“But you mean the mythological creatures that fly and breathe fire?” I wondered for the second time just how much he’d had to drink.
“Mythological? No, but they do fly and breathe fire. The flying part is why they are useful for transportation.”
I tried to maintain some composure. Laughing at the man wasn’t going to help our cause. “Are you suggesting we fly dragons into Energo?”
“Absolutely. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but they are pretty easy to control. The best part is that these are babies and have not developed any issues yet.”
“Issues?” I could feasibly accept there were dragons. We’d seen a lot of crazy things. But actually flying on one seemed pretty out there.
“You do not need to worry about those. Mostly attachment, anger, you know the usual.”
“Okay, so theoretically, if we were interested in flying these dragons, where would we find them?”
Ollis grinned. “Just follow me.”
Samantha touched my arm. “We may have just found our ticket home.”
I nodded. “Or our death certificate, but beggars can’t be choosers.” Just saying the word “death” made me think of Dad and Monty. Was there any chance they were still alive? Was Monty really a bad guy? I pushed the thoughts away. I couldn’t afford to get too distracted.
Ollis led us out of the room and down a narrow corridor. It started off wide enough, but the farther we went, the more it narrowed. The place felt as though it belonged in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. I’d have to tell Liam. That was his favorite movie when we were little. By the time we reached the end of the hall, Ollis had to turn sideways to fit through the doorway. Then he ducked. I guessed that, like the alley, it was meant to deter people from going in that direction.
We walked through some sort of greenhouse. One half was full of plants that produced fruit. Under different circumstances, I would have asked questions, but we didn’t have time for that.
Ollis turned to look back at us. “It is just through here.”
I nodded. “This had better not be a joke.”
“No joke, kid. No joke.”
“Kid? I’ve been demoted to kid?”
“You look younger now. Maybe it is because you are in desperate need of a shower. I would have offered you a place to clean up, but you seem to be in a hurry.”
Samantha brushed a hand through her hair. “We are.”
Ollis smiled at her. “I was calling him dirty. You look fresh as a spring morning.”
She blushed. “Thank you.”
“If Kevin had not already claimed you, I would have introduced you to one of my sons.”
She blushed about ten shades redder, and I put an arm around her. “Yeah, it’s too bad.”
I didn’t miss the smile she threw my way. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was acknowledging we were together or that she didn’t like the thought of dating one of Ollis’s sons. Maybe it was both. Either way, I liked it.
We emerged from the greenhouse, and moved into a courtyard with high walls covered in bright green vines.
“Here we are.” Ollis opened a set of double doors on a circular stone building. “Easy now, little ones.”
It took me a minute to realize he wasn’t talking to us. I peeked inside the room and stepped back. Right on Samantha’s foot.
Before I could apologize, she saw what made me step back. She didn’t flinch. “Wow. He cannot really mean for us to ride on those, can he?”
Four enormous winged creatures covered in iridescent scales lay stretched out in a spacious arena. Sharp spines outlined their wings and tails. Two of the dragons were blue with green stripes down their sides. One was red, and the last was orange. They looked up at us, probably trying to decide whether we were of any concern. I hoped they were lazy dragons.
Ollis pointed at the pair that looked alike. “I would suggest the twins there. They are the gentlest, yet fastest flyers.”
“They’re the gentle ones?” I didn’t think they looked particularly gentle. At the moment, they were both eyeing me with less than friendly expressions.
“How do we approach them?” Samantha was already talking about approaching them? Maybe she was braver than I was. I kept expecting fire to come out of their nostrils.
“I will call them out for you. These boys will not hurt you as long as you are careful.”
“Boys? They’re male dragons?” I didn’t know why that surprised me.
“Yes. That is why I suggest them. The girls”—he pointed at the other two—“have more of a bite to them.”
“Bite. Lovely.”
Ollis smiled. “Should I get them saddled up for you?”
I got the impression that he liked seeing me so uncomfortable while Samantha might as well have been jumping up and down with excitement.
I nodded, trying to appear more relaxed. “Saddles? Right. Sure.”
Samantha whispered in my ear, “I have not seen you afraid of anything in a while. It is kind of cute.”
“I’m not scared.” The real question was why she wasn’t afraid. She was really okay just walking up to a giant animal who could probably kill us without moving its head?
I kept quiet as Ollis brought out the twins. We moved outside and waited while two men put saddles on them as if they were horses. Giant, brightly colored horses with scales and wings. Right.
Samantha walked right up to one of them and touched his nose. “Hello. My name is Samantha.”
The dragon made some sort of noise that actually sounded kind of happy, like a cat’s purr or something.
She gestured for me to join her. “Come here.”
They both snarled at me.
She laughed. “Maybe they do not like males.”
“Figures,” I grumbled.
“Hey, you act the same around Talen.” Her eyes twinkled.
I joined her and tentatively touched the nose of the second one. Upon closer inspection, the shiny scales showed an eerie reflection of my face. “I’m really not trying to move in on any of your women. I already have one.”
Samantha laughed. “And he is modest, too.”
The dragon lowered his head slightly. His hide actually felt kind of cool. Covered in rough scales, his skin was slightly warm to the touch.
Ollis walked over. “Can I trust you to bring these boys back when you are done? Dragons being rare and all.”
Samantha nodded. “Yes. We will bring them back as soon as possible.”