Page 16

CHAPTER 16

N oah wasn’t sure why he lied for Silas…or Pan, or whatever else he called himself. And even though his lips were tingling from the kiss, he wasn’t entirely sure why he allowed it. It wasn’t as though he went round kissing every man he found attractive. And he’d be lying if he said Silas wasn’t attractive—in a smug ‘I know I’m hot’ kind of way.

And while Noah had never met a sex demon, he was willing to bet they didn’t kiss as well as Silas. That kiss had made him never want to surface. He’d wanted to drown, and he was sure that if it had continued, he’d have come. He’d have also forgotten his name and how to breathe. He was still half hard as they once again sat in the kitchen and stared at the maps.

Pan, a god, had worshipped him .

Asked him for a favor.

No one had ever spoken to him that way, and it had been weird at first. If Pan hadn’t been holding his face, he’d have squirmed away. But then, something had changed, and he’d glimpsed the power and the possibilities. Was that the magic Pan craved?

Did having magic make him a god?

“Noah?” Aunt Meredith said as though she’d been trying to catch his attention.

He’d been too busy thinking about the kiss and magic to pay attention to the maps, which now had more marks on them.

Meredith was unimpressed by the find the missing dragon plan. Though she was quite happy that they had maps of Beita and were able to line them up. She was also unimpressed that he had kissed or been kissed by Pan and that Pan was the point of contact for the mythological people.

The vampire palace that was now part of her mother’s pub was another point of contention. Meredith looked like she was done with everything, but then she had been working long hours since the collapse.

“I need to help with the dragon finding because I am the only one who can speak Dragon unless you have come across the city’s knight,” Pan said. “Locating the knight and the Strega will be very helpful for my people.”

“You need to come and see them for yourself. There are only a few there who speak English, who can act as translators, which makes interviewing them very slow.”

Pan tilted his head.

Noah frowned. “How do they know English?”

“They said they were taught by someone who appeared in their world about six months ago.” Meredith glanced at Pan. “Do you know anything about that?”

Pan wrinkled his nose. “There were odd things arriving in our world. People, buildings, and other bits. We didn’t know what was causing it. Magic was also behaving strangely. Is the human who taught them there?”

“No. They said he was from Calla.” She touched the arrow on the map, which now also had Calla written in human letters. “I can take a guess where Calla is…which means I can put word out. Do they also have dragons?”

“Most city-states do.”

Meredith sighed. “Great. Is there anything else I need to know immediately? My boss will also want to talk to you.”

Pan grimaced. “The vampires are going to need blood, or at least the blooded vampires need blood. The children won’t; they’ll need food. Also, any vampires in town may be in hiding because the lack of magic has left them, well, for lack of a better word, hideous.”

“There are half a dozen werewolves who look like they stepped out of a horror movie. I doubt vampires are going to be any more terrifying,” Meredith said. “I’ll report that there are bodies to be removed. Mum, are you okay with feeding the vampires in the spire?”

Linda nodded. “I can feed them for a bit.”

Noah watched his aunt as she made a face that meant she was running through a dozen different options and not liking any of them. “We don’t have the personnel to go searching for a dragon. How did you lose something as big as a bus?”

“We didn’t deliberately lose a dragon. We didn’t choose to have our world ripped apart.” There was an edge in Pan’s voice Noah hadn’t heard before. “But I owe the dragon this favor, and where I am from, keeping your word matters.” Pan rolled up the map the vampire had given him. “Now I can find where the dragons lived.”

“You can.” Meredith agreed. “Noah, can you step outside with me?”

Noah glanced at Pan. If he sensed there was a problem, it didn’t show. Noah knew from experience that this was where he got a dressing down and told to behave better.

They didn’t go out the back where the dragon waited but stood on the footpath, far too close to where Pan had kissed him.

“I appreciate that you want to help, and I’m sure David could do with an extra pair of hands at the school. It will be safer than chasing after dragons.”

“You heard what Silas said.” Noah used the name Pan wanted people to use. “The dragon is tired and cranky and hungry and missing his mate?—”

“Yes, and then he’ll start burning things. And then we’ll be ordered to kill him. It’s a mess. I am aware.”

“I don’t think we should be killing dragons. They are the symbol of Wales.”

She glared at him, and it took everything he had not to step back. “There has already been violence between humans and the mythologicals. A dragon burning homes and buildings will be a danger to everyone.”

“All the more reason to help prevent it.”

“Noah, the military is being rolled out. This is a large-scale disaster that will take years, decades, to recover from.”

“I’ve seen the news. Maybe the military and the people in charge need to be asking Silas how to help. Or the other mythologicals who speak English…or something instead of rounding them up.”

“We aren’t rounding them up. We are protecting them. There are a lot of angry people in town who’ve lost people.” She lifted her hand. “On both sides. We don’t know anything about the mythologicals?—”

“They are literally in our stories.”

“Stories which are old and may only carry a grain of truth.”

She was right, but why were some myths real and others discarded as fantasy? “That hasn’t stopped people from believing some stories are entirely truthful.”

Meredith sighed. “I’m not debating religion with you.”

Noah tried to act innocent. “I might have been talking about Greek myths or Cinderella.”

“You weren’t. Look, you don’t know Silas, and he was kissing you. You’re hardly impartial.”

He knew Pan’s real name, which was more than he bothered to find out about some guys he’d fucked or let fuck him. Though that wouldn’t win him the argument. “Was I supposed to let him starve?”

She remained silent for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. “No.”

“I said I’d help with the dragon. My word matters.” He echoed Pan’s words. “Web and Liam can also help.”

Her eyebrows twitched as if she was biting back a comment about his friends. He’d seen the same expression on his mother’s face too many times not to recognize it. “And how are you going to search? Why hasn’t the other dragon been flying around searching for her mate? What are you going to do if she’s dead? This is dangerous. There might be wild mythological animals out there.”

He hadn’t considered wild animals.

Weird mythological wild animals.

“Liam lives on this side of town. We can use his car. And we’ll take water and such.”

Meredith stared at him. “You’re not using the dragon to fly around?”

“Yeah, nah, apparently riding a dragon isn’t a thing.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “We’re hoping to leave him here with a side of beef or something. And the dragon is going to need to hunt, which means farmers might lose the occasional animal. I think there’s some logistics to work out.”

“Some logistics?” She pursed her lips and blew out a breath. “It’s a logistical nightmare. It’s not one city or one?—”

“I know.” With social media and the news, there was no avoiding that this was a global problem.

“No, you don’t, Noah. When there’s a disaster, other countries and cities volunteer their resources. They can’t. Because everyone is in the same situation. Getting water and power and sewage working again is the priority, and that’s the tip of the iceberg. Roads need to be fixed, otherwise the trucks that transport food and other goods won’t be able to get through. They will be the priority, not our little suburban streets…” She shook her head. “We can’t ask London to send extra medics or cadaver dogs to go through rubble because they’re in a worse situation. The morgue is full of humans and mythologicals. It’s going to take months to check all the buildings, to make sure they’re stable. It will take years to rebuild, and it will never be the same.”

Noah swallowed. Knowing it was global was one thing, but he hadn’t thought about what that meant. Growing up in Australia, when it was bushfire season, America often sent equipment and firefighters, and Australia did the same for them. And when there’d been a tsunami in Asia, lots of countries had sent help.

They helped because they could. Now, everyone was on their own.

“I’m trying to help. I need to help. To do something. And David will have plenty of human volunteers, but who is volunteering to help the mythologicals? You heard what Silas said. If they listen to the language, they can learn it, but who is going to talk to them? Or take a radio or a TV. I’m sure they would like to help their own people.”

“It’s not that simple.”

Noah scrubbed his hand over his face, his frustration swelling with each breath. “Why not? They didn’t choose to come here. And now they’re stuck, according to the scientists. We’re all stuck. And everything is broken. And I may never be able to go home.”

Meredith put her arms out, and Noah stepped into her embrace. He rested his head on her shoulder. As much as he constantly disappointed his parents, they were his parents, and they were supposed to tell him that everything would be fine. They wouldn’t, though. His mother would tell him to stop worrying and to get on with it. Without offering any practical advice on how to do it. At least Meredith helped nail down the practicalities.

“They grounded the planes because of dragons and other flying things. The runways were also damaged. It won’t be this week or even next month, but air travel will resume. People smarter than you and me will figure things out.”

“But it’s never going to be how it was.” And even though some countries were busy killing the mythologicals, that didn’t change the fact that they were there, and those countries would forever have blood on their hands.

“No, I have no idea what it will be like. Perhaps we’ll end up with vampire doctors.” She laughed and released him. “I’m going to call my boss and tell him about Silas and the missing dragon and the need to take action.”

“And about talking to the mythologicals so they can learn English.”

“Teaching them English is pretty low on the list.”

“You need more translators, more who can communicate. Maybe the werewolves can help find people trapped under rubble.” He shrugged. “Assuming they have a dog-like sense of smell.”

“You’re also assuming that humans trust them.”

Humans or cops? Or both? Or was it Meredith who didn’t trust them?

“I’m going to call Liam. We’ll meet him at the checkpoint. Can you make sure that Nan and I get a pass or something to be allowed through without a hassle? I’m guessing Silas will need something, too.” The ring on his finger wouldn’t mean anything to the cops.

Meredith gave him a look. “Anything else?”

“Food for the dragon?” Or was that pushing it?

“Already on my list. Go in and pack up.”

Noah took two steps away.

“For the record, I don’t like this,” Meredith said in her official voice. “You might be eaten by a dragon or used in a sex demon ritual.”

Noah grinned and put his hand to his forehead. “Oh no, however, will I cope? A hot sex demon wants to fuck me.”

“Noah, take this seriously.”

“I am.” And couldn’t promise to say no if Pan did want to fuck.

“Fine. Stay in contact, though I can’t promise help.” Meredith shooed him away. “And come back alive. I do not want to be calling my sister with that news.”

If he died, at least he wouldn’t be the one making that phone call.

“I promise that not dying is at the top of my list.” He ducked back into the pub before Meredith could say anything else.

He texted Liam that Operation Dragon Hunt was going ahead and that they’d meet at the checkpoint.

Yes! I’ll see you in thirty.

In the kitchen, Nan and Pan were loading up his backpack. Pan was telling her about vampires, explaining the difference between the blooded and unblooded and how blood changed them and allowed them to use blood magic, which was different from the magic that elves used.

Pan glanced up and smiled at him. “Are you able to look for the dragon?”

He made it sound as though Noah needed permission to go looking for the dragon.

“She’s worried we’re all going to end up eaten.” Which wasn’t the whole truth, but it was near enough.

“The scared and hungry dragon by your door is more likely to eat you at this point,” Pan said, as though that was reassuring.

“The butcher said he’d bring something over when he’s done sorting out his shop. He’s got no power, so the meat is going to spoil, and he doesn’t want it going to waste.”

“Dragons don’t hunt every day. They feast, and then it’ll be a handful of days before they hunt again. Feryn may part with some gold for the dragon’s upkeep.”

“I think he’s glad that he doesn’t have to dispose of tons of rotten meat. The dragon’s doing him a favor.” Nan closed the bag. “I hope you find the missing dragon, but if you don’t, what will you tell him?”

Pan frowned, staring at the table as if studying the human map. “I have not allowed myself to consider that possibility. I am concerned that she is injured and unable to fly.”

Linda patted Pan’s hand. “I hope that is the reason she is missing. Either way, though, I hope you find her so that he can have closure.”

Pan nodded, but his expression was grim. A grim god was not a good thing.

“What are you going to do, Nan? Are you going to be okay here?”

“I’m going to finish up, drop some things off to Maeve, and then walk home.”

“It’s a pity you can’t send Maeve to the emergency shelter for mythologicals.” Noah glanced at Pan. “She loves to talk and thrives on gossip.”

Nan laughed. “She has a good heart and has never said no to anyone who needs help. She’s been messaging me for updates every other minute because she feels like she’s missing out. Like you.” Nan nodded at Noah. “She needs to be doing something.”

“She cannot walk into town?” Pan asked.

“She’s got a dickie leg and heart and can’t walk far,” Nan said, avoiding telling Pan that Maeve had a dickie leg because she learned how to ride a motorbike for her sixtieth birthday and had been involved in an accident a few years later. Maeve had stories about her life that made his hookup experiences seem tame. “And her street is a mess.”

“But she wants to be here, where the gossip is?” Pan asked.

“Of course she does. She’d be in there helping them clean up and getting the children settled in their new world. She was a teacher. Now she said she lives vicariously through others.”

Noah snorted. “Which is why she’s at the pub two nights a week.”

“She likes the company, and she’s not the only one. With the pub closed, there’ll be a lot of people who are missing not only the social interaction but a meal. Some of the old guys without wives come in for dinner.” Nan spoke as though she wasn’t the same age as them. But then she liked to claim that working in the pub kept her young.

“Taverns are always important parts of the community.” Pan’s finger traced the curve of his horn. “Perhaps there is a way this place can reopen if you do not mind serving vampires.”

Nan sighed. “I doubt it. It’s not an essential service.”

“True…unless it became one. It is part of the palace now,” Noah said, not sure where his idea was going, but there needed to be a place where humans in need of food and social interaction could meet mythologicals who needed to learn English and more about the human world.

Nan pushed the backpack towards him. “Take the map and find your dragon. I can guarantee this mess will be here when you get back.”

Noah gave her a hug. “That’s because we won’t be gone long. We’ll find her, and there’ll be a dragon party in the car park before you can miss me.”

“The last time I saw a couple of dragons break into some wine barrels, it was very messy. You don’t want a dragon party in town. You’re also going to want the dragon to do his business somewhere else. Preferably downwind.”

Nan passed Pan three bottles of water. “You can pass that message on when you leave.”

Pan’s eyes widened, and for a moment, Noah thought he was going to argue.

Noah grabbed Pan’s arm. “Come on. You have to tell him we’re going looking and that he needs to sit tight, anyway.” He glanced over his shoulder at his grandmother and couldn’t help but feel he was abandoning her to go on a wild dragon chase. “I’ll text you.”