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I leaned into the living room to tell Dimitri I’d be busy for long enough to scrub off a dragon aura but found him snoring on the couch already. It didn’t look that comfortable. Someone had thrown the cushions across the room, and he hadn’t bothered to retrievethem.
The bathroom was the least destroyed room in the apartment, so I found my soap bottles—I took all three containers and both kinds of shampoo into the shower with me—and my back scrubber and loofah. The hot water felt amazing after the long day, and I put together a mental to-do list while I thoroughly washedeverything.
I would start out studying a map and scribbling down ideas for places to look for entrances to the Underground. I would scour the internet too. In a city this populous,someonehad to have stumbled across the dark elves’ doorways before—and lived to tellabout.
As I was re-braiding my hair and putting on clean clothing, a growl emanated from thebedroom.
“Sindari?” I grabbed Fezzik—yes, I’d brought my weapons into the bathroom, and no, that wasn’t weird. I also hadn’t opted for pajamas, since, with the government car in the garage, I might have to flee out the balcony door at anymoment.
I sense trouble,he informedme.
Heading ourway?
Yes.
No… No more trouble. It’s after 4 am. Trouble isn’t supposed to visit after midnight or before dawn. Those are discourteous hours forvisitors.
It’s thedragon.
My first instinct was to be pissed and affronted—what was he doing in my state and in my neighborhood like a creepy scaled stalker?—but then I remembered my new task. His blood. I needed it. And I was going to getit.
I strapped on my belt and jammed Fezzik in the thigh holster, then slung Chopper’s scabbard across my back. As soon as I shoved my feet back into my boots, I grabbed the vampire’s samplekit.
I assume he’s on his way here? There’s no way he’s coincidentally flying through the same place as me for a thirdtime.
Even as I finished the thought, I sensed his big powerful dragon aura. The aura I’d so assiduously scrubbed off. If he gave me a vial of his blood, I’d forgive him for oozing it all over me again.Maybe.
He’s landing on the roof.Sindari rolled to hisfeet.
Mongrel human,a telepathic voice that was nothing like Sindari’s boomed in my head like a wrecking ball slamming into a gong.Come to me. I will speak withyou.
“Is that arrogant blowhardkidding?”
Sindari gazed blandly at me. Dimitri snored from the living room, his head half hanging off thecouch.
He won’t fit through the balcony door,Sindari remarked.He squashed two patio chairs when helanded.
So you’re saying he has a bigass?
All of him is big. You may want to go up there. If you hope to ask him for a favor, you won’t want to irritate him.Further.
Can’t I just find a soft spot on his hide and stab him with a syringe when he’s notlooking?
Dragons don’t have softspots.
That figures.I slipped out the door onto the balcony and climbed onto the railing so I could grab the gutter and pull my chin over the edge of theroof.
A pair of large violet eyes glowed at me from the darkness. It took my own eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness and pick out his black scaled form from the rest of the roof. Hewasbig. Seeing him in the wilderness hadn’t prepared me for how large he would be on the rooftop of my apartmentbuilding.
Come up here,mongrel.
My hands and forearms already ached from holding my bodyweight from my fingers. I wasn’t sure I could pull myself up again after my earlier climbingfeat.
“It’s Val, and humans don’t clamber around on rooftops.” Never mind that I’d done so a half hour ago. “If you want to talk to me, change into something small enough to fit through my door, and come visit me like a civilizedperson.”
I dropped back down to the balcony, less to be contrary and more because my fingers were crampingup.
Remember how we discussed not irritating him?Sindari asked as I walked back inside, leaving the dooropen.
