Page 42 of Dragon His Heels
“Er, hello, Gabe,” Ilsa said from the front of the classroom. “Is everything okay?”
He scraped dripping wet hair off his forehead. “Fine. I just…just wanted to check up on Ruby. See how everything’s going.” He scanned the room, spotted her right in the center, surrounded by a gaggle of other kids. All of whom were going to go home today and tell their parents about the crazy reeve who stopped by in the pouring rain for no good reason.
And then Ruby smiled and waved, and he thought,I have a damn good reason.
“Okay, well, would you like a towel?” Ilsa asked, looking around like she might have one lying on her desk. “Or perhaps some paper towels? Cody, go get some paper towels from the bathroom for your reeve, please.”
One of the kids in the back of the room jumped out of his seat and darted to the nearest door, returning a moment later with a wad of paper towels in his hand. He rushed to Gabe, shoved the paper at him, and zipped back to his seat.
“Thanks,” Gabe said, using the sandpaper-like material to wipe his face.
“Well, um, would you like to have a seat?” Ilsa asked, still clearly shaken by his appearance. Probably wouldn’t have been all that unusual except for the fact it was raining buckets and he hadn’t arrived with an umbrella. Or perhaps a motor vehicle. Half mile or not, that was a long distance in this kind of weather.
He pointed at her office, in the back of the room. “I’m just going to go over there.” And then he hurried around the group of kids, all seated at small tables, facing the teacher, who rapped a ruler on her desk to draw their attention.
“Okay, now, children, where were we?”
“Hey, look,” one of the kids said, pointing. “More people coming.”
“For heaven’s sake,” Ilsa snapped, and then she gasped when she looked out the window.
Gabe whipped his head around. A group of dragons was heading their way.
Not Zilarra.
Rojo.
No one in his colony looked that menacing, and who the hell else would stride across his grounds like they owned the damn place? It was too much of a coincidence. Jasmine showing up, now this.
Heading straight for the schoolhouse, by the way.
“Fuck. Ilsa, we need to get these kids out of here. This isn’t a peaceful visit.”
“On it,” the Elder dragon said. She rapped on her desk again. “What have I taught you, children? This is not a drill. This is very real.” The kids immediately vacated their seats, all but Ruby, who twisted her head to and fro, clearly confused.
“Dad,” she said, looking his way.
Ilsa hurried toward her and pulled her from her seat. “Come with me, child. He can protect himself. You cannot. This way. Cody, take her hand. That’s it. You’re responsible for her, do you understand me?”
The kid nodded, grabbing Ruby’s hand in a death grip.
“Good. Excellent. You remind me a lot of the reeve, young man. He was just like you when he was in school.”
Cody glanced at Gabe with wide eyes before turning away and practically dragging Ruby through a doorway Gabe remembered from his childhood. Ilsa had taught him this exact same drill when he was in school. There was a secret tunnel underneath the school. It led into the woods, came out at a hill near Adelbern’s cottage, actually. Maybe that was why the geezer refused to move closer to civilization. As old and feeble as Ilsa and Adelbern may be, they were equally as cunning. Gabe was confident the children were safe with them.
Now, it was time to find out what the hell the Rojo dragons wanted.
He stepped outside and stood on the front steps of the schoolhouse, the awning protecting him from the rain still soaking the world around him. Including the group of men heading his way, all of whom resembled drowned rats more than dragons at the moment.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he watched his adversaries approach while his dragon prowled restlessly in his head. The beast was stressed over the fact that Ruby and Talia were in two different places and he couldn’t see either one.
What are you, a fucking herding dog? Chill out. Ruby’s in good hands and we both know Talia can take care of herself.
There are five of them, his dragon insisted. Let’s not forget that fight we got into when we last visited New Orleans.
Gabe focused on the man strutting slightly ahead of the rest. Dark hair, slicked back and wet from the rain, with one thatch that kept falling across his left eye. Dark eyes, wide-set and narrowed, watching him as he approached.
It was him.
