Page 10 of The Dragon With A Girl Tattoo
ME
Man, when it rains threats, it pours.Isn’t the Jabmead Sisterhood some sort of mercenary band from Finland?I thought you guys were in the Jabmiidaibmu underworld?Did Desi hire you?
LATTSA
Yes, to all of it, although now we reside on a large reserve of land in the north of Finland.Do not think to defy me, demon.As leader of the Jabmiid, my roots lie deep in old earth magic.Your destruction, and that of the dragons who refuse to return the blood moon to Desislav, is ensured if you refuse.
ME
Hang on, have to get Google up on another screen, because you’re talking about all sorts of stuff that is sus as Abaddon.
ME
Heya, Desi, did you happen to hire a pushy woman in Finland named Lattsa, and if so, can you tell her that she’s not gonna win any awards for making friends when the first thing she does is threaten death and destruction without even saying hi?
DESISLAV
I believe your sister said she was going to contact you.Are you safe?Are you well?If the dragons are not able to protect you, you will come to us.Your mother is having difficulty regaining her memory, but perhaps your presence would help.I will send Lattsa to fetch you so that you are not harmed in the war.
ME
Sister?That bossy lady is my sister?You mentioned I had one, but I thought she must be dead or something, ‘cause you haven’t spoken of her since, and I never heard of her.
ME
Also, I appreciate the offer, but Aisling and Drake and the spawn all need me, so I’d rather stay here with them.But Ash says I can visit you and Parisi whenever I want, so if it would help to make daily visits, I can do that.I have a credit card!Expense is of no concern!Where are you guys?I can get a portal out to have lunch with you today.I like burgers, but I can’t have onions or garlic, and raw tomatoes make me gag.
I waited ten minutes, but my dad didn’t respond, so I figured I’d ask for a little more info from Lattsa before I found Aisling and spilled all the goss.
ME
So, as far as I know, no one has Desi’s blood moon.He said it was destroyed when he gave it up to save my mom and me.
LATTSA
Desislav the Destroyer said it was taken by a dragon named Bael.
ME
Fires of Abaddon!Bael got his relic?OK, that explains a lot ...and also brings up about a thousand questions.Let’s start with the biggest one: when and where did Bael get the blood moon?
She didn’t answer, and I decided I’d held off the bad news for long enough, so rather than pressing for an answer, I took my phone and headed out to the garden where Aisling and Drake were sitting on a couple of Adirondack chairs while watching the kids run through a Slip ’N Slide before leaping into a small pool Drake had crammed into the corner of the yard.
“So,” I said as I set my phone down on Ash’s lap, “how are you feeling these days, Guardian-wise?”
“What?Dammit, Jim, I don’t want your slobbery phone.Where’s your drool bib?Honest to Pete, there are times when I wish you’d have chosen a form that’s less saliva-based.Ava, no, that butterfly doesn’t want to swim in the pool with your brother and sister.Just set it back on the leaf and it will watch you play, OK?”
“What’s wrong?”Drake asked, his eyes narrowed on me in a way that made me scoot around to the other side of Aisling, just in case he had any ideas of lighting my tail on fire again.Dude needs some serious anger management when it comes to setting me on fire.“Why do you ask Aisling how she is feeling?”
Aisling, who had wiped my phone, shot a startled glance first at him, then slid her gaze over to me, now filled with speculation.“Yes, why did you ask about my Guardian readiness?”
“Got some texts you’re gonna want to read,” I said, nudging my phone.
Drake leaned to the side so he could read as she scrolled through them, her expression growing more and more horrified by the second.She didn’t even complain when Drake took the phone, obviously sending copies of the texts to his own phone.She just looked at me and said, “What the hell?What the ever-loving hell?”
“Abaddon,” I corrected her.You’d think after all these years she’d have that down.
“Xavier is after our dragon heart shards?Why?Drake?”
