How to Lose Your Dragon (The Immortality Curse Book 1)

at the hilt. It’s got similar markings on it to those on the cloth!”
Rick’s face looked ashen, but he glanced down quickly at the hilt anyway. His features started to soften slightly once he realized the blade was still in its scabbard, and his hands fell to the side as he squinted to make out the runes on the hilt.
“Grax’thor?” he said slowly. He rubbed his chin slightly as he spoke. A moment later, his head popped up and he stared straight at me. “Where did you find this weapon?”
Finally, we were getting somewhere. Maybe. “In an old Celtic burial ground, of course.”
That look of incredulity returned. “You robbed a grave?”
“Heh. I wouldn’t call it robbing, exactly. But kind of.”
Rick shook his head again. “Well, the sword is at least two thousand years old, so that part of your story is accurate at least.”
My heart soared. Finally, I was getting somewhere with this guy.
“See? I told you. I’m all on the up and up.”
Rick pushed the sword away from him with two fingers like he was trying to shove a pile of refuse out of his view. I took the sword back and placed it back down next to my chair.
“Yes, well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” Rick said, grimacing.
My phone buzzed at me then, but I ignored it. I was finally turning Rick around to my point of view. Whoever was calling me could be dealt with later, when I was done.
“Then you’ll help me, Rick?”
He sighed again. “I’ll think about it, Damian. No guarantees. I’m still not sure that I believe that whole cockamamy story of yours.”
“Of course,” I said, grinning.
My phone buzzed again. A text this time. I still ignored it.
“Look, I’ll do whatever it takes, if you’ll promise to help me out.” A stupid statement, but I was desperate, and he really was the best game in town from all the reviews I’d read.
Rick looked at his stack of papers, which had become even more disorganized during the earlier exchange, and sighed. “Well, it’s not like I’m getting anywhere with all of this, anyway.” He looked me dead in the eyes again. “It won’t be cheap, though. I bill by the hour, and there’s no telling how long this will take.”
I waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, money won’t be a problem. I’m an ancient immortal warrior, remember? We’re loaded.” I chuckled slightly at the last bit, and Rick laughed, too.
That was a lie, too, of course. So much lying today, and to someone I was putting a lot of trust into. In reality, I could barely pay my rent on time each month. But Mei had a small stash, and when this was all over, I was certain she’d be willing to help foot the bill, so I wasn’t too worried about it.
Rick’s eyes lit up. “Very well. My fee is five hundred per hour. But I must insist on a five thousand dollar retainer, all upfront.”
“Five thousand?”
My heart sank. Where was I going to come up with that kind of dough? And on short notice, too? Maybe Sevin and Yuri could chip in. I’d just have to broach it with them.
“Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll wire you the money this evening,” I lied. It would at least buy me some time. Maybe I’d get lucky and he’d be done by then.
My phone buzzed a couple more times, and I reached down to press a button and turn the thing on silent. Whoever it was, they were being oddly persistent.
“Just give me your account details and I’ll make it happen. Do we have a deal?”
I stuck out my hand to him again then.
Rick stared down at the hand like it was a foreign object. I tried to read his expression, but his face was mostly blank. I couldn’t tell if he felt like he was falling into a deep trap, or if he thought he’d gotten away with some sort of grand scheme. Probably a little bit of both.
At length, he took my hand and shook it. “Deal,” he said, retracting his hand.
I flashed him another of my toothy grins. “Excellent. I’ll give you back the cloth, and you just let me know when you’ve found something of value, okay? And remember, time is of the essence.”
Rick nodded. “Oh, I know. Don’t worry, Damian. I’ll get on this right away.”
He flashed me a smile of his own then and took the cloth from my hands once again. He squinted at the tiny markings and muttered something under his breath, but I didn’t catch it.
“What was that?” I asked.
He looked up at me, startled. “What? Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it. I should have my preliminary analysis done in a few hours, but a full translation could take a few days. You understand.”
I nodded, but inside a war was raging. Days? Who knew what could happen to Mei in a few days? It had already been half a day plus since she’d gone missing. Her captors could be halfway to Mexico by now, for all I knew.
Still, it was the only chance I really had.
“I understand,” I said slowly, nodding again. “Pleasure doing business with you, Rick.”
He shook his head and shooed me away with his free hand, still staring at the fabric all the while. Whatever inscription was on there, it must have been really interesting. I had to admit, the curiosity was really starting to get to me, too.
I picked up Grax’thor and put it back in its back sheath, then saw myself out. On the way out, I winked at the secretary, who had magically returned to her station.
Part of me really wondered about the odd relationship those two had. If your secretary pranked you like she seemed to do to good old Rick all the time, why would you keep her on staff? It didn’t make any sense to me.
But I just shook my head and kept going. To each their own, I supposed. Plus, she was kind