The Dragon Problem: The Paranormals of Ahl Book One, page 1
THE DRAGON PROBLEM (The Paranormals of Ahl Book 1)
Copyright © 2024 by ML Conklin.
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information, contact: MLConklin@MLConklin.com
Sign up for the newsletter for updates and information on new releases: https://www.mlconklin.com
Book and Cover design by Getcovers.com
ISBN E-book: 979-8-9900731-0-4
ISBN Paperback: 979-8-9900731-1-1
First Edition: June 2024
Contents
1. A Note from the Author
2. Chapter 1
3. Chapter 2
4. Chapter 3
5. Chapter 4
6. Chapter 5
7. Chapter 6
8. Chapter 7
9. Chapter 8
10. Chapter 9
11. Chapter 10
12. Chapter 11
13. Chapter 12
14. Chapter 13
15. Chapter 14
16. Chapter 15
17. Chapter 16
18. Chapter 17
19. Chapter 18
20. Chapter 19
21. Chapter 20
22. Chapter 21
23. Chapter 22
24. Chapter 23
25. Chapter 24
26. Chapter 25
27. Chapter 26
28. Chapter 27
29. Chapter 28
30. Chapter 29
31. Chapter 30
32. Chapter 31
33. Before you go...
A Note from the Author
Hey! Thank you for choosing this book. It’s been a pleasure to write the first book of the Paranormals of Ahl series, and I hope you enjoy it. There are some things you should know about this book:
There’s a heavy reference to past child abuse.
There’s violence throughout the book.
There is some profanity.
There’s a slow-burn (sort of) romantic theme between a dragon shifter and a mage, though it’s not the focus.
The romance has an age gap (I know some people don’t like that).
Chapter 1
I leaned forward and studied the crack. There was a distinct point of impact. Delicate lines spread out from the center, forming intricate patterns. At least it only affected the ward responsible for air filtration and weather. I turned to my brother. “What happened here?”
Mat stood with his back to me and scanned the dense forest, his golden, shoulder-length hair blowing in the wind. “Dragon. An Enforcer team called it in early this morning.”
“When were the wards last recharged?”
“Two weeks ago.”
Creating and maintaining the outer wards required a lot of different magic types. “Was it regular maintenance?”
“No, population increase. Regular maintenance is not required for another year.”
“Huh.” I leaned closer. Every magical pocket had its own thick layers of wards, allowing the pocket to grow with the population. They also kept the air clean and recycled waste into rich soil, among other things. If the population increased, more magic needed to be poured into them to maintain it all. They would fail if they weren’t maintained, and the pocket realm would collapse. Boosting them required similar magic to the spells that created the barriers. Which meant magic from several different species worked to maintain them. “Has this happened in any pocket other than Allure?”
“Not that’s been reported. I sent people out to check, but they found nothing,” Mat’s gravelly voice was laced with concern.
Allure was a gigantic pocket. If the ward came down, a couple of million supernaturals would die. The realization terrified me. I stepped back. “At least the ward protecting against forest fires is intact. So are the ones that keep us hidden and detect magic to allow access. Has there been a change in the air?”
“No. It is minimal damage. The fact that someone attempted to breach it is concerning.”
“Yeah.” I glanced at Mat to make sure he had his back turned and moved a couple of steps closer to the ward. Fixing the wards required a specific type of magic. There was a risk of me trying to fix them. My magic was the right kind, or at least one of them was the right kind. Unlike everyone else, the magic inside of me didn’t blend like they were supposed to, so I had three smaller pools instead of a single large one.
The smallest was healing magic, which allowed me to heal myself and others. It wouldn’t help the wards. The medium-sized pool was my inherent magic. It was the magic I was born with. I could tune it to any spell, but I wasn’t sure it would help fix the crack. Then, there was the large pool of ruling magic. The ruling magic was supposed to coax others to follow me and allow me to rule over all paranormals, among other things. I couldn’t always control it since it didn’t mix with my other two magic pools. It kind of had a mind of its own. I didn’t know if I could coax it to fix the crack in the wall, but I had to try. I extended my shaky hand and accessed the three magic wells inside me. Before I lost my nerve, I slapped my hand onto the crack.
Magic surged from my hand, gushing forth, and flowed across the ward, coating it in a white gloss. It reversed so fast I couldn’t react. My spine snapped straight. My nose filled with the stench of burned wires as electricity coursed through my body. The ward grabbed my core and took greedy slurps from the ruling magic I kept wrapped around me and concealed. Pain surged from my chest, and I screamed. Gritting my teeth, I tried to disconnect as it was ripped from my body. Something salty filled my mouth. Blood, I realized. The wall kept pulling. I kept yanking back. Pain exploded in my head. Unsure what else to do, I unwrapped the three magics from their tight coil within me and let the wall take it.
The wall yanked me forward. I dug in my heels. Suddenly, the healing magic slammed back into me, completely restored. My inherent mage magic was next. I wheezed at the impact. The ward continued to take gulps of the ruling magic.
My thoughts swung between ‘This wouldn’t have been a problem if all the magics had mixed like they were supposed to’ and, ‘If I were as powerful as I needed to be, I could get out of this.’ I gathered my strength and yanked my hand back, using my body weight to try and help. No matter how much I convulsed and jerked, I couldn’t manage to break free. I screamed in rage once I realized it wasn’t going to work.
My stupid ruling magic was being drained, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Spots started dancing in front of my eyes. I hoped I wouldn’t die when the magic emptied. With a loud boom, the wall released its grip, and I slumped to the ground.
Vision blurry, I swiped my sleeve across my eyes, then rested my head in my hands. I ran some healing magic through myself, and the pain in my head eased. Magic took energy, and using that much magic should have put me in a coma. I was tired but okay, so I tried to sit up. Fear shot down my spine when I realized I couldn’t move, causing me to lash out.
“Jenella, it’s me.” Mat’s gravelly voice was close to my ear.
I cracked my eyes open and blinked a couple of times. Mat’s face came into view, his golden eyes full of concern.
“I’m okay.” With some effort, I pushed his hands off my shoulders and stumbled to my feet, only swaying a little. I braced against a pine tree and checked myself over. I wrapped the two remaining pools of magic around me, concealing them. Turning to the ward, I huffed a sigh of relief. “Ha! It worked.”
Mat’s jaw clenched as he handed me a handkerchief. “It was a stupid thing to do. It could have killed you.”
I wiped my nose and chin. “What would happen to all the paranormals in Allure if the ward failed?”
“A catastrophe on a level we have not seen. Same as what will happen to the Coalition if you die.”
I flinched. Mat was right, but I still hated it. “It was a necessary risk,” I said nonchalantly, hoping to avoid one of his safety lectures. “Do we know which dragon caused the crack?”
“According to the local shifter pack, a turquoise dragon hit the wall.”
“That’s not normal.” Dragons were big and powerful enough to cause damage, but it didn’t make sense that one would attack the wards. They loved the freedom of living in the pockets, where they could be themselves, and never caused much trouble. Their queen was old, fair, and wise. She kept the dragons in line. “Do you think he was being chased and miscalculated? Or was it on purpose?”
“I don’t know.”
A loud thwap, thwap, thwap filled the air, and the forest went quiet. I shielded my eyes from the sun and scanned the sky. Bigger than a house and black as night, the dragon circled the clearing three times before landing on the other side. The heir to the dragon throne examined the ward before stretching his neck out and blowing a massive plume of smoke in our direction––likely aiming for me.
I had a love-hate relationship with him. He served as my personal guard from the time I was about eleven until he met his mate when I was twenty-two. He was rude, arrogant, and stoic. On top of that, he
Mat stepped in front of me. “Bastien. It’s nice of you to show up.”
Bastien melted from a dragon into a man. His black eyes flicked to me before settling on Mat. “Regent. I have other business to attend to, so I can’t linger. Show me what you found.”
Mat’s jaw clenched. “You are too late. My sister already repaired the damage.”
“Is that so? Then you are wasting my time.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not a waste of your time, and you know it.”
Mat ignored me. “There was a crack in the wards, and witnesses say a dragon was responsible. The question is, why?”
Bastien rubbed his chin. “Our young ones are not infallible and often make mistakes when learning to fly. It could have been a simple mistake. Did you get a description of this mystery dragon?”
“Witnesses said it was a full-grown turquoise dragon,” Mat answered.
“I see.” Bastien moved to the ward and focused on the exact spot I’d repaired. “Interesting. I will investigate the matter, but I assure you, no dragon would do this intentionally.”
“No one said they would, Bas,” I said. “But you must admit, it’s odd that a dragon just so happened to run into the ward in such a sparsely populated area. It’s miles away from the gates and the dragon training grounds. It could have been catastrophic.”
Bastien ran a hand through his midnight hair. “I was unaware you could think critically, princess. I happen to agree. It is unusual.”
“It is also a serious crime––of which we will not hesitate to prosecute. The lives of the millions of supernaturals in Allure were put in danger. If the Dragon Queen chooses to be uncooperative, we will find the one responsible,” Mat warned.
My eyes grew wide. It was a serious threat. The different paranormal species each had their own leadership system and laws. They were allowed to govern themselves if they didn’t break coalition laws or infringe on other types of paranormals. If they did, the crown that ruled over all paranormals settled the dispute. The crown being me. Or Mat, since he was my guardian and regent. I still had a few years to get my magic to mix and become the most powerful paranormal in the world before I took over the throne.
“I assure you dragons would not risk the lives of the capital’s population. Nor would we risk the crown getting involved in our affairs,” Bastien growled.
Mat didn’t get a chance to respond because the ground began to shake. I swung back to the wall, noting that it was still intact.
Bastien’s head snapped toward the thick pine trees, and he took off down a game trail.
Mat clutched my arm. “If there is danger, I am getting you out of here. No arguments.”
I yanked my arm free. “Whatever. Let’s go.” I ran after Bastien.
We made our way down a path that ended in a small clearing with a massive mound in the center. Bastien stood a few feet from it, a stern expression on his face.
“What is it?” I whispered. Mat joined Bastien, but I stayed in the tree line. The amount of magic coming from the mound made my already tired head fuzzy. I rubbed my arms, feeling vulnerable without my ruling magic. I didn’t have much control over it, but it always protected me.
The ground shook so hard I had to sit to keep from falling. Mat somehow stayed on his feet, his two katanas in his hands, glowing blue from the magic flowing through them. The shaking grew stronger, and the earth in the meadow bucked. A pained howl pierced the air, and the mound exploded, a giant plume of dirt flying in every direction. Mat flew twenty feet, hit a tree, and landed on the ground limp. Bastien switched to his dragon form and bolted into the sky. Heart racing, I darted toward Mat, ignoring the loud battle cry from something in the crater left by the mound exploding.
“Mat!” The thought of losing my brother was unbearable. He raised me and was the only family I had left. I reached the area where I thought he had landed, scrambling to find anything that would point me in his direction. Another pained battle cry came from the mound. I rubbed my ears and added a projection spell to my inherent magic. “Mat!”
I heard coughing and sprinted toward the sound. Mat stumbled out of the forest, caked in dirt, with a big gash across his cheek. He still had his katanas in his hands. His glowing eyes focused on me. “Leave, Jenella!”
The command spiked my adrenaline, and I turned back to the tree line to follow it for once but froze when a filthy, tattered figure emerged in front of me. The man shook like a dog, causing wet dirt to scatter in every direction.
I threw up my arms to shield my face and screamed. It wasn’t my finest moment.
Mat didn’t hesitate. He charged toward the man, blades blazing, and swung. The man waved his hand, sending Mat tumbling across the clearing.
“No!” I yelled and stumbled toward my brother on shaky legs. Halfway there, I got yanked backward so hard that pain shot through my neck.
“How dare you send me to sleep and then wake me at your discretion!” The man shook me like a rag doll. My nearly healed head pounded again. The man set me down and yanked me toward the crater. “You see that? Does that look like an honorable resting place? How dare you!”
The guy was insane. I yanked my arm free and spun, slapping him across his face. I slapped him again for good measure. “You attacked my brother, you asshole! I am not going to stand here and take this abuse. You sit down until you’re calm enough to have a conversation.”
I didn’t wait for his response but rushed toward Mat, who sat by a tree shaking his head. I kneeled. “Are you okay, Mat?”
“I told you to leave.”
“You slapped me,” a deep, calm voice came from behind me, sending a shiver up my spine.
“You deserved it,” I answered without turning around.
Mat stumbled to his feet and stepped between the man and me. “Who are you?”
I peeked around Mat to examine the stranger. His long, tangled black hair was strung across his face. A tattered tunic and tan pants hung from a tall, lanky frame. His elegant feet were bare. Even tattered, the man still radiated confidence and strong magic. He ignored Mat, examining me while I studied him.
Bastien landed near the crater and melted into his human form. Naked, he strode across the clearing to the new guy and bowed. “Cousin. Welcome back. Mother will be most pleased.”
None of us were fazed by the nudity. The whole idea of the pockets was to allow paranormals to be themselves. There were a lot of different species that shifted, so it wasn’t unusual to see naked people walking around. There were a few dragons that could glamour clothes, but they rarely bothered inside the pockets because no one cared.
Bastien and the mystery man silently stared at each other. I realized they were having a conversation with their minds. I stepped out from behind Mat and stumbled a few steps closer, ready to pepper the guy with questions.
Without warning, the man morphed into a dragon twice the size of Bastien, his green and black scales glimmering in the sun. Faster than a snake, he extended a giant talon and grabbed me.
My squeal was muffled as his massive talon cocooned me. My stomach flipped as he launched us into the air. I wiggled, trying to get away. I lashed out with my inherent magic, but I knew it wouldn’t work against a dragon. Draining the pool of ruling magic was something I regretted. I was sure it would have protected me from the guy if it wasn’t empty. It would have put this guy in his place whether I wanted it to or not. I should have run when Mat told me to. But I didn’t, so I was screwed until I could get some food and sleep to replenish both my magic and energy.
The talon released me, and I hit the ground hard, rolled a few feet, and groaned. “What the hell?” I stumbled to my feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a pink dragon launch into the air from the roof of a nearby building. Relief washed over me when I realized we were on top of Dragon Headquarters in downtown Allure. The queen would never let this giant dragon hurt me.
The now naked man stood a few feet away, his tangled hair swept back, his grass-green eyes narrowed. “You are not Anitta.”
