“It helps,” he said, carefully. “I’m still not wild about this, but what’s done is done. Shall we order?”

He picked up the menu and started to peruse it.

“I think you’ll find the cuisine here a pleasant change from your normal fare,” Flynn said with a smile.

“We’ll see,” George returned. “Remember, I’m fresh from spending several months in New Orleans. They have one or two good restaurants there . . . and some of the best service I’ve ever encountered.”

The two men carefully stuck to minor cocktail-party chitchat until after the meal had been consumed and the dishes cleared away.

“So,” Flynn began, sipping at his coffee, “shall we get down to your debriefing? I’m very interested in hearing your observations firsthand.”

“Well, I assume you’ve already read my report,” George said.

“Yes, but take it from the top as if I hadn’t,” Flynn answered. “I want it fresh from your own memories.”

George took a moment to collect his thoughts, then began.

“Griffen McCandles and his sister, Valerie, are the orphaned offspring of two half-blood dragon parents. He is just coming to the age when his secondary powers, if any, should emerge. You hired me to track McCandles and test him to see if he would be any kind of a threat to you.

“I found him shortly after his uncle Malcolm informed him of his heritage. Apparently both he and his sister had been kept in the dark about even the existence of dragons until that point. His immediate reaction was to go to his sister, both to pass the information on to her and to seek her counsel.

“At that time, they were approached and offered refuge in New Orleans by Mose and his gambling cabal. It’s common knowledge in that area now that Griffen is being groomed to take control of Mose’s operation.

“Over the period of a couple of months, I both watched Griffen’s development and arranged a few minor tests of my own. He is a fast learner . . . disturbingly fast.