A Dragon's Treasure

1. The Funeral of Iris Whitlock

LUKE

The day Luke Whitlock buried his grandmother somehow linked with the same day he met a prince. Not just any kind of prince, but a vampiric one. Tall, dark, and handsome Daniel Bellerose. His highness and all his glory rolled up to the viewing with an entourage.

The prince bowed, shook Luke's hand, and said, "Iris was an incredible woman. Without her, my grandmother's ring would've been lost forever..." He was being so sincere and kind, but all Luke could do was stare at the fangs in his mouth. "My husband would be without a ring."

"Uh-huh," Luke said, drowning in confusion. Luke wondered if this man was beautiful because he was a vampire or was he a vampire because he was beautiful? Or was Luke's current dry spell just lasting longer than usual.

"I apologize I couldn't stay longer, but I had to come and give my respects."

"Sure." Luke stood there, blinking, and recycling oxygen into carbon dioxide.

"If you ever visit Sagewick, please give my assistant a call and we'll take care of you," the prince said, and a tall blonde model of a man appeared to hand Luke a business card. Was he a vampire, too? How did that even work? It's bright outside.

Luke was spiraling.

The wild ride didn't end there.

People flooding into his late grandmother's house were all out of the same surprise grab bag of supernatural creatures. A nice couple of half-giants were forced to bend down to get inside as they gave their respects to Luke. Winged fairies and pixies whizzed inside and covered the floor in a glimmer that made Luke's nose hair twitch. Huge wolves arrived and transformed into men and women, all greeting him kindly.

He rubbed the side of his face and asked the man, "You said you were a merman?"

The merman in question, who just shook Luke's hand with webbed fingers, Kostas, laughed and just made Luke feel crazier. "I am. Didn't Iris tell you about this world?"

"No," Luke admitted, tilting his head around Kostas's shoulder to watch a fairy with incandescent blue wings bring color back to a brown spider plant in the corner. "I found out a few days ago. Zipper's lawyer is a vampire."

"Zipper?"

Luke snapped straight, flushed up to his ears with a blush too warm for comfort. "Oh, uh, I called my grandmother Zipper. She loathed the term grandmother."

"No, that makes sense." Kostas said with a smile that was oozing charm. "She called you Button, right?"

Luke nodded.

"She talked about you all the time."

Without knowing what to say, he nodded again.

"Do you drink?" Kostas motioned Luke to follow him, sliding his arm across his shoulder, making Luke seem small. This close, Luke smelled the sea water and salt lingering in Kostas's long dark curls, his bronze skin, and all things. If Luke put his ear to his chest, he'd imagine he'd hear the ocean.

"Even if you don't, you need a water at least," Kostas explained as they maneuvered through the growing crowd. "Something to hold in your hands. Makes things less awkward."

Luke smiled a little. "No, I definitely drink."

Kostas chuckled at that.

"Are you thirsty, Luke?" Astrid, the little gnome woman asked, squeezing past his legs. She clamored up a rolling motorized ladder, her eagerness whizzing off her edges like sparks. She came up to Luke's knees with pointy ears and a large drooping nose. Her braided red hair rested below her shoulders, the top hidden by a black veil.