Page 50 of Magpies & Mayhem
“Neven Vargas?” Augustus asked the newcomer.
“That’s me. Welcome,” he greeted. “You’ll have to forgive me for the lack of staff. We don’t normally do intakes after hours, but I’m happy to make an exception for your group.”
Huck clambered up my leg to wrap around my thigh, and I reached down to rub the scales between his horns as Augustus introduced the four of us and ushered us through the gate. “I’m not trying to end up with canine barbeque,” I told Neven as I eyed his dogs. They were hanging back to keep some distance between us but remained intensely focused on all of us.
“Oh, don’t worry about them. They’re only concerned about people. They know to leave the dragons alone.” He waved a dismissive hand and raised his voice slightly to address the whole group. “Why don’t we head for the intake office, and I’ll get some records and take a look at what we’ve got.” The dogs dropped back as he led the way up a hard-packed dirt path to a squat stone building, talking as he walked, and explained that all the buildings on the property were fireproof and built to withstand the wear and tear that comes with caring for large animals. “I’ve already sent the rest of the staff home for the night, so it’s just me tonight, other than the guards. Normally we have lots of hands around to help,” he explained as he let us into the darkened office and turned on the lights.
Neven lifted the covers on the cages with an expectant expression as we entered, taking quick peeks in each of them and expertly keeping out of flame range when one of them got feisty. He guided us into what looked like an oversized exam room and made sure Huck’s tail was in the door as it dragged behind me before letting it close.
“This is our triage and exam area. Once we’re done in here, they’ll move into the quarantine pens, but let’s see what we’re working with first,” he said cheerfully, pulling out a folder and opening it to a stack of papers to make some notes. “Alright, let’s do this,” he said, eagerly rubbing his hands together, clearly excited about hauling a feral dragon baby out of her cage. He opened the first cage, ignored the flame the little dragon shot at him, and gripped her gently by the back of the neck to pull her out. “Looks like we’ve got some little Lesser Black Highlands dragons! This one is a little girl,” he said as he checked her over, confidently handling her as he turned her this way and that.
He kept her wings restrained without hassle, pinching a bit of her skin on her back to check hydration. I was pleased with how shiny her scales were after they’d shed over the last few days. He calmly checked her eyes and didn’t even flinch when he opened her mouth to check her teeth and she flamed him again, wiping his face with his arm without comment.
“She looks pretty good,” he said tentatively, feeling along her bone structure as I had, palpating her belly, and working each limb and wing to check mobility. “A bit small for her age, but she should catch up with regular feeding. Okay now, let’s put you back in your cage while I look at your sister,” he told the little dragon as he put her away and then pulled the next one out to give her the same exam. “Yeah, they’re both a little small, but I think they’ll be okay.” He cast a sideways glance at me. “So, who are your people?” he asked as he felt her bones.
It was the shifter way of asking which clan I belonged to, and it wasn’t my imagination that Jordan shifted his weight so that he was closer to me. If my heart hadn’t been hammering out of my chest, waiting for it to be Huck’s turn, I might have laughed.Jealous prat.“I’m from the magpie clan.”
Neven simply nodded as he loaded the second dragon back into her cage. “I’m from the bear clan. It looks like you’ve got a healthy little boy there,” he said, gesturing to Huck. He scribbled for a few minutes in his notes and then started to put the folder away, confusing me.
“Aren’t you going to inspect Huck?” I asked, pointing down at my scaly leg barnacle.
He put the folder away anyway and turned to look at me. “Oh, sure, I can if you want me to. Set him right up here,” he said, patting the metal exam table.
I frowned at the man as I set Huck in front of him, but he only had eyes for my dragon, cooing at him and checking over his body. For his part, Huck sat somewhat patiently, looking like a disgruntled cat while Neven gave him his exam. I turned to glance at Augustus, who merely shrugged and looked as confused as I was.
“He looks great!” Neven concluded, handing Huck back to me with a smile that looked like he was trying to be reassuring. “Good size, beautiful scales, a very calm personality. You’ve done a great job with him. He’s going to be a very large male someday—for his species,” he clarified.
Jordan coughed. “So, large house sized instead of small house sized?” he mumbled.
Neven nodded. “Exactly so. Perhaps you all could help me take them over to the quarantine pens, and I can show you the grounds as we go? I don’t normally give tours, since we’re trying to limit the dragons’ exposure to people in an effort to rewild them, but since they’re sleeping now, we should be fine.” He led us out of the exam room to the back door of the main building and held the door for us as we filed through. I hoisted Huck against my chest, wrapping my arms around him with my heart in my throat, grateful for a few more minutes to say goodbye.
The pack of dogs found us and trotted at a respectful distance as we followed Neven through wide, meandering paths between enormous, sturdy-looking pens with high roofs made of iron bars to keep their occupants inside.
“Can you tell me about your facility’s security measures?” Augustus asked Neven as we walked, pushing the wheeled cart with one of the dragon cages in front of him. “Have you ever had any dragons stolen from the property?”
“We’ve never had anything stolen, and I’d have a hard time imagining anyone trying. We have the fences, and the after-hours security team, and the dogs live here full time, but all of that is rather redundant in my opinion. Anyone who stepped foot on the property unannounced would be dragon food,” he explained dryly. “Here we are,” he said, approaching an outbuilding with a small, fenced yard. “This is one of our quarantine areas for new residents.”I guess this is goodbye. I couldn’t hear what else he said over the blood rushing in my ears as I squished Huck against my chest and Jordan rubbed light circles on my back with his hand.
Chapter 37
“Yes,sothisiswhere the girls will stay for a few weeks,” Neven said in response to something Augustus had asked him, “and then after their quarantine period is over, we’ll move them nearby some other dragons they can learn from. They’ll stay in a caged run while they practice hunting and put on a little size, and then we’ll eventually release them farther up in the Ardacs.”
“Just the girls?” I asked, suddenly panicked as I latched onto his remark. “Where is Huck going to go?” I was already picturing him in some cold, dark pen all by himself… making his squeaky baby dragon cry to call for me in the middle of the night. No one would keep him company or pet him between his horns when he was lonely. My fight-or-flight response was nearly overwhelming, and since I couldn’t shift and carry Huck in my bird form, I was ready to start donkey kicking every person within kicking range.Except maybe Jordan.
Neven turned to me with his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “Who? Your little guy?” he asked, eyeing the way my hand wrapped around one of Huck’s tiny horns as he rested his head on my shoulder. The older man shook his head at me. “Oh, no, that dragon isn’t releasable. You’re stuck with him.”
I stumbled backward into Jordan’s chest in my shock, and he braced me with a hand on my waist. “Why isn’t he releasable? He can hunt! I’ve seen him do it! I know he’s habituated to me, but that’s why they spend time here without contact with people—torewild them.”
But Neven was already shaking his head again. “That dragon is yours, ma’am. If he hasn’t already marked you, I’ll eat my hat.”
I frowned at him because he wasn’t wearing any hat. “What mark?” I asked him obstinately. But that reminded me of something Grim had said.“Do you mind if I ask how you’ve come to bear a dragon’s mark?”I didn’t have any marks!
“A dragon’s mark.” He nodded down at Huck. “You didn’t realize?” he asked, searching my face with a hint of incredulity. “Dragons mark their favorites—especially shifters—by sharing their magic with them. Their resistance to fire and disease, their near immortality. If you think about it, it wouldn’t do for a dragon to have a beloved hoard that wouldn’t last as long as he did! He’s clearly imprinted on you. You gave him some of your magic at some point, didn’t you?”
I tried to think back, sure that I had, but I was still trying to make sense of what he was saying. I gave my magic to any Boundlands creatures that needed it. Why be stingy with something that I could regenerate? “I did, yes, when he was still in his egg. I gave my magic to all three of them, but more to Huck. He was so fragile, and we didn’t think he would make it.” I hugged him closer, remembering how Elara had panicked at how weak his presence was inside the shell when we’d found him. Huck snarled at me indignantly to let me know my grip was too tight, and I loosened my hold.
Neven nodded. “And you’ve noticed that it’s hard to be away from him, right? It feels like something’s wrong?”
“But that’s just because I’m worried about him!” I argued. “He’s so little, and he cries for me when I’m gone,” I explained, but my voice was already faltering because I wasn’t sure I was right anymore. “But I can’t be resistant to fire because I got burned by him when he first started flaming a few weeks ago!”
