About Endicott Rex
Written by Lee Benoit
37 pages / 15500 words
ISBN: 978-1-60370-797-8, 1-60370-797-2
Available file types - html,
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Endi's life changed forever when he learned how to call forth the hidden dragon natures in the dogs of his hometown, and even more when his talent threw him together with his longtime crush. Now, Endi and his Chief are back!
Endi's trying to learn how to be a sub and not just a slutty bottom, and Chief's working on balancing being Endi's boss with topping the irrepressible Dragonwalker. When the dragon-dogs of Endicott begin disappearing, Endi and Chief step into a world of trouble where the threat of failure could tear them apart. Will they be able to tell fact from fiction, friend from enemy, in time to figure out the mystery of the dragon-dogs and save their love? The first Dragonwalker story appeared in the anthology Another Fine Mess.
Sample
It all starts out with a perfectly innocent lunch.
I bop into Zorro’s to meet David and some journalist friend of his who wants to do a story about the amazing dragon dogs of Endicott. I say a quick hi to Bennie, who makes eyes at my uniform, and who can blame her? I’m a ravishing combination of working class chic and military dash, if I do say so myself. The uniform is my own creation, seersucker coveralls with a shiny brass zipper, my name embroidered on an oval patch on the chest, and the official crest of my position on the sleeve: a flying dragon with a leash held by a golden hand. It’s fabulous.
David’s friend is impressed, I can tell.
“Mr. Thorne, a pleasure. Thanks for taking the time.” He’s at least ten years older than me, which makes him years younger than David. I wonder how they met.
I buss David on the cheek and notice that he blushes a little. Is it delight in the attentions of my hot, young, uniformed self, or embarrassment at being kissed in front of his friend? I let it go as we dig into paninis and Italian sodas, and I race to keep up with Perry Manton’s questions. This is my first official interview, and I don’t want to mess up.
Manton doesn’t ask about my job as the Town of Endicott’s official Dragon Wrangler, or even too much about the dragon-dogs themselves. He doesn’t even ask about my new outreach program with at-risk kids in Burgess County, that teaches them how to care for dogs, dragon or otherwise. Anyone knows dragon dogs are amazing, but it breaks my heart that no one thought these kids were amazing until now. I’d love to tell this big-city reporter that, but a second look at his studiously slick look and I realize anything real I say will be lost on him. Instead he asks how I think it’s possible that most of the dogs of Endicott (except the terriers) can turn into dragons on an order from me. He doesn’t seem to know that David can also call the dragon natures of some dogs. I wonder how well they know each other, after all.
I fumble my way through that question and the next ones about my powers. I’m feeling a bit out of my element, just like in Town Council meetings, where all the old guys who hired me look to Chief instead of me whenever they need an answer about the dragon-dogs. Why isn’t David jumping in? He could help. I wouldn’t mind.
Bennie clears our plates and brings coffee and cranberry-orange hemp cupcakes with soy-cheese frosting (I think this was yesterday’s special, too, and hope these don’t become a regular menu item). She’s forgotten Chief’s coffee moratorium, and I’m so grateful I don’t even correct her, though I know I’ll be confessing to Chief later. He’ll notice, for sure.
I dive into the coffee and try to think as Manton starts in with questions I’d really prefer not to answer, questions about my time in the psych ward right after Endicott’s dogs started manifesting their scaly, flying, fire-spitting abilities. He asks about how they almost destroyed the town before Chief sprung me and I got them under control. I’m really uncomfortable with all this and shoot David a helpless look, which is a stupid thing to do because David is as blind today as he was yesterday. You’d think his dark glasses would remind me, but I just forget.
“Am I making you nervous?” Manton asks, and I notice how slick his smile is. Expensive orthodonture and a really good haircut. Even for a big-city reporter. “How about you tell me how the town of Endicott is profiting from the dogs, eh?”