Page 21 of Ensnared

“Whatever.” Gordon leaves as quickly as he came, changing forms just outside the door and slithering away faster than I would have thought possible if I hadn’t seen him racing through the streets yesterday.

“He gives me the heebie jeebies,” Jade says.

“Me too,” Coral says.

“I like him,” Sammy says. “The way he moves is neat, and he’s tough. That doesn’t mean he’s bad. He brought us pickles.”

I forgot how much Sammy likes pickles. He proceeds to eat the entire jar. I hope it doesn’t give him an upset stomach.

The next three days go exactly like the first. Gordon does a grocery drop off, with increasingly improved items, though the milk on the third day is expired, not that we needed more. He also brought mostly things like plain old rice chex, which are edible, but not very exciting for kids.

“Sugar-coated cereal,” I emphasize. “Look for the boxes like this that are bright and exciting. Those are the ones they want.”

He rolls his eyes, but I think Gordon likes us a little bit more each day. He brings better stuff, and he practically preens when I praise his selections.

By the fifth day, however, we have amassed a bit of a stockpile, and nothing scary has happened since that first day. The kids and I are all a little stir crazy, and I’m getting ticked that His Royal Majesty Axel can’t even be bothered to show up. “Tell him, Gordon. If he’s not here himself tomorrow, I’m going out for a walk.”

“You will not do that,” Gordon says. “You vowed to do as he said.”

“Well, I haven’t heard him say it. I didn’t promise to do what you said.” I fold my arms. “If he can’t be bothered to come by and give me orders himself, I’m breaking free.”

Gordon shakes his head and scowls. “You’re dumber than I thought.”

I think about what he means. I’m essentially a captured slave, and I’m currently being ignored. I could take that as a boon, of course, and just be glad that we’re safe. The less time we spend around the dragons, the better, right? But we’re also sitting ducks here, and without our protector even coming by, how much time do we really have? I’ve never been one to pull an ostrich and close my eyes to what’s happening around me.

I feel pretty ostrichy right now, hiding in a furniture store with sliding doors.

When I think about Axel’s smirk, it makes me want to duck out and go exploring right now. It’s just not the face of a cold-hearted killer. A villain? Sure. Even a killer, maybe, but only when truly provoked. He’d hear me out first, and then he’d understand why I didn’t just sit around.

Right?

Right.

I think.

My uncertainty keeps me inside another day.

But the next morning, as I’m facing down my sixth day of hiding in a furniture store in the middle of town, I can’t handle any more. I make a plan.

“You’re going to stay put, right?” Gordon eyes me askance.

“You convinced me yesterday,” I say. “I’m sure there are hundreds of dragons out there, right now.”

“In the sky, on land, and in the water,” he says.

“The water?” I didn’t expect that.

“You really need to be trained,” Gordon says. “The blessed returned to Earth to recapture the heart, and we won’t leave until we have it. In order to do that, His Royal Highness sent the Blessed Recovery Team.”

“Wait, did you say returned?” I ask.

Gordon’s dramatic sigh seems over the top. “We lived here with humans for several thousand years. However, we fought often, and it became ugly. We, being the greater, stronger, and smarter beings, decided to leave.”

“Leave.” I blink.

“Axel will explain all of this,” he says. “But you should at least know that there are four categories of blessed. Flame, of which our Recovery Leader is one.”

“Flame?” That must be the huge red dragon I saw eating missiles. “Okay. And how many of those are there on earth?”