Richie The Dragon

Dr. Richard P. Rufus swiveled in his chair and watched the
numbers and corresponding broken black bars flash down the
screen. He traced the last few figures in the sequence and
frowned. Trying to interpret a DNA sequence was like trying to
sort the grains of sand by size, color, and weight, on a typical
beach. But long hours in the lab gave him a second sense when it
came to a healthy gene.

"Tracy, are you sure that sequencer is working properly?"

"It should be, Doctor, it was calibrated last week," his
cute, young, female lab assistant called from her glass-enclosed
cubical.

"This can't be right, it's either an ancient code or
something's wrong. I'd bet on degeneration," he mumbled to
himself. He drummed a pencil on the desk while he stared at the
screen, then he noted the starting and ending point of the
degeneration.

"Do you know the origin of this DNA?" he called, still
frowning at the broken and shortened bars in the middle of the
sequence.

"There's nothing in the comments section, but the designation
blocks are filled in as large, exotic, warm-blooded, flying, and
reptile" she called as she ruffled through her papers.

"No wonder, it's experimental. They've obviously sent us a
defective batch of DNA. Well, Tracy, we can either toss out two
weeks worth of work or improvise. Which would you suggest?"

"What do you mean by, improvise?" she asked suspiciously.

"The gene appears to be defective from sequence 12190 to
44457. We can either splice known genes to it, or scrap it and
return our data with the defective DNA. Which do you suggest,
and keep in mind that only a successful incubation pays your
salary?"

"I'll get the genes. What do you want?"

"It said large and warm blooded?"

"Yes Doctor."

"Then no specific splice will work, we need a combination.
Let's have a little fun. Give me a gene from a large herbivore
and one from an alligator. What do we have that's warm-blooded,
and flies without feathers? I don't think a feathered reptile is
what they had in mind."

"Bats?"

"Perfect. Bring one of each and the corresponding code
charts. Get on the SEM and do the cutting. I'll splice them
myself. I don't know what this thing was supposed to be.
Knowing Bright Star, they just threw some trash together to meet
a deadline, expecting us to take the blame again. We'll really
give this customer something for his money."

"You're creating a monster," she said with a shake of her
head."

"Considering our clientele, they won't care. They probably
just want something impressive to escort to the Oscars. Remember
that four legged snake last year?"

"That was easy, snakes originally had legs," she said,
shrugging off her biggest accomplishment. "But you may be
creating something that will eat a group of Japanese tourists.
Bright Star could be sued."

"Serves them right for sending another defective batch.
Bright Star Industries is know for half-baked solutions. It's
just our bad luck to be affiliated with them. Let them take the
heat for once, my backside is burned enough. Besides, I'm tired
of being poor."

A delivery truck wound it's way up the torturous desert
valley road until it arrived at a large house at the end of the
road. The driver grabbed a light package, happily tossing it in
the air as he approached the door. He punched the doorbell and
stood whistling as he looked around. It was a nice place, a rich
house, small barn, and a corral which was obviously used for
horses. Birds sang from the dry brush around the outbuildings
and a gentle breeze blew down the valley, blowing up a little
dust, but also cooling the valley nicely. A wind chime played a
tuneless melody from somewhere behind the house.

The door opened and the delivery boy shoved the foam package
at the good looking brunette standing in the doorway. She gasped
and grabbed it carefully with both hands.

"This thing cost my father a million dollars," the brunette
said in horror.

He shrugged carelessly as he surveyed her flawless, slender
body in a tight shirt and shorts. "It's yours as soon as you
sign for it, babe," he said with a cocky smile and handed her an
electronic clipboard. She signed, then dropped the lightpen on
the ground and closed the door in his face.

"Father, your pterodactyl egg just arrived," Cindy carefully
delivered the foam-wrapped package and place it on her father's
desk.

"Finally," Tod said, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
"We'll get it in the incubator immediately. I'm not taking any
chances on this one, it's the star of the exhibit."

"I think it's cruel to grow a real pterodactyl, just to kill
it and display it's skeleton in your museum."

"This is business, Cindy. The last pterodactyl discovery was
made 13 years ago, in 1999. The skeleton, damaged as it was,
sold for seventeen million dollars. I paid one million for this
egg. It's a matter of economics."

"It's still murder," she said resentfully and left the
office. Tod watched her leave with a puzzled expression on his
face, then shrugged and eagerly broke open the foam cocoon.

Dr. Todd Alexander and his daughter Cindy eagerly watched as
the egg rocked on it's bed of straw. A crack appeared, then the
egg rocked for several minutes with no further progress.
Suddenly, explosively, the egg flew apart and a small, brown,
withered creature stood on it's hind legs and blinked at it's
surroundings. It blinked a pair of yellow, slitted eyes and
opened a mouth full of sharp teeth to utter a squeal of dismay.

The smile suddenly left Dr. Axelander's face and his daughter
backed up a step.

"Is it supposed to look like that dad?"

"I should say not. Is this some kind of a joke? If it is,
I'm not amused."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to demand my money back. If I presented this as a
genuine skeleton I'd be laughed out of the business. This
abomination is worthless to me."

The loud noise seemed to distress the little creature. It
stood even taller and screamed an objection, while it flapped a
pair of leathery wings.

"I think it's hungry," Cindy said in sudden concern for the
ugly little creature. "What would it eat?"

"Who knows. Feed it meat, with teeth like that it must be a
carnivore."

Cindy came back with a selection of meats, bologna, instant
sausage, and a hot dog. The creature sniffed and howled it's
objection.

"It won't eat it, dad."

"I can see that. Try fruit."

Cindy returned with a peach. The creature sniffed it as she
set it down, then howled forlornly. She turned to her father for
help, but he'd already left.

"Come on, you have to eat something," Cindy said in concern.
"Here, look," she pinched a piece off the side of the peach and
popped it into her mouth.

"Mmmm, good," she said and nudged the peach closer. The
creature sniffed again, found the juice oozing from the peach,
then began eating ravenously. When half the peach was gone the
creature stopped and blinked, becoming groggy. Cindy looked at
the juice-covered creature in dismay.

She wanted to share her success with her father, but found
him arguing over the phone with the Bright Star people. She
found a fairly clean rag and after some hesitation she began
dabbing at the creature to clean it. It immediately began
crooning and spread it's leathery wings. Cindy grew bolder and
picked the little creature up, making it easier to clean. By
dipping the rag in water frequently, she finally managed to clean
the sticky juice off it's brown-furred body. It fell asleep in
the crook of her arm. She carried it into her father's office
and listened while he argued, threatened, and cajoled. Finally
they seemed to come to an agreement and her father slammed the
phone down and sat blinking at the wall.

"What did they say, father?"

"They'll return half my money. They don't want the creature
back. I guess we will have to dispose of it."

"I want it."

"What do you want with that monster?" he looked up and saw
the creature sleeping in her arms. "Great, it seems to have
imprinted on you."

"I'm supposed to spend the summer in New Mexico at mom's
ranch in six weeks, I can take him there. I'm sure she won't
mind."

"Hah. Your mother would throw... yeah, maybe you're right,"
he said, imagining his ex-wife's reaction to the monster. She
would be livid, which was just the way he liked her.

"You've got a deal, munchkin. He's yours."

"Thanks, dad, you're the greatest. Now I need to get more
peaches."

"Try dates and figs, too. If he likes sweet gooey things,
they should be right up his alley."

By the end of the month, the monster was beginning to look
more like an animal and less like a thing. It had grown to the
size of a full grown beagle and the growth rate was increasing.
It followed Cindy everywhere. She could not take one step
without the little monster. It clawed floor, doors, and
furniture, trying to follow Cindy if she left without it. This
was very inconvenient, but it made Todd anticipate the summer
even more. His ex-wife would be beyond livid, she would have a
stroke.

The wings were growing faster than the rest of it's body.
After another week, Todd began to take a personal interest in the
creature. If the growth rate of the wings continued as they had,
the creature may actually fly when it reached maturity. In one
more week the creature had reached the size of a common doberman
pincher. The wingspread reached six feet. Todd meticulously
measured the creature daily.

While Cindy stuffed the creature with dates, Todd reached out
and opened the wings. He gently raised the creature up off the
floor. This caused the creature no pain or undue alarm.

"Cindy, I think he could fly."

"Really?" Cindy was excited at any new information involving
her little friend.

"I think so. The wings are well proportioned to his body's
mass, and it causes him no pain when I support him by the wings.
He may need to build up his muscles a bit, but he could glide
right now."

"A flying dog... thing," she stopped, unable to classify him.

"How about a flying dragon? With a mouth like that, the hind
legs of a horse, and those leathery wings, it must be a dragon."

"A dragon," Cindy sighed in excitement. "I probably have the
only one on Earth."

"Undoubtedly. Don't you think you should name it?"

"I already did. I call him King Richard."

"It's a rather long name."

"What about Richie, for a nickname?"

"Good. I like it," Todd nodded. "Have you told your mother
about Richie yet?"

"No, I was going to surprise her," Cindy said without looking
up.

"I think that would be best," Todd said with a sly smile.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"She'll throw a fit, won't she?"

"To be honest, yes. She'll go out of her demented mind."

"She wouldn't... try to kill, Richie, would she?"

"I really don't know. She will probably insist that he stay
in the barn."

"Richie won't like that."

"Having second thoughts? It's not too late to give him up,
you know? There are people who may want him. He is a rather
exotic pet."

"I couldn't do that, I love the little guy. Look, he's
actually starting to look handsome. I think when he gets older
he will be absolutely beautiful."

"I wouldn't go that far, but he may not frighten people so
badly. You have the neighbors going out with ball bats when they
walk their dogs. Can you imagine how they'll feel if he actually
grows to the size of a dragon?"

"Maybe I should talk to mom, I have one more week to convince
her."

"Good luck, munchkin. Could I give you a little piece of
advice?"

"Please."

"Use the seven magic words guaranteed to work. "If Richie
doesn't go, I don't go", that should settle things rather
quickly."

It did. Three days after her high school graduation, Todd
dropped Cindy off at the circle driveway in front of the Mexican
style ranch house. He deposited the bags on the gravel drive,
hugged his daughter, and patted Richie on his wide, brown-furred
head.

"You know, I actually will miss this little guy," Todd said
thoughtfully.

"I knew it."

"Well let's see how your mother feels," he said with a
skeptical smile. "If she doesn't take to him, we'll get him back
to California somehow. You'll understand if I leave before she
get's out here, won't you?"

"Sure dad, I know you hate each other. Have a good trip
back."

Todd waved as he sped down the long driveway. He saw Angie
come out of the house in his rearview mirror and chuckled.

Angie stepped out on the porch when she heard the car roaring
down the driveway. She shaded her eyes and a smile brightened
her face when she saw Cindy. A large brown dog moved beside her.
In a moment she realized that it was not a dog. It was standing
on it's large hind legs, looking more like a parrot than a dog.
But it was obviously not a parrot, either.

"Cindy, what's that?"

"It's Richie," Cindy said happily, herding her dragon closer
to the porch.

"I though Richie was a large dog. That's not a dog."

"I never said he was a dog, I said he was my pet. He's a
dragon."

"I can see that. What's he eat, exactly?"

"Fruit. Lot's and lots of fruit."

"Thank heaven's, I was afraid you were going to say beef. I
could just see the neighbors forming a lynch mob because of
missing cows... horses... maybe elephants."

"Oh mom, he's a cutie. Want to pet him?"

"Is it safe? He has an awful lot of teeth."

"He never bites anyone, mom. He's very lovable."

Angie moved closer and extended her hand. Richie stood
taller and surveyed her hand with interest.

"Are you sure he doesn't bite?"

"No, mom, he bites peaches and dates."

Angie controlled her emotions and boldly touched the soft
head. Richie closed his eyes and crooned in pleasure. Angie
laughed and moved closer, petting him more boldly. Richie
extended his long wings and stood on tiptoes to meet her hand.
He was taller than Cindy.

"My word, he's big."

"Dad thinks he will grow really big soon. He will be a full-
grown dragon."

"Where'd your dad pick him up?"

"He paid a company half a million dollars to create him,"
Cindy said proudly, not explaining that Richie was a complete
accident. She wanted her mother to like him.

"Really? So he might be upset if Richie chose to stay here,
rather than returning to LA. I mean half a million dollars is a
lot of money."

"Probably," Cindy said carefully. "He's grown very attached
to Richie." That much was the truth --- sort of. Her dad did
say he liked him.

"Well let's see if we can make Richie feel at home here.
He'll have to stay in the barn."

"Richie kind of goes crazy if I leave him. He tears things
up," Cindy said apologetically.

"No problem, we can clean out the tack room and refurnish it
as your own personal apartment. That way you will always be
together."

"Oh mom, you're the greatest," Cindy hugged her mom. Richie
complained when the warm hand stopped petting him. Angie hurried
to resume her ministrations.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be at your graduation," Angie hugged
her daughter again in the heat of emotion. "I decided that even
the divorce wouldn't keep me from it, but in the end, the weather
did. We had to sell off most of our horses before the drought
killed them. I did save one for you," she said teasingly.

"Really? He's mine?"

"Right over there," she pointed at a single lone chestnut
watching them curiously from the corral. "He used to be half
thoroughbred and half demon, but Manual has gentled him. He's a
big sweetheart now. You can share the barn with the two of
them."

"Thanks, mom, he's wonderful. Hey, he's the same color as
Richie."

"Yes he is," Angie said proudly. "I hope you don't mind, but
Manual named him Ferdinan."

"I don't mind. Can I take Richie over to meet him?"

"If you think it's safe."

"Animals like Richie, he is a vegetarian. They seem to know
that somehow."

"Go ahead, I'll take your bags in."

As the weeks passed Richie grew. Cindy would take her horse,
Ferdinan, out for a ride, while Richie ran or hopped behind.
Before long Richie found that he could run, then spread his great
wings and glide effortlessly for great distances, which was
easier than running. Richie's first real flight was a complete
accident. While gliding behind Ferdinan a dust devil blew up and
to Richie's surprise he found himself hundreds of feet off the
ground. He blinked down in surprise and circled down to catch up
with Cindy. Rather than touching down, he beat his great wings
and rose up into the air again. By the end of the ride he could
fly and glide like an eagle.

For the next month, Angie grew used to seeing Cindy ride out
of the corral with Richie gliding happily overhead. She was
washing dishes when she saw Richie fly off alone. It surprised
her to see Richie leaving without Cindy. Then her eyes found the
passenger on Richie's back and she dropped the dish to run out on
the back porch and watch in breathless horror. Cindy yelled and
beat Richie's flank with her stetson hat and Richie eagerly beat
his mighty wings until they were a hundred feet off the ground.

Ranch hands began appearing around Angie. Some yelled
encouragement, some clapped and waved, while others solemnly
watched Angie's stricken face. Richie beat off to the west and
disappeared over the foothills. Angie gasped and sank down into
her porch swing, holding a hand to her chest.

"Ma'am, are you all right?" Manual, her foreman asked in
concern.

"I won't be all right until that girl grow's up and gets
terrorized by her own kids," Angie said breathlessly. "Tell me
when you can see her again."

"I could ride out on Lucifer and keep an eye on her."

"No, leave her alone. It's time I trusted her --- trusted
the both of them. Just let me know when she shows up again, will
you?"

"Sure," he said in a kindly voice and turned to gaze at the
sky. When he turned back around she had gone inside. He heard
the clink of a bottle against glass and smiled knowingly.

Cindy beat Richie's flank with her stetson hat and Richie dug
mightily into the air, rising a hundred feet in seconds. Cindy
gasped as she looked down at the ground, a hundred below her boot
tip, then laughed and jumped in the saddle, urging Richie to turn
west. They rose above the foothills and approached the Sierra
Blanco mountains. In a moment they passed beyond the desert and
began to fly over trees. Richie beat up and up until they
reached a level plateau. There was a beautiful, deserted lake
below. Cindy urged Richie to land on the shore of the little
lake. Richie had some trouble with the added weight on his back,
but he compensated quickly and lit as gently as a feather.

"Oh Richie, that was so wonderful," Cindy said, hugging her
dragon's neck. Let me take this saddle and harness off and you
can go for a swim," she quickly removed the saddle. Richie
lowered his long neck and the harness fell off his head. He
joyfully waded out into the cold mountain lake and raised his
head, trumpeting loudly in joy. He settled himself lower in the
water until only hie eyes were showing and laid waiting for her
to join him. Cindy looked around self-consciously, stripped to
her undies, then dove in to swim out to her friend.

She screamed as the cold water closed in around her. This
earned her a mouth full of water. She coughed and sputtered
until Richie raised her up out of the water with his small upper
leg, in a long-nailed claw. He gently deposited her on his back.
Cindy laid shivering until the sun warmed her. She stretched out
on Richie's wide back and soon fell asleep. Richie was aware of
the stealthy man with the camera, approaching the shore and
snapping pictures. He would have bugled a challenge, but he
didn't want to wake Cindy. In a moment the man hurried off, so
Richie settled down and forgot the incident.

Todd neatly ordered his meticulously prepared dinner on the
TV tray. He picked up his remote and snapped the 8 foot wall
screen on. As he picked up his fork he paused, listening to the
news program with sudden interest.

"...and in our continuing series on exotic 21st century pets,
a viewer sent us these snapshots of the most exotic pet ever. A
twenty foot long dragon, complete with functioning wings and
appropriately decorated with a beautiful mermaid on it's back.

What could be more exotic than that?"

The screen clearly showed a sleeping Cindy scantily clad in
bra and panties.

Todd groaned and hid his face in his hands.

Cindy leaned closer to Richie's neck as he sped toward home.
She was distracted by a rhythmic hum, and wondered what Richie
was doing. Richie suddenly turned and looked behind them. Cindy
turned and saw the news heliglider following less than a hundred
yards behind. A huge, automated camera was protruding from the
bottom, centered on them.

"Trouble, Richie," she said and pushed his head forward.
Richie dove with his wings folded. He opened his wings a dozen
yards from the ground and turned at breakneck speed up a narrow
canyon. Cindy looked back and up. They had not lost the
heliglider, it was descending from above.

"This will never work. Let's try to lose them in the
clouds," she said, never sure how much Richie understood. She
pulled back and left on the reins and Richie rose into the air.
The heliglider beat the air noisily drawing back to narrowly
avoid a collision. Cindy knew a little about heligliders. She
knew it had a single rocket-propelled propeller, small extendable
wings for gliding, and a miniature airplane tail for stability.
The heliglider could travel for days on a tank of fuel, but it
had no power for steep climbs. Richie beat mightily, pulling
away from the heliglider with childish ease. They entered the
clouds at seven thousand feet, and climbed above them near ten
thousand. Richie glided through the snowy peaks and canyons
while Cindy looked around excitedly.

"It looks like a wonderland," she yelled to be heard above
the air rushing by. "It looks solid enough to walk on," she
leaned down to look past Richie's thick bulk and saw the
heliglider beating it's way through the clouds.

"Damned," she swore to herself, looking around for some
escape. She didn't know that a heliglider had instruments for
seeing through clouds. She could think of no escape. She also
noticed the sweat beading up on Richie's body and realized he was
growing tired. She had no choice, she needed to go home. If she
did, news crews would be crawling over the ranch for the next
several months, trying to get a story.

Cindy pushed Richie's head down gently and Richie began to
glide, thankful for the rest. They glided practically to the
front steps, before Richie beat to gain speed and altitude. A
short flight placed them in the corral, just outside of his barn.

"I'll take care of him," Manual, the foreman said as he
rushed up with a burlap bag in his hands. "You get your cute
little butt in the house and let your mother know you're still
alive."

"Company's coming," she pointed at the approaching
heliglider, about to touch down.

"I know, I saw you on TV. Did you sign anything?" he asked,
studying the camera which swiveled to photograph them and Richie.

"No, of course not."

"Then get in the house. Let me handle this."

Cindy ran for the house and Manual stalked off toward the
heliglider.

"You filmed a minor in a compromising situation, without
parental consent," she heard Manual yell. She looked over her
shoulder as a man raised a camera and Manual jerked it from his
hands. Cindy suddenly realized which compromising situation
Manual must be talking about, and turned red in embarrassment.

"I'm afraid it will cost you your license," Manual added as
he recklessly tossed the camera into the open door of the
heliglider and kicked the pod camera around so it faced in the
opposite direction.

Cindy slammed the door behind her and stood panting with her
back to the door until her mother entered the far doorway and
stood staring. Cindy could tell that she'd been drinking, and
that she was angry. Cindy thought over her best apologies, and
the numerous explanations she could use.

"Hi mom," she said with a timid smile. It was not what she
meant to say.

Angie stared for several moments, sighed and shook her head
sadly. She turned and left.

Cindy heard the heliglider leaving and peeked out the window.
Manual was returning, the news crew was leaving. He knocked,
then flung the door open and smiled.

"All taken care of. They'll make a retraction on the evening
news, claiming they were shammed by an unscrupulous photographer.
That was close."

"Thanks, Manual."

"You're welcome. Where's you mother?"

"Probably asleep. She didn't look... well."

"She was worried," he nodded in understanding. "I haven't
seen her use that bottle since the divorce."

"What can I do, Manual, they won't stop? Every time I go out
they'll be around, and I'll be dressed, so we can't use that
excuse again. By the way, did mom tape it?" Cindy's vanity was
showing through.

"No, but I did. For ten dollars I'll give you the
originals," he gave her his best leering smile and twisted his
black and gray mustache.

"Oh, Manual," Cindy turned red.

"Fear not, se�orita, I have a plan. My family has a cabin in
the mountains south of Juarez. You can stay as long as you like.
We'll talk to your mother and see how she feels about a
vacation."

"How will we get my babies across the border and through
customs?"

"I'll take Ferdinan in the truck, he has all his
vaccinations. You can fly Richie across in the middle of the
night. It's not hard to find."

Cindy dressed in her warmest clothing and paced the living
room floor. Alvarez Gonzales, the second hand on the ranch, had
just left. He would be the foreman until Manual returned. He
was walking tall and proud as he left with Angie's final written
instructions, passed on by Cindy. In a moment she heard hands
riding out in all different directions. Angie told them to
create confusion. They were. She saw lighted torches riding
past the window and for a moment she imagined how life must have
been like a hundred years ago, when such a sight may not have
been a sham. She shivered in excitement and hurried to the door
to watch. One hand rode by, shouting and cyieing, standing in
the saddle while holding the reins in one hand. He was briefly
lit by the house lights, then disappeared into the darkness. In
a moment another man rode by with a lit torch in his mouth. As
she watched the man jumped up and landed in the saddle backwards,
then bounced up and turned again.

Cindy laughed and clapped her hands. She stared at the lit
torches circling out in the desert. It looked like a festival.
She almost missed the sound of the helicopter engines approaching
from Santa Fe. The deep thump of the rotors should have warned
her, but she had been preoccupied. Before she could move a thick
cloud of dust blew up from the dusty back yard and filled her
face. She coughed and turned to protect her eyes. When she
looked back a tall-slender lady in a flight suit stood patiently
waiting.

"Hi," the woman said, waiting for the next round of coughing
to settle.

"Hi," Cindy stared up through watering eyes.

"Are you the one I'm flying cover for?"

"Yes, I'm Cindy."

"What will you be flying?"

"Pardon?"

"I can't fly cover if I don't know what I'm covering. What
are you flying?"

"A... dragon."

"That's a new one. What's it's top speed? My top end is
250."

"You don't understand," Cindy said, grabbing the young
woman's arm. "Come look."

Cindy led her into the dark barn and took down the saddle.
"Richie?" she called into the darkness. She heard a snort and
the rush of feet. Richie suddenly towered above them in the
darkness, surveying his visitors eagerly through yellow, slitted
eyes.

"You see, he's a..." Cindy turned and found the woman hastily
backing out. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you."

"I'll take your word for it. When I see you lift off, I'll
follow at five thousand feet. Try to keep your altitude below
one thousand. I'll have to turn back at the border, but you
won't have to worry about news crews past that point anyway."

"Thank you," Cindy said at the hastily retreating back. The
woman simply waved over her shoulder and dove into the
helicopter.

Cindy saddled up and led Richie out into the darkness.
Alvarez met them by the door. His horse was lathered, but
excited. He sidestepped as they prepared to leave.

"Will you be back, se�orita?"

"I don't think so, Al. They would drive us crazy."

"I understand. Tell Manual to stay as long as he likes. It
will be hard filling his shoes, but I will do my best."

"Yeah, right," Cindy placed a foot in the stirrup and slid
over Richie's back. "You love it."

"Si, but he doesn't need to know that. The news crew is
still camped out on the point," he pointed to the east.

"I know. The helicopter will distract them until I'm
swallowed up by the darkness."

"They might not need to. The last time I saw them they were
taking thousands of pictures of the men. I think they believe
it's a voodoo ritual or something."

"Good. Back away, Al, we're off."

Alvarez backed Lucifer away as the huge wings extended and
beat the air. In moments she was gone. Alvarez watched the
empty sky for several minutes before he reluctantly turned and
rejoined his men.

Cindy thanked the grocer in spanish and hurried outside to
Richie. The dragon was surrounded by the people of the village,
as he usually was. Cindy smiled brightly and began loading the
groceries into the huge leather packs. She stepped into the
saddle and waved the people back. When Richie had room he
extended his long, leathery wings and an oh, rose from the crowd.
When Richie beat to gain altitude a cheer arose from below and
the people called and waved until she was out of sight.

They loved the frequent visits of "their" dragon and took
every opportunity to pet and feed him. Everyone knew that the
dragon brought luck. He frightened off evil spirits and brought
good weather and prosperity. When strangers showed up asking
questions they dealt very severely with them and made sure the
strangers left very quickly. Manuel had made it very plain that
if the dragon was ever discovered, he must leave.

Cindy looked below at the passing desert. In two years she
had grown used to the passing scenery, but any flight on Richie
was a new day of wonder. She saw the car in the driveway long
before she landed. The brief reflection of the sun off the
windshield blinded her as she landed, then she had a perfect view
of her father's car. She slid off Richie before he touched the
ground and was in the door in seconds. As Richie bugled a
welcome from outside, Cindy burst into the living room. Tod and
Angie quickly separated in embarrassment. Angie was wiping tears
from her eyes, Tod was smiling.

"Hi, munchkin. Been a long time."

The room darkened and Cindy was thrown forward. Richie stuck
his huge head into the open window and bugled at Tod.

"Hi little... guy," Tod came forward to rub the huge head.
"I brought you both a present," he said teasingly.

"What, dad?"

He went to a large box on the table and gently took out a
foam wrapped package. He handed it to Cindy with a huge smile.

"Another dragon?" Cindy asked breathlessly.

"Every King Richard needs a Marie Antoinette."

"Wrong king I think, dad. It's a girl dragon?"

"So they tell me. Some doctor named Richard Rufus called to
see how Richie was doing. When I told him he was so excited
about Richie's name, and the fact that he was a dragon, that he
made another. A female for Richie. Her name is Tracy, that was
one of the conditions, I'm afraid."

"Fine with me," Cindy said as she hugged the little foam
package. "How long are you staying?"

"Well, let's just stay that I'm staying. I've been given a
grant to dig in the area. It should be good for ten or twenty
years. Your mom says I can stay here, if I'm a good boy, but I'm
sure she will let me stay anyway," he laughed and hugged them
both.

"Great, dad. Do you want a ride on Richie?"

"Sure, but there's plenty of time for that. In fact, there's
all the time in the world," he laughed as he closed the door.

Richie blinked as the door closed in his face. He raised his
huge head and howled his objection to being closed out. His roar
echoed off the distant, rocky hills.

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