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Huddled against the wall, I was tired and sore from spending another night sleeping on the ground. It had been two weeks of doing nothing but being ordered to go sit in the corner and not touch anything, so my body was feeling the effects. Zoran was wandering about, shuffling through papers. I folded my arms and laid my head on my knees. What a boring life. All he did was look at his stupid scrolls. At least he hadn’t tried to touch me since the first day. He hadn’t done much of anything, really. I was still only wearing the coat and had some patches of black ash staining my skin.
Rhoda entered and placed a tray on the table. “Zoran?”
He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
The siren shook her head before looking down at me. “Are you hungry?”
I pulled my knees to my chest. “No, thanks.” Last night’s meal of some kind of green furry creature had killed my appetite.
“Zoran,” she called, “what are you going to do with him? The poor thing looks miserable.”
“Nothing,” he said plainly. “As of yet. But I’ve been too busy to deal with him.”
Rhoda removed the lid from the platter. She took a piece of bread with red flakes sprinkled inside it and offered it to me. “You’ll like it. I promise.”
I took it from her and nibbled a bit of it. She was right. It tasted pretty good, and I could feel its warmth travel down my throat before settling in my chest.
“You can go,” muttered Zoran, bracing himself against a desk spilling over with scrolls that were nestled between some wooden boxes.
Rhoda patted the top of my head, and with a pop, her ball of light flew outside. That little bit of food had ignited a wave of hunger. I crawled into a seat at the table and took more of the bread. For the first time, I actually liked what Rhoda had brought, and I wasn’t going to give Zoran a chance to eat it all.
Zoran glanced over at me. “I have a chore for you.”
“What?” I braced myself for the worst after the whole balcony sweeping fiasco.
I stuffed another slice of bread in my mouth. Rhoda was right, this was excellent.
He grabbed a list from the pile on his desk. “I think they’ve recovered by now.”
Dropping it on the table, he stood behind me and leaned in close to my ear. I hunched over to get away from him.
“Go to Hobbs and gather these things for me. He should have them ready, but I added a couple more.” His hand landed on my shoulder. “I’ll give you a reward when you get back if you do it properly.” He twirled a strand of hair around his finger.
I sunk down into my chair. “I don’t want to go back there.”
“I don’t care.” He grabbed a handful and pulled me up. “Sit up straight.”
“Aw!” I pushed him away, my skull throbbing. “I’m not going back there. They’ll kill me.”
Zoran laughed. “We’ve gone over this. That’s not possible.” His hand wrapped around my neck. He lifted my head, so our eyes met. “You will go, or I’ll show you how I punish the dragons, but I’ll use you, instead.”
Nodding, I took in a shaky breath. “I’ll go.”
“Good.” He shoved my head forward. “Uther will take you, and I would advise you not to linger. Don’t give Lockhart time to think of a plan. I have work to do, and I will not be bothered to save you again.” He wandered off into his room and disappeared behind the stacks of junk.
I picked at the tattered coat I was wearing. I might as well go to Gail naked. “Can you give me something decent to wear at least?”
There was a loud bang, and clothes sat folded on the table, along with a shoulder bag.
“Uther is waiting,” he yelled.
I dropped the coat on the ground. Pulling on the black pants, I did them up and tugged on the white button-up shirt. Picking up the red and black coat, I ran my hands over the thick leather-like material.
The room shook when Uther landed on the balcony. I put the coat on and did up the two buttons on the front. Grabbing a couple more pieces of bread, I stuffed them in the bag and hurried to meet the beast. Uther blasted me with a puff of smoke the moment I stepped outside. He lowered his head as I glared at him, waving my hand to clear the air.
I grabbed onto the dragon’s horn and started to climb up. Uther flicked his head and threw me in the air. I landed hard on his back and clung to his scales so I didn’t slide off.
“Horrible beast,” I breathed, positioning myself and taking a deep breath. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Uther took off. My scream followed us through the garden and the mountain tunnel. I was going to die or blow up. Either way, this dragon was doing this on purpose. We emerged on the other side, and he flew straight up. I laid flat on his back and closed my eyes as the air rushed by. I hated this creature! I hated him!
Uther leveled out and glided above the ravine. With each beat of his wings, we flew closer to Gail. Half the town was black. This was a horrible idea. They were going to kill me, or they’d try to, at least.
I leaned down. “Uther,” I yelled, “land over there. Away from the town.”
The dragon dove and proceeded to spew fire as we whooshed over the town. Women and children screamed. The men herded them into the nearest home.
“Stupid beast!” I pounded my fist on Uther’s back. “Stop it!”
I swore the monster laughed and dove at the town again, causing more panic.
“Knock it off!” I snapped. “Just land. You’ve done enough.”
Uther circled around to the junction and landed in the clearing. The miners scattered and hid behind their wagons. The dragon snarled at them as his nostrils bellowed smoke.
I slid down and shoved the beast’s head. “Way to go, idiot.”
He snapped at me and I fell backward into the dirt. I glared at the dragon. He just laid down and rolled to his side.
“Stupid reptile.” I stood and dusted myself off.
His tail flicked around and knocked me down.
“Uther!” I yelled from the dirt. I climbed to my feet. “Overgrown lizard.”
He swiped at me again, but this time, I dodged it and hurried out of his reach. I understood why Zoran and Uther got along so well. They were both horrid creatures.
Fixing the bag over my shoulder, I looked around. The men were clinging to their pickaxes as I passed, but they didn’t attack. I picked up the pace and entered the town. All the doors and shutters were closed. The remains of a fire sat in the courtyard. They must have killed another shapeshifter recently. Lockhart marched outside.
The governor folded his arms. “What do you want?”
I forced an uneasy smile. “Zoran just needs a few things.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Then get them, and get out. You’re not welcome here.”
I nodded. “Of course. I’ll hurry.” I backed away. “Sorry.”
I jogged down the street towards Hobbs. The shop looked the same, though buildings on either side had fire damage.
I poked my head inside. “Hobbs? It’s me, Fin.”
Something fell in the backroom. A few moments later, Hobbs emerged. “Zoran said he would be sending you today.” He dipped behind the counter and lifted up a basket of different packages. “I’d rather it be you than him that comes to my shop. A frustrated god is a hard customer.” He held out his hand.
I placed my bag on the counter.
“He mentioned a list. I need to go over it to make sure I have everything.”
Panic caused my face to turn white. “Oh, no.” I ripped open my bag and dug around. I checked all my pockets, but the image of it sitting on the table was engraved in my head. “I think I misplaced it.” I bit my lip and glanced at the old man. “Do you remember what he needed?”
“Hmmm....” Hobbs shook his head. “I think I remember everything. For your sake, let’s hope so.” He placed the packages in the bag and pushed it back to me.
“If he’s mad about it, I’ll come back. No problem, right?” I laughed lightly.
Hobbs’ face didn’t change. “Never anger a god, Fin. It won’t end well.”
“Right,” I breathed, looping the strap over my head. “Thanks.”
I quickly left and started back to the junction. I felt sick. The last time I had sort of angered him, Zoran had thrown me off a cliff. I was destruction-proof, though. So there really wasn’t anything this man could do to me. I’d just blow up, and he’d be the one in trouble.
The more I thought about it, the taller I stood. There was nothing to be worried about. I walked down the embankment and clambered into Uther’s back. Zoran might be upset I forgot one or two things, but if he punished me for it, I’d blow up in his face. What better way to test out if it was possible to kill a god.