to chuckle. Tapping the notebooks, I say, âIâm studying magic. Can you think of a better way for me to be prepared?â Though she does have a point. âI know a trickster. Iâll ask him what he knows about the methods of the Phouka.â
âI heard. A Coyote. They are fools.â
I nod. âIndeed they are, and proud of it.â
âMy apologies, my liege. I misspoke.â I quirk a brow, but she continues. âThey are idiots . Nothing more than walking embodiments of id, and they all steal .â She snorts, a few white sparks issuing from her nose.
âPersonal experience?â I fight not to grin. âI donât suppose you took stock tips from one of them?â
âLuckily my broker talked me out of it. I wouldâve lost most of my hoard. Instead, I shorted the stock and made a decent profit. One only needs to remember the tale of the Impecunious to never trust financial advice from a stranger.â
I wince, but thatâs because I know the guy. Dave, my former boss and current flatmate. Well, all dragons have a title affixed to their names. His mother is apparently the Munificent, his father is the Opulent. Dave, or Davinicus, is called the Impecunious, which means pretty much broke. Itâs not a term of endearment. He met a Coyote who sweet-talked him into investing his hoard in a junk stock and promptly lost everything but his building. Suffice it to say, heâs a little sore about it.
âYeah, I heard about that. So are you going to go get lunch or what?â She waits expectantly, tapping her foot, and I shrug. âWhat, you want my order?â
âYouâre ordering me to take a lunch break, sir?â
âMore I was wondering, since youâre so loaded, and if you have enough liquid assets, could you get me something? I didnât have time to stop for breakfast, and Iâm mostly running on magic. Iâd conjure food but itâs all empty calories.â I smile beatifically. âPlease?â
She fights off rolling her eyes, but nods. âAt least you said please. Mother used to tell tales of the ways the Raâketh would enforce discipline. The Munificent says you may be different. For now I will trust her judgment. What would you like me to bring you, then?â
âBurger and fries? Small on the fries. Ask for the burger rarely legal.â
She furrows her brow at the term, but I explain. âRare as legally allowed. Only a couple places in the City know the term, mostly because the phrase hasnât gotten around yet. Obviously, get whatever you want for yourself.â
She smiles at that and just before turning to leave says, âIâm a vegetarian. When Iâm in this form, at least.â
Well. Learn something new about dragons every day, I guess. Itâs a damned sight better than the first thing I learned from living with Dave. The best way to put it is this: Dragons snore like chainsaws having angry sex.
I have to admit that sheâs likely correct about the flying practice. âFlies like a dropped eggâ sounds like an insult, to be sure, and since Iâd rather not deal with her condescension, I might as well get in a little practice on my lunch break.
I put out my sign thatâll direct patrons to the main desk and tell my supervisor Iâm taking my lunch, and head to the roof.
Itâs clear up here, a little bit of a breeze, though the abundance of cigarette butts flips all the wrong switches in my brain, reminding me that attempt number twelve to quit smoking is not going as planned. I can conjure my own smokes, and I wonât get lung cancer. But itâs a habit I picked up while I was with Heath, one of the last vestiges of my life with him, and Iâd prefer to cut it clean, nice and neat. Or jagged and sloppy, as long as I donât need any of these damned things anymore.
Suffice it to say, it takes me a couple minutes to clear my head and focus. Iâm