Asim watched his symbiot rise off the ground. Mandra and Ariel were waving to Jabir who was frantically waving back at them. His gaze was fastened on Pearl. She turned and blew him a kiss before Pokey rotated in the air. A moment later, the symbiot transport was just a faint glimmer in the sky.

He blinked when Hobbler, the Pactor he’d threatened to return to Cree and Calo but never did, nudged him. He reached out a hand to calm the beast. He shook his head, retrieved his gloves and the shovel, and finished his chores.

“I swear that woman loves to drive me insane,” he told Hobbler as the creature followed him back to the wagon. “So, what do you think of your new friend? Have you accepted him yet?”

Hobbler stretched out her neck and rubbed her forehead against his hand. Asim was going to take that as a yes. He dumped the last shovel-load of poop into the wagon with a sigh. The more he thought about his conversation with Pearl, the funnier it sounded to him. Before long, his shoulders shook with mirth and he had to stop and lean on the shovel.

“Goddess, but I love that woman,” he told Hobbler and the new Pactor. “I don’t know anyone else who could make me want to laugh while shoveling shit.”

Humming under his breath, he finished mucking the corral and lay fresh warm grass in the covered stalls. Hobbler had moved closer to the half-blind beast Jabir had named George. Asim nodded in satisfaction when both Pactors stopped at the feed barrels. It would take a few months, but George would fill out like Hobbler had.

He cleaned up the tools and walked to the outer barn. It was empty now that he and Mandra had shipped off the majority of the Grombots and Marrats. Pearl had volunteered to clean it up so it would be ready for any new arrivals that would eventually find their way to the mountain refuge for lost, orphaned, and mistreated beasts.

He pushed the small wagon over to the equipment shed and rinsed it out before doing the same with the bucket and shovel. There was a latch on one of the stalls that wasn’t working properly and he wanted to check all of them before he forgot. There was nothing worse than having a new beast loose and wreaking havoc.

He opened the door, leaving it slightly ajar to bring in some natural light. Solar powered light panels along the ceiling turned on as he walked along each stall, testing the doors. He frowned when he reached the last one. He could have sworn it was the one that was broken.

Opening the stall door, he tested it several times before he grunted. It looked like it was working now. Glancing around, he noticed that fresh warm grass was piled in the corner instead of spread out. Perhaps Mandra had forgotten to spread it when he fixed the door.

He walked over to the pile and bent to pick up a handful of warm grass. A movement out of the corner of his eye startled him and he jerked back a step. A dry chuckle escaped him when he saw Ruby flap her wings at him.

“I wondered where you moved to. You don’t like me gathering all your eggs, do you? Well, I have to say it is your fault. If they weren’t so tasty, we dragons wouldn’t want to eat them.” He yanked his hand back when Ruby pecked at him. “You are lucky you belong to Pearl’s granddaughter or you would be in a pot and then into my stomach,” he threatened.

Ruby tilted her head and clucked at him before scratching at some loose warm grass near the small dish of feed that was set out for her. Perhaps this was why Jabir kept sneaking out at night. Mandra said he’d caught the little boy more than once trying to sneak out to the barn when he should have been in bed. The little boy had been pestering his father to replicate the chicken. Jabir really wanted to have a pet chicken like Leo. Of course, neither he nor Mandra were opposed to the idea if it meant they had fresh eggs to go along with the bird.

“Go on with you, I have work that needs to be completed,” Asim chuckled.

He bent to spread the warm grass, but stiffened in surprise when his fingers touched something hard under the straw. Pulling his hand back, he studied the pile of warm grass for a moment before he gently brushed it aside. Perhaps Ruby had left some of her delicious eggs for him and Pearl. His eyes widened and a loud curse exploded from his lips when he saw a very large, dark green egg. This was not one of Ruby’s eggs.

He straightened, staring down at the egg with a frown. He had never seen one like it before. Muttering under his breath, he carefully went through the pile of warm grass, counting the eggs he found.

“Six,” he said with a shake of his head. “Where in the galaxy did Jabir find these?”

The little boy must have found them somewhere and snuck them into the barn. His eyes widened again as another thought dawned on him – Pearl. She must know about Jabir’s stash! She had been adamant about cleaning the barn on her own shortly after the Dragon Lords and the younglings returned from their adventure on Earth. She even insisted that Pokey could help her with the heavy items if she needed it. There was no way she could have cleaned the barn without knowing about the eggs.

Asim quickly covered the eggs again. He would need to research them to see if he could determine what they were. He turned to leave, but paused when he saw the corner of a sack partially hidden behind the handle of a rake. Pulling the rake aside, he saw now the familiar language of Earth’s people. He also recognized the symbol of Paul’s ranch on the bag. Lady Ariel had shown him the design once.

“Earth…,” Asim murmured before his eyes widened. “Jabir! That boy is going to get himself in trouble one of these days.”

Asim wrapped his fingers around the top of the bag and stared out of the barn door. Jabir must have recruited Pearl. That would explain why they had been so secretive lately and kept chasing him out of the barn when he asked if they wanted any help.

His gaze moved back to the pile of eggs. They were larger than any he had ever seen – including the Grombot eggs. He would scan one of the eggs and run it through the database, but he would be surprised if they were even listed.

Perhaps Paul would know what they were; after all, they must have come from his ranch. Satisfied that he would get to the bottom of the mysterious eggs, he started to replace the bag on the hook when he realized there was something still in it. Curious, he glanced inside. A frown creased his brow when he saw it was one of Jabir’s books.

Asim was surprised the little boy had left the book in the barn. He loved the storybooks his father purchased for him on Earth. Reaching in, he pulled it out and paled.

On the front cover were creatures Ariel called dinosaurs. Several of the beasts were standing by large nests filled with eggs. Asim’s gaze moved back to the pile of fresh warm grass. He remembered that Jabir had a fascination with the beasts and wanted something called a Tyrannosaurus Rex for a pet.

“Dragon’s balls!” he whispered, his eyes growing wide. He quickly thumbed through the book until he reached the page that showed a T-Rex, as Ariel and Pearl called the beast. The massive dinosaur was standing over a nest filled with broken shells from at least a half dozen eggs. Under the creature, small miniature versions of herself were snapping at the dead beast hanging from her jaws. “Jabir has found Earth dinosaurs! These T-Rex dinosaurs will eat him!”

Asim looked down at the bag in his hand. He needed to get rid of them, but how? Jabir would be heartbroken and Pearl would kill him for breaking the little boy’s heart – not to mention he would also end up upsetting Lady Ariel.

He needed someone who could help him dispose of the eggs quickly and quietly. He could deny any knowledge – no, no, Pearl would know he was lying. He would just say he found them and gave them to one of the princes – but not Mandra.

Who else could he ask? He needed someone who could handle the mission. Someone no one would suspect. Asim glanced down when Ruby strutted over to him and pecked at his boot. A slow smile curved his lips. He knew the perfect accomplice to recruit.