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Dewey’s muscles stiffened, and his eyes widened. His jaw tightened as his paws curled into fists. “Thorn!”
“Hello, Dewey,” the German Shepherd-sized dragon purred in a British accent.
“You know each other?” Paige asked.
Thorn lifted a front paw, revealing his razor-sharp claws. “Of course.”
Dewey’s nose wrinkled as he stared at him with disdain. “We went to school together. But only one of us learned to serve the greater good.”
“One of us couldn’t handle being bad. We were too…little.” He offered a derisive chuckle, hiding his massive fangs with his tealish-purple foot.
Dewey jabbed a claw toward the larger dragon. “I’m perfectly capable of making a contribution.” He raised his chin. “I’m a librarian!”
“A librarian?” Thorn said, his voice mocking. “Oh, how interesting. I’m certain you have loads of fun cataloging. And I imagine the library is committed to being handicapped accessible.”
“I’m not handicapped,” Dewey shouted. “I’m vertically challenged!”
“Right,” Thorn said, his tail swishing.
Paige’s eyes flicked back and forth as she watched the exchange. She pressed her palms against her sweaty head. “Wait. I’m confused. Are you working for the pixies?”
Thorn offered a hearty laugh, stalking across the chamber. “Certainly not.”
“So, why are you here?”
“For the wand, of course. Oh, I may have promised the wand to the little creatures in return for the information they had about the location, but I have no intention of giving it to them.”
Paige studied the dragon. “Do you have the wand?”
“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
“I don’t think so, buster,” Paige growled at him, stamping a foot on the ground and curling her hands into fists.
Thorn ceased his pacing, staring at Paige before he snapped his eyes to Dewey. “Is she serious?”
“Real smooth, Paige. Try to keep it together, huh?” Dewey whispered.
“I’m trying my best here, but I don’t understand why he’s just pacing around the chamber. Where is the stupid wand?”
A woman emerged from an opening two-thirds of the way up the far wall. She stood for a moment, her leg thrust out to one side, her hands on her hips, before she leapt from the hole, slid down the wall, and landed in a crouch on the floor.
She rose to stand, dusting off her hands on her ultra-short khaki shorts.
“Drucinda,” Dewey grumbled.
“Who?” Paige said, shaking her head as the woman whipped her long, dark hair up into a sleek ponytail.
She set her dark eyes on Paige as her perfectly shaped lips curled at the edges into a devilish smile.
“Drucinda Sharpe, darling,” she said in a rich, smooth tone. She swiped a finger across her flawless complexion. “Perhaps you’ve heard of me?”
“Uh, sorry,” Paige said, drawing her chin back to her chest as she shoved her glasses farther up her nose, slick with sweat.
For the first time since the woman appeared, Paige noticed she didn’t appear to be sweating.
“Well, you will have. After I rule the world with this.” Her dark, perfectly shaped eyebrow arched high as she pulled the wand from within her form-fitting tank top.
She leaned a hand against Thorn’s back as she waved the tan stone wand in the air.
