Chapter 5 of The Half Life of Dragons

by Sonja Hakala

PREVIOUSLY IN THE HALF LIFE OF DRAGONS: It’s been seven years since Timmen Eldritch, lead singer of the mystical rock band Calliope, disappeared. To this day, most people believe he died. But there are enough conspiracy theories swirling online to keep his ardent cult members hopeful of “Timmen’s return .”

Eldritch and Calliope recorded their last album in an old farmhouse in Carding, Vermont so the town has become a reluctant mecca for Calliope culties, as they call themselves. They’ve already started to gather, and no one in Carding is happy about it. 

You can catch up on previous chapters of this novel in progress here.

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“Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,” Allison mumbled into the dark morning. Then she laughed at herself. “What a silly superstition. Why rabbits? Why not badgers or squirrels or porcupines?” Silly, maybe, but Allison Elizabeth Owens never skipped the rabbit ritual on the first day of the month. Ever.

She groaned as she rolled on her back. Hefting cases of coffee beans in the back room of the Brick Cafe had taken its toll. Her toes cracked as she stretched. “Gawd, I’m starting to sound like my mother.” Then she giggled again, and why not? Life had been pretty decent recently. She’d been sober for nearly four years, she had a good job she enjoyed in a place where everyone knew her as “Allison who makes really good soup” instead of the “washed-up actress named Allie-O.” Her little apartment at 258 West Street was a safe place to live. And best of all, there were no men in her life as far as the eye could see. Except Dex, of course.

But then Dex was Dex, the best kind of friend a woman could have. No expectations, no drama, no pressure. He was the best thing to come out of her group rehab sessions.

Yeah, Dex was great.

She stepped on the bathroom scale on her way to the shower, another ritual designed to keep her life in balance. “Wow, would you look at that,” she grinned. “I’ve gained a whole pound. Good for me.”

Outside, there was still some wintry snap to the air. Nothing spectacular. Just typical March in Vermont. Of course in Burlington, that snap was intensified by the wind whipping across Lake Champlain, tugging and pushing at everything in its path. Allison made a grab for her hat just in time to keep it on her head.

“Morning Al.”

“Morning Dex.” Allison jammed one of her hands in a pocket while keeping the other on her hat. “Colder than I thought, and I left my gloves in my apartment. That was foolish.”

“Well, lucky we won’t have to wait long.” Dex nodded at a bus lumbering toward them. “My neighbor told me she saw white caps on Champlain this morning.”

Allison laughed. “Is that the neighbor you’re currently sleeping with or the one you used to sleep with?”

“Used to.” Dex grinned. “What can I say? I’m fabulous and all the boys want me.” 

Allison tucked her arm into his. “Of course you are.”

On the bus, Dex let her slide into the seat first so she could be by the window then swung himself in next to her. “What are you thinking for soup for lunch? It’s nippy so I’m hankering for hale and hearty. It’ll go quick on a day like today.”

Allison rubbed her hands together. “Yeah, hale and hearty, something that will stay hot in a cup for a while, right? Didn’t I see some leeks in the cooler after you came back from the farmers market yesterday?”

“Ooh, yeah. I love your potato-leek soup.” They both sank into thought as they watched the flow of University of Vermont buildings slide by their window. “And how about a second something with a little snap to it. I feel like making corn bread.”

“Oh, how about jambalaya?” Allison said. “Are you going to put corn kernels in the bread like you did last time? That was so good.” The bus slowed to make a turn.

“Yeah, if we do that, we’ll have a line out the door.”

When the bus stopped in mid-turn, Allison glanced at her watch. Dex liked to tease that she was the only person he knew who still wore one but she liked the convenience of having something on her wrist instead of fishing around in her pockets for a phone that never seemed to be where she’d put it last time. “What’s the hold up? Can you see? More construction?”

Dex leaned into the aisle until he could see the front of the bus. “No idea. All I can see is a cop directing traffic, and…oh wait, there’s some guys unloading a truck parked in the middle of the road.”

“Ooh, let’s check it out. We’re only a couple of blocks from the Brick and we’ve got a little time for a walk,” Allison said, nudging her friend.

At least a dozen people had bunched up at the bus exit by the time Dex and Allison reached it. As the passengers took turns turns swinging themselves to the pavement, the bus driver apologized to each of them.

“Oh you’ve got nothing to be sorry about,” one man said as he juggled a large coffee and a bulging messenger bag. “It’s the city council’s fault. They never should have approved that building for an auction house. There’s nowhere to park and unload a truck around here.”

“I know, I know, but still, I’ve got people to take care of.” The driver flicked her eyes up to her rearview mirror to indicate two passengers clutching walkers. 

Dex shook his head as he stepped down then he stopped short. “Uh oh, looks like you’re gonna be stuck here a bit longer. Isn’t that the mayor headed in this direction?”

Allison looked over her friend’s shoulder. “Yeah, it’s Marvelous Martin all right. And he’s got someone with a camera in tow.”

The bus driver groaned and turned off the bus engine. “I’m gonna save the gas,” she told her passengers. “I don’t know how long this will be but if any of you start to feel cold, give me a holler, okay?” Then she nodded at Dex and Allison. “You two have a good day.”

“You too—or at least I hope it gets better. Come on Al, let’s go give the mayor a poke,” Dex said.

But Allison veered off in another direction. “How about you do that while I check out the goodies in the auction house. My living room could really use a new rug. Meet me in twenty?”

“Right.” Dex waved at her then turned toward the mayor. “Hey Marvelous, do you realize you’ve got people with walkers stuck on that bus?” He grinned at the young man wielding the camera. “Hi—the name is Dexter Little but don’t let my last name fool you, know what I mean? Be sure to get my good side, okay?” He leaned forward, and waggled his eyebrows. “And what are you doing later on?”

Allison laughed as she walked toward the delivery van parked in the middle of the road. A guy with a belly oozing over his belt was busy arguing with the police while three other males of the more muscular variety hoofed household goods from the van to the auction house. 

“Wow, someone’s unloading their life,” Allison said to a guy who looked like he used his gym membership. “Have you got any rugs in there?”

“Yeah, there’s a pile in the back.” Gym Guy hefted one end of a bookcase. “Hey Morrill, grab the other end of this thing, will ya? And you,” he nodded at Allison, “need to stay out of the way.”

She scooted to one side until the bookcase was gone then hopped into the van. “Oh wow, do I see plum?” she said, reaching out to finger the edge of the smallest of the rolled carpets.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

Allison jumped away. “I saw purple…I know I shouldn’t…I mean, I need…when is the auction please?”

The man pointed toward the open door “Out. Now. You’re in the way.”

“Okay, okay, but please kind sir, when is the auction. I need a new rug.”

“How the hell should I know? I’m paid to deliver the stuff, not sell it.” He pointed at the building across the street. “Go ask in there.”

Allison took off, checking the time as she ran. Then she stopped, fished her phone out of her pocket, and took a picture of the carpets in the delivery van. Waving to get Dex’s attention, she gave him a thumbs up for the size of the crowd he was drawing then pointed toward the auction house building. Dex nodded without missing a beat. He’d be on the evening news for sure, something he’d become an expert at pulling off. “It’s good for my acting career,” he always said though no one in their right mind would pursue an acting career in Burlington, Vermont. It wasn’t exactly the center of the film universe.

The inside of the auction house resembled a yard sale organized by squirrels that had had too much caffeine. The top of a hand-cranked Victrola was piled high with comic books. Boxes of kitchenware covered the top of a box spring and mattress. A box of curtains had spilled its ruffled contents over a collection of garden rakes and shovels.

Allison picked her way toward a table where a man stood with a phone pressed tight to his ear. “Yes, yes, Mrs. Steel.” Pause. “I understand your concern completely. I’m so sorry my assistant told you that dogs were not allowed at the auction. She’s new and she doesn’t know Cobra the way we do.” He started to roll his eyes but stopped when he spotted Allison. “Of course you can bring him.” The man’s smarmy tone made Allison shiver. “Yes, I’ll be sure to reserve a seat in the front row to the left of the auctioneer,” the oily voice droned on as a second man, dark hair slicked tight to his head, appeared at the table.

“Yes, Tony will be very glad to see you again,” the smarmy man said as he grabbed a pencil to write the word Steel on a scrap of paper. Tony, for that was the name of the second man, started making “blah, blah, blah” motions with his hands then he turned toward Allison.

“Is there something I can help you with?” he asked. Then he cocked his head and narrowed his eyes as he examined her more closely. “Have we met before?”

She shook her head, willing her face to remain calm while digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands. Being recognized didn’t happen very often any more but once in a while, someone figured out she was “that girl from Pretty as a Picture.” 

“No, I don’t think so. I’ve never been in here before,” she said. “I saw a rug I like in the truck outside, and wondered when it would be going up for auction.”

Tony sorted through the clipboards piled on the table just as the first man finished his phone call. “Gawd, that woman will be the death of me yet.”

“Was she yapping about her smelly Pomeranian again?” Tony asked as he flipped through some paperwork.

“Yeah, Cobra. What a silly name for a dog. What are you looking for?”

Tony nodded at Allison. “She wants to know when those rugs are going up for sale.”

“You mean the ones that are still in the truck?” the man asked Allison.

“Yeah, the truck parked in the middle of the street.”

The man nodded as he flipped through a list. “Can’t be helped, I’m afraid. The city wouldn’t let us build a loading dock here. They deemed it environmentally unfriendly.” He looked up and smiled without smiling. “Just as environmentally unfriendly as parking trucks in the middle of the street. Ah, here it is. The rugs are from the Coburn estate up in Stowe. And that auction is scheduled for Saturday morning. Nine o’clock.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Now if there’s nothing else…”

“Coburn estate. Saturday morning, nine o’clock. Got it. Thanks.” Allison quick-stepped through the mess on the auction house floor as she headed toward the front door.

“Come on, Al,” Dex called from the street. “We’re gonna be late.”

“Coming.” She zigzagged among paintings leaning four-to-five deep against the walls. She was almost out the door when she skittered to a stop in front of a brightly colored acrylic. A mesmerizing gold-and-green dragon coiled around the outside of the large canvas, its open red mouth centered in the frame. “No, it can’t be,” she whispered. She leaned forward to read the artist’s name.

“Come on, Al.” Dex tugged at her arm but then stopped when he realized what she was looking at. “Oh, I see.” He slid an arm around her waist. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

Standing in the shadows of the chaotic auction house, Tony watched Allison and Dex leave. The woman’s reaction to the dragon painting had confirmed his suspicions. He palmed his phone then touched a familiar button.

“Hello?”

“You were right,” Tony said. “Allison did stay in Vermont after she lost custody of her daughter. I just saw her.”

“Where?”

“Here. In the auction house. She recognized the dragon right away.”

“Hmm, well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I would have preferred later but we can handle this.”

“Do you need me to do anything?” Tony asked.

“No, no need. I’ll sort it out. Thanks for calling.”

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Thanks for sharing some of the minutes of your life with me and Carding, Vermont. I hope you’re enjoying The Half Life of Dragons and can visit next week for the latest chapter.

When I reach the end of the tale, the entire book will be available here as an ebook. In the meantime, if you need to catch up or would like to share this adventure with someone else, you can do so by clicking this link.

~ Sonja Hakala