Page 71 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

“Of course I was right,” Tyche snapped, making Shey smile. Tyche snatched up his lucky bones and paused, blinking rapidly. “But which thing am I right about?”

“I think that’s our contact,” Haru replied.

Tyche scrambled to his feet with a hand up from Shey, and they all turned in the direction that Haru was facing. A young man in his early twenties stepped out of the thin grove of trees on the other side of the valley. His brown hair was messy and sweaty from his trek, and his dark-rimmed glasses caught the sun, causing him to lift a hand to shield his eyes. He wore jeans and a T-shirt but didn’t have a backpack or even a water bottle to indicate that he’d come out here for some kind of nature walk. There were also no visible weapons on his person.

“Who wants to check him out?” Adrian inquired.

“I’ll go.” Shey didn’t get even a single step forward before Tyche caught his arm.

“Dyed hair isn’t enough to hide who you are. Besides, you’ve got several inches on him and can be scary looking. I’ll go. I’m short, and I appear harmless.” He gave an incredibly fake smile that almost caused Shey to choke on a laugh. Haru had told him what had happened at the New Rosanthe staging area. There was nothing harmless about Tyche.

Tyche was slipping away from their group, not giving Shey a chance to argue, and walked out of the deep shadow cast by the trees toward the stranger.

“Adrian, circle to the right. Haru, to the left. Watch for any signs that this guy isn’t alone. If something looks bad, I want him alive, but Ty’s safety is the priority.”

Shey was aware of them hurrying off, barely making a sound as they moved. He didn’t take his eyes off him as Tyche drew closer. One wrong move and Shey would be happy to encase this man in a block of ice and sort it out later. Nothing was going to happen to Ty so long as he could do something about it.

He watched as the man stopped short as soon as he spotted Tyche. His eyes widened behind the lenses of his glasses, and he swallowed hard. Every muscle in his body seemed to tense the same as a hare that had just spotted a fox.

“Hey!” Tyche greeted, lazily waving one hand in the air as if meeting a stranger in the woods was the most normal thing in the world. “You come out for a hike in the woods too? Such a gorgeous day for it.”

The man’s mouth bobbed twice, but not a peep left him. Tyche cocked his head to the side, and the man finally got his tongue working. “Y-yes! Yes, a hike. But I’m lost. Yes, I mean…I was hiking, and I got lost.” He cleared his throat and said louder than necessary, “I came out for a bit of birdwatching and was searching for a blue warbler, but got myself lost.”

There. Those were the key words their contact was supposed to use. If it was safe, he’d mention that he was seeking a blue warbler, but if something had gone wrong and it wasn’t safe, he was to mention a yellow finch.

“A blue warbler, huh?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

Tyche nodded. “I think I’ve seen one of those.”

Shey had waited long enough. Powerful god or not, he didn’t like so much distance between himself and Tyche. He stepped out of the shadows and entered the meadow, moving straight toward Ty. Adrian and Haru exited the trees, both converging on the group. The stranger took a nervous half-step back but stopped and straightened his shoulders.

“Sorry about the delay. We ran into problems,” Shey murmured as he reached Tyche. He placed his hand on his lover’s shoulder and noticed how tense it was despite him looking completely at ease. Tyche was a master of disguise and subterfuge.

“No worries,” the stranger said with an easy wave of his hand and a wide grin. He started, eyes turning owlish. He bowed sharply, his whole body going stiff. “Forgive me, Your Highness.”

“So, you do recognize me.”

“Of course. I mean, your hair is different, but your features are very remarkable.”

Tyche tipped his head up and smirked. “Told you so.”

“I also know that you’re Adrian Westergren,” the man stated, pointing at Adrian. Excitement bubbled in his voice, making it sound as if he’d gotten over his fears about them. “You were identified pretty easily because you’re usually seen at King Caelan Talos’s side.” His expression clouded as he gazed at Tyche and Haru. “But I don’t recognize either of you.”

Haru stuck out his hand. “I am called Haru.”

“Jules. Jules Holly,” he replied, taking Haru’s hand without a bit of hesitation.

“Call me Ty.” The god didn’t offer his hand. Just a brief nod of his head.

Jules nodded a bit stiffly, as if something about Tyche continued to make him nervous, but he persevered. “It’s so great to have you here to help our cause. I’m part of an underground resistance group called The Citizens Restoration Group, and we’ve been fighting for years to get our voices heard. Our goal is to kick New Rosanthe out of Uris-Oladul so that we can return to being our own country, listening to the will of the citizens rather than our puppet masters back in Aswa. We have a sister organization in Damardor called the Golden Resistance, who are devoted to returning to their Golden Age before New Rosanthe conquered them.”

Tyche’s shoulders shook, and Shey squeezed, trying to shush the devilish creature. The names were a bit over the top, and Jule’s attitude seemed a touch naïve, but Shey respected their determination.

“Before we get into all your long-term plans, do you have any short-term ones, like where we are going to stay for the night?” Adrian shifted from his left foot to his right. He flicked his wrist, and a silver throwing knife appeared between his fingers. Shey couldn’t decide if Adrian was trying to intimidate Jules or was anxious about standing in the open.

“Oh, yes, of course. We have a safe house all lined up.” He stopped, and his nose wrinkled. “Well, I mean, it’s not really a safe house since no one is technically hunting you in Uris-Oladul. It’s just a house that the organization rented for the week. It’s secluded so no one should notice you coming and going.”