Page 35 of Training my Human

“For me?” Abaddon eyed it with curiosity.

“It’s a bugout bag in case you need to run. Look inside.”

My dragon pulled out the items. A pay-as-you-go phone which Maddox explained had mine and his number preprogrammed. A paper map in case the cave was compromised with some locations marked with Xs to give Abaddon other places to flee, a few snacks of course, and a flashlight because, “Nothing worse than being stuck in the dark.”

“Thank you.” My little dragon hugged Maddox and my heart melted.

Even tatted girls could find things like that super cute. Don’t think that meant I wanted kids, though. I’d long ago sworn off the whole motherhood thing. I wondered if that would be a deal breaker for Maddox.

Maddox slept over that night, my bed a tight squeeze, but we managed, me draped atop Maddox and Abaddon splayed partially over us both.

We spent that week flipping back and forth between places, although I always returned home to the trailer at night. While some of my anxiety had eased, I remained alert.

I never saw anything in the news about the lava rocks or the missing lizard. Never spotted anyone suspicious around my place.

Still, every day when I left for work, I gave Abaddon the same warning. “Don’t go outside, and if you hear someone, hide.”

Ten days after the RCMP visit, I went in to work as usual. Put in a grocery delivery order via the app and tried to not cringe at the total. Headed home, wanting a shower before Maddox arrived.

Ten minutes out from my place the sight of smoke caught my attention. It rose in a dark plume that stank the closer I got to my property.

Even before I turned into my driveway, anguish filled me. I stared in shocked disbelief at my trailer, now a smoldering ruin.

My home and dragon were gone.

ChapterEleven

Once more myhuman left me to my own devices. This work thing of hers was really getting in the way of her duties for me. I could have used her nimble fingers to scratch my scales. My second molting hit more rapidly than expected. Then again, I’d been eating copiously and had already tripled my size since hatching—which led to grumbling by my human when I nestled in her lap.

The skin on my body had begun to split and flake. Lethargy filled my limbs and the fever simmered. I wanted nothing more than to sleep, however, I couldn’t let myself. I had to remain vigilant for a foreboding filled me. An impending sense that something was amiss.

I blamed my humans and their paranoia. It had been more than a week since those people had shown up to collect the rocks and had mentioned a lost lizard. While Pip was convinced they spoke of me, I doubted it. No one could have predicted my birth. Part of the reason maternal progenitors scattered their clutch was to preclude anyone from finding us before we could defend ourselves. While I might speak confidently about our superiority, my inherited knowledge did warn of the danger our mere existence placed us in.

Humans had always hunted us. Some even enslaved us. A rare few worshipped us, bringing livestock for feeding, virgin sacrifices, and treasures to pad the hoard. However, that happened long ago and that world, those cultures, had long since vanished along with the veneration once held for my kind. Part of my plan involved bringing back that adoration tempered with respect. A respect earned most likely by eating a few people and destroying cities that might defy me.

Those kinds of actions would require me to mature to a dominating size, accumulate enough wealth to impress, and a gather bevy of loyal subjects to cater to the small matters beneath my attention. Servants who would be more committed to the honor bestowed upon them than my current pair, who kept leaving me alone to attend their other duties. As if anything could be considered more important than me!

I rubbed myself against the scratching post Maddox built for me to use to help slough the skin. He’d yet to impress me as a protector—although we’d not yet faced a threat—but he did well when it came to other things like bringing large loads of food, and the cave he’d suggested we find had been well outfitted should I ever need to escape. We’d returned several times with Maddox insisting I lead the way to ensure I knew the path. As if I would forget. I also hoped to never have need for it, fleeing being cowardly and all. Still, until I matured a bit more, it didn’t hurt to have an alternative to capture or death.

The television remained turned off, the repetitive inanity of the actors boring. I’d read the few books available and hungered for more knowledge. Pip had promised to give me lessons on using her laptop once she realized my claws could tap the keys like fingers. I looked forward to discovering for myself what this Google thing could teach.

While dragons were known to be collectors and fierce predators, we also liked to learn. Or at least, I did. My kind did have individual strengths and interests, not that I remembered what any of those were. Inherited knowledge sometimes sucked without the more personal memories that might have better guided me.

A rumble of an engine roused me. Not the right cadence for Pip’s bike or Maddox’s truck.

A stranger!

Pip’s instructions rang in my ears.Whatever you do, don’t let anyone see you. I don’t usually get visitors, but sometimes people get lost or you get something weird and random like those RCMP officers showing up. If you hear someone, hide.

Hide. The shame. Not to mention, my curiosity demanded to know who dared enter my territory.

Yes, mine. While Pip might have originally owned this plot of land, as my servant, what was hers was now mine.

I crept onto the counter with the sink, knowing the horizontal blind in the window hid my movement while the slits between the slats did offer me a narrow view.

A large, black vehicle and a smaller white one parked next to the trailer. From them spilled people: a man with graying temples dressed in a dark suit, a woman in blue pants and a matching blazer wearing glasses. I found myself most intrigued by the last four in the group who’d been outfitted in shiny gray suits that included helmets. The latter carried odd-looking guns.

But most concerning of all? From the large vehicle they pulled a cage!

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