Page 49 of Vameer

Jack barks out a laugh. “Well, we’re rich now too.”

At least, I was rich. And I trust my brother protected our wealth.

“Another round!” Alex shouts.

Grace points to a spot on the back wall. “Get the good stuff.”

Alex grabs a bottle off the top shelf and pours a trio of shots. “Ya want one?”

I shake my head and grab the bottle of apple whiskey.

They lift their shots.

“Sláinte.” I hold my bottle out.

“Sláinte,” they repeat in unison.

Glass clinks.

We all drink.

And I continue to read.

There’s a knock on the front door that Alex answers.

I hear him say something about a week of free beer if he doesn’t ask questions. Then he returns with a pair of gray shorts in his hands.

I set them on the bar beside the computer and read about fabrics on the internet.

The articles are endless. Medical advances. Politics. Plumbing. Electricity. Economics. I find the conversion of gold coins from 1910. I read about the current cost of living across the world. And I plan to leave another few coins on the bar top before I leave.

I read everything I can find about Alts. The human knowledge is incredibly limited, but they know enough. The peace has mostly held since The Trials, but if there’s anything I already understand, it’s war.

And it’s always on the horizon.

Outside, the sky starts to lighten.

My new friends are all sitting around a table behind me in the middle of the room.

Someone lights a match, and I close the lid of the laptop, then slowly turn to face them.

Alex is asleep in his chair while Grace and Jack lean toward each other, talking quietly, looking as drunk as I’m sure they are.

Jack lifts the cigarette toward his mouth, but I steal it with gravito.

Grace’s gasp wakes Alex.

My gravito brings the cigarette to my lips, and I pull in a lungful of the smoke.

I puff out a ring, making the humans smile.

Then, with the help of my gravito, I exhale a cloud that forms itself into a dragon and flies through the expanding circle.

“Awesome,” Grace whispers.

Alex rubs his eyes.

Jack sways on his seat. “Wait, are dragons real?”