Page 11 of Becoming Effrijim
Aisling had wildly curly brown hair and a pleasant but perfectly normal face, not the least bit like Camio’s long blond braids and pretty heart-shaped face. Their eyes were similar, but that could just be a coincidence.
I gave a mental shake of my head. I was imagining things. What I needed was to simply deal with Aisling as quickly as possible, then get in contact with Sally and ask her how the plan to destroy Ariton was going.
“Me?” Aisling grunted a little as she shoved her way through the back side of the azalea, picking up after me. “No, I don’t know a Sally. For the love of Pete, Jim, this is beyond normal for a dog to have this much ... droppings. Is it because you’re a demon?”
I spun around, watching her as she finished cleaning up before proceeding to a nearby trash bin that I’d already watered when she wasn’t looking.
“No one ever said I was stupid,” I said softly when she ranted a little more about some green dragon who had done her wrong. We walked back to our hotel, her talking nonstop, and me thinking long and hard.
That night, I lay on the blanket and pillow she’d placed on the floor for me, and watched her sleep.
There was something about her, a sense of being lost and alone and needy, that plucked at me. And then there was the fact that when I was with her, the pain of Camio’s loss, which felt like lead straps binding me, seemed to ease. Just a bit. But still, it was there.
I got up and marched over to where Aisling had her face smooshed into a pillow, really looking at her. She was as grumpy as the day was long, but she’d also fed me a couple of hamburgers, taken me out every time I needed to go, and even bought me some things at a local pet store, including a nice collar.
No one had ever bought me a collar. Or a brush. Or doggy toothpaste and a toothbrush.
Only Aisling Grey did those things.
“You want me to have healthy teeth,” I told her. “You care about me. Camio cared, too. She was always nagging me about stuff just like you do.”
She snored slightly, muttered something about a dragon named Drake, and buried her face deeper into the pillow.
“I don’t know who you are, but if Cam approves of you, then so do I,” I told her. “I guess this is the path that Garders wanted me to take. It just better work. You’ll make sure it works, right?”
Aisling snorted, lifted her head an inch, and, without opening her eyes, said in a thick voice, “Sure. Go to sleep.”
I nodded at her promise, but hesitated, imagining I could hear Camio, so added, “I won’t leave you, then. For one, you have good taste when it comes to the kind of food this magnificent form demands. For another, you need me. Like a lot. I can’t think of when I’ve met a more naive Guardian. So that’s it, then. You help me to make Sally’s plan happen, and I’ll take care of you. Because it’s a tough world out there, babe, and you’ll be dragon fodder if I’m not here to keep you safe.”
“Mmrf,” she murmured into the pillow, followed by a slight snore.
I nodded again, then went back to my blanket, noticing a sheet of crumpled paper that stuck out from under the bed. I nosed it out and squinted to read it in the dim light. It was a photocopied page of an old grimoire, one that evidently Aisling had used to summon me. Along the top was written: Here are the pages you asked for. I hope they help! Beth.
In a different hand, someone else had noted on the side of the printed sheet in bright red ink: Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact ingredients. It’s the intention that matters.
I eyed that last notation, wondering about it, because ingredients very much do matter when it comes to summoning. The ink on the page was hot pink, just like the phone number written on a scrap of paper that Sally had given me four years ago. I left the photocopy and returned to my bed, such as it was. I had a lot to think about, but for the first time in four years, the world seemed a bit brighter. Lighter, even. More hopeful.
The following day, when Aisling was having a shower, I dug through my phone until I found an old text entry and launched a new message.
ME
Hiya! Got myself bound to a Guardian. Just an FYI in case you need me to help with whatever thing Hildegarde hinted at. Because it’s been four years, and there’s been no action. Not that I’m telling you what to do, but if you didn’t send this Guardian my way as part of your master plan, let me know. Although at this point, I kind of hate to leave her. I mean, yeah, she’s a Guardian, and they’re badass, but she seems a bit ... needy. Like she is in way over her head. And since she wants me to have good dental hygiene with no gum disease, and lets me have hamburgers with fries even though she said my fantabulous form was a bit chunky, and takes me out whenever I ask, I figured I’d stay and make sure she’s OK. Unless that’s not your plan. Er ... is it?
ME
Sally?
ME
You guys are almost as frustrating as the dragons Aisling keeps making us visit, and they are world-class ignorers of questions. Welp, no news is good news, right? Guess I have a new demon lord. Yell when you need me to help take down Ariton!
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