Wow, did I have a strange dream. I dreamed I was blown off my apartment roof and was rescued by a dragon being chased by three witches. Somehow we flew into the clouds and ran into a floating forest where we crash-landed.
I shifted atop my comfy bed and winced when a sharp pain shot through my head. The rest of my body hardly felt better, and there was a strange heaviness deep within me, like somebody had dropped a bag into my soul. Did I already need a new mattress?
I forced my eyes open and found myself looking not at the peeling paint on my bedroom ceiling, but a starry sky framed by a canopy of needle-decked trees. My heart skipped a beat and I shot up. Bad idea. The pain in my head throbbed worse than before. I sat up and clutched my head in one hand.
“Are you alright?”
The voice startled me and I whipped my head around. Again, stupid idea. The pain notched up into agony and I winced.
The question had come from an incredibly handsome man. He sported shocking short red hair and chiseled features that reminded me of a Greek god. The man was a little above average height with fair hands. He wore a simple buttoned shirt and pants with heavy boots on his feet. A neckerchief covered his throat. All his attire was in the same color, black.
He carried in his arms a pile of firewood which he dumped into a shallow hole not too far from where I sat. We were out of the woods, at least the thick brush in which we’d landed, and in a small clearing. My back leaned against the thick trunk of a tree and a long, heavy black coat covered me.
My heart skipped a beat and I moved my eyes around the clearing. “Where’s the dragon?”
The man paused in his fire building and smiled up at me. “Why? Are you worried he’ll eat you?”
A little color drained from my face. “Do they really eat people?”
The stranger laughed and began to stack the sticks into a pyramid. “Only when they’ve been very naughty or look tasty.”
I dropped my gaze to myself and looked me over. “Do I look tasty?”
He paused and perused my person with a great deal of interest. “You do look rather appealing, even for a woman from the other side.”
I grasped the edges of the coat and drew it higher up my body. “The other side?”
The man finished his pyramid and draped an arm over one knee as he returned his attention to me. “I don’t mean to alarm you, but you’ve fallen into another world.”
My frazzled mind couldn’t quite comprehend what he was saying. “You mean the dragon took me to a different country?”
He shook his head. “No, I mean another world. A completely different world from the one in which you grew up.”
A strange clamminess came over me. “You. . .you’re joking, right? Another world?”
The man raised one hand with the palm upturned. A large flame burst out of his palm and danced in front of his face which showed a mischievous smile. My mouth dropped open as I watched dumbfounded as he tossed the flame onto the pile of sticks. The wood caught fire immediately and soon a healthy fire crackled in front of me.
The man set his hand back on his leg and met my shocked eyes. “I’m not joking.”
My mouth flopped open like a fish trying to breathe on land. I finally snapped my lips shut and swallowed the growing lump in my throat. “I. . .how? When? Where?”
The man took a seat beside the fire and the light danced across his pensive face. “It isn’t too uncommon to pass into your world. Too much opposing magic can do that. As for the when, that was some five hours ago. For the where-” He lifted his gaze to the sky and studied the stars. “I would say we’re somewhere in the woods of Domhain, perhaps not more than ten miles from the settlement of Colun.”
“Domhain? Colun?” I repeated as my mind tried to wrap around these strange words and this impossible situation.
His thoughtful expression changed to pity as he studied me. “You don’t need to learn all the geography of Tellan.”
I clutched my aching head in my hand and closed my eyes. “This can’t be happening. It has to be some sort of a dream.”
“Do you believe it real enough to try to eat or drink something?” the man wondered as he drew a leather satchel with a strap out from behind him and rifled through it. “I have some stale bread and old cheese.” The offer of food made my stomach rumble and I remembered I hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch. A smile slipped onto the man’s lips as he drew out a couple of pieces of bread and cheese. “I’ll accept that as a ‘yes.’”
The man stood and moved over to my position where he plopped down on the ground beside me. He held out the bread and half the cheese.
I looked from the offered food to the stranger’s handsome face. “Why?”
He blinked at me. “Why what?”
“Why are you helping me?” I leaned in closer to him and searched his face. “Who are you?”
The man grinned. “I suppose I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name’s Tegan. Tegan Arsa. And you are?”
I drew my knees against my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs. “Katherine.”
He cocked his head to one side. “No last name?”
I bit my lower lip. “Harrow.”
The man smiled. “A good combination. Shall we break bread to celebrate our meeting?”
“You still haven’t told me why you’re helping me.”
The stranger chuckled. “You are nothing if not persistent. As for the answer, we have a rather unusual problem on our hands.”
My pulse quickened as less-than-pleasant thoughts slipped into my mind. “What do you mean?”
He leaned backward and tilted his head back as the pensive expression returned. “How to explain to someone from your world? I suppose I would call it ‘fate’ that brought us together. Only fate could have a strange enough humor to create a key bond between us.”
I blinked at him. “A what?”
“A key bond,” he repeated as he took a bite from one of the cheeses. “It’s a situation where a witch or wizard unlocks the magical potential of a formerly normal person. The person who unlocks the power is called a ‘key,’ hence the name. They are then required to take the person under their wing and teach them about their new powers.”
My eyes widened. “I. . .you mean. . .you unlocked magic inside me?”
He nodded. “So it would seem. That is, I think that’s what happened. I’ve never experienced it first-hand, but I have seen it happen. Then there’s the sensation.”
“What sensation?”
He tapped his full hand against his chest over his heart. “I feel it in here. A strange affinity for you that your beauty alone couldn’t create.”
I carefully shook my head. “This is just insane. You can’t be serious. Me? Have magic? I can barely boil water, much less control it.”
The man chuckled. “Well, perhaps water won’t be your forte, but you must have something inside you.” He paused and furrowed his brow. “But there is the problem. . .”
My heart skipped a beat. “What problem?”
“The problem is I am no witch nor wizard. I’m a dragon.”