"Thanks," Drake responded impatiently. "Joey?"
"Yeah, I saw her a bit ago. She was headed to feed the horses. All the grain was stacked by her camper, so she's probably over there."
"Thanks." Drake ran over to Joey's camper, but instead of finding her, he was surprised to find two of Percy's men standing there. They seemed equally surprised to see him.
"Where's Joey?" he asked. He knew from the expressions on their faces that they weren't there for a social call.
"That's what we could ask you. We thought she was with you."
"If you thought she was with me, then why are you standing here?"
They looked at each other, but neither said a word. They obviously hadn't thought that out. "Percy has other guys looking for her. They probably checked you out."
"You're the first goons I've seen, and I'll just assume she's not here, so good job guarding an empty camper." He turned and headed straight for Percy's trailer. Much as Joey herself had done, he barged in without knocking. Percy stood looking out the window. Unlike his employees, when he turned, he didn't seem surprised to see Drake.
"I'm assuming our precious Josephine isn't with you." His voice was low as he stated the obvious.
Drake hadn't heard Joey's full name, but he let it go. "What the fuck is going on, Western? The fire didn't just happen to start, and you're the best culprit that we have. Joey is nowhere to be found. Your goons are guarding her trailer. I need some answers."
Instead of answering, Drake suddenly found himself staring at a pitch black, and extremely ugly, creature. It flapped its wings as it precariously perched on the much-too-small arm of the couch. It's skeletal head with skin stretched so tight it looked like it would split at any second tilted to stare at him, it's hooked, beakish mouth snapping.
Instant fury enveloped him as Drake stepped backwards, his dragon gnashing to emerge. He glanced around, knowing there wasn't enough room for him to shift. He was furious at having been caught off guard, but not scared, and his rage continued to rise so fast that he wondered if he could just strangle it without shifting at all.
"You're a fucking wyvern… or some kind of ugly hybrid of one." At least that's what he thought it was. The coloring was off for the breed, and it looked more like a giant bat or a devil with pitiful wings.
Percy shifted back and laughed. "Only sometimes, when it suits me."
"Are all of your goons' oversized bats, too?"
"Such insults," Percy scolded. "And not all of them, but enough."
"That's why it's hard for you to replace them."
"Only one of the three you sent away belonged to my pyre." He wandered back to the window. "I have to admit though. I'm surprised she didn't tell you."
"Joey knows?" Drake couldn't believe she wouldn't have told him either.
"She's gotten herself so close to you, I figured that she would warn you that we came here to destroy you."
Wyverns and dragons had a natural hatred for each other, and their kinds had been battling for centuries. But here, in Colorado, Drake was having a hard time fathoming that there was a pack of wyverns in their midst, and no one had noticed. Actually, that wasn't true. Vinia may have detected them but not known what she was feeling. That may have been the danger she worried about.
"Why? What do you want from us?" If there was one thing from all the stories he had heard, it was that wyverns always wanted something. They were like crows and shiny objects.
"The idol, of course."
"The idol?"
"Josephine wears the pendant. I want it."
"I hate to break it to you, but so do we, so if you think we have it, you are so wrong." He couldn't believe that an object he hadn't heard about in so many years was suddenly so pertinent. "How did you find us?" It seemed like everyone associated with the rodeo knew they were dragons.
Percy laughed. "That's the best part of your little tragic love story. Your precious Joey led us right here to you. She practically begged us to stop here, and she encouraged me to contact your mother. She's on a quest to find the object her father was so fond of also. It's like a modern-day treasure hunt."
Anger flooded Drake. Suddenly his worst fears were all coming true. The pendant. The see'er ability. And now the betrayal. He felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest.
"Why did she run away from you? You have all of your goons searching for her. If she led you here, why would she run?"
"From you, of course. My dear boy, don't you think she knows that you were going to find out sooner or later? And once you figured out the fire, it was only a matter of time before the puzzle pieces fell into place. She had to disappear before you woke up."
