Page 50 of Mochas and Minotaurs

My feet moved of their own volition, and it wasn’t until I was already out my door and in the middle of the parking lot that I realized something was horribly wrong.

First, Declan was nowhere to be seen. And second, the air was too still, too quiet. My friends, who had followed me out, realized our mistake at the same time.

“Gigi!” Penny cried even as I turned to run back toward the door and the safety of my warded home.

But it was too late. Out of nowhere, a massive form swooped down from the sky. A vise clamped down around my middle, and there was a sudden whoosh of vertigo as the ground droppedbeneath my feet. I was being lifted up into the air in the claws of a dragon.

I didn’t need to look to know that this wasn’t Desmon. This was Marcus’s dragon, the one who was hunting him.

A loud voice thundered in my ear, “You for the girl, minotaur.”

I realized that Marcus was at his door now, the real Declan next to him.

“You’ve evaded me long enough, and for what? This witch?” the dragon scoffed. “She isn’t even particularly strong or beautiful. I should crush her.”

The claw tightened around me, and I struggled, gasping for air.

“No!” Marcus yelled, stepping out of the building. “Don’t hurt her.”

I waved desperately for him to get back to safety. But did the valorous minotaur do it? No. He just stood there, ripe for the dragon’s picking, as Declan scrambled to pull him back inside. At least one of them was thinking clearly.

“Why should I let her live?” the dragon asked. “As long as she’s alive, you’ll be tempted to shirk your duties.”

I felt something else latch onto me, trying to tug me out of the dragon’s claws. Penny and Lily weren’t at the door anymore and instead were at the window in my apartment, their hands dancing and lips moving as they tried to free me.

The dragon roared. “Who dares direct spells at me?” he thundered. “It won’t work.”

He squeezed again, and I wheezed as I tried to inhale, the world around me darkening.

“Stop! Stop! Please.” Marcus stumbled forward like it was he who couldn’t breathe. “Let her go. I’ll go with you. Just let her go. Please.”

It happened fast. One second I was dangling in the air, and the next I was crumpled on the ground, the snowbank breaking my fall. My friends rushed out and gathered around me even as Marcus disappeared into the distance in the claws of a dragon.

It took an eternityto convince Penny and Lily to leave so I could be alone. They’d stayed even after Declan and I had explained everything. Declan hadn’t helped since he was in angry-go mode and was swearing to raise an army to free his best friend.

His anger and Lily’s need to “do something” had fed off each other, and they were even now on a joint mission to contact everyone they knew and leverage every person for help. Penny had joined Lily with the look that promised she’d keep an eye out on our friend lest she caused more trouble than she solved.

As for me, I needed to be alone. I needed to think. And I needed to scream into my pillow in frustration.

“Argh! That stupid minotaur! Why did he have to do the valiant thing and give himself up for me? Why?”

“Aaaargh!” Triscuit yelled in solidarity.

I wasn’t sure he understood what was going on, but he knew I was upset. He’d tried to preen my hair in an attempt to cheer me up.

Bella cleared her throat. Oh shit. I’d completely forgotten that she was still in my pocket and technically had been up in the dragon’s claws with me earlier.

“Griselda?”

I wiped the tears from my eyes. “Yeah?”

“I need to tell you something important. I haven’t been completely honest with you about why the wizards are still after me.”

Oh great. Of course just losing Marcus wasn’t enough. Arcane was still after Bella and, consequently, my home. Marcus’s home. With him gone, the building itself seemed so insignificant, but I knew that it was just the too-fresh loss making my brain irrational.

“Tell me,” I said.

It turned out Bella had a magical talent. I’d heard of people like that before. Unlike witches who could use magic by casting spells or brewing potions, she had only one magical talent. It was a strong one: she could grant “wishes.” Kind of.

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