Chapter 2 #2
Rhaz froze, then slowly turned. A woman stood behind him. She wore enough paint on her face to decorate a wagon. Dressed entirely in black, with dark kohl around her eyes, she was unlike anyone he’d ever seen.
His eyes widened. Her hair was purple. He blinked. “Light?” he repeated. There was no help for his thick accent. “What is this light?”
She held up a small white object. “To light my cigarette?”
Rhaz nodded his head. Now he understood. “No, I do not.”
“Bummer.” Her shoulders slumped as she trudged toward the park.
Rhaz released the breath he’d been holding while his mind cataloged everything. Human female. Young. Well fed. Smoking. Cigarette.
He wasn’t entirely certain what that was beyond some sort of stimulant. A few people smoked such things in his realm, though not many.
Deciding to follow her to the park and see what was there, he headed in the same direction. He was thirsty.
The creek was nearby, but he wasn’t about to drink from an unfamiliar water source. He’d heard enough stories about travelers who drank from strange streams and became violently ill.
Rhaz entered the park and spotted the purple-haired woman sitting at a rectangular wooden table with another young woman whose hair was bright orange.
He kept walking. A man passed with a small animal attached to a leash.
Was that a dog? He knew realms with large human populations kept them, but he’d only seen drawings in books.
The man stopped beside a short stone pillar with a metal fixture protruding from it. He turned a handle and water shot upward.
Rhaz licked his dry lips.
The man bent down and drank. A fountain. A very small one. How clever. There were public fountains throughout the palace grounds, their water sparkling clean and cool. They of course were much larger.
Well, if it was good enough for the human...
Pulling his hat lower over his face, Rhaz headed toward the fountain. By the time he reached it, the man and his dog had left.
Rhaz studied the handle, then turned it. Water shot far beyond the fountain and splashed onto the ground. He smiled and adjusted the flow until he could drink.
Once he’d had his fill, he surveyed his surroundings. At least he’d found a water source.
The water appeared clean enough, though it lacked the sweet clarity of the water back home. Nothing tasted quite like the water of the palace.
He continued through the park, taking everything in.
The smell of food assailed him and his mouth watered.
He was hungry, but didn’t trust his senses enough to hunt.
His sense of smell and hearing were off, though his eyesight seemed fine.
If he begged food from the humans, they might frown on that.
His stomach growled again.
Rhaz ignored it as he crossed the park toward the place with tents and various conveyances. The smell of food drifted from that direction.
He stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket and headed for the street. When he reached it, he studied the odd surface. It was black, almost like cold tar. In fact, he caught the scent of tar and bent to touch it.
“Hmmm.” He glanced toward the walkway across the street. It appeared to be made of smooth stone.
Rhaz crossed the street and followed it. He had no idea where he was going. He simply wanted to see where it led.
So far, every human conversation he’d overheard had been in the same language. Good. If he had to communicate with someone again, he would manage.
The walkway continued along the street, rounded a bend, and entered an area with more houses.
These looked different from the others. Less ornate. More uniform. The previous homes had each possessed their own character. These looked as though they had been designed by the same architect.
A large sign stood near a set of iron gates. Moon Creek Estates. Rhaz studied the homes beyond them, then noticed there were two gates.
A wheeled conveyance rounded a corner and stopped before one. Rhaz watched as the gate slid open with an odd mechanical sound. Once it had opened fully, the conveyance passed through.
Curious, Rhaz approached. He wanted to see how it worked.
He stepped through and examined the chain and mechanism that made the gate move. It slid smoothly along its track, opening and closing with remarkable precision. Rhaz found himself fascinated by the engineering.
The gate clanked shut.
Rhaz’s head snapped up. “Blazing trolls, pay attention, Rhaz.” He looked around. He could jump the gate easily enough without shifting. The problem was all the houses. Would someone see him?
Rhaz stalked along the fence line, glaring at the seven-foot barrier separating him from freedom.
A dragon. Trapped by a fence. If anyone back home ever learned of this, he would never hear the end of it. The fence itself wasn’t the problem. He could clear it without effort. The problem was the humans. They were everywhere.
Children popped out into yards. Adults sat on porches. Dogs barked at anything that moved. Every time Rhaz thought he’d found a secluded spot, another human appeared.
There were also enough windows to make him think twice about leaping over the fence. With his luck, someone would see and he’d have to explain why a stranger had vaulted a fence taller than most men.
Perhaps there was a more secluded area where he could slip out of the pocket of homes he’d wandered into. He started up the street.
A child stood in the yard of one house holding a ball. The boy couldn’t have been more than five. The child tossed the ball at him.
Rhaz caught it and tossed it back. The boy laughed. Rhaz smiled and continued on.
He reached a bend in the street and stopped. Was that...? He sniffed the air, once, twice. Smoke.
Rhaz turned slowly, scanning the neighborhood. He saw no flames or smoke. He knew this wasn’t a campfire. Not like the ones he’d seen scattered throughout the area with the tents near the park. No, this fire was feeding on things. Cloth. Paper. Wood.
The hairs on the back of his neck rose. Dragons understood fire better than any creature alive. From the moment they were born, they learned to read it, respect it, command it.
And this fire was wrong.
Without thinking, Rhaz broke into a run and followed the scent of smoke and flame.