She was getting sick of waking up like this. Though at least she didn’t have a headache this time, the drug made her groggy and gave her blurry vision. Meryn could at least discern from her blurry eyes that she was no longer in the hallway. She was in a... room. It wasn’t a huge room but it looked... vaguely familiar.
“Ugh... what’s happening?” Meryn said. She realized then that she wasn’t gagged. Though she couldn’t seem to move her limbs from the spot and she was definitely sitting down. “Huh... small consolation...” she muttered to herself.
A deep, gravelly voice grabbed her attention. He spoke softly, gently, but his voice pierced through the fog of her mind. “Are you all right, young one?”
Meryn furrowed her brow and a thought struck her. “Maybe I’m dreaming...” she said to herself. “Because that sounds like-”
“What are you saying, Meryn? Are you all right?”
The voice. She had heard it long ago. And once before in Weston. The man in the cloak. His golden eyes, like hers, the bit of long, red hair she saw sticking out of his hood... but there was no way. This had to be a dream.
“I’m... I’m not hearing this...”
“I assure you, little dragon, you are hearing this. Please let me know you’re all right.”
“Little...” Meryn’s senses jolted into focus and she took in her situation as the voice spoke.
Her wrists were securely bound behind the back of the chair with tight ropes. Her gloves were left on as well, which would certainly make picking away at the knots more difficult. A heavy coil of rope wrapped around her arms and torso, tightly pinning them to her sides. More rope wrapped around her thighs just above her knees and at her ankles. She gave her legs a tug and found that they were pulled back and tied to her wrists. “Damn...” she said to herself.
“I know,” the man from her right said. “This is a tough spot isn’t it, little dragon?”
“You... said it again...” Meryn finally looked to her right and the sight she took in it was... well, it was impossible. She just stared for the longest time.
He was always a handsome man, though his face a lot more scarred than she remembered. Much more wizened with age as well. But there he was. The intense, golden eyes, just like her own, the long red hair down to his shoulders, and his beard. It used to be well trimmed and maintained but now it was scruffy and unkempt; a lot more like Jonas, actually.
His black cloak at obviously been removed but her wore a tight suit, identical in colour to the one Meryn wore. The bright yellow, one piece suit was quite tight and showed off his still quite athletic and muscular figure. His body was covered in long sleeves and tight trousers. Thick, black gloves covered his hands and part of his forearms as well as heavy, black boots with brown straps running up his calves. He had been wearing a black leather belt, like Meryn, but it was left well out of his reach on the other side of the room, laying on a table beside hers.
He flashed a warm smile her way and she couldn’t help but stare.
“W-what... how... I-I don’t...”
“You’re not dreaming, young one. I am here.”
Meryn noticed then that he had been tied to his chair in the same way as she had been. But there he sat, all the same. She kept closing her eyes, shaking her head, waiting for the dream to end. She used to dream about him every day. Those stopped soon after she hit her 20s. But she would still dream about seeing him.
“Y-you... I... what?”
“I know it’s hard to believe,” he said. “But I’m here. Really. I’m... sorry I didn’t speak to you sooner.”
The name came back to her then. Her father’s name. Drake. And this was him. Drake Dane, otherwise known throughout Ikaatan as the Golden Wonder. No wonder she inherited the nickname she did...
“Y-you’re.... you’re really here.....”
Meryn had to figure where ‘here’ was. It turned out that she was right about it being familiar. It was the private box above the arena. The cosplayers were nowhere in sight but Meryn heard a great deal of muffled voices and the pounding on a door off to the right. It must have been a closet of some sort. Whatever predicament The Jeweller had promised turned out to be a bluff. It was all part of the trap...
“Young one...” the man beside her asked. “Are you all right?”
“I’m just... processing things.” Meryn took another look to her left and saw two more chairs. In one of them sat Heather Van Truss, still in costume, and still taped up and gagged, struggling away. And right beside her...
“Saira!” Meryn said, noticing that her girlfriend was unconscious but breathing, taped up and gagged just like Heather.
“Yes, she was brought in just after me. You were already in here after I woke up,” the man beside her said. “I had hoped to deal with this and get you out of here but it was a trap for me, too. Guess we have that in common. Not surprising. You are my daughter.”
Meryn turned to look at him again and just couldn’t fathom how he was sitting here.
“How... how are you...”
“Alive? A fine question. But I do think we have more pressing matters. That woman did mention that a friend of yours is on his way and I don’t know what she intends to do but I suspect it won’t be good for us.”
“I guess you’re right,” Meryn said. “But you’ll have to explain that to me at some point. It’s just so... I mean, how!?”
“I will let you know, little dragon. But right now...”
Meryn struggled with the ropes binding her. “Yes. Any luck on your side?”
“So far, I haven’t been able to find any conceivable way out without serious injury. All my tools are over there. And she did enough to keep everything out of reach. Seems this woman knows what she’s doing.”
“Damn it... same for me.”
Drake sighed. “I suppose it may be up to your friend then. I can only wonder what’s keeping him.”
“He’s careful,” Meryn said. “Methodical. Plans things out. He must be doing that.”
“So is this man your um... well...”
Meryn furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes at her father. “No. Come on, dad, you know I’m not-”
“I’m just wondering. People evolve and I haven’t really seen you in a very long time.”
“Yeah, tell me about it...”
Drake smiled to himself when he looked to Meryn’s left and noticed Saira there, still unconscious. “You said her name,” he said, nodding toward her. “So then is she...”
Meryn let out a long breath. “Yes. She is...”
He chuckled. “Brown eyes?” he asked.
“How did you know?”
“Your mother had brown eyes...”
“Wait... are you saying...”
“No no. Just, you know... same tastes as your old man, eh?”
“Dad...”
“Short hair, too. A bit shorter than your mother’s hair but, well, I rubbed off on you, it seems.”
“I guess you did...”
Drake shook his head. “I’m sorry, little dragon. I should be concentrating. It’s just been... well... time for catching up later, I suppose.”
“Probably a good idea,” Meryn agreed.
“Much movement on your side?” Drake asked.
Meryn tried to shuffle her chair and spin it to the side. “I think I can move the chair...”
“Good. I can try the same. Maybe one of us can reach something on the other.”
The two of them shuffled their chairs until they were facing back to back. Drake tried reaching up first but he grunted a bit and winced in pain. “Damn shoulders... I’m no spring chicken... Not much flexibility anymore.”
“Let me try...” Meryn said. She reached up with her own bound wrists, as far as she could anyway, and felt around on the ropes binding her father before finally finding a knot that would be well out of his reach. “Got something... but my gloves might make this difficult.”
“Something is better than nothing,” Drake said. “I’m sure you can do it.”
Meryn’s fingers kept slipping when she would grab the knots but, eventually, the grip on the palm of her gloves actually came in handy and her fingers managed a solid grip on the ropes binding her father.
“Got a grip...” Meryn said.
“That’s good. You didn’t forget what I taught you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The warrior’s spirit. You know. The question. What is a warrior without weapons?”
Meryn responded almost automatically. “A warrior still.”
“That’s my girl,” he said. “Now fight that rope like you would an armed opponent.”
Though she was making progress on the rope, it was still slow going. The knot still wouldn’t come undone. Drake tried sitting as still as possible but he twitched slightly and wound up accidentally pulling the knot slightly tighter again.
“Hey, sit still!” Meryn said.
“Sorry, Meryn,” Drake said. “I’ll do my best.”
Though they seemed to have found a way out, they had no idea how long they had. And, still being tied to chairs, right now Jonas was the only person in The Jeweller’s way...
...
Jonas was fully dressed in his gear. He hadn’t really made the sort of name that Meryn had but as The Seeker, he still made for a rather intimidating presence.
But, right now, he was hidden. The unmarked van had moved through traffic as inconspicuous as possible. He knew Silver’s goons, and thus people connected with The Jeweller, would be monitoring the perimeter and inside of the arena like hawks. He also knew The Jeweller fully expected him to come in and probably expected him to show up last of the people she called out on television.
He had hoped Meryn and the mysterious cloaked man wouldn’t have been caught but, from his own small surveillance station inside the van two blocks away, he saw them both get drugged with sleep darts and brought to the private box with Heather Van Truss.
“Well this is a problem...” he had said to himself. Jonas was no fighting expert. He wasn’t especially strong or fast so there was no way he would be able to take on the goons all at once. But there was a chance he could serve as a distraction and maybe lure The Jeweller into a trap of his own.
He had deliberately walked past the arena, where security cameras picked him up and saw him peering at the building with binoculars and playing with some kind of electronic device. He disappeared as quickly as he had arrived, blending into traffic again and the cameras lost him. He knew The Jeweller would be sending goons out to find him but they had yet to be successful.
“Okay...” he said, talking to himself. “What kind of trap would work on her?”
She was a notorious jewel thief but, however, he knew she was a person with laser focus. She wouldn’t be so easily distracted by a potential score when she had another goal in mind. And, being no expert fighter, all he could do was buy time for Meryn to escape and back him up when he needed it. He hoped.
He just needed to draw out The Jeweller. But she was bold. So bold that she would be likely to respond herself to Jonas’ more subtle tactics. So, instead, he decided on something much bolder.
He started up the van and drove to the arena. The old security footage indicated that Meryn, dropped of by Saira, had gone in via a fire exit near the employee parking lot. So he drove there and stopped in full view of a security camera. He made sure the camera caught his face and grabbed something from his belt.
The experimental agency device was an electromagnetic pulse generator of sorts. It was concluded to be a last resort type of device should hacking efforts fail. He very conspicuously stuck his arm out the window and pointed it at the camera at the back of the building.
Arcing blue energy appeared between the two poles of the device as Jonas pressed a button. The thing practically folded itself into a gun and he fired it at the camera, giving it a shock and damaging it beyond repair. That would have to get The Jeweller’s attention.
Indeed, his theory proved correct. One of Silver’s thugs called her into the security CCTV room of the arena and replayed the footage of The Seeker pulling up in a van and disabling the outdoor security camera before the footage went static and then black.
“He’s making his move,” she said. “I’m going down there. Wait here.”
The Jeweller pressed a button on her belt and a figure in black appeared beside her, running out of the room and down the hall. She sauntered after it, turning herself invisible as she did and prepared her dart gun and sleep darts.
Jonas kept the van running and stepped out. Another agency device lay on his belt and he fiddled with it for a while. It wasn’t as sophisticated as whatever The Jeweller did to project herself into an actual physical projection but it would do. The holographic device projected a 3D image of Jonas crouching behind the van, waiting.
Jonas himself had scrambled up the fire escape of the store across the street and had ducked down on the roof. He had a dark suitcase with him. Knowing The Jeweller was enhanced like Silver, he thought it unlikely to work. But, he had a tranquilizer gun packed away in the suitcase that he was now assembling. He finished it off with a scope up top before loading it with a powerful horse tranquilizer. It would be unlikely to knock her out but her physiology was still human. It would be enough to slow her down when she would inevitably start to chase him.
At first, Jonas saw the figure in black emerge and charge toward the van. He knew this was just her projection and ignored it as it attacked his holographic image... and grew confused when it couldn’t hit him. It started looking around then, trying to find the real Jonas.
Keeping his eye on the emergency exit, Jonas flipped a switch on his scope and got a thermal view of the ground below. The two projections remained blue and cold, as did their surroundings, but he could detect heat from the lights around the area.
He saw a blob emerge from the door then. It was faintly yellow, just slightly warmer than her surroundings.
“Hmmm...” he said to himself. “Invisibility that even hides body heat. Pretty clever.”
It didn’t conceal it all, however, as Jonas’ eye saw the slight change in heat emerge from the door and move at walking speed. It had to be The Jeweller. It was obviously something designed to slip by thermal scanners and fool them but it couldn’t fool a human eye.
Taking careful aim, Jonas waited for the lukewarm figure to stop before he squeezed the trigger. The large dart leapt from the barrel of the gun, screaming through the air and finding its target, burying the sharp little needle in The Jeweller’s side.
“Ahhh!” He heard her voice. He turned off the thermal mode of his scope and she turned visible again, pulling the empty dart from her side. She staggered a bit but he felt his stomach drop when she turned to look directly at him, her eyes boring into the scope.
“You!” she said, pointing at him.
“Well... time to go,” he said.
Using the grapple gun he and Meryn both possessed, her fired it toward a nearby tall office building and found himself soaring upward into the night. The Jeweller charged after him from below. “Get back here!”
He continued like this, knowing she was fast and had her eyes trained on him. Jonas made sure to keep in her line of sight and draw her further and further away from the arena. “That’s it, keep following...”
He knew, though, that he would run of tall rooftops as he approached the large park near the coast. They weren’t far from it, after all. He would have to resort to running soon. “Here’s hoping she’s not some kind of track star...”
Finally, Jonas hit the ground, rolled, and sprinted off into the trees of the park. He heard the furious steps of The Jeweller just behind him. Now all he hoped for was that he wouldn’t run out of breath...
...
The escape had proven difficult but, after what felt like forever, Meryn had finally picked her father’s knots loose. He managed to shrug off his own bonds and was now working on untying his daughter. By this time, Saira had woken up and looked terribly confused and a little scared... but relieved when she saw Meryn.
Drake made short work of the ropes binding Meryn and helped her to her feet. The two of them stood up and stared each other in the eye for a moment. Meryn took off one glove and reached out to him, touching his face. He let her and smiled when he felt his daughter’s hand touch his bearded face.
“Hello, little dragon,” he said.
Saira gasped into her gag. She remembered what Meryn had said earlier and... it was impossible! Wasn’t it?
“Sorry...” Meryn said, pulling her hand back. “Just... making sure you’re real.”
“I understand. It’s all right. I know it must be hard to fathom and-”
He was cut off when his daughter threw her arms around his shoulders and practically jumped at him. He chuckled and put his arms around her, patting and rubbing her back. He could already feel tears in his eyes. Though she fought it, he could feel his daughter tense up and hold back her own tears, pressing her face into his shoulder. She stepped back again.
“I... I just wanted to do that...”
“Meryn...”
“No time,” Meryn said. “We need to get these two out of here.”
Drake composed himself and wiped his eyes. “Yes... yes of course. I’ll take care of that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you notice anything? We’ve seen hide nor hair of that woman. Or your friend. That means they’re not here.”
“Which means she’s out there after him...”
“Exactly. He may be in need of help.”
“And I’m not letting her get away again...”
“I imagine not,” Drake said. “So I’ll take care of them. Get them someplace safe.”
“Take Saira to my place,” Meryn said. “It’s an office building on-”
“I... I know where it is...” Drake said.
Meryn stared at him. “Right. Okay... something else to talk about later.”
“Indeed.”
“Okay. Just get them out of here.” She rushed to the table and put on her belt. “And make sure those cosplayers are okay.”
“Uh, Meryn?”
“What?”
“What’s a cosplayer?”
Meryn just rolled her eyes. “Damn it... old people...”
“I’m not exactly immersed in the culture of this world either, Meryn...”
“The people dressed in the costumes like her,” Meryn said, pointing to Heather.
“Oh. The ones on television. They were doing some sort of parade?”
“That’s them. They’re stuffed in that closet,” Meryn said, pointing to a door behind him.
“Right. I’ll get them. You go and get that... whatever she called herself.”
“She’s just a thief,” Meryn said. “Another thug like the rest of them.”
“I think she’s a cut above. You should be careful.”
“Jeez, barely a few hours since being alive again and you’re already trying to tell me what to do.”
“Meryn... it’s just advice. Do what you think is best.”
Meryn sighed. “Whatever. I need to get going. Make sure they’re safe.”
“I will, Meryn. Good luck. And be safe.”
“Yeah, we’ll see...” Meryn said.
...
He had run as far as he could. But now he was exhausted. His armoured outfit weighed him down and he had wipe sweat from his brow as he reached the water’s edge. There was nowhere to run now. And Jonas wasn’t about to try and leap into the ocean to escape his pursuer.
The Jeweller still swayed a bit as she walked, the tranquilizer still taking effect, but her enhanced form kept her conscious and still standing. She stopped about twenty feet from him and drew a knife from her belt.
“You slippery bastard...” she said to him, pointing with the knife. “You think you can escape me?”
“If you assume that was the plan... then no.”
“What!?”
“Think about it, Ms. Erika...” Jonas said, trying to catch his breath. “Why would I get you to chase me all the way out here?”
“You’re a decoy...” she said. “Giving them time to escape.”
“That’s the hope.”
“Son of a...”
“No going back now, is there?” Jonas asked. “They’ve probably gotten out by now. And if you go back, you’ll just run into her. I hear she’s got a grudge against you, too.”
The Jeweller smiled wide. “But she’s not here. It’s just you and me. You’ve got nowhere else to run and hide... you’re exhausted...”
“Is that what the knife is for?”
“I’m gonna gut you slowly for this. Nobody messes with my plans.”
“Speaking of... what were they, exactly? Kill us? Why not just do that instead of luring us in to some convoluted kidnapping scheme?”
“Fear,” The Jeweller said. “To rob them all of hope.” She gestured broadly with her arms at the city around them. “To hit them all back. For ruining us.”
“Us?”
“You know damn well who I’m talking about,” The Jeweller said.
“So you did mean to kill us? And make a public spectacle out of it?”
“I did,” The Jeweller said. “And I will try again.”
Jonas noticed a flash of yellow behind The Jeweller, for just a split second, nd saw the blurred figure duck behind a large rock near the edge of the cliff face.
“But you’ll kill me right now, is that right?”
“Do you even need to ask?”
“I suppose not...” Jonas did his best to keep her talking. He knew Meryn was there and did everything he could to keep The Jeweller distracted. “So go on then.”
“What?”
“Come on and kill me. What are you waiting for?”
“You’re not afraid?” she asked.
“Well...” Jonas couldn’t think of anything to say. The Jeweller was close to sniffing him out.
“Wait...” The Jeweller said, whirling around just as a heavy fist connected with her face and sent her stumbling backward. “Ugh!”
She regained her balance and turned to face her attacker, knife still in hand. Meryn didn’t give her a chance to counter, running at her and sending her sprawling to the dirt with an uppercut, quickly bending down to pick her up and slam her into the ground again.
The Jeweller lashed out with the knife, catching Meryn in the shoulder and opening a small cut. This got Meryn to back off a bit and gave The Jeweller just enough to time to get back to her feet. Meryn grimaced and tensed her muscles again. “Drop the knife,” she said.
“I’ve got a better idea.”
Instead of attacking Meryn, she lunged for Jonas instead. He was caught off guard as she tackled him to the ground and brought the knife level to his throat. He used both hands to hold her off but the sharp edge was only inches from his neck.
Meryn reacted quickly, running over to grab The Jeweller and roll her off of Jonas, picking her up and holding her over the edge of the cliff. The Jeweller lashed out with the knife again but Meryn grabbed her arm and twisted it once. The Jeweller shouted in pain and released her grip on the knife, letting it drop into the ocean below. Meryn had a hold of her in one hand, dangling over the water. The Jeweller smiled.
“Here’s your chance, Maiden... you know you want to.”
Meryn swallowed hard and remembered the way The Jeweller had threatened Saira with that very same knife... all it would take was letting her go and watching her plummet to the rocky shore below.
“Meryn...” Jonas said, climbing to his feet. “You’re not really... considering...”
Meryn growled and shook her head. She slammed The Jeweller into the ground again and threw a vicious punch to her forehead, knocking her out cold. She let go and straightened up again, checking the cut on her shoulder. “You know I wouldn’t...” Meryn said.
“I didn’t think so. It’s just, well, I heard about what happened with Saira. You met Farrah again. Heard you put her in the hospital... I don’t think I’ve ever heard about you being that angry before.”
“I kept it in check. Barely,” Meryn said. “And you can see for yourself I didn’t go through with it.”
“True enough. How are the others?”
“They’re... being looked after. Taken someplace safe.”
“By that cloaked man?”
“Yeah...” Meryn eyed him suspiciously. “Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“Who he really is.”
Jonas hesitated. “I um... we met once. I did some surveillance on him. He’s been in Weston for less than a year. I thought he was a copycat of you and they can be dangerous. I saw it then, when we met. He’s... he’s your dad.”
“You knew and you didn’t tell me!?”
Jonas shrugged. “He wanted to tell you himself. That he’s alive. It’s not my place to make decisions for other people so I kept it secret. I’m sorry.”
Meryn sighed. “It’s fine... At least you kept your word.”
“So he did tell you?”
“In a roundabout way... yes. Guess he couldn’t hide it anymore since he was right there beside me in that room,” Meryn said.
“Well good. I take it you’re going to see him again?”
“Got some things I want to ask him, yeah,” Meryn said.
“I’ll take care of her. See to it she gets into the right hands.”
“You mean Mac?”
“Already called her. Just need to text a location. She’s on the way.”
“Good. See to it she doesn’t break out again.”
“We’ll have to keep her away from Silver’s people,” Jonas said. “But it can be done.”
“I hope so. And... well... thanks. For your help.”
“It’s-”
“It’s your job, I know. But you bought us time. I appreciate it.”
Jonas went silent as he pulled out a phone and sent the message to Mac. “You should probably go,” he said. “Catch up with your dad.”
Meryn sighed. “Fine. Take care, Jonas.”
“Always.”
...
Saira watched the two of them talking on the street outside, lit up by the yellow light of the street lamp above them. Though she was pretty tired from the events of the day, Saira had to make sure her girlfriend was okay.
They had only made small talk for a bit, neither knowing exactly how to broach the subject. It was clear from their awkward conversation and attempts to bury their emotions... there was no doubt that they were related.
“Listen...” Meryn said. “I don’t know how to ask this but...”
“How am I alive? You could just say that,” Drake said.
“True but... I don’t know... I thought maybe... I don’t know what I thought.”
“It’s okay. I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you... but I suppose I should just say it.”
“That would work,” Meryn said.
Drake took in a long breath. The story wounded him as much as it did Meryn since he knew of the pain it must have caused her and her mother.
“Well... the crime lord. Dax Merrick... that was his name. He, well... I couldn’t take them all. So many people, all bigger than me, I did my best but they overwhelmed me pretty quick. Then, when they finally managed to break my leg, they just kicked me for hours. I don’t know how many bones I broke but I was still alive. They kept at it and kept at it but I just wouldn’t die. They thought I was and dragged me to him but I woke up, coughing up my own blood, and he flew into a rage.”
“What did he do?” Meryn asked.
“He knew it then. I wouldn’t die so easily. It’s... well, I’ll explain that bit later. So instead, he decided to banish me. I don’t think his own people knew he was a skilled mage.”
“Banish?”
“He opened a portal. To another world. And whatever spell he cast prevented me from returning to Ikaatan. Ever. I still can’t go back. But the world I woke up in... it wasn’t much different from home. I lay there, bleeding for a while. An old shaman discovered me and healed me. It took almost a month but I was able to walk again. And then, I asked him what happened. He told me about the curse Dax placed on me and I realized I’d never see you girls again. So... I travelled for awhile. Cried myself to sleep for at least a week solid. Maybe longer, I lost track of the days...”
“Yeah, I know the feeling...” Meryn said. “But... what did you do then?”
“I tracked the shaman down again. Asked him if there was any way I could get back to you. I was desperate. He said there wasn’t but that I could see them. And he gave me this, with it’s limited charge.”
He pulled something from his pocket. It was wrapped in a golden chain that used to hang around his neck. It was an orb, of sorts. Made of onyx. It was clouded and dark now.
“He connected it to you based on my descriptions of you and your mother. So I could see you as you grew up. And wonder how you two would get on. I knew you’d both survive. I had always hoped one day to see you both again and just tell you I wasn’t dead. I’m sure you wondered why there was no body to bury.”
“I did. For a while. But I gave up hope after a while.”
“I don’t blame you. Anyway, I used this to watch you. I saw how your mother trained you. She was always the better fighter of the two of us. It’s why you’re so good now. And I saw what happened when she got sick... and she hung on until you woke up so she could say goodbye... and I cried every day for a week again.”
“Oh, Dad...” Meryn said.
“I saw you grow up on your own for the next few years. The last time I saw you with this thing was when you joined up with that Order. I was glad to see that. You opening yourself up. I always did tell you to let yourself feel love. I’m glad you’ve done that.”
“Done a piss poor job, though...”
Drake smiled. “Clearly not. You’ve got someone in your heart right now. And she’s watching you.”
“I know. I don’t think she knows I saw her but... it’s nice to know.”
“After this thing lost its charge, I wanted to know if the shaman could do it again... and he couldn’t. All he could tell me was that if you were to somehow move on to another world, I might be able to see you again. There came a day that he got in contact and told me you had passed through a portal. I was hopeful... but the magic he used, it took a lot out of him. And it took so long to finally pinpoint where you were. He told me twice more about you crossing into other worlds. Once you came back into this one, he finally had it ready and... I stepped through. Found myself here. It took me a while to adjust to things but our bloodline adapts quickly. I’m sure you’ve experienced that.”
“A bit,” Meryn said.
“I started hearing stories of the red-haired, golden eyed woman called The Maiden. You had just taken down a powerful businessman at the time. Trent White?”
“You’ve been here that long?”
“Less than a year, yes,” Drake said. “And I didn’t know what you would say. I imagined you would hate me for abandoning you...”
“Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. I just... I know you’re strong. And, for the longest time, I decided you didn’t need me. You still don’t. Not really. But... circumstances brought us together. I’m sorry for not coming to you earlier.”
“Enough sorry,” Meryn said. “Don’t apologize for being miraculously alive. I prayed for so long that this would happen. You don’t know how long...”
“I can’t even begin to imagine... I’m-”
“Don’t you dare apologize again,” Meryn said, stepped forward and wrapping her arms around him again, burying her head into his chest. Tears already started stinging her eyes. “I just can’t believe this is real...”
Drake embraced his daughter in return, gently rocking her back and forth. “I know, little dragon. I know...”
They stood there for the longest time, tears streaming down both their faces, just holding onto each other. Saira felt her heart melt at the sight. When they finally parted, Meryn wiped her eyes and met her father’s identical golden eyes.
“Dad... there was something else I needed to ask you.”
“What’s that, young one?”
“You told me a long time ago that you would explain why you called me ‘little dragon.’ Can I just ask... why?”
Drake let out a long breath. “You’re right. I should tell you. It’s to do with our people. And where we come from.”
“Ikaatan?”
“That’s where you were born, Meryn,” Drake said. “You’re mother and I... we came from a place far across the ocean. It’s called Longdeia.”
“Where... what...”
“It’s an ancient land. You’ve heard how Ikaatan used to be ruled by tyrannical dragons?”
“Yes...”
“Well Longdeia was protected by one. One that fled the battles over the island and the lands to the far east. It became as a God to us. And granted our people a gift.”
“What kind of gift?”
“Every generation, great warriors would be born. Granted the gift of the immortal dragon’s heart. Our people typically have dark eyes, dark hair, sometimes pale eyes... but these warriors were rarer still. With the heart of a dragon beating within, they were born as well with hair like dragon’s fire and the eyes of a dragon’s gold.”
“Wait... are you saying...”
“Let me finish, little dragon. The warriors were gifted with great sight and impossible courage. They would still feel fear, of course, but being great protectors, the warriors could face any fear. They would be gifted with the knowledge of the lay of any land, as though flying on dragon’s wings above it. To adapt to any situation. And they battled so fiercely, it was said entire armies would bow to their might.”
“Is... is that all true?”
“It became true through us, Meryn. My great grandmother, and her grandfather before her, were born with the gift. Do you know what these warriors are called?”
“Well... no.”
“We are the Dragonhearted. And that, little dragon, is why I could not die. The only way to kill a Dragonhearted is to pierce their heart. And only the strongest weapons can do that. Though there are ways to smother it. Like water.”
“Oh...” Meryn said. “That explains why-”
“Yes. That’s why I came after you when that hitwoman... I don’t like to think about that.”
“No, I guess not...”
“But, of course, I was born with the gift. Something I passed on to you, Meryn. It’s why you have my fiery hair and the golden eyes. It’s why you have the strength that you do. The courage that you do. And it’s why you’ve inspired countless lives wherever you’ve gone. You are Dragonhearted. And that is why I call you little dragon.”
Meryn smiled. “I’m not so little anymore...”
“You’ll always be little to me, little dragon,” Drake said. “I’ll never stop having a father’s eyes.”
“I suppose you can’t help that,” Meryn said. “But that’s just... that’s unreal.”
“It is very real, I assure you. My little dragon.”
“Well that’s... a lot to take in.”
“I know. And I should leave you to think.”
“Hang on, wait...” Meryn said. “Don’t you want to meet Saira?”
“Only if she is ready to meet me, young one.”
“Well.... I don’t know if she is.”
“You should talk to her then. See what she thinks. There will come a day when we meet. After all, I would love to meet the woman who caught my little dragon’s heart.”
“And what about you?” Meryn asked. “Have you ever thought about... you know...”
Drake partially forced a smile. “Your mother was the only woman for me...”
“But what about ‘letting yourself feel love’ like you always said? You deserve it to. And I know that news anchor is an older lady. And she’s really good looking and nice...”
“She’s a bit young for me,” Drake said. “I’m a bit older than you think I am, Meryn.”
“What’s the difference? You’re both old...”
Drake chuckled. “Okay, now that’s just uncalled for.”
“All right. But seriously, Dad, I’m sure you two would be great together and-”
“Meryn...”
Meryn stopped. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not ready for that. I think it’s adorable that you’re already trying to set me up but... I still grieve for your mother. She was the only woman I ever loved. Apart from you, of course, but that’s very different.”
“I understand... but, before you go, just one more thing.”
“What is it?”
Meryn leapt at him again and kissed him on the cheek, resting her head on his shoulder as her arms wrapped around him again. “I love you, Dad...”
Drake stroked his daughter’s hair as he met her embrace again and held her. “I love you, Meryn...”
They parted again and Meryn once again had tears streaming down her face, as did Drake. “I never got to say that before-”
“I know. Neither did I.”
They hugged again before Drake finally turned and left, waving goodbye to his daughter. But now, that they had both met, she knew she would get to see him again. And he knew the same.
As Saira watched them leave, she smiled to herself. It was perhaps the most heartwarming thing she had ever seen. She wanted to bombard Meryn with questions when she came in but, of course, would let her tell her everything in her own time. But now, at the very least, Meryn would have some answers from her past. Armed with those, maybe she could find the answers for how to fix the future and finally win the battle for Weston. Saira had to believe that. And she did. She just hoped Meryn did too.