Martie met Frank at the Stone Gardens, just like he'd instructed. She'd used the drive over to calm her nerves and only felt a tiny bit queasy when she got out of the car.

Before she'd learned the truth about dragons, she'd always wondered about the Stone Gardens. The garden wasn't a garden in the literal sense. Rather than plants, like she'd expected, there were rock formations throughout the otherwise flat landscape. Some were as tall as a human, and others the size of buildings. Humans were not allowed to enter the territory, though they could sit in a viewing area to admire them and possibly get to see a dragon in action.

Terran dragons were connected to the element of earth, so all of the rocks made the place a playground of sorts. The dragons had their own special entrance, several of them in fact, and it was through one of those that she'd driven her car. Only the dragons knew how large the boarders of the garden extended. Since she had to drive a long way after getting inside, she assumed they were enormous, possibly going as far as the mountain range to the south. Last she checked that was several miles.

The last time Martie had gone there, she'd watched the dragons transform from human to beast. Frank wanted her to see it to help her understand. She'd always been better with actual demonstrations over lectures. The process should have been beautiful. It wasn't. It was gross and scary.

Once out of the car, she walked toward Frank who was several feet away talking to a Terran dragon who had shifted. Whatever he said made the dragon mad because it lurched forward, only it couldn't get far because it was being held down by weighted chains. Frank laughed along with some of his henchmen. They weren't really henchmen, but in her eyes, they might as well have been. All they did was whatever he ordered, so the description seemed applicable.

"I'm here," she said, almost afraid to interrupt.

Frank, still laughing, walked over and put an arm around her shoulders—his way of making sure everyone knew he owned her. For now. "Perfect timing. Our Inero brethren are almost here too. It'll be good to have you already around when they arrive. Having a hot woman at my side makes me a lot more respectable in their eyes."

"Okay." Her stomach churned.

Always the piece on the side. That was about all he ever used her for—to make himself look good. Just about every woman she'd seen Frank with had a similar job. All of them except for Lori. She actually did things that were considered vital to Frank's precious cause. Lori also seemed to know that he was having flings with just about every female he came in contact with, yet still seemed completely devoted. Why didn't it bug her? Would she change her mind if she knew how much Martie didn't want Frank's attention? Did she see that side of him too and just not care?

Frank gave her a sharp look. "One of the reasons I like you so much is you're usually quiet. Don't ruin that."

She nodded quickly and urged her curiosities to leave. Be the dumb, empty, girl.

"Yes, that's exactly who I want you to be," Frank's voice entered into her mind.

He went back to his henchmen and to teasing the poor chained up dragon. They were throwing large rocks at him with their magic when the Inero arrived in a black sedan. She knew they were Inero, because they had all the physical characteristics of them: deeply tanned skin, dark hair, and dark eyes, or she assumed they had dark eyes hidden underneath their sunglasses.

When Frank saw them, he walked over, closing the distance. "Thank you for coming all of this way to see me."

"Our lord said this time it'd be acceptable. Next time, you have to come to us, especially if you're going to have deliveries. It's not exactly easy to transport a dragon of your species across our borders unnoticed," one of the Inero said sharply. Martie wanted to cheer a little at how he had no issues putting Frank in his place.

Frank didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "You don't have to transport a dragon across your borders, only a man. I have him transformed so you can see the full possibilities of our technologies that we offer. Because, you see, he's transformed against his will."

The Inero raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that was possible."

"Everything is possible," Frank said. "We've developed a way to send the same neurological signal to the brain that happens when initiating a transformation. There's some chemical changes that occur too. As soon as the device is turned off." He waved at one of his henchmen.

The man moved to the dragon and did some fiddling with a collar that blended in with the dragon's scales. At a rapid pace, the dragon shrank in size, his scales melted into dark colored flesh, and his limbs struggled to regain their human shape. For a lot longer than normal, his legs were jutted to the side at an awkward and painful looking angle before snapping into their proper place. A process that must have hurt a lot because the man let out a cry.

Martie had to look away for a moment. She felt awful for him, absolutely awful. The chains that were around his dragon legs were now conformed to his human body.

"As you can see, I've developed some other useful techs," Frank said. "Smart bonds, that's what I call them at least. They adjust accordingly to whatever creature they're put on. Helps eliminate potential escapes during the shifting process. We all know that's a trick a lot of dragons are taught to evade slayers."

All of the men nodded amongst themselves. It must have been common knowledge amongst the dragons.

The lead Inero man moved closer to the Terran prisoner. "A human body is definitely a lot easier to transport across borders."

"I'll have more for you soon," Frank said.

"More prisoners?"

"Yes." Frank glared at the Terran. "He's committed a lot of horrible crimes against the people of my nation."

The Inero nodded, slowly, as if thinking those words over carefully. "Good, I would hate to be responsible for the death of an innocent."

"I don't know what he's told you about me, but I haven't—" the Terran prisoner began.

Frank stalked over, took out a blade, and slashed the man's throat before he could finish. As blood poured out of the wound, Frank was handed a vile from another of his followers. He used it to collect the poor man's blood. "This has been designed to keep the blood fresh for four days. Exactly four days from collection. After that, it's more sour than only being a handful of hours old. Don't try to use it in your factory when you're creating any of your weapons or shields."

"You've truly been gifted by God," the Inero leader murmured. Martie couldn't tell if he was just as scared of Frank as she was, or in total awe.

"Make sure Lord Inero knows how much I support his mission. That's the only reason I'm going out of my way to help you all. I support him and it's important he supports me in my goals too." Frank narrowed his dark eyes. "Keep in mind, I don't need his support, it'll just make the whole process easier for the both of us. He needs mine, though, if he's going to defeat the Oceina and take over their lands."

All of the Inero glared at Frank. Their leader gazed between the vile of blood, the now dead Terran man on the ground, and Frank for a few long seconds. "Don't overstep yourself. Even if you were a Great Lord, disrespecting Lord Inero will not be tolerated. Right now, I see an insecure man, not a leader. It's making me rethink this deal."

So bold. Martie wanted to be that bold too.

Frank rolled his eyes. "If telling you the truth makes me insecure, then I guess I'm insecure." This got a round of chuckles from the henchmen. Frank stood his ground well. "All I'm saying is, your Great Lord should remember I'm to be respected as his equal, not his minion."

"That is a message I can pass on."

The two shook hands, and the Inero started to work with Frank's men to get their order of equipment situated in the car. Frank and their leader chatted quietly. Eventually, Frank tilted his head toward Martie, the men both chuckled, and a shiver went down her spine, though she couldn't say just why. Something about the exchange frightened her just as much as Frank committing cold blooded murder out in the open for all to see.

She shrunk back, tempted to just run to her car and leave. It'd give her three seconds of security, so it wasn't worth it. Not unless she wanted to end up like the Terran prisoner, or worse. She wouldn't put it past Frank to give her to another dragon, possibly even the Inero. They had no issues with mixing tribes when it came to just playing around. He'd find her. He always knew where she was and what she was doing.

After a long time of standing around and watching, both groups began to disperse. The Inero drove off in their car while Frank's men took care of the dead body. Frank walked back to her.

"I wanted you here so you could remember I'm the most powerful man in the world," he said in a low voice. "No, I don't have a fancy title, but I control the fates of every man who does. First thing in the morning, Lord Inero is going to begin his holy war by declaring a state of emergency in Inero. With that, the wheels are going to go into motion. You see, the Inero lord needs me to win his holy war. Once he does, the Oceina lord will be at my mercy, begging for help. My connections to the human slayers are what's going to bring down the Aero empire. Everyone is my puppet." His gaze grew cold as it landed on her. "So when you think about ruining my plans, just remember what happened here today. I don't need you. I lied when I said you made me look good. You're a tool, and one I don't want to have to dispose of, but I will if your pathetic attempts of rebellion start to get too annoying. It's not going to be hard to hide the body of the man I killed today. It'll be even easier to hide yours. Understand?"

"Yes," she choked out.

"Good. I'll see you at my house tonight for our meeting. You'll get your assignment." He made his way back toward his car, only pausing for a second to add. "I meant it when I said you could have your freedom again, Martie. Don't ruin it by being stupid. I know it's second nature to you, but for your sake you need to try a little harder to be smart."

Martie somehow managed to hold herself together enough to get into her car. With the doors closed and locked, she burst into deep, gut wrenching sobs in the safety of her solitude. She made sure to keep herself alone by not thinking a thing, and she didn't return home until she was completely empty of all emotions.