Chapter 19: Plausible Deniability

Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Plausible Deniability

The SwampGorilla stood in the middle of the yard, blinking slowly.

Zoey screamed. It was a short, sharp scream, the kind that startled a flock of birds out of the broken tree.

"What is that?"

"It’s..."

"That isn’t your dragon!"

"I know it isn’t."

"That’s a gorilla! Why is there a gorilla in our yard?" She backed up so fast she tripped over her own Poison Lizard, which hissed and slithered clear. "Is that one of Mom and Dad’s spares? Did you find their stash? Oh my goodness, you found the stash."

"What stash?"

"The secret one! The one they keep locked up somewhere!" She waved both hands in the air. "They told me once it was filled with mutant beasts. Whatever that means. They said it’s not even online, which is so much worse, because how do you keep a stash that isn’t online? Who does that? What if there are more? What if there’s a whole room of them? What if they find out we know and ground us until we’re 21?"

"Zoey."

"I just got my beast. I’m too young to be grounded for that long. "

"Zoey. Breathe."

She sucked in a breath and held it, cheeks puffed out, eyes huge.

[So,] the system said, delighted. [How do you come out of this one?]

Jared kept his face perfectly still.

’I’m working on it.’

[Work faster. She’s turning purple.]

He looked at the gorilla. The gorilla looked at him with calm, wide set eyes. It seemed in no hurry whatsoever.

’Okay. Think. What do I know? What can I say that’s true enough to hold weight?’

He exhaled slowly and let his shoulders drop.

"I’m sorry," he said.

Zoey let her breath out in a rush. "For what?"

"For keeping this from you. I swear I wasn’t trying to hide it maliciously. I just didn’t know how to bring it up."

"Bring what up?"

"That I have another beast."

"I can see that."

"And I didn’t steal it from our parents. Before you ask."

She folded her arms. "Then where did it come from?"

He hesitated, a half second at most, then answered like he was reciting something boring from memory.

"I found it. One time I ventured into the wilds near the city."

Her arms slowly came down.

"The city wilds?"

"Yeah."

"You went into the city wilds?"

"It’s not illegal. Novices are allowed in." He shrugged. "I took the Ground Dragon for a serious clash. You know, a real test. We were out there for a few hours, and I stumbled over a gem lying bare in the dirt. No owner. No tag. Nothing."

The city wilds was a stretch of managed forest tucked into the northern edge of the city, a wide wooded base fenced off from the surrounding streets. The association dumped lower ranked beasts there on purpose, so new beast masters had somewhere safe to train, spar, and level up. Most of the creatures were no bigger than dogs. A few could bite. None of them could kill a careful rookie.

Every now and then, when a beast was beaten in the underbrush, it shed its form and left a gem behind, forgotten among the roots and leaves.

Zoey’s face cleared.

"Oh," she exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"Oh. That does happen. I’ve heard people talk about it." She pressed a hand to her chest, still catching her breath. "A bare gem, just lying there. You picked it up."

"I did."

"And you didn’t tell me."

"I didn’t want it to be a big deal."

"It is a big deal! You have..." She stopped. Counted on her fingers. "So you already have two beasts."

"Something like that."

"That’s so unfair."

"I know."

"I’ve been a beast master for exactly 1 hour. You’ve had two for who knows how long."

"You have a B rank. That’s better than most."

She glared at him, but there was no heat in it. The gorilla raised a hand from its stump and gave her a lazy wave. She waved back on instinct, then yanked her hand down and scowled at herself.

[Honestly,] the system said, [that was smooth.]

’I’m not proud of it.’

[You should be a little proud. You went from cornered sibling to believable narrator in under a minute. I’d applaud, but I don’t have hands.]

’It’s a technically plausible story.’

[Technically plausible is the highest form of lying.]

Zoey was already inching closer to the gorilla, bouncing on her toes, eyes shining.

"What rank is it?" she asked. "Come on. What rank? Is it A? Please say A."

Jared opened his mouth.

’Tell her it’s an SSS.’

The words were right there. He could picture how the conversation would go. He would shrug, say it was nothing special, maybe throw in "Even A or less, probably." She would squeal. She would pepper him with questions for the next three hours.

’Wait.’

He looked at her.

She was smiling, wide eyed, almost too eager. But behind the excitement, just under the surface, there was a faint, watchful gleam. A girl who was waiting for a mistake.

’She’s testing me.’

It all fell into place. If he’d found the gem in the wilds just days ago, he wouldn’t have had it analyzed. He wouldn’t have brought it to the association. He couldn’t possibly know its rank. If he named one, the entire story would fold in on itself like wet paper.

She didn’t trust him yet. Not fully. He couldn’t blame her. She’d just watched her brother pull a gorilla out of his pocket.

’Nice try.’

"How would I know the rank?" he said, easy as breathing. "I haven’t presented it before the association yet."

Zoey’s face drooped.

"Oh," she said.

"I only found it a few days ago."

"Right. Of course. Silly me."

[Good catch.]

’I know.’

[I was going to warn you.]

’You were not.’

[I was going to warn you a little.]

He walked over to the stump, tapped the SwampGorilla on the forearm, and held out his other hand. He slipped it back into his pouch, tugged the string tight, and turned to Zoey with a bright smile.

"By the way," he said. "How do we test your lizard?"

She blinked. "My what?"

"The Poison Lizard. You should figure out what she can do. It’s her first day."

"Oh." The disappointment evaporated. She crouched beside the lizard and scratched under its chin. "Good point. I don’t know. I could have her bite something."

"Like what?"

"Like..." Her eyes slid toward his pouch. "Your dragon?"

Jared stared at her.

"There’s no way I’m having you analyze my beast and poison it," he said.

"You’re right," Zoey said immediately. "That was a terrible idea."

"It was a very terrible idea."

"We’d be in so much trouble."

"We’re already in trouble. We don’t need new trouble."

He tapped his fingers against his thigh. ’Okay. Think like a researcher.’ The Poison Lizard consumed materials, mostly blood, and produced a poison tailored to whatever it ate. It was a conversion. It took one thing and turned it into another.

"It works based on conversion of natural materials," he said slowly. "So there has to be a default. Like a general poison. Something it makes when it eats something that isn’t blood."

Zoey tilted her head. "That’s actually smart."

"I have my moments."

"Don’t let it go to your head."

’You have more than just your moments. ’

He plucked the red gem from his belt and tossed it onto the dirt. It cracked, light flared, and the Ground Dragon rose from the glow in a roll of heat and settling dust.

She shook herself, gave a low, familiar rumble, and swung her head toward him. He patted her snout.

"Hey, girl. Quick job. Water."

The dragon raised her head. Her throat glowed blue. A thick, rolling gust of water burst from her jaws and splashed across the yard, soaking the packed dirt, drenching the weapon rack, and leaving a wide, glistening puddle in the middle of the ring.

"Okay," Jared said. "Have your lizard consume as much of that as she can."

Zoey stared. "Water?"

"Yes."

"You want her to drink water."

"I want her to consume it. It’s a natural material. It should count."

She gave him a skeptical look. Then she crouched, patted the lizard’s head, and pointed at the puddle.

"Go on," she whispered. "Eat up."

The Poison Lizard slid forward, lowered her head, and began to lap at the water. Her tongue flicked in and out, quick and eager. The puddle shrank. She moved to the next one, then the next, sweeping across the yard until the dirt was nearly dry. Her belly swelled.

Jared watched with open fascination.

Zoey watched with her lip caught between her teeth.

When the last of the water was gone, the lizard sat back on her haunches, belched softly, and looked up at them.

"What now?" Zoey asked.

Jared folded his arms.

"Now we have her work her magic," he said. "Have her spit some poison. Or whatever substance it can create from neutralizing the water."

"Okay."

"It’s bound to be corrosive in some way."