My throat tightens unexpectedly.
"Well?" Vyrathion asks. "Is it gold?"
"It’s not," I manage.
"Then why are you looking at it as though you've discovered a new continent?"
I turn the object over in my hands. There's a faint decorative pattern molded into the plastic. The kind of thing sold for a few dollars in a supermarket.
A completely ordinary object. "This came from Earth. My home planet."
Vyrathion's expression doesn't change. “The planet where there’s gold.”
“There’s some. This isn’t gold, though.” I hold up the comb so he can see it.
He peers at it, then reaches out two clawed fingers and takes hold of it. “Ah. It’s well made. Exquisite. One of millions, I think. There must be great wealth on Earth. Where is your planet? Approximately?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “It’s probably light years away. Yeah, they make millions of those. They’re very cheap.”
The dragon strokes one finger along the comb. “This one item may be cheap. But I can feel that there’s immense wealth behind it. If it weren’t broken, it would be perfect. As it is… Oh, you want it back?”
“If I may?” I raise my eyebrows. I expected Vyrathion to toss the comb back to me with contempt. But he studies it carefully and treats it as if it had some value.
He strokes one finger along the back of it, then drops it into my palm. “It’s broken. If it weren’t, it might be of immediate interest. I can sense the effort behind it. The material is unusual.”
“It’s just a plastic comb,” I tell him. “It’s worthless unless you want to comb your hair.”
“Might there be more such items?” He fixes me with his luminous eyes.
I think about it. If there are other girls here, I kind of have to try to find them. It’s something we have talked about before in the tribe, and we’re pretty sure most girls would prefer living inthe Borok tribe to maybe having to fend for themselves in this deadly jungle.
“I don’t know. But maybe. Because this means that there was or is another Earth woman here. Perhaps more than one. And perhaps they have more things like this. I suppose they may have gold, too. If they were wearing jewelry when they were taken.”
I kneel down and show the comb to Clyde. "Do you know where this was found?"
The creature immediately blinks. A wave of excitement brushes against my thoughts. Then he points in a specific direction.
I stash the comb in my pocket and glance at the dragon. “Worth a try?”
“It’s not the same direction where you said Praxigor was keeping his hoard. This may well be a trap.” He gives me a little smile with ice at the edges.
“I don’t think so,” I tell him. “I think this is just a sign that more Earth girls are living somewhere here. And there’s a small chance that maybe some of them had some gold on them. Probably not. But it’s just possible.”
If there are girls that have survived in the jungle, they may be moderately thrilled if I bring a dragon who immediately goes on to steal their jewelry. But I’m pretty sure Vyrathion won’t kill them - he’s extremely menacing and clearly capable of it, but he hasn’t killed me yet, and that’s the only data point I have.
“I suppose I should check,” the dragon ponders. “Can you find these possible gold-owners?”
“I don’t know. If they’re good at hiding, they’ll be hard to find. But maybe we can use the Plood.”
I bend down again and give Clyde a little smile. “How far away?”
He just blinks, and I get no feeling that he knows.
“Can you find them? Can you and your friends find them?”
I’m even less convinced that the girl will enjoy being swarmed with Plood aliens trying to drag them away, but Vyrathion has a good point - they may be really hard to find.
Clyde gives me a feeling that he will try, and I suppose that’s the best I can expect.
