Free Alice's Dragon (The Challenge Series) by Stephanie Beck

 
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    Alice stepped up to the gate and shook her fist into the cool night air. “Henry, you dirty son of a bitch. Give me my money.”
    Their small cove community belonged only to itself, and though he had no real power, Lord Henry claimed jurisdiction, which meant he needed to pay her.
    For generations the residents of the Island of Aden had lived a sequestered existence, taking on the rugged, independent nature of their homeland. After the last few hurricanes, fewer and fewer ships came by for fear of getting marooned. More people left than were born. It was only a matter of time before the population died out entirely. Alice was happily stuck, as was Henry. Only, she would last longer than the cheap, decrepit fart.
    When the old man lumbered out of his stately stone home, a small satchel in his hand, Alice hid her sigh of relief. She’d expected him to balk, as he had the month before, with fairly justified cause. The dragon she distracted had seen more ferocious days. His scales flaked and he’d lost another two teeth. “Terrifying” didn’t quite describe him, but she’d done her job and the village remained unravaged. Therefore, she had earned her pay.
    Limping and holding his robes closed, Henry reached her, his scowl lit by the torch the young servant beside him carried. Neither appeared happy to see her.
    “You couldn’t come at a proper time, could you, Dragon Charmer?”
    “I never do,” she chirped, accepting the offered money sack.
    “I can’t wait for this to be done,” Henry muttered.
    “Done? Oh, my lord, this will never be done. As long as there are dragons, you’ll need a charmer, and I’m the last of my line.”
    Henry perked up. “Yes, and the dragon is the last of his. There hasn’t been a new one in decades. We won’t be needing you.”
    “You’ll always need me,” Alice snapped. “If he dies, another will take his place. Don’t expect me to come and help you for free when your shit is on fire.”
    The wicked sparkle in his eye gave her a bad feeling in her gut. “Whatever you say, Dragon Charmer, but if I were you I’d consider a new vocation. Charmers and slayers are no longer necessary in the modern world.”
    Henry turned on his heels his servant beside him. The short peon sneered at her over his shoulder.
    “Go ahead and be a bitch, Stewart,” Alice called. “I’d rather be an out of work dragon charmer than an ass wiper.”
    In the dead of night, her favorite time to wander, she took in the cool air and thanked everything good she made a living doing what she loved. Her family had worked the business for generations. The rare men tended to die young, taking the slaying route. The women, however, lived long enough to pass down tactics that made their livelihood sustainable.
    What good was a dead dragon? None at all. Kill a dragon one day, dig a ditch the next. Her foremothers saw a way to change things to their advantage and stay out of ditches. The beasts weren’t trained…exactly.
    So what if the secrets Alice held close were easily implemented? If the public wanted to learn them, they would have asked. Instead, she worked, the dragon stayed at bay, and the islanders prospered.
    She liked her part in the system and would maintain it until the dragon bit the dust. Henry was correct in one respect. No new beasts came. Isle Aden had drifted too far out into the ocean for most of them to fly. Even seagoing boat crews didn’t seem to enjoy the trip.
    Once Rusty, her trusty orange nemesis, died she’d be out of a job, without a purpose. Alice shook off the idea and focused on the path ahead of her. She passed Joseph and Amy’s cottage. Her schoolroom friends had hooked up upon maturity and seemed dead set on repopulating the island. She hurried past the shadows in the window, not wanting to get caught peeking into their happy, lusty home.
    Finally to her sanctuary, she stepped inside, enjoying the warmth from the low fire she’d left burning.