Chapter Two

Valen had one hell of a time when it came to finding parking. Apparently, big cities had these things called parking garages. They were concrete structures stuck right in the middle of businesses and hospitals for no other reason than to hold a bunch of cars. He had to go into one of those to find an appropriate spot and then walk to the apothecary where he would begin his training.

The outside of it had an old-world feeling with its rounded displays of glass bottles and gold inscription at the top of the store with its name; Eve’s Cure. It was a smart and catchy name for a place like that. He knew and at least understood a little about the origin story of humans. It would certainly draw the eye. And he had done some research in the place before choosing to apply. It was much more successful than any apothecary in the state with a large supply, returning customers, and a success rate that was unheard of as far as it went for curing humans. Valen suspected it had to do with the lack of understanding of the world around them. Evette probably had a better grip on everything’s purpose than others.

He knocked on the door as it was locked, and the lights inside were dim. He hoped he had not come so early that she wouldn’t be there. For a moment, as he waited for someone to come to the door, he worried that his boss had not recovered so well from whatever had happened the night before and would not be able to train him. Despite the fact that she seemed more than a little stubborn, the human body wasn't always comparable to a person’s spirit.

However, all of that concern was wiped away the moment the door opened to reveal a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Evette Summers, her hair looking sunny like she had just bleached it, and she was wearing a blue dress that fit the form of her body perfectly. He would have had no idea she had gone to the hospital the day before if he had not been the one to take her there. “Good morning. I see I haven’t scared you off yet,” she teased, closing the door behind them and locking it back. It made one of those dinging noises when it moved. That was going to be a little annoying. “So, we don’t open for about another hour, which is good, because you need to be prepared. This place gets busy for an apothecary.”

Valen found himself nodding along, just watching her. He wasn't sure if it was out of pure interest or for any sign she might faint on him again.

“You can stop looking at me like that anytime. I am fine,” she chided him, and Valen looked at her sideways but moved on.

“Alright, then, boss, what’s the first thing I need to learn?” Valen asked, looking around at the shop. There were shelves stacked high with various products; some he recognized and others he did not. Behind a long table sat a glass case, a cash register, and one shelf of glass bottles that were obviously restricted for some reason. And then there was a door. Valen could not be sure where it led to, but he could guess it would either be an office or a stock room, or some combination of both.

"You need to get to know this place like the back of your hand. It’s gonna to take a while longer to teach you about what remedies to give, but you will have more success if you know what you're looking at," Evette said, looking like she was completely into it. She lit up, and Valen could tell she loved her job. Even if she turned out to be a hard ass, the idea that she was passionate about that store made him feel like he had chosen the right job. He had loved the idea of healing back home too. But those in his position never got to become healers.

"Okay, so, what am I looking at?" She smiled, looking satisfied that he was showing readiness and interest in learning. Valen got the feeling she didn't get that very often.

Evette began to take him around the shop and show him each section; common remedies for topical issues, the dental and oral section, pain, illness, and then there were even sections for candle and soap making. The shop was comprehensive, and Valen could not help but be impressed. Though, he didn't know if he wanted to admit that to her. As bad as he was with fitting in, he was even worse at being weak. Male dragons, in particular, were meant to be fierce and strong; warriors and kings. They did not give power in any way to others, even though a compliment or showing emotion. Even marriages were often devoid of a lot of emotion. At least, from what he had seen. If there was anything like that it was kept behind closed doors.

“So, where do the special tinctures come from?’ Valen asked as he was finally allowed to rest. The clock read ten minutes until opening time, and he didn't want there to be any awkward silences or too many questions when the first customer came in. He wanted to be a good employee for the sake of making this his home. A lot was riding on this working out. He couldn't just run forever. It was either make this work or go home to all the misery that was waiting for him.

Evette laughed, and Valen was sure he was about to get an answer he didn't expect. Sure enough, she gestured for him to follow her. Valen did, and she led him to the mystery door that was just to the right of the register if you were standing behind it. When she opened it, he could see a small area where there was a microwave, a drawer, and a small table with a laptop on it and some chairs. It looked like it was a very rough office mixed with a break room. But to his left, as he stepped into the room, was a set of stairs that led down into darkness. A cellar perhaps.

Evette looked at him and laughed. “Don’t tell me the man who picked me up like I weighed nothing and took me to the hospital is scared of something,” she teased. Darkness wasn't a problem. He liked caves as much as any dragon. It was more the idea of being trapped, never able to move around, to change and fly in the sky if he wanted. Being collared like he was already so hard. But he sucked it up. It was just the basement of a human apothecary shop.

“Maybe it’s you I am scared of. Isn't this how all those horror movies star?” She laughed and Valen wanted to give himself a pat on the back for that cultural reference. Humans did like those slasher movies. He had watched a few before, and some of them were so horrifying it made him wonder why anyone would want to see something like that for entertainment, but some were just funny.

As she walked down the stairs she flipped on a light, and Valen went down behind her, looking around as he came to the bottom. Now, he could see what was so funny about this question. It was basically a lab down there. Black tables and supplies were everywhere. It looked more like someone’s kitchen or an experiment than the storeroom of a store, but he kind of liked it. She would know where everything came from. There were even various tinctures and formulas in the process of being made. He knew that it was a process, and some would take weeks to become just right for selling and use. A human tapping into this kind of healing the Earth provided was incredible, but it did make him wonder about whatever ailed her. Was the cure being made in that very room? “How do you have time to mix enough?”

“Well, up until a couple of weeks ago I had an apprentice. I guess that I still have her, but she is also in college, so I only get her two nights a week now. My sister can help out sometimes, but with all those kids and another one on the way, it’s getting harder on her to make it here all the time. So, I will probably be working a lot of overtime,” Evette admitted.

Valen couldn’t help but feel a little bad for her, and he wanted to ask about how her family handled her being away so much, but he could guess she didn't have much of one for whatever reason. Even if he was curious, he wouldn't pry. He had already invaded her privacy enough for a while. She had a sister show up to the hospital, not a husband or children. That meant she was alone. Though, other than her successful career, he couldn't imagine why. Humans were hard to understand sometimes, though. Instead, he smiled, thinking about how he might help her. Even though she was abrasive he could see there is someone worth getting to know underneath her hard exterior. “I don’t suppose you are looking for another apprentice?” Valen asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re not seriously thinking you’re interested in that, are you? I mean, not only are you a young man with no degree to show, not that I am judging, but you also haven’t even seen your first day here yet. I hoped you would be a good employee I could keep, yes, but I don’t know about that.”

Valen nodded. She had no idea what he had been through or seen. He had worked with the healer a little when he was a child until his father had found out and stopped him because it wasn’t right. He couldn't tell her any of the reasons he would be mature or a perfect fit. He had to look at it from her side of things. “I guess you may be right about that, but I applied for this specific job because I had an interest. Healing fascinates me, though, I am not sure I could ever be a typical doctor.”

He caught Evette looking him over and tried not to smirk. She was impressed and surprised. He liked that he had shocked her for some reason. “I think it’s time for us to open. Why don't you see if you make it through the first week, and then we can talk about the idea of you being my apprentice?”

Valen nodded, accepting her answer before letting her lead him back up the stairs and back out into the shop. It was brighter outside, the sun still gaining height in the sky for the morning. He watched as Evette went to unlock the door, and he idly noticed how her hips naturally swayed back and forth when she moved. She was beautiful and smart. Hopefully, that wasn't going to become a distraction.

Evette joined him behind the register, and he quickly realized that he would have to get over himself. They would be in very close quarters. All day she leaned over him to show him how the register worked and how to use the system to make ongoing orders for customers who were returning for some reason. Grabbing products, they would bump into each other. There was no avoiding it, and he was not phased at all, why should he be? It didn't help though that at the back of his mind was that idea of the forbidden fruit. There were dragons who encountered humans because of where their territories were and because humans were so prevalent now. So, there had been rules made. You were not to mingle with humans like that; not for the purpose of mating. That mixing of blood was wrong. But like most things, when you told someone they shouldn’t do it, it made the act that much more intriguing.

*****

Evette looked at the clock and was a little glad to see that it was about fifteen minutes until time to lock up. Due to being short staffed and the fact that she had no desire to subject anyone else to a new employee's first day, she and Valen had pulled the entire 10-7 shift alone. It had been great practice for him, but she was beyond exhausted. She had been able to put on a good front the most of the day and act like she had never been in that hospital bed, but her body honestly was not ready to go back to work like that. It had been screaming at her the whole time, but what choice did she have? The bills still came, and life went on no matter how ill she felt.

Most of all, she had been trying to show her strength and determination in front of Valen. It had been a little embarrassing that her new employee had to take her to the hospital and then was present for the explanation of what was going on with her. The doctor had continued after Valen left to try and get her to accept a more aggressive treatment from the hospital. How could she keep running her shop with integrity if she didn't keep believing it would heal her? She wasn’t just going to give up like that. She would go back to the drawing board and see what else she could do naturally to help ease her symptoms and keep the disease from progressing further. It had already been such a blow that she had it after coming from such a healthy family. It made her feel like a failure somehow.

“So, how was your first day?” she asked Valen, leaning over the counter. There probably would not be any more customers before close, and she was going a little crazy with the silence.

“It was not quite as hard as I thought after seeing this place. But I imagine there will be harder problems to solve and even busier days than this to manage. I am not going anywhere of that is what you mean,” Valen told her. She wasn’t sure why he felt the need to reassure her. He was just the next employee, the next one to come and go in her life and shop. Why did either of them seem to care about the other? This was getting too weird and too personal. Maybe she needed to be harsher on him to make it clear that what happened was a one-time thing. He didn't need to come to her rescue or feel sorry for her any more than her ex needed to tell her how to get treated. Ugh, and why would she even compare Valen to someone she was with?

“Well, we will see in the coming days. Why don't you go on home, and I can lock up? I have a couple of things to check on down in the cellar and then I will probably just head home too. By the end of the week expect to be working with everyone else,” she warned him, walking with him towards the door.

He looked back at her as she opened the door and held it for him, and she swore she saw worry and hesitation there. Did she look that weak? God, she hated this disease more than anything in the world. Was she paying for something bad she had done in her life? Evette was completely annoyed right now, and she needed him out of there. “See you tomorrow. Come in at noon.” Her words were matter of fact, mechanical. He nodded and walked out, leaving her feeling deflated as she locked the door and pulled the shades.

She went down to the cellar suddenly feeling like she couldn’t hold herself up for another moment. As she checked on some of the tinctures, she felt for her cell in her little pocket and knew she would be using that once again to ask for help. She had, a few times, had to call her sister and her husband for help when she felt like this, like she might fall asleep at the wheel. She felt terrible for taking them away from each other and their kids to care for her, but she had no one else. Their parents were traveling and had been for over a year. It was the way they wanted to live in their later years. She didn't dare ask them to come back to help her; they had spent 18 years taking care of her. That was more than enough of paying their dues to her. She never let on that anything was wrong on phone calls. They didn't even know what she had.

She went back up the stairs and sunk down into the chair in front of her laptop, pulling up all the websites she knew she might find research on what would help her get better. She wanted to stop the disease from taking over her life and her family’s. She usually knew what she was doing when it came to these concoctions, and she had been put Lupus and Psoriasis into remission for two miserable patients before, but she couldn't do anything about her own crippling autoimmune disorder. Evette needed more inspiration.

She pulled up her sister's number on her phone as some of the healer websites were loading and texted to let her know she would need help.

Hey, I know this sucks and so does traffic, but I am going to need your hubby to come grab me at the store on his way home.

It wasn’t anywhere near the first time she had done that and it would mean she would have to be taken to her car in the morning as well. Oh well, that was her life for now. It was moments like these though that almost sent her running back to her ex just to have some kind of support, even if it was totally shallow.

She turned back to her computer, praying that her digging would finally prove to tell her something she didn't already know. She had tried every typical formula to boost her immune system, to detox and heal, that she knew of, and even those she had been suggested by all of these award-winning apothecaries and naturalists. Some she had begun to dig even deeper, looking for answers in places she would never have been for. There was a fine line between natural and completely crazy, but Evette was desperate enough to look for crazy. And that was why she was staring right now at a website owned by a woman who believed that things like fairies and vampires existed in some way at some point in the history of the Earth. In particular, one article kept catching her eyes though she would hate to admit to anyone she had read it. But her broken body was begging her to.

The Healing Properties of Dragon’s Blood

Evette sighed and shook her head. If it was insane, she could forget about it later, but she had to read everything she came across that claimed to has an answer before she resorted to putting unnatural chemicals into her body, leading to a life of complications that Americans had all but gotten used to.

She scanned it. There was actually a substance called dragon's blood, but it didn't come from an actual dragon. Of course it didn't, that would be insane. But this article meant actual blood running through the veins of a mythical flying creature.

It said that there was nothing left in the world more healing than that, and it could even cure many cancers. It literally got into your body and repaired what was broken, rejuvenating you as if you were young again. Even if it were true, how the hell would she ever go about getting the stuff?

Annoyed at her crazy thoughts, she went back upstairs and grabbed her purse, hearing the honking of her brother-in-law’s horn outside anyway. He was probably illegally parked there to pick her up. She came out and locked up, trying to get rid of the thoughts of what she had read as she took the long journey through the terrible downtown traffic, having to listen to the man's favorite classic rock station.

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