Page 35 of Dragon Her Heels

After I tended to my animals, who were safely nestled in their accommodations for the evening, I would do my best to purify my skin from the mess dripping off me. The only lining in my storm clouds involved my track, as the wards I’d placed to protect the surface had held, redirecting the disaster to the pasture and the lawn.

Resurfacing the track would have cost me a significant chunk of change and the last vestiges of my sanity.

As some things could only be believed when photographed, I took out my phone, snapped a few shots of the exodus of frogs, and hoped Lucifer might convince the dragon to delay raising his castle until my new amphibian neighbors were settled in.

I texted him with the request along with several of the pictures.

Rather than text me back, he called.

I stared at the display, heaved a pained sigh over my misfortunes, and swiped my finger across the screen. A few more frogs plopped to the ground, manifesting a few inches in the air before my magic took over and guided them to the relative safety of Lake Hancock. “Good morning, Lucifer.”

“Frogs, Crystal?”

I shrugged. “I used a lot of magic yesterday setting up the habitats for my new chickens. Sometimes, things go sideways. Today, the universe has decided that Lake Hancock did not have sufficient frogs.”

“Well, you have disrupted the environment there substantially. The alligators can’t use your land for easy snacks, so they have to eat.”

“Nature can sort itself out in the lake and not on my property. They should be grateful each species has a nesting ground on my shore. In good news, my workings are holding, and the frogs are escorting themselves to the lake. They can figure out how to survive with the alligators.” I made a thoughtful sound, and careful not to step on any of my unexpected guests, I headed to the shoreline to see what was available for the amphibians. Fortunately for my sanity, there was a nice patch of land bordering my neighbor’s place that would work well enough, and I crouched, placed my hand on the damp soil, and concentrated.

Sometimes, all I needed to do to make my magic work involved concentration and intent. Rather than cooperate, I needed to close my eyes and weave the working together, focusing on the strands of energy infusing the landscape.

A glimmer caught my attention, and I finished overlaying the weave where I wanted the frogs to live before redirecting my senses to the unexpected source of color and light.

Deep within the lake, something stirred, something buried deep enough my cursory glances hadn’t detected it.

Rather than neat braids, coils, or woven patterns, a tangled knot of energy writhed, and the discordance of it irritated me enough I grumbled.

“What’s wrong?” the Devil asked.

“I’m guessing I detected the chaos castle under the lake. What sloppy work,” I complained. “It’s such a tangled mess!”

“Ah. That’s the former node. They tend to unravel when they lack purpose or a source of magic. That one was one of the first nodes, but without the dragon—and without a custodian—it has suffered. It’ll unravel itself soon enough. The new node will replace it, although it’s always a little sad when ancient things reach their ends.”

I frowned, and once confident I had a proper fix on the source of energy, I opened my eyes.

Sure enough, the tangled weave lurked deep beneath the lake, and the edge of it skirted the shore. “Why haven’t I spotted the other node, then?”

“That’s your influence. Its weave is so refined that it’s a part of everything, so you’ve filtered it out. Once I became aware of it, I sensed it in everything. I don’t have many failings, but that is one of them. I sometimes blind myself to what is right in front of me, so confident that I won’t discover something new. But yes, that’s a power of hedge witches. You can tangle and untangle the weaves of magic and even life—and you can even fuse the broken strands back together. The only thing you can’t do is raise the dead. Souls that have departed are beyond your reach. Now, I would be careful about how you decide to curse someone, because you are one of the ones who can bind souls to the mortal coil. You can’t return them to life, but you can keep them around, and that’s something best not done.”

I could make a guess as to why, and it involved the three devoured cities in Georgia. “I will try to avoid that.”

“Excellent. So, yes, you’re sensing the castle and the node beneath it. The castle will be a problem, especially if the node unravels before your dragon comes calling. He can still raise it from the depths, but he’ll be even crankier, as it’ll be a great deal more work.”

I closed my eyes again and considered the energy. “And what would happen if I attempted to correct the weave?”

“I don’t know. That is not a possibility I have considered or checked on. Of course, I last checked on the node before you were even born, so things may have changed since then. Mortals tend to make a mess of the future.”

That I could believe. “If this node survives, will the dragon be less insufferable?”

The Devil snickered. “Quite possibly, as it’ll be less work for him to restore the castle to rights. You’ll still have a guest for a while, but rather than an eyesore, the castle will rise from the depths as a sparkling beauty in the sunlight. It won’t be covered in lake sludge, algae, and an assortment of living and dead things draped over its edifices.”

Gross. Well, I knew what I’d be doing after I fed the animals and cleaned my property. “Can the emails Darlene sent wait until later in the afternoon?”

“It can, and I’ll let her know you’re playing with the dragon’s node. She’s a sentimental one, and she’s grown quite attached to nodes in general. For good reason, mind you, but should she find out there’s a dying node there, she will become quite angsty, and neither one of us needs that. I’d like to have intact flesh by the end of the day. Fortunately for both of us, I tamed the beast last night. She’s still in bed. As such, she doesn’t learn about this, at least not from me. You can investigate as you see fit.”

Lucky her. “All right. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do about this node after I feed the animals, herd the frogs, and clean the mess up. Then I’ll work with Alligator Bait, see about conditioning her for racing, and plan my schedule. I’m accepting those pictures you promised as payment for dealing with this node.”

“That’s cheap,” the Devil replied.

“If fixing this node means my other employer is less of a pain in the ass, I’d be doing it on the house. However, I want those pictures, so I’m forcing you to give them to me.”

I planned to enjoy my visual buffet at dinner.

“That’s a little better on the selfish front, but only a little. Do be careful. Nodes can be persnickety, and this one is even older than I, and there aren’t many things left of such age.”

I could only imagine. “You’re looking great for a relic,” I informed him.

Lucifer laughed. “Thank you. Immortality does have some perks, and that’s one of them. Having the best wife in all the universe is my favorite one, though.”

To spare the Devil from another mauling from his wife, I smiled and said, “Tell Darlene I said hi. I’m going to get to work. If I have any problems, I’ll text you with a request to come deal with my landscaping issue.”

“I shall decide upon an excellent reward for your mercy.” He hung up, and I laughed over his refusal to thank me. Then again, I didn’t need the words.

The Devil showed his gratitude, which had far more weight and value than words ever could.

While shaking my head over the odd turn my life had taken, I got to work, hoping I could keep the chaos to manageable levels.