Pib's Dragon (5 page)

The way he said
much
made Dray think
Wil probably didn’t have anyone because he couldn’t afford them,
and it prompted him to make his offer.

“
You don’t have to pay me,
just getting me out and about is all the payment I need. I’m going
a little crazy doing nothing, and my only alternative is to spend
time with my brother. I love him to bits, but he would drive me
crazy after a while.”

His honesty caused Wil to laugh, and
Dray had to admit that while he had a nice laugh and smile, it
didn’t stir his interest at all.

Figures. Oh well, I can always do with more
friends
.

“
I know the feeling. Okay,
how about you meet me at Dragon’s Keep after sunrise tomorrow
morning, does that work for you?” Wil asked after he got his mirth
under control.

“
Sure, sounds perfect. I’ll
see you then.”

After getting the confirmation, Dray
turned around to leave the tavern. He’d grab something to eat at
Del’s place. He just had to escape the noise and smells. When he
reached the door, he thought he felt eyes on him, but a quick
glance around didn’t reveal anyone looking in his direction so he
shrugged and left.

****

Pib watched the man leave the tavern
and licked his lips while his cat gave a small purr. Both he and
his serval wanted to nibble on the man’s ass, amongst other body
parts.

“
So it looks like I have an
employee,” Wil stated as he sat down in the chair opposite Pib,
forcing his attention away from the now empty doorway.

“
Oh?” Pib asked, only
mildly interested.

“
Yup, a dragon by the name
of Dray,” Wil said, taking a drink of the beer he’d left on the
table.

Everything within Pib froze with Wil’s
declaration.

A dragon? What are the odds
that I run into a dragon in the cave and now a dragon is going to
be working with Wil?

Pib tuned Wil out as he thought back to
what had happened earlier in the day. By the time their food was
placed in front of them, Pib had come to the conclusion that there
was no way the dragon, if it was the same one, could know he’d been
in his cave. He’d left no scent or any other evidence to indicate
it was him that had been in his lair and not someone else. Relieved
that he hadn’t been discovered, Pib dug into his food at the same
time as Wil, both of them too busy eating to talk.

Halfway through their meal of steak and
vegetables, the door to the tavern opened, and Pib saw three men
stroll in like they owned the place. It took him seconds to know
all he needed to about them. The extra weight they carried showed
that they obviously didn’t do any manual labor, and the high
quality of their clothing showed their wealth. Pib was confident
they wore no weapons, and that was something he was very good at
detecting.

Everyone seemed to pause in what they
were doing, but Pib just kept eating, pretending to be focused on
his food while taking advantage of the hood covering his face,
which allowed him to keep an eye on the men. He could tell Wil was
just as aware of the men, but like Pib, he kept his focus on his
food. Neither of them showed any reaction when the men walked over
to their table.

“
Wil, we want a word with
you,” the man in the middle said, his tone more demand than
request.

Pib couldn’t tell the difference
between the three men, but he suspected that it was the eldest,
Harry, that was speaking. They were brothers, born a year apart,
but they looked like triplets. Harry, Larry, and Perry had grown up
with wealthy parents and had never worked a day in their lives.
They always acted like they owned everything, and Pib was pretty
sure that they did own quite a bit of the land in their little
village but not all of it.

Not our home, that’s for
sure.

He sat quietly, leaving this to Wil to
handle, but if his brother needed anything, well, Pib had his
blades on him. Smirking, he leaned back and started to play with
the knife he’d been using to cut his steak. He was surprised they’d
waited until now to confront Wil in public.

“
What can I do for you on this fine evening?” Wil asked,
looking up at the men and causing Pib to almost burst out laughing
at the tone that practically oozed the hidden message of
fuck you
.

“
Perhaps we can talk
outside,” the man ground out between obviously clenched
teeth.

Looks like someone doesn’t
want witnesses. Well, too bad.

“
I suppose we can do that.”
Wil paused, then turned back to his food. “I’ll be there as soon as
I finish my meal.”

Pib’s snicker was drowned out by the
gasps from the two brothers who had yet to speak.

The eldest sputtered, then narrowed his
eyes. “Fine, we tried to keep this private for your sake, but since
you have decided to be rude, you give us no choice. You owe us
money for breaking your lease, and for that, we’re deducting this
month’s payment for your work.”

The look of triumph on the man’s face
and the barely controlled rage on Wil’s had Pib’s blood boiling and
his serval snarling.

“
He owes you nothing, you
greedy pigs,” Pib declared, twirling the knife again.

“
And who the fuck are you?”
Harry demanded, his face going red.

“
Me? I’m the last person
you want to get into a pissing contest with. I have no issues with
seeing your blood spilled.”

Pib smiled in satisfaction as all three
of their faces paled. Harry seemed to recover first, although he
remained slightly pale.

“
He owes us money,” Harry
stated, not sounding as confident as he had a few minutes
ago.

“
No, I don’t. I gave my
letter and the money to your butler. A few days ago, might I add,”
Wil growled out.

“
Yes, well, it wasn’t
enough. It only covered one month, not the additional months’
notice you are supposed to give us,” Harry stated,
straightening.

“
Since you made me pay my
rent a month in advance, the money you were given covers the one
month notice period. I owe you nothing, and if you withhold
payment, then I’ll—”

“
You’ll what? Hurt us,
maybe?” Harry scoffed. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“
He wouldn’t have to. I’d
do it for him,” Pib declared.

“
You dare to threaten us?
Do you have any idea who we are?” Harry snarled.

“
Yes, you’re the three
jackasses who think they own the village,” Pib replied, lazily
twirling the knife while keeping his eyes on the men.

“
We don’t
think
we own the village. We
do
own the village!” Harry yelled, and Pib wanted to laugh at
how many people in the tavern frowned and glared at the three
oblivious men.

Before he could comment, Harry turned
to Wil. “Wherever you’ve moved to, it belongs to us, so you still
owe us rent!”

Pib laughed. “You don’t know where he’s living, but you’re
assuming that wherever it is, it belongs to you? Man, you
are
dumb.” He watched as Harry sputtered, then continued
talking when Harry opened his mouth to speak. “You
don’t
own the village, and you sure as hell don’t own our
cottage!”

“
Who are you? His lover?”
one of the younger brothers sneered.

“
Close. I’m his brother,”
Pib announced, reaching up and dropping his hood, revealing his
face.

He smirked when the younger brothers
turned around and ran out of the tavern, leaving Harry standing
there, pale and swaying.

“
I’m only going to say this once, so listen
carefully,
Harry
.” Pib paused,
letting it sink in that he’d used his name and not some title.
“Threaten my brother again, and I will happily introduce you to my
blades and claws. In fact, leave all of the townspeople alone,
understand,
Harry
?”

He watched as Harry nodded quickly
before turning around and practically running out the door. Pib
shook his head and looked at Wil, which happened to be a mistake.
In seconds, the two of them were laughing their heads off before
the entire tavern joined in.

Above the laughter, a voice was heard.
“A toast! Welcome home, Pib!”

Pib was surprised that so many people
not only recognized him but were happy to see him. It was
definitely a change, but a welcome one.

Despite
wanting to go to his treasure cave and catch the thief, Dray was
standing at the bottom of Dragon’s Keep just after sunrise, waiting
for Wil to meet him. He was facing the village, so he was surprised
when he heard movement behind him. Turning around, he saw Wil
approaching him.

Where did he come
from?

“
Good morning, Dray,” Wil
said.

“
Good morning, Wil,” Dray
replied.

“
Ready to get to work?” Wil
asked, a mischievous look in his eyes.

“
Yes.”

“
Great. Let’s head to the
stables. I need to pick up the horse and cart, and then we can come
back here and get the stones.”

“
Sounds good. May I ask a
question?”

“
Sure.”

“
Where did you come
from?”

When Wil spoke, the confusion was
obvious by the look on his face. “What do you mean?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Dray
tried to figure out how to explain. “Do you not live in the
village?”

“
Ah, I get it. I used to
live in the village, now my brother and I live in our cottage. It
sits on and in Dragon’s Keep. Come on, we have work to
do.”

Dray tried to understand as Wil walked
past him, but it made very little sense to him. As far as he knew,
there wasn’t a cottage that fit Wil’s description. Deciding to
leave it for now, Dray turned and followed Wil to the
village.

Four hours later, Dray was sweaty and
thirsty, but he also felt a sense of accomplishment. Not only had
he been able to help Wil load heavy rocks, together they’d managed
to finish the outside walls. While Wil had laid the rocks, Dray had
gone to collect more, and soon they were working together like a
well-oiled machine.

“
Time for a break, Dray,”
Wil declared, wiping the sweat from his own brow.

“
Sounds good, man,” Dray
replied.

He followed Wil, and when they reached
the river a few minutes away, he was surprised when Wil dove
straight into it, clothes and all. It was definitely deep enough,
but he’d expected Wil to at least get undressed. Although he could
see the logic, not only would they be kept cooler for longer, the
scent of sweat would also be removed from their clothes.

“
If you want to cool off,
I’ll wait for you, and then we can grab something to eat at the
tavern,” Wil said from next to him.

Shaking his head at himself for not
noticing the man leave the river and come to stand behind him, Dray
went and jumped in.

“
Shit! It’s freezing!” Dray
exclaimed when he surfaced, only to see Wil laughing his head off
on the bank.

“
Oh come on, it’s not that
cold,” Wil yelled over.

Muttering, Dray quickly made his way
over to the edge. “No wonder you didn’t stay in there
long.”

Still chuckling, Wil fell into step
next to him, and the two made their way to the tavern. After
finding a table and getting their food, they fell into silence as
they ate. Once their plates were half empty, Dray asked the
question that had been bugging him.

“
Can I ask, why are you making the mansion for those
three
lords
?”

Wil swallowed his mouthful and sighed. “It’s a long story
really. The basic version is that, unfortunately for me, they were
my guardians until I turned eighteen. I worked with the mason and
found I enjoyed it, so I decided it was what I’d do. They offered
to
help me out
and be my first customers, allowing
me to create a mansion for them. It would show everyone my skills
and give them a grand mansion to live in.”

Dray frowned in confusion. “That
sounds…nice. But they’re never nice.”

“
Tell me about it! Well,
they weren’t being nice, not at all. The first mansion was to be
made of straw, and it was almost complete when the wind tore it to
pieces. The second mansion was to be made of wood. Before it was
completed, it burned down to the ground. The stone mansion is the
third and hopefully the last mansion.”

“
Wow, but surely they can’t
blame you for the houses being destroyed.”

Wil took another bite of food before
responding. “Since the first and second mansions were never
completed before they were destroyed, my contract is still in
effect. I can’t move on to do other projects because I’ve been tied
to this one. But to be honest, I’m not sure I’ll continue making
houses. This whole process has put me off.”