The Fount of Dragon Fire

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Someone probably thought that they were doing Camry a favor by giving her a glass of water with ice floating inside. She frowned at the cold containers, hands held tight in her lap, as she tried not to let her nerves make her feet bounce erratically.

Each bead of sweat that appeared on the glass and trickled down to the faux wood table only made the nerves twist tighter in her belly.

The room that she had been told to sit in looked like it had once been as a storage room. There were no windows and the small light hanging down from above did little to alleviate the darkness. The singular table and two uncomfortable chairs that had been shoved inside fought for room. She had no doubts that it was an improvised interrogation room.

She had been stewing inside of it uncomfortably for the better part of an hour now. She kept drumming her fingers against her thighs, forcing them to stop, then starting up again the moment she went back to worrying about why she was here.

The door opened so suddenly and swiftly that it surprised a strangled noise out of her. She turned, eyes wide, at the large man that took up the majority of the doorway. The light beyond was brighter than the light in the storage room and nearly blinded her, obscuring him in darkness completely. She dared hope, for a moment, that the muscular man was Ash.

But then he slammed the door shut behind him. He stepped forward like a lion stalking through high grass, giving her a cool look in the dim light, and her heart sank with disappointment.

The older man before her may have had the same body type as Ash, but the hard set lines of his face were considerably more unforgiving. He had a thin manila folder clenched tight in his bear like fist and he glared at her through a pair of icy gray eyes, like a lowering storm, as he somehow squeezed himself around to the other side of the table.

He dropped the folder onto the table and Camry flinched at the smack it made.

"Cameron Henrietta Delaney. Also known as Camry."

She sent him a pained smile. "Hi. Er, you are?"

"Becker. I'm squad C's leader."

"Right." Camry frowned as he sat down, pushing the entire table back against her to make room for his bulk, as he opened her file.

"All in all, you seem to live a rather bland life, Miss Delaney."

"Ouch." She sat back, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. "I mean, it's not terribly exciting, but I'm happy with it."

"No marks on your record. Your first and only citation was a parking ticket, two years ago, that you received on the third and paid off on the fifth. Prompt."

"Better not to let those things stew, right?" She shrugged, trying for nonchalant.

"Your father served in the military, part of the DCS, non combat unit. Retired with honors after an injury to his right leg resulting in permanent damage to the musculature. Currently works as a realtor. Mother got a bachelor of arts before settling down as a stay at home mother and wife. Currently volunteers at a homeless shelter and works part time at a fabric store."

"You looked up my parents?"

"Boring. Plain. Uninteresting. And then, there's you." Becker looked at her over the file. "You received your associates degree in literature, then settled into a boring little life doing reviews on products for a larger website. You're one of their most popular contributors. Your fan base consisting most of mothers, college age students, and the elderly. Quite a spread."

"They like cheap, quality products. What's wrong with that?" She rubbed her arms uncomfortably.

"You don't draw attention to yourself. You don't break the rules. You don't even involve yourself all that heavily with the All Goods. You only followed your friend out here for the rally."