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“Be careful,mate,” I say with a little nod, letting him know I won’t hate him for doing what needs to be done.
And like that was the push he needed, all of that wariness dissipates and he pulls up to his full height. The mask of a hardened warrior slips into place, but there’s a touch of a smile on his face when he says, “I’ll be back before you know it, Daisy.”
* * *
Orcus is not backbefore I know it. In fact, it’s been four days. The food Zyla sent is gone. The water pitcher is empty. Prometheus is pacing alongside me. We’re both hungry. I’m tired of pooping in the strange bathroom. The cave itself is far too big for a human and her baby dragon. The giant table, bed, bath, kitchen, fire, none of it makes sense without him. Orcus should be here.
Anxiety ripples through me. I search for the bond, trying to send a signal to him, but I get nothing in return. He said he’d be back, and while I hardly know him, I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t abandon me. Something is wrong. I don’t know how I know it, but I do.
“All right, Prometheus. We’re going to find the castle… do ogres have castles with spires and turrets?”
Prometheus blinks.Castel.
“Castle, sweet baby. Castle. Either way, we’re going to find it.”
Grumpy.The dragon’s golden eyes narrow.
I laugh. “Yes. And the grumpy ogre. Are you ready for an adventure?”
A tiny blast of fire signals yes. Heart in my throat, I quickly pack a few changes of clothes, grabbing the dagger that Orcus had left behind and pulling on my new sandals. They’re not practical for a big journey, but it is what it is at this point. I douse the fire, not that it could burn the stone fortress down, and click my tongue at Prometheus.
I take a few steps and glance at the dragon. It’s sitting on its butt. I click again. “Come on.”
Mama.
“I know, but I can’t find the dragon nest without Orcus. Grumpy first, then mama. Okay?”
Mama.
I nod. “Orcus, then mama. Come on, sweet thing.”
Slowly, grudgingly, the baby gets on all fours and pads forward. There are traces of apprehension pulling at its features. I get it. I’m not exactly the first person I’d pick to go with on a dangerous adventure and as a general rule, I love myself.
“It’ll be okay.” I give a big grin and point at my face. “See this? This is a secret weapon. Everything will be fine.” Tugging on the pack, I secure it on my back.
The dragon chirps and it sounds strikingly similar toyeah, right. Shaking off the doubt from my littlest companion, I steel myself for the journey.
What’s the worst that could happen?
TWENTY-TWO
Forrest doesn’t have shit on me
DAISY
“Oh, shit! Run, Prometheus, run!” I scream and drop to my stomach as a cyclops aims the log it’s using as a bat at my head. My heart pounds so hard my ribs hurt and my bladder threatens to give out.
The ugly, no seriously, really freaking ugly, monster garbles something I don’t understand but I’m too busy rolling around, dodging the wood that slams into the ground like a mallet chasing moles at an arcade. I hit the edge of a short cliff and barrel roll down it with a scream.
Prometheus screeches.
I land on my back and the pack of clothes deflates with a soft puff. The few bushes that run up the mountain side do nothing to cushion the fall. Small, sharp rocks dig into my arms and palms as I scramble to get ahold of something. Anything. The incline suddenly levels out and I land on my stomach and the air whooshes out of my lungs. There are angry dragon sounds coming from the top of the ridge.
I glance up the twenty or so feet I fell and spy a tiny dragon bouncing around and growling like an angry chihuahua. “Go, Prometheus!” I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’m not about to be the reason a baby is smashed to death.
The ground shakes as the cyclops lumbers after me. I scramble to my knees and glance over my shoulder. The thing is practically leaping down the mountain. Is it the same one Orcus saved me from? Its head is smashed in on one side, and I’m pretty sure he wants to bludgeon me to death.
“My mountain!” it shouts.
