so fast she flipped the chair over backward. Sarah raised her head from beneath the blankets, mumbling something incoherent.
“Come on,” Katie said, peeling the blankets off Sarah. “Get up, already. Somebody’s murdered a dwarf.”
Seven
Katie ripped the blankets off me, pulling me from an exhausted sleep.
“What?” I asked. My mouth tasted like Muppet roadkill. I rubbed my eyes and rolled over onto my back.
I lay there, arms splayed to the sides for a moment, letting the AC wash over me. The blankets had gotten too hot and I needed to cool down.
“Get up. You’re not gonna believe this.” She bounced on one side of the bed, jostling me uncomfortably.
I cracked my eyes open and stared at her. She was up and dressed, and far, far too bouncy. And … I looked down toward my toes … I was naked—definite disadvantage.
I rolled over, catching her by surprise, and pulled her on top of me. Then I rolled us both over and landed on top with her hands pinned to the sides of her head. I’d show her for being bouncy in the morning.
She laughed, which was a good sign, because I hadn’t had as much to drink as she had, and I felt awful.
“Get off,” she grunted, wiggling her hips to try and dislodge me. “I gotta show you something.”
I leaned down and kissed her. “Only fair—I seem to have shown you everything.”
Her eyes held something. Hesitancy? She shuddered, and then pushed her head upward, kissing me again. We spent the next little while like that, making out and, well, you know. It wasn’t until I tried to undress her that she stopped me.
“Wait,” she said. “One, you smell like an ashtray, and two…” She pushed my arm off her chest and rolled to a sitting position. “I need to show you something.”
I sat back, pouting a little, and leaned back against the headboard while she grabbed her laptop and handed it to me. “I saw this while you were sleeping.” She pointed to a picture on the screen.
I clicked on the picture to expand it and saw a dead kid taped to a basketball pole. The sign taped to his chest read: D RAGON F RIEND .
That caught my attention. “Holy shit,” I breathed, sitting bolt upright and placing the laptop on the bed between my knees. “I think that’s a dwarf.”
“Right,” Katie said, handing me a coffee. “Not as hot as it was forty minutes ago, but there’s enough sugar in there to stop your heart.”
I sipped the coffee and read the article. Gang activity in the area last night. Eyewitness at the crack house across the street saw a couple of guys getting the crap kicked out of them well after midnight.
I immediately thought of the only dwarf I knew—Rolph. He’d been the one to point out the truth of Gram and helped me reforge her, back before I learned of the dragons. His was a tormented life, being the last to forge the blade and doing it badly, cursing him to a life of misery and regret.
One of the things I remembered most vividly was his constant fear of the rising sun. Shitty way to die. I didn’t know much about dwarves, other than their connection to smithing and such, but the fact that exposure to sunlight killed them had been pretty high on his list of important facts.
“Poor bastard,” I said, leaning back against the pillows. “I need to talk to Rolph, find out how a dwarf kid would be labeled a dragon friend.” Then I needed to ask why that was a killing offense all of a sudden. Just how much had changed up here since I’d killed Jean-Paul? That King of Vancouver I’d heard about last night. Did he really hate dragons enough to kill kids? What was the connection? And the guys who snatched Ari last night, they were dwarves I thought.
Katie closed the lid on the computer and stroked my thigh. “You think there’s a connection with Ari?”
I placed my hand on hers and squeezed. “Good possibility. Let’s see what Rolph knows.” I kissed her quickly, then rolled off the bed and grabbed my dirty jeans off the floor. I
“Come on,” Katie said, peeling the blankets off Sarah. “Get up, already. Somebody’s murdered a dwarf.”
Seven
Katie ripped the blankets off me, pulling me from an exhausted sleep.
“What?” I asked. My mouth tasted like Muppet roadkill. I rubbed my eyes and rolled over onto my back.
I lay there, arms splayed to the sides for a moment, letting the AC wash over me. The blankets had gotten too hot and I needed to cool down.
“Get up. You’re not gonna believe this.” She bounced on one side of the bed, jostling me uncomfortably.
I cracked my eyes open and stared at her. She was up and dressed, and far, far too bouncy. And … I looked down toward my toes … I was naked—definite disadvantage.
I rolled over, catching her by surprise, and pulled her on top of me. Then I rolled us both over and landed on top with her hands pinned to the sides of her head. I’d show her for being bouncy in the morning.
She laughed, which was a good sign, because I hadn’t had as much to drink as she had, and I felt awful.
“Get off,” she grunted, wiggling her hips to try and dislodge me. “I gotta show you something.”
I leaned down and kissed her. “Only fair—I seem to have shown you everything.”
Her eyes held something. Hesitancy? She shuddered, and then pushed her head upward, kissing me again. We spent the next little while like that, making out and, well, you know. It wasn’t until I tried to undress her that she stopped me.
“Wait,” she said. “One, you smell like an ashtray, and two…” She pushed my arm off her chest and rolled to a sitting position. “I need to show you something.”
I sat back, pouting a little, and leaned back against the headboard while she grabbed her laptop and handed it to me. “I saw this while you were sleeping.” She pointed to a picture on the screen.
I clicked on the picture to expand it and saw a dead kid taped to a basketball pole. The sign taped to his chest read: D RAGON F RIEND .
That caught my attention. “Holy shit,” I breathed, sitting bolt upright and placing the laptop on the bed between my knees. “I think that’s a dwarf.”
“Right,” Katie said, handing me a coffee. “Not as hot as it was forty minutes ago, but there’s enough sugar in there to stop your heart.”
I sipped the coffee and read the article. Gang activity in the area last night. Eyewitness at the crack house across the street saw a couple of guys getting the crap kicked out of them well after midnight.
I immediately thought of the only dwarf I knew—Rolph. He’d been the one to point out the truth of Gram and helped me reforge her, back before I learned of the dragons. His was a tormented life, being the last to forge the blade and doing it badly, cursing him to a life of misery and regret.
One of the things I remembered most vividly was his constant fear of the rising sun. Shitty way to die. I didn’t know much about dwarves, other than their connection to smithing and such, but the fact that exposure to sunlight killed them had been pretty high on his list of important facts.
“Poor bastard,” I said, leaning back against the pillows. “I need to talk to Rolph, find out how a dwarf kid would be labeled a dragon friend.” Then I needed to ask why that was a killing offense all of a sudden. Just how much had changed up here since I’d killed Jean-Paul? That King of Vancouver I’d heard about last night. Did he really hate dragons enough to kill kids? What was the connection? And the guys who snatched Ari last night, they were dwarves I thought.
Katie closed the lid on the computer and stroked my thigh. “You think there’s a connection with Ari?”
I placed my hand on hers and squeezed. “Good possibility. Let’s see what Rolph knows.” I kissed her quickly, then rolled off the bed and grabbed my dirty jeans off the floor. I
Similar Books
