The Last Dragon Lord

XVI

XVI

The highway sped by in a blur as Miri dialed Jasmine.

Jasmine’s voicemail sounded again.

“Crap,” she said, disconnecting.

The tall buildings and traffic whirred by like a headache that would never leave. She took her glasses off and set them on the console. Running her fingers through her hair, she rested her head against the window and closed her eyes.

What happened?

Miri would never forget the fear in Jasmine’s voice. The screaming.

If anything happened to her, she would never be able to forgive herself.

And Dark….

He had lied to her. She should have never trusted the old dragon. She was going to make him regret the lie. She didn’t know how, but she was going to reassert her dominance.

This was not acceptable.

This wasn’t the old ages. This wasn’t an elven village on the beach. It wasn’t some game. The world was not fodder he could just stomp all over.

“What do you think happened, Miss?” Earl asked. His voice had been concerned ever since she told him what happened, and he had been driving as fast as he could toward the city limits.

“I don’t know,” Miri said. “But we’ve got to get there before it’s too late.”

He handed her a bottle of water. “You look flushed, and might I say, a little sick.”

She waved the bottle away. Suddenly her own saliva in her mouth tasted wet and thick.

“That’s because I am sick right now,” she said.

Earl glanced at her in the rearview mirror, then cleared his throat. After a few moments, he said, “Can I say something?”

“What?” Miri asked, rubbing her forehead.

“For someone who deals with stress a lot, you don’t do well. You ever thought to get yourself checked out, Miss?”

She didn’t handle stress well. But going to the doctor was the last thing on her mind.

“You’re kind, Earl, to mention that. Yes, you’re right—I don’t deal with stress like I should.”

“You carry it in your shoulders, too,” Earl said, tapping his shoulder with a quick tap. “Miss Celesse is the same way. She goes for a quick jog and that seems to clear it up.”

“I’ve never had much time to jog.”

Miri lay on the seat and her head felt a little better. The needling sensation in her temples relented somewhat.

“I really should learn how to manage myself better,” she said. “I guess I’ve been pushing myself hard lately. The university needs this and needs that and I’m the most reliable one to get it done, even if it means teaching from sunup to sundown. My body’s used to it. And now that things are so crazy, I’ve never had the chance to slow down.”

“There’s a limit that one can take,” Earl said. “That’s all I’m saying.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” Miri said.

Earl took off his chauffeur’s cap to reveal black hair that was thinning at the top.

“Stress’ll make a man go bald. Plus, I had a mental breakdown a few years back, Miss.”

“What?!”

Earl pursed his lips and his grip on the steering wheel tightened as he wove the sedan between two large trucks.

“I was in another profession, of course,” he said. “I pushed myself too hard. Eighteen hour days, seven days a week. My marriage was in trouble. My employer was too demanding. One evening, I pulled over on the side of the road and just cried like a baby. The police found me, told me I was babbling nonsense. They checked me into the mental ward, and I’ll be honest—I don’t know why my wife and kids just didn’t leave me there.”

Suddenly Miri’s pain and headache didn’t seem so bad. A softness overcame her.

“What happened? How did you turn around?”

“My wife stuck by my side,” Earl said. “I prayed every night. Started driving a cab in the Half Eight. Less hours, less pay. One rainy night I picked up two people who were soaked on a corner. One of them was a pretty woman. The other was Lucan.”

Miri gasped.

“That was back before anyone knew him, of course,” Earl said. “He was still filthy rich, though. The woman was one of his mistresses—he was married then. I won’t go into it, but I drove him where they needed to go and didn’t ask questions. He told me he was looking for a personal driver. He’d come into a lot of money and didn’t want to take cabs anymore. I’ve been driving for him ever since.”

“Less stressful?”

“Occasionally,” he said with a sly smile. “But I’ve learned to deal with it.”

“So what’s the moral of this story, then?” Miri asked.

“The reason I’ve taken to you, Miss, is because we’re kindred spirits. If I can help you avoid a misstep, then our friendship was worth it.”

“Earl....”

Earl put his cap back on and winked at her.

“Besides, you got a pretty head of hair. I’d hate to see you lose it.”

Miri laughed as her phone rang.

It was Lucan.

She fumbled for the phone and put the warm screen to her ear.

“Lucan, we’ve got a problem.”

“God, not another one,” Lucan said. “I was going to tell you the same thing.”

“You know, then?”

“Know what?”

Miri paused. “Are we talking about the same thing?”

“I was shot, Miri,” Lucan said.

She nearly dropped the phone. “When?”

“Last night,” Lucan said. “Remember that college kid? His dad tried to shoot me. We had a huge standoff at Skyscraper Park.”

“I knew it,” Miri said. “That explains the commotion. Are you okay?”

“They just let me out. I’ll be fine. That kid is in deep crap though.”

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Miri asked.

“I’ll rest when this election’s over,” Lucan said. “How’s the investigation going?”

Miri sighed. “That’s the problem.”

She told him about the chests, Jasmine’s frantic phone call, and that she and Earl were headed toward the bogs now to see what happened.

“You can’t go there,” Lucan said.

“Why?”

“Miri, do you have any grimoires with you?”

She looked around the limo and then sighed.

“That’s what I thought,” Lucan said, acknowledging her silence as acceptance. “Whatever was in those chests, it’s too late to contain it. Our problem is that dragon.”

“He lied to me,” Miri said. “And I believed him.”

“Turn around and swing by the hospital on your way in,” Lucan said. “We’ll go see Old Dark. I’m feeling particularly like an asshole today. We’ll feel him out on what was in the chests. I’ll send Gunther Penrose and his crew to the bog. Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine.”