Page 100 of Phoenix's Fire

"Oh." I felt a little disappointed at that. "We don't have one of those."

Lansin just rubbed my shoulder. "Well, I know three men who could fix that."

"Can't," Zasen said. "If we fence our yard, the Moles will go around and hit someone else. I bought the house by the gate because I wanted them to come at me first."

"Sorry," Lansin said. "I tried."

"I don't even know how much one costs," I admitted.

"About ten thousand bucks for one like Holly," Lansin said. "Now, something like Shadow? Two to three times as much. A puppy that's not trained at all? They go for about one to three thousand."

"That's a lot."

He nodded. "But I think they're worth it. Granted, I also breed them and train them, so it's how I make my living."

"Your job?" I asked, just to make sure I was following along.

He nodded. "Yep. It takes a lot of time to teach a dog everything these two know."

"So why are you selling Holly?"

He flashed me a smile. "Because Shadow is her father. I can't breed her, so I shouldn't keep her, but she's a very good dog."

"Lay off on the sales tactics," Irrik groaned. "The guys already said no, Lansin."

"I like dogs a lot," Lansin whispered.

I shifted back so I was sitting on my rump, then patted my leg. "Holly, lay?"

Surprisingly, the dog did. First, she lay down on her belly, but then she rolled to the side and put her head on my thigh so I could pet her. Beside me, Lansin knelt so he wasn't standing over us.

"You're good with them, Ayla. If you ever want a dog, let me know. I'll make sure we get you a good one - even if it's in a few years, okay?"

I nodded, but kept rubbing the dog. "We didn't have animals down there, but I read all about them. I don't think I really understood, though. I thought they were just things that stood around, but I like this more. They're fun, and smart, and so very soft."

"And dangerous," Lansin said. "These are trained in protection as well, so you'll get to see what they can do to a Mole."

My head shot up to look at him. "But the hunters would shoot them!"

"And the dogs are fast," he assured me. "It's why Reapers don't have as much trouble with Moles. We have dogs, and those two are going to help in the next attack."

I looked down and petted the dog again. "But they look so sweet."

"Loyal," he corrected. "Dogs take care of their pack - and they include their people in that, but not all people."

"Families," I realized. "The people - regardless of kind - that we want to be with."

"Exactly," he agreed.

Thirty-One

Meri

The women had been so kind since we'd arrived. Most of them spoke English, and even when someone didn't, someone else translated for them. Combined, I felt like I finally had people to talk to, so I asked questions. So many of them.

Saveah, who really did look just like a slightly older version of Ayla, told me all about babies. Human babies, Dragon babies, and more. Jeera and Brielle had assured me they knew how to care for a child, but they didn't have any of their own, so I'd doubted it. But when Saveah had passed her daughter to Brielle for a diaper change, I'd realized how wrong I was.

The men were cooking. Naomi's home was huge - and all hers. The wild men were staying with her as guests even though she had no husband, and that was perfectly acceptable. Unmarried women had babies sometimes, married women sometimes didn't, and all the rules I'd thought I knew were turned upside down here.

---