“There,” Mac rumbles, pointing a claw toward a thicket of trees.
I see the top of a roof and a stone chimney as Mac dips down to land. Once we’re on solid ground again, disappointment settles over me, but I push it aside. Yes, that was fun, but we have work to do.
I hand Mac his clothes, watching in awe as his dragon slips away and his human features reappear. He throws on his jeans and t-shirt, smiling shyly as he manages his shoes.
“Did you like flying with me?”
“Very much so.”
His smile grows as he rights himself and runs a hand through his hair. “Shall we?”
“We shall.”
ELEVEN
MAC
Unleashingmy dragon around Drax may have been a bad idea. Even with the beast back under wraps, I can feel the smugness rolling off of him in spades. Like the stupid, fire-breathing lizard is expecting me to go ahead and agree with him about how right it felt to have Drax’s fingers caressing my scales as he climbed onto my back, how perfect he smelled to my sensitive dragon nose, how real our bond felt with all my human thoughts on the backburner.
I shake my head to clear the memory of looking at the demon fully through my dragon eyes and focus on the task at hand. Rune’s cabin. The stone structure can’t be more than a single small room, and the sagging roof looks like it’s being kept up through sheer force of will… or, more likely, magic. But something tells me gravity will win this one eventually, whether Rune likes it or not. The electric scent of magic hangs in the air, along with the faint odor of piss, so I’m guessing that single room inside doesn’t include a toilet.
I wrinkle my nose and start for the door, but before I can get more than a couple of steps, Drax grabs my arm.
“Wait, what’s the plan?” he asks quietly. I’m not sure if there’s a whisper quiet enough to keep Rune from hearingus if he is inside. Aside from the wind, the mountainside is completely silent.
I shrug. “Knock on the door and ask him to give us the cursed amulet?”
Drax gives me a flat, unimpressed look. “I think you are very smart and good at stealing things, but perhaps planning and strategy aren’t your greatest strengths?”
“Wow, that’s cold.” I laugh. “The next time you’re going to come for me that hard, send a car.”
He cocks his head and furrows his brow with confusion.
I wave dismissively. “It’s an expression. Forget it. What do you think we should do?”
He turns his attention back to the cabin and stares at it for a second before he releases his grip on my arm.
“It doesn’t matter. Rune isn’t here.”
“He’s not?” I rub the back of my neck. “Well, shit. I guess we should head to Japan then?”
Drax shakes his head. “Let’s check his home first. There might be useful information inside, about where he is or the best way to barter with him for that amulet.”
A spark of awe ignites in my chest. “That’s really smart.”
His lips twitch with a smile. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
I want to ask how long. What kinds of things has he done for Auri? Is there anything he regrets? Is he happy? The desire to peel back his layers and get to know more about him startles me. I’m going to go ahead and chalk that up to my dragon still being too close to the surface. I force the urge to pepper Drax with questions back into the depths of my mind and focus on the house again.
“Alright, let’s check it out. Maybe he has valuables we can steal and then trade back to him in exchange for the amulet.”
“Now you’re thinking.” Drax smiles, letting go of my arm as we both start towards the cabin. “That’s why Auri recruited you. Remember that and trust your instincts.”
I stumble over my steps. Recruited me? It didn’t occur to me that Auri was there on that street right when I needed an escapeon purpose. How long was he watching me before that? How much does he know about me? I shiver, but I don’t have long to contemplate the uncomfortable reality of Drax’s words before he reaches the cabin door and wrenches it open unceremoniously. I scramble after him, sneezing at the musty smell that spills out from inside as I reach the doorway.
The floorboards creak under my feet as I step inside, and the magic tickling my nose takes on a more sour note. Bile rises in my throat, and images of Belinda’s barely alive skeleton fill my mind.
“He was here recently, with the locket.” Drax confirms what my nose tells me.
