Dragon Consultant Read online

  "Fine," Nickel finally relented.

  Dane nodded. "Gather everyone. I can take you all with me at once, but you have to be touching me for the magic to work."

  Chrome dashed across the clearing and into the cave. Nickel went in the other direction towards where the little girl had gone. He returned first.

  "This is Iron, but we call her 'Ron," Nickel said as she placed the piece of bark filled with water near the adult dragon's head. It had tadpoles swimming in it, which were probably a nice snack for the kits. Dane had little doubt they had been living off of frogs and other small critters since Dad had gotten sick. "She's very good at biting."

  'Ron bared her teeth, which even in human form were exceptionally sharp. If it weren't for the fact that she was naked, she would have looked like an ordinary human girl. Little brown scales covered her stomach and chest. Had she been wearing clothes, most of the scales would have been hidden and only someone who could sense her power would know what she was. 'Ron was maybe three or four years old, the same approximate age as Chrome, and just on the cusp of learning to fly.

  "Hello, 'Ron," Dane said very politely.

  "You smell funny," she replied before focusing her attention on Dad.

  Okay, then? Kids were really weird creatures and kits were apparently no different.

  It was another minute before Chrome returned. He had shifted into human form, his only covering the same brown scales as 'Ron wore. Two red dragons in human form, their red scales and hair almost identical in color, accompanied him. One was very small. If Dane had to guess, he wasn't long out of his egg. The other boy was approximately Nickel's age, so about seven or eight. All three of them were very carefully carrying a fire-red dragon egg. The egg was easily the size of the baby red trying to hold it up. What the heck were five young dragons and one very sick adult male doing with a red dragon egg? Dane hurried over and took the egg from them before they could drop it.

  "Everyone make sure you're touching me," Dane insisted. Four small hands clutched at his clothes. Nickel huffed and shifted into human form too, his small body only covered in blue scales, and his hand joined with the others. Dane cradled the egg in one arm and reached out to place the other on Dad's back.

  Magic shifted around everyone. When it settled down again, they were standing on the expansive front lawn of Dane's home. The kits all gasped, staring at the field of grass and the two-mile long driveway cutting through the middle.

  The kits didn't wander far from Dad as they went to explore. Only the baby red remained with Dane, one thumb in his mouth as he sat at Dane's feet. Dane moved the egg to his other arm and dug into his pocket for his phone. It only took a few seconds to scroll through Dane's contacts and hit call.

  "Dr. Krantz?" Dane asked when someone said hello on the other end.

  "Dane, my boy!" Dr. Krantz said jovially. "What can I do for you?"

  "I have a very sick adult dragon down with what looks like dragon fever and five young kits that have been exposed."

  "Say no more, my boy," Dr. Krantz interrupted. "Give me five minutes." He hung up.

  Dane scrolled through his contacts again until he found Daisy's name. She didn't pick up until the third ring, and when she did, she sounded distracted.

  "What can I do ya for?" she asked just as someone screamed loudly in the background. "No, you do not pull each other's hair! I said no! Do not hit me with that tail, young man!" Her phone was put down with a thunk and Dane patiently listened as she corralled two squalling kids and got them situated in time-out. "Sorry 'bout that," she said sheepishly. "What's up, Boss?"

  'Ron was eating a dandelion she had pulled from the ground. Nickel and the other red dragon were playing leapfrog with a very frightened cricket, although neither had actually taken their eyes off of Dane yet. Chrome was also watching with his teeth bared, as if he were waiting for a chance to bite. The baby red was using one of Dane's feet as a pillow.

  "I have five young dragon kits on my front lawn and I don't know what to do with them," Dane admitted.

  "What're ya doing with so many dragons?" Daisy yelped.

  "Your guess is as good as mine," he replied. "Anyway, I have one girl and four boys who need clothes and food."

  "Let me round up the husband to watch my own brats and then I'll hop right over." Daisy sounded far too curious on the phone for Dane's own peace of mind, but then it would be good if she could get answers out of the kits about their unusual situation. She hung up on Dane too; it appeared to be the day for it.

  The kits eventually wandered back to their dad and Dane. They flopped down onto the grass to wait. The egg was starting to feel heavy and its constant warmth under the setting sun was making him sweat.

  The ground lit up suddenly near the driveway, causing all the kits to jump to their feet in surprise. It was a transportation spell circle, and as the light faded, two figures emerged. Dr. Krantz and his assistant hurried over towards where everyone was standing. Nickel and the older red—Dane really needed to learn his name— surged to their feet and transformed into dragon form with loud growls.

  "It's all right, kits," Dane called as teeth were bared and claws extended. "This is the doctor!"

  Dr. Krantz stopped short just in front of the boys. His glance took in all the young kits, the egg in Dane's hands, and the dragon laboring for breath at Dane's feet. He turned to his assistant and murmured something. The young man immediately spun on one heel and hurried back to the circle. He vanished a second later.

  "The bronze dragon needs medicine immediately," Dr. Krantz explained gently, but urgently to the kits.

  "It'll help?" Nickel asked, still defensive.

  Dane was still struck by the bronze part of Dr. Krantz's comment. What the heck was a precious dragon doing with a bunch of elemental kits? Every new thing Dane learned about these dragons just confused him even more. Thanks to the layer of dirt, sweat, and grime, Dad could pass as a brown elemental dragon. Upon closer inspection, however, Dane could just barely see the gleam of bronze peeking through.

  There were two different types of dragons. The more common type was the elemental; their powers corresponded with their colors of fire red, earth brown, water blue, and air white. The only elemental dragon not represented by the kits was air, but they tended to be fairly elusive. The less common type was known as a precious dragon. There were three different types—bronze, silver, and gold—and regardless of their color they had the ability to work magic without a specific element. If Daddy weren't felled by dragon fever, he would be quite a formidable foe.

  "Yes, son," Dr. Krantz insisted. "It will help a lot."

  "Okay," Nickel said. He slowly backed away to give Dr. Krantz room. "But I'll be watching closely."

  "Thank you," Dr. Krantz replied formally. He moved slowly as he approached Dad and knelt in the grass at the dragon's side. "It would be easier if you twiddled your fingers and turned this bronze into human form, Dane, my boy."

  It was a bit more than just twiddling his fingers, but to a healer-witch like Dr. Krantz that might have been the best explanation he was able to give. Dane felt for the streams of magic surrounding the dragon and began to pull here and twist there until the bronze's magic took over from muscle memory. His gigantic dragon form faded, replaced by a human adult male that looked to be about thirty years old.

  His face was red with fever, but despite that he was probably the most handsome man Dane had ever seen. His lips were full, his nose small and pert, and his lashes thick over his closed eyes. His hair was a beautiful bronze color that echoed the large scales that covered most of his very naked body.

  It took Dr. Krantz a few moments of searching before he found a bit of skin not protected by the scales that was adequate for his purpose. "I'm going to give him a shot," he explained to Nickel as he pulled a syringe and a vial full of liquid out of his medical bag. He prepped the needle as he continued to speak. "Inside this liquid is a mix of human chemicals and magic. It should have your dear dad up and about in onl
y a few hours."

  "That fast?" Dane asked, wondering if calling Daisy for help had been too preemptive.

  "It will take him a few days before he's strong enough to walk further than from his bed to the bathroom and back, but the fever will be gone." He stuck the needle deep into the muscle of the bronze's inner thigh, where the scales thinned to reveal human skin, and depressed the plunger. It was over before Nickel could cry out in shock. "Do you have a bed, dear boy?" Dr. Krantz asked as he carefully capped the needle and dropped it into a biohazard bag.

  Dane nodded. "I'll make sure he gets to one soon."

  "Don't make holes in Daddy!" 'Ron whimpered. "That's not nice and he wouldn't like it!"

  Dr. Krantz nodded solemnly. "I'm very sorry, you're right. Of course, if he were awake he would get a lollipop for taking his medicine so bravely." He pulled five plastic-wrapped suckers out of his bag, all in different colors, and displayed them to the kits.

  "I take medic-stuff," the baby red insisted from where he was still sitting on Dane's foot. Dane hadn't known he was old enough to talk just yet, but then dragon development wasn't something Dane had ever made a study of. He would have to remedy that, since he was apparently watching over a herd of them for now.

  "You are very brave, little red. What's your name?" Dr. Krantz asked as he knelt on the ground in front of Dane where the kit was still sitting.

  "I Lumie." He made grabbing motions towards the red sucker.

  "Well, Lumie, I need you to drink this medicine. Once you've swallowed all of it, you may have the lolly." Dr. Krantz poured a purple liquid out of another bottle he pulled from his bag into a small cup. Lumie downed the liquid without hesitation, although he did grimace at the taste. The sucker replaced the usual thumb in his mouth. Dane could never trust a stranger that easily, but then the innocence of youth wasn't a luxury he had ever been allowed. With Lumie happy and unhurt from the experience, the rest of the kits hurried forward in human form to take their own medicine and get their lolly too.

  The transportation spell flashed twice while the kits were lining up. Dr. Krantz's assistant reappeared first, wheeling an incubator covered in protective spell runes and large enough to hold the egg Dane was still cradling. Daisy was only a few minutes behind the assistant. She started cooing at the kits the second she saw them, exclaiming over their naked state and how dirty they were.

  "Baths right away, then dinner 'n bed. I have the cutest PJs for the scamps, ya know," Daisy insisted. She had 'Ron cuddled in her arms. 'Ron was fascinated by Daisy's green skin and the thick lizard's tail that poked out of the bottom of her skirt.

  "Then let's get them all inside," Dane replied. Lumie had eaten the lollipop stick too and his thumb was back in his mouth, but that didn't stop him from rumbling unhappily when Nickel poked him until he got to his feet. The other red dragon was growling at Dr. Krantz as the egg was situated in the incubator. It took some doing, but eventually all the kits started heading towards the front door of Dane's house. That left Dane, the bronze dragon still lying in the grass, and Nickel, who had remained behind to watch over his dad.

  Nickel really was cute in a slightly murderous way. His stare would have sent chills up Dane's spine if he hadn't already experienced much worse in his lifetime. Dane didn't want to know what Nickel had faced in his life to teach him that look either.

  "I'll have to carry your dad," Dane told Nickel first so he wouldn't get upset, then Dane stooped down and got one arm underneath the bronze's shoulders and the other underneath his knees and stood back up. He wasn't nearly as heavy as he ought to have been, which was worrying for a dragon.

  Daisy had been in and out of Dane's house for years, so she knew exactly where to take the kits to get them scrubbed clean. This wasn't the first family of strays Dane had helped find their way, although so far they were his most confusing. She was his main go-to whenever children were involved. Nickel closed the front door behind them and then followed closely as Dane walked up the stairs and down the right-hand hallway. They passed the bathroom where Lumie was squalling about not liking water and 'Ron was giggling loudly to a chorus of splashing. The last door in the hall was the master bedroom for the wing. It had a king-sized bed, a large sitting area, and a private bath. It would be more than enough space for the dragon family when they were spending time with their dad.

  "In the bottom drawer over there," Dane told Nickel, using his chin to point to a dresser along one wall, "is a pair of sleeping pants that will fit your dad." Dane headed into the bathroom because there was no way the dragon was sleeping on Dane's sheets smelling like he did. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least.

  The bronze's heavy wheezing was evening out slightly, which was a welcome sign. His breathing returning to normal was the first indication that the dragon fever was breaking. Dane laid him down on the bathmat and started the water in the tub. Nickel returned while Dane was waiting for the water to heat up.

  "You're going to have to get a bath of your own too, you know," Dane told him. The water finally heated up so he plugged the drain and watched as the tub began to fill.

  "After I'm sure you're not about to make dragon stew," Nickel replied without the slightest trace of humor in his voice. Dane had to hide a grin; Nickel really was the cutest little potential murderer when he sounded like that.

  Dane shut the water off when the tub was only half full. With Nickel's help, he got Dad into the water.

  "Your job is to make sure his head doesn't go underneath the water," Dane told Nickel sternly as he wet a washcloth and started up a lather with some sweet-smelling soap. Washing the bronze was an interesting adventure in behaving himself. It wasn't often Dane had a naked man to touch as much as he wanted, particularly one as lovely as the man in his tub. He was defenseless, however, which kept Dane's hands from straying from propriety, and Nickel was watching like a hawk. Had the dragon been awake and consenting, and had his child not been watching, this encounter might have ended more pleasurably.

  Dane knew he was a dick for even thinking about touching a vulnerable man. Nickel was right to be so distrusting. Dane bowed his head and set to his task.

  The bronze scales washed clean easily with just one swipe of the washcloth. The human skin took a bit more scrubbing, but it eventually came clean too. It took them both to scrub the long bronze hair that fell messily to the dragon's shoulders. When they were finally done, Nickel held out a towel as Dane pulled the drain in the tub and lifted the dragon free.

  It only took a few more minutes to get the dragon dry, in pajama pants, and tucked into bed. Nickel helped the entire time. He knew how to tighten the strings on the pajamas and how to fold down the sheets on the bed. Those weren't skills normal dragons came by; there weren't beds in the wild where they lived.

  The door opened before Dane could ask about it.

  "There ya are!" Daisy exclaimed as she stepped into the bedroom. "I've got pants for ya. Go on and take yer bath; dinner'll be ready in twenty." She held out a pair of loose green child-size pajama bottoms for Nickel to take. He snatched them from her with a glare, turned the glare on Dane with a sharp warning in his eyes, and then stomped back to the bathroom. Dane heard the water start running a few moments later through the door Nickel hadn't bothered to close.

  "That's a rascally one, right there." Daisy sighed with a shake of her head. "Copper's gone and made himself a nest with the egg, Chrome and 'Ron were testing their teeth on your banister, and Lumie's wandered off. I'll get dinner into them and get them into bed. Then I'll be back in the morning."

  Dane's poor banister, although they couldn't do more damage than that teething werewolf cub had a few years back. "Thanks, Daisy," he replied fervently. Her help was invaluable whenever there were kids involved. Dane knew he couldn't do this without her.

  The bronze was slumbering peacefully in the bed. His damp hair spilled over the pillow and the covers were pulled up tight to his chin. His color was better and his breathing even. Dane forced his eyes away from the dragon's
pretty face and walked into the hallway. He closed the door behind himself to give Nickel some privacy when he finished in the bathroom.

  There was a soft thump and weight suddenly deposited on Dane's foot. Lumie looked up at him, grinning around the thumb in his mouth. He was sitting on Dane's foot and he wrapped one arm around Dane's ankle when Dane didn't immediately dislodge him. Here was another strange kit. Lumie wasn't afraid or wary of Dane and unlike most young dragons hadn't protested the change in territory.

  Dane lifted his foot experimentally and Lumie giggled and clung tightly. He didn't seem inclined to move, but Dane had a phone call to make. Dane walked down the hall, heading towards the other wing of the house with Lumie giggling happily from his position on Dane's foot the entire time. The two hallways for the two separate wings of the house met in the center where Dane had created a pleasant sitting area. There were two double couches and a deep armchair circled around a coffee table whose legs looked chewed as if a puppy had been teething on them. Dane and Lumie quickly bypassed the furniture and headed down the hallway towards his office.

  Jacobson's number was written in Dane's address book. Dane only kept friends on speed dial on his phone and Jacobson most definitely wasn't a friend. It was probably too late to catch him at the office—he didn't seem the type to work any more hours than he had to—but Dane should leave a message at least.

  The phone rang six times before the answering machine picked up. Dane waited while bouncing his foot up and down, causing Lumie to giggle even more.

  "Jacobson," Dane said formally into the phone once the usual beep ended. "I have relocated your dragon problem. Feel free to contact the FAA and tell them regular flights can resume. My office assistant will submit my usual invoice to your office first thing Monday morning." Dane hung up without saying goodbye.

  Lumie and Dane left the office and headed down the stairs towards the kitchen. Dane was sure Daisy would appreciate an extra pair of hands getting dinner ready, and maybe she could detach his new leech. The kits' bedtime couldn't come soon enough.