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Noah moved it from side to side, and the dragon followed the movement.

Maybe a dragon was like a big cat, and they could play a little game called ‘get the dragon to move away from the door’. He tossed the chop into the air, giving it a good arc. The dragon leaned to the side and snatched it out of the air. The next second, its focus was on Noah, ready for another flying chop.

He threw this one a little higher, forcing the dragon to back up a little. He kept repeating the process with each chop until the dragon was back in the corner, and Noah was standing right where he’d placed the roast. Noah placed the last two chops on the ground before walking backward to the door. He picked up the almost empty bucket of water on his way and took it inside to refill. When he came back out, the chops were gone, and the dragon was sitting in the corner, waiting.

“Ah…you figured out that if you sit in the corner, you get fed?” He placed the bucket on the feeding spot and took a step back. The dragon didn’t lunge forward; it waited for him to reach the stairs.

Several clicks came from behind him.

He startled and turned, fully expecting to see another dragon and his death to be imminent. He blinked and stared. Silas was almost unrecognizable.

Gone was the fur coat and green wellington boots. Now, he wore close-fitted dark brown pants and dark brown leather boots with a pale green shirt, topped off with a cream knee-length waistcoat embroidered with some kind of golden Celtic knotwork design down the front. He’d been pretty before, but now… Well, Noah wouldn’t have refused if Silas declared he wanted to eat Noah.

“The dragon thanks you for the food. He liked the crunchy things and will wait in that corner for food because he doesn’t enjoy the smell of fear while he’s eating.” Silas smiled at him.

This time, the rapid beat of his heart had nothing to do with being afraid of the dragon. “I’m glad he enjoyed the meat. I’m trying not to be afraid, but he’s the size of a bus, and I’m a snack.”

“You are a snack…” Silas considered him for several seconds with a smile on his lips and something that might have been heat in his hazel eyes. “But most things are to a dragon.”

Noah swallowed, not sure if they were talking about the dragon anymore. “Your meeting went well?”

Silas grimaced, and the warmth died. “Negotiations were made. There are mass casualties in the palace, and they are in mourning. They will not be helping to find the missing dragon. Instead, they asked me to assist in finding the vampires who used to live in this city.” He produced a rolled-up piece of paper. “I have a map of what it used to look like. I’m hoping you have a map of your city, and perhaps we can overlay the two and?—”

“We will need a second reference point to orient the maps on top of each other.”

“I am aware. I have flown over the city, so it shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Or you could take the dragon out for another?—”

“I’d rather not. Do you know how hard it is to remove the stink of dragon from your skin?”

“I don’t… You bathed and got a change of clothes in there?” Obviously, he had. Or he’d stolen them. But they fitted him too well to be stolen. He must’ve had time to try things on.

Silas shrugged. “It was part of the agreement.” He turned his hand holding the paper, revealing two neat punctures on his wrist. “When is the next full moon?”

Noah stared at the bite. A vampire bite. “They bit you?”

“A necessary part of the agreement. Vampires need blood, and the unblooded vampires will need food and water. The dead will need to be brought out and burned, as per our culture.”

“Um…how many dead are we talking about?”

Silas shrugged. “Twenty or so, apparently.”

“You can’t burn twenty bodies in the middle of the city.”

“I wasn’t planning on doing it in the middle of the city. I need to locate the temple.” He gave the map in his hand a small wave, as though locating the temple was the obvious solution.

Noah looked up at him, reminding himself that while Silas seemed human, except for the horns, he wasn’t. This wasn’t a culture clash; it was an entire world of expectations clashing. “Even if you find the temple, you’re going to need permission. You can’t just burn bodies. There’s a whole process.”

Silas’s eyebrows drew together. “They are dead. They will be wrapped and burned in the temple. That is the process.”

“Not here, it’s not.”

“My people will not be buried in the ground. If that is the process you are referring to.”

“We also cremate people, but there’s a place for that.”

Silas pressed his lips together. “Then I will need to speak to someone in charge.”