Arousing a Dragon

by Sarah Sarasota

  Seemingly responding to a casual gesture of Hawthorne’s hand, the elevator door slid open and Aurora, still in a state of bewilderment, stepped in.

  Chapter 4

  The white limousine pulled up in front of Aurora’s ratty apartment building in Brooklyn at the exact moment that her roommate-cum-landlord was tossing the last of her belongings into the street. There were already a handful of derelict-looking locals pawing and scavenging through her meager possessions. Even as she opened the door of the limo, a scrawny woman with dreadlocks picked up her pink hairdryer and carried it away.

  “Hey, what the fuck!” Aurora yelled after her, but the woman disappeared around the corner.

  Most of the other would-be scavengers dispersed at the sound of her outraged voice, although one teenage boy stayed behind, his hands clasping a pair of lacy black panties.

  “Give me those!” Aurora snapped, snatching at her underwear.

  The teenager jerked them out of reach and said hopefully, “Uh, do you mind? I’d really like to get in your panties.”

  “Sorry, kid,” Aurora said wearily, “I’ve already got one asshole in there, I don’t need another one.”

  She turned to her roommate, who’d just dumped a garbage bag full of Aurora’s clothes, and said, “What the actual fuck, Stacy?”

  “Look, Aurora,” Stacy said, “you’re already way behind on rent. Then I hear you got picked up by the cops last night. I’m sorry, but I’ve got a strict no criminal policy.”

  “Your boyfriend sells pot!”

  “That’s not the point.”

  Aurora took a steadying breath, repressing the urge to either pummel Stacy or cry. “Look, I’m not a criminal. I got arrested for throwing up on some huge dicks at work.”

  “Kinky!” chimed in the teenager, who was still hanging onto Aurora’s underwear.

  “Art dicks – sculptures,” Aurora said. She waved her hands. “That’s not the point. The point is that I was arrested for being drunk. It was nothing. I just need a little more time to get the rent money together.”

  “Maybe,” Stacy said, her words cool and venomous, “if you stopped riding about in limos you might be able to pay the goddamn rent already.” She pointed up the street to where the white limousine was waiting at a stop sign.

  “You don’t understand,” Aurora said.

  “I understand money,” Stacy said. “I understand cash in my hand. And I haven’t had any cash from you in either of my hands for two months. By the way, you owe me money for having to get the lock changed. I’ll just tack it onto your tally along with the rent, okay? And Aurora, if you don’t want to end up in jail again I suggest you pay me back ASAP, yeah?”

  She turned and stomped back up the steps to the rundown tenement, turning only when Aurora called her name.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “What am I supposed to do with all my stuff?” Aurora asked.

  “Set up a stall and sell it out here for all I care. That’s your problem.”

  Aurora sighed as Stacy disappeared into the stairwell.

  Aurora mulled over her options. After a second, she took a picture of all her stuff on the curb and sent it to Harper Hill with the message:

  911 – Help!! I’ve been evicted!!

  Then she stared morosely into the gutter, wishing that she had a bed so that she could curl up in it and sleep for the next five years. A twenty-dollar bill waggled into her vision and she looked up. The teenage boy was holding it out, Aurora’s panties dangling on one finger. With a sigh, Aurora took the money, and the teen took the underwear.

  ***

  “Harp, again, if there’s anything I can ever do to pay you back, just say the word.”

  Aurora was sitting in Harper Hill’s living room, her head tilted back on the couch. She felt exhausted.

  “If you hadn’t driven out to save me, I would’ve lost everything. Seriously, any favor you ever need, just name it.”

  Harper waved her off. “It’s just lucky that Mike here,” she gestured at her roommate who was eating pizza in front of the TV, “had a car that I could borrow. At least we got your clothes and valuables. Too bad we couldn’t fit in any furniture.”

  “Yeah, thanks, Mike,” said Aurora, turning to Harper’s roomie.

  Mike grunted.

  “And thanks a fucking bunch for helping us drag all Aurora’s shit up here, Mike,” Harper said sarcastically. “You’re a big help.” She kicked the leg of the chair that Mike was sitting in.

  “Hey, you know I’ve got that sciatica thing going on,” Mike said. “Besides, I’m busy watching the world burn here.” He pointed at the television. “Have you guys seen this shit?”

  Aurora turned her attention to the TV. They were halfway through a report on wildfires.

  “…unprecedented wildfires are sweeping the world, from California to Sydney, and now in rural upstate New York,” the reporter said. “Scientists the world over are attributing the anomaly to climate change and a rise in global temperatures. However, there are some, like Bill Strickland from Albany, who aren’t so sure.”

  The picture cut from a forest in flame to a man wearing a trucker hat and a plaid shirt. “Well, I’ll tell you what I saw,” he said to the interviewer standing off-camera. “Me and some of the boys were parked and having a few brewskies after we’d been out duck hunting, and I swear we saw something flying overhead in the dusk. Next thing you know; the whole damned forest is on fire! The government can’t cover up these U.F.Os forever!”

  Harper snorted. “Mike, a U.F.O fly-by is like you cleaning dishes; no one’s ever been able to prove that it’s taken place so, as far as the world’s concerned, it’s never happened.”

  Harper turned to Aurora. “Look, Aurora, you know I love you – even after that crazy-ass shit you pulled last night – but you can’t stay here. You can leave some of your stuff in my room, but with Mike, Sharon and their baby, it’s just too crowded in here already.”

  “I know, I know,” Aurora said. “And I’m so sorry about last night.”

  “You should be! I got you that freaking job and I got my ass chewed at the end of the gala for being idiotic enough to recommend hiring you.”

  “You didn’t get fired, did you?”

  “No, thank God.”

  Aurora breathed a little easier, and the worry that had been sitting on her chest like a weight disappeared.

  “Good,” she said. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything as crazy as that in my life!”

  Harper raised an eyebrow. “You don’t remember prom night, with the cheese and Larry what’s-his-name?”

  Aurora bristled. “That little prick was asking for a smack,” she said. “that was my damn cheese, and besides, everyone was a little hammered that night.”

  Harper held up her hands. “I’m just saying that it’s not actually the first time you’ve flipped out during a public event. And, girl…I’ve got some other bad news for you.”

  “Seriously, I can’t handle anymore. I’ve been fired, jailed, and kicked to the curb. The world is on fire. What else could possibly be…”

  Harper shoved her phone under Aurora’s nose. Aurora gave a gasp mingled with a groan.

  On the screen was a picture of Aurora perched on her bathroom counter in a very revealing pose.

  “That ass-hat Brodie,” she moaned, furious tears welling up in her eyes.

  Harper nodded. “He sent them to his entire contact list.”

  She put a hand on Aurora’s shoulder.

  “I know it seems like the end of the world, hon, but things turn around. Hey, you know I’ve been getting into this whole numerology thing, and this year is supposed to be a good one for you. There’s something special coming your way.”

  “Oh, sure there is,” Aurora said, between hiccups.

  Harper rubbed her back.

  “Look, forget about that jackass,” she said. “Tell me about this mysterious Mr. Moneybags who bailed you out of jail. You on
ly mentioned him when we were pulling up. Give me the gossip. Have you been keeping a little side-action on the DL from me, you sly minx?”

  Aurora wiped the angry tears away with the back of her hand and took a breath. “I told you, it wasn’t anything like that. I didn’t have a clue who the hell bailed me out when it happened. There was just this business card with a number on it.”

  Harper clapped her hands. “Shit, that’s like something out of a movie or something!”

  “I know, right? So, I called the number and this guy talked to me and the next thing I know I’m in the back of a fancy-ass limousine heading uptown. It pulls up outside a skyscraper on the Upper East Side and this butler comes out and leads me up to an insane penthouse at the top of this creepy building. And guess who strolls on out?”

  “Who?”

  “Mr. Finn Hawthorne.”

  “Get the fuck out of here.”

  “I’m telling you, Harp.”

  Harper jumped up and down on the couch in her excitement, laughing like a mad woman. Then she dropped back down into her seat and said, “Well, cream my motherfucking corn! Even after you sprayed his suit with a fire extinguisher the man still paid to get you out of the clink. You must’ve really made an impression.”

  Aurora shook her head. Now that she thought about what had happened in the past few hours, it did sound sort of nuts.

  “What was his place like?” Harper asked.

  “Let’s just say that part of the ceiling in the lounge was the glass bottom of the rooftop pool.”

  Harper nodded her head. “Of course. Mine and Mike’s glass-bottomed pool is downstairs. I can’t believe we haven’t shown it to you yet.”

  Aurora laughed.

  “So,” Harper said, dropping the least subtle wink that had ever been dropped in the history of winking, “did you repay the favor? Did you pay him back real slow? Did he strike a hard bargain?”

  Aurora slapped Harper on the shoulder. “It wasn’t like that. He offered me a job.”

  “He what?”

  “He offered me a job.”

  “Well, what kind of job?”

  “Some caretaker position or something. I don’t really know what he was after, to be honest.”

  Aurora put her head in her hands.

  “But, you told him you’d take it, right?” Harper asked.

  “Nah, I turned him down.”

  Harper grabbed Aurora by the shoulder and pulled her face around by the chin so they were eye-to-eye.

  “Now, look here, biatch,” she said. “I’m going to tell you exactly what the near future holds for you, and I’m not even going to consult my numerology shit. You’re going to get your skinny ass back over to the Upper East Side, and you’re going to tell that nice billionaire that you’d love to take that job he’s offering – even if it means you’re going to spend all day ironing his tighty-whities. If you’re looking for a sign, they don’t come much bigger than having your whole life fall down around your ears on the same day that a man – who would make most members of royalty feel like beggars – offers you a job.”

  “Harp, it was weird. He sort of…sent shivers down my spine, you know?”

  Harper threw up her hands. “In a good way, yes?”

  “Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, he is very easy on the eye, if you know what I mean. But, it was more than that. It’s something I can’t quite put my finger on. Plus, he wants me to live with him.”

  “Jeez, you little slutty pants!”

  Aurora rolled her eyes. “I told you, it’s not like that. He just wants someone around twenty-four/seven.”

  “I bet he does,” Harper said, wiggling her eyebrows and performing a lewd blowjob on mid-air.

  Aurora sat back on the sofa. “I think I missed the boat anyway, Harp. I said no.”

  “Look girl, you’re out of options. You need a job and a place to crash ASAP. It’s either this, or tuck tail and return to Nebraska and move in with your mother. Normally, I’d say do that. I don’t think New York is the right fit for you. This city chews people up and spits them out. It’s a hard place. But if you go home now you’re jumping bail.”

  Aurora looked sharply at her best friend. “What?”

  “You’re still technically out on bail, honey. The charges are still there, hanging over your head. You have to get a lawyer and go to court. You run home and you’re a fugitive…on the run…on the lamb…on the –”

  “Yeah, right, thank you. I get it.”

  Harper sat up straighter on the couch and ran an eye over Aurora. “Look,” she said, “first thing’s first; you stink. Get your butt in the shower. Then, burn those fucking catering clothes, get some solid food into you and pretty yourself up. Half the women in this city would give their left tit for an opportunity the likes of which you’ve been handed – me included. Once you’re good to go, I’ll steal Mike’s car again and drop you Hawthorne’s skyscraper. Okay?”

  Aurora dragged herself to her feet. A hot shower sounded like heaven.

  “Alright, Harper,” she said, “but you better be right about this.”

  Harper grinned. “Of course, I’m right. You don’t think numerology is bullshit, do you?”

  ***

  Aurora stepped out of Mike’s battered car and onto the curb outside the Hawthorne Industries building.

  “Jesus Christ,” Harper muttered, craning her head to look up at the building. “You actually weren’t kidding.”

  “Wish me luck,” Aurora said to her, straightening the smart black turtleneck that Harper had lent her and brushing down the pleated, nude-coloured skirt she was wearing with it.

  “You go get him, tiger,” Harper said. She blew Aurora a kiss and pulled out into traffic.

  “Miss Laurent, what a pleasure to see you again,” came a benign voice from behind Aurora. “I’m so glad that you called and let us know you were coming.”

  It was Travers.

  “Well, I guess it was in the numbers, Travers,” Aurora said.

  “Pardon me, miss?”

  “Never mind.”

  Travers looked down at Aurora’s feet. “And, ah, is it just the two garbage bags, miss?”

  Aurora blushed. The things that she’d thought she might need she had stuffed unceremoniously into two (fresh) garbage bags.

  “Um, yeah, this is all my, um, luggage.”

  Travers smiled. “There is no judgement here, miss. Come, the master is waiting.”

  “What about my things?”

  “I’ll have them taken to your quarters, miss,” Travers said, motioning to a uniformed young man. “Now, if you’ll follow me.”

  Just as before, Abraham Travers led Aurora into the lobby of Hawthorne Industries, but this time, instead of continuing through to the gated corridor that led to the wonderful private garden, Travers stopped at the bank of elevators.

  “We’re not going through to the haunted mansion at the back?” Aurora asked.

  “Not this time, miss, no. Not tonight.”

  As they waited for the elevator to reach the lobby, Aurora’s phone went off. She checked her messages and saw that it was Harper. She opened it to a text containing emojis of a dollar sign, an eggplant and a pair of lips.

  Aurora snorted with laughter.

  Travers turned with a questioning eyebrow, and Aurora quickly stifled the laughter.

  Eventually the elevator arrived and the two of them climbed aboard. When they were inside Travers waved his key-card at the control panel and pressed a button marked ‘R’.

  The elevator jolted and off they went.

  When the doors opened, Aurora realized that ‘R’ stood for Roof.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” she said, as fresh air gusted into the elevator and she and Travers walked out onto the roof.

  In front of them, it’s rotors turning idly, was a sleek maroon helicopter. It’s sliding door was open, revealing a plush interior that was fancier than any lounge Aurora had ever been in – except, perhaps, the one in Finn Hawthorne
’s penthouse.

  “Have you ever ridden in a helicopter, miss?” Travers asked.

  “Oh, yeah, it’s my regular morning commute!” Aurora said, her voice unnaturally shrill.

  “Do I detect a hint of sarcasm in your voice?”

  “Just a little,” Aurora said, her eyes following the spinning rotor blades. “Truth be told, I’ve never even been on a plane. I caught the bus from Nebraska to New York.”

  “Well, Miss Laurent, there is a first time for everything. As that singular philosopher and statesman, Sir Francis Bacon once said, ‘Nothing is pleasant that is not spiced with variety.’”

  Aurora started into the chopper then turned to the venerable butler and asked, “Is he a good man, Travers?”

  “One of the best, miss,” Travers replied, yelling to be heard over the whining of the engines.

  “Travers?”

  “Yes, miss?”

  “Are these things safe?”

  “As opposed to what?”

  “I don’t know – crossing the street?”

  “It’s all too easy to get hit by a cab or a bus in this city, miss. Now, if you’ll kindly hop on board the helicopter will take you exactly where you need to go.”

  “Where the hell is this thing taking me?”

  Travers smiled, gave her a small bow and placed his hand on the top of her head so that she didn’t hit it when she ducked inside the cabin.

  “I bid you adieu, Miss Laurent,” the old man cried over the banshee scream of the rotors as they got up to speed. “And smooth sailing to you!”

  He pulled the door shut and locked it, limping away, his head down, as fast as the buffeting winds and his cane would allow.

  The engines roared and the roof dropped away in a manner that had Aurora gripping the edge of her seat.

  Her throat went dry and she fumbled with her seatbelt.

  There was a whine as the wheels were retracted into the fuselage and the maroon machine roared off into the setting sun.

  Chapter 5

  Finn Hawthorne’s private helicopter buzzed south, following the East River, flying over the Brooklyn Bridge and past Governors Island. It left New York City behind, shooting out over Upper and then Lower Bay and out to sea. They were in the air for about forty-five minutes, but it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye for Aurora, who’d never set foot on any sort of aircraft before in her life. The sensation of skimming over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean at one-hundred and fifty miles per hour was one that she would never forget, and imbued her with a sense of freedom that she thought must be the daily joy of all sorts of flying creatures. She sat with her nose pressed to the window glass, watching New Jersey slide by on one side before scooting over to the other side of the chopper to gaze out at the vast, leaden expanse of the open sea, the sinking sun glittering like molten fire off the ceaseless swell.