Page 42 of Cruel Daddy Dragon

“I will,” I reply, “If you go back to your shop now, I’ll deal with Merl. If I’m not back to talk to you later, then another officer will be.”

The butcher nods at me again. His face has softened a lot.

“Thanks, Sheriff,” he says.

“No problem,” I answer.

He turns and starts walking away. I turn my attention back to Merl. He’s just been staring into space for a while, and I look at him.

“Merl?”

He blinks back to awareness and smiles.

“Hey, Ms Sheriff,” he drawls.

“Come on, Merl,” I say, putting my arm around him, “Let’s get you to the car, and then we’ll get you home, okay?”

He smiles.

“You’re a sweetheart, Sheriff,” he slurs.

I know he doesn’t remember a thing, and there’s a little part of me that almost feels bad that he’s so pleased to see me now—and I’m going to have to drop into his home later and tell him he owes the butcher thousands of dollars or risk being arrested.

But it could have been worse. I know for a fact it could have been.

That’s something else I need to talk to Lena and Julie about—because if I’ve heard right, they’ve started developing some magic of their own. If I’ve started having visions, I feel like I need to know if this is normal or not.

The dragons ought to know as well. Lena and Julie seemed to get them after being with their dragons… I wonder if being with Rufus is what sparked it.

As his name rings through my mind—there’s a white flash.

I see him. Rufus, in his dragon form. He’s in the snow somewhere, struggling, snarling, and writhing under the grip of a blood-red dragon. I don’t recognize this one—but as I watch, I see the beast surge down and bite into Rufus’s throat. It wrenches back, and blood spurts out of Rufus’s neck. Rufus gurgles a little bit, wincing in pain. Then he falls into the snow, the frozen water flooding scarlet under where his poor head lays.

“Rufus!”

“Sheriff?” Merl slurs.

I blink and come back. That’s right; I’m on the street, walking Merl home.

But… I need to go. I need to gonow.

I click down on the radio button.

“Will? Are you there?”

It takes a second, but the device buzzes to life:

“What do you need, Sheriff?”

“Merl’s right outside the police station right now. Can you drop him off, please? I have to go.”

“Where are you going? There aren’t any calls in right now,” he questions.

“I just have to go, Will. Can you take Merl home in a cruiser?”

“Copy that. I’ll be right outside.”

“Thanks,” I say briefly, “I’ll be back soon.”

---