The Gift of the Dragon by Michael Murray

Author:Michael Murray [Murray, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Action Adventure Thriller
Publisher: Burnt River Press
Published: 2014-01-03T00:00:00+00:00

Alice

The shower, breakfast, and coffee had Alice feeling like a human being again. Anna got sent to watch a recording of a show called iCarly, with a promise of lobster hunting and ice cream after the adults rested.

As she bounded off to her room, Alice said, “Nanette, Jacob says you are a ‘reverse engineer’? Used to work for the government?”

Nanette said, “Well, my title was 'investigator,' but yeah, a big part of what I did was reverse engineering before I quit working there to care for my daughter. I can’t really talk about what I did, my lawyer says.” Alice saw her give Jacob a stern look.

“Nanette, Alice has some scary people hunting her, and they seem to be after this necklace she has. I looked at it, but I can’t see why anyone would want it that bad. I was hoping you could help?”

“May I see it?”

Alice took off her necklace and handed it to Nanette. Nanette held it in the palm of her hand for a moment. “It’s quite beautiful. This is a Chinese dragon instead of a European one.”

Alice looked at the silver dragon with its black hair and claws.

“Does that mean anything?”

“Well, maybe, maybe not. The western dragon was generally a symbol of evil, going way back. The Greek word drakon meant a huge serpent, a water snake. In the Bible, the devil takes the form of a dragon during his fight with Michael.” Seeing Alice’s look of confusion, she said, “The Archangel.”

“Oh,” Alice said, wishing she had her phone so she could ask Ami about the story.

“You can tell by the eyes and the shape of the head: this dragon is Chinese. In China, the dragon was a symbol of power over weather, good luck. Longevity.”

“So a dragon is a good thing in China and a bad thing in Europe?”

“Right. It’s common in China to say things like ‘He is as great as a dragon’ or ‘I hope your son will become a dragon.’”

“It’s amazing that you know this, Nanette!”

“Well, my career kind of depends on my being a know-it-all.” Nanette grinned.

Jacob chimed in, “Nanette was always getting in trouble for reading history books when she was supposed to be studying her math or physics.”

“Yeah, math just seemed so simple and logical to me. History was fascinating because so many people did such strange things to each other. I wanted to find out why.”

Alice asked, “Did you?”

Nanette laughed. “Hah, then I’d really be smart. No, I am much better at figuring out what things do than why people build them. Anyway, this can’t just be a pretty Chinese dragon necklace. It’s not even real silver—just coated steel and obsidian with some gold plating on the tail. There must be something more here for people to be chasing you for it.”

“Wait just a second.” Nanette got up and walked to the adjacent office, leaving the necklace on the table. Alice stared uncomfortably at it. She did not like to have it off her neck.

Jacob got up and got three Land Shark Lager beers from the fridge, opened one, and placed it before Alice.

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