The Gentle Dragon and The Wild Vampire (The Keeper's Series Book 1)

  T.C. Clark

  The Keeper's Series: The Gentle Dragon and The Wild Vampire

  First published by The Invisible Writer's Press in 2018

  Copyright © T.C. Clark, 2018

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  T.C. Clark asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  T.C. Clark has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

  Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

  First edition

  This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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  This book is dedicated to my mom and dad for always encouraging me and Coretta Brown one of my truest friends and trusted confidants.

  The Keepers Coven

  Opal Amant: Keeper of Knowledge: The Gentle Dragon

  Anise Amant: Keeper of Earth: The Wild Vampire

  Lorelei Amant: Keeper of Life: The Terrible Werewolf

  Ida Amant: Keeper of Sight

  Allison Leery: Keeper of Alchemy

  Tara Devoux: Keeper of Death

  Agatha Willis: Keeper of Time

  Taren Davis: Keeper of Reflections

  Nadia Petrov: Keeper of Madness

  The Power of three: Queens of the coven:

  Queen of the East: Sara Lee Keeper of Terror

  Queen of the West: Anna Smith Keeper of Rage

  Queen of All: Myra Amant Keeper of Lust

  Contents

  I. THE GENTLE DRAGON

  Welcome to the Jungle...

  So this is what happens when a bookworm meets a heartthrob...

  Bad guys are the worst

  Epic battles and naked witches...

  II. THE WILD VAMPIRE

  The Butcher is back...

  Run, little witch run

  When you've got nothing to lose...

  Fall of the wicked witch of New Orleans

  I

  The Gentle Dragon

  Welcome to the Jungle...

  Alex McReive surveyed the land alone. He’d grown familiar with the silence, the isolation. The smells and sounds of the night flowed over his body as he glided through the wispy clouds. He was the only red dragon willing to offer aid to this small village.

  In Atlantis, dragons were divided by their colors. The green dragons made up most of the population. They were the commoners, acting as the hunters, bakers, and farmers keeping the everyday activities running smoothly, but often turning their back on the fighting that the elite dragons adored.

  They typically went their entire lifetime without transforming into their dragon forms, instead choosing to live their lives as humans. Unfortunately, that caused a rift between their kind and the other classes. So, when a little village mostly comprised of green dragons started getting attacked, they were left to deal with it on their own.

  Alexander had taken it upon himself to protect the village roaming through the night watching over their crops and lands. He found peace in that. His disposition had earned him the nickname of the gentle dragon which was laughable considering what he’d once been called.

  In dragon society strength was the key to making it. They worshiped blood sports and earned their place in society because of it. Even now he was praised for the things he’d done in the war by the elders of the realm who truly knew him for what he was. His nature now was in no way related to his former nickname, “The Blood King.”

  He’d been a bad ass in his day working with his team of elite soldiers to secure the council and protect the people. But as the war was replaced with peace. His hunger for it had diminished as well. Even his dragon had begun to grow soft.

  Time had slowed down for him. He’d lost his parents years ago and had no other family to speak of. He wanted more…needed more. Admittedly loneliness was starting to test his sanity.

  His protection was an enigma that the rest of his class could not understand, but all of them knew not to interfere. Even if you dressed a wolf in fine clothing and fed him from your hand…you never forgot what he was. His golden eyes narrowed as he caught a whiff of smoke coming from the northern parts of the land. He turned adjusting his speed.

  * * *

  Exactly one year ago he’d been called to attend a security meeting in the vampire realm. As the former blood king his reputation preceded him, the room grew silent as he entered. It didn’t help that he’d let his dark red hair grow long that winter. He also dressed them in warrior style braids with small pieces of gold woven in.

  He’d chosen to wear custom dragon clothing. Leather and skin, that was the fashion choice of nearly all dragons and he was no exception. He’d left his chest bare and donned fitted leather pants that covered his massive legs. His bulging muscles had earned him stares from the women and scowls from the men.

  He’d thought briefly it had been a mistake to enter the party, he was causing a stir without even trying and as head of security he needed to be invisible. He sighed loudly when a server dropped a tray of glasses in their haste to evade him.

  As the night progressed his men realized there would be no viable threat, every council there acted with respect and seemed to be taking the peace treaty seriously. He’d sat at the front of the room waiting patiently for the party to end.

  Suddenly a small beautiful woman sauntered into view. Her thick black hair was cut super short. A cloud of blue-black curls surrounded her face, her caramel skin enhanced by the fitted yellow strapless dress. He was surprised when he caught her eyes, sensing immediately she was blind.

  Instantly he felt his protective instincts rise. He could tell by her scent she was a witch and could smell the powerful magic lurking just below the surface. He rose as she walked closer to him. She didn’t speak just reached up touching his face, running her soft fingers over the hard lines.

  It had been years since he’d allowed anyone to touch him. He felt his dragon rise at her caress. He knew right away she wasn’t his mate but something about her intrigued him. He didn’t move as she examined him.

  “What’s your name?” she asked softly pulling away from him. He pulled out a chair and guided her to it earning a smile for his action. She sat down; he caught a scent of coconut and sunshine.

  “Alex…Alex McReive,” he said sitting down across from her. She smiled gently as his name registered. He wondered if she’d heard stories about him and for once in his life he hoped the ones whispered in her ears were the good ones.

  “Alex McReive, the blood king, and the gentle dragon, a man with two faces. I had a vision last night and I can tell you that y
our time for waiting is almost up. Your dragon and your life are going to change very soon. I just need you to promise me that you will protect the treasure that is coming to you…that you will cherish it.”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked curiously.

  “A treasure that you’ve waited your whole life for…promise me now and I’ll help you find it,” Ida said seriously. As an endo-empath, she knew the nature of a person upon meeting them and he was just what her cousin needed.

  She shouldn’t interfere, the number one rule of being a seer was to not interfere…but she’d always been one to bend the rules, especially if it could help someone she loved.

  Something in her voice had alerted his dragon. His eyes flickered yellow a signal to all other males that his beast prowled just beneath the surface. He felt his skin heating and stretching at the news…the only treasure a dragon could truly have was a mate. He knew witches had an odd sense of humor, but he believed this woman hadn’t come to play games with him.

  “If I was to receive a treasure that belonged to me…I would protect it, guard it for the rest of my life,” he whispered back. His eyes focused on her, the room fading away.

  “That’s good to know,” Ida said leaning forward speaking in a sneaky tone, “Let me tell you about this small town called Nado.”

  She’d gone on to tell him about a small village that needed the protection of a great warrior and that if he offered his aid, his blessing would come shortly after. She’d only had a few minutes with him before her mate had found her.

  Balloch Donnell was known in all of the realms as the blade of the vampire king and now current heir to the throne. The tall blonde vampire looked only mildly annoyed to find his mate talking intimately in the corner with a dragon.

  Balloch sighed a sigh that only exasperated husbands could recognize as he caught his wife talking with the blood king. Ida was forever up to something. He remembered the red headed dragon immediately. He’d fought alongside him in the war and knew what a man like him could do.

  His temper only subsided as he remembered the honor the blood king had shown in battle. Whatever was going on he knew Alex would never do anything to harm her, in fact, he would offer his life to protect her.

  Alex could barely contain his surprise at learning she was Balloch’s mate, his reputation was worse than his…his strength and power worried the vampire realm to no end.

  There were rumors, distant ones...that spoke of his madness. Yet he was careful with his mate as he collected her…guiding her with his hand, kissing the top of her head as he pulled her up into the protection of his arms. She was almost a foot shorter than him.

  Watching them together created an ache in his chest. If she was Balloch’s mate then her name was Ida Amant, he’d heard that the vampire prince had found his mate and been awakened. Balloch had purposely spread her name through the realm as a warning to all…this witch and her coven was off limits.

  Balloch and Alex merely nodded their acknowledgments each aware of the others power. In a matter of seconds, the massive vampire had removed his mate from the ballroom, earning looks of disapproval from the other royals, yet they all kept silent knowing better than to question his dealings with his mate.

  After their talk, Alex traveled to Nado. He’d taken on the task of protecting the village and had earned a place among the people. In time the townspeople had grown fond of him often inviting him into their homes and bringing him items to show their thanks. He had a feeling he was becoming part of a large family here and it touched something inside of him that he thought he’d lost long ago.

  He knew that he would stay here even if the witch had been playing with him; he’d grown to love the town and its people. Little did he know that his treasure was just around the corner…

  * * *

  Opal Amant opened her eyes slowly sure of what she would find when she looked around the room. She knew that her sister was gone. The silence gave that away. She took a deep steadying breath as her mind turned on.

  As the keeper of knowledge her brain constantly filtered through the massive amounts of information she consumed. The best way she could describe it was like surfing the internet. Her mind was constantly buzzing, analyzing and storing all of the information she could learn in a day. The only time she could rest was when she was in a deep sleep.

  Thanks to Lorelei’s sleeping medicine, she was now able to sleep regularly. When she was younger she used to stay up for days on end reading and researching, she was thankful for the fact that she could now turn off her brain even if for a few brief hours.

  They still had a few days before they could leave Atlantis and instead of sticking together, Anise wanted to explore. She loved the energy of the underground city and wanted to know more about the dragon realm. They were lucky to get in; few outsiders were granted access to travel freely within this specific realm.

  Although they weren’t exactly, “free” in here. She touched the small collar on her neck with a frown. In order to enter the dragon realm, any surface supernatural with extreme power had to wear a power cap.

  The small device siphoned their powers throughout the day ensuring that she could not access the full array of her magic. Still, she couldn’t deny that the traveling had been easy since their arrival.

  She understood the dragon council’s reluctance when it came to allowing them entrance; her brain was her biggest weapon. It had taken forever for her particular type of power to get cleared. In all honesty, it was a mistake on their part.

  Myra had personally asked her to gather all of the intelligence she could on the different supernatural species that lived here. She now knew almost all of their weaknesses, it hadn’t taken long to figure out exactly how they operated and now with the knowledge she’d gained since she entered Atlantis, the coven was much more prepared for any fight that the dragons, faeries, werewolves or vampires could bring their way.

  She could tell that her sister was in love with this place. The different species of plants, the vibrant colors of the exotic flowers, and the magically enhanced fauna enchanted Anise. She’d spent most of the trip on the side of the road cataloging the different species.

  She didn’t blame her. Anise was the keeper of the earth. This meant that life especially that of the planet excited her, seeing how they prospered here intrigued the very depths of her soul. Opal knew that getting her to stay by her side the entire time would be nearly impossible.

  Besides, Anise’s divorce had changed her. Betrayal did that to a person, stripping its victim bare leaving them vulnerable. It had taken everything she had to bring the light back to Anise’s eyes.

  Luckily she knew that both of them were strong enough to travel this world safely. Once long ago that wasn’t the case. It had been Opal who had kept them safe with her magic, she was a master at all forms of spell craft and she’d learned early that weakness was a flaw that she could not have.

  She’d spent years protecting her sisters as they grew in power. As the youngest of them, it had been difficult for her sisters to accept her place as their protector, but there had been no other choice at the time.

  As a result, her sister’s powers had flourished into beautiful, life-giving ones while hers had hardened into a brutal and efficient tool. But that didn’t upset Opal at all; she enjoyed possessing strength in her magic. She never wanted to be weak again.

  Her photographic memory helped her in this; once she’d seen a spell she could never forget it. The only problem with her power was its never-ending need for more.

  Over the years she’d started to see the darkness in her magic. She could feel her desperate need to know it all and to know everything was just not possible. This trait had kept her head trapped in books and while she respected her power she hated the way it controlled her.

  Even now surrounded by the beautiful mystery of Atlantis, her thoughts centered on the directions to the Dragon realm’s library and she knew that at some point today she would find herself burie
d in the books there. That’s all that mattered to her brain.

  She sat up quickly, chanting a spell to ignite the fireplace. The dragon realm was cold, like the armpit of Alaska cold. It had taken her days to adjust to it. She looked around the antique style room. It reminded her of a California coastal style interior with its old-fashioned wooden furniture and white linens. The only difference was the deities that were placed in all corners of the room; she grimaced as she passed a well hung Minotaur.

  She could see the morning light coming through the large windows. She was always surprised at how Atlantis existed without direct sunlight. She still couldn’t understand how it was possible? But that was something she could learn today. Her brain sent her happy little endorphins to speed up her dressing process.

  She’d seen every version of supernatural down here openly using and accessing their power in public. Even she had to admit it was a wonderful sight. She couldn’t even imagine using her power above ground definitely not with the Human Council in existence.

  They were as bad as the warlocks when it came to dealing with witches. Yes, if she was being honest she preferred the rules of Atlantis to the rules of the surface world. But it still was home and with Lorelei there unprotected she needed to get back soon.

  The Keeper’s coven was infamous in all of the realms. Each witch that joined was a prime witch, and that meant they were the strongest in their specialty of magic. That’s why they’d each gained the title of a keeper.

  They now had twenty members and with each day they grew stronger in power. They were led by the three most powerful witches in all of the world. Myra the keeper of lust, Anna the keeper of rage, and Sara the keeper of terror, their powers alone could take down Atlantis.

  Opal knew that’s why the inhabitants here were so suspicious of them, often refusing to speak or interact with any witch from their coven. The reality was that they’d all joined forces to survive, with great power came even greater threats. She found herself pacing as she thought about the past.