Chapter 10 #2
Abaddon jumped atop the package and held on as Maddox pulled the rope on the other end of their makeshift pulley. Up went the dragon with his stash. Once my Little Fella reached the ledge, he jumped off and heaved the bulging tarp after him.
“Back in a few,” he shouted down.
“While he does that, drop a pin on a map so you can find this place easily,” Maddox advised.
A good idea if I ever wanted to reach this location again. The moment I had it done, Maddox dragged me to spoon against him, his chin resting on my head. “That dragon of yours is really remarkable,”
“And he knows it,” I grumbled good naturedly. “Do you think this is far enough if anyone comes looking?”
“Not if they’re determined. As part of the emergency prep, we should talk to Abaddon about not entering the forest in the east if he has to leave the trailer, but going west first and then circling back to throw them off track.”
“That’s a good idea, as was the whole finding him a cave to hide.”
“You do know this is only a temporary measure. If he is being hunted, then—”
“I’ll have to take him far from here.” A morose admission and the reason for my dejection stood leaning against me.
“Here’s hoping we’re overreacting and it doesn’t come to that.”
A thought hit me. “Your idea about him circling back is good, but what if they bring dogs to sniff out his trail? I mean, they might not, but I know sometimes law enforcement uses them for manhunts and missing people.”
“Good point. Having seen him climb, I’d say doing the same with trees would be a cinch. If he were to enter the woods and take to the higher branches, with his light weight he could travel overhead and avoid leaving his scent anywhere on the ground.”
“We’ll have to tell him when he returns.”
“Speaking of return, feeling brave enough to do dinner again at my place?”
A dinner that would lead to his bed. I was in, but for one thing. “Yes, but I can’t stay the night. I don’t want to leave Abaddon for that long.”
“Bring him.”
“After what happened last time?”
“This time, we’ll make sure they’re separated. The guest room has a television, its own half bath, and we can pile enough snacks he won’t have to go anywhere.”
“You’ve thought about this.”
He turned me in his arms. “Nothing but. So what do you say?”
“I say, can we skip dinner and go straight for dessert?” A whisper against lips.
We were still kissing when a disgusted dragon said, “Enough eating of each other’s faces. I’m getting hungry.”
Maddox had kept something for just such a situation. Once he’d lowered Abaddon and coiled the rope to hide in a tree hollow, he handed the dragon a bag of gummy bears. He then crouched and began grabbing fallen leaves to stuff in his bag.
At my arched brow, he explained. “So it looks just as big on our return.”
Well damn. My paranoia was contagious.
The conversation flowed as we returned to my place with Abaddon excited to be out and about—like the child he was. Hard to remember sometimes that while he might have hatched with some knowledge, in truth, everything he encountered, every experience, was new and exciting.
Just before the edge of the woods, without having to be told, he turned to me and sighed. “Back into the bag.”
“Only for a little bit, until we get you inside,” I murmured.
“I look forward to the day I can go about freely,” Abaddon grumbled.
I didn’t mention the fact that day would most likely never come. The world would never allow a dragon to roam free, not unless something changed drastically.
Once at the trailer, Abaddon declared himself too tired to go out but insisted I still have dinner with Maddox.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I might be back late.”
“I have food and I’m tired. My next molting is almost upon me.”
“Do you need me to do anything for you?”
“Stop fussing over me, woman,” Abaddon grumbled.
I went for dinner, and it went well. The sex, even better. The only part I hated? Leaving to go home, but despite Abaddon insisting he’d be fine, I didn’t want him to feel abandoned.
Hence why the next night Maddox came over with a surprise. Not for me. My dragon.
He handed Maddox a small kid’s knapsack.
“For me?” Abaddon eyed it with curiosity.
“It’s a bugout bag in case you need to run. Look inside.”
My dragon pulled out the items. A pay-as-you-go phone which Maddox explained had mine and his number preprogrammed.
A paper map in case the cave was compromised with some locations marked with Xs to give Abaddon other places to flee, a few snacks of course, and a flashlight because, “Nothing worse than being stuck in the dark.”
“Thank you.” My little dragon hugged Maddox and my heart melted.
Even tatted girls could find things like that super cute. Don’t think that meant I wanted kids, though. I’d long ago sworn off the whole motherhood thing. I wondered if that would be a deal breaker for Maddox.
Maddox slept over that night, my bed a tight squeeze, but we managed, me draped atop Maddox and Abaddon splayed partially over us both.
We spent that week flipping back and forth between places, although I always returned home to the trailer at night. While some of my anxiety had eased, I remained alert.
I never saw anything in the news about the lava rocks or the missing lizard. Never spotted anyone suspicious around my place.
Still, every day when I left for work, I gave Abaddon the same warning. “Don’t go outside, and if you hear someone, hide.”
Ten days after the RCMP visit, I went in to work as usual. Put in a grocery delivery order via the app and tried to not cringe at the total. Headed home, wanting a shower before Maddox arrived.
Ten minutes out from my place the sight of smoke caught my attention. It rose in a dark plume that stank the closer I got to my property.
Even before I turned into my driveway, anguish filled me. I stared in shocked disbelief at my trailer, now a smoldering ruin.
My home and dragon were gone.