“Undoubtedly.” He reaches into his back pocket and tosses a small parcel to me. “For you.”
“Really?” I tear open the paper and blink down at the shiny box. “A phone?”
He nods. “To replace the one you lost, Cary.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I protest. He just smiles at me. “Thank you,” I say fervently. “That was very nice of you.”
He waves a dismissive hand. “No need for thanks.” He looks intently at me, and his face brightens as if he’s seeing something very dear to him. “So, how do you feel? You have seen and heard magic.” He winks. “Heard a lot thanks to the silly piskey.”
I move closer, loving the way he immediately pulls me to him. I stare up into his eyes. “I want to seemore.”
He stays very still for a few seconds, and then I watch in awe as his golden eyes kindle and tiny flames spark up in the pupils.
“If you want more, then I will show you more.” A noise sounds. It sounds almost like a ship’s bell. He cocks his head and then smiles. “'Tis perfect timing. Go and get your coat,elskling. And then meet me on the patio upstairs. Hurry.”
“Where you turned into a dragon?” I check.
He smiles and cups my cheek. “I am always that. I just change forms occasionally.”
Excitement bubbles like champagne under my skin, and I grin at him. “I’ll be a minute. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Not without you,” he says solemnly. “That is no longer possible.”
The happiness and fervency in his words sound almost like a vow. But then his eyebrow rises slowly, and I remember what I’m supposed to be doing.
“One minute,” I shout and dart out of the room, hearing his laughter behind me.
I’m still tugging on my coat as I climb the staircase. For a few seconds, I hear just my puffing breaths, because the steps are steep. I grip the bannister for support, and then stop when I hear a soft hiss. I glance around but see only the moonlit stone steps.
Odd. It can’t be moonlight. There’s no window in this portion of the stairway.
A sly, serpentine movement catches my eye, and I cry out as the bannister suddenly ripples under my hand. It’s not stone anymore. Instead, I feel a muscular body and scales. I drop my hand immediately and press tightly to the stone wall behind me.
The bannister uncurls and takes the form of a snake, its green eyes glinting and its forked tongue flickering.
“Oh mygod,” I breathe as the snake stares at me.
This stand-off is broken when Sigurd appears at the top of the stairs. “Cary, what are you doing?” His keen eyes immediately assess the situation. “Where are your manners, Bertha?”
Bertha? I mouth, having the sense not to voice it out loud.
Bertha shudders all over and arches up as Sigurd reaches us. She sways in the air until Sigurd pets her, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she was smiling.
“Good girl,” he says. “Now this is Cary. Come and meet him.” She tosses her head and nudges him playfully, nearly sending him down the stairs. “Bertha, no,” he chides. “He is very nice. I promise.”
She looks rather dubious, and I can’t say I blame her, but Sigurd is insistent. “You know who he is, yes?” I’d swear she rollsher eyes, but she turns to me and slowly lowers her head in a courtly bow.
Sigurd gestures to me, and I get what he’s trying to say and immediately incline my head in a very polite response.
“I am honoured to meet you,” I say solemnly. I feel I really should have a medal for not degenerating into hysterics while talking to a snake-bannister.
She eyes me for a second and then nudges Sigurd again. He pets her for a few moments and then steps back. “Sleep, now, friend,” he says softly, and she nods, rubbing her head against him affectionately and then lowering herself back into place with a grateful-sounding hiss. She gives a sinuous movement, and then the bannister is stone again.
Sigurd claps his hands together. “Ah, 'tis well, Cary. Now she knows you.”
“I wouldn’t be too complacent. That can sometimes go either way.”
He chuckles and leans in, stealing a quick kiss. When he pulls back, he starts up the stairs again. “Now, she will protect you,” he calls down.
