PAPER STARS: An Ordinary Magic Story(4)
Yes, I could admit it made a adorable picture. I was just trying to get my head around the fact that I had an actual dragon curled up in my vehicle.
“This is my Jeep. I need it for work. I can’t drive around with a dragon sleeping in the back seat.”
“I don’t think it’s listening to you. And unless you want to do battle with a dragon….”
She paused, a little too much hope in her expression.
I scoffed at her.
“Spoilsport. Fine. Then I’d suggest you stop worrying so much and let the dragon situation work itself out naturally.”
“Naturally?”
“Naturally. Like how nature intended.”
“Nature didn’t plant a dragon-pig in my backseat, Jean. The dragon-pig did. And this is…”
“…our job?”
I sighed to cover a groan. She was right. This was our job.
“Fine.” I got in the Jeep and glanced at the dragon in the rearview mirror. “You let me know if you want off anywhere, okay? One grunt for yes, two grunts for no.”
It grunted once.
Jean chuckled. “Progress! Actual dragon-pig, human communication. See how great things work out when you stop worrying and just go with the flow?”
The hazy warp still surrounded the piggy, but it wasn’t as noticeable. The dragon was getting better at controlling how it was perceived. If someone saw it in the back seat, they’d probably think it was a normal pig.
At least it knew how to hide in plain sight. That was a good trait for surviving in Ordinary. Maybe it wouldn’t be any trouble.
I put the Jeep in gear.
“Hold on.” Jean pulled off the Santa hat she’d been wearing under her hood and dropped it gently on the pig’s head.
It sat up and oinked. It turned its head side to side as it tried to bite the edge of the hat.
Jean snapped more pictures. “Adorbs to the millionth power! Hey, dragon, can you make it snow?”
“Jean.”
The pig oinked twice.
I laughed. “That’s a “no” sister.”
She shrugged. “It was worth a shot. You know what else is worth a shot? Calling Ryder and telling him to come home.”
“He’s busy.”
“He’s lonely and so are you.” She shifted in her seat and stared at my profile as I drove.
“What?”
“I know you keep wondering when you and Ryder are going to stop being a thing, but two months apart isn’t going to change what you are to each other. ”
She was right. I knew it. But a small part of me still worried.
She patted my knee. “Believe in a little magic, Delaney.”
“Dragon in the back seat looks like a pig. I believe in magic.”
“Then it should be easy to believe in love.” She smiled and fiddled with the radio.
Christmas music rolled out loud and strong, ordering us to “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.”
Jean sang along. Loudly and off-key just to bother me.
It must have bothered the dragon too because it ate her Santa hat. Sucked it down like a noodle until the little white pompom popped in its mouth. Then it chewed and swallowed.
Jean thought it was hilarious. She recorded it on her phone.
Chapter Two
“You gonna get that?” Bathin, tall, dark and demon-y, blew over the top of his quad shot espresso with the Blue Owl’s logo on the side.
The diner had been playing Christmas music non-stop since December first.
The current tune sounded a little warped as it yodeled about halls that needed decking.
The Blue Owl was warm, customers were smiling, and that happy, fluttery mix of holiday good will and hopeful expectation was thick in the apple pie-scented air.
Outside, the rain and wind came down hard and cold. We wouldn’t get snow, but we were in for a heck of a storm.
My phone rang again.
Bathin nodded toward it, like I hadn’t noticed the noise. “Gonna?”
“No.”
He grinned. “Oh, please. I can hear your heart beating love notes from over here. Don’t ignore your boyfriend on my account.”
I picked up my coffee and went back to the reports I was scanning. Ignored Bathin. Ignored the phone.
Bathin twitched one eyebrow. He liked a good game of chicken. “Maybe Ryder’s hurt.”
He widened his eyes and gasped, going for the theatrics. “Maybe he’s dead.”
I scowled and took another drink. Ryder didn’t usually call me before dinner. Half-asleep-after-eleven-o’clock calls had become the default lately.
“Why, he hasn’t even told you if he loves you or not.” He chuckled at my scowl. “You think I don’t know your innermost secrets? You think I don’t know what you feel?”
He leaned forward on his elbows, eyes kindled, mouth tipped in a smirk.
“Answer him. Talk to him. Tell him you love him. You know you want to,” he sing-songed.
“Remind me again why you’re sitting here?” I slurped coffee.
I’d found it was best to ignore his drama. Since I dealt with gods on a daily basis, tricksters and attention hounds were old hat.
“Three days before Christmas, I haven’t been invited to the Reed’s famous Christmas Eve shindig—an oversight, I’m sure. I’m just a lonely demon looking for a little company and fun.”