Cora and the Nurse Dragon Page 8

  “We do need to be cautious. How many unsold dragons do you have right now?” Mrs. Stevenson asked.

  “Just the one steamer,” Abry answered.

  “That’s good. My legal advice is to shut down your shop for a bit, avoid attention. While you weren’t doing anything illegal, all it would take is for the Agency to decide nurse dragons should be illegal.” Mrs. Stevenson sat down and shifted the papers around inside her briefcase. “If they know you have him, and what he does, they’ll confiscate Cricket, and legal or not, the Dragon Regulatory Agency has the power to keep him from you.”

  Cora’s hold on Cricket tightened. He reached up and nuzzled her face with his beak.

  “Dang, and things were going so well.” Abry wrinkled her nose. “Well, at least we still have Cricket. Stupid Xavian.”

  Cora stroked Cricket’s neck. She didn’t want to lose him … or Dad.

  How close did I come to losing both?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Purpose

  Dad didn’t want to talk about anything the agents had said. “It’s not just my story, and some things are best forgotten.”

  Cora fell silent, but she couldn’t help but wonder what Dad had done and who he’d done it with and how Mr. Algernon had been involved. Mr. Algernon was an upstanding business man, protective of his family’s legacy as well as its investments. How had he been involved with a “radical organization”?

  Maybe Xavian knew something about it, but he was the last person Cora wanted to talk to.

  Three days after the agents’ visit, Cora sat with her mayflies and the one remaining steamer. Cricket was curled up in the now empty egg tank. Occasionally, he cooed and looked expectantly at Cora.

  This is the longest he’s gone without eggs since we found out what he was. He must miss them.

  “I’m sorry, boy,” she said. “I don’t like it either.”

  Cricket gave out a puff of smoke. She leaned over the tank. His scales didn’t look as shiny as they had, and he wasn’t his usual rambunctious self.

  “You aren’t getting sick, are you? Do you want something to eat?” She took out a piece of jerky and held it under his nose. He sniffed but did not eat.

  Cora chewed on her bottom lip. “I’ll leave it here, in case you change your mind.” She placed the jerky beside him and turned to the steamer. Almost full grown now, the steamer eyed Cricket’s jerky and let out a puff of steam. Cora gave her a strip. Gripping it between her front talons, the dragon tore into the dried meat. At least she was happy.

  The door opened, and Abry and Parker strode in. They stood so close their hands kept brushing against each other. Something in Cora’s chest twisted. Abry was her best friend. Why was she hanging out with Parker so much? It wasn’t like they needed his help to sell dragons any more.

  “I heard about Xavian’s stool pigeon stunt.” Parker clicked his tongue. “Rotten of him. It’s not like you were hurting anyone. I mean, almost all my buddies have dragons now 'cause of you. I think that’s really swell.”

  Cora shrugged. “Well, we still have one left.” She pointed at the steamer.

  “And there won’t be anymore?” Parker frowned.

  “Not for a while … I still feel like I’m being watched.” Abry's eyes darted about the room. “I swear there was the same black automobile outside my house and the library today.”

  Cora's head spun. What if the agents were spying on them? What if they found out about Cricket and took him away? What if they learned something awful about Dad’s radical gangster past and took him away? She shuddered.

  Parker stuck his fingers through the cage and tickled the steamer’s belly. “Darn, I wanted to try and save up enough to buy one more, for Mitzi, my sister. Her birthday’s next week.”

  “That’s so sweet.” Abry clasped her hands together like a Valentine’s postcard.

  “Yeah, well, I doubt I’ll save up enough before you sell this guy.” He patted the steamer’s head. “Maybe I could bring her by just to see him?”

  “Her,” Cora corrected. “I guess she can come see her. I don’t think that would hurt anything.”

  “Great. I’ll bring her around Saturday. Hopefully you won’t have sold the dragon yet.”

  The door opened. Everyone turned and glared at Xavian.

  “The nerve,” Abry said in her most grown-up voice.

  “What are you doing here, X?” Parker crossed his arms over his chest.

  Xavian stuck his chin out. “Why are you still hanging out with Egg Face and the Church Mouse? They don’t have any dragons anymore.”

  “We have one left, no thanks to you.” Cora scowled. “Go away, Xavian. You’re just a bully, and nobody likes you.”

  “You think they like you?” Xavian scoffed. “You’re nobody. Parker and his pals just want your stolen dragons is all. Now that they’re gone, no one cares about you.”

  “Shut up, X.” Parker stepped forward, his shoulders squared. “No one likes a snitch, and that’s what you are, a stinkin’ sneakin’ snitch.”

  Xavian’s cheeks turned bright red. He brought up his hand to slap Parker, but a flying peach smacked him in the forehead. “Ouch!” He covered his face.

  Abry reached into their dragon food stash for another projectile. “Get out, snitch!” She wrinkled her nose. “You aren’t welcome here.”

  Xavian’s bottom lip quivered. “I’m gonna tell my dad!” He ran out, slamming the door so hard the glass panels shook.

  “Do you think he’ll really tell Mr. Algernon?” Cora asked. As good as it was seeing Xavian get his, she still worried about her father’s job.

  “I doubt it. If he does, your dad might tell his father that he filed a false accusation with the Dragon Regulatory Agency … if the agents haven’t tattled on him already.” Abry put down a tomato. “I don’t think even he’s that stupid.” She sidled up to Parker. “You were brilliant.”

  He flushed and lowered his eyes. “You were pretty swell yourself.”

  Cora made a gagging noise. The two straightened their posture.

  After an awkward silence, Parker cleared his throat. “It might take a little convincing to get Mitzi away from her sitter, but if I can, I’ll see you in a few days.” He glanced at Abry. “Can I walk you home?”

  “I’d like that,” Abry squeaked. “Bye, Cor.”

  Cora rolled her eyes when they left. “If I ever get that way about a boy, just smother me in my sleep,” she told Cricket. He didn’t even raise his head.

  Cora's brow furrowed. “Oh come on, Cricket. It’s not that bad. You want to take a walk? Go play with Scraggles?” She scooped him out of the tank. He hung limply in her hands, his wings folded close to his sides.

  Oh no, what if he’s dying?

  Clutching Cricket to her chest, she bolted from the greenhouse. She leapt over hedges and dodged around rose bushes until she found her father, kneeling beside a flower bed.

  His brow furrowed when she approached. “What’s wrong?”

  “I think Cricket’s sick,” she choked out, passing him to Dad. Her throat closed in on itself all hot and prickly, and tears threatened to leak from her eyes. “You … do you know what to do?”

  Dad laid Cricket on the grass and examined him. “He does seem lethargic. Has he eaten anything?”

  “A few bites this morning … but since then he’s just been lying in the egg tank, not moving or anything.”

  Dad rubbed his nose. “The egg tank, huh?” He stroked Cricket’s back. “It’s just a guess, but maybe he’s depressed because he’s not working. A nurse dragon’s purpose is to care for eggs, and we’ve taken that from him. Maybe he just doesn’t know what to do with himself without them.”

  Cora swallowed. “But what do I do? It isn’t like there are wild dragon eggs for him to care for … and Mrs. Stevenson said … what do I do?”

  Dad stared at Cricket. He let out a long breath, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a dime. “I know what Mrs. Stevenson said, but it’s cruel to do this to
an animal, and egg raising isn’t illegal. You can’t sell the hatchlings he raises, though. We’ll have to find something else to do with them. I may have an idea.”

  Cora took the money which felt cool against her sweaty palms.

  “Get the smallest egg set they have and make sure no one is watching when you give them to Cricket,” Dad continued. “I’ll put some cloths over the glass in your workshop so people can’t peek in. Go on. I’ll take care of him until you get back.”

  Cora ran all the way to the Emporium. There was an automobile parked across the street, but she tried not to think about it.

  “What’s your hurry?” The clerk laughed when she shoved the box and money at him.

  “Thank you!” She snatched her change and ran off.

  By the time she reached the Avenue, she was out of breath and her sides hurt, but she wouldn’t let herself stop running. Half way down the Avenue, though, something smashed into her back. She gasped for breath and stumbled. Putting out her hand, she caught the wall. Her free arm cradled the eggs.

  A dull pain radiated from between her shoulder blades. Glancing down she saw a small stone, sitting on the bricks of the path.

  She whirled around. Xavian sat on the wall, glaring at her, another rock in his hand. “You think you’re so special. I know what you’re doing. I know you had to steal them. That’s the only way an egg-faced beggar girl like you could’ve gotten so many dragons.” He hopped down and stalked towards her, his lips curled. Cora held her eggs closer.

  “I did no such thing.” She stuck out her chin. I'm not letting him hurt these eggs. I don't care if I have to punch his lights out.

  “Yes, you did. You did, and now none of my friends want to be with me anymore. They’re all swarming around your stupid, pitiful dragons. They don’t even want to see my racer. You already had a friend, that stuck up Church-Girl. Why’d you go and steal mine?”

  “I didn’t steal anything. They would rather be with me because I’m not a backstabbing stool pigeon.”

  “Your dad’s gonna get fired.” Xavian smirked.

  “No, he’s not, and do you know why? Because you’re so awful not even your own dad wants to be with you. Why would he do anything for you? You’re just a spoiled, inconsiderate brat who has to buy his friends.” The words escaped like fire from Cricket’s mouth. “Parker was only your friend in the first place because his daddy works for your daddy. Just like I only haven’t punched you out because of it.”

  Xavian’s hands fell to his side, and he took a step back. His mouth opened and closed and his face pinched up like a peach pit. Cora stared at him. Tears rolled from his eyes, and he darted back over the wall into the bushes.

  Cora hesitated. She didn’t think she’d ever made anybody cry before, not intentionally anyway. Once or twice she’d brought a school mate to tears with some careless remark, but those words she spouted at Xavian had been weapons. More so than her fists could ever be. She started to walk on, but the muffled sound of sobbing pulled her back.

  Cricket needs me, and Cricket is more important than a stupid, egg-killing snitch like Xavian … but I made him cry. I said those things. I need to fix it.

  She placed the eggs carefully on top of the wall and pulled herself up. Pushing through the bushes, she found a tiny hollow. Xavian sat in the center, his knees against his chest.

  “Go away.”

  “I didn’t mean to … I mean, I did mean to but I shouldn’t have.” Cora lowered her eyes. “I’m sure your dad likes you just fine. I mean, he’s your dad.”

  “No, he doesn’t. You’re right. He’s always sending me off places. If I bother him he just buys me stuff to make me go away and not bug him anymore. Racing dragons, horses, stupid toys … He doesn’t like me at all. Nobody does.” He wiped his nose on his sleeve. “At least, though, I could always get people to be with me. Parker would bring over all his friends to play with my racer and stuff … until you came along with your stupid dragons and your pretty friend and turned them against me. Now I don’t have anyone.”

  “If they want to be with you because of your stuff, they really aren’t friends. Abry and I don’t have much of anything, and yeah, we’ve always shared what we do have, but we could have nothing and still be friends. Friends like you, not what you can give them or do for them.”

  “But what if there’s nothing about you to like?” Xavian whispered.

  “Well, maybe if you stopped being a jerk to people they could find something to like. No more bullying and name calling and lording your money over people.” She crossed her arms. “Really, that’s all I know about you, but I’m sure that’s not all there is to you, right? I mean if you weren’t able to be nasty, you wouldn’t just break down like an automobile out of gas, would you?”

  “No.” His mouth quirked. “Do … do you think I could hang out with you sometimes?”

  Cora recoiled. She’d meant to smooth things over, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to be all buddy-buddy with the boy who’d pelted her with eggs and tried to have her arrested. “I … I might. But I’m kind of worried you’ll try and get me in trouble again.”

  “I won’t! I promise! I’ll even let you come down to the stables and see my racer!” He leapt to his feet.

  She let out a long breath. There was a time that would’ve been a dream come true. “No, I don’t care about your racer. Look, do you play cards? Checkers? Anything?”

  “My tutor taught me chess.” He nodded.

  “Is that kind of like checkers?” She had a vague image of a checkered board that old men in the park stared at for a long time.

  “Sort of … checkers is fine, I guess.”

  “Okay, well, you stop trying to get me and my dad in trouble with the Dragon Regulatory Agency and we can play sometime … maybe. Look, I’m in a hurry. Can we talk about this later?”

  “Okay.”

  Cora hurried on her way.

  I just agreed to be pals with awful Xavian. This is the oddest day of my life.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Something New

  Cora lined the eggs up in the bottom of the tanks. Her line wasn’t as straight as Abry’s, but it would do.

  Dad placed Cricket beside the eggs. The nurse dragon’s tail twitched, and he nestled between two of them, cooing softly.

  “All right, these may be all we’ll have for a while, so make them last,” Cora said.

  Cricket looked up and nodded. Cora blinked.

  “Did he just … no, he couldn’t have.” Dad knelt beside the tank and squinted at Cricket.

  Nothing would surprise me any more. Maybe he can understand more than I thought. Cora picked Cricket up and held him nose to nose. “Look, Cricket, if you want to make them all be mayflies, that’s probably safer. I know you don’t make them to please us, but this is to keep you safe too.” Cora bit her bottom lip. I’m talking to a pet like a person. The nod had to be just a coincidental head bob. Dragons can’t understand speech. Nothing in the books says they can.

  She placed him back beside the eggs. He circled them, nuzzled them, and settled down for a nap. Cora raised her eyebrows. Maybe he will let these be mayflies.

  Dad squeezed her shoulder. “I need to get back to work. Let me know if he takes a turn for the worse, but my instinct says he’s going to be just fine.”

  Cora sat, watching Cricket sleep, curled about the eggs as if they were his favorite teddy bear.

  I wouldn’t trade him for a thousand racers. I just want him to be with me, forever. How long do nurse dragons even live?

  She brought out the book and found the chapter.

  “The well-being of a nurse dragon is tied to the health of the colony as well as the life of the queen. Because of this, their lifespans are hard to track. If the colony is in a time of sickness, nurse dragons often experience a mass die-off.” Cora shuddered. “However, there have been anecdotal reports of nurse dragons living as long as queens, or even outliving them as they branch off to form new colonies.” Cora flippe
d to the chapter on queens. They were known to live as long as fifty years. “I hope that’s true.” She ran her finger down his spine. “When I was little, I had a mom. She … she used to sing to me, and then one day she was just sort of gone, you know? And the only dragons I’ve had before you were mayflies. They die so quickly you can’t love them if you don’t want to cry all the time, but Cricket … you have to stay. You and Dad and Abry, those are the three things that matter. Everything else is just mayflies.”

  Cricket cooed and picked himself up. Fluttering around the greenhouse, he went first to one of the planting beds and snatched several leaves. He flew back, placing the leaves on top of one of the new eggs. Cora sat up straighter. This was new. Cricket toasted the egg with a gentle wash of flame.

  “Okay, so you’re making a striker? What’s with the leaves then?” Cora asked.

  Cricket darted from the tank to the watering can. When he returned, he doused the egg he’d already toasted.

  “You can’t make up your mind?” Cora frowned.

  Cricket curled protectively around the egg and gave a contented coo.

  Cora shook her head. “Just when I think I have you all figured out.”

  ***

  Over the next few days, Cricket continued acting oddly. While he did toast one egg like he would when nurturing a striker, two other eggs got an excessive amount of this attention. He constantly switched up his care regimen, toasting one minute, then turning around and baptizing them. The other three eggs he snuggled with every so often but otherwise ignored.

  Even Abry wasn’t sure what to think of it. “Maybe he’s trying to make some sort of hybrid.”

  “Can he do that? There wasn’t anything in the books about it,” Cora said.

  “I don’t know. There’s not a whole lot written about nurse dragons in general. It’s been three days. We should see them hatch soon, and then we’ll know.” Abry leaned against the workbench. “Your dad said he had an idea what to do with the dragons. Did he say what?”

  Cora shook her head. “Maybe it has something to do with his secretive past.”