Chapter 18
Exploring in her mother’s house was a bit nerve shattering the next time. Gone was the idea that this was a safe place. Lalani kept looking over her shoulder to see if someone had come in behind her. She’d stacked a bunch of cans in front of the basement door that led to the passageway. That would at least give her a warning if someone came in. Hopefully.
She was there today to figure out what could be donated or shared from her birth mother’s house. It had taken a while for her to be ready to close this house or give it to someone who needed a place to live. There was no reason for it to sit empty.
Tackling the biggest job, she decided to start with the clothes in the closet. There was a big warehouse that had opened on the outskirts of the town. They took clothing and furniture to pass on to others for free. Lalani would take her mother’s clothes there for others to be able to wear.
A loud knock at the front door made her jump.
Someone’s at the door.
Be careful. Do you need me?
I’m sure it’s okay.
Psyching herself up to open the door, Lalani crept down the stairs and tried to walk silently to the door. A loud creak announced her presence as she rose on her tiptoes to peek through the peephole.
“Lalani. I’m Elenore Battlefield. My family also came from the founders of Wyvern. May I come in?”
Dropping to her heels, Lalani quickly unlocked and opened the door. An older woman stood on the doorstep. She carried a large tome in her arms. “I thought you might like to know more about your family.”
Lalani’s apprehension evaporated instantly. She didn’t get any threatening vibes from this woman.
“I would love that. Will you come in? I’m afraid it’s a bit dusty in here,” Lalani apologized as she stepped back to allow the woman to enter.
“No worries. Dust is eternal. It’s either wafting in the air or decorating a surface. Your mother always kept her house so tidy. Can I put this on the table?”
“Sure.” Lalani led her to the kitchen table and swiped her hand over it before standing back so Elenore could set the heavy book down. “You knew my mother?”
“Oh, yes. I knew Suzanne well. We spent a lot of time drinking coffee at this table,” Elenore shared.
“I wish I could make you a cup of coffee.”
“It’s funny how the most insignificant things are the things we miss the most. A steaming cup of coffee made with a push of a button. I mashed beans with the bottom of a pan this morning to boil on the grill with my morning toast.”
“How was it?” Lalani asked, instantly drawn in by the vivid picture that Elenore had shared. The two women settled into a chair at the table.
“Gritty. I need to find a filter, or a mesh implement that I could pour the water through. It was okay. I needed the caffeine.”
“I know the feeling.” Lalani looked at the enormous book in front of Elenore and asked, “What’s that? Something to do with my family?”
“There’s one of these around here somewhere. I’m sure Suzanne put it somewhere safe. We’ll have to look for it to pass along to someone else in your family.”
“I have family members still alive?” Lalani asked.
“Suzanne didn’t share that she had a son with her husband? Those two never got along. Suzanne’s husband and her son. I always thought it was a shame he didn’t come back after his father passed.”
“What’s his name?” Lalani said, leaning forward in her chair.
“Oh, let me think. It’s been a long time. I think it was Derek? Yes, that’s it, Derek Lowe. He left right after he graduated from high school. Jumped on his motorcycle one afternoon and never came back. Just like my grandson, Brooks.”
She had a half-brother? Lalani tried to remember the name Derek Lowe as Elenore kept talking.
As if understanding that one piece of news blew her mind, Elenore reached over and patted her hand. “Go write it down, Lalani. Derek Lowe. He was a handsome teenager. The girls all went crazy over him. He would be older now, of course.”
Lalani jumped up and opened a drawer. She remembered her mother had a notepad and pens there for messages. Quickly, Lalani wrote out the name and the word, half-brother—like she was going to forget. Looking at that line again, she deliberately crossed out the word half. The link with her mother was the most important—she didn’t care that they had different fathers.
“Sorry. I’m a bit frazzled by that news. My mother never told me I had siblings. There aren’t any pictures here of a boy or teenager around the house.”
“There was a bit of a scandal when he left. Suzanne’s husband took down all the pictures and virtually erased him from the family,” Elenore explained. “Suzanne didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. She always thought the sun and moon rose just for him.”
Lalani repeated the name in her head. Derek Lowe. He could tell her more about her mother. She saw Elenore studying her and tried to drag her brain back to their conversation. Her visitor had said something about a grandson.
“Your grandson is out there somewhere? He didn’t get back to Wyvern?” Lalani asked, feeling her brows draw together in concern as she tried to pay attention to Elenore.
“It’s okay. Brooks always does things on his time. He’ll get back here someday. When he’s ready.”
“I hope I get to meet him.”
“Me, too. You’d like him. He’s a charmer in a biker guy kind of way,” Elenore said with a smile.
“I always liked the bad boys,” Lalani confessed.
“Well, you certainly ended up with one. Mated to a dragon. You can’t get much more I‘m not going to follow the rules, I make the rules, than a dragon.”
The two both laughed.
“Let me show you a few things in this book. Then, if you would like, we can use it to find the location of your family’s book. They’re all linked together. I’ll show you,” Elenore suggested.
“What do I do with it once we find it?”
“You hold on to it until Derek comes back,” Elenore answered confidently.
“What if he doesn’t come back?”
“A family has never ceased to exist up to this point. Even when major plagues or sickness hit. At least one person has continued the line. I’m going to hope a pact with the dragons somehow controls the future. He’s going to come back.”
“I’m going to think that, too,” Lalani stated positively.
“Perfect. Now, let me find a few things in here. You’ll want to explore your book, too. It has a lot about your family in it. Your family name is Morgan. So now you can read everything and pick out who your forefathers were.”
“Morgan, hmmm. That makes sense that the women change names when they get married and their children would have their spouse’s family name. That really jumbles things up.”
“Here’s a list of the families. Look, there’s Morgan.”
“Henry Morgan helped create the pact,” Lalani read out loud. A shiver went down her back. She’d thought her family was all gone when her birth mother had passed away. Now, there was hope other family members existed.
Are you happy, mate?
I am. Elenore is here teaching me about my family.
This pleases me, Princess. I know how important family is to you. Listen to what she says. Ignore any message from your dragon mate.
Never. Love you.
I love you, too, Lalani.
“You have a strong bond to your mate,” Elenore observed, somehow sensing that Lalani was communicating with him.
“I have nothing to compare it to, but I do feel very connected to him,” Lalani shared.
“That is good. I hope you have many happy years together. Shall we take a minute and see if your family’s book is here?”
“I haven’t run into it. You said they were connected. How?”
Elenore closed her book carefully so she didn’t tear or bend any pictures. She placed her right hand on the cover and rubbed a counterclockwise circle on the embossed leather.
Lalani leaned in. “Is it glowing?”
“You are very perceptive. Not everyone can see that. Now watch.” Elenore stood and walked toward the back door. The light dimmed.
“Not in that direction,” Elenore stated firmly and turned to walk back into the center of the house. At each possible turn, she consulted the book’s glow. The light was unmistakable when she reached the cabinet under the TV.
“Can we open this?” Elenore asked, looking at Lalani who stood beside her.
“Of course. Let me do it.”
She dropped to her knees and opened the doors. It was illuminated as if electricity fueled a bulb inside. Lalani moved a few things collected inside and found it. The huge tome.
Pulling it out, she stood and placed it next to Elenore’s. The light was almost blinding. “That’s unbelievable.”
“You can extinguish it. Simply rub a clockwise pattern on the cover.” Elenore demonstrated and Lalani watched with amazement as it became a simple book once again.
“Take that with you. If you have questions, I’m always glad to answer them. When another Morgan appears, you will pass that on to them. Mates are not the keepers of a family’s tome.”
“Could I ask about the tunnels? Why are some houses linked?” Lalani wondered.
“Creating the pact with the dragons forged a common bond between the founding families. While they have supported all those who settled in Wyvern, that original bond has always been viewed as their most important allies. In recent years, the keepers of these tomes have worked together to educate each other, for frequently the books have passed to someone who knew nothing about the pact or dragons.”
“Like me,” Lalani said, looking down at the thick volume in her hand. “I’ll never make it through all of this. Is there like a one-page, cheater, study guide?”
“There is not. I’ve had the book for twenty years and I haven’t read all of it. You have to read and think. Then go back for another chunk. My grandmother passed along the list of parts she thought I should read. It helped me. I’ve copied it for you and added a suggestion of my own that you should start with,” Elenore said, pulling a list from the book and handing it over.
“Thank you so much. I wonder if my mother had a list like this?” She opened the top cover, and a list floated down to the ground.
“Looks like you’re in luck,” Elenore said with a smile. “I bet they all decided to do the same thing. It sounds like something they would have planned together.”
“I think this is in my mother’s handwriting.” Lalani smiled down at the paper. It had just become the most treasured item she had.
“She’d be so glad you have it. Your mother talked about you frequently. How old you would be. When it was your birthday. How she hoped for the best of everything for you. And, how she hoped when you were an adult, that you would come to find her.”
Tears coursed down Lalani’s face. She set the book down on a table and grabbed a few tissues from the box. “Could you tell me more about my mother?”
“I would love to. We can talk about the book and your mom. Let me show you this first. Here are the stories of the first mates.” Elenore pointed to the first item on both lists. “You’re going to love these profiles. Then go look at the steps in the town square.”
Lalani impulsively stepped forward to hug Elenore. “Thank you for coming. I can’t wait to get to know you as well.”
“If you’d like, I’ll introduce you to the others. They’ll be thrilled to meet the green dragon’s mate.”
“I’d like that. Thank you.”