The Lure of a Traitor

by F. L. Jordan

  Copper pushed it off his plate and started gnawing on an egg. Slag shocked him again by maliciously attacking his discarded meat, swallowing the chunk with a wild, dominant glint in her eye. It was a challenge. This scrawny street dragon half his size was challenging him in his own home.

  "Slag," Zach spoke softly in response to the noise her display had caused, "you don't have to attack your food, it's already dead."

  Slag whipped her tail, sending the piece of meat Natalie had cut for her towards Copper. This time, he didn't hesitate. He snapped it up and swallowed it whole. Both females smiled at him as they continued to eat.

  "I told you she was different," Natalie spoke of her companion with fondness.

  "She's as wild as you are," Zach laughed, the wine had started to soften his demeanor.

  "I wouldn't have her any other way," Natalie stroked the lizard from face to tail, "also, I have to take back what I said about your cooking. This is phenomenal, Zach."

  "Thank you," he ignored his blush and kept eating, "I've had to adjust my diet a lot over the last three years. Things with bones or a lot of moving pieces just don't work well."

  "I bet rice is a bitch," Natalie slipped a green bean to each of the dragons and Copper snapped it up eagerly. It seemed like the boys were going to loosen up.

  "You have no idea," Zach chuckled, taking another sip from his glass. He hadn't actually enjoyed wine like this in a long time. His main purpose for alcohol as of late had been simply to get drunk.

  "So," he switched topics, "has your contact gotten back to you yet?"

  "No," Natalie put her fork down in a manner she knew he'd hear, "and we're not going to ruin this fantastic meal by talking about work."

  Zach paused mid chew, "Then what are we supposed to talk about?"

  "You're my partner," she picked her wine up for the first time, "I want to know more about you. Good partners need to know about each other."

  "Fine, I'll share if you share," he also took a drink, standing to grab the bottle to refill his glass, "I'll go first, I'm blind."

  "And I'm a woman," she could tell he was going to be stubborn. "Next."

  "I'm not really in a sharing mood, Natalie," Zach downed his second glass of wine and poured another. Both dragons stopped eating and watched their humans with great concern. The growing tension between them was alarming.

  "Fine, then I'll start," Natalie mimicked his action, tapping the side of her freshly empty glass with her nail after she set it down, "Remember Mr. Wrong I told you about? He refused to move in with me for eight years, then suddenly, three years ago he finally agreed, but still didn't bring up marriage. Fucker got me pregnant two months later and we got in a fight about whether or not to keep it. He got angry and pushed me down our apartment's stairwell.”

  She allowed a short pause for gestational purposes, “I miscarried the baby and went septic. I was placed in intensive care for three days and he didn't come see me once. When I came home from the hospital I found him in our bed with my best friend. I ditched her, kicked him out, and moved on with my life; until the son of a bitch got a job at my precinct. That's why I transferred. It was healthier for me to give up my entire life, including my career, than stay. There, now it’s your turn."

  Zach was stunned by her openness. He picked up her bottle of wine and brought it over to the table, carefully pouring her a new glass before sitting down. Zach began to think that maybe his life wasn’t the only one that sucked.

  "Would you believe me if I told you I have a similar story?" he began eating again.

  "Depends on how you tell it," Natalie resumed eating as well, watching him with a calculative glare. Neither dragon moved, they were too concerned about the change in atmosphere that had just happened.

  "I dated a guy for five months and then he proposed. We were engaged for nearly seven years, but he would never decide on a wedding date," Zach couldn't believe how easily he was telling her this, not a single tear or feeling of self hatred. "I got a promotion, he took the night shift. We were saving up to buy a house and adopt a kid. I got sick at work one day and came home early to find him with some chick. I kicked him out, but he cleaned out our savings. Now the two of them live in the house we were going to buy, and I'm stuck here with all the old memories."

  "Damn, well that's one way to tell me you're gay," Natalie used her best serious tone, glad he couldn't see her smile.

  “Bi, actually,” Zach ignored her attempt to get a rise out of him. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have found you so attractive back in the day.”

  “Huh, and here I thought you were going to tell me about how you got blinded,” she finished her meal and pushed the plate away, ignoring his last comment as she leaned on the table.

  “I did,” Zach knocked back the remainder of his wine and reached for the bottle again, “the bitch he was with did it on her way out."

  "Fuck," Natalie stood and grabbed his empty dishes, "where do you want these?"

  "Sink's fine," what wasn't fine was that his bottle was empty. "Can you grab another bottle of wine?"

  "Let's wait until that one hits you," she suggested as she rinsed the dishes off and set them in the open sink. "Wouldn't want you to get smashed on our first playdate."

  "Cause that's going so well," Zach felt the alcohol breaking down his ability to give a shit, "Copper doesn't know how to play. I don't even know why he asked for this."

  You've definitely had too much to drink, Copper murmured as he finished his meal, grabbing his plate and flying to the sink.

  "How about we play reverse Jesus and turn that wine into water," Natalie took his glass to fill it up.

  "How about you get out of my house," Zach stood, knocking his chair over.

  "Oh, get over yourself," Natalie rinsed his glass in the sink, "I'm not leaving until this cheesecake is cooled. It looks too good to leave behind." She found his inability to handle alcohol amusing.

  "Whatever," Zach picked up his chair then headed for the living room, settling in on the couch with a book. He hoped the action would discourage her from approaching him again. It didn’t.

  "Whatcha reading?" Natalie gingerly sat beside him, handing him the water.

  “A fantasy novel based in a world where magic doesn’t exist,” he answered curtly, concentrating on the small bumps beneath his fingers.

  “Sounds interesting,” Natalie took a sip of her wine and scooched in close to him, “read it to me.”

  “What? I’m too far into the story,” he protested, “you won’t understand half of what’s happening.”

  “I don’t care,” she urged. “Just read it, unless you’re too drunk to read.”

  Zach accepted the challenge and started reading aloud. Natalie pulled her legs up to her chest and leaned back against the soft coach. Watching as Slag took her plate to the sink then turned to Copper.

  The female dragon gently nipped Copper’s neck, then bounded away from him, You're it!

  Wait, huh? He was incredibly confused, 'It' for what?

  Tag, come catch me, Slag taunted him by bowing down, sticking her rump in the air, and swishing her tail. Copper gave chase instantly, surprised that he had a hard time catching her. She wasn't inherently fast, but extremely agile. The street dragon dodged every swipe of his claws, so he changed tactics and used his tail instead. The instant he tagged her she rebounded and nipped him again, laughing as she ran away.

  Natalie watched the two of them taunt, tag, and chase each other. The longer Copper played, the more competitive he became. He also seemed to have more fun, laughing and squeaking just as Slag did.

  Their game ensued until Slag fell to the floor huffing for air. Copper tagged her and bounced away excitedly, You’re it!

  You win, she was gasping now, I can’t... I can’t breathe.

  Zach stopped reading and turned his attention to the dragons, “Copper, show her where the water is. Sounds like she overworked herself.”

  Ok, Copper gently nudged the exhausted creature. Follow me
.

  Give me a minute, Slag snapped as her breathing leveled out. Best game of tag, EVER!

  Zach chuckled and closed his book. Natalie protested as he stood, “Hey wait, that was getting good.”

  “Dessert’s ready,” his tone had softened as his sobriety had returned. Natalie made a mental note to prevent him from drinking so much in the future.

  She sat at the table and watched him cut two generous slices of the dairy delight, “Want anything on top? I have blueberries, cherries, or strawberries.”

  “Chocolate syrup?” she asked, knowing he wouldn’t have any.

  “Ew,” Zach put a fork on each of the dessert plates, “You do know that shit is nothing but corn syrup, right?”

  “So?” she giggled. “Cherries, please.”

  “Good choice,” he smiled, opening the refrigerator and grabbing a jar of maraschino cherries. As Zach brought the plates over, the two dragons slowly made their way around the corner of the kitchen counter, still laughing and nipping at each other as Copper showed Slag his water bowl. She got a kick out of the automated water system Zach had installed, bouncing on the footpad to make the water shoot out.

  Natalie took a small bite of her dessert and moaned, “Christ, Zach. This is incredible.”

  He smiled and took a bite as well, ignoring how his body had reacted to the noise she’d just made, “Thanks, you can take the rest home if you want. This isn’t something I typically include in my diet.”

  “I’ll take that offer,” she stated eagerly. “My God, this is better than Fortennie’s.”

  Zach blushed. The comparison to the city’ most famous bakery was flattering to say the least. He took another bite then pushed the plate away, knowing he'd regret finishing it in the morning when he had to run the extra calories off.

  “You’re not going to eat that?” Natalie asked in disbelief.

  “Too many calories,” he admitted, patting his washboard stomach.

  Natalie grabbed his plate and shoved it back towards him, “Life is short and miserable, Zach. Eat the damn cheesecake.”

  Copper watched in utter disbelief as his human laughed and picked up his fork. The man never strayed from his diet, not even when high or drunk. What was Natalie doing to Zach? Better yet, what was Slag doing to him? Copper had never laughed this much before. His whole body hurt from it.

  Slag yawned and curled up into a ball next to the water dish. The action concerned Copper and he nudged her, You ok?

  Sleepy, she responded quietly, clearly worn out from all the exercise.

  Don’t sleep on the floor, Copper pushed her onto her feet with his claws. Come with me.

  Natalie glanced over at the kitchen, the glint of shiny scales drawing her attention. She smiled and lightly kicked Zach beneath the table, whispering as quietly as she could, “Copper invited Slag into his bed.”

  Zach nearly choked, “Are you serious?”

  “Mhm,” she watched them curiously, “and they’re grooming each other.”

  “Shit,” Zach shook his head in awe, “I never imagined he'd do something like that. I guess we’ll have to do this again.”

  “Don’t sound so upset about it, Zach,” Natalie smirked, “This was fun and you know it.”

  “If you insist,” Zach chuckled, sitting back in his chair. He hadn’t planned on enjoying the evening at all, but it had been quite insightful.

  “Oh goodness,” Natalie looked at her watch, “It’s 10:30. We better go.”

  “Do you have a ride?” he asked, standing as she did.

  “Let me see if Eli is off,” she reached for her purse, “I can’t remember if he’s working tonight or not.” She pulled her phone out, surprised to find fourteen text messages from said nephew waiting for her. She rolled her eyes and asked him to pick her up. He responded instantly.

  “He’ll be here in fifteen minutes,” she tucked the phone away and set her purse on the table, turning to find Zach tucking the remaining dessert into a small cake box. “How much of this did you buy just for tonight and how much did you have on hand?”

  He smiled slyly, “I’ll never tell.”

  Natalie took the box from him and set it by the door before going to retrieve her dragon. The two creatures were completely intertwined in the small cat bed, Slag sleeping peacefully as Copper gently cleaned her scales. Natalie scratched his head fondly before reaching into the serpent nest and tenderly extracting Slag. The little one curled into her instantly, never waking.

  Natalie was pleased to see the slightly longing look in Copper’s eyes. He’d made a friend. Good. She placed a gentle kiss on the dragon’s head and bid him goodnight.

  "Do I get a kiss, too?" Zach asked jokingly as he stood by the door.

  "In your dreams," Natalie tried to hide her fierce desire to do just that.

  "More like nightmares," Zach laughed. "Have a good night, Lock. We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow."

  She slipped her sandals on and he opened the door, picking up the cake box. As she took it from him, she acted impulsively, gently and quickly pressing her lips to his before stepping out in the hall, "Goodnight, Hail."

  Chapter 10

  Zach closed his door, raising his fingers to his lips, I'm not crazy. She really just did that, right?

  Copper examined his human from his bed. The man's face was a light red and plastered with an expression of absolute astonishment.

  Yep, Copper grinned wickedly as he sprawled out in his bed, already missing the heat of a companion, So when are they coming over again?

  “Just what are you up to, Copper?” Zach headed for the kitchen to clean up the dinner mess, “None of this is like you? Are you going through a midlife crisis or something?”

  You’re one to talk, Copper rolled around in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position. Breaking your diet, backing down after telling someone to leave, reading aloud to the woman while she practically laid in your lap.

  “Alright alright!” Zach hastily began loading the dishes into the washer, “I get it, but honestly, do you even get those impulses?”

  To mate? No, Copper admitted, but having someone to snuggle with was nice. I’ll admit that Slag is pretty, but she’s a lot younger than me. It felt like caring for a sibling.

  “Interesting,” Zach felt around in his cabinet for the detergent tabs, tossed one into the washer and closed the door. “Am I missing any of the dishes?”

  Copper looked around, Glass by the couch.

  Zach laughed lightly, remembering that he’d set it down after Natalie had handed it to him. He quickly retrieved it and added it to the load. As he started the machine a buzzing noise caught his attention. He felt his pocket and found his phone right where it belonged, not ringing.

  “Copper,” he asked the dragon, “Did she leave her phone here?”

  The reptile followed the gentle hum of the vibrating ringer and found the device sitting on the table next to the door, Yep, says Eli is calling.

  “That’s probably her then,” Zach held his hand out and Copper scooped the device up, dropping it into his palm just as the buzzing ceased. “Let’s hope she has voice command enabled, Call Eli.” He heard the phone begin to ring and raised it to his ear.

  “Hey... uh, can you bring my phone to work tomorrow?” she sounded embarrassed. Zach could hear Eli in the background harassing her about being too busy flirting to remember her phone.

  “Do I get another kiss if I do?” his entire body flushed with heat as he asked. What was he doing? The last thing he needed to think about right now was a relationship. Especially one with a co-worker.

  “You’re insufferable,” her voice raised an octave, then dropped to a low whisper. “Maybe.”

  “I’m sorry?” he wasn’t expecting her to agree.

  “You heard me,” he felt the familiar burn of attraction settle in his chest as she spoke.

  He couldn’t believe that she was flirting back, “Make it a yes, and I’ll make sure it’s charged.”

  “W
hat kind of kiss are we talking about here?” he could hear Eli shout her name and laugh as she spoke.

  “A real one, at least three seconds long,” Zach hadn’t felt like this in so long, it was both exciting and terrifying.

  “You drive a hard bargain, sir,” she giggled. “Alright, fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bye,” Zach wasn’t sure how to hang up her device, so he held it up to Copper. The lizard used his knuckle to tap the ’end call’ button on the screen.

  “What the actual hell am I doing?” Zach shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

  She wore a dress, Copper decided to add to his human’s current mood, and had her hair down. She looked really pretty.

  Zach didn’t even try to hide the smile that threatened to reach his ears, “What color was it?”

  Yellow, Copper was enjoying this fully. He had only intended to make them friends, but perhaps more than friends would be good, too. It was long past time for Zach to get over Daniel.

  Zach’s smile faded and he sighed, “I wish I remembered what yellow looked like. I’m sure she was beautiful.”

  Maybe Natalie knows someone that can help, Copper encouraged. I know you don’t trust witches, but wouldn’t it be worth it if you got your sight back?

  Zach kept his thoughts to himself, shutting out the lights and heading to his bedroom. Copper got the light he missed in the kitchen and followed him, snuggling up on the pillow as Zach changed into a pair of sweats. Copper looked around, wondering why the room looked strange. Suddenly he realized that the light was on. Zach never turned the lights on in this room, there wasn’t a point. The dragon sniffed the air and growled.

  Zach froze instantly, What is it?

  Someone’s been in here, Copper got up, slowly walking to the edge of the bed as he sniffed.

  Natalie used the guest bath earlier, right? Zach reached into his dresser, pulling a spare pistol from under the dress shirts he never wore. It was always loaded. He held it down to his side, ready to raise it if Copper deemed necessary.