Page 25

Wednesday, April 29, 2167

The Tower Ward

Dragon Heights, Wyoming

As one ofthe wards skirting the Diamond Ward, the Tower Ward boasted a certain amount of prestige while clinging to some semblance of practicality. Like much of the city, I hadn’t been to the place before, but I could understand why Erik had selected it to be his roost.

Houses could be acquired by those willing to work hard, and the home Erik worked on making for himself had a long way to go before it counted as nice. I eyed the place, which needed a great deal of tender, loving care, and questioned how the stone and wood had gotten into such a sorry state. Once repaired, it would be a wattle and daub with a stone foundation, a nod back to past times and distant lands.

For the moment, it came closer to being a hovel. The foundation would need to be shored, and the gouges in the daub made it clear the building had gotten into a fight with a dragon and had lost.

The only way it could have gotten worse was if the dragon had breathed on it. Then again, if a dragon breathed on it, the whole thing would come tumbling down. I heaved numerous sighs to inform Erik he tested my patience.

“I don’t actually live here yet,” he replied to my many unasked questions. “It’s a rescue, a lot like the Bentley.” Erik pointed at the neighboring building. That one had lost whatever dispute it had with a dragon, crumbling down without hope of salvation. “I own that one, too.”

The rubble on the other side worried me. If he owned the one that’d mostly survived the damage and the one destined for demolition, I could see him having grabbed the trashed property, too.

Yellows did love building things.

“How many did you buy?”

Erik pointed at the empty lot beside the wattle and daub. “That was rubble, too. Honestly, I don’t know how this place survived. A red and an iron got into a bit of a fight here. The red owned the empty lot. The iron owned the one on the end.” Heaving the kind of pained sigh that warned me something had gone wrong in his life recently, he gestured at the building that could be restored with time, effort, and money. “When I had bought this, it had not been damaged. I got unlucky. I’m being paid damages from both the dragons, and our neighbors decided to bail. I offered their mortgage value for the place so they wouldn’t get a slow screw. I had to ask Dad for help with that, because the red and the iron are still working at paying me.”

I read between the lines: Erik might get paid eventually.

Crossing to the other side of the street, I joined my parents, who’d offered to serve as transportation. Garnet napped in my father’s arms while Tourmaline visited every nearby flower. I considered the street and the wattle and daub, determining the place could be expanded into a nice little manor appropriate for a pair of dragons setting off into the world without their parents hovering. “I’m still testing in.”

My mother laughed. “I expected nothing less. I did have to confess to Enzo that you’re our hatchling, but he’s promised to keep your dirty little secret while you test in. It was part of updating your registry as a hatchling. I asked that your color remain anonymous for now. Some things you have to discover on your own, and it’s better that you grow into your scales properly. And don’t feel like you’re getting special treatment. Hatchlings from mixed color heritages get the same treatment. It better helps the hatchling define their own color. And while you shifted, it was induced from injury and stress, so you still have a great deal of growing left to do. When you figure out the knack of it on your own, you will learn your color. Until then, you will simply need to stew in the mystery of it.”

“Everyone knows I’m a dragon now?”

With a smile, my mother leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Don’t worry. We’re taking the blame for it. After all, we cruelly dragged you to every single shrine on Shrine Hill—and having to put up with us is considered to be a most noble sacrifice. At this stage, anyone too blind to figure out that you’re your father’s daughter can only blame themselves for not figuring it out.”

I snickered. “Your thoughts on this place?”

“Having seen the before pictures, I know how crushed Erik was when his new house barely held its ground against a pair of rampaging dragons. The place isn’t habitable quite yet, but between the two of you, I’m sure you can change that readily enough.”

It would take a lot more than some elbow grease to get the home to a state anyone could live in it. “Has he hired contractors yet?”

“He’s waiting on the settlement. He didn’t want to mooch off his parents.”

Of course he didn’t. Like me, Erik had more pride than he knew what to do with. “And how long for you two to make the place habitable if I tie the yellow up, claim him as part of my hoard, and demand a suitable home for my carbunclo and hummingbird?”

“Three weeks,” my mother replied, and the immediacy of her answer indicated she’d already looked into the situation.

“Price?”

After making a thoughtful sound in his throat, my father said, “Take on the mercury case. The force will pay you decently, although you’d make more if you weren’t working as a private investigator. But if you’re working on the case, then I’ll be confident the truth will be exposed. I know the ethics are going to bother you, but you don’t have something like this happen without every dragon in the city being involved in some form or another. And if this does tie with the murdered pilgrims, then it truly does involve every dragon clan in the city. Taking care of repairing your new home is suitable penance for having made a mess of your plans.”

“I’m pretty sure those mercury dragons were involved. That crazy woman questioned me about being a pilgrim. She had some form of crystal that changed colors when someone told lies and the truth.”

“We’re aware. What we’d like to know is how you managed to get out of that hellhole without getting caught. The place was absolutely crawling with mercury-crazed dragons.”

I recognized trouble when it crossed my path, and I identified a significant problem.

When I had walked out of the place, there hadn’t been any dragons at all.

I could only assume magic had played a significant part in my escape—the same magic that had left me exploring Shrine Hill with Garnet. I would need to do more research into the various colors and try to figure out which dragon clan could effectively make themselves disappear.

I regretted the loss of my phone, and I heaved a sigh. “Did anyone find my phone?”

“Not yet. John’s working on getting clearance to allow you into the mansion to look for your phone and begin helping with the investigation. Chief Hawthorne likes the idea, and it’s generally agreed that your phone will be returned to you after it’s checked for fingerprints and any other evidence.”

That was something. “Chief Hawthorne?”

“He’s the Fringe’s chief.”

I nodded. “Any idea on the timeline?”

“I expect we’ll be making a field trip tomorrow to the mansion. You’ll be interviewed first, but the general consensus is that even if you can answer some basic questions, your testimony will be deemed unreliable due to the drug cocktail you’d been given. It’s notorious for creating memory issues.”

How lovely. Not. “Hallucinations?”

My father shrugged. “It can cause those, yes. So, your testimony will be considered questionable at best. The purples who treated you promised you’d suffer from no general impairment, so if things are a bit hazy, that’s fine. Good job on taking the scalpel to the leg rather than face.”

“Or the arm. I’m rusty on my self-defense, though.”

My mother snorted, wrinkled her nose, and gave me a dose of parental disapproval. “I’m sure Erik will be addressing that as soon as he settles down. He has to go back to work tomorrow, else I’m sure he’d be educating you on why you need to keep up with your self-defense skills.”

I considered her through narrowed eyes; I could see Erik trying to help me with self-defense going one of two ways. The first way involved tested patience and a trip to the bedroom. The second way involved a ten second scolding over how self-defense was important before heading to the bedroom.

Self-defense education only worked when in a public place where indulgence was not permitted.

Even then, we’d kept score, and the person who had done the best at the class ruled the roost for the evening.

“I have had all the education on why self-defense is important for a week.” I lifted my chin, sniffed my disdain over the situation, and kept an eye on Erik, who seemed to be scolding the house. “Is he really telling his house he is never going to forgive it if it falls down before he can repair it?”

Heaving a rather dramatic sigh, my father replied, “I’m afraid so. Did you really have to pick a yellow? Yellow hatchlings are insufferable troublemakers. He’s going to be trying to build a nest for months. Yellows can’t help it. They must build a nest.”

My mother joined my father in being dramatic. “It’s true. The yellows are really insufferable when they’re young hatchlings. He’s going to drive himself and us mad with his nesting tendencies.”

I whistled for Erik, who turned to face me. After waving him over and waiting for him to cross the street, I said, “I’m all in on the wattle and daub theme, but you’re going to have to let these two dragons handle the renovations and restorations. If it can’t be fixed safely, they’ll rebuild it to have a similar look but making better use of your land. They’re paying for it because it’s their fault I was kidnapped.”

Erik eyed me, turned to eye his house, and then eyed my parents. “You’re going to destroy my house, aren’t you?”

“Little hatchling, the place is a stiff breeze from falling down. It’s easier to shovel out ash than it is to do that sort of demolition work. Just look the other way for a few days.” My mother reached out and patted Erik’s shoulder. “Get that captain of yours to let you drive a cruiser home and park it on the street in front of Kinsley’s apartment until the renovation work is done. Sure, it’s a longer commute to work, but it’ll keep her street safe for a few weeks while things settle down.”

It took Erik a few minutes of muttering to himself, but he nodded. “I can probably do that. But why her place and not mine?”

“Garnet’s used to her home now. Don’t displace her so soon after settling—and Kinsley will need to get used to having you underfoot again. But give it a few weeks, and you’ll have a new home ready for you to move into, one that doesn’t look like it barely survived a war zone.” My mother considered the wattle and daub. “With a little bit of magic and a team of dragons, and this place will be ready to survive two hatchlings, I’m sure.”

Having witnessed a neighbor in Miami build their house, I doubted there’d be anything done beyond the foundation in three weeks. “How are you going to build an entire house in three weeks, Mom? Remember the Carlisles? Their house took a year.”

“They weren’t dragons, baby.” My mother grinned at me. “Dragon crews compete for fastest and best build times. We’ll set up a competition, get a bid war going, and have an offer for the job within a few days. Erik, do you want it to still be a wattle and daub?”

He nodded. “It’s the one thing we agreed on when we were looking around Miami. We both like wattle and daubs, but there weren’t any in our price range.” He glanced at me. “Well, the price range you thought we had.”

I shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I have parents who would have helped pay for a house in Miami if I’d had a little less pride and asked. Technically, neither one of us had the money, but we could have, pride allowing, mooched off our parents.”

We both had a laugh over how life had thrown a few curveballs our way. In hindsight, we’d been our worst enemies in some ways.

“Hatchlings,” my father complained. “No skipping work tomorrow, Erik. We’ll keep an eye on Kinsley, and she will not be permitted to roam off on her own until we’re sure the remaining mercury dragons involved with her kidnapping are all accounted for. You’ll be a mess if you’re around for the questioning session, anyway. Prove to those Diamond captains you’re their equal. I’d hate to have to talk to them about such things.”

“Don’t bully the police captains, Dad,” I scolded.

“I can bully them if I want to.”

“No bullying.”

He hissed at me. I growled back.

My mother cleared her throat. “If you have to posture, do so once we’re in private. We’ve had enough public excitement for one week.”

Dad wisely obeyed. I smirked, claimed the victory as mine, and said, “Make sure there’s a garage worthy of my princess, Mom.”

“When did my Bentley become your princess?” Erik asked, and he placed his hands on his hips.

“I will love her better.”

“I’m the one who rescued her from a junkyard!”

“I will love her better!” I yelled.

“Are you seriously telling me that after all this fuss, the only thing these hatchlings are going to argue over is his car?” Shaking her head, my mother snagged us both by the back of our necks. “March, children. I’ll make sure there are sufficient parking spots in your house, just stop your complaining and crying already. I swear. One hatchling is enough to test my patience. Your father has how many of you?”

“More than is sensible,” I replied. “And Erik, don’t even bother acting like you know how many brothers and sisters you have. There are too many of them. His clutch had twelve, Mom. He’s the baby of the lot!”

“And he’s so much trouble that John and Mimi haven’t had another clutch, aware their youngest might give them more gray hairs. You’re responsible for entire clutches being skipped because you’re that much trouble.” My mother snickered and pushed us along. “Maybe we should go whip the whole lot of them into shape so Mimi can have another clutch. Surely she’s missed being overwhelmed by hatchlings.”

“You’re supposed to like her, babe. Wishing an entire new flock of hatchlings on her is not showing how much you like her,” my father said, following along with Garnet in his arms. “But perhaps we can encourage the current batch of fledglings to situate themselves a little more so John and Mimi can start thinking about a new clutch. Then Erik can escape being the baby and settle down with our hatchling.”

“We better check out the rest of the neighborhood to make certain it’s suitable for them. I mean, his house lost to a pair of dragons.”

“What house here hasn’t lost to a pair of dragons at some point?” my father asked in a curious tone.

“While you present a good point, we should at least check the neighborhood for its suitability.”

“If you say so.”

Well, if my parents didn’t scare Erik off, nothing would—I hoped.