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  Touched by a Dragon

  Exiled Dragons Complete Series

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  Touched by a Dragon

  Exiled Dragons Book 5

  Sarah J. Stone

  Copyright © 2017 by Sarah J. Stone. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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  Chapter 1

  “What gives him the right?!” Elder Councilman Griffin Diall shouted angrily, pounding his pruned, grey fist against the table. He was the eldest member of the Council and, despite his diminutive size in both human and dragon form, the most volatile. His outbursts were commonplace, and today’s news did not sit well at all with his naturally agitated demeanor.

  “Settle down, Griffin. This is just a result of the recent episode with that archaeologist having come too close to revealing the first dragon skeleton to be verified. It’s brought to light that there is land here up for grabs, and people like this Sterling Brant fellow are vultures,” replied Aaron Donnelly, the leader of the dragon shifter clan.

  Thomas sat quietly, listening to other members of the Council discuss the great danger they were facing. It had only recently come to light to any of them that the land, upon which their village sat, was owned by a single member of their clan. Ms. Cassi Baker, a local widow and owner of a small diner in the village center had allowed the clan to settle here on land that had been owned by her family and left to her upon her parent’s demise. The problem was that Cassi was several thousand years old. She was, in fact, the oldest member of their community.

  Apparently, due to the fact that the property showed no movement on the county tax assessor’s books, it had been overlooked as a derelict property. However, a recent claim by a local family to some nearby land that was also derelict, but had been the site of an archeology dig, had drawn some interest to the surrounding lands and how much more land might be up for grabs for only a small amount of money. That is where this Brant fellow had seen his opportunity and taken it, applying to proper authorities to verify the land’s lack of ownership so he could begin the process of purchasing it.

  “Well, what do we do about it?” Griffin asked. “It’s not like we can trot Cassi out as the owner and have her hand over a parchment gifting this property to her family five thousand years ago. How do we explain her age?”

  “We don’t, obviously. I don’t know how we handle this. I can’t believe that Aiden hadn’t already settled it somehow. We’re going to have to find someone that can be validated at a much younger age to produce that document and get a proper deed for the property,” Aaron groaned, looking very concerned with the matter.

  Thomas had no doubt that the situation could be very grave. There was always the option to fight someone taking over ownership by filing their own counterclaim, due to having resided on the property for quite some time. But, they were risking exposure of themselves as shifters even in doing that. Though Cassi was the oldest, many of the villagers had been here for a very long time, much longer than a human could have resided here. All it would take was for someone to look too closely at the inhabitants of the village.

  “We never had problems like this when Aiden was in charge,” Griffin snarled.

  “No, your problems were far worse,” Aaron replied evenly.

  It was no secret that some of the older members of the Council did not approve of Aaron’s leadership, but it was attributed more to their reluctance to let go of outdated ideals and laws than it was to any lingering loyalty to the old regime. The members of the Council that were deemed unable to continue under the new regime after Aaron had challenged Aiden for leadership had been dismissed. Those who were not dismissed had been given the option to remove themselves without reprisal.

  Griffin scowled a bit and looked down at the papers in front of him. He knew that Aaron was right and wasn’t going to argue the point to Thomas, who remained silent until Aaron addressed him directly.

  “As most of you know, my wife, Kate, recently gave birth to our son, Liam Matthew. I need to get back and check on the two of them,” he said. “Thomas, could you go and speak to Cassi Baker for me once the meeting is adjourned? We need to know exactly what kind of paperwork she has proving she owns this land, and we need to find out if she has any living relatives of an acceptable human age to which she can convey ownership.”

  “Absolutely, Aaron. I’ll talk to her and give you a call,” Thomas replied. He was used to Aaron turning to him when he needed a council member he deemed more capable of diplomacy.

  “No. Just stop by. I’d rather talk in person,” Aaron told him, meeting his gaze.

  Thomas nodded. He knew it was code for something, but not exactly what. He would not question it. If anything still being single at the age of thirty afforded him, it was loads of spare time in which work could continue without interference. Until recently, he had at least had some semblance of a social life in the form of going out with his brother, Josh. Lately, however, Josh had been tied up with his new live-in girlfriend, Barb. He was happy for his little brother, but now found that he was lonely in a way he had never really noticed before.

  As the meeting dispersed, Thomas made his way down the long corridor that led from the great hall where council meetings took place and out toward his car to make the trip into the village center. It could be walked, but then he would have to walk back to get the car before going home, so he drove the short distance instead. It was still fairly early in the day, so he wasn’t sure how far he was going to get with Cassi, while she had a diner to tend.

  “Thomas! It’s been a while since you’ve been in. How is your brother and that cute little human girl of his?” Cassi said. As usual, her smile spread quickly across her face as if she was elated to see him, just as it did with anyone else that came into her diner.

  While there were plenty people in the village that would make a big deal of shifters mixing with humans on an intimate level, Cassi was not one of them. She seemed to embrace anyone that she saw as a decent person. He’d never known her to have an enemy, other than perhaps Aiden before he had been killed in the battle with Aaron. Even at that, though, she had not made waves for the prior dragon leader, but merely tried to keep her distance from him.

  “They are doing great, Cassi. Barb is teaching down in Dublin, so they spend a good deal of time down there during the week, but are usually home for the weekend.”

  “Lovely! Can I get you a table?”

  “Well, I actually came to talk to you about another matter. Do you have a minute?”

  Cassi glanced back toward the bustling restaurant and shook her head from side to side as she turned back to him.

  “Not at the moment. Is there a problem?”

  “A bit of one, yes, but I can wait until you slow down a little in here.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “No, don’t worry. We’ll sort it out.”

  “I hope so. I tell you what, let me get back on this rush, and you sit down and have a bite to eat. I’ll send Kara over to get your order.”

  “That sounds good.”

  Cassi nodded toward a small empty table by the window, which had just been vacated and was currently being cleaned off by the busboy she employed during the rush hours around breakfast and lunch. Thou
gh the diner was small, it packed quite a crowd during the busy mornings before people headed off to work, and during lunch when the people working in the village center piled in for a bite. Dinner wasn’t usually as busy as she closed earlier than some other places, and most people got their evening meals there to go rather than sitting in to dine.

  Thomas took a seat at the table and waited for Kara to appear. He had seen her in here before. It was hard not to notice her. Her big, brown eyes were almost doe-like, framed by shoulder length, dark brown hair streaked with bold red highlights. Her pixie-like small frame seemed to almost float above the cobbled floors of the old building that housed the diner. He had never noticed a time when she was not smiling and happy. Today was no exception as she strolled over to his table and stopped, pad and pen in hand.

  “What can I get for you today?” she beamed.

  “What’s the special?” he asked, returning her smile.

  “Steak pie or chicken kiev with two sides and a crust of bread.”

  “Too early for all that for me, I’m afraid. This is more of a late lunch,” he replied, glancing at his watch. He hadn’t realized how late it was getting. They had apparently already switched off from their lunch menu to an early dinner.

  “Well, I can get you any kind of sandwich, soup, salad, a combination of any of those or a side of something, if you prefer. Though, I don’t know why you would worry about what you eat. You look to be in good shape to me.”

  Thomas looked up at her, surprised by the comment. Was she flirting with him? Granted, he probably wasn’t much older than her, maybe four or five years, but most of the women in their twenties in this village seemed to think he was some sort of old man now that he had entered his third decade on the planet. Most of it was because of his position. Though he was the youngest on the Council, he was still a member and it made him seem older, he supposed.

  “Thank you. It’s nice of you to say,” he replied, his gaze falling away from hers for a moment before boldly looking back up at her. “How about just a bowl of lamb stew and a bottle of sparkling water?”

  “Do you want wheaten bread with that?”

  “Absolutely, with butter.”

  “That’s more like it.”

  The laugh that followed was infectious. He found himself joining in without thought, leaving it to trail off as she wandered away to place his order with the kitchen. Looking around, he saw a few of the locals smiling in his direction and gathered himself into a sterner disposition, reaching for a magazine that, lay on the windowsill by his table, and flipping through it. He quickly realized that it was a women’s magazine, but it beat looking around like an idiot.

  “So, what is this season’s best polish for nails?” Kara quipped as she returned with his water.

  He looked up to see her gazing down at the magazine he had been flipping through. There was a large article on fall fashion, and he was on the page pertaining to manicures.

  “It seems to be something called Iridescent Unicorn Giggles,” he said with a straight face.

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Madam, I never kid about nail polish,” he retorted.

  The two of them stood there looking at one another. His look was quite serious, while hers was an odd mix of bemusement and incredulity. It was a standoff until he couldn’t hold back anymore and laughed. Kara shook her head and joined in with him, causing people to look their way again, including Cassi, who was walking toward him with a large bowl and side plate.

  “I see Kara is keeping you entertained,” she said warmly, as she sat down his soup and bread.

  “That she is,” Thomas responded.

  Thomas realized that it was the first time he had looked around since having pulled the magazine over to read. The place was emptying out rapidly. He found himself regretting parting company with Kara already, but it would be necessary to sit down and talk with Cassi.

  “Well, I’ll let you get to your meal. It’s getting a little lighter in here now, so by the time you are finished, we should be able to talk about whatever brought you here,” Cassi said warmly.

  “Perfect. Thanks, Cassi,” he replied.

  As she began to walk away, she noted that Kara remained, but only for a moment longer. She looked a little awkward standing there as if she didn’t know what to do with herself.

  “Do you need anything else to go with your food?” she asked.

  “No, I think I have everything. Thanks.”

  Looking up toward her, they exchanged a look. He wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but there was something about the way she bit her lip before excusing herself that stayed behind with him, a worm in his brain that made him wonder if he was just conjuring up the possibility that she might have some interest in him, or if she was being polite to a customer. He found himself watching her whenever she reappeared at other tables, always careful not to be caught while doing so. By the time he had finished his food, she had disappeared, presumably to go home.

  Chapter 2

  “Care for any dessert today?” Cassi asked.

  The diner had cleared of all but a couple patrons who were situated on the opposite side of the room. Thomas glanced over at them and saw that Kara had emerged again to take care of them. Perhaps she had been on a break earlier. He smiled, despite himself, before turning back to Cassi.

  “No. The soup was fantastic, though, and so was the bread. Do you make that fresh here?”

  “Oh, good grief, no. I can barely keep up with the meals to find time to bake more than pies! I get all the fresh bread from the Ramsey’s Bakery down the street.”

  “Well, my compliments to you and Ramsey’s Bakery! It just doesn’t get much better than this,” he replied, finishing off a tiny scrap of the rich, brown bread and pushing his plate away.

  “We do what we can. I guess if we can’t feed you any sweets, we’ll get on with what you came here to discuss. Is it okay out here, or do we need to go to the back?”

  Thomas glanced around. The one set of patrons was leaving, and the others were on the far side of the room. He could tell that she was anxious to know what it was that a member of the Dragon Council wanted with her.

  “This will be fine, I guess. It shouldn’t take long. I just need to ask you a few questions,” he said, hoping he sounded reassuring.

  “Alright,” she replied, taking a seat across from him. “What can I do for you?”

  “It has come to the Council’s attention recently that you own the entirety of the land that the village sits upon.”

  “Yes. It belonged to my family,” she said.

  Thomas noticed how her pale blue eyes squinted at him. She looked youthful, despite the shock of white hair she wore pulled up into a loose bun. Very few wrinkles were discernible on her face. It was uncommon, even for dragon shifters, to age quite so well. He could imagine that she had once been beautiful. As he sat looking across the table at her, it occurred to him that there was something familiar about her face, something beyond just having seen her there many times before.

  “Well?” she urged.

  “Oh, sorry. I got lost in a thought for a moment,” he told her, refocusing himself on the current situation. “So, there is a problem with that. We’ve received word that a local land baron has put his money in the hat to try to transfer ownership of the property to his holding company.”

  “What? How can he do that? I own this land!” she shrieked, obviously upset by the news.

  “Yes. Everyone here knows that, but to an outsider, you would have been deceased years ago, and the land hasn’t been given over to anyone.”

  His eyes met hers. He could see how afraid she was, that this was something that had never occurred to her. They had always lived a quiet life here, and no one had bothered them. There was land scattered all about Ireland that no one bothered, so why was this man after theirs? He understood her unanswered questions – questions for which he had no answers himself. There was no doubt it was about money. It was always about money.
This man saw an opportunity to seize something for a small price and make a profit in some way.

  “What do I do?” she asked, her hand reached across the table to touch his.

  Thomas sighed and looked down at the table for a moment before speaking again. This was only the beginning of a very long process, he was afraid, and he still had questions for her.

  “Do you have any living relatives that you can deed the property to? Right now, the only solution we can come up with is to bring forth an heir to the property. If we can trace someone in this village to lay claim to the property so that it can’t be seized, then we can maybe do something about this.”

  Cassi looked stricken. He saw a flicker of something pass across her face as her eyes seemed to look past him for a moment. Then, she was up on her feet, glaring at him angrily.

  “No, I don’t have any living relatives! There has to be another way!”

  “Cassi, please sit down,” he urged.

  She sat, hands folded neatly in her nap. He could see Kara standing nearby, waiting to see if her employer was okay before disappearing into the kitchen again. Cassi looked down at the table, not meeting his gaze. There was something she wasn’t saying, and he wondered if it was anything that might make a difference.

  “How much would it cost to buy my own land?” she asked, her voice almost inaudible.

  Thomas didn’t miss that her entire demeanor had changed. Cassi Baker had a secret. He wasn’t sure what it was or how it affected the situation, but he had been around people long enough to read the signs. She was hiding something, something she was willing to lose her land – the land of everyone in the clan – to keep quiet.

  “More than this entire clan has at their disposal is my guess. This land is prime real estate, Cassi. They will play hardball to get it.”

  Cassi said nothing. She continued to look down at her hands, silently weighing whatever secret she held firmly on her shoulders. Finally, she looked up at him, meeting his gaze evenly and emotionlessly.