Chapter 13
“O kay, just calm down. An entire village couldn’t disappear, right?” Paige said.
Dewey spun in a circle, eyeing the empty streets. “Sure looks like it did. What happened here?”
Paige approached him as he hovered in the air and patted her shoulder. He shook his head, fluttering away from her. He curled his paws into fists. “No.”
“Dewey, I’m sure there’s an explanation. We just need to find it.”
“Yeah, man, it’s all gooooood,” Devon said, bobbing his head up and down. “And your village is so super cool. The architecture is…” He kissed his fingers and waved them in the air.
Dewey narrowed his eyes at the man and shook his head. “We have no idea it’s all good. All my dragons are gone! What happened? Did they get raided?”
“I don’t see any evidence of a raid, Dewey,” Paige said. “The buildings are intact. There’s no bodies or anything.”
Dewey groaned as he flitted further into the village. “Hello? Anyone?”
“Is there some reason they may all be gone right now? Like…a foraging party?”
Dewey snapped his head toward her, smoke escaping from his nostrils. “No, Paige, dragons don’t have foraging parties. We’re not some ancient civilization from the Stone Age.”
Paige shrugged. “Well, I don’t know what they do. How do you get food?”
“Go to the supermarket, like normal dragons.” Dewey fluttered his eyelashes at her. “Sometimes, Paige, sometimes…”
Paige shot an unsure glance at Devon and winced.
“Don’t sweat it, Paige. We’ll find them.”
“I’m not so sure about that. Where do you find an entire village of massive dragons? Dewey has a point. Where could a bunch of super huge dragons disappear to?”
Devon stopped, his features going blank as his jaw unhinged. “Oh, I know.”
“You do?” Paige asked, tapping her thighs. “Where?”
“To another realm. They totally just went into another realm. Oh, dude, that’s wild.”
“How do you know that?”
Devon slid his gaze to her and raised his eyebrows. “Because they’re not here, Paige.”
Paige pressed her lips together and shook her head as she stalked away from him. “OMG, I cannot wait until you’re not stoned.”
Devon hurried to catch up with her. “It makes sense, though, right?”
“Nothing makes sense anymore. I just hope we can figure out whatever is going on here, for Dewey’s sake.”
They rounded a corner and found the little dragon sitting on the edge of a massive stone fountain shaped like four dragons, their necks intertwined. He perched on the edge as the water splashed behind him, with his chin in his palm.
“Hey buddy, find anything?” Paige asked as she strode toward the fountain and climbed up to sit on the edge with him.
“Nope. Not even a drop of blood. There’s no trace of them. Nothing. Nada. They’re gone.”
Paige patted his shoulder, offering a conciliatory smile.
“Another realm,” Devon hissed from where he leaned against the corner of the local library.
Paige shook her head at him, signaling him to be quiet. He held up his hands, admitting defeat.
“So, umm, Devon said…”
“Devon’s a liar.”
“Right, okay. Never mind.” Paige sucked in a breath and glanced around the village. “But the thing is…they went somewhere, right? So, we just have to find where. And…someone suggested maybe another realm. You know, like the time you and I disappeared into that fracture fairy tale.”
“That makes zero sense, Paige. Did a giant village-sized wormhole open and suck everyone in?” Dewey scoffed, sinking his head into his hands again.
“I feel like it’s possible, yes.”
Dewey shot her a stony stare.
Paige turned the corners of her lips down and shook her head. “Or not. You’re right. Okay, well, we need a plan. We can’t just sit here. We have two things to solve, and we’re burning daylight.”
“I can’t even think. My entire family…gone.”
“Dewey, they’re not gone. We’ll find them. There’s no evidence of foul play. It looks more like they all just abandoned the village.”
“But why?”
Paige rose to her feet and slid her pant legs down her thighs. “Well, that’s what we need to investigate. And this is currently taking priority over the vampires, because this is your family.”
Dewey glanced up at her. “Really? More like they’re taking priority because we’re stuck in a jungle and can’t get out.”
“That, too, but even if we weren’t stuck, I’d hang out here with you to find them. Nothing’s more important than family.”
Dewey fluttered into the air and landed on her shoulder. “Gee, Paige, thanks. I really appreciate that.”
“Let’s start at your house. Maybe they put something on their calendar.”
“Like what?” Dewey asked, motioning for Paige to skirt the fountain and head down a side street.
“Like a celebration or vacation.”
“That the entire village went on? Think, Paige, think with your brain.”
“I don’t know. Is it a holiday for dragons? Something like that, maybe?” she asked as she cut down the side street.
“My house is the fifth on the left. And no, it’s not a holiday for dragons.” Dewey huffed at her and shook his head before he froze. “Wait, what day is it?”
“October twelfth,” Paige answered as she trudged past the first house, with Devon wandering behind them.
Dewey winced and wiggled his horns.
“What?” Paige asked.
“Nothing.”
“What was that look? You have a look. What happens on October twelfth?”
“It may or may not be Dylret Day.”
Paige pressed her lips together as they reached Dewey’s former house. “Are you serious? It’s a holiday?”
“Maybe,” Dewey answered, raising his chin.
“So, we panicked for nothing. They’re probably all out celebrating.”
“It’s possible,” Dewey said, flying off her shoulder to the door and shoving it open. “Come on in. We’ll see if they listed an event on the calendar.”
Paige stepped into the dimly lit entrance. “What is Dylret Day?” she called, her voice echoing off the expansive entryway.
“Dylret was a founding father to firebreathers. Possibly even the first firebreather. We celebrate his memory with a big feast and dancing. The kids make costumes and parade around in them to make a giant dragon.”
“Oh, neat, like Chinese New Year.”
Dewey balled his paws into fists. “No, Paige. Not like Chinese New Year.”
He led her further into the house, buzzing into the kitchen.
“Whoa,” Paige said, staring up at a massive stainless steel appliance covered in magnets. A few family photos littered the front, along with a dry-erase calendar.
Dewey tapped on a giant square. “Oh, yep, here it is. Dylret Day Celebration. October twelfth at noon.”
“Mystery solved!” Paige answered, pumping a fist in the air. “We’ll just wait for them to get back. Do you think they’d mind if we had something to eat? I’m starving.”
“Nah. In fact, I’ll bet Mom’s got a big old cobbler in here for Dylret Day.” Dewey grabbed the refrigerator door and struggled to tug it open.
Devon wrinkled his nose. “Uh, I realize I’m still high. But is anyone else concerned that it’s well after noon and still no one is here?”
“How far after noon is it?” Dewey asked as he flitted across the kitchen and hauled a few plates down from a cupboard.
“It’s, like, two-thirty.”
“Oh, it’s still early,” Dewey answered with a wave of his paw as he wrangled an enormous spoon from a drawer. “We’ll have something to eat and wait for them. If they’re not back by four, I’ll worry. Who wants berry cobbler?”
“Oh, me, dude. I’m starving,” Devon said. He transformed into his vampire version and fluttered up to stand on the counter.
Paige scoffed from the floor. “Ah, thanks. Appreciate it. Looks like your wing is healed.”
“Oops,” Devon said, now returned to his human form. “Just a sec.” He switched back to his darker form and flew down to grab Paige. He delivered her to the countertop, where Dewey slid giant plates of the cold cobbler next to them.
“It’s the slime. He can’t feel a thing. Anyone want theirs heated?” he asked, licking the spoon.
Paige raised her hand. “I’d like mine heated, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“No problem,” Dewey said. He heaved the plate up and flew across to a massive microwave. He slid the plate inside and tapped around on a few buttons before it revved up. “Devon?”
“No, but if you had some ice cream, I wouldn’t say no.”
“I’m sure we do,” Dewey answered. He crossed the kitchen and slid open the chest drawer on the refrigerator. Icy air escaped as he rooted around before flying up with a big tub.
Dewey popped the top on the vanilla confection and slid it next to Devon.
“My dude, my biggest thanks.”
“And one heated cobbler coming up for the lady,” Dewey sang as he zipped back to the microwave and removed the hot plate. He puffed out breaths as he hurried back with it. “Oh, hot!”
Steam floated from the top of the purple-red berries. “Thanks, Dewey, I’m starving.”
Dewey slid open a drawer and grabbed a set of spoons. “Here you go.” He dumped them on the counter before he landed next to his own plate.
Paige picked up the gigantic spoon. “I can’t use this. I can’t even fit it into my mouth.”
Dewey shoveled some of the cobbler into his mouth with a tiny spoon.
“How’d you get a small spoon?”
“It’s my spoon,” Dewey answered, thick purple-red goo covering his lips. “From when I lived here. Wait, there may be another one.”
He zipped across the room and dug around in the utensil drawer before he waved a small spoon at her. “Got one!”
“Yay, thanks, buddy,” Paige said, tossing the other spoon to the side. It clattered across the countertop, nearly breaking her eardrums. She grabbed hold of the smaller utensil and slid it into the warm, gooey concoction before shoveling it into her mouth. “Mmm, wow, this is really, really good.”
“My mom’s an excellent baker,” Dewey said. “That’s where I get it from.”
Paige scooped up more of the cobbler as she bobbed her head up and down. “You do make a mean snickerdoodle.”
Dewey poked his spoon at her. “You know it.”
“Mmm, I could really go for some of those right now,” Devon said.
“What? The cobbler isn’t enough.”
“It is primo, my bro, but I am wicked hungry.”