Chapter 12
P aige let her head fall between her shoulders. “You’re kidding. I thought you said he wasn’t around?”
“I didn’t see him,” Dewey answered. “He must have been hiding.”
“How does something that size hide?” Paige shouted.
“Does it matter? He’s here now, and we’re trapped. He’s going to slime us, filet us, and eat us. We’re goners.”
Paige stared at the massive beast in front of her. Her gaze darted around, trying to find a way out. Could they scramble between his front legs and under his belly without him catching them? She switched her gaze to Devon beside her, who swayed on his feet.
Nope .
“Pack it in. Make your peace with the life you’ve had. We’re dead meat. Done,” Dewey continued next to her. “At least I lived. I got a chance to be a librarian. I’m going to my death knowing that.”
“Will you please be quiet? I’m trying to think!” Paige said, rubbing her temples as the dragon slammed a massive paw one step closer to them.
“Think about what? Dying?” Dewey asked.
“About how to get out of here.”
Dewey barked out a sharp laugh. “Well, that’s not going to happen.”
“I’m not dying today, Dewey! We just need to figure out a way to get through that opening.” She flung her arm toward the dragon. The orange beast pinched his thick eyebrows together.
“There is no way!” Dewey said as the dragon curved his neck, pulling his head back and narrowing his eyes. “We’re dead meat, Paige. We can’t get past him. Unless he runs away–”
The massive dragon swished his tail, cutting off Dewey’s words, before he spun and raced away.
Paige stared after the creature as it scurried down the street, the ground rumbling with every pounding step.
“What the hell just happened?” Dewey asked.
“Maybe he had to go to the bathroom,” Devon said, with a giggle.
Dewey rubbed his chin. “I doubt that. He had us in his sights, and suddenly he races off?”
“When you gotta go, you gotta go,” Devon said, doubling over with laughter.
“I don’t care. Let’s get out of here before he comes back, or any other Slime dragons wake up.”
Paige grabbed Devon’s arm and pulled him toward the opening in the stone wall. They made it through without incident, and Paige led them into the cover of the trees. She stopped once they’d put some distance between them and the village.
She heaved a breath as she collapsed against a tree trunk and wiped the sweat from her brow. “Why is it so hot here?”
“Because it’s the jungle, duh,” Devon said as he plopped on the ground. “Oh, I’m so thirsty. Why am I so thirsty?”
“You’re high. That’s why. High as a kite,” Paige answered, leaning her hands against her thighs. “Why did that dragon run away?”
“Same as the werewolf. And the Yeti,” Dewey answered as he flew back and forth in an aerial pace.
“Yeah. What’s up with that?”
“Have you eaten garlic today?” Dewey questioned.
“No. It’s not my breath,” Paige answered, with a roll of her eyes. She glanced down at her wrist and furrowed her brow. “It’s got to be the bracelet. Every time one of them sees it, they run. But why?”
Dewey shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I can’t find anything about it. But it must have some magical meaning.”
“It can’t be a coincidence,” Paige answered, straightening and grabbing for her water bottle. “Crap.”
“What?”
“I dumped my water for Devon’s slime, and now I have no water.” She glanced at Devon, who chugged back an entire bottle.
Her shoulders slumped as he smacked his lips and wiped at the droplets on his chin. “What?”
“You could have shared.”
“Ohhhh,” he said, staring at the empty plastic container. “Sorry.”
“Never mind. Let’s get going. This time, let’s try to find the right direction, please? No more run-ins with creepy creatures.”
Dewey fluttered in the air, his nose wrinkled. “Ehhh, here’s the thing, Boss…”
Paige flicked her eyebrows up as a monkey screeched deep in the jungle. “What?”
“I have no idea where we are. Or where we’re going now. I really thought this was the village based on where Devon said we started, and now I have no idea where to go.”
Paige slid her eyes closed and slapped a palm against her forehead. She collapsed into a cross-legged seat on the forest floor. Dewey fluttered down to the ground and plopped down across from her.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Resting.”
Paige stared at him with her lips parted, and her brow furrowed. “Why?”
“I’m tired. That was a lot on me escaping from that village.”
“Oh, was it? Was it a lot on you to ride on my shoulder while I ran away?”
Dewey bobbed his head up and down. “Yeah. I had to hang on. Worry the entire time that you’d trip and fall, like the klutz you are. It was exhausting.”
Paige set her face into a stony glare.
“What?” Dewey asked, with a shrug.
“Fly up there and find out where we are!” she said, jabbing a finger toward the sky. “We can’t just sit here, and you’re the only one who can find our way.”
“Oh, right,” Dewey said as he climbed to his feet. “Geez, that’s high.”
“You’re a dragon.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not a long way up!” Dewey said, fluttering into the air. “Wait here.”
He shot higher, flapping his wings hard as he climbed. He disappeared through the thick foliage. Paige heaved a sigh, letting her forehead fall against her knees as she waited for his return.
“Hey, Paige?” Devon asked.
“What?” she groaned, without lifting her head.
“Paige,” he hissed again.
She slid her eyes closed before snapping them open and raising her head. “What?”
“Can we talk?”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “No.”
Devon pouted at her. “Come on, Paige. You said we could back when I gave you the Living Goo, and then we totally didn’t.”
“You are high. I’m not talking to you while you’re high.”
“But–”
Paige climbed to her feet, dusting off her pants and slicing a hand through the air. “Just shut up, Devon.”
The leaves above them rustled, and Dewey dove back toward them. He landed on the ground, gulping in breaths.
“Dewey?” Paige asked, kneeling next to him. “Are you okay?”
“Just…winded…the…air…is…so…thin.” He heaved a few more breaths and wiped at his brow.
“What? The air isn’t thin up there. This isn’t the Mile-High City, for Heaven’s sake.”
Dewey crinkled his nose at her and frowned. “Thanks for not caring.”
“Did you find the way?”
Dewey stared at her, his jaw clamped closed. Paige slumped her shoulders. “Fine, fine. You’re so brave to have gone all the way up there to check.”
The little dragon puffed out his chest. “There was no choice. I did what I had to do.”
“So, did you find the way?”
Dewey arched an eyebrow and cocked his head. “I did. I know exactly where we’re going. And this time, no mishaps.”
Paige climbed to her feet again, and Dewey landed on her shoulder. “Don’t say that. Every time we say it’s smooth sailing, something tries to eat us, or we nearly die. Come on, Devon, let’s go.”
“Cool,” Devon said as he stumbled to his feet and stretched. “Dude, I can’t wait to meet your mom.”
Dewey tugged his teal lips into a frown. “Maybe we shouldn’t go to my village.”
“Why?” Paige asked as she pushed past a thick branch.
“Devon’s kind of weird. Oh, also, please don’t say anything about him being a day-walking vampire. There was an incident a few centuries ago with day-walkers and firebreathers; it just wouldn’t go over well.”
Paige flicked her eyebrows up, sliding her gaze sideways before she furrowed her brow. “What was the incident?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Just…don’t say anything.”
“Don’t you think you ought to give those instructions to Devon himself?” Paige suggested.
Dewey glanced over his shoulder at Devon, who trailed behind them, studying a large leaf he’d collected from the ground as he stumbled along.
“I mentioned it before. There’s no point in saying it now. He’s high as a kite. He’ll never remember.”
Paige shot him a glance. He grinned at her and waved before trotting closer. “Hey, Paige.”
“Hi, Devon.”
“Paige,” Devon said, flicking his eyebrows up, “we should talk.”
Paige stomped forward, setting her mouth into a thin line. “Not now. We’re in the middle of the jungle, and for the umpteenth time, you’re high.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right. But still, I know the same stuff I know when I’m not high.”
Paige ground to a halt, stamping a foot on the ground before spinning to face him.
“Whoa,” Dewey said, clamping his paws onto her head as he fluttered his wings to stay on her shoulder. “Next time, call your stops.”
She ignored his complaint, wagging a finger in Devon’s face. “Do you? Fine. Let’s have this out. What possessed you to claim my mother is alive?”
Devon sucked in a deep breath, his gaze darting around. “Your mom’s…name is Reed…Moore.” His features crinkled as he doubled over with laughter.
Paige offered him an unimpressed stare and stormed further into the jungle. “You’re an idiot.”
“Paige, wait!” Devon called, sobering and hurrying after her. “It’s just…I mean, come on. She was a librarian, and her name was Reed Moore. It’s funny.”
“It’s not that funny,” Paige fumed, her hands balled into fists.
“It kind of is,” Dewey admitted. “Especially when you pair it with your name. Reed Moore had a daughter named Paige Turner.”
Devon bit his lower lip as he giggled uncontrollably. “Paige Turner,” he repeated through chuckles.
“You two are idiots. And I wouldn’t talk, Dewey Decimal.”
A puff of smoke escaped from Dewey’s nostrils. “It’s Deci mall , I told you that.”
“Oh, ouch, who’s sensitive now?”
Devon hooted another laugh. “Dewey Decimal. Oh, the names are too much.”
Paige clenched her teeth as she continued her march through the jungle. Devon’s laughter died down after a few more yards. He let out a long sigh.
“Oh, anyway, your mom…” He paused for another chuckle. “She’s totally alive. That’s why I said it.”
“I’m not in the mood for this anymore,” Paige snapped.
“Why are you saying that?” Dewey questioned. “Do you just like to lie? Is it inherent in your nature as a day-walking vampire?”
“No,” Devon said, with a shake of his head.