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Modern Day. Yukon Territories.
“So, you think the next item to secure in our possession is the Secret Gift?” Erebu the Black Dragon murmured over hot cocoa, across the booth from Ben atDrink of Me.
“How did you come to that conclusion? Rather specific, isn’t it? The ‘Secret Gift.’ Why don’t we just wait for the mighty Jade Emperor to show his next hand of cards? Why undertake what could very well be a wild goose chase?”
These were all valid questions that Ben had already considered. Yet, still, his instincts practically shouted at him toact. To grab Fate by the horns instead of being gored by it when it stampeded his way.
“Besides, we don’t have a means to time travel any more. We can try to break into the Celestial Realm again—though I don’t recommend it. The JE is bound to be put out after our last break in and hasty exit. Aren’t these things always to be found in the past?”
“But the past flows into the present,” Ben said.
“Look at Merlin, Arthur and Lancelot. Kai and Zai. Kai and Zai survived the past and walked right into the present. Wolfe is here too, at last. And who knows, maybe one day, we’ll see Divina, Andros, Sai and Brigid too. We are all gathering here, these earth-born dragons. In the present. What’s to say we can’t complete the next quest without having to travel back in time?”
Ere squinted at him, nursing his cocoa.
“You know, sometimes, your logic is so convoluted it almost makes sense.”
Ben snorted beneath his breath.
“That’s because itdoesmake sense.”
“What do you suggest we do, then? Go on a random treasure hunt?”
Ben shook his head.
“Not random. Look, I—”
“Your orders,” the new waitress muttered unenthusiastically as she dropped the plates of breakfast food before them.
Ben glanced up at her.
Well, she wasn’t really all that new. Must have been here for a year or two.
He glanced at the nametag on her uniform.
Eve.
That’s right. She was one of the stragglers Maddie occasionally took in. She lived right upstairs in the refurbished apartment. Some of his old things helped outfit the place. He recalled helping Maddie move in a dresser and a desk.
Ben usually recalled faces and names easily, but for some reason, he had to check Eve’s nametag. It was such an easy name too. And while her face didn’t stand out in a crowd, it wasn’t exactly unmemorable either.
She had large eyes in a small oval face. A thin, slightly too-long nose. Pale skin and pale lips. Brown hair always haphazardly tied up in a messy bun.
She was on the short side. At six and a half feet himself, he must be over a foot taller than her. She also possessed a slight build, made slighter by her perpetually hunched shoulders.
But what made her forgettable, even though she’d been a waitress here for at least a year, was that she never made eye contact with him.
She looked everywhere but directly at him. He’d seen her meet the gazes of his friends and family head on.
But never with him.
He wondered whether he’d done something to offend her, but nothing came to mind.
“Thanks,” he said now and smiled up at her, trying to make eye contact.
The slight roll of one shoulder in an almost shrug showed that she heard him. But she still hadn’t glanced his way.
