Page 36 of Zachary

Hagen:

Oh, I will.

Sophie:

So glad you’re making friends! Keep being nice to Zac. If he finds out you robbed him, you’ll need some goodwill stocked up.

We didn’t rob him. We’re putting it all back!

Fabian:

Meh. Either way… you’re making us all proud to know you.

Dustin:

But NOBODY tell Steffen about this.

There’s a round of heartfelt agreements, and then the chat falls quiet. I look up at the expectant faces. “Good news. Hagen’s apparently an expert in operational planning and rollout.” Whatever that is. “He can look at the papers and tell us what they mean. We just have to send him copies.”

“That’s great!” Cam claps his hands. “Can he do it now?”

I’m not going to tell them what Hagen’s actually doing right now. “Uh, we should send them now, but he might need time to go through them. So we can probably go to bed.”

“Good plan,” Garrett says firmly when it looks like Zoe and Cam might protest. “We’re all going to need to be rested to deal with tomorrow. If we have to demand answers, we want to be at our best.”

An image rises in my mind of the four of us facing down Zac, Asher, and Micah. Sure, they’re big, intimidating demons, but we’re not helpless. Garrett’s a hellhound… academic. And Cam’s an incubus… who trips over his feet walking in a straightline. Zoe’s a sorcerer—she could throw some snow at them. I’m a dragon. My magic is pretty badass… but I want them to like me.

This might be a problem.

“Relax,” Zoe tells me, almost like she’s reading my mind. “It’s gonna be fine. Cam and Garrett will use their wiles on Micah and Asher, and we can handle Zac. We’re on his side. He’ll get over being mad.”

“I have wiles?” Cam wonders. “What are wiles?”

“You know when you smile at Micah and he melts into a puddle of goo and does anything you ask for? Those are wiles,” Garrett explains.

Cam nods. “Ohhhh. Yeah, I can do that. I always give him rewards after I wile him. They’re fun for me too.”

“My wiles aren’t as good as Cam’s, but I can manage Asher,” Garrett assures me confidently. “And I really think he and Micah want this to happen for Zac, anyway. We just have to rush past the part where we stole and get to the bit where we’re going to help… you know, if it’s even feasible.”

“If it’s not, then we don’t have anything to worry about. You’re all staying here, right?” Zoe starts yanking cushions off the couch, revealing a fold-out sofa bed. “There’s a bed in the spare room too. You’re going to have to fight it out over who sleeps where.”

Garrett waves that off. “I can shift and sleep on the end of someone’s bed. I haven’t been shifting enough lately anyway—it’ll be good for me.”

“I don’t mind sharing,” I volunteer. “Just let me send these to Hagen first.”

Within fifteen minutes, the house is dark and silent as we all settle down, and I can’t help the little thrill of excitement. Is this what having friends is like?

It’s amazing.

The strident ringof my phone drags me awake not quite five hours later, and I groan as I roll over and grope for it. At the end of the bed, Garrett whines.

The time on the screen says it’s just before seven. Hagen’s name is also displayed there, and I find myself all the way awake very quickly.

“Hello?”

“Yeah, hi… sorry it took me so long, Jaid was in the mood to tease.”

It takes me a minute to realize Jaid must be his boyfriend’s name. Before I can think of an acceptable response, he’s continuing.

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