Long white hair in a ponytail and pale skin that shimmered like the freshly fallen snow. Her eyes looked blue as the bay that caressed the edges of Seahill. She had a look to her that said beware, but I was still mesmerized.
Since my death a year ago, I’d been trying not to deny what my heart desired.
Something about this woman captured me, dragon and all.
She looked like an ice queen, casually jogging about in the park. She was a tiny woman, but something about her screamed she could handle her own.
Her form had disappeared beyond my sight in the trail, but the damage was done.
She was a muse to my artist’s soul, and our future was a blank canvas waiting for color to make a spectacular scene.
“Dragon girl, your heart is mine,” I whispered to the wind and started calculating my plan.
Chapter Three
Gwendolyn
“There, that wasn’t so hard,” I huffed, feeling winded from exerting my powers as much as I did. I should really practice more than my daily use of power at work.
I’d just moved three cars that were hanging partially over the side of the bridge.
Pops was standing on my shoulder, holding lightly onto my neck so he wouldn’t fall off.
“Being a hero isn’t so bad now, is it?” he murmured, and I fought a smile. Maybe I could do this whole saving-the-day thing.
“Thank you so much!” A woman from the car I had just set down rushed up to me, and I instinctively drew back. I understood it was gratitude, but I wasn’t fond of being touched by strangers, or anyone, really.
She looked at me, clearly expecting me to say something.
“Say you’re welcome,” Pops whispered in my ear, and I uttered the words to the woman. Duh. I knew I was supposed to do that. When someone saysthank you, you say,you’re welcome. Simple enough. Or at least it should be, but my body and mind were on a high from what I just did.
The cops and ambulance arrived, and I was able to make an escape when everyone’s heads were turned.
“Remind me to make some adjustments to this outfit for a quick getaway.”
I’d been driving my car when the accident happened, and I hoped no one noticed as I got back into the driver seat of my pearl-colored Prius and slowly crept away from the scene.
I removed the black mask from my eyes, grateful that no one would know that I was the hero that saved the people on the bridge just now. I did not want to be in the limelight. I could deal with my new hero persona for a few seconds, I think, but as Gwendolyn there was no way in hell.
“Good thing good ol’ Phillip CEO sent you that outfit this morning. It looked good.” Pops was sitting in the passenger seat booster that I made for him so he could look out the window. I woke up this morning and went through my normal routine, but when I came back from my run there was a man waiting with a large package for me to sign for. Phillip had told me his powers were seeing all the possibilities of the future. The concept was hard for me to understand, so I didn’t try. I would end up obsessed, and I had no more room for new obsessions. Just work, and now helping the Hero Society so I could push my work in the right direction. I had enough, and I was happy.
The outfit was pretty nice, though: white tights, heeled white boots, and a white, long-sleeved dress. Since I wasn’t the biggest fan of color and chaos, the outfit was simple. Of course, I probably looked like a skinny snowwoman in it, with my pale skin and white hair. But that was okay. I liked the way I looked. I was always different, and used to be teased about my looks, too, but never let it bother me.
“Need to tinker around with some updates. Maybe some for you, too, Pops.” I looked at him with a smile. He’d been asking for some upgrades to his body…maybe it was time. That way he could help more. Cora, too.
I still couldn’t believe that I’d driven upon to the scene of a major incident that needed my help. One car had popped a tire in which the driver had lost control, swerving into the driver across the yellow lines. A truck had slammed on the breaks behind them and the load behind him came fishtailing over. Cars were trying to avoid being hit but a few of them got knocked into the railing, and were hanging off the side like leaves about to fall off a limb in the fall. I was already wearing my outfit, trying to get used to the feel of it so I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable and just leaped into action.
There was an uptick of a smile on my face as we got further away from the bridge.
The traffic wasn’t so bad heading back into the city, unlike the other side of the road that was at a standstill from the accident. I parked my car at the Hero Society’s downtown headquarters so I could look around and change. Although no one paid me any mind at my apartment complex, I think they would notice the outfit I was wearing, which would only bring up questions I didn’t want asked.
Phillip had left instructions on where everything was in the building, along with a key card to get in.
The Italian restaurant was on the ground level, and then there were apartments above it that housed people with powers that needed a place to live for a while. A safe place.
Then there were the levels below the ground. The ones for the heroes.
The underground area was large, with a computer command room that was run by a brother and sister team, a large kitchen, a holding room for bad guys, and a living room of sorts where people could hang out. Underneath that was the training facility. I should probably learn the basics for self-defense, although I hoped I never needed it. Technically I could pull out all the iron in people’s blood with a snap of my fingers, but that was another thing I hoped I never needed to do. The thought of hurting someone made my skin crawl.
