Chapter 10 #2
“Sometimes I hate you,” she hissed as she struggled for breath after her gargantuan climb. She bent forward, balancing her hands on her thighs as she lowered her heart rate and quieted her breathing.
Dewey clapped her on the back. “You love me, and you know it.”
Paige flipped her head up, swinging her hair back. “Okay, where would this dude keep his anti-slime?”
“Should be in his bathroom cabinet.” Dewey fluttered around the top level, peering into a few doors. “Here.”
Paige crept across the floor and disappeared into the pink-tiled room behind Dewey. “Ugh, this bathroom is hideous.”
Dewey buzzed toward the massive vanity, struggling to tug it open. “Seriously? This is the height of dragon couture.”
Paige winced. “Really? Sorry. I guess tastes are different.”
“I’m just kidding. This is hideous. His designer should be slimed and eaten.”
Paige chuckled as she grabbed hold of the large handle and pulled. Her feet slipped across the tile floor as she hauled it open.
Dewey flew up to the second shelf. “Here we go. Slime away.”
Paige flicked her eyebrows up as she craned her neck to stare at it. “What? No.”
Dewey grunted as he tried to push the bottle toward her.
“Dewey, that bottle is as big as me!”
“Yep,” he said, with a grunt. “Thank goodness this is a small bottle.”
He shoved it off the shelf, and it tumbled down to the floor with a bang . Dewey winced as he hovered in the air.
“Oops. Hope that didn’t wake the big fella up.”
“Dewey!” Paige hissed as she struggled to pick up the bottle as it rolled around on its side. “You better not have woken him up. That’s the last thing we need.”
“No kidding, Paige,” Dewey said as he grabbed the pointed top and fluttered upward. “No use. I can’t lift it.”
“Neither can I,” Paige said. “We’re going to have to drag it like this.”
Dewey nodded, setting his paws on his hips. “Start dragging, friend-o.”
“Of course you leave it to me. My muscles can barely take anymore. I hope Devon isn’t far.” Paige grabbed the pointed tip and heaved backward, shuffling her feet as she slid the bottle behind her.
Dewey flew out the door ahead of her, zipping down the hall and checking the rooms along the way. Paige winced as she pulled the large bottle along with her, finally clearing the bathroom door and angling it down the hall.
Dewey fluttered back toward her. “Okay, I have good news and bad news.”
“Oh, great. What’s the bad news?”
“Let me start with the good news.”
Paige dropped the bottle and stuck her hands on her hips.
“I found Devon.”
“Great!” Paige said, throwing her arms in the air. “Where is he?”
Dewey wrinkled his nose. “That’s the bad news. He’s on the balcony. Which means we have to go through the dragon’s bedroom while he’s asleep in it.”
“You’re joking.”
“Nope. Come on, drag that bottle down as quietly as you can, and let’s rescue Devon.”
“How heavy of a sleeper do dragons tend to be?” Paige asked as she lifted the tip of the bottle and dragged it down the hall.
“Pretty heavy. The tiny amount of noise you’re making will be so little compared to what he’s used to with dragons around, he’ll never hear it. You’re like a mouse tiptoeing around in a human’s house.”
“Mice can make a big racket,” Paige grunted as she dragged the tip toward the door Dewey waved at.
“Well, be a quiet mouse. Be a church mouse, Paige.”
Paige rolled her eyes as she angled the bottle into the bedroom. She tugged it again, sliding her gaze sideways as she lugged the heavy bottle through the door.
The large orange dragon curled in a ball, his tail wrapped around his face as he snored lightly.
Dewey pressed his finger to his lips, and Paige nodded. She jerked the bottle back another few feet, glancing over her shoulder to gauge the distance. Quite far. Outside the partially open glass door, the sun gleamed on the slowly solidifying Devon.
She yanked, tugged, and heaved the bottle across the room. When she reached the door leading to the balcony, she dropped the tip, wiping at the sweat that ran down her face.
“Just a little further,” Dewey whispered. “We need to get it up over the threshold.”
Paige stared at the doorstep, which rose to her knees.
She breathed out a sigh and lifted the bottle again.
With another wince, she slid it up the ramped threshold and to the door.
The tip slid through easily, but the bulk of the bottle didn’t fit through the crack.
She tugged again, but the door wouldn’t slide any further.
“That’s all we’re getting. We’re going to have to aim from here.”
“Yeah, speaking of that, how are we going to do this?”
“We need to twist the top and then squeeze the bottle. It should hit Devon from this angle.”
Paige nodded and wrenched the top to swivel it open. It took a few tries before she finally managed to spin it.
“Now,” Dewey said, “climb on top and jump on the bottle.”
“Are you serious?”
“How else are you planning on squeezing it? You can’t get your hands around it. You can’t even get your arms around it.”
Paige let her head fall back between her shoulder blades, with a whine. “Fine.” She climbed on top of the bottle and walked down to the center of the bottle. With a deep inhale, she leapt into the air and landed on the bottle. It sprayed a squirt of the blue antidote on Devon.
“Good job, more!” Dewey said.
Paige hopped again, squirting more medicine on Devon’s gooey form.
“Keep going!”
Paige hopped twice more.
Dewey stuck his head through the opening. “Last one was a bust. You didn’t hit it hard enough. Try again.”
“Ugh, I’m getting tired,” Paige said.
“Imagine how tired Devon is,” Dewey said.
“What? That doesn’t even make sense. That’s not–”
“Just do it, Paige,” Dewey said, jabbing a finger at her.
She shimmied her shoulders and spread her legs as she prepared for another leap. A snort froze her in place. She risked a glance over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide, and her heart stopped.
A very awake slime dragon stared back at her, his teeth bared.