Page 76 of Even Angels fall
“What do you need, Little Devil?” he asks softly.
“A surgeon, an expert in electronics, and maybe a witch. Or all three in one person,” I say with a sigh. “We might need a miracle at this point.”
”How fast do you need that?” he asks without even asking more, which makes Léandre raise a questioning eyebrow at me.
I don’t know either, my friend.
”As fast as we can. We have less than a day before something terrible happens.”
“We have less than a day before my brain goes boom,” Léandre chimes in, and I can see from the corner of my eye that Cassiopé flinched at the wordboom.
“I’d tell you to relax and have a drink while I sort that out,” Elhyor shows the tables that have been arranged with spread of food and bottle of all sorts of alcohols with a wave of his hand before starting to talk again, “but I’m not sure your mind will be set on partying.”
“Actually, that might be what I need,” Léandre says, surprising all of us. “If I only have tonight, I might as well make the best of it. At least, with my lack of sleep for the past few days, it won’t take long before I get completely shitfaced.”
“You’ve never drunk,” I tell him, half afraid of his plans for tonight, half shocked to hear him say he wants to drink.
“If today isn’t the day to start, I don’t know what day would make me.” He turns to Cassiopé with a brilliant smile that still doesn’t hide all the sadness his eyes hold. “You’re drinking with me.” Then he turns to me. “And you, too.” Finally, he turns to Elhyor and stops short before mumbling, “Can dragons get drunk, anyway?”
The deep laugh that escapes Elhyor’s throat is like music to my ears, but stops too fast.
“I don’t know about all dragons, but I can,” he answers, amused.
“Drinks, then I need to know everything about dragons,” Léandre says as he walks away from the group and immediately comes back with a bottle of dark rum and four glasses. He fills the glasses to the brim, all proud, until Cassiopé takes the bottle from his hands.
“You do realize that those are water glasses, right?” she asks, slightly amused.
In truth, he probably knew because I annoyed him long enough with my etiquette lessons, but he obviously doesn’t care because the whole bottle disappeared into just four glasses, and it seems to be the way he wanted it.
“Oh, I know,” Léandre says with a dark chuckle, “but I plan on getting everyone as drunk as I’ll be.”
“I don’t mind,” Cassiopé answers him with a sad smile.
I can understand them. I, too, want to forget what has befallen Léandre. I also see the way he looks at Cassiopé—as if he would love to know her better, but is too scared that he’ll forget her tomorrow.
“Truth or dare?” Léandre asks, and it surprises me.
“What do you mean? Why would I need to pick?” I ask, surprised by the question.
“Just answer me,” he says, like a petulant kid, after taking a big gulp of his rum. “It’s a game! It was in the last book I read. It was quite popular at the beginning of this millennium.”
“Ohh, you read?” Cassiopé asks, her interest immediately piqued. “What kinds of books?”
“A bit of everything,” he says as he takes a bit of rum again.
I can see Léandre turn a pretty shade of red—and I’m not the only one, if the chuckle from Elhyor at my side is any proof—so I decide to save him.
“Dare,” I tell him, and he looks so happy I’m playing along that he completely forgets his embarrassment.
“I dare you to drink all your rum in one go,” he says with a triumphant smile.
“What happens if I don’t do it?” I ask.
“You’ll have to tell me a truth of my choice,” he answers immediately.
“If I puke, it’s on you,” is my only answer before I start to drink. It’s a shame I have to drink so fast because the rum is smooth, just a tiny bit sweet, and goes down like a caress. Well, if a caress burns on its way.
“Now it’s your turn,” he tells me.
