The Dragon's Daughter

xix. triple G ranch

Eurytion strolled beside her with his club across his shoulder. Orthus the two-headed dog growled a lot when not busy sniffing her legs or jumping into the bushes once in a while to chase creatures, but Eurytion kept him more or less under control.

They walked down a dirt path that seemed to go on forever. It felt like walking back in her home country. Heat shimmered off the ground. Insects hummed in the trees. Never before has she been so grateful to be familiarized to the heat.

Every so often she'd see a pen full of red cows or even stranger animals. Once she passed a corral where the fence was coated in asbestos. Inside, a herd of fire-breathing horses milled around. The hay in their feeding trough was on fire. The ground smoked around their feet, but the horses seemed tame enough. One big stallion whinnied and columns of red flame billowed out his nostrils.

Do you think it hurts?

Not important.

“What are they for?” she asked.

Eurytion scowled. “We raise animals for lots of clients. Apollo, Diomedes, and…others.”

“Like who?”

“No more questions.”

"Luke?"

Eurytion was quiet. "You ask too much."

"I don't."

You do.

Hey! You're supposed to be on my side.

Can't find it anywhere in my job description.

Meanie.

Finally, they came out of the woods. Perched on a hill above us was a big ranch house — all white stone and wood and big windows.

“Don’t break the rules,” Eurytion warned as they walked up the steps to the front porch. “No fighting. No drawing weapons. And don’t make any comments about the boss’s appearance.”

“Why?” she asked. “What does he look like?”

Before Eurytion could reply, a new voice said, “Welcome to the Triple G Ranch.”

𝖮𝗁.

The man on the porch had a normal head, which was a relief. His face was weathered and brown from years in the sun. He had slick black hair and a black pencil moustache like villains
have in old movies. He smiled, but the smile wasn’t exactly friendly; more amused. She didn’t ponder that very long, though, because then she noticed his body…or bodies.

He had three of them.

"So that's why," she muttered to herself under her breath.

This guy was three complete people. His neck connected to the middle chest like normal, but he had two more chests, one to either side, connected at the shoulders, with a few inches between. His left arm grew out of his left chest, and the same on the right, so he had two arms, but four armpits. The chests all connected into one enormous torso, with two regular but very beefy legs, and he wore the most oversized pair of Levis she'd ever seen. His chests each wore a different colour Western shirt—green, yellow, red, like a stoplight.

Well, holy mozzarella. Have you seen anything like that?

This pantheon has too many you know?

Tell me about it. Once you think you've seen everything, more comes.

The cowherd Eurytion nudged her. “Say 𝗁ello to Mr. Geryon.”