“Really? Boredom?” I asked, calling her bluff. “I’ve never read that fact before.”
“We’ve never allowed it to be written down. Because it’s ourweakness,” she stage-whispered.
“Uh-huh.” I so didn’t believe her.
“You so don’t believe me!”
“Unicorns can die of boredom?”
“Yes! Why do you think we search out virgins?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to know,” Ryder mumbled. “C’mere, dragon buddy. Let’s not eat any government property today.”
“Virgins have nothing to do with their lives and are more likely to spend time keeping a unicorn company,” Xtelle said.
“You have a weird idea about virginity,” Ryder said.
“Keeping you company,” I stated.
“So we don’t get bored! And die. Of boredom.”
I looked over at Ryder for some sympathy. He kept his expression blank, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.
“Yeah. Good luck with that, Myra. Keep your guest entertained. So she doesn’tdieof boredom.”
“I will shoot you.”
“Naw.” He grinned. “That’s just what you say to the guys you actually love.”
I did?
He laughed. “The look on your face. Did you just realize that? When you like someone, you threaten them. It’s how you show the love.”
“I do not.”
“You do. Pretty much constantly. Here we go.” He bent and scooped the little pink bundle of piggy cute into his arms. “No eating a car today, buddy. There’s not enough insurance in the world to take care of that again.”
“He ate a car?” I asked.
“He is a dragon. Needs fuel for…whatever it is dragons do when they’re not trying to chow their way through the town’s infrastructure.”
Xtelle behind me made a little “eep” noise.
“Oh, for all the…” I reached around to get a handful of her mane. “Come here, Xtelle. Let me introduce you to Ordinary’s only dragon.”
“No.”
“This is a part of being a citizen of Ordinary. You have to get to know people. New kinds of people you might not have met before. This is a great first step, don’t you think?”
She pressed her head against the back of my thigh and shook it side to side. “No, I do not. I do not need to meet a dragon.”
Ryder rubbed the little piggy on the head right between its little pointy ears.
“Come on now, Xtelle,” he said in a gentle tone that I thought might work on spooked horses. Too bad she wasn’t a horse. “Dragons don’t mean anyone any harm. The worst this one does is track down demons. We see that as a benefit, not a flaw. Since you’re not a demon, this isn’t going to be a problem at all. You might even make a friend.”
“A unicorn does not cavort with thosethings.”
I caught Ryder’s gaze, tipped my chin at the unicorn behind me, nodded. He nodded back, shifting his hold on the dragon pig so its little piggy face was in his hands.
