Page 22 of Dragon in Denial
Antoinette turned to Pongo. “So your friend Argyle was beholden to this woman.” She shifted her focus to Ketu. “And that’s how you became friends with this Argyle person?”
Ketu nodded. He didn’t know how much Pongo knew, but he didn’t want to take the chance the gargoyle might say more than Antoinette needed to hear. “We helped free him from her servitude.”
“Gargoyles do not forget good deeds,” Pongo supplied.
“That’s not a very long story,” Antoinette pointed out.
Ketu could only shrug.
Silence—other than the sounds of nature—enveloped them for long minutes, until Pongo said, “You must be careful.” He nodded solemnly. “The half-witch you seek isn’t in charge. It is the son of the reeve you want.”
Wait, what? Hadn’t Pongo said he tended to stay out of whatever was going on in the city? Ketu glanced at Antoinette, who was watching the gargoyle with clear interest in her eyes. He wanted to ask for clarification, but not in front of her.
The pirogue bumped into something, and Ketu looked up to see that they’d arrived at a crude boat launch of sorts. A handful of old pickup trucks with trailers hooked to the beds were parked in the gravel lot, and a small bait shop with a sign flashing “open” sat on the sagging dock.
Pongo pointed at the wooden building with the rusted, corrugated roof. “Tell the man inside you need a ride to Louisiana Swamp Tours. His cousin runs it, so he’ll get you over there. From there you are only about thirty minutes from the city. I am sure you can negotiate transportation at that point.” He hopped out of the boat and guided it to the dock so that Antoinette and Ketu could climb out.
“Safe travels, my friends,” Pongo said once he was standing in his little boat again. “May you find everything you are looking for.”
And then he pushed off, drifting away. Ketu stared after him.
What, exactly, did he hope they’d find?
