think about it, probably while I’m throwing axes at a picture of a black dragon stapled to the wall.”
He looked back over his shoulder, those glowing violet eyes gleaming out of the darkness. I will have a picture of myself delivered to your domicile so that you needn’t use anything inferior for the purpose.
“I can’t wait,” I muttered.
Even before he’d said that, I’d been positive I would see him again. It might be a good idea to find out what powers Chopper had that I didn’t know about. If only for self-defense purposes.
As Zav shifted into his dragon shape, I realized that the gouge in my side from the dark-elf crossbow quarrel was gone. Completely healed. Had he done that when he touched me?
Before I could think of thanking Zav, he sprang into the air, flying over the empty parking lot and heading out toward Puget Sound. Or maybe flying to the local print shop to have a huge poster of himself made for me.
24
Dimitri was relieved to see me. He must have been especially relieved to see Sindari, because he patted the passenger seat and gave the tiger the prime position. I sat in the back with Jennifer as we headed up I-5. With the lake and her awful experience falling behind, she managed to give us her address. She also admitted my tiger was really gucci, which I gathered was not a suggestion that he be made into a handbag.
Someone’s stomach rumbled—it might have been mine—and Dimitri handed out paper-wrapped meals of beef and rice with Nin’s trademark sauce. By the time Jennifer had eaten, she almost seemed like a normal kid. Aside from the haunted look in her eyes.
I didn’t ask what she’d gone through, but it was sure to leave lasting marks. Since I had my own issues to work through, I’d let someone more qualified help her with her emotional scars. My job—my legal, noble, and definitely not criminal job, thank you very much, Zav—was only to kill the bad guys and bring their kidnap victims home.
“I totally dug the submarine too,” Jennifer added. “But I could have swum almost as fast. I’m on the swim team at school.”
A pang went through me as I thought of Amber. I wondered if she had another meet coming up. Maybe, if I wasn’t too busy dodging the law, I could go watch. Something about everything I’d been through made me want to watch and speak with her and tell her how well she was doing. But I doubted she wanted anything to do with the mom who’d walked away all those years ago. That hurt, but I stood by my reasons. If tough-as-nails Willard had nearly been taken down by my enemies, a teenage girl wouldn’t have a chance. It was better if I stayed away.
“Are you in high school?” I asked.
If so, Jennifer was older than I’d thought, but I didn’t think the middle schools here had swim teams.
“Yeah, a freshman. I know, I’m short.”
“You ever compete against Edmonds-Woodway?”
“Of course.”
“Did you swim against Amber Stavropoulos?”
Dimitri glanced back at me but didn’t say anything. He drove us off the freeway and onto tree-lined streets full of ranchers from the 1950s.
“Yes,” Jennifer said. “Oh my gosh, she’s such an Amazon. She is not short.”
“Does that mean she beat you?”
“Yeah, but she’s already varsity. She’s on a year-round team. I just do summer league. But I still could have out-swum that… What was that thing? A giant squid?”
“More or less. You might want to avoid Lake Union for a while.”
“Or forever!” She shuddered dramatically.
We pulled over to the side of the street, the house dark. It was well past midnight. Jennifer hopped out and reached in the window to ruffle Sindari’s head before running up to the front door.
Val, I do not approve of children, Sindari informed me.
Why not? She thinks you’re gucci. Isn’t that better than being called a pet?
They are presumptuous with their hands.
It’s a sign of affection. You loomed protectively at her side while a dragon manhandled me.
Did he not give you his blood?
Yes, but he could have asked for the vial instead of freezing me to the grass and sticking his hand in my jacket. You want to talk about presumptuous—that’s presumptuous.
We waited to make sure someone came to the door and let Jennifer in—judging by the hugs I saw, she’d been missing more than a few hours—and Dimitri took off before anyone could come out and question us.
“Where to next?” he asked.
“Woodinville.”
“So dark elves