Page 71 of Serving my Dragon
Matias bellowed, “I know you’re watching, Pollita. No need to hide. You’ll want to hear what these people have to say.”
Curiosity overcame my caution, not to mention I trusted Matias and Kayleigh. I fluttered down from the waterfall and alit on the floating platform Juan installed in the lake for sunbathing.
“Well, I’ll be damned. There really are two of you,” the woman said with a shake of her head that sent her silvery hair fanning.
“Who are you?” I demanded.
“I’m Pip and this is my partner, Maddox. We’re here on behalf of Abaddon?—”
The name froze me. I’d heard it once before. Hadn’t Sally claimed?—
“—another dragon.”
A rival. I exhaled. “Why are you here? Is he trying to claim my territory?”
Pip burst out laughing. “Oh, God no, but that sounds just like something he’d say. No, we’re here to let you know you’re not alone and if you’re interested, to set up a line of communication.”
“He wishes to speak with me?” That sounded pathetic, so I added, “Of course he does. Who wouldn’t want to revel in my greatness?” I tossed my head majestically.
The big man chuckled. “Definitely cut from the same arrogant cloth.”
“Why did he not accompany you?” I asked.
“For the same reason you live out here in the jungle. Safety. He’s at home right now, plotting how he can rule the world.”
Wait, had he made more progress than me? “Where is he currently located?”
“British Columbia, Canada,” the male drawled. “Living on a ranch he acquired. Nice place, but have to say, your jungle paradise is pretty damned awesome, too.”
“As if it would be anything but.” I cocked my head. “How did you find me?”
“Abaddon happened to be reading the news when he came across an article about a woman in Peruvian authorities’ custody who was claiming dragons were real to try to get out of some murder charges. Given Misti recently blew, and we’d heard a story about a hatchling being lost in South America, Abaddon sent us to see if we could sniff out whether or not you actually survived,” Maddox stated.
“That doesn’t explain how you located me,” I pointed out.
Pip smirked. “Through good ol’ fashion digging. Since we couldn’t talk to the woman claiming she’d seen a dragon—the facility she’s in having locked down tight—we scoured her social media and discovered she’d come to Peru with Kayleigh. Finding her proved a little tougher. We inquired at the embassy and the police station, but they wouldn’t tell us anything.”
As she took a breath, Maddox continued. “We’d just about given up when we visited the embassy, hoping we could convince someone to help us locate her. Kayleigh happened to be there at the same time, getting her passport replaced. Despite her initial reluctance, we convinced her and Matias to have lunch with us.”
“In a public place,” Kayleigh interjected. “I wasn’t about to trust them.”
“And then she almost bolted when I asked her if she’d seen a dragon.” Pip’s lips twisted. “Which I’ll admit, is probably a normal reaction.”
“At first me and Matty laughed and acted as if Pip was nuts, but then she told us about how she and Maddox were employed by a dragon and told us the story of how they’d found him. What cinched it was she showed us some pictures of them with Abaddon.”
“You have an image of him?” I interrupted. Was he handsome? I’d need someone to fertilize my eggs should I ever decide to lay some.
“I can show you if you’d like.” Pip held up her phone.
I launched from the floating dock and landed close by. The woman didn’t demand I approach but came to me instead, kneeling down to show me respect—and her screen.
A majestic-looking black dragon posed in the picture. Well-muscled, his scales sleek. His gaze was proud and ferocious. Definitely a suitable candidate.
“Why did he seek me out?” I asked.
“Because he believes in this new world that it would be nice to have an ally and a friend.”
An ally. What a strange concept to someone of my ilk, but as humans had evolved, so should dragons. “That might be doable but I’d have to converse with him first. See where we stand on certain issues.” In other words, would he stay in Canada, or would I have to kill him for eyeing my territory?
