“Are you sure of that?” A sly query from Malone that pursed my lips. “Dragons are very intelligent creatures with an instinct to survive.”
Knowing Tigger, I would have begged to differ.
“Intelligent how?” Apollo asked.
“Well, that depends on the legend you want to believe. Some say they can speak. That they are born with inherited memories. There are claims they have magic.”
“Like fire breathing.”
“That is physical,” Malone corrected. “Magic in the sense they can cajole people into serving them or hide their presence, despite being in plain sight.”
“They can be invisible?” I didn’t stop my dubious note.
“That is one possibility. Some legends have them able to change shape.”
The very idea had me laughing. “No way.”
“I’ll agree that seems farfetched, but then again, much about them seems impossible, like the fact they can fly. Scientifically speaking, their weight alone should keep them grounded.” Malone shrugged. “And yet, every single story has them taking to the skies.”
I might not like Malone, but thus far, everything he said seemed to match up with what Tigger had told me. “What will you do if you find a dragon?”
“Study it, of course. Protect it. These are magnificent creatures, and it would be incredible for the world if they were to return.”
“Not incredible for the people they eat,” Apollo stated.
“Dragons don’t eat humans. They prefer cattle and sheep.”
I stiffened slightly. Was he lying on purpose, or did he truly not know the dragon’s diet?
“We keep getting off track. You said you knew the dragons in the videos were real.”
“They are, and I will further add they depicted three different dragons.”
“How can you tell?”
“While it’s not easy to see, the scales are different hues. Another fact, the locations where each video was taken have something in common. They all had recent and unexpected volcanic eruptions.”
“Grainy footage and mountains blowing their top don’t seem like concrete proof to me.” Apollo took a sip of his lemonade.
“Analysis of the videos shows no tampering. No use of AI or CGI.”
“You still have copies?”
“Of course. Why?”
“Because not long after I sent my message they got scrubbed from the internet. Not sure why they bothered. The supposed dragons were specks in the videos and, when enlarged, became even more indistinct.”
A tic jumped under Malone’s eye. “Would it help if I said I’ve spoken to eyewitnesses that swear by what they saw?”
“People claim all kinds of things. Still not proof.”
“Hence why I’m here. With a bit of funding, I can?—”
Apollo sliced his hand through the air. “Before you launch into the sales pitch, I’m going to say, while everything you’ve mentioned is intriguing, I’m not convinced dragons exist.”
“Then why reach out in the first place?” Malone’s smooth composure slipped for a second.
“Call it boredom. Initially, it seemed interesting, but I’m not sure I want to invest in a wild goose or, in this case, wild dragon chase.”
