Page 112 of Brambles and Bellflowers
But now that it was here, the sound was no longer threatening.
“It’s a googly eye!” Julian remarked, stepping forward. “Do you suppose it can see?”
“Why are you looking at it like that?” I frowned at him. “Are you planning on dissecting it?”
Julian didn’t answer, but his mouth quirked.
Yes, that was what he wanted. Go figure.
It roared again, flailing its long claws in front of him. Anyone else, I suppose, might have been scared.
But we had anactualdragon on our side. So…
“Don’t kill it,” I ordered. It was such an ugly thing—I felt bad for it. Pity stirred in me, and my chest warmed with newfound purpose.
It needed help.Myhelp.
What if it could be tamed? It might make a decent pet.
With one of these around, nobody woulddaretrespass on my lawn again.
“I know that look.” Julian pulled up his sword, pointing it at the beast while it postured in front of us. “We are not bringing this thing home with us.”
“It’s kind of cute.” Why couldn’t he see it? Its appeal grew the longer you looked.
“It’s far from cute,” Julian replied. “Besides, we already have a dragon.”
“It’s my house. And besides, maybe Tituswants it too.” I turned to the man in question. He’d been strangely quiet this whole conversation. “Hey, Titus—”
Titus jumped past us, his teeth bared and his movements swift. He brandished his ax and rushed toward the beast. Before either of us could move, the dragon had confronted the creature, twisting with his hair fanning around him, and lopped off the Snallygaster’s head.
I frowned at the sloppy sight, and my heart sank in disappointment. Poor thing, it’d been too weak even to fight back. Titus had all but murdered it.
Thick, slimy blood splattered across the dirt, staining the mud and grass a neon green. The thing’s head rolled across the ground and its beak fell open, revealing its snake-like tongue.
“That was uncalled for,” I said. Disappointment had dimmed my mood; I’d already been thinking of where it might live—right outside Bryce’s window.
My plan was ruined before it could even come to fruition.
“Why did you have to kill the dragon?” I asked.
Titus turned his dark gaze on me as he wiped his guck-covered ax against his pants. “Don’t call it a dragon.”
“You said it first!” What else was I supposed to call it? I wasn’t about to start saying, ‘Snallygaster.’ The word wasn’t one to roll off the tongue seriously.
“I was in shock,” Titus said calmly. “There’s no way it can be a dragon.”
“Yes, we know.” Julian rolled his eyes. “There’s only one.”
Titus opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the Snallygaster leaped back to his feet, a new head shooting out from where he’d been wounded, and jumped to Titus, swallowing the man in one swift movement.
I screamed—any normal person would have—and Julian jumped into defense.
“What the fuck was that!?” I asked, pointing my sword at the sight.
Julian barely spared me a glance. “You scream like a girl.”
“Shut the fuck up, Julian.” How dare it eat my friend! My pulse roared, and the hot need for vengeance raged through me. “He ate Titus.”
