Page 16 of The Dragon With A Girl Tattoo
“Candy and Andy.Great.Just effing great,” I said, stopping as my feet felt like they turned to lead, a chill of pure, unadulterated fear skittering down my spine.
“Really?Andy?Man, I remember the time when Andromalius would get spitting mad if you called him by anything but his full name.”
I whirled around at the voice, my eyes on the couple who stood behind me, two women in matching tight pink club dresses, but I quickly realized it wasn’t they who spoke.Their heads were together as they watched something on a phone before they turned in answer to someone calling to them.
My gaze dropped down to the large black dog that stood next to them, watching me with its head tipped on the side.
“Heya,” the dog said.
It took me a minute to realize what I was seeing.
It was a demon.Not a wrath demon like Candy and Andy, but still, a demon—even if I didn’t see any manifestations of dark power about it.“A demon is a demon is a demon,” I murmured to myself, spinning on my heel, and, as casually as I could, retraced my steps to the equipment trailers.Fewer people were there, with more chances for me to escape.
“Yeah, kinda.I mean, I’m a demon sixth class, so I’m not the same as wrath demons like Andromalius and Furcand, if you get me.Hey, how do you know who wrathies are?You look human.”
I ignored the demon, picking up speed as panic overtook me, filling me with dread.How on earth had I missed the two most powerful demons to roam the mortal world, as well as one in dog form?I shook my head at my own carelessness, my heart sick with the knowledge that I was going to have to find another safe place to hide.
Running around the corner of the nearest trailer, I dropped my roadie glamour, since I’d used it before, and was about to apply a new one when I almost collided with two men—dragons—who stood consulting.The nearest one was a few inches taller than me, about six feet tall with dark hair that bore a broad white stripe, dark eyes, and an air of something other about him.The second one was taller, also with dark hair, his pulled back in a small ponytail, his eyes almost as black as his shirt.
I froze when the first one glanced at me, doing a double take that had me instantly backing up, on the verge of flat out running.
“Heya, Balters.Heya, First Daddy,” a voice from behind me said just as I whirled around, intent on running.
I tripped over the blasted demon, going down in a tangle of legs with it.
I swore in my mother’s native Spanish, and tried to get up.The man with the white stripe of hair held out a hand, but just then I caught sight of Andy at the edge of the crowd, fortunately looking in the opposite direction.
“Shit,” I swore, and with nothing else to do, I slipped into the Beyond, the slightly different version of the mortal world, one inhabited by beings of the Otherworld.
Instantly, the noise of the crowd and a band that was warming up faded to a dull murmur, while a sense of everything being slightly off settled around me.
I relaxed a little, knowing I was safe from the demon and dragons, but I wasn’t sure if Candy and Andy might not be able to breach the Beyond, so I stood up and headed roughly in the direction of the road leading to a small town where we were staying.
“Ah.It is you.I thought it might be,” a slow, sonorous voice said behind me.I whirled around to watch with complete astonishment the two dragons enter the Beyond.
I stood frozen for a moment, my mind too frazzled to do anything but ask, “How?”
“How did we know you were the artificer?”the dragon asked.His voice was deep, but smooth, very smooth, and held a gravitas that made me stand up a little straighter.He studied my face for a moment before answering, “I am the First Dragon.”
I had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but I wasn’t about to wait to find out.I dashed off into the opposite direction, almost colliding with a woman who reminded me of a 1920s flapper when she suddenly appeared before me.“Baltic?Are you here?Gabriel and I thought we’d—whoa!”
“Does everyone have access to the Beyond?”I couldn’t help but snarl, and would have pushed past the woman when another dragon appeared beside her.
“The dragonkin need your help,” the man with the presence said, a hand clamping down on my shoulder stopping me from making a getaway.
“Sorry, I closed up shop a couple of years ago,” I said, trying to get out of his grip, but by that time, the other dragons had closed in around me.
The man’s eyes started changing: first the pupils elongated; then the irises themselves changed from dark brown to hazel and then to pure green.“Your assistance is needed to save my son.Without it, without him, the future of my children is in peril.”
My gut clenched again, making me wonder if I was going to vomit all over the pushy dragon.“I’m sorry,” I repeated, shaking my head and twisting until his hand dropped from me.“I wish I could help, but I can’t.It’s too dangerous.”
“This is the singer?”the silver-eyed dragon said, his eyes narrowed on me.“I don’t see any sign of a glamour, and she is obviously of another ethnicity.”
“Becket Peru,” the first one said, and I jerked back at the sting of power that whipped across me when he invoked my full name.His eyes were shifting again, now more blue than green.“Your help is needed.Whatever fee you demand will be paid, but there is no way forward without you.”
“No, thank you,” my mouth said as my mind screamed warnings to get the hell away from the dangerous man and his buddies, and then before he could grab me again, I flung myself forward toward the woman, slipping out of the Beyond as I did so, stumbling over a cooler before righting myself.
Two people watched me with astonishment on their respective faces, but that quickly faded to speculation followed immediately by triumph.
