The Case of the Missing Egg

[milkmaiden38]

Vera Burns

I opened my eyes as I lay on the bank of the strikingly beautiful Emerald Basin lake. It was easy to be overcome by the power and beauty of this body of water hidden deep in the Pinos Altos Mountains. Surrounded by pine trees, this location’s natural magic was precisely what drew me to this part of New Mexico. It bordered on the Gila Wilderness area. The first wilderness area in the US, where no motorized or mechanized vehicles, including bicycles were allowed. Camping and fishing are allowed with proper permit, but no roads, buildings, logging were inside the wilderness area. A perfect location for a golden dragon to hide.

I had used the natural magic of the land and twisted it to my needs. A natural geyser, vented stream and covered the lake in a fog for part of the day. In the right weather conditions, it could be all day. The opalescent mist warned me of approaching danger and allowed no satellites to take photographs of me in my natural form. It was not easy to hide a dragon over 125 feet in length with a wingspan of 140 feet. Human’s with their new spy technology could not see through the fog. Avoiding being seen had been something I had accomplished for over 600 years. This spot was very isolated. There was nothing around me, for 2 miles. The close building was 5 miles away, Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery. It was unoccupied and only held services on Sunday.

My $12.5 million, 10,000-square-foot home on 1000 acres was nestled in the hidden valley, next to Emerald lake. The property was surrounded by electrified fence, cameras, motion detectors and other sensing technology. The seven-bedroom, eight-and-a-half bath house had been written up as "magnificent estate that exemplifies the wonders of the Southwest." I had the home built in the 1924, right after the wilderness area was established.

As the fog thinned, I transformed back into my human form. Call me vain, but I enjoy being beautiful. My human form is a strikingly attractive human woman with waves of golden blonde hair. Despite my age of over 3000 years, my human face is fresh and smooth. My figure would be highly sought after by sport illustrated or playboy. The only oddity that might give a human pause are my amber colored eyes. A unique color for humans, my eyes reflected my personality and determination. I think most humans I meet recognize quickly, that I may look like a sweet woman, but inside, I’m a fire breathing monster.

As I walked into my house, I knew most humans would love my existence. My life was like a fantasy to them. A fantasy with almost no end. I was told I will die of old age at some point. But it would be 100’s of centuries from now. And unlike, mammals, my abilities only grow stronger with age. But life is more than living, more than your abilities. Life must have purpose and meaning. That is why I’m already dead. I destroyed my whole species. I killed all of them.

I continue to live, in the hope that I will find one dragon still alive. Somewhere out there. I wait for a miracle. For the last 698 years or 254,770 days, I’ve opened my eyes and it has not happened.

As I walked into the kitchen the phone rang. Perhaps I should not have done it. Perhaps I would not do it ever again. Had I known what was to come I would not have done it. Nevertheless, I did. I answered the phone.

“Vera Burns, Private Investigator” I said. It was that simple, that was the start of the events that would change my world.

 

[KarinaKane]

Nineteen centuries ago the Makari elves were entrusted to be the guardians of a beautiful and malevolent species. The Dragonkind! There were five races among this species, each with their own uniqueness. Each race provided one egg to the elves to ensure that their race was preserved throughout time. The Makari took this entrust to heart and sent selected individuals to be trained by the Dragonkind, to become the protectors of the eggs. For centuries, this exchange of service worked, the elves were given unique items and spells of lore for their service of protection. However, like all times, the difference between the races lead to hatred, and this hatred began the war what was known as The Dragon wars.

The dragon wars, a secret war that took place since the beginning of the betrayal, it erupted across the continents, a war that went unseen by the humankind. Fought in secret, each race targeting the eggs to end the other race, and yet the elves stood, protecting. The war took its toll upon the elves, losing many to one dragon attack, but honor kept them going, kept them sacrificing themselves for the dream that one day there would be peace, but for that peace to come, all the eggs must survive the war.

For centuries, this war vented, getting to mass confrontations as the humankind raged war among themselves. The elves, falling back deeper into the mist and fog, finding remote areas to hide the eggs and themselves from the raging wars. Their numbers were now smaller than any recorded time. Some, some of the Elvenkind questioned why should the elves continue the service, why sacrifice anymore to the cause, and soon even the elves were splintered into two fractions. This all came to a conclusion some seven centuries ago, when a very powerful golden dragon found the lair of the guardians and proceeded to destroy the eggs, all but one egg and two elven guardians made it out alive. The Dragon wars were over, the species all but extinct were now fossilized in a tome of times, protected by the only two remaining Guardians of the eggs. Husband and wife they were, the wife showing soon that there would be three.

The lore of the guardians, the tome of times, and that one egg was handed over to the young guardian, the oath of centuries past respoken as the taking on the tradition to protect the eggs continued, even thou there was just one egg left, there was still hope that someday the Dragonkind would return.

As time passed, so did the original Guardians that saved the egg. Now there was just one, one that soon became lonely and betrayed the secret of the Elvenkind, along with the sworn protected dragon egg to a human. A betrayal that would work out for the best, for the human was loyal, and in love with the last guardian. The match soon produced another, expanding the hope to a future that has yet to become.

Karina Kane, a half-elven maiden was born and immediately trained to continue the cause, to continue the carry out the oath of protecting the egg. As with the past two generations of guardians, the skills of the warrior and magic of the mage were handed down into one, a feared mix back in the day of many, but it was now required.

Karina's life changed when the age of twenty came to her. The belief that the Elvenkind had perished over the centuries were apparently incorrect as a team of highly trained assassins entered into the Kane's domicile. The outcome wasn't one of happiness as Karina laid bleeding next to her slain parents.

Karina's next few years were spent hunting down this Elven syndicate known as SYN. This criminal organization expanded across the globe and meddled into every aspect of life, but the one thing that Karina was looking for wasn't to be found ... The Egg.

Karina's digging brought undue attention to herself, and things were getting harder for her, she needed help. She needed someone to help her find that one man that could shed a little light upon the darkness that Karina was staring into, but he disappeared into the underground, and she was by far too well known to go hunting for him alone.

She pulled a piece of paper from the back pocket of her blue jean pants. The number was given to her by Sam, a friendly bartender that had several contacts in various professions. This one happened to know of this Private Eye that seemed to know her shit and was very good at her job.

"What the fuck do I have to lose?" Karina voiced into the darkness as she walked down the dark alleyway. She dialed the number, and a brow arched when the call was answered. The tone of that she was greeted with was feminine and sexy as hell!

"Yes, Miss Burns. I'm Karina Kane, I need help finding a lost item. A species survival depends on it."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Vera

I could not believe what I was hearing. A case that involved saving a species! It was a chance to save a species, after my actions had killed so many others. Perhaps it would provide some redemption for my past sins, 700 years ago.

I took a deep breath. I did not want to jump to conclusions. Sometimes when something is too good to be true… it is not true. This might be a trap. I needed to proceed with caution. I had a standard process I followed for all my cases, and I intended to follow it for this one as well.

“Well, Ms. Kane, you have my interest. If you know me, that is an important first step. My services require a $100,000 retainer be placed in my bank account. My fee, for most cases, is also $100,000 plus expenses. I will need to know more about your case before you get an actual cost estimate. One disclaimer, my fees are NOT contingent on the outcome or results of the investigation. But don’t worry too much, I have a 100% success rate on all previous investigations.

If my costs have not scared you off. I suggest a face to face meeting in Pinos Altos, New Mexico near Silver City. The meeting will be in 2 days, 7:00 pm at The Buckhorn Saloon in Pinos Altos. I will provide a legal contract that spells all the details when we meet. You can’t miss me, I have golden hair and eyes. And just so you can be prepared, you are buying my dinner. I hope to see you there.” I ended the phone call.

Then I pushed one of my stored phone numbers. The phone called my special FBI friend.

“Agent Dietrich Haeusser” A strong German accent stated.

“Dietrich, it is Vera. I need a complete work up on a woman named Karina Kane. She wants me to find a lost item. A species survival depends on it” I explained to him.

“Is that it? Just Karina Kane? Do you have an address?” He asked with a mocking tone in his voice.

“You know the drill... I like to keep the first contact conversation short and surprise them with how much I know about them when we first meet. Anyhow, how many Karina Kane could there be? Give me the information on all of them. You have one day” I told him.

“I’ll get the information” Dietrich agreed.

“Good” I told him and hung up the phone.

Two days later

I finished packing my Mil-Spec Hummer with a 6.6-liter turbocharged diesel V8 under the hood. I find it easier to carry all my weaponry. I had two Benelli M4 tactical shotguns, military issue, one Remington Model 700 sniper rifle, bolt action with a ten round clip and a 10x40 power scope and all the trimmings. Two Colt M4 carbine with attachable M203 single shot grenade launchers. Some people still like the M16A2 but the M4 is lighter which is kinda nice if you have to lug it around for a while and it fits under clothing easier too. And finally one Marine 32 multishot grenade launcher. Fires six shots in a revolving barrel which can fire high explosive, incendiary and smoke grenades. Haven't found a use for that little baby yet, but you never know when it might come in handy.

I got in the Hummer and headed to the Buckhorn Saloon early. The Buckhorn is a unique place, it first opened in the 1860’s as a gathering place for great food, music and camaraderie. And when I say camaraderie, I mean concubines, or courtesans, or dancing girls, or ladies of the evening, or the more modern term hookers. Of course, now it is just a restaurant. The outside of the saloon looks like it is about ready to fall down, but inside it is a 4-star restaurant with excellent food and drink. Not something you would expect in the middle of nowhere.

I grabbed a table away from everyone else, next to the huge fire place. I order my favorite port wine and waited for Karina Kane to arrive.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Lost my writing partner. Anyone interested? We can adjust story line.

Please PM me, if you are interested.