“Yes,” Gabe said. He felt Rann’s hands on the back of his hips. She breathed on his neck.
Count Angus stroked the snout of the wingless dragon. It remained still as a stone, but the tongue still flickered. “This dragon doesn’t have wings like yours, Gabe. Most of them don’t. We call the wingless ones runners and the flying ones, so to speak, flappers. The flappers draw the most excitement. The crowd howls like savages when they go on their short flights. Imagine what they would do if they actually saw one fly?”
Gabe didn’t speak.
Clovis’s beady eyes bore into Gabe. “Answer the Count.”
Not realizing it was originally a question, Gabe finally replied, “I can’t speak for them all, but I imagine many would poop themselves.”
The Count choked out a laugh. “Wit. It is a lost art these days. But a clever tongue can get you killed. I enjoy the kill. I think that’s why I’m the Count.” He spun the knife in his hand and quickly tucked it away. “Gabe, you were a dragon trainer, so indulge me, and tell me how you would care for these dragons.”
Gabe nodded. Breaking free of Rann’s grip, he said, “Okay. To start, I like to see who is hungry. The ones like that,” he said, pointing to the dragon clinging to the cage in front of the Count’s face, “are probably hungry. They don’t eat so much unless it’s after the hunt. They store energy, so I’d feed him some dead bugs and crickets. The ones curled in the back of the cage— there’s no need to worry. They aren’t hungry.
“Usually, I clean cages first. I do this daily, rotating the dragons from among the cages. These cages are filthy.” He ran his finger inside one of the empty cages. It was covered in dragon grit. “They like a clean cage. It makes them more active.” He made his way from cage to cage, eyeing each one. “So I’d scrub out the empty cages and rotate the dragons from the dirty cages to clean ones. I’d start with the sleeping ones. They are easiest, but sometimes, their claws are very hard to pry from the metal. There’s a trick to that. I can see whoever is cleaning the cages doesn’t know it.”
The Count raised a brow.
“I used a stiff bristle brush to scrub down all of the metal,” Gabe continued. He made his way over to a workbench and picked up a brush. “This will do, but it doesn’t look like it’s been used much. I scrub and scrape out the dragon dung and uneaten bugs and drop them in the waste bin.” He spun around until he spied a bright-blue plastic well with a white lid marked Dung. “I suppose that will do. For a big compound, you don’t do so well taking care of the dragons. If you clean the cages daily, they are easier to clean. Moving the dragons is good too. They get used to you that way. These dragons are abandoned. Their scales are peeling. It’s not healthy.” Gabe looked at the Count and Clovis. He had their full attention. “Do the gamers approve of this? Back in Newton, we’d take a beating for these poor conditions. The dragons are prizes, not livestock.”
“Mind your tongue,” Clovis warned.
The Count stepped in front of his assistant. “It’s quite fine, Clovis. I think Gabe brings us some needed small-compound charm. Gabe, I am convinced that you are fit to care for these dragons and their cages. I’m even going to allow you to keep an assistant.”
“Me?” Rann quickly covered her lips and looked down. “Sorry.”
“Yes, you.” The Count walked up to Gabe. “As for your dragon, I can’t make any promises. All I can say is that the dragon drew the Dominion’s curiosity, and that can be a good thing. I suppose we’ll be informed of something certain in the next few weeks.”
“Weeks?” Gabe blurted out. “I need Squawk now!” The Count slugged Gabe hard in the face. Gabe fell on his butt with his chin stinging. He didn’t even see the fist coming.
The Count pointed a gun in his face. His expression was pure anger. “Don’t ever raise your voice to me. Don’t ever question my authority. I will fill your fragile body with holes. Bloody holes! Do you understand?”
“Y-Yes,” Gabe answered.
The Count holstered the gun. He spoke venom through his teeth. “Then get off of your ass, and clean these cages before I change my mind!”
CHAPTER 38
For two weeks, Gabe and Rann worked in the Dragon Den. Gabe worked vigorously, scrubbing the grit from one cage. The bottom metal was coated in filth. “Hoss is the dirtiest dragon I’ve ever seen.” He was working on one of the lower cages. Each cage had a removable nameplate with the dragon’s name on it. Rann stood behind him with a dragon in her hands like a prize. Her hands were covered in leather gauntlets. He scowled at the beefy dragon. He was big, weighing every ounce of twenty-five pounds. His scales were thick, and his claws were long, black, and sharp. “You stink, Hoss. Put him in a clean cage, not that it will be clean for long.”
“Can I keep him out a bit?” Rann smiled at the dragon. “I like Hoss. He’s kinda cute.”
“He’s not a pet, Rann. Remember the last time you tried to play with one? He about bit your toes off.” Gabe rubbed his shoulder. The muscles in his arms burned. “These dragons are bigger and stronger than what I’m used to. You have to be careful.”
“Oh, Hoss won’t bite me. He likes me. Like you do.”
Gabe pointed at an open door to a clean cage. “Now.”
“Oh, fine. But Hoss will not like you for it.” She set the dragon inside the cage. The burly dragon’s hide was as thick as an armadillo’s. His eyes never blinked, but they always stayed narrow. The eyes were a very pale shade of blue, matching some faded stripes on its back. Hoss had wings too. “Good night, Hoss,” she said. As she was withdrawing her hand, Hoss snapped at her fingers. “Gabe!”
The dragon’s jaws locked on the tips of two fingers of the leather gauntlet.
Gabe was on his feet. He reached in the cage with his bare hand. His strong fingers dug into a sweet spot behind the dragon’s neck. He squeezed. “Let go, Hoss!”
The dragon’s jaws opened. Rann jerked her hand out. Gabe slammed the cage door shut and slid the dead bolt over. “Are you okay?”
Rann was crying. “I-I don’t know.”
“Let me see.” He slid the gauntlet off of her hand. Two of her fingers were red and beginning to swell. “Can you bend them?”
“No.” Her lip trembled.
“Welcome to the Dragon Den. You’re an official trainer now.” He took her hand and gently bent the fingers. Rann sucked air through her teeth. “You’re fine. Most trainers lose a finger at some point, though. Good ones and bad ones. It’s all part of it.”
She pulled her hand away. “But I don’t want to lose a finger.”
“Then don’t.”
Rann backed up to one of the nearby workbenches. She jumped up, landing her bottom on the top of it. She unzipped her jumper down to her chest. Sweat glistened on her neck. She fanned herself. “I don’t understand why you are called a trainer. All you are doing is cleaning cages. I haven’t seen anyone train anything.”
“Well, the gamers are supposed to do that. I suppose that happens when we aren’t here.” Gabe picked up a bucket of dragon excrement and took it to the waste bin. He lifted the lid and dumped the bucket. Life had been very routine. Every day, the Blue Guard, Tim, took them to the den. He stood outside while they worked inside for several hours early in the morning. They ate food given to them by Clovis afterward. They did better than most. As for contact with anyone else, or the other gamers, it hadn’t happened. It was only Gabe, Rann, and the dragons. Rann was the best part of the deal. They’d become inseparable. He strolled over to Rann and pushed her knees apart. He smiled at her.
She brought her lips to his and kissed him. “I was wondering if you were going to kiss me today.”
“Sorry, I just like to keep my mind off of things. Working in the den helps.”
Rann held his face in her hands. She gave him a concerned look. “You look tired, Gabe. Can’t you sleep at night?”
“Not so well. It’s hard without Squawk around. It makes me edgy, and I’m worried. I can’t stop worrying.”
&nbs
p; “I’m here, even if Squawk isn’t.”
“It’s not the same. We are bonded. It’s hard to explain, but not having Squawk is like missing and arm or leg. I don’t feel myself without him.”
She touched him, forehead to forehead. “I can fill that void if you let me.”
Gabe’s heart pounded inside his chest. Rann was hard to resist. He reached up and flipped up her eye patch. “Are you ever going to lose this?”
“No,” she said softly. “Are you ever going to stop resisting me?”
“Probably not.”
Rann’s soft lips pressed into his. Their bodies came together. She locked her legs around his back. “Oh, Gabe.”
The passionate kiss set his body on fire.
CLANG!
The lip-lock broke. Rann gasped. “What was that?”
Gabe eased out of her legs and headed toward the source of the loud sound. The arena was very quiet, aside from the noise they made working.
The Dragon Den was a stretch of area that was about thirty yards long and fifteen feet wide. Aside from the tunnel, there were two entrances at opposite ends of the concourse. They were sealed up with huge security doors that were locked from the other side. The metal of the door appeared to be inches thick, and they weren’t something that was originally part of the coliseum’s makeup.
Gabe crept up to the door where the loud sound resounded. Rann hung back. He put his ear to it. He’d done it before on a few occasions and heard nothing. Now, there was notable scuffling on the other side.
“What do you hear?” Rann asked.
“People I think.”
“What are they saying?”
“They aren’t saying. It sounds more like yelling.” He pressed his ear closer to the metal.
BANG!
Gabe jerked back. His jaw hung. Something strong and powerful was on the other side of the door. BANG! BANG! BANG! The door jostled. Whatever was on the other side wanted in. A huge metal wheel that opened and closed the door turned back and forth and rattled.
CHAPTER 39
Tim rushed into the room from the corridor entrance. Winded, he said, “Gabe, secure the den. It’s time to go!”
Staring at the door, Gabe said, “But it’s early.”
“Now!”
Gabe had to tear his eyes away. The round handle on the vault-like door stopped moving. The banging from the other side went quiet. Together, Gabe and Rann locked up all of the dragon cages. He left the keys in the workbench drawer. They followed Tim out the den, and moving quickly, they left the coliseum. Tim took them to the flats.
“Here are your rations. I’ll see you tomorrow. I think,” Tim said, somewhat awkwardly.
“What was that all about?” Rann asked as they went back to Gabe’s cove. They sat down on the mattress and started eating. The bag had stiff bars made of toasted oats with a little bit of honey mixed in. She bit off a piece and chewed. “My heart is still jumping.”
“Mine too.” Gabe chewed on his oatmeal bar. “I think it has something to do with the Dragon Games. It’s maybe a wild animal or something.”
“It sounded like a big wild animal. What kind of animal can turn a handle?”
He shrugged. He was thinking of the mutant man, Lodok, who’d attacked the Deathriders in the tunnel. The freak and the chewbas were deadly things—every bit as deadly as the dragons.
“I don’t want to go back there if that is going on.” She looked at her fingers. They were getting thick and bruising. “I’m afraid my luck will run out in there.”
“No, I’ll protect you. We just need to hold out for Squawk. I’d go if it weren’t for him. I’ve got to find him.”
“Are you going to take me when you leave?”
“Yeah, of course.” Gabe wasn’t sure if he was lying to her or not. As much as he wanted to be with Rann, she would only slow down Squawk and him. The Dominion wouldn’t leave them alone. But he needed to get her somewhere safe from harm. She was being used to control him. He didn’t want her blood on his hands too.
“So tell me about Mandy. She really seems very fond of you. She was your girl back in Newton?” Rann flipped her tawny hair over her shoulder. “She’s very pretty.”
“She’s very crazy. Like her mother. I hope I never see her again.”
“I’m pretty sure that you will. She’ll make it happen. She likes you, Gabe. Trust me. A girl can tell.”
“She wants me dead.”
“If that were the case, you’d be dead already. Don’t you think?”
“I don’t know. Can we talk about something else?”
“It’s okay if you like her more than me. She is prettier, and she’s Dominion. That could be a good thing for you… to cross over. I’d understand. I want what’s best for you. I wouldn’t hold you back.”
Gabe tilted his head to the side. “Are you crazy too?”
“I’m just being nice,” Rann fired back. Her voice had a hard edge to it. She threw her oat bar out of the cove. “I don’t want to be the one to drag you down! I can take care of myself.” She stormed out.
“Rann, wait!” Gabe started to go after her but sat back down. This was the second time she’d gotten mad at him for no reason. The last time, she’d locked herself in her cove and wouldn’t open it despite his pleadings. She was her normal self the next day and acted like nothing happened. “Ah, the heck with it. If she needs me, she knows where to find me,” he said to himself and resumed eating.
He spent the next hour in his cove lying back against the wall, resting his eyes. There was still plenty of day left, and he pondered leaving the flats without Rann. It seemed like a good chance to do for himself on his own. Without her, he’d draw less attention. He recalled something his father Saul used to say.
Never waste a good opportunity.
Gabe grabbed his pack. The scuffle of feet caught his ear. The daylight inside his cove went dim. He turned. Boys from the flats crowded the opening. There were three in all, around his age or younger. He’d seen most all of them around before. All of the young residents had shunned Gabe and Rann. He hadn’t even spoken with any of them. He stood up and addressed the tallest, a brown-haired boy with a chain wrapped around his gloved fists. “What do you want?”
“We just wanted to get to know you,” the young leader said. “Gabe, isn’t it?”
“Uh-huh.”
The leader nodded. All three boys stepped inside. The shortest and stoutest closed them all inside. The cove went pitch-black.
CHAPTER 40
In the blackness, Gabe felt a body slamming into his. The weight of his adversary carried him hard into the back wall of the building, making a loud wham against the metal. He struck with his fists, hammering away at whoever tied up his legs. “Get off of me, thief!”
A hard punch landed in the side of his jaw. He felt every bit of the chain wrapped around the biggest boy’s hands. He sank down. Twisting and squirming, he fought against the boy on his legs. The boy was strong. Determined. Another punch clipped the back of his head. He lashed out. His fist connected with ribs. There was a groan, followed by the sound of someone sagging onto the mattress.
“Enough, enough!” the leader’s voice called. There was a clicking and flickering sound. A flame came to life in the darkness. The leader stood coolly in the front corner of the cove. He looked at Gabe. “Are you okay?”
Gabe kicked the stocky boy from his legs. The other boy held his ribs, still groaning. “I am, but you won’t be.”
The leader laughed. “Take it easy, Gabe. We had to sell the situation. You don’t want the Blue Guard thinking we’re friends. We want them thinking we are thieves, which we are, just not in this case.” The kid put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. “Now, do me a favor, and turn on your flame. I have to spare the juice in my lighter.”
With wary eyes, Gabe scooted over to the lantern and turned it on. “I’m going to give you ten seconds to explain before I shove this lantern in your crack.”
The fish-eyed leader
had a bushy unibrow that seemed unnatural and freaky. He blew out a puff of smoke. “I only need two seconds to explain. Mabel sent me.”
Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “Why would she send you to beat me up?”
“Like I said, we have to sell it. Look, I know it’s a lot to take in, but it is what it is. I’m Stewart. The fat kid is Clancy, and that’s Earl. We run the flats.”
“Sure you do.” Gabe took a close look at all of them. None of the kids in the flats had much of anything to show for themselves, but these three looked like they were getting more food from somewhere. They had meat on their bones hidden by long, gray smock-like garments with hoods on the back and a large pocket in the front center. Each had a different logo on the front. They had on shoes with laces too, which was rare. Most people wore sandals of some sort or other.
He eyed Stewart. “If you’ve talked to Mabel, what does she look like?”
“A really, really old woman. She’s got more wrinkles than most of these buildings have bricks.”
“You’re making things up.”
“No, I’m not. She said to show you this.” Stewart pulled out the phone device Mabel carried. She’d said she was attached to it as a girl. Faded, sparkly lettering on the back said, “Mabel.”
“Let’s go then.”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Stewart waved his hand with the cigarette in it. “We do this tonight. Earl will bring you over. Oh, and don’t bring your girl Chestnuts with you. You have to come alone. Tell her and her friends to stay home.”
Earl and Clancy snickered.
“What are you talking about?” Gabe said. “What friends?”
“We’ll see you tonight.” Stewart tipped his chin at the bag of food. Clancy tossed it up to him. Stewart opened the door. “See you around, Gabe.”
CHAPTER 41
The hours were long. The air was brisk. Normally, it would be a welcoming change in the weather, but Gabe’s mind was tortured. He sat inside the edge of his cove, rocking back and forth with his arms wrapped around his knees. Night was still an hour away, and he didn’t know how much longer it would be after that before Stewart came. His stomach rumbled too. Stewart taking his food hadn’t helped matters much.
Flight from the Dominion (The Gamma Earth Cycle Book 2) Page 12