Page 31

CHAPTER 31

I f there was one thing Noah never wanted to do again, it was to ride in a tractor towing a trailer loaded up with a dragon. It wasn’t that the dragon was making a scene or being difficult—though what Pan had said to her to make her behave, he had no idea—it was the smell of being so close to a dragon.

It was like someone had shoved two pickled onions up his nostrils and doused him in raspberry cordial. It was a pickled sweet scent that he was never getting out of his lungs, his skin or his clothes. He’d noticed the stink of the dragon behind the pub, but being close to one for the best part of the day had given him an entirely new appreciation for the scent.

And the toxic funk of dragon shit.

He was sure he could still taste it, clinging to the back of his throat. He wanted to soak in a hot bath and scrub every inch.

No, there was something worse than being in the tractor—holding the wing that also smelled of blood and decaying skin. He was impressed with himself for not throwing up when a clot landed at his feet.

He called Meredith to tell her what was going on and that they were on their way with the female dragon. Then he leaned back and closed his eyes. At least he was away from the centaurs. He had no plans of ever getting close to them again.

A cop on a motorbike greeted them as they got closer to town and then escorted them the rest of the way in. The dragon must’ve smelled her mate because she started making noises. Noah was sure Pan would’ve been able to translate the sounds, as it was, he had no idea.

When the trailer rocked due to her excitement, the farmer glanced at him. “Is this safe?”

How was he supposed to know? “I guess. As long as she doesn’t tip the trailer?”

“I meant, is her mate gonna eat us?”

“Probably not?” Noah assumed the female dragon would tell her mate that they’d helped her and everything would be cool. That didn’t stop a ball of cold fear from growing in his belly. He needed Pan here to translate…but the vet also needed him to translate. They needed another translator.

“I thought you knew all about dragons?” the farmer said, as though this was Noah’s fault.

“What made you think that? I’d never seen one until a couple of days ago.”

“You looked like you knew what you’re doing.”

“So did you.” And the farmer had more experience with animals than he did.

A cry cut through the air. Oh, shit. Noah peered up at the sky as the other dragon flew toward them. He swallowed hard and tried to shrink into the seat or become invisible or something. He wasn’t getting paid enough to deal with this. He wasn’t getting paid at all, although Pan had promised him a magical object. A magical object wasn’t going to do shit if a dragon ate him.

The dragon on the trailer chirped and clicked, no doubt updating her mate about the situation. He disappeared from view for several seconds. The farmer pointed in the mirror. Noah leaned to the side and saw the male dragon bringing up the rear, chatting to his mate as if catching her up on all the gossip.

Pan had said they were as smart as small children. Things beyond the immediate were hard for them to comprehend, as was losing their entire world.

The spire of the palace came into view and Noah breathed a little easier. He was home. Or near enough to it, and the dragon had been found.

It was far more of an adventure than he’d planned on having. Now all he wanted was a long hot shower and a lie down. “Do you want to come in for a drink before you head home?”

The farmer stared at him like he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. “With those two parked out the back. No, son, you’re on your own. I only offered because the vet said I’d be able to offload some carcasses. I’ll drop them here tomorrow.”

“Um…how many are we talking about?”

“I’ve got another ten.”

That seemed like rather a lot of cows, even for a dragon. “Give me your number and I’ll call you. But dragons only eat sort of once a week or something.”

“Huh…I can’t keep them for that long. They’ll rot.”

“Yeah, and it’s a terrible waste of meat, so give me tonight to work something out.”

The farmer wagged his finger at him. “Ay, but they can’t be used for human consumption.”

Noah nodded and pulled out his phone to add the farmer to his list of contacts. How the fuck was he supposed to find a home for ten dead cows? Was this his problem to solve?

No one else was going to do it. And offloading the dead animals had been part of the deal. “I’ll call you tomorrow, after lunch.”

“If you don’t call, I’ll be dropping them here before dinner.”

Nan was going to love that. They’d have dragons and dead cows in the car park behind the pub. That was not a sentence that would’ve made sense a week ago. This was like a fever dream or a bad trip where everything made just enough sense that it could be real, but there was no way…

“You’d best be unloading that dragon so I can go home.” The farmer gave him a nod.

Noah forced a smile. “Sure.” Not that he had any idea how to get a dragon off the trailer. “Thanks for your help.”

“Let’s not be doing it again.”

Noah slid out of the cab and landed on the street. The jolt reverberated through his bones. The male dragon saw him and clicked excitedly, prancing his feet like a dog who wanted to play catch.

“Hey, mate. We need to get your girlfriend off the trailer. And she can’t put any weight on that leg.” The dragon didn’t understand a word that he was saying, but it made him feel better to be talking.

He glanced over his shoulder at the cop who was sitting on his bike about ten meters in front, like he had no intention of helping but planned on enjoying the show. Noah scrubbed his hand over his face, feeling like the only thing he was capable of doing was having a breakdown in the middle of the street.

Keep it together for a few more minutes. Then I can have a drink…or three.

How far away was Pan? How long would it take to treat all the centaurs?

Would the centaurs let him go?

They were problems for later.

The male dragon moved closer and cooed at him. That sounded friendly but, it might have also been ‘you look delicious’. “Yeah mate, she’s going to be fine, and you guys can hang out in the car park for a bit until we find a better place.” Because they couldn’t stay there. Could they?

“Put the ramp down so she can get off,” the farmer called. Then he swore and got out. Stomping around to the end of the trailer. It was fine for the farmer to walk to the end of the trailer. His side was free of dragon. The male was so close to him his hot breath swept over his skin. He gagged but kept on smiling, because vomiting on a dragon’s foot was rude—he didn’t need anyone to tell him that.

With the ramp down, the female seemed to understand what to do. And she remembered not to put weight on the leg as she limped off the trailer.

The male nuzzled against her neck and licked her face. He sniffed her leg and clicked as though asking about it. Then he moved onto her wing, and while Noah was no expert on dragons, his tone changed as though concerned.

Had the female already realized she would never fly again?

Noah bit his lower lip at their obvious care and affection for each other. And for a couple of heartbeats, the chaos of the last couple of days didn’t matter. He’d helped reunite them.

He’d saved a fucking dragon!

He sniffed as his eyes prickled.

The male gave his mate a nudge towards the car park, and she limped over. He leaned over the trailer and grabbed the cow in his teeth. Maybe the conversation had simply been. ‘I’m too tired. You can carry the cow.’ But it hadn’t seemed that simple.

The farmer folded up the ramp. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You, too.” Then he followed the dragons into the car park. They retreated to their corner, and he walked up the steps to the back door. It was unlocked, and there was music playing.

Noah hesitated, then went in and shut the door. “Nan?”

He took a few more steps, but there was no one in the kitchen. “Nan?”

Had someone broken in to take advantage of some free drinks?

“At the bar. Come and join us,” Nan called.

Noah heard Maeve’s laughter—it was hard to forget; she sounded like an overexcited guinea pig.

He walked more cautiously toward the bar and paused in the doorway, taking in the scene. Nan was behind the bar, and there were four long-haired…somethings with Maeve sitting opposite.

The long-haired beings looked like they were a thousand years old and had never used moisturizer. Their skin was sallow and deeply wrinkled and they wore the same strange clothes that Pan had been wearing.

His gaze flicked to the door that led to the palace. It was open. He swallowed. They were vampires. His grandmother was serving drinks to vampires.

She turned and smiled at him. “Don’t mind the bodies. They’ll be collected tomorrow. We’re having a bit of a wake.”

It was only then that Noah noticed the bodies wrapped in sheets stacked to one side. Right. A wake for the dead vampires. All completely normal.

Like being the centaurs’ guests. And the dragons out the back and the fact that he had more magic than a god.

Was he sure he wasn’t injured and in a coma or something?

“How did it go with the dragon?”

“Yeah. Pa—Silas is helping the vet with the centaurs. He won’t be back until later.” He leaned against the door frame, like his battery had hit zero, having skipped low-power mode.

“Have a seat. You can tell us about it. This is Lord Feryn. He’s still learning English, but he’s picking it up very fast,” Nan said, pointing to one of the vampires.

The lord gave a single nod. His lips turned down as though the weight of two worlds was crushing him. “Thank you for your assistance.”

When he spoke, the tips of two fangs became visible. Noah’s heart stuttered and stopped. Dragons were one thing. A god with no magic another. But vampires having a wake in his grandmother’s pub—vampires with actual fangs, who looked like something out of a horror movie—that was too much.

“Let the boy sit,” Maeve said. “He’s exhausted. You know what he needs? He needs a bit of that euphoria. That’ll perk him up.”

Noah doubted Maeve was dealing drugs harder than dope but the way things were going, why not. Sure. Not that he’d ever heard of euphoria.

“Silas will not like it if I bite him,” Feryn said.

It took several seconds for Noah’s brain to process the words. Who cared what Pan wanted? “ I will not like it if you bite me.”

Maeve laughed. “Ooh, you will. It takes away all your worries and pain for a bit. My dicky leg has never been better.”

It wasn’t Maeve dealing drugs, it was the vampires. Strangely, that made more sense.

“Have a seat. I made stew with the leftover food. Would you like some?” Nan asked.

Noah sat on the nearest stool, which also happened to be the furthest from the vampires. “I stink of dragon, sorry. If I’d known we had company…” It wasn’t like he could’ve gone anywhere for a shower or a change of clothes.

Nan placed a glass of whiskey and ice in front of him. “I’ll be right back with the stew.”

Noah took a sip and then a gulp. The burn of the liquor as it raced down his throat and hit his stomach. It was grounding, and it was familiar. And with his eyes closed, he could pretend that everything was normal. Except for the smell. He exhaled and opened his eyes.

Hating the way he wished Pan was there. But everything was easier because Pan knew all about the mythological beings, and no doubt felt the same way about him because he understood this world.

“It is a hard season,” Feryn said. “For everyone. Too much death and ruin.” He lifted his glass as if inviting Noah to join in the grim toast.

He did, raising his glass and taking another drink. “The female dragon may never fly. And the farmer is delivering ten dead cows tomorrow. Do you know anyone who needs ten dead cows? I was warned they’re not fit for human consumption because they weren’t killed in accordance with food safety or because they’ve been sitting out too long…fuck. I don’t know. How many cows does a dragon eat?”

How many words did Feryn understand?

Noah drained his glass and set it on the bar.

“One each, every five days or so. The werewolves may appreciate the meat.”

Noah nodded. Yeah, of course, werewolves, why didn’t he think of that?

Because werewolves being real was not at the top of his mind. His brain wanted to explode from trying to process this new reality. It hadn’t been a week since the collapse.

In that time, he’d gone from shock and numbness to a need to do something, anything to help, and to have a distraction. Now the reality was soaking in. He was marinating in the truth, and dragon stink. This wasn’t a game or a horror movie, and going off to save a dragon wasn’t a fun jaunt one did to play at being helpful. It was dangerous.

Nan placed a bowl of stew in front of him. “I think we’ve all had enough of sad stories for a bit. Since the dragon survived, why don’t you give us a tale with a happy ending?”

The vampires thumped their fists on the bar as if agreeing.

As Noah started talking, he realized this wouldn’t be the last time he told this story. It was only the first.