I apologize for the long scene in advance. This scene is nearly 20 pages and I wrote this story years ago but couldn't think of an epilogue and so it technically remained unfinished.
"I thought I'd find you here," came Dave's voice, as he entered the library.
"Where else would I be?" Spencer asked, as he placed a bookmark in the volume he was reading.
"I suppose nowhere," Dave admitted. "There's nothing wrong with liking to read, as I read quite a bit as well and read even more before I met Liana. I know now that I was lonely, although at the time I didn't realize it. Still, I came to tell you lunch is ready and then we need to have a conversation with you. There are some important things you need to know."
"Why would you tell me your secret since I've only been here a day?" Spencer asked cocking his head.
"Because this isn't something we can keep secret for long considering you're living here. It's nothing bad I promise," Dave said.
Spencer nodded at this for Dave's words had a ring of truth to them.
"Alright," Spencer agreed. "I shouldn't be hungry considering how much I ate for breakfast which, really wasn't all that long ago."
"Of course, you're hungry, you're a growing boy after all. Boys get hungry in a matter of hours, no matter how much they consume at a meal," Dave told him. "Once you're adult you might not be hungry for one meal if you've eaten a lot at another, but right now your body needs the fuel in order to grow up big and strong."
Dave didn't mention that when a supernatural used a lot of magic it also made them hungry. Yes, using a lot of magic made you more hungry then you normally would be, but while he had told Spencer that magic was real, because how else could he have gotten from Las Vegas in America to Glasgow Scotland in just a matter of a couple of minutes otherwise, he wasn't sure the lad had believed him. He seemed the type that something would have to be proven before he accepted something so fantastical could be real and wouldn't just accept something like magic at face value.
Spencer followed his guardian to the kitchen where and large meal was placed on the table.
"I'm surprised you both are in such good shape if you eat like this at every meal," Spencer commented even as he loaded his own plate.
"I exercise and I don't eat as much as you do for most meals," Dave explained. "I'm a full grown adult and therefore, I'm not hungry all the time like kids and teenagers tend to be. Whatever is leftover will be put in the fridge and I promise you it will be gone in short order as our kids will consume it in no time. I might be able to skip preparing one meal, but after that I'll have to cook again or Liana will. It won't be wasted I promise."
"Not with four bottomless pits in the house anyway," Liana said. "And it only gets worse when Brigid's and Aaron's two kids visit us for an overnight to spend time with their cousins."
Even though this was said in an exasperated tone it was also fond, so it was clear that the kids were very much loved.
The three of them ate in silence and when they were done they went into the living room.
"So what did you want to tell me?" Spencer asked curiously.
"Haven't you wondered how you got from Las Vegas to Scotland?" Liana asked as a conversation starter.
"Of course I have, but I haven't come up with any logical explanation," Spencer said. "My memories are perfectly clear and not faded or foggy or with blank spots, so I know I wasn't drugged, but other than that..."
"This is going to sound rather weird, but it's true nonetheless," Dave said. "What you did was somehow create a portal from Las Vegas to Scotland. Remember, I mentioned magic existed back at my jewelry shop. You didn't seem to believe me at the time, but it's true nonetheless."
"But magic isn't real as I told you when we first met," Spencer protested. "It's nothing more than tricks to trick people's perceptions."
"Yes, magic is very real," Liana told Spencer gently and then created a small witchlight in the palm of her hand. She allowed it to leave her palm and ordered it silently to go over to the boy who examined it curiously.
"This is a witchlight, which is a very simple piece of magic. It's the first thing that we learn when we are old enough to start being taught magic. I was only four when my mother started teaching me some simple spells. Unfortunately, my mom was careless, as she had a lot more power, then most witches do, so she was murdered by a very evil man. I was only 12 at the time and managed to escape, as his goons were rather careless. That evil man wanted me for my power, as I could do many things that others couldn't, at least not without a lot of preparation and help."
"What Liana is trying to tell you is that supernaturals are real, not just witches but other types. Ones that have telekinesis for example or telepathy. There are many other kinds as well some that only show up very rarely," Dave explained.
"But I don't have magic," Spencer protested.
"Then how did you create that portal?" Dave asked him logically and Spencer fell silent, because he knew that he had stepped through some kind of gateway, even though he wanted to deny it. He wasn't sure how the gateway had appeared but it had seemed like an escape at the time. He had been really foolish to step into it, because he had no idea where it went. Really, all he remembered was a feeling, a moment of weightlessness and then he was stepping out into the alley where Dave had found him. On the other hand, he would've been living on the street if he had stayed where he was, doing his best to hide from the authorities, trying to stay alive. He knew very well that his chances on the street were not very good, though certainly better if he had stayed home.
"Didn't you feel the energy leave your body when the portal opened? Don't you remember thinking only of escape?" Liana asked. "I certainly would be if my father was as much of a bastard as yours seems to be."
"Well, yes," Spencer admitted slowly. "I was thinking about finding a place to sleep before it got dark. I was also thinking about finding a place to settle in and then going back for a few more items, a warm blanket some more clothes. Nothing really valuable, but would certainly make me more comfortable."
"Things that would be stolen in a heartbeat if anyone knew you had them," Dave said and Spencer nodded.
"Desperate people do, desperate things," Spencer agreed.
"I saw the gateway I just didn't want to admit it, because I figured I was hallucinating," Spencer said. "Most people don't believe in magic, as where I come from magic isn't real nor are people with powers, which tells me that not only did I somehow transport myself 5000 or so miles this is also another dimension."
The last word was more of a question.
"Yes, you're in another dimension," Dave agreed. "It's quite possible that some of the people on your world did have powers but we keep ourselves separate from normal humans for a reason. Think of it like a really secret society."
"So most normal humans wouldn't have known about supernaturals," Spencer said and Dave nodded.
"I think it more likely though that you're right that there was no supernaturals on your world. I've traveled to several worlds like that, though not for a long time," Dave explained.
"Is traveling to other dimensions common in this world?" Spencer asked.
"No," Dave answered. "For one thing the knowledge is hard to come by, as the government that rules our kind doesn't want people to find out they can travel to other dimensions, as some would do so just to cause chaos. For another it takes proper preparation and a lot of power to open the door to another dimension and not many supernaturals have that kind of power. Besides, not everybody has the right talent for doing so. Somebody with telepathy for example couldn't open the door by themselves. Opening portals to another dimension is not known by many people."
"Then how do you know about it?" Spencer asked with a confused expression.
"I'm much older than I look," Dave explained. "Some supernaturals can live for centuries, depending on what type of gift they have and how much power they have at their disposal. Both Liana and I are very powerful."
"As I told you earlier my mother was very careless about using the powers so openly. There're plenty of evil or just bad people in this world that will use somebody with such a talent for their own purposes and they wouldn't care if they had to be coerced or if they volunteered willingly. I had a man, a mob boss really, after me for a lot of years, once my mother was dead, as he figured I had inherited her immense power, which was very possible I will admit, even likely, but still not a sure thing. I lived on the street just like you were planning to do, except I was 12 instead of just seven. I had to do many things that went against how I had been raised, but I had to survive someway. I was very lucky not to be picked up by one of those procurers that Dave told you about."
"A pretty thing like Liana would have been placed in a whore house, one specifically for children, where old men had their way with her again and again," Dave said and Spencer nodded, even as he shuddered, because he knew very well that the same thing could have very easily happened to him. "She was very lucky and I'm glad she was or we never would've met."
"Even if I had somehow escaped my situation and we had met I doubt I would've been willing to get involved with him or anybody," Liana added. "There are potions that can suppress your powers and they would've fed me those I'm sure in whatever food I got, so I wouldn't have been able to use magic to somehow escape. It wouldn't have mattered that they're hard and expensive to brew, as I'm sure they would've felt it was worth it with how much money they were making off me. I would've killed myself I promise and that's only if Templar, who was the name of the man whose goons killed my mother, hadn't found me."
"You don't need to worry about Templar anymore, honey. You know he's gone and he's not coming back," Dave soothed, as he kissed her on the temple.
Spencer watched this smiling slightly, as the affection between the two was as clear as daylight.
"I know he is, but sometimes my imagination just gets the better of me," Liana admitted.
"So you're saying that I have some kind of supernatural power that can create portals," Spencer said finally one he was sure that they were done with their display. "How could I have all this power if my world didn't have supernaturals, as you call them?"
"Well, I have a theory about that," Dave said thoughtfully. "It's quite possible that either your mother or your father knew how to open portals to other dimensions. It could have been their talent, though if that's the case it's pretty rare one. It could be that one of them was being chased just like Liana was for a lot of years before we finally took care of the situation and they figured living in another dimension was the best option.
"Not many people know how to open a dimensional doorway nor do they have the power to do so, so whichever one of your parents it was, they likely felt relatively safe living in that other dimension. They could have been an adult when they opened the portal to another place or they could've been a child just like you are or even a teenager.
"If they were an adult it's quite possible that they got themselves a job, as it's not that hard to magic the proper credentials or if they were a child it's not out of the realm of possibility that some couple took them in, and they went to college the normal way. It's not that hard to get a fake birth certificate, one that looks like a real thing and that kind of crime is almost never discovered or perhaps they just said that you were born at home, which is very possible."
"That's possible because back years ago there weren't computers and things," Spencer said consideringly. "It was easier to get away with the type of crime you're suggesting. Computers were just becoming more mainstream when I was born and got smaller and did more than the earlier ones once technology improved. It would be harder to get away with that kind of crime when I left, but it's still possible. My mother was born in the late 40s, and computers weren't even a dream back then."
"So you believe it was your mother then?" Liana asked and Spencer nodded.
"I can't really see it being my father, though it's possible," Spencer said.
"I have to agree that it was probably his mother from what little I know of his birth father. Besides, a woman changes her last name when she gets married and although it wouldn't be likely that someone was chasing whichever of your parents it was would manage to find them, it's still possible. It's very likely that the world you came from is similar enough to the one that you're in now, except for the absence of supernaturals. If someone managed to trace the portal and managed to locate where she went her getting married and changing her last name would have made her much harder if not impossible to locate. That person would have had to literally run into your mother, as it would have been the only way for them to locate her, if she did get married before someone found her and that's only if someone did manage to trace her in the first place. There are a lot of possibilities I'm afraid," Dave told Spencer who nodded. "I'm not entirely sure, if it's possible to trace a portal once its closed, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't have followed your mother's through."
"We don't even know your last name and if we did we have a friend who could see if your family exists in this world," Liana said. "It would be easier if we had your last name in the name of your parents and any siblings."
"It's Reid," Spencer said finally. "R E I D, my parents are William Reid esquire and Diana. Her maiden name was Hawkins. No siblings I'm afraid, as I was an only child and it's just as well."
"I'll contact our friend right away," Liana said.
"I'm very proud of you for trusting us," Dave told the young boy with a smile and Spencer felt all warm and good all over.
"Well, I think you've proven that you're not going to send me back to my family. Of course, if I really am in another dimension and even if my family exists they likely already have a son named Spencer," Spencer said.
"There are variations in many of the dimensions as you're finding out, so it's quite possible that your mother or your father or even both were never born, at least not under the same names. There could be numerous reasons for this like your grandparents or even great-grandparents never met or at least never married," Dave explained. "Even if there is a Spencer Reid in this universe he might not look anything like you, as your father might not have married the same person, if as we suspect your mother came from another dimension.
"Just because your parents married in your own universe doesn't mean that they married in this one, if they do happen to exist. There tend to be at least subtle differences between universes, but sometimes they are more major, especially for someone like me who has actually travelled to other dimensions. Most people don't dimension hop though, so we don't need to worry about that, because as I said earlier it's not really well known that other dimensions exist other than as a theory."
"It's a good thing or some people could really cause havoc in other dimensions," Liana said.
"So it's none of my business, but what kind of supernatural, are you Dave?" asked the seven year old boy cocking his head. "I know that your wife is a very powerful witch, and that she had some bad people after her for number of years, all because of her mother's foolishness and not keeping how powerful she was to herself, but I really don't know anything about you other than you've been very kind to me."
"I suppose I'm never going to stop being surprised by all your very intelligent questions," Dave said his lips twitching a little. "I have met a few people like you in my time but not very many."
"You talk as if you're a couple hundred years old at least," Spencer said.
"I did mention that supernaturals could live there for a long time depending on how powerful they were, didn't I?" Dave asked.
Spencer nodded, because Dave had mentioned that and he'd temporarily forgotten.
"Well, I'm very powerful," Dave said. "I'll even tell you a very great secret but you have to promise me that you will never say anything to anybody. This is very important."
"Dave? Are you sure?" Liana asked quite suddenly looking at him worriedly, but Dave gave her a wink and she subsided.
Spencer watched this with a puzzled look and Dave couldn't blame him for that.
"Our family's safety depends on it," Dave told the boy, seriously.
"Alright, I swear I won't say anything," Spencer said and Dave nodded believing him, as Spencer was very responsible boy.
"Alright then, I am a species that is believed to have died out. Very few of us managed to escape the hunters that wanted us because we are very valuable as potions ingredients," Dave began. "Keeping the secret of what we are is very important, because the hunts would start up again until everyone of us was dead just because we're so valuable in various potions that dark witches brew. I am a dragon, but if you want me to transform into my dragon form we're going to have to go somewhere that has more room as I'm considerably bigger in my dragon form."
"Since you've told him I think you should transform for him honey, as that way he can't deny that dragons exist," Liana said, as she looked at Spencer's stunned expression. "He seems to be very scientifically minded and also logical so transforming for him will stop the disbelief."
"That's a point," Dave acknowledged. "Why don't you come with me and I'll show you my other form. To tell you the truth you really need to know, because our children tend to transform back-and-forth between their two forms and they will keep doing so for awhile yet. They can keep their human shape they just enjoy transforming so long as they're not out in public."
"We made sure they understood the danger they would be putting the family in if they changed into the dragon forms where anybody except those in the know could see them," Liana said. "The dragon hunters won't care that our children are all very young and hardly fully grown, they'll just be thinking about all the money they can make from their blood, their scales and their claws which are all quite valuable."
"I know you're disbelieving and rather stunned," Dave said sympathetically. "Liana was rather stunned when I told her as well, but she accepted it easier than I believed she would."
"I wasn't about to walk away because I loved you," Liana said simply. "Not once I was sure I could trust you anyway."
There was some kind of undercurrent going on between the pair Spencer noticed, but he had no idea what they were discussing in their silent looks and touches. However, despite only being seven he knew it spoke of a deep trust and also a history between them.
"Believe me, I'm grateful and will always be," Dave said quietly, stroking her cheek softly, causing her to lean into his touch as if she was starved.
Finally, Dave looked at Spencer and quietly gestured at him to follow and Spencer did until Dave led him to a very large room that did not have much furniture at all.
"I use this room to transform sometimes," Dave explained quietly. "Sometimes I just like to change into my dragon form and Liana comes and often leans back against my scales while working on the computer or reading a book. Make sure you stand back a little as I wouldn't want to whip you with my tail or accidentally breathe fire on you."
Spencer did as ordered and watched as Dave went to the far end of the room and begin to transform. Dave was suddenly covered in a nimbus of silver blue light, and Spencer watched fascinated as that light grew to at least 10 times the size of Dave's human form. Suddenly the light was nearer the floor and guessed it was because Dave was on his hands and knees, or what would be his hands and knees if he was still human. Spencer had no doubt due to the fact that the light was much larger then it had originally been that Dave was now in dragon form.
Suddenly, the light vanished and Spencer saw the man who had rescued him as a huge dragon that was far larger than his human form.
"You can approach," Liana said, as she had been watching from the door, and Spencer turned with a startled exclamation of surprise.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Liana apologized. "Dave won't attack you I promise, as he still keeps his human mind. We spend a lot of time together when he's in this form."
"He's already said so," Spencer said, as his heart slowed back to normal.
"Don't let his form intimidate you, as he's a very gentle creature really, at least to those who are not enemies," Liana said, as she came forward and gently patted Dave's side.
Dave turned his head and his long forked tongue came out to lick his mate's cheek affectionately, causing Liana to giggle and kiss his snout lovingly.
Spencer watched this and thought it was strange to see someone kiss the snout of a giant lizard who was highly dangerous at best, but also somehow seemed strangely appropriate. Spencer knew it had to do with trust and it was clear that Liana trusted her husband to not let out a stream of fire and burn her.
Spencer approached and examined Dave more closely and knew he looked similar to all the pictures he had seen of dragons in fantasy novels. Actually, he seemed to be a combination of several mentioned in various books.
"You can change back now," Liana told Dave once Spencer had finished examining him in dragon form.
Dave waited until both his mate and Spencer had stepped back and then begin to change the bluish silver light enveloping him until he was back to his human form with his clothes on. He had learned how to shift back to human form making sure his clothes appeared with him instead of being totally naked like when he was first learning. Even if he had shifted into his dragon form with his clothes on he had come back without them the first few times he had changed.
"That was really spectacular," Spencer admitted once the light around Dave had faded. "I wasn't sure I believed your explanation until you actually transformed."
"I know," Dave told him with a gentle smile. "I knew you didn't really believe me so Liana was right to suggest demonstration, as it stops the unbelief."
"So you were saying that dragons are nearly an extinct species?"
"They were at one point in time due to the dragon hunters," Dave explained, even as he led the way back into the living room. "The dragons started a rumor that they had gotten the last and it had more benefit than we ever expected. Still, no more than 50 or so escaped from various clans, at least that I know about. I didn't know about some of Aaron's clan escaping, until he met Brigid, who he just happens to be mate to. I didn't even know that the Polish clan existed actually, as they were rather isolated. There might be others out there that come from clans I never knew about. Of course, this was a few hundred years ago and that number is bound to have increased since then."
"The problem you see is that dragons are only fertile years every 300," Liana explained. "Dave and I met just a few weeks before his fertile period, which is how we were able to have children, even though he's male he won't be able to get me pregnant for nearly another 300 years."
"You're telling me that you can't have children except every three centuries," the 7 year old said blinking at that. The astonishment was plain in his voice.
"I'm afraid so," Dave said. "In a way, it's a good thing, because dragons live a very long time you see, thousands of years so long as they don't get themselves killed. We're practically bottomless wells of energy so we can do many things that most supernaturals cannot."
"It also requires someone very powerful to be a dragons mate if it isn't another dragon," Liana added. "I happen to fit that requirement and Dave recognized me as his as soon as we met."
"When a dragon meets their mate and accept their devotion and love there is a potion that they both take to link their lifeforces so that one won't die before the other. Thanks to Liana now being linked to my lifeforce she will remain young just like me until the very end of her days. While Liana would've lived a very long time because of how powerful she was she wouldn't have lived nearly as long as I will, so long as I'm not taken out."
"When we leave lifeforces if one of us dies the other follows," Liana added.
"That sounds dangerous," Spencer said looking startled.
"I suppose, but there are certain advantages," Liana agreed calmly. "For one thing if one of us is severely injured the other can support their mate, so that it's more likely they will heal."
"They will also heal faster with their mate's help, because our lifeforces are linked now," Dave added. "It's the way it has to be done unless that dragon's mate is another of their kind, which did happen a lot in the past, though not so much today, because I have no doubt that our numbers might be up, but they're probably still small, a hundred possibly, instead of the hundreds we were before. It's probably a few more than I'm estimating but I don't know for sure you see for we are scattered to the four corners of the world and if they're smart they live quietly because it won't take much for dragon hunters to start popping up again."
"Why would people be after you anyway?" asked Spencer.
"Because as we said earlier, Dave's scales, blood and even his claws are valuable for various potions. Dark witches or evil blood sorcerers don't really care what people have to do to get the ingredients they want so long as they get them. Even those that are more honest don't really think where such things come from not thinking that some creature was killed to attain the proper ingredients," Liana explained. "Also, if someone manages to hold a dragon prisoner they are so powerful magically they could siphon off their power to do a lot of evil deeds that wouldn't be possible otherwise. The power would build back up quickly to, so long as they are fed massive amounts. It would certainly be worth the investment to someone evil to feed a dragon for the long term, considering how much power a dragon has.
"Somebody could get very rich off just one carcass of a dragon and while we're very hard to kill, especially in our dragon form, it's not impossible. Us, dragons, got complacent I'm afraid, and that's what led to our species nearly dying out. Very few of us saw the dangers. Sure a few of were knocked off here and there when a hero had to save the princess or perform some heroic deed, but most of my kind never figured that we'd ever be knocked off in any great numbers. They found out much to their deterrent that indeed they could be killed by the dozen if the magic was powerful enough," Dave added.
"I understand," Spencer said slowly.
"Dave told me once that there was a proper procedure for getting a dragon's blood and that's to gain their trust and ask for it," Liana told Spencer. "Most people would rather just take it though, which is mainly what caused dragons to be killed in great numbers over decades and even centuries. Those people were incredibly shortsighted, because I'm sure they thought that dragons would never die out, but as far as most people know they are a dead species. Dragon hunters or anybody else for that matter didn't bother to do their research. If they had they wouldn't have been so eager to knock them off."
"Because you can only have children every 300 years," Spencer quoted and Dave nodded.
"Exactly and most females only have two or possibly three in that 10 year period depending of course, if a dragon has found their mate, which only complicates things. Female dragons have been known to just have a baby, but us males really can't do that, not unless we can obtain that females agreement to take the child after they are born. Really, unless we are very lucky that doesn't happen, because powerful females like Liana are rare as some of the supernatural powers and only show up once in a great while, every decade or two. Besides, with the gestation period being double that of a normal pregnancy it's not very wise for the males to get a female pregnant unless of course, they are our mate."
"It's not just power either that's a fact," Dave added. "It has to do with temperament as well. Is that person trustworthy to learn that dragons didn't die out hundreds of years ago? Or will they betray that dragon if the opportunity arises? Can they handle living for thousands of years? Some people can't you know. Our biology or maybe it's our magic always know when we have found the one. Not everybody that's born with Liana's power is trustworthy to know about dragons and that's a big thing, which is why I said that people such as her are only born every few decades. It's not necessarily a matter of their power, but whether or not they can be trusted with the secret and have the right kind of temperament. Despite Liana's childhood after she was 12 she was always very trustworthy. She didn't let her time on the streets jade her to the point that she would betray somebody who had done her no harm. Not everybody is as honest as she is. That's not to say she wasn't suspicious of my motives or whether or not she could trust me, but I always knew that she wouldn't tell people that I was a dragon, even if she didn't agree to become my mate. We might even have remained friends, but I'm certainly glad she accepted."
"Some people with my power are also arrogant assuming that everything should just be given to them without working for it they would not make a good mate for somebody like Dave," Liana said. "They would always be demanding things, assuming it was their due and then pitch a tantrum like a spoiled toddler if they didn't get it right away. Or perhaps, they would try to manipulate Dave into getting what they wanted. I can't see a dragon getting close to someone like that so it's just as well that their biology just knows when they met the right person whether dragon or supernatural. A person that arrogant with my kind of power would betray their own mother a lot of times to get what they wanted," Liana explained.
"If anybody knows that it's me," Spencer said.
"Unfortunately you've already seen the darker side of human nature," Liana said sympathetically ruffling Spencer's hair affectionately. "I would've preferred to save you from that experience, just like I would've preferred never to have experienced it myself at the age of 12."
"Life isn't fair we all know this," Dave said. "If anybody knows that it's me considering that most of my race was eradicated due to sheer greed, including most of my family. Dragons can't exactly help being so valuable for so many reasons and once other people learned how valuable we were because of our blood well nothing was going to stop the evil ones from having us killed. Unfortunately, no matter how much you try to protect a secret word still gets around one way or another. Dragons, especially young ones can be just as careless as anybody else and I would bet that one of them talked to the wrong person. There are any number of ways that evil people could've learned that we are so valuable for potions ingredients, though I wasn't actually around when that was discovered as that was long before I was born."
"I'm really sorry what happened to your species Dave," Spencer sympathized Dave nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, but it happened a long time ago now and luckily a small number of us did survive. I believe that there were close to a thousand of us at one point and that might not seem like a lot, but it is when dragons can only have children every three centuries."
"Different species have different birth rates that's all. This happens a lot in the animal kingdom and I suppose supernaturals are no different," Spencer said and Dave nodded gravely in agreement.
"I believe that you have enough to absorb for now," Dave said. "You just learned that supernaturals are real when you thought they didn't exist outside of fantasy novels. More will be revealed to you after you've had time to truly absorb what you've been told."
Spencer knew that Dave was right, so nodded, even though he was intensely curious. He had never believed that magic or other powers like telekinesis were actually real, and they weren't in his own universe as far as he knew. Sure, such power were shown in TV shows, in films and in books, but he had never believed that they actually existed and they didn't in his own dimension.
"Well I see you're going to be sensible," Liana said with a nod of respect at Spencer.
"I really want to know more, but I also know that Dave is right and I need time to absorb what you have told me before you give me more information," Spencer said with offended dignity.
"Most children wouldn't be able to contain themselves and just demand more information," Dave said.
"I know, but I'm far more sensible than most children and while I do want to know more about supernaturals I do need time just to absorb what you've told me already," Spencer said.
"That's a very mature decision and I definitely approve," Dave said smiling, "and because you're acting so mature perhaps we can go to the bookstore and pick you out of the few books of your choosing."
"You don't have to as I have plenty to read here that will keep me busy for at least the next few months," Spencer said in token protest. "I mean you already going to buy me a whole new wardrobe."
"Don't worry about the money. Trust me, Dave has plenty of it," Liana told Spencer. "He's a jeweler you see and has been for centuries. Trust me, he does quite well and even without that, every dragon has a hoard somewhere."
"Perhaps I'll show you some time," Dave said. "Liana's right however, even without my dragon hoard I make enough as a jeweler that I can support any number of dependents."
"I never even thought about that Dave might have lots of gold somewhere," Spencer said blinking to show that he was surprised. Really, the blinking was the only indication at all that he was rather astonished at what he had learned. The seven-year-old really had amazing self-control for one so young, but then he'd probably had too learn.
"You would've thought of it eventually I'm sure, because dragons are often depicted in fantasy fiction as having a horde of gold for a reason," Dave chuckled. "So why don't we head to the bookstore and I'll allow you to pick out a few books for yourself to add to the library if you want once you're done reading them."
"That sounds fantastic," Spencer said knowing he should protest, but he didn't, because he knew that Dave was very sincere and he and his wife were going to be his guardians now. Guardians were supposed to provide for their charges and though books couldn't exactly be considered essential it was certainly nice of Dave to allow him to pick out a few for himself. He was learning however, that there were genuinely nice and caring people in the world and he knew his mom had been one of them before his dad had murdered her.
Having someone to genuinely care about his welfare was a nice feeling, one he could get addicted to quite easily.
~~~Dave and Liana~~~