Page 2

Chapter Two

“D o it again. Do it again.” Little Elliot clapped his hands, chanting, “Do it again, do it again.”

“Your wish is, as always, my command.” Cullen gathered up his magic, opened his arms, and butterflies flew everywhere, dropping flower petals with every flap of their wings, and every time the baby reached for a flower petal, it exploded in a flurry of sparks.

Elliot ran around the room, clapping and exploding butterfly wing petals, laughing like the world was the best place ever.

Heavens above, wasn’t that an endorphin rush?

Cullen loved this little boy more than life itself, not just because he was amazing or because he was his nephew and his godson, but because nobody thought he was cooler. The other dragon kids, sure, they all thought he was neat, but they were so involved with being all weird and magical in a new universe kind of way, and he needed someone who thought he was the best.

“Luff Conkle.”

“Oh, I love you too, little boy. My Elliot Bo-belliot. My sparkly little beast of joy. My?—”

“Cullen, you are making a racket.” Cosmo looked like hammered poo.

“You asked me to babysit. You’re the one having morning sickness. You need to leave me alone. I’m playing with my godson.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s my godson.”

He whipped around and stared at Corbin with a grin. “Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Not not. Not notty, not not not.” He snapped his fingers, and the rainbow-colored wind swirled around little Elliot and plopped him back down in front of him from where he’d tried to sneak off. “I was asked to babysit. I’m not playing. If you all don’t like it, then shoo. Shoo, shoo, shoo.”

Elliot climbed up into his arms and perched on his shoulder like the cute, creepy little dragon he was. “Mine Cuncle.”

“Absolutely. And this is my little gargoyle.”

Cosmo growled. “He’s not a gargoyle.”

“He perches better than anyone I know. He can be incredibly still, and he is absolutely granite colored. Aren’t you my little gargoyle?”

“Gar grill.” Elliot beamed and then looked at his father and roared. “GAR GRILL, DA!”

“I have a headache. I’m going to go upstairs and die,” Cosmo said.

They all stared a moment, then Elliot kind of whimpered and snuggled in.

“Don’t worry, little gargoyle. Your da’s head just hurts. He’s very busy making another baby.”

“Rocks?”

“Possibly. It could possibly be making the baby out of rocks. You never know with your fathers.”

Cullen, you know that that’s not true.

Oh, don’t start with me. Cullen shook his head. Until the point wherein someone can come up with a better answer, we’re sticking with rocks. Right, Uncle Corbin, or do you want to try to explain?

“I like rocks. We could totally go play with rocks, all three of us somewhere not in here.” Good brother.

“You so have a point, brother. I’m starving, and everything makes Cosmo puke. Let’s go outside and cook something stinky.”

Burgers and bacon with blue cheese.

I do love it when you’re alliterative.

Cullen and Corbin looked at each other and then started to giggle. “Do you wanna go make burgies, little dragon? I mean little gargoyle?”

“Burgies! Burgies wif cheese!”

“All right, burgies with cheese. Eddie, are you coming?” The huge magpie that was little Elliot’s constant companion and best friend came swooping down, brushing the little boy’s toes with his wing and cawing loudly.

“There’s nothing that bird likes more than to sit on the grill and pick hamburger. Which door do you want to go out of?”

“Oh, let’s go out into the front. It’s summer out there. It’s bitter cold in Lunastra. I mean, unless you wanna go see Mother in the Summerl?—”

“No, no.” Corbin glanced at Elliot. She’s on a tear. She’s all frustrated about something with Dad, and I don’t want to get in the middle of it, so let’s just not.

Fair enough, I don’t want any trouble . Especially not with their mom. She was a fae high born and could be very…imperious.

They headed out to the human realm, which was one of the directions their house faced. The day was sunny but not too hot, and it would be perfect for grilling.

Corbin set up the grill. Corbin loved to grill stuff, and they were all dragon enough to love meat, which made their mother roll her eyes.

Even though they were out in the human realm, Cullen didn’t bother to glamour any of them. With their fae blood, they never looked really human unless he magicked it, but they were somewhere that they couldn’t be seen from the road or hiking trails, so they went with natural. Which meant Cullen was in his violet splendor, and Corbin was an electric green. Little Elliot was silvery gray all over, and he was so adorable.

Hawk, who was Cosmo’s mate, would join them soon, he would bet. The big guy had been over in Lunastra, or the dragonlands so to speak, for a meeting.

“Grill ahoy!” Corbin called.

He chuckled, watching Eddie the magpie swooping and dive-bombing Corbin, waiting for food.

Elliot waved at him. “More twicks.”

“More? Greedy little dragon.”

“Rar! What greedy?”

“Here it means you like it when Cunkle does tricks.”

“Twicks. Me like. S’good. More.”

“Okay, my little gargoyle. What would you like me to do?”

Elliot’s lips tightened as he thought. “Colors. I want colors.”

Cullen swiped his hand through the air, a scarlet flame appearing. “Do you like red?”

“Pwease. Yes.”

“Or do you prefer blue?” In his other hand, a tiny blue flame appeared.

“Poople.”

“Oh. I see. You want purple.” He breathed the red flame and the blue flame together and slowly pushed them until the thick colors intertwined and created purple.

“Oh.” Little Elliot stared with wide eyes.

“Nicely done, brother. Learning opportunity. Color theory is our friend,” Corbin told him.

He set the purple flame on the ground for his nephew. “I hate how sick Cosmo is this time. I don’t remember him being quite this sick before.”

“Everybody on the other side says every pregnancy is different. I don’t know, but I don’t blame you. It’s just, it’s sad.”

“I think we’re going to have to talk to Mom.”

Corbin arched an eyebrow. “We? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?”

“Oh, all right, I’ll talk to her.” Everybody knew that Cullen was totally cool with wandering across whatever doorway he wanted to, and he loved to hang out with Mom. She was a hoot. If by hoot he meant kind of a giant pain in the butt. With a temper.

“You rock,” Corbin said.

“No! Him Cullen!”

“Would you like me to be a rock?” Cullen asked, and he gathered a little magic, making himself into a big boulder.

Elliot squealed, clapping his hands. “Silly Unc! You’s a rock.”

“I am.” He let go of the illusion. “Boo!”

“Eeek!” Elliot laughed wildly as Cullen picked him up.

He blew a raspberry on that tiny belly.

Elliot laughed, and Corbin got burgers on the grill, the sizzle and sudden scent of searing meat yummy.

“Unc. Unicorn.”

“You want me to be a unicorn?” Or make one? He’d done that, but it took a lot of energy.

“No! Unicorn. S’over dere.”

Cullen looked to Corbin. “Do you think?”

Corbin’s nostrils flared. “Get the baby inside.”

He immediately threw up an illusion that turned Elliot into a stump. “We’ll go together. It seems to be quiet.”

“No. See, Cunkle? Unicorn,” the stump said.

“You want to be a unicorn, sweet baby?”

I don’t know what it is, Corbin growled. I can’t see anything, but I don’t like that he thinks he can see something.

Now, and I’m itching. Let’s get inside.

Can you hide us long enough to save the burgers?

No problem. He threw up a quick glamour—sort of his emergency, no one can see us illusion, a heavy fog separating the house from everything. “I think we should go eat with Grandma, huh?”

“Gammy!”

“That’s right, my little gargoyle. Let’s go eat with Gammy. That sounds like way more fun than eating out here. It’s a little hot, huh?” And he was moving from nervous to wigged.

“Unicorn come?”

“Not today. He’s not hungry. He doesn’t eat hamburgers. Unicorns are notoriously vegetarian.”

“What mememarian?”

“That means that they have dull teeth, not sharp ones like us, and they don’t eat meat.”

Elliot’s knot holes went wide. “No burgies.”

“Nope. No burgies at all.” They gathered up the food and headed inside, locking the door firmly once they were all inside.

He peeked out the window, making sure there wasn’t anything out there that he could see. All he could see was sparkly fog.

By the time the illusion faded, the intruder wouldn’t be out there watching anymore. Whatever it was, well, if he hadn’t given up, they’d eat him.

Chomp.