added before we returned to the first or ground floor, so she could begin her studies and I could take care of things around the house and grounds that needed doing after my absence.

Over the next several weeks, Viv finished the series of Basic Magic books which are intended for first year Magic students in college and started on the first volume of the Advanced Dragon series of books. She appeared to have no trouble with the old dialects of Gaelic that they are written in. Her rapid advance still amazed me.

Of course, studying wasn’t all that she or we did over that time. Viv still needed a lot of sex, but as her knowledge of Magic increased, especially when she started on the Dragon books, her need seemed to diminish somewhat. I wondered if the Magic had cooled the need for sex as she put her energy into learning it. We still enjoyed each other on a regular basis.

Additionally, there were the usual household chores: cooking, cleaning, and laundry plus there was the upkeep of the property to take care of. It was a lot of work to keep it looking good. We went shopping in both Cleveland and Chattanooga. There were movies and music in the evening and of course sex at night when she was ready.

Two of my neighbors did stop by the first few days after we were back. They were surprised to see me living with a young woman. I told them that Viv was my apprentice. They took that to mean in the furniture trade, as they all knew that I had been in that business for many years, and some had even ordered pieces from me since I had retired. I wasn’t sure if they believed that she was only my apprentice.

While Vivian had been studying Magic in Tennessee, things in Chicago had not gone well. The families and friends of the missing officers had started asking questions before the first week had passed. The police department had managed to ignore their questions for a short time, and then to make excuses for a few more days, but by then the media had learned about the problem and started asking questions also. Eventually, the mayor became involved, and the story about the missing officers came out. They managed to keep the part about the burned remains quiet for a time.

Those actually doing the investigations on the case had come up with little in this time. They had checked with the various other regional police organizations and the State Police with little to no results. Their leaders were very hesitant about allowing them to contact the FBI, as they were worried about Federal Government interference. Finally, after three weeks, they allowed the two lead Detectives, Detective O’Brien from the Homicide Squad and Detective Hernandez from the Gang Task-force, to contact the Chicago office of the FBI.