Chapter Eight: Tiran

Tiran didn’t plan on this happening. He wanted to show Chloe something sacred to him – the memories of a happier time when much of what she had experienced concerned his sorrow. Then he got the bright idea to make the stew, and then she wanted to stay, and then… that happened.

He shivered in delight, feeling a lot more positive and happier about things than before. Almost as if a fog in his mind had cleared, and the world somehow looked brighter, holding more colors than he remembered. He stared at the sleeping form of Chloe, taking quiet breaths, his eyes tracing over her messy blond hair, her relaxed features, and the way she curled lay on her hands. He smiled, allowing the warmth of the memories from last night to bathe his mind before trying to slither out of bed without disturbing the covers too much or waking her up.

It ended up being a sort of awkward snake crawl to the ground, and he left the room, pushing the door open just enough so that it wouldn’t do that accursed squeak, and prepared for a light breakfast and coffee. He wanted to do a little jaunty whistle as well, except he couldn’t whistle to save his life, so it always came out as a sort of distorted high-pitched wind noise.

He ground the fancy coffee beans and created what he hoped would be an enticing aroma that would invade Chloe’s olfactory senses and lead her to the kitchen like a magic spell. He still kept stumbling on too many memories of his parents here, but they didn’t hurt as much as he thought they would. This wasn’t something he could fully get over, but at least it no longer conjured the impulse reaction of pain. Now, he had the time to think things through and focus better on the happy memories, not just the bad ones.

As predicted, the coffee aroma did indeed act as a perfect lure, and Chloe slunk into the kitchen area, yawning, and blinking sleepy, moist eyes. “Hello.”

“Hi.” With a flourish, he handed her coffee. “There’s no sugar in it; feel free to add what you like.”

She added nothing and sipped it just as it was, smiling and leaning her head against his shoulder until she jerked more alert. “Oh!” One hand went up to her neck, feeling for something. The pendant? She wasn’t wearing it. “Oh…” She disappeared, and there were the distinct sounds of things being moved aside. “It’s gone,” she said from her originally assigned bedroom.

“The pendant?”

“Crap. The dream was real.” She walked back into the living room, rubbing her eyes. “That bitch really did take it…”

“What bitch? What are you talking about?” Some puzzlement followed as she encouraged him to sit down to deliver the next piece of news.

“So, uh, I think I had one of those vision dream things last night. The… Old Spirit was in it. The dragon you left some offerings to.”

“The Old Spirit?” Tiran sat up, more alert. “What did it look like?”

“All shiny and ghost-like, I guess. Anyway, they were there, and so was the dryad, and the spirit wanted to steal my pendant, and they did, and they said that your parents’ will is actually in the cabin, and you now have some anti-glamour spell on you, so these Unseelie fairy people don’t make you want to jump off a balcony again…”

“Whoa, whoa, what?” He got her to repeat it all a little slower, and a strange, wild tale emerged. One that he wouldn’t believe normally, except it was her, and he felt an inherent trust in her presence and her friendship. “Okay.” A curiosity grew. “If my parents’ will is actually here… but where would they hide it? There are not really many hiding places.”

“Let’s look. If we find it, then we’ll have concrete proof.”

“I believe you,” he said, but they both got up to scour the cabin all the same. He checked all the usual places, now more carefully, in case he missed some lock box or manila envelope that might contain the sought-after documents. He checked everywhere possible but couldn’t find anything. This wasn’t really a place for them to store precious and expensive possessions since there was always the risk that someone might attempt to break into the cabin in spite of its isolated location.

“What about weird, hidden compartments? Like a sliding bookcase, a safe behind a picture, loose floorboard that could actually contain something.” Chloe was crawling across the floor, testing the pressure of every floorboard.

“I really don’t remember anything,” he said, now double-checking places. Plus, his parents never mentioned anything about needing to hide stuff. And the last conversations he remembered with his parents – they didn’t hint at anything. All they had was the cabin trip and then that fancy gathering where his loathsome uncle resided. If his father had hinted at anything, he’d completely missed the point.

Drat. He really should’ve been paying attention. But how was he to know that the last meeting truly would be the last?

It sent a cold chill through his soul, digging deep into his organs as if he were standing in the middle of a blizzard until Chloe let out a triumphant yell.

“Hey! There’s a loose floorboard here!”

“There’s a what now?” He darted to what used to be his parents’ bedroom just in time to see Chloe’s feet sticking out from under the bed. “I had to shove aside a box of clothes, but…”

Her feet wriggled slightly as she worked on whatever floorboard she referred to. Now that Tiran thought about it, he did see faint scrape marks on the wood, where the bed had been adjusted before. That didn’t necessarily mean anything on its own.

“Ah-ha!” Chloe finally crawled out, taking with her a thin, metal container. A small, metal briefcase, by the looks of it. “We have something here!”

“Holy crap,” he whispered, astonished. There was something hidden here. In a place he’d never thought to check. She handed the briefcase to him. It didn’t seem like one that needed a code or key to unlock. It was unlatched with two clicks, revealing the contents within. Wrapped bundles of twenty-dollar and fifty-dollar bills, some photos of his parents’ wedding, of him as a chubby, not exactly pretty baby, and a brown envelope, almost the size of the dimensions of the briefcase itself. Shaking, he pulled out the envelope, opened it, and read.

Both parents’ wills were in this suddenly valuable briefcase. Both were updated three months ago. “They must have… hidden this here during our last trip to the cabin.” He stared at the documents, stunned. “These list the law firm they used. It’s out of the area, not associated with or known by any of our circle. They took no chances. This makes me think… they must have suspected something was wrong. If they suspected, though… why didn’t they do anything about it?”

“I couldn’t tell you that,” Chloe said, sitting on the bed, gazing at him sympathetically. “But whatever they were thinking – here we are. As the Old Spirit said.”

Tiran placed the wills back in the envelope, still shaking. “I never thought… I never suspected. Chloe, that’s four times you’ve saved my life now.”

“Four?” Her eyebrow twitched. “I only know of one incident.”

“This will is two. I now have something I can counter my uncle with. He won’t be getting his grubby hands on the estate and divvying it up among his followers. Third, you told me about the anti-glamour the Old Spirit placed on me. Not that I want to test it or anything, but I think if you saw the wills in your dream, then I can believe that is true as well. Last, well… you’ve given me hope, love, and joy again.”

With these words, he wrapped her up in his arms, hugging her tightly, unwilling to let go. She sank into his embrace, and they remained in that state for a while, sharing that heartfelt fullness, letting the meaning of the words sink in. More could be said in actions and physical contact than the clumsy dance of his words.

Chloe coming into his life was truly a blessing. One he felt from the start, though it took a little time to fully materialize into this form.

They weren’t completely out of the woods yet, however. Chloe did mention his uncle Max Umber didn’t have a hand in the glamour, except for unknowingly passing along the glamoured words of the “sheriff” whom he spoke with. He could probably trust his uncle, but he didn’t want to risk bringing this updated will to his attention just in case eyes were watching him from the shadows.

“I’m going to go straight to the lawyers with these new wills and get the process started,” he said. “They’re open on the weekends, though they close early. May as well go as soon as possible. You can come with me or stay here. I don’t want to go back to the academy until I have this will thing taken care of.”

Chloe nodded. “I’ll wait here. Unless you need me to help carry it?”

“I’ll be fine.” He smiled, kissing her, before stepping outside with the briefcase and transforming into his silvery dragon form. His front claws clasped the briefcase, hooking under the handle, and he took an awkward skip into the air, holding the case between his front limbs, wind rushing past, heading straight for the city where the Gravesend and Wilbur firm was located. The flight itself took less than an hour, and the receptionist, leaning outside smoking a cigarette, didn’t seem particularly surprised to see a silver dragon land in front of the building.

“About time,” she said, flicking away her cigarette and watching him transform into his human form. “Let’s get you in to see the lawyers.”

* * *

It took a couple of hours for everything to be arranged – it seemed the money in the briefcase was indeed there to pay the attorneys.

The flight back to the mountain, for some reason, felt longer and more labor-intensive than the journey to the city, and a part of him worried that something might have happened to Chloe out there alone. It shouldn’t – the area was safe, but it didn’t stop him from worrying.

His worries appeared unfounded, though. When he got back, she was there, smiling, with the stew heated up again, ready to be polished off. They devoured the rest of the stew and spent a disproportionate amount of time cuddling and kissing before the journey back to Dreadmor Academy began while it was still light.

Dreadmor Academy welcomed them from afar. It stood out as a bastion of elegance in the messy wildlands that surrounded it. Tiran headed for the balcony off the main building, expertly shifting his wings for a smooth landing. His claws clattered on the stone, and he bent down so Chloe could tumble off gracefully before morphing once more into his smaller human form.

“One more thing to do,” he murmured. All the information played in his head: Arlo and Holly’s magic revealing that his parents’ deaths were not an accident; finding out that his suicidal impulse had not been natural; Chloe saving him; Chloe experiencing a vision that led him to the lost wills; the Old Spirit reacting after receiving the offerings, when it so rarely did.

He marched straight up to his uncle’s office and knocked on the door. As the office was joined to a small suite where the professor lived, there was a good chance he’d be inside.

Indeed, Max Umber answered after a moment, blinking rapidly when he saw his nephew and Chloe standing outside. “Hello. Nice to see you. I have someone in my office, but I said they could wait a second. What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to say something,” Tiran began, then saw beyond, where an individual swiveled absently in the visitor”s chair. She seemed normal, but somehow, normal didn’t quite fit her, though he couldn’t explain why. “Who is that?”

“She is, uh, a friend of mine.” Max flushed slightly when he said that. “We’ve been seeing each other for a bit.”

“That’s cool,” Tiran said, though he wasn’t sure he liked the look of the woman. She glared at Tiran with hard, flinty green eyes. Her features were sharp on her long, thin face. Was his uncle dating her? “I just wanted to let you know that we were able to locate an updated version of my parents’ wills.”

“Oh!” Max’s expression turned to delight. “That’s amazing!”

Chloe now stared at the woman, also suspicious, but saying nothing. Neither of them really knew how to voice what they were feeling without irritating Max in the process.

“Ah,” the woman said then, and her voice carried a melodious, ringing quality to it. “That’s good to hear. Max has mentioned his worries about you, especially after everything that’s happened…”

Chloe twitched, and Tiran attempted a smile. The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. All these cold facial expressions went completely unnoticed by Professor Umber, and he simply smiled.

“I’m happy to talk more about it later, nephew. I’ll just finish the meeting with Anya here, and then we can talk.

“I’d love to,” Tiran said and waved, even as Chloe began tugging at his sleeve, pulling him away from his uncle and the staring woman.

They walked at a furious pace down the hallway, well out of earshot, before Chloe said, “Did you feel what she did?”

“Feel what?”

“She tried to… do something like there was magic in her voice. A glamour?”

“She did?” He stared at Chloe, unsure.

“Yes! I – I felt it. But it didn’t take. Her words didn’t have any effect.”

“The Old Spirit… you said it had placed an anti-glamour spell on me.”

“Yes. But then that begs the question – who is this Anya, and why is she seeing your uncle?”

“He seemed to really like her, too.”

“Could she be…” Chloe suddenly stopped talking and turned. He also turned, and Anya left the professor’s office and walked in their direction. “And, uh, really, it’s been an amazing date,” she said, completely changing the subject. “I’d really love for you to take me somewhere like that again.”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Though I think you should choose the place next time,” he said before getting caught up in a strong embrace.

Anya walked by them and smiled at the two of them. “Ah, young love. Always wonderful to see.” Her green eyes still had that look of suspicion, but it didn’t seem as intense as before.

“Thanks,” Chloe said, nuzzling Tiran. “It’s all new to me, really. Are you – and the professor… Are you dating? He seems to like you.”

“We’re… just taking it casually,” Anya said, “and see what develops. He’s a darling.” She then paused. “You have a strong magic around you. I’m pretty good at sensing magic. The fae have blessed you?” Her green eyes seemed almost luminous as they examined Chloe.

“Yes. The dryad in the woods blessed me.”

Anya nodded. “Yes. Something else, too, I think.” She smiled, and it seemed a little too wide for her face. “Well, perhaps we’ll see more of each other.”

“Perhaps,” Tiran said. “Be nice to my uncle. He’d been alone a long time.”

The woman smiled and walked away while Chloe retreated with Tiran to her quarters, not wanting to talk anymore in the corridor.

“Something’s up with her,” Chloe said. “I could feel the magic pushing into me from her words, but they did not find purchase. She’s super creepy…”

“I’m worried about my uncle. Who is she? Is she glamourizing him?”

“We don’t know at this point. The Old Spirit did say he was an unwitting accomplice. Perhaps this is what it meant?”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, thinking. f

“We can’t make any obvious moves,” Tiran said. “We can’t let her know we’re on to her. We’ll have to act like we know nothing.”

“That shouldn’t be hard, given that we have no idea what these Unseelie people are doing.”

“Could she be... the assassin…?”

Chloe pondered Tiran’s words. “I don’t think so. There may be more than one agent, however. Also, we could be completely wrong, and she’s okay after all.”

“She was a little weird.”

“Yeah.”

Chloe leaned into him, ruffling his hair, and said, “This is getting a little more complex, isn’t it?”

Tiran nodded, wondering what to do next. He had the wills, safe and sound. There now was no way for it to be interfered with or destroyed. Uncle Randall’s influence would dwindle. But he still didn’t fully understand this Unseelie thing, the extent of their involvement with Randall, and whether or not Anya was also a member of Randall’s court. He didn’t get a strong fae presence from Anya, but some Unseelie were good at concealing themselves. They were changelings who could blend into normal society without anyone suspecting them.

They’d have to watch Professor Umber carefully to determine whether or not Anya was innocent or in cahoots with the bad guys.

“Things might get a little messy here,” he murmured to Chloe. “Are you sure you want to get involved?”

“Well… it’s going to make school a lot spicier,” she said, smirking. He laughed.

“I don’t know; things are already pretty spicy enough. You’ve done a lot. You’ve even traded away your pendant.”

“It’s probably for the best,” she said. “Though the Old Spirit was very rude about it.”

“Maybe we can get the dryad to make you another?”

“Mmm…” Chloe shook her head. “I think I’ll try and avoid the pure fae as much as I can. They’re a strange lot.”

He kissed her forehead, then her nose and lips, relieved and happy she was there. “Hopefully, you won’t mind dealing with me more often.”

“I look forward to that,” she said, grinning into his lips. “I very much look forward to dealing with you as often as possible.”

His heart fluttered at her words. It was not quite a confession of love, but it did sound like the foundation for it. A foundation they’d build on, brick by brick, until hopefully, one day, something beautiful would flourish between them. Even more beautiful than the way things were now.

But they did need to survive university first and a potential Unseelie plot that neither of them fully understood.

At least they wouldn’t be in it alone. At least they would have each other. He couldn’t ask for more, except, well… maybe another thousand kisses.