Chapter 41: Prologue

Book TWO: Rurik: A Royal Dragon Romance

Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.

Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

Moscow, Russia

Rurik Barinov watched the men and women dance in his nightclub, Logovothe Lair. Its dark interior was lit by flashing strobe lights and fog from the machines at the opposite ends of the dance floor. The entire club looked like a cross between a cave and a dungeon. The walls were rough stone, and dancers were showing off their moves in iron-barred cages.