She touched the scales. There was a feel to them which would let her know if they were alive or not. They also tended to retain a subtle heat while the creatures inside thrived, although a lack of heat was not an indicator they were dead. She smiled when she found that these were still warm. It had not been too long since the dragon had been taken and so the eggs had not yet cooled enough to do any damage.

  Using her fire she acted the part of a mother dragon and heated the eggs up to the several thousands of degrees they needed to thrive. They would not grow without an actual dragon but they could still hatch and would eventually do so if heat were applied over a long enough period. This was sometimes preferred for dragon breeding since smaller dragons were easier to handle but the temperatures required were difficult to achieve and the way a mother dragon heated her eggs consisted of more than just the heat. There were patterns to it, almost like a language.

  Over the years Amanda had observed the process closely enough to replicate it pretty closely. It wasn’t actually too complicated but it was difficult to achieve without the use of fire magic. A kiln could be made hot enough to keep the eggs alive but it could not be subtly altered like her fire could be. Some in the dragon trading world argued there was little difference but enough people believed there was for it to make a difference in the price and for some breeders to justifying leaving the eggs with the mother. Personally, Amanda just considered it the nicer option. Dragons got sad if you took their eggs away. That much was obvious.

  These she knew would be unlikely to be returned however. Coal had made it clear that it was not an option. At least they would get to survive though. They would be kept warm until they hatched.

  Most dragon egg hunters would only ever take an egg or two, never a whole nest. Dragons usually did not notice the loss of one or two eggs and it left enough for the species to continue. Statistically, the less eggs in a nest, the more likely the survival of each too. Newborn dragons could become territorial relatively quickly and sibling rivalry could quickly turn deadly.

  Carefully, Amanda gathered up the eggs. Despite having heated them up to thousands of degrees, the outside returned quickly to a temperature that was warm to the touch and safe for the sort of webbing that Amanda’s nets were made of. All of the heat having been sucked into the interior.

  She loaded them all into one net and then carried them carefully back to the mouth of the shaft where the rope was waiting.

  ‘Got them,’ she thought up to Sirius, but there came no immediate reply.

  ‘Sirius?’

  A few seconds of quiet and then his mind voice came in distant like it was further away than the top of the shaft. ‘Yeah, sorry. I found some dragon eggs.’

  ‘What do you mean you found some dragon eggs? I have dragon eggs down here.’

  Both of them were silent for a bit. Usually dragons did not split their nests, nor did they nest quite so close to other dragons.

  ‘How many did you find?’ she asked.

  ‘Two.’

  ‘Just two? Are they alive?’

  ‘Not sure. They feel cold. Too cold possibly.’

  Maybe it was an old nest then. Dead eggs? She thought up to him, ‘Well might as well bring them back to the top of the shaft at least and come help me lift these ones.’

  Sirius returned a moment later and gave her some more rope. She tied the eggs in up high. Then he pulled the rope up further so she could tie herself into the end. Sirius would have no trouble pulling them up all together.

  Once at the top she took a look at his eggs. They were a little darker than hers. Closer to black than green and slightly larger. Both sorts were scaled and had a metallic sheen to them. The black ones felt a little smoother to the touch and Sirius was right, they were cold, but not completely so. Amanda could sense a fire coming from within still. Whatever was inside was likely still alive.

  “They’re alive but which ones are our eggs?” she asked once she’d heated these ones up.

  Sirius shook his head. “They’re a similar size. Perhaps an older nest by the same dragon? One she abandoned? They can lay different coloured eggs and they’re close enough.”

  “Either way, we should probably get out of here,” she replied. As much as she’d hate to rob another dragon’s nest, taking the eggs was likely the less risky option and she would ensure they went to good homes where they would be cared for and where they wouldn’t be a danger to any towns or cities. It was a delicate balance, allowing dragons to exist naturally in the wild while also making sure people were safe.

  They returned to the entrance where Coal was waiting. He stood at the edge of the cave and seemed reluctant to enter, even as they returned carrying dragon eggs. Instead he walked up and down an invisible line. Was he afraid if he went in too deep he might meet a dragon? He’d seemed fine enough being near one at the ball.

  “Seven eggs?” he remarked once he saw what they carried.

  Amanda nodded. “We’ll take four. Two were colder so we’ll take those. That should make it about even.” She figured those two probably needed a little bit more attention and she wanted to make sure they got it herself.

  She had expected Coal to argue but instead he simply paused a moment and then nodded.

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  “And I want your list of buyers for the others before purchase is confirmed.”

  On this point Coal hesitated longer. “I’ll arrange a meeting. How does that work for you?”

  “That will do.”

  Coal turned and looked back toward the first cave opening. “We should get going.”

  On that Amanda agreed.

  He jumped them back to his house where they divvied up the eggs. Then she and Sirius returned to their truck.

  Amanda leaned her head back against the seat.

  “Too much teleportation,” Sirius agreed with a groan. “Ugghh and you did extra last night. You want me to drive?”

  It was true, regular teleportation by infusement took some getting used to. For those who weren’t used to it, nausea was a common side effect.

  Amanda shook her head. The distance made it worse as well as the fact they were passengers and not the jumper but Coal was far more practised than either of them. What a luxury it was to simply wish yourself somewhere and end up there. A waste of magic, Amanda thought, infusement energy that could be better spent on other things, especially if the jumping was simply being used to attend a party.

  “Did you restock the healing infusements in your coat?” she asked Sirius as she started the car.

  It didn’t start.

  “Ish, they were a bit on the pricey side. I grabbed two. I should probably go visit your father and take Katrina sometime.”

  Amanda nodded. Bobby’s healing magic worked well enough but it wasn’t as good as her fathers and neither of them were professionals. Katrina’s infusements were getting a lot better but they were still limited by the source. She thought about the healer witch they’d met back at the facility, Tanya. She’d been well-practiced. Was she still around? How much might she charge for infusement from her magic? Amanda regretted not getting her contact details. But Wolf had them didn’t he? Or Falco? One of them had called her back after that incident at the Milton Mansion. She should find out who.

  She tried the car again. Then one more time. It roared to life on the third try.

  “Dragons!” Sasha squealed in excitement when she saw what it was her parents had returned home with.

  “Can I trust you to keep them safe?” Amanda asked her.

  Sasha nodded eagerly.

  “They are for selling okay?”

  Sasha nodded again. Then she turned her large baby blue eyes up at her mother in a pleading look. “Maybe we could train them first?”

  “We’ll see,” Amanda conceded. She didn’t really have a sale plan yet and it was possible the things would hatch before they had organised one. A dragon was more hassle to train and the market for them was smaller, but they were also worth a lot more and more likely to be kept alive.

  She left Sasha to make them a nest. The girl had read every book their was about dragons in the house and then some, and while it would require the help of her mother or eldest sister to keep the dragons warm enough, her own ice magic helped mitigate any risk of a hatched dragon setting anything on fire. Dragons tended to be easily distracted by ice too.

  Eggs dealt to Amanda went about seeing if she could get Tanya’s number from whomever had it. A quick call to both Wolf and Falco turned up nothing though. It seemed neither of them had called Tanya to the Milton house that day. So how was it she had known them to be in need of assistance?

  Across town, in a sunny living room with a marvelous view of the ocean, Indi sat slouched forward, her chin resting on her desk, narrowed eyes staring up at a screen that refused to magically write her code for her.

  “Hey, I just got off the phone with Amanda,” Falco said as he came into the living area.

  “Yeah?” Indi mumbled.

  Faco started to talk and then he paused and frowned at Indi. “What’s wrong?”

  “My code’s not working.”

  “Oh.”

  He was about to continue talking when she added, “Also I was thinking about Kass.”

  Falco sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that wasn’t our fault.”

  “We should have checked on Jesse after he left here. We should have made sure that Kass was okay.”

  “The kid lied to us, Indi. Not much we can do about that.”

  “I should've offered to drop him off or we should have checked when she didn’t turn up at the meeting. We just brushed it off.”

  “Well, she’s often busy with work.”

  “She never forgets things though and she’s always here on time.” Indi pouted.

  “What are you working on?” Falco asked in an attempt to distract her, or in the hope that maybe she’d figure out the coding problem by explaining it to him. He didn’t understand any of the stuff she was writing but it happened often that she’d be stuck and just the act of telling him about it would make something in her brain click. Falco liked when that happened. It made him feel useful.

  “Something for Kass. A hard drive she wanted read.”

  “For a case?”

  “I don’t know. It’s encrypted but it’s like really good encryption.”

  “You didn’t ask?” Falco frowned. It wasn’t like Indi not to know what she was working on.

  “Of course I did but she just said it was important that we decrypt it.” Indi frowned. “I’m not sure how she managed to avoid the question. I think she tricked me. Anyway, once I decrypt it then I’ll know what’s inside.”

  As much as Falco hated to bring the topic back up he just had to know. “Was she looking alright?”

  Indi nodded. For a moment she looked sad again but then she perked back up. “She said Cat’s trial is tomorrow?”

  “Oh yeah?” It took Falco a moment to register his wife’s demeanor. “Why are you so happy about that?”

  He could tell she was trying very hard not to smile even more. Falco narrowed his eyes when she put on her fake innocent face and replied, “Because that means she’s getting out of jail.”

  “How can you be so sure?” he asked, still extremely suspicious.

  “I have hope,” she replied. “There’s no way they can convict her with all the unknowns they have.”

  “Mmm, hope.” Falco eyed the letters and numbers on the screen behind her and he decided that it was better he didn’t know about whatever it was that was giving her such hope. Instead he opened his mouth to ask her the question Amanda had asked him.

  Once more he was interrupted, this time by their daughter Jewel, who sauntered into the room with a skip in her step. “Mum, where’s your credit card?”

  Indi didn’t even hesitate. She pointed to the bench where her purse had been haphazardly discarded. “It’s over there.” She didn’t bat an eye either when Jewel simply grabbed it off the counter and headed back toward her room.

  “Jewel, what are you buying?” Falco asked after her.

  Jewel spun and gave him the same innocent look her mother was so good at. “Just some shoes.” She didn’t wait for her father’s reaction. Instead she gave a most angelic smile and skipped quickly from the room again, her mother’s credit card clutched tightly in her greedy little hands.

  “Hmm. You think maybe we spoil her a bit much?” Falco asked Indi as Jewel disappeared from the room.

  Indi waved a hand dismissively and shook her head. “She’s at an age where she’s exploring her own style. We should support that. Also clothes are very important to girls her age too. It defines how the other kids treat them.”

  Falco gave another long “hmm”. He didn’t remember his mother letting his younger sister just buy whatever she wanted at that age. Perhaps it was a discussion for another day though. There was just too much other stuff going on at the moment. He returned to the question that had been interrupted. “Indi, did you phone Tanya that day at the Milton residence? Or do you have her number?”

  Indi shook her head. Then she glanced at her computer. “No, but I can probably find out.”

  Falco frowned. “No. Don’t worry about it. Amanda was just wondering who called her that day.”

  Indi shrugged.

  “Weird,” Falco mumbled but he thought little more of it.