Page 17 of Kingston
But they’d be there tomorrow, or however long it took for him to be sent to jail, too.The Connors’ date was mid-October, and hopefully Waggoner’s would be around the same time.It would be good to get them over with at the same time, but he knew that was a long shot.With the number of witnesses that the prosecution had, it was going to be a long time in coming to hear if they were going to prison or not.Now all they had to do was wait for Waggoners’ trial, and they’d be able to adopt Trevor.
Going home, they were headed to Brenin’s home for dinner that night.He had wanted to try a new pizza place that had popped up seemingly overnight, and they were going to go there and share with him.Brenin was a food nut and would try things that he always thought should be left for someone else.He even liked kale.
Trevor asked to stay home, and they let him.He was only ten years old, but there was a houseful of staff there in the event something went wrong.He said that he wanted to finish a book he’d been reading, and Kings couldn’t fault him there.Kings would rather read a book than just about anything in the world.Particularly when you were at the end of it.
~*~
“You know, I don’t know that I would have ever thought of starting a fire with one of the dragons.Thatwas brilliant of you.”Skye thanked Kaida and told her that there wasn’t any sense in wasting good flames.They both laughed.“It’s nice that they can fly around without anyone taking shots at them.I know that it has to be at dark, but Tucker told me that they see better at night than they do during the day anyway.And it’s good for them to be up there flying around.It makes them less stressed, I was told.”
“Kings said that the other two cousins are non-dragons.I had to ask him what that meant.He said that while they had the superpower of dragons, they couldn’t shift, and the other three had wind.I guess it’s a powerful bit of wind, too.It could knock buildings over without much in the way of effort.”The two of them were seated near a fire pit and enjoying the warmth coming off of it.Tucker had started it for them without shifting.It was one of his superpowers by having a mate.He had flames all the time.“Are you going to go to the courthouse in the morning?”
“I’m going.I’ve been called as a witness to testify against Jason.”She told her that she’d not known that.“They called me the other day and asked if I’d be willing to do that.Trevor wanted to as well, but he’s a minor, and they said they didn’t want to traumatize him.I think what we went through was traumatizing enough.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you if you’ve heard anything more about the mayor position?Is Ace going to run against him?”She said that he’d filled out his application and filed it the other day.“We’ve been getting calls about him running.It seems people really want someone new in the position, and they don’t seem to care who it is at this point.”
“I heard that too.But Ace doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet, so I’m not worried about that.But his being new to the area might be something that gets him fewer votes.Tucker is having fun with the campaign and getting posters made for him.I think he might never run for office, but he could certainly get your name out there when asked.”She laughed and thought of how many signs she’d seen in other people’s yards in the last few weeks.People really wanted someone else in the position.“I’m thinking that Mayor Trail might be in for a shocker with his posters saying that the best man is in office now.Ace will hopefully give him a run for his money.”
They talked about the town and the list of things that Ace was going to fix when he was in office.She knew, too, that he was looking into grants and other things to bring in money so that the town could be brought back to its former glory.The sidewalks were the most important thing right now, as the pool had been closed up for a few weeks now, with fall coming on.She had a feeling that as soon as Ace was in office—if he won that is—that things would be fixed so quickly that it would be as if nothing was wrong.Ace had a good head on his shoulders.
“Did you hear that there is a company looking to purchase land not far from here?It’s going to be in Zanesville, but closer to our end of town than downtown.I think that the factory makes sheets or something like that.Tucker has a friend who is also looking to expand his shirt and sweater company a bit more as well.They’re here now, but they want tax breaks, too, or they’ll just move to another town that will give it to them.That’ll be a lot of jobs that will be lost because of it.”She told Kaida that she didn’t get around much, so she had missed that.“Tucker has his hands in a lot of things nowadays.Since the town was pointed out to him and how bad of shape it’s in, he’s been taking walks around the little town to see what else he can see that needs improvement.The school was able to get a grant that they’re using for new computers for the teachers to use to teach classes.That was all on Ace.He took it to the school board meeting last week and got with the principal.He must have gotten on it right away because they heard back from them within a week.”
“This town needs a newspaper.Or at least some kind of flyer that would tell good news like this.Don’t you think?”She told her that they had a newspaper, but it only came out once a week, and by then all the good news was already spread around town by the people living here.“I’ve never seen it.I’ll have to keep an eye out for it from now on.I wonder where I can find it.”
She told her where she’d been able to find it.“I pick one up every time I go to the store.I don’t know if there is a place in town you could get it, but then I’ve not been around as much as Tucker has been.I’ll ask him.I’m betting that he has a good idea where we can get one.”
Pulling out her phone, she made herself a list of things that she wanted to find.There were already several things on her list, but she wasn’t worried about finding them.The next trip to Columbus would find her the special sheets she needed for their bed, and there were snacks that Trevor wanted that they just didn’t carry around here.She loved that he was eating healthy and taking good lunches to the school he’d been going to.
“Did I tell you that Trevor is taking online college classes?He’s struggling a bit, but I think because it’s all new to him.He has to take a few classes of math that he couldn’t test out of, but the pack school is helping him with the ones that he’s taking.I think he even convinced the other nerds in his class to take some too.”She asked about being called nerds.“They have formed a little group of Nerds of the Pack.I think it’s great, and it’s really helped his self-esteem too.I think that the Connors beat that out of him before, so I’m glad that he’s getting it back.I’ve never seen a kid like him take to adults the way that he does now.He used to be so shy around them, but now he’ll talk to anyone.”
“So long as he’s careful.I really love that kid.Did I tell you that he came over to the house the other day and helped my cook set up an online ordering application?We can all put something in the basket, then when she’s ready to order, it all goes to the store, and they bring it to the house for us.They even bring it into the kitchen.The basket has been a big hit with Tucker as he’s been looking for snacks himself that taste good and aren’t too heavy.The guy burns about a million calories a day just walking, and he’s worried about a few extra calories from some potato chips.”
When the men started coming down from flying, she got a good look at their dragons.They weren’t huge like she thought they might be, but not small either.About the size of a couple of school buses put side by side, not counting their wings.Their scales were shining, like they’d been polished by the moon’s reflection off them.She thought that Kings were the most beautiful scales and his dragon was scary yet comforting too.She loved him so that might well have been it.
Once they were finished for the evening, they made sure that the fire was out so as not to cause any damage to any other place.Going into their homes, she was feeling kind of chilly because of the warmth outside and the coolness of the home.Getting a blanket off the back of the couch, she wrapped herself up in it to watch the late-night news before heading up to bed.Trevor came down just as they were locking up the house.
“I finished my book.I was wondering if I could go to the library tomorrow and see if I can get the second in the series.”Kings told him that it would be great, and if they didn’t find it at this one, they could search other libraries in the area to find it.“That’s what he noted on the website said.I was told there are twelve other libraries that are attached to this one in town, and they had access to about a million books.”
As she was getting ready for bed, her body seemed to be worn out.She told Kings what Kaida and she had talked about.He had questions about Waggoner and what he was up to, but she didn’t have any more information than she’d given him.He said they’d have to wait until the morning to figure him out.Then she told him about the grant that the school had gotten.
“Now that I know about it, I’ve been helping Ace find all kinds of grants and other bits of money that can be used for all kinds of things.He said that the buildings on Main Street can be fixed up with a small business loan to the people who own the buildings.That’ll be nice for them.However, they need to use the money for the buildings and nothing else, or they could go to prison for it.Kind of scary to know that borrowing money or even getting it for free could cost so much to your personal life if you fuck up.”Skye agreed with him and then laughed.“What do you find so funny?”
“I was wondering what they’d do to the teachers if they fucked up with the money.Make them stay after class or write their name on the blackboard?”They both laughed then, and she sat on the side of the bed to wait for Kings.“I hope that Ace gets the job.Can you imagine the changes he’ll make in his first few weeks in office?I know that he’s been going around town and shaking hands with people.A lot of them like him even though he’s not lived in this town for very long.”
“It’s fresh eyes and all that.He’ll be able to see things that we’ve gone blind to and make them work for us.Also, I don’t know if you heard, but the pool in town needs to have an upgrade.I’m notpositive what that means for a hole full of water, but it needs to be done before the next season.He’s looking into that as well.”She said he’s been busy.“You should see his little notebook.It’s about full of things that people are telling him about that need to be fixed.I didn’t even know that the town had a senior center, but they would like someone to come in and see to their furnace and air conditioner.I guess the air part has gone out in the summer, and they didn’t have heat at the end of the winter last year.”
Once they were in bed, they talked about his flying with his cousins.“I could see you flying around, but then I knew you were up there.I wonder what someone would say if they were to see you guys flying around in the middle of the night.Would they be terrified or would they just say it’s you guys and let it go?”He said they’d more than likely be afraid, as there were four of them flying around.“I can see that, too.I’d be terrified knowing something that big was just above my head, flying around.Do you ever lose a scale or something that would fall to the earth?”
“Mostly, they only come off during the spring.We’ll lose a few, but they only come off on the ground.I’ve been using mine for different projects around the land around here.They make perfect shelters as they’re waterproof and as hard as stone.If I were to build a building with them, it would be able to stand a tornado coming through.”She said she wanted to see one the next time he had one to see.“I’ll remember that for next time.They’re very heavy, weighing in at about five hundred pounds for the larger ones and about a hundred for the smaller ones, up around my neck.”
She was excited about seeing a real scale, but turned on her back to look up at Kings when he said her name.“I’ve been thinking a great deal about our child.I’m going to see if I can contact some older dragons to see what it’s going to be like for you.I mean, I know that you have an egg, and it grows with the dragon that’s inside of it.But that’s all I know.I don’t know even how long you would carry one, much less anything about it being born to us.”
“I’d love that information.I’ve been thinking about how we’re to keep him or her around if they’re born a dragon.Or because I’m part human, will they be born as a child?I have no idea what to expect, and that’s sort of scary.”He said that he’ll put the word out tomorrow for some answers to what they both need to know.“Do you suppose there are a lot of dragons still around?I mean, other than you six?”
“I don’t know.I know that there are some of ours that are second-generation cousins.But as far as where they might be, I don’t know.I’ve asked the others, including Ace and Tank, and they don’t know either.None of us has our parents around anymore, thanks to them fucking up, but that’s all right with us.We didn’t care much for them in the first place.Especially Tucker’s parents.They’re dead now, but they were the worst of the worst kind of people.They ignored him until he was twenty-five years old, then sent him on his way.He had a sister, too, who was just as bad to all of us.”
After snuggling down under the covers, the two of them stopped talking and began the process of going to sleep.She had to check off her list of things that she was able to get done today, and that made her relax enough that she could fall asleep.And she was out.It didn’t take long for her to be asleep after the days that she’d been having around the town.
Chapter 7
