Page 54 of The Black Dragon
17
That afternoon,as Leo vanished into his study to work, Ariel set out on an errand. She had baked and the results of her effort now sat in a plastic container on the seat next toher.
Today was a special day and nothing, not even the constant naggings by Parker Covingtonto set a wedding date, would deter her fromthis.
Her phone buzzed. She ignored it until she parked, and then glanced at the screen. The text message from Vern made her bloodfreeze.
He’s back, Ariel. The black dragon. He came here asking about you. Becareful.
For a few minutes, she sat, staring at her phone. Screw it. She would not spend her life worrying. After Leo’s revelation,she was tired of being afraid of what lifebrought.
Ariel climbed out of the truck, and took the plastic container with her, careful not to jostleit.
Rows and rows of white stones, some faded with time and age, greeted her. She walked along the pristine, trimmed path until reaching a stone shaded by a tall junipertree.
Ariel carried the pink-frosted cupcake over to the shadygrass and sat. Using the high heel shaped lighter dug out of her jeans pocket, she ignited the rose candle. Then she placed the candle atop thegravestone.
“Happy birthday,Mama.”
The stone felt cold and rough beneath her trembling fingers as she traced the letters. Marian Rose Harrington. Aged44.
Words failed to describe the lilt of her mother’s gurgling laughter. Or howMama had purchased the lighter on a whim while they shopped at yard sales. Or how roses were her favorite flower and her green eyes sparkled when Leo brought home a dozen of them, red as blood and smelling like spring andlove.
Wind caught the candle flame, making it flicker. Ariel’s throat tightened. She did not fight it and try to summon cheerful thoughts to hide her emotions. Here inthis verdant place amongst the dead and the silent, she could surrender to grief. Salt water filled her eyes. Ariel let the tears flow, let them drop down to the greengrass.
“Why? Why did you have to die? Every day I look at your empty chair and I think of you there, laughing and smiling. I miss you so much. I miss you singing to me and confusing the lyrics. I miss us baking cookies andhow you let me lick the batter. I miss our long walks on the mountain and racing down the trail with you. I miss talking to you and getting youradvice.”
She touched the faded engraving on the cold stone. “Father misses you. He keeps everything the way it was the day you left us. He hasn’t been the same since you died. Before you died, everything in our house was filled with love and nowhe feels nothing but hatred. Why you, Mama? I’ve tried to make sense of it. There’s an empty hole where my heart is, and nothing can fillit.
“I wrote a promise to you and put it in your coffin, Mama. I promised I wouldn’t be like Father, angry and filled with bitterness and hatred of dragons. I promise you I will do something good with my life so your memory lives on. So you didn’t haveto die in vain. I wish I didn’t feel so lost andalone.”
Sounds of flapping wings came from overhead. Recognizing a familiar scent, Ariel stiffened.Don’t look up. She sensed Justin hovered over her, quiet and solid as the stones scattered in thegraveyard.
He’d returned. It didn’t matter. She didn’t care. Today was all about hermother.
“She would always let me lick the icingon the candles,” she murmured more to herself than Justin. “When I told her the flowered candles were too pretty for my birthday cake, Mama told me never save them. We must live in the moment because we don’t know what tomorrowbrings.”
Justin touched the dying flame and it burst into life. Dragonmagick.
Dragon magick was dark and dangerous. Leo told her it killed her mother, causedtheir car to crash into the tree. She couldn’t look atJustin.
“It’s my fault. I insisted on going to the mall to buy a new dress. Bethany, my best friend, had a birthday party that afternoon and I wanted to show off. My vanity killed mymama.”
Ariel stuck out her prosthetic foot. “And this is the price I paid for it. I haven’t worn dressessince.”
He sat on the grass, rana hand over the stone. “It’s nice you have a place to come talk to her. My parents don’t havegravesites.”
Heart giving a little jump, she clenched her fists. Justin didn’t deserve sympathy. “This isn’t about you. It’s my mama’s birthday. Pleasego.”
He made no move toleave.
“Sometimes dragons are given back to the earth. In the case of my parents, they were burned and theirashes scattered to the four winds. I have nothing left of theirs to remember them.” His hand dropped down from thegravestone.
Despite her resolve, pity filled her. At least here she had a place to reflect, remember and bring her mother cupcakes on her birthday. Justin had lost both parents, and had nomemorials.
With the pad of his thumb, he traced a tear down her cheek and thengently wiped it away. “Crying is good. Keeping all your emotions crammed inside you turns you into a boiling explosive of rage. Even if anger feels better than grief, eventually, it will turn on you. I wish I had cried when their ashes werereleased.”
The gentle stroke against her skin continued, skimming a line down to her chin. Justin lifted her face to meet his bleakgaze.
