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Ronnie pressed her lips together, the crease between her brows deepening as she nodded. “I’m afraid so. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the head of the library organization is making cuts, and we’re on the list.”
“But why?” Dewey cried. “We just found the Mirror of Duplication.”
Ronnie nodded at him again. “I know. I know that. Apparently, the folks in DC are a little miffed about the current course of events. They exerted their considerable influence and managed to get us on the list, saying you two are amateurs and the mirror was pure luck. They also pointed out that you, Paige, landed on a site called…” Ronnie shuffled through her papers and tapped her notepad. “SmartMart People?”
Her questioning tone suggested her lack of knowledge about the website and its purpose.
Both Paige and Dewey rolled their eyes.
“You’re kidding me,” Paige said. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous or not, they used it. And now we’re in some hot water. So whatever you do, don’t screw it up.”
“Copy that,” Paige said. “We’ll get it.”
“Good enough,” Ronnie answered. “Keep me informed. And for heaven’s sake, don’t get caught.”
“We’re all over it, Ronnie,” Dewey said before signing off.
Paige flopped back into the cushions. “Well, that’s just perfect. I become the librarian, and I’ll be out of a job before I’ve even got a month in.”
“Not if I can help it,” Dewey said as he flitted back to his love seat and plopped onto it.
“I get what you’re saying, but there’s only so much we can do. Well, there’s only so much I can do. I’m a bumbling mess. I’ve managed to get scratched by a beast, nearly die from the infection, turn into a blob, conjure a lion, turn purple–“
“I don’t care,” Dewey interrupted. “We have to get this wand.”
“I know, I know. As if the entire existence of the world isn’t enough, now it’s also our jobs on the line.”
“I need this job,” Dewey said.
“So do I! You know, for things like food and a place to live.”
“I can’t go back to my parents and live on disability for the rest of my life,” Dewey said, staring into space and balling his paws into fists. “I won’t do it.”
Paige crinkled her nose as she kicked her feet up onto the couch. “Dragons can get disability?”
“Yeah, I qualify because of my stature. We get–“ Dewey stopped and shook his head. “No! I won’t do it no matter what I get.”
“All right,” Paige said as she adjusted the blanket over her legs again. “Then no matter what, we gotta come out of this with the wand and the crystal.”
“Right.”
“Okay, I’m going to get some sleep before we land. Then we’ll hit the ground running.”
Dewey set the RP aside on the coffee table before he stretched out and pulled a blanket over him, yawning. “Me too. Good night, Paige.”
* * *
Paige awoke with a start, sweat beading on her brow. Her chest heaved as she sucked in breaths, and her heart pounded hard in her chest.
She glanced around the cabin as she tried to calm down from the frightening dream she’d experienced. While chased by mummies and the excavation dig members, she and Dewey had snaked through the tomb, trying to find a place to hide. They’d stumbled upon a hidden passage and blindly followed it until the floor dropped out from under them, sending them plummeting to their doom.
Paige tossed the blanket off her legs and swung them onto the floor. She tugged her shoes on before sinking her head into her hands and blowing out a long breath. Across the space, Dewey still slept on his back, one arm flung over his head and the tips of his wings fluttering as he quietly snored.
He gulped in a breath, snorting and flicking his purple tongue, before his eyes fluttered open.
He yawned as he blinked and stretched. “Are we there?”
