Page 709 of Love Bites

The drawing hovered in the air, caught in a strong beam of sunlight from the skylights above, and then exploded in an airless blast of scarlet and pink fire into a few dozen chimpanzees and lemurs that scattered over the messy room.

Some of the chimps sprinted for the trash bags that were draped over chairs where the construction crews had left them. They twirled the bags in the air, inflating them, and ran to the center of the room.

Meanwhile, the smaller lemurs scooped up the trash and began stuffing it into the bags the chimps held. The smaller monkeys swarmed over the poker tables and under the banks of slot machines, meticulously collecting every sawed-off lumber end, stripped screw, and bent nail and hurling them all in the trash bags.

One of the lemurs trotted over and started patting Bethany’s leg and tugging on her trousers. Without breaking her conducting, she scooped it up to sit on her shoulder, where it clung to her neck and watched its fellows work.

The chimps lurched and caught the flying debris with the bags, making sure that not one bit of trash went astray.

Bethany directed the madness like a conductor, whirling her arms and orchestrating the chaos. The look of utter concentration on her face was endearing.

Well, endearing to someone else, of course. Math was a busy man. He had a lot to do in his life. He really should run off to the accounting division and demand to open the books and spreadsheets, but he couldn’t quite seem to tear himself away from this demonstration of Bethany’s magic.

In fifteen minutes, the litter was picked up in the section where they stood.

Bethany waved her arms and bowed her back like she was raising a heavy load, and the lemurs spun in the air, becoming blobs. The lemur that had been clinging to her neck leaped off to transform in mid-air into another blob. It zoomed toward the others.

Jellyfish,Math recognized. They were tentacle-trailing jellyfish.

The hyperactive jellyfish attacked the surfaces, their tentacles slipping into the crevices and cracks of the slot machines and poker tables and scrubbing like bottle brushes, wiping up every speck of dust and squeegeeing behind themselves, leaving a bright polish on the glass and wood.

When the casino gleamed, the jellyfish popped, and the scent of roses and spicy incense floated where they had been.

The chimps hauled the bags out of the room, presumably toward the refuse collection area.

Bethany was bent over, panting and bracing her knees on her hands.

“That was spectacular!” Math told her.

“Yeah!” she said, her dark eyes wide and laughing. “It really was, wasn’t it?”

“Are you all right?” He rubbed her back, her spine warm under his hand as he stroked her. “Can I get you a glass of water or a cup of coffee?”

“I’m fine.” She waved him off. “Just winded. I’ll be all right in a minute.”

Math straightened. “This would have taken a crew of twenty naturals all day to do. That’s exactly the sort of thing we need. Do you need recovery time? Is there a limit to how large an area you can work with? What sort of timetable—”

Above them, scratches and creaks wafted from the balcony above.

Math glanced up.

The casino’s floor plan had been designed to be spacious and elegant, with walkway balconies crisscrossing the main floor. When the casino opened, high-roller guests would be admitted to the upper floors. From their lofty perch and baccarat tables, they could gaze down at the teaming masses gambling at the more common varieties of games like slot machines and craps.

But now, a wide slab of plywood teetered on the edge of the railing above them and began to tilt down.

Sawdust floated in the sunbeams, falling all around them.

Shims and shavings fell off the slab of wood and tumbled toward them in the sunbeams.

Math grabbed Bethany around her waist, propelling them both backward and aside, just as the heavy plywood loaded with lumber and boards smashed to the floor where they had been standing.

His dragon’s wings shot out even though he still held onto his human form, lifting them farther from the falling wood and plaster.

He snapped his wings back under his skin, but the two of them were still sailing through the air.

If Math landed on her, the weight of his heavy dragon bones and muscle would probably crush the slim, fragile witch, so he ducked his shoulder and rolled over the top of her. His arm was tight around her torso as they tumbled on the thick carpeting. He took his weight on his shoulders and elbows to keep from crushing her.

“Oh! What are you doing! Mr. Draco, sir! Get off of me!” the little witch protested as he saved her life.

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