Secrets of the Dragon’s Heart (Mysteries of Dragon’s Island #6)
Prologue
PROLOGUE
M ax sat staring out at the ocean in the darkness, stars glimmering in the sky above his head, the moon slowly beginning to rise over the water, but he didn’t see any of the beauty of his island home; he was lost in a funk of self-doubt and confusion. His dream of running a successful island resort had come true, but he could no longer ignore all the strange, wonderful, and, at times, slightly frightening things that had been happening over the last few months. It appeared as if trouble seemed to find its way to the island, especially where his friends were concerned, and he was both excited and wary about Cameron coming to the island.
One by one, his oldest and closest friends had come to visit, and one by one, they’d had strange experiences that couldn’t be explained that resulted in each of them falling in love and getting married, three of them right there on the island. He’d done his best to deny, explain away, and ignore all the unexpected things that had happened until recently, when he’d been forced to admit that something was going on with the island. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was going to have to admit to Mateo, the appointed guardian of the island, that he’d been right, that the island was special.
Of course, that’s as far as he planned to go. He wasn’t going to admit that building the resort had been a bad idea, and he wasn’t going to give Mateo that much satisfaction. Nothing truly terrible had happened to any of his friends. In fact, all of them would say that the island was a wonderful place. A few might even, at this point, say that the island saved their lives.
Letting out a long sigh, he started to get to his feet, but then saw a long figure walking down the beach toward him. “You’re up late.” Mateo said, sinking down next to him on the sand. “I thought you’d already be in bed. Isn’t your friend Cameron due to arrive tomorrow?”
“Yeah, and I guess that’s what’s got me worried,” he said, then looked over at Mateo. “I’ve been thinking about telling him not to come, not with the way things have been going around here.”
Mateo’s face looked surprised. “Are you finally ready to admit that I was right?” he asked. “This island has a mind of its own. It affects people and their lives. You never should have built the resort here.”
He was silent for a second. “I might be ready to agree that the island is special,” he said. “But I still think the resort was a good idea. I just don’t know if my friends should visit anymore. Haven’t you noticed all the strange things only happen to them and no one else?”
“That little fact had crossed my mind,” Mateo said, then looked over at him. “I find it utterly fascinating, I just wish I could figure out what the connection between all of you is. I don’t think it’s your friendship, as close as you all seem, I don’t think that’s enough. There has to be something else, something more we haven’t figured out.”
Max had a pretty good idea what that something was, but he wasn’t about to tell Mateo their secret; he couldn’t tell a regular human what he and his friends could do. “Well, I wish I knew,” he said with a big sigh. “It’s probably too late to tell Cameron not to come, and he probably wouldn’t listen anyway. He’s convinced everything that’s been happening can be explained by science.”
Mateo snorted. “He may have a big surprise coming then,” he said. “But at least he’s been warned.”
“A lot of good that will do. There’s nothing I can do now but hope that Cameron’s visit is nice and quiet, that the island behaves itself,” he said, getting to his feet and dusting the sand off his shorts. “I think I’ll try to get some sleep, but you should do the same.”