Chapter 3 #2
He could access magic, so why couldn’t he use it?
He really needed Pan to teach him, but that required a moment without dead cows and fur coats or any other drama. Given the state of things, he didn’t like his chances.
Nan pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Here, put your number in.”
“Fine.” The farmer took the phone and stabbed at the screen like it had offended him before handing it back. “Nothing had better happen to my trailer.”
The dragon trotted around the corner and selected a second cow to take around the back. Pan stood by the trailer as if this were a perfectly normal occurrence.
“What’s your biggest problem? The ten dead cows or your trailer? Because at the moment everyone has problems and not all of them are urgent,” Noah said with a bit too much snap.
The farmer lifted his hands. “Calm down. I know all about the situation caused by those folk.” He tipped his head at Pan.
“We caused the situation. Our scientists admitted it,” Noah said. “Those people don’t want to be here. They would much rather be in their own world.”
“And now it’s everyone’s problem.” He sighed. “The trailer had better be empty tonight.”
“We’ll do our best.”
The farmer stomped over to the four-wheel-drive and unhitched the trailer.
“You are sorting those cows out, Noah,” Nan said.
Noah nodded. “I figured. No good deed goes unpunished, right?”
“Tsk. Don’t be like that.”
Noah glared at her. “Did you see me last night?”
“Yes, and I know it’s not ideal, but we will figure it out. After you’ve dealt with the cows…and Kirel says the vampires will be needing blood.”
Noah closed his eyes and leaned against the door frame. “Great, maybe the werewolves can give blood while collecting their cows. Or maybe the vampires will drink the cow blood.” Though that didn’t solve what they were going to do with the rest of the cow.
“Vampires will not drink from a dead body,” Pan said. “Are there no humans who will volunteer? They don’t take much.”
Noah opened his eyes and shook his head. “You may not have noticed, but some humans don’t want to help, and most of them don’t know about the vampires in the palace.”
Pan pressed his lips together. “Well, they’re going to have to learn, and Feryn is at some point going to have to be seen as he is the Lord of the city.”
“The city also has a council…who get voted in,” Nan said. “You don’t want to be stepping on their toes.”
“Can we put that aside until the cows have been removed? One problem at a time.” Pan traced the curve of his horn. They were almost hidden by his hair, and at first glance, he didn’t seem any older than Noah, but there was something in his eyes or the way he spoke that gave him an aura of power.
When his gaze landed on Noah, Noah understood why people dropped to their knees to worship him.
It took everything he had to stay where he was instead of moving closer.
He reminded himself that he was still annoyed with him about the coat.
Not that it was his fault, but Pan should’ve told him about the coat or something.
It was easier to blame Pan than his own curiosity, which had driven him to try it on.
Or perhaps the magic in the coat had wanted him to put it on?
“Let’s go back in and finish breakfast, then we can find a new location for the dragons and the cows.” Nan waited for them both to step back inside before shutting and locking the door.
The vampires had gathered around the bar as if this was how they ate breakfast every day, and when Noah only saw their backs, it was as if the pub had been invaded by an eighties hair band, complete with tight pants and flowing shirts.
When they turned around, it was more like the tombs of those same rockers had been opened and they’d risen from the dead because they had one more power ballad to crank out.
He picked up his now cold bacon roll and decided that zombies were worse than vampires, and at least the vampires weren’t going to break into song. However, they weren’t going to be useful when dealing with the cows or the dragons.
And the vampires in the bar were only the Lord and his trusted friends or advisors or something. The rest were still hiding in the castle or in town.
Noah walked behind the bar and pulled out the map, hoping that a plan would become clear.
That somehow, he would wake up and everything would be fixed.
That didn’t mean getting rid of the mythological beings because that wasn’t a solution…
more like someone figured out how they could all coexist, and all the roads were fixed, and no one needed to scramble about what to do with dead cows and dragons.
He spread the map out on the bar. “We can walk to the rec center, though I don’t know how we’re going to gain entrance? Are the mythologicals free to wander?” He glanced at Nan. “What has Meredith said?”
“Not a lot, but I don’t think they’ve got the numbers to be doing much beyond disaster relief. Why don’t you give her a call as you walk down?” Nan said, joining him to peer at the map. “Where do dragons like to live?”
“It’s less about where they like to live at the moment, and more about how far they can travel. And since the female can’t fly, that’s not far,” Pan said as he grabbed a piece of whatever the vampires had brought to share. Was it fruit in some kind of pastry?
Pan must have seen something on his face because he smiled and offered Noah a bite…it was so tempting to lean in and take that bite, but he wasn’t ready to be that friendly. It was easier to hold onto the shock and hurt.
It was petty, and it didn’t make him feel any better, but he didn’t know how to move forward. The memory of rolling around and being unable to figure out how to open the coat with his flippers was far too fresh.
Pan’s eyes narrowed for a split second, then he popped the food in his mouth.
His gaze never left Noah, and it was the kind of look that spoke of future conversations that he didn’t know how to have.
He wasn’t mythological or centuries-old, and he didn’t know how to live like this. It had been forced on him.
Pan smiled as if nothing were amiss. “Maybe we will find the Strega at the rec center.”
Noah gave him a small nod but didn’t think their luck was that good. His certainly wasn’t.