Page 8 of After 5

“Jen,” Marco urged.

“I have to take it from him before he comes to,” I said. I knew I’d be breaking a WTF rule, but Caiyan’s key was at stake. I opened his shirt and exposed the shiny key gleaming around his thin neck.

“It’s Mahlia’s key,” I said, dumbfounded. “I can’t believe she’d give her key to this scumbag.”

Just as I said the words, Marco grunted and flew forward, landing on his hands and knees a few inches from me.

“What the fu…?” he cried out, rolling around on his back in pain.

I didn’t hear a gunshot, but scooted over to him, keeping my body low to the ground. I ran my hands over his back, searching. “Hold still. Where are you hit?”

Marco sat up. I didn’t see any blood seeping through his shirt.

“Am I shot?” he asked, trying to look at his back.

“Fare thee well, witches!” A voice sounded from up in the trees. I followed the voice to two young boys armed with slingshots.

“Marco, you were hit by a stone,” I said as another flew inches from my face.

He turned and saw the boys. Dodging flying stones, he stood and marched toward the tree.

The boys scampered down the trunk to flee. He grabbed them by the collars of their shirts as they reached the bottom and jerked them away from the tree.

“What should we do with them?” I asked, joining Marco and adding a witch cackle for good measure.

“I’m going to feed them to my dragon.” Marco released them and put his hand to his key. In seconds his vessel, a shiny red racecar, materialized in the clearing.

“’Tis a dragon,” the taller of the two boys said. They stared as if in a hypnotic trance, no longer struggling or calling for their parents.

I summoned my vessel, and the boys stood slack-jawed.

“The witch lives in a privy.” They frowned with disappointment.

“Not everyone gets a dragon,” I said to them.

“Pray thee, do not turn us to toads,” the shorter one said.

“Don’t tell anyone you saw us, or I’ll find you, and my dragon will burn down your houses…” Marco paused, “and kill your mothers!”

The boys began to cry, nodding their heads as snot and tears wet their dirty faces.

“Away with you boys!” Marco shouted. They turned tail and ran.

“Did you have to threaten to kill their mothers?” I asked Marco as he helped me tie up Toches and load him into my vessel.

“It’s a good threat. No boy wants to lose his mother at ten. That comes much later…like fifteen.”

I cocked a brow at him.

“Oh, we want them back again around twenty-one, so it’s all good.” He stepped back from my outhouse. “Take him to Gitmo, and I’ll meet you there.”

I climbed in next to Toches. “We need to cover his face if I’m going to take him back to headquarters.”

Marco’s gaze ran the length of my dress.

“What do you suggest? I arrive at headquarters naked?”

“I don’t know, be creative.” He slammed the door.

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