An Abundance of Dragons

Chapter 10

Sabra pulled the car into park behind the hotel. There was a black limo sitting in the alley by the dumpster, the windows tinted and driver invisible to her eyes. Fen was leaning on the side of the car, texting on her phone with long nude plastic nails. Chao's spine was straight and tall, his hands politely folded and marking his page in the newspaper. Roman stopped slurping his mocha in the backseat. Ohtli had downed their coffee before Sabra had even started the engine.

Mack sighed as Sabra pulled the car into park. She rolled down the window and leaned out. "What now?"

"Turn it off and get in," Fen called back. "You're not taking your easily trackable car."

Sabra shrugged and turned the engine off, climbing out with her satchel. Mack threw a napkin over Tresor before climbing out. Ben instantly filed behind his mother. After a moment, Roman climbed onto the roof of the car and Ohtli slivered out. Fen raised an eyebrow. "Well. . ."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Jiang," Roman said politely, mispronouncing the name. Fen seemed a bit put off, but Chao shot her a look. She sighed and opened the door. "Climb in and take your shoes off."

Sabra locked the car and headed over to the limo. Chao and Fen let the group get in first. Sabra settled down at the back, Ben squashed between her and Mack. Roman perched on Sabra's shoulder to make more room for Ohtli. The driver was patiently waiting in the front seat, but other than him and Xiu, the limo was empty. One window was ever so slightly open, just enough that the tiny red dragon could smoke a cigar without filling the limo up with smoke. As they entered, she sighed and said in a low, unimpressed voice, "I don't get paid enough for this."

Roman frowned. "Who are you?"

"Han Xiuju. Who's asking?"

"Roman Xirarch. Nice to meet you, Han—"

"Xiu," she said irritatedly. "We say our family name first."

"Oh, I'm very sorry."

She snorted. Chao sat down at the edge and called, "Airfield, please!"

The driver nodded. "Any rush?"

"No, take your time."

He shut the window. Xiu put out her cigar on the back of her hand, then studied the glowing orange burn on her scales. Fen sat next to Chao and opened her phone again, continuing to mind her own business. Chao shut the door. A few seconds later, the car turned on and pulled out of the alley. Ohtli settled on the floor, their head on the edge of the seat. Chao politely asked, "May we see our dragon?"

Sabra nudged Mack, who reluctantly pulled him out of the satchel. He flopped down from her grasp around his midsection like a cartoon cat, paws splayed out mid-air, round eyes peering around. Xiu studied him, then rolled up the window and perched on Fen's shoulders, studying her phone. "Maybe it's a good idea, Your Majesty, to not text your illegitimate partner during work hours."

Fen slapped her absently. "Remove your shoes."

Sabra pulled her sneakers off and tied the laces together. Roman snorted. "I don't have shoes!"

Sabra rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure we all needed to know that."

"Ohtli! She's making fun of me."

"I know," they responded with a grin.

"Do something!"

"No."

"Ughh!"

"So where are we going?" Sabra asked while Mack started petting a mildly unhappy Tresor.