Chapter 30 #2
“If the jockey, owner, or trainer are responsible, they’re disqualified from the race.
If the race is completely disrupted and placements can’t fairly be made, the race is rerun at a future date,” Alex replied.
“It’s been decades since the club has authorized a rerun.
You were the one disrupted, and you still took the race by a large margin, so the race is yours.
I’m with Maxwell; I don’t think I would have stayed on, either. ”
“I might have given up trying to control him and grabbed his mane,” I confessed. “I did the bare minimum to keep him away from everyone else.”
“A very good call—safest for you, safest for us,” Maxwell replied, and he gestured to where a herd of the race officiators and other staff came our way along with the track’s medic.
“If it isn’t an imposition, can you remove the blood from her silks?
They’re going to want pictures, and I’m certain they have enough pictures of her being covered in blood. ”
Michael snapped his fingers. “Done. Do insist they give her a block or a knee up for the photos; her shoulder will not hold up to any real use until after she is finished at the hospital. I will leave her in your care while we make certain there are no complications confirming her victory.”
Without another word, the archangels disappeared, leaving us to scramble to grab Elegance in Moonlight’s reins.
I took over leading the colt, praising him for a job well done.
As I had more pride than I knew what to do with, I made the decision to meet the track staff and club officiators halfway to the winner’s circle, where I’d have to deal with roses, both for myself and my colt.
When we almost made it, I asked, “Are you still going to bucket me?”
“Yep.”
I laughed. “Take pictures when the ambulance gets here and they realize they have to transport someone covered in water and whipped cream. You may as well add some sprinkles and call me Sundae.”
“You’re going to end up nicknamed Sundae,” Alex warned.
“As long as it is done with admiration and possibly horror over the lengths I will go to win a race, I’m game. Please just stop me from falling off Elegance. Really, I just wanted to shame that bastard so much he never races a horse he owns again.”
“If that’s your goal, you probably managed,” Alex admitted. “That’s the second time you’ve skunked him.”
Making sure to keep from using my right arm, I patted my colt’s neck and praised him.
“After fracturing this poor boy’s leg, he deserved to be skunked.
May he learn to take better care of his animals and view them as more than just prize purses in the making.
I honestly didn’t think he’d rehab in time to get here, but I’m good at coercing angels into handling the medical care for my animals. ”
Maxwell’s gaze slid over my horse from nose to tail. “You’ve done a great job with him. He wasn’t precisely a strong prospect, and I’ll admit, I questioned why he was put into the Iroquois Stakes at all. But then again, your filly is the same way, and she’s been tearing up the track.”
“If I were a better jockey, she’d have more wins, too,” I complained.
Both Alex and Maxwell had a chuckle over my commentary.
“You’re doing just fine. You learn from your mistakes, and that’s going to take you to the Triple Crown,” Alex predicted.
“You’re already a strong contender on Alligator Bait, and you might even squeak in with your current points even if you don’t take a qualifier.
Are you going to try Elegance in Moonlight in a qualifying race? ”
I shook my head. “At most, I’ll take him to the Breeder’s Cup series next year as a three year old. I wanted this one race specifically to give him a cushy job as a stud. I’m going to use his stud fees to maintain my pastures.”
“Smart move. How much are you going to charge for a cover? One of my new mares might be a good match for him,” Alex said, joining Maxwell in visually devouring my colt. “I might even hire you to ride my races should I take the dive.”
For Alex, I’d carve out the time. “Groom of my choice is required,” I countered.
“You want that guy you use, I presume?”
I nodded, and because he’d stopped keeping it a secret, I pointed in the direction of the tiny black dragon pitching a fit where Lucifer waited with his family and the rest of my crew.
“If the Destroyer of Georgia can’t keep your horse safe during the races I’m riding, nobody can.
I even have him trained to triple check everything for safety. ”
The entire lot of jockeys stared at the black dragon, and while everyone else spluttered, Alex blurted, “You got the Destroyer of Georgia to work as your groom?”
“You know, when you say it like that, it really is absurd, isn’t it? To be fair, I didn’t know he was a dragon until recently. If you think that’s weird, when he has four legs and wings, he’s technically my boss for my actual job.”
Alex sucked in a breath. “You’re a dragon’s sacrifice?”
I laughed. “The only thing sacrificed in our relationship is his pride when he pisses me off and I punt his tiny ass into my lake. I do secretarial work and manage modern affairs. Unfortunately, he has learned he has a taste for corporate destruction, which is better than cities or my livestock. He’s learned to love horses as pets, so the important work has been done.
He’s also willing to share space with my chicken. ”
Alex snickered, and his gaze shifted to the approaching race staff. “And here comes trouble.”
“Wish me luck, boys. I’m going in.”
* * *
In what had to be a first, I transformed the photoshoot in the winner’s circle into a circus, and with the permission of the other owners, we got pictures of the entire field together.
Then, to add to the mayhem, I roped in all the dragons, sized sufficiently to perch on saddles and shoulders, to join the festivities.
The horses that had already been stripped of their tack wore ribbons with their colors and number.
Rather than make a showing as a dragon, Yuless made his appearance wearing a suit, and he had no problems with informing the reporters he was, in actuality, the Destroyer of Georgia.
One of the last shots of the shoot involved each horse carrying a dragon mount, positioned so Elegance in Moonlight, the only colt without a scaled rider, stood in the center with his wreath of roses, which he attempted to sample whenever anyone took their eyes off him for even a second.
I stood, posing and smiling for the cameras, careful to keep from turning my back to hide the hole in my silks and the wound, which had been closed sufficiently to keep my blood in my body where it belonged.
Then Yuless, with one of his smug smirks, got down on a knee and presented a tiny black box, which he flipped open with practiced ease. “Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Crystal?”
I blinked, stared at him, and then stared at the ring, which featured black glittering stones surrounded by tiny white diamonds in an eternity motif. Unlike a lot of engagement bands, which featured large solitaires, I would be able to wear my ring no matter what I did or where I went.
What a sneaky, evil dragon. Then I laughed as he’d gone and turned our wager on its ear, stealing my chance to be the one to hunt a ring and propose to him. “I thought I was supposed to be the one getting on my knee. I won the race!”
“You snooze, you lose. And it happened I’ve had this ring for a while, where I am certain you have not yet gone shopping.”
Still laughing over the whole thing, I held out my left hand for him, and I smiled. “I see. You were testing the waters. That was sneaky, and I have to respect that. I will, but only if you keep handling your duties as my groom when I race.”
“I’ll admit, I was becoming a little annoyed I was only your groom at your races, and I decided to handle that problem in an efficient fashion.
” Yuless captured my left hand, kissed my knuckles, and then slid the ring on my finger.
“I could not resist the opportunity to take advantage of the presence of so many cameras and people willing to immortalize this moment.”
Of course he couldn’t. He was a dragon, and dragons lived to preen and posture.
“Obviously. In bad news for us, our celebration is going to be a trip to a hospital, as I’m pretty sure I’m about at the limit of my pain tolerance.
And no, I refuse to ride a dragon to the hospital.
I will take the ambulance like a sensible being. ”
In good news for me, the racetrack had medical staff on hand with an ambulance, which the race coordinators paid to be on call should any jockeys or staff require assistance.
Without the archangels keeping me mostly together, I would have missed out on giving Elegance in Moonlight the glory and fame he deserved.
“Yes, we should attend to that.” Yuless rose, and he glowered at the officiators. “I trust there has been sufficient ceremony for today? We can resume this later if need be. If you need some additional ceremony, Lucifer is over there, and I’m sure he’d be delighted to keep you all entertained.”
After a brief consultation, which involved making sure the appropriate pictures had been taken, I received authorization to leave. I handed Elegance in Moonlight off to Lucifer, who promised to make certain he was settled and treated like a king.
Then I dealt with the tedious process of being transported to the hospital, which involved medical bondage on my shoulder and arm to immobilize them and being strapped to the gurney to make certain the injury wouldn’t worsen.
As Lucifer would lose his shit if I went unattended, Gabriel accompanied me as did Yuless, resulting in a crowded ambulance but relaxed paramedics.
The archangel promising they could sit and enjoy the ride helped with that.
“At what point do I get the good drugs?” I asked, as neither of the paramedics had seen fit to put me out of my misery.
The man and woman stared at the archangel in search of guidance.
“Her pain tolerance is quite high, and if she were not of a stern stock, she would be screaming, so appropriate medications for a break of that severity is wise. She has more pride than she knows what to do with, and she understands her partner will lose his temper should she start whimpering and whining.”
Yuless raised his hand. “That’s me. I only look harmless right now.”
“Quiet, dragon,” I ordered. “Unless you’re asking for me to punt your scaly ass across the lake, of course.”
“Would you like to punt me across the lake?”
I nodded. “I really would. You make the best noises when you go soaring, and then there is this tiny splash of pure hatred, and I can’t get enough of the tiny splashes of pure hatred.”
“I will make certain to give you all the satisfaction your heart desires, even if it means I have to deal with faceplanting into a lake. I’ll survive.”
“You better.”