Page 55

Chapter 55

In the end we flew Griffin Air despite Oscar and Benji’s protests. We left them to debrief Ethan and disseminate news of Jeb’s betrayal. It was nice to be alone with Bastion again, to have nothing around us but air and sun. It felt entirely too long since we’d had time to ourselves but this would have to do. When all this was over, I was renting us a cabin on a beach and we were going to drink cocktails and re-enact as many of the drinks as possible. An Orgasm followed by a Wallbanger sounded fun. A girl can dream.

The air was cool and I was feeling relaxed when we finally landed. We were met by a host of solemn brethren guards, all dressed in black, who escorted us into a small side office. Indy was in her Great Dane form; she was curled into a surprisingly small ball, blue-grey fur giving her an other-worldly feel even in her incognito mode .

She stretched as soon as we walked in and bounded to greet us. Her tail caught a mug on the desk and sent it flying. It broke on the hard wooden floor. The man behind the desk sighed. ‘Another one bites the dust.’

Tom Smith is a fellow ginger but, unlike me, he is all hard muscle. His bulk has extra bulk – he is a tank of a man. Despite having very limited magic, I had no doubt he’d be one of the deadliest men in a room at any given time. Except when Bastion was there, of course.

I wondered if Tom was one of those griffins who were hidden as brethren then dismissed the thought. Emory had told me once that Tom Smith’s family line had been a gift to him from his adoptive parents, Audrey and Cuthbert. And dragons can’t lie.

Tom stood and offered his hand to Bastion, a rare gesture. Bastion took it and pulled him in for one of those manly hugs. They clapped each other on the shoulders and then drew back. ‘Bastion,’ Tom greeted him, laying a bit too much emphasis on his name.

A ghost of a smile touched Bastion’s lips. I looked between them. ‘What am I missing?’

‘Tom used to know me by another name. He’s still sulking about it.’

Tom glared. ‘I do not sulk .’

‘Could have fooled me,’ Bastion said mildly, but then he spoiled it by shooting Tom a grin. ‘How’s things?’

Tom pinched his nose. ‘Emory is never allowed to go on holiday ever again.’

‘Are the dragon Council members not pulling their weight?’ I asked as I stroked Indy’s slightly bitey head. I fixed her with my best glare and she subsided, coming close so I could stroke her on a less toothy part of her body.

‘The Council members are too busy playing games amongst themselves. Their political manoeuvring makes chess look easy,’ Tom complained. ‘And quite a few of the dark seraph are missing.’

There was genuine anxiety in his voice, which is why I decided to take pity on him. ‘Reynard and a select few went to guard Emory and Jinx.’

Tom’s jaw worked. ‘So I’ve been wasting valuable resources trying to find four dark seraph that are actually dicking about in Thailand?’

‘I don’t know what they’re doing there but yes, dicking about might be included.’

‘Reynard and I are going to have words,’ he promised darkly.

‘Just don’t do it near Shirdal,’ I advised. ‘He’s all protective. It’s sweet. ’

Tom grimaced. ‘Noted. I don’t want to piss off Shirdal. Now, do you want the dog?’ He gestured to Indy, who was still busy wagging at us with her whole bum.

At the mention of her name, she went to give me a lick across the face, ‘No!’ I said firmly. ‘No kisses!’

She made a sad noise but went back to nuzzling me instead. This time she kept her teeth in check. ‘Good girl,’ I praised her. I knew first-hand how smart hellhounds are. I had spoken to Gato a number of times, albeit he is a special case.

‘Indy,’ I started, ‘I’m here to see you. I need to make a potion to help my mum. She was in the third realm too much and her mind is fractured, lost in time. I need to brew her a potion, a potion that’s never been made before. I think if I used something from you it might help her. I really need to speak to her and get some information from her. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t essential. Can I take something from you – some hair, a nail clipping, perhaps? I won’t use it for anything other than Mum’s potion, you have my word and oath.’

Indy studied me for a long moment, her body tense and her tail eerily still. Then she strode to Bastion and nudged him firmly. He raised an eyebrow. ‘What?’ He didn’t speak hellhound. Nor did I .

‘She wants you to do something?’ I guessed.

‘Yes, but what?’

I shrugged. ‘You’re the one she’s trying to talk to. You figure it out.’

Indy barked then batted his hand with her head. He looked at her for a moment before shifting his hand to his talons. She barked again, gave a wag then sat down and offered him a paw. Relief surged through me; she was offering her paw for clippings. She was willing to help.

‘Thank you, Indy. Thank you so much.’ I struggled to keep my emotions hidden. I couldn’t have Tom reporting that I’d grown soft since my appointment as the Crone.

My words distracted her. She stood back up, came over to give me an enthusiastic lick on the face. This time I let her. I stroked her on her back and kissed her giant forehead. ‘Thank you,’ I repeated softly.

She wagged heartily before seeming to remember that she was supposed to be doing something else. She sat back down and held out her right forepaw again. Bastion carefully trimmed her nails and took a little patch of her fur. When he set her paw back down, she lifted it up again and pawed him firmly. He took a little more of her fur and looked at her quizzically. She barked at him .

‘Look,’ Bastion said, ‘I’m just going to hold still. You do whatever you think you need to do with my talons, okay?’

Indy lifted her paw up and promptly used his claw to cut her front leg. Blood welled up. I hastily threw open my tote bag and rifled through it for an empty vial. I caught the blood as it dripped down her outstretched leg. ‘Warn us next time!’ I chastened.

She gave me a flat look.

‘Sorry, you’re right. Thanks. Just thanks.’

She gave me a satisfied look and a toothy grin. She hadn’t cut herself too deeply and the blood soon slowed. She sat back down in her bed behind Tom’s desk and carefully licked her paw. ‘Do you want me to heal it?’ I offered.

She snorted derisively and went back to licking, so I guessed that was a no. I stoppered the vial and stowed it carefully in my tote bag.

‘You want me to arrange a helicopter ride home for you?’ Tom offered politely.

‘No, thank you. I like riding on Bastion.’

Tom snickered. ‘I bet you do,’ he muttered, smirking at Bastion.

Bastion’s eyes narrowed and I heard the rumble of a growl. The smirk fled Tom’s features. ‘Touchy!’ he noted, holding up his hands.

Bastion held his eyes a moment longer before stepping back. I heard Tom’s little sigh of relief. They might be friendly, but Bastion wouldn’t let anyone disrespect me. It gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

There was a chewing noise and we all turned to Indy. ‘Indy!’ Tom barked. ‘Bad dog! Those are my inclement-weather boots!’

A grin tugged at my lips. ‘You call your welly boots “inclement-weather boots”?’ I did air quotes with my fingers.

The tops of his ears pinked and he cleared his throat. ‘Welly boots seems a bit childish.’

‘Gumboots?’ Bastion suggested.

Another loud chew sounded and Tom gave an aggrieved sigh. ‘She hates me.’

Indy barked and tapped her tail. ‘She likes you,’ I disagreed. ‘She just really loves inclement-weather boots. Buy her some new chew toys.’

‘Roger that.’

We said our goodbyes and flew home the same way we’d arrived. I had all of the flight to go over the flat look Bastion had given Tom on my behalf, so when we got home I made sure to show Bastion exactly how much I loved his protective urges.