by Sam Hall
“In a lot of ways, Ash is better at things than me,” I said.
“Not in this! Silly girl, thinking that she can stand over me and get what she wants. I find tall people quite repulsive myself.”
“Oh yes, and those big grotesque faces with the lubba lubba lips,” Horni said, affecting an exaggerated pout. “Makes us appreciate the dainty lasses when we get home, right, Master?”
They are trying to use insults as a bargaining tool, Miazydar said.
My hand went to my own lips without a thought and when the two of them watched me with slitted eyes and amused smiles, I forced it down into my lap. Dude, I’m getting negged by a couple of gnomes. “Well, I’m here now, so let’s try and sort out this deal. Now, we both know that a featherweight of gold is a ridiculous price.” The men harrumphed at this. “I looked over the sale prices of cockatrice feet for the last three years and you’re not getting anywhere near that domestically.”
“Well, that’s because there was a temporary dip in the market when those Alusians started flooding it!” said Lanwin.
“And this is not a domestic market!” said Horni.
“In a way, it is. I understand charging a rate like that to Refrad and Griador. You have to transport them by horse, ship--.”
“We do indeed. Damned difficult to preserve the bloody things shipboard. Cockatrice are desert creatures, so their skin absorbs moisture like a sponge. Took us quite some time to find a desiccant that would keep them in good condition,” Lanwin said.
“Another reason why Lanwin and Sons are the premier supplier and wholesaler of cockatrice related goods,” Horni said.
Horni, you little bootlick, I thought to myself.
“That is, indeed, quite the innovation. I can see why this puts you ahead of the pack, but the thing is, gentlemen, you do not need to ship your goods any further than two streets from your main warehouse. My grandmother deliberately placed the portal entrance as close to the central business district as she could, something she managed to wrangle from the Grand Gerent at considerable cost, along with this agreement with your father, I believe.”
The blustery act was dropped as both men leaned forward to look at the piece of parchment I held. Lanwin plucked a pair of specs out of his pocket and popped them on. They read the tiny text with rapt attention. I’d found a bunch of Nan’s business documentation locked in a cupboard when we’d redone the storeroom, turning it into a meeting space. We really need to find Merlin again, see if he could set us up with another couple of those endless storerooms he’d made for the books. I looked away from the gnomes and their reading, rubbing at my chest when a sudden ache flared there.
“Yes, well, of course, Lanwin and Sons will honour this agreement between your family and mine. So, Miss McKinnon, how many can we put you down for?”
“How’d you go?” Ash asked after the men had left. Her eyes widened when she saw the mess on the platter. “Those little pigs! Where’d they fit all that food?”
“No idea,” I said, replating the leftovers into a container. “Least there’s no cleanup. They eat them head and all.”
“Dude!”
“Yep, and I have the deal. Nan had an agreement in place with his father and they’re going to honour it. Half a featherweight of gold per equivalent in feet.”
“Half! God, girl, what did you promise them? Your first-born child?”
“Didn’t have to. I checked with the office of Grand Gerent and the agreement was still valid. It was either roll over or be taken through the courts. How we would have navigated the intricacies of Mirenese Law, I have no idea. And it’s goblins who do deals on first-born children, not gnomes.”
“What’s the difference? They’re all little and ugly looking.” I just stared at her. “What? I didn’t spend my days pouring over Dungeons and Dragons manuals, did I?”
“You might have if you’d known it would be crucial to our future financial success. Now, I’ve created a database of the customers who’ve enquired about cockatrice feet,” I said, opening the company laptop and clicking through to the desktop. The spreadsheet popped up on the screen and I scrolled up. “The requests aren’t listed by date but by the likelihood of still needing them. These are all people from planets where feet aren’t readily available. They may have been able to source them from somewhere, but it’s not likely. The ones down at the bottom are from places like Mireen or Aluse where it's probable they’ve gotten them locally.”
Ash leant over to peer at the screen. “When did you have time to do this?”
“Well, the re-enactment society doesn’t have much going on until winter, so I’ve had a bit of spare.”
“What about cosplay? There’s that big Con coming up in a few months, isn’t there.”
“I, I haven’t really done a lot of that since…y’know.”
“Since you found Kenny boy doing the do in your costumes? C’mon Tess, you’re not going to let something like that stop you, are you?”
“It’s not that.” I looked over at Miazydar who was laying down near the counter. “It just kind of feels… I want to say a waste of time, but that’s not quite right. I was a dragon rider, Ash, for a moment. It wasn’t dress-up, I wasn’t playing pretend, I was one.”
You still are one.
“OK, well, you know you’re welcome to hang out with us. Come to this party, have a laugh.” A cold wave swept through me. I tried to mask it, keep my gaze steady, waiting for a moment to make sure my voice wouldn’t waver before opening my mouth and — “Don’t say no, please, Tess. It would be good for you to get out, see some people. Well, other than those guys. Maybe that’s what I need to do, read a book about lots of close, geeky friends.”
“I have friends,” I said with a frown. “It’s just, how do I talk to them about what’s happened here? What happened through the portal? I have nothing I can share with them, which doesn’t make for a very interesting friendship.”
“Do you need to have interesting things to say? Shouldn’t they just like you for you?”
It was OK for her to say. She didn’t have people meet her, expecting her to be a carbon copy of me. She didn’t see the fallen faces and the polite edging away when it turned out I was not just a younger version of her. Ash was always brash and didn’t give a shit, so people liked her more. I found myself asking question after question, listening to hours of answers I wasn’t even interested in hearing, because I was too afraid the attention would swing to me.
That was part of the agony of hanging out with the guys Ash thought was such a laugh to foist on me. I looked over to where the harem worked under Jez’s eagle eye. Ash didn’t realise how many nights I’d sat up, poring over books with characters just like them, experiencing lust and love as if I was the MC, falling in love with the male lead as if he was a real guy. I kept these guys, all the guys that had turned up in my bedroom due to the curse, at a distance for a reason. Ash was half sure Gabe had turned up due to Nan’s spell, but I wasn’t so certain. He would be a lot more douchey if he was a real biker romantic lead.
I let my eyes run over the back of the blond-haired guy as he reached into the shelves and pulled out item after item, noting each down on the stocktake sheet. What was his name? Caden? Brayden? His cocky smile had set my heart aflutter and what he had been doing with his hands… How was I supposed to cope when he vanished at 4 am? Better they stick with Jez, I thought as she lay in the chair sucking a lollipop.
You always have me, Miazydar said.
Of course, my love. I don’t like to mention that to Ash though. She feels it, the loss of her bond with you.
So you say. It’s a strange thing; I don’t remember bonding to her, only you.
Yeah, but you remember things that didn’t happen. I was never there for your hatching. We were never bonded.
Well, however it happened, we are now.
“So, you’ll come?” Ash said.
I forced that ever-present smile I had become so good at mimicking up on my face. “Yeah, o
f course.”
Which is how, later that night, I ended up walking through the doorway of what looked like the shed from hell.
What is this place? Miazydar said, flinching away from a woman who ran outside screaming with laughter while a guy in big, heavy work boots and overalls chased after her. Please tell me this is not what humans do for amusement.
Not this human, I replied.
And we are here why?
Dragons don’t have inescapable social rituals they have to suffer through in your world? I said.
In my natural form, I’m so big that few try to coerce me to do anything. We dragons don’t spend a lot of time around each other naturally, it’s something we tolerate for the sake of our riders. But Aravisans know that to try and force lengthy social interactions is a mistake.
I frowned as we walked in, feeling the pang I felt most days since he’d come through the portal with me. He was forced into a form he didn’t like, made to pretend to be a dumb animal when he was anything but. I stopped, letting Ash and Jez go on ahead. I dropped down to his level, looking into those deep brown eyes. We could go home if you like. I feel like I’m always forcing you to do these things.
Not forcing; where you go, I go. We are bonded, we are the same heart.
Yes.
So there is never any forcing, we both just have to live with the circumstances we find ourselves in. Now, are we going towards the awful noise, or away from it?
Towards, I think.
Of course we are.
5
“Tess, I’m glad I could catch you.” I looked up to see Connor (or was it Owen?) had strolled up. I was sticking with Sparkle Eyes, at least mentally, until they disappeared into the night. He held out a hand to help me to my feet, then drew me in close.
“You could have caught me at any point today,” I said, trying to pull back but was stopped by the rigid band of his arm.
“Babe, we’ve been working that friend of yours up all damn day to impress you, but she’s nothing but the entrée and we want the main meal.” I froze as those eyes did indeed sparkle as his head dropped down, his lips slowly moving closer and closer to mine.
Therese? M said, an answering growl coming from his throat.
“Look, Owen…”
“Connor.”
“Right, Connor. This,” I pointed to each of us in turn, “isn’t going to happen.”
“What? But babe, we’ve —.”
“Done an amazing job, I know and I really, really appreciate it. Like so much. But I’m not ready for anything physical right now.”
“Babe,” his voice was a masculine purr, “you were so wet this morning, you were glistening.”
“No—.”
“Yes, babe. Crowe, he could smell the desire coming off you in waves. You’re ours and we’re yours, ready, willing and happy to spend the rest of our lives making your every fantasy come true.”
“But!”
His lips descended, settling for coasting over my neck and shoulders when I jerked my face out of reach. “You’ve just gotta let us in, babe. We can make it so good for you.”
Therese? Therese! Miazydar began to bark loudly at the guy, but his hands were everywhere at once. He didn’t need to form part of a harem, his hands somehow doing double duty, pulling me closer but sliding up the back of my shirt. Tangling in my hair, yanking me against his groin, teeth against my skin. My heart started to pound. I pushed him away, but he seemed to be supernaturally strong, grabbing me around the wrists and holding me still when I tried to resist. His body pushed harder against me the worse I struggled.
Therese! I’m going to—.
My dragon-dog didn’t get a chance to follow through on his threat. Suddenly, all bets were off. I didn’t wonder why this was happening or how to get out of it, how to get him to leave me alone and keep me safe. How to politely, nicely, civilly ask if he would just stop. For a second, one glorious second, I was that girl in Sable’s tattoo, the girl who slashed open the Crown Prince of Damorica. I brought my head back and smashed it into Connor’s nose.
“Tess?” Suddenly I was free. Dizzy, staggering, not sure what the fuck was going on, but free.
Well done, little warrior.
I shook my head, trying to stop the spinning, the world righting itself. My equilibrium gained back with a snap. I opened my eyes to see Flea standing over me, looking worried. “What the hell happened?”
“None of your business, mate,” Connor said. His grand statement was somewhat diminished by the fact blood was streaming down his face and his voice sounded all nasal and weird. “She is my love, my beloved.”
“Love? Fuck off, mate. I’ve known this girl for a lot longer than you have and she wouldn’t fall for a dickhead like you,” Flea said.
“Yeah, well, this dickhead was in her bed this morning,” Connor said.
“And? Doesn’t give you the right to grope her now, does it?”
“She wants me, all of us.” He looked over his shoulder and sure enough, the rest of Team Bro was there. “She was so wet when we were running our hands over her body—”
“And y’see, that’s when I get angry,” I said, moving into Connor’s space this time and poking my finger in his face. “Vaginal lubrication is a largely involuntary reaction. It is not a window into my brain, it is not a Magic 8-Sex Ball that will help you predict the likelihood of any sexual encounters. Some women are hugely turned on and not wet at all. That’s why lube exists. Shit, things like where you are in your cycle and menopause can affect it. You can’t. Assume. Consent. Based on an observable bodily phenomenon,” I said, grinding my finger into the man’s chest to punctuate my points. “You have to ask. And let me say to you, no, no, no, no. Not your bros, not one on one, not in any kinky combination you can come up with. Not even with someone else’s vagina. Just no.”
“Think the lady has made herself clear, mate. You and your buddies can piss right off,” Flea said. Miazydar stalked after the lot of them as they walked off, sending me sulky looks over their shoulders as they disappeared into the night.
“That was impressive,” Flea said, trying for a grin. “How are you feeling?”
I looked around and noticed the curious and concerned looks coming from inside Gabe’s shed. “Embarrassed, dizzy. Actually, really dizzy.”
“Come and sit in my car for a sec, lemme see if you’re OK.” While I was definitely a little woozy, I managed to be very aware of the arm slung across my shoulders, steering me along. “Your dog, he was gonna rip that guy’s head off.”
“He’s not dangerous.”
“Didn’t think he was. Was just impressed.”
As if I need the approval of a man thing. I fought back the urge to laugh. Flea let me go, my skin felt cool and somehow lighter once he pulled away and it wasn’t entirely pleasant. “Sorry,” he said, grabbing my hips and then pushed me backwards gently. I blinked, sitting down in the driver’s seat and my vision cleared up right as he bent over to look at my eyes.
He was doing much the same thing as Connor, his face moving slowly closer, though I felt none of the same irritation or fear. He grabbed his phone and turned on the torch, sending a beam of blinding light straight into them. “What are you doing?” I said, flinching back.
“Nothing really. I mean, you see doctors doing it in TV shows, so I assume it helps, though I have no idea why.” I slowly opened my eyes to see the torch had been switched off and it was just him looking me over. He smiled; a small, slow, thing. “Feeling any better?”
The question was little more than a hoarse whisper. This close I could see it all, the angular shape of his face cast in deep shadows in the dim light of the shed spotlight, the tangle of his dark hair. Were His eyes were always a murk of, hazel? Green? I could never tell. His lips pursed, then relaxed, drawing my eye to them, his scanning mine, searching for something, but I didn’t know what. “Tess…” my name was a hiss, blending in with the background rumble coming from the party, forcing me to strain to hear it, to wat
ch his mouth to see it move. His hand went to my jaw, gently cupping it, holding me still, but making it plain I could pull away. His thumb twitched, a small caress of my skin. His breath, my breath, it came in ragged, creating a dull roar that blocked out all else. A tiny frown formed between his brows and then he moved…
“Hey, Flea.” A couple of guys appeared beside the car. They were dressed similarly; loose, worn clothing, though one had a respirator hanging around his neck. He had longish sandy coloured hair, the other had dark hair that had been shaved close to his head. “We’re gonna do a piece for Macca, for his birthday. You in?” Flea turned to look at me, so the others did the same.
“It’s OK, go,” I said. I was feeling a little breathless. I could sit out in the carpark for a bit with Miazydar, get my head together, stick around for as long as was polite and then catch a cab home, ready for a long, hot bath and a sleep.
“Yeah, alright,” he said to his friends, then moved in close. I watched him come closer and closer, wondering what was about to happen. He let out a little huff of a laugh, grabbing a spiral-bound journal from between the front seats. “I’ve got some new stuff I reckon would be right up Macca’s alley.” The fellas flipped through the pages of the book, oohing and ahhing over his designs.
“That’s some old skool Frazetta shit right there,” one said.
“Yeah, Dad used to have a panel van with the same kind of artwork on it. I reckon Macca’ll be into it,” Flea said.
“Well, alright,” said the other. “Let’s get this shit started.”
I just waited there like a stunned mullet. Get out of the car and walk away, I told myself tersely. I got to my feet, yay me, and wasn’t feeling as dizzy. I was about to take off when Flea moved past me, locking up, then grabbing my hand and pulling me along behind him as we entered the party.
Miazydar flinched as soon as we were under the bright lights, the shouting and drinking and pump of the music causing both of us to shrink back. Flea turned when I lingered, his eyebrow cocked in question. His eyes whipped about the shed as if seeing it for the first time and he pulled me closer. He looked down at me as his arm went around my waist. “It’s quieter up the back.” I just nodded. His friends led the way, walking across the massive warehouse space until we reached a door that led to the outside area. There was a metal roof and a few cement sheet walls that formed an exterior smoking area.
