4

It was indeed an emergency. Anything that had to do with the dragon folk was an emergency to him.

Edgar Dragenar, known to have single-handedly built his business empire from the ground up was one of the leading men in the Islands. Even though he was well known in Sunny Island only the dragon folk knew him for who he really was. He was the man who chose the Island as a haven for them, a place where they could stay without the fear of being hunted.

As the sworn protector of all dragons, it had taken a while for the Drakai to learn to trust him again but after centuries of fighting various enemies that threatened their existence, some Drakai had finally accepted that their only chance of survival was to trust him. And they weren't disappointed.

As soon as the remnant of the old world vanished Edgar set out to create a new space for his people, a place where they could coexist with mortals without fear of being killed or revealing their identities. To achieve this the first thing he did was change his name from Egan to Edgar, it was far easier than having to explain to humans that he was of a fantastical world without sounding like a nutcase. It was hard to change his last name though, dragons were not permitted to change their last names, especially ones rooted in the old world. Giving up his last name was giving up his powers, luckily as the centuries turned new and worse, unusual names like Stone, Pierce, and Grime emerged so no one really cared about his.

Then he began the creation of a dragon's haven. Having established himself as one of the powerful men on the Island he bought lands, lots of them, many of them were without buildings so that dragons could go and flex their wings before returning to their human form to join society.

As hard as Edgar worked, he had two priorities; Sarah and the Drakai.

And only he knew why Sarah was so important to him. And anything threatening her existence was a threat to him which was why on this cold night he was driving to one of the popular dragon spots in district 4, leaving his Assistant to take his place in his meeting. A few yards away and he could hear the flap of wings cutting through the thin air.

Edgar parked his car far off and walked the remaining distance.

Laughter filled the air as dragons engaged in a mock fight while some drunken Drakai sat on the ground cheering them, drinking from beer packs.

"Boss," someone said and the activities stopped. Some transformed back to their human form without clothes, others remained in their dragon. They nodded respectfully as he approached them.

"Don't let me spoil your fun, carry on." They cheered him. "But the air is thin tonight and humans are nosy, curious fellows so be careful. Any slight discovery of our kinds and you will find yourselves on dissecting tables."

"Ouch."

Edgar smiled. "Ouch is right. Where's Aaron?"

"He is in the truck."

Edgar nodded and turned right to the trailer park that had been set up for outcast Drakai whose families were lost after the great war that led to the fall of the old world. Aaron was one of such people and because dragons had strict rules where clans and families were concerned those without families were called outcasts but Edgar made life as easy and pleasant for them as possible. District 4 was their spot.

He found Aaron's truck and went round to knock on the driver's side.

"Oh shit, boss!" Aaron grunted. He had been napping with his head on the wheel. He came down from the truck and nodded to Edgar. "I'm sorry, I'm a little tired." Aaron limped towards the back of the truck which was covered with a blue tarp, he climbed the back of the truck with great effort and waited for Edgar to join him. In the middle of the metal floor, several lumps bulged the tarp.

Edgar dragged in an uneasy breath to prepare himself for what he was about to see. He could smell blood, thick sticky blood. Even though he saw many wounded Drakai and had been on many battlefields for centuries, he never got accustomed to the sight and smell of blood. "That bad?"

"Terrible." Aaron bent to pull the tarp off. Moans and groans came from the 4 bodies on the floor. Three women and a man. They were all bleeding.

Edgar moved closer and bent in front of the man. There was an ugly cut in his neck that gushed blood. As Edgar squatted to better examine his injuries the wound spurted blood on his suit. The man gurgled.

"Call the doctors. Have them treated immediately. Let me know who they are as soon as they recover."

"Yes sir."

"How did you find them?"

"A group of excavators found their cave and invaded. They were hibernating and couldn't defend themselves. They were protecting an egg and took a lot of hits defending rather than attacking."

"What about the excavators?"

"We cleared their memories of the incidence and sent them home."

"Good job." Their existence was always threatened by humans who couldn't stop poking into their lives. "Any news on the other assignment?" Edgar asked carefully. Now that the emergency was dealt with his heart thundered in his chest as he waited for Aaron's report.

"No sign of Attor Veles yet. My men and I have searched the highs and lows and still can't find them. I don't mean to be disrespectful, sir, but there's no point looking for ghosts."

"Attor Veles is alive."

"He had only a third of his powers during the war and could have easily died. We found the bodies of his family, and we gave them a befitting burial to the heavens which was very noble of you, sir, but I think it's time to accept facts. Attor Veles is dead."

A muscle ticked in Edgar's jaw. "Keep searching and don't stop until you find him."

Aaron watched his master's face for a long time. He was loyal to Edgar, he knew he was a good man yet he couldn't imagine why Edgar did something that caused him so much guilt. After a while, he nodded. "Yes sir."

*

Somewhere across town in the foggy towns edging the waters, a garage door slid open and a black Rover rode in. A switch was flipped on and the garage was filled with the flickering light from a single bulb. A tall, lean muscled early twenties man came out of the Rover and glanced at the person starting by the garage door with his hand still on the switch.

"You are late."

"Yes because I couldn't leave fast enough." He was known simply as The Ace. A member of a gang of outcast dragons who were not under the protection of Edgar Dragenar. In fact, Edgar didn't know they existed and that was because their leader wanted it that way.

He was Attor Veles. The one who was thought to be dead after the great war.

Luckily he was alive, his family had used the last of their powers to protect him from the destruction of the battle between gods and men. He was their tool for revenge and as the centuries turned over and he awakened to the modern world as an outcast he began building his own army in preparation for the final act of revenge that would bring Edgar Dragenar from his undeserved heights.

There were many such groups of outcasts with the sole aim of destroying the world Edgar Dragenar built. Since the fall of the old world, the battle for supremacy among the surviving Drakai increased.

Ace followed the other man into the house where a group of 6 exiled Drakai sat in the living room drinking beers and cheering to a game going on the TV.

"What's good, Ace?" one of them asked looking away from the tv for a second.

Ace nodded at him. "Where is the boss?"

The other guy jerked his head toward the second floor. Ace took the stairs in 2's. Inside one of the rooms, he could hear stifled moans. Dragons were a horny lot and once in human form their sex drive was increasingly heightened. At the end of the corridor was a door that was slightly what with light spilling into the corridor from beneath it. Ace pushed the door open and entered. It was a sort of library but without shelves stacked with books. The books were placed on the floor or in boxes on the floor or the tables.

"You are late." Attor Veles stood by the window holding a leather-bound book with a barely visible title. It contained ancient texts, one he pored over day and night. Time was of the essence, his plans would not progress until he was restored to his full glory.

"Sorry, dad," Ace dropped on the couch and pulled the bottle of beer on the table closer. "I couldn't get out quick enough. How long do I have to keep this up again?"

"Until you find Edgar's true heir and bring him to me. What about the other children?"

"I have checked every single one of them, they were all adopted. He did a good job hiding her in plain sight."

"Her?"

"Yes, it's a female. Edgar's true heir is a female and I think I know where to find her. I would need to get close enough without drawing his attention to me."

Attor watched his son warily. "Then you will have to be extra careful. Edgar was a renowned warrior before the old world was destroyed, he was a nobody even while he defended my family, now as the protector he has an army of allies ready to destroy anything that threatens him."

"You worry too much old man," Ace chuckled as he got to his feet taking the beer with him. "Have I ever failed any assignments?"

Attor grunted. Ace was right he could trust him to carry out the assignment yet there was a nagging feeling in his chest that he didn't dare voice out. Instead, he nodded and tilted his head towards the door.

"Well then, get on with it. Send Lance in on your way out."

Ace stopped before the door and turned back, his eyes narrowed with pure suspicion and malice. "I don't need Lance to watch my back," he growled.

"He's not watching your back and mind your tone, boy."

Ace's nostrils flared but he said nothing and did as he was told.

The enmity between the two was legendary. They clashed on assignments but most importantly they struggled for Attor's affection. Lance was Attor's trusted man to do the dirty jobs and he was effective.

In the library, another person who has been in there without Ace's knowledge walked out of the shadows into the light. He looked towards the door before speaking.

"Do you not trust him?"

"Of course I do, what sort of a stupid question is that? He is my son."

"Yet you trust a stranger over him. Have you learned nothing from trusting strangers?"

Attor bristled under the reminder. "You are walking on thin ice, Ryder Dragenar, you are not indispensable to me. I can get your brother without your help."

"But you need me," Ryder reminded him. "Because yet without me you would never get what you really need." He grinned.

Attor forced himself to calm down. Ryder was right. What he needed was a way to get his powers back and for that reason, he was reading the ancient texts. Yet... He was lucky to have found Edgar's brother who everyone thought was dead. Turns out even the dead can be brought back to life for the right reasons.

There was a knock on the door. Ryder moved back into the shadows.

"Come in."

Lance walked in. A tall, attractive, muscular kid about the same age as Ace, he was the strongest of Attor's group, he knew just what to say and just how much pressure to apply to get whatever Attor wanted.

"I want you to shadow Ace."

Lance's mouth twisted into a cynic smile. "You don't trust him?"

"You don't ask the questions here, kid. Shadow him and don't let him know."