Tobin glanced at Cadoc. The man was always cool and collected. “It seems that even with what was used developing a better recipe, we have more than we actually need. We ordered excess as a precaution, but because the plan was adjusted, we have a great deal extra.”
“Excellent. No more issues with loss due to evaporation?”
“The maintained temperature warehouse made all the difference.”
“Perfect. With the success of today’s operation, we are ready to begin the last phase, so this is all good news. And, as we have more than we need, perhaps more can be used in the grand finale, to make it more, ah, exciting.”
Tobin grunted. Grand finale?
The door burst open and Lord Koen stormed in. “Cadoc!”
“Sir?”
“Ambrus was detained by the police, as were two of the wagon team.”
“What?”
Tobin raised a brow. So, the man could lose his composure.
Cadoc appeared to gain control of himself. “I don’t understand. Why was anyone detained, and how did you learn of this?”
Lord Koen glanced at Tobin, then turned back to Cadoc. “It matters not, but I understand dragons were there.” He slammed his fist on the desk. “Those damned beasts again!”
“The wagon team knew nothing, and I’m sure Ambrus hasn’t said anything.”
“Yet!” Lord Koen poured a drink and swallowed it down in one gulp. “He knows too much.”
Tobin had never seen Lord Koen this out of sorts.
“He’s no idiot,” Cadoc said. “He won’t give anything away.”
“It’s the last phase. I will not risk Gella learning anything. Unfortunately, I doubt—” Lord Koen blinked and turned to him. “Thank you Tobin, that will be all for today. I’ll hear your report tomorrow.”
Tobin kept his expression clear. It’s not as if this hadn’t happened before. He wasn’t privy to all aspects of their plan. “Of course, sir.”
He turned and left the office. As he was shutting the door, Lord Koen’s voice came from within. “I doubt there will be a convenient nahual this time, so I need—”
Hand still on the closed door, Tobin stood in the hallway, stunned.
Chapter 15
Therday, Diamy 10, 1875.
Early Morning.
Fillion looked over his reflection once again. The uniform seemed to be fine. All the straps were strapped, the buttons buttoned, and the buckles buckled. Nothing seemed to be out of place. He didn’t want to leave anything for Lord Eldin to take issue with and had been intent on making sure nothing was missed.
“You look good in the dress uniform. Blue is definitely your color.”
Fillion, cheeks heating up, turned to Gregor, then frowned. “Why are you wearing dress blues? I didn’t even notice you getting—”
“I’m going with you.”
“What? Don’t you have lessons? Or chores? How are you getting out of them?”
Gregor cleared his throat. “I, ah, may have told the Guildmaster that I was needed to help you and Master Gella.”
“Gregor!”
“I haven’t had a chance to do anything like this with you, lately, and I also don’t want over half a decade to pass again before I see my family. When they came to visit, it made me a lot happier than I thought it would.” Gregor stepped behind and wrapped his good arm around him.
Leaning down to rest his chin on Fillion’s shoulder, he said, “Of course, part of that happiness came from mom and Elise liking you so much.”
“Are you trying to change the subject?” Fillion couldn’t stay mad for long, though. “I like them, too. And your sister is adorable.”
“When she isn’t trying to break my arms.”
Fillion chuckled. He took a breath and let it out. “Fine. You and Kisa can come. But we’re going on official business for the High Lady, you hear? We take care of that first, then we spend time visiting.”
Gregor released him. “Of course. And besides, if I’m there, it might keep my father from being a complete ass.”
“Hmm. There is that.”
The reason High Lady Hasana summoned Master Gella and Fillion last night was to inform them of a plan she hoped would help with the financial woes of the east coast.
“I call it the Fair Deal,” the High Lady had said.
“Fair Deal, my lady?” Fillion looked from her to Master Gella, but the master investigator didn’t seem to have heard the name before, either.
“Fair pay for fair work,” High Lady Hasana said. “I think a work assistance program is the best way to help get the people of Stronghold, of the east coast, back on their feet.”
“Ma’am, the Stronghold city council won’t like you setting up shop there.” Master Gella grimaced. “They haven’t liked anything you’ve tried to do so far.”
“Ah, but that’s the beauty of this program. Neither I nor the nation will have to set up shop anywhere.” She tapped a finger to her lip. “Though, we may need an administration office here.”
Master Gella crossed her arms. “Where then will all those people work or get paid?”
“They will work for the businesses in the program. Those companies will open their doors to new employees.”
Fillion blinked. That was a great idea!
“And what will those companies do with all the extra products that those employees make? The market for them will quickly become glutted and the company won’t be able to sell the products anymore.”
Fillion frowned. She had a point.
“They won’t be making products.”
Master Gella beat him to the question. “What, then, will they be making?”
High Lady Hasana smiled. “The nation.”
Fillion said what he was sure Master Gella thought. “Huh?”
The explanation and following discussion had gone on for a couple of hours. It forced him and Master Gella to put off further questioning of the carriage driver last night and today. First thing this morning they had to meet with the Continental Transportation Company. Lord Eldin’s business was the first that High Lady Hasana wanted to join the program.
Fillion and Master Gella—and, now, Gregor—had to convince Lord Eldin to participate in the Fair Deal.
When the four of them arrived on the roof of the police headquarters, Master Gella eyed Gregor and Kisa.
Fillion wasn’t sure how she would react. He glanced over at them, too.
The no-longer-little dragon stood next to Coatl, Gregor sitting proudly atop the saddle on her back. She let out a confident sounding chirp, but the tip of her tail twitched a bit. She was probably nervous about what the special investigator’s reaction would be. Or perhaps Gregor’s nervousness was affecting her.
“A bit of backup?” Master Gella said and approached Coatl.
“A–As I’m sure you know,” Fillion said, “Lord Eldin can be a little, um . . .”
“Self-important,” Gregor finished.
Master Gella took the proffered riding belt and glanced at the adept healer. “Hmm. Yes, he can.” After slipping it on, she climbed up. “And if his son can assist with that, I’m all for it.”
Fillion let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
Once she was strapped in, Fillion leaned down and patted Coatl on the neck. Alright, big guy, let’s go see Gregor’s family.
With a rumble, Coatl lifted into the sky. This will be fun!
Fun?
Elise will want a ride. She enjoys flying around.
Yes, she did seem to have a great deal of fun, but what makes you think she won’t ask for a ride from Kisa?
Kisa is still young, not anywhere near her full growth. I think Elise will want to ride with me.
Ah, and she thinks you’re magnificent, doesn’t she?
Exactly!
With a chuckle, Fillion opened a portal to Caer Ilan.
+ + + + +
Standing next to the patio table, Sharrah watched the dragons flying overhead. Get ready, sweetie. With K
isa and Gregor gone, Citlali had been chosen to lead the practice.
I know.
“If Mia gets out of line, tell Citlali she has my permission to scold her.”
Sharrah glanced at Liara before turning back to the dragons. “I will. There is something I’m curious about, though.”
“What’s that?”
“You and Gregor. Neither of you is upset that Guildmaster Millinith is making Mia and Kisa be in the young dragon part of the show?”
“Not at all. We know her reasons are sound. We have nowhere near the flight time with our dragons as the others, and as such, Mia and Kisa don’t have the flying stamina the others do, not with us on their backs. We wouldn’t last through their part of the show.”
Sharrah nodded. She understood that but had wondered if Liara and Gregor were put out at all. She should have known better. Her friends weren’t fools.
Here we go!
The four approached from the east. Almost wing-tip to wing-tip, they flew side by side, all in a row. Mia flew below them, centered under the line of young dragons. Everything about them was coordinated, wing beats included.
Through the link, Sharrah felt Citlali call out a command. The five dragons banked to the right. Another command and they banked to the left, bringing them back to the heading they’d started on. After a couple of wing-beats, they banked to left, and then banked right, bringing them again to their original flight path. Their motion, while flying, looked very much like a dance, just as Chanté had suggested. Now nearly upon them, the dragons stopped their side to side movement and flew headlong.
A bit of nervousness and excitement came through the link followed by another command. Just as they flew overhead, all five dragons arced upward, over backwards, down and around, each completing a large circle.
Yay! We didn’t come close to hitting Mia this time!
Sharrah smiled. Well done! She clapped and cheered.
Standing by the handrail at the end of the ledge, Cheddar, Terry, and Korrie also cheered and clapped.
“They seem to be much more coordinated.” Liara smiled as she watched the dragons bank all together and head back. She joined the others at the handrail.
Sharrah stayed at the table. “They’ve been working hard practicing the tricks and have been slowly mastering each one. I’m kind of proud, actually.”
“Yes.”
She turned to Chanté. He sat on the ground near the entrance to the den, leaning back against Nantli. He’d declined offers to have them join the show with the older dragons. Sharrah wasn’t sure why. “As you’re not going to be in the other part of the dragon show, why don’t you have Nantli join our dragons?”
He looked a little uncomfortable. “Where would Nantli fly in the formation? Right now, with two big dragons, it’s nice and neat. One above, one below.”
“That’s true, I suppose.”
Normally, Chanté would be somewhere with Quillan. This morning, he and Nantli had come by to watch their practice. Even with his fairly inexpressive face, she could tell he was a little worried about something.
Keeping her gaze on him—and most definitely not on the end of the ledge, she walked over and sat on the floor, facing him. “So,” she said, quietly, “did you two have a fight?”
His cheeks flushed and he wouldn’t look at her.
“I see. What happened?”
He looked at her, then down to the flagstones. “W–We didn’t fight. He’s just been busy looking over a device for Master Gella and that . . . that Elizabeth woman.”
“Elizabeth? Is she the young woman I’ve seen about the Guildhall?”
His lips pressed together. “Probably. She’s investigating something with Master Gella. Quillan is so good at machine engineering that they brought the device for him to look over.”
“I wondered who she was.”
“She and Quillan knew each other from before, it seems.”
“They did?”
He looked up at her, gaze intense. “Sharrah, what is a date?”
She blinked. “As in, going out on a date?”
“Yes.” He nodded, eyes still focused on her. “What exactly is that?”
Her brows lifted. “Is that how Quillan and Elizabeth know each other? They used to date?”
Chanté looked away. “One night on our way here to join the guild, he mentioned that he’d gone on a date with a girl. It turns out, that girl was her.”
Poor Chanté. “I see.” She narrowed her eyes. “Hang on. Was it just one date?”
He nodded.
“Hmm,” she said. “Well, a date is where two people who like each other to some degree share in an activity.”
His brow wrinkled and he looked at her. “Activity?”
“They might go have a special dinner together, for instance, or watch the sunset, or go horseback riding, or any number of things.”
“I see.” Chanté nodded, then twisted his lips in a kind of grimace. “You said like each other to some degree. What did you mean by that?”
“As far as I can tell, there are levels of dates.”
“Levels?”
“Yes. The first level is for when you initially like someone more than as a friend. You may like them a little more than a friend or a lot more. That’s why I said to some degree. Now, if that someone thinks they might like you more than a friend as well, then you might go on dates together. The first few of those are a bit like exploratory missions.”
“Missions?” Chanté’s voice almost squeaked.
Sharrah successfully refrained from laughing and merely smiled. “Perhaps that’s too military a word. You see, humans are not dragons. We can’t know what someone else is thinking or feeling. We can guess, based on words and actions, but it’s still just a guess. That’s why in most cases, the first few dates are to learn more about the other person. You spend time together, hopefully talk about things, and learn what you both enjoy, how you act, and so on. If you both still like each other, then you continue doing things together. Eventually, you move to the next levels of dating where you feel less nervous and can enjoy the time spent together even more. If at some point along the way you find that you are not compatible, however, then you stop seeing each other.”
Chanté stared off somewhere behind her. He appeared to be deep in thought.
“For many,” Sharrah said, “just getting to go on a first date is a big step. People are afraid of getting hurt, so the prospect of the person they like turning down the date request can be terrifying in and of itself. Thus, getting a first date is important. But it is just that: a first date. It is merely the first step on a longer path.”
After a moment, he looked at her. “I see. There is a great deal more to . . . all of this than I had imagined.”
She chuckled. “Chanté, there are entire sections of libraries devoted to human nature, and even so, much yet remains a mystery.”
+ + + + +
Stoltz looked around at the paths and beds that made up Tranquility Garden. There were several people walking about quietly or standing or sitting before one of the garden plots. Not too many, but enough so that if two people sat on benches that happened to be next to each other, it would not seem remarkable.
He noted that the number of people visiting the gardens was fewer now than in the days before he’d ever heard of the Dragon Craft Guild. Was it because not as many people needed to seek refuge here with the changes that the guild had brought? Perhaps the biggest change, the most tangible, was the increased pay. After taking care of his meager needs, he was even able to give some—a fairly decent amount, actually—to his family.
He glanced down at his shoes, a nice, sturdy pair that he purchased recently. That was all he’d really needed to spend money on from his last pay. These were much more suited to all the walking about in the desert he did as a follower of Fala. And while trailing her. Not that he’d learned much doing so. The only place she went on her own anymore was that set of caves.
Lonato sat to the
right, on the next bench over. Eyes on the raised bed before them, he said, “Good afternoon.”
Stoltz looked at the raised planting bed and smiled. “Lonato, how are you?”
“I’m doing well, thank you. And you? Any news as to what she plans?”
“Yes and no.”
They both watched a girl pass along a nearby path.
When she was far enough away, Lonato said, “Yes and no?”
“Her organization appears to be collapsing in on itself.”
Lonato turned to him. “Oh?” Catching himself, he turned forward, to the garden plot.
“Some of that has to do with her apparently running low on money. They used to bribe people to get them to join, but now, they only try to play on a potential recruit’s hatred of the Dragon Craft Guild or dragons in general. That hasn’t worked very well at all. We’ve had no new recruits, and most existing members were only in for the money. Their departure was fairly guaranteed. We’re down to just four people, now.”
“So, has she decided to give up, then?”
Stoltz frowned. “I’m not sure. She’s been undertaking a kind of secret project.”
A quiet chuckle preceded Lonato’s words. “Couldn’t all her schemes and plans be called secret?”
“No, I mean secret even from her own people.”
“I see.”
“The last few days she’s been heading off by herself to a cave in the hills. I’ve been following her, discreetly. She has a small still in those caves where she’s been making some kind of alcohol, I think.”
Lonato grunted. “Why would she be making alcohol?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea. She’s making a kind I’ve never heard of, either, and not much has been produced. She keeps the small amount in an oiled skin.” He tapped his lip with a finger. “I suppose she could be drinking some of it. I almost had a sip myself, the last time I was there.”
“Could she be thinking of selling the alcohol to make money for the group?”
“If so, she’d need to make a great deal more than what she has so far. The oiled skin doesn’t have much in it.”
“I wonder why she’d use an oiled skin. Wouldn’t that taint the flavor?”
Stoltz drew his brows together and glanced at Lonato. “I hadn’t thought of that before, but I suppose it would.”
Of Gods, Trees, and a Sapling: Dragonlinked Chronicles Volume 4 Page 47
