The Dragonlings and the Magic Four-Leaf Clover Read online

  “I’m sure the emus would love that,” Ariel quipped in a dry tone.

  “Well, I think we should all go up to Ariel and Mandra’s house. Wouldn’t that be a lovely get-away?” Abby suggested, looping her arm through Ariel’s.

  Carmen laughed. “You’re just saying that because you know the guys are going to be camping in the forest near there, and you are worried about the kids,” she said with a knowing smile.

  Abby shrugged one elegant shoulder. “I guess you’re right. After all, what could possibly happen?” she asked with an amused grin as she waved a hand toward the boys who were huddled together.

  A grimace crossed Carmen’s face when she saw Spring’s head pop up in the middle of the group, followed by Amber and Jade. The little girl glanced around before she waved to Phoenix to join her. It was obvious to all of the mothers that the kids were already up to something and plotting like crazy.

  “I agree with Abby, I think we should all go hang out at Ariel and Mandra’s mountain home,” Carmen said with a sheepish grin.

  “All in favor, say ‘aye’,” Abby said, looking along the line of women.

  “Aye,” they all agreed.

  “I’ll say a double ‘Aye’ for Tina since she is busy,” Riley replied before she frowned. “Okay, where did those two girls of mine disappear to this time? Pearl! Sacha! Yum-yum time!”

  Everyone turned when they heard a loud purr coming from the men’s direction. Glancing around, they looked puzzled until they saw Riley’s red face and Vox striding toward her with a very predatory grin on his face. Riley backed up, held out her hand, and shook her head.

  “Vox, don’t you….! You mangy cat! It is…. Tina… Please watch the girls!” Riley squeaked when Vox lifted her up in his arms and kept walking toward the palace.

  Cara, who had been coming down the path with one of her new inventions, quickly stepped to the side and watched as Vox strode by with Riley in his arms. She walked toward the group with a puzzled frown.

  “What was all that about?” Cara asked.

  Morian’s lips twitched. “I believe Riley is still nursing the twins,” she answered, watching the twins playing with Morah and Hope again now that their dad had left.

  “Nursing?” Cara repeated before her eyes widened, and she burst out laughing. “Oh! Well, they say cats love fresh milk.”

  “So do dragons,” Morian warned with a twinkle of amusement at Cara.

  “Tell me about it,” Cara retorted, turning to watch Trelon with a soft expression.

  Chapter Three

  Later that afternoon, Paul watched the men as they worked together to set up camp. He had laughed when he and the symbiots were assigned the task of watching over the children. He could already see the expressions of doubt creeping into the men’s eyes about the wisdom of taking this many children out camping on their own. Looking down, he swept his gaze over the sea of eyes watching him with expectation and barely contained excitement.

  “Okay, first things first. We need firewood. Now, the key to finding good firewood is picking different sizes and making sure the wood is neither too wet nor too old and rotted,” he explained.

  A hand immediately went up. “Yes, Leo,” Paul acknowledged.

  “Can I eats it?” the little boy with dark-brown eyes, like his mother, asked.

  Paul shot a warning glance to the older dragonlings when they started to laugh. They quickly grew quiet. He shook his head.

  “No, I wouldn’t recommend eating the wood,” he said.

  Morah turned to look at Leo. “They mights have bugs in it,” she said.

  “But… I likes to eat bugs,” Leo responded with a disappointed expression.

  “I like to eat them, too, Leo,” Roam loudly whispered to his cousin.

  “Ew!” Hope said, wiggling her nose in distaste.

  “You won’t have to eat bugs, Hope. I’ll share my food with you,” Jabir offered, a shy smile on his face. “I don’t have any bugs or meat in the food my mom packed.”

  “Hope, do you want to help us?” Cree called.

  “No’s, I’s having funs,” she replied with an infectious smile.

  Paul looked up to see Cree scowling over at the small group. The reason for Cree’s displeasure took a moment to sink in. It wasn’t until he followed the other man’s gaze that he saw Jabir smiling at Hope. Fortunately, the little girl appeared to be oblivious to her dad’s consternation.

  This is going to be a long three days, he thought with a silent chuckle.

  “Okay, who wants to help me get the firewood?” he asked, rubbing his hands together in expectation.

  Seconds later, he was shaking his head. All of the little ones were scattering like flies at a Fourth of July picnic. Only Morah remained—for a brief moment. She gave him an apologetic smile before she shifted into her dragon and bounded off after the other kids.

  “I’ll help you gather some wood,” Mandra said. “Cree has decided he wants to keep an eye on Hope and my boy,” he chuckled.

  “You don’t look too concerned,” Paul observed.

  Mandra shook his head. “I know how futile it would be to try to keep them apart if they are destined to be true mates. I’d rather pick my battles, and dealing with the twin dragons later on will be hard enough if Hope is Jabir’s true mate. Besides, I think we have a few years before we need to worry about it,” he dryly replied.

  Paul looked over toward Jabir where he was holding up a large insect for Hope to touch. The awe on her tiny face, reminded him so much of Trisha and Morah. Cree was hovering near the two dragonlings with an expression of uncertainty. Paul sighed and shook his head in sympathy. He remembered his own angst with Trisha when she was younger. All he needed to do was look at Kelan and Bálint to know that everything would be fine. Fortunately, he had a few years before he had to worry about Morah.

  “Let’s get some firewood before it gets dark,” he said.

  Later that evening, the large group sat around the fire. Dinner consisted of sandwiches, fresh fruit, and nuts—compliments of a care package from the women. The children finally mellowed out after a day of running around exploring and chasing each other. All but two had reverted to their dragon or tiger cub shape.

  Alice and Phoenix sat next to each other. Paul looked around the canopy of trees surrounding them. He didn’t miss the fact that Phoenix kept looking up at one tree in particular and smiling. Even Harvey, Creon’s symbiot, seemed to sense there was another presence close by.

  Do you sense anything? he asked, looking over at his symbiot that was curled up with Morah. Focusing on his dragon, he mentally touched his other half.

  Goddesses are near, his dragon replied with a yawn.

  Paul frowned. Is that a good or bad thing? he asked.

  Goddesses good thing. They like dragonlings, his dragon responded.

  “You feel them, too,” Creon murmured, glancing warily around them.

  “Yes. I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” Paul replied.

  Creon didn’t say anything. Paul noticed Creon’s eyes were locked on his youngest daughter. Phoenix was giggling and whispering with Alice, Ha’ven and Emma’s daughter. Alice waved her hand and the doll in Phoenix’s hand changed. Gone was the pale skin, red hair, and green princess dress. The doll now had a dark complexion and was wearing a leather vest, pants, and boots and carrying a bow complete with tiny arrows in a miniature quiver.

  A soft chuckle slipped from his lips when Morah suddenly lifted her head and growled at Alice for changing the clothing on her doll. Alice giggled and waved her hand over the doll again, changing the leather clothing to a bright red princess dress complete with appropriate accessories. Morah snorted and nodded in satisfaction.

  “Who would like to hear a story?” Paul asked, deciding that no camp-out was complete without a campfire tale.

  “I do!” a chorus of young voices called out.

  At the word ‘story’ the children shifted back into their human form. They gathered together
to sit in a small group on a log. Paul chuckled when he heard sounds of male groans in the background. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Zoran frantically shaking his head and waving his hands. Paul returned the other man’s look with a raised eyebrow.

  “Paul, I really don’t think that is such a good idea,” Zoran started to say when the children—and some of the other men—drowned him out.

  “Why?” Paul asked.

  “Abby said…” Zoran began, looking around and trying to think of a good way of saying what he had to say without upsetting the children.

  Vox leaned over and slapped Zoran on the shoulder. “Probably the same thing that Riley did,” Vox teased.

  “And Ariel,” Mandra added with a grin.

  “And Carmen,” Creon murmured.

  Calo shrugged. “Melina just made Cree and me promise that we would not lose Hope again,” he said with a wink at his daughter.

  “I think Melina and Emma have been talking,” Ha’ven chuckled.

  “Please, Dada, I wants a story,” Morah pleaded.

  “Yes. Please, Grandpa, we want to hear a story,” Zohar said, looking up at him with wide imploring eyes.

  “Well, if your fathers don’t want me to tell you one…,” Paul started to say.

  “Please, Daddy. I do love stories,” Phoenix quietly pleaded, looking at Creon with eyes that swirled with color.

  “Okay, but… You kids have to promise us that you understand that this is just a story,” Creon cautioned, shooting a warning look at Paul.

  The kids squealed and clapped their hands. Even the symbiots perked up, tilting their heads and shimmering with shifting colors to show their excitement. Paul took a breath and thought for a moment. A smile curved his lips when the story came to him. He stood up and focused on the children as he began his story with the same dramatic flair that he’d used when he told Trisha, Ariel, and Carmen stories around the campfires when they were growing up.

  “Did you know that there is magic in the woods?” he asked, looking at each of the children.

  “Magic? Like this?” Alice asked, fluttering her fingers and causing several large, rainbow-colored butterflies to appear.

  Paul chuckled when all the other kids reached for the butterflies that dissolved at their touch, sprinkling them with colorful dust. Ha’ven shrugged his shoulders in apology. Paul waited until the kids settled back down before he continued.

  “Very similar to that, Alice, only this magic comes from… the Leprechauns,” he said.

  “Oh! I love Leprechauns!” Morah announced with a dreamy sigh.

  Paul paused when Leo raised his hand. “Yes, Leo?” Paul asked.

  “Can I eats them?” the little boy asked with a hopeful grin.

  Viper grimaced. “I’m sorry, Paul. Leo wants to eat everything at the moment,” he muttered, leaning down and murmuring in his son’s ear.

  “Oh,” Leo sighed, looking disappointed. “I bets they tastes good.”

  “Continue with your story, Paul, otherwise we might be here all night,” Zoran suggested.

  “Sorry, Uncle Zoran,” Alice and Leo said.

  Paul rubbed his chin. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the magic in the woods…. Long, long ago, there lived a mighty King. He was the strongest, mightiest King of all the lands,” Paul said.

  “Just like you, Dad,” Zohar said with a proud expression.

  “Mine, too,” Alice said.

  “Mine, two, three, whatever,” Roam agreed with a firm nod.

  “And my dada,” Morah said with a sigh.

  “Okay, just like all of them—and me,” Paul agreed. “Now, this King lived in a beautiful kingdom and had a strong army, but he had one weakness,” he continued before pausing and looking around the group.

  “What is it?” Cree finally asked, flushing when everyone turned to look at him for interrupting. “What? I want to know.”

  “Gold. The King loved gold. Eventually, his hunger for gold would take over his life and his kingdom. The Keeper of the Stories, who was his sister, warned King Tamblin that if he was not careful, his greed would turn his skin green, and his heart would turn cold to all the other things that used to matter to him. But, alas, King Tamblin refused to listen to Tia, his beloved sister,” Paul said with a heartfelt sigh.

  “Oh, no! What happened, Grandpa?” Bálint asked, sitting forward.

  Paul hunkered down and gazed at the children through the low flames. He lowered his voice and looked around him as if he were about to tell them a vital secret. Each of the children leaned forward in anticipation.

  “An old man appeared at the castle. He was not just any old man, he was the King of the Leprechauns in disguise. In the pouch at his waist, he carried a single gold coin. The old man explained to King Tamblin that he was simply passing through, and he asked for food and shelter for just a few hours because he still had a long journey before sunrise. At first, King Tamblin was going to turn away the old man, but he caught sight of the pouch and asked the old man what he carried in it. The old man shrugged and told King Tamblin that it was a gold coin, not just any gold coin, but the gold coin of the magical King of the Leprechauns!” Paul exclaimed, standing and throwing his hands out.

  Morah clapped her hands together in excitement while the other kids oohed and ahhed. Paul winked at his young daughter because she had heard this story before, but was reacting as if it were the first time.

  “What did King Tamblin do?” Ha’ven asked.

  “If he is as greedy a bas….” Vox started to say before he cleared his throat. “Ah, if he is as greedy as Paul says, he probably slit the old man’s throat and took it.”

  Roam turned, looked up, and scowled at his dad. “That mean bastard. You’d show him that stealing was wrong, wouldn’t you, Dad?” Roam hissed.

  “You bet your asssss…ets,” Vox started to agree before his brother elbowed him in the side. “Oh, yeah. Roam, remember what Mommy said about your language.”

  Roam frowned. “I thought she was talking to you. She was waving her finger at you, Dad,” Roam said with a confused expression.

  “She was, wasn’t she?” Vox agreed with a grin that disappeared when Viper shook his head.

  “You are going to get us both in trouble if Leo starts repeating things again,” Viper warned.

  “You gots to be quiets so Dada can finish the story. It’s my favorites one!” Morah bossily ordered, turning to shoot Vox and Viper a stern look.

  The men sitting around the fire, chuckled. “You tell them, Morah,” Trelon encouraged. “So, what happened next, Paul?”

  “King Tamblin demanded that the old man turn the gold coin over to him, but the old man refused, saying he needed it. The old man was on his way back to the mystical city of the Leprechauns. He must return before the next morning, and the gold coin was his key to entering the city. Now, you need to understand that before he became greedy for gold, King Tamblin had been a wise, noble, and compassionate man, but he was none of those anymore. The hunger for gold had filled his heart with greed, and he was now a very shrewd, devious, and cold-hearted King. At first, King Tamblin demanded the coin as payment for food and shelter, but the old man shook his head.

  ‘Nay,’ the old man said with a wave of his finger. ‘I will continue on my journey and sleep along the side of the road.’

  “But, Tia, King Tamblin’s sister, pleaded with the king.”

  ‘No, brother. You must find it in your heart to give food and shelter,’ Tia’s soft voice implored on behalf of the old man.

  “You see, Tia is not only King Tamblin’s sister, but she is the Keeper of the Stories of their people, and she saw the changes in her brother. Tia was as compassionate and loving as her brother, now, was greedy. Tia finally insisted that the old man stay and rest, and her brother agreed. King Tamblin sat moodily at the head of the long table and watched the old man laugh as he shared, with Tia and the knights, the wondrous story of the King of the Leprechauns and the mystical kingdom of Glitter. All were unaware that the ol
d man was testing King Tamblin in the hopes of tricking him.” Paul paused again and pointed his finger at his audience. “You see, the old man, tired of living his life confined to being small and living in Glitter, had escaped for one night in the hopes of finding someone else to take his place. The old man saw the sly and devious look in King Tamblin’s eyes and knew that his plan was working.”

  “Smart old man, using his opponent’s weakness against him,” Ha’ven murmured with an approving nod.

  Paul chuckled, enjoying how the men were getting into and analyzing his story. Clearing his throat, he continued.

  “While the old Leprechaun King had his own devious plan in motion, so, too, did King Tamblin. Tamblin watched the old man drink many tankards of ale, growing tipsier with each one. Just as he hoped, the old man pulled the pouch from his waist and withdrew the gold coin. The coin was passed around the table until it reached King Tamblin at last. Holding the gold coin in his hand, King Tamblin marveled at the pure beauty of it. Ninety-nine percent pure and as large as the palm of his hand, the coin was embellished with the likeness of the King of the Leprechauns on the front and the Queen of the Wood Fairies on the reverse.

  ‘Are there more coins such as this?’ King Tamblin nonchalantly asked, turning the gold coin over and over in his hand, completely mesmerized by the weight and beauty of it.

  “‘Mountains of them,’ the old man slyly replied. ‘The streets are covered with gold, as are the buildings and statues. Each resident of Glitter receives a magical duck that lays a golden egg daily. When the eggs are cracked, the insides contain a nugget of the purest gold in all the universe. They smelt the gold and pour it into molds and make the coins.’ ”

  Paul paused, seeing all the wide eyes focused on him as they drank in his every word. Each time he retold this story, it became bigger and more elaborate than the time before. Taking a deep breath, he continued.