The Dragon’s Favorite Strays – Chapter Four
DAKOTA
I race inside the bookstore, frantic. The kitten in my hand is scratching it and crying out, but I can’t put him down. Not when he’ll be killed immediately.
Rabbit appears, a huge smile on her face. “Mom, you brought me a kitten–”
“Get your things,” I say quickly, racing towards my backpack. I haven’t even had the chance to do more than unpack my bedding, but I’ll replace it some other time. Right now, all that’s important is that we get out of here, and fast. “Hurry, Rabbit.”
She doesn’t hurry, though. She just watches me as I set my crossbow down to sling the bag over my shoulder, and then pick it up again. Damn, it’s hard to do everything with a squirming, scratching kitten in my other hand. “Mom? What’s going on?”
“Get your things,” I repeat again, my voice wobbling. “There’s a dragon nearby. We can’t stay here.”
Her face bleaches of color and she immediately races away. A moment later, she reappears with her bag, mostly empty, and her gun drawn.
I’m on high alert, watching the windows for signs of an enormous shadow, of large wings and a ferocious, fanged maw.
When she races to my side, I herd her toward the back of the store. “Go into the bathroom and hide. The walls are hopefully sturdy enough to last if he starts attacking.”
“Are you coming?”
I shake my head, hefting the crossbow again. “If he comes after me, I want you to be safe.”
Her face crumples. “Mom, no–”
The front door to the building slams open, and I give Rabbit the Mom Look. The one that says do not fucking argue right now. She lets the door fall shut and I take a few steps forward, deliberately moving away from where my daughter is hidden. My heart is racing wildly, and the crossbow is getting heavier by the moment. The kitten meows again, the sound plaintive.
I set it down on the floor, needing both hands for my crossbow, and hold it at the ready. I fight back the sensation of complete and utter devastation I feel. I wanted to live here. I wanted to settle down and stop running. I wanted to relax and have a real bed and a home. This was a good place and now it’s ruined.
The kitten cries and sits in place, blinded by the gunk in its eyes. I want to pick it up again to comfort it, but the sound of someone moving through the store makes me freeze. I train my crossbow toward it, not daring to call out. Where is that damned dragon? Why hasn’t he attacked? I know he saw me come in here.
Whoever this stranger is that’s coming in, now is not the freaking time.
A stack of books falls over, and my heart jumps. Blood roars in my ears and I take a step forward, away from the kitten. Mentally, I’m calculating how fast I can refire my crossbow. The other bolts are strapped to a holster in my belt, which might cost me precious seconds. I need to–
The kitten cries again.
A man steps out from the shadows, his form huge and hulking. Whatever fort he escaped from, they feed them well there. He’s enormous and powerful…and naked?
“Stay back or I’ll shoot,” I warn, my voice trembling.
He steps forward again and a stray beam of light from a hole in the ceiling falls across his skin. Golden scales glitter all over him, and the strange, spiky hair on his head is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. His eyes are an alarming shade of yellow-gold, as golden as the rest of him.
I hesitate. If he wasn’t standing in front of me, human and naked, I’d say he looks like he’s a dragon. Are there half-human half-dragon people out there suddenly? “How–”
The man takes another step forward.
I fire.
The crossbow’s aim is off, or I’m shaking so hard that it’s no good. The bolt hits him in the flesh of his lower arm, and he stares at it, then tries to flick it away like I would a fly. When he turns his gaze on me again, it’s tinged with anger.
“Oh my god,” I breathe, stumbling back a step.
The stranger pushes past me and scoops the kitten up in his arms. He strokes the tiny head and cradles it against his chest, rumbling at it as if mimicking a purr.
And he shoots me a completely indignant look.
“Oh my god,” I say again, like a broken record.
The man pauses. Stares at me. Then he opens his mouth. “Owmahgad.”
