Hunting Down Dragons by Tricia Owens

Author:Tricia Owens [Owens, Tricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-05-22T23:00:00+00:00

~~~~~

Melanie made a quick stop at an all-night taco stand before taking us back to Moonlight. The pungent smells of cumin, vinegar and chili filled the small shop as we ate and considered all that we'd learned.

Correction: Melanie and Vale ate while I chewed desultorily on a small mouthful. I didn't feel excited about what was to come. There would be no victory at the end of this. Learning of Zach's illness had put a damper on any anticipation I felt about avenging my parents. They were gone. Nothing could be done for them. Zach, however, was still alive.

But for how much longer? That scrying ball could help him and Rob plan for and enjoy their last days together. It wasn't an option. It was necessary.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Moody."

Vale had finished his last taco. He now stood near the windows, arms crossed over his chest. The streetlamps cast a golden glow over one side of his face. On it I read sympathy and concern.

"I'm upset about Zach," I said slowly, feeling my way, "and I feel now that even if I hadn't made the deal, I have no choice but to get the ball for him and Rob. No matter how dangerous it might be," I added, referring to the fate of my friend Jeremiah, who'd been shipped to Rob in pieces.

"How good of a warlock was Jeremiah, in your opinion? Would he have stood a decent chance?"

"Against what?" I asked him with a mirthless laugh. "We know next to nothing about what Dearborn has set up at his home."

"He's bad," Melanie said around a mouthful of fried fish. "He makes curses and golems. He may have killed your parents! I think that's enough, Anne. That's more than enough!"

"All true," I agreed, feeling depressed. Hot sauce was burning a hole through my stomach. Or maybe it was stress. "Jeremiah wasn't a close friend. I didn't even know he moonlighted as a cat burglar. I'm trying to picture him in skintight Lycra…" I snapped back into focus when Vale emitted a low growl. "But I do know he was a decent enough warlock. And he was smart. When he was ten, he charged his friends to do their homework with his magick. That lasted about a week before the Oddsmakers cracked down on him but it shows you how advanced he was. It wouldn't have been easy to catch him by surprise, I don't think."

"Then I say don't do this."

It wasn't what I expected him to say. "Vale, there's no way I'm not doing this."

He left the window and came to me. He held my hand in his while wearing an expression of unnerving solemnity. "This is something that can wait. We don't yet know what the Oddsmakers' mission is. What if we find out it's something else altogether, and you've risked your life for nothing?"

"It won't be for nothing," I insisted, struggling not to give in to anger. "It'll be for Zach and Rob."

"And if you die or seriously hurt yourself?" he challenged me just as sharply.

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