by Alisha Basso
For a split second I hesitated. If it was too good to be true, then it had a catch. I studied Rayne, but she gave absolutely nothing away. Maybe I was being paranoid and she just wanted a roommate. Olivia and I had been pretty self-sufficient and spent most of our time working. I really hadn’t made that many friends.
I said, warning in my voice. “I come with a gnome and a dragon, and I’m guessing they may bicker.”
“I’ve got the perfect closet for a gnome. It’s a walk-in. And I have a great place for an herb garden,” she said. “And the dragon will bring luck to my home. It even has a cool basement that would be good for conjuring and circles. I use the shop mainly for storage, but it could be cleaned out if you wanted to use it.”
Still cautious, but completely without options, I had no choice but to accept. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes, and we’ll get you moved out this weekend.”
“Yes, and thank you so, so much! I can’t pay you right now.”
“You’ll pay me once you start working for the OS. The wages are phenomenal, especially if you get combat pay, which you will since you’ll be in the field. I can handle it until you get your first paycheck.”
“Why are you doing this? Being so kind?”
“It’s not kindness. You’re now part of my team, and I don’t turn my back on my team members.”
“You’ve saved my life.”
“You saved mine today for real.”
“There’s one more thing,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“Do you think the shop can accommodate a large gourmet fridge?”
This time she chuckled. Then, abruptly she stopped and went quiet. Her eyes unfocused as if her attention was somewhere…distant. “Fox wants to know if you want to join us for dinner. We’re going to debrief.”
“Are you telepathic?”
“Only with my team,” she said. “We’re trained to talk internally to each other.”
“So you’ve got Val in your mind, too?” I chuckled.
She shook her head. “Yeah, the trickster. He’s annoying, but harmless.”
I hesitated, but what the hell. I was going to be working with them. I might as well get to know them better. “Look, I could whip something up. I’m a gourmet cook and I should use my fabulous kitchen before it’s gone.”
She got that far away look again and said, “What’s your address again?”
I rattled it off and she relayed it to her teammates.
Chapter Fifteen
When I walked into my kitchen with the OS wardens in tow and a tiny red dragon on my shoulder, I was met by a scowling gnome.
First he eyed the wardens and his mouth tightened while he looked at me like I was just about the stupidest person ever.
Maybe I was.
Was it only a few days ago that I’d been in bed with Talon Sunstrike while also trying to avoid the OS? And the FDA?
Then he saw Flynn, still nestled on my shoulder, and his eyes narrowed. “What is that?”
Flynn tilted his head. “I was about to ask the same question.”
Nock went into a ninja crouch. “It talks? Tweek’s red bottom.”
“It breathes fire, too, little man,” Flynn hissed “It’ll give you a red bottom.”
Nock gave him a you-can-try look. “I am a gnome,” he said as if insulted.
“I am a dragon of the Tser.”
“A dragon, Lily? You’ve brought home a passel of OS wardens and a dragon?” He slapped his forehead. “I’m not cleaning up after him, no way, no how.”
“I don’t need anyone to clean up after me,” Flynn said indignantly, flaring his wings wide and sneering at Nock. “I am not an animal.”
Nock slapped his knee and laughed. “That’s a good one. You look like an animal to me.”
“Nock, stop being rude.”
He thrust out his bottom lip. “I wouldn’t have to be rude if you’d thought for a moment before bringing them here. Are you out of your mind?”
“Chill out, Nock. I’m working with the OS now.”
He slapped his forehead again and mumbled under his breath. “You’re doing this to get back at me for going invisible. Aren’t you?”
“No. They needed my information and I want a crack at the rogue mage. It’s a mutually beneficial collaboration.”
He grumbled some more and then, with one last glare at my guests, he went invisible.
“He’s gone to clean something,” I said with a shrug. “He should feel better after that.”
“He’s a grumpy little guy,” Val said.
“Just because I’m invisible, doesn’t mean I’m gone,” Nock said, his disembodied voice hanging in the air.
“Oops,” Val whispered.
I laughed and headed for the counter. I set Flynn on the back of one of the wooden chairs in the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” he said.
“Nice,” Rayne said as the three OS agents entered my favorite room. She pulled out one of the kitchen chairs, unslung the sword from her back, and the automatic gun from her hip. Thumping them down on the table, she sat.
My thoughts went back to the way Fox had watched me since he’d pulled up outside and I met them to escort them upstairs. It wasn’t lost on me…or on Talon, who had straightened when I ushered a contingent of OS wardens up to my apartment.
He hadn’t missed the way the shaman was looking at me, and I had been able to tell by his body language that he didn’t like it. But that was too bad. He had his job to do. His flunkies had flanked him, looking like a freaking high-fashion ad for black leather and sleek motorcycles. Those dust hounds could sell anything.
I needed to get past the feeling of loss dragging me down. I met Fox’s eyes. He had slipped off his beautifully decorated tunic, which must have been some kind of lightweight body armor, revealing a white shirt beneath, one that he filled out quite nicely. Pushing thoughts of Talon away, I slipped through the tight fit between him and the counter to get to the fridge.
Val was checking out my cauldron and the herbs I kept in a makeshift spice rack. He’d removed his short military jacket, and the tunic beneath was just like Fox’s, but embossed with all different kinds of bells.
“Don’t touch anything, jingle boy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, giving me a flashy grin.
Rayne leaned back in the chair and propped her feet on the one closest to her, her dark hair swinging against pale skin. She looked way too much like a vamp.
I tossed a white paper-wrapped package to Fox. He caught it deftly and lifted his brows.
“It’s for Flynn. You know how to use a knife?”
He reached down and pulled a wicked-looking blade from his boot, flipped it in the air, caught it, and ceremoniously sliced the string around the package. Taking it to the counter, he opened the wrappings while Flynn watched every movement intently.
“Steak,” he said, turning to look at the small dragon.
“I prefer to hunt my own meat, but until I find a good source, this will do nicely.” I still wasn’t used to the little dragon talking.
Fox sliced into the raw steak meat and threw a small morsel that the dragon caught and wolfed down, the scales of his crimson throat rippling.
Flynn stirred and caught my attention. I turned to meet his dark, multi-faceted eyes. “Are you quite well?” I asked. “You weren’t hurt in that troll attack, were you?”
He snorted, “By Puff’s balls, no. He couldn’t have hurt me if he’d tried. I’m able to kill a full-grown troll.”
“Is it your intention to remain with me?”
“You’re stuck with me, sister. Saving my life locks me in. Besides, I have nowhere else to go, and my realm is closed. I can’t get back, even if I were to traverse the dragon currents. That is why we are ‘legendary’ dragons. Our gate is not active.”
“Why?”
“Beats me.”
“But somehow the mage brought that troll here from your r
ealm without an active portal.”
“Rune magic,” Flynn whispered. “I felt it as I was dragged into your plane along with the troll.”
“Break take it,” I whispered. “That mage is very dangerous.”
“He’s trying to make you dead, pretty witch. What did you do to piss him off?”
“I was too clever for my own good.”
Flynn chuckled. “Ooooh, I like that.”
“Well, at least someone does.”
“I hate that our hands are tied right now.” Fox said.
“We do what Deangelo tells us to do,” Rayne replied, sprawled out in total relaxation, but still looking like she was ready for action at a moment’s notice. That was hard to pull off.
“I don’t like that we can’t just question the guy. Deangelo is being too cautious which isn’t like him,” Val said.
“He’s worried about screwing up and losing the bastard. He wants it to be a slam dunk,” Fox said, throwing Flynn another piece of meat.
I knew what motivated them beyond the oath they had taken to protect the people of the Twin Cities. It was the loss of their comrades. I was under no illusions. This was a war and these three wardens were soldiers—warriors. Combat brought with it a distinct tightening of ranks and the crucial conviction that the people you worked with had your back.
This was a tight-knit team and, with Olivia’s betrayal still an open wound in my chest, I decided that keeping my distance was smarter. On the other hand, I was just as scared of having to give that closeness up again. With Talon it had been a necessity. Then…well, then it had turned into something that I didn’t really know how to categorize. He was a part of me, for better or worse, and how that would change our cat-and-mouse relationship, I had no idea.
But, if I was going to go on with my life, and meet its challenges, I couldn’t dwell on Talon, or make plans in my head or heart. I had to just ignore what we’d shared as best I could.
I pulled pizza dough and toppings from the fridge and moved toward the counter, again having to scoot past Fox. I turned the oven on to preheat and pulled out two round pizza pans, then glanced at the two men and pulled out a third.
“We still don’t know where the bastard is,” Val said opening the fridge and pulling out a container of my cream puffs. He pulled up a corner of the cover and looked inside.
“Put them back, Fallow,” Rayne said.
“I’m starving,” he whined.
I walked over to the fridge, took the container out of his hand, and set it back on the shelf. “After dinner,” I said. “It’ll be worth the wait.” I reached past him, snagged a plastic container of cheese, and handed it to him. He didn’t step back, so my arm brushed against his chest. “There are crackers in the cupboard next to the microwave.”
Since he was so close, I took the opportunity to study him. It was surreal to know he had only been the figment of an author’s imagination, and now he was a living, breathing man. I had to give the author credit. They’d drawn a compelling guy, but that also made sense. Of course a manga series would have great characters. But I was quite curious. Had he made himself into who he was after he emerged, or taken his cues from the character they’d created…and how had that worked? Did he absorb who he was from the story’s dialogue, from his character’s actions?
He leaned close to me, taking a slow breath, and I found my breathing aligning with his. A lock of blond hair fell over his forehead, the strands looking as silky as his voice sounded. “You can ask me any questions you want, pretty Lily. I’m not bashful or shy. I’m as open as the book I walked out of.”
That was an understatement.
His skin when I handed him the cheese had felt as soft and as warm as a real man. He was a real man, I had to wrap my mind around that.
“Val, cut it out,” Fox growled.
“I’m not doing anything. Just talking to Lily.”
“Yeah, right,” Fox and Rayne responded at exactly the same time with the exact same inflection.
Val’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled that devastating bad-boy smile. The affection he had for his teammates shone in the liquid copper of his eyes. My stomach jumped.
“I have a feeling that this little witch can take care of herself. Against the power and might of a simple forerunner, even the OS as a whole. I bet the Archmage will feel it, too.”
Rayne looked me over, assessing. “I bet she could, even though that mage is crazy powerful,” she said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I said taking my eyes off Val, thankful his attention was off me and aimed across the kitchen at Rayne.
“We’re no closer to the mage than we were three days ago. At least, thanks to Lily’s help, we know he’s been snowing us with those thought-forms. Luring us into traps and systematically killing us,” Fox said.
“We have no way of knowing if the Archmage has him. He could still be free to release more monsters, possibly something even more hideous and dangerous than those Daray,” Val said.
I shuddered. They were bad enough. If he released something really dangerous like a shade or a banshee, we could be in deep trouble. “I’m worried the Archmage will stonewall us...” Rayne said
“What?” Val said, and I backed away to regain my personal space.
“If I were in his shoes, I would want to mete out my own punishment. The Mage Tower has the right to handle any kind of reprimand they want. Isn’t that right?”
“I personally wouldn’t want to be on the Archmage’s shit list. Every ruling body has to choose their leaders very carefully. Once they are elected, they have quite a bit of power. Archmage Wilding isn’t afraid to use his.” Val said.
Rayne uncrossed her legs as I went back to making pizza. I pulled off a chunk of dough and started tossing it to get my round crust.
“Lily has good instincts. What she says makes sense.”
Fox fed the last of the steak to Flynn, who fell asleep almost as soon as he swallowed the last bite.
“It would make sense. Archmage Wilding keeps order in his own house, I suspect he will expect a visit from us. We’re giving him time to prepare. That’s all.” Rayne said, studying her nails.
“It’s difficult to catch Wilding off-guard,” Val said.
I fit the crust in the pan and threw on parmesan and mozzarella. “Well, we can only hope he’ll be straightforward with us. Deangelo has some pull, but not enough to get to the Archmage. That’s why he wants stronger evidence. Once he has it, I bet he won’t hesitate to nail anyone to the wall who stands in our way. I’d guess he feels responsible.”
Val was there again, looking over my shoulder. “Don’t you have any pepperoni?”
“You want to make dinner?”
His eyes twinkled. “My skills aren’t exactly strong in the kitchen department. That’s not the room where I excel.”
He left that statement open-ended, and I had to laugh at Fox’s heavy sigh. He cleaned off the knife and, with a flourish, slipped it back into the hidden recesses of his black leather boot.
I turned back to Val. “In the middle drawer of the fridge.”
He walked over, and I dragged my eyes away from his backside and wide shoulders, slicing mushrooms and green pepper instead. Fox watched me with heavy-lidded eyes, but unlike Flynn, he wasn’t falling asleep. He was looking at me. That way. The way I didn’t want him to look at me.
I pulled off more dough and pounded it out and threw it up in the air. I set the second crust into the pan.
“Here you go,” Val said handing me the pepperoni.
I grabbed up the hunk of dough and made the last pizza a combination of veggie and pepperoni. I popped all three into the oven and set the timer.
When I checked again on the sleeping Flynn, I got an idea. I bent down and rummaged through my large bowls, until I found the ornate copper one I was looking for, pulled it out, and set it on the counter. After hunting for a minute in the cupboard where I’d shoved all the catering stuff I was able to salva
ge from my shop, I found the blowtorch, fired it up and burned a hole in the side of the bowl.
“What are you doing?” Val asked, watching me as he munched on his cracker and cheese.
“Flynn is not a bat. Dragons don’t sleep on a perch.”
“Oh, I see.”
I walked back to my room. My bed was made, and it still smelled like laundry detergent in here…instead of spring. I missed Talon’s fragrance and sighed. Then I noticed something on my dresser, and stared in amazement. A section of it had already been cleared off and there was a black mound of…rock sitting in the middle. I walked over to look more closely and gasped. There were hundreds of tiny dragons carved into the side. I peered inside and smiled. It was filled with gold.
I walked quietly to the laundry room, where Nock lived in the large closet near the dryer. I knocked, but was met with silence. I opened the door and found it empty. Of course that didn’t mean that little scamp wasn’t in there somewhere. It just meant he was either sulking or trying to tick me off.
I crouched down. His little home was always neat. Always. His little bed was made, even the tiny pillow looked fluffed. The coverlet was a quilt that looked like something his Aunt Tilly might have made for him. It occurred to me that I had never asked him about his mother and father. I was really curious now. He had a tiny mushroom collection and I wondered if he’d made any of them. They were adorable. Some red with polka dots, some with little faces. There was a small gnome clock that looked like it had been crafted by one of their master clock makers.
He might protest and he might bluster. He pretended that he felt put out about chores and was a sarcastic little bastard, but Nock had a heart of gold. I stood and closed the door, then walked back out to the kitchen and gently cupped my hands around Flynn. He startled awake, his big gold eyes blinking.
“What is it?”
“Shhh, just getting you settled. I’m sure you must be exhausted. I’ve got a really good surprise for you.”
“It’s been a long day. Saving your ass was a lot of work.”
