A Tale of Two Goblins - By H. P. Mallory Page 0,54

sound was like bells ringing through my ears. “I’ve been doing research,” I answered, figuring I could tell Knight everything minus the part about Quill and the part about the Mandrake. Everything else was fair game.

“Research?” he repeated skeptically. “And that research required you to color your hair?”

I approached him with a cheery grin. He seemed taken aback—an eyebrow raised in question. “Yep, I had to. I got a lead that took me to downtown Sanctity—you know, the bad parts.”

“Go on,” he said, crossing his arms against his chest.

I didn’t even realize I was staring at his chest until he cleared his throat. I offered an embarrassed smile before turning back to my story. “The only problem with the location was that there were wards in place which meant I couldn’t use magic and I wasn’t about to go into a situation like that as Dulcie O’Neil, prior Regulator who has enemies up the wazoo.” I smiled again, finding the word “wazoo” especially funny.

“So, you had to dye your hair?” Knight finished for me.

“What, don’t you like it?” I asked, running a hand through it, which got caught in a curl.

Knight eyed me suspiciously before shaking his head. “No, I like the way you looked before.”

One good thing about Dulcie on Mandrake was that criticisms bounced off me as if I’d magicked myself a “sticks and stones” barrier.

“And what the hell is with the bike?” Knight asked, his voice rising again in anger.

“Suzuki DL 650,” I answered proudly and patted the seat. “She’s pretty freaking fast.”

Knight shook his head before bringing his incredibly perturbed expression back to me. “Have you lost your mind?” he asked. “You barely survived the accident in the Wrangler…”

“Hey, I had little time and even less money,” I snapped, suddenly pleased that the cantankerous (as Bram would say) Dulcie was still in there somewhere. “And I’m not worried about the Dreamstalker coming after me. I’m not planning on sleeping.”

Knight eyed me but said nothing else, instead turning and starting for the hospital. I jogged up to him and grabbed his arm, forcing him to a stop.

“I thought I was on duty tonight?” I asked. Knight had been on all day and into the evening—I was supposedly there to relieve him, or at least I’d thought that was the plan.

Knight glanced down at my hand that was still gripping his bicep and I dropped it. “I figured you might want company,” he said and eyed me as if to reiterate the question before he started forward again.

“Sure, “I began, secretly very pleased to have his company. I’d been wondering what I was going to do all night and day. While there was no other place I’d rather be, other than keeping a watchful eye on Sam and Jenny, victim-sitting wasn’t exactly thrilling. “I’d love some.”

Knight stopped walking, turning around to eye me suspiciously. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?” I answered, suddenly worried that I was being too uncharacteristically nice. The Mandrake needed to remain my little secret, with no one the wiser. I’d have to play my cards more strategically.

Knight shook his head. “You just seem too energetic, too happy.”

I laughed and it was a tinny, fake sound. “I’m probably losing my mind from the lack of sleep.” Then I eyed him just as warily, suddenly realizing that he looked freshly charged, as if he’d been sleeping for a millennia. “What’s your secret? Why do you look so well rested?”

He shrugged and started for the hospital entrance again, me right beside him. “Sleep is my secret.”

My mouth dropped open in disbelief. I’d now been awake for over three days and two nights with only an hour and a half of sleep to go on. Meanwhile, Knight had been sleeping all along? “You’ve been able to sleep?” I demanded,fury in my tone. He just nodded self-assuredly. “You haven’t been scared of what might happen to you if the Dreamstalker attacked?”

He turned to face me and smiled broadly. “Nope.”

I shook my head, suddenly incredibly angry with the fact that I’d gone through hell and back just to avoid sleeping and yet he was as well rested as a bear coming out of hibernation. “I don’t understand you—are Lokis safe from Dreamstalkers?”

Knight cocked his head to the side as if he was considering it. Then he shrugged and smiled again. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out.”

I grumbled underneath my breath and realized the giddy feeling of complete and total bliss was now absent—hmm, maybe it had been