Chapter Eighteen
The culprit was being a little coward.
Whatever lizard-dragon thing that had targeted Finn and then Andre had evaporated into thin air, leaving me with a wrecked shop, part of a wrecked house, and a dragon shifter who was pissed at me.
Not that I could blame Smith for the angry text messages he’d sent me.
I’d implicated him in a crime, even if only by accident.
As soon as I’d mentioned he was the only dragon in town, Taliyah had asked him questions and even tried to take him in for questioning.
That had definitely earned me a little ire.
Which was why I found myself approaching Smith’s house cautiously, a small basket of muffins clutched under one arm.
They were still warm from the oven, wrapped in one of Wanda’s absurdly expensive fabric swaths.
And, no, I didn’t believe Smith was responsible for whatever creature had ransacked my home and store.
Even if he was the only dragon around. And that was for a couple of different reasons—one: what did he have to gain from it?
He was freshly here from Misty Hollow and, naturally, all those from the destroyed Hollow wanted to be on their best behavior so we’d welcome them with open arms. And two: I wasn’t even sure what the creature that attacked us was.
It looked like a dragon, sure (in the split second that I saw it), but that didn’t mean it was.
So, all told, I owed Smith an apology.
He lived in a trailer in the back of our haunted house attraction.
Most of the Misty Hollow crowd did. Not knowing what to do or where to house the large influx of folks, we’d erected a short-term housing development in the only area that had the space.
And as for getting the Misty Hollow folks work?
That had been a problem too. Haven Hollow was only so big and only had so many jobs available.
And those positions that were available had been filled within two days of these folks arriving.
That still left a lot of people without work, without income, without any way to feed themselves.
The Council’s answer was offering them temporary work at the haunted circus, which was now attached to our haunted house.
Some of the performers seemed content, at least for the time being.
Others, like Smith, didn’t. At least, that was why I assumed he was glowering at his uniform. And at me.
He stood with his arms crossed, shoulders squared in that red strongman costume he’d been given for his circus act.
It clung to him in ways that made it hard not to notice the breadth of his chest, the sculpted muscle of his arms, the overall enormity of his body.
His burgundy hair fell in an untamed sweep over his brow.
He was sweaty, but damn did he pull it off.
Against his ivory-pale skin, his eyes looked darker—coal-black with a faint inner ring of fire.
He was glaring at me jaw tight, clearly furious about being implicated in my mess. But all I could think, mortifyingly, was how unfair it was that he had to look that good while also being mad at me. Was there such a thing as an ugly monster in this Hollow?
“Smith. I… I wanted to apologize.”
“Hmmph.”
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess.
I didn’t intend to. I just answered a few of Taliyah’s questions and next thing I knew, you were implicated.
” His expression didn’t relax. He was still fuming.
“I just wanted you to know that I never thought and still don’t think you have anything to do with this. ”
“Good, because I don’t!”
I nodded. “I know you’re mad. I get that. Taliyah and the police… they jumped to conclusions.”
“Why would they or you think this had anything to do with a dragon anyway?”
I shrugged. “Well, I said the thing looked like it was a reptile or dragon-like. I didn’t mean to imply that... it was a dragon. Just that it looked like one. It wasn’t fair, and I… I apologize.” Then I shoved the muffins at him. He looked down at them and begrudgingly accepted them.
Then he just stood there for a long moment before rolling his eyes with a snort. “You take all the fun out of getting an apology, Poppy.”
“I—what?”
He chuckled. “Do you know how long it would take me to get Violetta to apologize about anything, let alone say something like that?”
I was at a loss. “Um…”
He chuckled. “Exactly.”
Okay, I thought this was a good thing? Did that mean I was forgiven? “You don’t have to forgive me yet, but maybe we can start somewhere?”
That earned me a somewhat mollified smile. “Well, I suppose it would be rude to take your food and kick you to the curb. You can come in.”
The trailer was cramped, barely wide enough for two people—or one dragon and a very large man—to move without bumping into something. A narrow cot occupied the far side, covered with a quilt that had seen better days, something that was probably donated by a Haven Hollow resident.
Something sat perched on top of a wooden chest near the door, wings folded tightly against its body.
For a second that felt longer, I could only stare at it in blank shock, sure that I’d spotted the intruder at last. It was the same exact size and shape.
And it looked… hmm. Similar but not exact.
This creature was more graceful than the one I’d seen in Finn’s room.
Slightly smaller and more colorful, too.
Smith caught me staring and nodded toward what I assumed was a tiny dragon. “That’s Burns. He’s sort of... a pet, you could say.”
Burns flitted nervously along his perch, wings trembling like delicate stained glass caught in a shaft of sunlight. It was mesmerizing to watch.
“He’s beautiful.”
“He recently molted,” Smith said, eyes following Burns. “Usually he’s not so… colorful. I’m not used to seeing him in these colors yet.”
I couldn’t imagine him any other color. The teal of his scales seemed to perfectly suit him.
“He’s very pretty.”
“And very rare. There aren’t many fairy dragons left in the world. He’s been through a lot—took to me because I’ve been taking care of him.”
“Is he… friendly?”
Smith chuckled. “Friendly enough. He won’t bite you.”
I approached the little guy and carefully held my hand out to him, like he was a dog who might want to sniff me. Burns shifted, nudging my palm with his snout.
“Ha. Look at that,” Smith said. “I guess he likes you.”
The little strange creature, which I supposed was some type of fairy from what Smith had said, nudged his little face into my hand until I started petting him.
“I’m glad he has you,” I said as I giggled as the thing started chirping at me when I pulled my hand away from him and turned back to face Smith. “And I am sorry, you know. For… everything.”
Smith sighed. “I’m not going to back out of the contract, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Well, the thought crossed my mind, but that isn’t why I came. I am… genuinely sorry.”
“I believe you. And I take my deals seriously. You don’t have to beg for forgiveness, Poppy. I get why it happened. I’m just annoyed with the situation, not with you. If I had my way, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be in Misty Hollow with—”
He cut off abruptly, cheeks coloring, as he cleared his throat.
“Violetta?” I guessed.
He nodded.
“Are you… together?”
He breathed in deeply. Then cursed. “It’s… complicated. She’s got a boyfriend. Sort of.”
“Oh.”
“He’s a vampire.”
“Oh.”
“And I want to punch his lights out every time I see his stupid face.”
I tried not to laugh at that, but a little giggle escaped. “Sorry,” I managed.
He sighed. “But I can’t punch his lights out, because she isn’t mine.”
“Sometimes that’s how these things go, I guess.” I paused. “Though I will say—the way she looked at you… I don’t know… I figured you guys were some kind of item.”
He nodded. “I’m not sure if she wants to be with me or what. She’s unbelievably complicated and completely difficult to read.” He paused. “So yes, having a project will distract me.”
“I’m glad to hear it—if that’s what you need.”
Smith’s eyes narrowed. “And speaking of distraction, you’re deflecting.”
“I am?”
He nodded. “You never even mentioned the whole reason this mess started in the first place.”
“Oh.”
“You saw something in your house? We both know it wasn’t me, but that doesn’t change the fact that you still saw it—or something.”
“Right.”
“Do you have any clue as to what it might be?”
I shook my head. “That’s the problem. No one knows what it is.”
“But it looked like a dragon?”
“Sort of. I mean—that general shape and it had wings. But it was small, reptilian—quick. It could fade in and out of sight in a heartbeat.”
“Then it was invisible?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Not invisible exactly, more like… flickering. Like the way a candle flickers. Like one second there and the next not.”
“Hmm.”
“And it was crazy destructive. Not only did it attack my house. But also my shop,” I continued, speaking faster now as I shook my head at the memory.
“It was a nightmare. Herbs scattered, potions wrecked, jars knocked off shelves. It was almost like… like it wanted me to know it had been there. It attacked the store first. And then it came to my house and went after my son and my boyfriend.”
“Can you describe exactly what it looked like?”
I was quiet for a few seconds as I tried to bring the memory of the creature to mind again.
“It was small. Like the size of a little dog. It had claws like a lizard’s, but they were strong enough to hurl things.
It couldn’t stay hidden while it was throwing all the stuff around.
Instead, it flickered fully into sight each time, then blinked back out again.
I keep thinking I’ve seen every kind of nasty the Hollow can spit at me, and then something new shows up. ”
Smith stood up a little straighter, eyes widening. “I think,” he murmured, more to himself than to me, “from that description that what attacked you is a kobold.”
I frowned. “A kobold?”
He nodded. “They’re tied to houses, to land, to family lines. They don’t just roam around randomly.”
“I’ve never had, or seen one, or even heard of one before. So, I can’t imagine it’s from my family line.”
Smith nodded and seemed a little stumped. “It has to belong to someone. Someone who’s… either careless or desperate.”
“If it belongs to someone, how did it get into my house? And my store? How did it find me, and why would it want anything to do with me? I mean—I certainly don’t own it.”
Smith’s expression hardened, a determined glint in his eyes. Then he nodded at me. “Let’s go find out.”