Chapter 9 #2
“Listen, Hot Stuff, try to follow along here. Paige thinks you wrongfully imprisoned her. You think you made a romantic gesture. I’m trying to establish that kidnapping and holding hostages is a normal pattern of behavior within a day-walking vampire’s life.
So, how did the marriage between your grandmother and grandfather occur? ”
“Oh, uh,” Devon stammered, running his fingers through his dark hair, “my grandfather nabbed her from her village and kept her locked in the tower for two years until she agreed to marry him.”
Dewey lifted his chin, shooting a triumphant glance at Paige. “What did I tell you? Grab and nab is standard practice for a day-walking vampire.”
Paige shook her head. “And yet he claims nothing weird happened to him in his life.”
“It didn’t. Pretty certain my mom wasn’t thrilled at first either. It’s just the natural order of things.”
“Except it’s not,” Paige shot back. “Literally no one does this. Normal people do not kidnap the object of their desire and force them into marriage.”
“I don’t know why not. My grandparents are still exceptionally happy together. And they’ve been married for over six hundred years.”
“Really?” Paige snapped. “And what about your dad? How’d that work out for him when he kidnapped your mom?”
“He didn’t. And they’re divorced, so…” Devon lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug.
Paige rubbed her arm across her forehead. “It is way too hot for a conversation this ridiculous.”
“At least it passed the time,” Dewey said. “We should be arriving any minute now.”
“Thank goodness. Do your parents have air conditioning?” Paige asked.
Dewey chuckled, patting her on the head. “Of course not.”
Paige’s shoulders slumped as she dragged herself forward. “Why not?”
“Dragons like it hot. I told you.” Dewey craned his neck to see through the thick vegetation. “Any minute now, we should be reaching the town limits. Any minute–whoa.”
They pushed into a small clearing. A large stone wall spread on both sides of them. On either side of a wide opening, two dragons clutched the stone pillars, their heads resting against them as their bodies stretched down the length of the wall.
“When did they put this in?” Dewey questioned as they approached.
“This wasn’t here when you lived here?” Paige asked.
“No,” Dewey said, staring up at the dragons as they passed through the opening.
“Maybe they had trouble with the harpies,” Devon suggested.
“Maybe,” Dewey said, with a shrug. His thick brows knit as the village spread out in front of them. “This is all different. Wow. They must have made some major changes.”
Paige studied the massive huts around them. They rose high, their thatched roofs soaring above them. “Which one is your parents’ house?”
“Ummm,” Dewey said, rubbing his chin.
Paige stopped walking and snapped her gaze to him. “You don’t know?”
“I haven’t been here in a decade. It all looks different. So different.”
“Different how?” Devon questioned.
“The houses are different. The streets. And it’s so quiet. It’s like no one is here. Or everyone is asleep.”
“Maybe they are,” Paige said.
“No, siesta is much later than this.”
“How do you know? We don’t even know what time it is,” Paige shot back.
“I just know. Go around this corner, and try that street.”
Paige heaved a sigh and pushed herself forward. “Okay.” She glanced up at a wooden sign, hanging from a signpost at the crossroads. “Archer Street. Did you live on Archer Street?”
“No,” Dewey said, with a shake of his head, “I lived on Vermilion Way.”
“Okay, so we’ll look for that. Let’s see,” Paige said, spinning to search the other signs. “Knight Lane. Liberty Avenue. Duke Street.”
“None of these names sounds familiar.”
“Maybe they changed street names?” Devon suggested.
“No. My mom would have told me. And her address is still the same. I just sent Christmas gifts. They still live at forty-two and a half Vermilion Way.”
Paige furrowed her brow. “Christmas gifts?”
“Yes, Paige. For the traditional holiday of Christmas, where the custom is to exchange gifts.”
“I know what Christmas is,” Paige snapped.
“Well, seemed like you didn’t.”
“I just can’t imagine who delivers here.”
“Pamazon,” Dewey and Devon answered at the same time. Dewey nodded and continued. “Right. Amazon’s paranormal branch. They offer two-hour shipping on most items using magic transfer.”
“Amazon has a paranormal branch?” Paige asked.
“Of course. Great option if you’re running low on toad wort or something else in your pantry.”
Paige’s jaw fell open as she wrinkled her nose, still wandering in search of Dewey’s street. “That’s just…”
“Convenient, I know. Anyway, the last time I sent them gifts from Pamazon, I got a delivery confirmation and a picture of the package on my parents’ porch, so I know it arrived.”
“Okay, well, maybe…” Paige stopped as she shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we came in another entrance.”
“There are no other entrances. It’s a cul-de-sac community.”
“Well–” Paige began when a rumbling shook the earth. She froze, whispering, “What was that?”
“Sounded like…” Dewey began, swinging his head again.
“A dragon approaching,” Devon finished.
Paige spun in search of the dragon as the pounding continued. “Oh, there he or she is.” She pointed a finger toward a large orange dragon as it lumbered toward them. “Hi there! We’re with–”
“Paige!” Dewey hissed. “Shut up. Don’t move or talk.”
“What?” Paige asked, glancing at him. “Why?”
Dewey stared ahead, gaze transfixed on the dragon as it lumbered through town. “This isn’t my village.”
“What?” Paige exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “Are you joking?”
“Nope. This is a Slime Dragon village.”
“How the hell did that happen?” Paige breathed.
“Uhhh, there may have been a chance that the rock I pointed out when we started was the wrong one,” Devon admitted.
Paige snapped her gaze to him, her jaw clenched as she wrinkled her nose. “Are you kidding?”
Devon ran his fingers through his hair. “Sorry, I didn’t want to say I was lost.”
“Honestly,” Paige said, with a shake of her head. “Well, what do we do now? Maybe we can ask him for directions.”
“Nooooo,” both Devon and Dewey said.
“Slime dragons are excessively aggressive. He’ll eat you in one bite. The best thing we can do is hope he lumbers past back to his nest. Then we quickly and quietly get the heck out of here,” Dewey whispered.
Paige grimaced and her shoulders slumped. “May be too late for that.”
“Why?” Dewey asked, studying her.
She pointed a finger forward in response. He followed the line, his eyes going wide. The dragon’s red eyes focused on them, and his lips curled to reveal his massive teeth. Paige’s heart sped as she stared at the massive beast, wondering if she was taking her last breaths.