Sleeping Dragons

By Tommy Mac Bird

Since Nakira was a little girl she's been haunted by the feeling of eyes searching for her in the darkness. The doctors called it delusions of persecution. But what if it's real? Drugs were their answer to calm her nerves and silence her fears. But what if it's real? Doctor after doctor adjusted her meds to balance the numbness with enough energy to make life worth living. But what if it's real? Nakira never felt balanced. But what if it's real? Then one day an old medicine man asked to see her. He looked her in the eye and said, "It's good to see you again, old father. I feel them searching for you. I've done what I can to block them, but now it's time for you to wake up, and for me to sleep."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tommy Mac Bird
• Release date: Jan 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201557270

Tommy Mac Bird

Tommy Mac Bird Tommy Mac Bird grew up on a dairy farm in rural Arkansas, USA. Running from intense manual labor, he went to college for twenty years, studying everything from English Literature to Data Analytics. He still lives on the farm he grew up on, and writes whenever he gets the chance.  

Book preview

Chapter 1

The Dragon Hunt

The first rule of hunting Dragons: DO NOT WAKE THE DRAGON!

Upstate New York, USA, 1995.

Dema sat at a small table in his kitchen. Flashes of gold interspersed his corporate short auburn hair. His second cup of coffee grew cold while waiting for the leader of his reconnaissance team to arrive and report on their night's efforts. He was good at waiting. He had waited a long time for this report. 

A car pulled into the driveway. A woman in a business pant suit entered Dema's kitchen. Good morning, Master Dema. I hope you are well.

Dema replied, Yes, Ms. Patterson, I am quite well. But, please, let's forgo the pleasantries. The disturbances grow stronger every day. Has your team discovered their source?

Yes, sir. We definitively identified the source.

Is it him?

I believe so, sir.

You believe so? Why are you uncertain?

Ms. Patterson hesitated. A twelve-year-old child created the disturbances. We expected an adult.

If a twelve-year-old child is responsible, there's no doubt, it's him. Dema sipped lukewarm coffee, contemplating. Does he know who he is?

I don't believe so, sir. We sent out our probes to home in on his location. His aura would flare when the probes hit like a lantern in a field of lightning bugs. It was a powerful response, but it seemed reflexive, not purposeful.

But again, you are uncertain. This is no time to hesitate or withhold information. If we found him, you must tell me everything. Why do you question your conclusion?

Apologies, sir. Salden attempted to pinpoint the child's location.

Dema's patience wore thin. Yes, and?

Salden sent an energy tendril along the path of the probes. Once the tendril touched the child, he planned to astrally project and determine the location. But when he made contact with the child, Salden gasped. He tried to drop the probe, but couldn't. He was trapped in his astral form. The child held him fast. We did not know that was possible.

What else occurred that was not possible?

Salden was the strongest member of our team, but the child trapped him like a fly. We saw the tether strengthen, and grow, as energy raced from the child to Salden.

Yes, go on.

Energy surged into Salden's astral form. His physical body screamed and convulsed before growing still. The child astrally projected and found us. His aura pulsed again. It pulsed like a bomb. Most of the team woke up an hour later. The flash blinded our second sight. Salden’s body survived, but I fear the child destroyed Salden's astral form, and perhaps even his soul.

Dema took another sip of coffee. It is him. Mobilize all the teams, even what remains of yours. If you have not already awakened him, he is strong and certain to wake soon. We must act quickly. What is the child's exact location?

Ms. Patterson hung her head. We did not get an exact location, sir.

Dema took a moment to breathe and still his suddenly racing heart. How inexact is the location?

Ms. Patterson's voice shook as she said, The child is in the United States, somewhere in the Arkansas/Oklahoma/Texas border region, but that is all we know.

Dema sat his coffee down and looked directly at Ms. Patterson. He pushed chi into his voice and said, Do not speak. Look at me.

Ms. Patterson looked Dema in the eye without a word.

Dema pushed more chi into his voice. "Do not mobilize the teams. You have failed me. You failed catastrophically. It took lifetimes to maneuver into this position, to become the hunter instead of the hunted.

Tonight, you will visit each of your team members at their home. Once inside, you will kill them without hesitation or warning. Kill any witnesses who might be present. Salden can wait until you finish with the others. Kill yourself last. Leave no trail back to the organization. Now go.

Tears rolled down Ms. Patterson's cheeks, but she did not question or protest the command. She didn't even hesitate. She did exactly as she was told.

*******

Small farm outside of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, 1995.

It was night, but not late yet. Nakira squirmed restlessly in bed. She couldn't sleep. She was too afraid, too scared. She felt them looking for her. They always searched for her, endless searching. Tonight they found her, and they attacked.

They attacked with projectiles, geometric cones. She felt them strike, pierce her skull, and pass through her head. They always took the same path. They always entered the right temple and exited the left. The projectiles pulled a long cord behind them. They sewed through her head like needles and thread tacking down a button. They captured her and held her fast. They weren't solid, like an arrow or a bullet, but she still