Page 122 of Dragon Her Heels

Once Lucifer popped off to handle the mysterious Hagnar, I sat on the trail, made myself comfortable, closed my eyes, and went to work. One thread, thicker and stronger than the rest, connected to the ecosystem, which the node sustained. I left that be, searching out the first line I meant to work with, deciding I’d take a similar approach to how I’d corrected the lake’s node. Unlike the first I’d untangled, the node had sucked all the ends within its darkening core, requiring me to tentatively pluck at loops, careful not to break any, until I located one with a little give. The end, which had several knots to form a loop, perplexed me. In some ways, it reminded me of a lasso.

Understanding the entire thing could unravel with rough handling, I worked the knots loose, smoothed the crimps in the line, and followed the line to where it connected to the heart of the node. The center, like much of the rest of the tendrils, suffered from shadows, with only the one line supporting the cavern brilliant and healthy.

As Lucifer had mentioned the temple—Hagnar’s home—deteriorated, I began with it, the same way I had begun the careful purification and raising of my boss’s precious little castle.

After some consideration, I began with the top, wrapping the strand around the blocks of stone and tucking the end to secure it. Much like the node at home had done, it fought me until it realized what I did, after which it cooperated and became pliable to my touch. The next strand untangled with ease, and much like a rose blooming, it unfurled, leaving behind a mess of loose strands, each one requiring purpose.

Some I attached to the cavern walls to give the chamber support. Others reinforced the precious workings of the jungle environment. I saved the last bundle of ten lines for my next project, connecting the node to the ones in Florida.

Locating them from such a distance took time, and the minutes crawled by while I stretched out my awareness and searched. Along the way, I uncovered several other nodes, all weak and dying. Their sorry state reduced me to the brink of tears, and rather than focus on my primary task, I attended to each one, freeing strands so that I could spin them into the weave I wished to make. By the time I reached the node underneath my home, rather than a singular strand, I had a cord with twelve lines as well as the bundle from Hagnar’s node.

Rather than a ball of energy, the node beneath my property took the form of a circular tapestry, its edge consisting of thousands of seeking lines, each one ready and willing to take up a task. After some thought, I decided which thread I selected didn’t matter.

Any strand would do as long as I could connect the nodes together.

Rather than weave, I spun, twisting the very essences of the strands together so they became one. The first went well, and a shimmering rainbow of color marked where the lines fused together. I connected the adjacent cords until all the lines were secured into the weave.

In a way, the node reminded me of the outstretched arms of a galaxy, with uncountable stars on the verge of being whipped out into the universe.

I did the equivalent of tap at my neighbor’s node, eyeballing one of the excess cords sustaining the castle. After a few more ginger taps, I began the process of unwrapping it from the structure. To my relief, it cooperated.

I spun its end to my node, securing them together for better or for worse.

Taking hold of one of the weave ends from mine, I went off in search of one more node to test. The line followed me, as though it came from the heart of an infinite ball of yarn ripe for my use. I found two close together, and the poor things had tried to support each other, creating a mess I’d be challenged to correct. Not wanting to observe them both perish, I sighed, drew out a second line from my node, and did the equivalent of loop both around my ankle while I worked on my last challenge of the day.

The work proved to be slow, tedious, and frustrating, but I took my time, and when I freed a single line from the weaker of the two nodes, I wasted no time drawing it towards the thick cord I’d fashioned, along with one of the lines I’d drawn out of mine, spinning them together around the larger rope so the energies could hopefully be transferred and shared.

The second node progressed faster, as though it woke and realized what I sought to accomplish and was aiding me as best it could. Like its sibling, I secured it to the master line so it could benefit as well.

Then I addressed the rest of the mess, and unlike the other nodes I’d worked with, I attached it to anything I could find. Sometimes, it was a large stone, sometimes a young tree—anything the strands of energy could attach to.

The weaker one somehow affixed itself to a tiny spring deep in a forest, and I hoped that wouldn’t cause problems later.

Once convinced I’d done all I could, I cracked open an eye.

Lucifer played a card game with a South American man with dark hair and eyes, and they spoke in low voices. “Dare I ask how long that took?”

The Devil glanced at his phone, which was on the path beside him. “Four hours, which is not bad at all. I thought you were going to be done an hour ago, but something caught your attention.”

“I found two nodes on the verge of death, and I decided I didn’t like that, so I did something about it. That really only took four hours? It felt like a lot longer.”

“It was only four hours. According to my wife, she’s about to toss Yuless in the dungeon, as he is convinced you are in dire danger, I’m about to make off with your soul, and you will clearly never be returned to where you belong. He does not seem to understand what is impossible for us is simple enough for you—and it didn’t even tire you much. Some, but not much. Of course, you’re hopped up on that stew you ate.”

“It was really good, too. I could use a nap, though.”

Lucifer tossed down his cards. “Well, Hagnar? Do you want to come see what sort of trouble Yuless has been getting himself into? I’m sure she can open a guest room if you’re feeling lonely and want to see your friend. Just be warned: all the awoken dragons are loitering. Her home has sufficient magic to sustain them, her wards provide them with comfort, and there is a quartet living on her second floor.”

“There’s a quartet already? What species?”

“A human woman, an incubus, and two dragons. Her lifespan received a significant boost today from a neighbor who has, unbeknownst to him, been benefiting from Crystal’s magic and her node. You will find excellent rest and be quite refreshed after a few weeks on her land. I can handle safeguarding your home while you’re visiting.”

Hagnar’s eyes narrowed. “Please expand on what you mean by excellent rest and quite refreshed.”

I snickered at his open suspicion. “My home is a paradise and refuge for all who come in peace. You will have great food, you will have to deal with many dragons, all of whom are desperately attempting to learn how to bake pie and failing spectacularly, an incubus, and my neighbor, who is taming the incubus and two of the dragons. Apparently, I’m buying land to expand my territory, but Lucifer is handling that. You will have to deal with my horses, and if you’re unlucky, you’ll be roped into helping me take them to the races. I have a race in two weeks, and then I have races at a distressing frequency thereafter.”

“Ah, yes. You’re going for the Triple Crown. Yuless had mentioned it, and you won your first race in the challenge.”

I nodded. “The points aren’t worth writing home about, however. But I will earn enough points to ride in the Triple Crown if I place top three every race we participate in. But I do like the money. I’m going to spoil my horses with it. I was going to spend it, but Lucifer keeps spending his money instead of letting me spend mine.”