Page 35 of The Dragon With A Girl Tattoo
“Yes,” she said quickly, flashing him a fast smile before turning it on her friends.“He’s protecting me from you-know-who.”
The women seemed to lose interest, although one of them sent him a warm look that he had no trouble interpreting.
“You will stay here,” he told Becket.“The Dark Ones over there will watch out for any demons while I’m away.You will not leave their presence.”
Becket sighed a highly martyred sigh, just as he’d suspected she would.What he didn’t anticipate was her grabbing his arm and more or less hauling him a short distance away so she could speak in a hurried whisper.“OK, first of all, there are mortals everywhere, including within earshot, so please don’t be yammering on about demons and vampires where they can hear.And second, and this is a big second, stop feeling like you can boss me around.I appreciate that you are trying to fulfill your dad’s promise to protect me, but I’m not an imbecile, Yrian.I can take care of myself.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her.
She swore under her breath.“Yes, all right, there are times when I could use help, but that does not mean you get to go all dictator on me.I will stay here, but only because we have to rehearse tonight’s set, and then we like to watch other bands to see what the competition is doing in case I can work up some new glamours.Where are you going to be while we’re rehearsing?”
“The Dark One told me there is an Internet magician in town who can provide me with a phone device.I must have one so that I can contact my kin.Also, I miss the dancing cats, and wish to see what new videos are available.”
She gawked at him for a second, then slid her hand across her mouth.“I didn’t peg you for a dancing-cat-video sort of guy, but I can see where you would want a phone.”
“Do you not like cats?”he asked, unable to imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy the videos that had kept him sane during the long months of his imprisonment.“There are some excellent videos with cats that belly dance I was hoping to show you, but if you would prefer not ...”
“I’m more of a dog girl—I have a weakness for pugs—but I enjoy a good cat belly-dance video, too,” she said, her lips doing an odd sort of twitching that he put down to excitement at seeing his favorite videos.
“Stay within the sight of the Dark Ones,” he said, nodding toward the three men and one woman who had appeared to their left.“They will guard you until I return from the Internet mage.”
She murmured something about not being an idiot, and hurried off with her bandmates to a stage on the far side of the field, the four Dark Ones on her heels.
He found the driver Christian had told him would take him into town, and spent a pleasurable half hour talking with the Internet magician about new phone-device possibilities, emerging from the shop with not only a phone but also a tablet device, the latter of which had a lovely big screen with which to view his videos.He was quite pleased with the new addition to his collection of Internet, and looked forward to showing it to Becket.
“Wait,” he told the driver, a Dark One by the name of Wolf.He stood next to the car Christian had put at his disposal, awareness pricking a line down his back.He spun around, his eyes searching the passing people and vehicles until one screeched to a halt next to him.“Ah.It is kin.”
The window rolled down to reveal the face of his youngest brother.“There you are.Did the artificer haul you through a portal?”
Yrian grimaced, running a hand over his hair.Ever since he had been through the portal, it had a tendency to stand on end.“Yes.She did not tell me it would almost kill me.”
Baltic’s expression displayed abject horror, no doubt matching his own.“They are extremely unpleasant.We have much to discuss.Drake has called asárkányand asks that you attend.”
He inclined his head.“Becket and I are staying with the Dark Ones.”
“So are we,” one of the mates called from inside the car.Judging by the manner in which she was pressed against the green wyvern, Yrian assumed she was part of that sept.“Although now that Archer, Thaisa, and Hunter are on their way, I’m not sure where they’re going to sleep.The town’s hotels are full.I hope Allie can find room to fit them in.She said they had eighteen bedrooms, and no, Drake, we do not need a castle.”
Yrian didn’t understand what was so funny that had the women laughing, but he decided it was something he would determine later, when he had time to fully bring himself up to date with the lives of his kin.“I must return to Becket, but I will ask the Dark One’s mate if she can house your friends.”
“Archer and Hunter are dragon hunters, not friends,” Baltic said before rolling up the window.
Yrian wondered what he meant, but figured that, too, would be something he ascertained in the future.Right now he had to take his new phone to show Becket.
“We return to the castle,” he told Wolf as the long car containing the dragons drove on.
He ignored the fact that he had no reason to want to share his joy with her.It, like so many other things, simply was, and he accepted that fact in order to focus on what was most important: destroying Kashi before more death resulted.
A stab of pain bit deep into him, a pain he pushed away.He simply would not allow Kashi to destroy him again.
He would keep Becket safe at all costs.
