Page 54 of Hexual Healing
“Got her!”he shouted triumphantly.
My magic apparently didn’t like being manhandled.It responded with its typical chaos.The dragon holding me suddenly sprouted flowers.Everywhere.His scales, his wings, his teeth, were all covered in daisies.
“What the…” he started, then started sneezing.Violently.Dragons, it turned out, could have hay fever.
He dropped me.Right onto the walking house's roof.
The house caught me gently, which was sweet, then formed a protective dome around me, which was even sweeter.Through the translucent walls, I saw the battle raging.
We were losing.
Despite all our crazy, despite Baz's Berserker form, despite the town's creative violence, we were losing.There were too many dragons, and they were too strong.
* * *
I woke up screaming, racked with pain, and Baz shaking me with a look of fear in his eyes.The only time I’d ever seen my unshakeable bear ever truly shaken.
I was alive, in bed.Safe.
Goddess, I fucking hate nightmares.Why do they always feel so real?
We wereallstill alive.The town was still standing, and I was now wide awake from my very shitty dream.
If I don’t see, or think, about another dragon for the rest of my life, it will be too soon.
“What's going to happen now?”I asked no one in particular.That was a future Tansy problem.Present Tansy was right here where she belonged.Warm, fuzzy feelings washed over me in a rare moment of peace.
The curse flared at the first sign of happiness, but I didn't react.I didn't even flinch.I was getting used to it, this constant ache.It was becoming a part of me.
“You okay?”Baz asked with concern in his eyes.Concern was a downgrade from fear.That was a very good thing.
“No,” I said honestly.“But I'm getting better atnotbeing okay.”I shuddered, the dream-dragons still much too fresh.“That felt so real.Four dragons, the house growing legs…” I paused, suddenly uncertain.“Wait.The house didn’t grow legs today, did it?During training?I’m having trouble sorting out what actually happened and what was a nightmare.”
“The house stayed firmly planted during training,” Baz assured me.“Though you did make it rain molasses and turned Zelda's hair into snakes.”
“Right.The reverse-aiming.That was real.”I rubbed my temples.“But no actual dragons?”
“No actual dragons.Just scarecrows and very patient townspeople.”
“We should talk when you’re feeling better,” Gary mumbled.“About what’s happened.About what's coming.”
“Tomorrow,” I said.“Tonight, we rest.”
“Tonight, we celebrate,” Gary corrected.“We deserve…”
“A fancy-dance party!”I screamed like a teenage girl.Baz was so startled he blinked rapidly for a full two seconds.It was almost as if his brain was trying to compute what was going on.
* * *
“Who wants to get turnt tonight?”I yelled at the top of my lungs, opening a bottle of champagne I’d shaken within an inch of its life.The cork shot into the frigging stratosphere.About a nanosecond later, I was covered in foam.My white dress was really gonna show off the goods, wet T-shirt style.Thankfully, I was born without shame.
The crowd cheered, and someone started pulling out bottles of something that glowed faintly green.
“Is that safe to drink?”I asked.
“Absolutely not,” Dee Dee said cheerfully, pouring shots.
As the celebration began, I found myself standing apart, watching.The curse was a constant ache, but it couldn't touch this.Nothing could compare to the warmth of seeing a community come together, the pride in having protected each other, the absurd joy of having a sentient house dancing to a beat only it could hear.Either that or it was having a seizure, because “Pony,” by Ginuwine, didnotrequire that much hip action from a load-bearing wall.