Page 49 of Serving my Dragon
My uncle didn’t know much. Witnesses claimed Mama was crossing the parking lot of the grocery store when a car slammed into her and took off. Mama had been taken to the hospital and sedated as they tended to her injuries. So yes, unconscious, but from a medical cause. The doctors said she would recover, but might need some help initially, given the broken bones. Mama would hate that. She was the one who cared for people. Having that role reversed would make her grumpy. I’d relish every scowl because it meant she lived.
She emerged from her doped slumber within an hour of my arrival. An hour of me holding her uninjured hand, trying to not fall apart at how frail she looked hooked to machines.
When she woke, I buzzed for a nurse and leaned close to whisper, “Mama? It’s me. I’m here.”
Her gaze slowly focused and when it did, she whispered, “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Of course I came. You’re hurt. And when I find the asshole who hit you?—”
“It wasn’t an accident. I saw the driver, a white man, and his passenger, a woman with red hair. They struck me on purpose.”
Because they knew it would draw me out of hiding.
My blood ran cold because there was only one reason they’d want me out of the way: To get at Kayleigh.
And like a fool, I’d left her alone.
Chapter Sixteen
Matias left without asking for permission. However, I granted him leniency given the reason. It upset me to hear Lola had been injured. I’d rather liked the woman, and not only because of her cooking. She knew how to scratch a dragon just right.
I remained at the citadel with Kayleigh, who seemed determined to teach me everything she knew. Much appreciated. The movies and shows I’d watched didn’t always give an accurate representation of the real world. Actions on screen were exaggerated. Drama inflated. The violence of the current world was bad, but nothing like the massive shootouts and explosions depicted in the fictional shows and movies I watched.
Still, a dragon could only take so much learning a day.
“I’m done,” I announced as she finished an explanation of why people seemed so obsessed with themselves instead of being more concerned about improving the welfare of their leaders. Humanity would need to learn that their needs came second to a dragon.
“It’s a tad early for dinner,” Kayleigh remarked. “Did you want to go play?”
My snout wrinkled in annoyance. “Dragons don’t play.”
“I’m sorry. Are you going back to treasure hunting?” I could have sworn I heard amusement in her tone.
“Yes. The hoard has to be here somewhere.” But my predecessors had hidden it well. I’d been searching, flying up to the alcove in the main room to find a lovely chamber. Well, lovely once I removed the dusty debris of the furniture and fabric that used to adorn it. Despite the room being enclosed in the mountain, in the afternoon, light bathed the entire chamber, a trick achieved using cleverly inserted chimneys with running water that refracted the sun’s rays allowing them to spill into the room. I quite enjoyed curling up in the spot that used to hold a nest for naps. While there was a secondary outlet—in case I needed a hasty exit—it didn’t lead to the hoard but spilled out on a ledge above the chasm.
I didn’t find the treasure room by the heated pool, either, just a tunnel at the rear of the space that went upwards and could only be climbed. Once past an opening overgrown with vines, it also allowed escape. The citadel had many of these emergency outlets, most only accessible to someone like me who could fly or ascend using my claws.
My theory regarding the hoard was that it hid somewhere in the chasm, a massive gash that I’d yet to fully explore. It held a honeycomb of caves, some interconnected, others dead ends. No scent of those who’d come before remained, too much time having elapsed, hence I had no way of tracking where the past dragons might have passed through. That lack of clue left me entering each alcove one by one. Tedious, but necessary.
Kayleigh had suggested that perhaps the hoard no longer existed. I refused to believe that, because I needed that wealth. Needed it to make sure Matias stopped worrying about how he’d pay for things. Needed it to attract more servants who would require the purchase of food and other supplies. Needed it to begin my silent conquering of this area… then the world.
I rather liked Matias’ suggestion of being a shadowy ruler, especially while small and vulnerable. While the lore I’d inherited balked at the idea of purchasing territory, I’d learned enough of this time—and its oligarchs—to realize simply declaring a place mine would cause strife with the humans. They placed a lot of onus on ownership and things like land titles.
To buy property, I required funds, and lots of them. Juan had suggested once I did acquire some wealth that I invest it in something he called the stock market which apparently could vastly increase my hoard if I chose correctly. And I would, because how else would it grow?
But to do that, I needed to find the treasure. Hence why I went in and out of caves, doing them in a straight row from top to bottom lest I miss one. My initial method of sporadically popping in and out led to me visiting some of the alcoves more than once, wasting my time, which led to me being annoyed. Why couldn’t my predecessors have left some kind of sign?
“Polly! Dinner!”
The faint call reached me as I readied to emerge from the latest failure, and at the words, my tummy rumbled. Kayleigh had promised to make one of her yummy stews along with some fresh bread for dinner. I exited the cave and eyed the one below it that finished the vertical row. Before I could poke my head inside, I heard Kayleigh exclaiming, her voice echoing down the rocky chasm, “Who are you? What do you want?”
“Don’t you remember me?” a male taunted.
At the indication of an intruder, I began to ascend, climbing quietly.
“No. Have we met?”
“Oh, we have. I guess the amnesia story is true.”
