Kellie stared slack jawed at the unassuming man in front if her. How was this guy king of the dragons? Seeing Kellies confusion he simply chuckled as he now approached her.
"Still stunned huh," he smirked. "Dont blame you. My human firm isnt what you call awe inspiring."
Kellie shook her head, coming out of her daze. "A little yeah," she said. "So what do you mean by your dad retired?"
"Well," Matt stated, taking a deep breath. "You see dragons may live for millennia but were not immortal, at least not like your dad."
Kellie nodded as Matt now guided her towards a side entrance. "You see what I said was true our dads did know eachother."
"Okay," Kellie said. "So why all the smoke and mirrors? Also why did you make yourself human?"
"Good questions," Matt smiled. "So I'll explain. You see dragons as a whole are concerned with two things, money and power. We spend our entire existence trying to accumulate both. It also means that their are dragons who would want nothing else than to take control of the clan."
Kellie followed as Matt now opened a secret door, leading to a small office. As Kellie entered she felt as if she was walking into a professor's library. An oak desk with several ancient looking books decorated the walls, while a coffee pot sat next to an enlarged and autographed picture of Jimi Hendrix.
"You see my dad has been king of the dragons for eons now," Matt said as he took a seat in an large office chair. "The other dragons all realized he was the strongest and most powerful of our kind. What he realized though is that when he passed the reigns of leadership would be in a state of flux."
"How so," Kellie asked as she pulled up an equally comfortable chair. "In other families leadership is hereditary," Matt said. "Children of royalty are move into power from generation to generation. It's not so simple with dragons."
Matt sighed, pouring himself a large cup of coffee before offering the same to Kellie. "My dad knew that even though he wished for me to take over after his passing that wouldnt be possible. Others would challenge for leadership."
"So that's why you have to pretend to be him," Kellie asked as she took a sip of her coffee. Matt nodded as he now gazed at her. "Very good Ms. Pendragon," he smiled. "We had to keep the illusion going to keep things peaceful. The clan thinks my dad is immortal. I've been acting as leader for quite sometime, who do you think spearheaded the group of magical children Mia calls friends."
"Mia's friends," Kellie gaped.
Matt nodded a proud smile spreading across his face. "Yeah came up with that idea myself," he said happily. "I realize that the past distrust the families have needs to be put to rest. All the families respected and feared my dad. So, if he were to put a on idea forward where the children of the magical families were to live and befriend a mortal, they quickly agreed."
"So then ymthat means you would be willing to form an alliance then," Kellie said excitedly. Matt fidgeted slightly, averting his eyes.
"Well yes," he sighed. "But theirs been a bit of a complication. You see Drake, my cousin, was attacked along with some of the other magical kids. The other families were frightened by this and are thinking about withdrawing the kids back to their realms. That's where I need your help."
"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this," Kellie sighed.
"Because it's a pretty big request," Matt said slowly. "You see the other magical families have seen how powerful the wizards are in both timelines. While I cant speak for them, I do know that the dragons want access to the child Trcia Davis."
"Tricia," Kellie said with surprise. "But why?"
"Her mother Samantha has already tapped into our realm and our magic," Matt stated. "We would like to help train her daughter in our magic. Watch over the child in the same way the kitsune watch over some of the children."
Kellie nodded, while she understood trying to convince Samantha would be somewhat difficult.
"The thing is this Kellie," Matt said. "You see so far I've been able to keep the charade going of my father still being in charge. While I think I can keep it up, helping to bring Tricia unofficially into the clan would allow me to finally step out and show my people that I've been acting as king for quite sometime. It's the only way for a peaceful transition of power."
"Still not sure why that's so important," Kellie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because if it were discovered that my father's gone than there will be a struggle for power," Matt said. "Yeah in dragon form I'm powerful but their are dragons far stronger. Dragons who would quickly side with your enemies if they thought it could benefit them."
Kellie nodded in understanding. To avoid making any more enemies she needed to help the dragons. The only question was how?