Dragons, on the Other Hand by Nhys Glover

Author:Nhys Glover [Glover, Nhys]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Belisama Press
Published: 2019-01-24T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

For the rest of the day I felt numb. Maybe it was a continuation of that dreamlike state I’d been in when I handed over my treasure to the bank manager. And like some dreams, the pleasant half morphed into a nightmare. But instead of waking screaming, I was still caught in its grip, unable to cry out, unable to do anything to change what was happening.

Because, though I’d gotten Jake to agree to look for ways to break free of Johnno, I didn’t think he’d find that way. Not because it wasn’t possible, but because he didn’t truly believe it was possible.

Maybe if I talked it through with Jason, he might have some insight into the situation. It didn’t seem quite real that one man could own another so completely in this day and age. England wasn’t that sort of place. Here, people were free to follow their own path.

By sunset there had been no word from Jason about the dragon, so I assumed it hadn’t been discovered yet. The Pennine Mountain range, on the edge of which the Dales sat, was vast. The dragon could be anywhere by now. Even with the device, it might take weeks, or even months, to find it again. The only thing that gave me hope of an early end to the situation was the knowledge it moved very slowly. Even when it rushed us that night, it moved no faster than a quick walk. It was the flames that caught the fleeing men, not the dragon itself.

Jake made a veal scaloppini for dinner. The ingredients had been purchased with a celebratory feast in mind. Neither of us felt like celebrating anymore. But we ate our meal, and despite everything, I enjoyed it. The steamed baby potatoes covered by the mushroom sauce was particularly tasty.

“I hate this,” Jake finally admitted as the silence continued to consume the very air we breathed.

“So do I,” I answered softly.

“Can we just go back to the way things were before he came here? It’s not like anything has actually changed. Not really.”

“You’re still leaving,” I said, hating myself for sounding so needy.

God, I’d only known the man a couple of weeks. I shouldn’t feel like this.

“I said I’d try to find a way to stay. I always planned to try...” he finished half-heartedly.

Rex whimpered and pressed his nose into Jake’s thigh. Any other time, he’d be mooching for titbits. Tonight, he was giving comfort. Jake stroked his head.

“Did you? Or were you simply going to give up. You never struck me as someone who’d just give up...”

Jake threw me a fierce glance across the table. “You think you know me, but you don’t!”

My fury rose to match his. “I think I know you better than you know yourself. Just like you know me better than I know myself.”

He acknowledged the point and went back to eating. “I just know what I’m facing.”

“Is he more powerful than the fire-breathing invisible dragon that wiped out a clan of pagans a few days ago?” I challenged.

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