I was draped across Taureen’s shoulder. The claws on my one hand were tucked under the front end of his shoulder pad to keep me from falling backwards as I laid down on the pad in boredom.

This was the fifth day that I had been dragged along on his endless walking. The same two fighters always accompanied him. It was boring. Extremely boring. Walk into this building, walk down this street, walk here, walk there, occasionally stop and talk with someone else who was walking. Boring.

I had no idea what they were patrolling for, since they hadn’t done anything yet. Surely they realized that if they split up, they stood a much better chance of stumbling across any trouble, right?

This city was only inhabited by Kymari, so I wasn’t sure why there were patrols. This race didn’t get drunk or steal, neither did they get into any needless fights. From the best I could tell, they were there in case something happened, such as a sicora getting past their wall.

I glanced at a robotic street cleaning machine as it passed by us with its faint humming noise. If Taureen was trying to acclimatize me to the regular noises of the city and streets, then he has succeeded past his wildest dreams… After five solid days of walking, nothing really bothered me anymore. The mere sight of street used to make me extremely nervous. Now, it was of no more importance than the grass in the small park that I still got to explore while Taureen held my leash.

Taureen headed into yet another building and walked through several rooms. In one room, I glanced around at the huge pipes that likely carried water. Taureen entered another area with hundreds of thick wires. This place almost looked like a small power relay station.

I lifted my head and growled as I got to my feet, whipping my head around as I looked for the crawler that I could smell. All three Kymari had turned to look at me the second I growled. Taureen extended his spear with a flick of the release mechanism; the other two followed suit as they stood on either side of him.

I flared my nostrils as I sniffed the air again, half unfolding my wings as the rage built with the smell of the thing. The scent was quite strong in this room, and I hissed as I shifted my weight and lashed my tail in agitation.

Taureen glanced at one of his comrades. “Lock down the building and get a team in to help search. We need these air shafts purged and closed before we start wandering around.”

He nodded and left the room while grabbing his radio. I was getting increasingly restless as the scent in the air fanned my desire to kill the despised eight-legged creature. I leaned forward on the shoulder pad, wishing I could jump to the floor, but the leash was too short to allow it.

Taureen looked around alertly. Walking along one wall, he went one way before turning around and going back the way he had come. I faced the direction he had come with a hiss; the smell had been stronger over there. The other Kymari had been watching us, and he turned and walked towards that side of the room with his weapons at the ready.

I failed to see what he thought he was going to do since thousands of wires and pipes covered that half of the room. He could walk up and down each of the narrow aisles, but he would be open to ambush. I now knew that the crawlers carried a venom capable of putting even a Kymari in hospital.

He looked down each row but didn’t enter the tight space. That seemed like a wise choice in my opinion. I turned my head as half a dozen people entered the room with weapons and odd equipment.

One of them came over to Taureen, telling him, “The air vents had special covers, and we checked all of the front rooms. If there is anything here, then chances are that it is in this room.”

Taureen didn’t look surprised. “I suspect it is in that section of the room.”

The man glanced to where he pointed and turned to gesture at several of the Kymari with him. Moments later, sophisticated robots rolled down the aisles while those controlling them watched the video feed.

“Got a crawler cocoon.”

The man looked towards the row in question. “Bring it out.”

It wasn’t long before the rover rolled out with an odd object in its grabbers. I snarled at the sight of the dark grey cocoon, flaring my wings and tugging against the leash in my desire to fly over and flame it.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Several glanced over at my reaction before focusing on the cocoon again. One of the Kymari walked forward and grabbed it before dropping it into what looked like a metal cooler with glass peep holes on the front.

He closed the lid and hit a button. I saw fire roll around inside, and once the fire went out, all that remained was black ashes. It was dead. I took a deep breath to try and calm down as the rage faded. I shook myself until my scales tinkled.

Taureen’s second companion came back to stand beside us as he commented, “Looks like our little experiment paid off. We would have never known that thing was there until it emerged and attacked someone.”

Taureen glanced at me as I now sat fairly calmly on his shoulder. “So it seems. Let’s keep going then.”

He investigated every room in the building, but it was clear. Several buildings later, I yawned and laid down on his shoulder again. It looks like he had been waiting to see if I would detect a crawler or a sicora. They have their answer, which may not be a good thing for me. I wonder why their technology is unable to locate the creatures? Then again, it doesn’t seem to locate my friends in the park either.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and I sighed in relief as Taureen started to head back. I gazed down the now-familiar street and tilted my head as I noticed someone sitting on a bench outside the apartment entrance. Normally, someone resting on a bench wasn’t unusual, but this person stood out.

A mere glance told me that he was old. His still-muscled body had thickened with age, and his skin had the light grey streaks that appeared only towards the end of the Kymari lifespan. He was an Elder.

As we walked down the path, I noticed the large green gem adorning the signet ring on his right hand, signifying that this Elder was on the Council of Elders. That group more or less set the policies that governed the entire city.

Taureen approached the apartment entrance, looking at the Elder in curiosity and respect. Once we were closer, the Elder stood up and walked towards us. Taureen paused and bowed slightly, causing me to shift my weight backwards a bit to avoid falling off.

“Elder.” It was a term of deference that all Kymari used when talking with the Elders, whose age they respected.

The Elder nodded and openly examined me. “Interesting friend you have. I have heard a fair bit about what you have done. It is rather interesting that the fire lizards react violently towards sicora, and yet are not aggressive to Kymari.”

He focused his sharp gaze on Taureen, for which I was thankful. The powerful man made me uneasy. Elders were sharp and experienced – and I had a lot to hide.

“I would advise you to keep her and continue training her. I will give you leave to become a fire lizard handler to aid in the detection of the sicora and crawlers both within the city and on incoming trade ships.”

Taureen bowed his head, his voice sounding grateful. “Thank you, Elder.”

The Elder simply nodded before turning and walking away slowly. Taureen stood there for some time, watching him leave. Eventually, he turned and went inside. My thoughts whirled around as I ran the short conversation through my mind over and over. The little I understood of Kymari society was confirmed by my Blood Memories.

The suggestion of any Elder was to be carefully considered. A recommendation from one on the Council of Elders was almost law, although his wording had given Taureen the option to accept or decline. Taureen’s words may have been formal and respectful, but his body language showed that he appreciated the offer. This could turf those release plans that they had been working on…

Taureen removed my harness, and I flew over to the heat lamp. I wanted more time to mull over what had just happened. He had simply thanked the Elder. Did that mean that he had accepted or that he was going to think about the offer? I wasn’t sure.

The door rang, and Taureen let Alec in. Taureen told Alec about the crawler cocoon and the encounter with the Elder. I eavesdropped shamelessly.

Alec looked surprised. “Well, that is a huge promotion for you. It isn’t often the Elders offer to officially designate someone as a handler. Sure, there are dozens of various animal handlers out there, but rarely do the they recognize one with a designation. You must have impressed him.”

Taureen was looking somewhat excited as he replied, “I was quite surprised by his offer. Clearing ships and areas of sicora is a more useful career path than a regular guard.”

Alec grinned at his friend. “Well, congratulations then. You had better let him know tomorrow morning. He might think you are hasty if you send your response before then.”

Taureen chuckled in agreement. “That was the only reason I didn’t accept on the spot. Have you managed to get close to the wild ones yet? If I am going to keep her, I’m going to need a better understanding of their habits in the wild.”

My heart dropped. He did plan on accepting, and he had the support of an Elder to boot. I guess I had better work on my escape plans then. This wasn’t going to be easy. I had already investigated the window but had been unable to figure out how to open it.

The main door gave me similar issues. Others may be able to open it easily, but the control panel wouldn’t respond to me. Trying to deal with advanced technology was like pulling teeth when attempting to get out of a spot that they didn’t want you to get out of.

Alec sighed at Taureen’s question before repling, “No, they are as elusive as ever. We see them singing in the morning, and then they disappear. Of course, they are flying, so it’s impossible to track them. Two more fledglings have joined the flock, but they can already fly well enough to get above the trees when following their parents.”

“Please keep trying.”

Alec nodded with determination.

I hoped that he was unsuccessful.