Page 37 of Titan’s Mate

Mari was staring at them, awed. “I guess not. I’d love to be able to fly,” she added wistfully. “I’ve always wanted to. Except, I bet it’s cold up there.”

“Maybe someday Tyr will take you for a ride.” Maybe he’d ask him. If Mari wanted to fly, he wanted to make it happen.

They circled, and then came in for a landing on the lawn. Tyr dipped his wing and Brock walked partway down it, jumping the rest of the way to the ground, a gear bag in hand. The dragon shimmered and took human form.

“Hey!” Mari murmured. “He has clothes on!”

Titan’s bear growled. Tyr was a good-looking guy, like all dragons were, with dark wavy hair and eyes the same cobalt blue of his scales. Too good-looking, in Titan’s opinion.

Right now he had an amused half-smile on his face. “I’m sorry if you’re disappointed about that,” he said, mischief glinting in his eyes. “But full disclosure, I have a mate, so I couldn’t allow you to take advantage of me.”

Brock rolled his eyes. “Cut it out, Tyr,” he said. Apparently, this Tyr person liked to flirt, despite being mated. Tyr winked at Mari. Titan’s bear growled louder.

“I’m just kidding,” he said. “It’s a dragon thing. Magic clothes.” His blue jeans and gray thermal shirt shimmered and changed to black jeans and a blue shirt.

“No way!” Mari said. “That’s awesome. Can you make any clothes you want?”

“Yup.”

She turned to Titan. “It’s official. I want to be a dragon.”

He didn’t know why. Bears were better. Solid and dependable.

Tyr grinned. “Who doesn’t? I guess you’re Mari?”

“Yes, Mari Jiang. And you’re obviously Tyr Greystone.” They shook hands. “Thank you for coming all this way,” she added politely. “It was really nice of you.”

“And this is Titan,” Brock added.

Titan had been studying Tyr. There was something familiar about him, as if he’d seen him once a long time ago. “Have you ever been to Alaska?” he asked the dragon.

Tyr looked surprised. “As a matter of fact, I have. I used to do research from time to time with some of the Draken-modified white animals up there. A wolf pack, and some polar bears.”

That was it. “You knew Grayling, our clan shaman,” Titan said. “I remember you coming to see him once when I was a little boy. Had to be over twenty years ago.” Of course, dragons lived for centuries. Tyr looked about thirty, but he could just as easily be two hundred and thirty.

“Don’t tell me you were that apprentice he had? Get the hell out.” He looked Titan over. “You were a lot smaller then.”

Titan looked down at him. “You were a lot bigger.”

Tyr laughed. “How is Grayling? Still with us?”

Titan’s laughter withered. “No. He died.”

“I’m sorry.” Tyr suddenly seemed to realize what it meant that Titan was here, and not there. “And the village?” he asked quietly.

“Gone. All of them.” He didn’t elaborate.

“I’m very sorry,” Tyr said. He added formally in Titan’s own language, “May they rest in the light, until you see them on the other side.”

Titan didn’t answer. They weren’t, and he wouldn’t. Tyr meant to be kind, but he had no idea.

Tyr’s ‘assessment’ of Mari’s condition was a lot more complicated than Brock’s, and took longer. His gear bag was full of carefully wrapped crystals, jars of herbs, chalk, and candles.

“I’m warding this room and setting up a magic circle,” he explained as he put candles in the corners of the living area and chalked symbols on the floor. “According to Brock, Mari’s ‘tumor’ is magical and demonic in origin, and I’m going to be using my own magic to examine it. I don’t expect anything to go wrong, but better safe than sorry. We don’t any stray energy to escape.”

“Or any stray demons,” Mari muttered.

“Or that,” Tyr agreed. “It will be easier if you’re sitting, so maybe Brock will get you a chair for inside the circle?”