Chapter Two

Daphne wiped the hair away from her face and looked down at the bones she’d uncovered in the earth. They reminded her of dinosaur bones, except the wings. She’d never seen bone spread out in a wingspan like that. She had something more than fossils here, she had something new. Peculiar, she thought and looked to the tree line when she heard a noise. Maybe she was going crazy, but after the last few weeks of being accosted and burglarized, Daphne understood that someone wanted her find.

They either wanted to scare her away or worse, but she wasn’t going out like that. She was never one to back away from a fight, she’d worked her ass off for everything her entire life. But just in case it was too much to handle, she had a few old school traps set, and her car was close by. The Smithsonian would be there Monday morning to take the bones, and she would be heading there to conduct the testing needed to prove what she suspected. Dragon bones. Daphne could feel it to her core—she had the first set of dragon bones ever found in the world.

She took pictures and had the bones’ measurements written and practically memorized from the time she unearthed the first femur bone. This would be no small task for them to get the bones completely unearthed with no damage. This was why she had called in the big guns, and man, were they excited. The director already offered her a job at the institute because it would take years to go through her data and research her find. Daphne accepted quickly. Her bones were propelling her to become one of the top archeologists in the United States. Her papers and findings that spanned her career would be surpassed by this find.

There it was again!She heard the sound coming from the trees, and the darkness held only shadows. The wind blew, and it caressed her face with the sweet smell of the mountains and something more. She wrinkled her nose at the scent of old water or moss, damp and earth. It was different, and she lifted the LED lantern higher and aimed it toward the trees.

“Who’s there?” Daphne called out sharply. “Trust me, I can protect myself and my find. I have proof of this dig, samples and my paperwork safely hidden away from here!”

“Well that’s good, just tell them everything,” an amused voice said from behind her.

She screeched and turned to see two men walk out of the shadows and into the light of her campsite. They were huge—at least, six feet seven with broad shoulders. The two were identical twins, with red hair that hung down to their shoulders. As a breeze caught the waves of their hair, Daphne noticed that each man wore a single braid—one on the left and the other on the right. At the end, some kind of jeweled bead caught the light. They both wore dark pants, like buckskin, and shirts that weren’t the norm in California.

“Who are you, where did you come from?” Daphne picked up the claw hammer that lay close to her feet. “I’m armed, and people know where I am.”

“Well then, don’t use it on us, use it on them,” the twin on the left said and inclined his head toward the tree line.

The things slithered out of the darkness made her screech in fear. It couldn’t be possible, but the serpentine things had black scales that seem to suck the light in and never let it go. They weren’t as big as the men behind her but were big enough to break the smaller trees and flatten the underbrush. Daphne heard the sound of metal being unsheathed and swung her head around back to the twins, both had drawn long swords.

“What the fuck am I in the middle of?” she yelled, and her instincts answered her own question. They were after the bones.

“I suggest you get in your automobile and go as far away from here as possible,” the twin on the right said.

“There is no way I’m leaving my find,” Daphne answered stubbornly. At least thirty of the serpent creatures were trying to surround them now. “These are my bones, and no one is taking them from me.”

“No, they are not.” Twin one gave her a hard look and the green of his eyes glittered like emeralds. “These bones house the soul of a warrior and belong to no one.”

“Great, one of the bleeding heart types,” she muttered. Still, she wasn’t leaving her dig site... Oh shit!

A roar reverberated around her, and the tops of the trees bent. A dragon, an actual raise-your-hand-to-god dragon, came up behind the serpent things. This dragon was dark blue, and compared to the serpents it was magnificent. From the dimensions she could tell it was like the bones she found. The battle ensued, and she soon learned that she was small and insignificant to these beings. The twins fought alongside the large dragon against the serpents who seemed to have one sole purpose, to capture her. One slipped past the twin’s defenses and got Daphne in their eyesight. As it slinked closer, she raised the claw hammer over her head, ready to defend herself. She only saw the glint of a blade and the thing’s head fell off its body. One of the redheads kicked its body to the ground and stared at her for a moment.

“You’d better run. They won’t stop coming, and to be female and captured by them is a fate worse than death,” he said. One of the serpents attacked him, and without taking his eyes of her, he caught it by the throat and squeezed.

“B-but my bones,” Daphne stammered.

“They are not your bones.” He strode toward her and caught her by the shoulders, lifting her off her feet and bringing her to his eye level. He snarled, “These creatures will rape you, defile you, make you bear their young that will rip you apart. Take yourself to your vehicle and leave this place if you value your life.”

His words were like hot iron through her heart because her dream find was in jeopardy. When he put her on her feet, Daphne scrambled away. She took his words to heart as she ran for her car. The danger was real, and she felt it was not only from the serpent, but the dragons as well. Either way, the bones didn’t mean her life. She didn’t know what she would find when she came back but she wasn’t waiting to see what may happen if she stayed. After dropping her keys twice, she was able to get into her jeep and drive away. She hauled ass down the mountain and on the way called the authorities to get help.

Daphne told them she was attacked at her dig site. What else could she say? Hey, dragons and serpents in the mountains accosted me, and I left them in the midst of a battle. That was a one-way street directly to the Looney bin. By the time she got the sheriff’s deputies to listen to her and got authorities back to her dig site, everything was gone and her bones were taken from the ground. The only thing left was charred earth and trees. Not even her tent was left standing. Daphne saw her whole life being flushed, crushed into ruin, and it was because of an incident that she couldn’t prove.

* * * *

I look like a fraud, fuck my life,Daphne thought sadly as she walked slowly across the beach. She bit into the ice cream instead of licking it. Her college friends had always wondered how she bit into the yummy treat without her teeth hurting, but that’s how she always ate her ice cream. College seemed so far away, especially after the entire archeology community now saw her as a laughingstock. When the authorities had finally arrived, the only sign that remained was charred earth, and her bones were gone.

It was a downhill slide from there. They said her pictures were faked, and the samples were fraudulent because when the bones were gone the samples disappeared from the lab. Surprise, surprise. The Smithsonian was pissed and didn’t like being made a fool of, and she was on probation from the college. It was only a matter of time before she was fired. Everyone wanted to distance themselves from her, and her department head at Cal Tech wanted her to have a mental evaluation. It seemed her story about big guys and serpents put her sanity in question. Her life changed with the drop of a dime, or in her case finding dragon bones. She never wanted to see another bone again.

“And I’m an archeologist, go figure,” she mumbled before biting into the double scoop of rocky road on a large waffle cone. “I could always move back home with my parents.”

Her own words made Daphne laugh. She had been taking care of herself from the time she was sixteen. Honestly, she had no clue where her parents were in the world right now. They gave her a love and passion for archeology and old civilizations but in their quests to find the world’s hidden secrets. They’d forgotten they had a daughter. The news of her public shame in their field might bring them out of the woodwork, or they’d probably hide further and pretend they didn’t know her. She wouldn’t put it past them. In a way, it was like she’d stopped being their daughter long ago.

She’d spent the last week wondering about the twins. Daphne placed their height and strong features as possibly Nordic. But Christ, they had swords and fought like warriors. They moved simultaneously, as if one movement, and it fascinated her. Did they share thoughts since their actions mirrored each other? She would love to study them. But Daphne doubted she would see them again, not that she wanted to. They had cost her career, and she may need to leave California to find another job. Maybe she had eaten some bad mushrooms and hallucinated. She mused the idea as one she could spin to save face and continue in a profession she loved.

The wind gusted, and she swore she heard the flap of wings, but there was nothing that big that would cause such a breeze. Daphne looked out across the dark water expecting another big gust to come across the ocean, but there was nothing. In the dim light she caught a large shadow that moved down the beach. She raised her head slowly, and the cone she was enjoying dropped from her fingers into the sand. Two large things were high in the sky, circling above her. Dragons. The thought filtered through her brain, and she began to run. Her feet sank into the sand as she thought wildly to head back to the carnival set up on Venice beach. Daphne made a U-turn and moved toward the lights in the distance as quick as her feet could move in the sand. She didn’t realize how far she had walked, and it occurred to Daphne that anyone had the chance accost her on the beach. She put herself in serious danger.

It landed in front of her—a dragon, red, beautiful, and huge. Its talon feet were sunk into the sand as she stared with her mouth agape. Its breastplate was black, and the scales seemed to shimmer even in the dim light. Beautiful or not, it was a predator, and Daphne had a deep sense of self-preservation so she turned to run. Another dragon blocked her path. The exact same coloring, and this one carried a pack type thing on its back. They were someone’s pets? Sent to kill her for what she knew? Holy shit, what have I gotten myself into?

“Okay, okay.” She held up her hands and tried to back away, scanning for an escape route. They were big, she was small, would it be possible to evade them? “You can tell your master I won’t say a word. People won’t believe me, anyway. Your secrets are safe, there is no reason to eat me, flame broil me, or whatever you do.” She laughed nervously, wondering if she was going out of her mind. “I’m trying to talk logically to dragons, something I thought existed then didn’t exist, and now they’re going to eat me.”

Something else happened. They began to shimmer, and the light got brighter until she shaded her eyes trying to see. The shapes of the dragons diminished slowly, and as she squinted at the light Daphne saw the shape of a man. It was so amazing that she forgot to be afraid as she looked from one dragon to the other. The light was gone and the only thing left was two magnificent specimens of the male figure. It was the twins, and as her eyes roamed from their head to their feet, Daphne assessed while biting her lower lip, they were not ordinary men in more ways than one. Damnnnnn.

“We have no masters,” One drawled. “We answer to our king, no one else.”

“Pass me my clothes, brother,” the other one said. “We were told to dress quickly on the earth realm because humans don’t like nudity in public.”

“Such a pity,” the first one added.

Daphne waved her hands. “Okay, hold up, earth realm, king, nudity... well, that’s for later. But who the... what the hell are you?” Why aren’t I running? They’re occupied, I should be running like a track star at the Olympics.

“I am Iarl,” the first one answered as he shoved his feet into his pants. “This is my brother, Skard.”

“I’d say nice to meet you, but what the hell are you?” Daphne demanded.

“Dragons,” they answered simultaneously.

“Apparently dragons don’t exist,” she snapped. “My bones are gone, the earth is charred, and I’m the laughingstock of my field. Oh, and I was almost arrested for starting a fucking forest fire in California. Do you know how dangerous that is?”

The two finished dressing and watched her curiously as she ranted on for a moment before the twin called Iarl held up his hand.

“We stopped the fire. We were quite safe,” Iarl said.

“The fact that they were not your bones to begin with seems to still evade your understanding,” Skard added. “They were the bones of one of our ancestors who lost his way here on the earth realm. We took him back to his home so his soul could travel to Valhalla to be with his people in the great halls of the glorious dead.”

Daphne shook her head. “The great halls... this is... I’m going crazy. I must be.”

“Dr. Daphne Jordan, you are in danger,” Skard said. “While we may have the bones, the Shen still think you can be of use to them, either as a breeder or for information to their king. We are here to protect you.”

“The Shen, those serpent things in the mountains?” Daphne asked.

“Yes,” Iarl said. “They are trying to wage war to rule your world and ours. My brother and I and the warrior court of Paladin have been tasked to stop them at any cost. We are the protectors of the earth realm and of our own home.”

“You say earth realm, so you don’t live on this planet.” She felt faint. “So aliens are actually dragons, not little green men?”

The brothers looked at each other, then to her, before Iarl asked, “What are little green men or aliens?”

“Holy Fritos, I must have fallen and bumped my head,” she murmured and started to step away slowly. “So, ummm, thanks for the heads up. I’ll be careful to watch out for serpents. I need to get a gallon of ice cream and go home. See ya.” She turned to walk away, and they fell into step beside her. Daphne stopped. “So me saying bye means you stay here, and I go home.”

“Where you go, we follow.” Skard gave her a dark look. “Don’t be a silly human female, that’s how many of you die bearing the young of the Shen. There is no way you can stop them on your own, no way you and your fragile body can defend against them. Like it or not, we are your protectors.”

“Skard, remember what Daisye and Raven said, we must be gentle with the humans and how we speak to them,” Iarl said.

Skard sighed in frustration. “Dr. Daphne Jordan, can we please protect you from stupidly dying in the filth and slime of a Shen hovel.”

“Dude, adding please did not make that any better,” she pointed out.

Skard shrugged. “I tried.”

“Dr. Daphne Jordan.” Iarl held out his hands diplomatically. “There is much to be said and for you to understand. You are a scholar, and I promise we will answer as much as we can while protecting you. The Shen has your scent in their noses. From the time they tried to invade your home, you were their prey. They will not stop until they have you.”

“You know about the burglaries at my house?” She swallowed and saw how serious they were.

They both nodded and Iarl spoke. “We do and so much more. We need to get the evidence you have collected and take you someplace safe. They’ve tracked you to where you live. These beasts were waiting for you to lead them to the bones. Now those are lost, the next best thing is you.”

“You already said you are being laughed at by your peers so what do you have to lose?” Skard added.

“Gee thanks for pointing that out, asshole,” Daphne snapped and stomped away in the sand. “That was really a dick move.”

“My brother is sometimes not the most subtle when he speaks,” Iarl called to her and they caught up to her quickly.

Must be those long powerful legs,Daphne thought as they fell into step beside her once more.

Iarl moved to stand in front of her, stopping her momentum. “What he means to say is come with us, and you will learn more than you ever thought possible, more than you thought existed.”

They had found the secret weapon. She yearned for knowledge and after finding those bone and now seeing them she wanted to immerse herself everything—their world, beliefs, every aspect of their lives.

“Fine. You can come with me for now, but...” Daphne put her hand out. “You’ll answer my questions and you’ll help me regain my standing in the community when this is over.”

Iarl shook her hand. “That seems like a reasonable request.”

She looked at Skard. “You won’t let me reveal dragons exist, will you?”

“Not at all,” he answered. “But like my brother said, you will never be the same after this.”

She sighed. “At least this one will tell me the truth regardless of the situation. I don’t think he has a filter.”

“Neither of us do, but I have refined mine a bit better.” Iarl smiled and revealed perfect, even teeth.

“Do you have food or have a good place to get food? Can you cook?” Skard asked. “The wives of our brothers are fabulous cooks.”

“Well sucks to be you then, because I eat ice cream and take out,” Daphne answered as they walked. “We can grab something on the way to my house.”

“Very well, but we can’t stay there or take your car,” Skard said. “They’ll be able to track you. Iarl will stay with you while I procure us our vehicle. And we both can prepare meals, so we won’t starve. You on the other hand...”

“Whatever you say, big guy. You are such a tool,” Daphne answered.

“I am no hammer or saw to build with...” Skard said, outraged.

“Oh for the love of god, it’s an insult... kinda, whatever.” A dull headache formed in her skull. “If we’re going, let’s go.”

“Thank you for trusting us, Dr. Daphne Jordan.” Iarl bowed.

“I didn’t say I trust you, and will you please just call me Daphne,” she said in exasperation.

She was willing to go along with them for a few reasons. One, the identical pair transformed from dragon to human before her eyes, and she needed to understand that. Two, if they had wanted to kill her or do anything to her they could’ve twenty times over by now. And three, nothing sounded worse than how they described the Shen. Daphne would let them protect her for now, and she knew they would never let her reveal their dragon nature to the public. But maybe if she could get an artifact or a DNA sample, or even video to prove she wasn’t a fraud. This whole thing may work out for the better.