Chapter 18—The Half Life of Dragons

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 “Timmens’ 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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“Dexter—hello. It’s Agnes Findley. Sorry I’m running late. I’m at the Carding Academy which is across the green from where you are,” Aggie said, struggling not to lose her breath as she ran toward the Academy’s front door. “I’ll be at the bakery shortly.” 

“Don’t bother.” Dex’s voice was nearly drowned out by a cacophony of raised voices.

“What? Why?”

Dex tried to answer her but it was useless. A large group of Calliope culties had materialized in front of the library, spilling over the sidewalk and into the street. Drivers honked in an attempt to get the strays out of their way but no one was moving.

Inside the Academy, Edie rushed out of her office. “What is all that noise?” she yelled.

“I have no idea but Allison’s friend, Dexter Little, is over there somewhere,” Aggie said. “What has got that crowd in such an uproar?”

A figure broke loose from the pack, turning right then left. “Is that him?” Charlie asked, pointing. They were now all standing in the big front window. “Is that Dexter Little?”

Aggie stared for a moment. “Yes, it is,” she finally said. “Make sure the Ghia stuff is safe. I’m going to go get him.”

“I think you might need company,” Charlie said, following her out the door.

Edie produced her keys, and looked at David. “Help me lock up, will you?”

“This is nuts,” David said as they lowered window shades, and turned off the lights. “What in the world set that crowd off?”

Edie shook her head as she locked the door. “Well, according to my granddaughter, some internet celebrity is supposed to auction off Calliope stuff sometime this week. Maybe that’s it.”

“Do you remember the celebrity’s name by any chance?” They were back in the window watching the melee. 

“Hmm, something to do with jewelry,” Edie said. Then she began to list gemstones— “Ruby? Sapphire? Amethyst?”—while David scrolled through his phone at supersonic speed.

“Could it be Pearl?” he asked.

“Yes, I believe it was. How do you know?”

“There’s this guy, Lester Miller, who fancies himself an expert in all things Calliope. I believe our police department detained him for a while yesterday but…” Suddenly his eyes widened. “Oh, this could be a problem.”

“What?”

David pointed toward the now bigger crowd. “They’re over there doing a live podcast about Calliope. And this Pearl claims she married Timmen Eldritch so she has the authority to have him declared dead. We’ve got to get over there.”

Edie hesitated. “Tell me, did you and Aggie find anything in the stash from the Kharmann Ghia?”

“We might have found the band’s contract. We need to have a careful look before we know for sure,” David said. They looked at one another. “You’re right, Edie. We need to stay here.”

“Yeah, I think so.” Edie glanced at her watch. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving, now that you mention it,” David said.

Edie scanned the scene in front of the library. “Is that Aggie and Charlie over there?”

“Yep, it is.” Three people were now headed toward the Academy. “And that must be that Dexter guy with them. Who is he again?”

“The friend and sponsor of Allison Owen,” Edie said, “and she is, at this moment, with her father for the first time in nearly 20 years. Dexter drove her to Carding this morning, and we need to make sure that Robert and Allison are not disturbed. The vermin can’t find out that she’s here in Carding.”

“Gotcha.” 

“If I call over to the Coop for food, do you think you can get through that teeming multitude and back again before nightfall?”

David laughed. “Let’s give it a try, shall we?”

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“So how come we’re going all the way to Maine on Route 2?” Faye asked as her father headed north. “That is the way you’re going, right? It’s a twisty road, Dad.”

“I agree but any time you choose to drive from west to east in way-far-up-there northern New England, you’re going to be on a twisty road.” Stephen had chosen to take the first turn at the wheel for the group’s journey to Black Mountain Ski Resort in Maine. “It’s definitely a ‘you can’t theyah from heyah’ situation.”

“We’re planning to stop in Berlin, New Hampshire for lunch and a stretch,” Ted said. “So you might as well settle in.”

Cuddled up in her favorite coat in the back seat, Suzanna watched her uncle closely. He definitely seemed a bit jumpy, twining his hands around one another then un-twining them. And sighing. Sighing a lot. It was as if he were drawing breath to speak but then changed his mind at the last second. 

Then he sighed again, shaking his head. “What is it, Uncle Ted? You’re gulping air like a just-caught fish,” she said. 

“Am I? Sorry, that can be annoying.”

Stephen gave his friend a side-eyed look. “I think you should tell her,” he said.

Suzanna and Faye both leaned forward, trading a look that clearly said: “Now what?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ted turned in his seat so he could face his niece. “I know you’ve been trying to trace your real father.”

“No, not my real father. That’s you,” Suzanna said, touching him on the shoulder. “I want to know who my biological father is. I’m tired of having that part of my life under a big question mark.”

Ted looked at her sharp, a flush of real pleasure brightening his cheeks. They smiled at one another, and she could see her uncle’s tension ease. “Well, Stephen and I did some research online yesterday to see if there was any way we could help you, and we found Nicholas Kelvey,” he said.

“He lives near Black Mountain, yeah, I know. Faye and I were going to try to persuade you to stop there on the way home,” Suzanna said.

“Well, he doesn’t exactly live near Black Mountain all the time,” Ted said. “That’s where he lives in the summer. Actually, he owns a fruit farm where he breeds apple trees. And he makes apple wine that’s got quite a good reputation.”

“So he’s not in Maine? So trying to find him is a waste of time?”

“Nope, not a waste of time at all. In winter, he’s an environmental science prof at a college in Berlin, New Hampshire,” Ted said. Then he took a deep, deep breath. “I called him yesterday. He was kinda shocked to hear who I was. He told me he’s been bugged by the Calliope vermin a lot lately so he was real suspicious at first, and he’ll probably still be suspicious when we get there. He says he’ll know whether I told him the truth or not when he sees you.”

“Really? How’s that gonna work?”

“Well, your mother…,” Ted started to say. Suzanna stiffened. 

“Yeah, I know how you feel but she is involved, and for once, I think that’s a good thing. She got in touch with Kelvey a couple of months ago. He knows who your father is.” A tear that had been hovering in Ted’s eye tipped over the edge, making a beeline to his chin. “I think you’re finally going to get some answers, Suze. We’re meeting him at his office in Berlin.”

Suzanna froze. Now that she was on the verge of knowing—finally—her biological father’s identity, she had no idea how she felt. Excited? Scared? Relieved? Uneasy? She literally could not tell.

Faye leaned forward to see her friend’s face. “Hey Suze, I think you’re gonna have to breathe sometime soon, yeah?”

“Oh gawd,” Suzanna gasped. Then she fell back into the nest she’d made of her coat. “I’m not ready.” She grabbed Faye’s hand. “I am ready, aren’t I? Oh gawd, ready, not ready.” She laughed, and then her cheeks were wet with tears. “Oh gawd, I’m shaking.” Then she grabbed her stomach. “Can we stop for something to eat? I’m starving.”

“Hmm, a second breakfast,” Stephen said. 

“Well, she didn’t eat much of the first one,” Ted said.

“It just so happens there’s a truck stop up ahead that does fantastic omelettes,” Stephen said. 

“Says our man in eggs.” Ted smiled at his niece. “You are going to be all right, Suze. I promise.”

Suzanna shook her head. “Everything’s so mixed up in my head. You’re coming in with me, right?”

“Whatever you need, Suze. Whatever you need.”

Berlin, New Hampshire (which rhymes with Merlin the wizard in the King Arthur tales, not the city in Germany) perches on the banks of the Androscoggin River just before the water in that stream crosses the border into Maine. Like the Corvus in Carding, ice out had roared through town in late February after a three-day warm spell. Even though the stream now flowed freely down its center, the riverbanks were piled high with wedges of ice that would slowly melt into the Androscoggin until April, one drip-drop at a time.

Faye sensed her friend’s uneasiness grow with every passing mile. “What if my mother persuaded this guy to lie about my father?” Suzanna finally asked. “She’s never been willing to tell me the truth about him before.”

Ted turned around. “I will concede that you have a point,” he said, “but your grandfather and Agnes Findley have been keeping tabs on your mother’s progress for a while now, and they’re reassured Allison’s recovery from addiction is real.” He took a deep breath. “And when I talked to him, I got the impression that Kelvey’s a pretty straightforward guy so I am guardedly hopeful.”

They were all silent until they reached the campus.

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Edie tried not to fret as she watched Aggie and her entourage cross Carding green, dodging the stray Calliope vermin and curious locals joining the coagulation in front of the library. “Just a few more steps,” she whispered. “Please let no one recognize you.” She slivered the Academy’s front door open just enough to let them inside then carefully closed it again.

“Whoa,” Dex said as he scanned the foyer. “Nice building. I understand this was that painter/illustrator guy Croft’s place originally, is that right?”

“Yes, Joseph Stillman Croft,” Edie said as she introduced herself. “I sent David over to the Coop to get us some food. He should be back shortly. We have a little conference room where we can eat and talk.”

“What time is it?” Dex asked. “I’m thinking I should check in on Allison.”

“Of course,” Edie said. “You can use my office for privacy.”

“Thanks. Either it’s going well or it’s not. I’ll know quick enough.”

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“I think we need to head off to the right, to the natural sciences building over there,” Ted pointed as they passed through the college’s front gate. “Suze, how are you doing?”

“My heart is thudding,” she said as she struggled to put on her jacket. “Gawd, I’m so nervous.”

Stephen parked the car then turned to look at the young women in the back seat. “Faye and I are going to walk with you into the building only because it’s too cold to sit in the car for long. We’ll be close by if you need us.”

They got out, and Suzanna was surprised that she could stand up. Then she linked her arm in Ted’s. “Just remember,” she whispered as they headed toward the science building, “that no matter what, you don’t get out of being my real dad.”

Ted grinned. “I’m counting on that.”

The halls inside the science building were crowded with backpacked students heading in all directions. Stephen and Faye spotted a bench near the front windows, pointed at it, gave Suzanna and Ted a thumbs up, and then parked themselves. “So where are we supposed to go now?” Suzanna asked.

Suddenly a man appeared in front of them, his arms folded over his chest. His hair was dark with just a hint of frost near the temples. He stared at them without any of the usual social embarrassment that accompanied such an act, and Suzanna was reminded of a Cooper’s hawk that she’d once watched hunt from a tree by the Corvus River. The man said nothing, just stared, examining Suzanna’s face for what she did not know.

After a moment, she dropped her arm from Ted’s, perched her hands on her hips, tilted her chin, and stared back at him. “Seen enough?” she asked.

That’s when a smile oozed over the man’s face, and his piercing gaze melted into a smile that was relieved and warm in equal measure. “Allison said you did that,” he said in a voice that was pitched low. “That’s how I would know.”

Suzanna tilted her chin again. “Did what?”

He stepped forward. “That,” he said, “the chin tilt. Your father used to do that.”

Now Suzanna stepped forward. “You know who my father is. I want you to tell me.”

Kelvey sighed, and glanced at Ted. “And you are the man I talked to yesterday, the one who calls himself her uncle?” His tone was just curious, not unfriendly. 

“Yes, I’m Ted Owen.” 

Kelvey smiled and nodded. “And who are the people who came in with you, the two that are just dying to know what we’re saying?” 

“My best friend, Faye Bennett, and her father Stephen.” Suzanna took a deep breath. “Listen, I want to know who my father is.”

Kelvey nodded again. “Just let me speak to them first, and then we’ll go into my office to talk. I have a lot to tell you.” He walked toward the bench where Faye and her father sat. “So, you’re family friends.”

“Yes. And you are?” Faye said. 

“Nicholas Kelvey. I’m a teacher here, environmental science. Years ago, I was the drummer for a band called Calliope, a fact that I am glad to say doesn’t matter much here in Berlin, New Hampshire.” He gestured toward Suzanna and Ted. “We’re going to go into my office to talk, and I have some papers to give her. I don’t know how long we’ll be. I know it’s a lot to take in. If you want, there’s a pretty good student lounge in the next building. I recommend the cocoa and the chicken wraps. Stay away from the burgers. I’ll bring Suzanna and Ted over when we’re done talking.”

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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