The vampire huffed. “Whatever.”
“Do you think I’m losing my mind?” I asked, glancing first to Kizzi, and then to Fiella.
“Losing your mind? No. Remember when my shop incident happened? I felt weird around then,” Fiella said.
“And I felt strange before Hex came to life. Magic was drenching everything so heavily,” Kizzi added.
My stomach dropped. “So, you’re saying I should be expecting a catastrophic disaster or horrifying magical mishap sometime soon? Great. I feel much better.”
Both women stopped short. I could tell they wanted to reassure me, but they didn’t quite know what to say.
“No–”
“It’s not that?—”
They spoke over each other. I interrupted them both. “You can’t explain this one away. Worrying won’t get me anywhere. I guess I’ll just have to keep my wits about me and be prepared for anything.”
“We’re all here, too. We’ve got your back,” Kizzi said earnestly.
“No! That’s not fair! She swept in when they weren’t looking!” Linc’s voice broke through our conversation. He was jumping up and down, pointing at the dragons with outrage painting his face.
Raine had easily pinned both Brambleby and Ember in quick succession, flipping them onto their backs and standing on their wings. They were stuck.
Clever little beast.
Women—always taking the smart path.
Brambleby promptly fell asleep on his back. His snores echoed across the park.
Fiella barked out a laugh. “Is he—is he sleeping? No way he’s sleeping.”
I tucked my journal away and rose to my feet, brushing off my rear with a quick swipe of my palms. “He sure is. He can fall asleep anywhere. At any time. It’s ridiculous.”
“Think that’s his magical power?” Kizzi asked contemplatively.
“Maybe,” I mused. It would certainly make sense. It didn’t seem to fit, though, considering the abilities of the other two dragons were much more noticeable.
“I wonder if he could make us fall asleep. Wouldn’t that be a nightmare? Their powers are supposed to develop as they age, you know,” Kizzi said.
I made a mental note to write that tidbit down in the journal. “Save that worry for another day. There’s enough to worry about right now.” Like this ominous sense of impending doom.
And the darkness in the corner of my eye.
I strolled over to the pile of panting dragons. “Raine, if you wouldn’t mind.” I jerked my head to the side.
Immediately, she flapped her wings, taking off and landing a few paces away. Ember sprung to his feet to chase her, spitting sparks, but Brambleby didn’t move.
Actually, his legs twitched as though he were running in a dream.
I chuckled. “Alright, little man. Time to go.”
The hairs on the back of my neck rose again as I bent to scoop the dragon off the ground and into the crook of my elbow.
He felt heavier already. My biceps twinged just a bit as I lifted him.
For some reason, that made me want to cry. He was growing too fast.
I cleared my throat. I resisted the urge to look around again—I knew I wouldn’t see anything damning. “Alright, that’s it for today. Show’s over. This one needs his beauty rest,” I said to the audience.
