Page 21 of Zachary

Taking suggestions for the group name! I like Ronan’s Heroes, but that might be cultural appropriation from that human TV show. I’m not sure. Dustin, can you ask Rob?

Fabian:

Attaching the first two lists for everyone’s reference.

As the links to the attachments pop up on my screen, I wonder if asking Fabian for help might not have been the best idea after all.

CHAPTER TEN

Zac

For the firsttime since I got volunteered to be Ronan’s transport-slash-aide-slash-guide, I’m not planning to slog through the snow to knock at his front door this morning. I always did it that way to maintain some distance between us—I guess as a snub. A sign that I don’t consider him a safe enough acquaintance to risk teleporting directly into his home. Though since he doesn’t know all that much about demons, I can’t say how effective it was. Now that I’ve promised to be civil, I hope he didn’t understand what I was doing, because after giving it some thought, I’ve decided to treat him the same way I did—do—Cam.

So I pull out my phone and text him.

Is it okay if I teleport into your house this morning to pick you up?

It’s a few minutes before he replies.

Yes, of course. Do I need to do anything?

Guilt slams into me. He’s living in a village full of demons, and nobody’s explained to him the function of the teleportrooms? I should have done that. As his liaison, I’m responsible for those details.

No—did Garrett show you where the teleport room is? Just don’t be in there. I’ll come at the usual time.

Okay. I know where it is. I’ll see you then. Thank you.

I stare at the screen. What’s he thanking me for? Unless hedoesknow that me not teleporting into his house was insulting to him, and now he’s glad I’m showing trust?

Or it could just be a politeness thing. I’ve noticed that he’s very polite—even when it seemed like he loathed every second of having to be here, he was always courteous. It was in direct contrast to the other dragon who stayed a few days, Fabian, who was friendly but sometimes blunt to the point of rudeness—but in a not-rude way.

“Zac?” Garrett’s call has me looking toward the kitchen doorway. He appears there a moment later. “Oh good, you haven’t left. I’ve made a decision about Damaris’s little spy devices.” His voice and face are grim.

He talked to Grandmother for quite some time last night, and I know it was difficult for him. She’s intimidating even when she’s feeling kind and benevolent, and last night was not one of those times. Still, according to what Asher reported when they got back, Garrett stood firm in his role as project coordinator and insisted she hand over control of her surveillance in the cave.

She actually did it too.

“Oh?” I ask. I don’t for a single second believe that she’s really given Garrett full control of everything, and judging by his face right now, neither does he.

“I thought about leaving them in place for additional security, but electronics are too easily hacked. Especially a system like this that needs an external feed out. And…” He hesitates. “I love Damaris, believe it or not. She’s my family now. I definitely respect her. But I don’t particularly trust her on this. My money is on her having backup devices or a backdoor into the network.”

I nod, trying not to grin. Asher married a smart man.

“So Ash and I are going up to the cave this morning to clear out all the bugs and then run a sweep to see if there are any extras. You were at the cave when they installed the signal boosters—did they go into the vault?”

Immediately, I shake my head. “Absolutely not. I kept the door most of the way closed and sat in the gap watching while the workers were there, just like we agreed. The only way a bug would have gotten into the vault is if one of them lobbed it over my head—which I would have noticed.”

His shoulders sag with relief. “That’s one good thing, at least. Can you distract Ronan until we’re done? We don’t want anyone else in there in case it interferes with what we’re doing. Be late to pick him up or something.”

I wince. “I just finished texting him that I’d be there at the usual time.”

“Ugh. Well, think of something to delay getting there. We need about an hour, and we’re leaving right now.”

I look at the wall clock. There’s still a half hour or so until I’m due to collect Ronan, so I’d only need to delay him for about thirty minutes. But something about it all sits sourly in my stomach. Wejustagreed to a truce yesterday, and I’m going to start things out by deceiving him?

“What if,” I start slowly, and Garrett’s expression turns expectant. “What if I… told him?”

For a second, he doesn’t get it. “Told him wh— Oh.”

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