A low growl starts from Oscar.
“Great. Welcome.”
I leave my welcome closed, and tense, waiting for his next move. The car door closes behind me and I breathe a little sigh. He’s in the car, so he’s safe. Drew and Renee are standing nearby, watching and murmuring at one another.
The warlock furrows his brow as he looks at the kennel where Oscar continues to make displeased cat noises.
“You’re new too, right?” he says.
“Not really,” I say.
His jaw flexes and his hand moves to his hip. I take a step back.
“Right then,” he says, hooking his thumb in his belt next to his knife. He points his other hand at the car. “Give me the dragon and things won’t get messy.”
“Give youwhat?”
He sneers. “We can drop the pretenses. I can smell your aura, girl, I know you’re a witch. And I know what he is, too.”
Drew and Renee walk toward us.
“Hey man, we appreciate you coming to introduce yourself, though you didn’t give a name,” Renee says. “But I think it’s time you head out.”
Surrounded, the warlock goes rigid. His gaze drops to Oscar once more and he bares his teeth in a grimace.
“Alright then,” he says, then looks up at me.
His grimace morphs into a horrible smile that sends spiders dancing across my skin. I try not to shiver, but I do anyway.
“Be seeing you.” He turns away and walks toward the water.
Renee comes to stand beside me, grabbing my arm. “You okay?”
I nod numbly as I watch the man walk into the lake.
“What the fuck?” Drew says as we all watch the warlock disappear below the surface with a bloop.
I swallow hard and look back at the car. Bastian gets out and approaches, taking my other side. He grabs Oscar’s kennel and then holds my hand.
“Um, Cait?” Renee says as we watch the ripples of the man’s disappearance lap against the gravely shore.
My gaze is fixated on the water, mouth hanging open. “Yeah?”
“I’m gonna need you to explain some things.”
twenty
MagicTricks
“So, you’re a witch, and you’re a dragon,” Drew says as he munches on a carrot. He holds the veggie tray in one hand like a waiter with hors d’oeuvres at a party, but he’s not sharing.
“That’s just batshit bonkers,” Renee declares as she follows me down the hall.
“I know.”
We take off our shoes at the end before turning into the apartment. I open Oscar’s kennel and set him free into the room.
Drew and Renee stop cold, their questions cut off as they stare open-mouthed at the Bookhenge.
