Page 5 of To Fall for a Dragon

Hakko made a frustrated noise in his throat and sat with the alacrity of a put-upon child. “That’s absolutely useless. Give me a tidbit about yourself. Let us find some commonalities between each other.”

Poe wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms. He didn’t do this. He hadn’t for two hundred years. He was a loner, a hermit. Connections to people hurt. “Nothing about me is similar to you or your problems.”

The quick intake of breath followed by a long-suffering sigh made Poe sad. He wasn’t trying to be rude or callous. He had hoped he had conveyed that he had nothing in common with anyone, no hobbies, no food interests, no homes to connect. He was an island.

“Poe, you—while you may be a vampire, you’re still a social creature with needs. And in the interest of pure selfishness, I might have added a dash of my blood to your drink to keep you going. You aren’t going to last long in the winter if you don’t get your required nutrients.”

“Dammit, Hakko. You can’t decide that. It’s not your business! You are a stranger to me, and you don’t know everything.” That was the smell, the scent that called to Poe. It wrapped around his olfactory receptor and made his mouth water. He kept glancing at the cheery mug with its celestial pattern.

“I am a caretaker and a dragon. This is what I do. You required care, and I offered it. I have welcomed you into my home so you might find rest. Adding the blood may have been a dumb idea, but it will do nothing except give you more energy.” Hakko raked a hand through his hair before peering at Poe. “Let me do this for you. Please?”

Poe picked up the mug and sighed as the warmth soothed his hands. Maybe Hakko was right. Maybe he did need a moment to sit and think with a fire at his feet. “I’ve survived without you for almost two hundred years, you know.”

“I understand. I still want to make your time here comfortable at least,” Hakko responded. He dropped his chin on his hand and studied Poe with unnerving intensity. “You must have borne witness to so many intriguing changes.”

“What about you? Aren’t you immortal?” Poe threw out the question. He didn’t care about the answer. Hakko’s attention had to be diverted from Poe. Hakko’s grin told Poe he wasn’t as suave as he thought he was.

“This isn’t my land. Since our two worlds melded together, I’ve tried to make a place for myself here. No one has had such a long life as you, though,” Hakko said.

Poe sighed. Another history lesson, another explanation. “Vampires are rare in this human world. Too many fiction and horror stories have made living out in the open hellish, so I don’t.”

The years after Dracula was released to the masses were terrible to anyone who was different. People were targeted and killed for the silliest things. When the Great War occurred, Poe tried being patriotic and helped Canada end the war, but he spiralled hard. Consuming blood because young boys were the enemy was horrific, and Poe lost faith in everyone at that point.

When the Dracula movies came out, soon followed by Anne Rice’s books, Poe didn’t know how to exist as he had been. His lifestyle became romanticized, and people sought him out to make them creatures of the night. Again, he was horrified, and he scurried to the national parks and preyed on humans there.

“What about companionship?” Hakko asked, picking at a thread on his sleeve. The pity in Hakko’s gold eyes was bright, making Poe angry. “How did you survive without becoming lost?”

“It’s easy. You should know since you’re a dragon. People die. All the fucking time.” Poe didn’t talk about the night during the war when he met the reincarnated soul of his best friend. The time with Jonathan melted away as they rediscovered one another. But two nights of companionship and a burgeoning friendship was lost to terrible battle the following day.

“They do die, but then you treasure those memories as you discover new friends. We all wish we had someone to share our fears and hopes with. You… it’s not right,” Hakko said. Poe refused to feel guilty for making Hakko sad.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s right. It’s what happened. I do not need or want friends.” Poe took a sip of the hot chocolate and forced himself not to react to the hint of nourishment mixed in. The blood was rich and smoky. Tangy and delicious. He set the mug on the table and discreetly licked his lips, catching every bit of the tasty additive. Stupid dragon, adding his own blood to it. “I’m done here. Tell me how to get to the inn.”

“Poe, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to?—”

“I did not return to this hellhole town for nostalgic reasons. Once I get what I came for, I’ll leave.”

Hakko reared as though struck. “This is not a hellhole. It’s a wonderful place."

“You have a disciple of Hastur and a sociopathic vampire in your midst. How is that not a hellhole? I still haven’t met the worst of your lot to worry about. Not everyone is kind and sweet. This town’s history isn’t all hearts and stars.”

“Good people live here, and they do outweigh the negative ones,” Hakko insisted stubbornly. “You need to see the positive in others rather than the worst.”

Poe rolled his eyes. “I have no desire to find that shit out. Can we go?”

“Fine. Your wish is my command.” Hakko stood and took Poe’s mug to bring to the sink. “Do you have your things?”

Poe tracked the blood-enhanced chocolate with wounded eyes. He did appreciate Hakko’s attempts at helping him. It was rather… sweet. It was the first time anyone had tried to take care of him. “Yes, I don’t have much."

The drive to the inn was quiet, which made Poe uncomfortable. He had hurt Hakko’s feelings, but what he said was true. Yet Hakko didn’t deserve Poe’s anger. He had been kind, and Poe had shat all over Hakko.

He should have gone to the museum, gotten the letters, and disappeared into the bush one last time.

“Whatever thoughts you’re thinking, stop it. I can feel them from here,” Hakko said as he put the car in park. He turned and studied Poe with grave intensity. “You haven’t done anything wrong. I can sense you’ve had a hard past, and you’re just reacting to it. I’ll step back for now.”

Poe growled and fought his way out of the car and fell onto the slushy snow. It was wet and gross, and Hakko was sitting there smirking. “I don’t need your pity.”

Storming off would have made his statement pointed and harsher. Except he didn’t know where the main lobby was or how to enter the building. The porch light was off, and it didn’t look like anyone was awake to help.

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