DRAGON PEARL - Why is a half naked man standing behind you?

Police in Prague is looking for a man with swords. The witnesses gave a horrifying statement.

------

Monik lost all colour from her face, when she read the headline of the article. She excused herself and she left Jackie by the table. Lucy was following her in the back of the restaurant through the kitchen, to the hallway, where were the stairs to the cellar. Lucy closed the door behind them and she looked at her friend with questions written all over her face.

"What the hell happened? I thought that you were coming here with Ren to figure out, how to cross to that other world."

But Monik ignored her and she ran through the preamble of the article with her eyes:

Today, by the Nuselský bridge, a young couple survived a walk of horror. In a shocking interview for our newspaper their stated, that they found a dead body and they probably met the murder. News about a man in a long coat covered in blood were confirmed also by other citizens.

Monik scrolled on the identikit of the suspect and she sighed. Then she looked at Lucy and she told her about the attack of the terrifying beasts by the bridge, and also about the young couple, that Ren scared away. Lucy was fascinated, when she told her about the powers, that she gain from the Green dragon, so Monik told her also about the conversation, that she had with Mr. Long…

"...and that is why they are after Ren´s brother?"

"He is the true successor of this power and they want to kill him, before he can get to it. And now, because Ren used his blood to broke the curse on you, they traced him. But I thought, that Ren told you all of this, when you woke up."

Lucy just shook her head in disagreement. When she woke up in the morning in Monik´s bedroom, Ren explained some things to her, but he didn't told her, that he saved her to the detriment of his brother - she was shocked.

The silence that occurred was broken, when Mr. Long entered by the back door. He had a small package in his hand and a big smile on his face.

"Miss Moni, who is this?"

"Ou, sorry, this is my friend, Lucy," and she pointed to her roommate, who wawed to Mr. Long. The old man stepped to her and totally inappropriately looked at Lucy´s right hand. Lucy felt uncomfortable and she tried to pull away from the old man.

"I don't feel the presence of the curse anymore, but there is still some link… interesting…"

Lucy then stopped wiggling and without a breath she was waiting, what will he say next. Will she try to kill Ren again?

"Can I?" he asked, while pointing on a knitted bracelet on her hand, so Lucy loosened it. Mr Long took it from her and he smiled.

"Don´t worry Miss Lucy, I will put a protection spell on the bracelet, which will suppress the link. After some time, the link will fade away…"

"Mr. Long, do you think, that we can move Ren?" asked him Monik before he disappeared with the bracelet into the kitchen.

"I don't know, I didn't check up on him jet. But it is almost evening, so it could be possible. Why?"

Monik then showed him the identikit and Mr. Long understood the worries in her voice.

"It seems, that the police was looking for him in this area. What if somebody saw us enter here? We need to get him out of here as fat as possible."

"I understand. Go look, how is he doing and find some clothes for him in the boxes downstairs. I will put a spell on the bracelet," and with that he disappeared behind the kitchen door.

The girls went down to the cellar, which was lit just by one lightbulb. Lucy had goosebumps from that place and she stopped on the stairs, when she saw the colossal iron dragon, that Monik was telling her about in park Folimanka. It was really beautiful.

"Look for something, that Ren can wear," pointed Monik to the countless boxes and she went to the back to the sleeping young man. He looked like he didn't even move, from the last time she saw him, but the mug with the smelly healing tea, by his head, was empty. She looked at him… He was so peaceful, he almost didn't even breath. She carefully took his hand, because she wanted to check his wounds, but Ren then twitched and he opened his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a painful expression.

"I wanted to look, if your wounds healed. We need to get you out of here…"

"What? Why?"

"You know, how you scared that young couple by the underpass?" she asked reproachfully. "They reported you to the police and now there is circling a portrait of you, according to which, they are looking for you."

"Finally!" yelled Lucy vigorously and she approached them with a big black hoodie. It had a few holes, but it was just right for their purpose.

Ren then hardly sat up and the girls helped him get into the hoodie. His whole body was in pain, but his wounds were closed. Monik supported him, so he can get up, but then he was walking on his own. Upstairs Mr. Long gave back Lucy her bracelet and then they went to the metro. That saved Ren´s strength a bit and they also avoided the police, that was patrolling by the Nuselský bridge.

When they got to the girls appartement, Lucy was fighting with the door, because it got occasionally stuck. That gave enough time to old Mrs. Ivičič, from next door, to go stick her nose into others business.

"Girls, how is Jaro doing?"

"Good evening," greeted her the girls and Lucy tried to be faster. "Well, Jaro is fine. They will keep him one more day in the hospital, just to be s…"

"And who is this?" disrupted her the old lady, when Lucy managed to get the door open. She was afraid, that they will slip into their apartment, before she managed to get the information, that she really desired. Mrs. Ivičič wanted to see Ren´s face, but he had a hoody and withal he was standing sideways, so it wasn't ideal for her.

"This is my cousin, he came for a visit. But he is not feeling well. So if you excuse us…" said Monik and she pushed Ren into the apartment.

"Goodbye," they said and slammed the door.

Monik was pushing Ren into Lucy's room, where he sat down to the couch and he pulled down his hoody.

"What will we do? That old hag is sticking her nose into everyone's business! What if she recognize Ren, thanks to that drawing?" whispered Monik nervously, because she was afraid, that Mrs. Ivičič was still listening behind their door. And she was right, because after awhile, they heard how her door closed. Till then, she was eavesdropping on the corridor, but when she didn't hear anything, she went back to her apartment.

"I don't know, but if she recognises him, she will call the police… and he cannot even prove his identity…" moaned Lucy and they both looked at Ren, who didn't know what they want from him.

"You don't have an identity document, do you?" asked him Monik.

"What is that?"

"Ok, that was a NO," snorted Lucy and she looked around the room, like she was looking for some answer. For her surprise, she find one! She saw some scissors on the table and an idea was born.

"Do you have any emotional bond to you hair?" she asked Ren and Monik looked at her, with hope in her eyes.

"You think, that it would help?" And to her question, Lucy pulled out her mobile and opened the article with the identikit. They both looked at the picture and then at Ren…

"You want to cut my hair?" frowned Ren and Monik immediately answered.

"Well, without you hair, you would look totally different and they didn't give a good description of you face to the police. So I think, that it would help a lot…"

They waited anxiously for Ren´s response, but then he unwillingly sighed and nodded in agreement. In that moment, Monik´s phone rang. It was Friday evening and her parents called, like every week.

"Will you manage?" she looked at Lucy, who just nodded.

Monik went to her room, while Lucy moved with Ren to the kitchen. There she helped him take of the hoodie and she threw a towel on his shoulders. She prepared some big scissors and her old hair clipper, still working, but with just a few functions. Lucy decided to invest into a good hair clipper, so she can cut her hair at home, because she prefered to wear practical short hair, which the hairdresser just couldn't do right. She usually didn't cut others hair, but she wasn't afraid of it.

Meanwhile, Monik turned on skype and she was talking to her parents. Obviously, to the question, what interesting happened to her this week, she couldn't answer truthfully. Their parents would think that she is crazy. So she was just listening to her father complaining about the kids on karate. That they cannot keep up and that teaching is not the same as before… Then he switched places with her mother, who was telling her about her new job, that she found in their street…

"...and imagine, when they saw those baskets, that I made from corn husk, they offered me another job, where I would make slippers from it. I told them, that I didn't learn to do slippers from it, but… Monik?"

"Yes?"

"Why is a half naked man standing behind you?" asked her mother in shock and Monik turned around. In the door of her room, was Ren, standing just in a wet towel around his waist. Monik stared at him with open mouth. With that haircut, he looked like a completely different person. His small eyes were more captivating and those manly face features,... he looked even more mature. Her eyes were all over his naked chest,... she saw his every scar - he looked just perfect. He had some muscles, but natural, not like a bodybuilder. Monik then snapped out of it, when Lucy appeared there and pulled Ren away from the range of the computer's web camera.

"Umm,... well, that is,... Lucy´s cousin, he came for a visit,..." she said, when she turned back to the monitor.

"Really? How come I am just hearing about him now?"

"Well, you know, he came just today… For a few days… Listen mom, I think, that Lucy is calling me… I will go now, we are talking over an hour, so bye…"

"Ok, darling, bye." And when she waved her, then Monik switched off skype.

She was angry, when she stood up and went to Lucy´s room. She looked, but she couldn't be mad at him like this - half wet - and so she turned her anger to Lucy.

"Now he has to be your cousin," she snorted.

"But we told Mrs. Ivičič, that he is your´s."

"Then we have to tell her, that she heard wrong. I couldn´t tell my mom, that he is my cousin, when she never saw him…"

Lucy just nodded and they both started checking out Ren, who was looking out of the window.

"He even shaved with a small knife from his booth. I wanted to give him a razor, but he didn't liked, that it was pink…" she whispered to Monik and they both smiled. "While he will be here, I suggest, that we change rooms. This one, is much bigger, and he can sleep on the couch bed… After what he did for me, this is the least I can do…"

"I should sleep with him in one room?!"

"He is your bodyguard," and she smiled at her teasingly.

Then they gave Ren some of Jaro's clothes and they went to sleep. Ren had the whole coach bed for himself and the girls slept in each others beds. It was a peaceful night, after which a sunny Saturday came, even though it was the middle of October.

Monik was boiling water in the kitchen, when she heard someone knocking on the front door. When she looked out of the eyelet, she saw a small boy. She thought, that he got lost, so she opened.

"Hi, are you looking for someone?"

"Yes, I am looking for this man," and he showed her a printed identikit with Ren´s face.

First chapter Previous chapter Next chapter