The Dragon Waking by Grayson Towler

Author:Grayson Towler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Published: 2016-12-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Lost World

Rex Triumph surveyed his domain from the vantage point of his hidden platform overlooking the Lost World promenade, waiting for his guest to arrive. The panorama of his casino spread before him filled him with satisfaction, as it always did. His will and ingenuity had created a place that outclassed other resorts like the Excalibur with its knights and armor, the Egyptian-themed Luxor, and the faux-classic architecture of Caesars Palace. Las Vegas was a city of wonders, and nothing compared to the sprawling artificial jungles and majestic animatronic dinosaurs of Triumph’s achievement.

Not bad for someone who was a mere shadow of himself.

Triumph passed his gaze across the grand lobby of Lost World, scanning the teeming humanity. Walking beneath the entryway with the soaring pterodactyl suspended above the doors came the two figures he sought. One was familiar to him—Scott Ostrom, an enthusiastic and valued employee, especially invested in the construction of Triumph’s second great casino.

But just now, Scott was only the deliveryman. Rex Triumph’s real interest was in the skinny, curly-haired thirteen-year-old boy who walked beside him.

Clay Ostrom, the boy who had seen a dragon.

Triumph watched as the pair passed through the vast Mesozoic forest that enfolded all the shops, restaurants, and casinos on the first three levels of the hotel. He’d seen many boys like Clay, those who eagerly soaked in every detail of the prehistoric recreation, naming every giant and monster they saw in the mist. But Triumph could tell the boy was also worried. He kept looking back at his uncle as if he was wondering why his relative had become so distant and silent.

Triumph knew the answer. He didn’t normally use his psychic powers to control his own employees, but in this case it had been the most expedient way to get the boy here. As diminished as Triumph’s powers were, he could still easily bend most humans to his will.

The hidden observation platform was positioned two stories above the entrance of the Smithsonian Lounge, the most opulent restaurant in Lost World. The boy and his uncle drew close, then disappeared from sight as they entered the restaurant. Soon they would come up the elevator hidden behind a wall of the Lounge’s exclusive private dining room.

Triumph heard the quiet hum of the elevator doors sliding open, then the startled gasp of the young boy.

“Oh my God!” Clay Ostrom cried. “It’s him!”

Rex Triumph turned with a dancer’s grace and looked into the astonished eyes of his young visitor. He knew he cut a dashing figure, dressed in a business suit as sleek as liquid midnight that accented his handsome, bronzed features and dark eyes. He smiled and lifted one eyebrow ever so slightly.

“I’m…My name is Clay Ostrom. Pleased to meet you, sir.” Clay held out a tentative hand for Triumph to shake, as though he doubted his worthiness to touch such an imposing figure. Triumph understood. After all, he was a living legend in Las Vegas even though nobody knew his true secret.

Triumph clasped the child’s hand.

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