My jaw dropped to the ground and bounced back up to snap my mouth shut. I briefly sputtered spittle before I shook off my shock. “You’re a what?”
“Do you not have those in your world?” he wondered.
“Y-yes, but they’re not exactly the spitting image of respectability,” I told him.
He stretched out his arms on either side and nodded down at himself. “Then I fit the part.”
I looked him over with his dark attire and long coat, and couldn’t deny he did look like a rogue. A really cute one. “So is that why you’re not worried about money? Because you have some ‘jobs’ to turn in?”
He smiled at me as he gestured down the street. “Why don’t I show you? Perhaps your opinion of we lowly hunters will improve.”
My heart felt a little squeezed by his gentle rebuke as we continued onward. “I didn’t mean it that way. I was just surprised, that’s all.”
Tegan chuckled. “There’s no need to apologize. You’re not the first to think little of my profession and I must admit there’s many among us who do justice to that image.”
I tried to act nonchalant as we strolled through the maze of streets. “What kind of jobs do you take up?”
“Fetch quests mostly,” he revealed as he shrugged. “Somebody loses something to somebody else and I’m hired to get it back.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Is that what you were doing with the witches? Getting something back from them?”
He gave me a sheepish grin. “That was a bit of a botched job. I was supposed to sneak into their grove and snatch some apples from their magic tree which they owed to a client of theirs, but I was spotted. They decided to take advantage of the situation by snatching some of my blood for their soup. It’s said to hearten the heart.”
I cocked my head to one side. “What sort of magic apple? I mean, what does it do?”
He reached into his coat and drew out a small apple. The unblemished skin was a brilliant golden color and a single leaf clung to its stem. It was the perfect teacher’s apple but for the strange color. “This apple is guaranteed to eliminate any blemish on one’s appearance, such as scars and the like.”
My mind wandered back to the appearance of the hags. “But not wrinkles?”
He grinned as he tucked the apple back into his coat. “No, not wrinkles. The witches sell them for a hefty price but their client insulted them and they refused to return either the money or give them the apple.”
“So you were called in,” I finished for him.
Tegan nodded. “And unfortunately, I was spotted. I transformed into my more magic-impervious form to protect against their attacks and the combination of magics must have sent us into your world.”
I walked on my tiptoes and tried to peek into his coat. “Are you hiding a house in there? I keep expecting to see you pull the kitchen sink out.”
Tegan patted the front of his chest. “My wings aren’t the only things that can be hidden inside my body.” My eyes widened and I stumbled over the uneven cobblestones. Tegan caught me before I fell and righted me so we faced each other. “You should be more careful. I would hate to have to use this apple on you.”
I freed myself from his gentle hold and shook my head. “S-sorry. I was just, um, surprised. I mean, I didn’t know dragons could do something like that.”
“Have you met any dragons?” he wondered with a twinkle in his eyes as we continued on our journey.
I shook my head. “No, you guys are pretty much extinct in my world. There were a few around a thousand years ago. At least, if the legends are true.”
“Perhaps they walk among you as the werewolves walk among us now,” he suggested as he nodded at the dwindling crowds around us.
Our path had taken us southeastward down a gentle slope and the scent of water floated past my nostrils. We rounded a corner and found ourselves on a narrow street with a mishmash of houses on either side. Some were rundown shacks and others had second floors with balconies, but what they all had in common was a decrepitude that cast a dark pall over my mood. Broken fences barely concealed trash-strewn side alleys and paint peeled from every wood board exposed to the elements. Weeds choked the cobblestones and overran some of the houses, too, as their roofs had gaping holes that allowed rain inside.
“Nice place. . .” I murmured.
“It’s home to some and a hiding place for others,” Tegan commented.
I stretched my neck as I beheld a shimmer of something at the end of the street. “Is that the Cumann River again?”
“Yes. It meanders its way through every kind of neighborhood until it reaches the ocean far to the south.”
We reached the end of the street and found ourselves without a bridge. Rather, a narrow stone path followed the river both north and south. Tegan nodded in the southerly direction. “The Pay Post is this way.”
I was forced to follow behind Tegan as we ventured southward following the river. A foul stench occasionally struck my nostrils and I couldn’t help but notice bits of trash floating here and there. I was glad when we reached a side door on one of the houses that abutted the walk and Tegan took out a strange key from his coat pocket. The teeth weren’t actually shaped like teeth but like a circle with Celtic-like runes inside. He grasped the dirty knob and inserted the key into the lock and a soft black light emanated from the hole before I heard a click. Tegan opened the door and stepped inside, and I was quick to follow.
We found ourselves in a dimly lit room with rough floorboards. There were no windows and only a few oil lamps illuminated the interior. The walls, too, were made of rough wood as was the ceiling. The only pieces of furniture were a few ancient-looking chairs and a counter built into the wall opposite the entrance. There were no other doors into the space, though I suspected one could be had behind the table.
A man sat on a stool behind the counter with one arm leaning on the top. He was about forty, slightly balding, and with a few wrinkles under his eyes. His attire consisted of a ratty shirt and equally worn pants, and a pair of soft shoes.
He was reading a book as we entered and didn’t look up as he turned a page. “You took your time, and did you really have to bring a guest in here?”
Tegan smiled as he strolled over to the desk and draped an arm on the edge. “You’ll have to get used to her, Alan. She’s my new partner.”
I choked on my surprise and the man finally lifted his gaze to study me. His eyes were dark and nearly as sharp as Mrs. Brogan’s though they didn’t have the hint of vampirism in them. “She looks different than your usuals.”
I snorted. “So I’ve been told.”
“Kate here has a knack for getting me out of trouble, so I have to keep her around,” Tegan mused.
Alan raised his eyes to Tegan. “Did you get it?”
Tegan reached into his coat and drew out the apple which he set on the counter. Alan picked it up and studied the object before he nodded. “Checks out.” He tucked the apple under the desk and drew out a small sack of coins which he dropped onto the countertop. “And here’s your payment, though I don’t know why you bother.” His comment piqued my interest.
“For the fun of it,” Tegan told him as he tucked the coins away in his coat.
Alan wrinkled his nose. “If I was as wealthy as you I’d lay myself down some sunny place with two pretty girls under my arms and a drink in both hands.”
Tegan smiled and shook his head. “I’d die of boredom with that kind of life.”
Alan shrugged. “You looking for any other jobs to do?”
“Not just yet,” Tegan replied as he turned to leave. “Maybe later.”
“Suit yourself,” Alan mused as he returned to his book. “Pleasure meeting you, Miss Kate.”
“Ditto,” I returned as we slipped out into the dank air of the river.
I couldn’t contain my curiosity for more than a few steps. “Sooo. . .”
“So?” Tegan repeated as he looked over his shoulder.
“Are you going to tell me how rich you are?”
Tegan stared ahead and shrugged. “I could, but I won’t.”
I swatted his arm. “Don’t be so nonchalant about it! I was really starting to get worried about your coins and here I find out that you’re rich!”
We had reached the narrow street and Tegan turned to me with a smile. “Most dragons are. We may not be as long-lived as vampires, but we pass on our hoard of gold from one generation to the next.”
I looked him up and down. “Are you hiding that on you, too?”
He laughed. “Nothing that heavy, and to tell you the truth I was nearly out of coins before we got paid.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “We? You’re serious about making me your partner?”
His eyes crinkled up with his smile. “Aren’t you already?”
I shrugged. “I guess, but I never really thought about going into the bounty-hunting business.”
“You’ll never be bored,” he assured me as we continued on our way. “And the pay is quite good.”