Page 16 of Feral

I nearly dropped my cake at the revelation. Partly from terror and partly from some of the most acute curiosity I’d ever experienced. Dragons were the most elusive of all the supernaturals, I’d honestly began to think they were more legend than fact, but here was one standing in front of me.

“Really?” I asked, doing my best to bite back the thousands of questions careening through my mind.

“Yes, really,” the Dragon-man answered, crossing his arms and grinning at me. “But I generally don’t advertise the fact. How did you know, Mothman?”

“I can see it,” Reggie said, his voice going deeper.

The Dragon man’s eyes narrowed and he stepped closer to Reggie.

“You’re the Mothman that used to be Dr. Raylin’s assistant, is that correct?”

Reggie went absolutely still at the mention of that monster’s name.

“Yes,” he finally answered, “and if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather forget that man ever existed.”

The Dragon-man’s eyes softened.

“Yes, of course, forgive me for my lack of care. I was just fascinated by the fact that you can see through my glamour. That’s an unusual gift.”

“So I’ve been told,” Reggie replied, and then turned to me. “I can go with you, make sure…make sure you’re okay.”

I glanced at the Dragon-man, who was watching us with an expression that was equal parts annoyance and sadness. I had been here long enough to know that sometimes people like me would be summoned to the director’s office and never return. Or if they did, they were never the same. Reggie, with where he’d been forced to work, had likely seen exactly what had happened to those poor people.

But this director is different. Right?

“I’ll be alright,” I said, forcing a smile on my face and patting him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you enjoy the cake and I’ll be right back.”

Reggie gave the Dragon a look, his eyes definitely turned red this time, and that same trilling sound rolled up from his throat. The Dragon nodded, as if understanding what that sound meant. I started to take a step forward when the air in front of me shimmered and I waved Peter away.

“Now, really you two, I’ll be fine!”

“She will be,” the Dragon said, “and time is of the essence, so if you two are done being mother hens, we need to go.”

“They’re simply concerned for me. It wasn’t that long ago that a summons tothatoffice was never a good thing.”

The Dragon had the decency to look a teensy bit chagrined before turning toward the elevator.

I gave Peter and Reggie a shaky smile and followed, hoping that this meeting wasn’t to tell me I’d been replaced.

Wouldn’t that be the perfect ending to this day?

When the doors closed, an awkward silence descended upon us. I glanced down at the Dragon-man’s hands, which were clasped in front of him. It looked like he had intricate blue tattoos on the backs of his hands that disappeared under the cuffs of his immaculate suit jacket. But as I stared at them, I realized that they were scales.

“Fascinating…” I murmured.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” I said, straightening up because I’d begun to bend down and examine the man’s hands.

“I am used to the curiosity of Mundanes,” his voice was wry.

I tried to school my features into something professional as I took that statement as a go-ahead to ask a few questions.

“Is it true that you have multiple true forms? Not just the one very large one?”

His jaw set and he drew a long breath, debating on if he should answer me. After a beat, he replied matter-of-factly, “Yes. Including my glamour, I have four of various sizes and appearances.”

“Do you lay eggs?”

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