Page 29

Sunday, May 10, 2167

The Diamond Ward

Dragon Heights, Wyoming

I waitedfor my test results in the lobby of a snazzy hotel not far from Erik’s work, and I wondered what the future would hold. In the days leading up to the testing, I’d found very little on the people the mercury dragons had made disappear. With no leads to follow, I did the mental equivalent of pace.

Where had the people gone? If I couldn’t find even a hint of their trail, I wouldn’t be able to find them. That much I understood. I’d gone back to Death Mile twice, and the spirits hadn’t made use of Cecilia’s Scrabble board. Yesterday, I’d returned it to the woman, planning to buy a copy for myself.

Erik liked the game.

I supposed I’d either been haunted and the spirit in Death Mile waited for a good time to take over or the dead had more faith in me than I did.

Then again, did the dead mind waiting a little longer? How did the dead view time? They’d already run out of it in the mortal sense. Perhaps they no longer endured urgency.

I worried for the living, wondering about their fate and what I might be able to do for them—assuming I could find even a trace of them. Outside the word of the dead and the scant clues left behind in the mercury mansion, the missing people didn’t exist, at least not in Dragon Heights.

Where had they come from? I could guess as to the kind of person the mercury dragons had targeted; people like me, transients hoping to make a better life for themselves under the shroud of secrecy. Better remained subjective. The shadows of my past had restrained me. While I somewhat remained anonymous, in that the entire city wasn’t aware my parents were scaled menaces, I’d been exposed as a future member of the Millson family, which cultivated a certain number of issues.

The yellows had a reputation, and if one more person asked me if we would be trying for singlets or entire clutches, I would scream. His family hadn’t asked us, but considering the number of nieces and nephews already romping around, they viewed procreation as an inevitability.

Yellows had a reputation for a good reason.

Unfortunately for them and fortunately for us, we’d mastered the art of preventing unexpected little ones, and we would continue that practice until we were ready for them.

I thought about digging out my phone and texting my parents to check in on Garnet and Tourmaline, who’d been banned from the hotel. I had no idea how the pair might help me cheat on the test, but the idea had been so absurd I’d laughed in the examiner’s face, called in my father, and dealt with the drama of the gold dragon trying not to piss himself from fear.

The terror that my father might level the entire hotel had kept me giggling throughout the entire test, much to the annoyance of the administrators.

All in all, I’d breezed through the exam. An hour in, I’d come to the conclusion I’d vastly overestimated the test’s difficulty. I’d been momentarily confused by one of the essay questions, which had dealt with ethics in a grocery shopping situation.

Had I realized most of the test would be ethical questions designed to determine if someone had the appropriate morality to be deemed suitable for life in Dragon Heights, I would have taken the test long ago. The knowledge portion of the test had been easy enough.

Being a book dragon with a studying habit had something to do with that. My time working as a cop had helped, too.

“Kinsley,” the test administrator called.

I got up, grabbed my backpack, and headed over. I passed the others testing in, a group of twenty-five all fleeing their old life for some reason or another. I wondered how many would fail the morality test.

New starts burdened with hard challenges often put morality to the side for the sake of survival.

I’d been one of the lucky ones.

The administrator led me into one of the hotel’s conference rooms, a small one meant for a group no larger than ten to fifteen. “You can have a seat.”

I picked the chair closest to me, set my bag down, and sat, thumping onto the cushion. “Thank you.”

Being polite wouldn’t change anything. If I failed, I’d play my parents as my final card, gain access to equality that way, and suffer through being bitter over the whole thing for years to come.

“You passed.”

I allowed myself a satisfied smile. “Thank you.”

“What are your plans for work in Dragon Heights?”

“Forensic accounting,” I announced, unable to keep the pride out of my voice. “I’ll also work as a private investigator. I already have my license for that; the police force has been disclosed on my past history. I’ll contract with local law enforcement for the accounting work as part of my PI business.”

The man blinked. “Most people spend a few minutes mulling over their answer.”

“I’m not most people, I guess. I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do in Dragon Heights since deciding I would test in. Some parts of my plan have changed. I was going to start off as a secretary before moving into something like forensic accounting. Most of it hasn’t. Contract work is hard, but it’s no harder than Friday bounty hauls. I’m not worried about that. Erik is prepared to deal with me freeloading if I need to.”

“Ah, yes. You’re in a relationship with someone here.”

I raised a brow at his disapproving tone. “Don’t let any of the Millsons hear you complain about that. If you want to piss off a dragon, you upset their hatchling. Personally, I don’t care what you think of me, but those yellows don’t take kindly to people screwing around with people they view to be part of their family. As I’m marrying into the family and you’re not, you’re not going to be winning that fight. So, I recommend packing the disapproval and hiding it under your dirty laundry. I’ve heard about what Mrs. Millson does to people who bother those in her family, and it’s a bloody mess. I’m very glad I didn’t see it, frankly.”

I’d found out it had taken over a week for the blood and gore to be cleaned out of Death Mile.

She’d spread the mercury dragon’s remains a rather startling distance before she’d finished with him.

“I see you are not shy.”

I shrugged. “I’m a hatchling. I’m testing in because I want to, not because I need to. You could fail me right now, and it wouldn’t change anything for me. I just like proving I can make it on my own. If I let every crabby dragon who crossed my path bully me, I’d never get anything done.”

The test administrator chuckled at that. “Good. Normally, we have those who pass select a familial name for themselves, but as you’re marrying into the Millson family, you can opt to continue without a family name should you please.”

With a wicked smile, I replied, “How about Ramons? If I have to put up with them, they might as well be useful.”

With a howl of laughter, the gold dragon fled into the hallway, where he was reduced to roaring his mirth. Once he regained his composure, he returned to the room. “I’m so sorry about that, but most who have to put up with those two try to run for the hills, not steal their last name and encourage them.”

“They’re babysitting Garnet and Tourmaline right now. I have the best protected little ones in the entire city.”

“That you do. As there are no rules barring you from doing just that, you can if you’d like.”

“I would like.” I wouldn’t have to change anything at all for tax purposes, which suited me just fine. “Thank you.”

“Then I’ll get to work processing the name addition. It’ll take about twenty minutes to file. I am aware you have a familiar and a carbunclo. Who else lives in your household?”

“A yellow dragon and his carbunclo.”

“There’s a yellow dragon with a carbunclo?” The gold dragon narrowed his eyes. “When did another carbunclo come into Dragon Heights?”

“The Ramons attempted to procure one for Erik, but they bonded with the little boy. Mr. Enzo acquired Citrine for Erik.”

“Ah. Your sponsor.”

I nodded.

The test administrator grabbed his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and tapped the screen before holding it to his ear. “Mr. Acri? I’m Geraldo Jacorez, and I’m—” The gold dragon blinked. “Kinsley passed with a perfect score. I’m actually calling about receiving a confirmation of her household. I have been told there is a second carbunclo, and that you acquired the animal for?—”

Having met Enzo Acri, I had no doubt the black dragon peeled the gold dragon’s scales with the power of his voice alone. While I found him to be plenty patient with me, I’d witnessed when someone had wasted his time, and he’d transformed from a pleasant enough grouch to comparable with my parents when at their worst. Five minutes later, the test administrator hung up.

“Well, that was interesting.”

“Did you get a lecture about antagonizing the baby hatchlings, the sanctity of carbunclo, or how fabulous Erik is? Because according to Mr. Acri, Erik is fabulous.” I had no idea why the black dragon clan leader had such a crush on Erik, but my yellow dragon had the entire black dragon clan wrapped around his finger. “And don’t get me wrong. Erik is fabulous.”

I wouldn’t have been willing to sacrifice so much for anyone else. Accepting that might lead to a few uncomfortable conversations. I struggled to acknowledge my gentler feelings. I would begin that journey as soon as Erik was off work and we had a chance to talk.

“A little of everything,” he admitted. “I would apologize, but I’m just doing my job—and the point of testing in is to make sure that the applicants won’t be causing major problems in our city while giving them new opportunities.”

I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture. “I understand. Just remember that anxiety is a real thing a lot of us anonymous folks suffer from. And this test is important to them.”

“Oh, we know. We do monitor and take care with that—and we monitor how anxious people are during the test, track which questions bothered them, and if it’s a lack of knowledge issue, we help them. We noticed you’d had a bit of a stumble on one of the questions.”

“I wasn’t expecting the question, so it took me by surprise.” I shrugged. “I just had to reread the question a few times to understand what was being asked of me. I just know that’s hard to do when anxious.”

“It’s all about perspective. Please wait here, and we’ll officiate your chosen name. I will text you with a confirmation when you can take your driver’s test and get your proper identification. It usually takes two to five business days to process.”

In Miami, I would have been waiting three to six months. “Thank you. It’s appreciated.”

* * *

Sunday, May 10, 2167

The Diamond Ward

Dragon Heights, Wyoming

My motherand father bickered on the steps in front of Erik’s work, and nobody was brave enough to stop them. I observed the mayhem with a grin while cradling Peridot, who failed to understand why my parents argued.

Garnet dozed on the step beside me with Tourmaline. Upon being released from the testing session, the pair had gone on a romp, run out of energy, and required me to carry them everywhere.

“That’s how they confess their love, Peridot. You’ll get used to it. There’s nothing the matter, I promise.”

The carbunclo squeaked at me, and then he mewed, the kind I recognized from Garnet as an expression of curiosity. I considered what might confuse a young kitten before saying, “They get bored easily, and I’m making them wait for Erik to get off work. They wanted to go buy clothes for me. Until we have somewhere larger, I don’t have anywhere to put even more clothes.”

My mother stomped her foot. “You could have let us plan your wedding.”

“I promised Erik a gaudy proposal. He gets a chance to have his gaudy proposal before you get to plan any weddings.”

With a dramatic sigh, she flung herself at my father and feigned fainting from distress. My father raised a brow and observed while my mother oozed to the sidewalk to flop and roll over his feet. She wrapped herself around his legs and whined over the cruelty of it all.

“When are you going back to Miami?”

“Eventually. We want to witness the gaudy proposal.”

As Erik would want my parents in attendance along with his family, I foresaw drama and personal suffering in my near future. “I question why I agreed to the gaudy proposal.”

“You love him,” my mother informed me.

After settling Peridot with Garnet, I stomped over, placed my hands on my hips, and leaned over to glare at my mother before imitating her and stomping my foot. “While true, you didn’t have to say it.”

“No, no. I think she absolutely did have to say it,” Erik stated from somewhere behind me.

I was so busted I needed to get some cuffs, surrender, and hope for a reduced sentence. Turning to face him, I said, “I passed the test, so you can plan your gaudy proposal with the people of your choice in attendance.” To get some payback at my parents, I waved my hand in their general direction. “I told the test administrators to give me the last name of Ramons to at least justify why these two keep menacing me.”

Erik came down the steps, dropped a kiss on my lips, and smiled. “But they’re handling all the details of building our house. They’re somewhat useful. They can also babysit our carbunclo.”

“What about the house in Miami?” I asked.

My father smiled. “We’ll rent it out to some young dragons or dragon-kin wishing to try their luck in Miami for a fair rate. We actually have a home here, and it’d be nice to actually live in it for a change. If you’re roosting in the Tower Ward, we can go live in our house.”

“And who has been living in your house?”

“We’ve been renting it for short-term stays, and we hired a company to maintain the property and the grounds.”

A lot of things didn’t add up, including the expenses involved with such a thing. “And where is this house located?”

“The Diamond Ward,” my mother confessed.

As only mansions, boutiques, and frou-frou establishments occupied the Diamond Ward, my parents had been playing at middle class all my life despite being filthy rich. Muttering curses, I went to Garnet and Peridot, sat on the step beside them, and petted both. Once they were awake, I gathered them in my arms, turned my back to my parents, and huffed.

“I believe the little hatchling is upset over all those times we told her we couldn’t afford something,” my father stated.

While he wasn’t wrong, I buried my face in carbunclo fur and cuddled with the beasts.

“Just give her some time to come to terms with the idea that we are truly assholes. The entirety of Dragon Heights is right to be wary of us. We are the true menaces of this city, and we are proud of our status.” My mother giggled. “But seriously, Kinsley. It’s all right. We both had meaningful and lucrative work through the years, but we did what we wanted to do most of all, and that was raise you. We didn’t want to raise you in the trappings of wealth. We wanted you to be able to handle the real world, which you do rather well. We’ll drag you to the house here and acclimate you. We will stage it as a kidnapping, where you are forced in kicking and screaming. It’ll be entertaining. How many will try to rescue you from our clutches?”

“Anyone who knows you,” I mumbled.

“This will be entertaining,” my father predicted. “Are you done work for the day, Erik?”

“I am.”

“Before you head home and try to charm Kinsley, her kitten, and her familiar, we have something to show you.”

“Why does that sound vaguely threatening?” I grumbled.

“You know us, that’s why. Stop your complaining and get a move on. I’m too lazy to fly, so we’re going to catch a cab.”

* * *

Sunday, May 10, 2167

The Tower Ward

Dragon Heights, Wyoming

In the timesince we’d last been to the trashed lots, the rubble had been removed. I’d expected a foundation. Instead, an entire damned home stood, a wattle and daub capable of handling a pair of dragons and their hatchlings.

The yard would need a lot of work, but the property already had a driveway with a single car garage, and someone had brought over the Bentley, putting a bow on her hood. I went over to greet the car, cooing sweet nothings and petting her, promising I’d take good care of her.

“This was not here four days ago,” Erik commented.

“That’s because it went up three days ago.” My mother pulled me away from the Bentley and shoved me in the direction of the front door. “Two days ago, the electricity and water were done, and yesterday, the floors and walls were finished along with the major appliances. Today, your apartment will be emptied by crabby dragons we enlisted to do the work. We even offered monetary compensation rather than just threatening to devour them. Your gun safe is already inside. I asked the nice folks at the shop to help move and make sure they were installed properly.”

Judging from the pride in her voice, my mother expected to be praised for paying people to do her bidding. “What did you do to those poor dragons?”

“I didn’t do anything this time!”

“It is the ‘this time’ that is a concern.” Shaking my head, I held out my hand. “The keys, please.”

My father, arguably the more sensible of my parents, handed over a ring with numerous keys, including three pairs of car fobs. I eyed the driveway, wondering how we’d fit four vehicles in a space designed for two.

Why had I felt it was a wise idea to leave my parents unattended? “What did you do, Dad?”

“We were bored, so we went shopping.”

“For cars?”

“We were really bored.”

“And you left the Bentley outside?”

Erik laughed, came over, and investigated the keys in my hands. He pointed at one set. “That brand specializes in modern versions of classic cars.”

On second thought, I would permit my parents to live despite their poor judgment on how the Bentley should be stored. I pulled off one of each fob and handed them over to Erik before separating out one of each other key, offering them. “How do we get into the garage?”

“There is a clicker in each of the vehicles.” My mother bounced to the Bentley, opened the door, reached inside, and pressed something on the dashboard.

The garage opened, revealing a ramp leading down.

Well, that would solve the problem of where to park the cars. I pointed at the Bentley. “You should remove your clothes and take her to a safe haven while I drive the old dragons away.”

“No.” Erik raised a brow, pulled out his keys, and went to his car. “I’ll move her into the garage, though.”

I pouted. “But what if I want you to remove your clothes?”

“Maybe later.”

I wrinkled my nose at his refusal, waited for him to get the engine started, and listened to the car’s growl. She should have purred, but I understood the poor baby still needed work and love to get into good operating condition. Erik eased her down the ramp, and I followed after him with my parents.

“I thought it took weeks for concrete to cure enough to drive on,” I commented while easing my way down the ramp, which was angled enough I worried about the Bentley stalling when we tried to get her out.

“Magic,” my mother replied, and she patted my shoulder. “Do relax, Kinsley. It’s a tradition. Doting dragons give their offspring a home to help their hatchlings start their new lives. Erik’s family helped with the work. And they fronted a lot of it so only the observant will realize you’re our hatchling. Of course, firing a shot across our bow with just reclaiming your last name after testing was bold. Clearly, we’re going to have to shadow you because of that stunt and publicly profess admiration over your boldness. Then everyone will assume we’re adopting you anyway.”

“And the idiots will continue to refuse to acknowledge how beautiful I would be if only I’d been born a girl,” my father said, and he snickered.

Peridot jumped off his shoulder, transformed into his wisp form, and bobbed around Garnet, who squeaked before joining the other kitten. They chased each other while we headed into the dimly lit garage.

“So, Peridot decided to sleep on your foot, and that was it, Dad?”

“Yep. At that point, he was mine. I may have given a single territorial growl to indicate this little one is my child now.”

“He’s suffering severely from empty nest syndrome,” my mother informed me. “Now that you’re properly settled, we’ll discuss another singlet. We will not be having a clutch. I will use every scrap of magic at my disposal to secure a singlet.”

My father pouted.

“If you have two of me at once, you might not survive, Dad,” I reminded him.

“But the chaos two of you would bring forth into the world. It would be marvelous.”

I rolled my eyes and continued down the ramp, which curved and opened into a parking lot sufficient for at least fifteen vehicles. Erik parked the Bentley beside a modernized Lamborghini. I whistled at the cherry red beauty, grateful the modernized versions came with sane repair bills as long as we kept her off the track and drove her sensibly. “Which one of you bastards did that?”

My mother giggled and raised her hand. “It’s a two seater, and when you and Erik go on your honeymoon, we are volunteering to watch over your household while you’re gone. We have plans to take the kittens rock hunting in the mountains. They’ll have a great time, and they won’t feel punished while you’re sharing some quality time with your new husband.”

“Erik gets a chance to do his gaudy proposal first, Mom.”

“But when he finally executes his gaudy proposal, your getaway vehicle will be ready to go.”

Hm. “Erik, that’s our honeymoon getaway vehicle, apparently.”

He laughed, got out of the Bentley, closed the door, and came over to me. Citrine jumped off his shoulder and joined the wisps chasing each other around the garage. “I’ve already started planning the proposal, so this works for me. However, that car doesn’t have enough space for our babies.”

I pointed at my parents. “They’ve volunteered to take them rock hunting.”

“We’ll do a few trips as a family to teach the kittens that they’ll be going fun places when rock hunting. That works.” Erik rubbed his hands together before investigating the other two vehicles. One was an SUV, a large one suitable for stashing at least six bodies in. The other was a fancy family car, which would work as a daily driver and fit all our pets and their supplies without issue. “Kinsley, I have off Wednesday and Thursday this week. Let’s go on a road trip after I get off work.”

“To where?”

Erik smiled, grabbed his backpack, and rummaged through it before pulling out a thick stack of papers. “We might have found a clue or two on your missing people, and if we happen to go on a road trip, you can ask questions because you don’t have jurisdiction issues. Your license is valid anywhere in the state, and it’s easy to get you licensed for other states, too. They’re old leads, so waiting a few days won’t hurt anything, but we can see how our babies handle longer car rides.” With a rather stern expression, he faced my parents. “This is a party for two. The only extras invited are Citrine, Garnet, and Tourmaline. If Peridot would like to come with us, he may.”

My mother’s expression softened, and she held out her hands. “Peridot, darling? Would you like to go with Citrine and Garnet on a trip?”

The green carbunclo zipped over to my mother, transformed on her opened hands, and mewed.

“It’s okay if you want to go, little one. You can’t go with them on every trip, but if you’d like to accompany Citrine and Garnet this time, you can.”

The kitten gave a hesitant squeak, and he climbed up my mother’s arm to perch on her shoulder, nuzzling her throat. With a smile, she petted him. “You can decide closer to their departure. You don’t have to decide right now.”

“We’ll swing by and ask Peridot if he wants to go right before we leave,” I promised. “That way, if he’s feeling up for it, he can go. And in the worst case, you can always fly to retrieve him and take him home if he gets separation anxiety.”

“There. If you want to go, you can. If you don’t want to, that’s also fine.” My mother grinned at me. “Now you have some meaningful work to do. You can follow dead leads while you work on charming your yellow dragon.”

“The whole idea is to make sure the leads I’m hunting for don’t die, Mom.” However, as she was right about the meaningful work thing, I accepted the papers from Erik. “But now that I do have meaningful work, if you want to stay for dinner, you can, but we’re going to be ordering in. If we’re heading out on Wednesday to start chasing leads, I have a lot of work to get done.”

“How about I cook while you work, baby? I stocked the fridge, and there’s a roast waiting to go into the oven. Do what you do best while we come to terms that our little hatchling is all grown up.”

“You’re going to be feeding the movers, too, aren’t you?”

“Considering that most of them are related to Erik, yes. I’ll even be a good mom and give you a tour of the house first, although I suspect I’ll lose you once you see the master bathroom.”

“How are you going to lose me in a bathroom?”

“Two words, little child: jetted tub.”

I stared at my mother with wide eyes. Erik and I had talked about getting a jetted tub in Miami; we worked hard, and hard work resulted in a lot of sore muscles, but neither one of us had wanted to spend the ridiculous amount of money needed to install one. Upon comprehension I would be able to eventually evict everyone and lure Erik to said tub, I determined I had the best parents on the entire planet.

Careful not to dislodge Peridot, I went over and hugged my mother. “You’re the best mother on this entire planet. Sorry Erik, but she is.”

“I’m going to have to agree with you on this one. My mother is pretty awesome, but jet tubs are just that cool.”

“Your mother helped with the jetted tub acquisition,” my father informed us.

“How do we settle this tie?” Erik asked. “Because that means my mom is just as awesome as your mom.”

After releasing my mother, I stepped out of her range before suggesting, “A cage match between our mothers, and the last mother standing wins?”

“As long as it’s non-fatal, I’m game. Would you accept a proposal if I were to offer it while our mothers are duking it out in a cage match?”

My mother scowled. “Erik Millson!”

“How about you offer the proposal upon a victor being declared, and the child of the winning mother has to issue the proposal?” I grinned at the thought of our mothers going at each other like they meant it. “They’d both have to survive, obviously. We do love our mothers. And we’d have to make sure both mothers are conscious to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But after hearing about what your mom did to that mercury dragon? I want to see my mom face off against your mom.”

We both stared at my mother and waited.

“She did pass her test with a perfect score,” my father reminded my mother. “And she was bold enough to claim our family name as compensation for us torturing her in public. At that point, you have to see if those yellows are worthy of our little hatchling. And we get a wedding out of your suffering.”

With a wicked grin, Erik said, “I bet our dads would put on a good show, Kinsley.”

“They really would, but with our moms fighting over which one of us proposes, what would our fathers battle over?”

Erik engaged my father in a staring contest and raised a brow. “The winner would get to select the wedding venue and handle the majority of the planning.”

“Your father is going to be crying for mercy at my feet when I’m done with him,” my father swore.

“There. It’s settled. I’ll plan the engagement party, and you’ll show up to watch our parents duke it out. The winner takes all. I’ll just apologize now, Mrs. Ramons, but my mother is going to destroy you.”

“Oh, she’s certainly going to try, little hatchling.”

My mother opened her mouth to add something else, and I whipped my hand out and slapped my palm over her lips. “If you make a single comment about me getting on my knees for any reason, I’ll destroy you, Mom.”

“She’ll behave,” my father promised. “Please don’t kill your mother. I love her, and she’d be quite difficult to replace.”

Well, one thing was certain: the rest of my life would be interesting. All I could do was hope I survived with my sanity intact. “Just this once, Dad. She’s lucky that I need to find out what has happened to these missing people. Once we solve this case, we can talk about when we have the engagement party. I want to focus on making sure these people are able to find their way home.”

“And we’ll help you however we can,” my father promised before kissing my cheek. “If anyone can save them, it’s you.”