Page 29 of Serving my Dragon (The Dragocracy Chronicles #2)

Chapter Twenty-Two

I was returning victorious to my underground castle, and with my belly full since Lola brought snacks for the trip. While I found myself less than pleased that Matias and Kayleigh stayed behind, I understood why.

I couldn’t financially support my servants.

It galled they required employment and that made finding the hoard my primary mission.

The trip bored me to sleep. Literally, meaning once we arrived at the jungle, I woke energized.

While Juan and Lola drove to the citadel in the strange little vehicle that dragged a wagon with supplies—a.k.a.

yummies for me—I flew ahead and discovered Santiago already at the lake, installing a railing, of all things, for the stairs.

I might have mocked it, only Lola and the aunts might need that extra support.

A proper dragon overlady always took care of her people.

I coasted over my domain, reveling in the wind under my wings, the freedom it implied. A freedom that would need to be more carefully guarded. While Sally might currently be incarcerated, there remained other players out there who knew of my existence. Might seek me out again.

Let them. I wasn’t a defenseless hatchling anymore.

When I returned to the lake, I put on an aerial show for Lola, who beamed as she watched. There was a woman who knew how to admire—and cook. She kept me so well-fed, I shed again within days.

Over that next week—of which Lola stayed for five before switching out with Consuela who had a bevy of fascinating lore to impart—I searched the citadel. Exploring the honeycomb caves one by one, only to finish them empty-clawed.

I practiced my flight, usually with Juan barking sudden commands at me.

Dive. Spin. Flip to your back. Bank left.

Tilt Right. A tough teacher, but I improved immensely under his guidance.

He even set up targets for me aim at so I could learn to control the intensity as well as direct my lightning breath.

It was Manuel who had the clever idea of making me the citadel’s power generator.

He explained how our current solar grid worked.

The panels caught sunlight and turned it into power that was stored in the batteries.

The system, while adequate for a few appliances, would never be enough to accommodate the bevy of servants I planned on having or the electronics I planned to collect.

However, as Manuel explained, finding well-lit spots for more panels would be tricky in the jungle, not to mention all the cords required to link them to the storage units.

“So, Pollita, what do you think? Shall we see if you can use your mighty breath to charge batteries?” Manuel asked.

I eyed the lumpy block with two metal studs sticking out and spat a bolt of electricity.

The battery burst into flames.

“It didn’t work,” I stated.

“On the contrary, you gave it too much juice,” Manuel stated with a chuckle. “We will try again, but this time, maybe a smaller amount of your mighty power.”

It took practice to get it right, but once I did the citadel started changing even more rapidly.

We greatly increased the batteries stored in one of the chasm chambers.

From something called an inverter, Manuel ran electrical wires to power outlets and strung lights through the tunnels and into some of the rooms. Our new energy load allowed us to acquire a larger television, fridge plus a freezer—the delivery of which proved entertaining.

Me and Lola sat with a bowl of popcorn, watching as all three uncles worked together—with immense amounts of swearing—to carefully lower the tarp-wrapped freezer and, with some words even a dragon shouldn’t know, swing it through the waterfall.

That wasn’t the only complicated thing they did.

A bridge now crossed the chasm to the hot spring.

A passage I’d helped build as I knew Lola’s aching joints would benefit from soaking.

I’d flown sturdy cable wires across the rift and secured them so that boards could be placed across the strands, forming a passage that Lola only used once we also strung up rope handrails.

I couldn’t wait to show Matias and Kayleigh the improvements when they came for their next visit, even as I didn’t have good news yet on the wealth front. I’d run out of places to search for the hoard. Perhaps it had been pilfered.

My original servants arrived in the ATV and didn’t come alone. Two strangers travelled with them. A man and a woman.

Wary of their presence, I remained perched atop the waterfall and watched. I’d been given no advance warning about these visitors, and it honestly surprised me they would have anyone with them at all since Matias kept preaching about being discreet.

For the moment, I agreed, but when the time was right…

“Polly!” Kayleigh sang my name by the edge of the rocky cliff rimming the lake. “Come out, come out wherever you are. We brought you a surprise.”

The couple stood between her and Matias, a woman with silvery hair and the man a big, bulky specimen. Had they brought me new attendants?

Matias bellowed, “I know you’re watching, Pollita. No need to hide. You’ll want to hear what these people have to say.”

Curiosity overcame my caution, not to mention I trusted Matias and Kayleigh. I fluttered down from the waterfall and alit on the floating platform Juan installed in the lake for sunbathing.

“Well, I’ll be damned. There really are two of you,” the woman said with a shake of her head that sent her silvery hair fanning.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“I’m Pip and this is my partner, Maddox. We’re here on behalf of Abaddon?—”

The name froze me. I’d heard it once before. Hadn’t Sally claimed?—

“—another dragon.”

A rival. I exhaled. “Why are you here? Is he trying to claim my territory?”

Pip burst out laughing. “Oh, God no, but that sounds just like something he’d say. No, we’re here to let you know you’re not alone and if you’re interested, to set up a line of communication.”

“He wishes to speak with me?” That sounded pathetic, so I added, “Of course he does. Who wouldn’t want to revel in my greatness?” I tossed my head majestically.

The big man chuckled. “Definitely cut from the same arrogant cloth.”

“Why did he not accompany you?” I asked.

“For the same reason you live out here in the jungle. Safety. He’s at home right now, plotting how he can rule the world.”

Wait, had he made more progress than me? “Where is he currently located?”

“British Columbia, Canada,” the male drawled. “Living on a ranch he acquired. Nice place, but have to say, your jungle paradise is pretty damned awesome, too.”

“As if it would be anything but.” I cocked my head. “How did you find me?”

“Abaddon happened to be reading the news when he came across an article about a woman in Peruvian authorities’ custody who was claiming dragons were real to try to get out of some murder charges.

Given Misti recently blew, and we’d heard a story about a hatchling being lost in South America, Abaddon sent us to see if we could sniff out whether or not you actually survived,” Maddox stated.

“That doesn’t explain how you located me,” I pointed out.

Pip smirked. “Through good ol’ fashion digging.

Since we couldn’t talk to the woman claiming she’d seen a dragon—the facility she’s in having locked down tight—we scoured her social media and discovered she’d come to Peru with Kayleigh.

Finding her proved a little tougher. We inquired at the embassy and the police station, but they wouldn’t tell us anything. ”

As she took a breath, Maddox continued. “We’d just about given up when we visited the embassy, hoping we could convince someone to help us locate her.

Kayleigh happened to be there at the same time, getting her passport replaced.

Despite her initial reluctance, we convinced her and Matias to have lunch with us. ”

“In a public place,” Kayleigh interjected. “I wasn’t about to trust them.”

“And then she almost bolted when I asked her if she’d seen a dragon.” Pip’s lips twisted. “Which I’ll admit, is probably a normal reaction.”

“At first me and Matty laughed and acted as if Pip was nuts, but then she told us about how she and Maddox were employed by a dragon and told us the story of how they’d found him. What cinched it was she showed us some pictures of them with Abaddon.”

“You have an image of him?” I interrupted. Was he handsome? I’d need someone to fertilize my eggs should I ever decide to lay some.

“I can show you if you’d like.” Pip held up her phone.

I launched from the floating dock and landed close by. The woman didn’t demand I approach but came to me instead, kneeling down to show me respect—and her screen.

A majestic-looking black dragon posed in the picture. Well-muscled, his scales sleek. His gaze was proud and ferocious. Definitely a suitable candidate.

“Why did he seek me out?” I asked.

“Because he believes in this new world that it would be nice to have an ally and a friend.”

An ally. What a strange concept to someone of my ilk, but as humans had evolved, so should dragons. “That might be doable but I’d have to converse with him first. See where we stand on certain issues.” In other words, would he stay in Canada, or would I have to kill him for eyeing my territory?

Pip’s lips curved. “He’ll be happy to hear that. When would you like to chat with him?”

“Speak how?”

“Via a secure video conference session.”

Apparently, it wouldn’t happen that day because everyone lacked a signal to connect to the internet.

However, Lorenzo had already spoken to me about installing a Starlink system.

Soon, very soon, I would be able to talk to this Abaddon—and ensure he kept to his side of the continent until such a time as we chose to possibly create a clutch.

Over dinner, I peppered Pip and Maddox with questions, wanting to learn more about the male that had been hatched through a forced volcanic explosion just like me.

It turned out he also had to evade hunters intent on capture and emerged victorious.

When I found out he’d inherited flame, I of course had to show off my much more impressive lighting.

All in all, a very interesting evening which I chose to finish in my heated pool. Matias and Kayleigh joined me.

As we lounged in the hot waters, rediscussing the details we’d learned of the other dragon, Kayleigh suddenly said, “What an interesting ceiling. It must have been crazy difficult to carve.”

At her comment, I floated on my back and glanced upward at the design carved into the rock.

A fleet of dragons in flight. A fanciful imagining since we were solitary creatures and the only place in the entire citadel where we were depicted.

The thirteen dragons soared the perimeter of a large circle that held a dark-colored stone in the center.

“I’m not sure why they bothered. It serves no purpose, unlike the other writings that supposedly detail the feats of my predecessors.”

“I think it’s cool looking,” Kayleigh stated.

“When are you moving in?” I changed the subject.

“You know I need to work,” Matias reminded. “Although, I wouldn’t be averse to reducing my hours.” He glanced at Kayleigh and they shared a sickeningly sweet smile. “I take it you still haven’t found the hoard.”

“No,” I grumbled.

“You know, if this were an Indian Jones movie, then that weird stone up there would be like some kind of a key or mechanism that opens a secret passage. Maybe a secret word like alakazam!” Kayleigh splashed the water and giggled.

She jested but I didn’t join in her mirth because an idea suddenly ignited, along with an urge to slap myself for being stupid if it turned out a mere human had figured out the one thing I couldn’t.

I paddled to the edge of the pool and climbed out, giving my body a good shake that sprayed droplets.

“Going to bed?” Matias inquired as he slid close to Kayleigh and dragged her against him.

“No, so keep your clothes on,” I muttered before launching myself into the air. I rose to the carving of the circle with the dragons soaring on its edges. Once I hovered in reach, I spat a bolt of lightning at the inset stone.

As soon as the electricity struck the dark stone, it absorbed the power and began to glow a bright blue, a color that spread until the entire circle shone and began to spin.

With a grinding noise that sent dust filtering down, the rock spun and shifted upward and aside, leaving a gaping hole. Excitement filled me as I entered.

“Polly, where are you going?” Kayleigh cried out from below.

To a place only a dragon could reach.

When I emerged several minutes later, I did so with my claws full. As I coasted down, I let what I gripped drop. The round bits of metal plinked as they hit the water.

Matias grabbed ahold of one before it sank and held it up before whistling. “Looks like you found some gold coins. Spanish doubloons, if I’m not mistaken.”

I’d found more than that. A veritable vault full of treasure. The wealth I needed. A hoard that would set me on my path to greatness.

And world domination.