Chapter 17
“Do you think this will actually work?” Noah waited with Pan and the male dragon for the truck carrying hospital supplies to arrive.
Like the food truck, it was being accompanied by the military, and they would make sure it reached its destination.
The cracks and buckles in the roads meant that the trucks couldn’t get into town.
The first food truck had been unloaded by hand and carted to the supermarket.
Liam said the shelf situation was grim, and his dad was worried about the supply of food, or more correctly the lack of supply.
People were already trying all kinds of sob stories to get more than what they were allowed.
Not only that, but because of the lack of items and the restrictions, turnover had gone down, so they couldn’t put on all the staff they normally had.
Instead of unloading the medical supplies by hand under military guard, Pan had suggested using the dragon.
It would be quicker, and there was less chance of theft.
With another food truck due this afternoon, it was worth a shot, assuming the soldiers didn’t get their knickers in a twist about dragon air support.
Dragons were the only reason the military wasn’t flying supplies into areas where the roads were too damaged.
Pan nodded. “Yes…it has to.”
“Just because it has to, doesn’t mean it will.” The trucks rolled down the road toward the crack that was big enough to swallow the front tires and then some.
“We prayed for it to work,” Pan gave him a smile that warmed Noah’s blood better than the sun.
He glanced away. Sex and magic were so entwined, it was hard to separate them. He was playing with things he didn’t understand, but he couldn’t stop either. Being with Pan was addictive.
“I want it to work as I’m going to record it.”
The military vehicle stopped on the other side of the crevice. A woman got out. She looked at the dragon and then at them. “What’s this?”
“We’re trying out a new delivery service.
” Noah pointed at the dragon. Yesterday, they had explained the job and the end point to the dragon.
The hospital had already agreed, and they’d checked to make sure their helicopter pad was suitable for dragon landings.
It was, and someone had put an inflatable pig up there to mark it for the dragon.
The dragon had successfully completed a trip and been given a bag of dog food.
Which he’d taken to share with his mate.
Noah had checked out the back this morning and found that the empty bag had been placed in the bin.
He was sure the dragons checked what was in the rubbish bin daily and understood that whatever was in there was no longer wanted.
This morning, the dragon had announced he was ready for more crunchy meat rocks. He thumped his tail on the road like an excited dog as the soldier walked over.
She glanced at the dragon again. “Those things are the reason we’ve got so many bloody problems.”
“They have a basic language and can be taught, much the same as we train dogs,” Noah said. “Most of them don’t understand helicopters or aircraft. This one does, because Silas can speak dragon.” He pointed at Pan.
“You’re one of those mythological people?”
“I am.” He inclined his head but didn’t remove the hat to reveal his horns. “We did a trial run yesterday. And the hospital is ready for the delivery.”
They weren’t just ready. They were begging for supplies.
“We can’t afford for this to get damaged. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“We have people waiting for surgery. They are desperate for this stuff, and it’s going to take the dragon five minutes to fly there.” Noah said. “It took hours for the food truck to be unloaded and to get everything delivered to the supermarket. We can save you time, and us time.”
“I need to make a call.” She walked away.
The truck carrying the supplies rolled up, and more soldiers got out. Noah scanned their faces, looking for Rhett, but the last he’d heard, his cousin was still stopping looting in London.
The soldiers started unloading the supply truck, and the dragon clicked and cooed. Pan responded, and the conversation darted between the two of them too fast for Noah to catch anything.
He needed to learn Dragon and Tarikian. But he was too stressed to listen with his heart and feel for intent and all those other supposedly helpful hints Pan gave him.
It only worked when he was sitting quietly with Pan holding his hand.
Maybe it was the contact with the god that let him feel the words instead of listening.
Because after a week, he was starting to catch a few words of Tarikian when they were spoken around him.
Dragon was another matter. It didn’t matter how many times Pan said that dragons had a limited vocabulary; it didn’t help.
Part of the problem was because of a limited vocabulary they joined together words to make new words, god became sun eyes, human became thin skin, and dog biscuits became crunchy meat rocks.
Not only that, but the meaning changed depending on head tilt and wing position and other non-verbal cues.
The woman walked back over. “Okay, seems like you managed to convince people at the hospital that this was a good idea.”
Noah smiled. “Imagine if we could get all the dragons in the country assisting with food and medical deliveries.”
The woman snorted. “I would prefer it if you taught them not to attack helicopters and planes.”
Pan nodded. “That shouldn’t be too hard. The problem is finding people who speak Dragon and then communicating the same thing to the dragons. But I don’t know the location of all the dragons in the country.”
The woman stared at Pan. “You’re saying you could teach all the dragons not to attack our aircraft?”
“I’m saying I can explain to them what they are and that they are no threat. However, the moment one of your aircraft attacks or injures a dragon…” Pan lifted his eyebrows.
They had both seen the footage of a dragon defending its area, and young, from a helicopter, which it saw as a threat, only to be opened fire upon. It had been horrific.
It wasn’t the only occurrence, and people were trying to justify shooting dragons by claiming they were attacking valuable military equipment and supplies.
While he’d been thinking about posting his own adventures for a few days, he hadn’t posted anything yet.
If this worked, this would be the first video.
He needed to post something positive and pray other people took note.
He couldn’t be the only human working with a mytho.
There must be other towns and other gods.
Pan said many cities had lesser dragons—who were dragon shifter knights—who dispensed justice, and dragon shifters also spoke Dragon.
The idea was that if they could get some lesser dragons to come to them, they could spread the word. But that assumed lesser dragons would see the video.
The woman turned away and gave orders.
Noah glanced over his shoulder to check on his bicycle, which was actually Rhett’s.
Like many other people he’d discovered that getting around town on a bike was easier than a car.
He’d put a basket on the back for the drak to ride in—much to their delight.
Following the meeting with the Strega, there was always one drak with him, like a furry little bodyguard dressed in hand-me-down toddler clothes.
Pan was still learning to ride on Isla’s old bike, which was smaller.
The drak peeked through the gaps in the basket, they’d warned her to stay hidden, because the humans were going to be scared and jumpy because of the dragon.
“Which one of you is Noah Smith?” The woman walked back over with a tablet.
“I am.” Was he in trouble?
“Can you confirm your mobile number?”
“Sure.” He recited it for her. “Why?”
“We need a record that you were here to take delivery.”
Noah nodded. “There’s going to be a record. I am videoing the delivery.”
“How much can it carry?” The woman pointed at the dragon.
Noah let Pan take that question. “The male dragon can easily carry the equivalent of a dead cow in each foot over a short distance.”
“So four cows…how much does a fucking cow weigh?”
“Between five hundred kilos and a tonne.” Noah knew the answer to that one, but only because the farmer had told him far too much about his cows while bringing the female dragon to her mate.
All the equipment was packed on small pallets and in crates, and from the looks of it, the dragon would need to make several trips.
The woman pressed her lips together and scanned the tablet. “Better to underload him than fully load him?”
“Yes,” Pan said.
“And he is prepared to make four trips?”
Pan spoke to the dragon, who lifted each foot in turn as if counting. “He is.”
The woman looked skeptical. “Can he count to four?”
“He has four feet and a tail. After that, numbers get a little fuzzy.” Pan had told him that four was reasonably solid but five was dubious. Dragons laid two to three eggs, and they knew their babies by sight and scent. They didn’t count them.
Noah hoped the dragon understood that one trip meant to the hospital and back, but he wasn’t about to voice his concerns in front of an already doubtful soldier, and all the other ones who were armed and watching the dragon as if expecting it to launch an attack.
The woman gritted her teeth and sighed. “Might as well get the first load in the air.”
“Which one is that?” Pan asked.
There was some more discussion, followed by orders. All the soldiers crouched, except one who remained standing. He lifted the strapping. “He needs to grab this and set it down very carefully.”
Pan nodded and held his hands out as if cradling something large as he spoke to the dragon. Noah started recording.
The dragon jumped into the air, circled the military trucks, then dropped, back feet down and claws extended.
The man holding the strapping paled like he was about to faint, then the pallet was in the air and heading toward the hospital.
Noah kept the camera on the dragon until he was out of sight. Then, he ended the video.
The soldiers cheered on the man who’d held the strapping. Noah wondered why he’d been chosen. Was he the youngest? Had he lost a bet? Or had he volunteered?
“If you’re okay here, I’ll head over to the hospital?” He glanced at Pan.
“I think we’re good.” Pan nodded at the woman on the other side of the crevice.
Noah looked at her, then the armed soldiers. He didn’t want to leave Pan, but he couldn’t be in two places at once. “You’re okay working with Silas?”
“Wait a moment.” The woman said. She had the kind of voice that gave orders and expected them to be obeyed. Even when dealing with dragons, she acted as though it was just another day of random shit she had to deal with. “I’m calling the hospital.”
Noah was glad she was running this instead of someone who preferred to shoot dragons and ignore the consequences.
They all stood there with the open maw in the road dividing them. A bridge was too expensive. Filling it with rubble was too temporary, according to the council. And even if they filled this one, there were ripples and cracks all through town that meant the average car was not going anywhere.
“Are we going now?” Her little head poked above the edge of the basket.
“What is that?” A soldier asked, pointing his gun at the bike.
“That is another mytho,” Noah said with a forced smile. “They are called drak. They are very friendly cat-like beings.”
“What is it doing here?” The woman asked.
“Sitting in the basket, waiting for me to go to the hospital. It’s a long way to walk on little legs.”
Pan muttered something Tarikian, and Noah wasn’t sure if he was insulting the woman or him. Possibly both.
The woman stared at them both. “So this town is befriending the mythos? Have you not heard about the riots in London?”
“Yeah.” Noah rubbed the back of his neck, not wanting to get caught up in an argument. “I heard it was humans looting stores and attacking werewolves and anything else that didn’t look human.”
“We are stuck here, whether you like it or not. Like you, we are trying to rebuild our lives.” Pan said grimly.
It was probably a good thing he didn’t have magic; from the tone of his voice, the woman would’ve found her fly was always undone and there was mouse poop in her coffee.
Or some other random annoyance that Pan dreamed up.
He seemed to have a ready supply of them.
And Noah suspected he’d used them all at least once.
The dragon chose that moment to return, sweeping overhead.
“You’d better lift the straps on the second pallet,” Pan called. “Because if he has to land and launch every time, he’s going to get cranky.”
The soldier who held the straps the first time did so again, while everyone else crouched. Did they really think the dragon was going to snatch them up for a pre-fight snack?
“I’m going,” Noah said. “Let the people in charge know that we have dragon assistance and that we are willing to help other towns with a dragon.”
He turned and walked away before the woman could stop him—he wasn’t a soldier and he didn’t need to obey her orders.
He rode through the town on the bike, hoping to record the dragon landing on the helicopter pad.
When he reached the hospital, there were people in the car park staring and pointing.
He stayed at the back, listening to what the crowd was saying and waiting for the dragon to return a third time, as he’d missed the second delivery.
“Bloody brilliant idea.”
“Are we sure it won’t eat people?”
“They don’t eat people. They eat cows.”
“I heard the hospital has dog food up there.”
“I don’t care what they’ve got up there if this means supplies get delivered faster, we should be making use of the dragons.”
“We wouldn’t need dragons if there hadn’t been any destruction.”
“Well, that wasn’t their fault, was it? That was our scientists playing around.”
Noah was glad that the people watching didn’t hate the idea too much.
He didn’t know what the soldier in charge would say to her superiors.
If anything. They needed to start showing ways they could work together, and this was an easy one.
Or at least it seemed easy, and the humans seemed to like it.
He’d thought winning them over was going to be harder than teaching the dragons not to attack helicopters and airplanes.
Maybe he’d been wrong.