The Arena novel Chapter 17

Adjusting to life in a big city is, well, an adjustment. When we arrived in the city, Ishir took Jena to a pawn shop and sold one of the diamonds, leaving the rest with me. With the money we made, we bought some high-end clothes, some food, and a hotel room for a week.

The rest of the week, the three of us would go into upscale jewelry stores, selling a couple of diamonds at a time. We constantly rotated who the two were going in to sell the diamonds. We also moved around the city, starting with the east side, moving to the north side, and all the way around, so we weren’t seen in close proximity selling our diamonds.

When it is all said and done, we have nearly six million dollars. Ish found a penthouse apartment in the tallest high-rise in the city. He said it had gone up for sale, but I think he convinced the people to sell it to us for the astronomical price of 4.5 million dollars. Caves are free, and they have a better view.

He insisted that we needed an upscale car to go with our penthouse, even if Jena and I didn’t know how to drive. He hired a chauffeur and a cook for us, then contacted his person and set up an interview for me.

He talked me through the interview process, seeing as how I’ve never been to an interview, and he helped me create a fake resume. He said his friend knew it was fake but because it was in a human company, they have something called human resources that insists on having the documentation that you meet the criteria for the job.

I dressed in a black skirt suit with a slate gray button-down top. I pulled my hair into a sleek ponytail, letting my hair fall to my lower back. I’m a tall woman, at 5’11”, but Ishir said it wouldn’t matter to this guy, that I should wear heels. We compromised on 3-inch heels, putting me at a very tall 6’2”.

The office was within walking distance of our penthouse. When I walked in, I could see that my height and confidence made most of the men uncomfortable. My dragon doesn’t care. If you are so easily intimidated, you aren’t worth my time.

When I arrive at the offices that Ishir sent me, I ask for Mr. Rime. A small woman that I can smell is some kind of bird shifter leads me to an office. A deep voice tells her to come in, and when she opens the door, I smell the bear.

I nod at the bird, thanking her before walking past her into the room and getting my first look at Ishir’s contact.

“Mr. Rime,” I say, walking to him and extending my hand. Rime. It means frost formed on cold objects. His hair is white, like that of an elderly man, though he is anything but. His eyes are an icy blue, like frozen water. If I had to guess, I’d say he was a polar bear. This guess is only accentuated when he stands, having at least 6 inches on me. Now I understand why Ish said the heels wouldn’t matter. It would take a lot for me to be as tall or taller than this man.

“Ms. Blaze,” he says, taking my hand. Like me, he must have had to create a secondary name, or ‘last name,’ as Ish had called it. Apparently, having one name isn’t sufficient for humans. So, I took a name that symbolized who I am. It appears that Mr. Rime did as well.

“Please, call me Tana,” I say.

“Fire goddess; a fitting name. And you shall call me Edur,” he says. Edur means snow. He’s definitely a polar bear. “Please, have a seat.”

I take a seat and hand him my resume.

He glances at it for the briefest of moments before setting it aside. “Is any of it accurate?”

“No.”

He nods, “Never say that to anyone else but me. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“Now then, is it true? Are you an Elemental Dragon?”

“Yes, I am the last remaining fire dragon,” I tell him. Ishir said I could trust him, and obviously, he’s given him information about me.

“And is it true that dragons are excellent with numbers?”

I smile, leaning forward a little. “Do you want to test me?”

“How many tiles are on the floor in the waiting area?”

“One-hundred and eighteen.”

“How many pens were in the cup on my receptionist’s desk?”

“Eight.”

“How many days would it take you to read through the ledgers of our top 20 companies and memorize their financial situations?”

“Ten.”

“Two a day? Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Have you figured out what I am yet?”

“Polar bear.”