Thousand: Seven Hundred Twenty-Six

tucked in a fold of your robe.” The girl searches her person and finds the dates. She tears the paper and pops one of the dates into her mouth. She takes another and drops it into the dragon’s mouth, which, helpfully, is wide open. “Smell them?” the girl says. “You didn’t even know you had them.” “There’s a lot I don’t even know, I figure.” “And that, my friend, would be why we aren’t peers. Not quite yet. You’re a pretty good amateur. Or you’re lucky. Although, without luck, you don’t get far in this game. Most of it is