CHAPTER 16

            Mr. Palkovick liked to take his time with anything involving paperwork.  Sagacity decided she wouldn’t worry about the consequences of her application’s honesty until after Wednesday.  She left the application on his desk and re-joined the next class.  She finished her homework during her actual free period and went to the third-grade classroom to wait for her sisters.

            Odd was strangely agreeable when Ten asked if they could stop by the school library.  While Ten checked out a book on rumored herbs in the Wood, Odd was studying the cover of a book depicting monsters.

            “Let me guess.  Your teacher brought up our Wood in today’s class?”

            Odd nodded, looking excited.  “Did you know that they started calling it the Greyve Wood?  Isn’t it cool that our last name is Greyve and the Wood is like a zombie graveyard of dead people?”

            Sagacity had heard about the rumor.  “Dad won’t like that.  Please don’t repeat it to him.”

            “But it’s so cool!”

            Ten put the book in her backpack and took Sagacity’s hand.  “The teacher said there are rare plants in the Wood.  I was thinking maybe we could get some of them for money.”

            A chill ran down Sagacity’s spine.  “Absolutely not.”

            “Did you know how much money dragon scales could bring us?  Or dragon blood?  Do you think zombie dragons still have good scales?”

            Sagacity felt nauseous.  Odd was curious and so, so much younger than her.  She didn’t know any better. At least, that was what Sagacity tried to tell herself.  Odd wasn’t unintelligent.  She knew Sagacity was a dragon… and worth a lot of money to traffickers.  “… what are you getting at, Odd?”

            “There’s money in our Wood,” Odd said, putting deliberate emphasis on the word ‘our’.  “Dad is never going to get a job.  He had no degree, no work experience – nothing.”

            “It’s just a matter of time before people start asking questions,” Ten added quietly.

            They had been asking questions for a long time. Mrs. Chang was a good civil servant, and she’d asked those questions starting a week after Simon first became beastkin.  Mr. Gallo had re-directed her questions, but she had been persistent.  When he bluntly told her he knew nothing, she’d started asking Simon the same questions.  After assuring her his money wasn’t linked to the trafficking or drug trade, she’d backed off – for about a year.  Jasper had let Simon know that she had been researching their family on and off for a long time.  She had sunk her teeth into the Greyve family mystery and was refusing to let go.

            Mrs. Chang was about to be given the biggest clue to the puzzle, and Sagacity thought she would give them less than a day once her application landed on her desk – before Mrs. Chang was banging away at their door.

            She didn’t even give them four hours.  They were sitting down to dinner with Simon poking at his food, sulking after yet another day of unemployment – when their door BOOMED from powerful, heavy fists that did not seem right on a domestic were-cat.

            “MR. GREYVE – I NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!”

            Mrs. Chang was surely Greybridge’s loudest resident.  Sagacity thought the entire town could hear the pounding on their door.

            Simon was frozen in shock.  The moon was getting fuller by the hour, and his cat was coming out.  His eyes were dilated, large and round like a pair of black holes.

            “Iturnedintheapplicationtoday...  saidIwasadragon!”

            Simon’s human side came back with a gasp.  Though rushed, he’d heard every word.  “Sagacity Greyve!  You didn’t!  Why would you do that??”

            Sagacity shrunk in her seat.  “The time was coming up.  I just wanted it… over with.”

            BOOM!  BOOM!  BOOM!

            “She’s going to break down our door.”  Odd sounded admiring.

            “But we had a plan!”  Simon started to sweat, staring at the door.  “Leigh and Chang… There were going to…  She’s… really going to break down our door.”

            With a burst of protective, draconic pride, Sagacity jumped out of her chair and ran to their front door.  “WHO IS IT?!”

            The question was so ridiculous that Ten giggled through her terror.

            There was a second’s peace.  Then, with great, grudging irritation, Mrs. Chang announced herself formally.  “My name is Belinda Chang, Senior Secretary of the Greybridge Administrative Offices.  I am requesting a word with your… guardian, Mr. Simon Greyve.”

            “… We are eating dinner right now, Mrs. Chang.  Please… Please schedule an ap-appointment for…”

            BOOM! BOOM!  Sagacity nearly fell backwards in shock as the pounding on the door resumed.

            “Sagacity Greyve, you will open this door RIGHT NOW!  Or should I say – Sagacity Greyve, formerly, unofficially, and illegally changed from Sagacity Rowena Shizuka Cragfang?!”

            Simon closed his eyes and nodded quickly.  Sagacity fought to control the shaking in her hand as she unlocked the door.  She was a dragon shaking in fear from a cat.  She would carry the shame forever.

            Mrs. Chang burst into the cottage like a wrathful tiger, fixing her gaze briefly on Sagacity before locking on Simon.  “YOU!”  Her accusatory finger was tipped with a claw.  Her normally orderly bun was wild and resembled fur more than hair.  She had to be really mad to have lost control like that.  “YOU LET HER SNITCH!  AFTER ALL THIS TIME!  I CAN LOSE MY CAREER OVER THIS BULLSH--!”

            She caught herself, her wild eyes registering Odd and Ten’s fascinated faces just in time.

            Simon put down his fork and knife and set them neatly parallel on his plate.  “… Odd.  Ten.  Please put your dishes in the sink and stay in your room upstairs.”

            Odd wanted to stay for the drama.  It took Ten several minutes to pull her to the stairs.

            Mrs. Chang took Ten’s empty seat.  “How could you be so stupid?!”

            “I beg your pardon,” Simon exclaimed.  “You will watch your language in my home – civil servant or not!”

            “She did something stupid – she is therefore – stupid!”

            “SHE IS TEN YEARS OLD!”

            Simon shot up from his chair, glaring down at Mrs. Chang, protective fire spitting from his eyes.

            Surprised at his rage, Mrs. Chang nodded after a tense couple of seconds.  Simon sat back down.

            She had to say something.  “I wanted… to get it over with.  Dad… didn’t know about me… filling in the application.”

            Mrs. Chang actually looked at her properly now, and some of the anger in her face was replaced with frustration.  “You don’t understand.  Jasper scanned in the application and emailed it to headquarters with the rest of today’s turned-in applications.”

            Simon stilled.  “You mean…”

            “I only saw her application during my review - after it was sent.  For compliance reasons, they’re sent to headquarters within three hours of receipt.  The system will have it flagged and responded to by tomorrow morning.  I JUST figured it out last year.  I did things... you're my friend, we have tea... I like your family.  I did fraudulent things to hide your existence.  The dragon court will send someone to question you and… take her away if you or your circumstances are found… lacking.”