Chapter 19
Once more I was abandoned by my servant.
She didn’t seem to take the peril hunting me seriously.
In her defense, we had spent a week without intrusion.
My enemies must have discovered our wily measures meant to expose their subterfuge.
Must have realized they couldn’t get past my protector.
It didn’t come as any real surprise that the one night he did not stand guard they sent me and my servant into a deep sleep.
Despite Pip trying to hide it, I noticed the toppled cans by the door, the clatter of which should have woken us. The triggered warning system wasn’t the only evidence of intrusion. I’d also been tampered with, poked in my sleep.
Even without that subtle pinprick between my toes, I would have known. The enemy’s scent lingered, a smell that I hadn’t realized didn’t belong until we went days without it. The proof of peril mounted, but did my servant listen and remain with me where she belonged?
No. She left to go to work, a reminder that I really needed to start building my hoard. With wealth to support us, Pip would lack an excuse to leave me every day. With wealth, I could build myself a fortress. With riches, I could buy more of those delicious, crunchy snacks she called Cheetos.
After Pip’s departure, I kept myself ready.
The skylight was closed, but unlatched, the remote to open it within reach.
I also pulled out the new bugout bag Maddox outfitted me with, one adjusted so I could strap it to my front and not impede my wings.
It held a few snacks and a phone. When he gave it to me, my protector had said, “Any trouble, you call me right away, and I will come.”
But how long would that take? He should be with me at all times! Again, something that could only be achieved by collecting treasures to support my retinue.
The television played in the background as I stalked the length of the loft.
A woman on the screen kept warning of a snowstorm, using ridiculous words like snowbomb, snowtrastrophe, snowmaggedon, and more.
How fascinating the way the purveyors of news liked to sensationalize everything.
Pip claimed they did it for something called views and clicks, a concept I still struggled to understand.
Why wouldn’t people prefer the unvarnished truth?
When I became Dragon Overlord—the title currently ranking as my favorite—I would emit a decree that only the facts would be allowed in news broadcasts. I would also ban social media because from what I’d browsed, it seemed to be a never-ending argument between humans about who was more righteous.
Late morning and two bags of chips and a jar of pickles later, the dark sky finally began producing the promised inclement weather. White specks began to fall.
Snow.
While I’d never personally experienced it, my memories advised me the flakes were crystalized water and cold. Yuck.
As a dragon of fire, I preferred warmth.
Not that lower temperatures would harm me, but it would be unpleasant, and if exposed long enough to frigid temperatures, my body might put me in a state of hibernation.
Not that I planned to leave the warm apartment.
I waited for Pip and the promised pizza. It better have lots of cheese.
The snow fell heavily, and darkness arrived early as the clouds and the swirling flakes stole the natural daylight. An ominous-looking day that matched my mood.
I couldn’t shake the impending sense of wrongness. Of danger. While usually my enemy came at night, despite it being very early in the afternoon, a foreboding sense insisted they were near.
Ding. A message arrived on my tablet from Pip.
On my way but sorry, no pizza. All the places around lost power.
What? No yummy, cheesy, saucy goodness? Disappointing. I consoled myself by microwaving some burritos. Delicious things. And the machine that could heat them in minutes? My favorite invention of this time period thus far.
When the lights flickered, and then went out, I grabbed the bugout bag by my side and settled it in place.
With the electricity gone, the warmth dissipated quicker than I liked.
The things Pip called baseboard heaters ceased their function.
I sat by the window, wrapped in a warm blanket, and stared outward, my tension tightening.
Where was Pip? It had been more than thirty minutes since she sent the message announcing her return.
The weather must be delaying her transport.
I kept watch. The reward for my vigilance was that I spotted two beams of light piercing the falling snow, heading for the barn.
Pip, or someone else? The motorcycle had only one headlight and she’d explained to me that morning before leaving to catch a ride with her employer that she couldn’t ride it in the snow.
The truck that stopped close to the barn doors disgorged people in silvery suits. At last, my enemy made their move while I remained awake.
As they trudged through the snow to the door, I launched myself upward and clung to one of the beams crisscrossing the peaked ceiling. I perched and could almost hear Pip laughing the first time I’d done so. “You look like a gargoyle,” she’d said.
A rude comparison, as it turned out. Not knowing the word gargoyle, I’d sought out images and been less than impressed by the hideous beasts lacking any kind of majesty.
The only admirable thing about them? Their stealthy ability to blend in with their surroundings.
Kind of like I did now. With the lights out, I vanished in the shadows and remained statue still.
I heard the muffled thump of boots coming up the stairs. Heard the scratch and click of a key being used.
A key! How did they have one? Had Pip had been taken captive and robbed?
I counted the number of silver suits who entered. Four. A respectable number to send for one of my greatness. They held flashlights which they shone around the room as they spoke amongst each other.
“I don’t see it,” a male voice said, sounding echoey as he spoke behind a helmet.
It? How insulting.
“Probably hiding,” replied one with a deeper timber.
More like lying in wait.
“Pity we couldn’t trigger the sleeping gas before the power went out. It would have been easy pickings. Are we sure these tranquilizers will still penetrate its skin?” queried a female with a reedy lilt that I recognized. She’d been one of those who invaded the trailer.
“Boss says they will. Just like these suits should protect us from fire,” said the Echoey Man.
“Should?” The female didn’t sound enthused.
“Don’t be a pussy, Kaitlyn,” Deep Timber rebuked.
“Fuck you, Ed,” Kaitlyn snapped right back. “I’m only here because Malone is getting its room ready in case you fuck up again.”
“Well, excuse us. It’s not every day you come face to face with an actual dragon,” drawled Echoey Man.
“Hence the briefing beforehand to warn you,” Kaitlyn pointed out.
“It’s one thing to be told, another thing to see,” Echoey Man argued. “Considering you’ve had access to it for over a week, I don’t see why we’re in a rush to grab it now.”
“Because the cold will kill it,” Kaitlyn snapped. “That’s why we can’t wait for the power to come back. Trust me, if we had another choice, we wouldn’t be here. The boss had hoped to have more time to finish its prison.”
Prison? I almost fell off my perch.
“For fuck’s sake, can we argue about this later? Let’s find the lizard, tranq it, cage it, and get out of here. I’ve got a bottle of whiskey with my name on it and a new season of The Boys to stream,” stated the third male who’d been quiet until this point.
Lizard indeed. Just for that I wanted to swoop down and show them what happened to those who insulted dragons.
“Spread out,” Kaitlyn barked. “Ed, you check the bedroom. Nelson, bathroom. Travis, start with the kitchen. When you spot the creature, holler. If it spits fire, remember, the suits are flameproof. I don’t want a repeat of the panic we saw the last time.”
Oh, they should panic. My first fire-breathing attempt had been puny and weak, however, the inferno within had been simmering since. Even without practice, these miscreants were in for a surprise, assuming they found me. None had yet looked up. Would they leave if they couldn’t find me?
While the tin suits spread out, the one named Kaitlyn remained by the door, guarding it.
She held her gun in front of her in a slightly shaky hand.
Someone had lost their cockiness of before.
I must have frightened her at our last encounter.
Not enough, though, seeing as she came after me again.
Some people never learned—usually because they died.
I almost got bored waiting as they searched and searched again. Opening cupboards, the fridge, even tearing out the couch cushions as if I could conceal myself under them.
Echoey Man stated it first. “It’s not here.”
“It’s here, Travis. You just haven’t found it,” Kaitlyn insisted. “According to our surveillance, it was sitting in the window when the power went out.”
They’d been spying! I shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Maybe it left,” Ed, a.k.a. Deep Timber, opined.
“To go where?” Kaitlyn asked. “It’s too cold outside for it to survive.”
“Does it know that?” asked the third guy, who had to be Nelson.
“Yes, it knows.”
“Well, it’s not here,” Travis reiterated. “I’m going downstairs to see if Benny and Dylan saw anything.”
“Should we go with him?” Nelson asked.
“No. It’s here. I’d stake my job on it.” As Kaitlin spoke, she shone her light upward, tracing it along the beams.
Since I’d be discovered anyway, I made my move and dove, my maneuver revealing me and causing Kaitlyn to scream, “It’s overhead. Shoot it!”
“Where?” Ed hollered.
A good question since Kaitlyn’s bouncing flashlight beam failed to track my wily flight.