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And that frustrated me like nothing else.
The terrain in the woods was bumpy, but the truck could take it for now. We would have to leave the truck behind and trek to the mountain on foot.
I wasn’t eager for that.
14
SHANE
With Evelyn’s guidance,we easily found the dragon.
First, we actually found a farm that had been burned beyond recognition. I stopped there because Evelyn sensed an enormous amount of dragon magic around the field.
The police and firefighters swarmed the place, asking the farm owner what had happened, but the man shook his head and didn’t answer. I grabbed one of the closed water bottles from our Jeep and took it to the man.
“He needs a break, gentleman,” I said to the two police officers questioning him.
The two officers glanced at the water, then at me. “Let’s talk to the son,” one grumbled.
They walked off and I offered the water bottle to the farm owner. “Here you go.”
The man took the bottle from me. “Thank you.”
I crossed my arms. “Funny, right, how the field was burned so completely, and yet there’s no fire anymore. It seems almost like … magic.”
The man’s eyes rounded. “N-no. There’s no such th—“
“It was a dragon, wasn’t it?” I could see it in his eyes. He knew it; he was afraid of confessing. Everyone else would think he was crazy. “I wonder, though, how the fire was extinguished. It wouldn’t just simply go out. Someone really powerful must have used a spell to contain the fire.”
The man’s eyes darted side to side. “It … there was a group here. Two men, and two women. The women did something … I can’t explain. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“They used magic.” I bit the inside of my cheek. That was unusual. The demons working for Paimon wouldn’t stop to extinguish the fire. They would gather the information they needed, and they would probably add firewood to the fire, if they had time for that.
The man nodded. “But … they told me to not tell anyone.”
“Don’t worry. I also want the world of dragons and magic to stay hidden.” I paused for effect. “The people who were just here, they are my friends. Can you tell me where they went?”
The man gestured to the woods behind the farm—and the mountain beyond it. “That way.”
I patted his shoulder. “Thank you. And I’m sorry for your farm.”
The man sighed and drank from the water.
I walked back to the Jeep, where Ariella, Evelyn, and Ash waited for me. “He said the dragon andmy friendswent that way.” I pointed to the mountain.
“Of course,” Evelyn said with a nod. “Dragons like mountains.”
I turned on the engine and glanced at my real friends. “We need to get ready. We’ll be walking into a battle.”
“With demons and a dragon,” Ariella said.
I clicked my tongue. “With demons and a dragon.”
* * *
I drove into the woods,the Jeep taking the rough terrain pretty well. Halfway to the mountain, we had to abandon the Jeep because the trees were too close together, and the trenches carved by erosion too deep.
We armed ourselves with our bags, checked our shoes, and started the trek to the mountain.
