the magical?”
None, I admitted, thinking of the therapist. Maybe I’d call Mary later and let her know my acute stressors were at least as much of a problem as the chronic ones.
“I cannot read your mind,” he remarked, watching me. “Which charm of yours protects you from that?”
“If you don’t know, I’m not telling you. A girl doesn’t lift her skirt for just any man.”
He blinked and looked down. I almost laughed, realizing I’d confused him with the expression.
His surprise disappeared quickly, and he lifted his gaze and nodded. “Yes, bait. You could offend the magical with your tongue even if you hadn’t alienated the whole community by slaying hundreds of them.”
“Those weren’t part of a community. They were rogues. And you’re not dragging me off to dangle me above a cliff or whatever you have in mind. I’d kick my own ass before going anywhere with you.”
“I wasn’t going to give you a choice,” he said dryly.
“I’m not being your pawn.” I glared straight into those cocky violet eyes.
He stared back at me, indifferent, as far as I could tell, to my defiance.
“It is not wise to refuse a dragon,” Greemaw said.
“People keep using that word,” I said, “but I assure you it doesn’t apply to me.”
My mother rubbed her face. She had her Glock in hand again, but she didn’t know what to do with it. I had a similar problem. I wanted to bash the pompous dragon on the head with Chopper, but I couldn’t win, not here with all his allies around and probably not alone in a field with him either. Life was unfair.
“You are an honest mongrel,” Zav said, “I’ll grant you that.”
“Thanks so much. You’re not using me.”
“We’ll see.” The violet glow to his eyes brightened, and he smiled again, then turned and walked into the stone wall.
Once again, his aura vanished from my senses far more abruptly than it should have. My legs almost buckled at the cessation of power. Mom came over and gripped my arm.
I wanted to wave her away, to say I was fine, but my muscles were rubbery and unreliable. I took a few deep breaths, refusing to fall or pass out in front of a lava golem and her entire clan of refugees.
“So, uh, Greemaw.” I focused on her and tried to pretend nothing had happened, while hoping that Zav had taken off and I would never see him again. “I believe we were negotiating? For your assistance?”
She gripped her broad chin with one massive hand. “Zavryd came to check on us when he learned you were heading here. I have crossed paths with his family before, in another realm, another time.”
“Are they all so delightful?”
She chuckled, the sound like rocks grating together. “He is young for a dragon, with much to prove to his family. Believe it or not, he would be considered polite and reasonable for one of their kind.”
“Reasonable! He wants to dangle me as bait until some villain succeeds in killing me.” I envisioned the black dragon version of Zav flying all over the West Coast with me tethered to one of his legs, hanging upside down thousands of feet in the air as wyverns and harpies and who knew what else flew at me with spears.
“Many dragons kill lesser beings—” Greemaw touched her own chest to include herself in the group, “—or keep them as slaves. Were I not too old for war, I would fight beside his family, to ensure they continue to hold majority power in the Dragon Ruling Council and Justice Court.”
I had a headache and couldn’t articulate how little I cared about dragon courts and councils.
“Even so,” Greemaw said, extending her hand, palm upward, “I will admit it tickles me to see someone stand up to a dragon. That audacity will get you killed, but for today, I will help you if I can. Show me the vial.”
My audacity had helped the situation? There was a first. I laid the vial on her palm, hoping she had a gentler touch than the size of her hand suggested.
“It takes heat to make the sigil visible,” I said.
Mom cleared her throat and held up her lighter in offering.
“Not necessary.” Greemaw focused on her palm, and the gray stone took on the orange color of a hot charcoal ember.
I could feel the heat from a couple of feet in front of her. Rather than trying to manipulate the vial with her large fingers, she used her power to levitate it into