His voice was surprisingly soft, but hostile. He was obviously trying for a reaction, and Griffen didn’t care to give it to him that easily.

When the other man spoke, he had an earthy, mellow self-confidence. He offered his hand to Griffen instead of simply taking it as the other one had. They shook, and the grip was comfortable and unforced.

“Mr. McCandles,” he said, “or may I call you Griffen? This is Stewart Waters. And I’m Flynn.”

“Earl, actually,” Waters said, his smile making it clear he was aware the correction would irritate Flynn.

“Only if I have to sign checks; otherwise, Flynn suffices.”

“You a ball fan, McCandles? ’Course not, otherwise you’d be askin’ for my autograph already,” Waters said.

Griffen tried to remember where he had heard the name. A player? Semipro or pro? Second-string somewhere probably . . .

“Mostly I just follow college,” Griffen said, politeness waning quickly. “Once players start worrying about the paycheck, they start to get dull.”

“Dull! Why, you little twig . . .”

Griffen blinked once. “I’m sorry, I thought you were a dragon. Do you really think I need to show my muscles?”

Flynn’s smile widened at the corners, and his eyes seemed to catch the light as they gleamed. Griffen hadn’t seen admiration often in another dragon’s eyes. Apparently the speed of the response, as well as its phrasing, impressed Flynn. Waters simply stared blankly, trying to figure it out.

“You’ll have to excuse Waters. Low blood, but lower intelligence. It was just what we were discussing,” Flynn said.

“This parasite says I have to retire next year, when I haven’t even gotten started. Do I look like I can’t play anymore?” Waters asked.

“No, you look perfectly fit,” Griffen answered.

“And that is just the problem. You haven’t aged. You’ve got just enough blood in you that you could keep knocking heads into your sixties, and every sports commentator in the country will be screaming about steroids and drugs and by that time, probably, cloning. You can’t keep playing a game for twenty- and thirty-year-olds without gaining the wrong type of notoriety,” Flynn said.