Page 31 of Firedrake Betrayal
“Hey!” Patten clicks his fingers in my face. “What are you doing? Did the witch curse you? Just say the word and she’s out of the window.”
“Meliah did not curse me.”
But what she said makes sense. The traffic cop only freaked out when she saw Patten. So surely, there must be something there, even if I can’t see it.
How to tell Patten that he needs to go through some kind of cleansing ritual without him believing Meliah is trying to curse him?
“Hey!”
Patten’s yell returns me to the present. He’s scrutinizing me with narrow-eyed suspicion, probably seconds away from charging into the bedroom and launching Meliah out of the window.
“I’m thinking about what comes next,” I say. “And you shouldn’t have gone out alone.”
“How else was I going to find Jade without looking for her?” he asks.
“We need a plan. Aimlessly walking the streets won’t get Jade back.”
“Jade is missing?” Meliah says from the bedroom doorway.
Patten scowls at her. “What Jade is, is none of your business. Shouldn’t you be cursing the dragon?”
Meliah merely smiles at him. “Healing. And this will probably take some time.”
Patten turns away, as if bored with her. “Well, knock yourself out. Close the door when you?—”
“Patten,” I growl.
“I’d rather pretend she isn’t here. My opinion won’t change, so feel free to stop growling anytime you want.” As Patten wanders over to the refrigerator and pulls it open, I give Meliah an apologetic smile.
“Sorry. He has a reason to mistrust witches.”
I appreciate what she’s doing for Brennan. So will Jade, if we ever find her.
Meliah backs into the room and grips the door handle, preparing to close it. “I’ll get started. Please keep interruptions to a minimum, as this will take most of the night. Even then, I don’t know if I will be successful.”
“Well, what will be will be,” Patten says as he drops into a seat at the dining table with a container of milk.
“Patten, he’s Jade’s dad.” I glare.
“That’s why I said what will be will be instead of maybe he should have done a better job of watching Jade then none of this would have happened.Includinga guy in khaki shooting his ass out of the sky.” He flashes me a false smile and gulps from the container.
Sighing, I scrub a hand over my face as Patten’s words reinforce just how much he hates Brennan. We need to pull together, yet if I don’t keep both eyes open, Patten will shove Brennan or Meliah out of the window. Probably both if an opportunity presents itself.
“I’ll get started,” Meliah says, returning me to the present.
“And I’ll bring you something to eat later,” I say with no idea if we have any food in the refrigerator.
She closes the door, and I walk over to Patten at the dining table. “You were rude, Patten. She was only trying to help.”
“After the last witch cursed us for ten years?” Patten snorts. “I doubt that. Seems like she’s only helping herself.”
I cock my head, curious. “Why would you think that?”
“What woman comes running to heal some guy if she doesn’t want something in return?” he waggles his eyebrows suggestively.
“She hired him before to deal with the incubus problem the town had. She was just grateful,” I say.
“Grateful for his di…” Patten’s voice trails off when I glare at him.
