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Chester considered me with interest. “There’s no requirement for a PI license here for basics, although you’ll need to acquire one if you want any of the legal exemptions for investigators. The license process does not require testing in, and it’s issued based on merit. Dad, if you verify her qualifications while maintaining her anonymity, we could process the license tomorrow. It requires a judge’s signature.”
I wondered how Chester knew about the details of acquiring the license. Curiosity nibbled away at me until I was forced to ask, “How do you even know all that?”
“A police officer has to serve as a guarantor for the private investigator in Dragon Heights. The guarantor is only on the hook at the time of approving the application, but there are penalties in place if it is discovered that the officer approved someone with a record. Your record probably squeaks when you rub it.” Chester shrugged. “I’ve done a few PI licenses since I joined the force. Apparently, I’m approachable. I’ve also refused to sign on a few of them. While I’m approachable, I’m thorough about character checks. Some people mistake approachable for easily manipulated.”
Garnet mewed, transformed to her wisp shape, and returned to my shoulder. Once back in her kitten form and balanced, I petted her. “Did you have a good snack of potatoes?”
The kitten squeaked and resumed attempting to clean her face, and she took her time licking the potatoes off her front paws. Tourmaline came over and landed on my other shoulder, and he settled his feathers.
I foresaw arranging every element of my life to accommodate the carbunclo and the hummingbird.
After giving Tourmaline his fair share of attention, I said, “But aren’t you biased?”
“Bias doesn’t matter for the license. I just have to verify you’re an upstanding individual, which is easy to do if Dad does his share of the work.”
“Tomorrow,” the commissioner stated. “I’ll fetch everyone else before helping your mom finish up dinner. Erik, you can take her home in my car tonight. You will not run your Bentley out of gas crossing the city, and I know your regular vehicle is in the Diamond Ward.”
“Well, that’s your fault for grabbing me when I got off shift today.”
“You can’t say I’m not a caring father, but you can say I’m manipulative and overbearing. Go make certain the table is set, boys.”
With amusing haste, Chester and Erik headed in the direction of the kitchen, leaving me to follow.
* * *
Sunday, April 26, 2167
The Sapphire Ward
Dragon Heights, Wyoming
The dining room had chairs for twenty-five, and twenty of the seats were filled, revealing a rather startling truth about Erik.
He’d come from a huge family.
To complicate things, he was the youngest, and he was the only boy in the clutch of twelve. That only two of Erik’s sisters sat at the table, sitting near me in a show of solidarity, warned me what my future held. It would take me months to learn everyone’s name.
The room couldn’t hold everybody, although I learned a lot of the absent members of Erik’s family worked the evening shift.
“You’re the baby of the family?” I blurted yet again.
Erik’s family got a good laugh out of my question, and he grinned at me. “I was the last of my clutch to make it into the world, too. With twelve of us, Mom was really happy she went the dragon route for our conception. She wasn’t a fan of having to break us out of our shells, but that’s a small price to pay.”
“Our first clutch had a dragon hatchling,” Erik’s father explained, and he pointed at one of Erik’s brothers. “Baby dragons have sharp claws and an egg horn for escaping from the shell. Upon seeing those sharp, tiny claws and that egg horn, the wife has gone the egg and clutch route ever since.”
I hadn’t known dragons could produce anything other than dragon-kin, and I stared at Erik’s older brother with wide eyes. “You’re Marshall, right?”
“I am. Good memory, especially since we threw twenty names at you all at once. Don’t look so alarmed. Most dragons produce dragon-kin, but every rare now and again, a dragon shows up out of the gate. Live-birthed dragons have dulled claws and no egg horn. Mom just likes to be dramatic. There are six of us in my clutch, and she realized she’s one of those dragons who produces entire flocks of babies at one time. You’re a singlet, right?”
“I am.”
“You’ll be grateful for that one day should you decide to have kids. Six to twelve children at a time is enough to murder the sanity of any pair of parents,” Marshall informed me in a solemn tone. “Are you aware that your kitten has fallen asleep in her potatoes?”
I checked on Garnet, who had a plump belly, hot sauce and mashed potatoes clumped in her fur, and used her plate—and some of her potatoes—as a pillow. Tourmaline, who’d gotten a feast of freshly picked flowers, slept in the tiny nest Erik’s mother had made for him of cloth and jewelry wire. “I’ll work on her table manners another day. She’s still settling, and she wasn’t eating well with her previous caretakers. I’ll have to monitor how much she eats soon, but I’d rather she be a little glutton. I’ll give her kitten milk when we get home, and with luck, she’ll go back to sleep for the rest of the night rather than run around the apartment like some speed demon.”
“Kittens are amazing.” Erik smiled at the sleeping beast. “I’m astonished she ate that much.”
“I’ll have to buy her new hot sauce.” Chester had grabbed all four bottles, and the little glutton had devoured every last drop. Fortunately, she’d passed out before realizing she’d run out. “I’ll work on her pacing a little better after she finishes adapting. I think she wasn’t willing to eat previously, and now she’s making up for lost meals.”