The color drained from my cheeks, and my mouth hit the ground. That’s when Marc burst out laughing, as did the lizard at our feet. Realization dawned on me, and I frowned at the two of them.
“It won’t steal my soul, will it?”
“Only if you have a soul as small as a mouse,” Marc told me as he nodded at the plant. “It’s used in gardens to catch rodents.”
“Much better than a cat,” Ramaro added with a solemn nod. “Don’t have to give it any more than water, and it doesn’t wake you up at night yowling.”
The mention of cats brought to mind our last adventure with one. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered.
Marc cocked his head to one side and studied me. “Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah, just a little tired,” I told him as I swept my eyes over the area and found we stood in a small enclave of cottage-like houses. “Are we almost there?”
“We’re only halfway there.”
My shoulders drooped, and I swore my feet became that much heavier. “Oh.”
“I could carry you.”
That got me thinking about something, and I looked over his back. “By flying?”
“No!” Ramaro spoke up as his tail whipped behind him, so much so that his balance was thrown off with each swing. “You’re not supposed to use that power, especially with your patch as weak as it is. It could slip off.”
A little color drained from my face as I recalled what had happened the last time the mask had slipped. “You can’t control yourself in that form.”
Marc stared ahead and pursed his lips. “Not always.”
“So can anyone else turn into a dragon?”
“Not that I know of.”
“And you’re not going to tell me how you can do that.”
“No.”
I felt a twinge of hurt. “Why?”
“Because of the danger.”
That piqued my interest. “You mean more danger than I’ve already been in?”
“Much more.”
A shudder ran through me. “I don’t think I want that.”
“What I want is for you two to talk less and walk faster,” Ramaro snapped as he hurried ahead of us. “There’s no telling when we’ll run into a group of Ironshores-”
“Halt!”
We all skidded to a stop and turned to our left, where a street meandered its way out of sight. What wasn’t out of sight was a group of half a dozen burly men with beards and dark eyes. They were dark uniforms under heavy leather armor. Short swords were strapped to one hip, and the other had a holster for a pistol. Some of the men pointed those guns at us. None of them looked friendly.
Marc inclined his head and smiled at the men. “Good evening, gentlemen. What can we do for you?”
The largest in the group, evidently the leader, marched toward us with his entourage at his heels. “You can explain what you’re doing out here so late.”
“Just taking a stroll.”
The men stopped only five feet away from us, and the leader nodded at faint wisps of mist, all that remained of the fog bank. “In the fog?”
