Page 22

“And what are they going to do with me? Force me to be their guide around town? To do their shopping for them?” When put that way, it did sound rather silly.

Noah turned into the parking lot behind the pub and braked hard in the driveway. He swallowed hard and forgot how to breathe. Sitting next to the rubbish bins was a dragon the size of a bus. Butterflies erupted in his stomach. His heart beat faster with awe—part fear and part wonder.

He wasn’t sure if he should put the car in reverse and get the hell out of there or casually park on the other side of the bins and hope they didn’t look like breakfast.

Nan leaned forward. “Well, will you look at that? Looks like our new mythological neighbors have a pet.”

“Yeah, of course, the castle has a pet dragon.” Nothing that size could be considered a pet. “How about we go through the front door instead?”

“Don’t be silly. It’s only a dragon.”

“That’s kind of my point. It’s a fucking dragon.” Which was super cool, as well as super terrifying. The dragon moved and stretched, and something furry stepped out from beneath its wing. Noah blinked, not sure what he was seeing. It took several seconds for him to realize it was a dark-haired man wearing an ankle-length brown fur coat and bright green Wellington boots. That was a style choice.

The man smiled and waved.

“See, he didn’t get eaten by the dragon. Let’s talk to our neighbors.”

Noah tore his gaze away from the man to glare at Nan. “And where would you like me to park? Right up close to the dragon?”

“Don’t be silly—there’s a spot right there.” She pointed at the spot on the other side of the bins, which was the logical place to park if it had been a bus and not a dragon on the other side of the car park.

Noah eased the car forward, hoping not to spook the dragon, and inched into the bay. He turned off the car. “I don’t want to be eaten by a dragon today. Or kidnapped by fairies.”

Nan opened her car door, not waiting for him to agree. “We’re being good neighbors…and getting the inside track on all the gossip.”

Noah closed his eyes. He didn’t call himself a witch or even say that he practiced Wicca, as that involved far more attention and commitment than he put into it, but that didn’t stop him from sending a short prayer to any listening god or goddess begging for protection.

“If you arrived last night or have always been here, please don’t let anything happen to me or Nan. I’ll try to do better.” Okay, it was a shitty prayer, and Web would laugh his ass off.

“Come on, Noah.”

Noah sighed and got out of the car, slipping the keys into his pocket. He shut the door and walked around to where Nan stood next to the bins.

The man in the fur coat stopped on the other side, leaving a gap of a couple of meters between them. The dragon waited about three meters behind the man. Which wasn’t nearly far enough.

Noah sniffed and wrinkled his nose; the bins had not smelled that bad yesterday.

“Apologies. You aren’t used to the sharp tang of dragon or the way it clings to the back of your throat,” the man said in perfect English. “I am Silas.”

Nan took a step forward. “I’m Linda, and this is my grandson, Noah. Were you inside the castle?” She pointed up at the white spire that reached several stories above the pub.

Silas grinned, his gaze lingering on Noah in a way that kept his heart beating fast. The man was pretty, all dark curls and long eyelashes. But amongst the curls of his hair were the pale curves of horns.

“No. I was hoping to go into the palace…or what remains of it. However, we couldn’t find a door.”

While Nan called it a fairy castle, it was, in fact, a palace. Or part of one. Did that mean there were fairies inside?

“There’s a door inside. We were here when the collapse happened,” Nan said. “That’s what the human authorities are calling the event. Do your people have a name for it?”

Silas’ features hardened for a moment. “The death of our world.”

“We’re very sorry about that,” Noah said. Not that it was his fault. Even the scientists hadn’t expected this. As Nan told him often enough, they’d been playing with magic they didn’t understand. “I’ll unlock the door, and you can come in.”

Noah took two steps towards the back door.

“Great, I need to talk to the vampires,” Silas said.

Noah froze, hoping that he’d misheard. “Vampires?”