Tegan drew his hand back to himself, and as he did so the flames on his arms vanished. He looked down and studied his clawed hand with a furrowed brow.
Finn jumped up and down in my arms. “That was so fantastic!”
Tegan turned to him with a smile but the confusion remained in his eyes. “It was quite something, wasn’t it? Now we should be getting you back to your parents.”
Finn was all smiles as we led him back toward the town, though he did keep a tight grip on my arm. We had traveled a quarter of the way across the marshes when one of the werewolves appeared from behind a curtain. Judging by the familiar raggedness of his pants, I recognized him as the ‘friendly’ local from before.
His eyes widened as he beheld our young companion. “Finn!”
“Conroy!” Finn shouted as he raced up to the wolf and hugged him.
Conroy stared dumbly at the boy before he looked up at us. He wrapped an arm around the boy and bowed his head to us. “Thank you for returning him to us.”
Tegan shook his head. “We were glad to help.”
Conroy lifted his head and let loose a powerful howl. More howls echoed from all corners of the marshes and soon other werewolves barreled through the curtains to join us.
One of them crashed through the moss so violently that he tore the whole piece down. He skidded to a stop and stared dumbfounded at the young boy in Conroy’s grip. A hoarse word passed his lips. “Finn. . .”
Finn whipped his head up and a smile illuminated his face. “Father!”
The young lad raced over to the new werewolf and embraced him in a tight hug. The wolf wrapped his arms around him and squeezed him tight. “My boy. My precious child.”
Conroy clapped a hand on Patrick’s shoulder and nodded in the direction of the entrance. “We should get to Nora. She’ll be wanting to hug Finn, too.”
Patrick nodded and lifted his eyes to us. “You found him?”
Tegan bowed his head. “It was our pleasure.”
“Then please come with us,” Patrick requested as he knelt on his stomach.
Finn gave a shout for joy and climbed aboard his father’s back. Conroy and another wolf moved over to us and lay down. I looked uncertainly at Tegan.
“When in the forest,” he teased as he climbed aboard Conroy.
I gingerly crawled onto the hairy back of my werewolf and clutched two healthy handfuls of fur. The werewolf rose, still on four legs, and I pressed myself close against their back. The pack took off at a quick lope and covered the remainder of the marsh in half the time it would have taken Tegan and me. We soon arrived at the start of the muck where the women waited in breathless, fitful anticipation.
Nora gave a cry when she saw Finn atop her husband and rushed to meet them. Finn slid off and right into the eager arms of his mother. “Finn! Praise the moon, you’re alright!”
Patrick stood up, and as he did so his furry exterior was absorbed into his body until he was a man once more. He nodded at Tegan and me as we slid off our own rides. “We have these people to thank, Nora.”
She turned her teary eyes to us and gave us a bright smile. “Thank you so much.”
Patrick strode over to us and grasped Tegan’s hand in both of his. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did for us. If there’s anything I can do for you, just name it.”
Tegan smiled down at him. “We could use a ride to the capital, if anyone’s willing.”
Patrick smiled. “Of course. I’ll drive you myself. Just tell me when you wish to leave and I’ll be ready.”
Tegan clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder and gave it a gentle shake. “Your animals can rest for the night, at least. We’ll be ready to travel in the morning.”
The grateful father nodded. “Of course. I’ll be at the inn at dawn.”
I winced and Tegan noticed because he laughed. “Maybe not that early. We can leave at eight, if that works for you.”
Patrick laughed as his wife came up to his side. “I would get up every day for a year to drive you wherever you wish.”
Nora wrapped an arm around him and offered us a bright and equally teary smile. “Thank you so much. You will forever be in our hearts.”
Tegan bowed low at the waist. “It was our pleasure, ma’am.”
“Come, dear,” Nora whispered to her husband as she led him away with Finn in front of them. “You should get some rest.”
Most of the party followed the happy family, but Conroy sidled up to us. “I can carry you back to the inn, if you’re staying there.”
Tegan shook his head. “I think we’ll walk, but thank you for the offer.”
Conroy nodded and hurried to catch up to the others. Tegan offered me his arm and I accepted, but I cocked my head to one side. “You look like you want to talk about something.”
A small smile graced his lips. “Am I so easy to read?”
I shrugged. “No, but I can’t forget the look on your face as you stared at your glowing hand. You looked like you’d never done that before.”
He stared ahead and pursed his lips. “I haven’t. The water on my person should have prevented me from using my fire.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “So how did you burn it all away?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted as he looked down and studied my face. “But perhaps you do.”
I started back and blinked at him. “Me? What would I know about it?”
“You have magic inside you. Perhaps you are a day witch.”
“But I didn’t feel anything funny,” I protested before I paused and furrowed my brow. “Then again, I was kind of scared out of my mind. I could have levitated into orbit and maybe not noticed.”
“We’ll have to keep your feet on the ground until we figure out what happened,” Tegan teased.
We soon arrived at the inn where the door was swung wide open before we reached it. Burke stood in the doorway with a grin on his face. “I thought I smelled something special on you two,” he mused as he stepped aside and let us into the warm lobby. “Now whatever you want, just ask. Everything’s on the house.”
“Two rooms and a warm meal will do us just fine,” Tegan assured him.
Burke gestured to the crackling fire in the hearth. “Make yourselves at home and I’ll fix up the food.”
I gladly scooted over to the warm fire and plopped myself on the rug a few feet away. Tegan joined me and I stretched out my hands to warm them. “Risking life and limb has its perks, doesn’t it?”
He nodded. “People are generally a good lot and they’re grateful for a helping hand.”
I snorted. “That’s a subdued way of saying we nearly got ourselves killed saving the boy.”
Tegan scooted a chair up against his back and leaned against the front. “Could you have sat here and watched the others try to save him?”
I pursed my lips and turned my head to stare into the flames. “Not for a second.”
“Then you need nothing else save the resolve to finish the task,” Tegan mused as he folded his arms over his chest. “No amount of reward in the world can move a man if he lacks the desire to help, and no danger can stop a man determined to help those who need it.”
I smiled at him. “You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?”
He shrugged but the corners of his lips twitched upward. “Off and on since I began my travels.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Your travels?”
Tegan chuckled. “I wasn’t born on a moving wagon, but rather in a small village north of here. I set out on my adventures when I reached maturity and have been traveling ever since.”
I looked him up and down and some rather racy thoughts slipped into my mind. “What’s the age of maturity for a dragon?”
“When his wings can hold him for fifty miles,” he revealed. “At least, that was the requirement in my village. Other places have other rules. Some abide by age and others by experience.”
I furrowed my brow. “But you dragons don’t have a kingdom either, do you? I mean, like the humans don’t have a lot of land.”
He nodded. “That’s right, though it wasn’t always the case. I should take you to the ruins of our lost capital. That is, if all goes well in Malartu.”
“Malartu?” I repeated.
“The capital of Conas and the largest werewolf city in the world,” he explained to me. “We’ll take you to a Key office and ask them for their help in figuring out what do to with you now that you’ve come here across worlds.”
“And they’ll know what to do with me?” I wondered.
Tegan leaned back against the chair and furrowed his brow. “Truth be told, I’m not sure, but I can’t think of any better plan. The intricacies of the Keys are a closely guarded secret, even to someone as well-traveled as myself. All anyone knows is the different types of witches and the pupil/teacher dynamic.”
“Food’s up!” Burke announced as he swept into the room with a platter filled with delicious meats and cheeses.