The pilot, who had come out of the back upon landing and was in the process of opening the side door for us to get out, smiled as he said, “As far as I know, too. ’Fraid I’ll be out of a job the day that changes.”
Davin snorted. “Please. Fiona would employ you until the day you die, even if planes were outlawed tomorrow. The woman would never let anyone she considers hers struggle when she had the power to stop it.”
That made the pilot’s smile grow, and he nodded. “Fair enough. She’s a hell of a lady.”
Sometimes it hit me just how lucky I was, and this was one of those moments.
Yes, I was lucky I’d grown up with money. I wasn’t ignorant or entitled enough to think that hadn’t made an enormous difference.
But Mother? Well, Davin was right that Mother would take care of anyone she considered hers, for as long as they allowed it. She collected people when she liked them, and after that, their lives were easier in any way Mother could help with. And me? I was the most hers of all.
She’d given me everything and rarely asked anything in return.
I wished everyone in the world was lucky enough to have a mother like mine. Sometimes I forgot that and took her for granted.
Case in point: her last minute arranging of a plane flight at six o’clock on a random weekday.
“You should definitely wait here,” I told the pilot. “It might not be safe.”
He blinked at that, frowning, and looked around the island, which was admittedly paradisal. “Safe? Do you need...I’ve got a flare gun up front. We could call the coast guard? I wouldn’t want something to happen to you.”
From his sudden change in bearing, it was apparent that his initial career had been something military-ish. He stood straight up, shoulders taut, head lifted like maybe he would sniff the air for intruders. It made sense, I supposed. The military was a good way to get pilot training if you weren’t born rich.
Twist’s head also popped up out of her pocket, but in her case, she was definitely sniffing the air.
As was Davin.
He looked at her, then up at me, and almost at the same time, they both said, “Dragon.”
“A strange dragon, Father,” she added. “One I have never smelled before. Nothing like the evil car man or your weak cousin.”
At that, the pilot paused, looking around. “Did you say...I don’t know if even the coast guard can help with that. Maybe we should have brought Ms. Knight.”
I grinned at him. “You think Mother could handle a disaster the coast guard couldn’t?”
“Without a doubt,” he agreed instantly. “I’ve seen the woman slap a man unconscious with one blow that was faster than I could follow. I think she could take down anything.”
“Well in that case, keep in mind that I’m her son. Don’t worry about us. Whatever it is, I can handle it.” I had never been a fighter and that wasn’t likely to change, but at worst, I was also a dragon. I did, however, reach down and pull Twist out of her pocket, just in case. “But you should go with Other Father, just in case I need to do something fast.”
Davin didn’t question, only took Twist and set her up on his shoulders.
That was when Sexton, wearing a set of red and white striped silk pajamas, came stumbling from the direction of the house. At least that was one thing out of the way. My cousin was alive, and I didn’t have to go searching for him.
Oddly enough, he seemed almost apologetic. “I...I swear, I don’t think I was imagining it.”
Davin frowned at that. “Imagining it? Is there nothing there?”
“Well, no, I...I didn’t go over there. But they haven’t come here, either. I just saw them go down, and then...nothing?” Sexton looked almost abashed, like he thought perhaps he had made it all up in his head.
I doubted that.
Sexton wasn’t a guy burdened by too much imagination.
I doubted he’d have even dreamed of a dragon landing on the island, let alone made it up. Besides, he’d been drained of energy, not given hallucinogens. Ignoring all of that, Davin and Twist’s sense of smell had never let me down, and they said they smelled dragon.
“Why don’t you stay here, and Davin and I will go check it out?” I motioned him toward the pilot, and thought about maybe taking him back to Mother’s place after all. She would take care of him for me, even if she thought he was kind of a jerk, and if he was with her, he wouldn’t be quite so inaccessible if something else went wrong.
Sexton started to step toward the stairs of the airplane, but then paused. “You’re...you’re going to go over there?”
