I was delivering them. That had to count for something. “I am delivering some Ivy House flowers, directly to you…for a snack.”
As if this was the first time he was noticing them, his focus zipped to the colorful array in my hand.
“You helped me the other day—”
“Oh no, I did not,” he said. “It would go against my station to help a prisoner. No, I took my break, and tripped and broke my ankle. That was why I was absent, you see, and not able to sound the alarm when you defeated your confinement and escaped in a pretty, swirling light show. At first I thought I sprained it, of course, but upon reflection, it must have been broken, because I needed to be gone for longer than originally planned.”
“Right. Did the—”
“So you see, my absence could not be helped.”
“Gotcha. Did the mages come back to find me gone?”
“Yes.”
I waited for more. He didn’t give me anything.
“Did anyone else come—someone you hadn’t seen or met beyond those mages?” I wondered if the contract holder had shown up.
“No.”
That was a small relief, at least. “Were the mages mad?” I pressed.
“Yes. Very. They questioned my truthfulness. That is a grave offense, as you can guess.”
“Right. And then they—”
“As the guardian of this mountain and the prison herein, it is my duty to secure those detained here.”
“Totally. So did they—”
“But I am only one entity. I must take breaks. I must be able to eat, rest, and relieve myself. This is the nineties, for heaven’s sake. There are rules.”
“It’s actually the…” I waved it away. “Never mind.” He’d catch up eventually. Or never. It probably didn’t matter much to him, given his lifestyle. “Listen—”
“For their offense, I killed one of them. Justice was served on my mountain the other day. It is done.”
I looked back at Austin. Another down, three to go, and as of yesterday, they were still in the area.
“Make note of that,” Mr. Tom murmured. “Do not question the truthfulness of a basajaun, regardless of how big the lie.”
I had to agree.
I held out the flowers, feeling a fresh wave of urgency. The mages had lost someone yesterday, and they were probably still scrambling. If we could find them now, we’d have a shot at stopping them permanently, before they came after me again.
“Can you please show me to the lower cave entrance?” I asked, holding the flowers high. “I’ll trade you these flowers for it. I’m not a prisoner anymore. You don’t have to guard me.”
He stood, and I took a step back, his height incredibly daunting.
“Get ready to run,” I heard Mr. Tom say.
“I will show you because you have asked nicely.” He stepped forward. “Your friends may come, too, though they are not welcome on this mountain without you.”
“I get it. Some of them are awfully pushy—”
“You are so pretty when you fly. I would hate to dull your luster by killing one of your friends.”
I nodded and held out the flowers, doing my best not to scuttle backward the closer he got.
“I will show you as a gesture of good faith, in the hope that we can work together to give this mountain something it has never seen before. My family has never teamed up with a creature such as yourself. They will be red with envy. What name will the hikers make up about you, I wonder. Well…” He laughed as we walked, Austin and everyone else falling in silently behind us. “They would have to snap a picture first. Do you breathe fire, by chance?”
“Um…no. No fire.”
“That is okay. Maybe they will still think you’re a dragon because of your big fangs and the swirly rainbow colors that trail you when you fly.”
I ducked under a branch, still holding out the flowers. “I brought these for you. A trade, a gift—either way, I’d like you to have them.”
“Yes. Kindness. So very few people approach me with kindness. It is a nice change.” Clearly Austin and Damarion needed to work on their people skills, which was rich, coming from me. “Unfortunately, I do not accept gifts from strangers. It makes one feel indebted, and that is not a nice feeling.”
I wasn’t sure where to go from there, so I lowered the flowers, too scared to drop them in case he thought that was some sort of offense.
“How did those mages rope you into guarding me?” I asked as we made our way, although my breath was coming quickly because I had to jog to keep