Dragon Detective

Water Dragon by Dee Dreslough at www.dreslough.com

Skulking about is pretty much what most dragons do, however, when the survival of the dragon/shapeshifter community is in danger, they get really good at it.

Swedish Embassy, Hokkaido, Japan

Lee navigated the maze of protocol necessary to get into the Defense Minister’s office. The floor receptionist was polite but guarded, and the assistant to the Minister was downright hostile. Her icy demeanor would have put Lee off had he been in a position to care, but he knew she was protecting her boss.

Once safely ensconced in the comfortable visitor’s chair, having gone through the necessary introductions, he remarked. “I’d give a month’s pay to have as ferociously loyal an assistant as you do.”

James Sakura smiled. “Rakel can be a deterrent when necessary. I make sure she has everything she needs, as I don’t want to lose her. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. There are some security protocols I want to cover while you’re here. I’ve tried to contact the home office, but I’m afraid the distance can be quite preventative to a productive outcome.”

Lee stared at the Defense Minister. His statement was nothing but a long way of saying, “We need to talk.”

“Mr. Minister…”

James held up a hand to stop him. “I’m on my way to spend some time at my family’s cabin near the Daisetsuzan National Park. It’s something I had planned before your surprise visit. I’d be honored if you would accompany me, as my guest of course.”

Lee gave James a questioning look. “This trip is purely business, Mr. Sakura. I’ve my own pressing matters back in Sweden.”

Lee furrowed his brows. What are you doing?

James picked up his phone. “Rakel? Please arrange for transportation to my cabin. Mr. Svensson will be accompanying me. Call ahead and arrange for a day’s worth of food to be available. If there is an emergency, I’ll have my pager.”

Lee shot a dangerous look to the minister. How can I be more adamant about not going without being rude?

“I really need to confer with my counterpart here about some of the…”

James came around his desk and stood directly in front of Lee. He looked him in the eye and dropped the cloaking around his face. His ice blue eyes, silver shards glinting in the glow of the fluorescent lighting, stared deeply into Lee’s gold orbs.

“You must trust me.”

Lee watched the cloaking waver slightly around a crème colored snout. The light color bled into blue, ending in blood red scale tips. As the man spoke, no hint of deception surrounded his head. He stepped back and cleared his throat.

“You know, I’ve heard there’s a live volcano at the park. Is it true?”

James re-established his cloak and allowed the hint of a smile to emerge.

“Yes. We’ve had an explosion as recently as 1988. However, at the moment, it’s safe. Shall we?”

They exited the office and James nodded to his assistant. She gave a head bow and continued her work.

Silently, the two men rode the elevator to the garage. A black Mercedes sedan, engine running, waited. Once inside, James pushed a button on the console between the two and a smoked glass slid silently to the ceiling, effectively securing the back seat from the alert hearing of the driver.

“I need to be extremely diligent with my conversations.”

Lee turned to face the minister. “Is there a problem?”

James settled into the smoked grey leather bench seat. “Yes.”

“Are we able to discuss it here?”

“Let’s coach our concerns until we reach my family’s cabin.”

The next eighty miles were spent in contemplative silence.

~ * ~

Summer was exploding across the landscape. The smell of evergreens with cedar undertones hung in the air as Lee and James exited the vehicle. James leaned in and rattled off instructions to the driver.

“We’ll be picked up in twenty-four hours. Shall we go in?”

James led the way to a chalet that reminded Lee of Sweden. Sloping to touch the ground, the roof peaked at the top. A large porch at the top of eight steps reached from the front of the two-story home providing cover for the first floor and an area large enough to hold many people outside the entry to the second floor. Lee stopped at the top of the stairs and leaned his arms on the railing to take in the view of the surrounding area.

“Amazing, simply amazing.”

James smiled and unlocked the door. “I think I’ll let it air out for a few minutes. It’s been closed up since mid-winter. A good airing won’t hurt.”

Lee was lost in the sensation he was really only a few kilometers from Stockholm.

“I’m sorry for all the secrecy but I believe the embassy is wired and I’m not altogether sure it’s not someone from within.”

Surprised, Lee stood up. “Why? There can’t be anything of military importance to be stolen in the embassy. Our country has a historical stand of neutrality. Spying on our own people is ludicrous.”

“I agree. But I’ve ended one too many phone calls where I’ve heard the clicking of another phone as I removed the receiver from my ear.

“I’m charged with the safety of all embassy personnel,” James hesitated. “Shall we go inside?”

James moved through the threshold and removed his shoes, placing them on the shelf provided to the left. Lee followed his lead then walked into the blonde paneled room. Warm beige couches tempted and the lighting offered a comforting glow. The floor was covered in traditional tatami mats. He seated himself on the divan and allowed the tension in his shoulders to drain. James sat opposite.

“I can be certain this cabin is safe. I have monitoring devices in each room and use them year round. I’m able to keep tabs on this place from my home in Sapporo.”

“Good. Then maybe we can get to the root of all this before I lose what little patience I have.” Lee stretched his legs before him.

“Our kind is being exterminated on a daily basis.”

All the relaxing Lee had been doing suddenly evaporated. His neck muscles knotted and he felt his calves begin to spasm. Leaning over, he began the process of rubbing the cramping from the back of his legs.

“What the devil are you talking about?” He threw a disgusted scowl James’ direction.

“I have subscriptions to several newspapers and online news agencies. Shifters over the world are changing under mysterious circumstances.”

“Extermination. Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme?”

James pulled in a deep breath. “When the rhinoceros were being slaughtered for their horns…”

Lee cringed. The news stories linking the near extermination of the rhinoceros population for the sole use of their horn in Oriental medicine had created several months worth of ill will directed at him by his conservationist co-workers.

“… the caretakers of the world shouted their anger to everyone who would listen. Have you heard anything related directly to this on the news?

Lee watched James working himself into a state. “What are they going to say? We’ve spent centuries trying to keep our existence a secret from the two-leggeds. Why would we now announce our presence?” His eyes tracked James as he jumped up and moved about the cabin.

“I don’t mean the two-leggeds. We could all shift in front of them, and they’d still write us off as a Hollywood prank. No, I mean from our own kind.”

I hope he comes to a point soon… Lee narrowed his eyes at the finger pointing his direction—actually the half human, half dragon talon pointed toward him.

“James?”

The man curled his appendage into a fist and pounded one into the other as he trod across the cabin floor.

“James… JAMES!”

The Defense Minister halted his march. His ice blue, slitted eyes glared Lee’s direction, silver flecks flashing in the glare of the cabin’s lamps.

“Maybe you’d better take a look in the mirror and slow down.”

James rolled his eyes. He lifted his arm to point at Lee and sucked in a deep breath. His skin was morphing into crème colored scales ending in light blue and red tips.

“Damn it! Let’s continue this discussion on the back porch.” He nodded his head in the direction of a black lacquered table near the front entrance. “The house keys are there. Please lock up and meet me out back.” James dashed through the hallway to a carefully crafted opening. As he neared the back wall, a two story tall doorway opened in the middle.

Lee sighed as he locked the front door. He followed the path of his host to the back porch. Standing on a pile of torn clothing and stretching his neck was James. His crème colored body glistened in the evening light. Ice blue coloring melted into blood red tips.

The dragon had placed its front talons on the hind knees and was bent with its long neck facing the earth.

“I’m scared, Lee. I’d happily take on the entire continent of 15^th century feudal Europe than try to figure out who, and why, one of our own is attempting to eliminate our kind. There is no logic in the thinking.”

Lee turned his back to the dragon and methodically removed his clothing. He sheathed his ruby talisman in his palm and muttered the incantation needed to start the shifting process. As his body took shape, he slipped his talisman in the hidden pocket beneath a neck scale.

Sunlight streaming from the east picked up the ruby tone of his scale tips emphasizing the iridescent white glow of the majority of his toned body. Lee slowly unfurled his wings from against his back. It had been a couple months since he’d spent any time in his dragon form and the muscles were taking their time remembering the sensations. He swung his neck back and forth allowing the breeze to ruffle the smaller plates on the front of his shank. The whispered clacking settled the raw sensation of his nerves and fed his deep urge to fly.

“You know we’ll be spotted by the two-leggeds.” Lee allowed a small wrinkle to mar his scaled forehead.

“Yes and no. The people of this country have lived with the concept of dragons for centuries longer than their European or American counterparts. They may register two dragons flying in the air. However,” James peered at his current form, “I’m inclined to think they’ll figure a couple of snow cranes are exercising their wings.”

Spikes lining Lee’s back no longer stood rigid from tension. “You’re right. I’ll follow you.” With his talon he waved the lead to James. Lee jumped when the albescent dragon with blue and red tips shot into the sky, his talons carving deep divots in the pine porch.

He stood staring at the troughs dug into the wood and traced the lines with his toe talon.

“Lee!”

James’ roar pulled him from his stupor. He shook his head free of the fuzzy sensation settling over him. Time to fly. Two carefully planned steps and Lee exploded into the sky above the cabin. Once he gained the necessary altitude, he pumped his wings with muscles already complaining from lack of use. Skimming the treetops to avoid detection, he was awed by the sight of the dormant volcano, Shikaribetsu, whose top still wore a crown of snow. James appeared to fly for the peak known as Mt. Ishikari, the highest of the four domes of the dormant group. Lee researched this area before leaving on assignment with hopes of getting in a quick flight. He hadn’t expected to have the pleasure, truth be told.

As the duo neared the peak, clouds enveloped them in a white fog. Lee watched James disappear into the heavy mist. He called out.

“I can’t see a thing. Where are you?” His cries were muted by the vapor. “James?”

The tip of his left wing was gently pushed and Lee whipped his head toward the direction of the nudge.

“Don’t blast me. I wanted to contact you without scaring you. Keep on my tail. We’re nearly there.”

Lee concentrated his dragon vision on the blue and red tips of James’ scales. He followed his host as the dragon flew straight up then hovered in one spot. He turned to face Lee as he backwinged in place.

“My cavern is within half a mile from this location. The flight will be straight down then make a sharp left. If you lose me, send out a flame, and I’ll answer with my own.”

Lee nodded wishing this exercise to be over soon. Every muscle in his back and wings ached with lack of use. He really needed to get out and practice more often.

James huffed a small cloud of black smoke and dropped straight down. Lee pulled in a deep breath and trailed. With each push of wings, Lee worked to keep up with James. Had not the spike on the end of James’ tale come within inches of Lee’s nose, he would have missed the left turn and crashed into the mountain.

Before him, yawed the opening of a large cavern. Lee settled on the far right of the entry ledge. James was towering on his hindquarters, ears flat against his head, his back spines rigid.

“There’s been an intruder in my cavern.”

Lee started to ask how James knew when he spotted the massive crimson scale on the stone floor. His stomach roiled at the sight. There could only be one shifter large enough to produce a scale of such proportion. Watanabe.

James raised a talon and held one finger against his lips. He lifted his heavily barbed tail and, in a move that would have been hilarious under different circumstances, tiptoed down a wide tunnel.

Lee opted to follow. He lifted his tail and tried to lighten his step as best he could. Warm licks of wind brushed past his scaled snout bringing with it the unmistakable scent of sulfur. Each step down the passageway brought the duo closer to the bubbling center of the mountain. Even through the heavy layers of scaling, Lee could feel the temperature rise. He was quickly becoming aware of the need to turn around and return to the cave’s opening.

“Ha!” James bent over and scooped up another scale. “The intruder must’ve escaped down this path.”

Lee lifted his talon and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. “James.”

The other dragon turned at the call of his name. “What?”

“I don’t know about you but even in this form, I’m roasting. I can feel the skin beneath my scales cooking. I need to head for cooler climes.”

James stopped, looking at the scale in his talon. “Aaarrgghh!” He flung the armored piece into the mountain’s fiery center watching until the molten lava consumed the red reminder. Snapping about, he brushed past Lee.

“Let’s go. I don’t have the time today to resolve the issue. I can see many weekends of flying ahead.” He stomped toward the entry of the cave.

Lee huffed a small stream of flame to the ceiling. His thin patience was evaporating in the molten, thick air.

“James!”

“What?”

“You asked me to meet you up here so we could talk.” Lee watched the white shifter in front of him stumble to a stop. The creature’s body slumped and his head lowered. He turned to face Lee.

“You’re right. I’ve had to face this on my own for so long, I’ve forgotten how to utilize assistance when it’s offered.”

“Let’s settle in the main cavern and rest our wings. The climb out is treacherous at best, and deadly with the slightest misstep.

“What I’m about to tell you, I’ve shared with no one… not even my wife. I attended the conference in China. Upon returning home, I started my own tracking of incidents, reported and sort-of reported. My research is showing a pattern to the mysterious shiftings but I’ve no one I can trust to tell.

“Lovisa, the main receptionist for the embassy, is one of us, but I suspect she is involved with an organization of questionable background.”

Lee lifted a scaled brow. “Yakuza?”

James chuckled. “No. Not all questionable organizations are as overt as the Yakuza or the Cosa Nostra. Since she arrived in the embassy to man the front desk, there have been visitors who don’t seem to be… embassy types.”

Lee snorted a short burst of black smoke. “Yeah, like the two mountains of Japanese bodyguards I bumped into on the elevator.”

“Yes. Those two. They, and their boss, always stop and confer with Lovisa before and after they go upstairs for whatever business it is they conduct. I’ve noticed her aura spikes a chilly blue with white bolts after speaking with them. They seem to appear more often after an incident.”

Lee watched James’ aura turn a muddy brown color. If the Defense Minister was concerned enough to take Lee into his confidence, he’d give him the full attention he deserved and quit making light of the subject.

“What has you so worried, James?” Lee leaned toward the dragon.

James pulled a deep draught of air into his lungs, slowly releasing the air and tension in his body. He turned three times and settled in a spot nodding to Lee to do the same.

Lee opted to sit. If I relax, I don’t think I’ll be able to get back up.

“Thanks, James. I prefer to sit.”

“Suit yourself.”

Lee watched as the other white dragon’s forehead furrowed. Seems he’s having a tough time finding a starting point.

“Why don’t you just say what you think? Don’t worry about shocking me.”

“Right, here goes. Just before the price of petrol rises, I notice I start feeling – lightheaded, fuzzy. I thought maybe I was experiencing one of the changes we go through during our transition years but realized I have two more decades before I start into my transition. During the same time, I noted in the newspapers, hidden in the back pages, incidents of ‘unusual auto accidents’ or ‘strange frat house pranks gone awry’.

“At first I skimmed over the articles and marked them on my graph but when a pattern began to emerge, I went back and reread the articles. Every time insurgents hit a processing plant in the Middle East, the price of oil goes up and I experience the symptoms I told you.

“In itself this is inconsequential, however, if an organization such as the World Watch has noticed the same results, they could have the capability to manipulate the incidents throughout the globe.”

Lee watched James stand and start to pace. His shoulders tightened with each word he spoke.

“They could place agents throughout the world setting off explosions. If they organized the timing of the detonations…”

James stood staring blankly into the swirling mists covering the mountain.

Lee stood. His worst fears were being realized and James had arrived at the same conclusion. The question now was how two shape shifting dragons could stop their world from ending without alerting the two-leggeds?