Page 64 of The Mating Claim
Shaking off the thought, he pointed to the canal and an alligator sunning itself on the grassy bank on the oppositeside.
“Lacey, have you ever seen an alligatordance?”
A pointed look. “Seriously?How?”
“Magick.” Sandwich in one hand, Drust waved his other hand. The gator slid into the water and then began to rise above the surface. His short, stubby legs began to kick at the water as the reptile hopped and skipped in an Irishjig.
She laughed. “That’s pretty cool. It doesn’t hurthim?”
“No, but they get grumpy after and need a reward.” Drust waved another hand and the gator slid back into the water, climbed up the boat ramp and eyed theirpicnic.
Lacey slid backwards a little. Remembering how the copperhead bit her, he realized herfear.
“He won’t hurt you. Give him this.” Drust handed her a large slice of rawbeef.
“As long as he doesn’t mistake my arm for food.” But she threw him the meat and the gator gulped it down. Then it slid back into the water again and swamaway.
“You shouldn’t feed them. It will start acquainting humans with food,” shechastised.
Drust grinned. “I am not human. Besides, the meat contains a memory eraser. He will have no idea of anyone feedinghim.”
Picking up a bottle of tea, she uncapped it and drank. “Come here often, wizard, to hang with thegators?”
“I have been here before. It’s a good place to mediate and think aboutthings.”
“And how come cookingshows?”
He told her how he’d found himself confused and bewildered by the modern world after living in the Shadow Lands for centuries, and to better acquaint himself with the odd, new world, he turned to television cooking shows. Food spoke a universallanguage.
“And we dragons love to eat.” She wiped her mouth and eyed the grapes, and then helped herself tosome.
When she finally sighed with satisfaction and shook her head as he offered dessert, he shut the picnicbasket.
“Lacey, we need totalk.”
Her contented expression tightened. “I know. The book. But you need to know something first, Drust. Something, or someone, has been tailing me since I left the east coast. Something dark and nasty. I can feel it in the air, like you can sense a gathering thunderstorm and you know it’s going to be a badone.”
Not surprised, he switched the conversation. “Why were you runningaway?”
“It wasn’t running away from as much as it was running to. I was headed to the west coast. It’s quieter there, and the few times I’ve visited, sitting on the beach clears my head, unlike the beacheshere.”
It made sense. He often did the same in his castle in NorthCarolina.
“That book… I don’t know where it came from, but it’s changed. It’s… evil.” She traced a line on the blanket. A protective rune. Drust doubted she even knew what she was doing, the gesture seemedautomatic.
“Yes, it changespeople.”
Two huge green eyes, feathered with long, black lashes stared up at him. “It’s the real reason you had to kill my father, huh? Because it turned him into thatmadman?”
Feeling as if he’d made a breakthrough, Drust nodded. But he felt no triumph or joy in this. Her father, the one man she’d searched for her entire life and had held onto hope they could have a relationship, wasgone.
“Show me where you put it,” he toldher.
They walked to the car after he waved away the picnic basket and the blanket. Dragonflies dipped and swirled around them, light glistening on their wings. One landed on Lacey’s shoulder. When he took a second look, hegrinned.
“Hold out your finger,Lacey.”
When she did, the tiny creature landed on it. Lacey stared and then laughed. “It’s afairy!”
