AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stared at Tom for a moment. He wasn't as out of it as I'd thought. Maybe being near Titania acted like a drug in his bloodstream. "Did you see what they looked like? Do you know how many were out there?"
Tom scrunched his lower lip, thinking. After a moment he said, "I think there were three of them. Two men and a woman."
Two men and a woman. I looked over at Morio. "Has to be Bad Ass Luke, the Psycho Babbler, and Wisteria. Once the harpy died, they must have recruited Wisteria for more than helping them slip through the portal. I'll bet they threatened to kill her if she didn't do what they wanted."
Morio concurred. "You're probably right." He turned to Tom. "They were outside your house?"
"Yep," Tom said, shaking his head. "I was out in the woods fishing for breakfast. The trout run real good in a stream that I found. When I was coming back with my catch, I heard something in the driveway. I snuck up along the trail first to see who it was. I don't like strangers. I saw three people near my place. It was still too dark to get a good look at them, and I didn't stick around 'cause they felt nasty," he said, almost apologetically.
I sighed. Obviously, the demons had come looking for him. We were lucky that Tom had been foraging for his breakfast. Otherwise, they'd have the spirit seal and be on their way back to the Subterranean Realms. But where were they now? They'd left Wisteria in the house, but what about Bad Ass Luke and the Psycho Babbler? Would we be able to smuggle Tom back to the city before they tried to snatch him from us? I bit my lip, trying to decide what to do next.
Morio peeked out of the cave. "Smoky's still out there," he said.
I glanced at the dragon. "I wonder… Titania gave us an emblem to pass as friends. I wonder if that might be enough to convince him to guard us while we hustle Tom back to the car?"
"Can't hurt to try. Or rather, we don't have a choice, so we might as well ask him." Morio turned to Tom. "Are you afraid of that dragon out there?"
Tom shook his head. "Nope. He's a good sort, for a dragon. I always come out here and have a chat with him when I'm lonely. He threatens to eat me a lot, but since I belong to Titania, he won't do it."
"Well, we can't just stay here all day," I said. "You two wait while I go have a talk with Mr. Fire-breath." I stepped out of the cave and whistled to Smoky. "Hey you, dragon!"
He swiveled his head to stare down at me. "Where's the pest?"
"Inside the cave." I held up the emblem. "Titania said to show you this."
That had an effect. Smoky blinked and reared back. "She gave you her pass? Well then, little Witchling, you must be special indeed. Go on your way, and I won't make you my dinner."
All the talk about dinners and desserts was beginning to annoy me. "Listen, Smoky—"
"What did you call me?" He leaned in, and I found myself staring into a giant eyeball that looked like a wall of ice. "Little witch, don't be too forward."
"I don't know your name, so I have to call you something other than 'hey you' or 'dragon,' don't I? So I'm calling you Smoky as long as you refuse to give us your name." I sighed. This was getting us nowhere, or worse—could be netting us an invitation to dinner.
But he laughed. "Too bad you can't stay awhile and play."
"Listen, we could really use your help," I said. "You could do wonders for us if you'd be willing to give us a hand."
"So now you need my help, do you?" He blinked; the gust from his eyelids actually ruffled my hair. "What do you want?"
I cleared my throat. "We have Tom, and we're taking him with us. We need an escort to his house. There are demons prowling the woods, Smoky, and they're bent on capturing Tom. They're not exactly planning a picnic for him, either. If they take him away from us, the whole world's going to suffer."
Sure, dragons could be downright mean, and they often snatched up passersby for a snack, but they weren't evil in the way that demons were evil. And lucky for us, they usually didn't like Demonkin. I'd studied my dragon lore in school.
Smoky frowned—not an easy task for a dragon—and after a pause that seemed to last forever, said, "Demons, is it? They're bloody well unwelcome in my woodland. Come on, I'll guard you on the way back to the house."
I whistled for Morio and Tom as the dragon drew back. A brilliant flash of light blinded me, and when it dissipated and I could see again, a tall man in a long white cloak was standing next to me. He had flowing silver hair that reached his ankles, and his skin might have been made of alabaster. But his eyes were those same twin glacial pools that had stared me down. I'd heard that dragons could take human form—at least the older ones—but had never known whether it was true or not. I guess this answered my question.
Morio's eyes went wide as he looked up at the lean giant. "You are—"
The man gave us a thin smile. "Smoky, apparently. Come then, let's get you back to Tom's house before I get bored."
We traipsed through the woodland with Smoky in the lead. I hung back a little, studying the creature-turned-human. He was handsome, though stern, but there was far more to his aura than to his looks. That ancient dragon energy imbued him with a regal stance. While he might eat me up in dragon form, he would never be rude or crude as a human. He might take what or who he desired without a second thought, but he would do so with courtesy.
"You find me perplexing?" he said without turning around.
I blushed. Somehow he'd sensed my fascination. "Just… different," I said, stumbling over my words. All my charm, poise, and experience seemed to have just flown the coop. Out with the bathwater, just like the baby.
Morio stared at him openly. "So tell me, if a human were to stumble on you in the woods, and you knew they were coming, what would they find?"
