Page 1 of To Fall for a Dragon

ChapterOne

The café was quiet.

The only other person working was a calico-looking woman with tall, pointy ears. She was wiping her coffee machine clean. A book lay open on the counter, a ruler holding the page flat. Poe almost left the warm space, unwilling to interrupt her night.

“Good evening. What can I get you?” She stood near the cash register as though Poe was ready to order. Her eyes were a soft green, and her smile was natural. She didn’t seem put out that Poe was in the café. She was attentive as Poe stared at the menu.

“A coffee please, just black,” he answered as he rubbed his hands together briskly and blew on them. The evening temperature had dropped faster than he expected, and he hurt from lack of warmth. He didn’t have the padding needed to maintain his body heat. All Poe had was the bare minimum of skin and bones. “How long are you open for?”

“Hmm?” She glanced at the clock behind Poe’s head. “Oh, a couple more hours. Have to wait for the after-meeting crowd. People have to discuss things in ‘private’.”

“That seems awfully late for a café.” Poe dug out his wallet, hoping there’d be some change for a coffee. It’d been a long time since he had to socialize or buy anything. Poe had been living in the far north in the bush for decades, and society had changed so much. He pulled out a papery blue five-dollar bill and set it on the counter.

“We have a lot of night owls, so to speak, so we cater to all our clientele.” The cat-like woman glanced at the five and made an odd face. Poe curled in his shoulders, embarrassed by not knowing what money looked like now. “I haven’t seen one of those fives before.”

“Someone gave it to me. I just assumed…” Poe trailed off. Explaining took so much energy. Energy he lacked.

She smiled at him before setting the full mug on the counter. “Oh, it’s fine. Just a bit of nostalgia. Money never goes out of style, am I right?”

“It does not,” Poe agreed. He gave a quick smile as he grabbed the full mug and sought an empty chair far away from the counter. Too much socialization, too many traps he could trip and fall into.

Sitting by the fireplace was safe and far enough away from the counter girl, who was definitely not a human. He’d never seen her kind before, and not knowing how she came to live in Granite made him nervous. Non-humans were rare from what he remembered.

But before he could gather the courage to ask questions, he had to work on his plan to steal his property from the poorhouse. Speaking with the museum curator was necessary for Poe to retrieve his embarrassing epistle back. He had to see the words one more time before burning it. Before he could proceed on his quest, he had to warm up. He wouldn’t be able to make it to the museum as cold as he was now.

He nursed his coffee as he allowed his mind to drift to the past. He didn’t mean to, but the letter brought back so many memories and feelings. Some were all right, but most were awful. After decades of deliberate forgetfulness, Poe had returned to the town that hated him. Discovering what he had written was on the internet for all to read was humiliating. He had been ignorant and so damned innocent.

The intended recipient of Poe’s notes was Poe’s best friend and first love. He wrote his heart out on that piece of paper and then someone whispered in his lover’s ear about what might happen to the two young men, so he disappeared. Poe had done terrible things after that, met some not-so-good people, and ended up homeless and alone. He hated his vampire side. It was wrong, and Poe could never reconcile that part of himself with goodness. Vampirism wasn’t romantic. It was raw and gritty and wrecked people's lives.

He existed without his best friend, his lover, and yet he was forced to continue. Nothing he did ended his life. He'd tried everything possible to cease living, and still… and still here he was, back in Granite, where everything had started.

The town had grown, and the ambiance was better, richer. Something good had happened, and Poe almost wished he’d been around to witness the spectacular event. Not enough to seek answers. He’d see how the town changed, retrieve his letter, and go back to the ground for another century.

The doors burst open, and streams of people thundered inside, talking and shouting all at once. They called out their orders before sitting. A lot of anger and bitterness burst from their mouths as they complained about the meeting.

Poe watched gobsmacked as non-humans entered the café as regular patrons. He witnessed fairies with their wings tucked close, and people with antennae and tails. It was different and scary. He burrowed deeper in his seat, hiding away from any curious eyes.

Most of the conversation centred around the town trying to expropriate land for their use. People weren’t pleased with the explanation their mayor gave them. According to the conversations, too many changes and dangerous events happened, and the townsfolk were scared, which puzzled Poe as the atmosphere leaned toward the positive rather than the negative. The conversation shifted toward the museum owner, who'd protested about the changes the mayor proposed.

That was who Poe needed to meet. The curator was the one who had the letters and his book on display. However, to walk up to anyone in this crowd and ask questions was beyond Poe’s current capabilities. He didn’t have the strength to move from his seat.

The girl at the counter waved at Poe as she spoke to her current customer. The man turned and searched Poe out. Poe’s stomach curdled. He remembered Sawyer from the depths of hell and pain. The other vampire's careless attitude and his black-as-night eyes held evil inside.

“Poe, my dear, dear Poe. I never thought I’d see you here in Granite. Small world, isn’t it?” Sawyer sat on the small table in front of Poe, his legs spread open, discouraging Poe from leaving. “You look… well, I guess?”

“I thought you didn’t like the cold.” The first thing that popped into Poe’s head was dumb. Sawyer shrugged. He wore a vintage leather jacket that creaked as he bent his arms. Poe refused to make eye contact, so Sawyer couldn’t engage or commit Poe to anything suggested.

“I received an interesting offer, and I thought, why not? I’m not busy.” The vampire shifted closer while sitting on the coffee table, his elbows digging hard into Poe’s legs. “We have some unfinished business, you and me, don’t we?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Poe disagreed immediately. Their unfinished business was the last act of creating a vampire, to make a thrall of Poe. “Everything’s been completed.”

“Uh-huh. Right, anyway, why are you in this deadbeat town again? Are you sure they’ll help you now that they have monsters? Do you think you’ll fit in here, or are you going to crash and burn like you always do?” The vampire smiled, his fangs glinting from the light of the small fire. Poe remained absolutely still as the other man ranted. “You’re not a monster, Poe. You’re worse than one. You?—”

“Sawyer, come let me buy you a drink,” a loud voice demanded, interrupting Sawyer’s long-winded threats. Sawyer sneered before standing. “Come on, man. I don’t have all day, and you must meet some people.”

“Of course, boss. Just catching up with an old friend.” Sawyer winked at Poe. “It was nice seeing you, Poe. We need to do this again.”

Poe swallowed and searched the ceiling for hope. Sawyer wasn’t anyone he wanted to re-engage with, and if they were both in the same town, his wish would never be granted. He slipped on his ratty jacket and slithered his way around the gossips. Once out of the packed café, he heaved a great sigh of relief. Glancing at the café before leaving the area, he caught Sawyer’s smirk. Poe was going to have to make this trip short if he hoped to stay out of Sawyer’s crosshairs.

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