Page 43 of Midlife Demigod Unexpected

“Are you talking to animals again?” I asked incredulously. “That’s our plan?”

“You’ve been part of this world long enough. You know it’s perfectly possible to talk to animals,” my mother said.

“Oh, okay mom,” I said. “The only problem with that plan is that…it’s a Scarlet Parrot you’re planning on talking to. I think those were voted the least likely to rip your head off and eat it at first sight, so, it’s hard to imagine that your game plan of ‘we’re going to talk to them’ is really going to work.”

Mom stared at me in silence.

“I’m sorry.” I harumphed. “That’s just how I feel.”

“I understand,” she said.

A call in the distance drew our attention. My heart raced as I peered into the horizon to see the dark dots flying toward us.

“Here they come,” I said.

“Spotted,” my mom nodded.

“So that’s really our game plan?” I asked nervously as the dots grew on the horizon.”

“I’m going to call it a plan,” Hilda said.

I rolled my eyes, feeling for the umpteenth time like a teenage kid around my mom.

“Mom, that’s not a plan,” I insisted. “It’s like a suicide mission. I mean, you know what the Scarlet feathers are, right? It’s not just me that knows they are dragons? Please tell me you know that. If there is anything you learned in grade school, it was that Scarlet Feathers can transform from parrots to dragons at their own behest. I mean do you realize you could ask them for a feather, and they could be like nope and then eat you?”

“Do you want to save your friends or not?” Hilda said.

I ground my teeth together and stared at the horizon where the Scarlet Feathers were steadily growing in size as they came closer.

“Yes,” I said in a monotone voice. Not only did I want to save my friends, I needed to. There was no way in hell I was going to be able to live with myself with their deaths on my hands.

Even though we picked the harder journey of the two, I wasn’t upset. Though, I’d be crazy if I wasn’t a bit worried. I took a deep breath and steeled my nerves.

“Bring it,” I said. The scarlet parrots made a loud cawing sound as their colors became apparent against the deepening blue sky. The sun was setting to the west directly behind us. The birds were aiming for the sun, and they’d rip through anyone to get to it.

“Now to see them as they truly are,” my mother said, changing her stance and holding her hands up in the air.

“Could I get a little help here?” she said, nodding toward me.

“Oh of course,” I said, adopting the same stance as her and holding my hands up toward the Scarlet parrots flying toward us.

Chapter 31

The spell my mother cast removed the glamour the scarlet feathers had over them, showing them for what they were. They were massive flying feather covered dragons hurtling through the air, screaming toward us.

My stomach roiled in fear, and I wished I had the sword of Athyrius in my hand, but I had nothing but the golden magic of my father and the strength of my mother.

“Give me fireballs or something,” I said.

“The idea is not to attack this creature,” my mother said.

“The hell it’s not,” I said. “It’s going to eat us.” I felt like I was going to pee my pants and it wasn’t the usual middle-aged need to pee. This was straight up fear.

“We are standing in their roosting area.” My mom pointed out. “They aren’t flying at us to attack us. They are coming back here to roost.

“Great. You parked our asses in the roosting area. They’re coming home to roost, and you don’t think this is a bad idea?” I asked. “They don’t know if we’re friend or foe, Mom, the first thing they’re going to think is that there’s an alien intruder in their nesting area. I don’t think that’s going to go unnoticed.”

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