The Siren Song - Book 2 of the Legends of Henge Series

Chapter 6

Lance Taylor

Finding out that your best childhood friend wasn't going to be at Summit this summer was not the kind of knowledge I wanted. The worst of it was, the whole trip was planned so I could see him.

I wasn't about to let my parents know that he wasn't going to be there after all.

So, I just left during the day to explore, making them think I was spending the day with him when I wasn't. My dad wouldn't really have noticed either way.

He was only here because of business. Being the Lion Chief often made him forget he had a son.

Today, I was in the Dragon Gardens, my favorite place to be as a child. Tiny dragons hid in the berry bushes and flowers, peeking their heads out to say hello or cause mischief. Bigger dragons holed up in the hills of the garden, sleeping in the sun.

I hadn't lived here since I was five years old. I slipped out my Vale brand phone and looked up my point tracker. I had just enough to buy some kind of souvenir.

My parents gave me a monthly allowance of points, the normal kind of currency. Lots of it was just tracked electronically. Once you left school, you had to keep it manually. Points in the adult world were small gold coins. Nine tails on one side and a picture of Mount Everest on the other.

I had plenty from my parents to spend on a small souvenir.

With the gates of the Dragon Gardens not far off, I figured I might as well leave. The whole trip was kind of a disappointment but I wanted something to remember it by.

The first stand outside the Gardens was filled with candles and pots. Lots of vendors lined the streets. Summit was one of the larger settlements, almost twice as big as Vale. I passed an ornate knife and shields and stopped to look at the gleaming metal.

"Would you like a closer look, lad?" the vendor asked. I shook my head and backed away.

I took more interest in the leather bound books in the next stand. A copy of Lief Himura's Reign was on sale.

I stepped closer to examine the book next to it. "Tha' there, sir, tha's a limi'ed edition World 'istory book." The book didn't have a title. "Written by a vampire 'istorian, tha' one is."

That would be why it didn't have a title. "How much?"

"Fourteen points, please, sir," the vendor looked very pleased. I handed him three five point pieces.

"Here's yer change, sir," the man handed me a one point piece back and I hesitated in taking it. The man wasn't just holding a coin, he was holding a tiny turquoise dragon clutching a gold coin in his small jaws. I gave the man an odd look.

"That's a dragon."

"Yes," the man scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. I reached forward and tried to pry the gold coin from the dragon, who only growled and held on tighter. "No, sir, you have to take the dragon, too."

"Excuse me?"

The vendor nodded. "Yer not from aroun' 'ere, are yeh?" I shrugged. Not technically. "Them's the rules. Take the coin, take the dragon."

I'd never heard of this before. I tentatively reached out a hand and plucked the dragon from the vendor's palm. The dragon looked absolutely delighted at the new company and crawled up my arm to perch on my shoulder. "'Ave a nice day, sir," he handed me the history book. "Spend 'im soon, yeh 'ear? At another stand if yeh can, sir. 'E likes to travel, that one."

I nodded, still thoroughly confused. "'E won' part from the coin, now, yeh 'ear? Those types 'ave a piece o' gold that they keep but they allow us to use it as currency as long as we don' shake 'em."

I walked away, the dragon still on my shoulder and the book in my hand. I glanced into the dragon's eyes and was surprised to see the adoration in its eyes. It was something I rarely saw. "You like to travel, bud?" I asked. "How would you like to come to Vale with me?"

The dragon let out a happy trill and I grinned.

Another week gone by...

That almost sounds like the start to a dramatic song or something haha. 

So, Lance is still a character, yes. I know. Pretty much everyone hates him but he's vitally important, sorry.

Also, sorry for the short chapter

Question of the Chapter: Do you like the covers of my books, or would you prefer to have animals on them.

My answer: The reason I ask is because I'm sending the first book to a few teachers to edit and afterwards I'm planning on meeting up with some editors or self publishing. That means I need to get a real cover. Unfortunately, I don't own the images I got for the covers. I got them on the internet, so I either have to come up with completely new ones (ew) with my own media or recreate the ones I have with my own media. Personally, I like that they don't have animals on them, because that would get really confusing I'd think. 

See you next Wednesday!!!

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