“Wait here,” Estios ordered as he opened a door incorporated into the window structure. As soon as he had exited and disappeared around the hedge. Sam stepped up to the windows, he was curious to see if he could gauge how far the estate extended beyond the city limits.
All thoughts of geographical extent vanished the moment he saw the Dragon. The beast sat on its haunches, forelimbs holding its chest above the manicured lawn. Sam knew it at once for a Western Dragon, for its huge wings were unmistakable even though folded against its flank. The great head was majestically horned and longer than any of the people gathered about it. Its scales glittered gold in the sunshine.
The crowd of Humans and Metahumans arrayed around the Dragon was divided into three parties. All the normal Humans, a pair of Dwarfs, and a large, furred humanoid stood to the beast’s right, spread out between it and a quad-engined VTOL whose insignia appeared to be a portrait of the Dragon’s own silhouette. The rest, mostly Elves, stood in a ragged, divided semicircle in front of the Dragon. One Elven contingent was aligned behind a red-headed Elf, the other behind a blond. From the blond’s gestures, he was clearly making a passionate address to the Dragon. The beast seemed unperturbed.
Estios approached the red-head’s group and whispered in the leaders’ ear. The Elf cast a quick glance at the house before nodding and saying something. Estios gave a curt acknowledgement and walked to the back of the clump.
Our host, the mysterious Professor Laverty, Sam concluded. The Elf was lanky, not as tall as Estios, but still overtopping Dodger. The curly red hair and fair skin were easily visible, but distance masked the color of his eyes. From the Elf’s calm demeanor, Sam expected that they would be discerning, imperturbable eyes. Whatever their color, it would be difficult to conceal anything from those eyes. Sam hoped that Dodger was right in bringing him here.
His gaze drifted across the other group of Elves, stopping suddenly on one familiar face. After a moment of shock, he checked the others and recognized a second face. Fear jolted him and for a moment he was running through the forest, hopeless and lost. He felt hunted again.
“We can’t go out there.” The words were barely audible; his throat was too dry.
“Nervous about meeting the quality? Or is it the Dragon?”
“No, that’s not it. That red-headed Elf with the cape is the guy who tried to flash-fry me in the forest. The small dark one next to him is the tracker.”
“What?” Dodger moved to his side and stared at the figures Sam indicated. “Rag it! That redhead is Rory Donally and the other is Bran Glendower. They’re two of Ehran’s paladins. That whole squad was probably his crew. You’re right. We can’t go out there.”
“But I thought that we got hit by the border patrol.”
“They ride the border sometimes. When they think something’s in it for them or their master.”
“Ehran, you mean?”
Dodger nodded in affirmation as he stared out the window.
“Ehran? As in Ehran the Scribe?”
“You know of another?” he replied abstractedly.
“I read his Mankind Ascendant. It didn’t make much sense.”
Dodger turned and gave him a wry grin. “That’s the right Ehran. He is the blond Elf who looks so fond of his own argument.”
“This doesn’t make sense, either. I thought he was some kind of scientific populist writer. What’s he doing here?”
“From the looks of that conference, it must be council business.
“Huh?”
“Sir Twist, your astute commentary ill becomes you. I realize that not all of Ehran’s activities are common knowledge, but… surely, given where you are and what you see, you must have realized that, like our host, he is a member of the ruling council of Tir Tairngire.”
Sam hadn’t made any such connection. Seeing the house and grounds, he had surmised that this Professor Laverty had some influence. But a member of the council! That was beyond reasonable expectations. How did Dodger come to have connections with such a person? And why did he think that Sam might be of interest to this professor? Sam’s stomach lurched as it had when the elevator cable in his Mitsubishi Flutterer had snapped. There had been a yawning chasm below him and he had been nearly out of control. He hadn’t panicked then. Well, not too much anyway, and had managed to fight the craft to a relatively safe landing. He’d find a way out of this disaster, too.
While Sam fought his panic, the meeting outside drew to a close. The Dragon launched itself into the air, circling while its attendants boarded their craft. The aircraft rose to join the Dragon and both flew away to the north. The two groups of Elves merged and headed for the house. Upon reaching the patio, Laverty and Ehran split from their followers and headed for the salon.
“We’ve got to get out of sight,” Sam said. He turned to find Dodger standing by the fireplace, hand on the carved mantel. A dark space opened in the wall beside the stonework.
“In here.”
Sam stared dubiously into the darkness. “It’s a secret passage.”
“Of course. All well-designed houses have them.”
“But how did you know about it?”
“ ’Tis a secret.” To Sam’s disgruntled expression, he added, “All well-brought-up Elves have them, too. Adds to the mystique. Now, get in here and be quiet.”
The entrance to their hiding place barely closed before they heard the latch of the outer door. Then they heard the voices of the Elves as they entered the room.
“… well enough. I think. His advisors were cowed even if your histrionics made little impression on him.”
“Your observations are faulty as usual, Laverty. The worm was suitably impressed. You know that they don’t display emotion as we do. It has to do with the lack of facial musculature and general structure of the skull. I must add, though, that over time I have learned to discern certain variances of reptilian physiognomy and characteristic head positions that show distinct correlations with understandable emotional states.”
“Thank you for the lesson, Ehran.” Laverty’s voice was cold. “I have had some experience with his kind.”
“One should always have a care to respect one’s elders, Laverty,” Ehran laughed. “I am reminded of a sage piece of wisdom I once encountered emblazoned on a wall in a burned-out alley. Lengthy for its type, but containing certain truths. It went something like, ‘Watch your back, conserve ammo, and never cut a deal with a Dragon’.”
“And you find that applicable to our current endeavors?”
“Let us say that I find it suggestive. I would be happy to stay and elucidate, but I have pressing matters to attend to before the others arrive. It was kind of you to host this meeting.”
“It seemed the most expeditious way.”
“So direct. You realty must learn to be more subtle, Laverty. A bit more discretion would stand you in good stead.”