The Last Dragon Lord

XXXI

XXXI

On her way home from Magic Hope University, Miri stopped in her apartment to change and pick up some books about dragon psychology. It was nice to be back home if even for a little while, and she exhaled with a smile the moment the air-conditioned breeze cooled her.

Her gray cat met her at the door and brushed up against her leg. She bent down and scratched it under the chin. “I guess I’ve been away for a while, haven’t I?”

She pointed to the kitchen. “Earl, I’m going to change. Would you mind refreshing his food?”

“Not at all, Miss.”

“Third cabinet on the left, over the stove.”

Miri kicked off her flats and hopped toward her bed, which was sectioned off by a large divider made from rice paper. She opened her closet as she heard a scooping sound coming from the kitchen, then a bag rustle as cat cereal pelleted into a bowl and then spilled across the floor. Earl cursed and she heard the floor creak as he gathered up the rogue bits. Then the faucet turned on for a few seconds as he filled the water bowl.

She hurried into a fresh change of clothes—a sun dress with a red floral pattern. She walked back into the living room, putting on her glasses.

She plopped down on the floor among her piles and piles of books, her dress a swirl on the floor. Her cat, who had been nibbling on the freshened-up bowl of food, pounced on the bay window couch and curled into a ball, the city humming to life in a rosy glow behind him.

“Help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge,” Miri said. “Hopefully too much hasn’t spoiled.”

“You sure you won’t mind, Miss?”

Miri laughed.

Earl opened the fridge and shrugged. Then he pulled out a plastic container with rice noodles, tomatoes and shrimp. He grabbed a fork, sat down at her metal wireframe table and began to eat quickly.

Miri reached for several thick, worn hardcover books. One of them was titled Dragon Psychology Before the Age of Fenroot and it had a spine with golden lines across it.

She thumbed to the table of contents while balancing her notebook on her lap. She seemed to remember something about a story of a dragon that lied to a human—and a description of the warning signs. It was an acronym that she couldn’t remember. It had bugged her the entire ride to the apartment, and she was determined not to leave until she found it.

And then she did.

If you suspect that a dragon is about to do you physical harm, do not delay in seeking magical help. The dragon will typically display the following steps in progressive order. Remember the acronym SCARE:

S: Subversion. First, the dragon will attempt to disarm you with words. They make up their minds about a person or thing immediately and there is very little that you can do the change that impression. Should you find yourself being subverted, reply in kind to earn their respect.

C: Crass Threats. If a dragon means you harm, it will threaten you, usually in colorful, vivid, graphic and grotesque language about what it will do to you. These threats, however, are idle, and the dragon is simply gauging a response to determine how simple a kill may be. The way to avoid trouble in this phase is to be neutral. Show anger and it will confirm the dragon’s plan; show fear and it will accelerate your death. An even-keeled sensibility may convince the dragon that your life is worth living.

A: Attack. A false attack. It will lash out at you with the intent of only causing minor harm. This is the time to attack if you have offensive spells, but do not delay. A blindness spell is known to be 100% effective, but it will not decrease your chances of death—for the side effects of such a spell may blind you, too, and you may stumble under the dragon’s feet. However, such a spell may show the dragon that you are serious about defending yourself.

R: Retaliation. A dragon will take something you have done and use it as justification to attack you, even if your actions were not a threat. There are many stories of human doctors trying to heal injured dragons who have been attacked for merely touching a scale. If a dragon takes on an affected tone and begins blaming you for ANYTHING, either attack it or maintain a safe distance. You will not earn its respect, but you may buy yourself some time.

E: Extreme Violence. Should a dragon determine that you’re worth killing, it will attack suddenly and unannounced. At this point, there is no hope for survival. However, this can be avoided by following the prior steps, and playing to the dragon’s biggest weakness—its ego.

The ego. Miri was right before.

Hadn’t Dark displayed many of the traits above? Yes. He had tried to subvert her right away for being a woman, a half-breed, and for knowing the ways of dragons. He’d threatened her more times and in different variations than she ever thought a dragon could, each progressively more violent. He’d tried to blow fire in her face.

He was in the retaliation phase now. He was going to come after her and Lucan—of that there was no doubt. And unlike the dragons in textbook example, he had a legitimate reason to be pissed.

She picked up where the book left off.

Dispelling one of a dragon’s five senses is the most effective way to stop an onslaught. Pair that with a charm offensive and it will merely buy you time to escape, seek safety, or wait for help. If you cannot do any of those things, gunshot or sword wounds to the neck are your next best option. The neck is lined with tough, flexible and sinewy muscles that give the dragon range of motion and balance. They are weakest at the atlas, just under the skull. The nerves to its fire sack are also are most exposed at this region as well, so the right blow can potentially prevent it from using fiery breath, again lengthening your survival.

Miri shuddered. She hoped it would never come down to that. Her only consolation was that there was one step left. Old Dark hadn’t actually retaliated yet.

But he would.

And she’d be ready for him.

“I’ve got tricks you’ve never even seen before,” she whispered, jotting down notes. “You’ll fall out of the sky when you see them. You’ll wonder if I’m not really a dragon in disguise, Old Dark.”

She had paged through several books and had written several pages of notes and strategy when the door to her apartment creaked open.

It was Laner. And Jasmine.

Crap.

She hadn’t followed up to confirm if they were safe. The escape had distracted her. She must have seemed like a heartless b***h. She wanted to run away and found it hard to even look Laner in the eye because she was so ashamed.

Earl stood and moved to block the doorway. “We’re a bit preoccupied at the moment, sir.”

“Ah,” Laner said. “Then it explains a lot.”

“Earl, it’s okay,” Miri said.

Laner and Jasmine entered and stood in the living room. Laner folded his arms and Jasmine wiped her eyes; it looked like she had been crying; her foot was wrapped in gauze. They were both dressed in their field clothes and had dirt on their faces.

“I’m so glad you both are okay,” Miri said, hugging Laner.

He didn’t hug her back. He didn’t even move in response to her hug, and when he spoke there was rue in his voice.

“Glad to see you’re okay, too, enjoying a couple of books,” Laner said. “We’re just fine, thanks.”

“Laner, listen. I—”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” he asked. “We could’ve died back there, and you wouldn’t have cared.”

“I called for help,” Miri said. “I didn’t know what was going on. I thought it might have been dangerous.”

“So you called your contractor friends, right?” Laner asked.

“Oh, you mean Gunther. He can be a little crass, but—”

Laner stomped and punched the wall with one arm. “How long is it going to take you to come out and say it? You’ve been lying this entire time. Those contractors are the ones who made the mess in the bog.”

So he knew. How the hell did he know? Miri was a terrible liar and she knew this day might come. And she was, exactly as she predicted she would be, speechless.

“You knew that the trees were damaged by equipment,” he said. “Yet you didn’t want us to ‘rule anything out.’ You also steered us toward the pond. You told us to open the chests. We asked if you wanted to be there but you told us to go ahead. I’m starting to think maybe you wanted us to die.”

“Laner, no! I was fooled.”

“By who?” he asked.

Miri paced the living room floor with her arms folded. She was shaking.

“Laner, I know you’re upset,” she said, “but this is a very long story and I don’t have time to explain.”

“Fine. Then explain it to Dean Rosehill,” Laner said.

“I already did. I just resigned, Laner.”

An audible gasp escaped from both Laner and Jasmine.

“I don’t believe you,” Laner said, reaching for his phone. Earl snatched it from his hand.

Earl’s face had turned from its normal, jovial expression to brutish. It was a bouncer kind of look, the look that said without saying, ‘I’m two seconds from putting you through a wall.’

“Sir, I’m starting to get angry,” Earl said. “Please don’t make me angry.”

“f**k you,” Laner said reaching for his phone. Earl held it at arm’s length. Laner wound back, preparing to hit him with an awkward punch—but Earl grabbed his arm, pulled it forward and flipped him to the ground. Then he put his foot on Laner’s chest.

“Now I’m angry, sir,” Earl said.

Laner was winded. “That’s assault. I’ll sue you!”

“If I remember the details correctly, sir, you attacked me,” Earl said.

“Earl!” Miri cried.

Jasmine scowled at Miri. “I trusted you. Growing up, I read your books. I idolized you. It was my dream to work with you.”

Miri wiped away a tear. She hated herself for showing emotion.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine. But believe me, I didn’t want you to get hurt. I’m trying to stop everyone from getting hurt.”

“How is that even possible?” Jasmine asked.

“It’s true,” Miri said, “I’ve been working with Lucan Grimoire.”

Jasmine gasped. “But the governor oversees our coalition. Do you understand the conflict of interest? You’re going to get all of us fired.”

“You two will be fine, I promise,” Miri said, picking up her notebook. She stuffed it in her purse and gave Earl a quick glance.

“I thought we were colleagues, Miri!” Laner yelled. “All the years of our friendship, and this is how you treat me?”

“When you hear the whole story, you’ll understand, Laner.”

Lamer exhaled furiously and stomped over to the door. “I never thought you would do something like this. Screw you, Miri.”

With that, he turned and marched down the hall, cursing the entire way.

Jasmine remained. She had watched the encounter quietly, and unlike Laner, who was angry, she looked broken.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine,” Miri said. “I know this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for you, and I ruined it.”

Jasmine shook her head. “I guess it’s true. Never meet your idols, because when you do, they’ll let you down every time.”

The words hit Miri unexpectedly. She stammered, but no real words came out. She reached for Jasmine, but the girl was so far away that the gesture looked pathetic.

“I hope you get whatever it is you’re looking for,” Jasmine said. “Because you killed at least two careers tonight to get it.”

As Jasmine walked away, Miri found the words. “Jasmine, don’t go—”

But the girl ignored her and started down the stairs.

Miri put her head in her hands. “God, since when did I become such a horrible person?”

Earl looked at her sadly. “It’s lonely when you stick to your convictions, Miss.”

Miri stared out the doorway for a while, numb. She wanted to sleep, to just close her eyes and forget all of this for the next few hours. It surprised her that she didn’t want to cry. Something somewhere inside of her was tougher now. Callous? Stronger?

She didn’t know. But as she gathered her books and slung her purse over her shoulder, all she could think about was tracking down Old Dark.

It was time to settle the score.

“Earl, we’ve got a dragon to catch.”