 
Dragon's Fire

# New Breed

### Danielle Kazemi

Copyright 2011 Danielle Kazemi

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Dragon's Fire

# New Breed

### Danielle Kazemi
Table of Contents:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 1

"What kind of loser calls his girlfriend an hour before they go out – just to break up?" Annabel Wells asked over her cell phone. She couldn't believe her boyfriend was doing this. They dated for eight months. The least he could've done was show up in person to deliver the news.

She paced her room, dressed for the evening they planned since the beginning of the week. Her high heels clacked against the ground with every step she took. This was excellent – exactly what she needed.

"Yeah, well, why don't you do the whole world a favor and die?" Annabel yelled into the phone, clicking the call end button vehemently. She threw the phone on her bed, disgusted from the conversation. She made a face at it and turned away.

She walked to her mirror and examined her face. Even though it felt good having him out her life, it still hurt being dumped. Especially by someone like him. She splashed cool water on her face in an attempt to get the red out her eyes. It didn't work. The best option she had was to put on makeup and act cheerful. She gave a fake, halfhearted smile to herself which dropped off abruptly. She didn't want this. She wanted to cover herself in her blankets and sleep until she couldn't remember what Greg looked like.

She walked into the living room but remained standing in an attempt to make sense of everything before letting herself get comfortable. June, her roommate, sat on the couch and stared at the television. Annabel knew June heard the entire conversation. June never watched reality shows and the one playing on television wasn't an exception. "So that was fun," Annabel said, opening the conversation. She plopped herself on the couch next to her friend.

"It sounded pretty rough," June stated, looking at Annabel. She had a pity smile on her face.

"You'd think after eight months he'd at least have the decency to break up with me face to face. I heard music in the background. I wouldn't put it past him to have his friends listening in or his entire building in on it." The more she thought about him, the angrier she became. At this point, she wanted to slam his head into something. She never would, she was too nice, but the thought did cross her mind.

"I never knew what you saw in him. He didn't seem like your type."

Annabel rolled her eyes. June was right. In the last two months, Annabel thought about dumping Greg multiple times but never got around to doing it. She was the one dumped instead. Her ego was bruised. "I need a drink," she said, standing and heading into the kitchen.

"I don't think there's anything in there."

"Ugh," Annabel said in frustration. Attempting to be an adult was hard when she needed to constantly remind herself to pick up food if she wanted to eat. She grabbed a glass instead and turned on the faucet for water. She wanted something, anything. If it had to be the cheap city water, so be it. Swigging it, she slammed the glass down forcefully and hung her head.

"You want to go out right now? We can get to the club early and you can start getting good and drunk," June suggested from the living room over the sound of the television.

Both girls laughed. That wasn't the best thing to do in the current situation. Besides, if anyone got drunk, it'd be June. She was more outgoing than Annabel and seemed to have trouble mingling with the crowds.

"I don't think getting me drunk is the best thing right now. But a few drinks would be great. I need them," Annabel said, her attention drifting to the clock on the wall. The time she spent on the phone slipped her attention. It was an entire hour since he began pushing her away; an hour of her life struck out for no good reason.

"We'll find you a cute guy so tomorrow you'll ask, 'Greg who?'" June grabbed her keys from the holder. Receipts fluttered to the ground but the girls chose to ignore them.

"My definition of cute: I don't want any guy who has more piercings than me. And no tattoos of his dead dog. That was just creepy."

"Your definition of cute guy really limits your options."

"I'm serious. I'm tired of meeting a guy only to find out he's a complete loser who still lives with his mother. I want someone who's adventurous, someone deep," Annabel let the conversation hang in the air for a minute, "and yeah, cute."

"You made an oxymoron. More for me then." June headed to her car, smiling.

"That's harsh," Annabel said as she followed on automatic. It wasn't being picky. Dating the same type of guys was getting old. It ended the same way every time. If this cycle didn't end soon, she'd give up on ever finding her perfect man and join a convent. She wouldn't. Maybe she'd become a cat lady instead. Cats always loved their owners.

June drove to their favorite hangout, a small club located on the east side of town. It was more a bar then a club, created on the location of a former chain restaurant with the drive thru still intact. The owner of the bar allowed local artists to hang their drawings and come perform which made it one of the trendier spots in town.

Annabel threw her head against the backrest of her seat. She groaned, "I don't want to go to Dancing Aces."

"What's wrong with Dancing Aces?"

"Let's try something else tonight. I don't want to go where people know me and then I'll have to answer the question, 'So where's Greg?' with 'Oh he dumped me claiming I was stuck up," Annabel complained. She had a feeling Greg might show up wanting to rub in their broken relationship. He knew it was her favorite place to hang out and he wanted to ruin whatever fun she might have.

June didn't argue. The one who was dumped picked the place she wanted to go. That was the rule.

"Where are you thinking of?"

"Um," Annabel said, lazily looking out the window, "There." A grungy looking place, it was the last spot she expected to see someone like Greg. He couldn't walk through the door without being intimidated. Him and all his artsy buddies were too busy discussing Rembrandt or some other well-known artist, laughing when she asked questions. She grew angry again.

"The Jungle? Seriously?" It wasn't the most welcoming club in the city.

"Why not?"

"It just doesn't seem like a place you'd go."

"I'm not me tonight. So let's go somewhere people don't know who I am so I can cut loose and have fun." She planned on drinking until tomorrow. It didn't matter much where they arrived. Anywhere was a welcomed change.

June nodded in agreement. "Let's see how the new Annabel Wells behaves on her first night out. Your debut of the new you."

The night didn't go quite as well as Annabel wanted. Instead of finding her perfect man, June instead found a whole group of guys exactly like her last boyfriend. The drinks kept coming and before long, empty glasses surrounded Annabel. She wasn't sure which ones were hers and it didn't help her depression at all.

"I'm gonna...home," Annabel told June. It was around two or three in the morning. She wished she had her phone with her to know what time it was exactly. She had left it on her bed at home.

June waved at her friend while remaining conjoined with one of the guys she found earlier. At that moment, Annabel could've changed into a giant frog and June would've never noticed. This was typical June behavior, especially when it came to guys.

At least this place was near the house. It might've only been two blocks away. Maybe five blocks away. Seven? She knew, when she saw the red building, to turn left. Those were good enough directions for her.

"Oh, so I'm not good enough for you? You know what Greg, you were lucky to be even seen with me," she repeated out loud to herself. She really wished she had her phone with her. She wanted to call Greg and tell him how it was the best thing ever they weren't together anymore.

As she walked down the street, she heard something move behind her. It was a harsh rustling but she couldn't figure out what it was coming from. She turned around, expecting to see June coming behind her or even a cat. There was nothing. "I must be drunk," Annabel said. She began feeling uneasy.

The noise happened again. It was the same rustling sound. This time she knew she heard it. She turned around again only to see nothing. "June?" she asked. If her friend was there, she wasn't responding. Annabel hoped it was an animal. She could deal with an animal.

Annabel heard the noise once more, this time much closer to her and on her right side. She turned to her right hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see what was close to her. But her curiosity was too great.

There was a dark shape appearing next to her. She couldn't make out any discernible features. It appeared to just be a clump of darkness growing. She turned and started running towards her house. Her best option was to get home as quickly as possible and hopefully stop the thing from coming after her. Or alert someone to stop it. That's what the cops were for.

Instead, the darkness continued chasing her with every turn she made down the nearly abandoned alleyways. It came to the edges of her heels and was gaining speed. She felt a slight breeze emanating from it as it sped towards her.

Annabel ran fast. Her foot tripped over one of the raised edges of the sidewalk and she fell, hard. The dark shape hovered over her, bearing upon her.

"Who are you?" she asked as she stared at the dark creature. She wanted to know who this person or thing was. It had to be someone or something she could reason with. She closed her eyes tight. Maybe when she opened them, it would all be a dream.

She opened her eyes. The figure was still in front of her, as menacing as before.

The darkness grew taller and more intense. A large dark spike formed, hanging directly over her body. Just as it started curving at the top, as if to drop upon her, a stream of fire came from behind her. She wasn't sure what was happening and who she was more afraid of.

Chapter 2

Annabel tilted her head against the sidewalk. A dark clothed and haired man stood nearly on top of her. He was shooting flames at the dark creature. She should be running but nothing was connecting mentally because of the drinks she had earlier. All she thought of doing was remaining still and hoping neither of them remembered she was there.

Lifting her head closer to him, she wasn't sure where he was shooting the flames from. A stream of flame came out his mouth and attacked the darkness with the same intensity as before. She had her answer. This was the craziest drunken dream she ever had. It ran circles around the last one.

The dark shape seemed to absorb the flames into its nothingness. The flames either hit the dark shape or against the side of the building. Scorch marks appeared on the bricks and small shards of broken mortar rained onto the ground.

The flames appeared to do little or no damage to the creature. Annabel saw small places where the darkness seemed less powerful when she looked closer. That must've been caused from the fire. She had to squint to see the spots though. It didn't instill much confidence in her.

The darkness attacked the man. It pushed him backwards with tremendous force, the air around them thrashing strong. The man's body flung against the side of the building and crashed into it hard. There was a crater in the bricks where he slammed. Annabel moved closer to help but she saw him stand up unfazed. He pushed the darkness backwards to Annabel's direction with more blasts of fire.

Annabel felt the edge of the darkness brush against her body. It felt colder than anything she knew. The darkness tugged at her arm and brought her in closer. She wrestled her arm, clawing at the ground with her free hand. Every time she gripped onto a crack, she soon found herself being tugged away. She kicked with her feet in the opposite direction in an attempt to do anything to stop this from happening. She wished she was stronger – she could've saved herself.

Deciding to take her chances, she stopped grabbing onto the street below and instead gripped her fingers tightly into the darkness. She wretched her fingers around the tendril of the creature and pulled hard. Screaming from the pain she felt, she kept pulling until her wrist barely had space to slip free. She wriggled away fast. There was no need to remain close it.

She looked at her wrist where the darkness grabbed her. A large gash ran from it to the upper portion of her arm. The darkness scratched hard when it pulled her. She never felt pain before in one of her dreams. She felt the blood draining from her face. This was real life.

"You're not hurting anyone tonight," the man said to the darkness. His hands struck the shape and ripped chunks of darkness from the larger shape. This was a battle certainly wasn't the first time he'd fought this creature.

She positioned herself on the side of the sidewalk, away from the action. She wasn't sure what was happening but it seemed this man knew what he was doing. She'd likely ruin whatever plan he had if she got involved.

The darkness picked the man from the ground and hoisted him high into the air. It suddenly dispersed itself and allowed him to fall – hard. The ground shook beneath them when he landed. The creature gathered itself once more after accomplishing the deed as though nothing had happened.

Her hand went to her mouth as she looked at the man lying on the ground. She wasn't sure if he was still alive. That fall looked like it knocked him out. It would've knocked her out certainly. She hesitated, looking around to ensure the creature didn't plan on attacking her once more, before moving to him. She saw him pick himself off the ground and onto his feet.

The man shook his head as he ragined his balance. "You're going to regret doing that to me," he said, licking his lip. A small trickle of blood dropped from it onto his chin.

The darkness swirled around on itself, twisting over and over. Annabel swore she heard it laughing. She pinched herself to make sure she was still awake. This night became stranger as time continued.

A stream of fire billowed from the mysterious man's mouth. The flames made contact with the darkness but seemed to be absorbed without doing any significant damage. Nothing aside from the darkness was burnt from the flames. The darkness released its stream of dark energy towards the man. It knocked him off his feet and against the wall.

"Are you okay?" Annabel asked before catching herself. She didn't want to talk much. It was for the best if she'd fade away and keep her mouth shut.

"I slammed against a wall and left a crater. Yeah, I'm fine," the man said sarcastically as he stood up. He narrowed his eyes. The darkness he fought was no longer visible. He stepped from the wall and looked down the street. Annabel did the same. There was no sign of it. The darkness had escaped and without a trace.

"Did you see where it went?" he asked Annabel as he continued looking.

Annabel looked on the opposite side of the alley but didn't see anything there either. She hadn't paid much attention to her surroundings while the fight went on but it all seemed normal to her. "I don't see anything," she said moving from her hiding spot.

"Did it hit you?" the man asked advancing to Annabel. He kept shifting his head from side to side, likely making sure the creature didn't return for another attack.

She shook her head. She didn't reveal her arm to him. "I didn't get hit. Are you sure you're okay? Your lip is bleeding." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a napkin from the club. She pressed it against his lip.

He pressed his fingers against the napkin as she pulled hers away. "It's not too bad. I can still walk."

"So," she said with hesitation in her voice, "Whom can I thank for saving me from that attack?" She tried pulling it off as coyly as possible. She couldn't be certain, but she believed half of her words were slurred. If he understood her at all she was impressed. Everything from the night was begging to drop on her at once.

"My name's Crispin," he said, extending his hand with the napkin in it. He grabbed the napkin with his other hand and shoved it in his pocket. He gave a lopsided grin.

"I'm Annabel," she said, shaking his hand. She felt herself leaning more on it to maintain her stability. This wasn't an ideal way to meet her hero.

"Do you need me to call you a cab or a friend to get you?"

Annabel pointed at a red building further down the street. "I was heading home. I live behind that red building." She'd make it to her room before that dark creature came back.

"Oh," he told her, looking in that direction. "In that case, let me walk you home. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." He presented his crooked arm for her.

"That would be nice." She grabbed onto his arm, pressing herself close to him. He smelled nice. His clothes were clean. That was the best smell in the world. Much better than whatever she smelled on the sidewalk.

As they walked, Annabel asked Crispin, "When did you move into the neighborhood?"

"How do you know I haven't lived here long?"

"You don't have an accent. If you'd been here for a few years, you'd have picked up an accent by now." She tripped on a sidewalk crack, stopped by Crispin's grasp before landing face down upon it.

He laughed. "You busted me. I've only been here for a month or two. A few of my friends and I moved here for a change of scenery." He helped guide her over another crack without a trip this time.

"I'm sure fighting dark monsters counts as a positive change in scenery. Okay, see that house right there? That's mine. Well, only the top half. It's a duplex. And it's a rental." Annabel began feeling tired. The walk to her house was taking longer than she expected.

The two walked to the front of her house. Crispin waited for her to unlock the door. "Do you live with someone else? It looks dark in there."

"It's fine. My roommate will be back soon. Probably. I don't know," Annabel said with a laugh thinking about June. June was most likely hooking with up someone as they spoke.

He glanced around her home once more, the concern obvious on his face. "Do you have a phone?"

"I have a cell phone."

Crispin pulled out the same napkin as before and wrote his number on it. "I don't have any paper – sorry about that. Here's my number. If you see any dark shapes coming after you, call it. It's very important."

"Thanks," she said, looking at the phone number. She stared at the paper. Her brain was frazzled and couldn't recognize what numbers they were. She wasn't even sure they were numbers.

"Are you sure you're okay? You look off," he said. He had his brow furrowed as he spoke.

She nodded, her head feeling heavy once more. "I need sleep. It was great meeting you tonight."

"Be safe and call if dark shapes start attacking you." He turned and walked to the sidewalk. He looked back at her once before continuing down the street. As soon as he turned the corner, Annabel closed the door and locked it.

She plopped her back on her bed, her eyes closing as she became comfortable. There was something hard on the cover, digging into her back ribs. She rolled and pulled her phone from under her. It made her frown. "What an ass," she said, thinking about the last conversation she had on it. She yawned and fell asleep, the dark creature far removed from her mind.

Chapter 3

Annabel's phone started ringing loudly, the latest pop song assailing her ears. Her hand went to her pocket instinctively but found nothing. She opened her eyes and looked around. The phone was closer to her than she remembered. She lifted the phone to her head and asked, "Who is it?" Her head pounded from the night before.

"Annabel? Where are you?" June's voice came through loud and clear. She sounded worried.

Annabel moved the phone away from her ear for a moment. The sound was too much for her right now. She regained her senses and said, "I'm home. Where are you?"

"You're home? I'm here too. Are you in your room?"

"Yes. I'm getting up. I'll see you in a few minutes." Annabel hung up. She felt horrible. It was too early for her to wake up. She looked at her phone to see the actual time. It was three in the afternoon. Even that seemed too early.

"You left so quick I never noticed until thirty minutes later you were gone. What happened? The guys were looking for you. One of them, I think, could be the guy of your dreams," June said, pouring both of them coffee when Annabel entered the kitchen.

Annabel took a sip before saying, "I told you I was leaving. I had the weirdest experience on my way back here. Or maybe it was a dream. I'm sure it happened though because there were less celebrities and flying in it than usual."

"What happened?" June took a sip from her cup as well.

"It was just – weird. There was this big dark shape attacking me and then this guy showed up. He shot flames out of his mouth and was thrown against the wall a few times."

June looked at her friend curiously. "Are you sure you weren't imagining this? You were drunk last night when you left."

"I'm not imagining this. It happened. I'm sure." Annabel said, fairly convinced now. "I can even prove it to you."

"You took pictures in the middle of a fight?"

"No, I have a phone number from the guy I met last night." Annabel reached into her pocket and pulled out the napkin. The phone number was there. This time she clearly made out the digits. There was his name which gave added proof she wasn't making this up.

June looked at the napkin. She raised her eyebrows as she looked to Annabel. "I hate to be one of those people but that napkin is used. It's also from the same club we were at last night. It is possible one of the guys there gave you his number and now you're imagining this crazy dream. It's okay. It happens to everyone."

"It was real."

"Then prove it to me. Reverse look-up the number and then you can prove to me that this guy, Crispin if I'm reading it right, gave it to you and he exists. Right now, it's not looking too good."

"It could be a cell phone. Cell phones can't be reversed looked-up." Annabel wasn't certain if looking up the number would work but it was a good way to meet her mystery guy again.

June smirked at Annabel in a told-you-so manner. "Imaginary numbers also can't be looked-up."

Annabel opened her laptop. "I'll prove to you this is a real number." She typed in a website and put the phone number in. After clicking through a series of ads she wasn't interested in, she smiled. She pressed a button and printed out a copy.

"You found it?" June asked, leaning over Annabel's shoulder.

"The number goes to 409 Highland."

June wasn't giving up easily. "This could be a random coincidence."

"I will prove to you it's his number," Annabel said, strolling confidently towards her room.

"How?"

"I'm going over there. Well, first I'm taking a bath and changing. Then I'll head out there."

June nodded. "That would be smart. I didn't want to say anything but if you're meeting someone you should change. I'd do something about your hair too. I think you slept on it."

Annabel patted the top of her head and felt her hair. The gel she used last night had twisted her hair into a jumbled mess. "Thanks for telling me that. I want to look great so I can give him a proper thanks for saving me."

June gave a thumb up. "I'm sure that's the only reason you're going there."

Annabel stuck out her tongue as she got ready. A shower gave her time to think about what she'd say to him. Going to a stranger's house to prove to June she met him seemed odd but at the same time, it could prove to be a fun experience. She needed to keep talking herself into doing it. Otherwise she was remaining home and convincing herself none of this happened.

It shouldn't be that hard. He gave her his number after all. He wanted her to find him. He must be shy and this was his way of flirting with her. She knew she should call first but it would be more interesting to show up unannounced. It'd show she was spontaneous. Guys liked spontaneous girls.

She picked a cute outfit she hoped made her look as cute as she did last night, or cuter. She wasn't sure how good she looked tripping in the middle of the street and stumbling around like a fool. Yes, this was an improvement. She needed to bring her phone and take pictures or else June wouldn't believe her. She checked her jean pocket to verify she had her phone with her. There was nothing left to do but get out there and meet her guy from last night.

"I'm going. If I don't make it back, you can have my computer," Annabel said in a melodramatic voice.

June looked at her from the couch. "Wow, you look nice. Expecting something to happen tonight?"

"Maybe. He did save me from a horrible creature so maybe something should happen." She smiled at her friend. June was the one person who'd understand her joke.

"Yes, he saved you from a creature no one has ever seen before and doesn't exist. Good luck to you with that. You can call me if you need to and I'll go rescue you from any trouble," June said before snapping her fingers. "Oh and pictures. You have to bring me proof this guy exists."

Annabel pulled out her phone. "Somehow I knew you were going to ask."

"I've trained you well, young padawan" June joked as she waved bye to her friend.

Annabel drove to the address. It was only a five minute drive to get to the place she found online. That explained why he was on the street that late. She didn't expect him to live in another town and save her life by accident. It could've happened but she doubted it.

She parked her car on the street in front of the house. It looked like most of the other houses in the area – two stories, wood balcony, and weeds in the flower bed. She double checked herself in the side mirror. She looked pretty enough. She confidently made her way up the driveway to the door.

Annabel knocked. She heard movement behind the door. It opened and a blond haired guy stood there shirtless. "Can I help you?" he asked. He looked around as if worried someone else was waiting. He stepped out the doorway to check even further down the driveway and sidewalk.

"I'm here to see Crispin," Annabel said, unsure if she had the right address. They'd know him if she was at the right place. She didn't see Crispin directly in front of her and it made her nervous. Maybe she had the wrong house. Another thought crossed her mind as well, much stronger than before, of it being a dream like everyone else said.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Annabel Wells. Crispin and I met last night. Well, we sort of met." She hoped there wasn't a Crispin here. She was ready to head back to her car and drive away quick.

He smiled. "Oh really? You met Crispin last night? Let me see if I can find him. Sera?" he called behind him without checking to see if anyone was there.

"We're not interested," a female voice said from one of the side rooms. Annabel couldn't see where it came from.

"Someone's here looking for Crispin."

"Who is it?"

"A girl named Annabel."

There was a long pause. "Are you kidding me?"

He laughed. "I'm serious. Do you know where he is?"

"If you are looking for me to say how awesome I am, I'm right – hey," Crispin said coming down the stairs and into view of the door. He paused on the step he landed and shoved whatever he was holding in his hand into his pocket. A grin appeared on his face.

"She said she met you last night. Amazing isn't it?" The blond haired guy had a large grin on his face. There was some sort of inside joke being shared between them. Annabel had no idea whether it was good or bad. She felt torn between leaving and staying.

"It's a long story," Crispin said, walking towards the door. He took one step over the threshold before the other man placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Then come in and tell us this story," the blond haired guy said, helping Annabel into the house before Crispin protested. "I'm Henry, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you, Annabel."

Chapter 4

"How did you know to come to this address?" Crispin asked, sitting on the couch with Annabel. Henry and two other people inside joined them and waited to hear her response.

Annabel felt uncomfortable as if she were on display. She regretted coming over. She looked at the others in the room before saying, "I talked with my roommate about what happened last night. She didn't believe anything I said so I searched online with the number you gave me and it came back to this address."

All the people in the room exchanged concerned looks with each other. "That seemed far too easy. Can we work on it?" Crispin asked the man standing near the doorway to another room.

The second dark haired guy nodded. "It shouldn't be hard for the number to become unlisted. Or we can always not give you the number anymore."

"That's a good idea too," the dark haired woman named Sera said. She sat on a chair nearby and smiled at Crispin.

"She needed help," Crispin said in defense.

Henry nodded. "I use that line a lot too. I think I've helped over half a dozen women." He raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair with his arms behind his head.

Crispin turned his attention to Henry. "I'm using it seriously."

"Of course you are."

"So Annabel, what happened last night?" Sera asked. She sat on the edge of her seat now; her attention focused entirely on their conversation

Annabel continued, "Well, I was coming home and tripped on a crack in the sidewalk. This huge, dark shape appeared and started coming after me. I wasn't even sure it was real or something from my imagination but then Crispin appeared. He shot flames at it from his mouth." She paused for a moment. "What was that anyway?"

Everyone shifted their gaze towards Crispin. None of them gave any indication as to what the answer was. Even Henry looked uneasy.

He looked to the side as if trying to think of an answer. "I'm a fire breather. Like those people in the circus who shoot fire out of their mouths. Fire mouth breather."

There was a brief moment of silence before the other three in the room burst into laughter. "I don't think I've ever heard a worst excuse," Henry said with a smile and he looked at the others for confirmation.

"Of all the things you could've said, you chose that one? Really? Did you get dropped on your head last night?" Sera asked. She shook her head and walked away to another room, past the man standing in the doorway. She continued laughing as she passed.

"Don't stare at me next time and I'll think of a better excuse," Crispin stated in defense to Sera as she continued out of sight.

"It seems that's not the real answer. What happened then? You did shoot flames out of your mouth, right?" Annabel began getting nervous. She wasn't certain if she should stay or leave – now. The others didn't look nervous about what was happening.

"You can explain it to her. I'm going swim," Henry said as he too left the room. The other man standing in the doorway gave a wave and left as well. It was only Crispin and Annabel left in the room.

Crispin hesitantly moved closer to Annabel. He looked down for a moment before picking up his head. His eyes stared through her. "I'm telling you this because you saw the dark shape. Otherwise you could survive without knowing it."

"What is it?" She was eying the door. She planned on leaving if it was too unbelievable. He already proved he lied to her.

"It's a long story. The essentials are the dark shape you saw is what we call the Unseen. People call it different names – terrors, death shadows, demons. It refers to the same entities. There are thousands all over the world and we track them before they attack anyone."

She stood up in disbelief. "I've never heard of that. Are you telling me the shape I saw last night could kill me?"

He raised his hands to calm her. "I was there. It wasn't going to kill you. You saw me fight it. I've done this hundreds of times."

Annabel's mouth dropped. This was exactly what she was worried about hearing. "Is it coming after me again? Am I in danger right now?"

He paused for a moment, looking to the side once more.

He took too long to answer her. She knew why he was stalling. "I am in danger. I can't believe this. Why didn't you warn me last night?" She looked around the room uneasily. She expected to see the Unseen coming after her in a cloud of darkness and trying to kill her.

"I tried to warn you. I gave you my number if it came back."

"That didn't warn me. I thought you were being nice. I didn't know I needed to call your number and wait around to see if you show up because a creature could potentially kill me. Shouldn't the police know about this? Or someone else? How about the President?" She paced around the room. There had to be something she could do to stop the creature from coming after her. Maybe move. Pack up everything and start her new life as a gypsy, drifting from one town to another so it didn't kill her in her sleep.

"The odds of it coming back for you are slim. It won't." He stood and put his hand on her shoulder.

She reached over and picked his hand off her. "Who are you guys and why should I believe you?"

"We're from a long, long line of people fighting these creatures for thousands of years. I need you to keep this a secret and never reveal it to anyone else."

"Don't tell me you're some kind of vampire."

He laughed. "No, we can go outside during the day. We're what used to be called dragons by humans."

She rolled her eyes. "If you're going to lie to me, at least make it convincing. Dragons aren't real. They're only in games nerdy little boys play in their basements."

"I'm telling you the truth." He shot out a small jet of flames from his mouth. He smiled at her as if had won the argument when he closed his mouth.

She wasn't impressed. "How do I know anymore, dragon?" The last word stressed for her disbelief. "You might be a flame thrower like you said before."

He looked at her skeptically. His attention drifted towards the ceiling before returning it to her. "Do you just want to win this argument?"

"I guess I do. I didn't think about that. I do know this is some kind of trick you're playing on me. Your friends are in the next room, laughing about it, and I'm being recorded for a weird television show."

He laughed again. "You're hard to please. I was wondering something though. Something that's been troubling me since you arrived."

"What is it?"

"Why did you come here?"

She had forgotten why she originally came over. All of this information had caused her to stop thinking about her real purpose. "I was thinking you'd like to go out for a late lunch. Or maybe early dinner," she said pulling out her phone to check the time. "Early dinner." She slept longer than she thought. A whole day was wasted.

He nodded to himself, seeming deep in thought. "That sounds good. Food – why not. No harm there. Why don't you decide where we're going? I'm sure you know the best places in the city." He stood and walked with her towards the front door.

She followed, her body automatically going through the motions when food was involved. "How do you know I'm from here?" She didn't remember telling him she grew up here.

"Your accent," he smiled.

Chapter 5

"I need to apologize for last night. I was coming back from one of the bars nearby and I wasn't even sure if I saw you. I thought I imagined you. I expected to wake up and not have the phone number anymore," Annabel confessed as she nibbled nervously on one of the breadsticks from the table. She chose one of the nearby Italian restaurants for them to have their first date of sorts. It wasn't too busy and she could get to know him better without needing to yell for his attention.

Crispin leaned on the table to position himself closer to her. "I wish I knew that earlier. I could've said you made up the whole story about breathing fire."

She didn't understand. "Are you regretting being out with me?" They could end this right now and she'd go back home – there was pizza waiting in the fridge.

"Not at all. I'm regretting the lame excuse I used."

"You saying you're a fire breather isn't a lame excuse. It's beyond lame." She laughed. She hoped he realized she made a joke. She wasn't trying to be rude to him but she knew sometimes her words came out awkward.

He laughed. "You're very fascinating, Annabel. I've met lots of people in my life but there's something about you I haven't in someone else. I can't figure out what it is."

"That's a great line to keep someone interested. I'm sure you tell all the girls you save that."

"I'm not Henry. That hurt," he said leaning back with an expression of hurt. He smiled at her in a few seconds to let her know there was no real harm done.

She smiled at him. He had a good sense of humor. That was a positive trait on her scale. She brushed her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Have you been here before?"

"This place or do you mean the city in general?"

"Both."

He shook his head. "It's my first time for both. I haven't gone around and checked out all the places in the area. I'm content staying away from people and not being pushed into place."

"Is it because you're a dragon?"

"Shh," he said harshly, looking around and hoping no one heard her. "Don't ever say that in public."

"Sorry," she said. That was the only problem she had with him. He thought he was a dragon. It wasn't the worse problem he could have but it was weird.

The rest of the meal passed by slow; both only making small talk with one another. Annabel wasn't sure if she had blown her chance at going on an actual date with him. Eating food together wasn't technically a date – she hadn't heard the word 'date' yet. "So...what are your plans for tonight?" she asked, pushing her fork around her nearly empty plate before looking up at him. She hoped there was a chance they'd do something together.

"I can't go out with you. I have no plans on seeing you beyond tonight. This was just a one-off thing" he said abruptly. He frowned as he spoke, his attention remaining on his plate.

She felt foolish. "That's fine. I kinda figured and...I had stuff to do anything." She wanted to leave now before it got worse. She'd crawl under the table if she knew it'd keep her from dealing with this awkwardness.

Crispin shook his head. "It's not because of you. It is me. It's so me."

"That's one of the oldest lines in the book. It's fine. We weren't even dating. This wasn't a date. We were just eating together and, I thought, made some kind of connection but I guess not. Doesn't matter. This is a preemptive break-up. I...we're broken up."

He opened his mouth to say something but Annabel kept talking before he could.

"And I'm already in a very deep relationship. His name is," she looked up, trying to think of a name. "Paul. His name is Paul. It's very serious too. He's not a dragon either. He's...human." She knew she was blubbering at this point. If she formed a complete sentence she was proud of herself.

"That's nice," he said putting his napkin on the table. "Do you - "

"No." She didn't want to hear what he was asking. "I'm going home right now. That's the best thing for me to do. I wouldn't want to keep Paul from waiting."

"I'm –

"See you later, Crispin," she said, standing before he did. She walked to the front and paid for the meal, fumbling for the cash within her jean pockets. Her cheeks were burning from being embarrassed in front of him. And Paul? She didn't know a single person named Paul. She should've chosen another name and then found someone to pretend to be her boyfriend. This was a mess. A complete mess.

She left the restaurant and headed to her car. She was going home and explaining to June how the whole thing was a mistake. It was like everything else she did. Perhaps she needed to swear off guys for a while. She grabbed her keys from her pocket and gripped her ignition key.

"Hello," a voice spoke behind her. She turned around. It sounded as if it spoke into her ear. There was no one there. She scanned the area rapidly.

"Hello?" she asked. She listened carefully. There was nothing outside. She didn't hear cars on the street either. There was something wrong. The air was too still.

"Annabel," the voice said again. It came from behind her once more. Its tone sent chills down her body. She knew that voice. She had heard it before but didn't know who it was.

"Who are you?" She didn't turn around.

Another shiver ran down her body. "You look scared. Are you afraid?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's very rare to touch a human," the voice said with added emphasis on the last word, "and not have them crumble beneath me. Who are you, Annabel Wells?"

She was scared. Whatever this was, it knew her name. She didn't know how it did. "What do you want? I don't have any money on me."

A wisp of cold air moved past her neck. There was a laugh from the creature that echoed around her. "Money doesn't solve every problem. I want to know who you are."

"You already know my name. That's all there is."

"I want to see how you look inside. What your inner being feels like, how your emotions run." The voice sounded colder than before. The threat was real.

Annabel swallowed hard. She wasn't letting this creature kill her. She took off running. She didn't know where she was going. She only knew was she was getting away from it as fast as possible.

The dark shape appeared in front of her instantly. "You think you can get away from me that fast? Nice try."

She turned around and started to go back when the shape appeared in front of her again. Everywhere she turned, the shape was there. It began growing as it had the night before.

A massive spike formed in the creature's hand. She saw clearly this time, unlike the other attack when it was only a blur before being driven away by Crispin. This creature, the Unseen, was going to kill her and she had no way to defend herself. She raised her arms above her head and closed her eyes.

Chapter 6

She felt the heat from the flames rush past her and strike the creature as she remained petrified. She opened her eyes wide. The creature hadn't killed her. She abruptly turned around. Crispin stood behind her, his stance solid as he braced himself for the inevitable fight.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him. She thought he left the area. She certainly would've if she had been him after their last conversation.

"We'll talk later."

Her attention drifted to his hands. She saw a claw where his hand should be. The flames could've been explained but to have his body change in a short amount of time was a stretch. He told her the truth earlier. He was seriously a dragon. She knew her mouth was open in disbelief but she couldn't help herself.

The Unseen spoke in a cold voice, "Mmm, I'm having dragon tonight. I was thinking it was going to be human. This is such a treat for me."

"You're having nothing tonight," Crispin answered. He advanced closer to the Unseen with his claws ready. The light of the flames reflected off the scales covering them.

"Exactly. Neither one of us is on the menu for tonight," Annabel added. She made her way behind Crispin. She was scared of the Unseen attacking her even in this position but she wasn't bending to its threats. She'd use Crispin for cover. He fought these things before – he'd know how to get out of the way of its attacks.

Crispin looked at her oddly for a moment before refocusing his attention on the Unseen. The two stared at each other, both intent on destroying the other. The air was noticeably colder than it was moments before.

The Unseen attacked first. Its dark shape threw itself against Crispin. He was knocked off his feet and against the hard asphalt of the parking lot. Annabel heard his body hit the ground hard and winced. The dark shape collected itself again and hit Crispin while he was on the ground.

"Pathetic," the shape said as it swirled around.

Crispin rolled himself onto his knees and sprang at the dark shape. The swirling darkness went around him and allowed for brief glimpses of his body before being enclosed in pitch black.

Annabel felt useless. She looked around the lot. There had to be something she could use to help Crispin. All she saw was a stick knocked from one of the oak trees in someone's nearby backyard. That had to do. She picked it up and charged at the darkness.

The stick hit against the creature but she wasn't sure if it did any damage. The Unseen remained distracted hitting Crispin in full force. She had to concentrate on using whatever time she had to find a way to help him. When they made it out this fight, she had to remember to ask Crispin or one of the others what weapons were useful against the Unseen. She didn't want a repeat of this. She wished she had a flame thrower – that seemed important in this situation.

Two streams of fire came from behind Annabel and struck the Unseen. She turned around and saw Henry and Sera standing there. Both had their claws prepared and Henry was moving fast in her direction. "Out the way," he told Annabel as he jumped high and launched himself into the fray.

Annabel moved to the side and watched Henry dive into the fight. Claws from both men sliced through the Unseen, clawing portions of darkness into ribbons. It was difficult telling which claws belonged to whom when they moved swiftly through the target. Patches of darkness fell onto the ground and disappeared. The ones which didn't instantly vanish were scorched by Sera until they were turned into wisps of smoke.

When the darkness was destroyed and the final parts whisked away, Annabel watched as the three returned to their normal looking bodies. The claws turned back into regular hands as though it was an everyday occurrence. "Are you okay?" Crispin asked when he walked closer to Annabel. He was visually inspecting her for any damage the Unseen may have caused when he wasn't looking.

"I'm fine. What about you?" She saw him thrown against the ground by the Unseen. He should have a few broken bones. The fact he was walking was impressive.

Henry walked over, checking out the people who started passing in front of the parking lot. "We need to get out of here before another shows up. I don't think we can take two Unseens tonight."

"I agree with Henry for once." Sera looked at them and settled her eyes on Annabel. "Is she coming too?"

Crispin nodded. "I need to talk with her. She heard what the Unseen was said before you showed up."

The others exchanged glances between themselves. There was likely another reason why Crispin chose to bring her along with them. "Okay," Sera said. "I guess we can start walking back then."

"My car's here. I can give you a ride since we're going to the same place," Annabel said. It made sense to her for them to travel together. If an Unseen tried attacking her again, she'd feel safer knowing three dragons were with her. It'd work out for her.

Henry and Sera cast a concerned look at Crispin. He nodded. "I think going with her is the best idea."

"Whatever you say," Sera mumbled under her breath, following Annabel like the others. Everyone piled into Annabel's car and headed back to the house; their gaze shifting backwards every once in a while to ensure no one followed them. The questions started to pour out the moment she sat on their couch once again.

"When did you first hear the Unseen talk?" Crispin asked.

"Tonight was the first time. It was talking in my ear," Annabel answered. She was remembering as best she could what happened.

"What did the voice sound like?"

"It was...cold? Is that even possible?" She didn't know cold was a sound but it was definitely what she heard.

Crispin nodded. "She definitely heard it. I don't know how she heard it. I was under the impression humans can't hear the voice of the Unseen."

"Unless they've been attacked by the Unseen before in which case there's a chance they'll be able to," the other dark haired man in the room said. He stroked his chin. He scrutinized Annabel as if he expected her to change into an Unseen in front of him.

"Who are you?" she asked him. She didn't mean to sound rude but she wanted to know who was talking. He was the only one she didn't know and from his tone of questioning, she wasn't entirely sure he wanted to trust her.

"I forgot to introduce myself? I always do that. I'm Jules," he said, standing up to shake her hand.

Annabel shook his hand. It was still a hand. She looked at the others. Their hands seemed normal. "I have to ask, was I imagining it or can you change your hands into claws?"

They nodded. "It's one of the few things we still have from our original forms. It's also one of the few things that does damage to an Unseen," Crispin explained.

"What happened tonight between you and Crispin?" Sera asked randomly. She seemed like she had been waiting to ask that question since they arrived home.

"Don't ask that," Crispin replied for Annabel.

"Why not? We're trying to determine what made the Unseen come after her. The more we can find out the better. Your date happened right before the Unseen attacked. I think it's relevant."

"You can ask her tomorrow. For now, she's staying here overnight. Is there anyone you need to call?" Crispin asked Annabel. He ignored the dirty look from Sera.

"Why do I need to stay here?" She wanted to know everything pertaining to her. This was important and she didn't want there to be any lingering questions on her mind after tonight.

Crispin and Jules exchanged looks with each other. They knew why she needed to remain nearby. "I want to run tests on you. It'll take a while to get everything ready," Jules explained. "I do have a pamphlet you can read which outlines the things I'll be checking for if you want to look over it." He shook his head, looking over at Crispin.

That was an odd thing to hear but she could play along. "That sounds reasonable. Let me make a quick call so no one worries about me tonight," Annabel said looking from one man to the other. She was expecting them to say she couldn't or that she needed to remain cryptic about what she said. They were a weird bunch from the short time she spent with them. Who knew what was going to happen next.

Crispin nodded. "That's good. Let me show you where you're staying for the night." He stood up and walked with her upstairs, leaving the others to talk amongst themselves.

"Do you have lots of people staying over here because of Unseen attacks?" She knew the answer.

He shook his head. "You're the first. You can stay in here tonight. I promise we're not going to attack you or anything. You can lock the door, barricade it, whatever. If you hear the Unseen, let us know. I'll make sure someone is around at all times just in case. I'm next door so if no one comes running, just knock on the wall and I'll be here in a second."

"Thanks," she said slipping inside the room. As soon as she was positive he left the upstairs area, she closed the door and locked it. This was odd. It was not at all how she thought the day was going to go when she woke up. She was stuck in a house full of dragons and a killer black cloud hovering outside for her. Definitely not what she planned for her day.

Chapter 7

"June? Can you hear me?" Annabel whispered into her phone. She was talking low to keep anyone from hearing her.

"Yeah but why are you whispering? Is your date going that well?" Music played in the background. Annabel wasn't sure whether or not June was in their apartment or out for the night. She might be having some sort of party if she was home.

"He's a dragon," Annabel said trying to keep her voice low. Crispin warned her not to tell anyone about that. She couldn't help but tell June this. June could be trusted. If she didn't, then the other girl was liable to find out about it on her own.

"The gang that hangs around the south end of town?"

"No. He's a real dragon. Or at least he claims to be," Annabel said as she tried convincing June. She would believe her if anyone in the world was capable of doing so. She was always finding crazy people so this was right up her specialty.

June paused.

Annabel checked her phone to see if she lost the signal. No, it was still there. June must be thinking about something or have gotten distracted. "June?"

"Annabel, I believe you're taking this break-up over Greg too hard. I've never seen you this crazy to make up that someone is a dragon."

"I'm not crazy."

"Does he have wings?"

"Wings?"

June sighed. "I know dragons have wings. Everybody knows that. Does he have wings?"

"I...I don't think so." Annabel didn't remember seeing any. He could be hiding them from her.

"Problem solved. He's nervous. Do you have a picture so I can see for myself?"

Annabel shook her head while talking into the phone. "I didn't take one yet."

"Go take one and let me see. I'll tell you if he's a dragon or if he's a normal guy. I'm thinking it's the second option."

"Fine, I'll go take a picture. I'm only taking a picture of him so you can see him and know he's a dragon." Annabel hung up the phone before June responded. Now she needed to sneak downstairs and take a picture of him without him noticing. If she kept talking to June, it would've evolved into gathering more evidence.

She opened the door. No one was visible in the hallway. She wasn't positive she was allowed to walk around or if they preferred she remain in her room. Making her way to the top landing, she heard voices talking below. She listened in on what they were saying.

"You can't ask her that question," Crispin said. His voice sounded tired.

"It's a simple question. I think I have the right to know the answer," Sera said, her voice agitated.

"It shouldn't matter. She's in trouble and we need to help her."

"Your statement would be more convincing if you hadn't gone on a date with her tonight."

"It wasn't a date. I wanted to know more about her in an informal setting."

Henry laughed. "That's the second time you've said one of my lines today. I should copyright them for the future."

Crispin sighed audibly. "I don't see how any of this relates to what's going on right now. We have solid proof the Unseen is after her. Tomorrow, Jules is running tests so we can see why. At this point, we're in the dark."

The conversation became muted and Annabel could only heard random words with no real meaning to them. Footsteps sounded in different directions a few minutes afterward. The television was turned on, helping mask whatever conversation was happening.

Annabel crept down the stairs, holding on to the railing as she walked. She was convinced no one was coming up. She saw Crispin sitting on a chair, reading a thick book and not concerned about the new houseguest. Sera was nearby as well. She was the one watching television and laying on the couch.

Annabel aimed the lens at Crispin and zoomed in. Her phone couldn't zoom in as much as she wanted. The image was still blurry. This was the best she could get. If June complained, she could take her own picture. Annabel pressed a button and heard a click, placing her hand over the speaker in an effort to cover up the sound which escaped.

Crispin looked at the stairs. He heard a click coming from that direction. His attention drifted to the phone still held by Annabel. He up from his chair and walked past Sera, not giving any indication that something was out of the ordinary.

Annabel backed up the stairs and tried to keep herself away from Crispin. She felt he wasn't pleased with the fact she took his picture. It must be some kind of dragon code violation. She slipped on the carpeted stair and scrambled to her feet once more. He was gaining ground on her and she needed distance from him.

"Give me your phone," Crispin hissed as he made his way up the stairs. He was running up the stairs to get to her, taking two at a time without any sign of difficulty.

Annabel thought momentarily he had wings to run up the stairs that fast. It'd definitely prove he was a dragon. "No." Annabel pressed the buttons on her phone. She needed to send this picture to June before he took her phone. He'd smash it with his claw.

Crispin grabbed her arm. He pulled her in closer to himself. "Give me your phone," he said in a harsh whisper.

"No." She passed the phone from one hand to another to keep it away from him. She was shorter than him – this game wouldn't last long.

"Are you going to make me take your phone from you?"

Annabel grabbed her phone with both hands and pulled it closer to her. "You can't have it. Does that bother you?"

Crispin reached for the phone and started wresting it from her hands. "You can't take my picture. That's all there is to that." The two fought over her phone until he pinned her arms against the wall. He pushed her fingers back, uncurling them from their position until he finally had the phone in his hands. He pressed a button and deleted it the picture. He handed her the phone back, satisfied.

"That was rude of you," she said to him with a frown. She had never been this close to him before. He didn't look like a dragon. He looked normal, although right now he wasn't her favorite person in the world. June was right.

"You can't take a picture of me."

"Why not?"

"There are people who would kill me if they knew I was here. They will stop at nothing to get to me. If you send that, I'll have to leave and keep moving. It'd be too dangerous to stay here. I won't be able to protect you."

"Maybe I want that. You said you didn't want to get involved with me. I wouldn't want to tempt you with having to stay."

"It appears we're going to be involved regardless. Can you promise me you won't take any pictures of me?" He was pleading with his eyes.

"Not one single picture?"

"Not one."

"Okay," she said moving from against the wall. "I'm going back to my room. I'll see you in the morning." She masked her smile by biting the inside of her cheek. She already sent the picture and was certain June would send her a copy when needed.

"Good night," he replied, watching her return to her room.

She closed her door and heard it click into place. That was interesting.

Chapter 8

"Did you get the picture?" Annabel asked June. Crispin deleted the picture from her phone but not before she sent it to her friend. That might be the only evidence the police would have to find her if something went wrong or if that Unseen creature came after her again. She was still unsure if she should trust the dragons or not.

"It's blurry but he looks nice. I don't see any wings and I examined the picture twice. Your theory's completely wrong. He looks like your kind of guy. I didn't see anything to disqualify him from being on Annabel's list," June said. Light music played in the background as she spoke.

Annabel sighed. "That's the problem."

"What do you mean that's the problem? You're looking for something wrong with him, aren't you? Why can't you accept he's someone you might want to be with?"

"I thought about that. I thought about that a great deal. He's nice. He doesn't seem to have too many issues. He has great hair." She paused for a moment. "Do you think it would be weird for me to ask him out?" Based upon their last conversation, he stated they were stuck together for the moment. It could be a good time to make her move. He might feel pity on her or think of saving her like a damsel in distress.

"I don't think so. I've asked out dozens of guys. They usually prefer it. It lets them know you're interested in them."

Annabel nodded. There was truth in those words. She wasn't convinced she was up to the task and resorted to her usual method of attempting to talk herself out of a crazy idea. "There's another girl over here. I think she might be his girlfriend or something." She could heard the desperation in her voice as she searched for some flaw. Guys like Crispin always had a flaw when it came to being in a relationship.

June gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm hanging up now. Next you're going to tell me he's married or has a dozen kids. I'll see you tomorrow. We need to talk about this finding excuses routine."

"Fine," Annabel said, hanging the phone up. June didn't believe her. She would handle this by herself. She could do it. She handled many things before. They didn't always work out perfectly but they were handled. Granted, she wished they were handled better when she looked back on them with scrutiny. In the morning she'd sort this. It was too late now.

She sat on the bed and exhaled deep. She felt calm. Tomorrow was definitely a new day and everything would work out fine.

Annabel looked around when she woke up. She forgot she slept somewhere else besides in her warm bed. It took a few minutes for her to remember where she was and when she did, she buried her head in the pillow. This weekend was becoming one she hoped she forgot later.

Someone knocked on the door. It was probably Crispin or Jules. She had to do all the experiments they talked about yesterday because of the Unseen. She didn't mind. All she wanted was to be safe from that dark creature. The Unseen as they called it. She rolled out of bed. Might as well get it over with. Annabel opened the door.

Neither Crispin nor Jules was standing there. Instead, Sera handed her folded clothes. "I wasn't sure what size you were. If they're too big or small, you don't have to wear them. I just thought you might want something comfortable to wear. The tests are long."

"Thanks," Annabel said as she accepted the clothes. They looked normal. It mustn't be something she had to wear special for the tests. Sera genuinely wanted her to be comfortable. There was still skepticism when dealing with her. She couldn't read the young woman easy.

Sera turned to leave then looked back at Annabel. "Oh, and Jules told me whenever you're ready, you can meet him to start. His office is downstairs. You take a right in the living room and open the door. You can't miss it."

"Do you know what kind of tests he's going to run on me?" Maybe she should have asked for the pamphlet. She laughed internally – that was a joke. There likely was no pamphlet. Not many people got attacked by an Unseen and lived, like Crispin said.

Sera shook her head. "I don't deal with that stuff. Most of it's too complicated for me to understand."

"This should be interesting then," Annabel said to herself aloud thinking about what was happening. She would find out soon what the tests consisted of. Worrying about them without proof was useless. She felt fine.

Sera heading downstairs. Annabel closed her door and changed. She went to find Jules. There was no one in the living room. They were probably waiting for her in Jules' room to see her progress on the tests. She opened the door to the right of the room.

The sun beamed on her. Annabel's eyes took a few moments to adjust before she was able to see she was outside. "Took a wrong turn?" Henry asked from the chair by the pool. His hair was still wet from having swum earlier.

"Sera told me this was the way to Jules' room," she said with confusion. She felt Sera lied to her. There was definitely something going on with her and Crispin. She viewed Annabel as competition.

Henry walked to her and smiled. "You took a wrong turn. You should've taken a left. I can show you where you need to go if you want me to."

"That would be...okay?" Annabel wasn't sure what she should say.

He hooked his arm with hers as he led her into the house. "It's this way," he said walking with her into the room to the left. He pushed the door open and let her go in first.

Crispin and Jules were waiting for her. Papers lay on a table as they checked over data they gathered earlier. All of it dealt with the Unseen attack from last night, time stamps visible from a distance. They looked up from the papers when they heard Annabel and Henry enter the room. "What's going on?" Crispin positioned himself closer to Annabel. He cast a dirty look at Henry, especially when he saw their arms linked together.

"She took a wrong turn. You can always come outside and talk to me if you get a break. I know these guys can be dull." Henry winked, walking through the door without a look back. He made sure to leave before Crispin gave a response.

"Is he always like that?" Annabel asked. She wasn't sure if he was trying to impress her or not. He was coming on strong.

Crispin shrugged. "He's been like that for as long as I've known him. It's his defense mechanism. Let's start these tests before he comes back." He motioned for her to come closer. The tests needed to start. They didn't need to dwell on Henry any longer.

Chapter 9

Annabel followed Crispin to a testing area they set up for her. It consisted of three chairs and a table with various objects on it. A few of them looked pointy and she didn't want to get too closer to them. "What tests are you planning on running?" She wanted to be informed.

"We're not sure why the Unseen is interested in you." Jules sat opposite her and placed the clipboard he held earlier upon the table. "I'm running a few basic tests to see if anything shows up immediately." He positioned one of the devices towards her and clicked it on.

"Basic tests?" She looked to Crispin for any indication what these tests might be. He was the person she trusted in this scenario. He saved her life twice and didn't demand anything out of her because of it. He could be trusted.

"The tests are to see why the Unseen decided to invest its energy into finding you. We'll be able to figure out the exact cause from the results and hopefully stop it from being able to find you again," Crispin explained. He took a seat opposite her. He grinned and watched the information being transmitted across the nearby screen.

Annabel crossed her arms in the chair. She was nervous about the process. She hadn't been checked before for Unseen attracting properties and wasn't sure how involved the process was. Exhaling, she said, "I trust you. Let's figure this out. Do I need to look at pictures and tell you the meaning or how does this go?"

"A Rorschach test? I never understood the importance of those tests. It's just lots of blobs with nothing behind them. These are nothing like that. They are more scientific." Jules reached for her hand. His glasses hung off the edge of his nose.

She gave her hand to him and smiled. "Palm reading?" She relaxed. This was easy so far.

Jules poked her finger with a small pin he held in his other hand. She hadn't seen it earlier.

"Ow," she said, instinctively pulling her hand back. He held strongly onto on her and kept her finger in his hand.

He squeezed a drop of her blood. "I need to take a better look at this sample," he explained. He scraped it onto a glass slide and placed it on the table.

"You should warn me before drawing my blood. It's not nice to poke people," she said when released. She was curious to see he was going to find. She placed her finger in her mouth. The pin left a mark.

Jules slid his chair to a microscope he had at a counter nearby. He looked at the slide, adjusting the controls multiple times before telling them, "I don't see anything unusual. I'm going to experiment with the Unseen material. I want to see if anything happens." He grabbed a small jar from the table. Its contents were pure black, swirling around behind the glass. Annabel had seen it before. It was the same darkness as the Unseen.

She felt nervous. She looked at Crispin. He was fixated on the jar and her blood near Jules. He realized Annabel was looking at him and knew she was scared about everything happening. He calmed her by saying, "Don't worry. It's not enough to attack you. He wants to see what happens when it comes in contact with your blood."

Annabel nodded as though she understood the explanation. "I'm holding you responsible then. You fight it if it tries attacking me," she joked. If it tried attacking her, she was running out the room. Dealing with an Unseen today was off her to-do list.

He smiled. "I wouldn't have to. It dies off since it doesn't have a host."

She nodded again. She didn't understand what he said but she didn't probe the question. It was one occasion she would take his word on the subject. He was the experienced one in this scenario. She was learning at a steep curve.

Jules opened the jar and put a small amount of dark material next to the slide. The dark material swirled around the drop of blood. The spinning increased as the seconds passed. Annabel and Crispin saw this happen from their positions. It continued for a few minutes before directly attacking her blood. The slide cracked from the force. The swirling ceased once the blood dissipated.

As Crispin had said, in a few seconds the material wore itself out. It disappeared into a thin, white smoke after it finished the attack as though it had never been in front of them.

"That doesn't look good," Annabel said aloud. She worried the Unseen would attack her in the same way. If it was after her blood, she was doomed to keep fighting the Unseen over and over. She couldn't get rid of her blood without dying. There had to be another way to avoid dealing with the problem. Her attention drifted back to the men in the room. They were her best options.

Crispin and Jules exchanged looks with one another. They knew it was a bad result. They didn't know how to explain the results to Annabel positively. She kept looking to them for answers. "That sample was taken from the same Unseen we fought last night. He was destroyed so I wouldn't worry about it attacking you again. Jules, do we have a jar from another Unseen?" Crispin asked. He smiled at Annabel to reassure her.

"There's one in the back of the storage room. Can you help me get it?" Jules stood up and started towards the room. Crispin stood and walked in the same direction as well.

"Are you positive the Unseen is gone?" Annabel asked before they left. She fidgeted in her chair. She could be in danger right now. The Unseen might enter the room at any moment.

"I'm positive about that. Four dragons can destroy any Unseen," Crispin said. He followed Jules through the door. They stood in the kitchen and looked at one another.

The situation was serious yet they were both excited at the findings.

"Did you see that?" Jules asked. He wanted to be certain he didn't imagine that happening. This was a new discovery.

"I know. What are we going to do? I can't tell her what the results are."

"I don't know what we can. It's hard to stop an Unseen once it chooses its prey. They'll travel across continents if they have to until they kill that person. I wish I had more time to explore the options. This is completely new territory for me." He sounded giddy as he talked. No doubt countless potential projects raced through his mind.

Crispin ran his fingers through her curly black hair. He thought about several paths he could take but none of them seemed promising. He didn't want to put her in danger. He needed more information. "Why do you believe this happened?"

"I think she lied."

"About what?"

"I think the Unseen did touch her earlier and that's how it can track her. It has a sample of her essence and it will go after her until it completes its task of killing her." If Jules said it, there was a good certainty it was the truth.

Crispin bobbed his head in agreement. "That makes sense but she told me she wasn't."

"She could be scared. You can be intimidating. We could force the information from her. I have something for that."

"We're not going to force her to tell us. You might be right. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's go into the room and see if she was touched." He grabbed a jar from inside a cabinet. He pulled off the label and shoved it into his pocket.

Jules raised his eyebrow.

"We said we were coming in here for something. It would be suspicious if we didn't bring anything." They exchanged a nervous laugh as they headed back towards Annabel. Hopefully the Unseen hadn't attacked her while they were away.

Chapter 10

Sera walked outside. It was a pleasant morning. The sun beamed on her. It was an excellent day for swimming. All of her plans were interrupted as Henry asked, "Can't tell your right from your left?"

She looked to the side of the pool. Henry hadn't moved from his position earlier. "I have no idea what you're talking about." She headed towards him. She didn't want to have a conversation the neighbors could hear.

He took his sunglasses off. He turned his chair towards her as well. This would be an interesting talk. "I've never seen you act like this before. What brought about this sudden bout of jealousy?"

"It wasn't jealousy," she defended herself. She dangled her feet in the water. "I told her to take the right. Jules' room is to the right." She held up her left hand.

"It's your other hand," he told her, laughing.

She changed hands. She dropped both of them in frustration. It was embarrassing for Henry to correct her. "I guess I told her wrong. I can't tell my left from my right. Are you happy? I'll correct that next time."

"I don't know. Quick, is this right or left?" He held up his left hand.

"Ha ha," she sarcastically told him. She saw the sun directly above her. "What are you out here for, anyway? Shouldn't you be inside helping them?"

"Crispin told me not to interfere. I think he wanted special time with her. I needed sun anyway. I have to keep this body looking handsome."

"You will be out here for a long time. I thought by now you'd be surrounded by throngs of admirers."

"I'm planning something. Crispin told us months ago we weren't allowed to bring people here. He broke his own rule by bringing Annabel along. He has no option now but to let us have fun," he said, putting his glasses back on his face and leaning back. "I'm going out tonight. I heard of some interesting places nearby."

Sera kicked the water. She would be stuck inside of the house again doing nothing. She watched television all the time. She had seen most of the shows on there. She was losing her patience and sanity. "Can I go with you?"

"What?" He lowered his glasses. He gauged whether she was serious or not. He wasn't sure.

"Let me go with you tonight. I've been stuck in this house every day for two months. I've seen every show on television. I can recite them by heart. All I want is one night."

There was a drawback to this plan of hers. "Crispin'll be mad. He doesn't like you going out."

"He doesn't have to know. I'll say I'm going shop for food or something and he'll never find out. I've done it before. Please, Henry. Save my sanity." She batted her eyes at him. She hoped she was convincing him to take her along.

"No," he said, shaking his head to reinforce the fact. "I'm not going with you. It would be weird flirting with a woman if I have one standing next to me."

"You can say I'm your sister. People bring their sisters with them."

"And that's not weird?"

"You don't have a choice."

He grinned. She had nothing. "Explain."

Sera told him, "If you don't take me, I'm telling Crispin about this before you go out. He's going to tell you that you can't bring anyone back. He may even stop you from going. There's lots of work to do around here. I'll block you before you go out." She grinned now.

"You're quite crafty. I hope you learned that from me. Fine, I'll let you come along tonight. If I give you the signal, I want you to go somewhere else. I can't have you ruining my evening."

"Deal. The same goes for me."

"Really?"

"It's possible. I was told that I do look pretty."

"Who told you that?"

"Why does it matter?"

He looked at her suspiciously.

"It was a guy at one of your parties. He said that to me. Then Crispin came and told him to leave."

He stifled a laugh. "That's his personality. How are you getting out without Crispin noticing you're gone?"

She rolled her eyes. "That's going to be easy. He's googly eyed for that human girl. He's concerned with saving her. I doubt he notices who's in the house now. I'll say I'm sleeping and sneak out the house. I'm prepared."

Henry resumed his sunning. "Meet me outside at ten. I'll wait around a few minutes but if you're late, I'll leave without you."

"I won't be late. It's my first chance out of here and I'm not missing it." She jumped into the pool. She was excited about leaving. Now she needed to wait until ten to experience the new city. Things were finally becoming interesting for her.

Chapter 11

"How concerned should I be about another Unseen attack me? Do I need to run now?" Annabel asked Crispin and Jules as they walked into the room. Her hands moved nervously. She was worried the entire time they were gone. She couldn't be sure if one of the creatures could enter through the window or door to attack her. She felt better knowing they were back.

Crispin placed the jar on the table. He sat opposite her with a concerned look on his face. Jules did the same. "That depends how much you cooperate with us."

She shifted nervously. "Wha – what do you mean?" She wondered where this conversation was heading.

Crispin leaned closer to her across the table. "Is there something you're hiding from us?"

"What would I hide from you?"

"Did you lie to us earlier?"

Her face dropped. He found out. "How did you know?"

He tried not to smile. He was still a good interrogator. "I have my sources. Why did you do it?"

"She asked before I came here to do it. All she wanted was one picture. She wanted to see what you look like. I told her you were dragons so she said she definitely needed one. You didn't have wings. That was how she explained to me I was wrong. I know you are so it's confusing. I'm sorry. I'll tell her to delete it. Please don't set me on fire." She shifted her eyes from Crispin to Jules and back again. This was specifically what he told her not to tell anyone else. She deserved to have flames shot at her.

Crispin stared at her in disbelief. He didn't think she would reveal that. He needed to remain focused. "I didn't think I could've been clearer. You were not to reveal our true nature."

"I'm sorry. I really am."

"How did you even get a picture? I deleted it from your phone."

"You deleted the picture off of my phone but I'd already sent it."

He hung his head. He had a good idea on how to determine why the Unseen was after her. This scenario gave him an excuse. "You can't stay here. I can't trust you. Good luck out there." He stood up from the chair and started for the door.

"No, no," she said as she followed him. "I said I was sorry." She was worried about being attacked. He was the only one who could keep her safe. She needed to stay here.

He faced her. "You need to learn that when I ask you not to do something, you should follow my advice. Besides, you'll be safe at home. Don't come here again."

"Please Crispin. I'm sorry."

It hurt him to watch her plead like this. He had to remain strong. "Everything will be okay. You don't need me."

She opened her mouth to protest but closed it. She lied to him. All it took was one lie and she was on her own. "I understand. I won't come back ever. You don't have to worry about me. Nice to meet you Jules," she said, giving Jules a handshake good-bye. She walked past Crispin and left the house. There was no need to talk to him anymore. Their involvement was over. He made that clear.

Annabel opened the door to her car and sat inside staring at the controls. She wasn't sure what had happened. She couldn't tell if he was serious when he told her she was safe now. It didn't matter. She was angry with him banishing her from there. He didn't use the word banished. He told her she couldn't come back. To her, it sounded the same. The creature could attack her now and she was defenseless. She didn't know how to defend herself. He could've at least told her one technique.

She thought about what had happened as she drove home. In particular, she thought about Crispin She was wrong in thinking he was different from other guys she met. They were all the same. The only difference between him and the rest was the claim to be a dragon. The story was weirder than what she normally heard. That was what had attracted her to him. It was over. She could go home now and everything would resume to normal.

Annabel opened the door to her quiet apartment. She was glad to be back on familiar turf. She checked around the place for June. She must've left. She couldn't stay still for long. A note was on the kitchen table. Annabel read it. Yep, June was out with Sven. Annabel opened the fridge and pulled out something to eat. She was starving.

She flipped through a magazine. The house was too quiet. She looked at the clock on her phone. It was only eleven in the morning. The day just started. She needed to find something to take her mind off everything she went through. There was only one thing she could think of.

After a day of shopping in the city, Annabel returned home to find June inside with who she assumed was Sven. "Are you finally back?" June asked when she saw Annabel. "It looks like you bought everything in the city. Had a rough weekend?"

Annabel put the bags against the wall. She would sort through them later. "You have no idea what I've been through. I can't even describe it. Hello," she said to the man sitting on the couch. "I'm talking to Sven right?"

June interrupted with, "He doesn't speak much English. He's visiting with his friends from Europe. I forgot where he's from but he's so cute. Aren't you Sven?" She leaned over and ran her fingers down the side of his face before kissing him.

"Ah love," Annabel said sarcastically. She headed towards her room.

"Speaking of love," June stressed, "What about you and your mystery hero? How did that go?"

"I think I was dumped twice by him before we went out. It might be a new record."

"Ouch. Well, the offer still stands. There are a few cute guys over here with Sven and they'd like to meet you. I can get them over here in half an hour."

Annabel shook her head. "I'm not up for that tonight. I'm going to sleep. I have such an exciting life. It'll give you two alone time."

June nodded and draped herself over Sven. Annabel shook her head as she left. That relationship wouldn't last as long as Sven was in the country. She went into her room and closed the door. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough. Everything was back to normal.

Chapter 12

"I'm going to the store. Anyone need something while I'm out?" Crispin asked, standing at the edge of the outside door. He had his hand on the door knob.

"Let's see, you're going around Lawn so why don't you...actually, I don't think there are any stores around there," Henry said. He looked at Crispin to see if he showed any sort of emotion. Henry knew he would.

"Why would I go to Lawn?" Crispin folded his arms over his chest. He shifted his eyes.

"I happen to know that a certain brown haired girl lives around there. You may want to tell her hello. I could be wrong. You did yell at her and tell her never to come here again." Henry flipped through the channels absentmindedly. He knew he managed to strike a chord with Crispin.

"You're wrong. I'm not going to Lawn."

"Where are you going?" Sera asked. She grinned at Henry sitting next to her.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm only going shop for food. I was trying to be nice."

"Could you get me cookies?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes I can."

"Oh and get me a number," Henry said, without turning to Crispin.

Crispin and Sera looked at Henry curiously. "A number?" Crispin asked.

"The one to the roommate she talked about," Henry said with a smile.

Crispin rolled his eyes. "You don't have to believe me. I'll talk to you when I get back," he said, opening the door and leaving. He didn't want to keep answering their questions. Henry would keep asking questions until he managed to make Crispin confess where he was going. Crispin told them enough: He was going buy more food for the house. That was all they needed to know. It was the truth.

He never said how long he taking to get the food. They wouldn't notice if it took a long time. He would walk in later to a quiet house. He figured Henry was leaving the house tonight. Crispin was surprised Henry didn't have his groupies at the house already. The speech Crispin gave before they moved worked. It lasted longer than he thought it would.

Sera and Jules were staying behind like usual. He felt bad forcing Sera to stay there. It was best for her close-by in case of danger. He worried about her sometimes. Jules could protect her while he was gone.

He found himself outside Annabel's house. He wasn't sure which window was hers but a few were lit. A silhouette of two people crossed it. He was looking at the living room. He stood back in the shadows and watched. If the Unseen was hanging around, it was coming after her soon. He was certain.

"She lied to you," a nagging voice inside his head told him. That was true. He thought about that problem ever since she told him. He made her promise not to tell anyone he was a dragon. She not only told someone, she took his picture as well. He should leave and let her deal with the problem herself. That wasn't him. He had to help her.

"I'm too nice," he said to himself. That was always his problem.

Crispin wasn't sure how long he stood outside her building. His eyes kept scanning for the Unseen. If what Jules discovered was correct, the Unseen was coming straight to her. She attracted them. He was nearby to destroy them. It would be a great symbiotic relationship. He wouldn't have to search for them anymore throughout the city.

A dark shape took shape outside the house. Crispin straightened himself. That was what he waited for. He moved closer towards the house. The lights had gone off earlier. No one would see the shape coming towards them. He ran faster to the house, hoping to overtake the Unseen before it entered.

The shape traveled up the wall and pulled bricks down. Crispin caught its attention by shooting flames at it. He scorched the Unseen along with the exterior of the house. "Come here and fight," he challenged the Unseen. It was barely out his claw's reach. He needed to find another way to attack it. He had to entice it to come to him. They would be on even footing and he'd destroy the creature before it caused any damage.

"Silly little dragon. You're not worthy of my attention. You're not the target," the cold voice said continuing up the side of the building. It wasted time responding to him.

Crispin knew who the target was. He didn't a choice at this point. He had to get inside the house now. He clawed at the door handle. It refused to open. He pulled it off and threw it on the ground. Time was running out for him to get to Annabel. The Unseen could be in her room before he made his way in.

The house was dark. Light from an outside street lamp was the only thing allowing him to see where he was going. His eyes scanned the dark room. He saw something move in the corner. He turned to get a better look. The Unseen crashed into him and forced him to tumble. Crispin scrambled back onto his feet. The shape slid underneath a door. That had to be the door to Annabel's room. He bashed himself against the door three times before it fell off its hinges.

Annabel sat up in her bed. "Crispin?" she asked, unsure of what she was seeing. She wondered if this was a dream from everything she saw earlier. He would certainly be in it. She pulled her covers around herself.

"Don't move," he warned, "I followed an Unseen into your house. It's in here." He scanned the area. He saw it come in. It had to be in the room. He would've felt it leave. He stepped onto the broken door and into the room.

"You told me I was safe here," she said with a slight panic in her voice. She knew what the Unseen was capable of. She wanted to run out the run.

"I lied," he said as he kept searching. "I took a lesson from you."

"Making jokes when there's a creature nearby that could kill me does not make me more comfortable. Is there anything I can do right now?" She searched the room. She couldn't tell if anything was there. She never noticed how many shadows were in her room before.

Crispin nodded. "Turn on a light."

Annabel turned on the lamp on her side table. When she did, half of the room remained in darkness. "Oh," she said softly. All her doubts disappeared. Those shadows were the Unseen. It was definitely inside of her room. She felt trapped even with Crispin there for protection.

Chapter 13

"Get out of here," Crispin instructed Annabel. He needed to stall the Unseen from coming after her. Getting her out gave him less to worry about. He braced himself near the door so she had a way to leave. He'd cover her escape.

Annabel stumbled out of bed and made her way to the door. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" she asked Crispin before leaving. She wanted to make sure he got out as well. He came to save her. It was the least she could do for him. No one deserved to fight the Unseen alone.

"Once - ," he started before being knocked off his feet. Annabel felt the darkness brush past her. It knocked her to the ground as well.

He stood up once more as he looked around. He helped Annabel to her feet too. "We need to get you out of here now."

The dark shape took advantage of the moment and made its way to the door. Its dark shape filled the entire door frame. The light from the lamp was extinguished as it crashed on the ground. "There is no escape for you," the cold voice said. A shiver ran through Annabel's body.

She searched around the room. Whatever light coming in from the street lamp was no longer visible. She relied on her memory to move from one spot to another. "Crispin?" she asked in a whisper. Her hands grazed over objects as she searched for him. He must be nearby unless the Unseen attacked him.

Something grabbed her hand. "Annabel," Crispin said grabbing onto her. "Follow me." He pulled her in the direction of the window. Or at least she was thought it was the way to the window. She wasn't certain where she was. She relied on him to lead her to safety. She grabbed his hand tight.

Her hands continued searching as she felt her way around the room. She found the edge of her bed before hitting it. That gave her a clearer image of where she was. She knew they were heading. It was towards her window. It was the only other exit from her room.

"Open the window. I'll make sure we don't have any opposition," Crispin said placing her hands on the window sill. He made sure both her hands were securely on there before releasing them.

Annabel started opening the window. It had been a long time since she opened it. She hoped that they could still open. She pushed the window up with a pop. "It's open," she said happily. She wasn't sure where Crispin went.

"What's open?" Crispin asked. He sounded further away than she assumed he was. He must be fighting the Unseen over there. He did have good infra-vision, she assumed.

"You asked me to open the window. I opened it," she explained. She peered through the room to find his silhouette.

"Close the window," Crispin yelled. A stream of fire indicated to Annabel where he was. He stood on the opposite side of her room. She lost contact with him when the fire died.

She shook her head. He was changing his mind again. She closed the window.

"Open the window," Crispin yelled at her.

"Make up your mind," she yelled back. She was tired of him giving her an order only to change his mind a few minutes later. He needed to decide whether he wanted the window open or closed.

"It's imitating me. Close the window and...I don't know what you can do," Crispin told her as he clawed the dark shape. He didn't know what she could do. All he wanted was her to stay away from the Unseen. He aimed fire at the darkness in hopes of escaping.

Annabel looked at him curiously. There was only one Crispin in the room. At least only one that was shooting a jet of fire. "Are you sure?"

"I don't have time to explain this." The darkness hit him against another wall in her room. He crashed into a shelf and brought down whatever was on it. Glass hit the floor and shattered. Crispin felt the glass crush under his hands as he stood up.

She glanced around the room. "I need something I can hit it with," she thought searching the area. She needed something to do damage. She knew the Unseen was vulnerable to fire. There was no fire in her room. She thought of using her umbrella to attack it but she remembered the incident with the stick. It wouldn't do any damage. She kept looking.

Her hand hit against a piece of mirror on the floor. That might work. She could reflect something back at the darkness. She reasoned if the darkness was turning off the lights, it might be vulnerable to light. She searched hoping to find something she could use to create this effect. The only thing inside of the room capable of producing light was the flames from Crispin. She had to find a way to reflect it back at the darkness.

She made her way over the broken objects closer to the two engaged in fighting. It was impossible to attack the Unseen from the front. It was fighting Crispin anyway. There were flames going astray. Those she could use for her attack. She held up the portion of mirror. She reflected some of the flames that missed hitting the creature.

The Unseen paused its fighting for a brief moment. It was confused about what was happening around it. It could not sense that there was another dragon inside of the room yet it was positive that it felt flames coming from another direction. It turned to face Annabel. A cold laugh escaped when it realized what happened.

A large hand formed from the darkness and smashed itself against Annabel. She fell upon the ground and lost the mirror piece. She scrambled to find it but felt the dark hand grab her ankle. It pulled her back towards it. Her fingernails dug into the ground as she attempted to resist it.

"It is rare for one to escape us. You are a problem to us. Now you will be a problem solved," the cold voice said. The icy grip moved up Annabel's legs. She could barely feel her legs now. She couldn't move them at all.

Crispin raced to her. He had been blocked by the Unseen before. He dropped to his knees and inspected her legs. They were beginning to freeze completely. He was worried. There was only one option he could think of. "You have to trust me on this," he told her while looking at Annabel's eyes. He wanted her to trust him.

She was not sure what he planned. He was the expert in this sort of scenario. She nodded in agreement with him. "Okay," she said.

He released a stream of flames at her legs. Annabel gritted her teeth to keep from yelling. She felt the flames scorching her skin but this was the only way she could get her legs freed. He kept blowing the fire at her and watched the darkness slink away. She moved her legs after a while and pulled herself away from the situation.

The Unseen pulled back. Its shape beginning to swirl as it turned rapidly. "This isn't over dragon. You know we have claimed her. She belongs to us." It spun faster and faster. Objects were picked up and swirled around the room. It prepared to launch a massive attack against them.

Crispin grabbed Annabel and pushed her to the ground. "We need to stay down," he instructed her. An object flew by and hit Crispin in the head. Annabel wrapped herself as much as possible around him. With a free hand, she grabbed her bed post. She hoped the Unseen spent all its energy and left them alone. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hang on. Her grip was slipping.

Chapter 14

Annabel closed her eyes and bit her lip. Her grip was slipping away. She opened her eyes to adjust it. She was no longer in her room. She was not sure where she was. Bright light surrounded her. "Crispin," she said looking around. She couldn't see him. Her heart raced as she scanned the room for him.

"He cannot hear you," a voice said. "He is not permitted."

She stood up scanning the area. "Who are you? Are you the Unseen? I'm not afraid of you." She tried not to let her emotions show. She would feel braver if Crispin was here. Even Henry would do.

"What you call the Unseen is nothing more than an underling. I have many names – none of which you are able to say with great clarity."

"What do you want?" She looked around. The voice was coming from somewhere.

"It is rare for a human to be touched by an Unseen and survive. You intrigue me, Annabel Wells. I am going to offer you a proposition. Come and join me. I will give you command of thousands of Unseen. You will be able to do whatever your heart desires." A shape began forming in front of her. A tall man appeared. His face was eerily serene.

Annabel backed up. She wanted to run. She was not sure where she could run. All she could do was confront him. "You control all of the Unseen."

He smiled. "I am their creator. They obey my every command. They could obey yours too. I am offering you a very special opportunity, one which I'm not inclined to offer again."

"I don't trust you. I'll never help you," Annabel said. "I'm not like you."

"This is the only time in which I'm offering this to you. Think wisely before answering."

"I'm positive I don't want anything from you. Someone who creates these creatures doesn't value the same things I do." She braced herself for his attack. She knew those words may have sealed her fate.

The man straightened himself as he examined her closely. She felt him staring at her but was unable to turn away. There was something intoxicating about him. It was hypnotizing. He released the hold he had on her. She felt her body go weak. He glared at her. "Remember that you chose this. You could have been the leader of the world."

Annabel closed her eyes against her will. She reopened them back in her room. Crispin was there with her. The dark shape had left the room. She assumed it left through the window. The window was the only thing broken. The objects which had been flung around her room were back in their normal positions unbroken.

She relaxed her grip on the bed post. She was confused about everything. Nothing made sense at the moment. Her gaze drifted back to Crispin. He was still lying on the ground.

"Crispin? Can you hear me?" she asked slapping him. His eyes were closed. He appeared to be knocked out still. She wasn't sure if he heard her or not.

"Please wake up. Open your eyes." She tried finding a way to waken him. He was unresponsive. There had to be a way.

She heard that splashing water on someone's face could get that person to wake up. Hopefully it worked. She left him lying on the floor. She grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen. She threw the water on him.

Crispin opened his eyes and tried to catch his breath. "Did you throw water on me?" he asked, feeling his face. It was wet. She was holding a glass so he was positive he was correct.

"You were knocked out. Are you okay?" She inspected the back of his head where the object hit him. There were no visible signs of the impact.

He felt the back of his head. His hair covered the bump. "It's only a slight wound. I'll survive. Did the Unseen manage to escape?"

She helped Crispin to his feet. "I think it did. It went out through the window." She smiled at him. "I thought you said I was on my own."

He gave a crooked grin. "I happened to be in the neighborhood."

"I need to thank you for saving my life...again," she said. He was becoming her personal hero.

"That's." He paused for a moment. "It's fine. I'm doing what I have to do. I'd do it for anyone."

Annabel said, "Oh" and looked away in disappointment. She thought he was going to say something special. Maybe apologize. She wanted something. She thought she was a special person for him to spend time saving her.

He looked around the room for the first time. It was back to normal. He couldn't see anything out of place. "Do you think your roommate woke up because of the fighting?"

"June," Annabel said realizing her roommate was still there. She left her room and knocked on June's door.

"Are you in there?" Annabel asked through the door. She wasn't sure if June was harmed during the fight. She wasn't even sure June heard the fight happening. She waited a few minutes before returning to Crispin with a shrug.

"Was she okay?" he asked. He hadn't seen anyone come out of the room so he assumed everything went well. The Unseen hadn't shown interest in her roommate before.

"She didn't answer. I'm not sure if she's okay or not. I'm not sure if she was here. I know she was hanging out with her new guy tonight so she may have gone with him somewhere."

"Without telling you?"

"We're roommates. I'm not her mom."

He nodded. He understood that. "I don't think you should stay here tonight. You would be safer around us. We could protect you."

"That will work for tonight but what about tomorrow? I can't stay at your place forever."

"It would only be for a little while longer. I'm sure Jules will be interested in what happened tonight."

"Right, Jules," she muttered to herself, "Let me get some clothes and I'll go with you." Annabel gathered her stuff and threw it into a duffel bag. She wondered if she would ever get to stay in her room again. She might have to find another place to live until the Unseen tired of chasing after her. She wondered if that was possible.

Chapter 15

"You talked to the entity that created the Unseen?" Jules asked. He was making sure he got the entire story from her. This, in particular, was one of the main points he wanted to get accurate. It seemed unbelievable.

Annabel nodded. "He offered me the chance to lead all the Unseen on Earth. Or at least a thousand of them. I remember that portion of the conversation because it seemed an odd number to offer."

"A thousand seems possible. Controlling a force of that size guarantees you the control of wherever you want. I can't imagine anyone standing up that force."

"Should I have agreed to take control of them?" Annabel asked with a chuckle. She felt worried again.

Jules shook his head. He flipped a few pages of his notes. "I wouldn't do it. I'd make them destroy themselves."

The door to the room opened. Annabel and Jules turned to see who came in. Crispin appeared shaking his head. "Do you know where Sera or Henry is? I went to each of their rooms and neither one is in there." He wasn't too concerned for Henry. It wasn't like Sera to leave in the middle of the night though and it troubled him.

"Henry's out for the night. He'll come back in the morning as always. Sera should be in her room. Are you sure you checked it thoroughly?" Jules shrugged. He was busy working on new devices in his office. He assumed everyone else was behaving themselves.

Crispin opened his mouth to respond but closed it. He heard a sound from the other room. "Give me a moment," he told the two as he walked towards the noise. He came back with Henry and Sera. "I found them," Crispin said. He folded his arms across his chest. He knew what happened.

"Hey, what do you know Annabel's here. Amazing. I didn't see that coming," Sera said sarcastically leaning against the wall. She was wearing her dress clothes complete with her dark hair stacked upon her head. It was obvious to tell she wasn't sleeping upstairs like Crispin thought.

Henry, dressed in nice clothes as well, joined in, adding, "Me neither. This is a complete shock. I also didn't see any groceries in the kitchen." He turned to Crispin and smiled.

"I'll deal with you two later. For now, I think Jules and Annabel need to tell you what happened tonight," Crispin said motioning for Jules to begin talking about what he learned. This was important for the team as a whole to understand.

Jules started, explaining everything that happened during the night. When he had problems with details, he turned to Annabel or even Crispin to see what information they were able to add to the conversation. Jules did not miss the essentials of the development.

Henry's face changed into a more serious one. "Guess that ends the fun period over here. It was over before it started," Henry agreed with Crispin and Jules. They needed to be on guard now for more attacks. At least he had one fun night out before stopping.

Sera nodded. She knew what this meant as well. "What are you going to do with her?"

Annabel looked to Crispin for an answer. He told her to stay here for a while. If he wanted to change his mind, now would be the best time.

"Annabel's staying here for a while. At least until we can figure out how to block the Unseen from coming after her. We'll be able to defend her from any attacks," Crispin explained. He gave grin towards Annabel.

Henry and Sera exchanged a look between themselves. They talked about this earlier. They knew Annabel would be staying for longer than one night. They both laughed. Neither was able to stop themselves.

"What's funny about that?" Crispin asked. He folded his arms over his chest again. He was defensive around them now. They were making him uncomfortable and it was his own place.

"Nothing at all. I think I'm going to sleep. I'm tired," Sera said leaving through the door. She tried to conceal her smile from Crispin.

Henry followed Sera out of the room. He knew tomorrow would be long. He turned around at the door frame and said, "I'll give you two sometime. Annabel, remember my room is the third one on the left when you go upstairs." He winked at Annabel and then at Crispin before he left. He knew he was in trouble.

"I'm thinking that's his permanent personality," Annabel said when Henry left. She was confident in her guess.

"He'll get better. He's a good person to have on your team if you need help. I think he's tired of being stuck in the house all day," Crispin said with Jules nodding in agreement. "You're going to stay in the same place as before."

"I'm staying here for now. I think I might be able to rig something for her," Jules told them. He pulled out a soldering iron.

Crispin opened the door and helped Annabel up the stairs. He saw the light was still on in Henry's room. Sera's was dark. He needed to think of how to approach this situation.

Annabel followed Crispin close. She kept sensing something in the corner of her eye. She was seeing shadows everywhere. "Should I be worried about the Unseen coming after me over here?" She jumped at a shadow coming in from the window.

He shook his head. "You'll be safe here. No Unseen would attack a place with four people ready to destroy it."

"You're such a good guy. You're always saving me, the poor damsel in distress." She smiled at him and brushed his hair from his face. It was blocking his eyes.

He smiled back when she told him that. "Well, even heroes need to sleep. I definitely need some after everything that happened. I'll see you in the morning."

"That sounds good," she said remaining there. She was waiting to see if he would make a move towards her. The last time she tried anything, he switched the subject. She may be reading him wrong. It seemed he kept searching her out. He might only want a friendship with her. She wanted to know.

Crispin moved away and started towards another room next to her. "I'll be in here if you need me. You can bang on the wall and I'll come," he said opening his door and going inside.

That was her answer. Annabel heard his door close before hers did.

Chapter 16

Annabel woke up in the morning and saw the curtains were drawn. She wasn't sure what time it was. She must have overslept. She looked at her phone. "Are you kidding me?" she asked herself reading the time. It was seven in the morning. If she wanted to wake up at that time, it would never happen.

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "I'm not going today," she said thinking about work. She needed to rest after the weekend she had. She would be too concerned with checking over her shoulder for the Unseen to attack her to serve coffee properly.

She opened her door and peeked out into the hallway to see if anyone else was awake. She didn't want to accidentally wake up the entire house. They shouldn't suffer for her rising early. She started down the hall and saw Crispin's door was opened. She crept closer towards it. She wanted to see if he was awake too. She stopped when she heard voices coming from inside.

"You can't tell me what to do. I can determine for myself what I should or shouldn't do," Sera said. She sounded agitated with Crispin. This was not the first time they argued like this.

Crispin responded with, "You don't know how to properly defend yourself. Why should you be out? Do you want to be attacked?"

"I was with Henry. If something happened he'd help me. I thought about that before I left."

"Henry would help you if it didn't interfere with him getting some chick's phone number. I know him. We've worked together for over twenty years now."

Annabel thought about what he said. She wondered how old Crispin was if he and Henry worked together for that long. She thought he wasn't older than thirty. She must be wrong.

"That's it then? I'm stuck in this house for the rest of the time we're here. I don't understand why you're acting this way. Do you want me to beg? Oh please sir, can I go outside or do I need to get clearance for that too?"

"I'll give you clearance to go outside."

"I was being sarcastic. I don't see why you're so angry about this. You're the one who first brought the human here. You broke your own rule."

"She's being attacked by the Unseen."

"Yeah right."

"She is."

"Oh Annabel, I think you're so pretty." Sera made kissing noises, knowing it to agitated Crispin. She was angry with him for keeping her here. There was nothing more he could do to her since she was inside of the house. Her goal was to force him to let her get away if only for peace in the house.

Crispin had enough. He knew what the real problem was. "You can't hang around Henry. He's a bad influence on you."

"Now you're going to tell me who I can talk to?"

"Yes I am. If you don't like it, you can always leave and go back home."

"Fine. All hail King Crispin," Sera said stomping out the room. She was angry with him. He was being unreasonable.

Annabel headed back to her own room before Sera or Crispin saw her in the hallway. She didn't want to get involved in whatever dispute they were having. She made it back to the room and stood against a wall so she could not be seen. She heard Sera's steps heading downstairs. Annabel peered out of her room once more before walking to talk with Crispin.

She saw Crispin left his room and walk to another one. She counted the doors and saw it was Henry's. Crispin was going tell him the same thing he said to Sera. He was not allowing this behavior to continue. It wasn't happening while they were in danger of an attack from the Unseen.

Annabel would talk to him later. She didn't have to worry about waking up anyone now. It seemed everyone was already awake. Entered the living room, she saw Sera sitting on the couch watching TV. It was some reality show. Annabel grinned realizing no matter what species you were, television was a form of entertainment.

The mood was tense in the room. Annabel couldn't tell why. There were two options she thought about. It could be the argument Sera had with Crispin. There was also the feeling of Sera not liking Annabel.

"Hi Sera," Annabel said. She sat on an oversized chair in the room. It was close enough to talk to Sera without being next to her. She wanted to lighten the mood of the room. It was becoming overbearing.

Sera didn't turn her attention away from the screen. "You heard the entire conversation?"

"I heard the last part." Annabel wasn't going to lie. She learned her lesson about that.

Sera positioned herself facing Annabel. "I'm sorry. I'm usually not that moody, it's – do you have any brothers?"

"Oh, you and Crispin are brother and sister?" Annabel smiled and nodded to herself. It made sense now. That was another thing she could cross off her list. There was nothing else keeping her from asking him out.

"Unfortunately yes. He thinks he knows more than me about everything. He tells me what to do since he has more experience. I would have experience too if he let me go on the missions. It's annoying to put up with it all the time."

"How long have you been chasing the Unseen with him?"

"I've helped them for about ten years. Actually," she looked up and counted silently, "It's more like eight years. The guys have been together for a while now."

"They travel from place to place hunting the Unseen? That doesn't seem like an easy job to do."

"It's not only hunting the Unseen. They search out and investigate what happened to people who appeared to be killed by the Unseen. It's a gruesome job. They also have to worry about fighting knights."

Annabel wasn't sure she heard the last part correctly. "Fighting who?"

"Knights. It's a long story and it's too early for me to get into it. It'll give you something to talk to Crispin about. I know it's not easy to get Crispin's attention. He can't focus on things for long before drifting off onto something else." Sera's attention drifted back to the television.

"Thanks for telling me that," Annabel turned her attention to the television as well. It was easy letting her mind go blank so that she stopped thinking about everything else going on.

Chapter 17

Annabel spent the day there once again going through all sorts of tests with Jules. He was shocked to find in a few of the tests, her scores were higher than he anticipated. He was convinced one of those results was going to help him block her from the Unseen.

"What are our options right now?" Annabel asked. She glanced at the results but couldn't figure them out.

"I'm figuring out a way you can stop the Unseen from finding you. There's a tracking system they must be using. I doubt they could randomly know about you," he explained to her as he double checked the information he had. He held a piece of metal to her which turned blue. He shook his head and grabbed another.

He was creating something to block the stronger traits she exhibited during the tests. He hoped that was the problem. He wanted her to return to her normal life. If he didn't find the solution soon, she may have to stay here longer. She could possibly have to stay here forever to be safe.

"You think I can return to work soon? I'm not the best waitress but still, it helps to have of money. Rent isn't free," she joked with Jules. She hovered over him watching what he was making. She thought it was a watch but she couldn't be sure.

"I understand," Jules said, continuing to concentrate on the final tweaks of the device he was creating. "This should hopefully keep your smell from being transmitted. It'll give you a sort of camouflage." He pulled his finger back from the device as it emitted a spark.

"My smell? Are you making a perfume for me too?"

He looked up at her with his glasses hanging off the end of his nose. "No. One of the tests showed you're emitting some sort of chemical from your skin. I'm not sure if that's normal in humans but the Unseen is attracted to it. This device is going to block it." He returned to modifying the device. He nodded and closed the small back of it. It was finished. He handed it to Annabel.

"This is a watch," she said examining it. There was a dial face but wasn't turning. "I stand corrected. This is a broken watch."

"It's not supposed to keep time. There wasn't enough space. It'll neutralize your smell and make you pass near the Unseen without it being able to detect you. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?"

Jules clasped the watch on Annabel's wrist. "It's one of a kind. I'll make a more refined one later but for now, this is going to work."

Annabel looked at the watch. There was no harm in her wearing it. It matched most of her outfits. If it saved her from being attacked, she would wear without complaining. "What do I have to do now? Do I have to wear this for the rest of my life?"

"We need to test it first and see if it works."

She tilted her head. "Test it?" She thought he had perfected it.

"We have to see if it works. We'll need to use you as bait for the Unseen."

Her mouth dropped. She did not see that coming. "I've been attacked three times by this thing. I don't know if I could survive another one. This is the worst idea ever. Who came up with this?" She had a good idea who it was.

Jules shrugged. "It was Crispin's idea. You can go ask him about it."

"I am. I can't believe he would think this is a good idea," she said in belief leaving the room. She would find Crispin and ask him what he was thinking. She couldn't deal with the Unseen again. He needed to rethink a way to test out this device without putting her in harm's way.

She headed upstairs to the last place she saw him. She knocked on the door. She prepared herself for Crispin to be the same mood he was earlier with Sera. She could deal with that. Henry opened the door and asked, "I told you – Annabel. It's nice to see you. Can I help you with something?"

"Is Crispin in here?"

He scoffed. "No. He left earlier after he finished telling me how reckless I was. I think he's in his room. It's one door down."

"Thanks," she said heading to the room. She was shaking her head, practicing the speech she would give him. She was not leaving herself open for the Unseen to come and attack her. He had to think of another plan. He could get attacked by the Unseen. That was a better plan.

"Crispin, I need to talk to you," Annabel said opening the door to his room. She looked at him and smiled. He was sitting in a chair when he dozed off to sleep. His feet were propped up on his desk. She felt guilty coming to argue with him.

She closed the door louder than she expected to. He sat up in his chair and asked, "What is it?" He looked around the room expecting to have to fight the Unseen. His eyes settled on Annabel and he realized it was only the two of them in there.

Annabel sat on his bed and swiveled his chair towards her. She made sure he was looking at her. "There are lots of things I want to talk to you about. First, did you tell Jules you were using me as bait to see if this blocker works against the Unseen?"

Crispin couldn't believe she knew. "No one can keep their mouths shut around here."

"It's true? How could you do this to me?"

"We have to see if it works. If we don't test it and you leave this house, then the Unseen may come after you again. We have to make sure you're safe. I can't spend all of my time protecting you. I have stuff to do. You've seen the other two – they don't do much." He grinned.

"Will you be there when we test it?"

"Absolutely. I like seeing what new things Jules creates."

"Is that the only reason why you're coming?" She smiled at him. She heard what Sera said earlier. She knew he liked her.

"There might be another one. Does it matter?"

"I guess it doesn't," she smiled at him. He was never going to admit it. She would have to do it herself. She stood up from the bed and kissed him.

Crispin returned the kiss and brought her closer to him. He wanted to do this since he met her and since she started it, he couldn't pull away. A nagging voice in the back of his head started going off. He physically pushed himself away from her and collected himself. "I can't," he said standing up from the chair, "We can't."

Annabel felt her cheeks turning red. She felt so embarrassed. She read him wrong. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I thought – I don't know." She stood up and started for the door. She needed to leave. Fresh air would help her breathe better. She wanted nothing better than to leave and not worry about any of this again.

"It's complicated. We can't do that," he explained. He didn't want to get into the whole process with her. There was too much going on as it was.

"I want to know one thing."

"What?"

"Can we forget about this?"

He smiled. "I'm not going to hold it against you."

"Thanks," she smiled back. At least she knew how he felt now. Nothing was going to happen but that was okay. She had her answer. That was the most important thing for her to know now. It was the end of their short term relationship.

Chapter 18

Annabel walked the street around midnight. She wasn't sure this would work. She was not being attacked at the moment. That was positive. "Nothing so far," she told Jules over her phone. She was connected to them in case the Unseen should attack. They did not want to take any chances.

"You're doing well. It appears the device works. I'm a genius," Jules told her. "You can walk around more if you want. You're invisible to them now. Hope everything goes good."

"Thanks Jules," she said hanging up the phone. It would be nice for her to get to spend quiet time back home. She did not want to worry about an Unseen attacking her during the middle of the night. She thought about the last time she saw her room. She needed to find something to cover the window.

"Annabel," Crispin said, coming up behind her. "It seems you're good to go. If you have problems, come back and see us. I'm sure Jules can fix it for you." He continued searching the shadows but they appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary.

"Thanks Crispin. That's nice of you to do this for me." She smiled at him. "I guess you'll have to go find someone else to save all the time now."

"It's all part of the dragon code."

"There's a real code?"

He shook his head and grinned sheepishly. "I made that part up. I won't have to save anyone for a while. I'll track the Unseen and destroy them before they get the chance to harm anyone."

They looked at each other for a moment, both of them thinking about what they wanted to say. It was a chance encounter they met and now it was over. It was time to get back to their normal lives. Their paths wouldn't cross again under normal circumstances.

"I guess I might see you around. If my watch breaks, I'll be there for sure," she said, leaving. She thought for a brief moment about turning back to see him again. She sighed to herself. She was confused about everything.

He watched her leave and sighed. He thought for a moment about breaking that watch.

Annabel saw June sitting on the couch the same as always. She chuckled to herself thinking of how everything remained the same here. There was no threat of attacks happening or people shifting into dragons. It seemed boring. "How's it going?" Annabel asked plopping herself beside her. She had a smile still remembering everything that happened.

"Where have you been?" June asked looking at Annabel. "You look happy. What's going on? Have you been drinking without me?" She laughed at her roommate.

"It's been a crazy weekend. I don't know where to start describing it. Do you mind if I sleep in the living room tonight?"

"What's wrong with your room?"

"Have you seen my room? One of the windows is broken."

June's mouth dropped. "There's a broken window? How did that happen? Annabel, you can't be serious" She stood up from the couch and walked to Annabel's room. June turned the handle and went inside.

"You're such a liar." June walked back into the room with a look of relief on her face. "Your room is perfect. Maybe messy but it's cleaner than mine. All your windows are intact."

"What?" Annabel walked into her room. June told the truth. Everything in her room was once again in perfect position. The window was replaced with the curtain reattached as well.

She walked around her room. There was no sign of the Unseen having fled her room. She looked out the window to the street below. Nothing seemed out of place. "How did this happen?"

She walked back into the living room shaking her head in disbelief. "I swear that window was broken."

June rolled her eyes. "Windows don't fix themselves. I think you have bigger problems. Your work called today. They said if you don't show up tomorrow, you're fired."

"Threatening to fire me. I love my job so much. I can't imagine not going there and serving people," Annabel said sarcastically.

"I know how you feel. I hate my job too," June said sympathetically.

"You love your job. You get to tattoo guys all day and create dozens of different styles. This is what you want to do. I don't think we're talking about the same kind of hatred of our jobs."

June made a face at Annabel. "You could quit."

"I could live on the streets. On that note, I'm going to sleep. I have to wake up early to serve coffee for minimum wage. I'm so happy," Annabel said, heading to her room.

She crawled under the covers and nuzzled into her pillow. It felt nice not worrying about being attacked while she slept. She looked at her watch. Jules installed a button which made it glow. She would never worry about whether or not she wore it. She could find it whenever she needed protection.

It was not as protective as she felt while staying at their place. It had to do. She closed her eyes and thought of Crispin. She hoped she saw him again. That would likely never happen. She fell asleep. Tomorrow was coming.

Chapter 19

"Our specials today include strawberry pancakes and honey French toast," Annabel recited for the first time that morning. It was the first table she was serving this morning. The restaurant was only opened for a few minutes ago and she felt tired. The weekend still played in the back of her mind. She couldn't get the images out of her head.

The old man and woman nodded among themselves. "I think the strawberry pancakes sound good. You can bring one plate and we'll share," he said, handing her back the menus.

"One plate of strawberry pancakes." She walked away from the table and placed her pad in one of her apron's pockets. There went her thoughts of getting a big tip. A shared plate wasn't a good sign.

She pushed through the double doors and headed into the kitchen. "I need one plate of strawberry pancakes," she said, placing the order. There weren't many patrons in the restaurant so she waited for the order to come out.

"How come you didn't show up yesterday?" the cook asked, flipping the pancakes. It wouldn't take long for them to be finished.

"It's a long story. It all started with a guy and it rolled into the entire weekend," she said, rolling her eyes. At least it started as guy trouble. It was too complicated to tell other people about what happened. She promised she wouldn't reveal it. This cut on her need to invent an alternate story.

He shook his head and plated the dish. "I remember what it was like to deal with relationship problems. I'll let you in on a secret. When you find the right person, your heart will let you know."

"I don't know." She stared at the plate. "Sometimes I think I have this ideal person in my head and I'll never meet him." Or worse yet, she met him, but he was of a different species.

"That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. Don't give up so easy. You never know what's going to happen an hour from now. Here's your pancakes," he said, handing the warm plate to Annabel.

She smiled at him. "I'll have to keep hoping for the best then." She pushed her way out the double doors and walked to the table. She delivered the plate with a smile.

"You're such a sweet girl," the old woman said looking at the pancakes.

Annabel smiled. "Thank you. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Not right now dear. Thank you."

"Have a nice breakfast," she said, backing from the table. Annabel turned around to check out if any new tables were waiting for her. The sooner she got to them, the better service she gave. She needed the tips and the diversion.

There was one other table someone was sitting at. Someone she was familiar with. Crispin smiled at her from across the room. He looked happy to see her.

"How did you know I work here?" Annabel asked reaching the table. She hesitated between sitting to talk or remaining standing. She chose to stand.

Crispin looked up at her and said, "I have my ways."

"I don't know if I want to learn what your ways are. Since you're here, can I get you anything for breakfast?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I want to ask you to come help us."

She looked around. She didn't see any of the others. "Help you with what?" She spoke in a low whisper, "I'm not a dragon or anything like that."

"We don't need help fighting them. We moved to the area recently and we're still not sure where everything is. Now, you've lived here for a while. You can also talk with the Unseen directly – a feat no other human can boast about. At least none I know of. I would never ask you to join us if I felt it was too dangerous for you. Would you come help us?" He looked at her in anticipation of her response.

"Are you serious?"

Crispin nodded. "Please say yes. You have no idea what I did to convince the others to say yes as well."

She smiled. "Okay. Yes. I'll help you. Let me go tell – wait, do I get paid?"

"We'll figure out something," he told her. "Now go. Today is a busy day."

Annabel walked through the double doors and shook her head at the rare news she got. She could not stop smiling. This was a fantastic opportunity for her. She never imagined today she would get to work with Crispin. She never thought she would see him again.

"Are you okay?" the cook asked. He saw her walk through the doors with a giant smile.

"I quit," she said, hanging her checkered apron on a rack. "You're right. You're absolutely right."

He looked at her puzzled. "I'm not sure what that means but good luck out there."

"Thanks," she said walking back through the doors. She almost ran when seeing Crispin waiting for her. She was afraid he might change his mind.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked opening the door for her. His smile stayed on his face from before. He was genuinely happy for her to work with them.

"Absolutely," she said going with him. Perhaps it wasn't the worst weekend she had in a long time. It was leading her to an excellent week.

### Try these other novellas in the Dragon's Fire series

Dragon's Fire: Novellas 1, 2, & 3

New Breed

Awry Plans

Talon or Steel

Dragon's Fire: Novellas 4, 5, & 6

Frozen Flames

Draco Ex Machina

Circle of Flames

Dragon's Fire: Novellas 7, 8, & 9

Secrets of Steel

Fire Blast

Molten Steel

10. Knight Fall

11. Shattered Code

12. Ignition

13. Beckon

14. Smoke and Flames

15. Broken Blade

16. Drops of Steel

17. Crimson Blade

18. Talon of Darkness

19. Rising Darkness

20. Past Shadows

21. Fallen Ashes

22. Cracks of Honor

23. Pieces

24. Exposure

25. Reversal
About the Author:

Danielle Kazemi is an author from southern Louisiana, living within walking distance of a bayou with alligators. She spends most of her free time either coming up with new story ideas or goofing off online. You can find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/DaniWrites or connect on Twitter with @DaniKazemi

She is the author of the bestselling action adventure series Dragon's Fire, a series of novellas dealing with modern day travails of these mythological, shapeshifting creatures. She enjoys hearing from readers – even the negative comments help guide her to find the perfect combination of creativity for her next project.

If you can spare a few moments, please leave a review either here or anywhere else to help others find out about this novella.

