She looks over at me, feigning surprise. “What we deserve? Oh, I dunno… a full belly and our dog back from a criminal? Doesn’t sound so bad to me.”

I grin at her. “No, it doesn’t.”

“And you’re the only one loving up on the dragon at the moment anyhow,” she comments.

My grin turns to mortification. “I am not!”

“You are, and it’s all right, honey.” She reaches over and pats my arm. “I don’t judge. He’s ten times better than this sack of shit called Curtis.”

I laugh.

“Oh, ha ha,” Curtis yells at us. “Yuck it up now, ladies. You won’t be laughing when the fort comes after you.”

We exchange a look. Dottie calls back at him. “What are you talking about?”

“You think you’re hidden out here because you’re not in the fort?” Curtis says, his tone strident and carrying across the parking lot. “I told them all about you. How a bunch of ladies were holed up in a bookstore with a dragon. I wouldn’t be surprised if they come after you sooner rather than later, and then we’ll see who’s laughing.”

I stare at him, trying to discern if he’s joking or not. What’s the point in telling a fort about us? We’re not bothering them. We’re not hunting for food anywhere close to the fort. It’s in the Downtown Dallas area and we’re in Fort Worth. There’s plenty of room for everyone, especially given that no one drives a car anymore. Ten miles might as well be a hundred.

But my instincts are prickling a warning anyhow. “The fort doesn’t care about us,” I say. “Why would they?”

“They’d care if I told them you had a ton of food and batteries. Told them I saw some solar panels, too. Imagine they’ll come by to check it out.”

My jaw drops. That lying sack of shit. We don’t have any of that. Or rather, we don’t have solar panels or batteries—those are rarer than unicorns in the After. And the only reason we have a ton of food is thanks to Murr. If what he says is true and he’s told them that, they won’t be able to resist checking out our home and raiding it to steal whatever we have.

“He’s lying,” Dottie says, seeing my reaction. She doesn’t sound convinced, though.

“What if he’s not?”

“If he’s not, then you have a big damn dragon that will protect you.” She gestures at Murr. “And dragons are supposed to be invulnerable.”

Maybe in their dragon form, but I remember shooting Murr in the arm with my arrow. I also have a young, vulnerable daughter, and the thought of her being dragged to a fort terrifies me, because I’ve seen how women get treated when they lose any power they have. Murr might be safe, but he can’t be at our side at all times.

And I’ve seen the collateral damage that happens when two angry, fire-breathing dragons take to the skies. Even if they’re trying to be careful, it’s too easy to set their surroundings on fire. Like it or not, Murr is a liability as much as he is protection.

Is it time for us to move on from the bookstore already? The thought makes me sick to my stomach, but I’m not sure what other choice we have.

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OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 47

MURR

There is a lot of talking amongst the females, but one thing is clear: I am not to eat the male under my claws. He deserves eating, or at the very least being chewed up and spit out, but perhaps Dakotah will not like putting her lips on mine after I have eaten this man. It makes sense, even if it’s disappointing.

I watch my humans and look for cues, instead.

Ribbit and Ah-gee return after a time, and they have with them a fat, wiggly, long-legged creature. It slobbers everywhere and pushes its nose in between thighs, getting scents, but it seems happy and harmless enough. Ah-gee is delighted to have it with her and keeps hugging the thing’s head.

“Das notta doodle,” Dakotah says to Ah-gee. “Dassa grate dayn.”

Ah-gee just shrugs and gives the creature’s face a smacking kith. This is her child, then, like my cats are mine. Well, I can feed one more mouth easily. The presence of the wriggling creature makes everyone happy. If my humans are happy, then I am happy. Ribbit’s face is radiant, and she hugs her mother, then Ah-gee, Doh-dee, and the animal.

Dakotah turns to look at the male under my claws, who keeps screeching. Her hands go to her hips and she gazes at the male, disapproval evident on her face. “Wut dewidoo wittim?”

I don’t understand her words, but I know Dakotah well enough that I can guess. She wishes to dispose of the male and go home. I curl my claws around him, transferring the squirming, stinking male to my forelegs, and lift him to my open mouth in a suggestion. Then, I wait to see her reaction.

I can eat him for her, if she likes.

The male bellows in fear and anger.

Dakotah chuckles, the sound filling me with warmth, and her gaze is on me. She puts her hands up in the air to stop me. “No eat.”

“Yes eat,” Ah-gee says, her eyes huge behind the strange frames on her face. “Bad man. Big meat, Murr.”

Dakotah glares at her. “No, Ah-gee.”

I close my mouth and settle in, watching the females as they argue. The closer the male gets, the more he stinks, and I’m not keen on eating him anyhow. I could just bite off his head and toss him aside, but it seems Dakotah wants him alive for some reason I have not entirely figured out yet. The females argue for a time, Doh-dee and Ah-gee protesting and Dakotah crossing her arms and shaking her head. Ribbit glances up at me, thoughtful.

I trickle a bit of smoke from my nostrils and blow it in the male’s face. If not eaten, maybe charred instead.

A moment later, the smell of urine tinges the air. Disgusting.

Ribbit speaks up, gesturing at my wings and then flaps her hands, indicating the horizon. My name comes up in her babble of words, and when she makes another gesture that indicates distance, I can guess what she wants. They do not like the male, so since I can fly, I can take him far, far away.

Even if he is not dead, if I fly him far enough away, he will no longer bother my females.

Dakotah seems to like this idea. She considers it, then eyes me with a speculative look. “Murr?”

I pick her up gently with my other claws and bring her to my face, nuzzling her with my snout. Even if I do not have the words, I hope this is clear to her. Whatever she wants, I will do.

The male says something, and Dakotah stiffens, her scent changing.

Immediately I turn to the male, snarling, fire tickling my tongue. He screams and cringes back, plucking at my claws as if he hopes for release.

My Dakotah’s small hand pats my muzzle. “No, Murr. We dondoodat. Murr good.” When I turn toward her, she continues to stroke my face with her fingers, tiny against my battle-form. “U takkim far, far away?”

I catch the word “far” in that and can guess the rest. I nod my head and set Dakotah down again, unable to resist one more nuzzle of her. She’s just so…enticing.

Ribbit beams up at me. “Ur good, Murr. Dankyew.”

I pick her up and give her a quick nuzzle, too. Then I set her down and reach for Doh-dee, so she does not feel neglected. She puts her hands up and takes a step back. “Nahmee.”

Ah-gee eyes me and puts her arms around her creature again. “Mgood.”

“Takim far,” Dakotah says to me, gazing up from below. “Far, far, far.”

So my new family can be safe. I understand.

I launch myself into the air, beating my powerful wings until I catch an air current heading away from the human settlements. I fly for quite some time, until the sun gets high in the sky and begins its descent towards the horizon. The land changes, becoming thick with trees and no longer smelling like the area we live in.