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The entire time, my parents argued outside of the building. Thirty minutes after starting, he declared I’d retrieved twelve hundred and three conjured birds and one true creation in the form of the familiar content to perch on my finger. Unlike Garnet, I received a check.
While the titanium dragons might keep tens of thousands of dollars in the building, I thought it was sensible that Cedrick had written out a check, which was for over fifteen thousand dollars. Aware of what his father had told me, I said, “Is this going to be audited?”
“Absolutely. Since you just got audited, I don’t have anything extra for you right now, but you’ll have an audit next month for certain. Your familiar will likely bag you more than what I paid you. And yes, the bird is clearly yours. Hummingbirds don’t behave in that fashion.”
“But what do I feed him?”
“Nectar. You can get it at any gardening store. You’ll need a feeder, which you’ll hang from the ceiling, and you’ll give him fresh nectar every other day or so. You’ll keep your feeder indoors, so your nectar won’t rot on him quickly. Make sure you get a nectar that has no artificial coloring. I’ll look into what sort of plants you can keep in your apartment he’ll appreciate. Right now, he’s imbued with a great deal of magic, so he won’t need to eat for the next few hours.”
“You’re sure I should just take him home?”
Cedrick grinned at me. “My father would whoop my ass something fierce if I tried to take away your new pet. He told me he talked with you about Monster. Are you feeling a little better about the rains?”
“Mostly. That it was birds this time helped. They’re going to just fly off and be birds now, right?”
“Some will stay, some will go, but yes. They’ll fly free and do what birds do. Some hummingbirds will be out of place here, but the young, fledging dragons will learn to fly while trying to catch the ones that need to be returned to South America—or magic will encourage them to fly south. Should there be a large migration of those birds, several dragons will accompany them to make certain the foolish do not hamper their path. And to offer them nectar, of course.”
Of course. “I’ll still come after you dragons if you summon rains of cats, dogs, or horses. You know, common house pets.” I petted the hummingbird and cooed at the bird. “But this rain wasn’t bad. Not like the past few.”
“I’ll admit, I was surprised at how much you liked those bloodsucking toads. Ah, that reminds me. My father wants you to visit Mouthy Asshole. He’s overcome with sadness that we dragons are not brave enough to let him bite.”
I laughed, gesturing at my parents with my free hand. “As soon as I ditch those two, I will give you a call.” Careful not to dislodge the bird, I got out my phone. “I’ll need your number.”
“And you need me to teach you how to deposit your check without having to go all the way to the bank. I’ll even take care of calling to confirm that the money is legitimate. It won’t take but a few minutes. I’ll even do what I can to spare you from those dragons outside. Maybe I’ll be an interesting enough dragon-kin to spare you from further torment.”
ELEVEN
“I see you have some new friends, Kinsley.”
Friday, April 23, 2167
Pilgrimage Ward
Dragon Heights, Wyoming
One day, Cedrick would learn.
Rather than distract my parents, my mother’s attention locked onto the poor titanium dragon-kin. After a few moments of thought, she declared he would serve as our tour guide and take us to Shrine Hill, as they had ‘heard rumors of strange happenings’ at the sacred site. As Cedrick valued his life, he called his father after we arrived at the base of the mini mountain.
As my parents found Cedrick to be amusing, we waited for his father to arrive.
He came as a dragon, and he transformed on the street wearing an expensive suit with polished shoes. To my amusement, his cuff links were made with titanium, and he had an oxidized titanium tie clip in the colors of the rainbow.
Phillip bowed to my parents before greeting Garnet, who squeaked and snuggled close to my neck and nuzzled my cheek as though trying to convince the dragon she wanted to stay with me.
“I’m not going to take your human from you,” he promised. “I see you have some new friends, Kinsley.”
While the hummingbirds had manifested over the Gray Ward, more than a few had already crossed the city. They appreciated the flowers covering Shrine Hill, but they lived to fight with each other. I could understand why the titanium dragon assumed I had more than one.
The hummingbirds were not shy about our presence, and more than a few visited trying to figure out what we were about.
Mine indulged in the fighting a little, although he seemed more interested in making certain the other birds understood he had claimed me as his territory. The rest of the time, he visited nearby flowers.
“Only one of them seems to be mine,” I replied, gesturing to where the little boy investigated the nearby plants.
“I sent your mother to the shop to keep an eye out for bounties,” Phillip informed his son. “I thought I’d come and supervise, especially since Kinsley picked up a true creation.” The titanium dragon’s gaze fell on me. “Earned, I promise you. The magic decides, and it seems the magic feels you deserve even more than Garnet. And you do.”
My parents did an admirable job of hiding their pride, although I caught my mother preening at the praise.